Pastor Tom's Roman Road

2007-08-11T17:27:00.000-07:00

Time Principles from Romans 15:23-33

The Apostle Paul gives us a rare glimpse into his understanding of time as he explains in what may seem to be a routine note, to the Romans, his plan for a visit.

What principles of time are you employing in business, ministry, and life? I would like to suggest seven that we can extract from Paul.

Principle # 1
Free Time

¬“ (from the NIV) Romans 15:23 - But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to see you,”

Here we catch a glimpse of an unspoken concept – that of free time. Free time is time to do the things that your heart desires but your priorities prevent.

For Paul, his missionary work took priority in his schedule. If he could be useful and busy about his mission, that came first. At the same time, he desired to spend his time in certain places with certain people when and if the opportunity presented itself.

That was free time.

What do you desire to do with your free time? It is a legitimate desire. It is a possibility. Make a list and then work to free some time for doing that very thing. Who will you be with? What will it be like? State it as Paul did.

God has given you a big picture dream and vision which drives your life mission, but it does not erase all of the things that you would like to do when you are free to do them. Life is never primarily about vacations, side trips, and lunch breaks, but these things occupy our longings and give us both incentives and diversions.

Let’s get our work done and then play a bit.

Principle # 2
Passing Through Time

“ (from the NIV) Romans 15: 24¬ - I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.”

So often, our free time is the time we grab when we are passing through on our way from somewhere and to somewhere else. It is an entirely valid pursuit to fit things in to the cracks of our lives. If we didn’t, so many things would never get done.

Businesses would not be built.

Hobbies would not be cultivated.

Friendships would not be nurtured.

Books and music would not be enjoyed or even created.

So much of what is good in life happens when we are passing through life. If we do not take advantage of the opportunities along the way, they will be lost.

Paul had two excellent reasons for stopping by Rome along the way. One was to have the Roman believers assist him on his journey. The other was to simply enjoy their company.

Do not discount either motive.

Principle # 4
Service Time

“ (from the NIV) Romans 15: 25 - Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there. 26 - For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.”

The primary reason for Paul being on this upcoming journey is service. Specifically, it is service to God’s people in Jerusalem. They were experiencing a time of need. Perhaps it was because, as Barclay suggests, that they had lost their jobs in the industries that supported Temple worship. These were controlled by a small and select group of men who were particularly opposed to the Christian movement.

Having been excluded from the economy of Jerusalem because of their faithfulness to Jesus Christ, they were hungry. Paul saw it as an obligation and an opportunity to help them.

Another group of poor believers in Macedonia and an Achaia had embraced the opportunity and had freely given of themselves and their limited resources. They understood that whatever had been entrusted to them was a stewardship and that the only way to preserve resources is to give them back to God.

So it is with time. Time spent in service is never time wasted, nor is it lost.

What are you doing with your time to serve other people? Is some part of your day spent, each day, in reaching out to others and touching human need? Is your time filled with significance?

Principle # 4
Obligated Time

“ (from the NIV) Romans 15:27 - They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews' spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings. “

What made this use of Paul’s time and the other believers’ money and obligation?

Fellowship is the reason.

Fellowship is partnership and sharing. Paul reminds the Romans that they have shared the spiritual heritage and benefits of the Jewish people, the legacy of the law, the rich traditions of the God’s hand at work in the history of Israel, and especially, the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

They owe something to the believers in Jerusalem.

Material and spiritual blessings are sometimes interchangeable. They are not equal, but they are in close communication, one with the other.

Likewise, we are a part of each other and owe each other love, respect, fraternal caring, service, and help. God has molded and melded the church from a conglomeration of people groups and backgrounds and has gathered us into one family.

If nothing else, we need to spend time together and to take the time to meet one anothers’ needs.

Principle # 5
Opportune Time

“ (from the NIV) Romans 15:28 - So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this fruit, I will go to Spain and visit you on the way. “

The opportunity has arisen, in the mind of Paul, to do to things. The primary thing is to go to Spain, the western frontier of his known civilized world, a place bustling with opportunity and influence where some of the most innovative thinking on earth was taking place in Paul’s time.

It was time for the gospel to go to Spain – at least it seemed that way to Paul.

Paul was always looking for opportunities.

The second opportunity was to stop by Rome on his journey – to visit with friends and share the benefits of fellowship.

Opportunities can sometimes be planned and at other times, simply emerge.

Curiously, this opportunity did not materialize, a fact that we will visit in a moment. However, Paul was ready for it and we need to be ready for the opportunities that come our way.

What opportunities might await you this very day and how will you greet them?

Principle # 6
Precious Time

“ (from the NIV) Romans 15:29 - I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ.”

Time spent in cultivating friendships in Christ is precious time, blessed and valuable.

We must cherish such time and see it as part of the full blessing of Christ. Isn’t it wonderful that God, in His love, mercy, and wisdom gave us such wonderful comrades on the journey of faith and service?

I have been sitting over a cup of coffee with dear Christian friends, in the midst of a conversation about deep matters or heart and eternal truth and suddenly realized, “The is holy ground.”

There are sanctified moments in our memories, flashes of time, indelibly etched upon our consciousnesses that nurture us at the core of our being.

Are you allowing time for precious moments in your life? Are you making time for those snapshots of seconds, minutes, and hours that give you great strength and encouragement for how you will use the rest of your time in the service of the master?

So often in our businesses and ministries, we do not value the shorter, precious moments that God affords us. We must appreciate them as we anticipate them, as we participate in them, and as we look back upon them.

Principle # 7
Prayer Time

“ (from the NIV) Romans 15: 30 - I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. 31 - Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there,”

Perhaps the most neglected time in the day of any busy Christian is prayer time. It is time spent in the struggle preparing for the struggle. It is time when we can identify closely with the challenges that are faced by our brothers and sisters near and far.

The word used for struggle has the same root as that for “agony.”

This call to pray together is rooted in the very person of Jesus Christ whose entire life was about intercession and in the love of the Holy Spirit.

“Pray for me,” Paul suggests, “and you will be part of me.”

When we pray for someone, we join them. We share in their successes as well as their pain and disappointments.

Paul had two pressing and legitimate concerns:

First, he prayed for deliverance from those who were “gunning for him” in Jerusalem. He was a man with a price on his head and he had many enemies. This was such a legitimate request that it may come as no surprise to learn that God answered this prayer in a funny sort of way. When he did make it to Jerusalem, Paul was arrested and spent four years in prison.

The deliverance came in the fact that those became ironically effective years and productive times. Epistles were written. Influence was shared. Lives were changed. Believers were encouraged.

So the second prayer request is of even greater significance. Paul prayed and requested prayer that his ministry would be effective and acceptable.

God allowed something that seemed to be Him ignoring the first request in order to accomplish the second. In fact, God never stopped answering Paul’s prayer for deliverance, but that is a different story.

