J.D. Greear

This may surprise you, but I’m not an expert on butterflies. I do recall a few key insights from one of my favorite books, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. For instance, there are days—like the day after the Super Bowl—when I think I need to eat “one nice, green leaf,” and after that, I’ll feel much better. I did a little reading up on caterpillars recently and learned some fascinating things about their transformation process. When the caterpillar is in its cocoon, it isn’t just rearranging pieces on its body. It’s not in there reading manuals about flight or working out. It actually releases enzymes that turn its body into a little soup. Those cells rearrange into a new creation—with wings, antennae, eyes, and all the rest. After a few weeks, it nibbles a hole in the cocoon, and out pops a butterfly! And then, without any classes or coaching or coercion, it flies. The Apostle Paul may or may not have known all this about butterflies.

Many cultural Christians think church is a good thing, but they are not committed. They are not involved in any ministry. They don’t sacrificially give. They couldn’t tell you the last time they told someone about Jesus. They come to church about once every couple months, because they are “just so busy.” (Plus, their extended family has a beach house and so they try and get down to it for the weekend whenever the weather is nice.) For these people, church is a good thing, but they’re just not interested in making it a priority.

The Apostle Paul says that at the core of all our sin is idolatry. He didn’t just mean bowing down to statues (though that counts). Idolatry is much bigger than that: It’s deciding something has such worth and weight that we think possessing it is the key to a happy life. So we prioritize it over knowing and obeying God. Romans 12:1 says, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship” (CSB).

Some time ago I heard an interview with Bono on a public news station, and the subject of Jesus came up. I guess Bono was in one of his truth-moods because here’s what he said: “The secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: ‘He was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius.’

In the Apostle Paul’s day, there were 613 written, Old Testament laws that Jews strictly adhered to. If that sounds like a lot, it is. But there’s more. In addition to these hundreds of laws, devout Jews also developed a set of traditional customs to help ensure they didn’t break any of the 613. They called these the “hedge about the law,” like a hedge around a pit that keeps you from falling into it. The logic was that if you didn’t break the “hedge,” you certainly wouldn’t break the laws themselves.

For many people, growth in Christ is primarily growth in knowledge of Bible facts and doctrines. Maybe you love digging deep in the Bible, unpacking original meaning, listening to sermon podcasts, and reading books. And I’m right there with you; I love knowledge. But the point of the Bible is not to fill your head with knowledge. The point is to fill your heart with wonder. All Bible study should end in worship. And worship isn’t just the 20 to 30 minutes of singing you do every weekend during your church service. It’s how you respond to God, how eagerly you obey him, and how much you treasure him. The fact that Paul ends Romans 9–11 in an explosion of worship illustrates for us that the purpose of Bible study is not just to expand our spiritual understanding but also to set our hearts on fire with passion. Romans 9–11 contains some of the most difficult and deep doctrine in all of Scripture.

Nearly every language has a short repetitive word for “father.” For example, in English, it’s “Dada.” In Spanish, it’s “Papa,” in Indonesian, “Bapa,” and in Turkish, “Baba.” Who comes up with these words? Babies do because humans have a primordial desire to reach out for a parent, someone who loves us perfectly and can take care of us.

Trying to tame sin rather than killing it is as silly as people making pets out of predatory animals. I once read an article with the headline, “Pennsylvania Woman Killed by Pet Bear.” This woman had raised a black bear named Teddy from cubhood, and for nine years, there were no incidents. But then, one day, as she was cleaning his cage, the bear mauled her.

Salvation through Jesus Christ does not distinguish by ethnicity, economic background, education level, religious history, or moral blamelessness. Everyone who calls on God’s name will be saved. Romans 10:12–13 says, “Since there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (CSB).

Most of the new Christians in the early church were Jews, and Jews had been raised to believe that obedience to the law was how you got close to God and obtained favor from him. After these Jews (called Judaizers) came to faith in Christ, they still kept some of this old law mentality, because—as we all know—old habits die hard. So, they taught that in addition to faith in Christ, real believers needed to make themselves acceptable to God by forcing themselves to obey the law. By keeping the commandments, they believed, you could transform yourself into the kind of person God wanted you to be. Chief among their concerns was the Old Testament command to be circumcised, which, for 1,500 years, had been the primary distinguishing mark of the Jews. The Apostle Paul calls what the Judaizers were teaching a different gospel (Galatians 1:6), a perverted gospel (v. 7), and a contrary gospel (v. 8).,,