A GLORY THAT IS FOREVER
#147 A GLORY THAT IS FOREVER
Scripture Romans 11:1-36 NIV Orig. 10/28/62
Rewr. 8/1/85
Passage: I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”[a]? 4 And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”[b] 5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6 And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
7 What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, 8 as it is written:
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that could not see
and ears that could not hear,
to this very day.”[c]
9 And David says:
“May their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them.
10 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
and their backs be bent forever.”[d]
11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. 12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!
13 I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry 14 in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. 15 For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16 If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in His kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. 23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, 26 and in this way[e] all Israel will be saved. As it is written:
“The deliverer will come from Zion;
he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
27 And this is[f] my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”[g]
28 As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, 29 for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. 30 Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now[h] receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. 32 For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and[i] knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”[j]
35 “Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?”[k]
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
Purpose: Continuing the series from Romans, here showing the wisdom of God in saving His people.
Keywords: Bible Study God’s Omnipotence Salvation
Timeline/Series: Romans
Introduction
It is interesting how prominently the Jews have figured in human history. Time does not permit but a casual telling of the story that, as often as not, their prominence was their undoing.
The presence of the Jews (Hebrews) galled the Egyptians during Moses’ time to the point that it became the practice of state to see them become slaves. This is similar to the intent of the Third Reich in our own century: The presence of wealthy Jews, and a race of people so content in their heritage, angered the German war lords to the point of holocaust.
Individually, the activity directed at them has not been much different. Do you remember Haman, the Agagite, and Mordecai the Jew? Mordecai was just trying to be faithful to his religious beliefs. He was not out to challenge anyone else, or to convert them. But he so galled Haman that he went to his death in a challenge of supremacy.
Every age has had its company of Jews who become prominent in their fields. You have heard about the farmer who was a man who excelled in his work. Well, Jews have a way of rising to the top, as cream over milk. Perhaps that is the characteristic that has labelled them and marked them for hostility and persecution.
Search any area of interest, medicine, government, commerce, industry, and you will note leaders in extraordinarily vaunted positions who are Jews. ***TEXT LOST AT END OF THIS PARAGRAPH***
I. The Glory of Grace. V1 “I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not!” The saved remnant appear in prior lessons: Romans 9 is about God’s sovereignty and election, and Romans 10 is about Israel’s failure and Gentile belief. The concept of remnant is not new. According to some accounts, Noah spent 120 years preaching and building. Only his family joined him on the ark. Genesis 6:8 “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”
The New Testament accounting shows that even Jesus had many who heard who did not believe. Matthew 7:14 “Straight is the gate, and narrow the way, leading to life, and few there are that find it.”
At Kadesh-Barnea, 12 spies went out. Ten returned, reporting there was no hope of success; only two believed. The obvious illustration of Elijah shows a believing host. Paul considers himself as proof of God’s constancy.
It continues to Paul’s day and ours. Every Jew who believes is of the people of God. “Remnant” refers to true believers.
With a hardened heart, people can be earnestly and sincerely wrong. V7f “Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were hardened. It is not enough to be good. It is totally inadequate to claim sincerity.
The human heart is not dependable. The Hebrews prove it. Paul elsewhere has his own testimony. Acts 26:9 “Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.”
II. The Glory of Provocation. V11 “I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles.” Out of the Jewish failure, faith has come to the Gentiles. Romans 1:16, “For it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth: to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” The Gentile is given salvation. The Jew is incited to desire.
The nature of their problem is in Romans 10:3. “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God.” The source of this deplorable condition is in Romans 11:8. “God has given them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear, to this very day.” Here, Paul reiterates Deuteronomy 29:4 and Isaiah 29:10.
Did God want to destroy them? Such is unthinkable. Paul says “God forbid!” Isaiah shows that this stupor is in response to their unbelief.
Take care to note the end result. The Gentiles are saved. The Jews are provoked to believe.
III. The Glory of Ingrafting. V17 “And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree.” The imagery in Paul’s lesson is that Israel is the tame olive tree. Gentiles are the wild olive tree. On the trunk of the olive tree, split by limbs broken off, a piece of non-native material is broken off because of uselessness. In Romans 10:21 Paul recalls the words of Isaiah. “Concerning Israel he says, ‘All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.’”
IV. The Glory of Future Promise. V26 “And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written, the deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob, for this is my covenant with them.” This says, “All of Hebrew stock will be saved,” or, it says that all Jews who come to accept this conditional right, in Christ will be saved.
V. The Glory of Praise. V33 “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out.” The Jew with his strong position in regard to God finds himself disavowed. This total spiritual energy aimed at God’s people is to reach the unchosen. That energy is then turned from Israel to the Gentiles, which will ultimately be the means by which the Jew is attracted to his prior post.
***THE CONCLUSION TO THIS SERMON HAS BEEN LOST***
A FAILURE THAT IS ADDICTIVE
#141 A FAILURE THAT IS ADDICTIVE
Scripture Romans 10:1-21 NIV Orig. 9/23/62
Rewr. 7/25/85
Passage: Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
5 Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.”[a] 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’”[b] (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’”[c] (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”[d] that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”[e] 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”[f]
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”[g]
16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”[h] 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. 18 But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did:
“Their voice has gone out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.”[i]
19 Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says,
“I will make you envious by those who are not a nation;
I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.”[j]
20 And Isaiah boldly says,
“I was found by those who did not seek me;
I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.”[k]
21 But concerning Israel he says,
“All day long I have held out my hands
to a disobedient and obstinate people.”[l]
Purpose: Continuing a series from Romans, showing Israel’s failure to understand their relationship to God and faith.
Keywords: Bible Study Law
Series, Romans
Introduction
Quest is a major factor in one’s concept of dedication. Do we envision a great task entrusted to us? Do we apply ourselves to its success?
It is said that the ship’s log used by Christopher Columbus on his first crossing of the Atlantic repeats, “This day we sailed westward!” day after day. When Cyrus Field was preparing to put in place the very first Atlantic cable, he first made fifty trips across that great ocean to prepare for it. Gibbon, the historian, wrote his autobiography nine times before he was satisfied with it, and spent twenty years on his greatest work, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
More recently, this week’s news tells of treasure hunter Mel Fisher. For sixteen years he has searched the waters off of Key West, Florida, for a sunken Spanish galleon, Nuestra Senora de Atocha, which sank in a hurricane in 1622 with millions in silver and gold. The search cost Mr. Fisher the lives of a son, daughter-in-law, and another diver. He is said to have greeted his divers every day for years with the statement, “Today’s the day!” Last Saturday morning was the day.
