tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63689813126976451732024-02-18T22:51:42.838-06:00Wayne Nall JrAs a long-time student of history as well as of God's word, I blog about current events, cultural trends. and historical interests from a Biblical worldview.Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.comBlogger169125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6368981312697645173.post-48081501872639834712020-04-30T06:34:00.000-05:002020-04-30T06:37:05.047-05:00Anticipatory Prayer by A.W. Tozer (Part 2)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>I have been sharing from A.W. Tozer's book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LA9GEIM/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1" target="_blank">"The Dangers of a Shallow Faith: Awakening from Spiritual Lethargy.</a>" <b>To read Part 1, click <a href="https://waynenalljr.blogspot.com/2020/04/anticipatory-prayer-by-aw-tozer-part-1.html" target="_blank">here</a></b></i><b><i>...</i></b><br />
<br />
<b>PREPARATION FOR CRISIS</b><br />
<br />
There are crises that wait for us out there, as there was the
crisis that faced Jesus and His disciples, and David, and Israel, and
Daniel, and Elijah, and all the rest. And there are crises that wait
for us. I want to name a few of them briefly.<br />
<br />
<b>When Facing Acute Trouble</b><br />
<br />
The history of the race shows that trouble will come to all of us
sometime. When sharp trouble, with its shocking, weakening sting,
comes, some Christians meet it unprepared and, of course, they
collapse. Is it the trouble that brings the collapse? Yes and no. The
trouble brings the collapse in that they would not have collapsed
without the trouble. But it is not the trouble that causes them to
collapse, because if they had anticipated it and prepared for it,
they would not have collapsed. As <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+24%3A10&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Proverbs 24:10</a> says, the man who
goes down under trouble has little strength. His strength is small
because his prayers are few and lean, but <i>the man whose prayers are
many and strong will not collapse when the trouble comes.</i><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>When Facing Temptation</b><br />
<br />
Temptation often comes unexpected and subtle. It is unexpected and
too subtle for the flesh, but anticipatory prayer gets the soul ready
for whatever temptation there may be. Was it the day that David
walked on the rooftop that he fell into his disgraceful and tragic
temptation with Bathsheba? No, it was the long gap of unrecorded time
that the historians say was in between, and they do not know what
David was doing. I know what David was not doing: <i>he was not waiting
on his God.</i> He was not out looking at the stars and saying, “The
heavens declare the glory of God” (Ps. 19:1). Yes, he had done
that, but now he was not doing it. David went down because the whole
weight of his wasted weeks previous this temptation bore down upon
him. <b>Temptation cannot hurt you if you have anticipated it by prayer;
but temptation will certainly trip you if you have not.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>When Attacked by Satan</b><br />
<br />
Satan’s attacks are rarely anticipated because <i>Satan is too
shrewd to be uniform.</i> If Satan established a pattern of attack, we
would soon catch on to it. If the devil were to act in a uniform way
and his attacks came on a regular schedule, the human race would have
found him out a long time ago. The poorest church member would have
learned how to avoid him. Because he acts in a highly irregular way
and mixes things up, his attacks are deadly if we have not the shield
of faith to protect ourselves.<br />
<br />
A baseball pitcher does not start throwing when the first inning
begins and throw the same ball in the same place for nine innings. If
he did, the score would be 128 to 0. What does he do? <i>He mixes them
up.</i> The batter never knows what type of ball is going to appear.
First up, then down, then in, then out, then low, then fast, then
down the middle; he mixes them up. It is the absence of uniformity
that makes the pitcher effective.<br />
<br />
Do you think the devil is not as smart as some of these major
league baseball pitchers? Do you think the devil does not know that
the way to win over a Christian is to fool him by irregularity? <i>His
modus operandi is to never attack twice the same way</i> on the same day
and to keep coming in from one side, one time, another side another
time.<br />
<br />
Do you think that boxer goes in there and gets himself rigidly
stereotyped? He leads with his left, he strikes with his right, he
moves back two steps, he moves forward two steps. Why, the commonest
stumblebum would win over a fighter like that. A fighter has to use
his head. He attacks from one side, then from the other, then dashes
in, then backs away, then pedals backward, then charges, then his
left and right, then feint, then five steps, then duck, then weave,
then bob, you know how fighters do it.<br />
<br />
The devil will come after you today like a wild bull of Bashan,
and tomorrow he will be as soft as a lamb; and the next day he will
not bother you at all. Then he will fight you three days in a row,
and then let you alone for three weeks. Remember what was said of
Jesus after the three temptations? He left Him for a season. Why? To
get the Lord to drop His guard, of course.<br />
<br />
The devil fights like a boxer, pitches like a skilled pitcher and
uses all kinds of strategy. That is why I say that it is hard to
anticipate him; <i>you do not know what he is going to do next.</i> You can
always put a blanket anticipation down by realizing that the devil is
always after you; and so by prayer and watching and waiting on God,
you can be ready for his coming when he does come. <i>You can win—not
the day he arrives, but the day before he arrives. Not the noon he
gets to you, but the morning before the noon.</i><br />
<br />
<b>Never Let the Day Creep Up on You</b><br />
<br />
<i>The only way to win consistently is to keep the blood of the Lamb
on the doorposts of your heart;</i> to keep the cloud and fire over you
in the way Jehovah God led the Israelites night and day through the
desert; to keep your fighting clothes on and never allow the day to
creep up on you.<br />
<br />
Never get up late in the morning and look at your clock and say,
“I’m late and can’t take time now,” and dash away. If you
must dash away, take a New Testament along. Instead of reading a
magazine or newspaper on your break or at lunch, read your New
Testament, and then bow your head and talk to God. Rather than not
pray at all, grab prayer somewhere. As Bishop Ralph Cushman
(1879–1960) wrote in <i>“I Met God in the Morning”</i>:<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>I met God in the morning </i><br />
<i>when the day was at its best,</i><br />
<i>And His Presence came like sunrise,</i><br />
<i>Like a glory in my breast.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>All day long the Presence lingered,</i><br />
<i>All day long He stayed with me,</i><br />
<i>And we sailed in perfect calmness</i><br />
<i>O’er a very troubled sea.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Other ships were blown and battered,</i><br />
<i>Other ships were sore distressed,</i><br />
<i>But the winds that seemed to drive them,</i><br />
<i>Brought to me a peace and rest.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Then I thought of other mornings,</i><br />
<i>With a keen remorse of mind,</i><br />
<i>When I too had loosed the moorings,</i><br />
<i>With the presence left behind.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>So, I think I know the secret,</i><br />
<i>Learned from many a troubled way:</i><br />
<i>You must seek Him in the morning</i><br />
<i>If you want Him through the day!</i><br />
<br />
<b>Never let Thursday floor you because you did not pray on
Wednesday.</b> <i>Never let Tuesday get you down because you were prayerless
on Monday. Never let three o’clock in the afternoon bring you down
because you did not pray at seven o’clock in the morning.</i><br />
<br />
I have<i> four recommendations</i> to help you value the necessity and
power of prayer and to stay on top of what each day brings.<br />
<br />
<b>Never Act as if Things Were All Right</b><br />
<br />
If the devil lets you alone for a while, and you are not in much
trouble and you are reasonably happy and reasonably spiritual, you
are likely to develop a complex that says, “Things are all right,”
and you will neglect your prayer life. Remember: <i>As long as sin and
the devil, disease and death are abroad in the land like a fire, like
a contagious disease,</i> <i><b>things are not all right.</b></i> You are not living in
a healthy or wholesome world, a helpful world, a world that is geared
to keep you spiritually healthy. This vile world is not a friend of
grace to lead us on to God: it is the opposite. Instead of assuming
that things are all right, assume that they are always wrong, and
then prayerfully prepare for them and anticipate them in whatever
direction they come.<br />
<br />
<b>Never Trust the Devil</b><br />
<br />
Do not trust the devil and say, “Things are all right, and I
don’t need to pray now. This devil business is overdone, and I will
not pray today. I will wait until Wednesday.” You cannot trust the
devil, because <i>it is from the devil that all of the world’s
tyrannical and genocidal governments past and present learn their
technique and get their psychology.</i> We must never trust the devil.
Never imagine that he is smiling; never look at a picture of him by
Paul Gustave Doré, or some other artist, and say, “Oh, he’s not
a bad-looking devil; perhaps all this is more or less just like Santa
Claus and Jack Frost; it’s only imaginary.” <i>Always anticipate any
possible attack by watching and praying;</i> for the spirit is willing,
but the flesh is terribly weak.<br />
<br />
<b>Never Become Overconfident</b><br />
<br />
Many a man has lost a fight by being overconfident. Many a
businessman has lost a business because he was overconfident.
<i>Self-confidence takes our focus off Christ and puts it on ourselves
and our abilities, which fall far short in comparison with the
devil’s</i>. Our confidence must always be in Christ and His abilities.
Whenever we think that we can, we usually end up failing miserably.
It is a wise devil that feeds into a person’s confidence in self.
The devil is willing to give as much credit to “self” as long as
he accomplishes his objective.<br />
<br />
<b>Never Underestimate the Power of Prayer</b><br />
<br />
“Watch and pray,” said Jesus, and He practiced it; He won
because He practiced prayer and caught the spinning world that sin
had thrown out of gear, caught it in the web of His own love and
redeemed us by the shedding of His own blood. He did it because He
had prepared Himself for that awful, yet glorious, event by prayer
the night before, and by prayer in the mountains at other times, and
by prayer down the years through His boyhood.<br />
<br />
Remember that without prayer, you cannot win; and with it, you
cannot lose. Granted, of course, that it is true prayer, and not just
the saying of words; and granted that your life is in harmony with
your prayer. If you fail to pray, you cannot win. <i>For the Lord gave
us the example of anticipatory prayer—getting ready for any event
by seeking the face of God in watchful prayer at regular times.</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i> If you enjoyed this, you might also like these articles... </i><br />
<a href="https://waynenalljr.blogspot.com/2020/03/practicing-presence-of-god-in-midst-of.html" target="_blank"><i><br /></i></a>
<i><a href="https://waynenalljr.blogspot.com/2020/03/practicing-presence-of-god-in-midst-of.html" target="_blank">"Practicing the Presence of God..." (Brother Lawrence)</a></i><br />
<i><a href="https://waynenalljr.blogspot.com/2018/03/devotion-3-knowledge-of-holy-aw-tozer.html" target="_blank">"The Knowledge of the Holy" (Tozer) </a></i><br />
<i><a href="https://waynenalljr.blogspot.com/2018/03/devotion-4-infinitude-of-god-aw-tozer.html" target="_blank">"The Infinitude of God" (Tozer) </a></i><br />
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Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6368981312697645173.post-77873925919720158582020-04-28T08:01:00.003-05:002020-04-30T06:35:35.504-05:00Anticipatory Prayer by A.W. Tozer (Part 1)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtIgV6Est1HTC9NALX1WOIqTg1bv1k1vceTvhs5WA0Riu8uf_XDM1pC8XorgvbGYdzAg2xhBVc86xF-JOUTrcPbdU8a6wRI-HKbsKzGXEQfIu4yrW6cezgqUZaxzZ2klC2gqxoY7Or1uvi/s1600/a-w-tozer-bw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtIgV6Est1HTC9NALX1WOIqTg1bv1k1vceTvhs5WA0Riu8uf_XDM1pC8XorgvbGYdzAg2xhBVc86xF-JOUTrcPbdU8a6wRI-HKbsKzGXEQfIu4yrW6cezgqUZaxzZ2klC2gqxoY7Or1uvi/s1600/a-w-tozer-bw.jpg" /></a></span></span></div>
<i>A.W. Tozer is one of my favorite writers and preachers from the
past. He was a man truly sold out for God and devoted not only to his
local congregation but to the church at large. In my opinion, his
books "The Pursuit of God" and "The Knowledge of the
Holy" are must-read books for anyone wanting to live more than a
superficial Christian life.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>I have been reading his book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LA9GEIM/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1" target="_blank">"The Dangers of a Shallow Faith: Awakening from Spiritual Lethargy."</a> One chapter in
particular grabbed my attention, and I felt the lesson that he
presented in this chapter, entitled "Getting Ready to Fight the
Good Fight" were too good to keep to myself. I have re-titled it
"Anticipatory Prayer" because that is essentially the
subject matter.<b> </b>In this time of world-wide crisis, it is more important that ever to understand this lesson. <b>Please read this
prayerfully</b>...I believe this could be a great help to many of us! </i><br />
<br />
<i>(</i><i><i>Italics and bold print are mine.)</i></i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>ANTICIPATORY PRAYER
</b><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation; the
spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." </i>(Matt. 26:41)<br />
<br />
On that night in the garden, the Lord Jesus Christ was about to be
betrayed into the hands of sinners. He was about to offer His holy
soul and have poured out upon that soul the accumulated putrefaction
and moral filth of the whole race of men; and He would carry it to
the tree and die there in agony and blood. I think there can be no
doubt that this is the record of the most critical event in the
history of the world. It had about it and upon it more mighty
historic significance, greater human weight of weal and woe, than any
other event or series of events in the history of mankind. Only the
one most vitally concerned anticipated this crisis and prepared for
it. That man, of course, was Jesus, and He prepared for it by the
most effective preparation known in heaven or in earth; namely,
prayer. Our Lord prayed in the garden.<br />
<br />
Let us not pity our Lord as some are inclined to do, but let us
thank Him that He foresaw the crisis and that He went to the place of
power and the source of energy and readied Himself for that event.
Because He did this, He triumphantly passed <i>the cosmic crisis</i> before
Him. I say <i>“cosmic crisis” </i>because it had to do with more than
this world; it had to do with more than the human race; it had to do
with the entire cosmos, the whole wide universe.<br />
<br />
The Lord was dying that all things might be united in Him. That
the heavens as well as the earth might be purged and that new heavens
and a new earth might be established that could never pass away. All
of this rested upon the shoulders of the Son of God on that night in
the garden. He prepared for this cosmic event in the most effective
way known under the sun, and that is by going to God in prayer.
<br />
<br />
Over against that were His disciples. <b>They approached the crisis
without anticipation</b>; partly because they did not know, and partly
because they did not care, and partly because they were too
unspiritual to be concerned, and partly because they were sleepy. So,
carelessly and prayerlessly and sleepily, they allowed themselves to
be carried by the rolling of the wheel of time into a crisis so
vital, so significant, so portentous that nothing like it has ever
happened in the world and never will happen again.<br />
<br />
They were bogged down in spiritual lethargy and were
unconscious of the importance of that hour. <i>They did not anticipate
any crisis, and therefore were completely unprepared for it.</i> The
result of their failure to anticipate was that one betrayed our Lord;
one denied our Lord; and all forsook our Lord and fled away. Then
Christ gave them these words as a sort of a little diamond set in a
great ring. He said, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into
temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak”
(Matt. 26:41).<br />
<br />
I want to point out that this prayer Jesus made that night in
the garden was <i><b>an anticipatory prayer</b></i>; that is, He prayed in
anticipation of something He knew was coming in the will of God, and
He prepared for it. I want to emphasize and lay upon your conscience
to practice anticipatory prayer, because b<i>attles are lost before they
are fought.</i><br />
<br />
<b>Battles are always lost before they are fought. </b>You can write
that line across your heart or across your memory, and the history of
the world and biography will support it. It was true of France in the
Second World War. During the First World War, France’s cry electrified the
world: “They shall not <br />
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pass!” And pass they did not. France, in
her strength, rose and opposed the hordes of the Kaiser. But only 25
years later, the hordes of Hitler came down, and France surrendered
almost without firing a gun. To this day, men do not know why. Why
did they lose the battle? Why did France surrender? She surrendered
because between her finest hour when she cried, “They shall not
pass,” and her disgraceful surrender, she had politically, morally
and spiritually decayed, like an old tree filled with dry rot. When
the tanks of Hitler came sweeping in, France went down and has never
risen since. She still manifests the same spirit in her politics and
in her social life that caused her to lose the Second World War.<br />
<br />
This is also true of professional fighters. Fighting men are said
to leave their victory in the nightclub. A man, to be at his fighting
peak, must take care of himself. Some fighters, after gaining world
acclaim and becoming popular, start going to the nightclubs,
drinking, staying up all night and sleepily loafing in the day. Then
it is time to fight again. Though they try desperately to get ready
by what they call training, the nightclubs have taken too much out of
them. So they go into the ring and collapse in the fifth round, and
people say, “How could it be that this mighty fighter should go
down so disgracefully before a man who is not even rated and was not
supposed to be that good?” He lost the fight before he went into
the ring, not when they counted him out there on the floor face down
and unconscious. He drank, stayed up and danced half the night or all
of the night. He left his victory in the nightclub.
<br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="LTR" id="docs-internal-guid-ef52676f-7fff-c6df-b970-915f936afc86">
<b>THE BATTLE ON A HIGHER LEVEL</b></div>
<br />
It was also true of Israel. In the Old Testament, when Israel
went in to battle righteous and prayed-up, she never lost a battle.
When she went in filled with iniquity, and prayerless, she never won
a battle. She always lost her battle when she worshiped the golden
calf or sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play, or when she
intermarried with the nations or when she neglected the altar of
Jehovah and raised up a heathen altar under some tree. It was in
those times that Israel lost her battles. <b>It was by lack of
anticipation; it was before it happened that she lost.
</b><br />
<br />
<b>David</b><br />
<br />
Not only are battles lost before they are fought, but battles are
also won before they are fought. Take <br />
David and Goliath as an
example. Little David with his ruddy cheeks went out and slew the
mighty, roaring, breast-beating giant, who was 11 feet tall and had a
sword like a weaver’s beam. Tiny, stripling David went out and with
one stone laid Goliath low, and with his own great sword, which David
could hardly lift, cut off Goliath’s head, carried that huge head
by the hair and laid it before shouting, triumphant Israel.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7IrM0Qqgwys4SAypB4Pj6Lq96c_TieE3MEabSty1Ux0k4tTLUt7R854tksHiZGtzy7G9Jv7Fpf8fHQGyVu10-O4M08QcbHqn0EM_eKWtOEZzNIZKoxSBhyphenhyphen5E89Rv-7TyhvqIytE7ssWbu/s1600/David-and-Goliath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="371" data-original-width="500" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7IrM0Qqgwys4SAypB4Pj6Lq96c_TieE3MEabSty1Ux0k4tTLUt7R854tksHiZGtzy7G9Jv7Fpf8fHQGyVu10-O4M08QcbHqn0EM_eKWtOEZzNIZKoxSBhyphenhyphen5E89Rv-7TyhvqIytE7ssWbu/s200/David-and-Goliath.jpg" width="200" /></a>When did David win that battle? Was it when he walked quietly out
to meet that great boasting giant? No. Let somebody else try it and
the words of Goliath would have proved true: “I will give thy flesh
unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field” (1 Sam.
17:44). Under other circumstances, he would have done just that
<br />
<br />
David was a young man who knew God, had slain the lion and the
bear and had taken his sheep as the very charge of the Almighty. He
had prayed and meditated and lay under the stars at night and talked
to God and had learned that when God sends a man, that man can
conquer any enemy, no matter how strong. So it was not that morning
on the plain between the two hills that David won; it was all down
the years to his boyhood, when his mother taught him to pray and he
learned to know God for himself.<br />
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<b>Jacob</b><br />
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After 20 years of separation, Jacob was to meet his angry brother
who had threatened to kill him. He had run away so that Esau could
not kill him after he took his older brother’s birthright, and now
he was coming back. The Lord revealed that the next day they would
meet there on the plain beyond the river Jabbok.<br />
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The next day they met, right on the plain, and threw themselves
into each other’s arms. Esau forgave Jacob, and Jacob conquered his
brother’s ire and murderous intent. When did he do it? Did he do it
that morning when he walked out to meet his brother and crossed over
the river? No, he did it the night before when he wrestled alone with
his God. It was then that he prepared himself to conquer Esau. Esau,
being the stocky, solemn, hairy man of the forest who had threatened
that he would slay Jacob when he found him. How could Esau cancel
that oath? God Almighty took it out of his heart when Jacob wrestled
alone by the river. It is always so. <i>Jacob conquered Esau not when
they met, but the night before they met.
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Elijah<br />
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Elijah defeated wicked Ahab, Jezebel and all the prophets of Baal
and brought victory and revival to Israel. When did he do it? Did he
do it that day on Mount Carmel? After Baal followers had prayed all
day long and leaped on the altar and cut themselves until they were
bloody, Elijah walked up at six o’clock in the evening at the time
of the evening sacrifice. He prayed a little prayer. Was it a prayer
that took him 20 minutes, as we sometimes do in prayer meeting and
shut others out? No, <i>it was a blunt, brief little prayer</i> of exactly
66 words in English. I would assume it was fewer words in Hebrew.
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Did Elijah’s prayer bring down the fire? Yes and no. Yes,
because if it had not been offered, there would have been no fire.
No, because if Elijah had not known God all down the years and had
not stood before God during the long days and months and years that
preceded Carmel, that prayer would have collapsed by its own weight
and they would have torn Elijah to pieces. So it was not on Mount
Carmel that Baal was defeated; it was on mount Gilead. Remember, it
was from Gilead that Elijah came.<br />
<br />
I always feel that I am a better man for reading this story about
how that great, shaggy, hairy man dressed in the simple rustic garb
of the peasant came down boldly, staring straight ahead and without
any court manners or without any knowledge of how to talk or what to
do. He walked straight in, smelling of the mountain and the field,
and stood before the cowardly, hen-pecked Ahab and said, “I’m
Elijah. I stand before Jehovah, and I’m here to tell you they’ll
be no rain until I say so.” That was a dramatic, terrible and
wonderful moment; but back of that were long years of standing before
Jehovah. He did not know he was going to be sent to the court of
Ahab, <b>but he anticipated it through long prayers, waiting and
meditating in the presence of his God....</b><br />
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<b><i>To read Part 2, click <a href="https://waynenalljr.blogspot.com/2020/04/anticipatory-prayer-by-aw-tozer-part-2.html" target="_blank">here</a>... </i></b><br />
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<br />
<i>If you enjoyed this, you might also like these articles... </i><br />
<a href="https://waynenalljr.blogspot.com/2020/03/practicing-presence-of-god-in-midst-of.html" target="_blank"><i><br /></i></a>
<i><a href="https://waynenalljr.blogspot.com/2020/03/practicing-presence-of-god-in-midst-of.html" target="_blank">"Practicing the Presence of God..." (Brother Lawrence)</a></i><br />
<i><a href="https://waynenalljr.blogspot.com/2018/03/devotion-3-knowledge-of-holy-aw-tozer.html" target="_blank">"The Knowledge of the Holy" (Tozer) </a></i><br />
<i><a href="https://waynenalljr.blogspot.com/2018/03/devotion-4-infinitude-of-god-aw-tozer.html" target="_blank">"The Infinitude of God" (Tozer) </a><b><br /></b></i><br />
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Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6368981312697645173.post-25673133776245662772020-03-28T08:10:00.001-05:002020-03-28T08:15:14.987-05:00Practicing the Presence of God In The Midst of "Pandemic Panic" (Spiritual Maxims by Brother Lawrence)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It is a frightful time that we find ourselves in as I write this in March, 2020. Just a few weeks ago the stock market was riding high, we here in the United States had the best economy in recent memory with full employment, and the world by and large was at peace. Then came the coronavirus, properly known as Covid-19. We have just in the last few weeks seen our entire society upended. The stock market has plunged 10,000 points or more. Millions of people have lost their jobs as the government has been forced to close many businesses (in my state, all non-essential businesses are currently closed), our houses of worship are empty as we all are being asked (essentially ordered) to practice "social distancing", a phrase virtually no one had heard of only a few weeks ago but is now on everyone's lips. As I write this, over 600,000 worldwide have been diagnosed with Covid-19 and here in the States we have the dubious distinction of having the most infections of any country in the world. We just passed 100,000 infected and 1,700 deaths. The really frightening thing about this is that we are by all accounts still in the early stages of this pandemic. We seem to be "holding it all together" but not by much.<br />
<i><br /></i>
Rather than seeing this as "gloom and doom" however, <b>I see this as a call from God to turn to Him.</b> In times of prosperity, it is our natural tendency to turn away from God. From time to time, in His mercy, He afflicts us in the hope that we will turn to Him. This, I believe, is one of those times.<br />
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I was drawn earlier to read from the writings of a lowly French monk of the 17th century by the simple name of Brother Lawrence. This man of little education worked in a small monastery preparing meals for other monks. While doing his lowly kitchen duties, he developed the practice of living always in conscious awareness of God. "Despite his humble position in the community, his reputation attracted many visitors from the outside who sought spiritual guidance from him. The practical wisdom that he shared became the basis of his book, '<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Practice-Presence-God-Brother-Lawrence-ebook/dp/B00ENOOO92/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=" target="_blank">Practicing the Presence of God</a>'" (From the Forward to the book). This book has been a source of great spiritual wisdom for many for over three centuries.<br />
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I read this morning Brother Lawrence's "Spiritual Maxims" from that book. I believe in this time of "pandemic panic", his words are exactly what we need. I share a portion of these with you here. (Italics and bold print are mine)<br />
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SPIRITUAL MAXIMS</div>
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MEANS FOR ATTAINING TO THE PRESENCE OF
GOD </div>
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1. We are to practice honoring God and His Glory in everything
that we do and say. This is our goal: to offer to God a sacrifice of
perfect worship in this life and throughout eternity. We should
firmly resolve to overcome every difficulty that we encounter in
reaching this goal by the grace of God. </div>
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2. When we begin the
spiritual life, we should do a thorough inquiry into our human
nature, probing to its deepest depths. We will find that we are
unworthy of the name of Christ. We are subject to all sorts of
difficulties and weaknesses. These trouble us and damage our
spiritual health. They cause us to waver and be unstable in our
emotions and attitudes. We are creatures chastened and humbled by God
through countless sufferings and adversities, inside and outside. </div>
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<b>3. We must steadfastly believe, and never doubt, that all suffering is
for our good.</b> <b>God is disciplining us. </b><i>His Divine Providence permits
our souls to pass through many difficult experiences and times of
trial. We are to endure various sorrows and sufferings for the love
of God, for as long as He deems it necessary. Without submission of
the heart and spirit to the will of God, devotion and perfection
cannot exist. </i></div>
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4. The higher the spiritual state to which a soul
aspires, the more it is dependent on grace.<b> The grace of God is
necessary every moment, for without it the soul can do nothing.</b><i> The
world, the flesh, and the devil join forces and assault the soul
directly and relentlessly. Without humble reliance on the
ever-present assistance of God, they drag the soul down in spite of
all resistance.</i> To rely on God’s help seems difficult, but grace
makes it easy, and it brings joy.<br />
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NECESSARY PRACTICES FOR ATTAINING TO
THE SPIRITUAL LIFE </div>
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<i>1. The practice of the Presence of God is the most
holy, the most all-encompassing, and the most necessary practice of
the spiritual life.</i> It trains the soul to find its joy in His Divine
Companionship. At all times and at every moment, it engages the soul
in humble and loving communion with Him, without rules or methods.
<i>This is practiced in all circumstances, in times of temptation and
tribulation, spiritual dryness and apathy, and even when we fall into
unfaithfulness and sin.</i> </div>
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2.<b> We should commit ourselves unceasingly to
this one goal: that everything we do be little acts of communion with
God</b>. This must be natural and not artificial, coming from the purity
and simplicity of the heart. </div>
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3. We must do everything thoughtfully
and mindfully, without impulsiveness or rashness, which indicate an
undisciplined mind.<i> We must go about our daily activities quietly,
calmly, and lovingly, asking Him to bless the work of our hands. By
keeping our heart and mind fixed on God, we shall bruise the head of
the evil one, and cast his weapons to the ground. </i></div>
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4. When we are busy
meditating on spiritual things, or doing our daily devotions, or even
raising our voice in prayer, we ought to stop every once in a while
to worship God in the depth of our being. Taste Him as if in passing.
Touch Him, as it were, by stealth. Know that God is with you in
everything you do. He is at the very depth and center of your soul.
<i>Why not pause for a moment from time to time in the midst of your
busyness, even during the act of prayer, to worship Him within your
soul? Why not praise Him, ask for His help, offer Him the service of
your heart, and give Him thanks for all His loving-kindnesses and
tender mercies? </i></div>
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<b>What offering is more acceptable to God than to,
periodically throughout the day, leave behind the things of our
outward senses and withdraw within to worship Him in the secret place
of the soul? </b>By doing this we destroy the love of self, which can
survive only among the things of sense. These times of quiet
retirement with God rid us unconsciously of self-love. </div>
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Truly we could
give God no greater evidence of our trust and faithfulness than by
turning from the creation to find our joy in the present moment in
the Creator.<i> I am not suggesting that we completely disregard forever
the outward things that are around us. That is impossible. Prudence (wisdom), the mother of the virtues,
must be your guide. Yet it is a common error of religious persons to
neglect this practice of stopping for a moment in order to worship
God in the depth of their soul and enjoy briefly the peace of
communion with Him.</i>..</div>
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5. Our acts of worship are to be
prompted and guided by faith. <i>We must honestly believe that God is
really within our souls. We must believe that we should worship Him,
love Him, and serve Him in spirit and in truth. We must believe that
He sees all and that all hearts are open to Him, both our own and
those of all His creatures. We must believe that He is self-existent
and that all His creatures live and move and have their being in him.
</i>We believe that His Perfection is infinite and sovereign, and demands
the full surrender of our whole selves, body and soul. It is only
right that we owe Him all our thoughts, words and actions. Let us pay
our debt. </div>
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6. It is necessary to examine ourselves carefully to find
out which virtues we lack most, and which are the hardest for us to
acquire. We should seek to discover which sins most easily ensnare
us, and at what times and on what occasions we usually fall.<b> In time
of struggle we ought to turn to God with perfect confidence, abiding
steadfastly in the Presence of His Divine Majesty.</b> In lowly adoration
we can tell Him our sorrows and our failures, asking Him lovingly for
the assistance of His grace. In our weakness we shall find strength
in Him.</div>
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Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6368981312697645173.post-34311800874399851832019-10-08T07:56:00.002-05:002019-10-08T08:00:07.681-05:00Romans Bible Study #20 A Non-Calvinist Interpretation of Romans 9 (Part 1: 9:1-13 - Video and Notes)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">To go to the beginning of the series on Romans, click <a href="http://bit.ly/2VgCW1j">here</a>...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">To go to the last study (#19), click </span><a href="https://waynenalljr.blogspot.com/2019/10/romans-bible-study-19-predestined-to-be.html" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">To watch the entire series on YouTube, click </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKP3bJ1_OiYuvvTSGbAU38s1w7deNmpab" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">...</span><br />
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<b>"God arranges all things by his
sovereign counsel, in such a way that individuals are born, who are
doomed from the womb to certain death, and are to glorify him by
their destruction. " John Calvin </b>
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<b>Vs. 1-5</b></div>
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In Chapter 1, we saw Paul’s
heart towards the church, even being in constant prayer to God for
churches to which he had never even been. Here we see Paul’s heart
to the Jews, his own people, especially towards those who had
rejected Christ.
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Paul here again affirms that the
covenants and the promises which were made to Abraham and his
descendants belong to Israel. Chapters 9 - 11 should dispel any
notion that “God has not rejected His people who He foreknew”
(as he will say later in 11:2). God’s faithfulness to Israel over
the last 2000 years in keeping them together as a people though they
have been scattered all over the world and then finally bringing
them back to their homeland is further testimony that God still has
a covenant love for Israel.</div>
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Paul will continue to reveal his
heart towards his people Israel (which by extension we would have to
believe is God’s heart towards them also) in saying in 10:1
“Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them
(Israel) is for their salvation.”</div>
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“<i>Despite Paul’s explicit
desire to perish in the place of these hardened Jews, five-point
Calvinists teach that Christ does not share Paul’s expressed
intentions.[92] One has to assume that those interpreters believe
Paul was more merciful and self-sacrificial than the Savior who
inspired these very words. It is inexplicable, given Paul’s
Spirit-led appeal of self-sacrificial love, to promote a doctrine
that teaches Jesus did not intend to sacrifice Himself for these
hardened Jews (1 John 2:2; 2 Pet. 2:1).”(</i> Dr. Leighton
Flowers)</div>
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<b>Vs. 6-8</b></div>
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The “word of God” here is
not merely the written written word, but rather the spoken word,
i.e. “the gospel.” (Chapter 10:8 makes that clear) In vs. 6, he
is saying that it is not as though the gospel has not accomplished
what it has set out to do.</div>
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Vs. 6b-7 echoes 2:28-29 (read
it). There is a natural Israel and there is a spiritual Israel.
