Theology for Everybody: RomansSample

From the doctrine of total depravity, we know every person is infected and affected by sin. But Paul tells the believers in Romans 15:14 that they are “full of goodness.” What brought about this change? The Holy Spirit did. The goodness in every believer is the Holy Spirit. The good change that begins in every believer is through the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul looks at the group of believers in the Roman church and sees the Holy Spirit in them, which gives him hope.

When you live without the Holy Spirit, there is no goodness in you and no hope for you. Once the Spirit of God is in you, there is goodness in you. There is hope for you. The Holy Spirit will start to do good things to change you. He will change your emotional life, your mental life, and your relational life. Things just start to change. Sometimes it happens all at once, and other times it’s a process, but ultimately there is goodness and love in you because of the Holy Spirit.

Paul writes that the believers are “filled with knowledge and able to instruct one another” (Romans 15:14). Romans chapters 1–11 are about opening your Bible to love—it’s theology and learning about God. Romans chapters 12–16 are about opening your life to love—it’s relational. Paul says the Holy Spirit has shown up in the life of the church family in Rome; they are learning the Bible and loving, serving, and ministering to one another.

Let me give you this encouragement: If you belong to Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit. Everything God is teaching you is not just for you; it’s also for you to help someone else. You can take the things you learn and help others learn them too. Through your struggles, you can comfort others in their struggles. Through the hardships you overcome, you can walk with others to help them overcome similar hardships.

Unlike many other things in our world, where we pay people to serve us, there are no spectators in the local church. We are all players on the field. God has ministry for you to do. There is goodness in you, and His name is the Holy Spirit. You have knowledge because God has taught you some things, and you can now instruct and help others. There are people God will bring into your path, and He has prepared you to love and serve them with the goodness of the Holy Spirit, the knowledge of the Bible, and the ability to instruct and help them.

Today’s Reflection

What hardship or struggle have you gone through that you can use to help someone else?