Time spent in prayer is never wasted.

Principle #8
Refreshing Time

“ (from the NIV) Romans 15:32 - so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed. 33 - The God of peace be with you all. Amen.”

What Paul looked forward to most was a time of mutual refreshment with the Roman believers. They needed it and he needed it.

While it would not happen the way he predicted, he relished the thought.

In fact, Paul would come to Rome within a few short years – in chains. Yet, he would also come in joy and his presence would bring refreshment and courage to the church there.

He valued, as must we, the will of God and gladly submitted to that will. He associated it with joy and refreshment.

The most refreshing experience of time is to be found in the will of God, doing what He wants us to do, being where He wants us to be, speaking what he wants us to speak, enjoying the company of those He brings into our paths, and exercising our ministry and influence among them.

So, we see that Paul values time and takes the expenditure of time very seriously. You have today – at least for now and you may have tomorrow. What will you do with it?

2007-04-28T16:55:00.001-07:00

Romans 3:23 and 6:23 in Song

2007-03-16T19:40:00.000-07:00

Romans 9:30-33

The Stumbling Stone

30 - What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 - but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. 32 - Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone." 33 - As it is written: "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."

What shall we say to what?

The answers regards what we are to say to this whole question of God’s election through unmerited grace and sovereign mercy, narrowing the focus of His choice of who will bring His message to the world and receive His salvation to those who will come through Jesus Christ.

Uncle Hinky’s fabled and not-so-bright cousin, Lem got himself a quarter section south of Skunkville back in 1946. Someone had already started to build a house there and old Lem wanted to finish it up and live in it himself. One day Hinky dropped by the see how things were going. The house was sort of lopsided and leaning with a frame stuck in the dirt and a big pad of cement next to it.

“What’s going on, Lem?”

“Ah Hinky, it’s going OK considering that big piece of cement in the way there. We’ze always trippin’ on it. As soon as we get the house built the way we want it, we’re going to break it up and slide the house over there.”

Those numbskulls were tripping over the foundation that the previous owners had left.

And we trip over Jesus to our ultimate detriment.

Paul says that unlikely people have been called and have received righteousness from God and have been enveloped into His purpose and calling. He says that some who thought they had it together on false premises have been left out in the cold. It is not God’s plan to make people stumble, but it is inevitable that those who do not come by faith will do so.

In other words, the Christmas message is intended to be good news for the whole world, but for some, it is very bad news. It is confounding and confrontational. What it is to you is your choice.

These verses tell us how we stumble over Jesus:

We stumble over Jesus when we pursue what is in our power alone according to verses 30-31. That is called “works” and our works are untrustworthy and inadequate to save us. What does a “works” salvation mean? It can be spelled out: W-O-R-K-S.

W - It is WEAK. (8:3 reminds us that God in Jesus Christ did what the law could not do because it was weak in the flesh.) Works are powerless to save us. We need to give that message to the world that so easily misunderstands ‘self-righteousness” and confuses it with Christianity. When we rely on works to save us, we stumble over Christ because we don’t have any strength left. We wear ourselves out trying to please God with our own efforts.

O – It is OBSTINATE. That means prideful and pride just does not please God. Remember the story Jesus told of the two men who went up to the Temple to pray. One was a religious man and was proud of his religious accomplishments. He thanked God that he was not like other men – like the scoundrel next to him for example. The scoundrel prayed a simple prayer, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Some translate that, “THE sinner.” Jesus said that man went away justified. Pride causes us to stumble over Christ.

R – It is RETRO-RIGHTEOUS as an out-of date concept of righteousness which REJECTS God’s way of salvation. Have you ever tried to play an 8-track video in a DVD player? It doesn’t work. You are mixing an out-of-date technology with a current technology. There is no relationship. God has sent a memo that says, “The old system is obsolete. From now on, it is the grace-faith connection, pure and simple – no other c odes to learn.” We reject that and we reject Him and stumble over Christ.

K – It KILLS – (II Corinthians 3:6 says – The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.). The letter of the law is designed to convict us of sin. It does that very well. We, on the other hand, according to II Corinthians 3:6, have been made ministers of a new covenant of grace. Christ is at the center of it. He is God’s elect and faith in Him is God’s way of bringing us life through the Spirit. To turn away from Him is to stumble over Him.

S – And so, we can write a great big S across the manual of works salvation. It is an S for STUMBLE. It STUMBLES over everything Jesus is, did, and said. We decide not to stand on the Rock, but to butt against it – HIM!

According to verse 32, we stumble over Christ when we fail to pursue faith. Hebrews 11 tells us that without faith, it is impossible to please God. Romans 9:32 implies that faith is the pursuit of righteousness. For some time, I have been teaching a dual definition of righteousness from the scriptures:

First, it is a right relationship with God. It is through Jesus’ sacrifice and victory that righteousness is “imputed” to us by faith. That means that God puts it on our account by grace, freely given and undeserved. We pursue righteousness as a right relationship with God when we come to Him through Jesus Christ. You can come today? It is not complicated? It doesn’t take a lot of time. It does not require you to prepare a resume or go through a big ritual. You can simply, where you are, as you are, decide to trust Christ as your Savior and Lord and commit your life to him. You can start openly declaring Him as the King of your life. In less than a noon-second, you will cross over from the old to the new. That is the pursuit. It begins with one simple step of faith.

Second, it is a lifestyle of repentance whereby we are moving in the right direction. Repentance is a simple word that means turning around – a 180 degree turn from the pursuit of self-interests to the pursuit of God’s interests. It does not mean we are yet perfect, but that we have changed our course and are heading the right way – also by grace, also through faith. We pursue ongoing and ever deepening righteousness in our lives as we continue to walk by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. We sometime stray; we sometimes falter; but we get up and continue to course of the pursuit of right belief and right living by faith. Our compasses are set God-ward and we continue on course. When we start veering away, the Word of God and the Holy Spirit are adequate to correct us and set us in the right direction as long as we are committed to walk by faith.

3. Finally, we stumble over Christ when we do not trust Him to be the cornerstone according to verse 33. Paul has quoted from two passages in Isaiah, 8:14 and 28:16-17. In these passages, we are given four different insights into who the coming Messiah will be as compared to a great stone.

He is a Sanctuary Stone in 8:14. A sanctuary is a place of refuge and safety and so Jesus is our Rock of safety and refuge. In the old westerns, the cowboys would take shelter behind big boulders in the high desert when they were in a shootout. Bullets would bounce off the rocks and they would be safe. It was a wonder anyone ever got shot. The other wonder I have about those old movies is why more of the horses didn’t trip over those monstrosities and their riders rode them recklessly through the hills. The answer was that they were paying attention and they knew the terrain. If you ignore the Sanctuary Stone, but Isaiah and Paul are here to inform you that you will stumble over Him and the fall could be very, very hard. Nevertheless, He is your sanctuary from the storms and bullets of life.

