The value of a local pastor teaching verse by verse through the new testament?
Every sentence is covered - helped to better understand - searched for application - with a group of individuals - church - to ‘live out ‘prove’ God’s word together? Value to that?
?Difference from listening by yourself online?
? Actual human beings to experience it with you? For you to join in relating God’s word personally with other people - who are willing to ‘be real’ with you, as you are with them.. And .. :) if done biblically?
Christian growth of as family of faith.. occurs humbly, patiently reverently - obediently - lining up with God’s scripture on the working of the church - the body of Christ and… done IN LOVE 🙂
Interestingly… within an hour of my writing this… pastor George from the bible church walks by the front of the house… we greet.. He asks.. ‘What are you preaching on? ;romans’ 3’ - ‘ holy smokes’ both smiling - ‘appreciate your prayers’ , his salutation - “preach the word - it’ll do the work” 🙂
Message: Is the Good News of Jesus Mine?
As a note of encouragement as we study’ the letter from the Apostle Paul - to the Romans..
It is written by the same man who said..
be strong in the grace (A) that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And what you have heard from me(B) in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful(C) men who will be able to teach others also.
May I encourage us.. There are 3 good reasons to ‘know’ what God has said to us through Paul:
1- by understanding God’s Words to us.. We are able to live a pleasing life before Him
2- we are personally examined by the Holy Spirit, taught truth and light in our ‘gray areas’ - so we may have “God’s light” within us.. that HE may be found… through us - by others.
“Thy word is a lamp unto MY feet and a light unto MY path”
“let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
3- it gives us the ability to ‘know’ the truths of God - should one day - another look to us for help from it… for themselves.
?? Do you know the difference between each of us… and “Philip”?
Perhaps we have more in common that we realize.. (if the holy spirit has been asked to live inside us also.) 🙂
(Acts 8:28)
an angel of the Lord spoke to (F)Philip, saying, “Get ready and go [a]south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to (G)Gaza.” ([This is a desert road.) 27 So he got ready and went; and [c](H)there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he (I)had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was returning and sitting in his [e]chariot, and was reading Isaiah the prophet. 29 Then (J)the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this [f]chariot.” 30 Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this:
“He was led like a sheep to slaughter;
And like a lamb that is silent before its shearer,
So He does not open His mouth.
33 In humiliation His justice was taken away;
Who will describe His generation?
For His life is taken away from the earth.”
34 The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself, or of someone else?” 35 Then Philip (M)opened his mouth, and (N)beginning from this Scripture he (O)preached Jesus to him. 36 As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, “Look! Water! (P)What prevents me from being baptized?”[i] 38 And he ordered that the [j]chariot stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him.
Pretty cool hu? A man had a question about ‘who would suffer’- the answer is Jesus who purchases our salvation 🙂
“Beginning from the man’s expressed interest, Philip explains Jesus' story to him, (perhaps that included Jesus’ baptism…)
and the eunuch *said, “Look! Water! (P)What prevents me from being baptized?”[i] 38 And he ordered that the [j]chariot stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him.
Perhaps God can use us in such a way with a person who has come across a verse in Romans WE come to better understand today?
?? How might God.. get us.. In that position?
Perhaps by having us.. allow the Holy Spirit to work the truths he gives Paul - in the letter to the Romans - into our minds and hearts.
Proverbs 16:2 All a person’s ways seem pure to them,(B)
but motives are weighed(C) by the Lord
As we commit to studying the bible, our ‘flesh’ will resist at every turn of the page.. But each turn of the page we can learn from its new opportunity to flourish in the abundant life Christ promises those who will pick up their cross and follow Him.
In a sense, we pick up our cross when we pick up our bibles and give the Spirit ‘permission’ to let its truth search us.
Hebrews 4:12 speaks to this ‘mysterious’ but life-changing process:
12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from God,[n] but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.
2 points? God’s Words are like a scalpel in the surgeon's hands -
who sees what’s best removed from our lives. He operates with our care in mind to make the process as painless as possible.
Amplified:
12 For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged [b]sword, penetrating as far as the division of the [c]soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, and revealed to the eyes of Him with whom we have to give account.
Interestingly Acts 20:27 says Paul the writer of Romans says
“ For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore take heed to yourselves..
?? Interested in learning from Romans?
Its a letter in the bible that explains in detail on some specific words that describe 5 aspects of a personal relationship with God:
1- (which we’ll finish today) - God’s holiness and our sin’
2- how grace can ‘justify’ in ‘salvation’
3- how God’s power changes us in ‘sanctification’
4- surrendering to and trusting the ‘sovereignty’ of God
5- how God's ‘glory’ becomes the object of our ‘serving’ Him
Let’s pray 🙂 what can we learn from God today.?. To help us.. And to perhaps help others. Amen
Paul begins by explaining to the Roman Jews, (and Gentiles) that having been born Jewish, and taught what God said was the right way to live- before Him -and other people, doesn’t guarantee God's favor, forgiveness or life in eternity with Him.)
