Here are a few books that I think you may find useful:
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Romans 1:8 (the bridge)
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.
After addressing the people he was writing to, Paul expresses his gratitude to God because of the work that He had accomplished among this body of believers. We must remember that all believers are God's workmanship (Ephesians 2:10). Further in the text, Paul personalizes his faith in saying my God. To him, God is not a ephemeral impersonal force that has no affection for mankind, but rather a father with whom every Christian has a personal relationship with. God is so invested in establishing a relationship with His children that He calls us, pursues us, and regenerates us. In Ephesians 2:1-5 Paul informs us of our pathetic state, "and you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air [Satan], of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly live in the lusts of the flesh and of the mind and were by nature children of wrath, end ans the rest. But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with He loved us, even when were were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ, (by grace you have been saved)." We were naturally dead, spiritually speaking, because of our sinful nature and we were His enemies (Romans 5:10) but because He loved us He sent Jesus Christ to die in our place; to receive our punishment and be a propitiation for our sins. Propitiation is a fancy theological term that comes from a Greek word hilasterion (hil-as-tay'-ree-on) which means an appeasement or a covering for sin. This same word even goes so far back to the the original Ark of the Covenant. The lid of the Ark was referred to as the Mercy Seat because on Yom Kippur (or day of atonement) the high-priest would sprinkle blood from the sacrificial animal on it. Under the lid was the law represented by the two tables of the Ten Commandments. The spirit of God would hover over (or rest on) the Mercy Seat and when God looked at the lid, the law would be atoned or covered by the blood of the sacrificial animal. In the same way, when Christ shed his blood by dying His blood atoned the requirement of the law.
your faith
The church in Rome had a genuine expression of faith that was so strong that in A.D. 49 the emperor Claudius Caesar expelled all of the Jews due to the apparent influence of "Chrestus" which clearly alluded to Jesus Christ. While the Romans may have been familiar with the Jewish religion, they did not know what to make of these "Followers of the Way (Acts 9:2) or Sect of the Nazarenes (Acts 24:5). They were not called Christians until Antioch (Acts 11:26). Generally speaking members of the strange new religious sect were either poor or slaves. These Christians could get in trouble by refusing to worship the Emperor or any other of the gods of the Roman empire. Because of the danger, they would often meet in secret; yet their influence was beginning to be noticed.
is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.
Because Rome was the center of the Roman Empire as well as known world, whatever happened there was known everywhere. Therefore it was an ideal place from which to spring-board off for an Evangelism journey. Paul had planned to use Rome as a stepping-stone on a trip to preach the Gospel in modern-day Spain.
Well here ends another chunk of our examination of this amazing book. I apologize that it took me so long to post new messages but I will try to make contributions more regularly.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of your lovingkindness
Because of your faithfulness
After addressing the people he was writing to, Paul expresses his gratitude to God because of the work that He had accomplished among this body of believers. We must remember that all believers are God's workmanship (Ephesians 2:10). Further in the text, Paul personalizes his faith in saying my God. To him, God is not a ephemeral impersonal force that has no affection for mankind, but rather a father with whom every Christian has a personal relationship with. God is so invested in establishing a relationship with His children that He calls us, pursues us, and regenerates us. In Ephesians 2:1-5 Paul informs us of our pathetic state, "and you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air [Satan], of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly live in the lusts of the flesh and of the mind and were by nature children of wrath, end ans the rest. But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with He loved us, even when were were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ, (by grace you have been saved)." We were naturally dead, spiritually speaking, because of our sinful nature and we were His enemies (Romans 5:10) but because He loved us He sent Jesus Christ to die in our place; to receive our punishment and be a propitiation for our sins. Propitiation is a fancy theological term that comes from a Greek word hilasterion (hil-as-tay'-ree-on) which means an appeasement or a covering for sin. This same word even goes so far back to the the original Ark of the Covenant. The lid of the Ark was referred to as the Mercy Seat because on Yom Kippur (or day of atonement) the high-priest would sprinkle blood from the sacrificial animal on it. Under the lid was the law represented by the two tables of the Ten Commandments. The spirit of God would hover over (or rest on) the Mercy Seat and when God looked at the lid, the law would be atoned or covered by the blood of the sacrificial animal. In the same way, when Christ shed his blood by dying His blood atoned the requirement of the law.