He is a Tested Stone according to 28:16. He is tested as a precious stone of great value – like gold for instance. Trusting in Him will, according to both Paul and Isaiah, preclude shame. No one who trusts in Him will ever be put to shame. That means that He will not let you down. There is a saying among credible people in the sales industry that goes like this: Under-sell and over-deliver. That way, you never have to apologize for your product. People are delighted when they discover that what you have put in their hands has more uses, is over better quality, and is more valuable than you ever told them. Jesus is such a tested and precious stone. He is of infinite value. It is amazing that people would trip over such a treasure.

He is the Cornerstone. Lem refused to see that the obstacle in the way of his “works” was actually the foundation that would have kept the house from being lopsided and tilted. We must recognize that Jesus Christ is the foundation upon which we can build a strong and productive life. It works because He works. In this month of mission emphasis and Advent, we can be confident that the Christ we preach to the nations is a strong, sturdy, and precious foundation for every people, nation, and culture. Let us never be ashamed to proclaim Jesus. We have no responsibility for quality control over the life He brings to people. It doesn’t matter how badly a person’s house of life is toppling over, he can and will rebuild it. We can be confident as we trust Him, the Cornerstone.

And so, He is a trustworthy stone. And what do you do with that which is trustworthy? You place your trust dead center in Him. You do not waver. You do not hold back.

Do you trust Him today?

With your salvation?
With your reputation?
With your family and finances?
With your business?
With your mission in life?

Pray with me.

2007-03-11T16:08:00.000-07:00

Romans 9 – Election and The Sovereign Mercy of God

1 -I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit— 2 -I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 - For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, 4 - the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5 - Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.

The BIAS of every Christian is for the salvation of one’s community. That is the kind of heart that God wants us to have toward our neighbors. It is the sort of love that we see in Jesus Christ who actually did what Paul could not do – alienate Himself from God in order to bring many to God. Isn’t it amazing that only God could do that? Paul loves His brothers, the people of Israel.

It is impossible for me to understand how any Christian could ever be anti-Semitic. That is such a contradiction. In the movie, “The Hiding Place,” Corrie Ten Boom’s father makes this remark about the Nazi’s who would eventually imprison and murder him for hiding Jews in Holland during the Nazi occupation, “I pity them, for they have touched the apple of God’s eye.”

Israel has never stopped being the apple of God’s eye.

However, the principle here is the bias that we as Christians and as a church are to have in all of our programming and prioritizing for the salvations of our communities at home and around the world. Nothing in a balanced doctrine of election relieves us of the burden and responsibility for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with the world – and using words when necessary as St. Francis said.

6 - It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 - Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." 8 - In other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring. 9 - For this was how the promise was stated: "At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son."

The BEGINNING of election is the promise of God. As sacred history proceeded, God narrowed the scope of His promise and covenant. He did not nullify that which He made with those who were excluded from the next level because He has a purpose for every person – even the wicked for the day of destruction according to Proverbs. Rather, in narrowing His focus, He began to fashion a peculiar and elect people who would carry out that mission. I do not believe that this scripture or the rest of the Bible teaches a replacement theology where the church usurps Israel. However, Paul is saying that the church is included in the promises of Israel to the point where she becomes the focus of His mission to bring the good news of salvation to the rest of the world.

10 - Not only that, but Rebekah's children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. 11 - Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God's purpose in election might stand: 12 - not by works but by him who calls—she was told, "The older will serve the younger."13 - Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."

The BOTTOM-LINE of election is the purpose of God. Election is not primarily about who goes to Heaven and who goes to hell. It is about who God is using and in what way to accomplish His purposes. Careful Bible reading reveals that God’s purpose in electing Israel was a missionary purpose. That is the purpose of Christ being God’s elect and the church being elect in Him – to bring salvation to the world, not to hoard it to themselves.

The theology that seeks to understand election and predestination merely in terms of personal salvation – who is and who isn’t saved, is quite man-centered. The doctrine of election is 100% God-centered and focused on His purposes. In our system of government, not everyone can be elected to high office. Yet, every citizen has a purpose and a rkole.

14 - What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 - For he says to Moses,
"I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."

The BANTER of the world is that God is somehow unjust in His exclusivity. Man’s reaction goes to fairness and lack thereof. It is a child’s reaction. No offense to our precious children, but one chant we hope that they all grow out of is the whine, “It’s not fair.”

They want some sort of justice that they deem just. Micah 6 says that we are to DO justice, but love mercy and walk humbly with our God.

The bottom line of fairness is that God is God and He can do as He pleases. When He determines to show mercy, that is a gigantic bonus.

16 - It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. 17 - For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." 18 - Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.

So, the BASIS of salvation is the mercy of God. What if God’s mercy hardens someone’s heart? It can happen. Can’t it? You have seen it. Have you ever tried to make a wait-person nicer with a big tip? Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t. It depends on many factors. The overtures we make toward loving someone may harden them if they are so inclined.

This is not about God being manipulative. This is another application of the same principle we found in 8:28 – God causing everything to work together for the good of His people and His glory. God’s purposes will be fulfilled whether or not we receive His mercy.

19 - One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?" 20 - But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?' " 21 - Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?

The BEAUTY of election is in its rarity - not all receive it. It is precious. One illustration of this would be when I write devotionals for our people to take home and read. I write them with contradictory assumptions. In the forefront of my mind is the idea that everyone will read them and use them because God has given me a word for His people and everyone will be eager to receive it. The other assumption is that not everyone will take them and of those who take them, most will not read them. That is a reality I know – yet I always write with the idea that everyone needs this and the knowledge that it may only be received by a few.

It is for mass distribution in terms of availability, but, in ultimate reality, it is written only for those who will choose to read it. The blessings contained in the scriptures to which I point will only be received by the “elect” who elect to receive and apply them. That is election.

God has chosen to save mankind though His Son. He offers that gift to all, but not all will receive it. He knows that, but proceeds as if all will.

It is like a mother cooking a meal for her large family. Somewhere inside of her, she knows that not everyone will show up for dinner, but she prepares plenty of food and sets the table with every member in mind. I think that is how it is with God. Some will want to make their own plans and will show up an hour late or the next day, but the meal is served when it is served and God has the right to determine the conditions.

22 - What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? 23 - What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— 24 - even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? 25 - As he says in Hosea:
"I will call them 'my people' who are not my people;
and I will call her 'my loved one' who is not my loved one," 26 - and,
"It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them,
'You are not my people,'
they will be called 'sons of the living God.' "

The BOUNTY of election is that some unlikely souls do receive it. The God who is ready to judge the unrighteous is reluctant to do so – yes for their sake, but also for ours who will ultimately come to Him. He bears with people because unlikely people, the kind Brennan Manning calls ragamuffins, will, come.

