His Love Ministries

ROMANS 8 INTRO - WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?

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.

PHILIPPIANS 3:12-17 KEEP PRESSING ON

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
 
 
 
 

ROMANS 7:14-25 THE CONTINUING STRUGGLE OF THE CHRISTIAN AGAINST SIN

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

PHILIPPIANS 4:6-9 PEACE THAT SURPASSES UNDERSTANDING

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 noble, means worthy of respect
"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

ROMANS 7:9-13 THE LAW IS HOLY, AND THE COMMANDMENT HOLY AND JUST AND GOOD

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 sinPaul
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 bringsV10-11
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
LawgiverV12
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

ROMANS 7:7-8 FOR I WOULD NOT HAVE KNOWN COVETOUSNESS UNLESS THE LAW HAD SAID, YOU SHALL NOT COVET.

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

ROMANS 7.1-6 SET FREE SO THAT WE SHOULD SERVE IN THE NEWNESS OF THE SPIRIT AND NOT IN THE OLDNESS OF THE LETTER

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.

ROMANS 6.15-23 BUT NOW HAVING BEEN SET FREE FROM SIN YOU HAVE YOUR FRUIT TO HOLINESS

 
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"

ROMANS 6:9-14 DO NOT LET SIN REIGN IN YOUR MORTAL BODY

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…

ROMANS 6:6-10 WE SHOULD NO LONGER BE SLAVES OF SIN

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.

ROMANS 6:3-5 WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP OF BAPTISM TO SALVATION

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.
 

ROMANS 6:1-2 HOW SHALL WE WHO DIED TO SIN LIVE ANY LONGER IN IT?

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.

ROMANS 5:15-21 THE CONTRASTS BETWEEN ADAM'S CONDEMNING ACTS AND THE REDEEMING ACT AND GIFT OF CHRIST

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

ROMANS 5:12-14 THROUGH ONE MAN SIN ENTERED THE WORLD, AND DEATH THROUGH SIN

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

ROMANS 5:6-11 OUR SECURITY IN CHRIST/11 BENEFITS OF TRUSTING CHRIST PART 3

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.

ROMANS 5:3-5 OUR SECURITY IN CHRIST/11 BENEFITS OF TRUSTING CHRIST PART 2

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. 8).
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).

ROMANS 4:18-25 ABRAHAM’S BELIEF LEADS TO HIS SALVATION

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."

ROMANS 4:13-17 THE PROMISE OF SALVATION IS THROUGH THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF FAITH

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

ROMANS 4:9-12 RELIGIOUS RITUALS CANNOT SAVE YOU

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.

ROMANS 4:4-8 ARE YOU SAVED BY WORKS OR BY FAITH?

Romans
4:4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. 5 But
to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his
faith is accounted for righteousness, 6 just as David also describes the
blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: 7
"Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are
covered; 8 Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin."
 v4-5
Paul broadens the argument to include all men. If a man works to earn
righteousness then a debt is owed by God to man, but as we saw in Eph 2:8-9
that salvation is a free gift given by a sovereign God in whom is supreme power
and authority over all the world and universe.
He
is contrasting faith with works and showing that faith must put an end to all
attempts to earn salvation through works.
Justifies
the ungodly .... only those who give up all claims of righteousness and
acknowledge they are ungodly(sinners) are candidates for justification by God
through faith.
Luke
5:32 "I have not come to call the
righteous, but sinners, to repentance."
David Justified by Faith v-6-8
v-6
Paul now turns to David for support of this argument of righteousness through
faith alone, in Christ alone, by God's grace alone.
v-7-8
Psalm 32:1-2 read through v-5
This
is a Psalm in which David is telling about the forgiveness of the sin which
occurred in 2Sam 11. David coveted Bathsheba, then committed adultery with her
and lastly murdered her husband Uriah.
2Sam
12:13 -14 So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD."
And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall
not die. 14 "However, because by this deed you have given great occasion
to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die."
Each
of these sins that David committed were by themselves worthy of the death
penalty under the Law
 

ROMANS 4:1-3 ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS ACCOUNTED TO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS

Romans
4:1 What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the
flesh?  2 For if Abraham was justified by
works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the
Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for
righteousness."
Chapters
4-7 in Romans are the key issues which face all believers
In
Romans 3:21 and 3:28 Paul has stated God's position on how a man is saved and
now in Romans 4:1-12 Paul uses two illustrations to prove it.
Abraham,
Issac, and Jacob were regarded by the Jews as not having sinned against God
3
times Abraham is called God's friend:2 Chron 20:7, James 2:23 and
Isaiah
41:8  "But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have
chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend.
Charles
Hodge points out that Abraham was the centerpiece of the Jews position of
righteousness by works. He was known to them as the father of faith. He was
believed to have kept the whole law. They even believed that the Torah or the
Jewish law had been given before the foundation of the world for Abraham's
sake.
1.
Abraham Justified by Faith
V-1
John 8:39 They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father."
Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the
works of Abraham.
v-
2 If Justified by works he has something to boast about
Eph
2:4-10
1Corinth
1:26-31
The
law was not given until the time of Moses...several hundred years later after
Abraham's death
Gal
3:1 7 And this I say, that the law,
which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that
was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no
effect. 18 For if the inheritance is
of the law, it is no longer of
promise; but God gave it to Abraham
by promise.
v-3
Abraham believed...
Gen
26:3-6 "Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to
you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath
which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 "And I will make your descendants
multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these
lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5
"because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My
statutes, and My laws." 6 So Isaac dwelt in Gerar.
We
know that Abraham lied twice about his wife Sarah
Genesis
20:2 Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and
took Sarah.
Gen
12:13  "Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with
me for your sake, and that I may live because of you." To Pharoah in Egypt
Gen
15:4-6  And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall
not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your
heir." 5 Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward
heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said
to him, "So shall your descendants be." 6 And he believed in the
LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
Accounted
or imputed is a financial or legal word that means to take something that
belongs to someone else and credit it to another's account. God took his own
righteousness and credited it to Abraham as if it were his because Abraham
believed. This word is used 9 times in chapter 4 alone.
What
did Abraham believe?
1.    
Went
out not knowing where he was going Hebrews 11:8
2.    
Promise
of a son even though he and Sarah were past childbearing age.
3.    
All
nations will be blessed through Abraham 
Gen 12:3
4.    
Promises
in Gen 22:18 of a blessing through a single descendant; Not just a son, but
Jesus Christ
Gal
3:16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say,
"And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your
Seed," who is Christ.
John
8:56-58 "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." 57  Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not
yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" 58 Jesus said to them,
"Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."
5.    
God
could resurrect his son Issac through whom all the promises were given since he
was an only child of Abraham and Sarah. Ishmael was born of Hagar his handmaid
and is the ancestor of all the Arabs who constantly cause Israel trouble today.
Genesis
22:9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham
built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac
his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out
his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the Angel of the LORD
called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" So he said,
"Here I am." 12 And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or
do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not
withheld your son, your only son,
from Me."