your faith
The church in Rome had a genuine expression of faith that was so strong that in A.D. 49 the emperor Claudius Caesar expelled all of the Jews due to the apparent influence of "Chrestus" which clearly alluded to Jesus Christ. While the Romans may have been familiar with the Jewish religion, they did not know what to make of these "Followers of the Way (Acts 9:2) or Sect of the Nazarenes (Acts 24:5). They were not called Christians until Antioch (Acts 11:26). Generally speaking members of the strange new religious sect were either poor or slaves. These Christians could get in trouble by refusing to worship the Emperor or any other of the gods of the Roman empire. Because of the danger, they would often meet in secret; yet their influence was beginning to be noticed.
is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.
Because Rome was the center of the Roman Empire as well as known world, whatever happened there was known everywhere. Therefore it was an ideal place from which to spring-board off for an Evangelism journey. Paul had planned to use Rome as a stepping-stone on a trip to preach the Gospel in modern-day Spain.
Well here ends another chunk of our examination of this amazing book. I apologize that it took me so long to post new messages but I will try to make contributions more regularly.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of your lovingkindness
Because of your faithfulness
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Romans 1:7 (the introduction) Part 2
"to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
"who are beloved of God" this speaks of the special privileged relationship that the Christian has with the Heavenly Father; of course, God has love for all His creation and Jesus died to not only save all those who would believe in Him, but also that creation itself would be fixed in the fullness of time when He makes all things new. However, God has set aside a special affection for those whom He has elected after His own name for His name's sake; as it is written, "but as many as received Him, who believe in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, born not of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:12,13). Therefore as children also heirs, for we are co-heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ "and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him"(Romans 8:17) Paul uses the Greek word agapetos (ag-ap-ay-tos) and also the Hebrew word Hephzibah (hef-zuh-buh) which literally means "my delight is in her". God shows His love to us by giving Himself for us: "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) and again, "nor height, nor depth, nor any otheer created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:39) and last example (there are many more) is the verse that everyone knows, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16). God's law sets the bar so high that the only way to be just while justifying sinners (to express His love) is to pay the penalty Himself. Jesus set aside His heavenly glory to be born into this world; He lived a perfect life; He died as the perfect sin sacrifice at the perfect time; and was raised to life on the third day to show that the debt had been paid perfectly.
Well that is all the time we have for this week kiddies. Tune in next week for the continuing adventures of the Romans.
Not to us, O Lord not to us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your lovingkindness,
Because of Your truth.
"who are beloved of God" this speaks of the special privileged relationship that the Christian has with the Heavenly Father; of course, God has love for all His creation and Jesus died to not only save all those who would believe in Him, but also that creation itself would be fixed in the fullness of time when He makes all things new. However, God has set aside a special affection for those whom He has elected after His own name for His name's sake; as it is written, "but as many as received Him, who believe in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, born not of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:12,13). Therefore as children also heirs, for we are co-heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ "and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him"(Romans 8:17) Paul uses the Greek word agapetos (ag-ap-ay-tos) and also the Hebrew word Hephzibah (hef-zuh-buh) which literally means "my delight is in her". God shows His love to us by giving Himself for us: "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) and again, "nor height, nor depth, nor any otheer created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:39) and last example (there are many more) is the verse that everyone knows, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16). God's law sets the bar so high that the only way to be just while justifying sinners (to express His love) is to pay the penalty Himself. Jesus set aside His heavenly glory to be born into this world; He lived a perfect life; He died as the perfect sin sacrifice at the perfect time; and was raised to life on the third day to show that the debt had been paid perfectly.
Well that is all the time we have for this week kiddies. Tune in next week for the continuing adventures of the Romans.
