The Dust of the Rabbi

The Calling

A sermon I preached at Mid-Valley Community Church: John 1:35-46

 

Living New Life

Romans 6:1-14

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? ² By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? ³ Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 

⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. ⁷ For one who has died has been set free from sin. ⁸ Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. ¹⁰ For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. ¹¹ So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 

¹² Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. ¹³ Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. ¹⁴ For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. 

Who am I?

Have you ever thought about this question?

“Who am I?”

This, I think could be the most fundamental and important of questions that a person can ask him or herself

Who am I?

When I strip away all the clutter in my life, all the expectations, all the ambitions, all the dreams, what lies at the root of my existence?

Who am I?

I have a friend who was asked this very question, and as he thought about it, as he looked down deep into his soul, after everything was stripped away, he answered, “I am a child of God”

I don’t know if my friend knew the significance of his statement at the time – I don’t know if he knew how fundamental this was – But I do know that he was clear on it – This was not a grey area in his life – This wasn’t something that he thought twice about – This was something he believed, something he owned, something he lived – And is still living today!

Who am I?

The apostle Paul is asking us the same question, “Who are you?”

Or perhaps a better way to put it is, “Who do you think you are?”

In chapter 5 Paul is talking about the amazing power of God’s grace – The fact that sin can never out-do grace!

The grace of God is so powerful, so amazing, that it has the ability to cover any amount of sins that I commit

God’s grace can never be out-done!

And so now, he’s asking us the question, “Who do you think you are?”

Do you think of yourself as a sinner, or do you think of yourself as a child of God?

The reason I ask this question is because our lives will always follow the perception that we have of ourselves

Think about a person with low self-esteem – What does a person like this do?

When they ask themselves the question, “Who am I?” What do they answer with?

It’s usually something like, “I’m a no good person, I have nothing good to say, I’m horrible”

Then what happens?

Their lives usually show what they have concluded in their hearts – Because when they continually tell themselves that they are “no good,” “have nothing good to say,” and “horrible” they actually begin to do those things

It’s what psychologists call the “self-fulfilling prophecy”

Listen to this definition:

“The self-fulfilling prophecy is a false definition of the situation evoking a new behavior which makes the original conception come true”

In other words, a self-fulfilling prophecy is me having a false idea about myself, which leads me to act differently because I have implanted that false idea in my brain, which leads to the false idea coming true

I believed a lie, and now the lie has come true

Please don’t understand me, I am not talking about “positive/negative thinking” or “name it and claim it” type things – I am only talking about false perceptions that we have of ourselves

I am talking about truth and lies – There are truths that the Bible teaches, then there are lies that Satan continually bombards us with

Are we believing truth, or are we believing lies?

Paul says, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? [LIE] ² By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? [TRUTH] ³ Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life”           Romans 6:1-4

Paul is saying that if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you have died to sin – Just like Jesus died to sin

The Bible teaches that Jesus had temptations just like any of us, yet he did not give in to those temptations, but instead considered himself dead to them – In fact this is exactly why he came to earth – To die for sins – To pay the penalty for sins

Hebrews 4:15 says, “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” Hebrews 4:15

Jesus had a choice to sin, but every time he was faced with that choice he always chose not to indulge in it – He always chose the right thing because he knew who he was, and he knew what his mission was

When he asked himself the question, “Who am I?” the answer was, “I am the Son of God and I have come to take away the sin of the world”

And this is precisely what kept Jesus from sinning – Because he held on to the truth and rejected lies (think about the temptations in the wilderness. Matt. 4:1-11)

What did Satan say to Jesus? – “If you are the Son of God…”

Satan was tempting Jesus to sin based on how Jesus saw himself – There is no doubt that Jesus saw himself as the Son of God, but Satan was saying, “Prove it, prove that you are the one that you think you are”

Satan was trying to get Jesus to believe a lie (this is exactly what he did to Eve)

Well, Jesus knew who he was, and he wasn’t going to fall for Satan’s schemes

And this is what Paul is telling us in Romans 6 – He’s saying, “Wake up Christians, don’t you know who you are?” – “How can we who died to sin still live in it?”

Paul is telling us who we are in Christ – He is telling us what God did for us through his Son Jesus Christ

Jesus died to sin, now we too ought to die to sin

He’s saying that because Jesus has triumphed over sin, that is why God raised him from the dead, showing to the world who he is – And now when we live for him, we become identified with him – So, just like Jesus was raised from the dead, we too will be raised from the dead

³ Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Romans 6:3-4

What Paul is saying is, “Because we have died with Christ, we now have new life just like Christ”

Well, what does all this mean?

It means that: In Christ we have the power to overcome sin

⁶ We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, [lit. abolished] so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. ⁷ For one who has died has been set free from sin. Romans 6:6-7

What Paul is saying here is that those of us that have given our lives to Jesus, those of us that have accepted him into our hearts – Made him Lord and Savior – The moment we did that, we died to our old self – The old me died that day, and the new me was born

This is why Jesus said, “You must be born again” John 3:7

You see, the Bible teaches that the old self is corrupted, that’s why it’s so easy to sin – But this is exactly the reason why the old self must die, and a new self be born in its place

And Paul is telling us here that we have died, and we are now living a new life

So live the new life that is yours!

We are no longer slaves to sin, because that was part of our old self – We have been delivered from that – Now, live the new you!

Well, what does this new life look like? What are some examples?

The new life looks like a man who has been addicted to pornography but has stopped indulging in it – But he didn’t stop because the temptations went away, rather, he stopped because he continually puts to death those temptations

The new life looks like a woman who all her life wanted to be like someone else, she always struggled with envy, always comparing what she has to what they have, and then hating them because she doesn’t have it – But now she suppresses those feelings knowing that they are destructive – Instead, she begins to praise God, thanking him for what she has, and praising him for his goodness to those around her – How He blesses those around her

The new life looks like a man who all his life struggled with greed and selfishness. He never gave when people asked of him, never helped out a friend – Instead he always found an excuse not to give or to lend to them. He only thought about himself and his own well-being – But now he recognizes that all that he has is because of God, so he suppresses his natural reasoning and does away with his excuses – He begins to give and not expect anything in return

You see, what Paul is telling us is that we are no longer slaves to sin, because we have died to sin – And now we live in the power of God that has overcome sin

We have the power not to sin

This is what Jesus has done for us – He has given us new life in his Spirit and now he commands us to live the new life

Verse 10 says, “For the death he [Jesus] died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. ¹¹ So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus”Romans 6:10-11

In other words, “Count, Think, Judge, Consider yourselves dead to sin – And alive to God” – “Do it, count on it, because this is the reality, this is the truth! – This is who you are!”

We have the power in Christ to overcome sin, because we have died to sin – We do not belong to sin anymore, we belong to God!

So, “Who are you?”

Are you a sinner, or are you a child of God?

Are you living in the lie that says, “I can’t help it, it’s just who I am”

Or are you living in the truth that says, “I have all the power to overcome this sin – In fact, I have the same power that raised Jesus from the dead available to me, this is the power that lives in me, yet it’s not my power, but God’s power, and He has given it to me”

Will I believe the lie, making it true – Or will I believe the truth and live in victory?

Link to Translations

The Effects of Sin

In the last few weeks we have been discussing the fact that we are all sinners, we are all guilty – No matter who you are, where you come from, or what time you live – All are guilty before God

Paul makes this clear as he writes the first chapters of the letter to the Romans

He tells us that we have all broken God’s laws – And because we have broken them we are all guilty – But even though we are guilty, we have been “justified” (declared not guilty)

He says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift” Romans 3:23-24

And this gift is not a result of doing good things, but is only received through faith

He says it this way in 3:28, “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law” Romans 3:28

So, what Paul is saying is that the free gift of salvation is by faith and not by works (not by doing good things) – It was never by works, it was always by faith! – And if you were to argue with him, he would simply point you to the story of Abraham as found in the pages of Genesis

So, now, Paul wants to flush this out a little – He wants to communicate to his audience how this all came about – Why is it that all are guilty before God? And why is it that Jesus is the only way to be saved?

Romans 5:12-21

¹² Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— ¹³ for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. ¹⁴ Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. 

¹⁵ But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. ¹⁶ And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. ¹⁷ For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. 

¹⁸ Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. ¹⁹ For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. ²⁰ Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, ²¹ so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

What I want us to consider tonight is this

What is the end result of sin, and what is the end result of the free gift?

If we are all guilty then we need to know why, and if we have salvation in Jesus we need to know why as well

This is what Paul does in this passage

¹² Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned. Romans 5:12

Well, before I get into this, I would like to ask, “Who is the one responsible for sin in the world?”

Yes, It’s Adam – Now, the next question is, “How is Adam’s sin responsible for the sin of the world?”

This is a harder question, isn’t it?

So, we know the “Who” but we don’t really know the “How”

In other words, “How is it that Adam’s sin affects me, that I become a sinner like him?”

Well, there are two views on this, and they both come from this verse, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” Romans 5:12

Now this may get a little academic but I think its important for us Christians to know these things – So, when people ask us about original sin we can tell them – When they ask, “How did sin enter the world? We can tell them

It’s also important because the whole world is asking this question – It doesn’t matter who you are, whether you’re a Muslim, a Hindu, a Buddhist, or an Atheist, everyone wants to know how sin entered the world – Where evil comes from – And whether they call it sin or something else, that doesn’t matter – What matters is that it is here and it destroys

The first view is called the Federal Headship view

In this view Adam is the representative for the entire human race – What Adam decided to do affects all of us, even though we were not there, even though we did not participate in it.

