Step Into Fear, Be Brave – Romans 8:12-25

In your faith journey, when did you notice the Bible’s inaccuracies and contradictions? Did this somehow challenge your faith? Today we answer a question from a Patreon supporter who wonders “How does one keep one’s faith when the gospels are so discrepant?” 

Then, we queer the text from Romans that is very timely with the pandemic and how some are acting in selfish ways. It also reminds us to step into, and even celebrate, freedom where we have it rather than focusing on the fear of losing it. Embrace the fear and use it to motivate you to continue to do the work.

Things we talked about:

• New fellowship for Fr. Shay [1:10]
• Brian’s Danish language learning adventure [2:32]
• Listener question from Patreon [6:12]
• Christianity of conservative Evangelicalism = house of cards [9:12]
• When and why the idea that “the Bible is inerrant” was created [11:16]
• We queer the lectionary text from Romans 8:12-25 [14:37]
• What is our communal obligation? [17:15]
• How fear manifests itself [18:53]
• Choose liberation over fear [21:13]

Mentioned in this episode

• Sanctuary Collective
• Last week’s episode: queertheology.com/337
• A Guide To Recovering From Fundamentalism

If you want to support the Patreon and help keep the podcast up and running, you can learn more and pledge your support at patreon.com/queertheology

If you’d like to be featured in future episodes, email your question or Bible passage suggestion to connect@queertheology.com 

Romans 8:12-25

So then, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation, but it isn’t an obligation to ourselves to live our lives on the basis of selfishness. If you live on the basis of selfishness, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the actions of the body, you will live. All who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons and daughters. You didn’t receive a spirit of slavery to lead you back again into fear, but you received a Spirit that shows you are adopted as his children. With this Spirit, we cry, “Abba, Father.” The same Spirit agrees with our spirit, that we are God’s children. But if we are children, we are also heirs. We are God’s heirs and fellow heirs with Christ, if we really suffer with him so that we can also be glorified with him.

I believe that the present suffering is nothing compared to the coming glory that is going to be revealed to us. The whole creation waits breathless with anticipation for the revelation of God’s sons and daughters. Creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice—it was the choice of the one who subjected it—but in the hope that the creation itself will be set free from slavery to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of God’s children. We know that the whole creation is groaning together and suffering labor pains up until now. And it’s not only the creation. We ourselves who have the Spirit as the first crop of the harvest also groan inside as we wait to be adopted and for our bodies to be set free. We were saved in hope. If we see what we hope for, that isn’t hope. Who hopes for what they already see? But if we hope for what we don’t see, we wait for it with patience.

Photo by Sammie Vasquez

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