Not to us, O Lord not to us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your lovingkindness,
Because of Your truth.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Romans 1:7 (the introduction) part 1
"to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
This verse wraps up the introduction to his letter. He explained who he was and what his authority in the first verse because the church in Rome possibly only knew by reputation and as far as they knew he was still one of the most fervent persecutors; in the same way, after Saul (who was latter called Paul) became a Christian and started preaching the Lord Jesus Christ in the synagogues, "All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, 'Is this not he who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name [Jesus Christ] and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?'...When he came to Jerusalem, he was trying to associate with the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple." (Acts 9:21, 26). This is a mighty testimony to the transformative power of God to so thoroughly change a person and to use someone who was, in earlier times, the worst enemies of Christians. Paul also points out that the gospel of Jesus Christ is not so dramatically new and different than what was written in the Law, the Prophets, and the writings (what we call the Old Testament) but rather that it was all leading up to, is, and will be fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He briefly touches on the the basics of the gospel in the next few verses in the person of Jesus (verses 3, 4) and the nature of his ministry (verses 5, 6), and now we come to the "to whom" of the introduction.
"To all," Paul is referring to all confessing Christians in Rome. Whether Jew or Gentile (non-Jew), rich or poor, slave or free, educated or uneducated, they all met and fellowshipped together in their mutual Lord and savior, Jesus Christ; for we are all parts of the same of the same body, in which Christ is the head and all are just as much in need of God's grace.
Well that is all the time we have this week. I apologize for the brief posting as I did not budget my time properly this past week. Tune in next week for the continuing adventure into this amazing letter.
Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
But to Your Name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness,
Because of Your truth.
This verse wraps up the introduction to his letter. He explained who he was and what his authority in the first verse because the church in Rome possibly only knew by reputation and as far as they knew he was still one of the most fervent persecutors; in the same way, after Saul (who was latter called Paul) became a Christian and started preaching the Lord Jesus Christ in the synagogues, "All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, 'Is this not he who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name [Jesus Christ] and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?'...When he came to Jerusalem, he was trying to associate with the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple." (Acts 9:21, 26). This is a mighty testimony to the transformative power of God to so thoroughly change a person and to use someone who was, in earlier times, the worst enemies of Christians. Paul also points out that the gospel of Jesus Christ is not so dramatically new and different than what was written in the Law, the Prophets, and the writings (what we call the Old Testament) but rather that it was all leading up to, is, and will be fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He briefly touches on the the basics of the gospel in the next few verses in the person of Jesus (verses 3, 4) and the nature of his ministry (verses 5, 6), and now we come to the "to whom" of the introduction.
"To all," Paul is referring to all confessing Christians in Rome. Whether Jew or Gentile (non-Jew), rich or poor, slave or free, educated or uneducated, they all met and fellowshipped together in their mutual Lord and savior, Jesus Christ; for we are all parts of the same of the same body, in which Christ is the head and all are just as much in need of God's grace.
Well that is all the time we have this week. I apologize for the brief posting as I did not budget my time properly this past week. Tune in next week for the continuing adventure into this amazing letter.
Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
But to Your Name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness,
Because of Your truth.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Romans 1:5c-6 (the introduction)
"among all the Gentiles for His names sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;"
The first part of this posting, "among all the Gentiles" touches upon the command that the Lord Jesus gives frequently both before and after his resurrection to wit Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15f, Acts 1:8, Luke 24:47 and the sum of all of those verses (and elsewhere I am sure) is that we are to proclaim the gospel (which comes from the Greek work euaggelion) which is to say "the good news" everywhere and to every one; as Paul writes, "For I delivered to you as of fist importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to thee Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). That is the best news anyone could ever have. Whether a person believes unto salvation is not really our business for we are not commanded anywhere to save people from their sins; only Jesus Christ can do that through His Holy Spirit. That is not to say that we should not pray fervently for the salvation of those to whom we witness.
Paul was commissioned especially to reach the Gentiles. In Acts 9:15, the Lord Jesus is explaining to His slave Ananias, "But the Lord said to him, 'Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;'". All these first six verses of this chapter have been Paul presenting his credentials because, if you remember from earlier posts, he did not found the fellowship of believes by planting a church in Rome. Also he was not only looking to visit the brethren there to share blessings but also he was looking to spring-board from there to Spain so that he might preach the gospel and establish churches in heretofore unreached territory. It was always Paul's custom to never go to a place where the gospel had already been preached, "And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another mans foundation; but as it is written, [in Isaiah 52:15]"They who had no news of Him shall see, and they who have not heard shall understand."
