The Letters of Paul
In the book of Romans, Paul gives a very thorough explanation of the gospel, reminding us what kind of conduct it is intended to produce.
Romans 8-12.mp3 (Barry Atwell)
Here is a link to “Reverse Thinking” that Barry used during the message. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Thjz_dMdhR8
My college friend threw a problem my way – something from his philosophy teacher. It’s called the Euthyphro Dilemma and it goes back at least to the time of Plato: Does God command something because it is good, or is it good because God commands it?
The solution is found in today’s passage: God is personal and so He has a certain character. That is, certain qualities are essential to the “nature” of God. His commands, then, are an expression of His nature. He is the ultimate good and His commands are always consistent with His character – or, who He is by nature. His commands are the faithful expression of these essential character traits.
An Optical Illusion, Spiritually Speaking: Some things that seem so important to us now are really minor, fleeting things. Yet heaven, our real home and the place that gives life on earth its meaning, may hardly enter our thoughts. The closer things are much easier for us to focus on. They look bigger, but how important are they in light of eternity? In the section of Philippians, Paul explains how we can avoid falling for this trick that the world plays on our spiritual eyesight.
Central Reflections 