(I also want to say that I was nodding my head when I read about your wedding prep–I was the same, in that I never really thought about my wedding/planned it/dreamed what it would be like as a girl, but when it was time I also wanted each little detail to be soaked in meaning. So funny!)

I think this can be connected to the way that Paul brings the good news…He isn’t just telling people, “Hey man, you really need to believe in Jesus. He’s the only way to get to heaven.” He engages his listeners minds by proving Jesus was the foretold Messiah by quoting Scripture that was written centuries to millenia past. Even this passage is frought with references to Mosaic writings, as well as passages from Isaiah. When he witnesses to the Greeks who have put up an alter to an “Unknown God”, he uses their pre-existing understanding that there may be a deity that they should be worshiping that they are unaware of. (Kinda like today’s agnostics…sorta.)

My difficulty comes in bringing Biblical witnessing “tactics” that Paul and other apostles use to current day. Most people in America have heard about Jesus, so when posed Paul’s question “have they heard?” well, yes, they have. I guess the difference you may argue is that they haven’t necessarily heard the “full” story or an “accurate” version of salvation, but at that point I feel like we’re pulling at straws.

I guess I could ask my friends if they want to hear how Jesus fulfills all these old prophecies, but in many cases they’ve heard it all before or are numbed to it by the strong Christian presence in our nation. We are in quite different times…Back then, Christianity was a small upstart religion, could be viewed as a rebellion against the Jewish religion (which within Israel was predominant, though not in the world at large). Nowadays though, many Christian organizations have taken the place of the Pharisees, making witnessing to the Truth of Christ a very different situation.

The difference I suppose is that we have the Holy Spirit on our side, meaning that even when the religion has taken over (as it did with the Israelites), the Spirit is still at work and can work through the words we speak, regardless of how fluent they may be. This is my solace, though I still feel very unsure about how God would have me bear his Good Message to the world.

And I relate with what you shared about “how we share” our Christian faith with others, in a very non confrontational way. It’s an interesting point that if we were more authentic about it, persecution might happen more so in any country, including ours.

But then, again, there can be grey areas when it comes to “freedom in the Lord,” and if we focus on bearing fruits of the Holy Sprit, I am sure the Lord will guide us how we can behave in most honorable way as children of the King of Kings.

Among the lists that Paul mentioned in verse 38 and 39, I also worry about the future – if the American society has changed so much even in the last thirty years I have been here, how much more it will change for my kids! However, there is hope even in the future because of God’s promise that nothing will separate us from the love of God!

Thank you for leading us through the chapters in the the book of Romans.