The last part of verse 5, "for His name's sake," which in its most basic form is to say that it is for the magnification of God's glory and greatly expressive of His joy; for it is written, "In the same way there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."(Luke 15:10) This verse comes right after the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin in which the common element is "Rejoice with me, for I have found that which I had lost!" Anyone who thinks it is dull in Heaven is dead wrong: there is a constant party going with God almighty cheering the loudest each and every time one sinner repents and it saved. Can you imagine? There is one party after another and no one every gets bored with partying. It is just like being around someone who is so happy, it cannot help but spread; even more than that this is God we are talking about. His rejoicing is infinitely greater than we can imagine and it is always new and fresh. However, everything God does is to bring Himself glory for His own sake. God glorifies Himself in everything He does for it is right an proper that He should do so. To God along belongs all of the glory.
Verse six is a short little thought, "among whom you are the called of Jesus Christ;" The first part that bears notice is, "the called", the word called comes from the Greek kletos (klay-tos) which you may remember is exactly the same word that Paul uses to describe his office "Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus called as an apostle set apart for the gospel of God,". In that context the word is used to indicate a divine selection and appointment. Just like when Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesian church, "For it is by grace you have been save through faith; so that it is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works , so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9) "Wait," you might say, "but I prayed to accept the salvation of Jesus Christ. Is that not worth anything?" Consider Jesus words in John 3:3, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again [or from above] he cannot see the kingdom of God." That is to say no one is able to be saved until he or she is born again (I prefer born from above as I think it is clearer). Also Ephesians 2:1 (c.f. 2:5, Col 2:13), "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,"(emphasis mine) I think that speaks to the spiritual deadness that we inherited from Adam as it is written, "but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." After Adam ate the forbidden fruit he did not physically die (although he deserved to), instead shame and terror of God was brought into the world. So Adam and Eve tried to hide form God (smart I know). Of course, because of sin Adam died later but the immediate effect was that he died spiritually. Whereas Adam once walked with God in close fellowship, now he is at enmity with God. With that in mind, can you imagine a corpse willing himself to live? How then can someone who is spiritually dead chose to become spiritually alive through salvation?
Finally to wrap it all up Jesus Christ is the first and the last the beginning and the end and the only hope for our justification before a holy and righteous God. What Jesus did makes it so God can be both just and the justifier of him who has faith in Christ Jesus. That is what separates Christianity from every other religion. God can have mercy upon sinners without sacrificing His justice, grace without setting aside righteousness.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of your lovingkindness,
Because of your truth.
The first part of this posting, "among all the Gentiles" touches upon the command that the Lord Jesus gives frequently both before and after his resurrection to wit Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15f, Acts 1:8, Luke 24:47 and the sum of all of those verses (and elsewhere I am sure) is that we are to proclaim the gospel (which comes from the Greek work euaggelion) which is to say "the good news" everywhere and to every one; as Paul writes, "For I delivered to you as of fist importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to thee Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). That is the best news anyone could ever have. Whether a person believes unto salvation is not really our business for we are not commanded anywhere to save people from their sins; only Jesus Christ can do that through His Holy Spirit. That is not to say that we should not pray fervently for the salvation of those to whom we witness.
Paul was commissioned especially to reach the Gentiles. In Acts 9:15, the Lord Jesus is explaining to His slave Ananias, "But the Lord said to him, 'Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;'". All these first six verses of this chapter have been Paul presenting his credentials because, if you remember from earlier posts, he did not found the fellowship of believes by planting a church in Rome. Also he was not only looking to visit the brethren there to share blessings but also he was looking to spring-board from there to Spain so that he might preach the gospel and establish churches in heretofore unreached territory. It was always Paul's custom to never go to a place where the gospel had already been preached, "And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another mans foundation; but as it is written, [in Isaiah 52:15]"They who had no news of Him shall see, and they who have not heard shall understand."
The last part of verse 5, "for His name's sake," which in its most basic form is to say that it is for the magnification of God's glory and greatly expressive of His joy; for it is written, "In the same way there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."(Luke 15:10) This verse comes right after the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin in which the common element is "Rejoice with me, for I have found that which I had lost!" Anyone who thinks it is dull in Heaven is dead wrong: there is a constant party going with God almighty cheering the loudest each and every time one sinner repents and it saved. Can you imagine? There is one party after another and no one every gets bored with partying. It is just like being around someone who is so happy, it cannot help but spread; even more than that this is God we are talking about. His rejoicing is infinitely greater than we can imagine and it is always new and fresh. However, everything God does is to bring Himself glory for His own sake. God glorifies Himself in everything He does for it is right an proper that He should do so. To God along belongs all of the glory.