There are natural Jews and there are spiritual Jews.
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Paul has already taught clearly
and at length that salvation is intended for those who believe,
regardless of their nationality.
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Abraham had two sons - Ishamael
and Isaac. In vs. 7, Paul quotes Genesis 21:12 where God tells
Abraham that He had chosen Isaac over Ishmael. Ishmael was the son
that Abraham made by His own works (He just decided He was going to
help God and fulfill the promise that God had made with him
previously). Isaac was the child of promise.
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What was the promise and how did
it come? Read Romans 4:13-16. The promise (in Paul’s shorthand)
was that Abraham and his descendants would be “heir of the world.”
This would not come by lawkeeping but through faith. This was not a
promise of salvation but a promise of blessing.</div>
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Read Gen. 12:2-3. This is the
original promise that Paul was referring to. Israel was to be made a
great nation and would be blessed of God. That is the first part.
The second part was “you shall be a blessing...in you all the
families of the earth would be blessed.” How was that to come
about? First of all, the Redeemer Messiah was to come through them.
Secondly, it was God’s intention that the good news of the gospel
would come through Israel to bless “all the nations of the earth.”
This was revealed through the progressive revelation to the prophets
of Israel over the course of a thousand years.</div>
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Jonah was a good illustration of
God’s determination to bless the nations of the world through
Jewish messengers, even if He has to use a disobedient one! In NT,
Paul Himself was a further illustration of this. He was a passionate
opponent of the truth of the gospel, but in a blinding light God
turned Him into a passionate proponent of the gospel.
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This is the essence of election
(God’s choosing) in Romans 9. When we see “election” we should
not always assume that it is choosing for salvation. Many times in
scripture, election has to do with choosing for service, i.e. God’s
choice of certain vessels to bring the good news to others...to
bless others.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Vs. 9-13</b></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Paul uses two choices that God
made in Abraham’s descendents to illustrate God’s purposes. The
first choice is Isaac over Ishmael (which he already alluded to in
vs. 7). Isaac was the promised child. Through him Messiah was to
come. Through him, Israel was to be blessed and to be a blessing.
However, did God care at all for Ishmael, the one through whom the
promise did not come? Yes he did! Read Gen. 16:10;17:20. Note also
that in chapter 25:12-18, God records Ishmael’s descendents. He
obviously cared for Ishmael and Ishmaelites!</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In Gal. 4:21-31, Paul uses Isaac
and Ishmael as an allegory to show the difference in those who come
by law and those who come by promise. Ishmael is a type of those who
try to come to God by their own works. Isaac, as the child of
promise, is a type of those who come to God by faith. (Remember, in
Romans 4, we learned that God does not regard faith as a work, but
as the opposite of works)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The second illustration that God
uses is between Jacob and Esau, Isaac’s twin sons. As God
preferred the second born Isaac over the first born Ishmael, so God
chose the second born Jacob over the first born Esau. Esau was
clearly the stronger of the two. He was a hunter....a real man’s
man. Yet God chose the second born...even before they were born.
Paul tells us that the choice of Jacob was not based upon Jacob or
Esau’s works, but “because of Him who calls.” Vs. 12 quotes
Gen. 25 in saying that “the older will serve the younger.” One
was preferred over the other. Nothing at all is said about
salvation, but rather the choice is choice to service.
</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Notice also that it was not just
a choice between two people but between two groups of people. The
full prophecy that God gave to Isaac’s wife Rebekah in Genesis
25:23 is “Two nations are in your womb; and two peoples shall be
separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger than the
other; and the older shall serve the younger.” This selection or
election was of two nations. I believe that Paul is still carrying
on the same allegory that he had just used of Isaac and Ishmael
earlier in the chapter and also in Galatians. The allegory here is
between those who try to come to God based upon their own works
(ironically, the Jews of Paul’s day) symbolized first by Ishmael
and here by Essau, and those who come to God by faith, symbolized
first by Isaac and here by Jacob.
</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Flowers - <i>“The promise
given to Abraham is to bring the Word through his lineage so as to
bless all those who believe. When God says that “in you all the
families of the earth will be blessed,” he is referring to His
promise to bring the Word (the Messiah and His message) to all
peoples through the nation of Israel. Ishmael and his descendants
(Ishmaelites) were not chosen to fulfill that promise. Esau and his
descendants (Edomites) were not chosen to fulfill that promise.
Jacob and his descendants (Israelites) are chosen to fulfill that
promise, and God is just to make this choice despite the fact that
all three are direct descendants of Abraham</i>.”</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“<i>...Esau was the more
likely choice of the two brothers given his natural qualities as a
hunter and his being the first-born. Jacob was the weaker, or
lesser, of the two brothers and certainly not more deserving to
carry out this noble purpose. The point is that God did not choose
to save one of them and condemn the other prior to their birth, as
some attempt to read into this text. Instead, He chose to make His
power known through the weaker, less likely candidate (just like He
did with young David, 1 Sam. 16:7). We must understand that this
gracious Potter most often chooses spoiled clay to fulfill His
promises.”</i></div>
</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Vs. 13</b></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Most Calvinist teach (and I
believed) that this verse taught that God hated a baby before he was
even born. Yet, that is certainly not what this verse is teaching!
</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Read Luke 14:26. God certainly
did not mean hate here as we would commonly use the word. Virtually
no one believes this, as it would fly in the face of reason and
scripture as well. God would not have us to literally hate our
parents when he also commanded us to honor our parents. Instead,
this is a Jewish idiomatic expression of choosing one over another
for a greater purpose. “Instead, this passage should be understood
to mean that individuals must choose to follow God’s will over the
will of even the most beloved in one’s life. I In other words,
this is the idiomatic way of communicating that one is to choose
Christ and His noble purposes over one’s parents and their common
purposes.”</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Where did God say “Jacob I
loved, but Esau I hated?” Not in Genesis, but 1500 years later in
Malachi, when both boys had been dead for many hundreds of years.
</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Read Malachi 1:2, 3 This clearly
is talking about the nation of Israel (Jacob) and the nation of Edom
(which was the name of the nation made up of Esau’s descendants).
</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Obadiah 1:10 (written against
Edom) “Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you
will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever.”
</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
‘<i>Both Malachi and Obadiah
reflect on Edom’s attacks against Israel throughout their
writings, giving a clear cause for God’s declared hatred for Esau,
which was directed against his posterity, the Edomites. It is also
clear from the original references that individual salvation was not
in view, but national blessing (because of the references to Edom’s
land and inheritance, rather than an individual’s eternal
destiny).’</i></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
So was Esau himself cursed of
God? We have no record of it. Esau and Jacob were enstranged early
in life (mainly because of Jacob’s actions!), but were reconciled
later in life. Jacob loved Esau and Esau loved Jacob. There is no
record that God ever hated Esau, but only preferred his brother (the
real meaning of vs. 13) over himself. He hated Esau’s posterity
because they opposed Israel. God cursed Edom just as He promised He
would in the original promise to Abraham in Genesis 12. “I will
curse those who curse you.”</div>
</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“<i>St. Paul, in these words, had any
view to God’s sovereign power, as the ground of unconditional
reprobation (the idea that God predestined some to go to hell). And
beware you go no further therein, than you are authorized by them.
Take care, whenever you speak of these high things, to “speak as
the oracles of God.” And if so, you will never speak of the
sovereignty of God, but in conjunction with his other attributes. For
the Scripture nowhere speaks of this single attribute, as separate
from the rest. Much less does it anywhere speak of the sovereignty of
God as singly disposing the eternal states of men. </i><i><u>No, no;
in this awful (awe-inspiring) work, God proceeds according to the
known rules of his justice and mercy; but never assigns his
sovereignty as the cause why any man is punished with everlasting
destruction…</u></i><i>The sovereignty of God is then never to be
brought to supersede his justice. And this is the present objection
against unconditional reprobation; (the plain consequence of
unconditional election;)</i><i><u> it flatly contradicts, indeed
utterly overthrows, the Scripture account of the justice of Go</u></i><u>d. </u>John Wesley”</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
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<br />
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6368981312697645173.post-38597132521985877442019-10-02T09:55:00.001-05:002019-10-08T07:57:06.196-05:00Romans Bible Study #19 "Predestined To Be Conformed..." (Romans 8:26-39...Video and Notes)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Notes...</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Vs. 26</span></div>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Connection to previous verses is
first in “weaknesses.” In context, this must be “mental
weaknesses.” Vs. 24, 25 We do not see to the end, yet we have
hope. In the same way, we don’t know how to pray as we should (“we
do not know what we ought to pray for” NIV)</span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">“</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">So
too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">and</span></i></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">
bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer
</span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">nor</span></i></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">
how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to
meet our supplication </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">and</span></i></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">
pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">and</span></i></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">
groanings too deep for utterance.” (Amplified)</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">26
</span></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">And
in a similar way, the Holy Spirit takes hold of us in our human
frailty to empower us in our weakness. For example, at times we
don’t even know how to pray, or know the best things to ask for.
But the Holy Spirit rises up within us to super-intercede</span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">[</span></span><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8%3A26&version=TPT#fen-TPT-9463a"><span style="color: #b34b2c;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">a</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">]</span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">
on our behalf, pleading to God with emotional sighs</span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">[</span></span><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8%3A26&version=TPT#fen-TPT-9463b"><span style="color: #b34b2c;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">b</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">]</span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">
too deep for words. (Passion)</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“The Greek word
hupererentugkhano is best translated “super [or hyper]-intercede
for us.” We can only imagine how many blessings have poured into
our lives because of the hyper-intercession of the Holy Spirit for
us!” (Passion Translation note)</span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“The Spirit Himself intercedes
for us with groanings too deep for words” (lit. inexpressible)</span></div>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<i>When the Christian’s
prayers are too deep and too intense for words, when they are
rather a sigh heaved from the heart than any formal utterance, then
we may know that they are prompted by the Spirit Himself (within
us...wn). It is He who is praying to God for us.” Ellicott’s
Commentary</i></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Second connection between this
verse and previous verses is “groanings.” Vs. 22 is “creation
groaning.” Vs. 23 is “believers groaning” for their final
redemption. This verse is “the Spirit groaning” in us.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Vs. 27</span></div>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“He who searches the heart”
in this context is Jesus Himself. (see vs. 34) He intercedes through
the Holy Spirit between us and God the Father. In effect, it is
Jesus Himself praying our prayers to the Father for us!</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Vs. 28</span></div>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">One of the most quoted verses in
NT...and misquoted!</span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“God works all things
together” not for everyone, but for those who love God, those who
He has called.
</span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Two different mss readings of
this verse...“God causes all things to work together” is better
than “all things work together” as some versions state.</span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Connected to vs. 26-27. Those
who love God are those who are praying. For these praying saints,
whose groans are too deep for words, He works all things in their
lives for good.</span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Called” (Helps
word-studies)...”Kletos (divinely called) focuses on God’s
general call - i.e. the call (invitation) He gives to all people, so
all can receive His salvation. God desires every person to call out
to Him and receive His salvation...Unfortunately, many choose not to
- but all can; all don’t but all can call out to God for His mercy
(not just some)”</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Vs. 29, 30</span></div>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Dr. Lawrence Wood (describing
John Wesley’s view of predestination)...</span></div>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">”He argued very strongly
against (absolute) predestination in which he argued that absolute
predestination makes God the author of evil...makes God the author
of sin. It makes it (pointless) to preach the gospel if everything
is predetermined by God’s will.</span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Wesley did agree with the
emphasis on God’s absolue foreknowledge or God’s
omniscience...but Wesley did not believe that that meant that
everything ahd been predetermined. Rather, he says that God knows
everything, but what causes God’s knowledge is what will be. What
will be is not determined by God’s knowledge.”</span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“God doesn’t (literally)
foreknow anything. That is a human way of speaking. God simply
knows...God knows everything. Everything is instant to God...even
our future. (Our future) is nonetheless present to God because God
is transcendent.”</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">David Pawson…</span></div>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“If you study predestination
in the Bible, it’s not so much that you are chosen for salvation
but that you are chosen for service. It is not so much your
privilege as it is your responsibility to be one of the chosen
people.”</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Asbury Commentary</span></div>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The
word <i><b>predestined</b></i>
(<i>prohorizō</i>)
occurs in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rom%208:29-Rom%208:30"><span style="color: #b34b2c;">vv.
29-30</span></a>.
This has been misinterpreted to mean that God arbitrarily
determined in advance certain individuals to be saved. This,
however, is not the meaning of the word. This word occurs six times
in the NT: <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%204:28"><span style="color: #b34b2c;">Ac
4:28</span></a>; <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rom%208:29"><span style="color: #b34b2c;">Ro
8:29</span></a>, <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rom%208:30"><span style="color: #b34b2c;">30</span></a>;
<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1Cor%202:7"><span style="color: #b34b2c;">1Co
2:7</span></a>; and
<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Eph%201:5"><span style="color: #b34b2c;">Eph
1:5</span></a>, <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Eph%201:11"><span style="color: #b34b2c;">11</span></a>.
In all other occurrences, the context indicates clearly that it has
to do with the plan, the design, the condition of some event, or
salvation. It is also so used here (Murray, 1:318). Those who
participate in salvation are <b>those
who love</b> God.
They are called according to God's <b>purpose</b>
(<i>prothesis,</i>
<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rom%208:28"><span style="color: #b34b2c;">v.
28</span></a>). In
the entire NT when <b>purpose</b>
(<i>prothesis</i>)
is used of God, it has to do with the plan, the design, or the
condition of some event, never with certain persons. God's purpose
regarding salvation is that all be saved and none be lost (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1Tim%202:4"><span style="color: #b34b2c;">1Ti
2:4</span></a>; <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Titus%202:11"><span style="color: #b34b2c;">Tit
2:11</span></a>; <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2Pet%203:9"><span style="color: #b34b2c;">2Pe
3:9</span></a>). The
call is the invitation addressed by God to all human beings. It is
inclusive, not exclusive.</span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">In
<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rom%208:29"><span style="color: #b34b2c;">v.
29</span></a> the
object of <b>predestine</b>
is <b>to be conformed
to the likeness of his Son.</b>
In <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rom%208:30"><span style="color: #b34b2c;">v.
30</span></a> the
object seems to be certain persons. These persons, however, are
<b>those</b>
whom <b>God foreknew,</b>
not those arbitrarily chosen by God. Foreknowledge does not cause
them to have faith, but rather their faith causes God to foreknow.
My knowing does not cause you to do something. But your doing
causes me to know. In the same way, God's knowledge does not cause
us to do something, but our doing causes God to know. Since,
however, God is not bound by time, he can know before we do it.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h1 class="western" style="line-height: 110%; margin-bottom: 0.21in; margin-top: 0in; page-break-after: auto; page-break-inside: auto;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_77ejh61lm0a1"></a>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;">Romans
8:31-39</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;">
King James Version (KJV)</span></span></h1>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>31
</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;">What
shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be
against us?</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>32
</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;">He
that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how
shall he not with him also freely give us all things?</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>33
</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;">Who
shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that
justifieth.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>34
</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;">Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is
risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>35
</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;">Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or
sword?</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>36
</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;">As
it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are
accounted as sheep for the slaughter</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;">.</span><b>37
</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;">Nay,
in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that
loved us.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>38
</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;">For
I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>39
</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;">Nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate
us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
<br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Vs. 37</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“More than conquerers” or
“overwhelmingly conquer” means “super-conquerer who is
completely and overwhelmingly victorious!”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">1 And
can it be that I should gain</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">an
interest in the Saviour's blood?</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">Died he
for me, who caused his pain?</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">For me,
who him to death pursued?</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">Amazing
love! How can it be</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">that
thou, my God, shouldst die for me?</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
<br />
</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">2 'Tis
mystery all: the Immortal dies!</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">Who can
explore his strange design?</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">In vain
the first-born seraph tries</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">to sound
the depths of love divine.</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">'Tis
mercy all! Let earth adore,</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">let
angel minds enquire no more.</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
<br />
</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">3 He
left his Father's throne above —</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">so free,
so infinite his grace —</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">emptied
himself of all but love,</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">and bled
for Adam's helpless race.</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">'Tis
mercy all, immense and free;</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">for, O
my God, it found out me!</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
<br />
</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">4 Long
my imprisoned spirit lay</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">fast
bound in sin and nature's night;</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">thine
eye diffused a quickening ray;</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">I woke,
the dungeon flamed with light;</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">my
chains fell off, my heart was free,</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">I rose,
went forth, and followed thee.</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">5 No
condemnation now I dread;</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">Jesus,
and all in him, is mine!</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">Alive in
him, my living Head,</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">and
clothed in righteousness divine,</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">bold I
approach the eternal throne,</span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.15in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;">and
claim the crown, through Christ, my own</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6368981312697645173.post-75821959547927836242019-09-27T10:54:00.001-05:002019-10-02T09:56:17.078-05:00Romans Bible Study #18 "The Glory That Is To Be Revealed" (Romans 8:18-25...Video and Notes)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tZOjFz9CwzA" width="560"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />To go to the beginning of the series on Romans, click <a href="http://bit.ly/2VgCW1j">here</a>...</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">To go to the last study (#17), click </span><a href="https://waynenalljr.blogspot.com/2019/09/romans-bible-study-17-abba-father.html" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">To watch the entire series on YouTube, click </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKP3bJ1_OiYuvvTSGbAU38s1w7deNmpab" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
Suffering (vs. 17, 18) -
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Three kinds of suffering -
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<ol>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Physical (bodily</b>) - not
to be discounted. Though all men suffer to one degree or another,
yet historically for Christians many have experienced more physical
suffering than the average person (Paul was a good example).</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Suffering of the soul (mental
suffering)</b> - This can include all sorts of mental illness. Even
for those “mentally healthy”, we still struggle with
insecurities, worries and cares of this life, difficult interactions
with other people. Those who follow Christ are not immune to these
(though we can escape much of this by taking all to Christ!).
</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Spiritual suffering</b> - All
human beings share in 1 and 2. However, there is a special kind of
inward suffering that those who have been born again must suffer. An
awareness of spiritual things brings with it suffering. We may
agonize over our unsaved loved ones, as we unceasingly bring them to
the Lord in prayer. We see a fallen world around us that others
don’t see, and it brings suffering to our spirit. Especially, we
have an innate desire to worship as we know that we should, to have
the intimate relationship with Christ that we long for...and yet our
own flesh so often gets in the way. (The groanings of vs. 23)</div>
</li>
</ol>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
“<i>... the
sufferings and the glory belong together indissolubly. They did in
the experience of Christ; they do in the experience of his people
also (17). It is only after we ‘have suffered a little while’
that we will enter God’s ‘eternal glory in Christ’, to which he
has called us. So the sufferings and the glory are married; they
cannot be divorced. They are welded; they cannot be broken apart.”
John Stott</i></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
There is no
comparison between the sufferings that we endure and the glory which
follows.</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1in;">
<i>Moreover, the
‘sufferings’ include not only the opposition of the world, but
all our human frailty as well, both physical and moral, which is due
to our provisional, half-saved condition. </i><i><b>The ‘glory’,
however, is the unutterable splendour of God, eternal, immortal and
incorruptible.</b></i><i> One day it will be revealed (18). This
end-time disclosure will be made ‘to us’ (RSV), because we will
see it, and in us (NIV), because we will share in it and be changed
by it. It is also ‘in store for us’ (REB), although the precise
nature of ‘what we will be has not yet been made known’.</i></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1in;">
<b>2 Cor. 3:16-18</b></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1in;">
‘<i>Suffering’
and ‘glory’ are inseparable, since suffering is the way to glory
(see verse 17), but they are not comparable. They need to be no
contrasted, not compared. In (2 Corinithians) Paul has evaluated them
in terms of their ‘weight’. Our present troubles, he declared,
are ‘light and momentary’, but the glory to come is ‘eternal’
and ‘far outweighs them all’. The magnificence of God’s
revealed glory will greatly surpass the unpleasantness of our
sufferings.</i></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
Vs. 19-22
“Creation” appears in each verse</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
Vs. 19</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1in;">
<i><b>The word for
‘eager expectation’ (NASB “anxious longing”) means ‘to wait
with the head raised, and the eye fixed on that point of the horizon
from which the expected object is to come’. It depicts somebody
standing ‘on tiptoe’ (JBP) or ‘stretching the neck, craning
forward’ in order to be able to see.</b></i><i> And what the
creation is looking for is the revelation of God’s children, that
is, the disclosure of their identity on the one hand and their
investiture (ordained) with glory on the other. This will be the
signal for the renewal of the whole creation.</i></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1in;">
Vs. 20</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1in;">
…<i>(Paul) sums up
the result of God’s curse by the one word translated, frustration
(“futility” NASB).</i><i><b> It means ‘emptiness, futility,
purposelessness, transitoriness’ (BAGD). The basic idea is
emptiness, whether of purpose or of result.</b></i><i> I. It is the
word chosen by the LXX translators for ‘Vanity of vanities!… All
is vanity’,100 which NIV finely renders ‘Meaningless!
Meaningless!… Utterly meaningless!’ As C. J. Vaughan comments,
‘the whole Book of Ecclesiastes is a commentary upon this verse’.
For it expresses the existential absurdity of a life lived ‘under
the sun’, imprisoned in time and space, with no ultimate reference
point to either God or eternity.</i></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1in;">
Vs. 21</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1in;">
<i>Negatively,
creation will be liberated from its bondage to decay (21b). (The word
translated decay NASB corruption) seems to denote not only that the
universe is running down (as we would say), but that nature is also
enslaved, locked into an unending cycle, so that conception, birth
and growth are relentlessly followed by decline, decay, death and
decomposition…</i><i><b>.So futility, bondage, decay and pain are
the words the apostle uses to indicate that creation is out of joint
because it is under judgment.</b></i><i> It still works, for the
mechanisms of nature are fine-tuned and delicately balanced. And much
of it is breathtakingly beautiful, revealing the Creator’s hand.
But it is also in bondage to disintegration and frustration. In the
end, however, it will be ‘freed from the shackles of mortality’
(REB), ‘rescued from the tyranny of change and decay’ (JBP).</i></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1in;">
<i>Vs. 22</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<i>Now he adds that
meanwhile, in the present, even while it is eagerly awaiting the
final revelation (19), the creation is groaning in pain. Its groans
are not meaningless, however, or symptoms of despair. </i><i><b>On
the contrary, they are like the pains of childbirth, for they provide
assurance of the coming emergence of a new order. </b></i><i>...Jesus
himself used the same expression in his own apocalyptic discourse. </i><i><b>He
spoke of false teachers, wars, famines and earthquakes as ‘the
beginning of birth-pains’ (NIV) or ‘the first birth-pangs of the
new age’ (REB), that is, preliminary signs of his coming.</b></i></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>(Matt. 24:7-8)</i></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<i>The universe is
not going to be destroyed, but rather liberated, transformed and
suffused with the glory of God.</i></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
Vs. 23</div>
First fruits of the Spirit = down
payment. Eph. 1:14 tells us the Spirit was given to us as a “pledge
of our inheritance.”<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
2nd “groaning of Romans 8. We long
for our eternal inheritance.</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>2 Cor. 5:1-5</b></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Vs. 4 of “How Sweet the Name of Jesus
Sounds” (John Newton)</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<i>Weak is the
effort of our heart,</i></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<i>And cold our
warmest thought;</i></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<i>But when we see
Thee as Thou art,</i></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<i>We’ll praise
Thee as we ought,</i></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
That day our adoption will be
finalized...our salvation will be complete...our redemption will be
fulfilled.</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Vs. 24-25</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Hope is the “eager expectation” of
the child of God who awaits the full salvation that we have not yet
received.</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
“<i>...we wait
for it patiently, that is, for the fulfilment of our hope. For we are
confident in God’s promises that the firstfruits will be followed
by the harvest, bondage by freedom, decay by incorruption, and labour
pains by the birth of the new world. This whole section is a notable
example of what it means to be living ‘in between times’, between
present difficulty and future destiny, between the already and the
not yet, between sufferings and glory. ‘We were saved in hope’
brings them together. And in this tension the correct Christian
posture is that of waiting, waiting ‘eagerly’ (23, cf. 19) with
keen expectation, and waiting ‘patiently’ (25), steadfast in the
endurance of our trials (hypomonē). </i>We are to wait neither so
eagerly that we lose our patience, nor so patiently that we lose our
expectation, but eagerly and patiently together.</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
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Phillips</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
In my opinion
whatever we may have to go through now is less than nothing compared
with the magnificent future God has planned for us. The whole
creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of God
coming into their own. The world of creation cannot as yet see
reality, not because it chooses to be blind, but because in God’s
purpose it has been so limited—yet it has been given hope. And the
hope is that in the end the whole of created life will be rescued
from the tyranny of change and decay, and have its share in that
magnificent liberty which can only belong to the children of God!</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
It is plain to
anyone with eyes to see that at the present time all created life
groans in a sort of universal travail. And it is plain, too, that we
who have a foretaste of the Spirit are in a state of painful tension,
while we wait for that redemption of our bodies which will mean that
at last we have realised our full sonship in him. We were saved by
this hope, but in our moments of impatience let us remember that hope
always means waiting for something that we haven’t yet got. But if
we hope for something we cannot see, then we must settle down to wait
for it in patience. -</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">
</span></div>
Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6368981312697645173.post-16579066546839867232019-09-24T14:35:00.001-05:002019-09-27T10:50:29.709-05:00Romans Bible Study #17 "Abba, Father!" (Romans 8:15-17...Lesson Notes)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Following are my lesson notes for Lesson #17. Unfortunately, the video of this lesson is not available.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Vs. 12 - “under obligation” lit.
means “debtors” (KJV, NKJV). We are not debtors to the
flesh...Unstated implication is that we ARE debtors to the spirit!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Vs. 13 -</div>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“You must die…” cannot be
talking about natural death as both those who live according to the
flesh and those who live according to the Spirit both die. Means
separated from the life that is in God…</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
First part of the first
corresponds to Romans 7. Paul describes there a man living according
to the flesh…</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Second part corresponds to the
first part of Romans 8…”You will live” = “no condemnation”
and “set free.”</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“Putting to death” indicates
an ongoing state. Means “to make ineffective.”
</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
"...this teaching is Paul’s
elaboration of Jesus’ own summons: ‘If anyone would come after
me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’Since
the Romans compelled a condemned criminal to carry his cross to the
site of crucifixion, to carry our cross is symbolic of following
Jesus to the place of execution. And what we are to put to death
there, Paul explains, is the misdeeds of the body, that is, every
use of our body (our eyes, ears, mouth, hands or feet)<b> which
serves ourselves instead of God and other people</b>." Wiersbe
</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We are under obligation
“debtors” to the Spirit to do this.</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Vs 14</div>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“All who are being led” -
Grammatically speaking this is “present progressive tense.”
Describes something that is ongoing in the present.
</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“‘Being Led by the Spirit’
is virtually synonymous with “walking according to the Spirit.”
“Walking” highlights the active participation and effort of the
believer. ‘Being led’ (NASB “All who are being led”)
underscores the passive side, the submissive dependence of the
believer on the Spirit."</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“Being led by the Spirit” is
a sure indication of our “sonship.” How do we know that we
really are God’s children? By the fact that we are being led by
His Spirit!
</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Note connection between 13 and
14…”Being led by the Spirit” may correspond to “by the
Spirit putting to death the deeds of the body” in vs. 13 as many
commentators think. Seems to me is a prerequisite for “being led
by the Spirit” or “walking according to the Spirit.” (in vs
4).
</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
How do we know we are being led
by the Spirit? Operation of the Spirit in us (internal), freedom
from sin (internal), circumstances (external)</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Vs. 15</div>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“Spirit of slavery” is
equivilent to “no condemnation” (vs. 1). We are not slaves to
sin any more, but without due diligence we can be brought back under
the “spirit of slavery” again. It is characterized by fear.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“Spirit of adoption”
-“Adoption” means in Greek “Son
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
placement.” “It
is a legal term that in this context indicates that believers have
been given the full privileges of sonship into God’s family.
Concurrent with this placement into sonship, God places the Spirit of
His Son into our hearts so that we become, in effect, His
natural-born children.”</div>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
”In ancient Rome, an adopted
son would possess all the rights of a son born into the family.”</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wiersbe - “In NT adoption
means “being placed as an adult son.” We come into God’s
family by birth. But the instant we are born into the family, God
adopts us and gives us the position of the adult son. A baby cannot
walk, speak, make decisions, or draw on the family wealth. But the
believer can do all of these the instant he is born again.”</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
F. F. Bruce ‘The term
“adoption” may have a somewhat artificial sound in our ears; but
in the Roman world of the first century AD an adopted son was a son
deliberately chosen by his adoptive father to perpetuate his name
and inherit his estate; he was no whit [sc. not in the smallest
degree] inferior in status to a son born in the ordinary course of
nature, and might well enjoy the father’s affection more fully and
reproduce the father’s</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
character more
worthily.’</div>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“Abba, Father” - Joachim
Jeremias’ researches into the prayer literature of ancient Judaism
convinced him that Jesus’ use of this colloquial and familiar term
of address to God was unique. ‘Abba was an everyday word, a homely
family-word. No Jew would have dared to address God in this manner.
Jesus did it always, in all his prayers which are handed down to us,
with one single exception, the cry from the cross.’</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This term would correspond to
“Daddy”. Note contrast between this cry of “childlike and
joyous assurance” and the attitude of a slave. No slavish fear
because He is our Daddy!</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Vs. 16
</div>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Watchman Nee - <b>“It is
imperative that believers recognize a spirit exists within them,
something extra to thought, knowledge and imagination of the mind,
something beyond affection, sensation and pleasure of the emotion,
something additional to desire, decision and action of the will.
</b>This component is far more profound than these faculties. God's
people not only must know they possess a spirit; they also must
understand how this organ operates: its sensitivity, its work, its
power, its laws. Only in this way can they walk according to their
spirit and not the soul or body of their flesh.”</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">1
Thessalonians 5:23 </span></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Now
may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your
spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Hebrews 4:12 <span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">“</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">For
the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged
sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of
both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and
intentions of the heart” </span></span></span>
</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background: #ffffff;">“</span>Immediately(when)
the sinner believes in the Lord Jesus he is born anew. God grants
him His uncreated life that the sinner's spirit may be made alive.
<b>The regeneration of a sinner occurs in his spirit.</b> God's work
begins without exception within the man, from the center to the
circumference. How unlike Satan's pattern of work! He operates from
the outer to the inner. God aims first to renew man's darkened
spirit by imparting life to it, because it is this spirit which God
originally designed to receive His life and to commune with Him.