But the Jews, instead of seeing their relationship with God as a quest of faith, saw it as an endowment of merit. As long as they were the guardians of the law, they were special. Paul shows them that this is not so. Faith must be the target of Jew and Gentile.
I. The First Consideration Is Their Judicial Failure. V4 “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”
We need a right picture about failure. It was not a failure of the law. Romans 4:4f “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes . . ., his faith is accounted for righteousness.” Psalm 32:1 “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”
It was certainly not God’s failure. Isaiah 1:9 “Unless the Lord of hosts had left to us a . . . remnant, we would have become like Sodom.” Clearly, it was their failure. Three times (Luke 12:56, 19:44, 21:24): “How is it you do not discern this present time?”
They were not without urgency. There was will, determination, even excitement, but all in error. Paul prays for their salvation. He tells us that they are not. He tells us that they can be: II Corinthians 3:16 “When one turns to the Lord the veil is taken away.” He tells us that they will be: Romans 11:26 ”All Israel will be saved.”
Their failure is that they are looking to their Jewishness, not grace, to save. We are not saved by our Baptistness. Others are not saved by their Methodistness, etc. We are not saved by our churchiness.
II. Next, We Look at Their Spiritual Failure. V9 “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.” It speaks of grace, of God doing what we cannot, of appropriating the sin-covering function of Jesus’ death for our sin. John 1:12 “As many as receive Him, to them God gives the power to become His children.”
Apart from Jesus we are cut off from God. So also were the Jews. It is a terrible risk to assume someone may have attained the spirit of obedience. It speaks too clearly of confession. It localizes that confession in Christ Jesus. It did the Jew no good to confess his Jewishness. It does no good to confess our churchiness. V10 “With the mouth confession is made.”
How long has it been since we talked to someone about Christ? Sunday School teachers need to talk to their pupils.
III. It Speaks of Their Social Failure. V14f “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?”
They chose what they could not save. When the law is not passing out punishment for wrong it is failing. One of our social concerns today is that the law is not always fair. We don’t need a law that lets people get by with more; we don’t need a law that, as someone said, “you can get out of if you have money.”
Mercy is a bestowal of grace. V4 “Christ is the end of the law,” the “termination,” the final reckoning. It will never go beyond this. It is God’s last word on the subject.
The Jew still has not learned that law and grace are antagonistic. Romans 4:4 “To him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.” Romans 11:6, “If by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise, grace is no longer grace.”
IV. Paul Adds a Concluding Note of Proof of Their Failure. Deuteronomy 32:21, God said to Moses, “I will provoke them to jealousy.” Isaiah 65:1 “I was found by those who did not seek me.” Isaiah 65:2 “I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”
Conclusion
The last entry in the diary of David Livingstone was: “Jesus, my Saviour, my king, my God, I rededicate my all to thee to be and to do for thee the best that I can until the day is done.” There is GRACE. There is BELIEF. There is CONFESSION.
LIFE BEGINS WITH DEATH
#049a LIFE BEGINS WITH DEATH
Scripture Romans 6:17-23, NIV Orig. Date 5/20/62
Rewr. Dates 2/1/85 (6-77)
Passage: 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
19 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[a] Christ Jesus our Lord.
Purpose: To call attention to the new “life” that is in Christ which begins with the believer’s “death.”
Keywords: Christ the Saviour New Birth Revival Salvation
Introduction
“Life after death” is enjoying some popularity these days. Walk in any supermarket and look for the sensationalist newspapers and you will see what I mean. Most of the time there will be some outlandish article such as one I saw recently, “Five Psychics Tell Why They Believe in Life After Death.” You will even hear some of the people on talk shows discuss it usually in some metaphysical way.
I heard Paul Harvey quote Elisabeth Kübler-Ross a while back. She is a social scientist, and probably the world’s leading authority from a scientific standpoint of the death experience. “Although I do not consider myself a particularly religious woman, I find no conflict between the Christian concept of an afterlife, and my own careful studies on death.”
Perhaps, since we have access to the sensation mongers, over-zealous superstars, and sectarian scientists, we ought to see what insights God’s Word can give us. But if you really want to know about death and its implications, the only safe place to go is to God’s Word.
I. The Death that We Best Understand is the “Wages of Sin.” Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death.” There is, of course, the death of body function. Karen Ann Quinlan is the sad textbook example of a serious problem: When is a person biologically dead? After ten years, she is still alive.
Let me remind you that God didn’t will death. Its source, as this verse attests, is in man’s will to sin. Sin and its punishment are the result of man’s free will. Ecclesiastes 7:29, “God hath made man upright, but they have sought out many inventions.” I Corinthians 2:14, “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto Him.”
The text speaks of moral and spiritual death as well as physical. Who would choose life without regard to circumstances? Why are there thousands of suicides? Who would choose Ethiopia?
Someone reports an on-the-spot interview by a war correspondent with a crusty Marine sergeant. He was eating cold beans from a can with his bayonet. “If I could grant one request for you right now, what would it be?” Without hesitation, the sergeant said, “Give me tomorrow!”
There’s a joke going around about a guy who asked a genie to make him owner of a new-car franchise in a major metropolitan area and wound up a Chrysler dealer in Tokyo right before an earthquake hit.
There is more to life than just living. There is a lot of difference between driving a truck, and trucking.
Thus, we are reminded that life is to sin as death is to righteousness. The human life is marked by sin. Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned.” Believers sin repeatedly. There are sins of circumstance and diversion, and there are sins of will and purpose. Romans 6:1, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue to sin, that grace may abound?” Romans 6:15, “What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.”
We won’t lose salvation, but can lose direction, joy, and perspective, and can find shame. The unbeliever is dead before God. Ecclesiastes 3:19, “That which befalleth the sons of man befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: As the one dieth, so dieth the other.”
