The Journey: Part 13 - Established in the Doctrine

Start here at the Introduction: The Journey Begins

The Journey: Part 13 - Established in the Doctrine

The purpose of Romans to Galatians is to establish our faith according to Paul's gospel. Notice how the book of Romans ends,

Rom.16:25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

Romans to Galatians is about establishing you. It has to do with laying the foundation of your faith. It's to take your faith and to establish it according to Paul's gospel, and this is in accordance to the commandment of the everlasting God. God has commanded all men to be in obedience of faith to what He has made known,

Rom.16:26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:

Not knowing and believing these epistles, or not knowing and being established in accordance to its content, means that you are in rebellion and disobedience to God. If your faith, your values, what you believe, and how you believe, is not in accordance with what God has made known in these letters, and specifically in the book of Romans, which is the foundation of your faith, according to God's command and will, then your faith is in vain. Foundational knowledge and practice that is contrary to Paul's first four epistles is meaningless; it is empty and of no eternal value if it's not in accordance with the values and expressions of Romans to Galatians.

Everything you need to know, everything you need to believe, as far as your foundation goes, is clearly written out in the book of Romans. If your life is not functioning the way it ought to be, it is because you are in ignorance, or in violation, of what is written in the doctrine presented in Romans. Ignoring or violating the content in these books is detrimental to your spiritual growth and life. Sadly, the evidence is clear in the majority of Christians today. The fact that they are not being grounded and settled in the foundational knowledge of these epistles, causes them to be stunted in their growth. They go through years of their life without being taught and exposed to these truths and ultimately, it suppresses the risen life of Jesus Christ from working in them. 

Rom.8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Rom.7:9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

The whole purpose of our life, after we get saved, is for the Holy Spirit, through the ministration of the Word, to reveal Christ in our inner man, to form Christ within us, so that we can manifest Him in our bodies, these earthen vessels we live in. Romans to Galatians is to root us and ground us in Christ. You can't be built up or grow effectively until you are grounded and settled. The reason why Romans to Galatians grounds and settles us is because it contains instructions that clearly defines what we are to know and what we are to believe. Then, chapter 12 to chapter 16 of Romans gives us instruction on how we are to respond and walk, in light of the aforementioned doctrine.

So, in conclusion, let me make this a personal post. How much of Romans to Galatians do you know? Have you read these four letters of Paul to firstly get an overview of their content? Once you have a general overview of their content, have you read them again to understand their details? How clear are you on the topics of salvation, justification, and our positional sanctification? Have you evaluated your spiritual walk to determine if you are minding the things of the spirit or the things of the world? Have you grown up past the milk that was fed to the Corinthians? Have you learned that you cannot live a life that pleases God if you are living it in the flesh? How about the law? Have you fallen into the trap that the Galatians did, molding your life around laws and rules to try and serve God and justify your life by your own strength and abilities? If any of this ring's bells, then you need to get back into Romans to Galatians and let the truth, the reproof and the correction of the Word bring you back onto the road of grace.

How do we walk in the spirit? How do we live by faith? It is by knowing the written Word and living by the truth it teaches us. The more Word we have in us, and the more we give in to the knowledge that it puts within us, the more we live by the spirit, and the more we please God through the faith we exercise. The more we grow in faith and in the Word, the more Christ is formed within us, and the more our lives begin to reflect the nature and perfection of the Son of God, to the glory of God and of Christ.