5
Oct
2016
THE HELP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (26-27)
1. Helps in our weakness as we pray (26a)
He says, "The Holy Spirit helps us
in our infirmity." Singular, it is our longing for release from this
earth. He helps us in that. He explains,
"For we know not what we should pray for as is necessary, But the Spirit
himself makes intercession for us, with unuttered groanings." And I think
that means that the Holy Spirit down within us in ways that are not the ways of
articulate speech prays for us in the present environment, and struggles. We
have two divine intercessors. We have one in heaven, who is at the right hand
of the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, who ever lives to make intercession for
us. Paul will refer to this in verse 34, and we also have the Holy Spirit
within us, and he too prays that we might be released from the present troubles
and trials, and he does it with groanings that are unuttered.
I do not know of any subject that has caused more perplexity for more
Christians than the subject of prayer, unless perhaps it is the matter of
knowing God’s will. And, of course, the two are related. They are related in
this text as well as in other places, for the verses we are now studying speak
of the Holy Spirit’s help in prayer, concluding that “he who searches our
hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints
in accordance with God’s will” (v. 27).
Christians
who want to pray in accordance with God’s will find themselves asking: What
should I pray for? How should I pray? Can I pray with confidence, “claiming”
things by faith? Or do I have to make my prayers tentative, adding always, “If
it be your will”?
What happens
if I pray wrongly? Can prayer do harm? Does prayer get God to change his mind?
Can it change God’s plans? If not, does it even matter if I pray?
I do not know
any subject that has caused more perplexity and been more of a continuing
problem for more believers than this one. But we have help in this area, the
help of the Holy Spirit, which is great indeed. It is what Romans 8:26 and 27
are about.[1]
“In
the Same Way”
These verses
begin with the phrase “in the same way.” So we first need to ask what this
refers to. It is a connecting phrase, of course, and most of the commentators
link it to what immediately precedes. That is, they link it to the Christian’s
hope. The idea seems to be that we endure sufferings in this life but that we
are able to handle them in two ways: first, by hope, that is, by a sure and
patient looking forward to the final redemption of our bodies; and second, by
the help of the Holy Spirit in prayer.
That is a
valid connection, of course. But I think that D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones is right
when he links the apostle’s teaching about prayer in verses 26–27 to his
teaching about prayer in verses 15–17. The earlier passage taught that the Holy
Spirit enables us to pray, assuring us that we truly are God’s children and
encouraging us to cry out “Abba,
Father.” That teaching was followed by an extensive digression dealing with the
sufferings endured in this life before we come into God’s presence. But then,
having dealt with sufferings, Paul returns once more to the Spirit’s work in
enabling us to pray, adding that the Spirit also “helps us in our weakness” (v.
26).
In other
words, Paul returns to the subject of assurance, which is the chapter’s main
theme. The point of these two verses is that the Holy Spirit’s help in prayer
is another way we can know that we are God’s children and that nothing will
ever separate us from his love.
Notice
that when Paul writes the word weakness he adds the word our, thereby putting
himself in an identical position. In other words, the weakness that makes
prayer difficult is not something that only new, baby, or immature Christians
have. It is part of our common human condition. Even the greatest saints have
had this difficulty.
The
idea of the Holy Spirit coming alongside a Christian to help is the same in
both cases. But the special meaning in the word used here in Romans is to help
by bearing the Christian’s burden. It pictures our ignorance of what to pray
for as a heavy load. We are struggling along under it, as it were. But the Holy
Spirit comes alongside and helps us shoulder the load. He identifies with us in
our weakness, as Jesus did by his incarnation, and he labors with us.
The
second word Paul uses is intercession, saying that “the Spirit himself
intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” An intercessor is a person
who pleads one’s case. So the meaning is that the way the Holy Spirit comes
alongside us to help and shoulder our burden is by pleading our case with God
when we do not know how to do it. We do not know what to pray for, but the Holy
Spirit does. So he prays for us, and God “who searches our hearts knows the
mind of the Spirit” and answers his very correct and powerful prayers wisely.
But none of this is meant to
suggest that we have nothing to do in prayer or have no responsibility to pray.
We do have responsibility in prayer, which is made quite clear by the word
helps. The apostle says that “the Spirit helps us in our weakness.” He does not
eliminate our need to pray regularly and fervently.
Romans 8:26 and 27 imply or explicitly
teach so many lessons about prayer that a number of them can be listed as a
summary of what we have been learning.
1. We are supposed to pray. Regardless of
the problems we may have with prayer—and we are reminded that the saints have
all had problems with prayer at times—we are nevertheless supposed to pray. In
fact, the Word of God commands us to pray. Indeed, we are told to “pray
continually” (1 Thess. 4:17). Anything God tells us to do is for our good, and
we are poorer if we fail to do it. Prayer is one of the great spiritual disciplines.
2. Do
not expect prayer to be easy. Why should it be? Nothing else in the Christian
life is easy. Why should prayer be any different? We should not expect simple
or quick-fix solutions. Our contemporary American culture has conditioned us to
want easy cure-alls. In the area of our sanctification we expect immediate
victories either by a formula or spiritual experience. But God does not work
that way. We are called to a struggle, and our perseverance in that struggle is
itself a victory, even if the results are not visible or spectacular. And the
Holy Spirit will help us bear our burden.
You do
not have to feel good about it, though you will in most cases. You do not even
have to see results. What is important is that you keep on, and keep on keeping
on. One bit of verse puts it like this:
We are
not here to play, to dream, to drift;
We have
hard work to do and loads to lift.
Shun not
the struggle; face it; ’tis God’s gift.
3.
Realize what you are doing when you pray. We are addressing ourselves to the great
sovereign God of the universe and are presenting our adoration, confessions,
thanksgivings and supplications to him. He is hearing these prayers and
responding to them consistently, perfectly, and wisely out of his own
inexhaustible abundance.
Does prayer
get God to change his mind? Of course not! No reasonable person would want
that—because if God’s way is perfect, as it is, to get him to change it would
be to get him to become imperfect. If that ever happened, the universe would
fall into disorder! Any thinking person wants God always to run things
according to his own perfect will, not ours.
But here
is a parallel question: Does prayer change things? The answer to that is
Yes—because God who ordains the ends also ordains the means, and he has made prayer
a means to those ends. He has promised us that prayer is effective. Because God
has ordained that it should be this way. Jesus has told us, “Ask and it will be
given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the
door will be opened” (Matt. 7:7–8). James wrote, “… You do not have, because
you do not ask God” (James 4:2), adding, “The prayer of a righteous man is
powerful and effective” (James 5:16b). Remember, too, that when we are talking
about change the chief thing that happens in prayer is that prayer changes us.
4. Be
encouraged by these verses. It is true that “we do not know what we ought to
pray for.” But the Holy Spirit does, and the Holy Spirit has been given to us
by God to assist precisely in this area, as well as in other ways. With his
help we will make progress.
One
commentator has compared learning to pray to a man learning to play the violin.
At first he is not very good. But he gets the schedule of the classical music
broadcasts in his area, buys the violin parts to the music that he knows will
be played, and then tunes in the radio each afternoon and plays along as best
he can. His mistakes do not change what is coming in over the radio in the
slightest. The concertos continue to roll on in perfect harmony and tempo. But
the struggling violinist changes. He gets better week by week and year by year,
and the time eventually comes when he can play along with the orchestra
broadcasts pretty well.
Prayer
is like that. There are plenty of mistaken notes, and groans, too. But there is
also progress and joy and encouragement, since God is continuing to conduct the
perfect heavenly symphony, and the Holy Spirit is continuing to prepare us for
the day when we will be able to take our place in the divine orchestra. In the
meantime we can know that the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, like a wise and
faithful teacher, is by our side.
28
Sep
2016
We were invited to come to Community Bible Church of Beaufort to speak on August 24th 2016 about what His Love Ministries is all about and what God is doing through the ministry.
If you prefer the video is located at this site below. We are at minute 25.
http://cbcofbeaufort.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=216186&programId=250199
God is using His Love Ministries to reach the forgotten, Jesus speaks about the least of these in Matthew 25:40 "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' And in James1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from theworld.
Please take time to listen to this message and come alongside us to reach the forgotten if you are able to in anyway. Thanks.
21
Sep
2016
A. THE GLORY TO BE REVEALED IN US
(18-25)
1. Present sufferings don't even compare
(18)
2.
The whole creation eagerly waits for the revealing and glorious liberty of the
children of God (19-22)
3. We also eagerly wait with perseverance
for this hope (23-25)
Ro 8:18 For I consider
that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory which shall be revealed in us.
8:18. In one sense this
verse is the conclusion of the preceding paragraph in which believers are
assured of being heirs of Christ’s coming glory. However, Paul reminded his
readers that sharing in the glory of Christ in the future required sharing “in
His sufferings” in this life. But after careful figuring (Logizomai, I consider)
Paul concluded that our present
sufferings are far outweighed by the
glory that will be revealed in (as well as to and through) us. This future glory is so great that
present sufferings are insignificant by comparison. Also the glory is forever,
whereas the suffering is temporary and light (2 Cor. 4:17). Certainly this
truth can help believers endure afflictions. Romans 8:18 also serves as a topic
sentence for the following discussion on the relationship between believers and
the whole Creation, both in their afflictions and in their future glory.[1]
·
"consider"
This is literally "add it up." Paul continues to consider the
implications of Christian suffering. This was an accounting term for arriving
at a carefully researched conclusion. This is a recurrent theme in Romans (see
note at Rom. 2:3). Believers must live in the light of the spiritual truths
they understand.
·
"the
sufferings" We get some idea of the sufferings
involved in serving Christ from 1 Cor. 4:9-12; 2 Cor. 4:7-12; 6:4-10; 11:24-27;
Heb. 11:35-38.
- "worthy. . .glory" Both of these terms are related
to the OT concept of weight-heavy was valuable. "Worthy" was
from a commercial term that meant "to weigh as much as." The
Hebrew term "glory" was also from a root "to be
heavy," in the sense of being valuable, like gold. See full note at
Rom. 3:23.
Its basic meaning is
that which is heavy. It was a commercial term used in transacting purchases
(i.e., scales). It came to have a wide semantic field where the concept of
heavy developed into the weight, worth of persons, places, and things.
II. The Reality of all Suffering V19-21
2.
The whole creation eagerly waits for the revealing and glorious liberty of the
children of God (19-22)
Ro 8:19 For the earnest
expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God
Suffering is only
temporary
8:19 "the anxious
longing of the creation waits eagerly" The physical creation is
personified as a person with an outstretched neck searching the horizon.
Creation was negatively affected when Adam and Eve rebelled (cf. Gen. 3:17-19).
All creation will ultimately be redeemed (except for rebellious angels,
unbelieving humans, and their prepared place of isolation,
The verb "waits
eagerly" (present middle [deponent] indicative) appears three times in
this context.
1. Rom. 8:19 - creation
waits eagerly for the new age
2. Rom. 8:23 -
believers wait eagerly for new bodies
3. Rom. 8:25 -
believers wait eagerly in hope of the new age
Now, this is the man who has suffered so greatly and this
is the individual who says, "I want you to know that the sufferings of this
present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be
revealed in us." If here the greatest suffers says this, what must the
glory be? This same individual is the person who said, "For our light
affliction, which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory." So Paul,
yes, you are the greatest of suffers, and if the greatest of suffers can say,
the glory is not worthy to be even mentioned in this, the glory must be surely
great
He said, in effect suffering is a drop. Glory is an ocean
Ro 8:20 For the
creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who
subjected it in hope;
Suffering is a
result of the fall
Ge 3:14-19
This is not the world
that God intended it to be!
We stand by the Grand
Canyon, and we are awed by what we see, or we for the first time, see the
Atlantic, or Pacific oceans, as we are awed by that great body of water, or
we're in the Alps, and we look and we see one of these magnificent peaks, and
we are awed by that. Well, I want you to know, those great manifestations of
the glory of God stand under the curse. That's what they look like, when they
are under the curse. The creation is longing to be delivered from the curse. It
brings forth thorns and thistles now, but it is truly to be beautiful in the
future.
·
"the
sons of God" This was a common familial metaphor
used to describe Christians (cf. Rom. 8:14,16). It speaks of God as Father and
Jesus as His unique son (cf. John 1:18; 3:16,18; Heb. 1:2; 3:6; 5:8; 7:28; 1
John 4:9).
In the OT Israel was
God's son (cf. Hosea 11:1), but also the King was God's son (cf. 2 Sam. 7).
This concept was first mentioned in the NT in Matt. 5:9 (also cf. John 1:12; 2
Cor. 6:18; Gal. 3:26; 1 John 3:1,10; Rev. 21:7).
III. A Comparison of Suffering
8:20 in hope.
Ro 8:21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of
corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
What a thrilling
salvation we have: free from the penalty of sin because Christ died for us
(chap. 5); free from the power of sin because we died with Christ to the flesh
(chap. 6) and to the Law (chap. 7); and someday we shall be free from the very
presence of sin when nature is delivered from bondage.[1]
It's God who cursed the creation, but he did it in
hope." Paul says, and the hope is the deliverance, and the he explains
what that means in the 21st verse. "Because the creation itself also shall
be delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the
children of God." This creation about us is subjected to the bondage of
decay because it is closely united with the history and destiny of man, and so
when man fell, his creation is cursed. When man finally enters into the
blessing of the Kingdom of God upon the earth, the whole creation shall enter
into that blessing too, shall be renewed. We speak of this as the golden age
Ro 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groans and
labors with birth pangs together until now.
8:22–23. In one sense
verse 22 is an appropriate conclusion to the preceding paragraph, summing up
the present cursed state of the physical creation. Paul said, We know (oidamen, continuing state of knowledge that grows out of
perception) that the whole Creation has
been groaning as in the pains of childbirth (lit., “keeps on groaning
together and keeps on travailing together”) right up to the present time. The emphasis on “together” in these
verbs does not include believers in Christ, who are specifically mentioned in
verse 23, but involves the various parts of the natural Creation. At the same
time verse 22 introduces this new paragraph, which sets forth the hope of
future deliverance from suffering under the curse of sin.[1]
Since God’s program of salvation for people is one
of a new Creation (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15), the physical world also will be
re-created (Rev. 21:5). This will take place in two stages. First will be the
renovation of the present cosmos in conjunction with the return to earth of the
Lord Jesus and the establishment of the messianic kingdom on earth (Isa.
11:5–9; 35:1–2, 5–7; 65:20, 25; Amos 9:13). The second stage will be creation
of “a new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1; cf. 2 Peter 3:7–13).[1]
IV. The Answer to Suffering V23-25
Ro 8:23 Not only that,
but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the
adoption, the redemption of our body.
We have the Spirit of
adoption, but we are “waiting for the adoption, that is, the redemption of the
body” (v. 23). The soul has been
redeemed, but not the body. We wait in hope, however, because the indwelling
Spirit is given as “the first fruits” of the deliverance God has for us in the
future. Even if we die, the Spirit who has sealed us unto the day of redemption
(Eph. 1:13–14) will raise our body to life (v. 11).[1]
Isa 11:6-9 Isa
Isa 65:25
Now, the Lord Jesus is called in his resurrection the
first fruits of the resurrection. That means that there are others that are
going to be resurrected. You remember he says, "First Jesus Christ, then
they who are Christ's at his coming." That is you and I.
A farmer’s “first fruits” were the initial harvesting
of his first-ripened crops. This first installment was a foretaste and promise
that more harvest was to come. Similarly God the Holy Spirit, indwelling
believers, is a foretaste that they will enjoy many more blessings, including
living in God’s presence forever.[1]
You can never
be satisfied with earth if you are a Christian reading the word of God.
But that is a problem, as we saw when we studied that
verse. Sufferings? We would think that it would be the absence of sufferings,
not their presence, that would prove we belong to Christ. If God loves us,
shouldn’t he keep us from suffering? Or isn’t he able to? When things get hard
it is natural that we begin to doubt God’s favor rather than being assured of
it.
That, of course, is why Paul has digressed to talk about
suffering and why he is talking about our groanings now. It is why he has
explained the involvement of creation in our present distress. What he is
saying is that the sufferings we and “the whole creation” endure are the
sufferings of childbirth and are therefore proof that the new age is coming. And
it is why, although we do groan, we do not groan hopelessly. On the contrary,
our groanings intensify our hope and enable us to wait patiently for the
consummation.
Paul says, not
only does the creation groan, but the children groan too.
we need to see two
things about this human groaning if we are to understand the verses to which we
now come.
First, the
groaning mentioned in verse 23 is that of believers in Jesus Christ and not
that of all people generally.
Second, the groaning of Christians is not mere grief over the
things. It is expectant grief, that
is, grief that looks forward to a time when all that is causing pain will be
removed and salvation will be consummated. Christian groaning is a joyful grief
that gives birth to a sure hope and patient endurance.
Paul is saying that our
griefs as Christians are like that. We groan, but we do so in expectation of a
safe delivery.[1]
24 For we were
saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still
hope for what he sees?
25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we
eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
What is striking about
the Christian attitude of hopefulness is that it is a “sure and certain hope”
and not mere wishful thinking. What makes it sure and certain is the content.
The specific content is the return of Jesus Christ together with the things we
have been mentioning in these verses: the resurrection of the body, the
adoption of God’s children, and the gathering of God’s harvest. These things
are all promised to us by God. Hence, the Christian hopes in confidence, a
confidence grounded not in the strength of one’s emotional outlook but on the
sure Word of God, who cannot lie. If God says that these things are coming, it
is reasonable and safe for us to hope confidently in them.
2.
We wait. More specifically, we wait
for them, which is the second verb Paul uses. Verse 23 says, “We wait eagerly.”
Verse 25 says, “We wait … patiently.” It is important to take the two adverbs
together, because biblical “patience” is not passivity. This is an active,
though patient waiting. It expresses itself in vigorous service for Christ even
while we wait for his appearing.
