Tag Archives: Bible study

The Road Through Romans: I Belong

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100_5431We are moving through the book of Romans a verse at a time and today we come to verse 6 of chapter 1. If you have missed any of our previous discussion they can be found on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

Romans 1:6 reads,

And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

I don’t know what growing up for you was like. My experience was echoed in the movie Diary Of a Wimpy Kid. Only for me there never really was that moment where I exploded onto the hero’s stage. I was just a wimpy kid. I was the overweight guy, who got good grades, played flute in the band and got picked last in every gym class line up (not even kidding there).

One time in volley ball I got placed on the team and was told “if the ball comes to you just step out of the way. We don’t want you to foul up our game.”

I left the game and sat on the sidelines and that seemed to make everyone happy. I immersed myself in a book and went to that place all misfits go to when they are hurt, the imagination.

I share that to relay to you one of the reasons I am a Christian today. Like many others I know I found it hard to fit in to a world that valued certain attributes I didn’t have and downplayed other attributes I did have. When I came to Christ I found a place to belong. I found Someone who accepted me for who I was and what I could do and who actually valued it. More than that He told me that He was the One who made me this way and that I was CALLED TO BELONG TO HIM AND USE MY GIFTS FOR HIM.

Maybe I don’t fit in with the world. Maybe I don’t even fit in with most of the church. That is OK because I fit in with Jesus and He likes me just fine.  I have discovered that, I can serve the world in the church on the basis of His acceptance. I don’t need any body else’s.

How has belonging to Christ healed your self-perception?

The Road Through Romans: What Comes Through Faith

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100_5431Our discussion through Romans is going strong. Kim just joined in and has caught up. You can too by going to THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

Today we are finishing up with verse 5 in chapter 1. It reads:

Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. Ro. 1:5

Belief in our society had become a passive thing.  We believe in lots of things, that is we give mental assent to lots of things. We believe in freedom of speech. We believe in the right to bear arms. We believe in the red, white and blue. We believe in apple pie, mom and we believe in Jesus!

But biblical faith or belief isn’t just mental assent to the reality of something. James says it this way, “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” James 2:18,19

Paul tells us that faith (real faith) creates an obedience, a willingness to support and fight for the things we have faith in. How much you actually believe in Jesus is displayed by how well you live for Him. Strong faith creates right living. Weak faith creates careless living.

What mindsets, in our culture, does the teaching about “obedience that comes from faith” confront?

The Road Through Romans: What We Have Received Pt. 2

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100_5431Yesterday we began talking about what it is that Christians receive from their Christianity. We receive grace but there is something else too.

Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. Ro. 1:5

We receive “apostleship”…a commission…a send off…a release or permission to go and do the things Jesus did.

Did you get that?!?

We don’t need permission to do the things Jesus did. We don’t have to beg Him to do miracles in and through us. We don’t have to pray unceasingly for supernatural power or ability to be better witnesses.

We can fully expect miracles to take place in and around us. We can expect that people around us will start coming to Christ and becoming fully devoted followers of Jesus… because we have been sent off to be miraculous people so the gospel will be proven when we speak.

The only reason this doesn’t happen is because we don’t expect it to. We don’t take hold of it intentionally (which as we said in an earlier post is what receiving really is. If you missed that post find it HERE) . Apostleship is the natural position of every Christian (not being an apostle but being apostle-like).

So have you taken hold of your apostleship? What does that look like?

The Road Through Romans: What We Have Received

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Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. Ro. 1:5

Yesterday we talked about “receiving” as “intentionally taking hold of something”. If you missed the convo you can find it on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

Today I want to begin a dialogue about what it is we have actually “taken hold of.”

We have received or taken hold of grace. In other words we have intentionally taken hold of or come into possession of the charis of God, the unmerited good will, loving-kindness,  and favor of God.

What does grace accomplish in our lives?

  1. Grace exerts God’s holy influence upon our souls. It causes God to become the primary decision maker in our lives. Without the application of God’s grace we continue to be our own boss and make the same bad decisions which got us in trouble in the first place.
  2.  Grace keeps us from going back to the world and it keeps us close to Jesus. Without it we are like wild dogs off leash running back to the wilds.
  3. Grace strengthens us and causes us to become truly powerful people. Without it we remain weak and helpless in a world at war.
  4. Grace increases faith in God, knowledge of God and affection towards God. As it operates in our lives we trust Him more, understand Him better and love Him more fervently. Grace keeps our relationship with God from growing stale.
  5. Grace empowers us to practice Christian virtue.
In short we cannot do anything truly “Christian” without God’s grace operating daily in our lives. Further with grace in daily operation in our lives we cannot help but becoming more and more “Christian” in our living.
It does beg the question, how many of us do you think have shut down the application of grace in our daily lives? Have you ever done it?

