Romans 14:13-18 After restating his admonition to all believers not to judge others in areas of non-essentials, Paul now focuses his admonitions toward those who are strong in conscience. What are the two things about which Paul is fully convinced? How does Paul know that nothing is unclean in itself? What is the connection between Jesus' words in Mark about all foods being clean and Peter's vision in Acts 10? What are the three reasons the strong should not put an obstacle in the way of a weak brother or sister? What does Paul mean by hurting or destroying a brother? Why is a person's conscience so important to God? What are the two ways in which one's conscience can be in error? Is Paul essentially prohibiting the strong from every enjoying their liberty? How do we know? (63 min)

Keywords Conscience, Offense, Love

Romans 13:8-10 Considering the subject of our obligations to others within the civil sphere, Paul transitions into the subject of loving others. What does Paul mean by instructing us against owing anything to anyone? Is this a blanket prohibition against borrowing money? What do other scriptures have to say on the subject? What is the ongoing debt we all have? Why does Paul speak of our "fulfilling the law" through love in this passage, when earlier in Romans he has said that we have "died" to the law and are "free" from the law? How does love fulfill the law? What is the foundational principle behind all the commandments? What is wrong with the view of this passage that says we need to learn to love ourselves before we can love our neighbor? What is the given assumption in the statement that we are to love our neighbor as ourself? When is low self esteem warranted? When is it unwarranted? How is unwarranted low self esteem a form of pride? Is someone with low self esteem excused from the obligation to love others as themselves? What is the minimum measurement for how we are to love others? Is love for others merely a matter of prohibitions (do not commit adultery, do not steal, etc.)? (53 min.)

Keywords Love, Law, Debt, Self esteem

Romans 12:19-21 In these verses Paul continues to address the question of how we relate to those who have wronged us. Verse nineteen conveys a slightly different sense than verse seventeen. What is that difference? What are we prohibited from doing when we are personally wronged by someone? What does it mean to "leave room" for God's wrath? Is it wrong for us to desire justice when we are wronged? What are four reasons why God insists that we leave revenge up to him? What is it about God that ensures that His justice is always right? What are the mistakes we often make when we seek to take justice into our own hands? What is the advantage of our leaving room for the justice of God? When our enemy wrongs us, what are we obligated to do? What does he mean when he speaks of "heaping burning coals" on our enemy's head? How are we overcome by evil? How do we overcome evil? (58 min)

Keywords Revenge, Justice, Love

Romans 12:9-13 In this passage Paul begins to list for us a number of things that the renewed mind will discover are God's will. Why does the Holy Spirit give us lists like this to consider? What should we do with such lists? Paul begins with the basic truth of love. What is hypocritical love? Why are we to avoid it? What are some misconceptions about agape love? What is our tendency regarding our attitude toward evil? How is love within the church to be characterized? What are two ways to look at Paul's command regarding honoring others? What often happens to our diligence in the things of God? What is the peril of fervency or zeal? What enables us to rejoice in difficult circumstances? What does Paul mean to fellowship with the needs of the saints? (70 min)

Keywords Love, Zeal, Honor, Diligence, Giving, Hospitality

Romans 8:37-39 In these verses Paul continues his concluding thoughts on the security of the child of God in God's love. When we are saved we receive the promise of eventually being glorified with Christ. Yet between those two events we encounter numerous adversities, many of them very severe. What does Paul mean when he says that through all of those things we are more than conquerors? What is it that ensures our overwhelming victory through sufferings? If God's heart is moved when He sees people suffer, as we know it is, then what is it about sufferings that Paul suggests someone might think would separate them from the love of God. How do we know that that will not separate us from His love? This brings up a troubling question, however, which Paul will go on to answer in the following chapters: If God's children are forever secure in HIs love, then what about the Jews, hasn't God rejected them? (66 min)

Keywords Glory, Love, Security

Romans 8:35-36 Having settled the issue that our sin no longer imperils the believer's safety in God's love, Paul now turns his attention to the circumstances and persons in our life whom we might fear could rob us of God's love. Paul's own life provides an evidence of what he tells us in these verses. What did God make clear about Paul’s future life as a Christian to Ananias? What did Paul mean in his second letter to the Corinthians when he wrote about always carrying in his body the death of Christ? What was the outcome for the Corinthians of Paul's experience of "dying daily?" Was Paul exaggerating when he wrote about the extent of his struggles? Were all of Paul's afflictions a direct result of persecution, or did they include other things. If Jesus promised that if we seek God's kingdom first, all "these things" that we need will be provided, how do we account for the fact that Paul at times experienced hunger, thirst, and exposure? What is the importance of Paul's quote from Psalm 44 about being put to death all day long? (58 min)

Keywords Love, Tribulation, Security

Romans 5:6-11 Having shown how we can be assured of the certainty of our hope because we have the down payment of God's Spirit in us, Paul now gives another evidence of the certainty of our hope. That is the demonstration of God's love in the timing of the death of Christ. What does Paul mean when he speaks of the "right time" for Christ to die? Is he speaking historically or personally? What is the greatest extent or evidence of human love? How does God's love surpass that? What were you like when Christ died for you? What does Paul conclude is true in light of the timing of Christ's death? At the end of this passage Paul returns to the theme of exultation. What is a mark of the justified sinner? Why is it now possible for us to exult in God? What are some of the things about God in which we can exult? (55 min)

Keywords Love, Hope