Paradoxically, of
course, it is only these heavenly-minded people who are able to make any real
or lasting difference in the world.[1]
Looking to Jesus
What I am recommending to you is a Christian perspective on
this life
and all we know in it, what the theologians call a world-and-life view. And I
am suggesting, as Paul does, that adopting it will rearrange your values and
change your approach to suffering and the disappointments of life. If you learn
to reason as Paul does, you will experience the following:
1. You will not be
surprised when things go wrong in this life. This world is not a
good place. We live in a fallen environment. Your plans will misfire, you will
often fail, others will destroy what you have spent long years and much toil to
accomplish. This will be true even if you are a Christian and are trying to
follow Jesus. But your successes are not what life is all about. What matters
is your love for God and your faithfulness.
2. You will not place
your ultimate hope in anything human beings can do to improve this world’s
conditions.
This does not mean that you will fail to do what good you can do in this life
as well as encourage others in their efforts to do good. As a Christian, you
will. But you will not delude yourself into thinking that the salvation of the
world’s ills will be brought about by mere human efforts. You will feed the
poor, but you will know that Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with
you” (Matt. 26:11a). You will pray for your leaders, but you will know that
they are but sinful men and women like yourself and that they will always
disappoint you.
3. You will keep your
eyes on Jesus.
Where else can you look? All others are disappointing, and everything is
crumbling about you. Only he is worthy of your trust. He has promised to return
in his glory, and we know that when he does return and we see him in his glory,
we will be like him (1 John 3:2). Moreover, when we are made like him in his
glory, the creation that is also straining forward to that day will become
glorious, too.
No wonder the early
Christians prayed, “Maranatha!” Come,
Lord Jesus![1]
Heb 12:1 Therefore we
also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay
aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run
with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the
cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of
God. 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against
Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
My
personal application for today is:
1. Paul
is personifying nature, of course, but he does not mean that inanimate nature
has personal feelings that correspond to ours. He means only that nature is not
yet all that God has predestined it to be. It is waiting for its true
fulfillment. But if nature is waiting, we should be willing to wait in hope,
too, knowing that a glorious outcome is certain. This is why Christianity is
worth it.[1]
2. We need to really consider the fact
that this is a drop, the ocean is eternity
“Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an
eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Cor. 4:17).
3. Knowing
that there is an eternal weight of glory waiting, I will try to do what pleases
God and hang on in spite of anything
8
Sep
2016
Romans 8:17 and
if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we
suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
Verses 14–17 contain four proofs of our being sons and daughters of
God, if the Holy Spirit has indeed brought us into God’s family. First,
we are led by God’s Spirit. This refers to our conduct. If we are following
after Christ in true and obedient discipleship, then we are Christ’s and can be
assured of salvation. Second, we have the internal witness of our
spirits by which we cry “Abba, Father.” We know that we have a new
family relationship to God. Third, the Holy Spirit witnesses to us. I
described this as an overwhelming sense of God’s presence, something most
Christians have experienced, though they may not understand it or know how to
describe it. Fourth, we participate in Christ’s sufferings.[1]
1.
We have a heavenly home. The first thing that
comes to mind here is the promise of a heavenly home that Jesus made to his
disciples just before his arrest and crucifixion. He said, “Do not let your
hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are
many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to
prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1–3[1]
2. We participate in a heavenly banquet. In several of his
parables the Lord spoke of a heavenly banquet to which his own are invited. In
one story he told of a great wedding supper to which many were invited who
later refused to come, and of how the master sent to unexpected places to find
guests (Matt. 22:1–14; cf. Luke 14:15–24). In another parable it is a banquet
prepared for the prodigal son (Luke 15:11–32). In still another it is a wedding
feast to which five wise women are admitted and five foolish women are shut out
(Matt. 25:1–13). There are similar but passing references to other occasions of
shared celebration.
These stories
present our inheritance as joy and secure fellowship. We have a foretaste of
these things in our observance of the Lord’s Supper, which looks forward to the
coming great marriage supper of the Lamb.[1]
3. We Rule with Christ. Another feature of our inheritance is that we
will rule with Jesus in his kingdom. There is some difference among Bible
scholars as to whether this refers to an earthly rule with Christ in some
future age or to a heavenly rule only. But whatever its full meaning, there is
no doubt that some important ruling authority is promised. Paul told Timothy,
“If we endure, we will also reign with him” (2 Tim. 2:12). In one of his
parables, Jesus spoke of servants who had shown their faithfulness during their
master’s absence being awarded cities over which to reign in the master’s
kingdom (Luke 19:11–27).
4. We become Like Christ. One of the promised
blessings, which means a great deal to me, is that we will be made like Jesus
himself. John writes about it in his first letter, using language similar to
Paul’s in Romans 8. “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will
be has not been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like
him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:1–2). It is hard to imagine a
greater inheritance than to be made like the Lord Jesus Christ in all his
attributes.[1]
In
the OT every tribe except Levi received a land inheritance (cf. Joshua 14-22).
The Levites, as the tribe of priests, temple servants, and local teachers, were
seen as having YHWH Himself as their inheritance (cf. Ps. 16:5; 73:23-26;
119:57; 142:5; Lam. 3:24). NT writers often took the rights and privileges of
the Levites and applied them to all believers. This was their way of asserting
that the followers of Jesus were the true people of God and that now all
believers were called to serve as priests to God (cf. 1 Pet. 2:5,9; Rev. 1:6),
as the OT asserts of all Israel (cf. Exod. 19:4-6)
They had no inheritance
because, as it was said of them, “the God of Israel, is their inheritance, as
he promised them”
Joshua 13:33 But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave not any inheritance: the Lord God of Israel was their inheritance, as he said unto them.
If the earnest of our inheritance is the Holy Spirit and the
Holy Spirit is God—as he is, being the third person of the Trinity—then the
full inheritance must be God himself.
wonderful words by Charles Haddon Spurgeon. They were
written for preachers to encourage them to keep on in tough times, but the
message is equally good for anyone. It goes like this:
Be not surprised when friends fail you: it is a failing world.
Never count upon immutability in man: inconstancy you
may reckon upon without fear of disappointment. The disciples of Jesus forsook
him; be not amazed if your adherents wander away to other teachers: as they
were not your all when with you, all is not gone from you with their departure.
Serve God with all your might while the candle is
burning, and then when it goes out for a season, you will have the less to
regret.
Be content to be nothing, for that is what you are.
When your own emptiness is painfully forced upon your consciousness, chide
yourself that you ever dreamed of being full, except in the Lord.
Set small store by present rewards; be grateful for
earnests by the way, but look for recompensing joy hereafter.
Continue with double earnestness to serve your Lord
when no visible result is before you. Any simpleton can follow the narrow path
in the light: faith’s rare wisdom enables us to march on in the dark with
infallible accuracy, since she places her hand in that of her Great Guide.
Between this and heaven there may be rougher weather yet, but it is all
provided for by our covenant Head. In nothing let us be turned aside from the
path which the divine call has urged us to pursue. Come fair or come foul, the
pulpit is our watch-tower, and the ministry our warfare; be it ours, when we
cannot see the face of our God, to trust under the shadow of his wings.[1]
But why should
Paul introduce the idea of suffering,
of all things—and at this point? None of us would do it. If we were trying to
assure Christians that they really are Christians and their salvation is
secure, suffering is probably the last thing we would mention.[1]
So why does Paul
drag the subject in here?
One reason is that he was a realist.
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says,
“True evangelism does not offer some panacea for all the ills in our life in
this world; it does not promise to make us perfect in a moment or set the whole
world right. It says rather, ‘In the world ye shall have tribulation; but fear
not, I have overcome the world.’ ”[1]
A
second reason Paul probably introduced the subject is that he must have been
aware of the many non-Christian approaches to suffering that were around. They
were around then, and they are around today. [1]
1. Anger. One response to suffering is anger. This is common with
unbelievers, who blame or even curse God for their misfortunes. But it is also
sadly true of some Christians. They blame God because he has not done something
for them that they wanted—He has called us to discipleship. The glory is
hereafter.
2. Avoidance. A second approach is avoidance. If the path before them
looks hard or even undesirable, some people turn from it and try to find
something easier or more rewarding. Or, if the path cannot be avoided, they try
to balance it with other things that are more attractive. The Christian form of
it is to ask God to remove the undesirable thing—sickness, for example,
particularly a terminal illness. Christians who take this approach think the
correct way is to ask God to remove the sickness so that afterward they might
praise him for the healing. Of course, it sometimes is God’s will to heal, so
it is not wrong to ask for healing.
3. Apathy. The third non-Christian approach is apathy, detachment from
the problem. It is the attitude that says, “It just doesn’t matter,” and then
tries to think about something else. One form of apathy is stoicism, the
philosophy of the stiff upper lip. Stoicism may help you get by, but it is
joyless and far removed from Christianity.[1]
There
are two basic things to remember about suffering.
First,
suffering is necessary.
Jesus taught that it was necessary for himself
when he said to the Emmaus disciples, “Did not the Christ have to suffer these
things and then enter his glory?” (Luke 24:26). Then he proved that this was
necessary by showing it to them in the Scriptures, beginning with Moses and all
the prophets. Jesus taught that suffering is necessary for us when he said, “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you
also” (John 15:20b) and “In the world ye shall have tribulation” (John 16:33a,
kjv).
Second, although suffering is necessary
(and has value), suffering is not the end of the story for Christians. Glory
is! If suffering were the end, Christianity would be a form of masochism,
suffering for suffering’s sake. Since it is not the end, since suffering is the
path to glory, Christianity is a religion of genuine hope and effective
consolation.
The Christian who needs to worry about
suffering is not the one who is suffering, particularly if it is for the sake
of Jesus Christ. The person who should worry is the one who is not suffering, since suffering is a
proof of our sonship, a means for the spread of the gospel, and the path to
glory.
So
let’s hang in there! And let’s encourage one another as we run the race and
fight the long battles.
We need each other, but we have each
other. That is what we are given to each other for. Thus, by the grace of God,
we may actually come to the end of the warfare and be able to say as Paul did
to his young protégé Timothy, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished
the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that
day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (2
Tim. 4:7–8). May it be so for all God’s people.[1]
2Co 4:8-11, 17-18, 1peter 4:12-14,
1peter 2:20-23, 2cor 11
31
Aug
2016
Romans
8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you
received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our
spirit that we are children of God,
In the Roman adoption system, four things were
consequential to adoption.
First thing that happened was the adopted person lost all
relationship to his old family. Everything was gone and he gained all rights
to the new family.
Second thing, it followed that he became heir to all the
new father's estate.
The third thing that happened, according to Roman law, was
that the former life of the adopted person was completely wiped out. All his legal debts
were cancelled. They were wiped out as if he had never existed. And the adopted person was given a new name
and it was as if he had just been born. Sound familiar? When you came to Jesus Christ and were adopted into the
family of God, all your past debts were what? Cancelled, and you became a
co-heir of all that the born son, the Lord Jesus Christ, possesses.
The fourth thing was in the eyes of the law the adopted person was
literally and absolutely the son of his new father. And so, when we were
adopted, all these things, no doubt, are in the mind of the apostle and the
Spirit, and we know they took place in our adoption. We have cut the cord with
the past. We have become co-heirs to God's kingdom. All the old debts are wiped
out and we are absolutely and legally and forever the son of God.
Adoption
gives us the name of sons. Adoption gives us the title to the inheritance.
Regeneration gives us the nature of sons and gives us the fitness for that
inheritance. Both are important.
"testifies with our spirits that we are
children of God" As noted in Rom. 8:13, one aspect of faith assurance is
the believers' changed and changing lives (cf. the NT books of James and 1
John). Another aspect of assurance is that the indwelling Spirit has replaced
the fear of God with family love (cf. 1 John 4:17-18). "when we cry, Abba! Father! It is the Spirit Himself bearing
witness with our spirits that we are children of God" (cf. Gal. 4:6). This
implies that the assurance comes when believers can call God, Father, by the
Spirit.
So he says you didn't become Christians to be put
again in a spirit of bondage to fear. You're in a no-condemnation status and
the Spirit of God doesn't want to bring you back under some bondage of fear.
That's an unhealthy kind of fear, not a reverence for God, but the fear of
punishment, the fear of ultimate damnation, the fear of losing salvation,
the fear of having to pay for your sin. He didn’t come into your life to bring
you under that.
Cry is krazō,
a loud cry signifying deep emotion. And "Abba" is the Aramaic word
for "papa, daddy." You reserve that name daddy for just one person.
That's very intimate. And that's what Abba means. In Jewish Families
They call their dad "abba." "Hey, Abba!" Who goes into the
presence of holy God and says, "Papa," "Daddy?" That is really shocking news to the average
Jew.
The internal witness of the Spirit is not audible, but
practical. It causes
1. guilt over sin
2. desire to be
like Christ
3. desire to be
with the family of God
4. hunger for
God's word
5. a sense a need
to do evangelism
6. a sense a need
for Christian sacrificial giving
These are the kinds of
internal desires that provide a faith evidence of conversion.
Ro 8:16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit
that we are children of God,
Assurance of salvation
has been turned into a denominational issue.
1. Roman Catholic
theology denies the possibility of assurance in this life but bases confidence
in one being a member of the "true" church
2. John Calvin
(Reform tradition) based assurance on election (predestination), but one could
not know for sure until after this life on Judgment Day
3. John Wesley
(Methodist tradition) based assurance on a perfect love (living above known
sin)
4. Most Baptists
have tended to base assurance on the biblical promises of free grace (but
ignoring all the warnings and admonitions).
There are two dangers related to the NT paradoxical
presentation of Christian assurance.
1. The
overemphasis on "once saved, always saved"
2. The
overemphasis on human performance in retaining salvation.
Hebrews 6 clearly
teaches "once out, always out." Human effort (good works) does not
keep believers saved (cf. Gal. 3:1-14). But good works are the goal of the
Christian life (cf. Eph. 2:10). They are the natural result of meeting God and
having the indwelling Spirit. They are evidence of one's true conversion.
Assurance is not meant to soften the Bible's call to
holiness! Theologically speaking, assurance is based on the character and
actions of the Triune God.
1. The Father's
love and mercy
2. The Son's
finished substitutionary sacrificial work
3. The Spirit's
wooing to Christ and then forming Christ in the repentant believer
The evidence of
this salvation is a changed worldview, a changed heart, a changed lifestyle and
a changed hope! It cannot be based on a past emotional decision that has no
lifestyle evidence (i.e., fruit, cf. Matt. 7:15-23; 13:20-22; John 15).
Assurance, like salvation, like the Christian life starts with a response to
God's mercy and continues that response throughout life. It is a changed and
changing life of faith!
In that Roman adoption system, do you know what you
had to have to get the adoption final? Seven witnesses. That's right. According
to a study of the Roman law, it says there had to be seven witnesses. So that's
how important adoption was. You get the picture? What happens if you get
adopted in a family and say, "Hey, I'm adopted into this family, I'm the
rightful heir." And they say, "Hey, the father's dead, friend, the
father is dead now, it's coming to us." Right? You'd have a fight on your
hands, wouldn't you? With all the kids who were born into the family naturally?
So you had to have seven witnesses. I mean, it would be tough to kill off seven
witnesses, wouldn't it? And so as soon as the father died, all these witnesses
would surface. "Oh yeah, we were all there." Seven witnesses.
When Satan, who is the
great accuser, wants to come in and accuse us and say, "You don't belong
to God, who do you think you are? You with all the sin in your life? You who
fall short? You don't belong to God." Something in our heart says,
"Yes I do." And the Spirit comes along side and says, "Yes you
do." And He, by the way, is called
by Isaiah "the seven-fold Spirit." Interesting coincidence?
2Pe 1:3
You see the point of the passage? Assurance of salvation comes by the
fruit produced in your life through the walk in the Spirit. So, assurance in our salvation is the
ministry of the Spirit.
1 John 3:18-24. "
As you walk in obedience, as you
keep His commandments, your heart doesn't condemn you. You say, "I'm not
condemned
Think about what the Spirit is doing for us, all the
things He does for us, freeing us from the law of sin and death, equipping us
to kill sin, confirming to us that we are the children of God. How glorious.
Ro 8:17 and if children, then
heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him,
that we may also be glorified together.
"if" There is
a series conditional sentences in Rom. 8:9,10,11,13 (twice), and 17 (twice).
These are all first class conditional sentences which are assumed true from the
author's perspective or for his literary purposes. Paul assumed his readers in
the Roman church were Christian.
1. Believers share
heirship with Christ
2. Believers share
sufferings with Christ
3. Believers will
share glory with Christ
BELIEVERS' INHERITANCE
(from 1 Peter 1)
In the OT every tribe except Levi received a land
inheritance (cf. Joshua 14-22). The Levites, as the tribe of priests, temple
servants, and local teachers, were seen as having YHWH Himself as their
inheritance (cf. Ps. 16:5; 73:23-26; 119:57; 142:5; Lam. 3:24). NT writers
often took the rights and privileges of the Levites and applied them to all
believers. This was their way of asserting that the followers of Jesus were the
true people of God and that now all believers were called to serve as priests
to God (cf. 1 Pet. 2:5,9; Rev. 1:6), as the OT asserts of all Israel (cf. Exod.
19:4-6).
The NT emphasis is not on the individual as a priest with certain
privileges, but on the truth that all believers are priests, which demands a
corporate servant attitude (cf. 1 Cor. 12:7). The NT people of God have been
given the OT task of world evangelization (cf. Gen. 12:3; Exod. 19:5b;
Matt. 28:18-20; Luke 24:46-47; Acts 1:8; see
The Scriptures talk
about believers inheriting (cf. Acts 20:32; 26:18; Eph. 1:4; Col. 1:12; 3:24)
many things because of their family relationship with Jesus who is heir of all
things (cf. Heb. 1:2). Therefore, they are coheirs (cf. Rom. 8:17; Gal. 4:7) of
1. the kingdom (cf.
Matt. 25:34, 1 Cor. 6:9-10; 15:50; Eph. 5:5)
2. eternal life (cf.
Matt. 19:29; Heb. 9:15)
3. God’s promises (cf.
Heb. 6:12)
4. God’s protection of
His promises (cf. 1Pe 1:4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and
that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the
power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Suffering is the norm
for believers in a fallen world (cf. Matt. 5:10-12; John 15:18-21; 16:1-2;
17:14; Acts 14:22; Rom.5:3-4; 8:17; 2 Cor. 4:16-18; Phil. 1:29; 1 Thess. 3:3; 2
Tim. 3:12; James 1:2-4; 1 Pet. 4:12-19). Jesus set the pattern (cf. Heb. 5:8).