The Road Through Romans: The Takers

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100_5431Romans 1:5 reads,”Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake.”

You know so many people view Christianity as an inherited religion. They believe they are Christians because their mother or their father was a Christian, or because their “Gramma was Catholic”.

THAT IS SO WRONG!

Christianity is not an inherited trait! It is a conscious decision. You don’t catch Christianity by being in close proximity to other Christians, like you catch a cold. You don’t get Christianity from your parents like you got your blue eyes or curly hair. Christianity is a personal decision to  receive the promises of God through Jesus Christ’s work on the cross and in the resurrection.

Paul says “Through him we received”.  Now that translation may be a little deceiving, because in our culture we consider receiving something as a passive activity. We receive the mail and we receive gifts. We don’t do anything to earn the mail. It just shows up in our mailbox. We don’t do anything to receive a Christmas present. We wake up Christmas morning and it is under the tree.

Well in one sense that is what Paul meant when he said “we received”, but the word in the Greek has a deeper meaning. Receiving as Paul meant it was an active verb not a passive word. The word is “lambanō” and it means, “to take with the hand, lay hold of, any person or thing in order to use it”.

Jerry Harris, one of the elders in our church likes to teach it this way, “You can receive a gift but before it really becomes yours you have to open it up.”

I would go a step further and say if a gift is really to become yours you have to use it for its intended purpose. It’s like this. Let’s say you get a new shirt at Christmas. Even if you unwrap it, and  then take it out of the box, if you then hang it in your closet never to be worn is that shirt really yours?

This is what many people are doing with their Christianity. They were there when it was offered. They accepted the gift. But then they took it and hid it away never to be seen except on special occasions. They are like the servant who received one talent in the parable Jesus told.

“Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. 25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’

26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, 27 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’

28 “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. 29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 30 Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ Ma. 25:24-30

Can I encourage you, if your Christianity is in the closet today take it out, dust it off and start living it in real time. Anything else is a big waste of faith.

If you have missed any of our discussions on the Book of Romans they can be found on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

 

The Road Through Romans: The Son Of God In Power

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100_5431Today we move into verse 4 of Romans chapter 1 in our study through the Book of Romans. If you have missed any of this study you can find the posts on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power[b] by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. rO. 1:4

I want to begin our study of this verse by studying the one who appointed Jesus to be the Son of God in power. That would be the Spirit of holiness, the πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνη, the Holy Spirit.

In Christianity we worship the Triune God, the Trinity. That is not three Gods but One God expressed in three distinct personalities. You might not totally get that, and that is O.K. There are lots of things we don’t totally get about God, like the balance between sovereignty and free will (we will get into that in our study of Romans chapter 9). The trinity is one of those things that can be explained but still defies explanation. I just accept that in faith. That said what I know is that each member of the Trinity has a different part in the plan of salvation. Each part is intrinsic to the plan and if at any place the whole Trinity did not work together the whole plan would fall apart.

The Father’s Part: To Create the plan of salvation

The Son’s Part: To Execute the plan of salvation (to die and rise from the dead)

The Spirit’s Part: To reveal the plan of salvation to the recipients of salvation (that would be us humans).

Of the Spirit of Holiness Jesus said, very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” John 16: 7-15

So according to Jesus it is the Spirit who reveals the need for salvation and it is also the Spirit who applies the power of salvation to our lives. Jesus made that final point clear when he told the Pharisee, Nicodemus, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” John 3:6

So let me conclude this portion of our study with two questions:

Do you think the Holy Spirit reveals the “truth” to everybody?

If so why doesn’t everybody come to Jesus?

 

The Road Through Romans: The Seed Of David

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 “regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life[a] was a descendant of David,” Romans 1:3

Jesus was a descendant of David. That’s important stuff. If Jesus had not been a Son of David he could not have been Messiah. He would not be qualified to take the throne of Israel.

David was arguably Israel’s most famous king. It was to him that God made this promise, “The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you. When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” 2 Samuel 7:11-13

Solomon may have built the first temple but that temple fell. The king of David’s line who was prophesied to come, will build a house for God’s name that will last forever.

That is why Matthew makes the first chapter of his book a genealogy of Jesus.

This is the genealogy[a] of Jesus the Messiah[b] the son of David, the son of Abraham:

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

Perez the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram,

4 Ram the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

6 and Jesse the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

Abijah the father of Asa,

8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

9 Uzziah the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah,

11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah[c] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

12 After the exile to Babylon:

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

13 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

Abihud the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

14 Azor the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Akim,

Akim the father of Elihud,

15 Elihud the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob,

16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. Ma 1:1-15

It is why Luke offers another genealogy (thought to be the genealogy of Mary) in the third chapter of his book.

What writer in his right mind starts a book with a genealogy? No one that’s who. No publisher would publish a book that started with a genealogy, except of course God. The genealogy is of first importance here because unless Jesus is a son of David we have nothing further to discuss. Further unless Jesus is THAT son of David we also have nothing further to discuss.