God is a bountiful God in His mercy and generosity. He is unwilling for any to perish. He calls people into inclusion who have been excluded. He uses folks that the world discards. He is an amazing God, who, through the mystery of election, calls the unlovely, unlikely, and unimpressive to be more than they ever imagined they could be.

Unfortunately, some who have felt entitled on false premises miss the boat. God has chosen Jesus Christ as His elect and the church as the Body of Christ. In future weeks, we will show how Israel continues to be part of God’s plan for the earth, but for now, we focus on this narrowing of the call upon the church to broadcast, as unlikely messengers, the Word of salvation to the world.

27 - Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:
"Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea,
only the remnant will be saved.
28 - For the Lord will carry out
his sentence on earth with speed and finality."

29 - It is just as Isaiah said previously:
"Unless the Lord Almighty
had left us descendants,
we would have become like Sodom,

we would have been like Gomorrah."

The BAD-NEWS is that many miss out. Just like the remnant who read my stuff, there is only a remnant who are saved.

We ask, “WHY?” And the answer is shrouded in MYSTERY. Let’s spell it and see if we can understand it:

M – MERCY is God’s mysterious way of plucking brands from the burning.

Y – YESTERDAY is all we have to help us understand the mysteries of tomorrow. So, we are given examples from the past to illustrate election. These are helpful, but inadequate by themselves.

S – SALVATION is really not the main issue here. The main thing is our place in God’s plan. We always gravitate toward a man-centered understanding. That is inadequate. Nevertheless, our willingness to receive the gospel determines our salvation.

T – THANK God for the mystery of your inclusion. We have a debt to Israel according to verse 5.

E – EYES have not seen what God has in store for those who love Him. (I Corinthians 2:9)

R – REALITY and REVELATION teach us that greatness is a RARE commodity, but everything and everyone has a purpose.(V. 21 and Proverbs).

Y – YEARNING for the salvation of others is a God thing and, therefore, a good thing. (I Timothy 2:1-6)

This is the beginning of a long train of thought where Paul struggles with the seeming displacement of Israel’s place in God’s plan through the inclusion of the Gentiles.
It culminates with 10:13 (as well as 10:9-10) and continues from there.
It begins with yearning for the salvation of all Israel.
It ends with the hope of salvation for all.
It places a choice in our laps. Will we follow the many to destruction or will we choose the narrow road which is Christ?

Next week, we shall examine this verse in depth as we begin our Advent and Missions emphases:

What is your choice? Next week, we will consider, “The Stumbling Stone” and examine why Jesus is such a stumbling block for so many.

This week, we will suffice to say that we can choose between faith and works. When we choose faith, we come into the glorious election of God not only for service, but for salvation. We choose between Jesus Christ being our cornerstone or the stone we trip over.

Stop now and behold the stone that God has laid in Zion. You must deal with Him now or later. How about now.

Bow your heads with me.

2007-03-09T21:00:00.000-08:00

Life in the Spirit – Romans 8:1-14

Life in the Spirit is Grace-Based.

1 -Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 - because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 - For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 - in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

There is no condemnation.
God’s requirements are satisfied.

Life in the Spirit is Desire-Driven

5 - Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 - The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7 - the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. 8 - Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

It is the result of a new mind-set.
It results in submission.

Life in the Spirit is Spirit-Led

9 - You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 - But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 - And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

The vivid contrast between sin-control and Spirit-control.
The vital contrast between death and life.

Life in the Spirit is Relational

12 - Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 - For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 - because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 - For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." 16 - The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17 - Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

We are sons of God and know it.
We are heirs of God with all the benefits and responsibilities.
We are co-heirs with Jesus Christ.

2007-03-07T17:27:00.000-08:00

Romans 5:1-2 – A Free P.A.S.S. : (Rom 5:1 -2 NIV) 1 - Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, wehave peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2- through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

(Rom 5:1-2 – The Message) By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us--set us right with him, make us fit for him--we have it all together with God

Peace - The well-being factor
Access – The welcome factor
Standing The well-put factor
Shouting The well-spring factor

2007-03-04T17:15:00.000-08:00

Romans 4

First – Consider the Giver - We Must Believe God

¹What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? ²If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. ³What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."⁽Gen. 15:6; also in verse 22)

The Message puts it this way: "Abraham entered into what God was doing for him, and that was the turning point. He trusted God to set him right instead of trying to be right on his own."

Second - Consider the Gift - We Must Stop Counting on Our Works and Count Only on God’s Gift.

⁴Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. ⁵However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. ⁶David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

The Message puts it this way: “If you're a hard worker and do a good job, you deserve your pay; we don't call your wages a gift. But if you see that the job is too big for you, that it's something only God can do, and you trust him to do it—you could never do it for yourself no matter how hard and long you worked—well, that trusting-him-to-do-it is what gets you set right with God, by God. Sheer gift. “

Third – Consider the Cost – The cost is forgiveness and forgiveness is costly.

^7"Blessed are they
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
⁸Blessed is the man
whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” (Psalm 32:1,2)

Fourth – Consider Your Response – There is a twofold response.

⁹Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness. ¹⁰Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! ¹¹And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. ¹²And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

A Two-Fold Response

q Take the Seal.

q Walk in Faith.

Fifth – Consider the Benefits

^13It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. ¹⁴For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, ¹⁵because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression. ¹⁶Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. ¹⁷As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations."^[c] He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.

q Great Promise

q Great Possibilities

Sixth - Consider Two Great Examples

¹⁸Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be."^[d] ¹⁹Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah's womb was also dead. ²⁰Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, ²¹being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. ²²This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness." ²³The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, ²⁴but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. ²⁵He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

q Abraham demonstrated faith.

q Jesus died, in faith, for all who would come by faith.

Footnotes:

a. Romans 4:3 Gen. 15:6; also in verse 22

b. Romans 4:8 Psalm 32:1,2

c. Romans 4:17 Gen. 17:5

d. Romans 4:18 Gen. 15:5

2007-03-03T12:21:00.000-08:00

All in the Same Boat - Romans 3:9-20

We are Beaten down by sin.

That means U too

q We have Unrighteous demerits. (no one righteous).

q We have an Understanding deficit (no one understands / turned away).

q We have Under-valued God (no one who seeks).

q We have Useless life patterns (worthless / no one does good).

NOT EVEN ONE!

We are Overwhelmed by sin.

q Corrupted speech (13-14)

q Corrupted Morality (15-16)

q Corrupted Minds (17)

q Corrupted Spirituality (18)

We are Accountable for sin.(v. 19)

Take the L in accountabLe and …

q The Law makes us accountable.

q The Load of the Law makes us accountable (“under the law”).

q The Love of God makes us accountable.

q The Lens of the Law makes us conscious that we are accountable. (v.20)

We are Together in the BOAT. (v. 20)

”The whole world …Every mouth … silenced …”

q We have all been beaten down.

q We are all overwhelmed.

q We are all accountable.

q We all stand silent with nothing to say for ourselves.