God's intent after that is to work out from the spirit to permeate
man's soul and body.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“When God's life (which can
equally be called His Spirit) enters our human spirit, the latter is
quickened out of its coma. What was "alienated from the life of
God" (Eph. 4.18) is now made alive again. Hence "although
your bodies are dead because of sin, your spirits are alive because
of righteousness" (Rom. 8.10). <b>What we are given in Adam is
a spirit made dead; what we receive in Christ at regeneration is
both the dead spirit quickened and the new spirit of God's life: the
latter, something Adam never had.</b></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
God's children receive within
them the permanent abiding of God's Spirit...Few are those who know
they have been born anew and thus possess new life; but fewer still
are those who know that from the moment they believed in the Lord
Jesus they have the Holy
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
Spirit indwelling
them to be their energy, their guide, their Lord. It is for this very
reason that many young Christians are slow in spiritual progress and
never seem to grow...Regardless the dullness of Christians in
recognizing the dwelling of the Person of God's Spirit in them, God
nonetheless has given Him to them. This is an immutable fact which no
condition of the Christian can gainsay (contradict). Because they
have been regenerated they automatically have become a holy temple
fit for habitation of the Holy Spirit. If only these would claim by
faith this part of God's promise as they did the other part, they
would gloriously experience both.”</div>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Thus are we able to recognize
what is authentic spiritual life. It is not to be discovered or
experienced in the many thoughts and visions of the mind, nor in the
many burning and exhilarating feelings of the emotion, nor in the
sudden shaking<b>, penetrating and touching of the body by outside
force. It is to be found in that life which emanates from the
spirit, from the innermost part of man. To walk truly after the
Spirit is to understand the movement of this most hidden area and to
follow it accordingly.</b> However wonderful may be those
experiences which occur through the components of the soul, they are
not to be accepted as spiritually valid as long as they remain in
the outward and run no deeper than sensations. Only what results
from the operation of the Holy Spirit within man's spirit can be
accounted spiritual experience. Hence to</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
live a spiritual life requires
faith.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
"It is the Spirit himself
bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God"
(Rom. 8.16). <b>Man's spirit is the place where man works together
with God. How do we know we have been born anew and are therefore
children of God? We know because our inner man has been quickened
and the Holy Spirit dwells therein. Our spirit is a regenerated,
renewed one, and He Who dwells in, yet is distinct from, this new
spirit is the Holy Spirit. And the two of them bear witness
together.</b></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Vs. 17 -John Stott</div>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
the Spirit is the firstfruits of
our inheritance (17, 23). Paul cannot leave this topic of our being
God’s children without pointing out its implication for the
future. Now if we are children, then we are heirs as well— heirs
of God and co-heirs with Christ (17a).71 At first sight this seems
to refer to that heavenly inheritance, which ‘can never perish,
spoil or fade’, which God is keeping in heaven for us. It is
possible, however, that the inheritance Paul has in mind is not
something God intends to bestow on us but God himself. Indeed, ‘it
is difficult to suppress the richer and deeper thought that God
himself is the inheritance of his children’.</div>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“If indeed we suffer with
Him…” Here is another way that we can know that we are being led
of the Spirit of God. Walking according to the Spirit will lead us
into suffering.
</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
1 Peter 4:14-16</div>
</li>
</ul>
<br /></div>
Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6368981312697645173.post-50920715172097409562019-09-24T14:21:00.003-05:002019-09-24T14:35:25.010-05:00Romans Bible Study #16 "As Many As Are Being Led By the Spirit of God..." (Romans 8:3-14...Video Lesson)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6368981312697645173.post-87887501062061148542019-09-10T07:32:00.000-05:002019-09-10T07:32:07.342-05:00"Examine Yourselves" (Sermon Preached 9-8-19 - Video and Notes)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Examine Yourselves</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Galatians 4:19
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">19
</span></b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">My
children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in
you—</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Ephesians
4:11-16</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Colossians
1:28; 2:6-7,10; 3:1-4; 12-17</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Hebrews
10:24, 25</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Taking
your own spiritual temperature (Examine Yourself 2 Cor. 13:5)</span></span></span></div>
<ol>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Am
I spending time with Christ daily? (not just punching a clock) </span></span></span>
</div>
<ol type="a">
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Pray
without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17)</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Am
I fully surrendered to His will for my life?</span></span></span></div>
</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Am
I in His word daily? (not just punching a clock!)</span></span></span></div>
<ol type="a">
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Is
His word getting in me? (Richly dwelling in me - Col 3:17)</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Is
it changing my life?</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Do
I see a difference in my attitudes, my relationships as a result?</span></span></span></div>
</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Am
I “overflowing with gratitude?” (Col 2:7)</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Does
the peace of Christ rule in my heart? (Col 3:15)</span></span></span></div>
<ol type="a">
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">When
I come into a room, do I bring peace or strife and contention into
that room?</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Do
I cast my anxieties on Him or do I hold them to myself? (1 Peter
5:7)</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Do
I experience more inner peace and rest for longer periods of time
than I did a year ago? 5 years ago?</span></span></span></div>
</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Am
I rooted in Him? (Col. 2:7)</span></span></span></div>
<ol type="a">
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Am
I less able to be “blown away” by circumstances and events
around me?</span></span></span></div>
</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Do
I have a heart of compassion for others, especially those who I find
difficult? (Col:2:12-13)</span></span></span></div>
<ol type="a">
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Am
I holding a grudge against anyone? Is there any unforgiveness in my
heart?</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">If
I have found unforgiveness in my heart, have I taken it to the
Father and asked Him to cleanse it out of me?</span></span></span></div>
</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Am
I “not forsaking the assembly of the saints”? (Hebrews 10:24,
25)</span></span></span></div>
<ol type="a">
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Am
I “stimulating others to good works?” Am I encouraging others
in the body of Christ?</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">If
I am not able to attend the assembly as I should, am I willing to
lay down things in my life that interfere (including if necessary,
even my job)? Am I that “sold out?”</span></span></span></div>
</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Am
I giving financially in proportion to how the Lord has prospered me?
(2 Cor. 9:6-8)</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Am
I praying for my pastors and all those in spiritual leadership?
Hebrews 13:17</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Am
I willing to receive spiritual giftings from the Lord if He were to
choose to give them to me, not for my own sake, but for the sake of
the building up of the body? (Eph. 4:11,12)</span></span></span></div>
<ol type="a">
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Am
I willing to be taken completely out of my comfort zone for the
sake of Christ?</span></span></span></div>
</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Summary
- Am I a net deposit or a net withdrawal to the body of Christ? Is
the body built up by my being a part or is it being hindered because
of my lack of participation?</span></span></span></div>
</div>
Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6368981312697645173.post-39939405230478290772019-08-29T07:37:00.001-05:002019-09-24T14:23:30.931-05:00Romans Bible Study #15 "No Condemnation" Romans 8:1-2 (Video and Sermon Notes)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/H7fWFNVCx6o" width="560"></iframe></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">To go to the beginning of the series on Romans, click <a href="http://bit.ly/2VgCW1j">here</a>...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">To go to the last study (#14), click </span><a href="https://waynenalljr.blogspot.com/2019/08/romans-bible-study-14-wretched-man-that.html" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">..</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">To watch the entire series on YouTube, click </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKP3bJ1_OiYuvvTSGbAU38s1w7deNmpab" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">Quotes from Watchman Nee and Andrew Murray used in this message:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Watchman Nee "The Spiritual Man" </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-e02b0db4-7fff-fdd7-5e17-39d7217bc5c8" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Moreover, if we only know our flesh has been crucified with Christ but are not exercised to have His accomplished work carried out in us, our knowledge too will be unavailing. A putting to naught requires a knowing first of an identification in His death; knowing our identification, we must exercise the putting to death. These two must go together. We are deceiving ourselves should we be satisfied with just perceiving the fact of identification, thinking we are now spiritual because the flesh has been destroyed; on the other hand, it is an equal deception if in putting to naught the wicked deeds of the flesh we over-emphasize them and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">fail to take a death attitude towards the flesh</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">. Should we forget that the flesh is dead we shall never be able to lay anything to rest.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Our union with Christ in His death signifies that it is an accomplished fact in our spirits. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What a believer must do now is to bring this sure death out of his spirit and apply it to his members each time his wicked lusts may be aroused. Such spiritual death is not a once for all proposition.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> Whenever the believer is not watchful or loses his faith, the flesh will certainly go on a rampage. If he desires to be conformed completely to the Lord's death, he must unceasingly put to nought the deeds of his members so that what is real in the spirit may be executed in the body.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">But whence comes the power to so apply the crucifixion of the Lord to our members? It is "by the Spirit," insists Paul, that "you put to death the deeds of the body" (Rom. 8.13), To put away these deeds the believer must rely upon the Holy Spirit to translate his co-crucifixion with Christ into personal experience. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">He must believe that the Holy Spirit will administer the death of the cross on whatever needs to die.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> In view of the fact that the believer's flesh was crucified with Christ on the cross, he does not need today to be crucified once again. All which is required is to apply, by the Holy Spirit, the accomplished death of the Lord Jesus for him on the cross to any particular wicked deed of the body which now tries to rise up. It will then be put aside by the power of the Lord's death.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The moment the Christian ceases to heed the Holy Spirit he instantly fits into the carnal life pattern described here (in Romans 7)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> . Some assume that because Romans 7 stands between Chapters 6 and 8 the activity of the flesh will become past history as soon as the believer has passed through it and entered into the life of the Spirit in Romans 8. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">In actuality Chapters 7 and 8 run concurrently.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> Whenever a believer does not walk by the Spirit as in Romans 8 he is immediately engulfed in the experience of Romans 7. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Andrew Murray "The Spiritual Life" </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Let us believe there are two powers, the power of the Spirit and the power of sin. Which is stronger? Many Christians tell me the power of the flesh is stronger. It is very sad that so many think this way. Paul tells me, God tells me, that the power of the Holy Spirit is stronger and the power of the Holy Spirit can make me free from the law of sin and death if I trust Him. It is not here a question of the last root of sin being exterminated. We believe the tendency to evil remains to the end, but, we believe this word, too, is literal truth, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">that the Spirit of life in Christ makes me free from the law of sin to such extent that it has no power over me. My enemy is there, but he cannot touch me.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“Ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.” “Of the Spirit,” “after the Spirit,” “in the Spirit,” and “the Spirit of God in you.” All these expressions are used to express the one thought of the closeness, and the reality of the blessed union by which the Holy Spirit takes possession of me. I am in Him and He is in me just as a man is in the air and the air is in him. The air is in my lungs and I am in the air that surrounds me. The two things go together; I go into the fresh air and the fresh air comes into me. Even so the child of God is taken out of the life of the flesh and taken into the life of the Spirit. The Spirit surrounds him on every side with a divine power that is breathed into him and that constitutes his life. He is in the Spirit and the Spirit is in him.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Oh believers who do not think it possible to live this blessed life. I will tell you the simple reason. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Because you do not believe God, do not believe that Almighty God will dwell in you. Will you not</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> begin and say, if it be true I may be in the Spirit just as I am in the air, thank God, I think I can lead a holy and blessed life.</span></div>
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Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6368981312697645173.post-2393887685607637692019-08-29T07:28:00.001-05:002019-08-29T07:30:00.538-05:00Romans Bible Study #14 "Wretched Man That I Am!" Romans 7:14-25<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">To go to the beginning of the series on Romans, click <a href="http://bit.ly/2VgCW1j">here</a>...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">To go to the last study (#14), click </span><a href="https://waynenalljr.blogspot.com/2019/08/romans-bible-study-13-hoodwinked-romans.html" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">To watch the entire series on YouTube, click </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKP3bJ1_OiYuvvTSGbAU38s1w7deNmpab" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">...</span></div>
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Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6368981312697645173.post-37520090188213064032019-08-11T05:22:00.000-05:002019-08-11T05:24:31.169-05:00Romans Bible Study #13: "Hoodwinked" Romans 7:1-13 (Video and Lesson Notes)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />To go to the beginning of the series on Romans, click <a href="http://bit.ly/2VgCW1j">here</a>...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">To go to the last study (#12), click </span><a href="https://waynenalljr.blogspot.com/2019/08/romans-bible-study-12-slaves-to.html" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">To watch the entire series on YouTube, click </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKP3bJ1_OiYuvvTSGbAU38s1w7deNmpab" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">...</span><br />
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In the latter half of Romans 6, Paul
talks about our need to be delivered from sin. Before we knew Christ,
we were slaves to sin. At the same time, we were dead to
righteousness. After Christ came into our lives, we were freed from
sin (or the love of sin) and became slaves to righteousness. We were
now bondslaves to God. The purpose of this, Paul said, was that we
become sanctified, or made holy to God.
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Now as we begin, chapter 7, Paul is
going to begin talking about another deliverance. As we need to be
delivered from sin, we also need to be delivered from law.</div>
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Read 7:1-6</div>
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Paul used in chapter 6 the metaphor of
slavery. In this first part of chapter 7, what metaphor does he use?
Marriage.
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Paul says in verse 1 that the law only
has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives. That is
<u>self-evident</u>. The law has no jurisdiction over dead men. The
most it can do is sentence a man to death.
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In verses 2 and 3, he states another
obvious point. If a woman becomes married to a man, <u>she is bound
to him as long as he is living</u>. If she goes to be with another
man while he is living, she is called an adulteress. However, if her
husband dies, she is free to marry another.</div>
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Verse 4 is key. (Re-read it) Let’s
try to follow Paul’s analogy here. In the analogy, who would the
woman be? It would be us. Who would the man be she was first married
to? The law. You would think, then, that it would be the man who
dies. However, Paul changes it. It is the woman (who is us) who dies.
This is confusing unless we can put this together with the teaching
of Romans 6. <b>(Read 6:3, 4)</b> You see, this woman (which is us),
died, but was resurrected.</div>
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Let’s think of it this way. We don’t
have any record of Lazarus having a wife when he died. Let’s just
pretend that he did. We know that John 10 records that after 4 days
in the grave, Jesus rose this man from the dead. Legally speaking,
his marriage was only valid until one of them died. Did one of them
die? Yes, Lazarus died. Strictly speaking, Lazarus would have been
free to choose another wife after he was resurrected. If he wanted to
remain being married to the same woman, it really would have only
been a legal marriage if they remarried.</div>
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This is to me is what Paul is saying in
verse 4 of chapter 7. Not only did we die to the love of sin when we
died in Christ, but we also died to the law. This was, Paul says, so
that we might be joined to another. Who was this? Christ. There are
three steps in this verse. Step 1 is death to the law. Step 2 is that
we might be joined to Christ...married to Him. Step 3 is that we
might bear fruit to God.
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Verses 5 and 6 talk about when we were
in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the law,
bore fruit to death. Now that we are released from the law, having
died to it, we are to serve in newness of the Spirit and not in the
oldness of the letter. This is the same thing that Paul said in
chapter 6:4 when he said that “we too might walk in newness of
life.”</div>
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Before we go on, I’d like to share a
story - a “case study” if you will, of someone that I know that
really illustrates this. I know a woman who married a man at a young
age. She was actually very immature. He cared for her and looked
after her. Yet he was cold and demanding of her. For twenty years,
she was virtually imprisoned in their home. She had to have his
permission to do anything. He decided everything about her, even to
the color of the clothes she wore. There was very little love that
went on between them. She was obedient to him, and outwardly acted as
a moral person. Inside, though, she was seething. After about 20
years, she blew a gasket. She was immoral and unfaithful to him, and
eventually asked him for a divorce, which he gave her. Eventually,
she became married to another. By her own admission, she was very
religious, but did not know Christ. It was only after she blew up and
then found forgiveness that she came to know Christ as her Lord and
Savior. Now, she walks in liberty, but not in license. She is
faithful to her new husband, not because she is required to be, but
because she loves him. This is the difference in religion and
relationship.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
There are three sections in Romans 7.
Each is introduced by a question. We have covered the first section.
Now let’s look at the second section.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Read 7:7-13</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
What do you notice about this section
as compared to what we’ve been reading? Paul uses himself as an
illustration. Paul has rarely referred to himself in Romans, but for
the rest of the chapter he is using his own experience as an example.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In verse 7, the question which he asks
is, “Is the law sin?” or “Is the law sinful?” After he has
spoken of dying to the law in the first part of the chapter, it would
naturally follow that someone would ask, “Well, then, does that
mean that the law is bad?” Again, Paul answers this is the
strongest negative possible, “May it never be!” Paul says that
only through the law would he have come to know sin. Remember what he
said in chapter 3, verse 20? “Through the law comes the knowledge
of sin.” Yet, here he is talking about in his own experience. He
then goes on to say that he would not have known about coveting if
the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.” Where did the law
say this? Ten commandments. Actually this was the tenth of the Ten
Commandments.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Verse 8 says that sin, taking
opportunity through the commandment (or the law), produced in me
coveting of every kind. “<u>Taking opportunity” comes from a
combination of two Greek words that mean lit. “what charges from
off a starting point” or “a successful launching pad.” </u>The
law became a launching pad to show Paul the sin that was in him.<u>
“Produced” is actually the same Greek word that is translated in
Phil 3:12 “work out” when he said that we are to “work out our
own salvation in fear and trembling.”</u> That idea is not that it
puts in something that was not there before. Rather, it means “to
bring to a decisive finality or conclusion.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Passion Translation puts this
together well. Let’s read this verse in that translation…</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>It was through God’s commandment
that sin was awakened in me and built its base of operation within me
to stir up every kind of wrong desire. For in the absence of the law,
sin hides dormant.</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Why do you suppose that that Paul
mentioned this particular commandment, “You shall not covet?” Why
not “You shall not murder?” or “You shall not commit adultery?”
I believe it is because covetousness is the only one of the
commandments that take place inside a man. A man can be eat up with
covetousness and it not show to those around them.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Do you remember a case in which Jesus
confronted a man with his own covetousness? Turn with me to<b> Luke
18. Let’s read verses 18-23 together.</b> This man was an important
man. He was a ruler. He had kept the law (superficially) from his
youth up. Jesus did not dispute this. Yet, like a skilled surgeon, he
got at the real problem in the man...a problem that this man did not
recognize even in himself. His problem was covetousness. His treasure
was in his possessions. Another way of saying this was that he was
full of himself. His riches, his goodness, his righteousness. Jesus
said something that popped his balloon. What a difference this man’s
life would have been had he turned and repented just then! He could
not follow Christ because he was following other things. He could not
be full of Christ because he was too full of himself.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Let’s go back and look at our text.
Paul says, in verse 9, that he was once alive apart from the law, but
when the commandment came to him, sin became alive and he died. In
verse 10, he says that that which was supposed to be life to him was
death to him. In verse 11, he says that sin, taking an opportunity
(becoming a successful launching pad), deceived him and killed him.
“”<b>Deceived” is an intensified word meaning “thoroughly
deceived.” One translation is “hood-winked” or “took me in.”
It rose up and slayed him.</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We know something of the life of Paul.
When do you suppose that this happened to him? This certainly did not
happen before he was converted. He knew the law backwards and
forwards, every bit as well as the rich young ruler, but he did not
know the law...at least not in his inmost being. He would say to the
Philippians, referring to his pre-conversion life, that, as to the
righteousness which is in the law, he was found blameless. He was a
Pharisee of the Pharisee. He was a thoroughly self-satisfied man.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The fact is that no one knows for sure
exactly when this happened because Paul doesn’t tell us. However, I
have an opinion. It might have even started even before he was
confronted by Christ on the road to Damascus. In one of his
retellings of his conversion experience, Paul says that Jesus said to
him, “It is hard for you to prick against the goads.” It seems
that there had been something goading him on the inside. Something
only Jesus Himself knew about. Perhaps, it had started when he saw
Stephen martyred. Imagine how that the young Saul of Tarsus would
have been affected by seeing this man with a face like an angel
facing his death and praying that the sin not be laid to their
charge. Saul’s outward reaction was to become more violent against
the church. This is not uncommon. There are times when those who are
on the edge of conversion are at their worst.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I would also for us to use our
“sanctified imaginations” for a moment as we look at Saul of
Tarsus as he was struck down on the road to Damascus and confronted
head on with the man who he was persecuting. Imagine this proud
Pharisee who thought he was faithfully serving God finding out that
he had been doing just the opposite. What happened to him on the
road? He was blinded and now had to be led around. Completely
helpless.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I want to digress here a minute. We
often talk of this as Pauls’ conversion experience, but this is
only partly so. When Jesus confronted him on the road, did he say to
Paul/Saul then, “now all you have to do is believe in Me. Say this
prayer and now you are a Christian?” Saul was confronted there
with his own sinfulness. In Luke’s account in Acts chapter 9,
Jesus, after confronting him, only tells him to “get up and enter
the city and it will be told you what you must do.” Was Paul saved
at that point? It doesn’t seem so. Jesus doesn’t rush things the
way we do sometimes. We want a decision card signed right away. Jesus
was willing to wait. He didn’t want a partially saved Saul. A sort
of saint. He was willing to wait for the real deal.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Saul is in Damascus for three days. He
was blind during that entire period. He was so undone during that
time that the Bible says he “neither ate nor drank.” How undone
would you have to be to not only eat but not even drink anything for
three days? I believe this is where everything that he had ever done
hit him square between the eyes. He had no natural sight, but his
spiritual sight dawned during this time. At the end of this three
days, Paul is a changed man. The law that he had trusted in rose up
and slayed him. In particular, he realized the depth of his own
covetousness. What he had thought he was doing for God, he was
actually doing for his own sorry self. The man that Annanias saw at
the end of that three days was a remarkably different man than the
man struck down on the road. His balloon had been thoroughly popped.
But, unlike the rich young ruler, he was determined to follow this
man who he had been persecuting with the same tenacity for Christ
that he had practiced against Christ. How welcome those words that
Annanias spoke to him must have been, “Brother Saul...receive your
sight!...Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on
His name.” (Acts 22:13, 16) You will be “filled with the Holy
Spirit.” Paul could be filled with the Holy Spirit only because he
had been emptied of himself.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In verse 12 of Romans 7, Paul says that
the Law is holy, righteous, and good. In verse 13, he asks, is that
law which is good become a cause of death to me? Again, we have the
strong negative, “May it never be.” He says, (NKJV) “sin, that
it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful.”
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In the case of the woman I described to
you earlier, the sin that came out in all it’s ugliness had been in
her heart all along. If she had never had the husband that she had,
the same sinfulness would have been there. It is in fact in all of
us. But in a way, having a husband who was “a stern taskmaster”
drove her first to have the sin in her heart exposed, and then to the
forgiveness which is found in Christ Jesus.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In Paul’s case, the sin that had been
in his heart all along was exposed after his confrontation with
Christ on the road to Damascus. Through what we might call “the
enlightened law” his sinfulness came exceedingly sinful.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Romans 7:13 The Passion Translation
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background: #ffffff;">“<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>So,
did something meant to be good become death to me? Certainly not! It
was not the law but </i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">sin
unmasked </span></b></i></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">that
produced my spiritual death. The sacred commandment merely uncovered
the evil of sin so it could be seen for what it is.”</span></i></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This really ushers us into the next
section. Paul is still in “I” mode, but now he is not talking
about what happened in the past in one moment, but something that is
ongoing in the heart of a young believer. As Paul progresses in his
spiritual experience, sin does not become less sinful, but even more
“exceedingly sinful.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6368981312697645173.post-28114780914201751092019-08-04T08:11:00.000-05:002019-08-05T09:54:56.391-05:00Mass Shootings...What Is The Answer?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">I
woke up this morning as many of you did with the heartbreaking news
that there has been another mass shooting. At the time I am writing
this, the mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio early this Sunday morning has
claimed nine lives. As many have noted, this is becoming far too
common-place. What is not common-place is to have two mass shootings
in twenty-four hours. But that is exactly what has happened, as there
was an even deadlier shooting yesterday morning in El Paso, Texas. This shooter tragically took twenty lives, with at least twenty-three
others injured. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">I
can remember twenty years ago (it's hard to imagine that it was that
long ago!), that the tragic school shooting took place in Columbine
High School in Colorado. People were traumatized that something of
this magnitude could happen in America. Yet, now, twenty years out,
we have become so used to these events that within a short time we
will move on. We have become numb to the tragedy. However, we must
not become numb to this. We have to face the fact that something is
tragically wrong in our society.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">Each
time that one of this events take place, there is a flurry of blame
to be placed and a bevy of answers that are proposed. The left will
say that the cause is guns and the answer is gun control. The right
might say that the problem is mental health or illegal immigration,
and then propose its own answers. Yet, when we look
to the left or the right, we are looking in the wrong direction. The
direction we need to be looking is up.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;">Many
will be saying, "Where was God when these things occurred?"
Yet I have to say that it is hubris of the highest order to believe
that we can turn from God as a society en masse and then declare that
He should have been there to stop tragedy when the gunman pull the
trigger. The child who runs away from home out from under the
protection of his father cannot become angry when he runs into
difficulty and the father is not there to deliver him. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background: transparent;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The
prophet Jeremiah had these prophetic words to say almost 2600 years
ago which still ring true today...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">For
My people have committed two evils:</span></i></span></span></div>
<div style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">They
have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,</span></i></span></span></div>
<div style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">And
hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can </span></i></span></span></div>
<div style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">hold
no water. (Jer. 2:13)</span></i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This country, though never perfect, was for many decades a place
where God and the things of God held a place of honor and reverence.
The recent 75<sup>th</sup> anniversary of D-Day brings to mind the
prayer that President Roosevelt prayed on behalf of the nation on
that momentous day…</span><br />
<div style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 0.49in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Almighty
God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty
endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our
civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.</i></span></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 0.49in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Lead
them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to
their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.</i></span></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin-left: 0.49in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>They
will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the
enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come
with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know
that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons
will triumph..</i></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The president would go on to call the country, not to a day of prayer, but to “devote themselves in a continuance of prayer.” He would continue…</i></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 0.49in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The
president would go on to call the country, not to a day of prayer,
but to “devote themselves in a continuance of prayer.” <span style="font-size: small;">He
would continue…</span></span></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 0.49in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <i>As
we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words
of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.</i></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 0.49in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It
is almost impossible to imagine a president today calling on people
to pray in such an unapologetic way. In Roosevelt’s day, the people
responded by doing as he asked. Today, I’m afraid that such a plea
would result in outrage by some and indifference by others.</span></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Most
tragically, it is the lukewarmness of the church of Jesus Christ in
this country and the lack of fervent prayer that is surely the most
unbecoming to God. The prayer closet and the prayer meeting are
largely empty. Those who profess Christ are content to ride on the
surface of a superficial Christianity that has no depth to it. The
words of Jeremiah have more to do with a fallen church than a fallen
nation. We who profess Christ have largely forsaken God, and replaced
him with “broken cisterns which hold no water.” We have programs,
plans, concerts, plays, and much synthetic worship, but no real heart
for God. As a consequence, the spiritual wells that we are to draw
from in most cases hold no water.</span></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Church,
it is a time to turn to God...It is a time to “rebuild the ancient
ruins” (Isaiah 61:4). It is a time to get back to prayer and to
seek God with a new earnestness. Jeremiah said in another place, <i style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">“You
will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
(Jer. 29:13) </i>It is a time for brokenness. A time to fall on our
faces in repentance. God spoke through Hosea saying these words,
which are so relevant to us today…</span></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 0.49in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">“<i>Therefore,
return to your God. </i></span>
</span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 0.49in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Observe
kindness and justice, </i></span>
</span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 0.49in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>And
wait for your God continually.” (Hosea 12:6)</i></span></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 0.49in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The
answer is...where it has always been. It is in God. Our God is a God
who is ready and eager to forgive. He is a God who will be found,
when we seek Him with our whole heart.</span></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 0.49in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>God
is our refuge and strength,</i></span></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 0.49in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>A
very present help in trouble…</i></span></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 0.49in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Cease
striving and know that I am God;</i></span></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 0.49in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I
will be exalted among the nations.</i></span></span></div>
<div align="left" style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 0.49in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I
will be exalted in the earth. (Psalm 46:1; 10)</i></span></span></div>
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i>
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Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6368981312697645173.post-88573192812285824512019-08-02T07:57:00.002-05:002019-08-02T07:57:36.496-05:00Romans Bible Study #12 "Slaves To Righteousness" Romans 6:14-23 (Video and Lesson Notes)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Review</div>
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Romans 6:6-9 AMPC</div>
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We know that our old (unrenewed) self
was nailed to the cross with Him in order that [our] body [which is
the instrument] of sin might be made ineffective and inactive for
evil, that we might no longer be the slaves of sin. [7] For when a
man dies, he is freed (loosed, delivered) from [the power of] sin
[among men]. [8] Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we
shall also live with Him, [9] Because we know that Christ (the
Anointed One), being once raised from the dead, will never die again;
death no longer has power over Him.</div>
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Romans 6:10-11 AMPC</div>
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For by the death He died, He died to
sin [ending His relation to it] once for all; and the life that He
lives, He is living to God [in unbroken fellowship with Him].</div>
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Even so consider yourselves also dead
to sin and your relation to it broken, but alive to God [living in
unbroken fellowship with Him]
</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">Passion
Translation...12 </span></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Sin
is a dethroned monarch; so you must no longer give it an opportunity
to rule over your life, controlling how you live and compelling you
to obey its desires and cravings. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">13
</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">So
then, refuse to answer its call to surrender your body as a tool for
wickedness. Instead, passionately answer God’s call to keep
yielding your body to him as one who has now experienced resurrection
life! You live now for his pleasure, ready to be used for his noble
purpose.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">[</span></span></span><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+6&version=TPT#fen-TPT-8121g"><span style="color: #b34b2c;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><u><span style="background: #ffffff;">g</span></u></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">]</span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">14
</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Remember
this: sin will not conquer you, for God already has! You are not
governed by law but governed by the reign of the grace of God.</span></span></span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Warren Wiersbe...Reckoning (Vs. 11 NASB
“Consider yourselves” in KJV “reckon yourselves”) is a matter
of faith that issues in action. It is like endorsing a check: if we
really believe that the money is in the checking account, we will
sign our name and collect the money. Reckoning is not claiming a
promise, but acting on a fact.”</div>
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<br /></div>
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Wiersbe...Literal translation of vs.
13…”Do not constantly allow sin to reign in your mortal body so
that you are constantly obeying its lusts. Neither constantly yield
your members of your body as weapons (or tools) of unrighteousness to
sin; but once and for all yield yourselves to God.”</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background: #ffffff;"> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Read
6:15-23 </span></span></span>
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In verse 15, Paul restates the same
question that he asked in verse 1 in a different way. It is as the
“heckler in the audience” rises up again and seizes on the last
thing that Paul said in verse 14…”you are not under law but under
grace.” The heckler says, “Well, then, if we are under grace and
not under law, then that is another reason that we can continue in
sin, isn’t it?” (This guy really likes to sin, doesn’t he?).
Paul again expresses this most negative of terms which we’ve
encountered several times already, translated “May it never be!”
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Vs. 16 Paul again turns to the analogy
of slavery, which he’s going to stick with through the rest of the
chapter.
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(say a few words here about the
difference in Roman slavery and American slavery...Roman slavery not
based on race...could be prisoner of war, abandoned baby, or could
sell yourself into slavery in order to eat)</div>
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<br /></div>
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It’s important to keep in mind that
Paul was not talking about slavery based on race here. Many of the
slaves that Paul were familiar with sold themselves to their owner.
They presented themselves to that person and were purchased by them.
That may be what he was referring to in this verse. In any event, the
idea is that you cannot be the slave or servant of one person and
work for another. It doesn’t work that way.
</div>
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<br /></div>
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Let’s look at this in modern terms.
You are hired by a company. This company is a great company to work
for. You used to be employed by one of their rivals. Your old company
was a terrible company to work for. You had long hours and little
pay. No appreciation. The more you work, the more your old employer
required of you. Now you are free from that old master. You are
employed by the new company. You show up for work at your new company
for a few days, and then...they can’t find you. They ask around and
they find out that you are back working for your old company. You’ve
put yourselves back under the bondage of the old employer. Now...even
though you have been hired by the new company, who are you really
working for? What do you think your new employer is going to think of
these arrangements? Wouldn’t it be right for your new employer to
say, “Well, if you like your old employer so much, you can just go
work for him again! You’re fired!” This makes as much sense as a
Christian going back to his or her old lifestyle.
</div>
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In vs. 16, one obedience leads to death
(you’re fired!) while the other obedience (to the new employer)
results in righteousness (your new employer is pleased with you
because you are doing the right thing).
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<br /></div>
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Vs. 17 Paul rejoices that we are freed
from our old master (law and sin). This was done when we were
“baptized into his death”, entering into a new life. We obeyed
from the heart (that is the obedience of faith) that form of teaching
to which we were committed (or delivered). We weren’t only
delivered from sin, but we were delivered into “a form of
teaching.” “Form” means “pattern”, “type”, or “example.