Beginning CH 3 🙂Therefore what advantage does the Jew have, or what is the value of circumcision?
2 Actually, there are many advantages.[a]
First of all,[b] the Jews[c] were entrusted with the oracles of God.[d]
(It is no small thing to have been God’s chosen people.. and ‘your people’ were entrusted to record all God’s interaction with ‘’His people” To be the first to be taught how his created ones are to worship him, etc.
It is something special . It is a blessing. YET, Paul is quick to acknowledge the failures of “God’s Peoples’’ obedience, and faithfulness to the God who proved faithful to them throughout the stories of the Old Testament.
Then many of the Jews were openly rejecting Jesus the Messiah, and ‘persecuting’ those who followed them - Paul led them in that for some time as we know..
20-some years later, many of the Jewish people still reject the message of Christ. And Paul writes the roman believers - from many walks of life - and ‘drills down’ on the ‘question’ of “how is it God’s people’ aren't accepting … God’s Son?)
3 What then? If some were unfaithful, their unfaithfulness will not nullify God’s faithfulness, will it? 4 Absolutely not! Let God be proven true, and every human being shown up as a liar
Paul, who's been forever changed by his personal encounter with Jesus who rose from the dead, is forever passionate about the ‘truth’ of God and His redeemer son..
(Spurgeon)
‘What if some did not believe?’ It is no new thing; for there have always been some who have rejected the revelation of God. What then? You and I had better go on believing, and testing for ourselves, and proving the faithfulness of God, and living upon Christ our Lord, even though we see another set of doubters, and another, and yet another ad infinitum. The gospel is no failure, as many of us know.”
Paul… Let God be proven true, and every human being[e] shown up as a liar…
NLT: Though everyone else in the world is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say, "He will be proved right
(4b) just as it is written: “so that you will be justified[g] in your words and will prevail when you are judged.”
(Amplified Bible -That You may be justified and shown to be upright in what You say, and prevail when You are judged [by sinful men].
Bible scholars comment:
“Paul turns to the OT to support his statement that God can never be considered to be false or unfaithful, even when He judges not only Gentiles but also Jews.
Paul quotes Psalm 51:4 where David pictures himself in a heavenly tribunal before the divine Judge. There he makes his confession of guilt and acknowledges that God is proved right in what He says and just in His judgment against David.” Psalm 51:4:
Against you—you above all —I have sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight.
So you are just when you confront me; you are right when you condemn me.
Paul’s concerned for Jews who believe God will go easy on them if they ignore the grace that now only comes from the cross of Christ.
Paul also may be concerned that so many gentiles are mixing with so many Jews not practicing the words of Christ and the apostles, yet exuding an attitude that - because they are ‘God’s chosen people’ certainly their salvation is secure - they really have no need to change.’
Their attitude has been explained as:
“If God is absolutely faithful to His human creations, then He must save all of them ultimately. Otherwise, it was not fair for Him to create them. If He elected the Jews to be His people, then He must save every one of them to be faithful to His elect."
Their ignoring their history with God - the prophet Amos quotes God:
“You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”
Paul apparently feeds back an argument he’s heard the Jewish doubters make - v 5
5 But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is he? (I am speaking in human terms.
((I.e.: I am speaking as if I were a man who hasn’t received God’s Spirit of grace - he continues this way:))
Paul answers that argument..
6 Absolutely not! For otherwise how could God judge the world?
(there would be ‘no sin’ in their scenario)
Paul presents another of their questions:
7 For if by my lie the truth of God enhances his glory, why am I still actually being judged as a sinner?
(WOW these are apparently real arguments being voiced about ‘no need to repent’. ‘No need to change’ because of the cross of Christ, His resurrection, His teaching, the coming of the Holy Spirit (with more evidencing miracles through the apostles) .. ‘no listening’ to their on-going teaching from the holy spirit)
8 And why not say, “Let us do evil so that good may come of it”?
—as some who slander us allege that we say.
(Their condemnation is deserved!)
“some who slander us allege that we say” ??
Paul teaches that you can’t ‘try to be good enough’ to ‘not need’ God’s forgiveness.’