Verse six is a short little thought, "among whom you are the called of Jesus Christ;" The first part that bears notice is, "the called", the word called comes from the Greek kletos (klay-tos) which you may remember is exactly the same word that Paul uses to describe his office "Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus called as an apostle set apart for the gospel of God,". In that context the word is used to indicate a divine selection and appointment. Just like when Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesian church, "For it is by grace you have been save through faith; so that it is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works , so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9) "Wait," you might say, "but I prayed to accept the salvation of Jesus Christ. Is that not worth anything?" Consider Jesus words in John 3:3, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again [or from above] he cannot see the kingdom of God." That is to say no one is able to be saved until he or she is born again (I prefer born from above as I think it is clearer). Also Ephesians 2:1 (c.f. 2:5, Col 2:13), "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,"(emphasis mine) I think that speaks to the spiritual deadness that we inherited from Adam as it is written, "but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." After Adam ate the forbidden fruit he did not physically die (although he deserved to), instead shame and terror of God was brought into the world. So Adam and Eve tried to hide form God (smart I know). Of course, because of sin Adam died later but the immediate effect was that he died spiritually. Whereas Adam once walked with God in close fellowship, now he is at enmity with God. With that in mind, can you imagine a corpse willing himself to live? How then can someone who is spiritually dead chose to become spiritually alive through salvation?
Finally to wrap it all up Jesus Christ is the first and the last the beginning and the end and the only hope for our justification before a holy and righteous God. What Jesus did makes it so God can be both just and the justifier of him who has faith in Christ Jesus. That is what separates Christianity from every other religion. God can have mercy upon sinners without sacrificing His justice, grace without setting aside righteousness.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of your lovingkindness,
Because of your truth.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Romans 1:5 (the introduction) Part 3
"through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake,"
Now I think we need to cover the most unpopular word in the verse: obedience. It is one thing to stay in the hypothetical but obedience is where the rubber meets the road. James tells us, "What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?" (James 2:14) That does seem to contradict Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; no as a result of works, so that no one may boast." That is until you look closer. Many say that they believe in God; many say that the believe in Jesus; many say that Jesus is their savior. However, even if you confess Jesus Christ as your lord and savior by faith and continue in sinful behavior there is a good chance that your faith is worthless. Just to be clear, faith + obedience does not equal salvation; rather the equation should be grace + faith = salvation and obedience. What that means is if you have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, it should manifest in obedience to His commands and good works. After all, "If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,' and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?" We as Christians are guilty of that very frequently. We say, "I will be praying for you," and don't lift a finger to help; we often even forget to pray (I know that I frequently do). Now prayer is a wonderful thing and we should absolutely pray for our brothers and sisters in need but we shouldn't stop there; God has given us all spiritual gifts to glorify Him and to serve others. If you find someone in need even the smallest actions can be a dramatic blessing. Even talking to them can help immensely. It is a matter of living sacrificially for your neighbor.
This is also a question of the Lordship of Jesus. Romans 10:9 tells us, "that (or because) if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;" The Greek word for lord is kurios (koo-ree-os) and it means chiefly he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord. Since that is a central part of salvation we should do what He says and wants don't you think? Jesus has more than earned that right (not as though He needed to do so but He did anyway). He suffered and died to pay for our sins; something no one else could ever do. Any mortal man could conceivably go through the physical torments that Jesus experienced: pray so hard that you weep tears of blood; get betrayed by one of your closest friends; get beaten; spend the night in a cold jail cell; get questioned in a kangaroo-court; then questioned by a political weenie; then scourged until the skin on you back is hanging of in ribbons; then have a crown of thorns pressed on your head; then be forced to carry a 300 lb. block of wood across town with guards wiping you every time you stumble with exhaustion (which Jesus did a few times); and then have someone nail your to the cross in your wrists and feet so you hang there. Of course that was just a warm-up for Jesus, the worst was yet to come. When Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Some Theologians believe that is when Jesus was experiencing the full wrath of God for the sins of those who would believe in Him. There is no way any of us could survive the full wrath of an almighty, infinitely holy, and infinitely just God. Without Jesus, a person will spend eternity paying for their own sins and will never come anywhere close to satisfying the whole debt of their own sin. Now imagine paying for the sins of untold trillions of people. All that was accomplished by Jesus. God the Father greatly exalted Jesus Christ as it is written, "Being found in appearance as a man, He [Jesus] humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:8-11). There is one last sobering consideration in Jesus' own words, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but those who do the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.'" (Matthew 7:21-23). Note that these people were claiming all the showy flashy works to try to earn their entrance into Christ's Kingdom; all those things that are crowd drawing and self-glorifying and yet their lives were measured demonstrations of sinful behavior. Any person who claims Jesus as Lord and yet carries on in a sinful lifestyle is like someone who is building his house on sand which will eventually wash away and leave him with out God and without hope.