The rest of this chapter develops this theme.
·
"glorified
with Him" In John's writings whenever
Jesus talked of His death, He called it "being glorified." Jesus was
glorified by His suffering. Believers, positionally and often experientially,
share Jesus' life events (cf. Romans 6).
1. Father
adopts us
2. Spirit
indwells us
3. Son
crowns us
Lessons
1. If you
are adopted, you should honor the one who adopted you – are you promoting the
Kingdom
2. If you
are adopted, you should love the other family members
3. If you
are adopted, you should be a responsible family member – don’t sit and soak
17
Aug
2016
There are two ways the Spirit leads. The Holy Spirit gave
us the Bible and the first way is the Holy Spirit illuminates to our minds that
Scripture.
The second way is sanctification. Here is the idea that
once He has shown us what it means, He then assists us in applying that in the
progress of spiritual growth. The Holy Spirit not only illumines the mind, but
He stirs the heart and the will.
I believe the Spirit of
God leads us by prompting the heart.
In Psalm 119:35, the psalmist
says: "Make me to go in the path.” God, don't just show me the path, make
me to go in it, shove me. And in Psalm 119:133 it says: "Order my steps in Thy word and
let not any one iniquity have dominion over me." And so, the cry is not
just, may I understand you with my mind? But may I act in response to my
understanding with my will. So, the Spirit of God is illuminating the mind and
activating the will. The second is sanctification, the process of spiritual
response of separation unto God in acts of obedience.
It's a present
tense, verse 14, as many as are being continually led by the Spirit of God
through the illumination of the Word of God and the sanctification of obedience
to it, prompted by the Spirit of God, they have the confidence in their hearts
that they indeed are the children of God. when you have those times in
your life that you're not in the Word and you're not walking in obedience, you
will not have that confirmation. You will not have that affirmation. And
that's why Christians will fall into times of doubt because they are not under
that direct leading ministry of the Spirit of God. And that's why, you see, the
New Testament is filled with exhortations. If we were always led by the Spirit
of God all the time, we were always responding to illumination and
sanctification, we wouldn't need any exhortations, would we? So, we say this.
It is true that all Christians are led by the Spirit, but it's also true that
we're not as good at following as we ought to be, right? If we're truly saved, we will follow, but we could follow better.
It's a way of life. It's the constant thing.
Ro 8:15 For you did not
receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of
adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."
V15 but you received
the Spirit of adoption
Paul continued his
discussion of the privileges that believers receive as full heirs of Abraham
through faith in Christ. Paul used the family metaphor "adoption" of
our salvation while John and Peter used the family metaphor "born
again." The adoption metaphor was used primarily in two contexts in Roman
culture. In Roman law, adoption was very difficult. A long, involved and
expensive legal procedure, once enacted adoption afforded several special
rights and privileges.
1. All debts were
cancelled
2. All criminal
charges were dropped
3. They could not
be legally put to death by their new father
4. They could not
be disinherited by their new father
In legal terms, they
were a completely new person. Paul was alluding to the believers' security in
Christ by using this Roman legal procedure (cf. Rom. 8:15, 23). When a father
publicly adopted a son, he officially and permanently became his heir. Also,
the metaphor was used in the official ceremony of a boy becoming a man, held on
the 17th of March each year.
One of the
most tender & loveliest adoption story of all of Scripture is found in 2
Samuel 9.
Here is an adoption, an adoption of grace, an
adoption of mercy, an adoption of love. And as you read it through, we are
struck at how similar it is to our adoption into the family of God.
David took
the initiative. In adopting Mephibosheth. And the Lord takes the
initiative in adopting us.
1. David showed mercy to one who was
unworthy, one who had descended from an evil enemy. So
does the Lord seek among the children of the devil His sons to adopt.
2. David was motivated by love for
Jonathan. And in our case, God was motivated by love for Christ and He redeemed
us for Christ's sake, it says.
3. David
desired to show kindness, and so Ephesians 2:6 says that we've been saved in
order that God might show us eternal kindness.
4. David chose one who was
outside the standard of perfection. And so God has chosen
those who are outside the standard of perfection. By the
way, Mephibosheth means "a shameful thing." And he lived in Lo-debar,
which means "the barren land," or literally a place of no pasture. He
was a nobody from nowhere. And those are just the kind of people God takes as
His sons.
5. And then the climax, David brought him to
his own table to feed him as one of his own. And so does the Lord
bring us to His table. And then David gave him an inheritance. And so does the
Lord promise to us. And the analogy goes on and on. It is a beautiful picture
of spiritual adoption where God takes men and by His own initiative and based
on His own love and not anything to do with their worthiness and for the sake
of Christ whom He loves, takes as sons those who formerly were enemies.
10
Aug
2016
Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit
of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from
the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who
dwells in you. 12 Therefore, brethren,
we are debtors--not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised
Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also
give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Again, it could be translated since. “Since the Spirit of
Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you (that's the Spirit of God) He
who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
through His Spirit who indwells you."
We've
already had a spiritual resurrection. We've already died and risen in
Christ. We have a new nature. We've already been born again.
We've already had one death, and now we have new life in Christ. We
already are the temple of the Holy Spirit who lives within us. We have
the life of God in our souls. That's already happened. You don't need to
fear the physical death. Because when that happens, the Spirit of God,
who raised Jesus from the dead, who dwells in you, is going to give life to a
new mortal body through the Spirit who indwells you. You're going to have
another resurrection. It's not going to be a spiritual resurrection.
Next time, it's going to be a physical resurrection. And you're going to
get a glorified body.
To
understand this is to understand the nature of the Christian. The spirit
dwells in you, and He is the Spirit that raised up Jesus. A number of
times in the New Testament, it talks about the fact that Jesus was raised from
the dead by the Spirit. The Spirit gave Christ life through death.
He raised Jesus from the dead and gave Him physical resurrection life.
And He that raised up Christ from the dead, and will also give life to our
mortal bodies. We're going to get new bodies.
1
Corinthians 15:35-45. "What's that new body going to be
like?" Well, the best illustration, it's going to be Christ's
resurrection body. Verse 35, the Corinthians had asked the same
question. "How are the dead raised and what kind of body are they
going to have?
So Paul's answer is, "I don't know,
but it's not going to be like what we've got. He will raise us and give us
spiritual bodies. 2 Corinthians 5:1-9 “When this earthly tent,” which is
our house, is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with
hands." That's how he describes our new body. And in this
house, we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from Heaven.
Why? Because we'd like to get rid of this debilitating flesh and the sin
and this body of death that is attached to us. And we will. And the
Holy Spirit has done all of this. It was the Holy Spirit who freed us
from sin and death by applying the merits of Christ's sacrifice for sin to
us. It was the Holy Spirit who enabled us to fulfill the law of God by
applying Christ's righteousness to us. It is the Holy Spirit who changes
our nature and moves us out of living in the flesh, according to the flesh,
with the things of the flesh, minding the flesh, which is death, both in time
and eternity, to being in the Spirit, walking in the Spirit, minding the things
of the Spirit, and pleasing God, because we're alive to God.
Christ
provided a no condemnation status and now he tells us that the Holy Spirit
secures that status. Chapter 8 really has a lot to do with our security. And
that's why the end of it says, "Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ, and we know that nothing shall separate us. Christ provided it, the
Holy Spirit secures it.
And
how does He secure it? By these means, seven ways the Spirit secures our
no-condemnation status. Number one: Verses 2 and 3, He frees us from sin and
death. Number two: He enables us to fulfill the law, verse 4. Number three: He
changes our nature, verses 5 - 11. Then He empowers us for victory, verses 12 -
13. He guarantees our glory, verses 17 - 25. He intercedes for us, verses 26 -
27.
8:12 "So then" Paul continues
to draw out the implications of his presentation of Rom. 8:1-11.
Ro 8:12 Therefore, brethren, we are
debtors--not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
▣ "we are under obligation" This is the other side of Christian
freedom (cf. Rom. 14:1-15:13). This is the conclusion drawn from the discussion
of sanctification in Rom. 8:1-11, which is both positional and progressive. It
also clearly shows that believers still must struggle with the old fallen
nature (i.e., 6:12,19; 7:7-24; 1 Cor. 6:18-19; Eph. 6:10-19). There is a choice to be made (initial
faith) and continuing choices to be made (lifestyle faith)!
So we say I’ll just relax and let Him do
His work.” That’s the old – let go and let God. Verse 12, with
all the work the Holy Spirit is doing with us, we’re under obligation.
You have an obligation. That’s the word for debt. What’s your
debt? Certainly not to live according to the flesh, right? You
don’t owe the flesh anything. What did the flesh ever do for you? You
don’t have any obligation to your flesh. What that means is there are no excuses now because the power of the
flesh has been broken. It is not a dominating force. There are no
excuses.
3
Aug
2016
Romans 8:7 Because the carnal
mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed
can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But you are
not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if
Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life
because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the
dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to
your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
The fleshly mind is hostile. It is
at enmity against God. It is in opposition to God. That's how it is
with unsaved people. They are in opposition to God. They walk
according to the flesh. They think according to the flesh. They do
according to the flesh. And they are hostile toward God, and they will
not submit to His law. And they can't. They don't have the ability
to do that. They're dead.
This
is the doctrine of depravity. It's more than just being
disobedient. It's deep seated. It's in the nature. It's in
the fabric of their disposition. It's who they are. Sin is not just
an act of rebellion; it is rebellion itself.
8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot
please God.
He sums it up really in verse 8,
"And those who are in the flesh cannot please God." Now,
therein lies the biblical definition of total depravity. We hear that
doctrine of total depravity a lot, and I want you to understand what it
means. When it says total depravity, the word total depravity means to be
in a sinful condition. To be totally depraved, some people might assume
means that you're totally wicked. In other words, to be totally depraved
means that you're as wicked as you could possibly be.
When you talk about the depravity of
man, you're talking about an utter inability of the unredeemed to do anything
that pleases God. Theologian John Gerstner used to kind of divide it up when he
would say... He would be asked, "Well, can't people do good things like
help the poor and the sick and the lame and do good deeds and show love to
their children and their partners in life and their friends and family. But he
would say, "The unregenerate can only do bad good. They can only do
bad good. Or they can do bad bad. But they can't do good
good." Good good is that which is not only good on a human level,
but that which pleases God. And I think that's right.
2. To those who have the indwelling Holy
Spirit (9-11)
From verses 9 to 11, we look at the spiritually-minded,
those who know life and peace. In the earlier portion of this text of
verses 4b through 8, the focus was on the fleshly, particularly in verses 7 and
8. Now we come to verses 9 to 11, and we get a look at the
spiritually minded people.
But
you,” he says in verse 9, “are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit."
That signifies a state of grace, a state of salvation, and a new
creation. You are now in the Spirit. You literally live and move in
Him. His life is your life.
"That
is true,” he says, “if, indeed, the Spirit of God dwells in you."
That could be translated “since,” so it would read like this:
"You're not in the flesh, but in the Spirit since, indeed, the Spirit of
God dwells in you." What happens when you become a believer?
At the time of your salvation, the Holy Spirit immediately takes up residence
in you. And therein lies the dramatic change. He's not talking
about some profession. You're in the Spirit because you said you were, or
you're in the Spirit because you wanted to be. You're in the Spirit
because the Spirit's in you.
in
verse 9, "The Spirit of God dwells in you," is the word “to live in
as a home,” that is to say, a permanent residence. The Holy Spirit's home
is in the believer. He takes up residence in the believer. Some,
through the years, had the idea that you got saved, and then you got the Holy
Spirit later. Not so. If you didn't have the Holy Spirit, you didn't have
the transformation that His coming brought, and so you weren't converted at
all. You weren't regenerated.
And
he reverses his statement in the middle of verse 9 and says the same thing, but
in a reverse way, "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he doesn't
belong to Him."
Literally, God Himself dwells in you.
The Holy Spirit is called in the
New Testament the Spirit of Christ. In fact, He is called the Spirit of
Christ right here in this passage. Back to Romans 8, he is the Spirit of
Christ who dwells in you. He is also the Spirit of God who dwells in you,
in the same verse, and He is also the Spirit. Verse 9: "The Spirit,”
“the Spirit of God,” “the Spirit of Christ," all in the same verse.
And
what it shows is the marvelous reality of the Trinity and how the Holy Spirit
sustains the same relationship to the second person of the Trinity that He does
to the first person of the Trinity. So every believer is the possessor of
the Holy Spirit.
10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead
because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
This,
again, could be translated “since.” "Since Christ is in you, though the
body is dead because of sin." What does he mean by that? Well,
though your human body still bears the death of its sinfulness.
11
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who
raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through
His Spirit who dwells in you.
Again, it could be translated since. “Since the Spirit of
Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you (that's the Spirit of God) He
who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
through His Spirit who indwells you."
To understand this is to understand
the nature of the Christian. The spirit dwells in you, and He is the
Spirit that raised up Jesus. In the New Testament, it talks about the
fact that Jesus was raised from the dead by the Spirit. The Spirit gave
Christ life through death. He raised Jesus from the dead and gave Him
physical resurrection life. And He that raised up Christ from the dead,
who is God the Father through the Spirit, will also give life to our mortal
bodies. We're going to get new bodies.
27
Jul
2016
1. To those who set their minds on the
things of the Spirit, not the flesh, pleasing God (5-8)
Now,
the contrast between those who walk according to the flesh and those who walk
according to the Spirit is a contrast in behaviors. The word “walk” means
behavior. It's a word in the New Testament used many, many times,
particularly by the Apostle Paul to describe daily conduct. What we're talking
about here is conduct. So we've moved into this whole matter of behavior
with the word “walk.” It flows then into verse 5. Listen to verse
5"
Ro 8:5 For those who live according to
the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according
to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
There is as clear a definition of the
distinction between a believer and a non-believer as you will find
anywhere. Believers set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
Non-believers set their minds on the things of the flesh. That couldn't
be more clear. Again, I remind you that this is a matter of
behavior. Listen carefully. Behavior based on the word “walk” in
verse 4, but behavior is a product of what? The mind. Thinking.
And He says then, "Those who walk according to the flesh do so
because that's where their mind is set. And those who walk according to
the Spirit do so because that's where their mind is set.
To
put it in another way, as a man thinks in his heart, what's the rest? So
is he. So is he. So what we note then is that at the point of
conversion, there is a dramatic internal change. There is what we would
call, borrowing the words of the apostle Paul in Romans, a new nature or a new
disposition or a new principle, a new law, a new will; a new disposition,
perhaps, is best.
People
who live carnal, fleshly, sinful, indulgent lives do so because that's how they
think.
The ones being according to the flesh is
simply another way of expressing people who are dominated by the flesh. This
is an unsafe person, habitually controlled by unregenerate and depraved and
fallen humanness. They don't know God. They can't understand
God. They're not connected to God at all. They may be
religious. They may be atheistic. They don't know God. To be
according to the flesh is simply to be in the flesh, and that's the way he
expresses it in verse 8. "Those who are in the flesh cannot please
God." Being in the flesh, being according to the flesh, simply means
being unregenerate and dominated by sinful impulses. And it is those
sinful impulses that effect sinful conduct.
The
flesh is Paul's word for fallen human nature apart from God. Okay?
Fallen human nature apart from God; corrupt, directed, and controlled by sinful
impulses. And the flesh is so corrupt, so corrupt, that no matter how
much a...a wicked person would like to change his condition, he can't do
it. Jer 13:23 said Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its
spots? No more can you change your nature." The heart of man is
deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. You can't even
understand it, let alone alter it.
So
these people who are in the flesh, who are dominated by unredeemed human nature
— both in the physical part and the mental part of who they are — do what their
fleshly impulses tell them to do. And then when it talks about the mind
being set. It's...it's an interesting word. It's from the verb phroneō.
And it's a word used for the seat of all mental faculties, mental affections,
expressing any form of mental activity, including emotion, will, as well as
just pure intellect. Their whole mind and their emotion and their will —
the whole realm of mental activity — is corrupted by the flesh.
It's really a word for a disposition, a
dominant, controlling disposition. They have a deliberate mindset.
The unsaved person is dominated by unredeemed carnal, fleshly impulses.
They are bent toward the expression of their depraved nature. And
that's what he says in verse 5. "They set their minds on the things
of the flesh."
On
the other hand, back to verse 5, "Those who are according to the Spirit
(implied, set their minds) on the things of the Spirit." Now, here
you have a whole different category of people. This is a whole different
disposition. These people are in the realm of the Spirit and are drawn by
the truest impulses in their heart to the Spirit. They submit to His
direction. They concentrate their attention, purpose, desire on whatever
is precious to the Holy Spirit. They love what He loves. That's
what it means when it says, "They seek the things of the Spirit."
When
you look at their life and you see someone whose behavior is indulging the
flesh and whose bent and disposition is toward the flesh, you have positively
defined the person.
You
say, "Well, what about Christians? We sin, too, don't we?” But
we resent it. It's not the truest expression of our nature. It's an
invasion. It still happens, because we're not all yet redeemed. Our
flesh, our humanness is still there, even though our inward nature has been
changed and our longings are toward God and energized by the Holy Spirit toward
what is righteous and pure and good and holy. We still have to fight the
battle of that changed nature being incarcerated in unredeemed humanness.
That's why in Romans 8, Paul is so anxious to have the glorification of his
body.
6 For to be carnally minded is death,
but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Now,
the results of these two dispositions are given to us in verse 6. The
results are pretty clear. "The mind set on the flesh...” Literally
in the Greek would be read this way, “The mind set on the flesh equals
death. But the mind set on the Spirit equals life and peace."
Now, this further describes the state of these two kinds of people. In
the case of the mind set on the flesh, death is the result. It doesn't
say it leads to death. It says it is death. It isn't that they're
going to die. They're dead. They're dead right now.
Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
What
does it mean to be dead that way? It means that you are totally
insensitive to God. I would suggest to you that the most obvious
characteristic of a dead person is the inability of that person to respond.
A person who cannot respond in any way to any part of his or her
environment. And that's what spiritual death is. It is an inability
to respond to the divine presence. It is an inability to respond to
anything in the realm of divine truth and the presence of God. They are
dead in terms of being utterly insensitive. They are like a corpse in a
casket with no awareness of anything going on at the funeral around them.