</div>
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Vine’s…”The metaphor is that of a
cast or frame into which molten material is poured so as to take its
shape. The gospel is the mold.”
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<br /></div>
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So when we voluntarily surrendered to
Christ, we exchanged our old master for a new master. Vs. 17 says
that we were poured into a mold so that we would become like our
master!.
</div>
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<br /></div>
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Vs. 18 states this even more
explicitly. We were freed from the old master of sin and at the same
moment we became slaves to righteousness...to right standing before
God and to righteous living.
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John Stott…”All human beings are
slaves, and there are only two slaveries, to sin and to God.
Conversion is a transfer from the one to the other.”</div>
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<br /></div>
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At the beginning verse 19, Paul seems
to be apologetic about using slavery as an analogy to our conversion
experience. It is important to understand that all analogies in the
Bible eventually break down at some point. Paul says that he uses
slavery as an example because of the weakness of our flesh.
</div>
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<br /></div>
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The next part of verse 19 describes
first our experience under sin. <br />
“For just as you presented
your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in
further lawlessness…” This means that when we yielded to our old
master, things just got worse and worse. Lit. “lawlessness unto
lawlessness”...also translated NIV “ever-increasing wickedness.”
Those who are under sin can only get worse. We see this today in the
world at large. Things that were considered out of bounds or even
morally repugnant even ten or twenty years ago are now only not
tolerated but celebrated...and if you don’t celebrate them you are
on the hit list!</div>
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<br /></div>
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The last part of verse 19…”so now
present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in
sanctification.” Paul is saying here that just as you devoted
yourself to unrighteousness in the past resulting in more
unrighteousness, now devote (or yield) yourself to righteousness
which results in sanctification. (We will talk about sanctification
more in a few minutes)</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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We might rephrase verse 20 as saying
“When you were slaves of sin, you had nothing to do with
righteousness.” The implication is that now that you are “slaves
to righteousness”, you should have nothing to do with sin!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Paul has a final argument to make to
the Roman believers as he continues to make the case that they have
nothing to do with sin. This time, he turns to their own experience.
This is a question everyone who has escaped sin should ask
themselves…”What benefit did you derive from your life of sin?
The word translated “benefit” literally is “fruit.” What was
the fruit of your life of sin? He answers it for them. The
outcome...the fruit is death. Separation from God. Separation from
all that is good and right. Eternal blackness. Eternal death. That is
the end of that road.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Another way of putting this is...where
is this road taking you? Is it taking you towards God, towards love,
peace, joy, etc., or is it leading you to death</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In verse 22, Paul continues to draw
contrasts. Now that we have been freed from our old wicked slaveowner
of sin and have come under God’s employ, the result, he says, is
sanctification, which leads to the ultimate outcome, eternal life.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Now let’s talk about sanctification.
(If you missed Sunday’s message on sanctification, you missed a
really good one! Pastor Mike’s message is available now on our
YouTube channel and our website).
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This is the first time that we’ve
encountered this word in Romans. Pastor Mike gave us one meaning of
sanctification on Sunday which is to consecrate or to dedicate to one
purpose. There is a finality to this. Look back at verse 13.
Sanctification is the “presenting of yourself to God...as
instruments of righteousness to God.” Instruments can mean a tool
or a weapon. Remember the paraphrase we started out with? “Neither
constantly yield your members of your body as weapons (or tools) of
unrighteousness to sin; but once and for all yield yourselves to
God.” This is the beginning of our sanctification…”it is once
and for all.” It is a transfer of ownership from one master to
another. It’s really what we’ve been talking about all along but
now we have a word for it!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sanctification also means “to be
separate” or “to be separated.” You might be surprised that
sanctification and holiness are almost interchangeable in scripture.
In fact, they both come from the same root. What is translated
“sanctification” here in NASB is actually translated “holiness”
in many other versions. Holiness is what God is. John Piper calls it
“his utterly unique, divine essence.” In this sense, it means
utterly separate. His ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts
higher than our thoughts.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
God is often described as righteous and
holy and we are called to righteousness and holiness. What is the
difference in these two terms? Righteousness generally describes
actions. God is “righteous is his ways” it says in Psalm 145.
What he does is righteous. What He is is holy. Hebrews 7:26 describes
Christ as our Great High Priest. It says He is “holy, innocent,
undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens.”
That is a pretty good description of what He is.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Correspondingly, we are called to be
not only righteous but holy. Righteousness is what we receive when we
trust in Christ. It is truly a gift from God. Holiness is higher than
righteousness. It is becoming like Christ. It is becoming more and
more conformed to the image of God’s Son.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
It is significant to me that the word
“holy” or “holiness” does not appear one time in Genesis.
Noah was called a righteous man. Abraham believed God and it was
counted to him as righteousness. Where do you suppose we find the
word “holy” in the Bible for the first time? It is in Exodus
3:5. Let me read it to you and see if you remember the context.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Then
He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your
feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Moses
at the burning bush. What made that ground holy? It was where God
was. It was transformed by his presence. God is getting ready to
deliver the Israelites from the bondage of Egyptian slavery to the
freedom of Canaan’s land. We will encounter the word holy 46 more
times in Exodus. God is not just wanting to make a righteous people.
He is wanting to make a holy people. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Look
back at verse 19 of Romans 6. Let’s read this substituting
“holiness” for “sanctification.” </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">(It
seems to me that generally sanctification is the process while
holiness is the end result of sanctification). We yield ourselves to
righteousness first. As we yield ourselves to God, who has made us
righteous in Christ, we begin to do the right thing more and more.
This doing the right thing changes us as we begin more and more to be
conformed not only in our actions but in our thinking. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Look
at verse 22. This seems to take it a step further. We are freed from
sin and enslaved to God, which results in sanctification (or
holiness), the end of this is eternal life. That is the outcome of
the process of sanctification. It doesn’t mean we earn eternal
life, but it means that’s where we’re headed. We will never be
fully sanctified until we get to the other side. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">BTW,
what is a saint? It is a person being sanctified! Remember in the
first chapter, Paul describes the Romans as “called as saints” or
“called to be saints.” A saint is not someone who lives a perfect
life. Rather, it is a person who is in the process of being made
Christ-like. Are you a saint? You bet you are?</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Let’s
look at verse 23 now. Paul wraps this section up with this very
famous verse. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of
God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord!” What is the end of
sin...death. God’s free gift is eternal life. We don’t often hear
this verse in context. Do you see that it is connected with
sanctification? Eternal life is a free gift, but so is
sanctification. Being made sanctified can be quite a painful process.
We talked earlier about being poured into a mold. That doesn’t
sound too pleasant, does it? Yet, even the process of sanctification
is in itself a gift...a free gift from God. Let’s thank God not
only for the end result but for the process that God uses to get us
there!</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">NKJV
Study Bible…</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background: #ffffff;">“<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Most
often this verse has been used as a promise of regeneration. The
phrase “eternal life” is used 42 times in NT, and it ususually
refers to something we receive as a gift at the moment of belief in
the gospel (as in John 3:16). But 11 of these 42 times, eternal life
is presented as something to be attained. Thus we learm from the
Bible that eternal life is not simply a static entity. It is a
dynamic and growing relationship with Jesus Christ Himself. (See John
10:10, 17:3). Through living in faith and obedience, Christians can
fully enjoy God’s free gift of eternal life.” </span></span></span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">I’d
like to end by sharing the story of one sanctified life. It’s good
to see a model...to see someone who is farther down the road than we
are. And this man was far, far down the road from me.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">His
name was Nicolas Herman. He was born in France in 1611 to a poor
family and he received little formal education. As a young man,
Nicolas joined the army and fought in the Thirty Year’s War against
England. At age 18, while he was still in the military, he had an
experience with God that began his spiritual journey. A short time
after his conversion, he had a serious injury that left him lame and
in pain for the rest of his life. This forced him to leave the army,
and he spent a period of time in solitude. Eventually, he entered a
monastery in Paris. He took the name Lawrence of the Resurrection. He
was then known as Brother Lawrence. </span></span></span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">His
lack of education kept him from qualifying as a priest. He spent the
rest of his life within the monastery, working in the kitchen for
most of this time and then later as a cobbler. While assigned to the
kitchen, he developed the practice of living always in conscious
awareness of God. </span></span></span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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Despite his humble position in the
community, his reputation attracted many visitors from the outside
who sought spiritual guidance from him. The practical wisdom that he
shared would later become the basis for this book, The Practice of
the Presence of God. His death in 1691 occurred in relative
obscurity, but his teachings continued to live on in his words.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
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I’d like to read a little from that
book:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
He told me that it all consists in one
hearty renunciation of everything that does not lead to God. In this
manner we develop the practice of continual communion with Him in
freedom and simplicity. We just need to recognize God as intimately
present with us and address ourselves to Him every moment. When in
doubt, we can ask His assistance in knowing His will. We can also ask
his help in performing those things which we know He requires of us.
We should offer everything to Him before we do it and give Him thanks
after we have finished.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Our sanctification does not depend upon
changing what we do, but in doing for God’s sake what we normally
do for our own sake.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I cannot describe what happens within
me now. There is no suffering or difficulty because I have no will
but God’s will. I attempt to accomplish God’s will in all things.
I am so surrendered to God that I would not pick up a straw from the
ground against His will, or from any other motive but love of Him. I
have stopped practicing all forms of devotion and set prayers, except
those which I am obliged to participate in. I make it my practice
only to persevere in His holy presence. I do this simply by paying
attention to, and directing my affection to, God. I call this the
actual presence of God. It is a habitual, silent, and secret
communion of the soul with God. This often causes such joys and
raptures inwardly, and sometimes also outwardly, that I am forced to
make an effort to moderate them to prevent their appearance to
others. In short, I am certain beyond all doubt that my soul has been
with God above during no the last thirty years.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I consider myself the most wretched of
men, full of wounds and uncleanness. I have committed all sorts of
crimes against my Sovereign. Prompted by heartfelt repentance, I
confess all my wickedness to Him. I ask His forgiveness and give
myself fully into His hands. He may do whatever He wants with me. But
my Lord, who is full of mercy and goodness, does not punish me. Hi
Instead he embraces me in love, seats me at His table, and serves me
with His own hands. He hands me the key to His treasure trove. He
converses with me and shows his delight in me incessantly in
thousands of ways. He treats me in all respects as His favorite son.
This is how I come into God’s holy presence. Most often my method
is a simple attention to God combined with a general sense of hunger
for God. I find myself often attached to God with the great sweetness
and delight of an infant at the mother's breast. I hesitate to use
the expression, but the inexpressible sweetness which I taste and
experience there is as if I were at the bosom of God at all times.
Sometimes my thoughts wander away from God by necessity or infirmity.
But soon an inner desire brings me back to God. This inward yearning
is so delightful and delicious that I am ashamed to describe it. I
desire that Your Reverence reflect upon my great wretchedness, of
which you are well aware, rather than upon the great blessings which
God bestows on me, of which I am unworthy and ungrateful. My set
hours of prayer are only a continuation of the same exercise I have
been describing. Sometimes I consider myself as a stone before a
sculptor, who is making a statue. I present myself to God, and I
desire Him to make His perfect image in my soul, and make me entirely
like Himself.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The spiritual life is neither an art
nor a science. To arrive at union with God all one needs is a heart
resolutely determined to apply itself to nothing but Him, do nothing
but for His sake, and to love Him only.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
He told me that it all consists in one
hearty renunciation of everything that does not lead to God. In this
manner we develop the practice of continual communion with Him in
freedom and simplicity. We just need to recognize God as intimately
present with us and address ourselves to Him every moment. When in
doubt, we can ask His assistance in knowing His will. We can also ask
his help in performing those things which we know He requires of us.
We should offer everything to Him before we do it and give Him thanks
after we have finished.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Our sanctification does not depend upon
changing what we do, but in doing for God’s sake what we normally
do for our own sake.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6368981312697645173.post-79526709932541635872019-07-18T15:43:00.004-05:002019-07-18T15:47:45.899-05:00Romans Bible Study #11 "Baptized Into His Death" Romans 6:1-14 (Video and Lesson Notes)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">To go to the beginning of the series on Romans, click <a href="http://bit.ly/2VgCW1j">here</a>...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">To go to the last study (#10), click </span><a href="http://bit.ly/2jIed8U" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">To watch the entire series on YouTube, click </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKP3bJ1_OiYuvvTSGbAU38s1w7deNmpab" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">...</span><br />
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Read Romans 6:1-14</div>
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So chapter 6 opens with a question
based on the last thought of chapter 5. We rejoice in this truth,
that where sin abounded, grace did much more abound (as in KJV) and
that as sin reigned in death, grace will reign through righteousness
much more. Paul, in chapter 6, opens with the question and answer
method that he has employed before in this book. It is as if there is
some imaginary person who Paul is talking to that keeps interrupting
him with questions. This was called the diatribe and was frequently
employed in ancient literature. What is the question that this
imaginary person poses to Paul? “Are we to continue in sin so that
grace may increase?” In other words, so if grace is going to
abound...literally superabound...over our sin, maybe we should just
sin more so that there will be more grace! Doesn’t that make
sense?
</div>
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<br /></div>
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What is Paul’s response to this
question? “May it never be!” This was one of the strongest
negative words in the Greek language. We might translate it, “No
way!” or “Absolutely not!” Then Paul gives an answer to why he
is pushing back at this idea so hard. He tells them, “Do you not
know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have
been baptized into His death?”
</div>
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<br /></div>
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This is the only time in Romans that
Paul speaks of baptism. I’m finding out that when you read
commentaries on this chapter about this verse and the next one, which
also speaks of baptism, that there are about as many ideas of what
Paul means as their are commentators. Rather than turn to
commentators, we want to turn to scripture itself to help us
understand what Paul meant here.
</div>
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<br /></div>
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Let’s look at baptism in other places
in the NT. First of all, there are several different baptisms
mentioned in the Bible. Can you name some? John’s baptism, Baptism
of the Holy Spirit, water baptism, are the three most predominate.
Let’s talk about John’s baptism briefly. Go with me to Matthew 3.
Let’s read beginning with verse 5. (Read Matthew 3:5-6) So John’s
baptism was a baptism of confessing sins, or of repentance as it says
later in the chapter. His baptism was preparing the way for the one
who could actually do something about their sins, who could atone for
them. John himself would point to a greater baptism to come. (Read
Matthew 3:11) John prophesies here that Jesus would baptize them with
the Holy Spirit and fire. I don’t think that this is two different
baptisms. Rather, I believe that this is two different ways of
describing the same experience. (In Mark, he says, “He will baptize
you with the Holy Spirit.)</div>
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<br /></div>
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When would this happen? At Pentecost.
Read Acts 1:4, 5. So here, Jesus reiterates John’s prophesy adding
“not many days from now.” Let’s go to Acts 2. Read 2:1-5. This
is the literal fulfillment of John’s prophesy. After this, Peter
preaches a powerful message. Let’s pick up at the end of this
message. (Read 2:37-42). After Peter himself had been filled with the
Holy Spirit, he was able to preach as he had never preached before.
And the gospel had an effect on people like it had never had before.
They were pierced to the heart, in other words, it went straight
through to the depths of their being. Their immediate response was,
“what shall we do?” Peter responds that they should repent and be
baptized in Jesus’ name for the forgiveness of sins. The result
would be that they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. He
would go on and exhort them to be saved. But...to be saved from what?
From this perverse generation. Three thousand responded. Did they
then go on their merry way and return to life as if nothing had
happened? Not hardly! Verse 42 says that they “continually devoted
themselves, to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to breaking
of bread (or communion), and to prayer. Let’s read on. (Read verses
43-44) When you read this, you can’t help but see power. These
people’s lives had been totally transformed by the work of the Holy
Spirit. Think about John’s prophecy. He said that this baptism
would be like fire. What does fire do when it touches something? It
burns out impurities. And it transforms. Nothing touched by fire is
ever the same again. These people would never be the same again. The
baptism of the Holy Ghost utterly changed their lives forever. Yet,
there were outward signs, but they were only a demonstration of what
had happened in the heart.
</div>
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<br /></div>
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Let’s go to one more scripture before
we go back to Romans. Read 1 Peter 3:18-21. Peter says that Jesus was
put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit. He mentions
Noah. He and his family were brought through a monumental baptism,
weren’t they. Were things different after their baptism in water?
You bet they were! When they left the ark, they were entering into a
new world. The old world was gone. In verse 21, Peter says that this
corresponds to baptism. Here, he is obviously talking of water
baptism. It doesn’t literally save us, but it is a figure of our
salvation. He says it’s not the removal of dirt from the physical
flesh, but “the answer of a good conscience before God.” (KJV)
When you are baptized, you are participating in a one-act drama. You
are portraying the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. You are
saying that you believe that Jesus died for your sins, that he was
buried for your sins, and that He was raised to intercede for you
forever. However, you are also acknowledging that something has
happened in you. You have been baptized with the Holy Ghost (which is
none other than the Spirit of Christ), that your sins are washed
away, that your conscience has been made clean...and that you have
been saved from the filth of this world...from this perverse
generation that you and I live in. You are not just saved from hell
to go to heaven. You are saved from the old life to begin a new life.
</div>
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<br /></div>
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(2 Cor. 2:14-17?)</div>
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<br /></div>
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Let’s go back to Romans 6. Let’s
re-read verses 3 and 4. How many baptisms were there at Pentecost? 2
. I believe there are two baptisms here in Romans 6 as well. There is
the baptism of the Holy Spirit in verse 3 which he described as being
baptized into Christ Jesus...being baptized into his death. This was
for those at Pentecost a transformative event. For those who have
been born of the Spirit or regenerated, it is also a transformative
event. In verse 3, Paul says, “therefore (or because of this) we
have been buried with Him through baptism into death,” (that’s
transformation...the old life is gone now!). As Jesus was raised into
a new life of power and purpose, so we now are raised that we might
walk into a new life.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
He goes on with this thought in verse
5. This baptism of the Holy Spirit unites us with Him in the likeness
of His death. Because of this, we can be assured that we will be
raised in the likeness of His resurrection. But Paul doesn’t stop
there. The effect of this is not only that we will ultimately be
raised with Christ at the final resurrection, but it has an effect
for right now. Look at the order of things in verse 6. First of all,
in this baptism, he says that our old man (or old self) was crucified
with Him. We died. What is the result of this death? That our body of
sin might be done away with? What do you think he meant by that? Do
you think he means the physical body? I don’t think so. My physical
body is still hanging around! I believe he’s talking about our old
life. The way we used to do things in the body. The word translated
“done away with” means “to render idle, inactivated,
unemployed.” Our old nature is still there, but now it’s
unemployed! What is the purpose of this body of sin being
inactivated? So that we would no longer be slaves to sin. In other
words, that we would now be free from sin. This is the answer to the
question in verse 1. Jesus doesn’t just save us from our sins so
that we can continue sinning. He saves us from our sins so that we
can be freed from sin!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Then in verse 7 Paul continues his
thought by saying that “he who has died is freed from sin.” What
do you think he means by that? In verse 6, he depicts sin as a
master. Before we are “baptized into Christ”, we are held in
bondage by that master. We sin because we are sinners. We are sinners
because we sin. Without Christ, we are alive to sin but dead to God.
With Christ, we are alive to God but dead to sin. This doesn’t mean
that we have no capacity to sin anymore. It means that we have lost
our love for sin. What tasted good to us doesn’t taste good
anymore. We are no longer rebels against God.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In verses 8 through 10, Paul uses
Christ as an example of being dead to sin. Jesus, of course, had no
sin, yet He became sin for us on the cross. In verse 10, it tells us
that He died to sin once for all. That was on the cross. The result
of sin was death. Sin did all it could to Christ. Sin killed him.
Your sins and my sins killed Jesus. But now, the result of that sin,
death, has no more dominion over Him. He died once, never to die
again. In Hebrews, it says, He ever lives to make intercession for
us. Here it says, “the life that He lives, He lives to God.”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Before we go on, I want to talk some
about this baptism into death. Paul takes it for granted that all of
his Roman brothers and sisters in Christ understand what he is
talking about...that they have all experienced this. I’m afraid
today that the average Christian wouldn’t have a clue what he’s
talking about. This “death to sin” is the call of Christ to walk
with Him. It is the call to leave all and follow Him. Repentance
means to turn one way and walk the other way. That is the essence of
what we are called to do in Christ. We cannot turn to Christ and His
new life without turning from the old life. Yet men today seem to
think that they can be in Christ and in sin at the same time.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bacholorette...Hannah Brown...<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>I
refuse to not stand in the sun. I refuse to feel shame. I refuse to
believe the lies and evil that flood my comments. I am standing firm
in believing that maybe God wants to use a mess like me to point to
His goodness and grace….“I have had sex and Jesus still loves
me!”</i></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>David Wilkerson…”The reason that
we continue in sin is because we don’t have the fear of God in
us…There is no victory over any besetting sin unless the fear of
God has been implanted.”</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We
live in an era of what Bonhoeffer called “cheap grace.” It is
grace that doesn’t change us. It is grace that gives us salvation,
but doesn’t call us to renounce sin. </span></span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>"Cheap
grace is the idea that "grace" did it all for me so I do
not need to change my lifestyle. The believer who accepts the idea of
"cheap grace" thinks he can continue to live like the rest
of the world. Instead of following Christ in a radical way, the
Christian lost in cheap grace thinks he can simply enjoy the
consolations of his grace." </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">~
Dietrich Bonhoeffer</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>"When
Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die." ~ Dietrich
Bonhoeffer</i></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Watchman
Nee:</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>If a believer could understand the
full implication of the cross at the time he is born anew he would be
freed wholly from sin on the one side and on the other be in
possession of a new life. It is indeed regrettable that many workers
fail to present this full salvation to sinners, so that the latter
believe just half God's salvation. This leaves them as it were only
half-saved: their sins are forgiven, but they lack the strength to
cease from sin. Moreover, even on those occasions when salvation is
presented completely sinners desire just to have their sins forgiven
for they do not sincerely expect deliverance from the power of sin.
This equally renders them half-saved.</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
If a person is “half-saved” as
Watchman Nee calls it, are they really saved? I wouldn’t bank on.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In the first 5 chapters of Romans, Paul
outlines the wonderful news of salvation by grace through faith.
Beginning in chapter 6, Paul gives us “the other side of the coin.”
This is what distinguishes “cheap grace” from “costly grace.”
Here, we are “bid to come and die.”
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Let’s look at one more scripture
before we move on in Romans:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Read Titus 2:11-14</div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>11
</b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For
the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>12
</b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">teaching
us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live
soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>13
</b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">looking
for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and
Savior Jesus Christ, </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>14
</b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">who
gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed
and purify for Himself </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>His</i></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
own special people, zealous for good works. (NKJV)</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">God’s
grace brings salvation. It is available to all men. But this same
grace teaches us that we should deny ungodliness, worldly lusts or
desires and that we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in
the present age. If we don’t teach that side of grace, we’ve only
taught half of the salvation story. That’s why we get so many “half
Christians.” I want to be a whole Christian, don’t you!</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Let’s
look at verse 11. Up until now, Paul has told us to do only one
thing. What is it? Believe. That is one side of the coin. Now, here
on the other side of the coin is the call to follow Christ...and die
to sin. He says, as Christ died and was raised to die no more, you
have died with Him to sin no more. Now...consider yourselves to be
dead to sin.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">To
die to sin does not mean that we can never sin anymore. As we’ve
already stated, it is death to the love of sin. Yet even the love of
sin can be resurrected in our lives if we don’t actively turn from
it. We have died to sin...now we have to act like it. And we have to
act like we are alive to God in Christ Jesus...which we are!</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Verse
12 goes on to say, “Therefore, or as a result of this, don’t let
sin reign in our mortal bodies so that we obey its lusts.” Remember
what we talked about last week from the last verse of chapter 5? Sin
at one time reigned in our lives, but now we are under the reign of
grace. Why would we now turn back to our former master?</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">At
the end of the Civil War, all of the slaves in the United States were
set free. Yet, not all of them knew that they were free for some
time. Some of them, though legally free, were practically in bondage
to their old masters. In some cases, even after they found out that
they were free, they returned to their old masters because it was
what they knew. They were comfortable with being in slavery. This is
how it is with so many Christians. They have been set free from sin,
but they return to their old way of life. They haven’t considered
themselves to be dead to their old master.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Look
at verse 13. Paul says don’t go on presenting the members of your
body as members of unrighteousness but instead present yourselves to
God. The slave that was legally free but still under the will and
sway of their old masters were not really free, were they? The word
translate “present” means “to stand beside” or “to place at
one’s disposal.” How crazy would it be to be free from your old
tyrannical master and then present yourself to be at his disposal?
Yet, I’m afraid that is what so many do!</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In
verse 14, Paul gives us the reason that we are not to present
ourselves to sin. Before we encountered Christ, sin had dominion over
us. It was our master. Yet, now, we have been made free from sin. We
are not under the law of sin but under grace.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I’d
like to end with the story of a man named William Cowper. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.11in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>William
Cowper was born in England on November 26, l73l. His life was full
of personal anguish. At five, his mother died, and Cowper, a timid
and sensitive child, was treated with great cruelty by an older boy.
Other school experiences were also painful. At eighteen William began
to study law, and fell in love with his cousin Theodora Cowper, but
her father did not approve of the match. Neither of them ever
married.</i></span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.11in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>After
completing law studies he made little exertion in the field. Later he
was offered a government position for which he would have to be
examined. William was so terrified of having to answer questions that
he worked himself into a fit of madness. At one point, he became so
despondent that he attempted suicide. After time in a private asylum,
he recovered his reason. Cowper moved to the country town of Olney,
where John Newton, the ex-slaver, was pastor. Soon they were close
friends.</i></span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.11in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>In
1771, Newton, became concerned with Cowper's increasing melancholy.
Hoping to lift his spirits by keeping him busy, Newton suggested that
he and Cowper co-author a book of hymns. Newton himself often wrote
hymns to illustrate his Sunday sermons. "</i></span></span><a href="https://www.godtube.com/popular-hymns/Amazing-Grace/"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><u>Amazing
Grace</u></i></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>"
is one of the 280 hymns he wrote for the Olney Hymns. Cowper wrote 68
of the hymns, including "Oh for a closer walk with God,"
"God moves in a mysterious way," and "There is a
fountain filled with blood."</i></span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.11in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>The
Olney Hymns first introduced Cowper to the world. Cowper kept writing
poetry and became famous. </i></span></span><span style="color: #343434;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="background: #fafafa;">In
1773, Cowper became engaged to Mary Unwin, but he suffered another
attack of madness. He had terrible nightmares, believing that God has
rejected him. Cowper would never again enter a church or say a
prayer. When he recovered his health, he kept busy by gardening,
carpentry, and keeping animals. In spite of periods of acute
depression, Cowper's twenty-six years in Olney and later at Weston
Underwood were marked by great achievement as poet, hymn-writer, and
letter-writer. His first volume of poetry, Poems by William Cowper,
of the Inner Temple was published in 1782 to wide acclaim. William
Cowper died of dropsy on April 25, 1800. At the time of his death,
his Poems had already reached their tenth printing.</span></i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.11in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #343434;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="background: #fafafa;">One
of his most famous hymns is hardly known now, yet I love the
sentiment of it. This depressed man, who even though famous, lived a
very difficult life, loved the Lord. He hated sin as much as he loved
God. So must we…</span></i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0.11in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #343434;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="background: #fafafa;"><br /></span></i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 1.14in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #343434;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">O
for a closer walk with God, A calm and heavenly frame, A light to
shine upon the road That leads me to the Lamb!</span></b></i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 1.14in; padding: 0in;">
<i style="color: #343434; font-family: Roboto, serif; font-size: 13pt;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">Where
is the blessedness I knew, When first I saw the Lord? Where is the
soul refreshing view Of Jesus, and His Word?</span></b></i></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.78in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #343434;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">What
peaceful hours I once enjoyed! How sweet their memory still! But they
have left an aching void The world can never fill.</span></b></i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.78in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #343434;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">Return,
O holy Dove, return,Sweet messenger of rest; I hate the sins that
made Thee mourn And drove Thee from my breast.</span></b></i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.78in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #343434;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">The
dearest idol I have known, Whate’er that idol be Help me to tear it
from Thy throne, And worship only Thee.</span></b></i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.78in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #343434;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">So
shall my walk be close with God, Calm and serene my frame; So purer
light shall mark the road That leads me to the Lamb.</span></b></i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.78in; padding: 0in;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6368981312697645173.post-89560591509779568272019-07-13T07:12:00.003-05:002019-07-13T07:14:36.313-05:00Romans Bible Study #10 - "The Reign of Grace" Romans 5:12-21 (Video and Lesson Notes)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">To go to the beginning of the series on Romans, click <a href="http://bit.ly/2VgCW1j">here</a>...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">To go to the last study (#9), click </span><a href="https://waynenalljr.blogspot.com/2019/06/romans-bible-study-9-exult-in-hope.html" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">To watch the entire series on YouTube, click </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKP3bJ1_OiYuvvTSGbAU38s1w7deNmpab" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">...</span><br />
<br />
Read 5:12-21</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Before we begin studying this text,
which to me is one of the most difficult to understand in NT, I want
to make a few suggestions about how to study the Bible, particularly
when you come to difficult passages like this one…</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Understanding Difficult Passages</div>
<ol>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Read prayerfully - ask God to
reveal His heart to you through this passage.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Read carefully - Don’t try to
rush through the text...slooow down! Read through the passage
several times, stopping to consider what the writer is trying to
communicate to you through the Holy Spirit. It’s more important to
get the meaning of the passage than to cover a certain amount of
material.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Read the text in other
translations.</div>
<ol type="a">
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Explain spectrum of
translations (slide)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Three types of
translations...Formal equivalent (NASB, KJV, NKJV, ESV), dynamic
equivalent (NIV, NLT), paraphrase (The Message, The Voice, Living
Bible)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Paraphrases -handle with care!</div>
</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Underline key words - notice
repetition of words.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Use scripture to interpret
scripture.</div>
<ol type="a">
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Good study Bible is very
helpful here (cross-references)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
OT quotation in NT - look it
up! (also vice versa)</div>
</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Use Bible study tools</div>
<ol type="a">
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Look up meaning of key words in
original language (Hebrew OT, Greek NT)</div>
<ol type="i">
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bible study apps (Tekarta -
Strong’s Concordance w/NASB or w/KJV)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bible Hub (includes HELPS
dictionary)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Vine’s dictionary of NT
words</div>
</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Look up meaning of key words in
English.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Use study Bible notes</div>
<ol type="i">
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Cultural background material
is especially helpful</div>
</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Commentaries (Handle with
care!)</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Online Bible studies (Handle
with care!)</div>
</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Personal application - So what?
How does this apply today? How does this affect my life and the
lives of those around me? How does this passage challenge me?</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Take notes as God reveals His
word to you.</div>
<ol type="a">
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Suggest paper Bible</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Don’t be afraid to write in
your Bible!</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Write dates by your notes</div>
</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After you’ve done some of
this...move on. Don’t get hung up on difficult passage so that it
keeps you from the rest of the section of the Bible you’re
studying.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Go back...Many times I have gone
back to a passage in a day or two and saw things that I had
completely missed previously.</div>
</li>
</ol>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Does anyone else have any Bible study
tips before we move on?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
What we want to do now is to apply some
of these techniques to our passage in Romans.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
(The significance of this passage that
we are studying tonight is that here we get our understanding of
original sin. How that death came upon all men. Why this world is so
broken. But we also get a clearer picture here of how it is that one
man could pay for the sins of many. How is it that Jesus could pay
for the sins of all of us?)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Vs. 12 What is the first thing that we
notice about this passage? First word is therefore-connects us to
previous passage. It can connect us to the very last thought of the
previous passage or it can connect us to the overall theme of the
previous chapter. In this case, I believe that it is a direct
connection to vs. 11. (Read the verse) Seems to me that Paul is about
to explain to us about what reconciliation is. Reconciliation means
change. Bible study note- God changes us from enemies to family.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Who is the one man through whom sin
entered into the world? Adam. So right off the bat we see that we
have an OT connection. Study Bible references Gen 2:17; 3:6, 19.
