March 23

Journey-through-the-Bible-with-us

READING FOR MARCH 23, 2026: ISAIAH 39, ROMANS 8, PSALM 22:22-31                                        Isaiah 39 The son of the king of Babylon sent Hezekiah a note and gift upon hearing that he had recovered. That was a nice gesture, much better than King Sennacherib of Assyria’s demand that Hezekiah surrender. Duly flattered, Hezekiah, apparently out of an excess of pride, showed his Babylonian guests all the wealth that he possessed in his treasuries. Are leaders today ever guilty of pride or self-obsession? 

When the prophet Isaiah learned of this, he gave Hezekiah a word from the Lord. Is that a legitimate role for believers today. When someone within our circle of influence does some- thing unwise, should we give them a word from the Lord? It certainly seemed to be what the apostles had in mind for the churches with whom they corresponded: My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you strays from the truth and someone turns him back, let him know that the one who has turned a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins (James 5: 19-20).  The key is to make sure the word is indeed from the Lord (i.e., the truth/Bible), and not just our bias. 

Even though this conversation occurred 100 years before the exile of Judah to Babylon, Isaiah said the people and all the treasures of Judah would be taken to Babylon. Isaiah said some of the King’s sons would be made eunuchs and taken into the service of the king. This, of course, happened with Daniel and his friends, also. Hezekiah’s attitude showed how far he had slipped from his days of faithfulness. Hezekiah thought all this was fine because he would be dead by then. Do we have this selfish attitude, or do we care about what will happen to our children and grandchildren? If we care, pray and point our children and grandchildren to Jesus, now.

ROMANS 8 If the interpretation presented before for Romans 7 is correct, then Romans 8 contrasts what it means to live as a Christian by the power of the Spirit of God compared with our prior attempts in chapter 7 to obey the law in the power of the flesh. The first step is to embrace our new status as believers who are freed from condemnation. This is because Jesus was condemned in our place (8:1-2). The requirements of the law, including the sacrificial system, the ceremonial obligations, and the moral law, are fully met by Jesus (8:3).   As we learned in chapter 7, the moral law still describes sin (7:7), but before being freed by the Spirit, we were unable obey this law (7:19) or to please God (8:8). Now through faith, the Holy Spirit dwells within us (8:8).

We are able set our minds on the Spirit (8:6), put to death the deeds of the flesh by the Spirit (8:13), and then be led by the Spirit (8:14). Although the Spirit, not our efforts, transforms us                        internally, there still is intentional human involvement: setting our mind, putting deeds of the     flesh to death, and allowing the Spirit’s leading. The indwelling Spirit then changes our    READINGS FOR MARCH 23, 2026 CONTINUED: ROMANS 8, PSALM 22:22-31                       character, from which behavior (obedience) automatically flows. Think back to Matthew 5. The standard of the Mosaic Law was not to murder. Through the power of the Spirit within us, we are now able to live out Jesus’s higher character standard of freedom from anger. The stand- ard of the Mosaic Law was not to commit adultery. Through the power of the Spirit within us                                                                                                                              we are now able to live out Jesus’s higher character standard of freedom from lust. 

Other benefits of this new life include the following:                                                                            

  • a sonship relationship with God the Father; 
  • the internal witness of the Spirit that we are children of God; 
  • a promised eternal inheritance shared with Jesus; 
  • the honor of suffering with Jesus so that we might be glorified with Him. Paul says because we know of all these current and future benefits, we can live with hope and perseverance, eager for what’s next;
  • the Holy Spirit prays for us when we are at a loss for words; 
  • God works out all the events of our lives for His good purposes; 
  • God is conforming us to be more like Jesus; 
  • we can count on the God who predestined, called, and justified us to also glorify us; since God is for us, our adversaries have no chance; 
  • Jesus Christ is currently praying to the Father on our behalf.

Final benefit: nothing can separate us from God’s love, although as Job and even Paul discovered, life may have many unpleasant features with which to contend. It is all bearable knowing that God’s love and all the benefits listed above can never be taken from us. LET’S CONSIDER EVERYTHING WE HAVE IN JESUS. 

Fine Print Theology. While some (Presbyterians) believe this last promise guarantees that we cannot lose our salvation, others (Methodists) think that believers still have the freedom to reject Jesus. This is partly because human rejection is not mentioned as one of the external separating possibilities in Romans 8 and because of other biblical passages describing falling away from faith (e.g., Heb.10:35-38; 2 Peter 2:20-21).

PSALM 22:22-31 Verse 22 definitely refers to Jesus. How can we know that with certainty? Because the writer of the Hebrews tells us: “ For both He (Jesus) who sanctifies and those who are  sanctified are all from one Father; for this reason, He (Jesus) is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,  saying, ‘I will proclaim Your name to My brothers, In the midst of the assembly I will sing Your praise’” (Heb. 2:11-12).  Think of it. When we sing praises to God in the assembly, Jesus is singing with us. Verse 27 talks about the worldwide nature of God’s kingdom. Because of numerous scriptural passages, in- cluding the words of Jesus and later in Revelation, we know this does not mean all will be saved. It does mean that people from every nation and tongue will be saved and praise Him in heaven: “I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all the tribes, peoples, and languages, stand- ing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb”’ (Rev. 7:9-10).