Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Romans 13:1-7

After exploring our duties within the church and toward our enemies, Paul now turns our attention toward the world’s structures. In this week’s episode of Open Your Bibles, we tackle a challenging question: Who has authority?

In a world of political division, we often forget that there is no power on earth that did not first pass through the hands of the Sovereign King. Subjection to authority isn't about the worthiness of the leader, but about the worthiness of the God who placed them there.

In this episode, we talk about:

• The Sovereign Appointment: Why we believe that every ruler—whether they acknowledge Him or not—is a "servant of God" (a diakonos) ordained for His specific purposes.
• The Sword and the State: A Reformed look at the role of government. We discuss how God uses the state to restrain evil and maintain order, serving as a temporal "avenger" of His justice.
• Conscience Over Convenience: Why our obedience to the state is actually an act of worship to God. We explore the "Third Use of the Law" as it applies to our civic duties, like paying taxes and showing honor.
• The Limits of Subjection: We briefly discuss the "Magistrate's Boundary"—what happens when an earthly authority commands what God forbids?

When we see that the King of Kings is the one who establishes earthly thrones, we can live with peace and integrity, knowing that our ultimate citizenship is secure in Christ.

Grace and Peace

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:9-21

In this week's episode, we ask the punchy question: What is our duty?

In our natural state, our "love" is often selfish or conditional. But for the believer who has been transformed by the renewal of their mind, love becomes a supernatural fruit of the Spirit. It is the "Duty of Gratitude"—a life that hates what God hates and clings to what He calls good.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Genuine Love vs. Worldly Affection: Why a Reformed understanding of the heart’s corruption means we must constantly pray for "genuine" love that isn't just a performance, but a sincere reflection of Christ’s love for us.
• The Third Use of the Law: How we view these commands not as a way to earn favor, but as our "reasonable service" and the logical outworking of the grace we have already received.
• Fervency in Spirit: What it means to be "on fire" for the Lord without falling into the trap of self-reliance. We discuss how the Sovereign King provides the very zeal He commands.
• Overcoming Evil with Good: A deep dive into the end of the chapter. How do we respond to enemies? We explore the doctrine of God’s Vengeance—realizing that because God is the perfectly Just Judge, we are free to be perfectly merciful.

When our lives are "from Him, through Him, and to Him," our duty becomes our delight. We no longer seek to avenge ourselves because we trust in the perfect providence and justice of our Sovereign God.

Grace and Peace

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:1-2

We are back! After a short break, we are thrilled to begin a brand-new season of Open Your Bibles as we transition into the practical, life-altering teaching of Romans 12.

In our season premiere, we ask the ultimate follow-up question: Now what?

For eleven chapters, Paul has laid out the "mercies of God"—His sovereign choice, His perfect wisdom, and His gift of salvation. We’ve climbed the mountain of doctrine, and now we stand at the peak looking down at our daily lives. If all of this is true, how then shall we live? Paul shows us that the only logical response to such grace isn't just a song on Sunday; it is the total offering of our entire lives to the Sovereign King.

In this episode, we talk about:

• The Foundation of Mercy: Why our obedience is never an attempt to earn God's love, but a joyful response to the love He has already lavished on us.
• The Living Sacrifice: The paradox of being a sacrifice that doesn't die on an altar, but lives every moment for the glory of the Master.
• Metamorphosis: How the Holy Spirit "transforms" us from the inside out, changing the way we think so we can discern God’s perfect will.
• Gifts for the Body: A look at verses 3–11 and how God’s sovereign grace distributes different gifts so that the Church functions as one healthy, living body.

We explore how "holy praise" moves from our lips into our hands and feet. True worship is a life that refuses to be shaped by the world’s mold because it has been reshaped by the Word of God.

Grace and peace.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:1-2

We are back! After a short break, we are thrilled to begin a brand-new season of Open Your Bibles as we transition into the practical, life-altering teaching of Romans 12.

In our season premiere, we ask the ultimate follow-up question: Now what?

For eleven chapters, Paul has laid out the "mercies of God"—His sovereign choice, His perfect wisdom, and His gift of salvation. We’ve climbed the mountain of doctrine, and now we stand at the peak looking down at our daily lives. If all of this is true, how then shall we live? Paul shows us that the only logical response to such grace isn't just a song on Sunday; it is the total offering of our entire lives to the Sovereign King.

