Podcast Summary: The Bible Recap
Host: Tara-Leigh Cobble
Episode: Day 345 (Romans 14-16) — Year 7
Date: December 11, 2025
Overview
In this episode, Tara-Leigh Cobble explores Romans chapters 14 to 16, highlighting Paul's teaching on unity within the body of Christ amid differing convictions, the importance of mutual upbuilding, the continued relevance of the Old Testament, and significant roles of women in the early church. She interweaves practical insights about Christian relationships, diversity, and God’s promise of hope, ending with a powerful reflection on God’s ultimate victory over evil.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Unity and Diversity in the Church (Romans 14)
- Paul stresses that the Body of Christ should accommodate personal opinions and preferences.
- Avoid quarrels over non-essential matters (diet, days, etc.); these provoke pride and division, not unity.
- It’s important to "walk according to how the Spirit directs you," but also to "trust the Spirit to guide other people in their convictions" (00:34).
- Believers may be at different places spiritually, and "that’s okay. God is sovereign over their steps too" (00:51).
- Quarreling vs. building up: “Ultimately, when it comes to the nonessentials in life, even the religious aspects of life, Paul says it’s better to agree to disagree than to argue and try to prove your point” (01:08).
2. Pursuing Peace and Mutual Upbuilding
- Paul advocates active peacemaking, not passivity.
- "We don’t just expect peace to happen naturally. We have to actively pursue it... If this were a sliding scale, we could put division and quarreling as a negative number and peace would be zero or neutral. Then mutual upbuilding would be on the positive end of the scale. This isn’t just peace. This is progress" (01:47).
3. Living Out Faith Publicly
- Frequently misquoted verse: “The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God” (Romans 14:22).
- Tara-Leigh clarifies, “The word keep here means hold firmly, not be quiet about. Paul is telling them to hold firmly to their convictions from God to live them out. It means let it show up in everything. It’s the exact opposite of keeping things private” (02:12).
4. Purpose of the Old Testament & Source of Hope (Romans 15)
- Paul explains: "Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction. That through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope" (02:31).
- Old Testament provides instruction, encouragement, and hope—even “in unexpected places. Hope in the laws of Leviticus... the slaughter of Judges... the weird visions of Ezekiel. Who knew?" (02:47).
- Paul: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13).
Tara-Leigh: “The Holy Spirit brings us hope too. And that all checks out, because guess who wrote Scripture? The hope giver, the Holy Spirit” (03:10).
5. Harmony is Not Uniformity
- Drawing from Paul's metaphor: "Harmony means people are singing different notes, not the same note. A symphony is beautiful because people are playing different instruments and different parts, but in a way that works together to reveal the beauty of the song" (03:32).
- Warning: “It’s not good if we’re unified with each other, but we’re singing a different song than Jesus. He wants us to sing one song that points to the glory of God” (03:43).
6. Mutual Instruction and Wisdom Sharing
- Christians are called not only to grow but to help each other grow.
- “If you’re doing the Bible recap with someone else, you’re probably learning from what they’re learning… Even your children... have pointed things out from that day’s reading that astonished you... not just because, ‘wow, they figured that out so young,’ but because, ‘hey, I didn’t even notice that myself’" (04:10).
- “Surround yourself with people who are seeking God, who are singing the same song. This is what mutual upbuilding looks like” (04:27).
7. Role of Women & Closing Personal Notes (Romans 16)
- The letter may have been delivered by Phoebe, whom Paul calls a “servant” (diakonos/deacon)—implying female leadership roles: “First century travel was especially dangerous... Think of all Paul encountered... and then imagine a woman doing that in that day and culture. So Paul tells the church, give that woman whatever she needs. Yes, sir” (05:06).
- Mention of Andronicus and Priscilla (“A and P”), who “risked their lives for him”—likely during the Ephesian riots (05:24).
- “Just as his pen is about to run out of ink,” Paul warns against those who “deceive the hearts of the naive. Knowledge can protect us from deception. That’s huge. Especially if we don’t want to be misled about who God is” (05:35).
8. God’s Victory and Our Participation – The “God Shot”
- Favorite insight comes from Romans 16:20: "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”
- Tara-Leigh: "First of all, it’s interesting that the God of peace is doing some crushing. In order to bring peace into any situation, you can’t ignore the chaos. You have to address it. So God addresses the chaos of Satan and evil and he crushes it” (05:48).
- “This verse shows us that we are participants in the battle God has won. God crushes Satan under our feet. He does the crushing under our feet. And if that’s terrifying for you, the good news is that verse 25 says, God is the one who strengthens us. He makes us strong. He moves our feet and he crushes the enemy under them. Wow. He’s where the joy is” (06:26).
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On Trusting God’s Work in Others:
“They may be at a different part of the journey than you are, and that’s okay. God is sovereign over their steps too.” — Tara-Leigh Cobble (00:51) -
On Mutual Upbuilding:
“This isn’t just peace. This is progress.” — Tara-Leigh Cobble (01:57) -
On Public Living of Faith:
“It’s the exact opposite of keeping things private.” — Tara-Leigh Cobble (02:23) -
On Hope from Scripture:
“He has stacked Genesis to Malachi with instruction, encouragement and hope.” — Tara-Leigh Cobble (02:52) -
On Harmony:
“A symphony is beautiful because people are playing different instruments and different parts, but in a way that works together to reveal the beauty of the song.” — Tara-Leigh Cobble (03:33) -
On God’s Victory Over Evil:
“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet... God crushes Satan under our feet. He does the crushing under our feet.” — Tara-Leigh Cobble (06:11)
Important Timestamps
- 00:12 — Finishing Romans; continuing with the theme of loving well.
- 01:08 — On nonessentials and quarreling in the church.
- 01:47 — Actively pursuing peace and mutual upbuilding.
- 02:12 — Clarification of “keep your faith between yourself and God.”
- 02:31-03:10 — Purpose and hope of the Old Testament.
- 03:32 — Symphonic metaphor for church harmony.
- 04:10 — Mutual learning among believers of all ages.
- 05:06 — Phoebe delivering the letter; women’s role in the early church.
- 05:48 — God of peace crushing Satan; our participation in victory.
- 06:26 — God’s strength enabling victory: “He’s where the joy is.”
Takeaway
This episode emphasizes that Christian community flourishes in diversity, mutual respect, and active pursuit of peace and growth. The diversity of convictions should draw believers closer, not divide, as God is sovereign in each journey. The Old Testament stands as an enduring testimony of hope. The episode ends with a reminder of God’s active, victorious role—the God of peace who both brings harmony and crushes evil, strengthening us to share in that victory.