2006-09-19T21:13:00.000-07:00

Romans 1:11-17:11 -For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; 12 - That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. 13 - Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. 14 - I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. 15 - So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. 16 - For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 - For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

q I am a debtor - He was a man under conscription.

q I am willing and eager - He was a man under compulsion.

q I am not ashamed - He was a man under conviction.

Romans 1:18-20: 18 - For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 - Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 - For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

God's revelation is compelling.

He has made the invisible visible (20).
People really do know the truth (v. 18).

Our rebellion is considerable.

We are ungodly.
We are unrighteous.

God's righteousness is consistent.

God is God
God manifests Himself.

The Bogus Exchange - Romans 1:21-23: ²¹ Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. ²² Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, ²³ And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

q It is DECEITFUL.

o The fear of the Lord is the begininng of knowledge. To reject Him is to reject truth.

o We make the exchange knowingly and deliberately. We buy into a lie because we want what we want.

o When we get what we want we find that we haven't really gotten anything.

q It is DARK. Darkness exists where light is excluded.

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. - John 3:19

o We really need to see darkness for what it is - dark.

o The only way to expose the darkness is to turn on the light.

o Jesus is the light of the world.

q It is DECAYING.. What do we do?

o First we Wake Up. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. - Ephesians 5:14

o Then we Rise Up to worship Him as God and acknowledge Him as Lord.

o Then we Give Up the praise and gratitude that is due Him which we have foolishly withheld.

God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and served created things rather than the Creator – who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

What would be left if God gave up on us? To the extent that we refuse Him, He has given us over to these, but there is still hope:

q Sinful desires and Sexual Impurity.

q Shameful lusts that lead to unrestrained indulgence.

q Sick minds that produce bad behavior.

q Stubborn persistence and silent approval.

We need help. We need to return to verses 16-17

2006-09-19T21:11:00.000-07:00

Romans 1:1-7 (NIV) ⁸First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. ⁹God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you ¹⁰in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you.

A Cause for Thanksgiving

A Crucible for Service

A Constancy for Believers

A Call for Presence

2006-07-01T20:08:00.000-07:00

Notes from My Files

How To Talk to Romans About Jesus

Romans 1:1-7 (NIV): ¹Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— ²the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures ³regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, ⁴and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of Godby his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. ⁵Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. ⁶And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

⁷To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

q Know Your Identity. – Servant – Called – Set Apart

q Know Your Message Jesus Christ – Start to Finish – Good news of resurrection, grace, apostleship, obedience, and belonging.

Know Your Audience - Location and Vocation

q A Cause for Thanksgiving

q A Crucible for Service

q A Constancy for Believers

q A Call for Presence

q I am a debtor - He was a man under conscription.

q I am willing and eager - He was a man under compulsion.

I am not ashamed - He was a man under conviction.

therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

God's revelation is compelling.

He has made the invisible visible (20).
People really do know the truth (v. 18).

Our rebellion is considerable.

We are ungodly.
We are unrighteous.

God's righteousness is consistent.

God is God

God manifests Himself.

q It is DECEITFUL.

o The fear of the Lord is the begininng of knowledge. To reject Him is to reject truth.

o We make the exchange knowingly and deliberately. We buy into a lie because we want what we want.

o When we get what we want we find that we haven't really gotten anything.

q It is DARK. Darkness exists where light is excluded.

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. - John 3:19

o We really need to see darkness for what it is - dark.

o The only way to expose the darkness is to turn on the light.

o Jesus is the light of the world.

q It is DECAYING.. What do we do?

o First we Wake Up. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. - Ephesians 5:14

o Then we Rise Up to worship Him as God and acknowledge Him as Lord.

o Then we Give Up the praise and gratitude that is due Him which we have foolishly withheld.

Sermon: No Excuses: Romans 2:1—4: ¹You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. ²Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. ³So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? ⁴Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?

How We Make Excuses for our sin:

q By passing judgment on others.

q By avoiding the truth.

When We Make Excuses for Our Sin

q We condemn ourselves

q We show contempt for God.

When We Stop Making Excuses for Our Sin

q We accept God’s kindness.

q We come to repentance.

The Same Boat
Pastor Tom’s 11:15 A.M. Message

Romans 3: 9What shall we conclude then? Are we any better^[a]? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10As it is written:
"There is no one righteous, not even one;
11there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
12All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one."^[b]
13"Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit."^[c]
"The poison of vipers is on their lips."^[d]
14"Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."^[e]
15"Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16ruin and misery mark their ways,
17and the way of peace they do not know."^[f]
18"There is no fear of God before their eyes."^[g]

19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

Footnotes:

Romans 3:9 Or worse
Romans 3:12 Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Eccles. 7:20
Romans 3:13 Psalm 5:9
Romans 3:13 Psalm 140:3
Romans 3:14 Psalm 10:7
Romans 3:17 Isaiah 59:7,8
Romans 3:18 Psalm 36:1

From the Message: We’re All in the Same Boat

9-20: So where does that put us? Do we Jews get a better break than the others? Not really. Basically, all of us, whether insiders or outsiders, start out in identical conditions, which is to say that we all start out as sinners. Scripture leaves no doubt about it:

There's nobody living right, not even one,
nobody who knows the score, nobody alert for God.
They've all taken the wrong turn;
they've all wandered down blind alleys.
No one's living right;
I can't find a single one.
Their throats are gaping graves,
their tongues slick as mudslides.
Every word they speak is tinged with poison.
They open their mouths and pollute the air.
They race for the honor of sinner-of-the-year,
litter the land with heartbreak and ruin,
Don't know the first thing about living with others.
They never give God the time of day.
This makes it clear, doesn't it, that whatever is written in these Scriptures is not what God says about others but to us to whom these Scriptures were addressed in the first place! And it's clear enough, isn't it, that we're sinners, every one of us, in the same sinking boat with everybody else? Our involvement with God's revelation doesn't put us right with God. What it does is force us to face our complicity in everyone else's sin.

Characteristics of the BOAT It is a (an) …

Broken Boat. – It is broken by sin and cannot be repaired.

Old Boat. – There is nothing new about this same old story.

Abandoned Boat. – God has given up on the law to save.

Tawdry Boat. – It is cheap, disgusting, and ugly.

So … What can we do?

Switch Boats!

Romans 3: 21 – But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify:

The new boat is …

Better. – It is from God.

Open to observation. – It has been made known.

Apart from the Law. – It does not come through deeds.

Testified to in advance. – Everything points to it.

22 - This righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 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 came by Christ Jesus.