ROMANS 3:25-31 GOD’S GLORY IN THE CROSS

Romans
3:25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to
demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over
the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time
His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has
faith in Jesus. 27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of
works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is
justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. 29 Or is He the God of the
Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also,
30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the
uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then make void the law through faith?
Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.
 The
worldly spirit of self-ism is perhaps the major reason most Christians are not
aggressive in witnessing to the lost. It is the reason the church, for the most
part, is not moving out into the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. The
Christian who is primarily concerned about his own comfort and blessings, even
his spiritual blessings, does not have his focus on God. Consequently, his life
will not be directed toward fulfilling God’s Great Commission.
In
the summer of 1865, Hudson Taylor became tremendously burdened for the land of
China. His biographer reports that he also became greatly troubled about the church
he was attending in Brighton, England. As he looked around the congregation he
saw pew upon pew of prosperous bearded merchants, shopkeepers, visitors; demure
wives in bonnets and crinolines, scrubbed children trained to hide their
impatience; the atmosphere of smug piety sickened him. He seized his hat and
left.
“Unable
to bear the sight of a congregation of a thousand or more Christian people
rejoicing in their own security, while millions were perishing for lack of
knowledge, I wandered out on the sands alone, in great spiritual agony.” And
there on the beach he prayed for “twenty-four willing skillful laborers.”
(Stott, p. 24)
Out
of that prayer eventually came the China Inland Mission. Due to that ministry
and others like it, there are reportedly twenty-five million to perhaps fifty
million believers in China today, despite its officially atheistic government.
God
could use men such as Henry Martyn and Hudson Taylor because their attention
was not focused on their own interests but on God’s.
Salvation
is first and foremost a way of glorifying God. The fact that it saves men from
hell and gives them eternal life, marvelous and wonderful as that is, is
secondary to the glory of God. The cross of Jesus Christ had the most dramatic
effect on mankind in[1]
 The greatest lie in the world, and the lie
common to all false religions and cults, is that, by certain works of their own
doing, men are able to make themselves acceptable to God. The greatest error in
that belief is its sheer impossibility. But the greatest evil of that belief is
that it robs God of His glory.
His Name Praise Him 19 TimesGlorify God 6
Timesglory of God
17 timespraise of God
2 timespraise of His
glory  3 timesThe cross exalts God through
His righteousness
The death of Christ then is for God, it
propitiates God, it satisfies God.
Two, it puts His righteousness on display. who
believed."
The Reasoning by God v27-3127 Where is boasting then? It is excluded.
By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.After explaining God’s provided
righteousness for sinners, Paul considered five questions (in Gr.) which he
anticipated his readers might ask. Two are in verse 27, two in verse 29, and
the other in verse 31. The first is, Where,
then is boasting? [1]If
salvation is through the Law, then men can boast; but the principle of faith
makes it impossible for men to boast. The swimmer, when he is saved from
drowning, does not brag because he trusted the lifeguard. What else could he
do? When a believing sinner is justified by faith, he cannot boast of his faith,
but he can boast in a wonderful Savior.[1]The cross exalts God through His graceEverything was designed by God and achieved through
Jesus Christ. Therefore, the cross is all grace. You look at the cross, it's all grace. There's no works
there. Verse 24, "Justified as a gift by His grace." It's about faith
and grace. It's a gift of grace, all we do is believe. We make no contribution.28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by
faith apart from the deeds of the law.V28 Justified by faith... Nothing in my
hands I bring, only to thy cross I clingEphesians 2:8 and 9, "For by grace are you saved through
faith, that not of yourselves, it's a gift of God not of works lest any man
should boast." At the cross His integrity is put on display
that He might be glorified.29 Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He
not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, 30 since there is
one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through
faith.Does God have two standards?No. Look, if salvation is by faith, if it's by faith
that levels everything because even the people who don't have the Law can
exercise faith. If the Law is not what saves, then the Jews don't have any
advantage in salvation. V29-30 Prejudice is excludedHere is Paul's answer to the Jews who might
say that is okay for Gentiles since they do not know the law, but not the JewsThe cross puts God's
holiness on display31 Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly
not! On the contrary, we establish the law.The purpose of the Mosaic Law is fulfilled and its place
in God’s total plan is confirmed when it leads an individual to faith in Jesus
Christ (cf. v. 20; Gal. 3:23–25). Paul repeatedly affirmed that faith, not
works of the Law, is the way of salvation. He wrote the word “faith” eight
times in Romans 3:22–31! (See vv. 22, 25–28, 30 [twice], and 31.)[1]Ga 3:21-26Do
we then nullify the law through faith?" Because salvation is by faith do
we nullify the Law? And the Greek, the strongest negative, "May it never
be, no, no, no, no way, impossible, outrageous, on the contrary we establish
the Law."Listen,
if salvation by faith meant that God didn't care about His Law, He wouldn't be
holy, right? All God's Law is is a reflection of His holiness. The cross
displays His holiness. How? Because His holiness demands a sacrifice. His
holiness demands a payment for the violation of His Law. So it is at the cross
where His holiness is satisfied. It is also at the cross where sinners are
converted and regenerated so that we can now as new creatures by the power of
the Holy Spirit, Romans 8, fulfill the law. We aren't saved to ignore the Law,
we are saved to fulfill the Law. And we say with David, "O how I love Your
Law." We love the Word, we long to obey.The Law is on display at the cross. It is the Law that
brings you to the cross. The Law was never designed to save, it was designed to
show you how sinful you are. It's the Law that brings you there so everyone who
is ever saved is affirming the glory of the Law. And being saved you now then
affirm the glory of the Law not because it showed you your sin, but now because
it shows you how to live and you have the power by the Spirit to live according
to the Law. And that all happens because Jesus dies the death the holy Law
requires. The law then is confirmed in every way at the cross and therefore the
holiness of God is confirmed.V31 through faith we establish the law. Salvation by
grace through faith shows the true importance of the law byProviding a payment for the penalty of sin
By fulfilling the law's original purpose which was it was to be a
tutor which showed us our inability to keep the law and drive us to Christ
It gives us the ability to obey the law
 Up to that time
the Jews kept the law out of fear of God, that day is gone. Now we are to keep
the law not out of a fear of punishment, but out of love for God and his
amazing mercy
Many times we are stopped from doing wrong because of
the fear of hurting those we love
Think, sin is not so
much breaking God's law as it is breaking God's heart
The
cross exalts God four ways: His righteousness, His grace, His consistency, and
His law.

ROMANS 3:25-26 GOD’S DEMONSTRATION OF HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS

Ro
3:25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to
demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over
the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time
His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has
faith in Jesus.
 The
Righteousness of God v 25 -26
Forbearance... in Romans
2:4 we saw this spoke of a truce between two warring parties and that God
rather than destroying us the first time we sinned he graciously and patiently
holds back judgement so that we might have a chance to repent and be saved
Passed over sins: doesn't
speak of God ignoring sin, but withholding judgement for a period of time since
every sin requires punishment
Psalm 78:38-40 But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, And did not destroy them. Yes, many a time He turned His
anger away, And did not stir up all His wrath; 39 For He remembered that they were but flesh, A breath that passes
away and does not come again.40 How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, And grieved Him in the desert!
Acts 17:30  "Truly, these times of ignorance God
overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness,
but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all
should come to repentance.
In the OT sins were
temporarily paid for by an animal sacrifice and It might have appeared that God
did not take sin seriously, but the cross removed all doubts
To
demonstrate the righteousness of God was shown by Jesus' incarnation (God
taking on a human form), his sinless life, and substitutionary death
That
he might be just and the justifier: God in his infinite wisdom set in place a
plan that would allow Him to punish Jesus in the place of sinners and thereby
justify undeserving sinners without compromising his standards of Justice
Notice
in verses 25-26 that the phrase to demonstrate or declare His righteousness is
repeated(emphasis)
The
Reasoning by God v27-31V27-28
Boasting is excluded by the law of faith
1Corinth1:28 and the base
things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the
things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29  that no flesh should glory in His presence. 30
But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God----and
righteousness and sanctification and redemption---- 31 that, as it is written,
"He who glories, let him glory in the LORD."
V28
Justified by faith... Nothing in my hands I bring, only to thy cross I cling
There
was a certain kind of Judaism which tried to keep accounts with God and finally
come to a point where they felt God owed them and then they could go to heaven
Faith
is a self-emptying, self-denying and casting all our hope of Heaven on Christ
and Him alone
This
reasoning allows God to get all the glory which he deserves
V29-30
Prejudice is excluded
Here
is Paul's answer to the Jews who might say that is okay for Gentiles since they
do not know the law, but not the Jews
Deut 6:4 "Hear, O
Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is
one!
V31 through faith we
establish the law Salvation by grace through faith shows the true importance of
the law by
·       1. Providing a payment for
the penalty of sin
·       2. By fulfilling the law's
original purpose which was it was to be a tutor which showed us our inability
to keep the law and drive us to Christ
·       3. It gives us the ability
to obey the law
 Up to that time the Jews kept the law out of
fear of God, that day is gone. Now we are to keep the law not out of a fear of
punishment, but out of love for God and his amazing mercy
Many times we are stopped
from doing wrong because of the fear of hurting those we love
Think, sin is not so much
breaking God's law as it is breaking God's heart
 

ROMANS 3:21-24 BUT NOW THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD APART FROM THE LAW IS REVEALED

Romans
3:21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being
witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God,
through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no
difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being
justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
 Man's
so called quest for God has gone down so many roads, The Jews have said you
need to keep the Law. Most of the other false religions of the world say you
have to do works or good deeds to get into Heaven, some say you keep coming
back until you get it right and then you can attain a release from this world.
So
what is it that allows a man to be acceptable in God's sight, what is it that
can remove the penalty of the law, what is it that makes a person's entrance
into Heaven a sure thing.
False
religion says do and God says it is done
Verses
21 -26 are probably the most important words ever written
Donald
Grey Barnhouse drew a heart over these verses in his Bible and said this
passage was not only the heart of Romans, but the heart of the NT and the whole
Bible.
 1.    
The
Righteousness from God apart from the Law 
v21-23
V21
Now we come to the great BUT Now of God's Righteousness apart from law revealed
1ST
of all, this but now signals the start of a new train of thought and 2nd
it also show that in this current period of time that the righteousness of
Christ has been revealed
Having
shown the impossibility of gaining righteousness by human effort, Paul now
turns to explain the righteousness that God himself has provided.
Philippians
3: 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and
count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having
my own righteousness, which is from
the law, but that which is through
faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;
Being
witnessed to by the Law and the Prophets:
Deut
18:18 `I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren,
and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I
command Him. 19 `And it shall be that
whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. 20 `But the prophet who
presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak,
or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.' 21 "And
if you say in your heart, `How shall we know the word which the LORD has not
spoken?' -- 22 "when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the
thing does not happen or come to pass, that is
the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it
presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.
V22  Through Faith......all who believe
Acts
10:43 "To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever
believes in Him will receive remission of sins
Charles
Spurgeon said faith is believing Christ is what he said he is, He will do what
he said he promised he will do and then to expect this of Him.
v-22-23
No difference..all fall short of the glory- All 
men of all races cannot meet the standard of complete perfection(glory
of God)
1
Corinthians 11:7  For a man indeed ought
not to cover his head, since he is
the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man.
This
righteousness is available to all who believe
All
have sinned- Paul is restating what he has already proved in Rom 1:18-3:20
Nowadays
preachers who speak of the sinfulness of man are looked down on, because they
are always speaking of how bad man is and how you are going to hell, they
forget the fact that the whole reason this is done to show man a better way of
living. It is living based on what God has done and can do with us if we let
Him run our lives. Saying man is a sinner is not just to make him feel bad
about himself, but to make him realize what he can be through God. The motive
is a good one.
2.    
The
Justification by God   v24
Justification
is a word from the law courts which 
speaks of a man on trial before God
This
word means not to make a person something he is not, but to treat him as if he
was that. To reckon or account to him something he does not deserve. If an
innocent man appears before a judge then to treat him as innocent is to acquit
him
 Justification means that even though man is
thoroughly guilty that God in his amazing mercy treats him, reckons him,
accounts him as if he were innocent.
When
Paul says that God justifies the ungodly he means that God treats the ungodly
as if he were a good man. This is what shocked the Jews, they thought this was
a sign of a wicked judge
That
is why the Bible says in Mark 10:15 and Luke 18:17  "Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does
not receive the kingdom of God as a little child
will by no means enter it."
We
must come to the Lord as a little child who comes to his mother brokenhearted
and sorry for the wrong committed and asking for forgiveness, knowing as a
mother who loves her child will receive that child in love and forgive him.
Before
Christ there was judgement, now there is Justification
Numbers
21:7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, "We have sinned, for we
have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD that He take
away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people. Numbers 21:8
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is
bitten, when he looks at it, shall live." Numbers 21:9 So Moses made a
bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten
anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
John
3:14-20
Freely
....
this is the word gratis or without charge
Rev
22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears
say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him
take the water of life freely.
By
his grace: the unmerited favor granted to undeserving sinners
It
is not merely a free gift, but a free gift to those(us) who deserve exactly the
opposite given to us while we are without hope and without God.
Redemption
is a commercial term. It was used in the OT to speak of purchasing the freedom
of a prisoner or slave for the purpose of setting them free. Jesus' death,
blood sacrifice, and the wrath of God poured out on Him while he was on the
cross is the price that was paid to set us free.
Leviticus
25:50 Thus he shall reckon with him who bought him: The price
of his release shall be according to the number of years, from the year that he
was sold to him until the Year of Jubilee; it
shall be according to the time of a hired servant for him.