II. The Corollary to This Death Is Life that Is a Free Gift from God. Clearly, there is more to death than the cessation of life. Even so, there is more to quality life than breath, blood flow, and brain function. The January 1977 National Geographic contains an article, “Planet Mars,” to show the possibility of life; Dr. Michael McElroy writes: “The elements of the chemistry set are there. We have carbon. . . , nitrogen. . . , sunshine. The only real thing remaining is whether the Great Chemist was there putting the elements together in the right way.”
The life in particular here, beyond physical, is the life of faith. The scripture declares man’s uniqueness is his relationship with God. Man is unique in creation. Genesis 2:7, “. . . and God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul.” Evolution would discount man’s fall, therefore there is his need of Christ.
There is uniqueness in his destiny. Romans 6:6f, “. . . 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. Now if we die with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him."
We know of what this life consists. It is, first, purposeful living. Romans 6:4 “. . . even so, we also should walk in newness of life.” John 10:10, “I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it abundantly.”
Secondly, it is life after death. It is not sensationalism. It is not metaphysical gibberish. It is not science by default. It is God’s promise to believers. Aionios is the Greek word meaning “endlessness.” It appears that way in 67 of 70 usages. II Corinthians 4:18, “For the things which are seen are temporary; things not seen are permanent.”
III. This Life that Comes Through Death Is by Jesus Christ. Romans 6:23, “. . . The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” There are those who claim that being sincere is religion enough. Judas probably thought he was right when he betrayed Jesus. The Jews surely thought they were doing God a favor when Jesus was crucified. Millions of Germans were sincere when they stood by as 6 million Jews went to gas chambers.
There are some who suggest that this life depends on church relationship. There is Baptist truth, then there is Catholic truth. While pastoring in Oakdale, I had a 15-minute radio program. Prior was West Baptist Church; after was First Presbyterian Church; then West Baptist Church to counter any opposite points.
But the scripture points us to Jesus only as the instrument of salvation. The Bible message is still John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
It is clearly this message that Jesus taught, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by Me” (John 14:6). This is what every born-again believer stakes his or her life on. II Timothy 1:12, “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.”
Conclusion
Elton Trueblood wrote in “New Life in the Church”: “There are two insights which can illumine our understanding of the Christian case. The first is the conversion which is important is not conversion from sheer paganism to nominal Christianity; not conversion from cold to warm, but from lukewarm to hot, from a mild religion to one in which a person’s whole life is taken up and filled and compelled. The second is that the most common situation in which this kind of conversion can occur is the situation of middle age.”
A LIBERTY THAT IS CHARITABLE
#066 A LIBERTY THAT IS CHARITABLE
Scripture Romans 14:1-23, NIV Orig. Date 11/25/62
Rewr. Dates 8/31/85
Passage: Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister[a]? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written:
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.’”[b]
12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.
19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.
22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.[c]
Purpose: Continuing the series from Romans, showing that true liberty is that that is based in love.
Keywords: Bible Study Law Liberty
Timeline/Series: Romans
Introduction
We today assume so much liberty from the dictates of others that we fail to realize what an issue this has been historically. Huldrych Zwingli, pre-reformation theologian of central Europe, left a thirty-page treatise (2 hours) on choice and free use of foods. He concluded with sixteen points of concern.
- The general gathering of Christians may accept for themselves fasts and abstinence from foods, but not set these up as a common and everlasting law.
- For God says, Deuteronomy 4:2, “You shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish aught from it.”
V. This is shown by the sanctification of both Testaments. The Old is sprinkled and sanctified by the blood of animals, but the New with the blood of the Everlasting God, for Christ thus spake: This is the cup of my blood of a new and everlasting [covenant]
VII. How dare a man add to the testament, to the covenant of God as though he would better it?
IX. Paul says, Romans 8:8: “Owe no man anything but to love one another.”
X. Again, Galatians 5:1: “Stand fast therefore in the freedom wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”
XI. If he is to be cursed who preaches beyond what Paul preached and if Paul nowhere preached the choice of food, then he who dares command this is worthy of a curse.
XII. If we are not bound by any law but the law of love, and if freedom as to food injures not the love of one’s neighbor, in case this freedom is rightly taught and understood, then we are not subject to this commandment or law.
These points have forced me to think that the church officers have not only no power to command such things, but if they command them, they sin greatly; for whoever is in office and does more than he is commanded, is liable to punishment (20 Cen. IIp123).
Sadly, five years later Zwingli helped to find Felix Manz guilty, under penalty of death by drowning, for preaching against infant baptism and rebaptizing.
I. The Law of Liberty. V10 “But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” The Law of Liberty addresses various themes.
Substance—about food and drink. V2 “For one believes that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables.” It is wrong to judge those who do more than we, or to hold contempt for those who do less. Matthew 15:17, “What goes in at the mouth defileth not the man.” I Corinthians 6:12, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient.”
Servants—To what degree do we deride other believers for being different?—the Amish for their clothing and buggies; Adventists for their understanding of the 7th day. Such considerations are extended to believers only. We don’t compromise belief.
Seasons—On what basis do we decide what days are special? Holidays, we sanctify. Special family days, we honor. Many disdain religious days. Colossians 2:16, “Therefore let no one judge you in food or in drink, or in regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths.” Don’t worship a day, but don’t fail to exercise its worth.
The Law of Liberty reminds us that our first consideration is in our relationship with Jesus Christ. Colossians 2:6, “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” Eat out of regard for the Lord. Treat others as you would have them treat you. Use every day, Sabbath and otherwise, as an obedient servant. V8, “For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord.”
If preaching, do so with the Lord in view. If helping to rear a family; if cutting grass; if presiding over a Senate committee; or if canning a jar of preserves: Do all these things with the Lord in view.
The Law of Liberty reminds us that we will not be judged on the basis of substance, servants, and seasons. V10, “For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, for it is written, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.’” I45.
II. The Law of Love. V15, “Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.”
It testifies of relationship to those who behave differently. But from a Christian perspective, their difference is not a moral defect. In Paul’s day the issue centered around food (offered to idols). Today it is more around alcohol. The real issue is concern. The object of relationship issues more from love than belief. Paul advocates liberty, but only love can interpret it with meaning.