He’ll explain in verse 23 of this chapter
And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.… 🙂
To honestly ‘accept forgiveness’ requires the humility to agree with God, about your sin… which??? Really gets to the point of… having to change the way we live to remain free from the conviction of God…
Paul speaks very directly to this here:
9 What then? Are we (Jews) “better off”?
Certainly not, for we have already charged that Jews and Greeks alike (all Gentiles) are all under sin,
“Under sin” under its power its grip
10 just as it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one,
Jesus - “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. Mark 10:18
Though we can DO GOOD things? Be kind etc. Humans still inherited a sin nature when we parted at the gates of Eden
from God the holy One
Jesus was so patient with the Pharisees who denied him - who thought they were ‘sufficient without a savior like Jesus’.
Time and time again he refutes them, corrects them, answers their questions and exhorts them - that one of them might be ‘saved’. (For their own sakes, and the sake of their influence on the Kingdom of God.)
Classic example: Matthew 23 - Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:
2 The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law are experts in the Law of Moses. 3 So obey everything they teach you, but don't do as they do. After all, they say one thing and do something else.
Here in Paul’s Roman letter, we see that same patience and determination that - ’all might be saved’ of the self-reliant religious Jews not submitting to the grace of forgiveness available at the cross of Jesus - God’s redeeming Son..
I.E. “you will not enter the kingdom of God based on your family tree of religion. Man’s history with God was a history of His faithfulness… and their unfaithfulness.
(read Mat 23 this week to better understand the importance of the details of ‘true salvation’ in this book of Romans.)
So the holy spirit is moving through Paul with the same passion in the speeches of Peter and Stephen to the unbelieving Jewish leaders that followed after Jesus.
Peter @ Pentecost:...
Acts 2:
22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth(I) was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs,(J) which God did among you through him,(K) as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge;(L) and you, with the help of wicked men,[b] put him to death by nailing him to the cross.(M) 24 But God raised him from the dead,(N) freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
(and he goes into their rich history showing how it is Jesus who fulfills the promises of a savior) 🙂
And these admonishments to the ‘religious’ ARE working.. 🙂
There are some who listen.. And hear.. And decide..
“There is something here in this Jesus that I DO NOT HAVE and I want it! :
Acts 7 - (turn)
“a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.”
Yet the pride of man pushes back: (V9)
9 Opposition arose, however, …12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen
and brought him before the Sanhedrin.(Y) 13 They produced false witnesses,(Z) who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place(AA) and against the law….
14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place(AB) and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”(AC)
15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel. 🙂 (Uh Oh)
7 Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?”
2 To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers,(A) listen to me!
Respectful, compassionate.. But so full of the passion from experiencing forgiveness and God’s Spirit freely dwelling in him..
He goes on:
The God of glory(B) appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran.(C) 3 ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’[a](D)
(Music to their ears, ‘The God of glory(B) appeared to our father Abraham’
“THAT'S what I’m talking about! We are ‘good to go’! And we don’t need this Jesus and the Holy Spirit he speaks of…”
(ch 7 is a wonderful retelling of God working with Abraham and “God’s chosen people’, into and out of Egypt… with Moses..
39 “But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him ..
And Stephen concludes in verse 51
51 “You stiff-necked people!(BM) Your hearts(BN) and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute?(BO) They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him(BP)— 53 you who have received the law that was given through angels(BQ) but have not obeyed it.”
The Stoning of Stephen
54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious(BR) and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit,(BS) looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.(BT) 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open(BU) and the Son of Man(BV) standing at the right hand of God.”
57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city(BW) and began to stone him.(BX) Meanwhile, the witnesses(BY) laid their coats(BZ) at the feet of a young man named Saul.(CA)
59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”(CB) 60 Then he fell on his knees(CC) and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”(CD) When he had said this, he fell asleep.(CE)
Interesting.. They ‘laid their coats(BZ) at the feet of a young man named Saul.(CA)
Why? Saul was known as one most respected of the Jewish religious authorities.. Who had given “Saul” the commission of persecuting the Jesus believers.
Stephen’s prayer? “Lord do not hold this sin against them” would be answered quickly in “Saul”; as he makes his way down to persecute the believers in Jesus in Damascus.
Acts 9 tell us while. ”Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples…
3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.(E) 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice(F) say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do…..
(Verse 15) 15 But the Lord said This man is my chosen instrument(R) to proclaim my name to the Gentiles(S) and their kings(T) and to the people of Israel…
AND that brings us full circle to our text we’ll close with today..
Where Paul… Having experienced the same power of the Holy Spirit… that Stephen did..
Is used by the Lord to appeal yet again for the ‘pridefully religious’ to - receive the grace of God into their lives
- now some 25 years after they stoned Stephen..
Paul, in writing Romans, IS proclaiming Jesus “name to the Gentiles,(S) and their kings, (T) and to the people of Israel.