Story of fall of man...Our text says that it is through this one man
Adam that sin entered into the world, how death entered into the
world through sin. Additionally it tells us that because of this sin
in the garden, death spread to all men. This is because all sinned.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Notice also that there is a dash at the
end of verse 12. Why do you think that’s there? (No punctuation in
the original, but translators believe that Paul broke off his thought
here to be continued later. Some versions have 13-17 in parenthesis).
So what we are going to be reading for awhile is a parenthetical
thought. Not the main thrust of what Paul is talking about...but very
important!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Vs. 13-14 Paul begins this
parenthetical section by bringing up the Law of Moses again. He notes
that sin was in the world in the period of time between Adam and
Moses, even though it is true that sin is not imputed (remember that
word?) where there is no law. So...though there were no
transgressions of the law in that period, because the law had not yet
been given, there was sin. How do we know this? The text explains
that we know this because death reigned from Adam to Moses. We know
it because everyone from Adam to Moses died! This was true even
though men and women of this time period may not have sinned the very
same sin as Adam and Eve. In the context, Paul is saying that all
sinned in the first man Adam. This is the doctrine of original sin,
which he is about to further explain in the next verses.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>The argument in Romans 5:12-14 “runs
like this: We know that all men die. But death is the result of
disobeying the Law. There was no Law from Adam to Moses, but men
still died. A general result demands a general cause. What is that
cause? It can be only one thing: the disobedience of Adam. When Adam
sinned, he ultimately died. All of his descendants died, yet the law
had not been given. Conclusion: they died because of Adam’s sin.
“For all have sinned” means “all have sinned in Adam’s sin.”
Men do not die because of their own acts of sin (I would add "only");
otherwise, babies would not die. Men die because they are united
racially to Adam and “in Adam all men die” (1 Cor. 15:22). Warren
Wiersbe</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
At the end of verse 14, Paul identifies
Adam as a type of Him who was to come. Who was he talking about?
Christ</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yet, in the next three verses, 15-17,
Paul presents Christ more as the antitype of Adam than as the type.
He is going to show us the contrast between Adam and Christ.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Let’s look at theses three verses. Do
you see any words or phrases that are repeated?
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“Not like” is in verses 15 and 16</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“If by” is in verses 15 and 17</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“Much more” is in verses 15 and 17</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“Transgression is in all three
verses...5 times!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“Gift” is in all three verses...4
times.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“The One” is in all three
verses...6 times!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
There is a certain symmetry to these
verses.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Verse 15 - contrast between the free
gift of Christ and the sin of Adam. Paul says that through the
transgression of Adam, many died. The stream of humanity was polluted
at the source. Yet, the great contrast between the grace given to us
in Christ and the sin of Adam is that grace covers “much more”
than just our sin. In other words, it doesn’t just bring us back to
zero. There is “much more” than just having our sin covered. We
now in Christ have the ability to walk with God in a way far more
intimately than Adam and Eve ever had in the garden. Amazing thought!
Notice that God’s grace “abounds” to the many.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Verse 16 - in this verse are actually
two contrasts between Christ and Adam. The first contrast is that in
Adam, God’s judgment, which resulted in condemnation and death,
arose from one act of disobedience. In Christ, the need for the gift
of grace arose from many transgressions. The second contrast is that
the transgression of Adam resulted in condemnation, while the free
gift of Christ resulted in justification.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Vs 17 - Here Paul seems to take the
thought of verse 15 even further. Notice the word “reign" is
repeated. This contrast here is between the “reign of death”
ushered in by Adam’s sin and the “reign in life” through Jesus
Christ. Paul tells us that those who receive abundance of grace and
the gift of righteousness are able to reign as king “much more”
than death was able to ever reign through Adam.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<i>Formerly death
was our king, and we were slaves under its totalitarian tyranny. What
Christ has done for us is not just to exchange death’s kingdom for
the much more gentle kingdom of life, while leaving us in the
position of subjects. Instead, he delivers us from the rule of death
so radically as to enable us to change places with it and rule over
it, or reign in life. We become kings, sharing the kingship of
Christ, with even death under our feet now, and one day to be
destroyed. John Stott</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In verse 18, Paul begins to compare
Adam and Christ. The language changes from “not like” and “much
more” to “just as” and “so also”. In this verse also, we
seem to be picking up the main thought that Paul left off in verse
12. The similarity between Adam and Christ here is that “the one
act of the one man determined the destiny of the many.” The act of
Adam had a result on all men...that is all men who are in Adam’s
lineage (which happens to be all men). The act of Christ had a result
on all men who are in Christ’s lineage (which in other places we
know are those who believe). Of course, there is still embedded in
this verse quite a contrast, because the result of one was
condemnation and the result of the other is justification.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Vs. 19 expands on verse 18. This is
again both a comparison and a contrast. It was by one man’s
disobedience that “the many” were made sinners. “Even so”,
Paul says, it was through the obedience of One that “the many”
will be made righteous.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Vs. 20 goes back to talking about the
Law of Moses, which the Jews were so hung up on. He makes the
statement that the Law was given so that the transgression might
increase. This is very similar to what Paul said in 3:20 “because
by the works of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for
through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.” Yet, here Paul takes
it a step further. Under the Law, transgressions didn’t decrease,
they increased. Men were more accountable because now they knew
more...consequently they sinned more. Yet, the good news...the great
news of Romans 5:20 is that ‘where sin increased, grace abounded
all the more.”
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<i>NKJV Study
Bible: “The Greek term Paul uses means “superabounded” Not only
can sin never exceed the grace provided by God, sin loses its threat
when compared to the superabounding grace of God.”</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
He expands on this thought in verse 21.
Here is another contrast in a comparison. “As sin reigned in death,
even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Here again are the reign of death
and the reign of grace through the righteousness of Christ.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<i>Nothing could
sum up better the blessings of being in Christ than the expression
‘the reign of grace’. For grace forgives sins through the cross,
and bestows on the sinner both righteousness and eternal life. Grace
satisfies the thirsty soul and fills the hungry with good things.
Grace sanctifies sinners, shaping them into the image of Christ.
Grace perseveres even with the recalcitrant (stubborn), determining
to complete what it has begun. And one day grace will destroy death
and consummate the kingdom. John Stott</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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Verses 18-21 “The Voice”
translation (paraphrase</div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>So here is the result: as one man’s
sin brought about condemnation and punishment for all people, so one
man’s act of faithfulness makes all of us right with God and brings
us to new life. 19 Just as through one man’s defiant disobedience
every one of us were made sinners, so through the willing obedience
of the one man many of us will be made right.</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>20 When the law came into the
picture, sin grew and grew; but wherever sin grew and spread, God’s
grace was there in fuller, greater measure. No matter how much sin
crept in, there was always more grace. 21 In the same way that sin
reigned in the sphere of death, now grace reigns through God’s
restorative justice, eclipsing death and leading to eternal life
through the Anointed One, Jesus our Lord, the Liberating King.</i></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6368981312697645173.post-8264301095970174452019-06-20T14:21:00.003-05:002019-06-20T14:23:37.797-05:00Romans Bible Study #9 "Exult In Hope" Romans 5:1-11 (Video and Lesson Notes)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />To go to the beginning of the series on Romans, click <a href="http://bit.ly/2VgCW1j">here</a>...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">To go to the last study (#8), click </span><a href="https://waynenalljr.blogspot.com/2019/06/page-margin-0.html" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">To watch the entire series on YouTube, click </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKP3bJ1_OiYuvvTSGbAU38s1w7deNmpab" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">...</span><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Read Romans 5:1-11</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The first word of this chapter is key.
Remember that when you see a “therefore” you need to find out
what it’s “there for.” It’s there because everything in
chapter 5 is going to based on what we have learned in the latter
part of chapter 3 and all of chapter 4. The last part of chapter 3
was the basic outline of salvation. How it is that we became
justified before God. Chapter 4 describes what justification by faith
is and what it is not by using Abraham as an illustration of one who
walks by faith. Now we begin to look at the results of being
justified by faith.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Paul, in verse 1, says that the first
result of justification by faith is that we have peace with
God...through our Lord Jesus Christ. The Greek word for peace
(eirene) is akin to the Hebrew word for peace (shalom). Both mean
.”to join together as a whole”...“wholeness”..</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“The general meaning behind “shalom”
is of completion and fulfillment - of entering into a state of
wholeness and unity, a restored relationship...Shalom is the result
of God’s activity in covenant and is the result of
righteousness...Peace, in this case, means much more than mere
absence of war...completeness, wholeness, harmony, fulfillment, are
closer to the meaning. Implicit in shalom is the idea of unimpaired
relationships with others and fulfillment in one’s undertaking…”
(Theological Wordbook of the OT)</div>
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<br /></div>
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(It’s important to note that though
Paul wrote in Greek, he thought in Hebrew. This definition works in
both languages).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
So the result of our justification by
faith is that we now have peace with God...wholeness...unimpaired
relationship with God…</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This definition of “unimpaired
relationship with God” leads us right into verse 2. Paul says that
in addition to this peace, we also have obtained our introduction by
faith into this grace in which we stand. Many versions use the word
“access” instead of introduction. Both are useful.
</div>
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<br /></div>
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There was a barrier in the temple to a
Jew having complete access into the Holiest of Holies...the innermost
room in the temple where God dwelt…(in Hebrews we learn that it
symbolizes heaven itself)...What was it? The veil of the temple. We
know that at the crucifixion that veil was torn. This symbolized the
fact that God’s people now have complete access to all of God and
all that is in God. What about the Gentile? He was not allowed to get
anywhere near the veil. There was “a middle wall of partition”
that kept him out. It was a wall that separated the Gentiles from the
Jews. On that wall was a sign that stated that Gentiles were not
allowed to go any farther. Let’s look at what Paul says elsewhere
about this wall…</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Read Ephesians 2:14-18</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
So now, as Gentiles we also have
complete access to all that there is in God...through our Lord Jesus
Christ. One definition of the word translated “introduction” or
“access” is “to have access (approach), with intimate
(face-to-face) interaction…”... All three occasions of (this word
in scripture) refer to "having audience (direct access) with
God". The fact that it also means “introduction” tells us
that this is just the starting point of our Christian life. And what
is it that we have “access” or “introduction” to? It is
Grace. Paul uses “Grace” here in a metaphorical sense. We have
access into a vast domain called grace. Picture a king’s palace
named “Undeserved Favor” or “Grace” which we now have access
to. He says we stand in it. E.g. it is not a place to which we come
and go as a visitor but a place in which we live. Grace is our new
home. We don’t live in the do’s and don’ts of law, but in the
unmerited favor of God. His grace is what we depend on every day. Not
our merit but His. What is the result of this “standing in grace?”
He says we exult in hope of the glory of God.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #001320;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">One
very important item in determining a man’s power of... standing
firm against whatever assaults may be hurled against him, is the sort
of footing that he has. If you stand on slippery mud, or on the ice
of a glacier, you will find it hard to stand firm; but if you plant
your foot on the grace of God, then you will be able to ‘withstand
in the evil day, and having done all to stand.’ And how does a man
plant his foot on the grace of God? simply by trusting in God, and
not in himself. So that the secret of all steadfastness of life, and
of all successful resistance to the whirling onrush of temptations
and of difficulties, is to set your foot upon that rock, and then
your ‘goings’ will be established. </span></i></span></span></span><span style="color: #001320;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Alexander
MacLaren</span></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
What does “exult” mean? The English
word has an interesting meaning. It is from a Latin word which means
“to leap upward...to show or feel elation or jubilation especially
as the result of a success.” In this case, though, our jubilation
is not in our success but in the success of our Savior.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Greek word behind this is even more
interesting It means <u>living with "head up high</u>,"
i.e. boasting from a particular vantage point by having the right
base of operation to deal successfully with a matter...figuratively,
<u>it refers to living with God-given confidence.” </u>This word
is translated “boast in many other places in the NT. So we don’t
boast in ourselves, but we boast in our God!
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Paul says we boast in hope of the glory
of God. We learned last week that Biblical hope is not a wish. It is
earnestly expecting something to happen. We might say it means “we
can bank on it.” John Stott calls it “a joyful and confident
expectation which rests on the promises of God.” That’s what we
glory in, what we boast in...what we exult in…</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In verse 3, Paul takes a curious turn.
Verses 3-5 remind me of when I was a small child and my father would
take me into the pool or lake. I could stay in the kiddie pool by
myself, but, not being able to swim, I couldn’t go into the deeper
waters without an adult. My dad would put me on his shoulders and we
would wade out into the deeper waters. That was fun...because I knew
that my dad was carrying me there...but it wasn’t long before I’d
be ready to go back into the kiddie pool...Later in Romans we will be
going into some deeper theological waters...we will go from milk to
meat...In these three verses we wade out into the deeper waters...on
Daddy’s shoulders…</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
What is curious when we get into verse
3, at least it would be curious to a baby Christian, is that Paul
makes the stunning statement that we also exult in our tribulations.
Remember, exult means a feeling of jubilation...a leaping upward. How
in the world are we to “exult in tribulations?” Aren’t
tribulations bad?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Actually, when we look at the word
translated “tribulations”, it is really bad...It actually means
“pressure” (what constricts or rubs together), used of a narrow
place that "<u>hems someone in</u>";...especially <u>internal
pressure that causes someone to feel confined (restricted, "without
options").</u> [By contrast, (another Greek word most often
translated as “distresses or difficulties”) focuses on the
external pressure exerted by circumstances.] Now, none of that seems
like something we would want for ourselves. Yet, Paul says we are
elated...ecstatic and jubilant in our tribulations. How is that? It
is because of what follows.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Paul says that we can rejoice in our
tribulations because they bring about perseverance. Now, understand
that it is not inevitable that they bring about these things. This is
what is supposed to happen. It is what happens when we yield to God
and “stand in His grace.” Now this word translated “perseverance”
is also translated as “endurance”, “patient endurance”, and
“steadfastness.” It’s root means “to remain under”. It is
not a “gritting your teeth” endurance where you just gut it out
but are a mess inside, but it is “patiently enduring”
tribulations. How can we patiently endure tribulations? Through
faith in God. By knowing that “nothing can separate us from the
love of God in Christ Jesus” (to jump ahead to chapter 8). By
knowing that as a child of a king nothing will happen to us that God
cannot and will not in time turn to something good. By knowing that
we can trust His heart...that He has plans to prosper us and not to
harm us...to give us a hope and a future. (Jer. 29:11).
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
There is a natural progression to each
of these things in Romans 5:3, 4. We could not know anything about
perseverance or endurance unless we first have tribulations and
troubles. And it takes perseverance to come to the next thing. In
verse 4, it says tells us that perseverance leads to proven
character. What do you think he meant by that?
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The word translated “proven
character” is “dokime” which means <span style="color: #001320;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">(the
process or result of) trial, proving, approval. I came across some
interesting background on this word…</span></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
"In the ancient world there was no
banking system as we know it today, and no paper money. All money was
made from metal, heated until liquid, poured into moulds and allowed
to cool. When the coins were cooled, it was necessary to smooth off
the uneven edges. The coins were comparatively soft, and of course
many people shaved them closely. In one century, more than eighty
laws were passed in Athens to stop the practice of whittling down the
coins then in circulation. <u>But some money-changers were men of
integrity, who would accept no counterfeit money; they were men of
honour who put only genuine, full-weight money into circulation. Such
men were called dokimos, and this word is used here for the Christian
as he is to be seen by the worl</u>d." (Donald Grey Barnhouse,
Romans: God's Glory, p. 18.)</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
So how do we get to be a “spiritual
dokimos”, a person of absolute integrity...a man or woman of proven
character? By persevering under tribulation. By remaining in a state
of absolute trust and peace before God even in the tremendous
pressures of life. And what is the result of the proven character
that we develop? It is hope! Remember, we started with hope. Now we
come around full circle to hope. So...have we gained anything?
Absolutely yes! We have gone from a baby hope to a mature hope. Now
we have a much greater, much more grounded hope. And what is our
hope? It is of course in Christ.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Verse 5 says that this hope does not
disappoint us? Have you ever had a hope in something that turned out
to be groundless? I dare say all of us have at one time or another.
Life is full of great disappointments...yet Paul assures us that this
hope in God will never disappoint us. What evidence do we have for
this? Paul gives us the evidence of the Holy Spirit. He tells us
that it is because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts
by the Holy Spirit which was given to us. Remember, one of the names
of the Holy Spirit is “Comforter.” He comforts us by
strengthening us...by pouring out the love of God in our hearts. Now
this “pouring out’ is not a trickle. It is literally a “gushing
out.” The evidence that our hope is real is that the love of God
gushes out from God into our hearts...and the Holy Spirit is the one
doing this. BTW...this is the first time the Holy Spirit is
mentioned in Romans.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
John Stott:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
‘Under the vivid metaphor of a
cloudburst on a parched countryside’,what the Holy Spirit does is
to make us deeply and refreshingly aware that God loves us.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This verse serves as a transition to
verses 6-11. Now, he is, in effect, taking us back out of the deeper
waters (we will be going back into them shortly!) of tribulations and
perseverance into the wonderful truths about the love of God. Yet,
whether we are new born Christians or mature Christians who have been
in the faith for decades, these truths never get old. If someone is
studying advanced trigonometry, do they not need the basics of
addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division? No, and we
still need to go back to the truths of the basics of our faith. In
verses 6-11, Paul tells us about the love of God. He wants us to get
the full impact of what the love of God is...we need to go back and
reflect on how much God really loves us.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Verse 6 says that Jesus Christ died at
the right time. God chose a time...the perfect time...to send his
son to die for our sins. This was true in history, but it is also
true in our experience. There is a perfect time that each of us comes
to know that Jesus died for our sins...That time, is when we were
helpless...when we came to the end of our strength. At that time,
Jesus died for the ungodly...that’s you and me.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Then in verse 7, Paul makes the point
that hardly anyone would die for a righteous man...that is, a man who
was righteous according to the law. Paul at one time said that as a
Pharisee he was righteous according to the law. Of course, he was
also self-righteous. He goes on to say that for a good man, someone
might be willing to die. That is...a man who was not only righteous
in the externals but in the internals. Someone who truly loved God…</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
But then verse 8 makes the point that
we were none of those. We weren’t righteous and we weren’t good.
We were the ungodly. Let’s re-read this verse...I’m going to read
this in the old King James just because I like it so well…</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">But
God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us.</span></i></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Not
when we were righteous. Not when we were good. When we were
helpless. When we were ungodly. When we were sinners. When we were
rebels against God. This is an astounding verse. It’s the essence
of Christianity. Christ died for sinners. Christ died for us. </span></span></span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">There
is one curious thing about this verse that grabs my attention. When
he said ‘Christ died for us”, what tense is that in? Past tense.
It happened in the past...in a given point in history...almost 2000
years ago. But when he says, “God commendeth His love to us” or
“God demonstrates His love to us”, what tense is that in?
Present tense. You see, though Jesus died at a given point in
history, the application of the benefits of that death is an ongoing
thing. It reminds me of the fact that when an animal was slain in the
temple, it was at a given point in time. Yet the blood from the
animal (and other animals) was then taken into the Holy Place where
it was used continuously. This is a type of the continuing work of
the Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Now
let’s do another little word study. The word translated
“demonstrate” means “to stand near”...</span></span></span><span style="color: #001320;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">
referring to facts "lining up" with each other to </span></span></span></span><span style="color: #001320;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">support
</span></i></span></span></span><span style="color: #001320;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">(</span></span></span></span><span style="color: #001320;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">commend</span></i></span></span></span><span style="color: #001320;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">)
something. It is standing near to support a thing. KJV uses
“commendeth.” We don’t use the word “commend” much, but we
do use a similar word…”recommend.” When we recommend someone we
are supporting them. What Paul is saying I think is that we never
have to doubt the love of God, because He made the ultimate
expression of His love to us in sending His son to die for us when we
were completely helpless, without strength...even rebels against Him.
It is an ongoing recommendation of His love. We should never doubt
His love as long as we continually go back to the cross to see how
much He loves us. </span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #001320;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">This
leads directly into verse 9. Because we have now been justified, we
now can be assured that we will ultimately be saved from the wrath of
God through Jesus. Why is this? Verse 10 explains further. He died
for us when we were enemies to God, and we were reconciled when we
were rebels to Him through the death of His Son. Now that we have
been reconciled, Paul says that we shall be saved by His life...that
is, the life of Jesus. What does he mean by this? There is a verse in
Hebrews that I believe sheds light on what this passage is about. </span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #001320;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Hebrews
7:25 (NKJV)</span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #001320;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">25
</span></b></span></span><span style="color: #001320;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Therefore
He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God
through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #001320;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">This
verse is talking about the ongoing priesthood of Christ. After Jesus
rose from the dead, He ascended to heaven and sat down at the right
hand of God. What is He doing today in heaven? He is making
intercession for those who come to God through Him. What is the
result of this intercession? They are saved to the uttermost. (NASB
says “forever”, but this word means more than only “for all
time.” It also means “completely.” “perfectly”, “utterly”.
This tells me that the work of salvation is ongoing. There is a sense
in which we can say not that we were saved or are saved but that we
are being saved. He is continually ministering in heaven on our
behalf. We are being saved by His life...that is, by His living
today. Our salvation will not be complete until He takes us home.
Remember this scripture…?</span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #001320;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">
</span></span><span style="color: #001320;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">being
confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in
you will complete </span></span></span></span><span style="color: #001320;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">it
</span></i></span></span></span><span style="color: #001320;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">until
the day of Jesus Christ; (Phil. 1:6 NKJV)</span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #001320;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">That
good work in us is the work of salvation...of reconcilliation to God.
We won’t be fully reconciled to Him until “the day of Jesus
Christ.” When He comes back to get us. That day, all will be
completed. That will be the day of our full salvation. </span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #001320;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Let’s
look at one more verse. Verse 11 flows out of verse 10. In verse 10,
it says we WERE reconciled by the death of Jesus and that we SHALL BE
saved by his life ultimately. In verse 11, it says we have NOW
received the reconciliation. Now received. This is for now. Paul
says that we exult in Christ (there is that word exult again!)
because we presently have the reconciliation. Salvation is not just
something in the past that we can look back on, nor something in the
future that we can look forward to, but something that we presently
possess. Why? Because He always lives to make intercession for us.
That’s something we can exult in!</span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.21in;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.21in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">George
Matheson suffered poor eyesight from birth, and at age 15 learned
that he was going blind. Not one to be easily discouraged, he
enrolled in the University of Glasgow and graduated at age 19. He
then began theological studies, and it was while pursuing those that
he became totally blind.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.21in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Matheson’s
three sisters rose to the occasion and tutored him through his
studies—even going so far as to learn Hebrew, Greek, and Latin to
be able to help their brother. With their help he was able to
complete his studies.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.21in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">After
graduation, he answered a call to serve as pastor of a church in
Innellan, Argylshire, Scotland. He had a successful ministry there,
and was later called to serve as pastor of the much larger (2000
member) St. Bernard’s Church in Edinburgh.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.21in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">On
the day that one of his sisters was married, Matheson wrote this
hymn. He recorded this account of that experience in his journal:</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.21in;">
<span style="background: #ffffff;">“<span style="font-size: small;">My
hymn was composed on the evening of June 6, 1882. I was at that time
alone. It was the day of my sister’s marriage... Something had
happened to me which was known only to myself, and which caused me
the most severe mental suffering. The hymn was the fruit of that
suffering. It was the quickest bit of work I ever did in my life. I
had the impression of having it dictated to me by some inward voice
than of working it out myself. I am quite sure that the whole work
was completed in five minutes, and equally sure that it never
received at my hands any retouching or correction...</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.21in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Matheson
obviously didn’t intend to tell us what caused his “most severe
mental suffering,” but people who know his background strongly
suspect that it had to do with a heartbreaking experience several
years earlier. His fiancee had broken her engagement to him, telling
him that she couldn’t see herself going through life married to a
blind man. Matheson never married, and it seems likely that his
sister’s wedding brought to memory the woman that he had loved and
the wedding that he had never enjoyed.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.21in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">At
any rate, Matheson’s “severe mental suffering” inspired him to
write this hymn, “O Love that Wilt Not Let Me Go.” The hymn
celebrates the constancy of God’s love—”love that wilt not let
me go”—”light that follow’st all my way”—”joy that
seekest me through pain.” It concludes by celebrating “Life that
shall endless be.”...</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.21in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">When
I read the various accounts of Matheson’s writing this hymn, one
sentence struck me as especially important. It was this—Matheson
said, “The hymn was the fruit of that suffering.” There is an
important lesson in that. All of us suffer some sort of heartbreak
or disappointment or disability at some point in our lives. What
makes all the difference is our response —whether we let the
hardship stop us or inspire us to greater effort.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.21in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Matheson
suffered two severe blows that could have stopped him—the loss of
his eyesight and the loss of his beloved. In both cases, he made the
best of a bad situation—and we are all the richer for it. As this
hymn reveals, it was his faith in God that kept him going through the
adversities that he suffered. He believed that God’s love would
not let him go—and that God’s light would follow him all his
way—and that God’s joy would seek him through his pain—and that
faith made all the difference.</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">O
Love that will not let me go,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
I rest my weary soul in thee;</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
I
give thee back the life I owe,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
That in thine ocean depths its
flow</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
May richer, fuller be.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">O
Light that foll’west all my way,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
I yield my flick’ring
torch to thee;</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
My heart restores its borrowed ray,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
That in
thy sunshine’s blaze its day</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
May brighter, fairer be.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">O
Joy that seekest me through pain,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
I cannot close my heart to
thee;</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
I trace the rainbow through the rain,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
And feel the
promise is not vain,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
That morn shall tearless be.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
O
Cross that liftest up my head,<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
I dare not ask to fly from
thee;</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
And from the
ground there blossoms red</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
Life that shall endless be.</span><br />
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<br /></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6368981312697645173.post-27344758686279429962019-06-14T07:24:00.001-05:002019-06-20T14:24:53.137-05:00Romans Bible Study #8 "Father Of Us All"..Romans 4:13-25 (Video and Lesson Notes)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">To go to the beginning of the series on Romans, click <a href="http://bit.ly/2VgCW1j">here</a>...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">To go to the last study (#7), click </span><a href="https://waynenalljr.blogspot.com/2019/06/romans-bible-study-7-righteousness.html" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">To go to the next study (#9), click <a href="https://waynenalljr.blogspot.com/2019/06/romans-bible-study-9-exult-in-hope.html">here</a>..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">To watch the entire series on YouTube, click </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKP3bJ1_OiYuvvTSGbAU38s1w7deNmpab" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">...</span><br />
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Review 4:1-12</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Read 4:13-25</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
So in the section we’ve already
covered, Paul explains to us that Abraham was not saved by his works,
nor by circumcision, but by faith alone. In verses 13-15, he goes on
to explain that Abraham was not saved by keeping the law.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I believe it would be beneficial to us
to read from a similar teaching Paul had written to the churches in
Galatia years before. Let’s read Gal. 3:16-19.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
There are a lot of things we could talk
about in this section, but I mainly wanted us to read this to note
that Paul brings out to the Galatians what every good Jew would have
already known...that the law was not given for many centuries after
Abraham. Therefore, the idea that Abraham was justified by law
keeping was untenable. We talked last week about how many Jewish
teacher’s of Paul’s day believed that Abraham was justified by
works. Paul refutes that argument in the first part of Romans 4. Many
of them also believed (believe it or not!) that Abraham was justified
by law keeping...even though the law would not be given for
centuries!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ancient passages from the rabbis say:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“We find that Abraham our father had
performed the whole Law before it was given…” They argued that he
kept the law long before it was given...by intuition. Paul refutes
this idea both in Galatians and in Romans 4.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In verse 13, Paul identifies God’s
words to Abraham in Genesis 15 (which we read last week) as “the
promise.” This promise was given to Abraham as he was told to look
up at the stars and count them…”if you are able to count them,”
God said. “So shall your descendants be.” In Romans 4, Paul
describes this promise in all it’s vastness...that he should be the
heir of the world. In a sense, this might be a restatement of what
God had told Abraham years earlier that “in you all the families of
the earth shall be blessed.” (Gen. 12:3) In Psalm 37, David would
tells us that “those who wait for the Lord will inherit the land
(vs. 9) and “...those blessed by Him will inherit the land…”
Jesus would rephrase this in Sermon on the Mount in saying “Blessed
are the meek (or gentle), for they will inherit the earth.” (Matt.
5:5)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Paul in vs. 13 says that this promise
was not through law but through “the righteousness of faith.” In
vs. 14 he argues that if those who keep the law are the heirs of this
promise, then “faith is made void and the promise is of no effect
(KJV) or nullified.” The law of Moses and the promise God made to
Abraham were at odds with each other. As we already read in
Galatians, “For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer
based on a promise.” It is one or the other...it can’t be both.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“”<i>Law and promise belong to
different categories of thought, which are incompatible. Law-language
(‘you shall’) demands our obedience, but promise-language (‘I
will’) demands our faith.What God said to Abraham was not ‘Obey
this law and I will bless you’, but ‘I will bless you; believe my
promise’.”</i> John Stott</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In verse 15, Paul gives a reason for
this…”for the Law brings about wrath (or judgement), but where
there is no law, there also is no violation (or transgression).”
This is not saying that where there is no law, there is no sin.
Remember, Paul has already brought out the point in chapter 3 that
the law was to give knowledge of sin, not to save us from sin. This
is saying that you can’t break a law that hasn’t been given yet.
If there was no law that says you can’t murder someone, murderers
would not be violators of the law, but that is hardly the same thing
as saying that murder is not wrong.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We actually have had this sort of thing
happen in our society often. Slavery was allowed in our country
before the Civil War. There was no law against it in many southern
states. It would have been impossible to arrest a slave-owner for
owning slaves before a law was passed making this a crime. Does that
mean that it was right to own slaves before then? Of course not! More
recently, in the south segregation was practiced. Separate drinking
fountains between blacks and whites, separate schools, even separate
places on busses. No one could be arrested for this because there was
no law against segregation. (In fact, the law was written for
segregation!) Once a law was written, in was now “against the law.”
Yet, there was always something wrong about it.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In verse 16, Paul begins to pull
together everything from the previous 15 verses. (“For this reason”
is usually translated “therefore.” I think this makes more
sense.) The first part of this verse in Amplified Version reads:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background: #ffffff;">“<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Therefore,
[inheriting] the promise depends entirely on faith [that is,
confident trust in the unseen God], in order that </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">it
may be given</span></i></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">
as an act of grace [His unmerited favor and mercy],”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">So
the promise is given by grace and received by faith. “Grace gives
and faith takes.” Paul would say much the same thing in Ephesians
2:8-9:</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background: #ffffff;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">For
by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should
boast. (NKJV)</span></i></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Paul
says that this salvation is the gift of God, not of works. In Romans
4:16, he says that this was so that it might be sure or guaranteed to
all the seed, or all the descendants, not only the physical
descendants of Abraham, but the spiritual descendants of Abraham,
that is, those who have the same kind of faith that Abraham had.
Abraham, he says, is the father of us all, not only Jews but Gentile
believers as well! Paul is saying to us that when we believe God, we
have a guaranteed promise from God that we will inherit all things,
including eternal life. It is not based on lineage, not on pedigree,
not on law-keeping, not on circumcision. It is based on God and His
gracious provision. It is guaranteed because it is all based on God!
