We Are HEART Church HEART Church

We are called to put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light. This will have implications for how we submit ourselves to human authorities, and how we submit to each other as God’s church.

We are joined by Pastor Esther School, National Prayer Leader for the Free Methodist Church UK & Ireland.

In the light of the mercy we have received from God, our lives and our minds are to be made new and we are to offer up our lives as a sacrifice, living in a way that pleases God.

Having celebrated the power of the gospel and God’s plan to restore us and all of Creation, Paul now begins to look at the difference that makes to the early church in Rome. In particular, he considers how Jews and Gentiles are equally called into God’s family, and then given the task of calling others to join them.

Having considered the power of the gospel and the freedom it brings us, Paul now arrives at a high point of praise. He celebrates what the gospel means for our relationship with God – we are adopted as his children and given a new identity. Then he widens his view, celebrating what God will do for all creation – making it new, and raising us to eternal life.

Having walked through the gospel in Romans 1–5, Paul now applies it directly to the lives of the Roman believers, showing them how they can live free from sin. He begins with their beliefs, reminding them of what is already true about their identity, before turning to their behaviour, instructing them to present their bodies to God as instruments of righteousness.

Paul marvels at the wonder of the gospel; we can live in the certainty and security of knowing that we’ve been justified. We have peace with God, and access into his presence. And this is not just a factual or theoretical idea; we can experience God’s love as a daily reality, sustaining us through trials and filling us with hope.