And has carefully gone back into Israel’s history from the psalms and Isaiha to remind ‘Israel’ of what they apparently wanted to forget:
That they were not ‘just’ ‘God’s people, they were God’s rebellious people…
Romans ch 3 v 10
“There is no one righteous, not even one,
Get ready, here’s the truth of our nature separated from God’s loving nature:
11 there is no one who understands,
there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away,
together they have become worthless;
there is no one who shows kindness, not even one.”[n]
from Psalm 14:1-3 and Psalm 53:1-3 The Lord has looked down from heaven at the human race to see)
13 “Their throats are open graves,[o]
they deceive with their tongues,
the poison of asps is under their lips.”[p]
from Psalm 5:9 For they do not speak the truth;
and Psalm 140:3 All day long they stir up conflict. Their tongues wound like a serpent;
14 “Their mouths are[q] full of cursing and bitterness.”
from Psalm 10:7 His mouth is full of curses and deceptive, harmful words; his tongue injures and destroys.
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
16 ruin and misery are in their paths,
17 and the way of peace they have not known.”[s]
from Isaiah 59:7-8 Their thoughts are sinful;They are unfamiliar with peace;
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”[t]
Psalm 36:1 An evil man is rebellious to the core.[c]
He does not fear God, for he is too proud to recognize and give up his sin.[e]
Paul summarizes:
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, …(God’s moral laws - given to Moses for us people) it says to those who are under[u] the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God.
20 For no one is declared righteous before him[v] by the works of the law,[w] for through the law… comes….[x] the knowledge of sin.
J.B. Phillips’ paraphrase “it is the straight-edge of the Law that shows us how crooked we are.”
This concludes Paul’s case for sin in the human race..
And our need for righteousness that apparently - can only come to us by the love and mercy and grace of God through Jesus.
Next week we’ll take a deeper look with Paul into how God - through His son - Jesus Christ makes that happen for people. 🙂..
Specifically- V 23
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 24 But they are justified[ab] freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 25 God publicly displayed[ac] him[ad] at his death[ae] as the mercy seat[af] accessible through faith. 😀
As we consider all the ‘sin of mankind’ revealed in the bible, we need not fear it if we are willing to ‘fear God’ who’s ‘perfect love’ casts out all fear.
The fear of the Lord id the beginning of knowledge 🙂
Paul opens this look into sin by 1st pointing to the powerful ‘antidote’ in CH1:
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.[af] 17 For the righteousness[ag] of God is revealed in the gospel[ah] from faith to faith,[ai] just as it is written, “The righteous by faith will live.”[aj
Remembering too the progression away from God leads to sin:
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people[ak] who suppress the truth by their[al] unrighteousness,
21 For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts[ap] were darkened.
24 Therefore God gave them over[at] in the desires of their hearts to impurity,[a
V 28 God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done.
Lets remember sin begins when the fools says in his heart ‘there is no God”
Let's be comforted that God reaches out to us in our sin:
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God moving about[u] in the orchard at the breezy time[v] of the day, and they hid[w] from the Lord God among the trees of the orchard. 9 But the Lord God called to[x] the man and said to him, “Where are you?
When Zacchaeus choose to repent, he was up in a tree looking for Jesus as the crowd walked by - Jesus called up to him by name
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly,[k] because I must[l] stay at your house today.”...“Today salvation[w] has come to this household….
10 For (I) came[z] to seek and to save the lost.”
The heart of God toward the lost sinner is described in Luke 15 (turn)
(We’ll close there today:)
15 Now all the tax collectors[a] and sinners were coming[b] to hear him. 2 But[c] the Pharisees[d] and the experts in the law[e] were complaining,[f] “This man welcomes[g] sinners and eats with them.”
3 So[h] Jesus[i] told them[j] this parable:[k] 4 “Which one[l] of you, if he has a hundred[m] sheep and loses one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture[n] and go look for[o] the one that is lost until he finds it?[p] 5 Then[q] when he has found it, he places it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 Returning[r] home, he calls together[s] his[t] friends and neighbors, telling them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 I tell you, in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner[u] who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people[v] who have no need to repent.[w]
V 10 there is joy in the presence of God’s angels[af] over one sinner who repents.”
The Parable of the Compassionate Father
V 21
‘Father, I have sinned against heaven[bn] and against you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’[bo] 22 But the father said to his slaves,[bp] ‘Hurry! Bring the best robe,[bq] and put it on him! Put a ring on his finger[br] and sandals[bs] on his feet! 23 Bring[bt] the fattened calf[bu] and kill it! Let us eat[bv] and celebrate, 24 because this son of mine was dead, and is alive again—he was lost and is found!’[bw] So[bx] they began to celebrate.