This promise is as trustworthy as God Himself! When we simply
receive this promise, we never have to doubt anymore. It is “sure
to all the seed.” In the first part of verse 17, Paul bases this
“father of us all statement” on the scripture in Genesis 17:5
where God said “A father of many nations have I made you.” </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">This
verse really begins a turning point in Paul’s argument. From here
on out, it seems that he is talking not only of Abraham’s initial
faith in Gen. 15, where God gives him this promise, but now he is
also bringing in Abraham’s more developed faith in Gen. 17, which
occurs about 14 years later, when he is 99. Let’s go back and read
this account.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Read
Gen 17:1-7</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">So
now, after 14 years, Abraham (who up until this time is actually
called “Abram” or “Father”) has still yet to receive the
promised seed, which was promised to him and Sarah first in Gen. 12
(when he was 75 and she was 65) and then in Gen. 15 (when he was 85
and she was 75). Let’s notice that in Gen. 12, all that Abraham was
required to do is believe. Here is required to believe and obey. I
think this is often overlooked. The promise was not conditional on
Abraham’s obedience, but on his faith. Yet this certainly did not
mean that God did not require obedience from Abraham. God absolutely
expected obedience from Abraham. But it was not obedience to law, but
it was obedience that was born out of faith. Because you believe me,
God is saying to Abraham, “I expect that belief to produce a
blameless walk before Me. Because of my relationship with you,
Abraham, your seed will be multiplied exceedingly. My covenant is
with you, and you will be the father of a multitude of nations.”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">This
is where God changes his name from “Abram” (father) to “Abraham”
(father of many). It was at this time also that God gave Abraham and
his seed the covenant of circumcision, which Paul has already said in
Romans 4, was a seal of Abraham’s faith. In the same way, our
obedience to God is what identifies us as bearers of Abraham’s
faith. Obedience is the fruit of faith. When we see fruit on a tree
or on a vine, we now know that life is there...and we even know what
kind of life by the fruit. If it’s apples, it must be an apple
tree!</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Back
in Romans 4:17, Paul identifies this God who made Abram into Abraham
“father of many”as the God who “gives life to the dead”
(resurrection) and “calls into being that which does not exist”
(creation). Both of these things are not natural, but supernatural.
Abraham believed in a God who would give him descendents
supernaturally. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">In
verse 18, it says that Abraham “against hope believed in hope.”
(KJV). In other words, when there was no human reason to hope that
the promise would be fulfilled (he was, after all, 99 and Sarah was
89, right?), he still believed the promise. He “hoped against
hope.”(actually, this phrase had its origin in this verse) This
doesn’t mean that he had a mere wish. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">To
get the idea of what this hope involved, let’s go ahead and re-read
18-22.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Listen
to what John Stott says about this section:</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">This
firm conviction about the power of God was what enabled Abraham to
believe, both against all hope and in hope at the same time, when
God promised him that his descendants would be as many as the stars,
although at that time he and Sarah did not have even a single
child... It is not that he ran away from the realities of his
situation into a world of fantasy. On the contrary, without weakening
in his faith, he faced the fact, indeed the two painful, stubborn
facts, that he could not beget a child and that Sarah could not
conceive one. For the facts were that his body was as good as
dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s
womb was also dead Yet out of that double death God brought a new
life. It was at one and the same time an act of creation and of
resurrection. For this is the kind of God Abraham believed in.</span></i></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">When
you see the word “hope”, think “earnest expectation.” Abraham
expected God to fulfill His promise, though there was no earthly
reason to think for. His hope was grounded in his view of God, not in
his view of man. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">It
is amazing to me that our text says that Abraham “did not waver in
unbelief but grew strong in faith.” Did Paul not know what happened
between chapters 15 and 17? Let me give you a hint...his name was
Ishmael! Abraham took matters into his own hands, according to the
custom of the day, and fathered a child by Sarah’s handmaid. God
would explain to Abraham later in chapter 17 that the promised seed
would not come through Ishmael but through another child yet to be
born, not through Sarah’s handmaid but through Sarah herself...and
God even told him what the son’s name was to be...Isaac. This tells
me that we can make many mistakes and, in God’s eyes, still be
considered strong in faith. Isn’t that comforting! You see, I
believe that Abraham’s siring of Ishmael was a mistake. It was not
God’s perfect will...but it was an honest mistake. I honestly
believe that Abraham believed that he was carrying out God’s
promise in producing Ishamel, but of course he was wrong. God
actually told Abraham that he would bless Ishmael and would make him
a great nation. If the covenant which God had made with Abraham was
based on Abraham’s works, it would have been negated right there.
No, it was based on God’s works and God’s faithfulness. </span></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">In
the end, Abraham grew strong in faith, believing that what God had
promised, he was able also to perform. </span></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">As
we look at Abraham as “the father of us all”, his faith gives us
a good idea about what real faith really is.</span></span></span></div>
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<ol>
<li>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Abraham
did not just believe that God exists. Hebrews 11:6 says that “he
who comes to God must believe that He is, and </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">that</span></i></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">
He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Abraham
believed the actual promise of God. His faith was not a dead faith
but a living, active faith.</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Abraham’s
faith was a continuing faith. It wasn’t a once-in-a-lifetime
faith. The faith that is taught today is often built around a
one-time confession. Some teach that once you make that confession,
you’re in. If it’s not continuing faith, it’s really no faith
at all. </span></span></span>
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</li>
<li>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Abraham’s
faith was a growing faith. He “grew strong in faith.” </span></span></span>
</div>
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<li>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Abraham’s
faith was an unwavering faith. “He did not waver in faith.”
Though he made mistakes, he never doubted God’s promise. </span></span></span>
</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Abraham’s
faith was an obedient faith. God told Abraham to walk before Him and
to be blameless. </span></span></span>
</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Abraham’s
faith was a tested faith. Even to the point, in the end, of being
willing to offer up his son on the altar. (Gen. 21) Hebrews
11:17-19 tells us this…</span></span></span></div>
</li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">By
faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had
received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it
was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” concluding that
God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also
received him in a figurative sense.</span></i></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Abraham’s
faith is the model for our faith. Abraham’s faith is true, saving
faith.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">It
was there on Mt. Moriah that Abraham demonstrated the culmination of
a lifetime of faith. There, even more than any other time in his
life, he demonstrated his belief that “what God had promised, He
was able also to perform. And it was there that we have a picture of
one who was greater than Abraham. Abraham’s son Isaac was
figurative raised from the dead. God’s only Son, Jesus Christ, was
literally raised from the dead. God the Father slayed His only Son on
the cross. </span></span></span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Let’s
re-read the final three verses of Romans 4.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">When
we believe in Him who was delivered because of our transgressions,
and raised because of our justification, when our faith in Jesus
Christ is real like Abraham’s faith in God the father is real, our
faith in credited to us as righteousness. That is real, abiding
faith.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br /></div>
Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6368981312697645173.post-77681354608351984402019-06-07T19:01:00.002-05:002019-06-07T19:03:39.307-05:00Romans Bible Study #7 "Righteousness Through Faith" - Romans 4:1-12 (Video and notes)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />To go to the beginning of the series on Romans, click <a href="http://bit.ly/2VgCW1j">here</a>...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">To go to study #6, click </span><a href="https://waynenalljr.blogspot.com/2019/06/romans-bible-study-6-but-now-romans-3.html" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">..</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">To watch the entire series on YouTube, click </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKP3bJ1_OiYuvvTSGbAU38s1w7deNmpab" style="font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">...</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Before we can move on, I feel we need to spend a few more minutes on this crucial section in chapter 3. We are right now at the very foundation of our faith...the very root. It will serve us well to make sure that we have this down. If we don’t, nothing else matters.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Any public building will from time to time have to be inspected to make sure it is safe to inhabit. We see this all the time, especially after some kind of natural disaster like a hurricane. Inspectors will come in to make sure that it is safe to live in. Although they will certainly look at the whole building, they will especially be conscious of the foundation. If the foundation is not sturdy, there is no use even looking at the rest of the house. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Before we had our modular home moved to our property in 2003, we had a foundation put in place. I had the choice of two kinds of concrete blocks to build the foundation with. One was sturdier than the other, and of course more expensive. I was briefly tempted to go with the cheaper one, but I immediately thought…”this is the foundation. If you’re going to skimp on anything, it had better not be that!” I’ve never regretted that decision. We’ve had some pretty big storms move through, and I’ve never felt anything shift in the least when we’re inside. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Last week, we spent some time on definition of terms. We talked about what righteousness, justification, redemption, and propitiation mean. Let’s review these briefly…</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Righteousness</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">…(vs. 21, 22) Righteousness is being right before God...being approved by God.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> We’re going to be talking about this a lot more tonight...especially about how we get to be right before God.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">(from last week)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Justification </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">(vs. 24) a legal term meaning to secure a favorable verdict, to acquit, to vindicate, to declare righteous. “Just as if I’d never sinned…” </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">We’ll be spending more time on this tonight as well</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">(from last week)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Redemption (vs. 24)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> is what Jesus accomplished on the cross. It means the price has been paid. “Tetelestai”. It is finished! We have been purchased. We are now no longer slaves to unrighteousness but “slaves” to righteousness. Jesus Christ was “the lamb of God who took away the sin of the world.” The passover lamb was the type of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. As Israel was redeemed from Egypt in OT (Egypt is a type of the world and the world-system) by the blood of the passover lamb, so we are redeemed by the blood of Christ.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">(from last week)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Propitiation</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> (vs. 25) means to appease the wrath of God. Jesus Christ satisfied that righteous demands of a Holy God. God could never passover sin without a Passover sacrifice. Jesus was that sacrifice. It has often been pictured as the mercy seat, which was the golden covering over the ark of the covenant. It was there that the blood of the goat on the day of atonement was sprinkled. “Just as in the OT God met His people when the blood of the sin offering was sprinkled on the altar, so Christ’s death brings us into fellowship with God.” </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Synonym is “atonement” - At-one-ment</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I passed over one section in this latter part of chapter three I want us to pause over for just a bit. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The end of verse 25 says that in His forbearance He passed over the sins previously committed. This is talking about all the sins committed before Christ came. This does not mean that these sins were paid for. It also does not mean that they were ignored. It basically means that they were put off to a later date. All the sacrifices of the OT period merely postponed the penalty for sin. These sins were atoned for on the cross, just as the sins of all of those who have trusted Christ since the cross have been atoned for.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">That is what verse 26 is about. “At the present time” meaning after the cross, God demonstrated His righteousness before the cross by postponing their penalty. He demonstrated His righteousness after the cross by accepting the payment of sins that Jesus paid on the cross. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“That He might be just and the justifier of the one who had faith in Jesus.” Only through the cross could God be both just and justifier. It is truly “just-as-if-I’d never sinned!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Paul in verse 27 says, “Where is the boasting? It is excluded!” There is nothing for us to boast about.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“The swimmer, when saved from drowning, does not brag because he trusted the lifeguard. What else could he do? When a believing sinner is justified by faith, he cannot boast of his faith, but he can boast in a wonderful Savior.” Warren Wiersbe</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">"Through the sin-bearing, substitutionary death of his Son, God has propitiated his own wrath in such a way as to redeem and justify us, and at the same time demonstrate his justice. We can only marvel at the wisdom, holiness, love and mercy of God, and fall down before him in humble worship. The cross should be enough to break the hardest heart, and melt the iciest." John Stott </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Read 4:1-12</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Paul does not want to leave this as theory. In the OT, it was by the mouth of two or three witnesses that a matter was to be confirmed. (Deut. 19:15). Paul brings forth two witnesses...Abraham and David. The Jews would certainly look at these two men as two of the most reliable witnesses in Jewish history. (While this chapter is directed at the Jews, it certainly has implications to Gentiles as well). </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">At the beginning of the chapter, Paul resumes the “diatribe” (question and answer) style. He hears someone asking the question, “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?” i.e. “But what about Abraham?” He is hearing the Jews go back to Abraham in an effort to refute the idea of justification by faith. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Stott…”Abraham was held in the highest esteem by the Rabbis as the epitome of righteousness and even the special ‘friend’ of God.They took it for granted that he had been justified by works of righteousness. For instance, ‘Abraham was perfect in all his dealings with the Lord and gained favour by his righteousness throughout his life.’They quoted the Scriptures in which God promised to bless Abraham because he had obeyed him, without observing that these verses referred to Abraham’s life of obedience after his justification.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">So, here Paul is going to turn the Jews’ near-worship of Abraham on its head. In verse 2, he declares that Abraham was not justified by his works. In verse three, he quotes Genesis 15:6 “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.” </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Let’s go back and read Genesis 15:1-6</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">So Abraham was promised a child. He was at this time about 85 years old. Sarah was 75 years old. God had originally made this promise when he was 75. It looked like the promise was not going to be fulfilled. Yet, God said it would be fulfilled just as He had said. Abraham, as a response, simply believes God, and the scripture tells us that this was credited to him (or reckoned to him) as righteousness.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The word translated in chapter 4 “credited” is an interesting one. The Greek word is “logizomai” and it appears eleven times in this chapter. It is translated as “credited”, “reckoned”, “imputed”, as well as “counted” in different version. (NASB mostly stays with “credited.”) It is actually a banking term, meaning to put something to one’s account.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">There are two ways that something can be credited to our account. One is, it can be credited to us as wages. We worked for it, we earned it. Therefore, it is owed to us. If you are working at a job and you get paid on Friday, you generally are not surprised to see that money show up in your account. You earned it. The company owed it to you, and they discharged their debt to you. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The other way that something can be credited to your account is as a gift. You didn’t earn it. It may have come completely as a surprise. It was only given to you as a gracious act by someone else. Which way does Paul tell us that righteousness is credited to our account? Back in 3:24 he already told us we are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Verse 5 of chapter 4 says that like Abraham, righteousness is credited to us when we believe. He emphatically states that this is not a work. It is unearned. Like the swimmer who is rescued by the lifeguard, we would be foolish to boast in our faith in the lifeguard. Nothing to boast in! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Warren Wiersbe makes this statement about the fifth verse:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Paul “makes the startling statement: God justifies the ungodly! The Law said, “I will not justify the wicked” (Ex. 23:7). The Old Testament judge was commanded to “justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked (Deut. 25:1). When Solomon dedicated the temple, he asked God to condemn the wicked and justify the righteous! (1 Kings 8:31-32) But God justifies the ungodly - because there are no godly for Him to justify! He put our sins on Christ’s account that He might put Christ’s righteousness on our account.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">In verse 6, David will turn to his second witness, David, before turning back to Abraham. David said in Psalm 32:1, “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds (or sins) have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.” (NKJV “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”) It’s important to note that the phrase “will not take into account” or “shall not impute sin” is the same word “logizomai” that is translated “credited” in the rest of the text.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Let’s think about this. David says that the man whose sins have been forgive...have been covered...is a blessed man. This man is blessed because the Lord will not take into account his sin. So, in this case, God does not count sin against him. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">When I was in college, I took an accounting course. We had a ledger that we would record credits and debits. You may have a checkbook that works the same way. I have a debit card in my pocket. When I use that, I charge my account to pay for something. It’s moved from one side of the ledger to the other. In this Psalm, God does not debit sin against the blessed man. He doesn’t charge him for the sin that he commits. Yet, we know that the sin must be charged to some account. God must be both “just” and “justifier.” How is He able to do this? The answer is through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">However, let’s turn back to the case of Abraham. Here, we’re not dealing with “debits” but “credits”. By faith, Abraham is credited with righteousness. We are here not only talking about not having sins counted against us, but actually having righteousness counted for us!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Let’s imagine that you or I owe a tremendous debt that we know that we could absolutely never pay. Say $10 million. We get the notice that is due tomorrow. We can’t pay it and we have no hope of paying it, so we respond not by asking for more time (which would never help anyway), but we audaciously ask that the entire debt be forgiven us. Tomorrow morning, we get an email from the debtor. To our astonishment, we find out that the entire debt had been forgiven...It wasn’t charged to us. We then find out, that the debtor charged it to his only Son, who has graciously consented to pay for the entire amount. There is no reason for this. We are now out of debt completely! Would you be happy? I guess!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Now, let’s take this a step further. You are out of debt. However, you are also still dead broke. You get another email from the same man, who was previously your debtor. This email astonishes you even more than the first one. This gracious man has decided not only to forgive you of all of your debt, but has decided to deposit into your account an amount of money that will cover everything you need for the rest of your life. When you have a need, all you need to do is draw it from your account. Now how happy would you be? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I have news for you...something greater than this has happened to you. Not only have your sins been forgiven and you have not received what was coming to you (that is, eternal separation from God), but you have been given eternal life. You are in right standing with God now and forever. All you have to do is accept the gracious provision!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Stott…”Justification involves a double counting, crediting, or reckoning. On the one hand, negatively, God will never count our sins against us. On the other hand, positively, God credits our account with righteousness, as a free gift, by faith, altogether apart from our works….Paul writes in Romans 4 both of God not imputing sin to sinners, although it actually belongs to them, and of his imputing righteousness to us, although it does not belong to us.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I believe this is the real reason behind these OT verses…</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Comfort, comfort my people,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">says your God.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and proclaim to her</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">that her hard service has been completed,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">that her sin has been paid for,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">that she has received from the Lord’s hand</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 5pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">double for all her sins. (Isaiah 40:1,2)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What good news is this!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Let’s look at one more passage about this “double counting.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Read 2 Corinthians 5:17-21. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">God did not count the sins of the world against them (and we are part of that world), but rather made His Son sin on our behalf (that is, that he has forgiven our sins and charged them to His Son). Then Paul says that the reason for this is the “we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” So now, not only have we been forgiven, but when God looks at us He see righteousness. As a result, we are new creations in Christ Jesus, gifted with eternal life.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Stott says, “Christ became sin with our sins, in order that we might become righteous with God’s righteousness.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Hesed (Hebrew word translated “mercy, lovingkindness): When the person from whom I have a right to expect nothing gives me everything.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">In vs. 9 Paul asks the question “Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also?” The Pharisaic Jew would state emphatically that the blessing of righteousness was only for the Jew. However, in vs. 10, Paul asks another question, “Was this righteousness credited to Abraham when he was circumcised or when he was uncircumcised?” It was most certainly when he was uncircumcised. In fact, he would not receive circumcision for another fourteen years!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">In Vs. 11 Paul calls circumcision both a sign and a seal. It is a sign of the covenant that God had made with Abraham and “a seal of the righteousness of the faith” which he had while he was still uncircumcised. This, Paul says, it so that he might be the father of all who believe, regardless of whether they are circumcised or not. Those who believe in Christ have righteousness credited to them too. Vs. 12 says, not only those who are circumcised, but for all those who follow in the steps of the faith of Abraham. In other words, we are included! Remember what Paul said in 2:28-29?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">28 </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">29 </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">So, whether you have Jewish heritage or not, if you have believed in Jesus, trusted in Him for your salvation, you are a Jew! According to Paul, you and I are children of Abraham, who is “the father of all who believe.” </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">After all this, maybe it will make these lyrics to this old gospel song more meaningful to you and me:</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: none; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What can wash away my sin?</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Nothing but the blood of Jesus;</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What can make me whole again?</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Nothing but the blood of Jesus.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: none; margin-left: 15pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 12pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Refrain:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Oh! precious is the flow</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">That makes me white as snow;</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">No other fount I know,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Nothing but the blood of Jesus.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: none; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: none; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">For my pardon, this I see,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Nothing but the blood of Jesus;</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">For my cleansing this my plea,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Nothing but the blood of Jesus.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: none; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: none; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Nothing can for sin atone,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Nothing but the blood of Jesus;</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Naught of good that I have done,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Nothing but the blood of Jesus.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: none; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: none; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">This is all my hope and peace,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Nothing but the blood of Jesus;</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">This is all my righteousness,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Nothing but the blood of Jesus.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
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Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6368981312697645173.post-51413875361282564812019-06-03T07:33:00.001-05:002019-06-07T19:02:14.315-05:00Romans Bible Study #6 "But Now" - Romans 3 (Video and notes)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ftbZp81W3kU" width="560"></iframe>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">To go to the beginning of the series on Romans, click <a href="http://bit.ly/2VgCW1j">here</a>...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">To go to study #5, click </span><a href="https://waynenalljr.blogspot.com/2019/05/romans-bible-study-5-no-partiality-with.html" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">To watch the entire series on YouTube, click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKP3bJ1_OiYuvvTSGbAU38s1w7deNmpab" target="_blank">here</a>...</span><br />
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<b>Read Romans 3:1-20</b></div>
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<b>Vs. 1-8</b></div>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Actually a continuation of
argument from chapter 2, where Paul had been castigating the Jews
for their reliance on the law, when they themselves did not keep the
law.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Paul in this section again uses
the diatribe format, in which he answers questions from an imaginary
antagonist.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
John Stott -‘It often becomes
easier to follow Paul’s arguments’, writes C. K. Barrett, ‘if
the reader imagines the apostle face to face with a heckler, who
makes interjections and receives replies which sometimes are
withering and brusque.’</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“We may go further than this.
‘Paul’s interlocutor was no straw man,’ Professor Dunn writes.
‘In fact we would probably not be far from the mark if we were to
conclude that Paul’s interlocutor is Paul himself—Paul the
unconverted Pharisee, expressing attitudes Paul remembered so well
as having been his own!' In this way Paul the Pharisee and Paul the
Christian are in debate with each other… "</div>
</li>
</ul>
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<b>First question… </b>“What
advantage is there to being a Jew? Vs. 1-2
</div>
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<ul>
<li>
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Answer - The Jews had many
advantages, chiefly that they were given the word of God (the OT).
</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This was indeed an advantage,
but it was also a great responsibility.</div>
</li>
</ul>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Second question…</b>”If some
(Jews) did not believe, will their unbelief nullify the faithfulness
of God?” (“<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">
</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">True,
some of them were unfaithful; but just because they were unfaithful,
does that mean God will be unfaithful?” NLT) </span></span></span>Vs.
3-4</div>
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<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Answer
“May it never be!” (NASB)</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Stott
- Paul’s (answer) is more violent than is suggested by the
expressions ‘Not at all!’ (NIV), ‘By no means!’ (RSV),
‘Certainly not!’ (REB) or even ‘God forbid!’ (AV). John
Ziesler suggests that ‘ “not on your life” or “not in a
thousand years” gives something of the flavour.’</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Paul
goes on to say “let God be true but every man a liar” (NKJV).
I.e. even if every single person were unfaithful, it would not in
anyway make God unfaithful. Our disobedience will never besmear
God’s character.</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Paul
quotes from Psalm 51:4 where David is expressing sorrow for his sin
with Bathsheba. In that Psalm, he acknowledges that even his sin
brings glory to God in that it makes God justified in His words and
in His judgements. (This scripture had evidently been twisted by
some. The first part of the verse takes away all thought of David
trying to justify himself…”Against you, You only, I have sinned
and done what is evil in Your sight.” </span></span></span>
</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Put
it this way...if a righteous father (or mother) teaches his child
correctly and the child rebels against the teaching, does this make
the righteous father now unrighteous? Of course not! (Not on your
life!)</span></span></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">Third
question</span></b></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">...If
our unrighteousness (or disobedience) demonstrates the righteous
character of God, is God unjust to to punish us?” Vs. 5,6</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">
(But,” some might say, “our sinfulness serves a good purpose, for
it helps people see how righteous God is. Isn’t it unfair, then,
for him to punish us?”... NLT) </span></i></span></span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Paul’s
answer - Again “May it never be!” (“Not in a thousand years!”)</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">He
then says, “For otherwise, how will God judge the world?”</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">It
is interesting to me that Paul takes it as axiomatic or
unquestionable that God will judge the world. Though many doubt
this doctrine today and try to tear down the idea of final judgment,
Paul took this as basic gospel truth. </span></span></span>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">Fourth
question… </span></b></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Really
a restatement of what has gone before… Vs. 7, 8</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Living
Bible “</span></span></span></div>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background: #ffffff;">“<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For
he could not judge and condemn me as a sinner if my dishonesty
brought him glory by pointing up his honesty in contrast to my
lies. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">8
</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">If
you follow through with that idea you come to this: the worse we
are, the better God likes it! But the damnation of those who say
such things is just. Yet some claim that this is what I preach!”</span></span></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">Vs.
9-20 Paul’s summary -The whole human race is under condemnation</span></b></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Vs.
9 Paul asks, “Are we Jews better than the Gentiles?” (Notice that
this is a very different question than vs. 1…”What advantage then
has the Jew…?” Jews had an advantage in that they had the
teachings of the law, but there advantage did them no good. They did
not come out ahead of the Gentiles one whit. He sums up that Jews and
Greeks (meaning Gentiles here) are all under sin.</span></span></span></div>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">"Paul
appears almost to personify sin as a cruel tyrant who holds the
human race imprisoned in guilt and under judgment. Sin is on top of
us, weighs us down, and is a crushing burden."</span></i></span></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Vs.
10-18 is a series of OT quotations that basically put the nails in
the coffin of all mankind.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Paul
pulls out his big guns now. In rapid fire like a machine gun, he
quotes from at least six different places in OT with devastating
effect.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">Vs.
10-12 show the ungodliness of sin. </span></b></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Most
of this section is a quotation from Psalm 14:1-3 (this is emphasized
in the psalms by repeating this almost word for word in Psalm 53).
(Read this Psalm if time).</span></span></span></div>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background: #ffffff;">“<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">These
verse indicate that the whole of man’s inner being is controlled
by sin.” <br />
Wiersbe</span></span></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">His
mind (“none that understands”)</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">His
heart (“none who seek after God”)</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">His
will (“none that does good”)</span></span></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background: #ffffff;">“<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Measured
by God’s perfect righteousness, no human being is sinless. No
sinner seeks after God...Man has gone astray and has become
unprofitable to God.” Wiersbe</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background: #ffffff;">“<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">God’s
complaint is that we do not really ‘seek’ him at all, making his
glory our supreme concern, that we have not set him before us,that
there </span></span></span>
</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">is
no room for him in our thoughts, and that we do not love him with
all our powers. Sin is the revolt of the self against God, the
dethronement of God with a view to the enthronement of oneself.
Ultimately, sin is self-deification, the reckless determination to
occupy the throne which belongs to God alone.” Stott</span></span></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">Vs.
13-18 teach the pervasiveness of sin.</span></b></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">
</span></span></span>
</div>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Paul
quotes from Psalm 5:9, Psalm 140:3, Psalm 10:7, Isaiah 59:7-8, and
Psalm 36:1. (Homework...read in their context for full impact!)</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">What
do you observe about these different quotations? Lists different
body parts. </span></span></span>
</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">What
body parts does Paul list? Throat, tongue, and lips (vs. 13), mouth
(vs. 14), feet (vs. 15-16), mind or brain (vs. 17 by implication),
eyes (vs. 18)</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Wiersbe
“Paul gives us (here) an X-ray study of the lost sinner, from head
to foot.”</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Perhaps
the most devastating passage is the last one…”There is no fear
of God before their eyes.” How few men today fear God!</span></span></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background: #ffffff;">“<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>This
is the biblical doctrine of ‘total depravity’... It has never
meant that human beings are as depraved as they could possibly be.
Such a notion is manifestly absurd…”Not all human beings are
drunkards, felons, adulterers or murderers. Besides, Paul has shown
how some people sometimes are able ‘by nature’ to obey the law
(2:14, 27). No, the ‘totality’ of our corruption refers to its
extent (twisting and tainting every part of our humanness), not to
its degree (depraving every part of us absolutely). As Dr J. I.
Packer has put it succinctly, on the one hand ‘no one is as bad as
he or she might be’, while on the other ‘no action of ours is as
good as it should be’ Stott</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Vs. 19-20 Paul’s conclusion...I
believe that the law that Paul is referring to in these verses is not
just the law of Moses, but the totality of the law of God. He has
described two different laws in the last two chapters. In chapters 1
and 2 he has made reference to “the law of conscience”, which is
in every man. In chapters 2 and 3 he has made reference to the law of
God as revealed in the OT, particularly the Torah. Here, it seems to
me, he is combining both of these.</div>
<ul>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Notice “so that EVERY mouth
may be closed and ALL THE WORLD may become accountable to God. Vs.
19</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
NO FLESH (Jew and Gentile) will
be justified in His sight vs. 20</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In chapter 2:13 he stated that
only the doers of the law will be justified. This is true in theory,
but the section that we just read tells us than none does good, not
even one. So if we were to draw a circle around all “the doers of
the law” who are justified, we would be drawing a circle around
nothing. It would be empty. In practice, Paul says here, no flesh is
justified in God’s sight, because no one keeps the law.
</div>
</li>
<li>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Last part of vs. 20 is vitally
important. He shows here the real purpose of the law...to reveal to
us the sin that is in us. He will repeat this later in Romans.</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Read 3:21-31</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We have read 64 straight verses of
nothing but condemnation. Jew and Gentile alike condemned...Yet we
have now before us two of the sweetest words ever written…”But
now…”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
All 64 verses showed us the futility of
being righteous in God’s sight by law-keeping. “But now”...Paul
says...God has revealed another way...actually the only way possible.
The way to God has been revealed (and he says the whole OT witnesses
this revelation) by faith in Jesus Christ. <b>By believing (or
trusting) in Jesus the Messiah, the very Son of God, the only one who
ever kept the law, we now stand justified before God in a way that we
never could by our supposed law-keeping. </b>Paul says that there is
no distinction between Jew and Gentile because all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God. (all 64 previous verses are summed up
in 3:23).
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Vs. 24 tells us the supremely good
news that justification is a gift of God’s grace given to all...the
implication (which is spelled out later) is to all who will receive
the gift...through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“<i>Must guilty man remain under
wrath? Is the wound for ever incurable? No; blessed be God, there is
another way laid open for us. This is the righteousness of God;
righteousness of his ordaining, and providing, and accepting. It is
by that faith which has Jesus Christ for its object; an anointed
Saviour, so Jesus Christ signifies. Justifying faith respects Christ
as a Saviour, in all his three anointed offices, as Prophet, Priest,
and King; trusting in him, accepting him, and cleaving to him: in all
these, Jews and Gentiles are alike welcome to God through Christ.
There is no difference, his righteousness is upon all that believe;
not only offered to them, but put upon them as a crown, as a robe. It
is free grace, mere mercy; there is nothing in us to deserve such
favours. It comes freely unto us, but Christ bought it, and paid the
price” Matthew Henry</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Let’s stop here and talk about terms…</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Righteousness</b>…(vs. 21, 22) We
talked about this in chapter 1. What does it mean? Righteousness is
being right before God. Yet, here we see it is not something we
achieve but what is achieved for us. Some versions in vs. 21 and 22
say “righteousness from God” rather than “righteousness of God”
which is probably more correct. This is righteousness bestowed on us
by grace. We are made right before God through no action of our
own...</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Justification </b>(vs. 24) a legal
term meaning to secure a favorable verdict, to acquit, to vindicate,
to declare righteous. “Just as if I’d never sinned…”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Redemption (vs. 24)</b> is what
Jesus accomplished on the cross. When we see this word it should
immediately bring to our mind the cross, which was the place where
redemption took place. What does it mean to be redeemed? It means the
price has been paid. “Tetelestai”. It is finished! We have been
purchased. We are now no longer slaves to unrighteousness but
“slaves” to righteousness. Jesus Christ was “the lamb of God
who took away the sin of the world.” The passover lamb was the type
of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. As Israel was redeemed from Egypt
in OT (Egypt is a type of the world and the world-system) by the
blood of the passover lamb, so we are redeemed by the blood of
Christ.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“Christ Jesus died to provide
redemption, which means he died to pay the price required to ransom
sinners. By paying the penalty of their sin through His death, Jesus
can free people from their sin and transfer His righteousness to
those who believe in Him…”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Propitiation</b> (vs. 25) means to
appease the wrath of God. Jesus Christ satisfied that righteous
demands of a Holy God. God could never passover sin without a
Passover sacrifice. Jesus was that sacrifice. It has often been
pictured as the mercy seat, which was the golden covering over the
ark of the covenant. It was there that the blood of the goat on the
day of atonement was sprinkled. “Just as in the OT God met His
people when the blood of the sin offering was sprinkled on the altar,
so Christ’s death brings us into fellowship with God.”