It testifies of resolution. V17, “The Kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” The kingdom is spiritual, such pronouncements issued should be also. Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” It is a defined kingdom. Of righteousness, it is a kingdom with not just moral direction but with deliverance from sin, overt and covert. Of peace, it is a kingdom of peace with God; Romans 5:1, “. . . having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Carlyle Marney, in his book, Peace! Peace!, says: “The claims of our Lord set a man against himself, I discover. They split him down the middle. They make him schizoid. Once he faces up to the claims of Christ he is divided, he is at war, until surrender. He can never be justified by what he does: his new gadgets, his nursery rhyme creeds, his one-eyed philosophies, his mudpie civilization, his kindergarten councils. He can be justified only in himself, and his justification begins only when he is a man of peace, and his peace comes only when he surrenders to the Source of peace against which he fights.”
It testifies of responsibility. V19, “. . . let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.” The “things” were already mentioned in verse 17. The Christian life is to be conditioned on such assertions. Those who are strong in faith are to give ground, in spite of their liberty.
V22, “Do you have faith?” Is your faith in Christ sufficient for this kind of ordering? The word “damned” is misleading. The Greek word kekritai means “condemned” and implies faith was not a factor in decision. Thus, liberty will limit itself by love.
Conclusion
The simplest way to define sin is to explain it as any act that is contrary to the will of God. God said to Adam, “Thou shalt not eat of it.” The moment he did, he sinned. It was an act in direct contradiction to God’s revealed will. Jesus taught of sins of the heart: hate, adultery, etc. He taught that intention to sin is the same as the sin itself. Anything that hurts other people is sin. James wrote of it this way, “. . . to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” As a Christian, all we do is before the face of God. To act without consideration of his presence is sin. If the Lord would not give His approval to my conduct, then my action or my attitude is wrong.
A RADICAL CHANGE
#049 A RADICAL CHANGE
Scripture Romans 6:1-23 NIV Orig. 5-20-62 (6-77)
Rewr. 11-9-88 (1-85)
Passage: What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. 19 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[b] Christ Jesus our Lord.
Purpose: Continuing a series from the Book of Romans, here drawing the contrast between sin’s death and Christ’s life.
Keywords: Death God Grace Life Sin
Series Romans Revival
Introduction
Finally, the truth has been revealed relative to the “Shroud of Turin.” For hundreds of years there has been speculation about this simple linen shroud. It was claimed to be the burial shroud in which Jesus was buried, and was for centuries, Christendom’s most baffling relic.
The relic is controlled by the Catholic bishop of Turin, and thus its name, although it is owned by Umberto II, a deposed king of Italy who, at last report, lived in Portugal.
It is just over 4-1/2 meters long, and just under one meter wide. It has been submitted to extensive scientific analysis, including carbon 14 dating, and computer technology. Even pollen samples were evaluated.
The shawl had blood in all the right places. Even the imprint of a human face. But the computers could not confirm its validity, and said absolutely nothing about life after death. It was determined that should this be proved to be the right cloth, then Jesus was 5’10-1/2”, and weighed 175 pounds.
Well, in fact now we know that it was not the burial shroud of Jesus. Even the Catholic Church admits that the early history of the cloth cannot be ascertained.
What if? What if it were the cloth? Suppose that these tests authenticated the shroud. We Christians would have a miracle to flaunt. One of the scientific team members said,
“If Christ was resurrected from the dead, then the gospels are truth, and eternal life—immortality—is offered.” (Ray Rogers—Omni p.95)
But the possibility of a miracle no longer exists. We are not yet without hope, however. The Bible has much to say on the subject, and the apostle here affirms that death, for the believer, will be swallowed up in life. He speaks of a most “radical change,” and it is that death “hath no more dominion.”
I. So Radical a Change Acknowledges Death to Sin. V2 “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” V6 “…Our old man is crucified with him.”
To begin with, Paul has much to say on the subject of death. Beside this note of being “crucified” with Christ, death is alluded to fourteen times in these first eleven verses. It is a subject not given wide circulation in our sophisticated culture. Tabloids on display at check-out lines sensationalize it: “Five Psychics Tell Why They Believe in Life after Death.” The scientific community offers us the name of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross as the most knowledgeable: “Although I do not consider myself a particularly religious woman, I find no conflict between the Christian concept of an after-life, and my own careful studies on death.”
But the death here is not just the cessation of bodily function. Remember the legal ramifications invoked in the Karen Ann Quinlan case. Who could throw the switch? Someone finally did, and she survived on a tube feeding for nine years.
Biblically, death is the soulmate of sin, and is viewed judgmentally. But is God death’s source? The answer is a resounding “No!” We are emphatically told that the “wages of sin is death.” Thus, sin, and its corollary, resulted from acts of will.
So, as death is more than cessation, life is more than breathing and bodily function. A war correspondent in Vietnam told of interviewing a crusty Marine sergeant. He was eating cold beans with his bayonet. “If I could grant one request right now for you what would it be?” “Give me tomorrow!”
A TV special on “Violence in America” concluded with this evaluation, “Biological life alone is not enough for a rational being. He, or she, wants participation in the social process.”
For the believer, death dispels the power of sin to rule and distort lives. Chapter five dealt with sin and grace. Sin and death are personified in Adam. Grace and life are personified in Christ.
The present chapter moves more to the drum beat of faith (sanctification). V14 “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Having received Christ as Saviour is being perceived of God as following a new leader. Satan has lost the battle for your soul. But he has not lost your address. Depending totally on the carnality of our faith, he exercises influence.
II. So Radical a Change Acknowledges that a New Life is Given. V11. “Likewise, you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” It is not mentality that separates man from the beasts of the field. Within limits they have intellect. Consider pets, zoo animals.
Nor is it our ability to communicate. The great whales are said to communicate over hundreds, thousands of miles of ocean. Diane Fosse studied the great apes. Her death may be attributed to her affinity. Brahmans, Hindus, see animals as “brothers with them before God.” (National Geographic, November 1988)
What separates man from beast is his potential to faith-relationship with God. Scriptures declare this uniqueness. Genesis 2:7 “God . . . breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” It is that “breath of God” that we know as faith. It is here that “baptism” enters into Paul’s discussion. Baptism is the “sign” of that faith. Not salvation by legalist “rite,” but that baptism is expressive of that faith. Faith shows itself in many ways. Baptism is one.