We may object to what Adam does, and if we were there we would never do as he did – But according to this view, this doesn’t matter, Adam is the “Head,” and we are not – So, what Adam does affects us, whether we like it or not

So, according to this view, we became sinners because Adam became a sinner

His actions affected us, even though we didn’t do anything

And you may be thinking, “Hey! That’s not fair, I didn’t vote for Adam!”

Well, according to this view, that doesn’t matter – Adam is still the “Head”

The second view is called the Natural (Seminal) Headship view

In this view Adam is not so much our representative as he is the first of many that would come after him – Adam is the first person of the human race, and we all come from him

So, this view says that when Adam sinned, we sinned too, because we were in Adam

And your thinking, “What? I wasn’t even there!”

Well, the logic is that even though we were not there in a physical body, we were there physically in “seminal” form – We were there in seed form in Adam

And if the entire human race comes from one man (which it does) that means we were all there with Adam (in seed form), we just did not have physical bodies yet

So, when Adam sinned, we sinned with him – This view says that we did participate in the first sin

And your thinking, “That’s kinda weird!”

Well, before you throw this view out, let me just say that there is biblical evidence for it, let’s read Romans 5:12 again, “¹² Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” Romans 5:12

The last three words say, “because all sinned” – It’s written in the past tense, and its referring to us while at the same time referring to Adam

So, Paul is telling us that when Adam sinned, we sinned as well – It was one act – When Adam disobeyed God, we too were disobeying God (we did it together, all of us) –  In this view we are not just passive observers but are participants in Adam’s sin

Another verse that could be quoted to support this is Hebrews 7:9-10, “⁹ One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, ¹⁰ for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.” Hebrews 7:9-10

So, according to the Natural (Seminal) view we all disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, it wasn’t just Adam, it was me, it was you

And because we sin, it just proves that we became sinners like Adam when Adam became a sinner

Well, whatever view you take, the fact of the matter is, we are all sinners

We sin because we are sinners, and we are sinners because we sin – This is who we are

We may never know the “How” question, but without a doubt what we do know is that we are sinners

So…

What is the end result of sin, and what is the end result of the free gift?

Well, let’s find out

¹² Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— ¹³ for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. ¹⁴ Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. Romans 5:12-14

What happens to 100% of the human race – What is it that we all have in common?

We die – Everyone dies, no matter who you are, where you live, how rich you are, how poor you are – We all die

Some of us will live longer than others, but eventually we all end up at the same place – We all end up in the ground

What Paul is saying here is that death is a result of sin – We all die, because we all sin – Sin is the primary cause of death

It’s not because we get old and our bodies wear down – It’s not because we live in a chaotic random world where freak accidents happen – It’s not even because there are diseases that kill our bodies – It’s because of sin

Yes, these things all happen, but the Bible teaches that they are a result of sin – If it weren’t for sin, they would not exist!

What did God say to Adam when He put him in the garden?

¹⁶  “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, ¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17

God is not only talking about spiritual death here, He is talking about physical death as well

And we know from the narrative that both of these happen – Adam and Eve die spiritually, and then they die physically

Their spiritual death was instantaneous – It happened the moment they disobeyed, but the physical death took some time to mature (like it does in all of us)

Adam and Eve died, Abel died, Cain died, Abraham died, Moses died…

We all die because we are all sinners; we are all sinners because we all die

And so we can say that if it weren’t for sin, we would not die, we would live forever – We would never die

You see, this is why the resurrection of Jesus is so important

Because Jesus is the only man who never sinned, this is why death had no power over Him – This is how He conquered death – This is how He was raised from the dead

You might say, “But Jesus did die, and if death is a result of sin, then Jesus must have sinned”

No, what did Jesus say before he died?

In John 10:17 He says, ¹⁷ “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, [not even sin] but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” John 10:17-18

Jesus’ death is the only death that was not a result of sin, He laid it down of his “own accord” – He gave His life, so that those that don’t have life can have His

You see, if death is the result of sin, and Jesus did not sin, then death had no hold on Him – But the gospel message is that He laid down His life anyway – He laid it down for us – He died for us

And because He did this great act, He is able to rise from the dead and give us life in Him

Listen to what Jesus says to Martha, as she grieves the death of her brother Lazarus, ²⁵ “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26

Here, the people are mourning the death of their friend Lazarus, the fact that sin has taken another person – But Jesus, wanting to demonstrate His power over death does His greatest miracle – One that will point to Him as well – He raises Lazarus from the dead!

And this is what Paul is telling us, he’s saying that there are only two kinds of people – There are those that belong to Adam, and there are those that belong to Christ

Unfortunately, even though we belong to Christ we still die, but this is only sin running its course – If we belong to Christ we “will never die” as Jesus says

We will be resurrected as He was resurrected!

We will live as He lives

What an awesome thought!

Paul says in 1Corinthians 15:21-22, “²¹ For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” 1Corinthians 15:21-22

What a great hope that we have! That even in death we will live once again – Death ultimately has no hold on us, just like it had no hold on Jesus

But Paul is saying that this is only for those that put their faith in Christ – This is only for those that have died to their own self already and are living for Jesus now! – That even though they die, they will live again!

In John 6 Jesus says, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” John 6:40

What a wonderful hope that we have – To know that this life is not the end – To know that even though death reigns in this world, we do not belong to this world – To know that even though we die, we will not stay that way, but will be like (As Jesus says) “The angels in heaven” Matt. 22:30

Link to Translations

Peace

Last time we met we talked about Abraham – We talked about the fact that he was called the “Father of faith” because he believed in what God had promised

He was also declared “righteous” (or justified) by God because he believed in Him

For the past few weeks we have been stressing the role of faith when it comes to God and ourselves

In Romans, the Apostle Paul zeros in on Abraham to tell us the importance of faith – The fact that Abraham was declared righteous (justified) not because of good things he had done, but because he believed in the Word of God

Abraham was declared righteous on the basis of his faith, and not on the basis of his works

What Paul is telling us is that, to be righteous before God, one has to believe in who God is, and what He has done for him/her

And this is not a New Testament concept, this is always the way it was – Abraham is a perfect example of this

So, now we come to chapter 5

Romans 5:1-11

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. ² Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵ and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 

⁶ For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— ⁸ but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. ¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. ¹¹ More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. 

Are you afraid to die?

If you knew that today was going to be your last day on earth, the last day you would spend on this side of eternity, what would go through your heart?

Would it be terror or would it be peace?

Do you have peace?

 

When you look at your life, when you survey all that you are, all that you have, all that you don’t have, all of your dreams, all of your concerns, all of your passions

Can you say, “I am in perfect peace?”

In a way, this is the most profound of questions – We all want peace! – No matter who you are, where you live, what your circumstance, what your religion

Everyone, every single person on the face of this earth, everyone who has lived and died, in all ages, in all times, from Adam until this day, wants peace

I’m not talking about a superficial peace – A peace that comes as a result of not being at war, or a peace that results in not fighting with my family, my spouse, or my kids – No! – The peace I’m referring to is the deep inner peace that is only a result of God

It’s a peace that transcends understanding, a peace that can only be the result of God’s work in my soul – It’s a supernatural peace, a heavenly peace

 

This is what I’m talking about, and this is what Paul is talking about in this passage

He says in verse 1, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” Romans 5:1

We have been talking a lot about faith – I find it very interesting that Paul links the word “faith” with the word “peace”

If “peace” is the ultimate longing of the human soul then we must ask, “How is it attainable?”

How does one get this peace? – How can I experience this supernatural peace, this peace that surpasses all understanding?

Well, Paul makes it quite clear right here in verse 1 – We have peace when we have faith – But not just any faith – This faith has to have it’s origin in “our Lord Jesus Christ”

What Paul is saying is, “When we have faith in the person and work of Christ, this is when we experience supernatural peace”

Why? – Why is it through Jesus and no other?

The reason is because Jesus is the One who obtained peace with the Father, He is the One who did what we could not do

Verse 6 says, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” Romans 5:6

This word “weak” simply means “unable” or to be “morally weak”

In other words, we don’t have what it takes to obtain peace with God by ourselves – We are “unable,” we are “morally weak”

So, someone had to do it for us – And that someone is Jesus

This is why faith in Jesus is such a big deal – Because faith is believing in who He is and what He did for me

You see, the Bible teaches that there are only two kinds of people in this world – There are those that have faith in Christ, and those that don’t have faith in Christ

Ultimately, it comes down to only these two

There are those that are of Adam, and then there are those that are of Christ (Romans 5:12-21) – We will talk more about this next time

And the ones that are of Adam stand in judgment, and the ones that are of Christ stand in mercy

 

Listen to what Paul says in verse 9 (speaking to those that have faith in Christ)

“Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his [Jesus’] blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God” Romans 5:9

What Paul is saying is, “Because we have been justified by his blood, we will be saved from the wrath of God”

In other words, “The wrath of God will be poured out on the entire world, and it will only be spared on the ones that have faith in Christ (those that belong to Christ)”

Why?

Because the Bible teaches that we are “enemies” of God

Verse 10 says, “While we were enemies”

Ephesians 2 says that we are “dead in [our] trespasses and sins” Ephesians 2:1

Colossians 1 says that we are “alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds” Colossians 1:21

 

You see, the Bible teaches that we are rebels, that we are enemies of the God who made us – He made us so that we would love Him, live for Him, worship Him – But we don’t

Instead, we do what the Psalmist says, and what Paul quoted in chapter 3, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” Romans 3:10 (Psalm 14:1-3, 53:1-3)

Also Isaiah says, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way” Isaiah 53:6

This is why we are enemies!

