Tag Archives: Romans

The Road Through Romans: The Invisible Qualities Pt. 2

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

100_5431

Today we are continuing our discussion through Romans 1:20 speaking about the Invisible Qualities of God. If you have missed any of our previous discussions they can be found on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

The verse in question is:

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

What this verse says is that God’s invisible qualities, the things which cannot be seen or touched, His essence, can be thoroughly perceived by what God has made. Those invisible things have to do with His everlasting never fading power and they prove His Godhood.

A.W. Tozer explains that their are 18 characteristics that are revealed about God. They Are:

1.Wisdom

2. Infinitude

3. Sovereignty

4. Holiness

5. Trinity

6. Omniscience

7. Faithfulness

8. Love

9. Omnipotence

10. Self- existence

11. Self sufficiency

12. Justice

13. Immutability

14. Mercy

15.Eternal in nature

16. Goodness

17. Graciousness

18. Omnipresence

As you look at this list think of the creation we live in. How are these qualities of God reflected even in our fallen creation?

Since we have all the time in the world let’s spend some time discussing these qualities.

See you tomorrow 🙂

 

The Road Through Romans: The Invisible Qualities Of God

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

100_5431

Today we are continuing our study through Paul’s Letter To the Romans. We are still in chapter one and today we are looking at verse 20.

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” 

Romans is chock full of verses like this that on the surface are very straightforward but which spark a lot of questions that can take one off in a million directions. Here are a few questions that come to mind as I read this verse:

  1. What are the invisible qualities of God?
  2. What is eternal power?
  3. What makes God’s nature divine? And what does divine mean anyway?
  4. How does the creation make God’s invisible qualities visible?
  5. And if the creation reveals God’s invisible qualities how is it possible that almost 85% of the world is missing out on knowing God?

Well I might not be able to answer all of these questions to your satisfaction but over the next several days we will make a start of it.

Let’s begin with a review of what the verse is communicating up front.

God has built a message into the universe that points to Him. That message tells us what God is like and for that reason alone nobody will ever be able to say, “Nothing in my existence pointed me to God.” The very air we breathe and the very earth we tread speaks to us of God’s existence and His divine nature.

More on that tomorrow. If you have missed any of our discussions up until this point they can be found on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

Road Through Romans: Seek And Find

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

100_5431

We continue today with our study through the Book of Romans. We have had lots to say before today. So if you have missed any of our discussions you can find them on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

Today we will be looking at Romans 1:19

“since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.” Rom. 1:19

Not everything about God is able to be understood. He’s a pretty big God.  He is an Incredibly Big God, so big in fact that  no box we try to put Him in will contain Him. Still there are certain things which can be known about God and those things are plain and simple.

God is not playing some cosmic game of Hide & Seek with people. If someone really wants to find God then God will reveal Himself to them, no ifs ands or buts. This is a promise from Scripture:

“I love those who love me,and those who seek me find me.” Prov. 8:17

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

9“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” Matthew 7: 7-10

“Come near to God and he will come near to you.” James 4:8

So if you are looking for God don’t give up. Keep searching because according to His promise eventually He will find you.

The Road Through Romans: Suppress the Truth

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

100_5431

Well this will be our last day in Romans 1:18 dear friends. I can say it only gets deeper from here. Today we are discussing what it mean to “suppress the truth by wickedness”

If you have missed any of our discussion particularly any of the last three it would be good to review those now on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

Romans 1:18 reads,

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,”

So far in this verse we have spoken about the wrath of God  and the godlessness and  wickedness of men. Today we are going to speak about what the godlessness and wickedness of men creates.

Society has bought into a mindset that godliness and purity is hokey and old-fashioned. While godlessness and wickedness are trendy and sophisticated. If you don’t believe me, when was the last time you went to an adult movie with a G-rating? When was the last time you watched a prime time television show where someone didn’t undress, someone didn’t get murdered or the theme didn’t deal with greed and idolatry? Simply put sin sells.