We also have a fairly complete criteria of what that faith-relationship consists of. First it is dependable. In V11 we read “reckon”—to us often meaning no more than “suppose.” Then, it was an accounting term reflecting absolute accuracy. Secondly, it is free. V20 Enslaved to sin, we are set free to righteousness. V18, 23. Such faith knows no class distinction. Lastly, it is eternal. The word aionios means “eternal,” “endless.”
III. So Radical a Change Comes Through Jesus Christ. V23 “But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The place of Christ in the equation of salvation is without equal. We were “baptized” (v3) into Christ Jesus. Our fleshly being was “crucified”(v6) with Jesus. “Death” in Christ Jesus is what frees us from sin (v7). Thus, we come to “live” (v11) through Jesus. And ultimately, eternal life (v23) comes through Him.
Lay to rest any thought that religion is nothing more than a person’s sincerity. There are waves of people who are sincerely wrong. At the abortion clinic, the young pregnant woman advises opponents to keep their “morals off of her body.” People around Louisiana think that devil worship by teenagers is idle (sic) curiosity. Sincere people say “God wouldn’t send anyone to hell.” Satan would, and he would gladly use our being “sincerely wrong” to accomplish it.
Conclusion
An unknown author left a couplet on death.
Some men die by shrapnel, some go down in flames.
But most men perish inch by inch, in play at little games.
Death comes to all alike. The method, manner may change, but only Christ makes a difference in dying. As there is more to life than blood flow, breath, body function, there is more to death than dying.
JUSTIFIED FREELY
#044 JUSTIFIED FREELY
Scripture Romans 3:19-31 NIV Orig. 11-12-61 (11-85)
Rewr. 10-5-88
Passage 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in[a] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[b] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
Purpose: Continuing the series from Romans, here defining the message of justification for all mankind.
Keywords: Bible Study God, Grace Man, Lost Justification Law
Timeline/Series: Romans
Introduction
Although it has been a number of years, many of us will still remember news reports out of the city of Philadelphia, and the Bellevue Stratford Hotel. It was the summer of 1976. By some fateful choice, the American Legion was holding its annual meeting in Philadelphia. Many of the legionnaires were staying at the Bellevue Stratford.
After the convention was over, and many of the conventioneers had returned home, a strange pall of illness invaded the lives of many of them. Although they were in hospitals in several parts of the country, their doctors read the symptoms the very same way. These people had an unknown illness. For that reason, it became known as “legionnaires” disease. In the weeks following at least 29 people died as a result of complications from the disease. These people had either stayed at The Bellevue Stratford Hotel, or had taken meals there.
Public censure of the hotel began immediately. Before the end of that year, a period of no more than six months, the hotel was closed. What had at one time been one of the proudest of the Philadelphia hotels, slowly sank into an undeserved oblivion. The hotel did not cause those deaths. But its association with them was such that a cautious public would no longer avail itself of these accommodations.
We have an aversion to that which seems to be a threat to our physical well-being. We are insisting on more and more safety in every mode of transportation. We spend huge amounts of money encouraging medical science to protract life.
We have no aversion, however, to sin. We seem willing to take our chances with it even when we know what a threat it is. Thus, Paul reminds his readers, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace through . . . Christ Jesus.”
I. First, then, Is the Need for Justification. V23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Thomas Hobbes wrote, “whatsoever a man does against his conscience, is sin.” The first three chapters are an extension of this premise. God has revealed Himself to the gentiles through nature (Romans 1:19-20). He revealed Himself to the Jews through Law (Romans 2:14-15). All have rebelled against this revelation (Romans 1:29-32 and 2:1-5). All will be judged on the basis of truth rejected (Romans 2:9-11). All are equally guilty (Romans 3:21-23).
Here will begin (through chapter 8) the supreme workings of faith. Romans 8:38 “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, or angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things past, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Man, whatever his cultural bias, is the fallen creation of God. We were created in, and for, holiness. Acts 17:26f “From one man made He every nation of men that they should inhabit the whole earth: and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him. . . reach out for Him and find Him, though . . . not far from any of us.”
The first man was created in holiness but voluntarily fallen. So, each one of us, though touched by that same life force of God, is fallen. Holiness implanted but not yielded to in our lives, is thus lost.
We were created to remain under the just law of God. The article was somber and sobering. “Last night while you slept: 15,000 arrests were made, more than 3,000 were committed to mental institutions, there were nearly 100 suicides and 30 murders.”
II. There is Purpose in This Justification. V22 “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” Man had the choice of positive obedience, and of belief about trust in community, too. It was no impossible alternative. The only available example is Jesus. While we have the seed of sin, the choice is our own.
God chose man to dwell in fellowship. That purpose has never changed. It was witnessed by law and prophets. Isaiah’s “suffering servant” passage (Isaiah 52:13f) confirms. Isaiah 54:7 “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring thee back.”
The same truth pertains to Jew and Gentile, v22. “There is no difference.” V23 “Both have sinned,” or “miss the mark.” Hebrew v. Greek suggest bad aim or powerlessness.
“Justified freely” (v24) means a judicial decree. “Redemption” (v24) refers to a slave market, where a price had to be paid.
I Peter 1:18f “Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, . . . but with the precious blood of Christ as a lamb without blemish.” This brings us to the very heart of the gospel. It speaks of the measure of redemption—“freely” (v24). It speaks of the manner of redemption—"by His grace” (v24). It speaks of the means of redemption—“through . . . Christ Jesus” (v24).
It behooves us to recognize the choice that we are left to make. Human reason tells us to avoid the implication of guilt. Matthew Arnold, poet and author of Victorian England, pictured sin “not as a monster but as an infirmity.” Elsewhere: “an infirmity to get rid of.” He says not “How”!
The likely choice is the (word), not human reasoning. Romans 3:2 “First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.” Guilt is a factor, and restitution is inevitable. The workable alternative is faith in Christ as redeemer and sin bearer.
III. Finally, We See the Example of Justification. V28 “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.” Paul’s argument here is not simply justification by faith. He has already settled that: V24 “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ.”
His argument is one for the exclusiveness of that faith justification. His point is clear. God does not opt to save some by faith and others by work. Such inconsistency is the spawn of infidelity. It is a human trait, not a sovereign one. If God’s mood allowed such swings, how would we know what is His contemporary exercise?