The new boat is a grace ship. It is …

Solid – It is through faith, but not just any faith – In JC!

Humane. – Not the usual word we use, but descriptive.

Impartial. – All need it and it is available to all.

Paid for .– The price has been paid b Jesus Christ.

You have a fully paid ticket.

Will you get on board?

Will you tell others?

Who?

Romans 3:21-26 - Ministry

21But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

1. Righteousness

q Apart from the Law

q Through Faith in Jesus Christ

q To All Who Believe

2. Justification

q Grace

q Redemption

q Atonement

3. Justice

q Nothing but the blood of Jesus

2006-05-29T15:53:00.000-07:00

Rough Outline of Romans 1:24-32

Romans 1:24-32 (NIV (c) 2002, International Bible Society) – Therefore, God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and served created things rather than the Creator – who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

What would be left if God gave up on us? To the extent that we refuse Him, He has given us over to these, but there is still hope:

q Sinful desires and Sexual Impurity.

q Shameful lusts that lead to unrestrained indulgence.

q Sick minds that produce bad behavior.

q Stubborn persistence and silent approval.

We need help. We need to return to verses 16-17

Roman Road

2006-05-15T14:29:00.000-07:00

I have two more entries to bring you soon. Hold on a few more days and
they will appear <S>.

2006-04-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

If God Gave Up on Us Entirely

Romans 1:24-32 – Therefore, God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and served created things rather than the Creator – who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these

What if God got so fed up with us that He gave up entirely and left us to our own devices? That is the natural next step to Paul's tracking of human history from the divine perspective. He shows us what has already happened as a result of the bogus exchange we have made, namely substituting truth with error, dvinity with humanity, and what is eternal and enduring with what is temporal and decaying.

That will be the subject of our next posting.

2006-04-13T12:49:00.000-07:00

The Bogus Exchange - Romans 1:21-23

21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

When men, knowing God, refused to glorify God and be grateful, they made an exchange. There was something not-so-glamorous about the truth. Either it was too simple or too difficult. It was what it was and Adam and Eve were enticed by the possibility of knowing as much as God, being as wise as God, and usurping the place of God as the last word in everything. They wanted to be wise and professed themselves to be wise. As a result, they became fools.

The fool hath said in his heart there is no God. - Psalm 14:1a

It is not an intellectual decision to say, "There is no God," but a moral decision and a heart choice. The "fool" may actually know there is a God, but at the core of his being, he has made the choice to exclude God.

The result of this process is a bogus exchange. It is a decision to abandon the incorruptible, invisible, unchanging God of the universe for one of our own making. We can control gods we manufacture and theologies that we conjure up. We can tame them, rename them, sanitize them and compartmentalize them into manageable units.

And Heaven sees it as a tragic comedy.

"Look at the birds and four legged beasts they are calling gods," the angels must be saying ... and the God of glory weeps for He, devoid of all ego, simply desires to be known for who He is and afforded the His rightful place in the loving worship of the sons and daughters of man who He loves so much.

Our sophistication is mere sophism and folly.

There are three reasons why this exchange is bogus drawing from verses 21-23.

It is DECEITFUL. It comes from futile thinking as verse 21 say..We dealt with that some in the last lesson. Futile thinking is circular at times and dead end thinking at others. It goes nowhere and accomplishes nothing because it simply isn't true.

The fear of the Lord is the begininng of knowledge. To reject Him is to reject truth.
We make the exchange knowingly and deliberately. We buy into a lie because we want what we want.
When we get what we want we find that we haven't really gotten anything.

It is DARK. Darkness exists where light is excluded. Paul says in verse 21 that our hearts have been darkened. Jesus explained it this way to Nicodemus:

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. - John 3:19

We really need to see darkness for what it is - dark.
The only way to expose the darkness is to turn on the light.
Jesus is the light of the world.

It is DECAYING. The things we have chosen to worship in place of God are either mortal or are already dead. They have no life and give no life. we have been lulled into a stupor of self-pride, deliberate ignorance, ingratitude, and dark deception. It has produced all manner of emotional, intellectual, and relational repercussions that have damaged us spiritually and in every way imaginable. We are adrift in a sea of ambiguity because we have refused to worship God as God. That is our bottom-line problem.

What do we do?

First we Wake Up. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. - Ephesians 5:14
Then we Rise Up to worship Him as God and acknoweldge Him as Lord.
Then we Give Up the praise and gratitude that is due Him which we have foolishly withheld.

To do this will require a measure of grace which Paul is yet to explain in Romans. But we know it. It has been revealed to us in the life and death of Jesus Christ. It has been made available by His resurrection and glorification. It is presented to us by the Holy Spirit. We receive it when we receive Him by faith. That grace will restore what was lost to us by willful disobedience and arrogant pride.

2006-04-06T23:12:00.000-07:00

Romans 1:21 - What We Do with What We Know

"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened."

As I suggested earlier, the problem is not with what we do not know, but with what we do with what we do know.

There will always be more left unknown than grasped with our mortal minds. We do not know all there is to know about God. We don't know a fraction. What we do know is enough to call us to worship.

As I write this entry, I am preparing for Sunday - Palm Sunday to be specific. No one in the crowd that greeted Jesus fully understood His coming. They did not get it. Some got it more than others and they welcomed Him. He did not reject their welcome. He received it as praise to God.

He received it so well that some of those who rejected the knowledge they did possess wanted Him to rebuke the worshippers. Jesus replied that if they were to be silent, the stones would cry out. ( Luke 19:30). Stones don't know much, but they know enough to acknowledge the presence of God.

Here is how Peterson translates the verse:

"What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn't treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives." (The Message, Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H Peterson)

People knew God perfectly well. They knew enough to treat Him like God. How is that? Worshipfully, doing what we call "glorifying."

To glorify is to recognize the extreme weightiness of a matter. In this case, it is to take God so seriously that we stand in awe, are struck down by the sheer magnitude of His power and are overwhelmed with the right kind of fear as we behold Him.

The right kind of fear is the stuff that makes our jaws drop, that leaves us speechless, that causes us to tremble, that turns on the lights and lets us know that if we get this part right, we don't really have to worry about anything else.

Paul says folks who knew God failed to be thankful. The folks in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday were certainly excited. But were they thankful? I don't know. Were they consistent? Maybe not. When Friday came, they were nowhere to be found.

They weren't the same folks that showed up to heckle Jesus at His trial. Those were a different sort of belief-avoiders. But the nominal believers were not there to support Him either. Where were the folks He had healed and given hope? Where were those He had fed. Certainly 5000 supporters would have made an impression on Pilate.

What does God want?

He wants us to take Him seriously. He wants us to glorify Him and be thankful to Him.