Further the old addage is coming to pass, “If you say something often enough people start to think its true.”

Let’s face it our culture is living proof that Romans 1:18 is accurate. I don’t think anyone can deny any longer we live in a godless society. God is even being written out of our major life events. I was recently asked to consider doing a funeral for someone but was called a few days later and told my services were not needed because the family had decided to hold a karaoke party at a bar in lieu of a funeral.

What about wickedness? Just turn on the telly or go to grocery store for an hour; Either activity will give you an opportunity to see at least seven of the ten commandments broken.

The result of wickedness and godlessness is that it causes the truth about the universe to become warped. Things we once held as sacred values begin to matter less and less until they are even forgotten. We meet “nice” sinners and somehow think that their niceness makes their sin less sinful. Then in the name of loving them we suppress the truth we know until we  allow it to exchange places with the lie. Suddenly (or maybe not so suddenly though it sure seems it) we are thinking things like: God’s will is for us to divorce; Living together out of wedlock is compatible with being a good church member; Homosexuality isn’t even mentioned in the Bible; Hating people because they disagree with us or are different from us is OK with God;  Or God and Allah and Buddah and Shiva are all the same.

Here’s the rub. The truth can be suppressed but suppressing it under a bunch of lies doesn’t make it untrue. It only makes it truth hidden under a bunch of lies. The truth is God hates divorce and would have you work it out if you can. Living in a sexual relationship outside of marriage whether you live in the same apartment or keep separate apartments is fornication, a sin. Homosexuality is listed as a sin in the Bible. It just is plain and simple. Hating people is never OK with God. In fact, God says those who hate don’t know Him. God YHWH is God and all the others are idols, posers, fronts for demonic power. These are just examples. Wickedness suppresses truth in every area of our society today. According to Romans 1:18 that is what unleashes God’s wrath.

God has set up the universe so that truth will set people free (John 8:32). When any person or system of persons suppresses the truth, God must arise and knock them down because that person or system actually endangers the only real freedom the Earth has ever known. History has taught us that God will not allow the truth to go undefended. History has also shown that God will give a person or a nation ample time to amend their ways but should they refuse, His wrath will eventually come.

Oh Lord in your wrath remember mercy!

The Road Through Romans: Wickedness

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

100_5431

We are still in Romans 1:18 with our discussion through the letter. If you have missed any of the chatter you can find the conversations at THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,” Rom. 1:18

Today we will be discussing the nature of wickedness.

The word wickedness is translated from the Greek word, adikia, it is  “a deed violating law and justice, act of unrighteousness” (definition from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance).

Where godlessness speaks to the attitude of the heart that causes bad behavior, wickedness is the behavior itself.

So what does God consider wicked or evil behavior:

Let’s run a few lists:

 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Ephesians 5: 1- 5

 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.[b] 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices Colossians 3: 5-9

Wickedness is…

  1. anything even hinting at sex outside of marriage
  2. Greed
  3. obscenity
  4. talking out of turn
  5. dirty jokes
  6. lust
  7. anger
  8. rage
  9. Being malicious
  10. ruining someone’s reputation
  11. filthy language

We could get more lists but let’s just stop here shall we? Who hasn’t done at least one thing on this list? Well according to Romans 1:18 this causes God’s wrath to be set against us.

If the Bible left us here we would all be in a world of hurt. No one could be saved. Everyone would be apportioned God’s wrath. But the Bible doesn’t leave us here and neither does Paul as you are going to see. We just have to stop thinking that we can make it into God’s good graces and avoid His wrath on our own merits.  No one is ever going to be good enough earn their way into Heaven. We need a savior!

Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10,11

 

The Road Through Romans: Godlessness

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

100_5431

We are continuing our discussion on Romans 1:18 today. Yesterday we discussed the wrath of God and today we will be discussing Godlessness.