That is all the time we have; tune in next week for the eventual conclusion of this loaded verse.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness,
Because of Your truth.
Now I think we need to cover the most unpopular word in the verse: obedience. It is one thing to stay in the hypothetical but obedience is where the rubber meets the road. James tells us, "What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?" (James 2:14) That does seem to contradict Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; no as a result of works, so that no one may boast." That is until you look closer. Many say that they believe in God; many say that the believe in Jesus; many say that Jesus is their savior. However, even if you confess Jesus Christ as your lord and savior by faith and continue in sinful behavior there is a good chance that your faith is worthless. Just to be clear, faith + obedience does not equal salvation; rather the equation should be grace + faith = salvation and obedience. What that means is if you have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, it should manifest in obedience to His commands and good works. After all, "If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,' and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?" We as Christians are guilty of that very frequently. We say, "I will be praying for you," and don't lift a finger to help; we often even forget to pray (I know that I frequently do). Now prayer is a wonderful thing and we should absolutely pray for our brothers and sisters in need but we shouldn't stop there; God has given us all spiritual gifts to glorify Him and to serve others. If you find someone in need even the smallest actions can be a dramatic blessing. Even talking to them can help immensely. It is a matter of living sacrificially for your neighbor.
This is also a question of the Lordship of Jesus. Romans 10:9 tells us, "that (or because) if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;" The Greek word for lord is kurios (koo-ree-os) and it means chiefly he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord. Since that is a central part of salvation we should do what He says and wants don't you think? Jesus has more than earned that right (not as though He needed to do so but He did anyway). He suffered and died to pay for our sins; something no one else could ever do. Any mortal man could conceivably go through the physical torments that Jesus experienced: pray so hard that you weep tears of blood; get betrayed by one of your closest friends; get beaten; spend the night in a cold jail cell; get questioned in a kangaroo-court; then questioned by a political weenie; then scourged until the skin on you back is hanging of in ribbons; then have a crown of thorns pressed on your head; then be forced to carry a 300 lb. block of wood across town with guards wiping you every time you stumble with exhaustion (which Jesus did a few times); and then have someone nail your to the cross in your wrists and feet so you hang there. Of course that was just a warm-up for Jesus, the worst was yet to come. When Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Some Theologians believe that is when Jesus was experiencing the full wrath of God for the sins of those who would believe in Him. There is no way any of us could survive the full wrath of an almighty, infinitely holy, and infinitely just God. Without Jesus, a person will spend eternity paying for their own sins and will never come anywhere close to satisfying the whole debt of their own sin. Now imagine paying for the sins of untold trillions of people. All that was accomplished by Jesus. God the Father greatly exalted Jesus Christ as it is written, "Being found in appearance as a man, He [Jesus] humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:8-11). There is one last sobering consideration in Jesus' own words, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but those who do the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.'" (Matthew 7:21-23). Note that these people were claiming all the showy flashy works to try to earn their entrance into Christ's Kingdom; all those things that are crowd drawing and self-glorifying and yet their lives were measured demonstrations of sinful behavior. Any person who claims Jesus as Lord and yet carries on in a sinful lifestyle is like someone who is building his house on sand which will eventually wash away and leave him with out God and without hope.
