Monthly Archives: March 2023
Romans 8: A cast-iron guarantee
NEW TESTAMENT
– A narrative on Romans 8
THERE is nothing more crippling than uncertainty. Did I lock up? Will she turn up? Will I be late? Throughout Romans Paul seems to have a sub-agenda. He wants to deepen his readers’ assurance that because of the death and resurrection of Jesus they have no need to worry about the future.
Chapter 8 begins on a stronger note than the chapters before it. We have peace with God (5:1) despite the persistent struggles (chapters 6-7), and therefore we are safe for eternity (8:1). The death sentence has been lifted; we have been pronounced “not guilty”; we cannot be retried and the case against us cannot be re-opened.
God has ensured that his lawful and just requirements concerning our past have been met fully by what Christ has done. We are free (vv 3,4). Our human frailty may cause us to doubt it, so Paul goes on to explain that despite appearances to the contrary we are now under new management (v 9).
Therefore, we are the heirs – the rightful possessors – of the riches of God’s kingdom (v 17) and no one can rob us of them (vv 38,39). So we are obliged to live up to our new status (v 12a; Paul is so anxious to stress the death of the old nature that he doesn’t complete this sentence until chapter 12!).
One evidence of our new standing before God is how we turn to him in prayer, as to a caring parent who can help, guide and support (8:15). If we don’t always feel this, one way to become more aware of our heavenly Father’s care is simply to relate to him as if it were true, to take it on trust. We will then discover that it is true as we see him at work in and through the daily struggles we bring to him.
(Podcast ends)
THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS
THE letter to the Romans is unique among Paul’s writings. It is a theological treatise, and not at all a trouble-shooting letter. It is not a summary of all his beliefs, however; there’s not much on the church, the divinity of Christ or the second coming. Instead, Romans focuses on the atonement, telling us how sinful people can be reconciled to God through faith in the LORD Jesus Christ.
Paul explains this is terms familiar to first-century Jews, but which Christians today find difficult. Yet Romans can lay claim to being the most effective mailshot in history. Paul sent it to introduce himself and his message; it has transformed people’s lives, churches and societies ever since.
Readers’ will not find the letter particularly easy. However, you will likely discover enriching but humbling truths to illuminate your faith in a fresh way. Whilst the Letter to the Romans shows that all people have fallen short of God’s standards it challenges us to receive the benefits of Christ’s death through faith. Through Christ alone comes our salvation and an assurance of being absolved of our sins through His death. That’s the central message from Romans given to Christians.
Global cases of cholera are on the rise
CHOLERA
CASES of cholera are increasing, with 22 countries around the world experiencing an outbreak. After many years of decline, incidences rose in 2022 due to vaccine shortages, climate change and escalating conflict. It is a trend that is expected to continue.
Some 26,000 cholera cases were reported in Africa during the first 29 days of January 2023. This is already 30 per cent of the continent’s total in 2022. At the end of February, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that more than 1 billion people across 43 countries are at risk.
Overall, Malawi appears to be the worst-hit country, with the highest number of deaths. It reported just under 37,000 cholera cases and 1,210 fatalities from 3 March 2022 to 9 February 2023.
This was triggered by a cyclone that hit in March 2022. This led to wastewater contaminating drinking water supplies.
Cholera is spread by the ingestion of food or water that is contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. When it enters the body, some types of V. cholerae release a toxin that interacts with the cells lining the surface of the intestine, leading to diarrhoea.
In some cases, this can result in severe dehydration and death. In Malawi, 3.3 per cent of people with cholera die of the infection. With treatment, this is typically around 1 per cent.
In 2022, Malawi vaccinated millions of people in districts that were facing cholera outbreaks, but the cyclone has allowed the disease to spread to all of its districts, putting unvaccinated people at risk.
Extreme weather, driven by climate change, means many more countries are at risk of wastewater contamination. Cyclone Freddy, which hit Mozambique on 24 February, is expected to exacerbate the country’s cholera outbreak.
Climate change-driven droughts in countries such as Kenya and Ethiopia have also forced people to rely on water sources that may be contaminated with V. cholerae, according to UNICEF. Many people in these regions are malnourished, which affects their immune health, leaving them more vulnerable to severe cholera complications.
Displacement, whether due to conflict in countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo or disasters such as the earthquake that hit part of Syria on 6 February, can also play a role in cholera outbreaks if people are forced to move to less sanitary areas, or if already infected people take the bacteria with them.
The destruction of health facilities and infrastructures [in Syria] that bring water to people could lead to more cases. According to the United Nations, the country reported more than 37,700 suspected cases in the cities of Idlib and Aleppo from 25 August 2022 to 7 January 2023 – 18 per cent of which were in people in displaced camps.
The unprecedented scale of the cholera outbreaks in 2022 – with 30 countries reporting cases, compared with an average of fewer than 20 in the previous five years – has also depleted global vaccine supplies. Only 37 million doses are available.
The International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision, which manages the WHO’s global vaccine stockpile, therefore recommends that at-risk people be vaccinated with a single dose of a cholera vaccine rather than the typical two doses. The one-dose regimen gives only about one year of protection, compared with three years with two doses. If the outbreaks continue as they are, this year of protection might not be enough time to get them under control.
Cholera has always been an issue, which prompted the UN to publish a road map in 2017 to cut 90 per cent of cholera deaths globally by 2030.
Several countries have made progress. The fact that Malawi has detected cholera outbreaks so quickly points to the work that officials have done to increase health surveillance.
But with just seven years to go until 2030, many aren’t convinced that the UN’s target will be reached. They say there hasn’t been enough investment in water infrastructure around the world to reach those goals.
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