The Compassionate Concrete That Paves The Romans Road

10/14/24 • 46 min

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re getting granular about the divine, salvific grace Paul riffs on early in his letter to the Romans. We’re going to take a long pause in our collective amble down the Romans Road so as to marinate in the concept of justification. We’re going to do an in-depth review of how the sinless life and sacrificial death of Jesus Christ made it possible for rebellious, sin-riddled yahoos like us to be reconciled with a perfectly righteous God. Because all too often we church folk tend to volley multi-syllabic theological terms like “justification” and “sanctification” and “propitiation” amongst ourselves like innocuous doctrinal pickle balls without giving too much thought to the grief and gravitas they represent. In much the same way we blithely wear crosses as mere jewelry or prominently display it in the form of a hip tattoo, forgetting what that Roman torture device – equivalent to a medieval guillotine or modern-day electric chair, which I can’t imagine someone wearing as a fashion statement – represents...that the King of all kings chose to leave His throne in glory, condescend to human form and humble circumstances, only to be betrayed and abandoned by His closest friends and ultimately have stakes hammered into His feet and wrists so He could be suspended in the air like a human shish-kabob while a cruel mob jeered His torture and subsequent murder because Jesus knew His blood was the necessary price that had to be paid in order to justify – to make us right – with God. We’re not going to skip past the hard facts of what He sacrificed for our redemption today y’all because quite honestly doing so mitigates the miracle of our salvation. So please grab a great big mug of strong coffee and your Bible – unless of course you’re in the hot-wax stage of a manicure – and come ponder the audacious kindness of King Jesus on the porch with Alli, Dr. Howard and me.

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Reverse Engineering Paul’s Epistle to the Romans

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to mess with your beautiful minds just a wee bit by flipping to the end of the book of Romans before reading the beginning. But we’re not just messing with y’all to exasperate you like my nephew John Michael loves to do when he teases Missy. I promise there’s a redemptive method to our madness! We’re going to read Romans in reverse because if you don’t understand what Paul’s preaching toward the end of this theologically dense epistle, then the beginning and middle of the letter lose some of their doctrinal oomph. Dr. Scot McKnight, who’s a renowned New Testament scholar, seminary professor, prolific author and who purely by the amazing grace of God has become a Kerygma regular and a friend to Alli, Dr. Howard and me says this about reading Romans in reverse: One quick read of Romans 14-16 reveals the pastoral context of this letter, and no reading of Romans 1-11 that ignores 14-16 will catch the Pauline drift of why he is writing. In other words, our tendency to crush out on chapters 4-8 of Romans – what with all of its low-hanging theological fruit – while ignoring the latter part of Paul’s preeminent epistle is akin to eating the entire basket of tortilla chips before the hot queso gets to the table and then having nothing to dunk in that glorious goo...we’re missing out on the best part! So please grab your favorite beverage and your Bible – unless of course, you’ve got both hands halfway up a gourd in an attempt to DYI Fall centerpieces for your niece’s low budget wedding – and come hang out on the porch with Alli, Dr. Howard and me. We’re as happy as three hungry mice trapped in a cheese factory that we get to hang out with you today. And I apologize for the multiple cheese references but once I hear the word queso my dairy obsession tends to take over!

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A Surf and Turf of a Sermon

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re having the biblical equivalent of Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest that takes place on Coney Island every July Fourth. Because while we won’t be trying to gobble 62 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes like world champion Joey Chestnut did last summer, we are going to attempt to digest some of the major doctrinal themes found in the book of Romans in one single podcast! Speaking of Christian doctrine, Martin Luther - widely known as one of the key leaders of the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s – was a dutiful priest who almost drove himself crazy trying to live a life holy enough to please God. He spent hours in prayer every day, he fasted for so long and so often that it caused severe intestinal problems, and he even practiced self-harm, thinking that the discomfort and pain that resulted from intentionally wounding himself was a necessary penance for his sin. It wasn’t until he taught on the book of Romans that the Holy Spirit opened his eyes to divine grace – to the unmerited favor of Jesus Christ – and that’s what dramatically changed his personal life and gave rise to the Protestant church. Luther described Romans as, “The gate to paradise” because it’s what led him from practicing rote religion to experiencing a real relationship with our Creator Redeemer. We hope today’s conversation opens the gate for some of you to walk into a much closer relationship with Jesus, too. So please grab your favorite beverage a snack and a Bible – if you have one – and come prop your feet up on the porch with us.