There was a man. He attended church regularly. One of those people of whom it is said, “If the doors are open, he’s there.”
No, he wasn’t a pastor. But he had been to graduate school studying his Scriptures. He really knew a lot. He’d memorized almost the entire thing.
Argumentative? Oh, yes, don’t try to argue with him. He could point out how wrong you were six different ways. And, wow, did he love to argue.
The Scriptures were, to him, a big list of rules with some stories interspersed. Those rules set apart those who follow them from those who don’t. And following the rules got you gold stars on your report card from God.
The way he dressed set him apart from the common people. The way he prayed in church was designed to impress others.And he did–impress them, that is. Trouble is that not everyone was impressed with him favorably. Yes, you can leave negative impressions on people.
Then one day he met a man. Totally changed his life. Suddenly he viewed Scriptures in an entirely new way. He now searched the Scriptures for hints on how God makes you right with him, not how you make yourself right with God. He discovered what the Scriptures said about the man he met.
Yes, that man was Paul, the apostle. But it has also been many other people–both women and men. Young and old.
He met Jesus. That meeting changed his life.
I’m studying deeper into Paul’s letter to the Roman church–known as the book of Romans. Many people feel intimidated by the letter. They’ve been told that scholars have written huge volumes of commentary about it. And they have. But Martin Luther read it, and it not only changed his life but it also changed the course of history. He founded the Lutheran reformed movement. John Wesley read it. It changed his life. He took the gospel out of the churches and into the streets and mines and other disreputable starting the Wesleyan or Methodist movement.
The book is not inaccessible. It shows the path of spiritual formation. Every time I read it, I am changed just a little more.
I’m teaching on the book again. If you are in the Sidney, Ohio area and open on Sunday mornings at 10:15 am, stop by Sidney First United Methodist. And if you are not in the habit of attending a church or if you are wary of being identified as a Methodist, well I have a solution. Our classroom is the first door on the left when entering the building from the North Street parking lot. You can park by The Alcove and walk in and walk out and no one will notice 😉
Faith Venture 