But, the Bible also teaches that we are His children (John 1:12-13), that we are heirs to the kingdom (Galatians 4:6-7), that we are His saints (Ephesians 1:1) – That is, if we have faith in Christ

In Ephesians 2, we read that even though we were “dead,” God has made us “alive” (Ephesians 2:4-5)

In Colossians 1, we read that even though we were “alienated and hostile,” God has “reconciled” us, and has made us “holy and blameless” (Colossians 1:21-22)

This is what God does when someone turns from darkness to light – When someone begins to believe in Jesus Christ – When someone begins to align his/her heart with God’s heart

It’s called being “Born-again”

And this is the “good news” – This is the “gospel!”

And this is what Paul is talking about in Romans 5

This is why we have peace!

Because we have gone from being “enemies” of God to “children” of God – From being “alienated” from God to being “reconciled” to God – From being “dead” to God to being “alive” in God!

And this is why Paul could say what he does in verses 2 through 5

He says, “We rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵ and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:2-5

 

You see, Paul, as he considers his own life – As he thinks about what he did before he gave his life to Christ and what God has made him to be, he can say with confidence…

“I rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, but not only that, I also rejoice in my sufferings, knowing that my suffering produces endurance, and my endurance produces character, and my character produces [godly] hope, and this [godly] hope will not put me to shame… Why?… because God’s love has been poured into my heart through the Holy Spirit who has been given to me”

Now that is peace!

Peace despite circumstance – This is the peace that every single person wants!

So, when your world is messed up, when it’s broken, when nothing is as you hoped it would be

• When your health is not what you hoped it would be
• When your job is not what you hoped to would be
• When your family relationships are not what you hoped them to be
• When your life is not what you hoped it would be

What will you do?

• Will you let your circumstances rob you of the hope that you have?
• Will you let the temporary things in your life control the eternal things?
• Will you let the joy that you have be replaced with anxiety?

No… Instead… despite our circumstances, (because of the great hope that we have), we ought to say like Paul, “I rejoice in my sufferings, because I have a hope that is far greater than anything this world can offer”

If we can do this, then we prove that we have the peace of God – The “Peace that surpasses all understanding” as Paul says in Philippians (Philippians 6:6-7)

Jesus spoke of this peace

What did He say when He encountered people – When He healed them, when He forgave their sins – When He saw their faith?

“Your faith has made you well; go in peace” Mark 5:34

“Your faith has saved you; go in peace” Luke 7:50

So, to answer the question, “How is this peace attainable?”

It is attainable only through faith in Jesus Christ

C.S. Lewis said, “God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing”

That is why we are without peace and restless until we come to Him

Only when we give up our lives on the altar of faith can we attain this deep inner peace that Jesus spoke of

Only when we let go of the things that don’t really matter, the things that we cannot change, and instead embrace the One who can change them, can we experience this deep, satisfying peace

Only when we live our lives with the eyes of faith, seeing things as they will be, instead of what they are now…

Only when we make Jesus “the prince of peace” our foundation, the One to whom all our life and devotion is owed… (Isaiah 9:6)

Only then, will we attain this peace

Link to Translations

Faith

We have been looking at the topic of faith and what it means

How does faith correspond with law?

Are faith and law mutually exclusive? – Do they go together?

Are we to follow the law, or are we to follow faith?

In chapters 1 and 2 Paul says that everyone is guilty – Jews and Gentiles alike – Because they have all have broken the law – They are all lawbreakers, all sinners

They can’t help it, it’s who they are (it’s in their nature) – And it’s who we are as well (it’s in our nature as well)

So, what is the purpose of the law then?

If we are all lawbreakers and we can’t help it, then what is the purpose of it?

The purpose of the law is to give us knowledge of sin

It tells us that we are lawbreakers, that we are sinners

It acts as a mirror – It only reflects what is truly there

When I look into the mirror of the law, I do not see my own goodness, but my badness – The law shows me how far I have fallen short of it

Remember, God’s standard is perfection – We will not be judged based on our own standard, but by God’s standard – And God’s standard is perfection, as is seen in the law

So, because we all fall short of it, Paul says in Romans 3:20, ²⁰ “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:20

So, the whole purpose of the law then, is to show us that we are broken – That we have fallen short of God’s standard

Paul says, “All have sinned [broken the law] and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23

So… what is the purpose of faith then?

The last time we met we talked about Abraham

We talked about the fact that he is called the “Father of faith”

Why is he called the “Father of faith?”

He is called this because when God told him something, he believed it – He trusted the words of God – He had faith in the promises of God

When God told him that he would be the father of nations he believed it

When God told him that he would have a son, he believed it

When God told him that he would be a blessing to the world, he believed it

When God told him to kill his son Isaac, the one who was to be the blessing, he believed it – He did not waver, but was about to do it

He was about to kill his own son!

Now this makes absolutely no sense! – Put yourself in the sandals of Abraham – God told him that He would bless him with a son, and that this son was going to have another son, and this son was going to have more sons – And this is how God would make Abraham the father of nations

It was through his son Isaac – But now God tells him to kill Isaac – Again, this makes absolutely no sense! – But Abraham proceeds to do it anyway – He believed God’s Word

And because he “believed,” the Scripture tells us that, “It was counted to him as righteousness” Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:3

So… the whole point of this, is to say what Paul says in Romans 3:20, “By works of the law, no human being will be justified [made righteous] in his [God’s] sight” Romans 3:20

And Abraham is a perfect example of this – He was declared righteous not based on his keeping of the law, but by his faith – And so it is with us

This is what we will discuss in this next passage

Romans 4:13-25

¹³ For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. ¹⁴ For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. ¹⁵ For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. 

¹⁶ That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, ¹⁷ as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. ¹⁸ In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” ¹⁹ He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. ²⁰ No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, ²¹ fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. ²² That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” ²³ But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, ²⁴ but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, ²⁵ who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. 

What I want us to consider tonight is this:

“Why is faith such a big deal?”

Why do we focus on faith so much? – Why do we say, “I’m keeping the faith!” or “He has come to faith!” or “He is a man of great faith!”

We say this because faith is a big deal, and it’s a big deal because God has made it a big deal

But let’s see what the text tells us

Verse 13 reads, ¹³ For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. ¹⁴ For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. Romans 4:13-14

In other words, “Abraham did not receive this promise because he was a law keeper, but because he had faith”

What Paul is saying is, “If the promise given to Abraham (that he was to be the father of nations) was based on his law keeping, then why did God say it was by his faith?”

Then he adds, “If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, [then] faith is null [empty, has no power] and the promise is void [useless]” Romans 4:14

In other words, “If it is the law keepers who are to be blessed as Abraham was blessed, then the faith of Abraham and what God says about Abraham has no power and His promise to him is useless, it’s void”

You see, God’s promise is based on faith, and not on law keeping – If it were based on law keeping then faith would have no meaning and no power, it would be empty

But we know from the text that there is great power in faith – Abraham was given this glorious position because he was a man of faith – He is called the “Father of nations” because he was a man of faith

So, why wasn’t it by law keeping? – Why did God give the promise to Abraham by his faith and not his law keeping?

Well, the answer is… Because no one can keep the law fully (not even Abraham)

Look at verse 15, Paul simply says, “For the law brings wrath” Romans 5:15

Because no one can keep the law fully, it brings wrath – It brings God’s retributive justice

In other words, “If the law could have been kept fully, then perhaps, it could have been the way God’s promise was given to Abraham” – But it was not – Abraham was a sinner – He was a law breaker – Therefore God gave him the promise through his faith

So, faith is a big deal, because God has made it a big deal

Well, Paul goes on

¹⁶ That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham. Romans 4:16

What Paul is saying is, “The reason the promise doesn’t depend on law keeping is because if it was on law keeping then it would not be on grace”

In other words, “If I were a law keeper, then I could demand God’s promise” – Just like when I work my 40 hours I can demand 40 hours worth of pay

But Paul tells us that the promise does not depend on law keeping, but it depends on “grace”

What is…

 

“Grace” is simply God giving us things we don’t deserve – It’s His undeserved favor

And Paul is telling us that God’s grace is what is behind the promise, (Abraham does not deserve the promise, but it’s given to him anyway)

You see, God does not have to give the promise – No! – He doesn’t have to give anything – He is not obligated to do anything – But He chooses to – This comes from His grace

And because it’s from His grace, it is, “guaranteed to all his offspring”

What Paul is saying is, “If we have faith like Abraham, then we are Abraham’s offspring – And the promise that was given to Abraham will apply to us as well”

You see, this is how we Gentiles enter into the blessings of God – It is through our faith – Just like Abraham was blessed because of his faith – We too, will be blessed because of our faith

So, how do we increase our faith?

If faith is the way God blesses us, then how do we increase it? – How do we have faith when it’s hard to have faith?

Well, let’s keep looking at our example, Abraham

¹⁸ In hope he [Abraham] believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” ¹⁹ He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. Romans 4:18-19

I said earlier that “Abraham believes even when it makes no sense” – Paul says it a little more eloquently here, he says, “In hope he believed against hope” – Well, this is just another way of saying, “When it was hopeless, Abraham hoped anyway”

Verse 19 says, “He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead”

You know, it’s interesting to note that this word translated “weaken” literally means, “to be sick” – And the phrase “good as dead” literally means, “to put to death”

So, you could read it, “When Abraham looked at his own body, he was not sick in his faith, even though his body was about to be put to death”

He was an old man – He probably looked at his 99 year old body and said, “Praise God! He is going to give me a child even when I’m preparing for death! – Even when I am an old man!”