It
is in that death a spiritual separation from God which someday will become an
eternal separation of God...from God. Now, I want to make this very
important. This kind of death is utterly insensitive to God, but highly
sensitive to godlessness. So that the sinner in this life is highly
sensitive to sin and temptation around which dominates his life, and in eternal
death will be eternally insensitive and separated from God, but highly
sensitive to all of the repercussions of wickedness and sin in this life and
all of the consequent punishment that's meted out against them forever.
They'll be completely sensitive to that.
First
Timothy 5:6 defines this person as dead while she lives. It says that,
"She that lives in pleasure is dead while she lives." People
who live according to the flesh, who have that disposition, are currently dead
to all that is divine, and they will be forever. But they are sensitive
to sin now, and they'll be far more sensitive to its consequences in the life
to come as they bear that eternal judgment. To be fleshly minded, equals
death.
"The
mind set on the Spirit is life and peace." Life, what does that
mean? Alive to God. When you come to Jesus Christ, and you're
changed by the Holy Spirit, you are alive to God. You are sensitive to
God. You read the Word and it comes alive to you. The Spirit of God
moves and prompts your heart to...to give praise and thanks to God. And
you're filled with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, and you sing and make
melody in your heart to the Lord.
Those two things simply mean we are alive
to God and, not only are we alive to God, we are alive to God without
fear. What is that? We are alive to God and, at the same time, at
peace with God. The life and peace he's talking about here is not
just something so easily defined as, "Well, we enjoy our living, and we
really have peaceful, tranquil lives." That's not the idea.
The idea is we are alive to God. We're alive to His working, and His
Word, and we are alive to Him and not in a hostile way. We are alive to
Him and at complete peace with Him. Therefore, life takes on consummate
blessedness. We're alive to God, because He gave us His life. He
made us alive together with Christ, Romans chapter 6.
Jesus
said, "I am come that you might have life."
What
He meant was that we have a living communion with God, because we share the
same life. And we have peace. That's the end of alienation.
We have fellowship with God, and we're at peace with God. We made truce
with God. We're in communion with Him, and that'll never change.
God is never going to cast us out.
Isa 26:3 You will keep him in perfect
peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.
That
we'll keep Him in perfect peace is the promise to those who have come to know
Christ. What a thought. We have life. We have sweet communion
with the living God. We hear His voice on the pages of Scripture.
And we long to obey and respond, and we long to worship Him and to know Him
better and to serve Him. We have received His grace. His love has
been shed abroad in our hearts. We have been given permanent peace with
God and joy forever. We have an inner assurance that all is well, and
nothing can ever change our eternal relationship with the Lord.
He
doesn't mean that we're never going to be disturbed in life. Even Jesus
was disturbed about things. And even Paul said, "Wretched man that I
am." Romans 7:24. He wasn't talking about psychological
tranquility. He was talking about a relationship with God that is forever
settled.
We're
not in the flesh. We don't mind the things of the flesh. We are not
compelled by the flesh. We, rather, are in the Spirit, according to the
Spirit, minding the things of the Spirit. For us, there is a pursuit of the
things of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,
self-control; these are the things of the Spirit. The things of the
flesh: Immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife,
jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying,
drunkenness, carousing, and things like these.
"I'm
telling you,” Paul says, Galatians 5:21, “those who practice those things shall
not inherit the Kingdom of God." That can't be more clear.
Lessons
1. Do you desire to live for the Lord
or the world?
2. Is your destination Heaven or Hell?
20
Jul
2016
· FREEDOM FROM THE CONDEMNATION OF SIN or The statement of the believer's condition
1. Available to
those in Christ, made possible by the law of the Spirit of life (1-2)
Ro 8:1 There is therefore now no
condemnation to those who are in
Christ Jesus, who
do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
"Therefore" introduces a conclusion based on everything that Paul wrote
from
chapter 3 on, not just chapter 7, specifically 7:6. He reaffirmed
justification as the indispensable basis for sanctification.
A Christian
must believe that he or she has permanent acceptance with God before that one will grow
much in grace and godliness
Romans 3:20 shows the 'therefore' of condemnation; but
Romans 8:1 gives the 'therefore' of no
condemnation
Notice who he is
speaking to; those in Christ Jesus. Paul
uses the term in Christ about 160 times
The
reason is that the believer is in Christ Jesus. The Savior has suffered the
consequences of our sins as our substitute. He will experience no
condemnation, and we, as those He represents, will not either. Note the
absolute force of
this great
promise. We
are eternally secure!
6
Jul
2016
Definition:
God eternally exists as Three persons: Father Son Holy Spirit. Each person is
fully God, and there is one God
God
Eternally exists as 3 persons
o Eternally - Micah 5:2, Col 1:17, John
8:58, John 1:1
o 3 Persons
Matthew 28:18-20 Mt 28:18 And Jesus came
and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven
and on earth. 19 "Go therefore and
make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 "teaching them to observe all things
that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the
age." Amen.
2Co 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you
all. Amen. (Trinitarian formula)
Baptism of Jesus
Joh 14:16 "And I will pray the
Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you
forever-- 17 "the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because
it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and
will be in you. 18 "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
1Co 12:3 Therefore I make known to you
that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can
say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. 4 There are diversities of
gifts, but the same Spirit.
Eph 4:4 There is one body and one
Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God
and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
2Th 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks
to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the
beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and
belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining
of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast and
hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.
Tit 3:4 But when the kindness and the
love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
5 not by works of righteousness which
we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of
regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us
abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
1Peter 1:2
Rev 1:4-6
OT – Genesis 1:26, Isaiah 48:16, 61:1
o Spirit is a Person
Intelligence - 1Corinthians 2:10-13 1Co
2:10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit
searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the
things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one
knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not
the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the
things that have been freely given to us by God. 13 These things we also speak,
not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches,
comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
Emotions - Eph 4:30 And do not grieve
the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Heb 10:29 Of how much worse punishment, do you
suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot,
counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing,
and insulted the Spirit of grace?
Will - 1Co 12:11 But one and the same
Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He
wills.
Other Actions - teaches/guides (Joh 14:26
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He
will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said
to you.),
commands (Ac 13:2 As they ministered to
the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas
and Saul for the work to which I have called them."), He commands, as in
Acts 16:6 and 7
prays/intercedes (Ro 8:26 Likewise the
Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for
as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings
which cannot be uttered.)
performs miracles (Ac 8:39 Now when they
came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that
the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.)
can be blasphemed (Mt 12:32 "Anyone
who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever
speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age
or in the age to come.)
can be resisted (Ac 7:51 "You
stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy
Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.)
can be lied to (Ac 5:3 But Peter said,
"Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and
keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?).
Further, Scripture indicates that he is
revealed as one who speaks. Act 13:2,
Revelation 2:7. He prays, as we will see
in Romans 8:26 and 27. He teaches, as
John 14:26 tells us. He guides, as John
16:13 indicates. He communes or fellowships, as in 2 Corinthians 13:14. He may be tested, Acts 5:9.
This is a person in every sense.
Grammar
• Proper grammar teaches us that when a
pronoun is substituted for a noun, it must be of the same gender as the noun.
(John 14:26, 15:26, 16:13, 14)
• The significance of the phrase αλλον
παράκλητον (another Helper) in John 14:16. Another means another of the
like/same kind, not just another. It means one exactly alike, like a bible with
the same exact markings and wear and tear
Each
person is fully God
o Father is God – Romans 1:7, 1
Corinthians 8:6, Eph 4:6
o Holy Spirit is God
Works - Creation (Genesis 1:2),
inspiration of Scripture (2 Peter 1:21), regenerates (Titus 3:5, John 3:3-5),
resurrects (Romans 8:11), miracles (Acts 8:39), generated Christ (Mt 1:20 But
while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to
him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to
you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.).
Attributes – Holy (and declared to be
the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the
resurrection from the dead), To lie to Him is to lie to God (Ac 5:3 But Peter
said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit
and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? 4 "While it
remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own
control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to
men but to God."),
• Omniscient (Isa 40:13 Who has directed
the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has taught Him? 14 With whom did He
take counsel, and who instructed Him, And taught Him in the path of justice?
Who taught Him knowledge, And showed Him the way of understanding?),
• omnipresent (Ps 139:7 Where can I go
from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend into
heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. 9 If I
take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10
Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.)
Names - Spirit of YHWH, Spirit of
Christ, Spirit of the Father, Holy, Spirit of glory, “Other Counselor” the
Spirit of Jesus, and in Galatians 4:6, the Spirit of His Son. In Philippians 1:19, He is even called the
Spirit of Jesus Christ. In John 14:26,
He is “another comforter” just like Jesus Christ
o Jesus is God
Works – Creation (Col 1:16), many
miracles, He received worship (Matt 28:17), He forgave sins (Matt 9:2), He has
authority over His life (John 10:18)
Attributes – omniscient (John 1:48),
immutable (Hebrews 3:8), omnipresent and omnipotent (Matt 28:18-20).
Names –
My Lord and my God (John 20:28), Emmanuel (Matt 1:23), Alpha Omega, God
(Hebrews 1:8), King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Rev 9:16 cf 1 Tim 6:14-15)
Claims – equality with God (John 5:18), eternal and YHWH of OT (John
8:58)
There is
one God
Deuteronomy 6:4, 4:35, Isaiah 44:6,
44:24, 45:5,18,22, 46:9, 1 Timothy 2:5, 1 Corinthians 8:5-6, Ephesians 4:4-6,
James 2:19
Trinity (the holy)
Mt 28:19 "Go therefore and make
disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Joh 14:26 "But the Helper, the Holy
Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and
bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
Joh 15:26 "But when the Helper comes,
whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from
the Father, He will testify of Me.
2Co 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you
all. Amen.
1Pe 1:2 elect according to the
foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience
and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be
multiplied.
22
Jun
2016
Philippians 3:12 Not
that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I
may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have
apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and
reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal
for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Therefore let us,
as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise,
God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have
already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind. 17 Brethren,
join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a
pattern.
In this great
section of Scripture Paul is exhorting the Philippians to keep at it and not to
quit. He lets them know that even though
he had all of these great human accomplishments they meant nothing to him now
that He knows Christ. That they are
actually something that hold him down in life and are excess baggage and even
as worthless as dung. He tells them that
even though he was all these things in the world’s eyes, that he is still not
perfect, that he has not attained the pinnacle of Christ likeness, he still has
work to do. He does this so they won’t
get discouraged and give up since none of us will ever achieve perfection in
this life and we will still mess up and sin.
Finally he says we are to keep our eyes fixed on the goal of being like
Christ and our prize is that one day when we get to heaven we get to finally be
like Him
What are your Goals in Life?
We should grow because:
1. The
Bible says so, it is a command from God
2Peter 3:18 grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ Jesus
2.
Glorifies God
1Peter 2:12 having
your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as
evildoers, they may, by your good
works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
3. Enhances
our witness to the world Matthew 5:16 Let
your light
6 principles we need to know in order to pursue the prize
1. V-12
The awareness of the need to achieve a better condition
2. Exert
Maximum effort
1Timothy
6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay
hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good
profession before many witnesses.
Hebrews 12:1-2 Wherefore
seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us
lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the
race that is set before us,
1Corinthians 9:24 -27
3. We
need focused Concentration on the one goal
4. Spiritual
Motivation V 14 calls us to a lifelong pursuit of spirituality
1Thessalonians 4:16 For
the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the
air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Live in the light and expectation of heaven and God's glory
5. We
need to recognize divine resources for spiritual growth
·
The Word 2 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 4:12,
Psalm 119:11
Desire the pure milk of the word 1 Peter 2:2
·
Prayer
·
V17 Follow an example
·
Trials
1Peter
1:6-7
James
1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall
receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
V 15 as many as are mature
6. Need
Consistency
V 16 One more thing let us keep living by that same we have
obtained
In other words whatever you are spiritually live up to it
and keep moving forward
TOOLS FOR SALE
It was advertised that the devil was going to put his tools up for sale. On the
date of the sale, the tools were placed for public inspection; each tool being
marked with its sale price. They were a treacherous lot of implements...
Hatred, Envy, Jealousy, Deceit, Lying, Pride, and so on. Laid apart from the
rest was a harmless looking tool, well worn and priced very high. "What is
the name of this tool?" asked one of the purchasers, pointing to it.
"That is discouragement," replied the devil. "Why have you
priced it so high?" "Because it is more useful to me than the others.
I can pry open and get inside a man's heart with that when I cannot get near
him with my other tools. Once I get inside, I can make him do what I choose. It
is badly worn because I use it on almost everyone, since very few people know
that it belongs to me." Is the devil beating you down trying to discourage
you? The Lord has good news for you! But he said to me, "My grace is
sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I
will boast
all the more gladly about my weaknesses, SO THAT CHRIST'S POWER MAY REST ON
ME." II Corinthians 12:9, Phil 4:11
for I have learned in whatever
15
Jun
2016
I. THE CHRISTIAN DILEMMA
A. PAUL AS A CHRISTIAN MAN...
1. Who is carnal, sold under sin - Ro 7:14-15
'Sold under sin' is exactly what the new
convert does not know! Forgiven, justified, he knows himself to be: and he has
the joy of it! But now to find an evil nature, of which he had never become
really conscious, and of which he thought himself fully rid, when he first
believed, is a 'second lesson' which is often more bitter than the first—of
guilt!"
Paul's
statement that he was then as a Christian sold under sin may seem to contradict
what he wrote earlier in chapter 6 about no longer being the slave of sin. The
phrase "sold in bondage to sin" is proof to many interpreters that
Paul was describing a non-Christian here. However, in chapter 6 Paul did not
say that being dead to sin means that sin has lost its appeal for the
Christian. It still has a strong appeal to the Christian whose human nature is
still sinful (6:15-23). He said that being dead to sin means that we no longer
must follow sin's dictates.
In
one sense the Christian is not a slave of sin (6:1-14). We have died to it, and
it no longer dominates us. Nevertheless, in another sense sin still has a
strong attraction for us since our basic human nature is still sinful, and we
retain that nature throughout our lifetime. For example, a criminal released
from prison no longer has to live within the sphere of existence prescribed by
prison walls. However, he still has to live within the confines of his human
limitations. God has liberated Christians from the prison house of sin
(6:1-14). Notwithstanding we still carry with us a sinful nature that will be a
source of temptation for us as long as we live (7:14-25).
To
minimize the difficulty of grasping this distinction Paul used different
expressions to describe the two relationships. In chapter 6 he used
"slaves," but in chapter 7 he wrote "sold" (v. 14). In
chapter 6 he spoke of the relationship of the new man in Christ (the whole
person, the Christian) to sin. In chapter 7 he spoke of the relationship of the
flesh (a part of every person, including the new man in Christ) to sin. Adam
sold all human beings into bondage to sin when he sinned (5:12, 14).
a. Desires to good, finds himself unable
b. Desires to abstain from evil, finds himself unable
Paul's sinful human nature influenced
him to such an extent that he found himself voluntarily doing (approving) the
very things that he despised intellectually. This caused him to marvel. All
Christians can identify with him in this.
2. Who agrees the law is good, but finds that sins dwells in him - Ro
7:16-20
V 16 The apostle's attitude toward the
Law was not the reason for his dilemma.
Ro 7:17 But now, it is no longer I who
do it, but sin that dwells in me.
Rather his problem was traceable to the
sin that dwelt within him, namely, his sinful flesh. Paul was not trying to
escape responsibility but was identifying the source of his sin, his sinful flesh.
"I" describes the new man Paul had become at his conversion (Gal.
2:20). Viewed as a whole person he was dead to sin. Nevertheless, the source of
sin within him was specifically his sinful human nature that was still very
much alive
It comes as a terrible discovery for a
new believer, or an untaught believer, to realize that our problem with sin is
complex. We are sinners not only because we commit acts of sin (Ch. 3) and
because, as descendants of Adam, we sin because he sinned (Ch. 5). We are also
sinners because we possess a flesh that is thoroughly sinful (Ch. 7). Jesus
Christ paid the penalty for acts of sin, He removed the punishment of original
sin, and He enables us to overcome the power of innate sin.
In general, we may say that in verses
14-17, the emphasis is upon the practicing what is hated, —that is, the
inability to overcome evil in the flesh; while in verses 18-21, the emphasis is
upon the failure to do the desired good, —the inability, on account of the
flesh, to do right.
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my
flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform
what is good I do not find.
a. In his flesh nothing good dwells
b. The desire to do good is present, the ability to perform is not
"Thus the double failure of a saved
man either to overcome evil or to accomplish good—is set forth. There must come
in help from outside, beyond himself!"
V19-20
These verses restate the idea of verses 15 and 17 respectively. Paul evidently
repeated the ideas to heighten our appreciation for the sense of frustration
that he felt.
Ro 7:19 For the good that I will to do,
I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.
Paul meant that sin had thoroughly
corrupted his flesh
20
Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that
dwells in me.
c. The good he desires he does not, the evil he desires not he does
d. Thus sin dwells in his flesh
3. Who is enslaved to a "law" (of sin and death, cf. Ro 8:2) –
Ro 7:21-23
Ro 7:21 I find then a law, that evil is
present with me, the one who wills to do good.
22 For I delight in the law of God according
to the inward man.
Ps 1:2 But his delight is in the law of
the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.
2Co 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart.
Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed
day by day. Eph 3:16; Col 3:9-10
23 But I see another law in my members,
warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law
of sin which is in my members.
a. Where evil is present in one who desires to do good
b. Where a law in his members (flesh) wages war against the law of his
mind
c. Where the law in his members brings him into captivity to the law of
sin
4. Who finds himself wretched - Ro 7:24
a. "O wretched man that I am!"
b. "Who shall deliver me from this body of death?"
-- A wretched dilemma: sold under sin, indwelt by sin, enslaved to a law
of sin!
The agony of this tension and our
inability to rid ourselves of our sinful flesh that urges us to do things that
lead to death come out even more strongly here. What Christian has not felt the
guilt and pain of doing things that he or she knows are wrong? We will never
escape this battle with temptation in this life.
