Calvary Bible Church-NH

Paul draws on the standard distinction that Jews make between themselves and Gentiles - Gentiles as those outside the law of Moses (torah), and the Jews as ‘within’ the law. However, Paul explains that the gospel becomes the judge, not the law. Faith becomes relevant in righteousness. Whether you heard the law and didn’t do it, or didn’t hear the law and did do it, all fall short of God’s standard...

In Romans 2:6-11, we see the impartiality of God and how He renders to each according to their works.

Every one of us has an internal courtroom. We quickly prosecute the failures of others while quietly defending our own. We become experts at identifying sin across the room but novices at recognizing it in the mirror. In Romans 2, Paul turns the spotlight from “those people” to “you.” He reminds us that God’s greatest concern isn’t simply the sins we condemn in others, but the hypocrisy we tolerat...

One of the most frightening judgments in Scripture is not when God sends something upon people. It is when God gives people over to what they already want. Three times in Romans 1 Paul says: “God gave them up”. This passage is not merely explaining why the world is broken. It is explaining what happens when humanity exchanges the Creator for created things. Paul shows us a progression: Sensual, me...

After declaring the glorious power of the gospel in 1:16-17, Paul immediately turns to humanity's darkness problem. Why? Because before people can appreciate the cure, they must understand the disease. Before grace becomes amazing, sin must become horrifying. Romans 1:18-23 is one of the Bible's clearest explanations of unbelief. Paul shows us something critical: Unbelief is not ultimately an inte...

Faith is the only means of justification before God. Allow the good news of Jesus to fuel how you live by faith and take heart in the fact that that no matter what you experience, God will always be faithful to you.

In Romans 1:8-15, we move from Paul’s introduction to Paul’s heart. Before unpacking the deep theology of Romans, Paul reveals the passion driving his ministry: gratitude for God’s work in others, deep love for the church, persistent prayer, and an overwhelming burden to make Christ known. These verses remind us that the gospel was never meant to remain private or merely intellectual. The Gospel c...

The book of Romans was written by the Apostle Paul around A.D. 57 to the church in Rome, a diverse group of Jewish and Gentile believers navigating tensions surrounding identity, grace, and the Gospel. Though Paul had not yet visited them, he wrote to strengthen their faith, unify the church around Christ, and clearly explain the Gospel he preached. Romans presents the clearest picture of humanity...

Everyone has parents. For some, that brings gratitude. For others, grief. Some experience complicated silence. God gives a command, not a suggestion, to “Honor your father and your mother…” What Does It Actually Mean to Honor Your Mother? Does it mean agreement? Closeness? Pretending everything was good? The bible gives us something deeper, richer, and more transformative as we seek to Glorify God...

Most of us don’t struggle to see where others are wrong. We struggle to see where we are wrong. We replay what they said. We justify what we did. We explain our tone, our reaction, our words. And even when we apologize, we soften it: “I’m sorry if you felt hurt.” “I didn’t mean it like that.” “That’s not what I was trying to do.” But Jesus presses deeper. Because in the kingdom of God, reconciliat...

Jesus' forgiveness fuels our forgiveness, and this forgiveness is a giving up of yourself, but what you will find is not death but abundant life and freedom.

Jesus wants us to live an abundant life, and we can’t do that unless we practice forgiveness. Throw off your anger, and throw off your pride. Truly see Jesus, yourself, and the offender, and realize how much you need the forgiveness of Jesus.

Forgiveness is something we all talk about but often misunderstand. We know what it feels like to be hurt, to be wronged, or to carry the weight of something someone has done to us. Some of us minimize it, others replay it, and many of us quietly keep score. But when Jesus speaks about forgiveness, He shows us it is not pretending it didn’t happen or simply moving on. It is something deeper, somet...

From the very beginning, God created the world as it ought to be, a place of goodness, life, and perfect relationship with Him, as we see in Genesis. But the world we experience now is not that world. Sin has broken everything, and we feel it every day in death, pain, and the quiet realization that this isn’t how life should be. Yet the message of the gospel is that something can be done. Through...

As we close our series in Hosea, we see that to dwell with the Lord means that we must live His way. There are consequences for sin, but the Messiah has come to do something about it.

There is a kind of heartbreak that only comes from loving someone who keeps walking away from what is good for them. You remember how you cared for them, how you helped them, how you protected them, and yet they keep choosing their own way. And your love feels torn, because your love wants to comfort, but your love also has to confront. That is the tension we see in Hosea 11 and 12. In one chapter...

Israel trusted in their king to bring them safety, prosperity, and guidance; things that can only be found in God. What we see from Hosea 10 is that God longs for the heart of his people, not just a verbal acknowledgement. The Lord desires for us to sow righteousness, reap steadfast love, and to give our allegiance to Him. And to do that, we must become disciples/apprentices of Jesus.

Most people assume God's judgment is sudden and dramatic. Lightning bolts. Fire from heaven. Instant consequences. But Hosea shows something far more sobering. Most of the time judgment looks slow. It looks like joy fading. It looks like worship becoming empty. It looks like blessings quietly disappearing. The tragedy of Israel in Hosea 9 is not that God suddenly turned against them. The tragedy i...

Hosea 8 shows that Israel is heading for destruction BECAUSE they have violated God's covenant and Mosaic law. We too have broken God's covenant, rejected the good, set up our security in our lives without God, and made idols that have destroyed us. This chapter is a stark reminder that God will bring us into the wilderness so that we can see clearly that He is all we need.

Hosea 7 is a sorrowful indictment of Israel. The Lord describes the charges against Israel, the evidence of these charges, and His verdict: judgment is coming. But the tone is indeed sorrowful, like that of a longsuffering and loving Father (a hesed loving Father) who’s patience has finally run out. And even in the face of Israel’s sin: their false worship and professions of repentance, their fail...

When have you heard an apology that sounded good, but nothing actually changed? In Hosea 5, God withdrew His felt presence to awaken Israel’s repentance. Israel finally responds. They say the right words, speak of returning, and even mention healing. But Hosea 6 asks a haunting question: What if repentance sounds spiritual but isn’t actually sincere? Israel is an example of a repentance that is no...

There comes a point in every relationship when warnings stop working. The conversations have been had. The concerns have been voiced. The consequences have been explained. And yet nothing changes. At some point, the tone shifts, not because love disappears, but because love refuses to pretend everything is fine. Hosea 5 is that moment in Israel's story. God has spoken through prophets, through dis...

In Hosea 4 God speaks again as a covenant prosecutor. Charges are filed. Evidence is presented. Consequences are named. The charge is simple: There is no knowledge of God in the land. Not no religion, not no worship, but no knowledge. This is a relational, covenant knowledge. When God is no longer truly known, everything else begins to unravel.

There are those that quit when trust is broken. There are those that withdraw when shame enters the room. Then there is God’s covenant love. The kind of love that moves toward betrayal, not away from it. Hosea 3 is not sentimental. It is scandalous. God commands His prophet to do something unreasonable, humiliating, and costly: “Go again. Love Her”. This chapter continues to strip away every illus...