ROMANS 3:13-20 THEREFORE BY THE DEEDS OF THE LAW NO FLESH WILL BE JUSTIFIED IN HIS SIGHT

Romans
3:13 "Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced
deceit"; "The poison of asps is under their lips"; 14
"Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness." 15 "Their feet
are swift to shed blood; 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways; 17 And
the way of peace they have not known." 18 "There is no fear of God
before their eyes." 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to
those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world
may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh
will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
 We see the
Wickedness of the tongue of man in v 13-14V13
This expresses the filth of human speech and the rottenness that comes from
within as a grave is sealed to keep the stench or smell in.
They
have practiced deceit: They lie and cheat and show themselves to be sons of the
devil who is the father of all lies
John 8:44 "You are of
your father the devil, and the
desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning,
and does not stand in the truth,
because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
The
poison of asps: They lie about their neighbors and ruin their good names
Asps
are small and so is the tongue, yet they cause much harm to those who feel
their bite
V14
Cursing refers to wanting the worst for someone, expressing it publicly in
nasty derogatory or cutting language
Bitterness
is the public expression of open hostility towards ones enemy
James
3:2-12 - Even the saved sometimes have problems controlling the tongue
The
Wickedness of the Conduct of Man v15-17V15
The words are cited from #Isa 59:7, and seem to point at the times of
Manasseh, who shed so much innocent blood, as to fill Jerusalem with it from
one end to the other. - No regard for life
V16
The word destruction means to rub together or crush and it shows that they live
only to destroy others and make them as miserable as they are
V17
the ways of peace they have not known: They are constantly fighting and in
their lives are in turmoil (the dictionary describes this as confused motion)
they don't know what they are doing.
A man
is never more miserable than when he is a slave to his sins, it is its own
punishment.
NO
God, No Peace, Know God and Know Peace
V18
No fear of God:
Proverbs
1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction
A
Man's true spiritual condition is seen very clearly by the fact that he doesn’t
have a proper submission and reverence for God. Biblical fear consists of an
awe of God’s greatness and glory and the dread of the results of the
consequences of ignoring God's Holiness.
The
Wickedness of Man Condemned v19V19 1st
a man is convicted by the Law. The standard is complete perfection. The
evidence against man is overwhelming. We cannot keep the Law
2nd
Man is condemned by the Law: 
Romans
3:2 The Jews have the written law of God, which came by Moses
The Gentiles have the law
of God written on their Hearts
 Romans 2:15 who show the work of the law
written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between
themselves their thoughts accusing or
else excusing them) 16 in the day
when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.
The
Wickedness of the Works of Man V20
The standard is complete perfection: No man can keep all the commandments
perfectly,
The
law was written to show us our need for a Savior
Galatians 3:10 For as many
as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written,
"Cursed is everyone who does not
continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do
them." 11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall
live by faith." 12 Yet the law is not of faith, but "the man who does
them shall live by them." 13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the
law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"),
14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus,
that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
You see no one ever saw
the evil of human nature more clearly than Paul did; yet this evil was not a
call to hopelessness but a challenge to hope. Paul believed in original sin and
the depravity of human nature. But that doesn't mean he despaired of human
nature.
Once when William Jay of
Bath was an old man he said my memory is failing but there are two things I
shall never forget, that I am a great sinner and Jesus Christ is a great
Savior.
Paul never underestimated
the sin of man and he never underestimated the redeeming power of Jesus Christ
Once when William Roby was
preaching he despaired because of his lack of success and wished to quit
preaching. Mr. DL Moody reproved him when he asked him are they then too bad to
be saved. Paul believed that no man was too bad to be saved. If Christ could do
it for him he could do it for any man.
 