It’s also interesting to note what this word “barrenness” means – It’s the word “nekrosis,” and it literally means “deadness”

You see, Paul is trying to communicate to us the hoplessness of the situation, so he’s using this death imagery to do it

So, you could read this passage, “When it was hopeless, Abraham hoped anyway. When he looked at his own body and realized that it was about to be put to death, he did not get sick in his faith, or even when he looked at his wife and considered the deadness of her womb, he did not get sick in his faith”

²⁰ No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, ²¹ fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. ²² That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” Romans 4:20-22

You see, Paul is telling us that great faith is a faith that is “fully convinced” – A faith that sees God as “able to do what he says”  – A faith that gives “glory to God” even though the situation seems hopeless

This is what God is looking for, and this is why Abraham’s “faith was counted… as righteousness”

The reason that God makes a big deal about faith is because faith is what was lost in the garden

And faith is what Satan wants to destroy in us

You see, “faith” simply means, “trust”

God told Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – “Trust me, you don’t want to eat from it” He says, “If you do, you will die”

What did the serpent tell Eve, “You will not surely die. ⁵ For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”Genesis 3:4-5

You see, what the serpent is trying to do, is destroy the faith of Eve – He is trying to destroy the trust that Eve has in God – He says, “You will not surely die. For God knows…”

What he is telling her is, “God is holding out on you, He’s holding back on you, you can’t trust Him, He knows something that you don’t”

And what happens next? She begins to disbelieve God’s Word and begins to believe Satan’s word – And she eats the fruit

In this moment she has lost her faith in God – She has stopped trusting in God’s Word

But what God is doing (and we find this throughout the entire story of the Bible) is reclaiming that which was lost in the garden

Faith was lost in the garden – Now God is looking for people that have it and people that want it – And those that have it, He blesses, so that they can have more of it

That’s why we have the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11 – By faith Abraham… By faith Sarah… By faith Isaac… By faith Jacob…

The list goes on and on – God is looking for men and women of faith

So, why is faith so important?

Because without it we cannot please God, Hebrews 11:6 says, “⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

And those that draw near to Him – Those that have faith in Him – Just like Abraham’s faith “was counted to him as righteousness” Paul tells us that our faith will be counted to us as righteousness as well

Verse 23 says, ²³ But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, ²⁴ but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord. Romans 4:23-24

This word “counted” is an accounting term – It’s like when someone puts money into my account – They put it there, and now it’s mine – And this is what the Bible teaches about righteousness

That when we believe, when we have faith in what Jesus Christ has done for us, God credits our account with righteousness  – We didn’t earn it, we don’t deserve it, but there it is!

You see, salvation, or righteousness is a gift from God – It’s not earned through law keeping – It is given through faith – Abraham was declared righteous because of his faith – And we too are declared righteous because of our faith

So, faith is a big deal, because God has made it a big deal and it’s the only way to Him – From the very beginning this is how it was – Abraham’s faith was in God’s Word and our faith is in God’s Word

And this is the way it should always be

Link to Translations

The Incarnation

Matthew 1:18-23

¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. ²⁰ But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” ²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 

²³  “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, 

and they shall call his name Immanuel” 

(which means, God with us).

 

С Раждеством Христовым!

Merry Christmas!

It’s that time of year again – Like it or not, here it is

Everywhere you turn, Christmas is being celebrated

The radio is playing Christmas carols, houses are covered in lights, we see Christmas trees in windows, shoppers at the malls, presents, Christmas cards etc. etc. etc.

Christmas is in full swing!

Like it or not, here it is, again!

If you ask me what I think about Christmas – I would say, I have mixed feelings about it

I say this because Christmas (to a large degree) has lost its meaning

It’s no longer about the celebration of Jesus’ birth, but something else

Jesus has been replaced by Santa Claus – The incarnation has been replaced by gifts, the nature of the Christmas story has been replaced by consumerism, by parties, and by food

So, I felt the need to talk about the real meaning of Christmas – Or more specifically, Jesus Christ Himself

The Bible says that He is our example, and that we ought to look to Him, to learn from Him, and to follow Him

So, what I want us to consider tonight is the incarnation – And if you’ve never heard this term, or perhaps heard it but never really knew what it means, let me tell you

The incarnation simply means: The divine, embodied in human form – It’s God becoming a human (a man)

We Christians believe that Jesus is God in the flesh – That He is “Immanuel” “God with us” Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23

“God with us” – When you think about it, this is a really bold statement

It’s saying that God is “with us,” not “above us,” or “around us,” or “near us,” but “with us” – God is with us – He is in our midst – He is here now

Did you know that this is unheard of in any other religion – Christianity is unique in this – It communicates to us that God is very close – He’s not “out there” somewhere, but, “with us” – He is close

And this is the Christmas story – This is the epitome of what Christmas is all about – The fact that God left heaven to come to earth – So that He could be called “Immanuel” “God with us”

I would like us to consider two questions tonight

1. Why did God choose Mary?
2. How did Jesus enter the world?

These two questions are crucial to the Christian life, and questions that each of us need to have answered

So, let us consider the first

Why did God choose Mary?

In Luke’s gospel we read, ^{26 “}In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.” Luke 1:26-27

So, we know from the story that Mary, a young women, a virgin, is chosen to carry the incarnate God – Out of all the young women of Israel of that day, why was Mary chosen and not someone else?

This is a good question, but before we answer it, I want us to consider the incarnation itself

Often times we don’t even consider the incarnation because the story has become so familiar to us – We just rattle it off – “The angel came and told Mary that she will bear a Son, and this Son will be conceived by the Holy Sprit and His name will be Immanuel”

And the whole time we don’t even think about the great significance of this!

Think about it – The eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present God, Creator of the universe is choosing to become a man

The Lord of lords and King of kings, the Almighty God, the Everlasting One, the Great ‘I AM’… is becoming a man, and His name will be Jesus

This is the Christmas story – This is the incarnation

God is choosing to enter into the world He created, and the way He chooses to enter it, is by being born just like we are born! This is amazing!

So, back to our question

Why did God choose whom He chose? – Why did He choose Mary and not someone else?

Was it just arbitrary? Was Mary just lucky? Did it really matter who brought the Messiah into the world?

Absolutely!

God chose Mary because Mary was a woman of humility

Luke 1:28 says, ²⁸ And he [The angel Gabriel] came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” ²⁹ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Luke 1:28-30

What I find interesting here is Mary’s response, the text tells us that, “she was greatly troubled at the saying” Luke 1:29

In other words, she’s surprised that an angel would visit her

Mary is a humble person – If she were not humble, then she would not be surprised

What are the marks of humility? – What do you look for, if you’re looking for humility?

For example, if there was an all expense paid trip to tour the world – You get to spend one whole year traveling the world, staying in the finest hotels, eating at the nicest restaurants, seeing the most beautiful sights, all for free – A once in a lifetime trip – And it was not something you could buy, it was only given

And after much discussion you were selected – Out of a million people you were the one chosen – How would you respond?

Would you respond with, “Yeah… I mean who else is worthy of this… clearly it’s me, I mean… I work hard, I deserve it, I pay my taxes”

Or would it be,”What?… Are you saying that I was chosen?… That from a million people you chose me?”

You see, the number one mark of humility is when a person does not think about him or herself too much, it’s when someone says, “No, not me, who am I, I’m nothing!”

You see, humility is a disposition that shows itself as putting others above oneself – It’s considering others higher then yourself

Listen to what Paul says in Philippians 2:3, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Philippians 2:3-4

This is the attitude Mary had when told she was to carry the Savior of the world

Her response of surprise proves that she was a humble person – She did not count herself worthy  – But it was given to her anyway

A second reason she was chosen…

God chose Mary because Mary was a woman of great faith

After being told the details of her pregnancy – The fact that the “Holy Spirit will come upon” her and the “Most High will overshadow” her, she responds with, ³⁸ “I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38

Mary has great faith! – So much so, that when told that she will become pregnant (even though she is a virgin), she believes it – She doesn’t argue – She doesn’t reason – She doesn’t say, ‘choose someone else’ – She simply says, “Let it be to me according to your word”

You see, faith is just that – It’s believing someone’s word – It’s trusting what the person told you – And this is what Mary does

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” Hebrews 11:1

Faith means that I have an inner confidence that what I do not presently see, will come to pass – It will happen, it’s just a matter of time

The Apostle Paul, speaking about redemption says, “²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” Romans 8:24-25

You see, hope and faith are very similar – Faith is believing – Hope is expecting what is believed – They are intertwined and connected, and we need both

And Mary shows us that she has both, “Let it be to me according to your word” – She believes what the angel says, and she expects it to happen

So, God chooses Mary because she is a woman of humility, and a woman of great faith

What about our second question?

How did Jesus enter the world?

Here we are, it’s Christmas

This is the reason for the season – We are celebrating Christ’s birth – We are celebrating the incarnation of God – God coming to earth, becoming flesh

So, a good question to ask is, “How did this happen?” – “What was the means by which God chose to enter the world?”

Luke chapter 2 says, “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered… ³ And all went to be registered, each to his own town. ⁴ And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵ to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. ⁶ And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” Luke 2:1-7

I find it fascinating that this is how it happened!

Of all the places to be born, God chooses to be born in a manger!

This word “manger” literally means, “feeding trough” – Jesus is born in a stable and then placed in a feeding trough

This is the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Almighty God, the Everlasting One, the Great ‘I AM’ – And He is born in a stable and placed in a feeding trough

This is not an accident – This is not just random chance – The events of Jesus’ birth happen precisely how God intends them to happen

In other words,

“This humble birth is on purpose”

“Why?” you ask – “Why would God choose to be born in a stable?”