B. DELIVERED BY CHRIST...
1. Expressed in chapter seven - Ro 7:25
The solution to this dilemma is not
escape from temptation but victory over it.
a. By way of anticipation, interrupting his train of thought
b. "I thank God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
c. But again, the dilemma:
willing to serve the law of God with the mind, but with his flesh he
serves the law of sin!
2. Explained in chapter eight - Ro 8:1-6,11-14
a. There is no condemnation for those in Christ, provided they walk
according to the Spirit
b. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ frees one from the law of
sin and death!
1) Christ's death fulfills the
righteous requirement (death for sin)
2) Becoming spiritually minded is
life and peace, for submission to God is now possible
3) Indwelt by the Spirit, He
imparts life to our mortal bodies - cf. Ro 6:12-13;
Eph 3:16 that He would grant you,
according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His
Spirit in the inner man,
4) We are no longer debtors
(enslaved) to the flesh, to live according to the flesh
5) By the Spirit we can put to
death the deeds of the flesh, and live as sons of God!
-- A blessed condition: no longer
enslaved to sin, but empowered by the Spirit!
CONCLUSION
1. In Romans 7, Paul vividly illustrates
the weakness of the Law of Moses...
a. The Law was holy, just, and good, but it
did not offer true deliverance
b. It did not offer deliverance from the guilt and power of sin - cf. Jn
8:34
c. One can will to do good, but the ability to truly do as one should is
not there
Have you experienced freedom from the
guilt of sin through the blood of Christ (Ep 1:7)? Are you experiencing freedom from the power
of sin through the indwelling Spirit (Ro 8:12-13)?
Both blessings begin when one receives
Christ
Lessons
1.
Have
you ever felt the weight of sin like Paul – unbelievers don’t
2.
Do
you have a longing to please God and keep the law?
3.
Has
God ever broken you so that you have said wretched man that I am and turned to
God for salvation
9
Jun
2016
1. The
problem is worry …………v6
Most people have an inadequate knowledge of God and an inadequate
trust in God...both are blasphemous.
Matthew 6:25-34 "For this reason I say to you, Do not be
anxious for your life as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink, nor
for your body as to what you shall put on."
2. The
prescription is prayer…………v6
1 Peter 5:7,
casting all your care on Him, because he cares for you
Psalms 55:22 Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He
shall never permit the righteous to be moved.
3. The
promise is peace…………v7
John 16:33, "In this world you shall have tribulation but be
of good cheer. I have overcome the world.
Isaiah 26:3 You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose
mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.
Isaiah 43:23 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the
rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall
not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.
Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,
against spiritual hosts of wickedness
in the heavenly places.
4. The
principle is right thinking or the principle of displacement…………v8
2 Corinthians 10:5 casting down arguments and every high
thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought
into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
"Finally,
brethren, whatever is true
John 17:17,
"Thy Word is truth." Psalm 19:9, Psalm 119:15
"Whatever
is right." And the word is righteous. Think on what is absolutely
consistent with the holiness of God.
"Whatever
is pure," meaning morally clean, undefiled.
"Whatever
is lovely," that means pleasing, attractive, amiable.
Whatever is of
good repute," which means well thought of, or highly regarded.
"If
there's any excellence and anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on
these things
Since there is
excellence and since there are some things worthy of praise, please focus on
them." Please. Your mind is the greatest treasure you have in terms of
those gifts of human life.
Luke 11: 24 "When an unclean spirit goes
out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he
says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 “And when he comes, he
finds it swept and put in order. 26 “Then
he goes and takes with him seven
other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the
last state of that man is worse than
the first."
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind,
Proverbs
23: 7 For as a man thinks in
his heart, so is he
·
Right
thoughts lead to right attitudes which lead to right actions
5. The
practice of Godly living…………v9
James 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only,
deceiving yourselves.
6. The
provision of God’s presence…………v9
1
Jun
2016
Romans
7:9 I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin
revived and I died. 10 And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to
bring death. 11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and
by it killed me. 12 Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and
just and good. 13 Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But
sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good,
so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful.
- The
Law reveals our Appetite or tendency for sin
Paul
says he was in the same condition that Adam and Eve were originally. They were free from the law (alive once without
the law) until the commandment came.
Then they wanted the one thing they could not have (sin revived and I
died… (Realized I was dead Spiritually)).
Gen
2:16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the
garden you may freely eat; 17 "but of the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely
die."
Pastor
Ray Steadman says he was in the Colorado Rockies. A man met him to take me into
the mountains for a conference. When he came out to the curb, he was waiting in
his new, powerful, shiny Lincoln Continental. He got into the car and he
expected him to turn on the ignition. But to his amazement, he started driving
without turning on the engine -- or at least that's how it seemed to him. He suddenly
realized that the engine had been running all the time. It was so quiet that he
hadn't heard it. As we moved up into the Rockies, the power of that engine
became manifest. We traveled up the steep grades in those great mountains
without difficulty because of the power released by the touch on the
accelerator.
Now,
that is something like what Paul is describing here. Sin lies silent within us.
We do not even know it is there. We think we have got hold of life in such a
way that we can handle it without difficulty. We are self-confident because we
have never really been exposed to the situation that puts pressure upon us --
we never have to make a decision against the pressure on the basis of the
commandment of the Law "Thou shalt not... "
But when
that happens, we suddenly discover all kinds of desires are awakened within us.
We find ourselves filled with attitudes that almost shock us -- unloving,
bitter, resentful thoughts, murderous attitudes --
- The Law reveals the death that sin brings
V10-11
And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. 11 For
sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.
In Adam,
all sinned, and all died (Romans 5:12)
Paul was
speaking of his personal experience, in Adam, at the fall, described in Genesis
2 and 3 and Romans 5.
Paul,
like every other human being, sinned in Adam. We are all born sinners (Psalm
51:5). From the day of our birth we are “dead in our trespasses and sins”
(Ephesians 2:1-3). We have never been alive, other than in Adam before the
fall. We will never be alive, other than in Christ and His work on the cross.
Ezek
18:20 "The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of
the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the
righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon
himself.
Ephesians
4:19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to
work all uncleanness with greediness.
Sin
killed Adam and Eve spiritually, we are born dead spiritually, so the more sin
we commit the further from God we go.
When you are dead, you are what (past feeling), dead people cannot feel.
The
value of dying or knowing you are dead is so that you can turn to God and live
again.
Ezek
18:23 "Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?"
says the Lord GOD, "and not that he should turn from his ways and live? Ezek
18:30 "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according
to his ways," says the Lord GOD. "Repent, and turn from all your
transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. 31 "Cast away from
you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new
heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? 32 "For I have no pleasure in the death
of one who dies," says the Lord GOD. "Therefore turn and live!"
Eph 2:1
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
Colossians
2:13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your
flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which
was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the
cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle
of them, triumphing over them in it.
That is
what the Law is for. It is to expose the fact that this evil force is in every
one of us, waiting only for the right circumstance in order to spring into
being, overpower our will, and carry us into things we never dreamed we would
do. Many of us experience this. According to this passage, the great power of
sin is that it deceives us. We think we have got life under control -- and we
are fooled. All sin is waiting for is the right occasion when, like a powerful,
idling engine, it roars into life and takes over at the touch of the
accelerator and we find ourselves helplessly under its control.
Gen 3:13
And the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The
woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
1
Timothy 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into
transgression.
- The Law reveals the Holy Nature of the
Lawgiver
V12
Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.
The law
comes from a Holy, Righteous, and Good God, so it must be holy, just, and good.
Leviticus
19:2 "Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to
them: 'You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.
Daniel
9:14 "Therefore the LORD has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it
upon us; for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works which He does,
though we have not obeyed His voice.
Mark
10:18 So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but
One, that is, God.
The fall
of man in the Garden of Eden shows just how evil sin is, using God’s command to
tempt men, to produce coveting, then disobedience, and finally death.
- How did the Law kill me if it is good?
V13 Has
then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might
appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through
the commandment might become exceedingly sinful.
The
question of verse 13 is the result of confusing the evil-doer and the
instrument. It results from confusing the one who pulled the trigger with the
gun which the evil doer fired, taking the life of another. Many people want to
curb violence and crime in our neighborhoods by getting rid of the guns, rather
than by dealing with the person using the gun. So it is with sin. Paul’s
question indicates that some would like to do away with the Law in the hope of
solving the problem of sin and death, when the source of the problem lies
elsewhere. Blaming the Law for death, rather than sin, is like watching a
policeman appear at the scene of a murder only to seize the murderer’s weapon
and then release the murderer with a pat on the back.
The Law
is designed to expose that sin, and to make us feel this way so that we begin
to understand what this evil force is that we have inherited by our birth into
this fallen human race. The Law shows sin to be what it is, something
exceedingly powerful and dangerous, something that has greater strength than
our willpower and causes us to do things that we are resolved not to do
25
May
2016
Romans
7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I
would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known
covetousness unless the law had said, "You shall not covet." 8 But sin, taking opportunity by the
commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law
sin was dead.
1. The value of the
Law… Law reveals sin
V7
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would
not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known
covetousness unless the law had said, "You shall not covet."
Me
gennoita, no, no, no, no, unthinkable, may it never be...the strongest negative
in the Greek language. On the contrary. The Law is not sin, but the Law reveals
sin. I would not have come to know sin except through the Law. What are we
going to conclude from all this? That the Law is evil? That is an outrageous
thought...absolutely outrageous. But apparently it was a common thought because
Paul addresses it again in Galatians 3 verse 21, "Is the Law then contrary
to the promises of God? Me gennoita, again...no, no, no, no, may it never
be."
Gal
3:21-26
Psalm
119:18, 34, 77, 92, 142 …….. read the whole chapter
The
function of the law is to expose sin.
Today we call a drunk an alcoholic, he is sick, he has a disease. We say a man that killed someone has a mental
disease, and we have a name for everything that man does that is wrong, except
what God calls it…..Sin. A man has an
affair, God says it is adultery. We call
it a white lie, we don’t want to hurt someone.
A child is strong willed and has fits when he doesn’t get his way, he is
just selfish and needs to be taught who is boss. We need to apply the Board of Education to
the Seat of understanding (beat his behind).
David Jeremiah says that this deadly game we play is like taking a
bottle of Poison off the shelf and replacing the label with one that says
Essence of Peppermint. The results are
just as deadly.
Paul
insists that he would not have come to know specific sins without their being
identified as sin by the Law. The Law marks out the spiritual mine fields which
we will encounter in life so that we might avoid them. The Law does not
identify that which is good as sin so that we might be kept from enjoying it,
but that which is evil so that we might be kept from suffering sin’s
consequences. The Law posts warning signs around poisoned waters so that we
might not drink of them.
I
would not have come to know sin except through the Law. I thought I was doing
fine until I really saw the Law for what it was.
Romans
3:20, Romans 4:15, Romans 5:20, Isaiah 6:5, 1Timothy 1:8-10
Chapter
5:20 "Law came in to increase the trespass" -- to increase the
trespass -- that is what the Law is for! It was given to arouse the sin which
was in man, and, thus, in making him sin all the more, it made him discover the
utter futility of trying to please God by self-effort.
What
does a child do when you tell them no, even at that age you see the sin nature
of man, they will look right at you and do it to test you.
If
you think you're blameless before the Law of God, you don't understand the Law
of God
Charles
Hodge, the great theologian, wrote, "The Law, although it cannot secure
either the justification or the sanctification of men, performs an essential
part in the economy of salvation. It enlightens conscience, it secures its
verdict against a multitude of evils that we should not otherwise have
recognized as sins. It arouses sin, in increases its power and making it both
in itself and in our consciousness exceedingly sinful. It therefore produces
that state of mind which is a necessary preparation for the reception of the
gospel." He further says, "Conviction of sin, that is an adequate
knowledge of its nature and a sense of its power over us, is an indispensable
part of evangelical religion. Before the gospel can be embraced as a means of
deliverance from sin, we must feel that we are deeply involved in corruption
and misery." And further he says, "If our religious experience does
not correspond with that, as detailed in the Scripture, we cannot be true
Christians. Unless we have felt as Paul felt, we have not the religion of Paul
and cannot expect to share his eternal reward
The
whole effort of the Law comes down to this, it is to bring men into the sense
of their sin so that they know they need to be saved and they know they need to
be sanctified. It is to produce in them a permanent beatitude attitude where
they mourn over their sin & feel inadequate & unworthy & weak.
It
is no accident that Paul picks the 10th commandment to not covet. We can look good on the outside to others,
but inside we know that we want the things we cannot have. Probably Paul selected the tenth commandment
for his illustration because it deals with desires (i.e., illicit desires of
every kind). Our desires are the roots of our actions. The tenth commandment is
also the most convicting commandment. Everyone who is honest would have to
admit that he or she has broken it. The law points out not only outward sin,
but evil attitudes and intentions.
This
commandment gives us a definition of coveting: to covet is to desire to have
that which belongs to another, which cannot legitimately be ours. The command
not to covet identifies as sin the desire to wrongfully possess that which
belongs to another and instructs those who would obey God not to entertain such
evil desires.
(1) Coveting is a
matter of the heart.
Paul chooses an invisible, internal sin.
(2) Coveting is one of
the characteristic sins of the flesh. Our flesh has its appetites which often come
into conflict with God’s revealed will. These appetites, or desires, are often
forbidden lusts (see Galatians 5:16, 19; Ephesians 2:3; 2 Peter 2:10). Sin
frequently overpowers our flesh by appealing to its lusts.
(3) Coveting is a root
sin which is often the cause of other sins. Coveting in and of itself seems to do
no harm to anyone, but it very frequently provides the motivation for stealing
and even murder. To put a stop to coveting is to “head other sins off at the
pass.”
(4) Coveting is a sin
which best illustrates Paul’s statement, “I would not have come to know sin except
through the Law” (verse 7). Coveting is a sin which is almost never considered
a crime. Not all sins are crimes. I know of no government which has a law
forbidding coveting. Part of the explanation for this is the difficulty of
identifying coveting and proving that this offense has taken place, since it is
a sin of the heart and mind. Murder, perjury, and robbery are sins, and they
are also considered crimes by society. Most people do not think coveting is
really wrong. In some societies, like our own, many forms of coveting would
actually be commended rather than condemned.
(5) Coveting seems to
lie at the root of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. In the account of the
fall, every tree in the garden was “pleasing to the sight and good for food”
(Genesis 2:9). Adam and Eve were given possession of virtually everything in
the garden with the exception of one tree, the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil, the fruit of which they were forbidden to eat (see Genesis 2:16-17).
Satan successfully focused Eve’s attention and desire on the fruit of this
tree. The result was that she seemed to focus only on the fruit of this
forbidden tree as “pleasing to the sight and good for food,” and, in addition,
“able to make her wise” (Genesis 3:6). Her first sin, therefore, seems to be
that of lust—desiring that which she did not possess, which could not
rightfully be hers.
All
of this powerfully demonstrates Paul’s point. Unless God’s Law had identified
coveting as a sin, we would never have recognized it as such. Coveting is like
a tumor hidden inside our body. Because it is not external, like murder, we do
not recognize its deadly existence and nature. The Law is like an x-ray,
exposing it for what it is and warning us that we must deal with it.
Romans
10:1-4
What
leads to true salvation is an understanding of the absolute righteousness of
God, the utter holiness of God, the Law of God expresses His perfect
righteousness and His holiness and puts a demand on every soul that if you
break this Law in one place, you're damned. Where's that message today? What
leads to true salvation is an overpowering, frightening sense of the
implications of breaking the Law. Truth about righteousness and holiness and
sin and judgment is what awakens the slumbering sinner.
Proverbs
16:6 says, "By fear of the Lord men depart from evil. " Why is
anybody going to change his life if he has no fear of God? We have to alarm the
sinner. We have to activate his conscience by informing him about the truth,
not letting him have a conscience that responds only to a watered down morality
that he has been taught by the world. We have to take the sinner, turn him face
to face to the Law, square him up with the Law and make him see the standard of
perfect righteousness, "Be ye holy even as I am holy." We have to preach
righteousness and Law. By this, people understand their sin and they understand
the consequence of their sin and the helplessness in which they exist.
2. The Law aggravates
our Appetite or tendency for sin
V8
But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of
evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. The law doesn’t respect the
weak or the strong.
Paul,
like many of us today, was protected and sheltered and kept from exposure to
serious temptations. He was raised in the Jewish culture, where everyone around
him was sheltered also. Therefore, he grew up relatively untroubled with
problems of sin.
Many
young people, like Saul of Tarsus, think they have handled the problem. What
about keeping the Law? It's not hard! Hardly any temptations come under these
circumstances. These people think they have no struggles along this line. They
have the world by the tail -- they can handle it. As Paul describes it, they
are alive apart from the Law. But then comes a time when they are exposed. They
are thrust out into a different lifestyle, a different crowd of people. They
move out on their own and suddenly they find themselves removed from the
shelter and protection and love and cultural defenses that have been theirs
from childhood on. Perhaps the new crowd -- as a way of life -- does things
that these sheltered young people have been taught are wrong.
Now,
for the first time, they feel the force of the prohibition of the Law. The Law
says, "Thou shalt not covet, commit adultery, murder, steal ..." --
whatever it may be. And yet the crowd around them says, "Let's do it --
it's fun!" For the first time, they begin to feel the prohibition of the
Law. Then a strange phenomenon happens. Something about that situation arouses
within them a strong desire to do the things that are prohibited. Maybe they
are able to resist them for a while, but, nevertheless, they find themselves
pressured, pushed by something within them that wants very badly to do these
things.
When
young people, raised in sheltered homes, move out on their own -- perhaps when
they go to college, or get a job, or move to another city -- they find that
suddenly all the control they had seemed to be exercising over evil vanishes.
They give way and are plunged into an orgy of evil, in one form or another.
The
Problem today is kids are exposed at such an early age to things that they were
shielded from years ago.
Phil
3:1-7
Mark
7:4, 8-13, Gal 1:14
One
illustration of what Paul had in mind here is the story of the temptation and
Fall in Genesis 3. Whenever someone establishes a law prohibiting something,
the natural tendency of people is to resist it. If you tell a small child,
"Don't do such-and-such," you may create a desire within him or her
to do it, a desire that was not there before.
"Suppose
a man determined to drive his automobile to the very limit of its speed. If . .