ROMANS 3:9-13 THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, NO, NOT ONE

Romans 3:9 What then? Are we better than
they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they
are all under sin. 10 As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not
one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12
They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is
none who does good, no, not one." 13 "Their throat is an open tomb;
With their tongues they have practiced deceit"; "The poison of asps
is under their lips";
 V9 could refer to the Jews
being better than the Gentiles or the Christians being better than the
unsaved.  But we are no better than the
unsaved because, but for the Grace of God we would be in the same state and be
headed for hell for eternity.
Jews and Greeks are all
under sin- this word under means to be in the power of or under the authority
of sin. Until we are saved we are completely enslaved and dominated by sin.
V10-12 are quoted from
several OT texts:
Verses #10-12 come from
#Ps 14:1-3, and 53:1-3. The first half of #13 from #Ps 5:9, the second half
from #Ps 140:3; verse #14 from #Ps 10:7; #15-17 from part of #Isa 59:7; verse
#18 from #Ps 35:1.
Paul is quoting verses
10-18 from memory, so they are not exact quotations of the verses. He is using
a common technique the Jewish Rabbis used called stringing pearls.
4 times in v 10-18 Paul
says there is none, God is including everyone in these passages, twice he says
no, not one and then lastly he says there is no fear of God
Paul is going to describe
in verses 10-18 the Wickedness of the character, the tongue and the conduct of
man.
V10 As it is written: This
is a common introduction to a quotation of OT verses and it also implies their
divine authority.
1.    Paul now talks about the
Wickedness of the character of man
None
is righteous: Man is incapable of doing that which is right in the sight of God
Ps 14:1The fool has said
in his heart, "There is no
God." They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who
does good. 2 The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see
if there are any who understand, who seek God. 3 they have all turned aside,
They have together become corrupt; there
is none who does good, No, not one.
Ps 14:2 clearly implies
that all false religions are man's attempts to escape the true God
V11 There is none who
understands:
1Corinth 2; 14 But the
natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are
foolishness to him; nor can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned.
Our natural tendency is to
seek our own interests
Phil 2:21 For all seek
their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.
But our only hope is for
God to seek after us, because it is only a result of God seeking us that anyone
seeks him
John 6:44 "No one can
come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
If
men really understood how bad our sin is, how Holy our God is, what the
difference between heaven and hell are, and at what cost God provided our
salvation we would be in a hurry to be saved
V12 Turned
aside: this word basically means to lean in the wrong direction, it was used of
a soldier who deserted in a fight.
Isaiah 53:6 All we like
sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD
has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
2.    Next we see the Wickedness
of the tongue of man in v 13-14
V13
This expresses the filth of human speech and the rottenness that comes from
within as a grave is sealed to keep the stench or smell in.
They
have practiced deceit: They lie and cheat and show themselves to be sons of the
devil who is the father of all lies
John 8:44 "You are of
your father the devil, and the
desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning,
and does not stand in the truth,
because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
The
poison of asps: They lie about their neighbors and ruin their good names
Asps
are small and so is the tongue, yet they cause much harm to those who feel
their bite

ROMANS 3:5-8 AND WHY NOT SAY, "LET US DO EVIL THAT GOOD MAY COME"?