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Synonym is “atonement” -
At-one-ment</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Vs. 25 says that God demonstrated His
righteousness by passing over the sins of all who lived before
Christ. Vs. 26 tells us that He demonstrates His righteousness at the
present time by justifying all who put their faith in Jesus.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Vs. 27 tells us that there is nothing
for any of us to boast in because it is not by our works...not by our
lawkeeping...but by “the law of faith.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Vs. 28, 29 restate what has been
already said for emphasis. We are not justified by law by by faith.
Justification by faith is equally for Jews and Gentiles.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Vs. 30 tells us that God justifies the
circumcision (Jews) by faith and the uncircumcised (Gentiles)
“through that same faith.” (NIV)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Vs. 31 Paul asks a final question in
the same style the chapter began. Is the law nullified because of
faith in Christ? Paul answers again “May it never be!” or “A
thousand times no!” In fact, he says, we establish the law. I.E.
We show the true purpose of the law.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
What is the true purpose of the law?
Vs. 20 “through the law comes the knowledge of sin.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Next week, we will look at an OT
example of faith that foreshadowed salvation by faith in Christ.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6368981312697645173.post-8051955817227239542019-05-27T09:02:00.001-05:002019-06-03T07:36:48.268-05:00Romans Bible Study #5 - "No Partiality With God" - Romans 2 (Video and notes)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">To go to the beginning of the series on Romans, click <a href="http://bit.ly/2VgCW1j">here</a>...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">To go to study #4, click </span><a href="https://waynenalljr.blogspot.com/2019/05/romans-bible-study-4-without-excuse.html" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre;">..</span></div>
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<b>Read Chapter 2</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Last week, we covered the last section
of chapter 1 in which Paul zeroed in on Gentiles. We saw how that
they were without excuse for their rebellion against God. God had put
his truth in their hearts, yet they suppressed the truth in
unrighteousness. As they rebelled against God, they went down a road
to wickedness that kept spiraling down farther and farther into
absolute chaos and complete moral decadence.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Just imagine the church members in Rome
as they received this letter. Even better, imagine Roman society at
large as they procured copies of this. I don’t think that this was
read only by Christians, but eventually by large parts of Rome, both
Jews and Gentiles. I can imagine the Jews both in and out of the
Christian community hearing these words in chapter 1 read. They were
probably almost gleeful at Paul’s devastating critique of Gentile
society...Then comes chapter 2...Paul turns the tables on these proud
Jews...and probably also on the Gentile moralists as well (The Roman
Stoics were probably just as appalled as the Roman Jews at the
decadent society around them).
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Paul in this section will use a
commonly-used rhetorical device in his day...the Greek “diatribe.”
This was where one would engage in a dialogue an imaginary person.
Scholars are divided about whether this first part of the second
chapter is addressed to Jews or to Gentile moralists...that is,
Gentiles who practiced their own form of law and lived what we would
think of as generally moral lives. The Stoics were one of these
groups. Personally, I think that Paul is primarily thinking of the
Jews throughout this chapter. He comes out in the open in verse 17
and calls them Jews, but I think these are the two categories he had
in mind all along...although he had to know that he was touching the
“moralistic Gentiles” as well. (One of the reasons I think this
is because in both verses 9 and 10 he describes two categories...Jew
and Greek. He probably, however, is referring to the moralistic
Greeks in verse 14 when he talks about Gentiles who do not have the
law but do instinctively the things in the law.)
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In this chapter, we’re not going to
be going verse by verse as we normally do. That is a good way to
study scripture, but the problem with it is that we can “lose the
forest for the trees” sometimes when we study at the “micro”
level (verse by verse) than at the “macro” level (big picture).
We want to really try to understand what Paul was saying to his
audience, but then, before we’re done tonight, we want to try to
understand how this applies to us in the society in which we live in
2019.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Paul opens up this section by telling
those who have been feeling superior to these awful Gentiles that he
just finished describing by telling them that when they judge those
who have less light than them they are actually condemning
themselves. (This sense of “judging” is not talking about only
being able to judge between right from wrong, but condemning those
who are practicing wrong.) How is it they these people are condemning
themselves when they are judging others? When any of us find
ourselves feeling morally superior because of what we know, we are
saying that we want to be judged at a higher standard. I don’t
think that Paul in these opening verses is saying that these Jews
were practicing the exact same sins as the Gentiles, but that they
were guilty of many sins that they were “sweeping under the rug.”
Let’s read some of what Jesus said to some of these same type of
people. In this case, he was talking primarily to the Pharisees in
Jerusalem, who thought themselves morally superior to everyone else…</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
SLIDE</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Read Matthew 23:2-7;13-15;23-28</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
What is a hypocrite? It originally
referred to Greek actors, who would wear masks and pretend to be
someone that they weren’t. Jesus was saying that you have a
“righteous mask” that you put on, but underneath that mask is
nothing but unrighteousness. Although Paul doesn’t use the word in
Romans 2, the idea is there just the same. Here are people who
pretend to be morally superior but inside are full of sin. Remember,
it was these “morally superior” Pharisees and their accomplices
the Saducees who condemned Jesus to a Roman cross. And the scriptures
said that they did it because of envy.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Paul says in verse 4 of Romans 2 that
the only reasons that you “morally superior” Jews have escaped
judgment so far is because of the kindness, tolerance (some versions
have forbearance here which I think is better), and patience of God.
i.e. if you got what you deserved, you would already be in hell!
God’s kindness should be leading you to repent, not to feel smugly
safe from God’s wrath.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
(I’m going to hold off on talking
about verses 5-10 for now. We’ll look at these verses at the end of
our talk.)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In verse 12, Paul begins to explain
that those who have no law (and here he seems to be referring to the
law of Moses) are judged by what we’ll call the law of the
conscience. We mentioned this inward law that God has put in all men
last week. He describes it in more detail here in chapter 2. Verses
14 and 15 in many versions are in parenthesis. He takes a break from
his thought process to tell about this law of the conscience. What he
describes sounds a lot like the “New Covenant” law which is
written in the hearts of believers. However, this is something
different. This is another law written on the heart of every man and
woman. It is the “law of the conscience.” It is the law that
tells even people who know nothing about the Bible, may have never
even heard of the law of Moses, that some things are right and some
things are wrong. Every society that has ever been (as far as I know)
values selflessness over selfishness. We know instinctively that
there is something wrong about living only for ourselves, and
something noble about sacrificing ourselves for others. Think of our
Medal of Honor winners. Most of the recipients of this honor received
it posthumously, as, until recently, about the only way you could
receive it was for giving your life for protecting others. Paul in
verse 15 tells that this moral law works in even Gentile’s hearts,
“alternately accusing or else defending them.” No one, by the
way, is saved by this law anymore than anyone is saved by the Jewish
law.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Verse 11 is a great summary of this
first part of the chapter…”For there is no partiality with God.”
Jews and Gentiles are both “without excuse”, as Paul has already
said of Gentiles in chapter 1.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In vs. 17-24, Paul comes out in the
open and condemns these judgmental Jews, much the same way that Jesus
did in Matthew 22. They feel morally superior to these awful
Gentiles, but he begins to grill them on the witness stand, layer by
layer tearing apart their moral smugness. He winds it up in verse 24
by quoting Isaiah, “The name of God is blasphemed among the
Gentiles because of you.” In essence, he’s saying…”you make
the Gentiles look good!” You can just see them withering under
these accusations.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Vs, 25-29, Paul drills down even
deeper, accusing these Jews of taking refuge in their circumcision,
that symbol of Judaism giving by God to Abraham. He says to them
that if they don’t keep the law, their circumcision is totally
worthless. A uncircumcised Gentile who keeps the law is more of a Jew
than a circumcised Jew who doesn’t keep the law! Verses 28-29 is a
summary of the last half of this chapter. Paul says that there is
such a thing as a circumcision of the heart. Physical circumcision is
a cutting away of the flesh, but it is only a symbol of spiritual
circumcision. This is when through the Holy Spirit our carnal nature
is cut away. Those who receive this spiritual circumcision are true
Jews, whether physically circumcised or not.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Now, I want to re-read vs. 10-15 and
talk about these verses a bit…</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Does it seem to you that Paul in this
section contradicts the whole message of Romans? Remember in 1:16 he
proclaims that the gospel message is that salvation is for those who
believe. Later in Romans, we will see Paul emphatically declaring
that we are not saved by works. Yet, here it says that in the day of
judgment he will “render to each person according to His deeds.”
What gives?
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Let’s talk about the final judgment.
First of all, who is judge at the final judgment? Look at John 5:22,
where we were a few months ago. Who will be the judge? Jesus Christ.
Jump down to vs. 27. Let’s look at one more place...Acts 10. Read
vs. 40-42. Who is appointed as judge of the living and the dead?
Jesus. Now...who is left out of that judgment? None</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
There is a very popular idea among
evangelicals about the last judgment. I’ve heard a number of
Christian songs that popularizes this idea. One of them is a Third
Day song from a few years ago called “Trust In Jesus.”
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 123%; margin-bottom: 0.13in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><i>One of these days
we all will stand in judgment for</i></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 123%; margin-bottom: 0.13in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><i>Every single word
that we have spoken</i></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 123%; margin-bottom: 0.13in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><i>One of these days
we all will stand before the Lord</i></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 123%; margin-bottom: 0.13in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><i>Give a reason for
everything we've done</i></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 123%; margin-bottom: 0.13in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><i>And what I've
done is...</i></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 123%; margin-bottom: 0.13in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><i>Trust in Jesus</i></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 123%; margin-bottom: 0.13in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><i>My great
Deliverer</i></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 123%; margin-bottom: 0.13in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><i>My strong
Defender</i></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 123%; margin-bottom: 0.13in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><i>The Son of God</i></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 123%; margin-bottom: 0.13in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><i>I trust in Jesus</i></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 123%; margin-bottom: 0.13in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><i>Blessed Redeemer</i></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 123%; margin-bottom: 0.13in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><i>My Lord forever</i></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 123%; margin-bottom: 0.13in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><i>The Holy One, the
Holy One</i></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 123%; margin-bottom: 0.13in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 123%; margin-bottom: 0.13in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><i>What are you
going to do when your time has come</i></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 123%; margin-bottom: 0.13in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><i>And your life is
done and there's nothing you can stand on</i></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 123%; margin-bottom: 0.13in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><i>What will you
have to say at the judgment throne</i></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 123%; margin-bottom: 0.13in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , serif;"><i>I already know
the only thing that I can say I...</i></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We’ve sung this song here before, but
I’ve actually come to believe that it’s unbiblical...though it
really sounds good. The idea is that when we get to judgment and the
books are open to judge us for what we’ve done, we’ve got a trump
card...We’ll say, We’ve trusted in Jesus. And God will say...oh,
so you’re exempt! Come on in! A similar image and one that I’ve
used myself is that God the Father is the judge and is about to
sentence us to hell, but Jesus steps in and says, I’ve paid for
this one with my blood. So then, God let’s us into heaven solely
based on faith in Christ without respect to anything we’ve ever
done.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Let me be clear. There is a certain
sense in which this is true. We’re going to be spending a lot of
time in the next few weeks talking about salvation by faith. We won’t
be saved by what we’ve done. We can’t earn salvation. It’s only
through the blood of Jesus.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Now, these two things seem
contradictory but they are not. Salvation comes through the blood of
Christ, but the scripture clearly teaches that we will be judged
according to what we’ve done with that salvation. Read Matthew
25...the whole chapter when you get a chance. It has two parables and
a prophecy. The parable of the ten virgins, the parable of the
talents, and the prophecy of the final judgment. The virgins, the men
that were given talents, and finally both the sheep and the goats
that stand before God, are all judged according to what they have
done with what they’ve been given. (Read Matt. 25:31-40 if time)
I’ve looked at every scripture in the Bible about the final
judgment. Every one of them says that we will be judged according to
our works. Some have tried to find two final judgments in all this,
but I can’t find them. (BTW, how can you have two final judgments.
One of them can’t be final!) If you can show me, I will publicly
apologize.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
John Stott may shed some light on all
of this for us...<br />
(SLIDE)<br />
(Referring to this section of
Romans 2…)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
"<i>Some
Christians, however, are immediately up in arms. Has the apostle
taken leave of his senses? Does he begin by declaring that salvation
is by faith alone (e.g. 1:16f.), and then destroy his own gospel by
saying that it is by good works after all? No, Paul is not
contradicting himself. What he is affirming is that, </i><i><b>although
justification is indeed by faith, judgment will be according to
works.</b></i><i> The reason for this is not hard to find. It is that
the day of judgment will be a public occasion. Its purpose will be
less to determine God’s judgment than to announce it and to
vindicate it. The divine judgment, which is a process of sifting and
separating, is going on secretly all the time, as people range
themselves for or against Christ, but on the last day its results
will be made public. The day of God’s wrath will also be the time
when his righteous judgment will be revealed (5b). Such a public
occasion, on which a public verdict will be given and a public
sentence passed, will require public and verifiable evidence to
support them. And the only public evidence available will be our
works, what we have done and have been seen to do. The presence or
absence of saving faith in our hearts will be disclosed. </i>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Another way of saying this is that
Jesus Christ will inspect that fruit of our salvation to see whether
we really have received Him as our Lord and Savior. The goats in the
parable simply showed no evidence in their lives of saving faith. The
sheep did, even though they were quite unconscious of it.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Now, what does all of this have to do
with us today? After all, we’re not under the law of Moses now. In
this country, we’re not divided by Jews and Gentiles like they were
in Paul’s day. Even though we have a large Jewish community (and
there certainly is anti-Semitism around), the chief division among
Americans is not between we Gentiles and those Jews, is it? But, are
we divided today in 2019? We certainly are! How are we divided?
Mainly between liberals and conservatives. It’s interesting to me
that very few people who describe themselves as liberal or
progressive believe the Bible to be the inspired word of God. Many of
them attend church, although many describe themselves as atheist or
agnostic. On the other hand, most people (though certainly not all)
who are conservative political are Bible-believing Christians. How
well do these two groups get along? Can you see this split in Romans
1 and 2? Look at the section we studied last week. We’ve got people
that have no problem sleeping with whoever they want to sleep with.
Multiple partners? No problem. Which side of the divide is what is
now called LGTBQ community? Liberal/left-wing</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Look at chapter 2. Who would you say in
our country has “the law of God”? Or a better way to put it, has
the greater understanding of the word of God, the Bible.
Bible-believing Christians who are overwhelmingly
conservative...including me.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
What am I getting at? There are many
people in our country who are culturally Christian. Many of them
hardly ever attend church anymore, but still consider themselves
Christian. Some may attend church regularly out of habit, tradition,
or because they think it is good for them. They may even give a lot
to the church. But they’ve never come to saving faith in Christ.
They may have had an experience early in life that they are trusting
in now, but there is not any real fruit in their lives. (We each need
to examine ourselves frequently and just ask ourselves. At this point
in my life, am I trusting in Christ...daily? Remember, we are each
held accountable for the light that we’ve been given.) These folks
are much like those who Paul was addressing in Romans 2. They hold
their nose up at those who are living in darkness and practicing all
manner of evil.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
What’s the difference in these
cultural Christians and those who are the real deal? It’s the
condition of the heart. These cultural Christians are every bit as
hard-hearted as the Phariseeacal Jews of the 1st century ever were.
Bottom line is we will not be judged by what we know but by what we
do with what we know.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
(SLIDE)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
1 Cor. 8:1 “Knowledge puffs up, but
love edifies (or builds up).” Religious knowledge without love only
makes us arrogant. Religious knowledge without love is one of the
most dangerous things there is. Again, we will be made accountable
for the amount of light that we have. How do you get love? By
getting Jesus! By being circumcised in the heart...that love is what
produces the fruit. And that is what we will be judged by.</div>
<br /></div>
Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6368981312697645173.post-26146641486483390402019-05-06T09:12:00.001-05:002019-05-06T09:31:55.494-05:00Passing Through the Weeping Valley<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Blessed
is the man whose strength is in You,</i></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Whose
heart is set on pilgrimage.</i></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>As
they pass through the Valley of Baca,</i></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>They
make it a spring;</i></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>The
rain also covers it with pools.</i></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>They
go from strength to strength;</i></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Each
one appears before God in Zion…” </i></span>
</div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>(Psalm
84:5-7 NKJV)</i></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I
love the Psalms. I love the way that David and others talk to God,
and how God responds to the Psalmists. In the Psalms, you get all
the spectrum of life, as men rejoice, weep, struggle, doubt, and
ultimately overcome all fears. When I’m in a struggle, I find it
of great help to find someone who has faced the same struggle, and
yet was able to overcome. This is the legacy left us by the
Psalmists. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">The Psalms are beautiful. The Psalms are gritty. The
Psalms are real.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">One
of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 84. This is a beautiful picture of
Jewish </span>pilgrims<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> heading to Jerusalem to celebrate a feast. Yet, it
is much more than that. I see in this Psalm a picture of each of us
making our way to the Heavenly Jerusalem (See Hebrews 12:22). It’s
a picture of our travels through this life. In the first part of
this psalm, this unnamed psalmist (all we know of him is that he was
of the “Sons of Korah,” who were temple musicians), he describes
his longing to be in the place where God dwells, which in those days,
was the temple in Jerusalem. He even expresses envy for the birds
that make their homes in the nooks and crannies of the temple
grounds.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">In
verse five, he turns to those who are making their way to Jerusalem
to celebrate one of the many feasts prescribed in the Torah. He says
that the man (or woman...man is generic here) is blessed who finds
his strength in the Lord. He says about these pilgrims, that their
hearts are set on pilgrimage. In other words, wherever they find
themselves along the way, whether a joyous place or a rough one, it
is really of no consequence, because it is not their home. Their home
is up ahead in the City of God. They are determined to get
there...and nothing will stop them! What a lesson for us as we
travel this road to the Celestial City! If our hearts are set on
pilgrimage...if we are determined to make it, no matter what
obstacles, nothing will deter us! This world is not our home. We are
just passing through.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Verse
six is peculiar. “As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they
make it a spring…” What is the “Valley of Baca?” Baca has two
meaning...It was a specific kind of tree, probably a Balsam. But it
also meant “weeping” (as the Balsam tree was a type of “weeping
tree” similar to our “weeping” willow). So, the Valley of Baca
was the Weeping Valley. What is this Weeping Valley? For those of
us who have been on the road to the Heavenly Jerusalem for very long,
we know very well what this “Valley of Weeping” is, though we may
have never heard the term before. I wish I could characterize the
Christian life as being one of victory upon victory...joy succeeded
by joy. Yet, though there are great victories and “joy unspeakable
and full of glory,” this walk with God is not a tearless journey.
Jesus Himself said as He neared the cross…”In the world you will
have tribulation…” (John 16:33). The Valley of Baca is something
none of us have escaped. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">What
Weeping Valleys have you encountered as you have made your way
through this world? Sickness, divorce, or death of those near and
dear to you may have led you into dark nights of your soul. You might
have encountered struggles with finance, struggles with
relationships, or struggles with unsaved family members. Sometimes,
for many of us, it seems like one Valley of Baca is succeeded by
another, with little break in between. Heartache may seem at times to
be your closest companion. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">For
some of us, though there may or may not have been these outward
troubles, yet we find the greatest struggles are in our own souls. We
want to serve God and to please Him. Yet, we have to say, as Paul did
in Romans 7…</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
“<span style="font-size: small;"><i>For
I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the
willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the
good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do
not want…”</i> <i>(Romans 7: 18, 19)</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">There
are times for us when God seems so near. We could almost reach out
and touch Him. Then again, we have other times, when our testimony is
not so encouraging. We’ve come to the Weeping Valley. He is
distant. We know by faith that He is near...but we can’t find Him
like we could in the past. Sometimes these “Valleys of Baca” may
last a few weeks...and few months...even a few years. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">My
mind takes me back here to an old hymn we sang when I was growing up.
It was written by John Newton, the former slave ship captain who
became a Christian and wrote “Amazing Grace.” </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>How
tedious and tasteless the hours</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>When
Jesus no longer I see</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Sweet
prospects sweet birds</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>and
sweet flow'rs, Have all lost their</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>sweetness
to me</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>The
mid-summer sun shines but dim</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>The
fields strive in vain to look gay</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>But
when I am happy in Him</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>December's
as pleasant as May</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">John
Newton certainly knew what the Valley of Baca was. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">In
a later verse he describes the former times He had with Christ…</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Content
with beholding His face,</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>My
all to His pleasure resigned,</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>No
changes of seasons or place</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Would
make any change in my mind.</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>While
blest with a sense of His love,</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>A
palace a toy would appear;</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>And
prisons would palaces prove,</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>If
Jesus would dwell with me there.</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Prisons
would palaces prove...if Jesus would dwell with me there.<i> </i>When
you’ve tasted the sweet wine of God’s presence, nothing else will
do!</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Yet,
for each of us, God has called us to walk through the Valley of
Weeping. I’m convinced that it is the same place that, in Psalm
23, David calls “the valley of the shadow of death.” It wasn’t
literally death that David was walking through...but it felt like it!</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Notice
also in verse six of the 84th Psalm, the writer says, “<i>Passing
through the valley of Baca they make it a spring; The early rain also
covers it with blessings.” </i>This “Son of Korah” says that
when we walk through the Weeping Valley, we don’t just have to grit
our teeth and get through it, we can, even in such a place, find
“streams in the desert” (see Isaiah 35:6 KJV). In whatever valley
we find ourselves in, we can discover springs of water. Actually,
notice the wording of the Psalm…”<i>they make it a spring.”
</i>This tells me that, whatever struggle we find ourselves in, we
have the power within us, through the Holy Spirit, to “make it a
spring.” How is that possible? </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">One
Old Testament example of a man who did exactly that is found in 1
Samuel 30. David has been running from wicked King Saul for almost a
decade. He’s gone from one “Valley of Baca” to another. Though
anointed as king by Samuel in his youth, that experience must have
seen distant to him now. He is head of a renegade bunch that called
themselves “David’s Mighty Men.” In this instance, David and
his men, as they are chasing their enemies the Amalekites, come to
their home base at Ziklag. David and his men had left their
families there for safety. Yet, when they topped the hill at Ziklag,
all they could see was ruin and destruction below. The enemy had
attacked their home base and carried off their family members! Verse
four tells us their response: </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
“<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Then
David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and
wept, until they had no more power to weep.”</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Without
a doubt, David had come upon Weeping Valley. Unfortunately, it only
got worse from there. David’s men, in their distress, irrationally
spoke of stoning their leader. David was no more responsible for the
calamity than any of his men, but the men in their grief were not
thinking soberly...they were acting out of emotion.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Yet,
at the close of verse six of 1 Samuel 30, we find David’s response…</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
“<span style="font-size: small;">...But
David encouraged himself in the Lord his God…” (KJV)</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Here
is where David found his “streams in the desert.” He had made a
spring in the Valley of Weeping. He didn’t look around at the
devastation he saw. Nor did he look to his friends around him, who
were hardly being friends to him at the time. He looked up to
God...and found encouragement. There are sometimes in our lives, when
all seems lost, that we must “encourage ourselves in the Lord.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I
wonder how David did this? What encouragement could he find in the
Lord that day when nothing </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJFA1ZtTBwo424wdxOZ3UyU3h5AC6l2ludMi6JaJqItIhCf1IN1djri-MpG_TjLvA6AWIVB0Ck2BOutRotU6ODgUSTxyuEzzuhBXXh9-4E7pRMeY6RpAgjZqJGoMA1QCC-JStkwXwhtDmQ/s1600/chipbrogden-ziklag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="1000" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJFA1ZtTBwo424wdxOZ3UyU3h5AC6l2ludMi6JaJqItIhCf1IN1djri-MpG_TjLvA6AWIVB0Ck2BOutRotU6ODgUSTxyuEzzuhBXXh9-4E7pRMeY6RpAgjZqJGoMA1QCC-JStkwXwhtDmQ/s320/chipbrogden-ziklag.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">around him was encouraging? Perhaps, he
might have looked back to another valley, when he was just a boy. It
was the valley where he met Goliath...with only a sling and a stone.
No one...NO ONE...gave him any chance against the Giant of Gath. You
probably know the story. God gave David the victory...and the giant’s
head was removed from his body. Maybe David also thought of the many
times that God had delivered him from the half-mad King Saul.
Whatever the case, David looked back and found courage to go forward.</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">When
David encouraged himself in the Lord, he began to act not out of fear
but out of faith. The remainder of the story is one of victory upon
victory. Read it for yourself. David asks God, “Shall I overtake
them?” (Notice, he doesn’t ask God, shall I crawl in a corner and
console myself? We need to be asking the right question!) God’s
encouraging answer was “Pursue for you shall surely overtake them
and WITHOUT FAIL recover all.” (1 Samuel 30:8) And, that’s
exactly what happened. After encouraging himself in the Lord, David
encourages his men with God’s word, and they march off and recover
all. Not one of their loved ones perished at the hands of Amelek. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Perhaps,
that is why in verse seven of Psalm 84, it says that these men and
women who make the valley of Baca a spring “go from strength to
strength.” When we walk through our valleys of Baca, encouraging
ourselves in the Lord as we contemplate God’s past mercies, we go
from our puny human strength to God’s amazing heavenly strength.
Strength to strength. Faith to faith (see Romans 1:17). Every Weeping
Valley that we walk through gives us strength to take the next hill.
Later on, in the psalm, we are told the reason for such encouragement
as we find even in the Valley of Baca”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
“<span style="font-size: small;"><i>For
the Lord God is a sun and shield;</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>The
Lord will give grace and glory;</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>No
good thing will He withhold </i></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>From
those who walk uprightly.” (Psalm 84:11)</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">What
encouragement there is in this verse! The Lord, who is our sun and
shield, has promised to give us grace for every Valley of Baca that
we walk through. Ultimately, he will give us glory...eternal glory.
He will not withhold one good thing from us, here or in eternity,
when we walk uprightly before Him. This doesn’t mean that we have
to do everything perfectly. It just means that we obey Him, that we
follow Him as best we know how. In the end, everyone who is on the
road to our Heavenly Jerusalem...and who stays on the road...will, as
it says in verse seven, appear before God in Zion. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">If
you find yourself in Weeping Valley today, be encouraged! If you are
in a struggle, keep struggling! (As my pastor has said, many times,
“Strugglers make it!) If your strength is in Jesus, He has promised
you that He will never leave you nor forsake you. He is a very
present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1). Weeping may indeed endure for
a night, but joy comes in the morning! (Psalm 30:5)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>I'd like to invite each of you to follow us as we study Paul's Epistle to Romans here on this blog...I believe you'll be encouraged! Each blog post includes a video of the lesson, plus my notes, so that you can follow along if you wish. To access Lesson #1, click <a href="https://waynenalljr.blogspot.com/2019/04/romans-bible-study-introduction-video.html">here</a>.</i></div>
</div>
</div>
Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6368981312697645173.post-91852170196603170032019-05-03T18:54:00.000-05:002019-05-03T19:01:05.549-05:00Romans Bible Study #4 - "Without Excuse" - Romans 1:18 - 32 (Video and notes)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">To go to the beginning of the series on Romans, click <a href="http://bit.ly/2VgCW1j">here</a>...</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">To go to the previous lesson, click <a href="https://waynenalljr.blogspot.com/2019/04/romans-bible-study-3-pauls-heart-romans.html">here</a>..</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">We
are beginning a section tonight that begins with Romans 1:18 and will
extend all the way to Romans 3:20. This section is Paul’s
indictment of all mankind, both Jew and Gentile. Before we can
really grasp the beauty of the light of Christ in salvation, we have
to examine the dark backdrop behind that light. Before we can be
saved, we have to understand our great need for salvation. This is
what this section is all about.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Francis
Schaeffer stated that “until recently, the book of Romans was
studied in American law schools to teach students the art of
presenting an argument.” This was especially true of the section
that we are about to begin tonight. Paul is like an attorney arguing
before the bar against a defendant. Who is the defendant? Well,
we’re going to find out...it’s us!</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Read
Romans 1:18 - 32</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Connection
between Romans 1:17 and Romans 1:18</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Vs.
17 - the righteousness of God is revealed through the gospel</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Vs.
18 - the wrath of God is revealed against all unrighteousness</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">What
is the “wrath of God?” (SLIDE)</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">John
Stott - "The wrath of God...is almost totally different from
human anger. It does not mean that God loses his temper, flies into a
rage, or is ever malicious, spiteful or vindictive. The alternative
to ‘wrath’ is not ‘love’ but ‘neutrality’ in the moral
conflict. And God is not neutral. On the contrary, his wrath is his
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>holy hostility to
evil</b></span><span style="font-size: small;">, his refusal
to condone it or come to terms with it, his just judgment upon it."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">So
God’s wrath is His holy hostility to evil. Notice that the text
does not say that it will one day be revealed, but it is revealed.
While we do know from elsewhere in scripture that there will be a
final day of God’s wrath, this indicates an ongoing revelation of
God’s wrath.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">What
is God’s wrath revealed against? “All ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men…</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The
Greek word translated “ungodliness” has to do with hostility
“against God.” The Greek word translated “unrighteousness”
has to do with injustice or unrighteousness of heart and life
“against men.” So God has hostility to those who are hostile to
him and to His creation...that is, mankind. Why is he hostile to
them? Because they “suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">(SLIDE)</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Stott…”It
is not just that they do wrong, though they know better. It is that
they have made a decision... to live for themselves, rather than for
God and others, and therefore deliberately stifle any truth which
challenges their self-centeredness.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">This
naturally brings up the question...what truth is it that men (and
here he seems to mean all men) suppress? You can’t suppress
something that you don’t have in the first place, can you?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">This
is explained in vs. 19. 20. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Before
we get into these verses, let’s talk about revelation. There is
such a thing as “gospel revelation.” That’s what Paul was
talking about in vs. 16 and 17. The gospel through the Holy Spirit
reveals to us “the righteousness of God.” Obviously that’s not
the kind of revelation he’s talking about in vs. 19 and 20. Here
he is talking to us about “general revelation.” That is, this is
that which is revealed to all mankind. Notice in verse 19 it says it
is “evident within them” and verse 20 “His invisible
attributes...have been clearly seen.” i.e. they have been revealed.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Vs.
19 tells us that there are certain things that are known about God
that all men know innately. It is evident to them. It is within
them. This is why, no matter how isolated a culture, you will find
men worship some kind of higher power. There is an innate knowledge
of God in men...not a saving knowledge, but a knowledge that we
simply couldn’t have gotten here on our own. Men have a
conscience. Though marred by sin, there is a sense of right and
wrong, of justice and injustice in all men. Man did not create man. I
remember reading the autobiography of a missionary of John Paton, a
missionary to the islands of the South Pacific. He went to an island
that had been isolated for 1800 years from the gospel. No white man
had ever been there. Yet, he found me worshipping all kinds of
strange gods. They have an innate knowledge of God. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Vs.
20 tells us of another kind of general revelation that works together
with the human conscience. This verse tells us that since the world
was created, God’s invisible attributes...have been clearly seen by
men. How can men see God’s invisible attributes? They can see
them and understand them (although imperfectly) through what God has
made. All of creation testifies to the existence of a Creator.
Psalm 19:1 says “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and
their expanse is declaring the work of His hands…” </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Looking
into a telescope (from “The Case for A Creator” by Lee
Strobel)<br />
(SLIDE)</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>One
of the most striking discoveries of modern science has been that the
laws and constants of physics unexpectedly conspire in an
extraordinary way to make the universe habitable for life. For
instance, said physicist-philosopher Robin Collins,</i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>
gravity is fine-tuned to one part in a hundred million billion
billion billion billion billion.</b></i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>(slide)</b></i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>The
cosmological constant, which represents the energy density of space,
is as precise as </i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>throwing
a dart from space and hitting a bull's-eye just a trillionth of a
trillionth of an inch in diameter on Earth. </b></i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>One
expert said there are more than 30 physical or cosmological
parameters that require precise calibration in order to produce a
universe that can sustain life.</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>"If
the universe had not been made with the most exacting precision, we
could never have come into existence," said Harvard-educated
astrophysicist John A. O'Keefe of NASA. "It is my view that
these circumstances indicate the universe was created for man to live
in."</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Now...let’s
look through a microscope (also from The Case for a Creator)</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>(SLIDE)</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>The
six feet of DNA coiled inside every one of </i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>our
body's one hundred trillion cells </b></i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>contain
a four-letter chemical alphabet that spells out precise assembly
instructions for all the proteins from which our bodies are made.