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

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,” Rom. 1:18″

So what exactly is “godlessness” or as it is translated in other versions “ungodliness”?

The word used in the Greek is, asebeia. It is defined as a want of reverence towards God or impiety.

Once again that’s a great definition until I ask you to define reverence and impiety. Let’s look at some other verses for help.

Other verses where the word  asebeia is used are:

And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness G763from Jacob: Romans 11:26

 Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 16 Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.  2 Tim. 2:14-16

 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, Titus 2:11-13

To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly G763 deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. 

You see, ungodliness is a state of mind that manifests in action. Ungodliness is not action itself. Ungodliness is a root that puts forth sin. It manifests in  wicked words and deeds because it is a heart that does not care about God. It is a heart from which God is absent. 

THIS IS IMPORTANT!!!

To be ungodly a person does not have to hate God or be malicious towards God. The mindset of an ungodly person is simply irreverent toward God, which means an ungodly person considers God unimportant and unworthy of playing a significant role in life. Such a mindset does not bring God into the equation of living at all.

Ungodliness is not a specific behavior or activity.It goes deeper than behavior. Ungodliness is an attitude of the heart that shuts God out of the decision making process. Therefore, godlessness is manifested in any activity from which God is excluded.

Now let me ask the $25,000.00 question. In light of that definition how much of our culture is ungodly and therefore subject to wrath?

The Road Through Romans: Wrath

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

100_5431

Today we are moving on to Romans 1:18 in our journey through the Paul’s letter to Rome. I am planning four sessions in this verse in which we will discuss: wrath, ungodliness, unrighteousness and holding the truth in unrighteousness.

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

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,” Rom. 1:18

Let’s talk about wrath for a bit. What exactly is the wrath of God? Is it like our wrath? Is it shouting and screaming and punching holes in the wall wrath? Is it that out of control seeing red wrath that some of us know so well, the wrath that shoots first and asks questions later?

Maybe a definition of the actual word would be helpful.

Wrath- from the Greek orgē ,

I. anger, the natural disposition, temper, character

II. movement or agitation of the soul, impulse, desire, any violent emotion, but esp. anger

III. anger, wrath, indignation

IV.anger exhibited in punishment, hence used for punishment itself of punishments inflicted by magistrates (definition taken from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)

Well, so far the wrath of God doesn’t seem all that different from the wrath of people. Let’s look at some of the other Scriptures where the word, orgē,  is translated as wrath.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath G3709 to come? MA. 3:7 John the Baptist

But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, andwrath G3709 upon this people. Luke 21:23 Jesus

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath G3709 of God abideth on him. John 3:36 Jesus

And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? Rev. 6:13-17

From these verses I glean that: the wrath of God is something we definitely want to escape; It is something that causes great distress; That God has made a way for us to escape this wrath which involves judgment; AND while God doesn’t exactly punch holes in the walls, the very heavens themselves are damaged when God reacts in wrath.

What strikes you about the wrath of God from these or other verses in Scripture?

The Road Through Romans: It Ends At The Beginning

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

100_5431

We are still moving through the book of Romans bit by bit. Once again, we are looking at Romans 1:16, 17. Yesterday we mentioned that the gospel reveals the only acceptable path to God. Today we are going to discuss what that pathway is.

If you have missed any of the previous posts in this series they can all be found on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE. 

Here are the verses we are looking at today,

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

We are looking specifically at the bold-faced words.

I don’t think it can be said enough that true righteousness comes only through faith in Jesus Christ. Everything in our world is geared towards getting that wrong. Humanism has taught us…ingrained in us…that righteousness comes through men trying really hard and beyond that salvation is earned when trying really hard meets with a bit of good fortune and man’s natural goodness. That is just sooooooooo wrong.