It’s because this is how He wants us to live – This is a part of God’s “upside-down kingdom program,” so to speak

In Jesus’s earthly ministry He kept talking about the “kingdom of God” – What heaven is like – What God is like – How God works

He said, “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:14

He said, “The last will be first, and the first last” Matthew 20:16

You see, God does not look for what the world looks for – The world looks for power, prestige, wealth, beauty – God looks for humility, character, faith, love

I am confident that God does not care about the things we care about – He doesn’t care what kind of job we have, and how much money we make, and what kind of house we live in, what kind of car we drive – What He cares about is people

While we’re preoccupied with stuff, God is working in people’s hearts

While we are striving for wealth, God is striving for humility

While we are trying to make a name for ourselves, God is looking for those that will believe in Him – Believe in Him as Mary did

God is looking for men, for women, for children of humility and faith

And He gives us a glimpse of this in the Christmas story – He shows us (in Mary) that he honors humility and that He honors faith

And He even shows us His own humility by choosing to be born in the way that He does

Paul tells us that this is how we should think, this is how we should live, this is how we should act

Philippians 2:5, says, “⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:5-8

Jesus, who is God, chose not to be equal with God, but “emptied himself” and took the role of a servant, and became like us – This is the Christmas story – This is what we should be remembering this Christmas!

So, how does this apply to us?

Here we are, we live in the 21^st century – We have been celebrating Christmas for two thousand years

What should we consider this Christmas? – As we get together with family and friends, as we exchange gifts one to another, as we go through our family traditions and rituals – What should be the highlight, what should be the number one thing we do?

Well, let me encourage you to think about Jesus, let me encourage you to think about humility, about faith

When it comes time to eat, don’t be the first one in line

When it comes down to sitting at the table, don’t take the best seat

When it comes time to “catch-up” on things, don’t make yourself sound like someone you’re not

But instead…

When it comes time to wash the dishes, be the one who does it

When it comes time to serve, be the one who volunteers

When it comes time to talk about life, be the one who encourages others

Think about Jesus, think about the incarnation

Think about the amazing truth that is the incarnation – The fact that God Himself did not count Himself equal with God, but emptied Himself and took the role of a servant and was born in a stable (of all places)

Paul tells us in Ephesians 5, he says, “¹⁵ Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16

What he is saying is, “Time is short, you only have one life, make it count, don’t get stuck in worthless pursuits, but live such lives that bring maximum glory to Jesus, just like Jesus lived His life to the maximum glory of His Father – Be humble, have faith”

Link to Translations

Abraham, The Man of Faith

Last time we met we considered the question, “Is it better to keep the law, or is it better to have faith?”

We discovered that if you think it is better to keep the law then you have a tall order to complete

We talked about God’s standard – The fact that His standard is perfection – God is holy, His heaven is holy, and only holy [perfect] people go there

We discovered that faith and law have different roles – The role of the law is like a mirror – It’s designed to reveal who we are – Faith, on the other hand is the vehicle by which we are justified [declared not guilty] before God

So, law is not the vehicle by which we are declared “not guilty” – In fact the law is the exact opposite of this – The law declares us “guilty” before God – That is its role – That is the purpose for which it was created

Paul says in Romans 3:20, “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in His [God’s] sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin”

So, the role of the law is to bring “knowledge of sin” – It is to make known what is really there – Just like a mirror does

And just like when we look into a mirror and see who we really are, we then know what we need to do

If I have mud on my face, the mirror will show it to be true – If my nose hair has breached its boundary, then the mirror will show it to be true – I don’t argue with the mirror, but instead take action – I take some water and wash my face – Or, I take some clippers and clean up my nose hair

It is the same with the law and with faith – The law shows me what I must do – And what I must do is accept the free gift of salvation by faith – By trusting God

So, now in chapter 4 Paul is going to build on these truths and communicate that this is always the way it was – Salvation was always by faith, it was never by the law – He will tell us that salvation by faith is not a New Testament concept, but the way it always was

Romans 4:1-12

What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? ² For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. ³ For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” ⁴ Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. ⁵ And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, ⁶ just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: 

⁷  “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, 

and whose sins are covered; 

⁸  blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” 

⁹ Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. ¹⁰ How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. ¹¹ He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, ¹² and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. 

Tonight, I want us to consider an example of this truth

Just like we appreciate examples to help understand something, so it was in those days

Paul, is going to say, “Okay, you want to see an example of this truth – You want to see an example of righteousness by faith, let me show you, let me tell you about Abraham”

First of all, who is Abraham?

Well, Abraham is known to the Jews as “Father Abraham”

Why is this?

Because Abraham was the person God chose to make a nation out of – Every single Jew living today could say that Abraham is their father because the entire Jewish race comes from Abraham

In Genesis 12 God says to Abraham [Abram], “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. ² And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing” Genesis 12:1-2

Now, something you should know about Abraham is that when he was called by God to leave his country and go to the Promised Land he was 75 years old!

I don’t about you, but if I were 75, I would not be expecting to be a new father!

But more than this I would not be expecting my wife who is 65 years old and barren to get pregnant either!

But God tells Abraham, “Go from your country… to the land I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation” Genesis 12:1-2

God is telling old Abraham that he will not only be a father, but that he will be the father of a nation – Wow!

It’s interesting to note here that before this happened Abraham’s name was “Abram” – “Abram” literally means “exalted father” or “high father”

But God changes his name from Abram to Abraham – “Abraham” means “father of a multitude”

Can you imagine Abraham’s response to this, “Uh… you want my name to be father of a multitude……? How about just one?”

Again, let’s not forget he is 75 years old, and his wife is 65

In Genesis 17:4 God says to Abraham [father of a multitude], “⁴ “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. ⁵ No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.” Genesis 17:4-5

In Genesis 15 God tells Abraham, “’Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be’” Genesis 15:5

So, what happens next?

Although God promises Abraham a son, it does not happen for another 25 years

What does Abraham do this whole time?

Well, the Bible tells us that he is faithful, no matter how unlikely the reality was that he would become a father at age 100, he believes it anyway – He believes it although it makes no sense

Genesis 15:6 says, “And he believed the Lord, and He [God] counted it to him as righteousness”

Abraham is known as the father of faith

Why?

Because he consistently believed what God said

Later, when, God fulfills His promise and Isaac is born, He tests Abraham and tells him to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice to Him

How does Abraham respond? – Does he argue with God? – Does he refuse to carry out His demands? – Nope. He proceeds to do exactly what God tells him to do – He doesn’t even argue

The text tells us that Abraham “rose early” the next “morning, saddled his donkey,” “cut the wood for the burnt offering” and “went to the place of which God told him” Genesis 22:3

Now this is faith! To do what God says even when it makes absolutely no sense

To highlight this great faith we read these words in verse 5, Abraham says to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you”

The “come again” here is written in the plural – Abraham is saying, “We will both return to you”

He doesn’t know how, he just knows that God is good, and would not ask him to do this for no reason.

In other words, he knows that God is for him, and not against him – He chooses to act on the basis of his faith and not his emotions, or his logic – He chooses to trust God even when it makes no sense

Abraham is called the “father of faith” because his faith was tested by God and was proven reliable – This is why Paul says (quoting Genesis) “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” Romans 4:3

Okay, back to Romans

What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? ² For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. ³ For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Romans 4:1-3

In other words, Paul is saying, “If you need proof that righteousness is not gained by doing good things but rather by simply believing God, just look at Abraham!”

Abraham was declared righteous not on the basis of his good works, but on the basis of faith

Basically, what God is saying to Abraham here is, “Abraham, because you believe me, I am declaring you not guilty, you are righteous in my sight, you are justified!”

Again, to be justified simply means “to be declared not guilty” and to be made righteous basically means the same thing – You are made right in the eyes of God, because you have been justified

Well he goes on, ⁴ “Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. ⁵ And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness” Romans 4:4-5

In other words, “Those that do good works earn something – They are owed something, its their due, they’ve earned it, but the Bible teaches that salvation cannot be earned – It teaches that salvation is a gift – And gifts cannot be earned, they can only be received”

When we go to work, and do what we have to do for two weeks, at the end of that two weeks we all expect to be paid – We expect it because we’ve earned it – It’s our due

Our employer has to pay what he agreed to pay – If he doesn’t, he would be a thief

But the Bible teaches that God does not owe anyone anything – Anything He gives is based solely on his grace, it can’t be earned – “Grace” is God’s unearned favor

Hypothetically speaking, if we could make it to heaven based on our good works, we could say to God, “God, you have to let me into heaven, you owe me!” – We can demand salvation

God forbid!

Who is God in this example? Is it Him, or is it us? – We don’t get to tell God anything – He is the Creator, we are the created – He is the infinite, all knowing God, we are just people

So, salvation was, and will always be a free gift that is given by God to those that believe in Him – Those that have faith

To highlight this further, Paul goes on to talk about circumcision

⁹ Is this blessing [righteousness] then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. ¹⁰ How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? Romans 4:9-10

You see, the Jews believed that along with doing good works, you had to be circumcised if you hoped to get into heaven – Or another way to put it would be, “You have to keep the law, and the law says you have to be circumcised”

Well, Paul responds to this and says, “It was not after, but before he was circumcised. ¹¹ He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised” Romans 4:10-11

In other words, “Abraham was declared righteous before he was circumcised – The circumcision he received was only a sign of the righteousness that God gave him”

You remember what God said when He called Abraham? – In Genesis 17:4 God said to him, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations” Genesis 17:4

In calling Abraham, and declaring him righteous, God is also making a “covenant” with him – A “covenant” simply means to make an agreement with someone – God is making, and committing to an agreement with Abraham

Basically, it is God saying to Abraham, “Because you believe me, I am declaring you righteous, and because you are righteous, I am going to make an agreement with you, and this agreement will go forward to every single human being who has your kind of faith”

God is making a covenant with Abraham, based on his faith – And the sign of the covenant will be circumcision

But circumcision has no power in and of itself – It’s just a sign

It’s kind of like baptism – We know that baptism doesn’t save us – But is just a sign that points to the inward reality of our faith – It’s to show the world that “I believe in Jesus, and I am going to live the rest of my life for Him”

Okay, what is the purpose of all this?