In Romans 1:3 Paul is not just saying Jesus was a son of David. There were literally thousands of sons of David roaming the earth at that time. Paul was declaring, “2 Samuel 7:13 is fulfilled in Jesus. He is not just a son of David. He is THE SON OF DAVID.”

If you have missed any of our previous discussions concerning the book of Romans they can be found on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE

The Road Through Romans: His Earthly Life

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100_5427We are spending our second day on verse three of Romans chapter one. If you missed any of our previous discussions concerning this word by word study through Romans you can find them on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

Before we go on today I also want to reference my friend Ben Nelson’s blog series on the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.   The things that he is writing tie in to some of the discussions we are having here and add interesting counterpoint to my thoughts.

Verse 3 of Romans 1 reads,

“regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life[a] was a descendant of David,”

It’s interesting to contemplate that Jesus’ earthly life is only one very small part of the Son of God’s experience. It’s His earthly life that we tend to emphasize because that is the part of His existence which most directly impacts us. His arrival on earth, his life and teachings, his death and his resurrection were seismic shifts for the human race.

I do sometimes wonder though, out of all the things Jesus has done throughout the course of eternity: creating eternity, creating time, creating the Earth, coming to Earth as a man to die on the cross and rise from the dead,  ascending back to Heaven to rule and reign at the right hand of the Father, which does Jesus place first in His memory?

Does He value the memory of the cross before all else or is that something He tries to push out of His mind? Would He rather remember the glory of creation or the glory of the resurrection?

Maybe it is silly but I do wonder if maybe Jesus’ perspective might not be a little different from ours simply because it happened to Him and not to us.

What do you think?

The Road Through Romans: It’s All About Jesus!

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100_5431We are finally at verse 3 in our study of the first chapter of Romans and it only took us two weeks to get here!

If you have missed any of the posts concerning the book you can find them on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE

In verse 3 of chapter 1 Paul states that the gospel was,Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;

The gospel may have been preached even by the Prophets of the Old Testament but the gospel the good news finds its root in Jesus Christ God’s Son. Jesus is the good news. The whole Bible is about Jesus. It is history which is HIS STORY.  Without Jesus there is no Good news. Without Jesus there is no creation. Without Jesus the universe would simply fall apart. He is the Alpha, the Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is the God particle, the Word that holds everything together. He was there at the start and He will be waiting there at the finish. He is the Author of life and faith and also its chief end, goal and aim.

As the old song says, “He is my everything. He is my all.”

How about you?

 

 

The Road Through Romans: The Gospel According to Balaam

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We’ve been walking the Romans Road one small step at a time. We’ve gotten to verse two in chapter one and that has sent us careening back through the Old Testament to see how the gospel was preached before Jesus was even born. As Paul says it is…

 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures.

If you have missed any of the discussion it can be found on

THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE

So far we have talked about God preaching the gospel a little in Genesis and  about Moses revealing that the Messiah would be a game-changing prophet like himself. Yet, another prophetic contemporary of Moses added a very important piece to the Messianic puzzle.

You may recall a man named Balaam from the Book of Numbers. Balaam was not a game-changer like Moses. Truth be told, as prophets go he was not very faithful. Actually he only worked part time for God. He also worked part time for the enemies of Israel and full time for his own self interests. Still God gave him a pretty important piece of the Messianic prophecy. It is spoken in Numbers chapter  24.

Balaam had been hired by a general, named Balak, to curse Israel. Instead Balaam was forced by God to bless Israel at every turn much to Balak’s chagrin. In his fourth blessing of Israel Balaam shares this foresight.

“I see him, but not now;
    I behold him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob;
    a scepter will rise out of Israel.
He will crush the foreheads of Moab,
    the skulls[b] of[c] all the people of Sheth.[d]
18 Edom will be conquered;
    Seir, his enemy, will be conquered,
    but Israel will grow strong.
19 A ruler will come out of Jacob
    and destroy the survivors of the city.”

It is important to note Balaam was not a Jewish prophet. He came from the area around Babylon. It is thought that his prophecies returned to that place, after his death in a battle against the Israelites, some years later. Further, it is thought that certain magicians probably referred to these prophecies thousands of years later when a certain star rose over the land of Israel. Following that star those very magicians made history when they approached a certain king of Israel proclaiming…

Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.  Ma. 2:2

This means that even in the Old Testament God was preparing the Gentiles for the message of the gospel that would be preached through Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, thousands of years later.

Just as an aside, there is a whole portion of this prophecy that was not fulfilled with Jesus’ first coming. This means it will be fulfilled with His second coming. Also interesting to note that star, “The Star of Bethlehem”,   may just have made another appearance over the Earth. If so what does that mean?