Romans 3:5
But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we
say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.) 6 Certainly not! For
then how will God judge the world? 7 For if the truth of God has increased
through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? 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.
 In verses
3:5-8 Now Paul answers the objection that his teaching speaks against the
holiness and purity of God's character
1.   
Objection 3 
If our unrighteousness shows the righteousness of God then isn't it
unjust for God to punish our sin
V-5
demonstrates the righteousness of God
If the unrighteousness of the Jews gave occasion for God
to call the Gentiles then why are the Jews so blamed and criticized
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.
The diamond
is often laid on a black cloth to make it appear even more beautiful
I speak as a
man-- Paul is emphasizing the fact that this unbiblical train of thought comes
from unregenerate or corrupt minds
V-6 Certainly
not...If God condoned sin then He would have not right and fair way of Judging
all men
Genesis 18: 25 "Far be it from You to do such a thing as this,
to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the
wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do
right?"
2.    Objection
4 If the truth of God's glory and faithfulness has increased through my lie or
sin then why am I judged as a sinner…. Luke 7:47
V-7 Charles Hodge --according to this reasoning, says
Paul, the worse we are the better. For the more wicked we are, the more clearly
will the mercy of God be seen in our pardon
V-8 Unfortunately some had perverted the Gospel Paul
preached. They argued that it not only provided a license to sin, but
encouraged them to do so.
This argument is called Antinomianism if we are saved by
grace alone through faith alone, by Christ alone,  totally apart from works then why does it
matter whether we live a righteous life or not. Isn't it good that we sin since
God will be given even greater glory as our Saviour? If you are a real Christian
you will hate sin, and be angry when you and others sin. You will feel bad
because you have sinned.
Men will use any excuse to justify their sin
1 John 4:8 He
who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
Exodus 34:7 "keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving
iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty,
But Paul says that your sin is not justifiable in any
way and God who is righteous and holy will judge it.

ROMANS 3:1-4 WHAT IF SOME DID NOT BELIEVE?

Romans 3:1 What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the
profit of circumcision?  2 Much in every
way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God. 3 For what if
some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without
effect? 4 Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is
written: "That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when
You are judged."
 In this chapter are an answer to several
objections which follow one upon another, 
relating to what the apostle had said concerning the equality of the
Gentiles with the Jews; and various proofs out of the Psalms and Prophets,  showing the general depravity and corruption
of mankind,  of the Jews as well as of
the Gentiles; and the conclusion from all this, 
that there is no justification by the works of the law, but by the
righteousness of God received by faith, 
of which a large and clear account is given. The first objection is in Romans 3:1, and is taken from the
unprofitableness of being a Jew and a circumcised person, 
Since Paul has been saying that the Jew and Gentiles are
on equal footing or stand equally before God he asks and answers a series of
questions remove any objections some might bring up
Deuteronomy 33:29 Happy are you, O Israel! Who is
like you, a people saved by the LORD, The shield of your help And the sword of
your majesty! Your enemies shall submit to you, And you shall tread down their
high places."
1.    
Objection 1 
If Jew and Gentile stand on equal ground then what advantage then has
the Jew
V-1 What advantage then has the Jew, or
what is the profit of circumcision?
Psalms 147:19 - 20 He declares His word to Jacob, His
statutes and His judgments to Israel. 20 He has not dealt thus with any nation;
And as for His judgments, they have
not known them. Praise the LORD!
V-2 Much in every way
Rom 9:4-5 who are Israelites,
to whom pertain the adoption, the
glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; 5 of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.
 the oracles, scriptures, promises, and sayings
of God - oracle is the word which we get logos or the Word (the words or utterances of God
The OT word contains the truth about
salvation and also the basics of the gospel
The Jew had the advantage of the special
revelation of God's law. Yet this could not save him because he could not keep
it. The law increased his responsibility but demonstrated his inability to live
up to God's standards.
Psalms 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; 8 The
statutes of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
1Peter 1:23 - 25 having been born again, not of
corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and
abides forever, 24 because "All flesh is
as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass
withers, And its flower falls away, 25 But the word of the LORD endures
forever." Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.
2Timothy 3:15 and that from childhood you have known the
Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith
which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is
given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for
every good work.
2.    
Objection 2      Does the unfaithfulness of man make God's
faithfulness of no effect
v-3 What if some did not believe
Isaiah 55:5 Surely you shall call a nation you do not
know, And nations who do not know you
shall run to you, Because of the LORD your God, And the Holy One of Israel; For
He has glorified you." 6 Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon
Him while He is near.
 v-4 Is God's faithfulness diminished by our
unfaithfulness. God Forbid.
Paul knew that the Jewish leaders would
disagree with the statements that God has not guaranteed to fulfil his promises
to every physical descendant of Abraham. But Paul would say that before any Jew
can inherit the promises that he must first come to repentance and faith.
Paul knew the Jewish leaders would try to
make others believe that he was saying God had abandoned the Jews since they
had been entrusted with many promises and the word and were not transformed by
them
Can man change the natural laws of the
planet? The sun coming up, the moon rising, gravity working, the seasons
changing,
No and man cannot change a God who made
promises to the Jews and us that will be fulfilled in response to our belief
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,
today, and forever.
Let God be true or found true.
As it is written: quoted from Psalms 51:4
When
David sinned with Bathsheba and committed adultery and murder, God sent Nathan
to confront him in about this sin in 2Samuel 11-12 and rather than try to make
God out a liar he confesses his sin. David says he has done evil in God's
sight(in other words he agrees with God)
Psalms 51:3 or I acknowledge my transgressions, And my
sin is always before me. 4Against
You, You only, have I sinned, And done this
evil in Your sight--That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.