The truth is men are not by nature righteous. We are by nature evil (sorry folks that’s proven true by Scripture and if you’ve actually lived in the world by experience as well). We are not basically good people who sometimes make mistakes. We are basically evil people who sometimes do things properly. Most times when we end up doing the right thing it is because we overcome the temptation to do the wrong thing which first comes to our minds. Much of our current situation comedy entertainment extends from the battle to make the right choice in the midst of the temptation to do the wrong thing, while much of our dramatic entertainment  involves stories of what happens when that battle is not won.

Righteousness will never come because of man’s solo triumph over evil. True righteousness can only be obtained AND maintained by placing faith in the power of Jesus Christ to help us overcome ourselves.

“just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’.”

We have much more to say on this subject but we have sixteen more chapters of study to say it in so for now I am…signing off!

 

The Road Through Romans: The Way To the Approved State

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles, Uncategorized

100_5431

So we are delving into Romans 1:16,17 yet again. If you missed our previous devotional thoughts they can be found on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

Today I really want to begin looking at the bold faced words in these two verses.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

These words are the launching pad for what is perhaps the major theme for Paul’s letter to the Romans. I guess you could say the theme can be summed up thusly, The way to eternal salvation  AND  a lifestyle of actual holiness is by faith… OR…the way to the God-approved state is through faith.

Paul  develop this theme greatly throughout the book. Honestly, it was pretty radical thinking for his readers back when it was written. Even for us this thought is pretty radical.

When most people think of Heaven they usually think of it as a place of reward for good people, something to be worked towards. When asked why a person should go to Heaven most reply that a person gets to Heaven by doing good or by having his good deeds outweigh his bad deeds. But Paul’s message throughout Romans is that salvation (Heaven) is not obtained by what we do but by who we put our faith in. In fact here in verse 17 Paul even mentions that the ability to be righteous or do good works is based on who we put our trust in. The intimation is that if we do not put our faith in the right person not only will we not attain Heaven we will not even be able to do the things that are truly good.

This is a pretty serious  allegation for a world that by and large does not put its faith in Jesus.

I would love to hear your thoughts about Paul’s words here.

 

The Road Through Romans: The Miraculous Method

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles, Uncategorized

100_5431

We continue our discussion through Paul’s letter to the Romans. Today we are discussing Romans 1:16,17

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

My  fellowship, the Assemblies of God has 16 fundamental truths that every one of our churches adhere to. Of those 16 fundamentals there are four cardinal or primary doctrines.

  1. Salvation by grace alone through faith alone
  2. Healing spiritual, emotional and physical is found in the atonement
  3.  The baptism in the Holy Spirit with the initial physical evidence of speaking in other tongues is an experience available to every believer in the church past, present and future
  4. Jesus is coming again to judge the living and the dead and shall set up His eternal reign on Earth.

Each of these doctrines speaks of an incredible, miraculous manifestation of God’s grace and presence in the lives of men and women across the face of the globe.Of all those miraculous interventions into the lives of people the most miraculous is the salvation of man from his sin. Jesus died and rose again to perpetuate this miracle in our lives. That alone is an incredible thought.Yet one of the most miraculous things about the miracle of salvation is the way it is applied to the life of a man or a woman.The power of salvation is applied to a person’s life through the gospel. A person gets saved when someone else tells him the story of Jesus and he chooses to believe it.

Paul said it this way, “21For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ” 1 Cor. 1:21-24

Preaching the gospel as we have said in earlier posts is not just a job for professional ministers. It is the job of every Christian.You may not feel qualified to share Jesus with other people. Honestly who is? We are sharing GOD with people! What ex-sinner could ever be qualified for such a job? That’s part of the miracle, don’t you know? God could have chosen angels to preach. He could have chosen to use supernatural visions or dreams to proclaim the gospel. He could have made the mountains sing it  if He so desired. Instead He chose to use sinful people to proclaim righteousness to other sinful people so that righteousness could be formed in them all!

Ain’t that a hoot?

If you have missed any of our previous conversations they can be discovered on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE