Jesus At 2am - A Humorous, Intelligent Look At The Bible, Church History & The Life Of Faith

In this part 2 (of 2) on Rom. 8:12-27, we look at the future dimension of salvation - what will occur at the end of the age as a result of the cross. And in so doing, we discover that the future is breaking into the present. While the vestiges of the old age (the reign of sin) endure, the future age of salvation has also begun. And thus the Christian life is lived in an overlap of two ages (which both explains the inner tension of the life of faith, and the need for both endurance and discernment!). The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Romans 8:12-27 (NRSV) Want more content from Jesus at 2AM?? Learn how to become a patron! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

This sermon is part 1 of 2 on Rom. 8:12-27, a critical passage in the letter, as Paul makes a transition from his discussion of how God has been active across history (including the cross) to accomplish our rescue, to how we are to live in the present age of the church. In particular, Paul discusses our new manner of life with the Holy Spirit at our center (where our Adam-ness once ruled). We know that we are to put sin to death. But how? And are there unhealthy manners of ridding sin from our lives? (Yes!) The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Romans 8:12-27 (NRSV) Want more content from Jesus at 2AM?? Learn how to become a patron! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

What is the way out of humanity's captivity to sin? And what assurance do we have that we, personally, are included in God's project of salvation? In this episode, we take up these two critical questions as Paul explains the manner in which we have truly died to sin, and been raised, already, with Christ to new life. It is Paul's first major discussion of the Holy Spirit in Romans and a dimension of our salvation to which we often pay too little attention. But when we do, the result is a new lease on life! The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Romans 8:1-11 (NRSV) To see the link to Kirk's notebook sketch, click here. Want more Jesus at 2AM?? Learn how to become a patron! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find Jesus at 2AM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

We humans place too much confidence in willpower, particularly where the spiritual life is concerned. We imagine that what stands between us and true shalom is a greater internal effort. If only we could try harder, be more devout...we could make grand strides towards righteousness. In this episode we look at Paul's critical insight that volition is no antidote to sin (as our inability to Torah obey Torah proves!). Indeed, Torah's ultimate role was to bring sin starkly into the open where it can be healed - by grace alone! The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Romans 7:13-25 (NRSV) Want more Jesus at 2AM?? Learn how to become a patron! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

So often we imagine that the road to holiness is marked out by the Law; that God's moral command is the key to reducing sin and increasing love in our lives. And thus our tendency to return to piety and legalism as strategies for intimacy with God. But, as Paul has already argued, the Law is powerless to accomplish this purpose! In this episode we examine Paul's exhortation for Christians to regard themselves as dead to sin, and why such regard is the only way to holiness. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Romans 7:1-12 (NRSV) Want more Jesus at 2AM?? Learn how to become a patron! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

We humans have an incredible longing to return to Egypt. That is to say, to return to the land of our captivity, even after we have been set free. As harmful as it may have been, it was home...for a long time. And learning to manage freedom is harder than it looks. It was true for historical Israel, and it is true for us. Through Christ, we have been set free from our bondage to sin. And yet we have a strong propensity to return. In this episode Paul explains what such returns look like and how to stop them.  The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Romans 6:12-23 (NRSV) Want more Jesus at 2AM?? Learn how to become a patron! Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

I'm so grateful for all the success that Jesus at 2AM has had, and at last I am ready to do more! For years, you've been asking for additional resources - everything from video, to community forums, to individual spiritual direction. And after much work to discern the best way to make it happen, today I get to announce my new partnership with Patreon! You can hear all the details of what lies ahead in this special episode of the podcast. And when you're finished, would you take a moment to check out my new Patreon page and consider becoming a patron?

Here we come to a question that every Christian has, at some point, asked: If we have been saved by grace, forgiven in a manner that can never be revoked, why not continue in sin??? I mean, if sin is where all the fun is, can't I have the good times free of the consequences? It's a tempting proposition. And Paul's response may not be what we expected... The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Romans 6:1-11 (NRSV) Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

How did sin enter the world? And how is grace sin's antidote? In this episode we arrive at Paul's great declaration of ultimate hope: "where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more." And we see how Adam's sin - while affecting all creation - is overcome by Jesus's faithfulness. In short, here is where we see most clearly that love is the name of the game. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Romans 5:12-21 (NRSV) Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

What is the source of our hope? Not hope in the sense of optimism, but hope as in the certainty of the salvation of the world. Rome offered a version of hope, one that empires continue to promise to this day. But it is a hope that can never be fulfilled, because it is rooted in the false belief that power brings security. In this episode we examine Paul's vision of hope - one rooted in the goodness of God - against the backdrop of the Roman Empire and discover how we can even hope amidst suffering. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Romans 5:1-11 (NRSV) The images referenced are here: Ara Pacis Roman Justice (statue) Coin (front) Coin (back) Herodian Temple Pyramids of Giza Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