ROMANS 2:25-29 WHAT DO YOU CLING TO AS A SIGN OF YOUR CHRISTIANITY?

Romans
2:25 For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are
a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26
Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law,
will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? 27 And will not the
physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your
written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? 28 For he is not
a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the
flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the
heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from
God. (NKJV)
External
Religion cannot replace righteous living
Circumcision is of no avail or the impossibility of rituals
pleasing God
Paul starts to remind his readers that religion without a
heart change is useless
Many today think that because they were baptized as an
infant or an adult, take communion, have been through confirmation, do good
deeds, done more good than bad, or many other things the Bible does not say, they
are going to heaven
v-25 Every male Jew was circumcised as an infant.
Gen 17:10-14 It was a sign that one was of the covenant
community
Romans 4:11 shows that circumcision was a sign of
righteousness
Paul's credentials or resume is in Phil 3:3-7
Profitable- it was profitable if done as an act of obedience
and as a reminder of the covenant relationship with God.
Uncircumcision - If a Jew continued to break the law had no
more of a saving relationship than an uncircumcised Gentile. It was no more
than an outward symbol if there was no heart relationship with God
Circumcision went from being a rite or solemn religious
ceremony practiced in the home to a ritual or practice that had no meaning. It
was done because it was required not because of the love for GOD
V28-29
Deuteronomy 10:16 "Therefore circumcise the foreskin of
your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer.
Colossians 2:11 In Him you were also circumcised with the
circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the
flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,
The true mark of
God’s child is not an outward symbol, such as circumcision, but a godly
condition of the heart.
Ga 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.
Ga 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither
circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.
The Gospel of Christ demands an inward change: “You must
be born again” (John 3:7). It is not obedience to a religious system that will
allow one to pass the test when Christ judges the secrets of men’s hearts. It
is the Gospel of Christ that is God’s power unto salvation, both to Jew and
Gentile (Rom. 1:16). If a person has never believed the Gospel and received
Christ, then he or she stands condemned. The Jews, with all their religion and
legalism, were (and are) just as much under sin as the Gentiles—and more so,
because to them were given greater privileges and opportunities to know the
truth
 Lessons
It is possible to think you are okay with God by
what you sayIt is possible to think you are okay with God by
what you doYour walk should match your talk
if you are truly a Christian

ROMANS 2:21-24 DOES YOUR WALK MATCH YOUR TALK

Ro
2:21 You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who
preach that a man should not steal, do you steal?22 You who say, "Do not commit
adultery," do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob
temples?  23 You who make your boast in
the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law?  24 For "the name of God is blasphemed
among the Gentiles because of you," as it is written.
 
V21-23
Paul asks a series of questions designed to show the difference between what
the Jews knew and what they practiced
v-21
First he asks do you practice what you preach
Matt
23:1-5 Pharisee's taught it but did not practice
Then
he speaks of three sins that were in abundance among the Jews
Stealing
- Psalms 50:16-21 ungodly God does not want them teaching his covenant, stealing
Matt 23:14-15 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour
widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will
receive greater condemnation. 15 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is
won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
James 1:27  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
the world.
v-22  Adultery - Malachi 3:5  And I will come near
you for judgment; I will be a swift witness Against sorcerers, Against
adulterers, Against perjurers, Against those who exploit wage earners and widows
and orphans,
Rob temples  - Acts 19:37 
"For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers
of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess.
V
23 Paul goes back to verse 17 and mentions again their boasting in the law and
yet you break God's law and dishonor Him
John
MacArthur says that since it was impossible to keep the law perfectly some of
the rabbis began teaching that learning the law was sufficient, then some
claimed that possessing the law in the form of scrolls was sufficient and
lastly some taught that the Jews were safe from Judgement because they were
God's chosen people to be the receivers and custodians of the law
V
24 quoted from Isaiah 52:5
Blaspheme means
to be evil spoken of, reviled, railed at
This means the
Jews were not speaking evil of God but that the Gentiles were speaking bad
about God, His Word and Christianity because of What they taught vs what they
practiced.
Psalms
1:1-6
Matt 23:27
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like
whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full
of dead men's bones and all
uncleanness. 28 "Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but
inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 33 "Serpents, brood of
vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?
 
Circumcision
of no avail or the impossibility of rituals pleasing God
Paul
starts to remind his readers that religion without a heart change is useless
Many
today think that because they were baptized as an infant they are going to
heaven
 
We
minister to people who are locked up in one way, shape or form:  nursing homes (in bodies that don't
function);  jail, prison or youth
detention centers;  and those addicted to
drugs, alcohol and depression.