Only when we take God seriously, can we take ourselves seriously - or anything else for that matter. Paul says that without the cornerstone of acknowledgement of God as God, man became and we become futile thinkers, vain imaginers.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. (Proverbs 9:10)

Those who will not acknowledge what they already believe have no starting place for their thinking, no basis for understanding, and no hope of getting on the truth train. They have this big missing piece to the puzzle in their hands and because of their own stubborn refusal to employ it, nothing else connects.

Maybe it is pride - the kind that wants to do it all oneself and take all the credit for it.

Maybe it is boredom coupled with laziness. Unwilling to plumb the depths of God's reliable truth, they become restless, wanting the stimulation that comes from philosophical "innovation." There is enough newness buried in the depths of divine reality to keep us busy forever, but it requires going deeper and most of us are too lazy for that.

And gratitude require humility and that dethrones us from the seat of power over our own destinies. Mostly, we just don't want to bother with God.

Most people believe, at the very least, in a higher power, but they want that higher power to serve their own interests. They do not lay the foundation stone for their thinking and so, their thinking wanders off into a wilderness of ambiguity and abstraction.

First comes REFUSAL to worship and give thanks.

Second comes the FUTILITY of foolish thinking and vain imaginations. Having set genuine truth aside, we start making up our own. Relativism doesn't even begin to define what is going on.

We jump from the crowd of “welcomers” to the crowd of scoffers and finally sit in the seat of Pontius Pilate and snort, "What is truth," with only a hint of a question mark and a great bif exclamation as if to declare, "You and I both know that it does not exist."

That is futile, foolish thinking and it creates a vacuum into which we must pour our imaginations. We are not getting less religious in the world. We are getting more so. It is natural. we were made with a sensitivity to and longing for the spiritual dimension of life. when we don't find it at the center of the universe in the self-disclosure of God to humankind, we invent the wildest concocted scenarios to satisfy our hunger for more.

And we sink deeper and deeper into the abyss.

Finally comes DARKNESS. Our foolish hearts are darkened by the emptiness that comes through the absence of real truth. We were made to worship God. When that is missing, futile thinking will only titillate temporarily. When we've fabricated all that we can and nothing works, we delve into deep darkness and despair.

Paul spends the next page or so describing this darkness but we know what it is already. We need God and nothing else will satisfy. Not only do we need God, but we know that we need God.

Today, our challenge is not to create belief where there is none. If that is a problem, God can handle that. If we are willing, God will make Himself known to each of us. Our challenge is to take what we already know and believe and really believe it, to embrace what we have avoided and to follow the admonition of Proverbs 3:5-6:

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

When we stop trusting our foolishness and start trusting God as revealed in Jesus Christ, we will stop trying to invent obscure realities and will discover the basis for truth - a truth upon which we can build our lives.

As Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem that Sunday many centuries ago, He came as light so that the darkened souls of foolish men and women might see again the truth of God and acknowledge Him as God. It would take more than a ride to convince the hardened hearts of the people; it would take a cross, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection, and a living body of believers He would leave behind who one by one defy the downward spiral of futility by living out the gospel of grace and truth visibly and joyfully.

Come to Jesus. You are know different than anyone else in this respect: You like me, have rejected the truth you already know. Now is the time to return.

2006-03-31T16:33:00.000-08:00

My friend Henry Neufeld has posted a timely article that we are discussing on the CompuServe/Netscape Religion Forum under the title Good Theology, Bad Theology, and Demons. The discussion can be located at this page.

I find the article timely because of my recently posted sermon which gives a bow to the subject of natural revelation as a tie-breaker in the excuse game.

Neufeld has placed himself in the thick of the fray in the ongoing Intelligent Design debate, this time arguing from a Christian theological perspective that ID is bad theology.

Henry's full article can be found on Threads from Henry's Web .

Why is ID bad theology and why is this assessment shared among even conservative Christian scholars? Neufeld explains:

"If you are wondering why there is a split amongst conservative Christians over ID, it is simply that many conservative Christians are saying either that this does not prove or that it is not even trying to prove anything that actually works within their theology."

Going further, he asserts, "I don’t accept ID precisely because I believe that the universe is designed."

I'm not going to do all your work for you; you'll have to read the article and come back and comment here and in the forum.

I am still digesting Henry's article, but I did respond to him with this:

Henry,

>>I would say that while Paul does say that one can find God through creation, he doesn't offer any guarantee that we'll all find out everything, or that we'll get everything right. I think "clear enough" would be a good equivalent there.<<

My theology professor, Bill Hendricks, in his lecture on revelation, said that God has not revealed everything about Himself, but what He has revealed is true to who He is and adequate for us to know Him and relate to Him.

All Paul really guaranteed in Romans 1 was that nature offered enough revelation to point us toward "awe" "wonder" and that in human rebellion, we rejected even that.

Psalm 19 is a two-parter in my view - the revelation through creation which is adequate as a "call to worship," refined by the spoken word in the second part of the Psalm that reveals even more information.

I'll be interested in seeing how this develops ..."

Indeed I will.

2006-03-29T17:58:00.000-08:00

Romans 1:18-20

18 - For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 - Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 - For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

We like our excuses. We thrive on them, depend upon them, and retreat to them whenever we are backed into a corner by the grey ghost of personal responsibility.

At the same time, we flaunt our freedom and declare it to be one of our highest values. We assert our rights to choose our destinies and determine our own fates. We lock ourselves into a very perplexing situation.

That is because, if we really are free, we have made our choices and must live with them. Among those choices are mercy or wrath, embrace of truth or willful ignorance, and faith or rejection when it comes to the divine revelation.

We are without excuse for several reasons:

God's revelation is compelling.

He has made the invisible visible (20). Not only has He spoken through His verbal and written Word, but Paul suggests that had He not done so, creation itself presents enough evidence of His holiness, power, and might to convict us. Even in ignorance we ought to have sought Him to worship Him.

What do you see when you look around?
How does your view of creation inform you about the nature of God?

People really do know the truth (who hold the truth in unrighteousness -v. 18) It is not what we don't know that condemns us, but what we know and suppress.

Consider ways that we suppress the truth in our own lives.
Consider how we might return from this willfulness by first recognizing it as such and reorder our thinking, anchoring it again to truth.

Our rebellion is considerable.

We are ungodly. We have rebelled not only against God, but against our own true selves, the people we were made to be in His image. We were made to be godly and are not.

Do you really understand the "you" that you were meant to be?
What would a "godly you" look like? What potential are you not realizing because of what you refuse to be?

We are unrighteous. There is nothing "right" about us. We are not rightly related to God and we are not headed in the right direction. That lack of "rightness" is unrighteousness.

Consider righteousness in terms of relationship. What is right about your relationship with God? How about your human relationships? How about your relationship with yourself?
Consider righteousness in terms of direction. Are you headed in the right direction? If you continue in the way you are going, where will you end up?

God's righteousness is consistent.