Verse 11, “The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well” Romans 4:11

In other words, “The purpose was to show everyone that saving faith is not found in rituals, or doing good works, but by believing God, how Abraham believed God” – It’s an open invitation to all people to have faith in God and receive salvation, just like Abraham did

But this invitation is not only to the uncircumcised but to the circumcised as well – Not only to the Gentiles, but the Jews as well – It’s to everyone

Verse 12 says, “¹² and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.” Romans 4:12

You see, Paul is saying that Abraham, the father of Judaism was not declared righteous because of what he did, but what he believed

What Paul is saying is, Old Testament faith was never built on the basis of good works, but was always built on faith – And Abraham (the founder) is the perfect example of this

You see, the Abrahamic Covenant was the precursor to the New Covenant

The New Covenant is what we live under today

The New Covenant is what Jesus has ushered in

And the New Covenant is built on the same foundation as the Abrahamic Covenant – That is faith, or belief

We find this everywhere in the New Testament

¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

³⁶ Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life. John 3:36

²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. John 5:24

³⁵ Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” John 6:35

⁴⁰ For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:40

²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? John 11:25-26

I can go on and on – I only quoted from the Gospel of John, but you could find these kinds of references throughout the entire Bible

You see, the Bible teaches that the only way to God is by believing in what Jesus did – It never was, and never will be by doing good works

According to the Bible, the only way to please God is to live a life of faith – Hebrews tells us that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” and that “without faith it is impossible to please [God]” Hebrews 11:1, 6

And this is what Paul is telling us as well

So, my hope and prayer is that we live this way – That we wouldn’t be people who try and make it by our own merits – But people who rely solely on the grace that is offered us in the person of Jesus Christ

Link to Translations

Righteousness through Faith

Last time we met we talked about God’s faithfulness

We discovered that God is always faithful, no matter how unfaithful we are

We talked about the fact that God has not failed in any way – Some might look at the Jews and conclude that God has failed them – God has not failed them, rather, they have failed God

We talked about the fact that it is impossible for God to fail anyone, because in His very nature He is faithful – In fact “faithfulness” is His name

He cannot help but being faithful – It’s who He is – He is “YHWH, YHWH” the One “abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” Exodus 34:6

This is His “name” Exodus 34:5

We also discovered that there are no innocent people before God

The Apostle Paul tells us that all are guilty – He tells us that everyone has broken God’s law – Even the Jews – Even himself

He tells his readers that “none are righteous” – Not even the chosen people of God – Not even him

In effect, what Paul does from chapter 1:1 to chapter 3:20 is communicate that all are guilty before God and have no excuse

They have no excuse because they either have the General Revelation and the conscience, or they have the Law – Or they have both

Remember what Paul says about the Gentiles in chapter 1?

“For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” Romans 1:19-20

Then in chapter 2 He says this regarding the Jews, “You have no excuse” because you judge those that don’t have the Law, but break it yourselves

And then in chapter 3 He says, “Whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God” Romans 3:19

In other words, “You Jews are guilty, the law says you are guilty, in fact, it says that all are guilty”

Well, all this leads to what we will look at today, and that is the good news

We have spent the better part of three chapters talking about the bad news, and now we get to hear the good news – Aren’t you glad?

Romans 3:20-31

²⁰ For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. ²¹ But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— ²² the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. ²⁶ It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 

²⁷ Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. ²⁸ For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. ²⁹ Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, ³⁰ since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. ³¹ Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law. 

What I want us to consider tonight is this

Is it better to keep the Law, or is it better to have faith?

Well, let’s find out

Paul says in Romans 3:20, “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight” Romans 3:20

Okay, I guess that settles it! We can go home now!

I mean, this is pretty straightforward, right?

Paul says that “No human will be justified by God by keeping the law”

But this is still bad news, and we want to get to the good news, so lets get into the Word, and let the Word get into us

Again, Paul says, in Romans 3:20, “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin” Romans 3:20

So, that is why no human will be justified by keeping the law, because with the law comes knowledge of sin

What do you mean?

The Scriptures teach that the law is good, its perfect, its right, but we cannot keep it – And because we cannot keep it, we are guilty

You see, God’s standard is perfection, if you want to get to heaven by keeping the law, then you have to keep every single part of it – You have to be perfect

How many of you are perfect?

The psalmist tells us in Psalm 19 that, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether” Psalm 19:7-9

Question is, “If God’s law is perfect, if it is right, if it is pure, if it is true, and righteous then why are we talking as if it’s bad?

It’s not bad – We are the ones that are bad!

You see, the law is God’s standard, and He expects us to meet His standard – But we don’t, do we?

We fall short of it

You see, the law is like a mirror, when we look into it, it reveals who we are – We are seen as dirty, messed up, and broken, but it’s not the mirror that is dirty, messed up and broken, it’s us! – The mirror is just a reflection of who we are

Often times we will look into the law, see our  messed up reflection, but then conclude that that is not really us – We don’t believe the mirror! – We conclude that the mirror is bad, that the mirror is broken!

No, the mirror is not bad! – The mirror is perfect, its right, its true – We are the ones that are not right, not perfect, not true

So, “through the law comes knowledge of sin” Romans 3:20

So, there is no way we can become right with God by keeping the law, because none of us can keep it fully – We are broken, we are messed up

But here comes the good news

21 “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested [made known] apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.” Romans 3:21-22

In other words, God, seeing that we fall short of His perfect law made a way for us to keep it – He made a way for us to be right with Him – And this way is “apart” from the law

So what is it?

It’s “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” Romans 3:22

You notice what Paul says?

He says it’s not through keeping the law, but it’s “through faith”

Faith is the vehicle to righteousness, not the law

The law is only designed to show us our need for faith – Our need for Jesus

So, is it better to keep the Law, or is it better to have faith?

I think the Scriptures are telling us that it is better to have faith – But I think they are telling us even more than this – They are telling us that faith is the only way to be righteous before God

Verse 22 says, “For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift” Romans 3:22-24

How much is “all?”

“All” means all – It means everybody! – That means Jew and Gentile, past, present, and future – Just what Paul has been communicating through these three chapters

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23

Paul is saying that there is no way around this – God has a standard and we all fall short of it – We all fail – We all don’t measure up

We all took the test, and we all got an “F”

But God made a way for us to retake the test, and this time we will get an “A”  – But we have to be willing to take the test

What is the test?

It is to believe in what God did for us, and accept it

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” Romans 3:23-24

So, we are justified [declared not guilty] by God’s grace as a gift

What do you do to receive a gift?

Physically, all you do is stretch out your hand and take it

But like all gifts, you will not appreciate it unless you want it, unless you desire it, unless it is valuable to you

You have to want the gift – This means that in your heart you are longing for what the giver is offering you – It has to be your most precious treasure – And then it will be given to you, and you will receive it with joy

You ask, “How does this all work?”

How can God give me eternal life when I broke His laws – When I am guilty?

How can He let me into heaven, when I am a sinner?

Well, the Bible teaches that God paid the penalty for your sin, and for mine, and for all humanity

Again, let’s read verse 23

23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” Romans 3:23-25

What in the world is “propitiation?”

Well, it simply means “to win or regain the favor of” or to “atone”

In fact the NIV uses this word “atonement” here

And what it means is that it’s a “covering”, or a “covering of mercy”

So, you could say that God put forward Jesus as a “mercy covering” over our sins

How did He do this?

He did it through the “blood” of Jesus

You see, when Jesus was hanging on the cross, the Bible teaches that God put all the sins of the world, past, present, and future onto Christ – And then punished Christ

2Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake He [God] made Him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him [Jesus] we might become the righteousness of God” 2Corinthians 5:21

Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us – for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’” Galatians 3:13

Do you realize what this is saying?

It’s saying that the price that was paid by Jesus on our behalf was Him being forsaken by His Father, and punished for things He didn’t commit – Jesus was innocent, yet He chose to carry our sins and die for them

Why did He do it?

He did it because He loves us – God loves us with an everlasting love – Jesus loves us with an everlasting love

This is the gospel – This is the good news!

And this is the “gift” that is to be received by “faith” – The “gift” is the gospel

And it is a gift of “grace”

What is grace?

“Grace” simply means getting something we don’t deserve – It’s God’s unearned favor

So, salvation and eternal life, is not found by doing good things, it is found in the gift of God that we don’t deserve, but God offers it to us anyway

How do we receive it?

We receive it by “faith”

“Faith” simply means trust

It comes down to trust – Do we trust this? Do we trust God? Do we trust the Scriptures?

If you do, then what’s holding you back?

Well, Paul concludes this chapter by saying, 27 “Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law” Romans 3:27-28

In other words, “If we are saved by what we believe, and not on what we do, then how can we brag, how could we boast? We can’t, there’s nothing to boast about! We don’t deserve this, but it’s given to us anyway!”