. signs along the road would say, No Speed Limit, the man's only thought would
be to press his machine forward. But now suddenly he encounters a road with
frequent signs limiting speed to thirty miles an hour. The man's will rebels,
and his rebellion is aroused still further by threats: Speed Limit Strictly
Enforced. Now the man drives on fiercely, conscious both of his desire to
'speed,' and his rebellion against restraint. The speed limit signs did not
create the wild desire to rush forward: that was there before. But the notices
brought the man into conscious conflict with authority
19
May
2016
Romans
7:1 Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that
the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? 2 For the woman who has a
husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the
husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while
her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but
if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress,
though she has married another man. 4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have
become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to
another--to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.
5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the
law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. 6 But now we have been
delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should
serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
Romans
7 is an explanation or exposition of Romans 6:14
"Does
the Law help us, as believers, to handle the problem of sin in our lives?"
Again, the answer is both, "Yes," and "No." Yes, the Law
does help us -- but only up to a point. It will help us to define the problem.
But no, the Law is no help at all when it comes to delivering us. It can't help
us -- in fact, it will only make things worse. Paul deals with the last part of
this question first.
The
more you think about something, even when trying not to do it, then it becomes
tougher to forget. That is the way it is
with the law. When you try not to do
something then you are thinking about it.
It is not about trying to do right.
You can no more be saved by the law, than you can be sanctified or made
holy by it. So the trick is not to try
to do right, but what? Be filled with
the Spirit
2
Corinthians 10:5 casting down arguments
and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing
every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
Galatians
5:16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and
you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
V1 Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak
to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he
lives?
The
Law Paul mentions here is a reference to a standard of conduct, or behavior,
which is expected of men. The Ten Commandments
They
are a standard of conduct, isn't it? That, of course, is the Law that Paul
talks about here -- the Law that was given to Israel. But Paul already has made
clear in Chapter 2 that, in a wider sense, the Law is present among men
everywhere. Have you ever listened to people talking about their experiences
and relationships with other people? Listen for a while, and you will hear a
phrase like this: "I don't think that is fair." What do these people
mean? What is it that determines whether a thing is fair or not? It is
obviously some unspoken standard of conduct or behavior that both the speaker
and the listener have in mind which is universally understood without speaking.
Some
might put it this way: "I think this is the right thing to do."
There, again, is an unspoken standard of behavior. Somebody says, "I'm
going to get even!" How do you know when you are even? There is an
unspoken standard in mind. So, as Paul points out in Chapter 2, the Law really
is everywhere; it is embedded in the hearts of men. There is an undescribed, unspoken
standard of conduct to which we all refer. Every man everywhere thinks in these
terms, no matter what his background may be.
Imagine
a hearse speeding on its way to the cemetery and racing through a radar trap.
In hot pursuit, a motorcycle policeman speeds after the hearse. When the hearse
pulls over, the policeman does not go to the driver, but he goes to the back
door of the hearse where he opens the casket and slips the traffic ticket
inside. Pretty ridiculous, is it not? No one can expect the law to have
authority over a dead man.
V2-3
1
Corinthians 7:39 A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if
her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in
the Lord.
Jeremiah
3:1 "They say, ‘If a man divorces his wife, And she goes from him And
becomes another man’s, May he return to her again?’ Would not that land be
greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot with many lovers; Yet return
to Me," says the LORD.
V3-4
1. The Law is making them discouraged and
they don't like it. In certain areas of their lives they see defeat, and so
they attempt to get people's attention off this area of failure and onto areas
where they feel they have succeeded. That is why they are always pointing out
the areas of their success and boasting about how well they are doing. They
want to keep us from looking at that other area where they are failing. The Law
produces failure. Therefore, one of the first marks of a person who is living
under the Law is that he is always pointing out how well he is doing. Isn't
that strange?
2. Another mark of people who are living
under the Law is that they are always critical of others. This is another
diversionary tactic. Why are people critical of others? Well, if you succeed in
getting your friends' eyes fastened on other people, they won't look at you.
And you feel justified because the faults you point out in other people aren't
the same faults you feel guilty of. You know, God plays some amazing tricks
with us. He so blinds our eyes, or allows Satan to do so, that invariably the
things we criticize others for are the very things that we ourselves are guilty
of. And we don't know it! You see, the Law is producing this sense of failure
and defeat, and we are constantly adjusting to it and compensating for it by
criticizing others.
3. Another mark of those under the Law
is that they are always reluctant to admit any error or fault in their own
lives. It is hard to get them to admit it. They feel very heavily the standard
of conduct they are expected to have, so they pretend they are living up to it,
even though they don't. They hate to admit defeat because that means they must
change.
4. Another symptom of those under the
Law is that they invariably are subject to times of inner boredom and depression,
and oftentimes experience outward symptoms of depression and discouragement and
defeat. They go through times of utter, sheer boredom. That is the sign of
someone under the Law. The Law is doing its work condemning, and that sense of
condemnation produces depression of spirit. Did you know this? You see, you
can't understand this passage unless you know what the Law does. That is why I
keep asking "Do you know it?" If you know this, you can see that this
is a major problem in the church today. This is what has gone wrong with so
much of the church in America today. Now, therefore, we must understand Paul's
application of this illustration. Let's get it now in Verses 4-6:
Deuteronomy
24:1-4
Romans
7:6
But,
according to this, we died to the Law through the death of our first husband.
When Jesus was crucified, that first husband died. And now we are free from the
condemnation of the Law. We are married to another, Christ risen from the dead.
So now, when we seek to be righteous and to do righteous things and to be
loving and kind, we are no longer hypocrites. This is the point Paul wants to
make. We are doing what we really are. We are tied to Jesus. His life is ours
and we are acting according to our true nature.
We
are married to a new husband. And because we share his life and power, we are
not only able to be what he is, but we are also free from any condemnation or
failure in our struggle along the way. We don't always act right, but the Law
doesn't condemn us. The Law's purpose was to condemn, and we can't be condemned
anymore because we are not hypocrites. We are doing what we were designed to
do. We have a new identity. No longer bound to our failures, we can admit them
and forget them. We don't have to have them clinging to us; we no longer have
to believe that God is unhappy with us because we don't always live exactly
right. He has made provision for this. It is not a fraud when we go back to God
again and again and accept from his hand his forgiveness.
Therefore,
it is not law that straightens us out, it is love. We no longer need the Law to
straighten us out, but we have love to do so. We are free to fail and still be
loved. And we are also free to win in the new power given to us.
11
May
2016
Romans
6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?
Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to
obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death,
or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were
slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you
were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of
righteousness. 19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.
For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of
lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves
of righteousness for holiness. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were
free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things
of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now
having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your
fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In Chapter 6 Paul declares that
God, through the death of Jesus, not only died for us, but we also died with
him. That is a great truth. When God says he set us free from the life of Adam
and linked us to the life of Christ, he really did. Through for quite a long
time our feelings will tell us differently, God wants us to understand this. We
are to believe it regardless of how we feel, because what he says is true. If
we will believe it, despite our feelings, we will soon discover that it is
true. More and more we shall enter into the realization of this tremendous
thing -- that we can be good in Christ as easily as we were bad in Adam.
Choose Your Master
II. WE SHOULD BE SLAVES TO GOD! (15-23)
Another
reason not to continue in sin is explained in terms of servitude. We become slaves to that which we obey,
either sin to death or God for righteousness (15-16).
A. WE
BECOME SLAVES TO WHOM WE OBEY (15-18)
1. Either of sin to death, or of
obedience to righteousness
(15-16)
v15 Look at
v1, it is different than 15 Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound.
V15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not
under law but under grace? Certainly not!
As Charles
Spurgeon put it, "An unchanged life is the mark of an unchanged heart, and
an unchanged heart is a sign of an unregenerate life."
If there is
no change, if your attitudes are the same, if your outlook is the same -- then
there is a very serious doubt as to whether you ever became a Christian at all!
That is what is involved in the question of Romans 6:1.
V15 The
other question is not, "Shall we continue to abide in sin," but,
rather, "Should we sin even once now that we are not under law but
under grace?"
See how God
so beautifully uses these Old Testament stories to illustrate the tremendous
truths of the New Testament. One of the most effective books of the Old
Testament in this respect is the book of Joshua, for it gives us the picture of
Israel entering the land -- and the land is always a picture of the fullness of
the Spirit, the walk in Christ, that we are talking about here in Romans.
As Israel
came out of the wilderness of self-effort across the river Jordan and into the
land, the first obstacle that lay in their pathway was the tremendous city of
Jericho, with its great, high walls -- tremendous walls, we are told.
Archeologists, who have now laid bare the foundations of these very walls, tell
us that they were very likely over 100 feet high and some 50-60 feet thick.
This was an impregnable fortress. "Joshua fought the battle of Jericho and
the walls came tumbling down." Actually, it wasn't a fight at all: As they
surrounded the city in the name of the Lord, and in the strength of the
indwelling presence of God in their midst, the walls simply fell down flat --
that is all.
We discover
that here is a picture of the life of victory that comes in laying hold of the
truths in Romans 6. As we discover and apply this truth, problems that
have been insurmountable obstacles to us, problems that have baffled us and
mocked us and conquered us for years, simply disappear as we lay hold of the
indwelling life of Jesus Christ -- and it is wonderful. We begin to experience
victory.
After the
battle of Jericho, we see an account of the greed of one man, named Achan, in
the camp of Israel who coveted part of what God had set aside for himself. The
result was a thorough defeat at the little village of Ai. All this is a picture
of what we are talking about here in Romans 6:1-14. We see the principle that
brings about victories like the victory of Jericho, but, in Verse 15 to
the end of the chapter, we see some of the problems that arise that make
possible a defeat like Ai.
We discover
the joy of deliverance. Then we also discover that the old life still has power
to tempt us and draw us back into its control. We realize that, even though it
is true that Jesus Christ lives within us to be all that he is (which is all
that we need), nevertheless the temptation is to strike a balance and work out
a compromise. We find ourselves wanting to draw on Christ for the power to meet
the times of stress that come -- the big problems -- but we rather like to put
on the old comfortable slippers of the flesh the rest of the time, and enjoy
that.
But
part-time victory is also part-time defeat, and this is where the problem lies.
A little
root growing into a sidewalk eventually destroys it.
v16 Do you
not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s
slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading
to righteousness?
Voluntary
slaves trapped in poverty and at least would be housed and fed, gave up all
their freedom
John 8: 31-37
v17 But God
be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the
heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.
Rom 3:10-12
Mt 7:20-27
1John 1:6-10
1John 2:4
1Co 15:3
They were
formed or shaped by the Word of God… We used to say shape up soldier or go into
the service and they will shape you up or make you a better person.
As the
Spirit of God makes us aware of wrong things, these areas must be faced and
surrendered to the place of death where God puts them.
Then we must
make this real by believing that fact -- that all of it is worthless in God's
sight -- ambition, everything!
Do you see?
When we come to that place, then we begin to realize victory. But, if we
compromise a little, we will soon be back in the old cycle of defeat and
barrenness that we knew for so long. However, Paul points out that it also
works the other way around. You choose Christ in these struggles and you find
that he grows on you, and he gets a grip on you. The power, and the glory, and
the strength of his life begin to grow stronger and stronger.
v18 And
having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
The
underlying truth of the passage is that man is made to be mastered by
something. We need a cause. Every young person is looking for a cause to live
for, and to die for. When we are not aware of any cause in our life worthy of
the effort, we flounder and feel depraved and deprived and hopeless. And the
amazing thing is that, in all of life, there are only two possible masters:
Either Christ or self; either one or the other.
Jesus said,
"No man can serve two masters," Matt 6:24
Obedience to
any of it puts you under the power of all of it
Sow an
Act, reap a habit, sow a habit, reap a character, sow a character, reap a life,
destiny, and eternity
V19 I speak
in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you
presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading
to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of
righteousness for holiness.
Serving
righteousness produces holiness
There is a
continual choice, and the choice makes possible further victories. Little
choices make little victories grow into larger victories. What Paul is simply
saying is: Now choose your master. You can have only one. You can't have both.
B.
THE MOTIVATION FOR SERVING GOD (20-23)
How
important it is that they continue to do so is to be seen in the outcome of
serving sin contrasted to serving God.
Serving sin earns death, but in serving God one receives the gift of
eternal life in
Christ Jesus
(20- 23)!
Heb
11:25 choosing rather to suffer
affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,
Sin is
pleasureable for a season
Gal 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked;
for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh
will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the
Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for
in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have
opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the
household of faith.
1.
Serving
sin produces death (20-21)
2.
Serving
God produces the fruit of holiness, and in the end, eternal life (22)
3.
The
wages of sin is death, but God gives the gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus
our Lord (23)
Wage meant
pocket money given to slaves, a wage is something that impacts your life now
and in the future.
You will
have an empty Christian life if you are not holy and under God’s control. (living death)
Unhappiest
person alive is a Christian out of fellowship with God.
Gift means
grace gift, and undeserved, unearned, free gift.
Psalm 73
Hosea 4:6 My
people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Do you know
who you are? Rev 1:6, 1 Peter 2:9-10
Josh 24:15
Choose you this day whom you will serve"
13
Apr
2016
Romans
6:9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death
no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin
once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you
also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ
Jesus our Lord. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you
should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments
of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from
the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin
shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
v9 Knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no
more. Death no longer has dominion
Hebrews
10:10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of
Jesus Christ once for all.
Col
3:1 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised
nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is
all and in all.
1.
v10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he
liveth, he liveth unto God.
2. He died, to
the penalty of sin forever
breaking its dominion
2Corinth 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be
sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Heb 7:26-27
26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled,
separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; 27 Who needeth not
daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins,
and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
Heb 9:12-14 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his
own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us. 13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of
an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14
How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered
himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the
living God? {spot: or, fault}
Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and
unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto
salvation.
1Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for
the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but
made alive by the Spirit,
He also died, to the power of sin forever breaking its dominion
Hebrews 2:14-15
Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself
likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had
the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of
death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
3.
v11
Likewise you also, Reckon yourselves
to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
v11 this is the first
time we are asked to do something, everything up to this point has been
doctrine.
Keep on counting
yourselves to be what God says you are!
Ray Steadman…
The other day, a friend and I were pushing an old car because we couldn't get
it started. The battery was dead. We pushed it to a station where the service man
hooked on another battery to the terminals of the old one; then he said,
"Now try it." We switched on the starter button, and immediately
there came a surge of power into the engine -- utilizing the energy of the new
battery. Where once there was no power, now there was plenty.
Now, the
trouble in our lives is that we have this old battery that we got from Adam,
but it is without power. God declares it to be dead, but we simply refuse to
believe that it is dead. We have a certain fondness for it because we have had
it so long. After all, it is the original battery that we got when we were
born. As a matter of fact, it is a family battery -- it has been passed along
from generation to generation, and we hate to part with these old antiques. We
refuse to believe that it is no good. Of course, we are encouraged to use it by
the flood of sales literature we see, suggesting ways to discover hidden power
in our batteries. Or, we are told that the trouble is, we are not pushing the
starter button hard enough; if we will learn how to push the starter button
harder, we can get it to work -- there is nothing really wrong with the
battery, it is the starter button, the motivating source. Or, we are told that
if we can hook enough cars with dead batteries together, we can get enough
juice to run one of them -- so we organize committees to get things done.
Across this
country this morning, in one form or another, there are preachers (who should
know better) who are preaching this devilish gospel of "try harder."
Nothing could be worse! This business of telling Christians to "try harder
and you can make a success of your Christian life" was born right in the
pit of hell. I don't know who originally phrased it this way but I have heard
many times someone say, "Well, I believe that if I do my best, God does
the rest." That is the most damnable lie ever spoken! If you live on that
basis, you'll never get beyond doing your best; and, your best isn't good
enough, and it never will be! As preachers proclaim the gospel of "try harder,"
Christians are responding with new resolves to consecrate their old selves to
do their best for God, yet, all the time, they are totally ignorant of God's
provision of a new battery, available in Jesus Christ, with sufficient power to
meet all the demands of life.
v12 Therefore do not let sin reign in
your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. See Romans 6:6
…that the body of sin might be done away with
Appropriate the Power
In other words stop making excuses as to why you sin.
1Corinthians 6:12-13 ll things
are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for
me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 13 Foods for the stomach
and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is
not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
1Corinthians 9:27 But I discipline my body and bring it
into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become
disqualified.
1Corinth 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and
this mortal must put on immortality.
1Peter
2:9-12 But you are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you
may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His
marvelous light; 10 who once were not
a people but are now the people of
God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. 11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain
from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable
among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by
your good works which they observe,
glorify God in the day of visitation.
V13 And do not
present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin,
Ro 13:14
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no
provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
Don’t Keep on yielding
1 Timothy 6:11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.
V13But rather present
our bodies as instruments of righteousness,
The
tense of the verb says this is a deliberate, decisive, maybe even a once for
all commitment to yield ourselves to God.
A sense of come and stand alongside God offering yourself as an instrument
of righteousness to be at His disposal to do whatever God needs us to do.
Rom
12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is
that good and acceptable and perfect will of God
Col
3:1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those
things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2
Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and
your life is hidden with Christ in God.
2Co 8:5 And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave
themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.
James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
v14 not under law, for
we are under grace
Why does Paul bring in the Law? He brings in
the Law because he is dealing with one of the most basic problems of the
Christian struggle, the thing that oftentimes depresses and discourages us more
than anything else -- the sense of condemnation we feel when we sin. You see,
the Law produces condemnation. The Law says that unless you live up to this
standard, God will not have anything to do with you. We have been so engrained
with this that when we sin, even as believers, we think God is angry and upset
with us and he doesn't care about us. We think that way about ourselves, and we
become discouraged and defeated and depressed. We want to give up. "What's
the use," we say. But Paul says that is not true. You are not under Law.
God does not feel that way about you. You are under grace, and God understands
your struggle. He is not upset by it; he is not angry with you. He understands
your failure. He knows that there will be a struggle and there will be
failures. He also knows that he has made full provision for you to recover
immediately, to pick yourself up, and go right on climbing up the mountain.
Therefore you don't need to be discouraged, and you won't be. Sin will not be
your master because you are not under law and condemnation, but under grace.