God is God. He is eternal and is eternally consistent. His wrath is His indignation at anything against His own character. He cannot and will not vary His nature to suit our whims or allow for our failures.

Try to swim against the tide of a roaring, mighty river and you will experience wrath. Try to beat down the winds of a hurricane and you will experience wrath.

How much mightier and true to Himself do you suppose God is?

God manifests Himself. When we align ourselves with Him, that manifestation comes across as welcoming, gracious, merciful, and loving. When we resist His grace, that manifestation is a storm that we call wrath. The question for us is how we will respond to His revelation: as an indictment or as an invitation. He will not change, but we can.

You have a choice to make.
What will it be?

2006-03-25T13:47:00.000-08:00

(Romans 1:11-17) 11 -For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; 12 - That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. 13 - Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. 14 - I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. 15 - So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. 16 - For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 - For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

The Roman Road weaves through the most basic instincts of human nature in a meticulous patter designed to show us how deeply we have disconnected from our most essential relationships, how profoundly we need to return, and how hopeful and possible that return is through a simple message called "the gospel."

It is all about relationship.

Letters are wonderful. E-Mail is nearly miraculous. Any medium that helps us connect with each other is a blessing, but nothing beats person-to-person meeting between fellow humans. Nothing compares to a one on one meeting between God and man.

It is in that meeting that the just begin to live by faith. It is in those meetings between believers where God is present that spiritual gifts are imparted, mutual encouragement is shared, and people are established, built up, grounded, and made stronger.

Paul often wanted to go to Rome, not to see the great architecture or experience its granduer, but to meet with his fellow believers. He wanted to "have some fruit" among them and that fruit would come through a sharing of the gospel/good news.

Paul's primary and vertical relationship with God informed everything about his horizontal relationships with other human beings. In this light, he makes three strong statements about his burning drive to come to them:

I am a debtor - He was a man under conscription.

Paul did not see himself as a volunteer soldier. In God's army there are always volunteers and draftees. Paul was a draftee. He wasn't looking for a light that night on the road to Damascus, but he saw one anyway and every road from then on became his Roman Road. It has been said (I heard it from Frank Pollard), "Because I know if, I owe it."

His debt was to the Jews. From the Jews Paul had received his heritage and his formative spiritual education. Like us, He had come to know of Yahweh because of the Torah. While he doesn't state his debt specifically here, he does elsewhere.

His debt was to the barbarians (and he seems to include all non-Greeks here, even his own countrymen, the Jews). He enters into the language of the people and their feelings of superiority as heirs of Greco-Roman civilization as well as into the sense of inferiority the disenfranchised may have felt. He has a debt to them - all of them. No one was a greater advocate for the multi-cultural relevance of the church and its message than the apostle Paul.

His debt was to the Greeks as well. They had contributed much to his thinking, but because of God's great gift of the gospel, he had even more to bring to them. In displaying his own sense of calling to the grander mission of crossing cultural barriers with the good news, we are challenged today with the same call.

His debt was furthermore to the wise and the unwise. There is no exclusivity in the gospel. It is at the same time, intellectually challenging, and childishly simple. Paul was ready to share the good news at anyone's level at any time. So must we be ready.

I am willing and eager - He was a man under compulsion.

Paul's was a deep, internal passion that made him willing, ready, and eager to share the news that was so life changing and profound in his own life. His compulsion went to the core of his being. It defined it and drove him.

The Road to Rome had an appeal to Paul, but it was "also." He hints that he is not bound by any one location. He has the world in his heart generally as well as specific mission points along the way. He was able to think globally and act locally to borrow from Tip O'Neil.

In all things, we might say that Paul was a driven man. What drives you?

I am not ashamed - He was a man under conviction.
Here is what Paul believed in more than anything else about the gospel: It was and is powerful. When it is shared, it works.

It is the power of God ... God's message is His power. It proceeds from Him verbally and visibly. He accompanies it, not just sending it forth and forgetting about it. He is present whenever the good news is proclaimed.

It is His power to salvation. It produced a miracle in the lives of people - daily miracles of salvation, redemption, forgiveness, hope, and purpose. Paul had no desire to beat people over the head with the gospel. His motive was to share it because of the good it would produce in people's lives - and he had faith that it would do so.

It is that kind of power to people who believe it, embrace it, and receive it by faith. It is not coercive or bund up with deception. People do not receive the gospel through manipulation but by hearing and opening themselves to it impact.

It comes to everyone regardless of their background. Historically, it came to Jews first and has special significance to Jews, but it is also for non-Jews.

It reveals God's simplest and yet, most profound truth about Himself with amazing implications for men and women on this planet: God's righteousness is about people living by faith. That's how they get right with Him; that is what affirms who He is among people. That is what He desires - as simple as that- faith from first to last is the righteousness of God.

2006-03-22T14:47:00.000-08:00

(Romans 1:8-10) 8 - First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. 9 - For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; 10 - Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.

Christian fellowship is a cause for thanksgiving.

We first reconnect with the reality that all of our thanksgiving is through Jesus Christ. As the center of all things, He is the reason for gratitude and the agent of God's grace.
Then, we reaffirm our pleasure in seeing people in whose lives we have invested much grow in faith..
Finally, we resound with gratitude that the faith that we see can be seen by others - so much so that it is reported far and wide..

Christian fellowship is a crucible for service.

It provides a larger context for wholehearted, spirit deep service to God.
It is good news service because it is acted out in the propogation of the gospel whcih as the power to expand the borders of our fellowship/partnership and increase its reach and sweeten its blessings.
It is the gospel of God's Son who proclaimed that He would draw all people to Himself, thus providing the common ground where all can meet around the cross.

Christian fellowship is a constancy for believers.

It overflows into prayers that do not cease.
It's outcome is face to face meeting of people who share a common love for the Lord.

Christian fellowship is a call for presence.

It is indespensible. Nothing beats being there.
It is incarnational.
It is inspirational.

2006-03-20T14:05:00.000-08:00

How to Introduce Yourself to the World

(Rom 1:1 -7 KJV) Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Know Your Identity

You can identify yourself as a servant of Christ. Paul uses the word for bond-slave here and it is the highest honor of his life to see himself that way and identify himself as such.
Called to be sent. An apostle is one who is sent out, but he must first be called to the one who will send him forth. We have been called to Jesus in order to be sent into the world.
Separated unto the gosepel of God - We are set apart for a purpose and that purpose is the living and sharing of the good news of God, a good news that cannot be contained, and cause that cannot be ignored. Set apart as something/someone with a singualr purpose, we are declared holy unto God, useful only for what He deems important.

Know Your Message

The promised good news is all about Jesus Christ from start to finish.
Within that category and included in all that he is are resurrection, grace, apostleship, obedience, and belonging.

Know Your Audience

Location (at Rome) and
Vocation (beloved of God and called to be saints).