So the point is thoroughly made: He is God of both Jew and Gentile. Jeremiah 10:7 “Who would not fear you, O you king of the nations?” “Nations” is reference to non-Jews. Greek translates ethnos as “nations.”
Mark 12:29f “Hear O Israel, the Lord is one . . . . You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” For the Jew, the law is the source through which faith flows. (Galatians 3:24, in the King James calls law a “schoolmaster.”) For the Gentile, grace is the instrument of faith. But for both, it is the act of believing faith that saves.
So, Paul reminds us that sin is the problem. We are without defense or excuse. Repentance is the key that activates this faith. Thomas Fuller, English churchman and historian, said, “You cannot repent too soon, because you do not know how soon it will be too late.”
Closing
On our one trip abroad, we stopped briefly in Venice. On a ride through the canals, we saw the bridge called The Bridge of Sighs. It is said to lead from a courtroom to a dismal prison. “Abandon hope all ye who enter here.”
THINKING SOBERLY
#033 (use with #784) THINKING SOBERLY
Scripture Romans 12:1-10, 21 NIV Orig. 9-20-64 (11-75)
Rewr. 9-28-90
Passage: Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Purpose: On the last Sunday of the church year, to remind my people of our need to give freely of ourselves for the glory of God in the new year.
Keywords: Commitment Offering Sacrifice Suffering
Timeline/Series: New Year
Introduction
It was Victor Hugo, I believe, who once described heaven as a place “where all the parents are young, and all the children are small.” I think I can understand the point that he was making.
The ones who are least likely to grasp this are young parents themselves. For others of us, however, it is quite impossible to look with anything other than nostalgia upon those days when our own children were small. What a treasure trove of delights those days now bring to mind. Oh, yes, there were days made weary by the wants and waywardness of those little ones. And, yes, the nights were sometimes made long with wakefulness. There are even some who have had to look death in its ugly face.
But surely, there are none of us so insensitive, that this lovable bundle of frail humanity was not a constant source of surprise and joy. The truly loving parent, however, would be the last to deny to this child the right and privilege of growing to personal fulfillment in adulthood.
If, as the Bible suggests, we get our start in the kingdom as “babes” (I Peter 2:2), as spiritual infants, then, the object of our being is to mature. The “Will of God” for His every child is for this one who was a baby to grow to become what they are capable of becoming.
While it may be nostalgic to smile with the concept of “child-like faith,” it is realistic to see grown-up people dealing with grown-up problems, from a Christian perspective. That’s what “thinking soberly” is all about.
I. We Begin with an Appeal to Sensitivity. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God.” The appeal takes note that individual freedom is not denied. You see, our response to God does not come mechanically. It is not automatically in-bred. We don’t get it from our genes. At her school in New Orleans, Ann was teaching about basic genetics. She had Terry and Jerry, identical twins, in her class. She said, “Terry and Jerry are twins because their genes match.” An eager student helpfully said, “And their shirts!”
We do, however, learn a great deal, positive and negative, from moms and dads.
Paul does not here assume that they are doing all they can. He affirms from personal experience. He remembers out of his pilgrimage. “Beseech” is the verb form (paraclesis) of parakletos (John 14:26), or “Comforter.” In Luke 2:25 Simeon is “waiting for the Consolation.”
It is a call for willful response based on one’s redeemed heart’s longing. It is such response that purges the heart of unworthy thought and motive. Remember that Paul went “into Arabia” (Galatians 1:6) after his conversion. The question with which we must deal is of the desire of our hearts to sustain our professions as Christians.
We remember great Cowboy teams of the 1970’s. Coach Landry had two superstars sitting on the bench, Bob Hayes and Craig Morton. A reporter asked “Why?” Landry gave three reasons: “They do not stay current on plays. They are not consistent when they perform. They are not committed to winning.”
You see, the nature of the appeal assumes that an experience with Christ has occurred.
The first perspective of living the Christian life is our perspective of Christ. Tell me what you think of Christ, I will know what kind of life you live. Jesus defines hypocrisy (Matthew 23), saying that the one not at peace with God is like a whitewashed sepulcher, a death vessel. Without the converting experience, the appeal would have been to dead men.
We are free: But Christ holds the key TO PEACE WITH GOD.
We are free: But Christ holds the key to growth as Christians.
It is the desire of God’s heart.
II. We Must Next Describe the Affirmation of Sacrifice. “I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies, a living sacrifice.” Admittedly, this is in the context of a message to an entire church. It will not be resolved by a committee. A highfalutin Board of Deacons will not authorize it. The staff will not scrutinize programs and work toward this one. It is a decision to be made by individual believers.
The language used here is that of animal sacrifice. I remind you that the Old Testament practice was based on offering a life to God, not a dead carcass. That’s why the emphasis is on the blood. Of the many vulgarities of Satanism, it majors on death, not life.
The mind of God is ours to know in relation to sacrifice. Isaiah 1:11 “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me?” Hosea 6:6 “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.” Amos 5:21f “I hate, I despise your feast days. . . . Let judgment run down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
The death of Christ becomes a case in point. God was willing to surrender His own son’s life for a greater good. So, begin to listen with your heart as with your ears. John 1:29 “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” I Corinthians 5:7 “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” I Peter 1:19 “With the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without a blemish, spotless.”
The death of Jesus begins to have meaning only as we give of ourselves in response. The measure of our sacrifice is the MEASURE of our faith.
Paul suggests four ways to assess our own lives: How we live—as long as life remains; Sacrifice—my life for another’s; Holiness—duty to God, others, and self; Acceptability—judged by the JUDGE.
Recall the example of Lot. With Abraham, decisions were made for him. On his own, however, he faced the hard choice of dying with his hands full of emptiness, or living in response to God.
This will be a good place to say a word about the election. The demand of the bramble of this world is always to “put [our] trust in” shadows.
III. Thinking Soberly, then, Brings Us to the Attainment of Service. “Present your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Notice it says nothing about extraordinary commitment here. It addresses reflecting faith in the way we live. It speaks of the satisfaction of a morally upright life: Psalm 69:6 “Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: Let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.” Not only church staff members: deacons, teachers, others, as well.