And even though you struggle, if, every time you fail, you come back to God and
ask his forgiveness, and take it from him, and remember how he loves you, and
that he is not angry or upset with you, and go on from there, you will win.
Titus 2;11-14 11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has
appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly
lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13
looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior
Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every
lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for
good works.
Matthew 6:24 "No one
can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or
else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God
and mammon.
You
begin counting on him continually to operate and energize you to do whatever is
in front of you to do, whatever it may be, whether it is tying your shoe,
preaching a message, witnessing to someone, washing the dishes, anything,
everything! You need the life of Jesus Christ to do everything!
In the same
way that you received his death as sufficient payment for the penalty of sins,
and rested on that fact, so you simply believe that, now, his life is in you to
be to you all that you need in any circumstance:
As
ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: {Col 2:6
KJV}
Conclusion
(1)
Man’s sin corrupts that
which God has created, turning what is pure into that which is wicked
(2) The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is the basis for our
conduct
(3) Paul views the gospel as the core of truth by which all
other doctrine and practice must be judged.
(4) Those who would advocate turning back to previous
practices are strongly warned in the Bible.
2Peter 2:22 But it has
happened to them according to the true proverb: "A dog returns to his own
vomit," and, "a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the
mire."
5) Paul teaches “positional thinking,” not “positive
thinking.” A
great deal of positive thinking is being peddled today, much of it in Christian
circles as though it were a Christian practice. Paul is not teaching
“possibility thinking.” This kind of thinking seeks to envision what could be.
If we but capture the thought, the reality will be created. Paul’s “thinking”
is entirely different. The thinking Paul
advocates is that which is rooted in the cross of Christ. It is not based upon
what might be, or even upon what we presently perceive, but on what God has
already done, according to His Word. Positional thinking is that thinking
which reasons and which behaves on the basis of who we really are, in Christ.
Compared to “positional thinking,” “positive thinking” is what Paul would call
a “myth” and “speculation” (see 1 and 2 Timothy).
6) The gospel of Jesus Christ does not offer forgiveness
for those who would continue in sin, but salvation for those who would be
delivered from their sins
(7) God turned the curse into the cure
1) Though physically absent from them, He would be present with
and in them through His Spirit.
(2) His death, though the cause of a temporary separation, was
the cure for a permanent separation.
Someone
confronted Martin Luther, upon the Reformer’s rediscovery of the biblical
doctrine of justification, with the remark, “If this is true, a person could
simply live as he pleased!”“Indeed!” answered Luther. “Now, what pleases you?”
Someone told a story of
a man who sold quail at a market. He tied strings around their legs and tied
the strings to a little post that would spin around on its axis. The quail would walk around and around in
circles. One man feeling sorry for the
bird in their circumstances having to walk in circles all day wanted to buy the
birds. The man after buying them said to
set them free. Even after being freed,
they continued to walk in circles. So
the man shooed them off and as soon as they landed they would form a circle and
begin to walk in circles again. Old
habits die hard, do not live as though you are still chained to sin and have to
be controlled by it. You are free…
30
Mar
2016
Romans
6:6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin
might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9
knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no
longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin
once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
V6 crucified with Him,
Galatians 5:24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Eph 4:22 that
you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt
according to the deceitful lusts,
Col 3:9-10 Do
not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10
and have put on the new man who is
renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,
that the body of sin might
be done away with…the body is the instrument used for carrying out sin What is
it that has those desires? When you
fulfill a desire it is the body that gets the pleasure.
John MacArthur says that
Paul uses the terms body and flesh to refer to sinful tendencies that are
tangled up with physical weakness and pleasures. We have one new nature that is
incarcerated in unredeemed flesh.
Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which
is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect
will of God.
V7 no longer slaves of sin, but freed
from sin
John 8:36 "Therefore
if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
There are times when knowing a few facts can
have great impact on our decisions and our actions. Most of us have “gone off
half-cocked,” only to discover later that we acted without some very important
information. In our text, Paul is pointing out to his Roman readers some very
important facts they must know, which will serve as the basis for their
lifestyle.
Dead to sin, they are now free to live as
instruments of righteousness for God (8-14).
1Thess
4:3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should
abstain from fornication:
Phil 1:6 Being confident of this very thing,
that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of
Jesus Christ: {perform: or, finish}
In verses 8-14 we will see 2 keys to victory
Paul
says that we need to know some things about our life in Christ to become like
Christ
6:3 Do
you not know
6:6
Knowing this
6:8 We
believe
6:9
Knowing that
B. DEAD TO SIN, ALIVE TO GOD (8-14)
·
Know
·
We need to become in practice, what we
are already positionally
v8
Having died with Christ, we may live with Him
Rev 1:18 "I am
He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I
have the keys of Hades and of Death.
1Corinth 15:17-26
v9 Knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no
more. Death no longer has dominion
Hebrews 10:10 By
that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all.
Col 3:1 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor
uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor
free, but Christ is all and in all.
v10
For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth
unto God.
He
died, to the penalty of sin forever
breaking its dominion
2Corinth 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be
sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Heb 7:26-27 26 For such an high priest became us,
who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than
the heavens; 27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up
sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did
once, when he offered up himself.
Heb 9:12-14 Neither by the
blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the
holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 13 For if the blood of
bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean,
sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of
Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God,
purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? {spot: or,
fault}
Heb 9:28 So Christ was
once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he
appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
1Peter
3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He
might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the
Spirit,
He
also died, to the power of sin forever breaking its dominion
Hebrews
2:14-15 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He
Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him
who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through
fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Consumed by Their Own
Lust
Radio
personality Paul Harvey tells the story of how an Eskimo kills a wolf. The
account is grisly, yet it offers fresh insight into the consuming,
self-destructive nature of sin.
First,
the Eskimo coats his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze.
Then he adds another layer of blood, and another, until the blade is completely
concealed by frozen blood.
Next,
the hunter fixes his knife in the ground with the blade up. When a wolf follows
his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovers the bait, he licks
it, tasting the fresh frozen blood. He begins to lick faster, more and more
vigorously, lapping the blade until the keen edge is bare. Feverishly now,
harder and harder the wolf licks the blade in the arctic night. So great
becomes his craving for blood that the wolf does not notice the razor-sharp
sting of the naked blade on his own tongue, nor does he recognize the instant
at which his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his OWN warm blood. His
carnivorous appetite just craves more—until the dawn finds him dead in the
snow!”
Dr. George Sweeting wrote in
Special Sermons For Special Days It is a fearful thing that people can be
“consumed by their own lusts.” Only God’s grace keeps us from the wolf’s fate.
23
Mar
2016
Romans
6:3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into His death? 4
Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as
Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the
likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His
resurrection,
V3 Do you not know……..Mark 2:25 But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was
in need and hungry, he and those with him:
In baptism we were baptized into
Christ's death
Baptized
into Christ
1Co 12:13 For
by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body——whether Jews or Greeks,
whether slaves or free——and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.
1 Corinthians 1:30
But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from
God——and righteousness and sanctification and redemption
Romans 8:10 And if Christ is in you, the body is
dead because of sin, but the Spirit is
life because of righteousness.
2Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test
yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? ——unless
indeed you are disqualified.
Water baptism is a symbol of the
reality of salvation, not the means of it
1Co 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.
1Corinth
6:17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one
spirit with Him.
Gal
3:27 For as many of you as were baptized
into Christ have put on Christ.
Eph 4:4 There is one body and one Spirit, just
as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in
you all.
We have died to the power of sin
Jn
8:34-36 Jesus answered them, "Most
assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 "And a
slave does not abide in the house forever, but
a son abides forever. 36 "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall
be free indeed.
1John
3:9-10 Whoever has been born of God does
not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been
born of God. 10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are
manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.
Romans 6:14
Words free from sin occur 3 times in
Chapter 6:7,18, 22
Gal 2:20
2Corinthians 5:15
V4
Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death
Colossians 2:12 buried with
Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the
dead.
That just as Christ was raised from the
dead by the glory of the Father,
We should walk in newness of life,
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone
is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all
things have become new.
Galatians 6:15 For in Christ Jesus
neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.
Ezekiel 36:26, Ezekiel 18:31 A new
heart and a new spirit
Psalm 40:3 He
has put a new song in my mouth
Rev 2:17 And
I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one
knows except him who receives it."‘
2Cor 5:17 a new creation
Gal 6:15 For
in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision,
but a new creature.
Eph 4:24 and
that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true
righteousness and holiness.
V5 having been united together in the
likeness of His death,
certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His
resurrection,
Ro 5:10 For
if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son,
much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
16
Mar
2016
Romans
6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2
Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
In
the first 5 chapters Paul has only spoken of salvation and our security, but
has said little or nothing about Christian life, growth, or discipleship. So far he has exposed himself to the critics
who misquote him (Rom 3:8) And why
not say, "Let us do evil that
good may come"? ——as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that
we say. Their condemnation is just. But
now he is going to disprove their slander.
So
what do we have to say about once saved always saved or as I like to call it
the Eternal Security of the Believer.
Some
were saying that the idea of “free grace” ( it cost God everything) actually
encouraged sin as it promised sinners the best of both worlds since it
supposedly allowed a man to indulge himself freely in sin in this world without
forfeiting heaven
In
Chapters 6-8 Paul moves from the doctrine of Justification (God
declaring a man righteous based on Belief) to Sanctification (God producing
actual righteousness in the believer).
1.
Justification
is an act; Sanctification is a process
2.
Justification
is for us; Sanctification is in us
3.
Justification
is a transaction; Sanctification is a transformation
4.
Justification
is the means; Sanctification is the end
5.
Justification
declares the sinner righteous; Sanctification makes the sinner righteous
6.
Justification
removes the guilt and penalty of sin; Sanctification removes the growth and
power of sin
7.
Justification
is the straight gate through which we enter the narrow way of Holiness;
Sanctification is the way of holiness
1Corinth
6:9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?
Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor
homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor
thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will
inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed,
but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus
and by the Spirit of our God. 12 All things are lawful for me, but all things
are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under
the power of any.
1Tim
1:12-13 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He
counted me faithful, putting me into
the ministry, 13 although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an
insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
In
chapter five, Paul made the statement "where sin abounded, grace abounded
much more" (5:20). Aware that some readers might misconstrue
what he said, Paul quickly points out that grace is no excuse to sin since
through grace they have died to sin (1-2). To emphasize this, he reminds them of their
baptism into Christ, in which they experienced a burial into the death of
Christ and rose to walk in newness of life, having died to sin (3-7).
God
delivered the Jews out of Egypt which is a picture of sin.
Jude
1:5 But I want to remind you, though you
once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of
Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.
Moses
was a type of Jesus who was to lead them out of sin and into the promised land
which is a type of heaven.
1Corinthians
10:2 all were baptized into Moses in the
cloud and in the sea,
Heb
3:11 So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’"
1Corinthians
10:5 But with most of them God was not
well pleased, for their bodies were
scattered in the wilderness. 6 Now these things became our examples, to the
intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.
When
we are delivered out of Egypt, shall we talk of going back to it again? And go back to the cruel slavemaster of sin.
I.
WE ARE DEAD TO SIN, ALIVE TO GOD (1-14)
Christ
died for Sin, we die to sin
1.
V1
Shall we sin, that grace may abound? Ro 5:20
Antinomians anti means against, nomos means law …so it
means against the law
Jude
4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for
this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and
deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Rasputin
said being an ordinary sinner does not give God an opportunity to show His
glory so be an extroardinary sinner
2.
V2
No, we died to sin! We ought to even be ashamed to ask such a question
Jesus
came to deliver us from all unrighteousness, so how can continuing in Sin
glorify a God who came to deliver us from it?
Romans 5:6-8
9
times in this chapter it says we died to sin, v2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13,
Heb
2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the
suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God,
might taste death for everyone. 14
Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself
likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had
the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear
of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Death
for the Christian is like the shadow of a truck rather than being hit by it
What
does it mean when Paul says we have died to sin
Ro
6:12, 6:13, 8:13
Galatians
5:16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and
you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Gal
2:17-21 "But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves
also are found sinners, is Christ
therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! 18 "For if I build again those
things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 19 "For I through
the law died to the law that I might live to God. 20 "I have been
crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and
the life which I now live in the
flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
21 "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died
in vain."
Col
2:20 Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world,
why, as though living in the world,
do you subject yourselves to regulations——
Col
3:1-5
1Peter
2:24-25 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having
died to sins, might live for righteousness——by whose stripes you were healed.
25 For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd
and Overseer of your souls.
Died
is in the past or aorist tense which speaks of something that was done once for
all in the past. Just as in Romans 5:1
Having been justified.
It
was done when Jesus died on the cross
Romans
5:21 reign of sin in death,
Grace
might reign through righteousness to eternal life
Col
1:13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His
love,
Acts
26:18 ‘to open their eyes, in order
to turn them from darkness to light,
and from the power of Satan to God,
that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who
are sanctified by faith in Me.’
Lessons
1.
It
is impossible to separate Justification from Sanctification Salvation is not
only a transaction to make you legally righteous, but is a transformation
Once
we are saved God makes you into a new creation and because of that you will
begin to change, it is impossible that it cannot happen
Dr.
Donald Grey Barnhouse wrote, “Holiness starts where justification finishes, and
if holiness does not start, we have the right to suspect that justification
never started either” (Romans, vol. 3
[Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1961], 2:12).[1]
2.
It
is possible to slow down the sanctification process – Do we willfully sin
because we know that God will forgive us since 1John 1:9 says If we confess our
sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
2Pe
3:18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
9
Mar
2016
Romans
5:15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man's offense
many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man,
Jesus Christ, abounded to many. 16 And
the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the
judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free
gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. 17 For if by the
one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive
abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through
the One, Jesus Christ.) 18 Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment
came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous
act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19 For
as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's
obedience many will be made righteous. 20 Moreover the law entered that the
offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21 so
that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness
to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
V15-21 Contrasts Adam's condemning acts and
the redeeming act or gift of Christ
In this section Paul uses the word much more
3 times to describe Christ's works.
V15 Christ's one act of redemption was so
much greater than Adams one act of Condemnation ---much more
It has been said that the fact that one
single misdeed should be answered by judgement, this is perfectly
understandable: That the accumulated sins and guilt of all the ages should be
answered by God's free gift, this is the miracle of miracles, totally beyond
human understanding.
V16 one offense by Adam resulted in the
condemnation
Christ's free gift resulted in
justification-- to be declared righteous
V17 one offense death reigned-- Adam
Adam thought he would be like God knowing
good and evil like the devil said, but exactly the opposite happened. That one
act separated him from God.
Ge 2:17 "but of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it
you shall surely die."
Christ --much more those who receive
abundance or the super abundance will reign in life
V18 one offense came judgement
Christ-- one's righteous act came the free
gift
V19 disobedience --made sinners
Christ's -Obedience made righteous
V20 Sin-- abounded because of the Law the law was a tutor
Psalms 19:7 The law of the LORD is
perfect,
converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
Grace super abounded
V21 death or condemnation--through sin
Grace or Eternal life through righteousness
of Jesus Christ
Decision of death or life
1st Adam
Last Adam--Christ
1Corinthians 15:53-58
Rev 1:5-6
2
Mar
2016
Romans
5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death
through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned-- 13 (For
until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no
law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had
not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a
type of Him who was to come.
Romans 5:12-21 shows us Man's Ruin and Christ's
Redemption
3 times Paul uses the words free gift and twice he uses
the word gift in this section.
Paul talks about original sin in this passage
Put in one sentence: By the sin of Adam all men became
sinners and were alienated from God; by the righteousness of Jesus Christ men
have the opportunity become righteous and be restored to a right relationship
with God
Sin originated with the devil, but
V12 Through one-man sin entered the world the word Adam
means mankind
1Cor 15:21-22, 45 For since by man came death, by Man also came
the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all
shall be made alive. 45 And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a
living being." The last Adam became
a life-giving spirit.
Acts 17:26 And He has made from one blood every nation
of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their
preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And
in sin my mother conceived me.
We were all in the loins of Adam or his
seed. Remember Jesus Christ was born of a woman, but could not have a man's
seed mixed with hers or else the man Jesus could not be perfect. The seed had
to come from the Holy Spirit.
1. Idea of solidarity --- Jews are a clan or
a nation
Achan - Joshua 7:1, He sinned, and Israel lost what should
have been an easy battle at Ai
His whole family was killed because of his
sin
Joshua 7:1 But the children of Israel committed a
trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of
Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so
the anger of the LORD burned against the children of Israel. 11 "Israel
has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them.
For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and
deceived; and they have also put it
among their own stuff. 12 "Therefore the children of Israel could not
stand before their enemies, but
turned their backs before their
enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with
you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you. 20 And Achan
answered Joshua and said, "Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of
Israel, and this is what I have done: 21 "When I saw among the spoils a
beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of
gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are,
hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it." 25
And Joshua said, "Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this
day." So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire
after they had stoned them with stones.
A person does not become a sinner because he
sins; he sins because he is a sinner
2. Death is a direct consequence of sin:
The devil said in Genesis 3:5 "For God knows that
in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,
knowing good and evil."
God gave a direct commandment not to eat of
the fruit of the tree
V13 sin not imputed or accounted Specific acts of sin were not charged to men
until the law came
V14 but death came because of Adam's sin
Luther put it this way: As Adam caused death
to his descendants even though they did not eat of the forbidden fruit, so
Christ has become the Dispenser of righteousness to those who are of Him even
though they have not earned any righteousness
17
Feb
2016
Romans
5:6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the
ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a
good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love
toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more
then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath
through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through
the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by
His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord
Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
1. V-5-8 We have the Love of
God poured out in our hearts:
Eph 2:4 But God, who is
rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we
were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have
been saved
Titus 3:4 But when the
kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us,
through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He
poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.
v-6 While we were without
strength (helpless in our sin) Christ died for us( the ungodly)
Isaiah 25:4 For You have
been a strength to the poor, A strength to the needy in his distress, A refuge
from the storm, A shade from the heat;
v-7 Scarcely for a
righteous man, perhaps a good man...and we are neither of these.
Kid feeding brother in Africa
John 15:13 "Greater
love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.
v-8 God demonstrates his
love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us
1John 4:9 In this the love of God was
manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world,
that we might live through Him.
