Summary of passage: The Bible was written to encourage us and give us hope. We are to have unity amongst Christians so that we can glorify God and Jesus.
Questions:
7) Part personal Question. My answer: Scripture teaches us how to live and gives us hope. We meet God in Scripture. We grow closer to God. We become more like Jesus. It’s an act of obedience. I’m realized all those goals: I’m closer to God, more like Jesus, more patient, and more elucidated on the Word.
8 ) Part personal Question. My answer: A spirit of unity is when even we don’t come to the same conclusions on matters of conscience we agree to disagree in love. I struggle with those who twist the Word of God or don’t believe in God especially when they spout violence and hate. It’s hard to be patient and pray over them and let God handle it.
9) We are to all work together for God’s glory despite our differences. It’s all about Him, not our differences. When we work together, God’s glory is amplified. The goal of life as Paul says in Ephesians is to “attain the whole measure of the fullness of Christ”. We do this with the help of others. We can’t do this on our own. We were created by God for His glory. We best glorify Him the stronger we are as a whole.
Conclusions: Great reminder on building up our Christian brothers. We can get so caught up in our own narrow lives we forget we are a part of something greater. As Paul says, if one of us is suffering, we all are. Help others and you will grow stronger.
End Notes: [Same as Yesterday’s] Jesus took fulfilled what was written in God’s word, allowing the Father to vindicate him.
The commandment Jesus fulfilled from Psalm 69:7-9 was written for our learning so that we might have hope, knowing we are doing what is right even when difficult. “You” refers to God and “me” is the righteous sufferer whom Paul identifies with Christ.
Responding rightly bothers people even more. No one can hurt God’s children.
Paul then prays for the Holy Spirit to endow this attitude onto the Romans. Other translations here have “God of patience” instead of endurance. In essence, Paul is saying wait on God’s plan for your life. God’s purpose for your life takes time.
Paul encourages believers not to necessarily have the same conclusions but to agree to disagree in love (Ephesians 4:1-6; Philippians 2:1-5).