“What becomes of our boasting… by what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith” Romans 3:27

You see, faith is the means by which we are made right with God, not good works

“For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law” Romans 3:28

In other words, there is nothing you can do to please God apart from faith – Not even keeping the law

We are declared “not guilty” before God on the basis of our faith, and not on the basis of our good works

What does that mean?

It means that if I devote my whole life to doing good things, yet reject Christ, I have nothing before God

Our good works only mean something to God if they are done through faith

Because if they are not done through faith, they are being done through effort

And if they are being done through effort it means that we are trying to work our way to heaven – We are trying to earn our way to heaven – And we just discovered that this is impossible – Because God’s standard is perfection, and we all fall short of perfection

That is why our salvation has to rely on faith – There is no other way

Well, Paul finishes this chapter with asking the question, “What about the law? Does this mean that the law is ‘overthrown,’ that we don’t need it?”

He answers with “By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law” Romans 3:31

But this will be for another day

Link to Translations

The Faithful One

The last time we met we asked the question, “Is it better to hear and not do, or is it better to do and not hear?”

We considered the situation that the Jews faced at the time of Paul’s writing

We talked about the fact that Gentiles who did not have the Law, were doing what the Law required – But the Jews (who had the Law) were not doing what the Law required

We considered the role of the “heart” in all this

We said that the “heart” is made up of three things, 1. The Mind, The Will, and The Emotions

We concluded that the heart is the “control center” of the person’s whole being

Every thought we think, every decision we make, and every emotion we feel comes from the “heart”

The Bible tells us that the “heart” is the “inner self” of a person – It is the actual (real) person – The body is just the vehicle that carries the real person

We also talked about the role of the conscience

The fact that the conscience was given to us as a compass – It is the part of us that tells us what is right and what is wrong – What is okay to do, and what is not okay to do

It is the built in moral compass that helps us live a right life

Together, the heart and the conscience give us a powerful tool to live in this world and make right decisions, the most important of which is Jesus Christ – How will we use the “heart” and the “conscience” when it comes to the Son of God?

Will we believe and choose to live for Him, or will we not believe and choose to live for ourselves?

This is the big question, and the question that will determine our eternal destiny

So, today we will begin to study chapter 3, and see what the Lord has for us in this section

Now remember, Paul has been making the case that the Jews are not better off than the Gentiles – Just because they are of the lineage of Abraham and God’s chosen people does not make them exempt from making right decisions

Romans 3:1-20

Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. 3 What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written,

“That you may be justified in your words,
and prevail when you are judged.”

5 But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) 6 By no means! For then how could God judge the world? 7 But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.

9 What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:

“None is righteous, no, not one;
11  no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
13  “Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
14  “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
15  “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16  in their paths are ruin and misery,
17  and the way of peace they have not known.”
18  “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

What I want us to consider tonight is this:

Is God Unfaithful?

Is God unfair, is He unjust, does He choose people and then forget them? Has He chosen the Jews and now forsaken them?

To this I will say absolutely not!

But let’s see what the Word says

Paul begins and says, “Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? ² Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. ³ What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?” Romans 3:1-3

Paul is asking a hypothetical question here

And in light of what he has already presented in the preceding chapter (i.e. the guilt of the Jews) he is now asking what advantage is there in being a Jew (if all Jews are guilty)

In other words, if Jews are guilty the same way that Gentiles are guilty, then is there any advantage in being a Jew? – What’s the point, why do all the things that Jews are supposed to do (circumcision, sacrifices, feast days, kosher meals etc.)

Well, Paul answers this question and says, “much in every way”

In other words, “Yes, of course there is an advantage!”

“To begin with” he says, we have been “entrusted with the oracles of God” – We have been given the privilege of being the people to whom God has spoken – He has given us His Word (We need to remember that when Paul was writing this letter there was no such thing as the “New Testament”

It was being written, but it was not yet complete – The Jews on the other hand had the Old Testament in their possession for thousands of years

They had the Law of God, the Word of God, the Oracles of God

But Paul asks the question, “What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?” Romans 3:3

In other words, If God chose these people, if He chose to reveal Himself to them in His Word, and they are still “unfaithful” (unbelieving) then does that mean that God has failed?

Remember, the Jews had rejected Christ

Paul answers and says, “By no means!” “Absolutely not!” “No way!” – God has not failed!

“By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, ‘That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged’” Romans 3:4

This is a quote from Psalm 51, if you remember Psalm 51 is a psalm of repentance from the heart of David, after he murdered Uriah and took his wife as his own

What Paul is saying is, God is never wrong, He is always true, He is always faithful – No matter what we do, God never breaks His promises

We’ve all heard the saying, “If God feels distant, it’s not Him that moved, but us”

God is faithful all the time

Did you know that God Himself says He is faithful – We read it all over the Bible, and all of the Bible is God’s Word – But did you know that there is a specific passage of Scripture that God Himself (audibly) speaks and tells us who He is? – In fact He tells us that this is His name!

Exodus 34:5-7 says, ^5 “The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there (i.e. Moses), and proclaimed the name of the Lord. ⁶ The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, ⁷ keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” Exodus 34:5-7

This is a huge verse, because it is God’s self-disclosure of Himself

So, God is saying, “Pay attention, this is very important!”

You see, back in those days, they did not have highlighters, they did not italicize, or underline, (they did not even use exclamation marks!), but the way they communicated that something is really important is by repeating it

So, in this passage, God is telling Moses who He is, and He says, “YHWH, YHWH!” (The Lord, the Lord!)

Another way of saying, “This is who I am!!!”

This is also the most quoted passage of the Bible by the Bible – The prophets, the kings, and the apostles continually quote this passage to declare to the people who God is

So, God is always faithful, He tells us He is – In fact it is His name – His name is faithful

So, Paul is saying here in Romans that God is always faithful, no matter how unfaithful we are

And this raises another question, (now hang in with me),  “If God is always faithful, and we are unfaithful, does that mean that we should be unfaithful so that God will be more faithful?”

This is how Paul says it, ^5 “But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) ⁶ By no means! For then how could God judge the world? ⁷ But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? ⁸ And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.” Romans 3:5-8

In other words, “If my sin causes God’s grace to be more graceful why not sin all the more?”

Is this a good question?

I think this is a good example of man’s perverted logic

Just because God is always faithful, does not mean that humans should incite His faithfulness with unfaithfulness (or incite His goodness by doing evil)

Paul answers this irrational statement to say, “Their condemnation is just” – If you sin for sin’s sake, you will die – In fact it shows that you are not a believer

So, God is always faithful, no matter how unfaithful we are

Well, Paul goes on, and he re-states the same question as before, “What then? Are we Jews any better off?”Romans 3:9

Then he answers with, “No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks (i.e. Gentiles), are under sin” Romans 3:9

 

Then he quotes a bunch of verses to prove his point

“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” Romans 3:10-12 (quoted from Ps. 14:1-3 and 53:1-3)

“Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive” Romans 3:13a (quoted from Ps. 5:9)

“The venom of asps is under their lips” Romans 3:13b (quoted from Ps. 140:3)

“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness” Romans 3:14 (quoted from Ps. 10:7)

“Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known” Romans 3:15-16 (quoted from Is. 59:7-8)

Then he ends with, “There is no fear of God before their eyes” Romans 3:18 (quoted from Ps. 36:1)

Question is, why does Paul quote all these Old Testament verses?

He quotes them to communicate to the Jews that they are not as righteous as they think they are

This is their Book, these are their Scriptures, and these Scriptures are telling them that they are guilty before God

Again, the Jews thought they were okay with God, simply because they were Jews

And Paul is telling them that they are not – In fact they are just like the rest of mankind

They are broken, they don’t seek for God, they’re deceptive, they speak curses, they murder, they don’t know the way of peace, and they don’t fear God

Paul is making the claim that they are not what they think they are – He knows this, he was one of them

You know the story, Paul’s name was not always “Paul,” but was “Saul” – And he was a persecutor of God’s people

Listen to his testimony:

³ “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. ⁴ I persecuted this Way (i.e. Christians) to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, ⁵ as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶ “As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. ⁷ And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ ⁸ And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’” Acts 22:3-8

I believe, that in this moment, Paul finally realized how broken and messed up he was – He thought he was doing the will of God by killing people in the name of God!

You see, Paul (Saul) was being unfaithful, but God was being faithful

No matter how unfaithful humanity becomes, God will always be faithful

If God makes a promise, He fulfills it – If He says He is going to do something, He does it – If He says something will happen, it happens – Why? Because it’s who He is

He is “YHWH, YHWH” the One “abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” Exodus 34:6

At the end of Paul’s life, when he is locked up in prison and waiting to be executed, he writes these words to his disciple and friend Timothy

“If we have died with Him (i.e. Jesus), we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us; if we are faithless, He remains faithful – for He cannot deny Himself” 2Timothy 2:11-13

You see, what Paul is saying is, “We get want we want, we reap what we sow, but even if we are faithless toward Christ (God) Christ will never be faithless toward us”

But that doesn’t mean that we don’t get what’s coming to us

If we are unfaithful toward God, we will get what we deserve, but God remains faithful

Again, if God feels distant, it’s not Him that moved, but us

Well, Paul concludes this section with these words, ¹⁹ “Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. ²⁰ For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:19-20

In other words, there is no excuse for anyone – Not the Jew and not the Gentile, all are guilty before God

But there is good news, God made a way for us to be acquitted, He has paid our fine, He has taken our punishment – He has made a way for us to be faithful – This includes the Jewish people

But that is for another day, see you next time

Link to Translations

Written on the Heart

In Romans chapter 1 the Apostle Paul begins his letter to the Romans reminding them of the condition of the world – The condition of all people

He reminds them that the world is broken – He reminds them that they too are broken – All of humanity is broken

He tells them that although everyone knows that God exists and know that they ought to worship Him – They do not

The creation is self-evident and points to a Creator, but humanity’s natural inclination is to ignore this evidence

Paul tells us that we do this by “suppressing the truth” that is plain to us (Rom. 1:18)

In chapter 2 Paul tells us that not only are the Gentiles guilty before God because of their suppression of truth, but the Jews are guilty as well

The Gentiles are guilty because they suppress the truth that is found in creation, the Jews are guilty because they suppress the truth that is found in the Law

The Jews are guilty because they know what God expects of them (because they have the Law) but they do not do it – Instead they judge the Gentiles and do the same things they do – They are Hypocrites

So, Paul tells us that the Gentiles are guilty because of their suppression of General Revelation (i.e. the creation and the conscience)

And the Jews are guilty because of their suppression of Special Revelation (i.e. the Law and the Scriptures)

Do you see what Paul is doing here?