2. We have the Holy Spirit
from God: The evidence that we have been saved
Eph 1:12-14 that we who
first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him you
also trusted, after you heard the
word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you
were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our
inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of
His glory.
It is the Holy Spirit
living in us which gives us the peace of God, the ability to hope, the strength
to carry on during hard times
3. v-9 We have a pardon from wrath by God: Changed
our status(justification- being declared righteous) & our
state(sanctification- being made more and more like Christ)
Eph
2:1-3 And you He made alive, who were
dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course
of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who
now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 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.
v10
Before we were enemies with God
4. We have Reconciliation
with God: We are saved by his death and atoning work. Jesus paid for our sins
Colossians 1:19-22 For it
pleased the Father that in Him all
the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by
Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the
blood of His cross. 21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your
mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh
through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His
sight
Much
more shall we be Saved by Christ's life: His resurrection proved God accepted
His sacrifice and He is a living Christ
Hebrews 7:25 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.
5. V-11 We have Joy in God
and from God:
Habakkuk 3:18 Yet I will
rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
Joy which of his grace and
goodness, He has provided for us, and not which we have merited and earned for
ourselves:
Psalms 45:7 You love
righteousness and hate wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.
Illustration:
He is there and He is alive:
Fog
has a way of hiding things. The view from our window may give us a feeling of
security because we can see everything around us. But let a heavy fog roll in
and we tend to feel trapped and isolated. Sometimes this can happen to a
Christian. We fail to see God at work in our lives when troubles and sorrows
come.
In Napoleon's day a great sea battle took place and the British
were waiting to see if their Duke of Wellington would be able to defeat the
great French Commander Napoleon. Men on shore waited to read the message given
by flags. The message came in "Wellington defeated" and then a fog
rolled in. Britain believing the worst fell into despair. Later the fog lifted
and they were able to read the full message "Wellington defeated the
enemy". The same thing happened when Jesus died. The message read Jesus
defeated, but three days later they were able to see the full message was Jesus
defeated the enemy. Are you living today like you are defeated or are you
living in the power and might of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans
8:35-39
Romans 8:37 Yet in all
these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
3
Feb
2016
Romans
5:3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that
tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and
character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has
been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
1.
V-3
We are able to Glory or rejoice in Tribulations through the Strength of God: We
will have troubles because we are believers. Our troubles in life as believers
allow us to not only endure trials but grow stronger through them
It
is strange that Paul should move from the brightness of our future hope to the
darkness which so often envelopes our present circumstances. But he may have
done this in order to counteract Jewish antagonists who denied that Christians
enjoyed the justified life now since they are still struggling with suffering
and problems. Paul contradicts this thesis by showing that the present in no
way jeopardizes the future (5:5).
Whatever the
particular reason was that Paul decided to talk about our present experience,
one should not fail to see the implied comparison with Abraham in 4:19-21 and
his hope in the midst of hopeless circumstances. Even though we as
Christians are in the midst of enormous trials, and we believe in hope against
hope, as it were, we like Abraham will overcome and we will see the promise of
our glorification realized (Rom 8:30).
John
16:33b In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have
overcome the world.
· Psalms 62:6 He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved.
7 In God is my salvation and my
glory; The rock of my strength, And
my refuge, is in God. 8 Trust in Him
at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah
Ro
5:4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
2.
V-3-4
We have Perseverance (patience or endurance), Character, and Hope from God:
2corinth
12:9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength
is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in
my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
· Our Character is
tested and proven by trials. The word character should be translated proven
character and it is the word that means a metal purified by fire.
Jeremiah
17:7-8 "Blessed is the man who
trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree
planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not
fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in
the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
The
Divine design, in this life, is to fit us for the next by enlarging our present
spiritual capacity for hope!
"Our
English word 'tribulation' comes from a Latin word tribulum. In Paul's
day, a tribulum was a heavy piece of timber with spikes in it, used for
threshing the grain. The tribulum was drawn over the grain and it
separated the wheat from the chaff."
"The newborn child of God is precious in His
sight, but the tested and proven saint means even more to Him because such a
one is a living demonstration of the character developing power of the gospel.
When we stand in the presence of God, all material possessions will have been
left behind, but all that we have gained by way of spiritual advance will be
retained."
Ro
5:5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out
in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
3.
V-5-8
We have the Love of God poured out in our hearts:
Eph
2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He
loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with
Christ (by grace you have been saved
Titus
3:4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5
not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He
saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.
God’s
love has been poured out into our
hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Paul is not talking
about the objective love of God shown to us in the cross (3:25; 5:8), but
rather the subjective apprehension (i.e., in our hearts) of God’s love. For
Paul this is primarily an emotional experience with a force greater than the
doubt inflicted through trials (cf. Phil 4:6-7).
This
hope, the focal point of this section, will not suffer disappointment, because
God loves us and enables us to withstand tribulations. He does this by His Holy
Spirit whom He has given to indwell every justified sinner in the church age
(cf. Acts 2:33; Rom. 8:9). Paul developed the Holy Spirit's ministry to the
believer later (ch. 
.
4.
We
have the Holy Spirit from God: The evidence that we have been saved
Eph
1:12-14 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His
glory. 13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the
gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with
the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until
the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
It
is the Holy Spirit living in us which gives us the peace of God, the ability to
hope, the strength to carry on during hard times
Note the progression in these verses from
faith (v. 1) to hope (vv. 2-5) to love (v. 5; cf. 1 Cor.
13:13).
27
Jan
2016
Romans
5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 through whom also we have access by faith
into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Chapter
1 of Romans Paul says in verse 16 that the Gospel is the power of God unto
salvation.
In
Chapters1-3 He declares all have sinned and are guilty before God.
In
chapter 4 Paul shows that David and Abraham were justified by faith not works
In
chapter 5 Paul starts out in the first 11 verses showing us that since we are
saved by faith we are kept by Jesus’ power not by our own works and Paul gives
us 11 benefits of trusting Christ
Uses
the words through Jesus Christ 6 times in verses 1, 2, 9, 10, 11—Twice in verse
11.
Romans
5:1-11
Having
been Justified: Justification is the pardoning of guilt and the penalty of sin
(legally being declared righteous because Jesus paid the penalty for our sin)
1.
V-1
We have Peace with God:
John
16:33a These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace
We
have declared ourselves at war with God because of our sinful rebellion which
means He is at war with us too
James
4:4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world
is enmity
or
hostility with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes
himself an enemy of God.
· But if you have
trusted Christ that war is ended
Phil
4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of
God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus.
2.
V-2
We have Access to God: Or an introduction to Grace through Jesus Christ
The
word access means to be ushered into the presence of royalty, Jesus through his
sacrifice on the cross ushers us into the very presence of God.
It
also means a harbor or haven, we are safe now in the arms of God just like a
ship in the harbor.
Eph
2:18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
3.
V-2
We have Standing before God: A permanent secure position in grace
Eph
2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near
by the blood of Christ., 19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and
foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of
God,
Heb
10:19-22 19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the
blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through
the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having
a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in
full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience
and our bodies washed with pure water.
Rev.
1:6 He has made us priests and kings
1Peter
5:12 By Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider him, I have written to you
briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which
you stand.
4.
V-2
We can rejoice in the Hope of the Glory of God:
1Peter
1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us
again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away,
reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith
for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
· A hope of heaven
because Jesus paid the price and God promised to save us if we believe that he
paid for our sins.
Hebrews
6:19 This hope we have as an anchor
of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, 20 where the forerunner
has entered for us, even Jesus,
having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
20
Jan
2016
Romans
4:18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of
many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants
be." 19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body,
already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of
Sarah's womb. 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but
was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced
that what He had promised He was also able to perform. 22 And therefore
"it was accounted to him for righteousness." 23 Now it was not
written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 24 but also for us. It
shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the
dead, 25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because
of our justification.
(NKJV)
v-18
contrary to hope in other words it was
humanly impossible This was too good to be true, it was beyond belief that God
would make him heir of the whole world and give him a standing(eternal Life)
which he did not deserve
Don't
talk about faith, but about the God in whom you have placed your faith
According
to what was spoken: this is a quotation from Gen 15:5
v-19
being not weak .. he did not doubt God even though what God had promised was
too amazing
Sarah
90 years old and Abraham about a hundred
Gen
18:1 Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was
sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. Gen 18:9 Then they said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" So he said,
"Here, in the tent." 10 And He said, "I will certainly return to
you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a
son." (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced
in age; and Sarah had passed the age
of childbearing. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, "After
I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?" 13 And
the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, `Shall I surely
bear a child, since I am old?' 14
"Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to
you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son."
v-20
giving glory to God.. believing him gives GOD the glory
1John
5:10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does
not believe God has made Him a liar,
because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.
v-21
fully convinced
v22
accounted for righteousness because of his genuine faith
v-23-24
Not written for his sake alone. If Abraham was justified by faith in Christ
then so are we.
v-25
delivered up means crucified, for our offenses means our sins
raised
because of our justification(being declared righteous)
The
resurrection proved that God had accepted the sacrifice of his Son and would be
able to be just and yet justify the ungodly
Colossians
1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Hebrews
11:1 Now faith is the substance (or certainty) of things
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
The
only good thing about you or me is Jesus Christ, He wants to make us like Him.
Hebrews
4:15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our
weaknesses, but was in all points
tempted as we are, yet without sin.
16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain
mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews
10:12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat
down at the right hand of God,
Hebrews
12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the
cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right
hand of the throne of God.
Romans
10:9-13 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your
heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the
heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will
not be put to shame." 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and
Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For
"whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."
13
Jan
2016
Romans
4:13 For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham
or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For
if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made
of no effect, 15 because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law
there is no transgression. 16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be
according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only
to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham,
who is the father of us all 17 (as it is written, "I have made you a
father of many nations") in the presence of Him whom he believed--God, who
gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they
did;
Romans
4:13-25 INTRO:
1.
One
one side we have God's promise, faith, and grace
· God's promise
Genesis
17:4-5 "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a
father of many nations. "No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your
name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.
· God's gift of Faith
Staking
everything on God's love and believing what He promised is true
· God's Grace or Mercy
An
unearned and undeserved gift of eternal life
2.
On
the other side we have the law, transgression and wrath:
· The law is a tutor or
teacher to show us where we have gone wrong. It can only show us we are sick
with sin. It can never cure us. When we see a keep off the grass sign, it
usually makes us want to walk on it. This is the sin nature which does this to
us.
· Transgression or Sin:
If we did not have the law we would never know right from wrong and therefore
we would not be condemned for breaking the law
· Wrath or Punishment:
Is what we think of when we break a law, it is punishment for doing wrong. We
know if we get caught we will pay for our sin, but God knows everything and
whether we get caught or punished here on earth doesn't matter because God will
punish us if we do not know Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.
Hebrews
4:13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to
whom we must give account.
1.
v-13-15
God's promise to Abraham and his heirs is not through the law
To
his seed refers to Jesus Christ
v-13
Abraham was 75 when the promise was given, several hundred years before the law
was given to Moses
There
are two Greek words for the word promise. One is conditional and means to
promise to do this if you do that. The other is an unconditional promise, which
is based on doing it out of the goodness of ones heart, no matter what the
other person does.
This
is the word Paul uses here, it means the promise was unconditional
Gen
15:1-21 Is where the Lord made the covenant that was unconditional.
Gen
15:17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold,
there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.
Hebrews
6:13-19 gives us an explanation of Gen 15:1-21
13
For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one
greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, "Surely blessing I will bless
you, and multiplying I will multiply you."
Gal
3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the
faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be
justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a
tutor. 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as
many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is
neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male
nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's
seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Faith
is the key to Heaven:
What
is faith, it is not just believing mentally;
James
2:19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons
believe----and tremble!
Luke
4:33-34 Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean
demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, 34 saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You,
Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are----the Holy
One of God!"
Nor is it trusting God temporarily for prayers
or help in a time of trouble
What
is it: Faith is trusting in the right object, trusting in Jesus Christ alone
for eternal life
Acts
16:31 So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be
saved, you and your household."
v-14
If those of the law are heirs then faith is made void
If
I promised to give you a million dollars if you would jump up and touch a limb
in a tree 50 feet up could you do it? No, the promise is worthless, no one can
jump 50 feet high. Even though I am sincere the promise is no good to you.
That
is what the Scriptures tell us, to keep all Ten commandments, yet we can't in
our own strength
James
2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.
v-15 The law exposes our sinfulness
Wrath
is the removal of all divine protection, you can do what you want. In Romans 1 Paul
said God gave them up, God gave them up, and God gave them over
CS
Lewis said that there are two kinds of people, those who say God," thy
will be done" and those to whom God is saying'" thy will be
done" That is wrath.
Our
lives fall apart when God abandons us and we feel the emptiness, loneliness and
worthlessness which leads to despair and depression and who knows what we are
capable of when this happens.
2.
God's
promise to Abraham and his heirs is through faith
v-16
The promise comes by faith. What works could not do faith does.
1Cor
3:22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or
things present or things to come----all are yours. 23 And you are
Christ's, and Christ is God's.
Ephesians
1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in
the heavenly places in
Christ,
· Not only of the law
but to us of the faith
Those
of the law are Jews and we are the ones of faith, but Abraham is the father of
us all
· According to grace
v-17
As it is written: quoted from Gen 17:5
gives
life to the dead: God made Sarah's womb and Abraham's body able to have a child
calls
those things: calls us righteous and called Christ sin who knew no sin. This is
the God who created everything out of nothing (ex nihilo)
2
Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might
become the righteousness of God in Him.
· Having proved that
the law can't save you and that it is by God's grace that you are saved Paul sets
out to prove a third point
6
Jan
2016
Romans 4:9 Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. 10 How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. 11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, 12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.
Abraham Justified before Circumcision
• Religious rites cannot save you
Ro 4:9 Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness.
Paul is anticipating the Jews response to everything said so far. They would ask if Abraham was justified by faith alone, then why did God command him and his descendants to be circumcised?
His response answers not only the question about circumcision, but all other questions about clinging to some other kind of religious ceremony or activity as a basis for righteousness
Uncircumcised... the Gentiles or any one other than the Jews
Ro 4:10 How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised.
The order of events in Genesis prove that Abraham was circumcised at least 14 years after God declared him to be righteous
Gen 15:6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
Gen 16:16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
Gen 17:10 "This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised;
Gen 17:24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
The argument of vv. 9-10 is that since Abraham was justified before he was circumcised (at least 14 years earlier, 29 years by rabbinic calculations), circumcision and being a biological descendant of Abraham (or any manner of inclusion in the nation of Israel) is not the issue as far as receiving the blessing of justification is concerned. What is at issue is expressed in vv. 11-12
Ro 4:11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, Ro 4:12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.
Addresses the Gentiles first(uncircumcised) so as to let the Jews know faith is the priority
Circumcision was a sign of righteousness, not the cause
His circumcision was a sign (certificate of authenticiy) of what he already possessed. This point would have encouraged Paul's Jewish readers, who made so much of circumcision, to keep it in its proper place as secondary to faith.
As a sign, it was evidence that he belonged to God and believed His promise. As a seal, it was a reminder to him that God had given the promise and would keep it.
sign of the covenant... a sign that one was of line of Abraham, but the symbolism had to do with the need to cut away sin and be cleansed. It symbolized the need for cleansing which would reverse the wickedness of man. Every time a baby is conceived, we have just produced another sinner.
Sign of the covenant... a sign that one was of line of Abraham, a health benefit, but the symbolism had to do with the need to cut away sin and be cleansed. It was the male organ that which most clearly demonstrated the depth of our wickedness because it carries the seed which produces wicked sinners. So it symbolized the need for cleansing which would reverse the wickedness of man
It was a sign just as Baptism is today. It is the OT equivalent of the NT Baptism. A sign to others that we have trusted in the cleansing of sin by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross to get us into Heaven and nothing else.
Seal... an outward demonstration of the righteousness credited to him by faith
A seal is the guarantee, it shows the authenticity of something like on a college degree.
a seal on a legal document means it is a finished contract,
It also means security.. We are secure in Christ
Hebrews 6:19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,
Authenticity… It’ real
Ownership…He owns us
Authority and power
Abraham did not receive circumcision as a result of his obedience to the Torah, nor is genuine membership in the people of God based on works, religious rites, or inclusion in the nation of Israel. This is what John 1:12 says
Joh 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
1Co 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.
Gal 3:7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.
In verse 12 Paul has only one group in mind—Jews who believe. His argument is that Abraham is not the spiritual father of any Jew who is circumcised, and yet has no faith. Rather, he is the spiritual father of every Jew who has faith—the kind of faith, that is, that Abraham had while he was still uncircumcised.
This final comment about “the faith our father Abraham possessed when he was still uncircumcised” emphasizes a faith that has no desire to rest on the rite of circumcision or any other foundation (e.g., works) other than God’s grace and mercy.
What are you believing in to be saved? Your works, keeping the law, I am a good person or some other ceremony such as Baptism, confirmation, communion, ... What can wash away my sin, nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Idea: Accept God’s Gift of Righteousness by Faith Alone
I. Don’t Trust Your Works (4:1-8)
A. God Doesn’t Justify People by Works (4:1-3)
B. God Justifies the Ungodly by Faith (4:4-8)
II. Don’t Trust Religious Rites (4:9-12)
Lessons
1. First, the use of Genesis 15:6 to demonstrate an essential NT doctrine, i.e., justification by faith apart from works, demonstrates the essential, salvational unity between the testaments. Thus the OT can be read with profit by any Christian—a fact Paul appeals to later in Romans 15:4.
2. Second, and in keeping with the overarching theme of promise, is that justification is by grace through faith involving no merit of our own. This passage affirms that we are unable to save ourselves and that grace is our only hope. This being the case, the observance of religious rites, such as circumcision, communion, confirmation, or baptism, for that matter is of no value in securing a relationship with God.
3. Third, this passage, through the use of Abrahamic traditions, affirms the offer of salvation beyond the confines of Israel. Those who become Christians by faith participate in the Abrahamic promise and are children of Abraham.
4. Fourth, this passage teaches that an essential element of justification involves the forgiveness of sins.