It is a lifestyle that is unattainable without being into the word. That is the litmus test. Philippians 2:13 “It is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Psalm 62:11 “The Lord gave the word.”
Conclusion
We are all familiar with the children’s story of the little Dutch boy who plugged the hole in the dike with his finger and thus spared his homeland. There was epic drama behind that story, however, for there were times when Dutchmen hurled their own bodies into the gaps of the weakening dikes, averting real-life disasters.
Spiritual dikes are being threatened today as never before. Some of the storms are alien, from far, distant places. Others are brought upon us by our own kind through apathy and indolence on our part.
A HOPE THAT IS WONDERFUL
#021 A HOPE THAT IS WONDERFUL
Scripture Romans 8:18-39 NIV Orig. 7-15-62
Rewr. 3-21-85
Passage: 18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that[a] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[b] have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. 31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[c]
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[d] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Purpose: Continuing a series from Romans, define for my people that wonderful hope that is in Christ.
Keywords: God Sovereignty Hope Holy Spirit
Timeline/Series: Romans
Introduction
I read recently the story of a young writer who believed that he had composed the classic short story. He was persuaded that it was the best that he could do. Though the plot was not original, the young man felt that it was a masterpiece of realism.
One day he was introduced to a famous author, and to his delight, the old man asked his new friend to come to his study and read his manuscript to him.
The story was about the only son of a poor widow living in a cottage nesting in a Pennsylvania valley. The boy decided to go to the city to seek his fortune. The mother, in true motherly form, saw him off saying, “Now remember son, if you ever get into trouble, no matter how bad it is, you set off home and as you come over the hill, you’ll always find a light burning in this window—and I’ll be waiting to welcome you.”
As the young author read his manuscript he told the young man’s story. It was one of decline and fall into debauchery and crime. After a time in prison, and after his release, he decided it was time to return to the old home place. He came finally to the only hill that remained between himself and his home. As he walked over the crest and looked down, there was the outline of the old cottage in the evening gloom, but no light burning in the window.
The old author, who had listened intently all the while, leaped quickly to his feet and cried: “You young devil, put that light back.” That light represented hope. As long as it remained, then the remoteness of the story did not matter.
I. A Hope that is Wonderful Defines the Human Struggle. V22f “For we know that the whole creation groans in labor pains together until now. And not only they, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit.” We must first link with the prior message. V16 The Holy Spirit confirms human spirit. We are therefore God’s children—heirs. Heirship is fulfilled only at death. As another thread in the tapestry of eternity, death becomes less frightening. In 1939 Lou Gehrig said of his illness: "Fans, for the past two weeks, you've been reading about a bad break. Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” In 2 Corinthians 10:15 Paul wrote “When I am weak, then I am strong.”
Oneness with Christ is ours.
In this sense, Paul confirms human suffering. Whatever the struggle, it is less overpowering beholding what is to be. All of us know someone in the throes of some deep agony. How much easier when there is a supportive family. What a difference friends can make.
Paul says (V19) “creation” will be better off for man’s struggle to redemption. Natural man brings nature to the brink. PBS, in “Passion to Protect,” reported than 1 in 1000 animal species becomes extinct through a natural event, once a month through a man-made event.
Misuse of chemicals are creating a far-ranging problem. An article published 3-20-85 reported that it was a pesticide chemical that caused the death of 2,000 people in Bhopal, India.
Man’s spiritual redemption, cosmos out of chaos, is nature’s hope also. Hope (v20) is not God’s hope. It is man’s hope, nature’s hope. With God there can be nothing less than absolute certainly. The struggle is of divine ordination. The world may be in its birth pains, V22—tsunami, earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, etc. Man is in his coming to oneness with God.
II. A Hope that is Wonderful Describes the Spirit’s Intercession. (V26-27). V26 “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.” It is intercession in prayer. He doesn't do our praying for us. When burdens stymie prayer, He comes to our rescue. It is not intercession when we are not praying, but when we can’t pray.
It is intercession in weakness. We are trying to impress others with our strengths. But “when I am weak, then I am strong.” The Holy Spirit comes in our weakness. Helps (V26)—sunantilambanomai, “to take hold of with another.” Ever tried to pick up a wheelbarrow by the handles? Even if a friend takes one of the handles? We need a helper who understands the problem. For instance, the best marriages are often those where weaknesses are known, understood, and accepted. It is intercession seeking compliance with the will of God. “According to [the will of] God” V27 is surely the sense of the verse: 2 Corinthians 10:15: “Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men’s labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly.”
III. A Hope that is Wonderful Explains God’s Sovereignty V26-28. V28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who are called according to his purpose.” Not some pantheism by which we are elected if all goes well with us. Not some theistic “chance.” 2 Samuel 7:28 “And now, O Lord God, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant.” It is God active in the framework of history. Acts 17:24-28 at Mars Hill: “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 habitation” (V26). God guides that history by those who cooperate with His purpose, just as we must seek to pray for the Spirit to intercede.
As we “faith” events around us, we are “working together” with God. “Purpose” translates “a placing before.” It is to establish priorities. V. 29-30 contain God’s loving purpose for the Christian. “Foreknew”—to know before hand; “predestinate”—horizon—to set a limit, “confirmed to the image of His Son”; “called”—all are called, those who respond are certified; “justified”—legal and formal acquittal; “glorified”—bring to a promised place of honor.
IV. A Hope that is Wonderful Exemplifies Christ’s Substitution (VV 31-39). V32 “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also freely give us all things?" We are redeemed by this substitutionary work of Christ. In Him we are God’s own dear children. He doesn’t love others less. His love is personalized by response as John was “the Disciple whom Jesus loved.” To be in Christ is to be uncondemned (V34). To be in Christ is forever (V39).
Closing
We had a couple of pianos tuned recently. Did you ever wonder how they do it in big chuches where they have lots of pianos? How would it be to tune the first, and then to tune each succeeding one to the one just finished? Would the twenty be in harmony with the first? No, in no way!
Our two were tuned with a tuning fork. If one had two hundred to be tuned, they would all require tuning with the same tuning fork.
This wonderful hope, of which we have spoken, is “in Christ.” It is up to each of us to rest in Him to have this hope.