He is showing his readers that no one is righteous before God

God has “revealed” Himself to all humanity in some way – And instead of responding correctly and adequately, humanity suppresses this revealing – And in the process incurs the judgment of God

So, now we reach the second half of chapter 2, and Paul is going to elaborate on this (specifically he will be addressing the heart and the conscience)

We will be asking the question, “What role does the heart and conscience play in all this?”

Romans 2:12-29

¹² For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. ¹³ For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. ¹⁴ For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. ¹⁵ They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them ¹⁶ on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. 

¹⁷ But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God ¹⁸ and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; ¹⁹ and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, ²⁰ an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— ²¹ you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? ²² You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? ²³ You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. ²⁴ For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” 

²⁵ For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. ²⁶ So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? ²⁷ Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. ²⁸ For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. ²⁹ But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God. 

What I want us to consider tonight is this:

Is it better to hear and not do, or is it better to do and not hear?

Paul begins this section to continue what he has been saying in regard to the Jews and the Gentiles

He says, ^12 “For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law” Romans 2:12

In other words, no matter the who you are, either Jew or Gentile you will be judged on the amount of revelation that you were given – The amount of light that you were given – If you have been given the Law, you will be judged by the Law, but if you have been given the creation and the conscience (and not the Law) you will be judged based on the creation and the conscience

What Paul is doing here is telling us that there is no excuse before God

There will not be a single person, past, present, or future that will be able to say, “I didn’t know”

The ones in the jungle will not be able to say, “I didn’t know”

The Gentiles living in Old Testament times cannot say, “I didn’t know”

The Jews are not able to say, “I didn’t know”

And we today, are not able to say, “I didn’t know”

We may live our whole lives ignorant of the Bible, but not one of us can look up into the sky and not consider what God has done in the heavens – In the creation – In all that we see around us

Remember what Paul says in chapter 1, ^20 “For his (God) invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived (understood), ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” Romans 1:20

Well, Paul goes on in chapter 2, he says, ^13 “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.” Romans 2:13

I believe this is the main verse for this section, Paul is referring to the Jews and he’s saying that just because you have the Law it doesn’t mean you are righteous, and just because the Gentiles don’t have the Law it doesn’t mean that they are unrighteous

What matters is if you do what the Law requires

^14 “For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.” Romans 2:14

In other words, it’s not the Law-holders that are right in the eyes of God, but the Law-doers that are right in the eyes of God

It’s the difference between someone always reading the Bible, but never doing what the Bible says, and the person who does not read the Bible but does what it says

So, is it better to hear and not do, or is it better to do and not hear?

I think what Paul is emphasizing here is that it is better to do – It is better to do what the Law requires than to know what it says

This is the problem the Pharisees had – They knew the Law – They knew it better then anyone  – But they did not do what the Law required

What did Jesus have to say about them?

In Matthew 23 we read of the seven “woes” directed to the Pharisees

Jesus said, ²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. ²⁴ You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!” Matthew 23:23-24

Do you guys know what Jesus is referring to here? “You tithe mint, dill, and cumin, but have neglected the weightier matters of the Law” or “You strain out a gnat, but swallow a camel?”

He’s referring to the fact that the Pharisees had begun to major on the minors, when they should have majored on the majors and minor on the minors

Let me explain, the Law stated that the people were to tithe all of their possessions, this was supposed to be an act of faith – When I (if I was living in those days) harvested my crop I would give the first 10% of it to the Lord – This showed my trust in God for providing for my needs – Since God is the one who has blessed me with the crop, I would acknowledge this, and give 10% of it back to Him

But God doesn’t need anything, so this 10% was designated for the Levites (the Levites were one of the twelve tribes that did not inherit any land, they instead were put in charge of the temple, they were priests, so they had no way of providing for themselves)

You can find this Law in Leviticus 27:30 and Numbers 18:21-24

The Law was intended to supply the Levites with food so that they would not go hungry; it was primarily directed to the “field” – The crops of the field (wheat, barley, etc.)

But the Pharisees went as far as to tithe from the spice gardens

Now this is not bad in and of itself – But it is bad when you neglect the more important things that the Law says to do – In this case provide “justice, mercy, and faithfulness”

You see, what they were doing is “straining out a gnat but swallowing a camel”

A gnat is a bug – Bug’s are small – We don’t like eating bugs! – But according to Jesus they were swallowing a camel (something very big)

They were majoring on the minors and minoring on the majors

Jesus tells them, “These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others” Matthew 23:23

Before the seven woes, in the beginning of the chapter Jesus told his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, ³ so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.” Matthew 23:2-3

In other words, do what they tell you,because they know the Law, but don’t live your life like them

It’s better to not know what the Law says and do it, then to know what it says and not do it!

I think this is what Paul is saying here

¹³ For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. ¹⁴ For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. ¹⁵ They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them. Romans 2:13-15

What Paul is saying here is that when Gentiles do what the Law says to do (even though they don’t have it), they are doing what God requires of them – They show that the “Law is written on their hearts”

What does Paul mean by this? – Now stay with me, this may get a little heady

Well, when the Bible uses the word “heart” most of the time it doesn’t refer to the organ that sits in our chest – But is talking about something else

It’s the Greek word kardia – Does it sound familiar? This is where we get the English word “cardiology” – The study of the heart – Or the word “cardiologist” – A doctor that specializes on the heart

Anyway, along with “heart” it could also be translated as “inner self” or “inside”

And it refers to three things: 1. The Mind 2. The Will 3. And the Emotions

So, when Paul says, “the Law is written on their hearts” what he is saying is the Law is written on their “inside,” on their “inner self,” – Their mind, their will, and their emotions

If you think about it, these three things comprise who we really are – This is the real us – This is the us without the body

If we were to leave our bodies, we would be conscious, we would be able to make decisions, and we would be able to feel (Mind, Will, and Emotions)

So, what Paul is saying is, the Law is written on the Gentiles true self (inside) – They are able to understand it because the heart thinks – They are able to act, because the heart is able to make choices – And they are able to discern what they are doing, because the heart is able to feel

In other words, the heart is the control center of the whole person

And the conscience helps to make right decisions in the control center – The conscience is what tells us what is right and what is wrong

Paul says that “the Law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness” Romans 2:15

So, what does any of this have to do with anything?

I think that God is telling us that He has given us a very powerful tool to make right decisions – And the one big decision that we must make is concerning His Son Jesus Christ

Will we use our heart to seek after Him?

Will we use our heart to live a godly life?

Will we use our heart to do what God has created us to do?

Or will we suppress the truth?

Will we suppress our conscience?

You see, the Jews thought they were okay with God simply because they were Jews – Because they were the chosen people

And what Paul is doing here is telling them that this is not the case, that it doesn’t matter whether you are a Jew or a Gentile – What matters is that you do what God requires

It doesn’t matter what’s on the outside – It’s what’s on the inside that matters

In verse 28 Paul says, ^28 “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. ²⁹ But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter.” Romans 2:28-29

You notice the words Paul uses here?

He says, “No one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly (physical), nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart”

We see the inside nature here

The Law of God is written on the heart – It’s written on the inside

I think what this passage is teaching us is that all people must have the Law of God written on their hearts – It is not enough to have the Law or the Bible in our hands – It must be in our hearts

It has to move from our head down to our heart – If it never makes it to the heart it will never change us

So, how do we make it come down to our heart?

Well, first of all, before it can make its way to our heart, it must first make its way into our head

How’s this going to happen?

Well, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure this out –It happens by reading

It’s not going to get there any other way! – If we love God and we want to know who He is then we should be reading His Word all the time – We should be seeking Him with our whole heart

King David is a good example for us – He knew this – He lived this – What is the name that God gave him? – “A man after my own heart” Acts 13:22

In Psalm 119 (the longest Psalm in the Bible) David says these words

Verse 2: “Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek Him with their whole heart”

Verse 10: “With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments”

Verse 11: “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you”

Verse 34: “Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart”

Verse 36: “Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain”

Verse 58: “I entreat your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise”

Verse 69: “The insolent smear me with lies, but with my whole heart I keep your precepts”

Verse 80: “May my heart be blameless in your statutes, that I may not be put to shame”

Verse 111: “Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart”

Verse 112: “I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever”

Verse 145: “With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O Lord! I will keep your statutes”

So, I hope and pray that we would be a people like David – A people that follow after God with their “whole heart”

I hope and pray that we would be a people that have our command center totally focused on Jesus – That our hearts would be inclined to the Lord – That all that we do in this life would bring Him glory!

Link to Translations