Today you should read: Romans 16
What a great book this has been to go through as a church! This last chapter is a fitting way for us to close. Paul starts by commending certain people and churches to the Christians in Rome. One thing he emphasizes is serving, or “working hard in the Lord.” It is a sweet and wonderful thing when the people of the church serve one another. Where are you serving? If you are not, then you aren’t using your gifts for the purposes God intended them. In fact, you are disobeying God and actually hurting the body of Christ. We are told in scripture that our gifts are to be used to encourage and to build up the church (1 Peter 4:10, Ephesians 2:10, 4:11-14). When one part of the body isn’t doing what it is supposed to, the other parts feel the strain. I encourage you to find a place to serve using the gifts God has given you.
Paul then teaches about protecting the body from those who want to cause division or cause people to stumble. Paul instructs us to keep away from them and to “stay innocent” of their evil ways. We need to keep watch over our church; Satan would love to plant a seed of bitterness, jealousy, or anger in our church and allow it to go unchecked and unresolved. We have to be constantly holding each other accountable and making sure that we are honestly confessing sin. It’s critical that we do not allow Satan to gain a foothold in CPC – it can cause major destruction and division among us.
We also have to keep watch over what is taught at CPC. This is the reason Tim always encourages us to go to our Bibles to see what it says for ourselves. It is important that we always be sure of what we believe, both personally and corporately, and why we believe it. Paul talks about the church in Berea (not KY) and how he taught them to diligently look into the scriptures to make sure everything he said was true.
What an amazing gift this book is to us from our God! His grace is amazing and His desire to know us and save us is overwhelming. I hope that going through this book has been a refreshing and growing time for you. Stay tuned for what’s next!
Posted by: Robbie Byrd
JumpstartCPC.com 
Romans has always been one of my favorite books. I have learned so much from this study and know that I could learn even more. I love how the Bible is truly a living word. God always give us what we need when we need it…if we trust in Him. Looking forward to our next book together.
Blessings!
What a heritage we have!! Even if we can’t pronounce their names, great saints have gone before us! Happy Thursday CPC!
Loved going through Romans with you all 😉