In this episode, we talk about:

• The Foundation of Mercy: Why our obedience is never an attempt to earn God's love, but a joyful response to the love He has already lavished on us.
• The Living Sacrifice: The paradox of being a sacrifice that doesn't die on an altar, but lives every moment for the glory of the Master.
• Metamorphosis: How the Holy Spirit "transforms" us from the inside out, changing the way we think so we can discern God’s perfect will.
• Gifts for the Body: A look at verses 3–11 and how God’s sovereign grace distributes different gifts so that the Church functions as one healthy, living body.

We explore how "holy praise" moves from our lips into our hands and feet. True worship is a life that refuses to be shaped by the world’s mold because it has been reshaped by the Word of God.

Grace and peace.

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

"For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
“Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Romans 11:33-36

In this week's episode of Open Your Bibles, we ask: What is Man's Purpose?

Paul ends this chapter with a powerful truth: salvation is 100% God's work. It does not come from our choices or our goodness. Instead, God is the Sovereign King who decides to show mercy to His elect. He is the one who planned it, the one who does it, and the one who gets all the credit for it!

In this episode, we talk about:

• Holy Praise: Why realizing that God does all the work makes us burst into worship. When we see His holiness and power, we give Him all the glory!
• The Sovereign Mind: We ask the question, "Who can understand the mind of the Lord?" and realize that while we can't know everything God knows, we can trust that His wisdom is perfect and His heart is for His people.
• Mercy as a Gift: Why God allows us to see our own sin so that we can understand that salvation is a gift we could never earn.
• All Things for Him: How every part of your salvation—from the moment you were chosen to the moment you go to heaven—is meant to show how great God is.

We explore how God’s "unsearchable ways" mean we can rest in His power. When we stop trying to save ourselves and realize that God has already done it all, we can finally experience true peace and offer Him the holy praise He deserves.

Grace and peace.

In this week's episode of Open Your Bibles, we ask: Who are chosen?

Paul shows us a deep "mystery" about how God is working to save His people. Even though many in Israel have hardened hearts right now, God's plan hasn't changed. He is currently bringing in His elect from among the Gentiles, but He also has a sovereign plan to save a multitude of His elect from among the Jews. Together, all of God's chosen people will be saved! 🕊️

In this episode, we talk about:

• The Mystery of Hardening: Why God allows some hearts to be "closed" for a time so that the message of the Gospel can spread to the chosen ones in every nation.
• Irrevocable Gifts: Why God never takes back His promises. If He chose a people in His Covenant of Grace, He will be faithful to every single one of them forever.
• Mercy on All: How God shows that everyone—both Jew and Gentile—is a sinner by nature. This makes it clear that salvation is only by His unconditional election and sovereign mercy.

We explore how God is the Sovereign King who writes the end of the story before it even begins. We learn that salvation doesn't happen because of who we are or where we come from, but because God set His love on His people before the world began.

So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!

Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? If the dough offered as first-fruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.

Romans 11:11-24

In this week's episode of Open Your Bibles, we ask: Who is the root?

Paul explains how God’s plan is like a great olive tree. Because some of the natural branches (Israel) were broken off, God has "grafted in" people from other nations (Gentiles) to be part of His family. This wasn't a mistake—it was God's sovereign way of showing mercy to the whole world!

In this episode, we talk about:

• The Grafted Branch: Why we are only part of God's family because of His irresistible grace, not because we are better than anyone else.
• The Root of the Promise: How we all share in the same Covenant of Grace that God started long ago.
• Kindness and Severity: Why we must fear God’s judgment (His severity) while resting in His amazing love (His kindness), and NOT our own pride.

We see that no one should be proud of their faith. If we stand, it is only because God holds us up. We explore how God uses even the "stumbling" of some to bring life to many others, proving He is the Sovereign King over all history.

Grace and peace.

I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”? And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, as it is written:

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that could not see
and ears that could not hear,
to this very day.

And David says:

“May their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them.
May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
and their backs be bent forever.”

Romans 11:1-10

In this week's episode of Open Your Bibles, the Apostle Paul is very clear: God has not cast away His people. Even though many have stumbled over Christ because of their own corruption, God's Word remains perfectly sure. He is still gathering His people according to His sovereign plan.

In this episode, we talk about:

• The Stumbling Block: Why people trip when they try to save themselves by being "good" (the Covenant of Works) instead of trusting Jesus (the Covenant of Grace).
• The Election of Grace: Why a small group of believers—the remnant—shows that God’s choice is based on His mercy, not our effort.
• Sovereign Eyes and Ears: Why the elect receive the gift of faith, while others are left in their hardness as a just judgment.

We explore how God’s foreknowledge means He set His special love on His people before the world began. Even when it looks like many have rejected Him, God is still the Sovereign King. His irresistible grace ensures that every single person He chose will eventually come to Him. What Good News!

Grace and peace.