That salvation comes to us by grace alone is extraordinarily difficult to comprehend. One way or another, we humans find a work we think we can perform to turn God's rescue into something we can control. It's a dynamic Paul understands all too well. And to snap us out of it, he returns to his example of Abraham - saved simply by the sovereign will of God. And what results from election is faith - a faith that transforms Abraham and can transform us. This episode is intellectually thick but worth the effort.   The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Romans 4:9-25 (NRSV) Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  

For Paul there has only ever been one means of salvation: election. And to make his case, he appeals to the story of Abraham (Israel's patriarch), who received salvation as a promise, and for who responded in faith. In this episode we further examine the relationship between election and faith and what it means to have faith "reckoned as righteousness." It is also a look at God intent to include all creation in his plan of redemption. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Romans 4:1-8 (NRSV) Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  

Salvation by faith alone is one of the central pillars of Reformed theology - a doctrine based in no small measure on Paul's declaration in 3:28 "that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law." (This, of course, has only led to endless debates about what, then, constitutes "saving faith"). But what Paul meant and what the Reformers thought he meant don't totally align. In this episode we re-examine what, precisely Paul intended to communicate about the means of salvation. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Romans 3:27-31 (NRSV) Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  

The central claim of Christianity is that, in Jesus, God has accomplished all that is required for the salvation of the world. And, in particular, that this was accomplished through the cross and resurrection. It was there that Christ made atonement for this sins of the world. In this episode we look at the Paul's understanding of the atonement and do our best to explain how the death of one man accomplishes the the salvation of us all.   The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Romans 3:21-26 (NRSV) Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  

At last we arrive at the announcement of salvation. Though humanity stands utterly mired in sin, God himself will provide the means of our salvation. In one act, God will both justly fulfill the covenant promise to Abraham, and accomplish the proper judgment of sin (and thereby overcome it). That act: the cross. In this episode (part 1 of 2 on the atonement) we put the pieces of Paul's argument together and see that the sacrifice of Christ is the end to which God had been working all along.    The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Romans 3:21-26 (NRSV) Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.    

Here Paul concludes the argument he has been developing for 2.5 chapters: everyone stands utterly guilty before God. There is no excuse to be made, no special status to be conferred, humanity is rightly deserving of God's just wrath. It is the news we must hear if we are to truly take in what comes next: grace! The sermon is brilliant and preached by our regular contributor, the Rev. Mike Regele. With this one you are in for an intellectual and spiritual treat!   The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Romans 3:9-20 (NRSV) Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.    

If Israel is humanity in microcosm, and Israel has not only failed in her covenant obligations, but the very signs of her belonging to God (circumcision and Torah) only further testify to her unfaithfulness, what hope is left of salvation? Surely the rest of humanity would fare no better were the covenant given to another. In this episode we look at the relationship between humanity's failure and God's faithfulness, and the real foundation of the salvation of the world... The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Romans 3:1-8 (NRSV) Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.    

Nothing was more elemental to Jewish identity, nor more distinguishing of the boundary between Jew and Gentile than circumcision. It was a mark, in the flesh, of one's belonging (or not) to the people of YHWH, long before obedience to Torah was possible. Yet Paul here Paul declares that even circumcision is of no special value in bringing one near to God. It is a circumcision of the heart that matters, not flesh. A declaration that opens to door for all humanity to share the inheritance of Israel. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Romans 2:25-29 (NRSV) Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

In order to show us the fullness of what Jesus has accomplished at the cross, Paul takes us into an argument with his former self (the zealous Pharisee). The subject: Torah. For it was Israel's long-held belief that Torah served as something of a protection against sin and its full consequences. And that belief turns out to be an idol Paul must fully demolish (and he does) in order to then reveal the heights of Gods' grace. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Romans 2:12-24 (NRSV) Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

In a move of rhetorical brilliance (as many in Romans are)! Paul takes the judgmentalism he has just provoked in his readers and turns it back upon themselves (i.e., us!). Whatever speck we may wish to pluck from our neighbor's eye, we must first contend with the plank in our own. But this is more than a morality lesson. As Paul moves deeper into an understanding of divine judgment, a paradox begins to form - justice, it seems, is a two-edged sword, simultaneously a means of salvation and of condemnation. The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Romans 2:1-11 (NRSV) Also referenced are these two images: Roman Rostra Today Roman Rostra (Artist's Recreation)   Want to connect? You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.