SUBJECT TO HIGHER POWERS
#020 SUBJECT TO HIGHER POWERS
Scripture Romans 13:1-14 NIV Orig. 11-11-62 (8-85)
Rewr. 5-18-88
Passage: Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”[a] and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.[c]
Purpose: To speak to my people during Religious Liberty Week on the need to subject ourselves to the social as well as spiritual needs around us.
Keywords: Citizenship Law Duty Love
Timeline/Series: Romans
Introduction
Among sermons in my library is one preached more than a century ago by Robert William Dale, a Congregational pastor in Birmingham, England. He raises, and speaks to a question pertinent to Religious Liberty Week. He quotes John 6:15:
“Jesus therefore perceiving that they were about to come and take Him by force, to make Him king, withdrew.”
He then asks, “Did not our Lord miss a great chance when he refused the position which they offered Him? . . . . Why did He not consent to reign?” He then answers his own question. “It was the miracle of the loaves and the fishes, . . . that provoked the popular enthusiasm. No doubt the people thought that if He were their king all their material wants . . . would receive satisfaction. Ah! But it is not Christ’s first object to secure . . . outward conditions favorable to universal ease and comfort. That was clearly not His object in the creation of the material universe which He has built for our home. Men have to live by the sweat of their brow, and in most parts of the world, they have to work hard in order to live. There are fogs and floods, harvests are blighted; there is intolerable heat, . . . cold; men are disciplined to endurance by physical discomfort; their intellectual life is provoked to strenuous activity by the hardships and difficulties of their condition. The proverbial garden of the sluggard is not a reproach to Providence but to the sluggard. It was God’s will that he should have not only a garden bright with flowers, but that he should have the physical vigor, the industry, the intelligence that would come from cultivating it. God cares more for the man than for the garden. . . . Government is a divine institution, but it is through human virtue, . . . self-sacrifice, . . . patience, . . . sagacity, that the material blessings which are possible through the social condition are to be actually won. . . . It was impossible that Christ should accept power on the terms upon which He knew that it had been offered to Him.”
It would be left up to us to secure the kind of government that we deserve. That’s what Religious Liberty Week is all about.
I. Subject to Higher Powers Means Duties to the State. V1 “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God.” This acknowledges the sovereignty of God, and abused authority is answerable to Him. Governing authorities are put in place. Even in a police state such authority is responsible.
The will of God includes government within a social system. The dark ages were marked by a serious challenge to state and church. Henry the Eighth is easily recognized for this period.
Paul, who knew no pope, seems to have made room for no such power vested in the church.
Ann and I served on a Jefferson Parish jury years ago. A man from our neighborhood was in the jury pool with us; a Jehovah’s Witness, he asked to be excused.
I Peter 2:13f: “. . . submit yourself to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, or to those sent by him. . . .”
We are fortunate indeed to live within an open system. Agitation for better government is allowed and expected. The system, with all its faults, advocates teaching to improve. We should all be good students of history. Obey the law, but be prepared to work to improve the system as needed.
Does being “subject” mean respecting leaders? It is a military term. It acknowledges a chain of command. I remember my own military experience. We were admonished to salute the rank.
In 1977, the little Strode boy in Marion, North Carolina, and his parents were far off base; it is reprehensible for parents to allow their son to say the things he said about teachers and administrators.
I remember a First Sergeant whom I did not, could not, respect, but I was subject to him.
II. Subject to Higher Powers Means Duties to Citizens of the State. V8 “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.” He is speaking outside of the purview of the church: “Owe no man.” Do not be obligated to another. Don’t let others control your destiny.
He uses the civic term “neighbor” rather than “brother”: “’Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor.”
Some see contradiction with Romans 6:14 “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law but under grace.” Our relation to God is spiritual (Romans 6:14). Our relation to the world is legal (Romans 13:8f).
James Stifler (E13p219), The Epistle to the Romans—“God demands much more of the believer than the state asks. The latter says ‘Thou shalt not injure thy neighbor.’ God says, ‘Thou shalt love him as thyself.’”
The goal, then, for the Christian, is to care about other people. It extends beyond other “believers.”
It is an obligation to pay our own way and our just debts. Love teaches us not only what good to do, it teaches what ungood to avoid. Love restrains us from: (v9) adultery, murder, theft, false witness, covetousness; all else is “comprehended” in “love.”
We would do well to remember that the state can only administer by the sword. If it administers wrongly, grievous injustice can and does result. The church, however, is to administer through love. Even if we are wrong, what injustice is there in love? V9: “. . . All is summed up (kephelaion) in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
III. Subject to Higher Powers Means Enforcement of Civil Duties. V13 “Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in licentiousness and lewdness, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts.”
What we do, do it because of the time. V11 “Knowing the time.” There is too much tendency to sleep, moreso, to fail to see moral and cultural deprivations. Biblical advice is that it is time to awaken out of stupor; time to grasp the meaning of ineptitude; time to perceive that we can make a difference. On May 14, 1988, while Monroe, Louisiana, bar owners were celebrating their school’s 2a.m. victory, a customer of Kentucky bars was turning into the wrong lane of the freeway, and killed 27 people.
The true significance of this passage is in its relationship to Christ. First, the “night” of Christ’s away, V12; second, the “day” of His reappearing. They were to put off the works of darkness, put on the works of light. Ephesians 6:13 “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
You see, when we have taken Christ, we have done all we can, or need to do. Hebrews 10:37, “For yet a little while, and he who is coming will come, and will not tarry.”
Simple honesty demands that we be in daily living what we claim to be in profession. V13 “Let us walk honestly.” It means “becomingly, decently.” Paul uses the same word in I Thessalonians 4:12, “Walk honestly toward them who are outsiders.” We who are believers do have moral, as well as spiritual obligations to others. Not many “drunken” or “perverted orgies,” or even “jealous strife.” But the text reminds us (v10) “Love worketh no ill to one’s neighbor,” remembering Christ’s definition.
The summation of all is that we are to “put on” Christ. Romans 6:3 “As many as are baptized in Jesus, are baptized in His death.” Galatians 3:27 “For as many as have been baptized in Christ, have put on Christ.”
There is obedience. There is disposition. There is hope.
***THE CONCLUSION OF THIS SERMON HAS BEEN LOST***