That is all the time we have; tune in next week for the eventual conclusion of this loaded verse.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness,
Because of Your truth.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Romans 1:5 (the introduction) part 2
"through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake,"
What does Paul mean by "...to bring about the obedience of faith"? There are two ways of looking at this passage. The first covers the response to the gift of faith the Holy Spirit grants upon regeneration. Refer to the classic passage of John 3 starting in verse 3, "Jesus answered and said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again (or from above) he cannot see the kingdom of God.'" A lot of people contend that this happens upon salvation however it is my belief that regeneration by the Spirit of holiness precedes salvation. Consider Ephesians 2:1, "And you were (or being) dead in your trespasses and sins," preaching salvation through Jesus Christ to people who are dead in their spirit would be just as useful as going to a grave yard and telling the corpses to rise. Fortunately Ephesians goes on to say in verses 4 and 5, "But God being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in (or by reason of) our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)," and again in Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Or as the great Puritan Preacher John Owen tells us:
Unfortunately that is all the time we have. Tune in next week for more exciting adventures in Romans!
Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your lovingkindness,
Because of Your truth.
What does Paul mean by "...to bring about the obedience of faith"? There are two ways of looking at this passage. The first covers the response to the gift of faith the Holy Spirit grants upon regeneration. Refer to the classic passage of John 3 starting in verse 3, "Jesus answered and said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again (or from above) he cannot see the kingdom of God.'" A lot of people contend that this happens upon salvation however it is my belief that regeneration by the Spirit of holiness precedes salvation. Consider Ephesians 2:1, "And you were (or being) dead in your trespasses and sins," preaching salvation through Jesus Christ to people who are dead in their spirit would be just as useful as going to a grave yard and telling the corpses to rise. Fortunately Ephesians goes on to say in verses 4 and 5, "But God being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in (or by reason of) our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)," and again in Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Or as the great Puritan Preacher John Owen tells us:
I apologize for making the quote so long but it is hard to anything out. I would highly recommend reading the whole article http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/owenoverthrow.html So, in regenerating us the Holy Spirit grants unto us faith by which we are able so see the glories of Christ; we can perceive our sinful nature and desperate need of salvation. Thus in accepting Jesus' death and resurrection as a personal atonement you are showing the obedience of faith.Outward darkness is when men do not have that light by which they are enabled to see. So outward spiritual darkness is upon men when there is nothing to enlighten them about God and spiritual things (Matt 4:16; Psa 119:105; Psa. 19:1-4,8; 2 Pet 1:19; Rom 10:15, 18). It is the work of the Holy Spirit to remove this darkness by sending the light of the gospel (Acts 13:2, 4; 16:6-10; Psa. 147:19,20).Inward darkness, on the other hand, arises from the natural depravity and corruption of the minds of men concerning spiritual things. Man’s mind is depraved and corrupted in things which are natural, civil, political, and moral, as well as in things which are spiritual, heavenly and evangelical. This depravity is often held back from having its full effects by the common grace of the Holy Spirit. So, man’s mind being darkened, he is unable to see, receive, understand or believe to the saving of his soul. Spiritual things, or the mysteries of the gospel, without the Holy Spirit first creating within the soul a new light by which they can see and receive those things, cannot bring salvation.However brilliant the mind may be, and however brilliant the preaching and presentation of the gospel might be, yet without the Holy Spirit first creating this light in them, they cannot receive, understand and agree with the truths preached, and so will not be led to salvation (Eph 4:17, 18).So the unregenerate ‘walk in the futility of their mind’ (Eph 4:17). The natural inclination of the unregenerate mind is to seek those things that cannot satisfy (Gen 6:5). It is an unstable mind (Prov. 7:11-12). The unregenerate understanding is darkened and cannot judge things properly (Jhn 1:5). The unregenerate heart is blind. In Scripture the heart includes the will also. Light is received by the mind, applied by the understanding and used by the heart. ‘But if the light within is darkness,’ said Jesus, ‘how great is that darkness.’...Even though the unconverted mind is highly educated and talented, yet it is utterly unable to receive and understand spiritually those things needful for its eternal salvation. It will not respond to the preaching of the gospel until renewed, enlightened and enabled to do so by the Holy Spirit: “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’ (1 Cor 2:14). The subject of this verse is the natural man. The natural man is quite opposite of the spiritual man (1 Cor 15:44; Jude 19).
Unfortunately that is all the time we have. Tune in next week for more exciting adventures in Romans!
Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your lovingkindness,
Because of Your truth.
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