Cambridge-educated Stephen Meyer demonstrated that no hypothesis has
come close to explaining how information got into biological matter
by naturalistic means.</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>On
the contrary, he said that whenever we find a sequential arrangement
that's complex and corresponds to an independent pattern or function
such as books and computer code, this kind of information is always
the product of intelligence.</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>(Slide)</b></i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>"Information
is the hallmark of a mind," Meyer said. "And purely from
the evidence of genetics and biology, we can infer the existence of a
mind that's far greater than our own — a conscious, purposeful,
rational, intelligent designer who's amazingly creative."</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">So,
what do men do with such overwhelming evidence of God’s eternal
power and divine nature? As we have already noted, they suppress the
truth...both the truth in their own consciences and the truth in
creation. Yet, because of this general revelation which is available
to all men, vs. 20 says that “they are without excuse.” </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">This
tells me that there is sufficient revelation available both within
men and in the creation around men to acknowledge God. I don’t
believe that there has ever been nor ever will be a man or woman who
sincerely sought after God that did not find Him, however imperfect
their knowledge might be. It doesn’t mean that they know all about
God. Certainly, anyone before Christ would have had no opportunity
to know the full light of the knowledge of the gospel. No one will
ever go to hell because they had no opportunity. No one will ever
stand before God at the day of judgement and be able to say, “I
never had a chance to know You.” </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Yet,
the evidence is that the overwhelming majority of men down through
the ages have rejected God. They have “suppressed the truth” that
resides even down in their very souls. Vs. 21 - 23 describes how this
happens. From here to the end of the chapter we see a downward
spiral. Once men reject God, there is nowhere to go but down. Vs. 21
tells us that though they knew God, they didn’t honor Him as God or
give thanks to Him, but instead they became futile in their
speculations (“their thinking became futile” NIV) and “their
foolish heart was darkened.” (Futile here means “to make empty,
vain, foolish.”) Verse 22 goes on to say that though “professing
to be wise, they became fools.” (AMP “professing to be smart,
they made simpletons of themselves.”) So it was then, so it is now.
Men today have become more adept than the ancients at making fools
of themselves. Anyone that says that man made himself...that man
came from nothing...is a fool!</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Vs.
23 shows us the results of the rejection of God. Notice the word
“exchanged.” This is going to be used by Paul to describe each
step downward in this de-evolutionary process. Because men hate God,
they “exchange” His glory for images. Images of men, birds,
beasts, and reptiles. So, when man rejects God, the first thing he
does is find a replacement for God. This is where most of the world’s
religions have come from. We want an alternative to the true God, man
says, so he worships something other than God. Worship is inbuilt in
men. It is something he has to do. Every man and every woman
worships something. Bob Dylan wrote the song, “You Gotta Serve
Somebody.” How true that is! Man makes a terrible bargain when he
trades true worship for idol worship...yet he does it all the time.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">But,
you might say, we don’t worship idols today! We don’t worship
birds, animals, and crawling creatures like Paul described that men
did in that day. Well, some men still do. However, in our
sophisticated 21st century society, we have “evolved” from that,
haven’t we? Actually, all we’ve done is found other things to
worship. Here is a very abbreviated list of things that we worship
today...entertainment, sports, movie stars, nature, food, family,
sex...No, we don’t worship birds and four-footed animals...we
worship things like Cardinals, Cubs, Colts, and Pacers (whatever that
is!). But, we don’t worship those things, you might say! We don’t
bow down to them! Well, whatever you spend your time on the most,
whatever you think about when you don’t have to think about
anything...that’s what you worship. Worship means “worth-ship”.
Whatever you attribute worth to above God is what you worship.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Notice
that in verse 23 he says that we exchange the “incorruptible God”
for these corruptible idols. The inevitable result of man-made
religion is that we become corrupted. Verse 24 describes the next
step downward. “God gave them over” (we’re going to see that
phrase repeated several times as we continue downward) “in the
lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be
dishonored among them.” Once we turn from God, God lets us get what
we want. Yet “gives us over”. The original means “to give into
the hands of another.” This is certainly not God’s perfect
will...but it is something He permits. If we want to wallow in the
pigpen, He will let us. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Vs.
25 has another exchange to explain why God gives us over to the lusts
of our own heart. We exchange the truth of God for a lie, and worship
and serve the creature instead of the Creator. This gets to the
bottom of this idolatry. All idolatry is ultimately man worship. We
become our own gods!</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">C.H.
Dodd: </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>(SLIDE)</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">God’s
judgment on the people’s idolatry was to give them over in the
sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity. The history of the
world confirms that idolatry tends to immorality. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>A
false image of God leads to a false understanding of sex...</b></span><span style="font-size: small;">Illicit
sex degrades people’s humanness; sex in marriage, as God intended,
ennobles it.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Listen
to how vs. 24-25 sound in “The Message”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">So
God said, in effect, “If that’s what you want, that’s what you
get.” It wasn’t long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared
with filth, filthy inside and out. And all this because they traded
the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead
of the God who made them—the God we bless, the God who blesses </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">us</span></i></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">.
Oh, yes!</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
What
is this pigpen that he’s talking about. When he says in verse 24
“God gave them over in the lusts of their own hearts to impurity,”
he is talking about sexual impurity. Each one of these steps I have
seen in this country in my own lifetime. This began to happen about
50 years ago...in the late 60’s and early 70’s. Young people
began to throw off all restraint. “God is dead” and “if it
feels good, do it” walked hand in hand. Since then, sexual
promiscuity has become “baked in” to our society. What was once
considered “shacking up” is now no big deal. In our society, you
can live with someone of the opposite sex without marriage, having
babies with them, and be considered an honorable member of
society...even be an upstanding church member in many churches. It
used to be called “fornication.” We don’t use that word
anymore. It just seems too harsh. Instead of husband or wife, we now
have companions. Divorce rates doubled between 1965 and 1980, then
leveled off and eventually went down some. Why did they go down? Not
because people had began to embrace the values of the Bible! It was
because people just stopped getting married. What was then wrong is
now right. What was down is now up...or so they say.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">What
does Paul say is the next step to this “downward spiral” of
society. Look at vs. 26-27. God “gives them over” again...this
time to homosexual lifestyles. Notice again that word “exchanged”
in verse 26. Their “women exchanged the natural function for that
which is unnatural.” Men had their own exchange, abandoning the
natural function of a woman and buring with desire for one another.
Wow! How politically incorrect was Paul! </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">(Reading
this, it is almost as if some architects of society read Romans 1 and
decided to use this as a blueprint for the way they would take
society!)</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">So,
Paul says, after sexual promiscuity spirals upwards and the sanctity
of marriage spirals downward, the homosexual lifestyle with then
become front and center. Isn’t that exactly what we see happening
in our society...and even around the world? </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Every
part of our society...except the evangelical church...has conspired
to make what was once abhorrent to be celebrated. Homosexuality has
been for millennia considered deviant behavior. That is because it
is. I just have to be blunt here. Male bodies were not biologically
designed to have sexual intercourse with male bodies. Nor are female
bodies designed to have intercourse with female bodies. That isn’t
a homophobic statement. It’s just biology. When you do something
that is against nature, their are bound to be consequences, and that
is certainly the case. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">National
Institute of Health:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">LGBT
youth are more likely to engage in high-risk sexual behaviors leading
to an increased incidence of STDs. T</span></i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">he
rates of gonorrhea, chlamydia, and HIV are twice as higher </span></b></i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">(sic)</span></i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">
</span></b></i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">in
sexually minority youth, as in heterosexual men [</span></i></span></span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5478215/#REF11"><span style="color: #642a8f;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><u><span style="background: #ffffff;">11</span></u></i></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">].
According to the Dane County Youth Assessment Surveys (2008-2009),
multiple factors accounted for unsafe sexual behaviors in LGBT youth
including earlier age of sexual encounter, increased number of known
and anonymous sexual partners, lack of education on safe sex
practices, ineffective use of condoms, and testing and perception of
STDs acquisition...The Center for Disease Control and Prevention data
in 2014 showed that gay and bisexual men accounted for 83% of the new
diagnoses of HIV among males, aged 13 years and older. The gay men
were also at an increased risk of various cancers including prostate,
testicular, anal, and colon, which might be related to limited
culturally sensitive screening services…</span></i></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">At
the end of vs. 27, Paul states that those who persist in such
behavior receive “in their own persons the due penalty of their
errors.” Is Paul saying that God punishes gays with AIDS and other
diseases. No, he is not. He is just saying that when you do
something against nature, their are natural consequences. (BTW...This
is true for heterosexual as well as homosexual activity. People who
have sex within the confines of marriage don’t have to worry about
STD’s and such like). This is also true of abusing our bodies by
eating too much food or the wrong food. Does God punish people who
eat too much with a far greater chance of diabetes than others? Does
God punish smokers with lung cancer? No, when we do things that are
harmful to the body, we must expect that the chances of having
something bad happen in our body is much greater!</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">So...am
I some homophobic pastor railing against homosexuals? No I am not. I
love all people, including homosexual, lesbians, and transgender, or
whatever categories they might have now. You should love them as
well. I also love people who are promiscuous, who are obese, who are
boastful, who are covetous, who are arrogant...Yet, that does not
mean that I or you can condone behavior that is outside God’s
perfect will.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Speaking
of transgender, I noticed that about a week after the famous Supreme
Court Obergefell decision in 2015 which required states to legalize
homosexual “marriages”, we became inundated with articles and
profiles about “transgendered” people. And it hasn’t let up
since then. Now, anyone who feels like someone of the opposite sex
should be considered the opposite sex...even if that someone is 3
years old!</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">(Slide
of church sign)</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">(Charlize
Theron 3-year-old son “transitioning” to a boy is now 7...talked
to Dennis Prager about.)</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">(Read
from article...online this morning...about Canadian Court ruling that
parents can’t stop 14-year-old girl from taking male hormones.
Parent would be guilty of “family violence” for calling her a
girl or referring to her by her female name!) </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">This
is heading our way at breakneck speed. Sadly enough, many people who
call themselves Christians actively embrace this entire agenda, and
actively try to chance conservative, Bible-believing Christians minds
about this through all kinds of clever techniques.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">(Read
from article 4-29-19 USA Today by Oliver Thomas, retired Baptist
pastor)</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">So,
what happens next? Paul tells us in the last several verses of
chapter 1. Because they do not see fit to acknowledge God any
longer, God “gave them over to a depraved mind.” The floodgates
open as Paul lists all kinds of debased practices that flow out of
man’s rejection of God. They are not only unrighteous, wicked, and
greedy, but filled with those things. In the middle of this list is
one thing that really sums it up...they are haters of God. Haven’t
we seen this? Those who hate God and those who worship God are
rapidly becoming a dominant force in our society. I would put those
like this Baptist minister in this category. Not only do they do know
that these things are against God and still do them, but they also
“give hearty approval to those who practice them.” </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">(Article
about “Minister” in Colorado who melted down virginity rings to
make statue of female sex organ and awarded to Gloria Steinem).</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="background: #ffffff;">Romans
1: 28-32 (Message) </span></b></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background: #ffffff;">
</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Since
they didn’t bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and
let them run loose. And then all hell broke loose: rampant evil,
grabbing and grasping, vicious backstabbing. They made life hell on
earth with their envy, wanton killing, bickering, and cheating. Look
at them: mean-spirited, venomous, fork-tongued God-bashers. Bullies,
swaggerers, insufferable windbags! They keep inventing new ways of
wrecking lives. They ditch their parents when they get in the way.
Stupid, slimy, cruel, cold-blooded. And it’s not as if they don’t
know better. They know perfectly well they’re spitting in God’s
face. And they don’t care—worse, they hand out prizes to those
who do the worst things best!</span></span></span></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6368981312697645173.post-33857549511514053002019-04-27T07:07:00.003-05:002019-04-27T07:18:55.982-05:00Romans Bible Study #3 - "Paul's Heart" - Romans 1:8-17 (Video and Lesson notes)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/i25o5xbAHrA" width="560"></iframe></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">To go to the beginning of the series on Romans, click <a href="http://bit.ly/2VgCW1j">here</a>...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">To go to the previous lesson, click <a href="http://bit.ly/2VwjG0c">here</a>..</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Notes...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Read Romans 1:1-17</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-a1e2c943-7fff-7638-de95-781ec449ff2a" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Recap vs. 1-7</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Paul’s Heart (vs. 8-15)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Remember that most of the people that Paul is writing to have never met Paul. They certainly would have heard of him, much of it good, but no doubt some of it bad. After having laid out his credentials to them, he shares his heart with them. This in itself should be a lesson to us. When we are speaking to others of Christ, they need to understand our heart first. We’re not just trying to “win another one for Jesus.”...put another spiritual trophy in our case. We have to care about each one as a person. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">We will occasionally have a guest minister preach here. The message might be superb, the delivery might be completely on pitch, but I have to tell you...for me to really partake of what he has to say...I need to know his heart. I will honor anyone who the Lord has called to preach the gospel, but, I’m afraid that some preach Christ for selfish reasons. Paul in Philippians 1:17 stated the some “proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition.” I don’t want to do that...neither do I want anyone else to do that. </span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Vs. 8 Paul is not just “buttering them up” here. He genuinely is thankful for the wonderful reputation that the Roman Church (or actually churches)...who probably didn’t have any “spiritual father” but rather had sprung up as more and more Christians moved to Rome from other areas..had a reputation for great faith. What do we want to be known for here at Fair Haven Christ Fellowship? Great preaching, great worship music, great facilities, children’s ministry? I for one would want to be known as those who have great faith...that is, that we are connected by faith to Jesus Christ. That this is a place to go when you are discouraged and down, because when you go you’ll be energized by the faith and love of the members. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Vs. 9-10</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">These verses truly reveal Paul’s heart. Notice that Paul’s preaching and Paul’s prayers and intertwined. His preaching was so effective because of his praying. John Stott says “in Paul’s apostolic ministry, preaching and praying go together.” This has always been true of any man or woman who has truly been used of God. You show me a man who preaches without much prayer and I’ll show you a man whose preaching is shallow and weak...no matter how eloquent he is.</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Listen to the words of E.M. Bounds:</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What the church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Spirit can </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Use - men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Spirit does not flow </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Through methods but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">men. He does not anoint plans, but men - men of prayer. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Preaching is not the performance of an hour. It is the outflow of a life. It takes twenty years to make a sermon, because it takes twenty years to make the man.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The preacher’s sharpest and strongest preaching should be to himself. His most difficult, delicate, laborious, and thorough work must be with himself...It is not great talents nor great learning nor great preachers that God needs, but men great in holiness, great in faith, great in love, great in fidelity, great for God - men always preaching by holy sermons in the pulpit, by holy lives out of it. These can mold a generation for God.</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Prayer is the preacher’s mightiest weapon...The real sermon is made in the closet. The man - God’s man - is made in the closet. His life and his profoundest convictions were born in his secret communion with God. The burdened and tearful agony of his spirit, his</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">weightiest and sweetest messages were received when alone with God. Prayer </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">makes the man: prayer makes the preacher; prayer makes the pastor. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Paul would have said “Amen” to E.M. Bounds. Paul was certainly one of those praying men. It was Paul’s praying that not only made his preaching but his letter writing...as in this letter we are now studying. He prayed for these people. He described his prayers for them as “unceasing.” Remember, he had never met most of them...had never been to Rome. Let me as you as I ask myself...how is your praying lining up with Paul’s? Do you pray for those you’ve never met...fervently, unceasingly? I’m afraid mine doesn’t line up at all. I want to be one who can pray for those Catholics in Sri Lanka who were just brutally attacked by ISIS as fervently as I pray for the members of my own congregation. I want Paul’s heart. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Vs. 11-13 Paul, as an Apostle of Jesus Christ, had a great desire to see this church established. Notice the careful, loving way that Paul speaks to them. He commends them for their faith. He tells them how much he prays for them, and how much he desires to see them...a desire that didn’t just come from his earthly desires but from the Holy Spirit. He tells them that he would like to help them become more established, imparting a spiritual gift to them. This doesn’t mean that there is one particular spiritual gift (as Paul in other places would name), but that He wanted them to be more mature in their faith. Though they had many things going for them, there evidently were not always on solid ground spiritually. Then, he says, that not only does he want to help them be established, he also needs to be encouraged by them. Did you know that preachers need their congregations as much as the congregation needs the preacher? I certainly need you greatly. You encourage me...and I know that Pastor Mike could say the same. When I see your faith...I get pumped! In verse 13, Paul says that he has been hindered from going to them, though he has often planned to come. He gives his reason for wanting to come here as obtaining fruit from them. Fruit can be many different things. Some have said that he was hoping to make converts in Rome...that the converts were the fruit. That may be so. Actually, Paul talks of fruit is some places as being money, but I don’t see that here at all. Perhaps, the fruit was the fruit of their faith, which he had heard of but not experienced. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Vs. 14-15 - Let’s talk first about these people he says he is under obligation to. When he says Greeks, he’s not talking about just people from Greece. The world was dominated politically by Rome, but it was dominated philosophically and culturally by Greece. When Rome eventually conquered Greece about 100 years before Christ’s birth, Greek culture conquered them. To a Jew, a Greek could mean anyone who was not Jewish. That’s what I think it means in verse 16. But in this context, it means a learned person. Those who spoke Greek and had adopted Hellenistic (Greek) culture). A barbarian was an unlearned person...someone from the lower classes. He is saying much the same thing when he says “both to the wise and to the foolish.” </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">When Paul says he is under obligation, he is literally saying I am in debt. How do you think that Paul was in debt to Greeks and barbarians...people he had never met? I believe that he was saying that because of the great debt that I owe to my Savior Jesus, I must share the gospel with everyone...no matter their rank or social status. We can never pay back the debt we owe to our Savior, can we? Yet, the way we are expected to “discharge the debt” is by serving our fellow men and women...no matter how unlike us they are. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What would our lives be like if we felt indebted to everyone we met, whether they were pleasant or uncouth...even barbarous? We are in debt to share Christ with them, to show the love of God to them...to treat them as those created in God’s image...no matter how badly that image has been marred by sin. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">This reminds me of Paul’s words to the Ephesians:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">2 </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">in which you once walked according to the [</span><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ephesians+2%3A1-6&version=NKJV#fen-NKJV-29232a" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #b34b2c; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">a</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">]course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">3 </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">By 4 </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">5 </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Ephesians 2:1-5 NKJV)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">John Stott mentions a second way that Paul would have felt indebted. He says, “...if a friend of yours were to hand me $1000 to give to you, I would be in your debt until I handed it over...it is your friend who has put me in your debt by entrusting me with $100 for you. It is in this...sense that Paul is in debt. He has not borrowed anything from the Romans which he must repay. But jesus Christ has entrusted him with the gospel for them.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">As a result of all this, Paul says in verse 15 that He is eager to preach the gospel to those in Rome. Eager is a good translation of this word. It means “enthusiastically willing”, “ready to go.” Paul was on-the-edge-of-his-seat ready to go to Rome just as soon as the Lord gave the word. This should be our attitude towards God as well. We should be “enthusiastically willing” to go wherever God sends us…”on-the-edge-of-our-seat” ready to obey God. He doesn’t have to drag us kicking and screaming…(Jonah comes to mind here). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">2 Timothy 2:15 NASBS</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Vs. 16-17 - These two verses are seen by many as the theme or the thesis of the whole book. I see no reason to disagree. Paul will basically take the rest of the letter to flesh out what he is saying in these two verses. If we can really understand what is here, we will go far in understanding the whole letter. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Paul says “For I am not ashamed of the gospel…” Paul had just been talking about his eagerness to go to Rome to preach the gospel. In my mind’s eye, I can almost see Paul like David before Goliath. Paul in stature was probably small, he by this time bore the marks of much persecution in his body, and in one place he quotes others who said of him, “his personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.” (2 Cor. 10:10) Yet, here he is eager to go to the capital of the known world to “slay the giant” of Rome. Paul would readily go before Caesar himself and preach the gospel, even at the expense of his own life. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Let’s talk about ourselves. Are you ashamed of the good news of Jesus Christ? Am I? Remember, we all are ambassadors for Jesus Christ. We represent Him wherever we go. We are to be unashamed and unafraid. Do you remember what Jesus said about being ashamed of Him?...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Mark 8:38 NASBS</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">God grant us boldness in the face of every kind of opposition! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What reason did Paul give that he was unashamed of the gospel? He said that the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes....</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Let’s compare for a moment vs. 2-4 with 16-17. We said last time that 3-4 was a summary of the gospel. It describes the gospel in the briefest form. The gospel concerns Jesus Christ, who “was declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead…” We took some time to break that down. Verses 3 and 4 describe what the gospel is. Verses 16 and 17 describe what the gospel does. We just received a wonderful gift of a 98 Ford Explorer. There are a couple of different ways that I could tell you about this gift. I could describe what kind of motor it has, I could tell you that it is all-wheel-drive. I could even tell you that it is green, has four doors, and a nice stereo, all of which are true. The other way that I could explain the vehicle would be to take you out, give you the keys, and say, “drive it.” Verses 3 and 4 are the summary of what the gospel is. Verses 16 and 17 tells you what it does.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The gospel is...the power of God. The word translated “power” here is an interesting word. The Greek word is “dunamis.” It doesn’t mean just power, it means “miraculous power.” The Greek word “dunamis.” We get our word “dynamite” from “dunamis.” That should give you a pretty good idea of what this word means. This is the reason that Paul was unafraid to preach the gospel in Rome. He would be coming with dynamite! This word “dunamis” is in the NT 120 times. In almost every case, it is referring to “the power of God”, “the power of the Holy Spirit,” or “the power of Christ.” The word is translated in NASB 18 as “miracles.” No wonder! The gospel is the greatest miracle that has ever been!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Why is the gospel so miraculously powerful? Look back at the text. Because it is the power of God for salvation...What is salvation? It is one of those theological words that we here a lot...but do we really understand it? Webster’s describes it as “</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">preservation or deliverance from harm, ruin, or loss.” Most of the time, if you ask people what we are saved from, they will say that we are saved from hell. Most Christians would probably give you that answer. But did you know that the NT never talks about being saved from hell? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Matt. 1:21 “...He will save His people from their sins.” 1st time in NT</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Acts 2:40 “...Be saved from this perverse generation.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Romans 5:9 “...we shall be saved from the wrath of God…”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Yes, when we are saved, we are delivered from hell to heaven. But that is not where the emphasis is in NT. Even in the matter of salvation, we can become exceedingly selfish. We want it to be all about us...or about the one who we desire to be saved. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Charles Finney</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Parents…”cannot bear to think that their children should be lost. They pray for them very earnestly indeed. But if you go to talk with them, they are very tender, and tell you how good their children are, how they respect religion, and they think they are almost Christians now; and so they talk as if they were afraid you would hurt their children if you should tell them the truth. They do not think how such amiable and lovely children are dishonoring God by their sins; they are only thinking what a dreadful thing it will be for them to go to hell. Ah! unless their thoughts rise higher than this, their prayers will never prevail with a holy God. The temptation to selfish motives is so strong, that there is reason to fear a great many parental prayers never rise above the yearnings of parental tenderness. And that is the reason why so many prayers are not heard, and why so many pious, praying parents have ungodly children. Much of the prayer for the heathen world seems to be based on no higher principle than sympathy. Missionary agents, and others, are dwelling almost exclusively upon the six hundred millions of heathens going to hell, while little is said of their dishonoring God. This is a great evil; and until the church have higher motives for prayer and missionary effort than sympathy for the heathen, their prayers and efforts will never amount to much.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">One word that we use today that shares the same root as “salvation” helps explain the concept…”salvage.” The gospel is the message of a heavenly “salvage” operation. You and I have been salvaged so that we might be useful to God. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Who receives this salvation? “To everyone who believes.” When we were in John, we talked quite a bit about what it means to believe. It doesn’t mean to just give mental assent. It means wholehearted trust. It is not a one time thing. To be a believer means that we trust in Christ for our whole life. To be a believer means that our life has been radically changed. It means that we are now bond-servants...love slaves...to Christ</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“To the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Here “Greek” is synonymous with “Gentile” or “non-Jew.” God offered salvation first to the Jews. When they rejected it, he then offered it to all of us Gentiles. Yet, the offer to the Jews was never withdrawn. Later in Romans, we will see that there will be a time...I believe soon...that the Jews will receive the gospel and believe.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“For in it (the gospel), the righteousness of God is revealed…” What is the righteousness of God? It is making things right with God</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">John Stott</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“It seems legitimate to affirm, therefore, that ‘the righteousness of God is God’s righteous initiative in putting sinners right with himself, by bestowing on them a righteousness which is not their own but his. ‘The righteousness of God’ is God’s...justification of the unjust, his righteous way of pronouncing the unrighteous righteous, in which he both demonstrates his righteousness and gives righteousness to us. He has done it through Christ, the righteous one, who died for the unrighteous, as Paul will explain later. And he does it by faith when we put our trust in him, and cry to him for mercy.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“From faith to faith…” Scholars have been puzzling over exactly what Paul meant by this for many centuries. I see it as first that we go from faith in our own righteousness (which Paul later describes as “filthy rags) to faith in the righteousness of Christ. But I also see a deeper meaning that this. Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many rooms…” In our walk of faith in this life, we may progress in our faith from room to room to room. Each one calls for a deeper degree of faith. We could almost say, “from faith to faith to faith.” We may walk with God at one level, then a crisis will cause us to call out to him for deliverance. In actuality, we are being called up higher...to a deeper faith. We are just delivered once. We are delivered to deeper faith in him again and again. Each time, the righteousness of God is revealed more and more to us...until that final revelation when we see Him face to face.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">2 Corinthians 3:18 NASBS</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Finally, Paul quotes Habakkuk…As it is written, “But the righteous man (or the just) shall live by faith.” We received the righteousness of God by faith. We aren’t just given the righteousness of God so that we can get to heaven in the sweet by and by. We are given the gift of righteousness so that for our entire lives we can live by faith. That is what it means to believe. It means to live by faith.</span></div>
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Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6368981312697645173.post-26580768546593131742019-04-25T15:40:00.004-05:002019-04-27T07:19:10.851-05:00Good Friday Message - "Prophet, Priest, King" (Video and Sermon Notes)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Notes from message:</div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Jesus Christ holds three offices. These offices he has held throughout eternity and will hold throughout eternity. Each one of them describes a different function of his purpose and work. Does anyone know what these three offices are? Prophet, Priest, and King</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">It is interesting to note in the OT type of the kingdom of God, the nation of Israel, that these three offices were almost always divided. Few men ever held two of these offices at the same time. Samuel was one of those exceptions. He was both priest and prophet. He anointed kings, but he could never be king. In one instance in the OT, a king (Uzziah), tried to take on the role of priest for a moment. Do you remember what happened to him? He was struck with leprosy. I think he got the point. As a matter of fact, in Israel’s history no man was allowed to hold two of these offices at the same time...that is the offices of priest and king. There is only one man in history that has ever been qualified to hold all three offices. His name is Jesus Christ. For us, to understand Jesus’ functions in each of this offices will help us to understand what Good Friday is all about. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">While it is true that Jesus has held all three offices throughout eternity, it is also true that there has been or will be a season for each of these offices in which that office was or will be predominate. There has been or will be a period of time in history in which Jesus in each of these three offices is or will be clearly seen with the human eye by all men...without any possibility of denial. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Prophet</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Deut 18:15, 18, 19 - </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">A prophet like Moses </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">John 5:46; 6:14 Messiah was to fulfill the role of The Prophet</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Prophet would be like Moses in that he spoke to God face to face (Deut 34:10)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">He would be like Moses in that God would put His words in His mouth and He would speak all that God commanded.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Those who refused to listen to The Prophet would be destroyed (their soul would be required of them). Acts 3:22, 23 (Peter’s sermon)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Luke 4:16-21 (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Isaiah 61:1, 2)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The role of the Great Prophet (Messiah in Hebrew means anointed one)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Speak to men for God (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Preach</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> good news)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Proclaim</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> liberty to the captives</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Give sight to the blind (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Perform</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> miracles)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Predict</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> the future (or prophecy)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Priest</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">While a prophet represented God to man, the priest (especially the High Priest) represented man to God</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“His purpose is to restore men to fellowship with God who is justly angered at man for his rebellion and his rejection of the truth. This the priest does by the sacrifice of a substitute for man whereby he makes atonement, and by intercession on man’s behalf. As the one who made atonement for Israel the priest stood between the sinner and God, symbolically bringing the two together in reconciliation.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Levitical priesthood of the Old Covenant was a type of a greater priesthood that was to come. It was only symbolic of a greater priesthood that was to come. The one which was to come would in actuality bridge the gap between God and man.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Psalm 110:4 predicts that Messiah would be a High Priest who would reign forever”according to the order of Melchizadek.” (Melchizedek was a priest of a higher order than that of the Levitical priesthood, which would follow centuries later)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Jesus, as Great High Priest under the New Covenant was better than all previous priests.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">They had a fatal flaw...They all died. The priesthood of Jesus Christ is “according to the power of an endless (or indestructible life).” Hebrews 7:16; 24, 25</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Levitical priests at their best were all sinful creatures. Jesus Christ, our Great High Priest, was “holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens.” Heb 7:26</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Levitical priests had to make an offering daily, first for their own sins, then for the sins of the people. Jesus had to offer up one sacrifice “once for all.” That sacrifice was the sacrifice of Himself, which He offered on Calvary</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Levetical priesthood was based on an inferior covenant, which was only a shadow of the New Covenant. Hebrews 8:6</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Jesus performed His outward role as both Great High Priest and sacrifice upon the cross. When Jesus exclaimed on the cross “Tetelestai” (It is finished), He was acting in this role as Great High Priest. Hebrews 9;11, 12; 10;11-14</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Jesus continues to perform this role in heaven as our Great High Priest, making intercession for us before the Father. Because of this, nothing can separate us from the love of Christ! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">An amazing passage in Zachariah leads us into the third office of Jesus. Zech 6:12, 13</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Here is a prophecy that Messiah (the Branch) would be a “priest sitting on His throne.” Never in the whole history of Israel had there been a priest sitting on a throne. One who was to come would fill both offices of Priest and King.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">King</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">It was prophesied in many places in OT, that Messiah would come as King</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Psalm 45;6, 7</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Isaiah 9:6, 7 “the government will rest on his shoulders...He would reign on the throne of David. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Isaiah 32:1,2 “A King shall reign in righteousness.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Although Jesus came as a king, He was rejected by His own countrymen. (John 1:11)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">At the foot of the cross, they protested that Pilate had written “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Earlier they had cried, “We have no king but Caesar! (John 19:15-22)</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Yet Jesus proclaimed that His kingdom was not of this world. He has ruled over His kingdom in the hearts of His people for almost two millennia. When we submit to His righteous rule, He becomes our everlasting king...our king who today rules in righteousness!</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">As Jesus was outwardly The Prophet during His 3 ½ year ministry on earth, and outwardly was the High Priest who sacrificed Himself on Good Friday, so too Jesus will outwardly, for all the world to see, come back to reign as King! Rev. 11:15; 17:14; 19:11-16</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Today, if you will hear His voice, Jesus can be your prophet, priest and king. He can speak to you as the prophet into your heart. Hebrews 3:12-14 Don’t harden your heart as the Israelites did to the prophet Moses!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">As priest, He has inaugurated a new and living way for us to walk with Him day by day. Hebrews 10:19-24</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">As both priest and king, He has made us to be a kingdom of priests! (Rev 1:6)</span></div>
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Wayne Nall Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04166278552196774524noreply@blogger.com0