July 27-August 2

A Lesson from Paul to Early Christians
Lindsey McCoy
St. Louis, Missouri

These passages were Paul’s way of introducing his God to a new people, to new Christians. Paul’s letter outlines to the Romans his teachings on sin, on the grace we are given through faith in Christ and the path to redemption. In the initial passages, Paul praises the faithful for their strength and perseverance. He says how he longs to come to Rome so that they may be “mutually encouraged by each other’s faith”. He calls the people righteous because they live by their belief.

Aside from his admiration of the Romans, Paul has a rather serious message he intends to get across. Being a Christian involves much more than merely professing your faith. You have to live it. He is giving them everything they need to know in order to achieve peace, joy and ultimately, eternal life with God. The way to do it, says Paul, is by achieving righteousness through your faith in Christ.

Life cannot be lived through self-reliance alone. One must have faith in something great, something larger than oneself. Paul tells his followers that in order to have life after this, you must submit everything to your faith in Christ. All of your trials, triumphs, joy and sorrows should be given to God.

I believe that this tenant of our faith is just as important today as it was for the early church. Though modern life has pitfalls early Christians could never have dreamed of, the path to God is still the same. Have faith, and your faith will be rewarded. C.S. Lewis describes this teaching perfectly in his novel, Mere Christianity. Lewis states, “Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favorite wishes everyday and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fiber of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else is thrown in.”

[Lindsey McCoy is a lifelong resident of St. Louis. She and her husband David attend McKnight Road Church of Christ. Lindsey works in marketing for a local firm and enjoys traveling, writing and reading. She is a graduate of the University of Dayton where she earned a degree in Journalism, with a religious studies minor.]