Friday, May 29, 2020

Romans 9:6-13


Romans 9:6-13
Salvation is not of Works but of Him that Calleth

Rom 9:6  Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
Rom 9:7  Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Rom 9:8  That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
Rom 9:9  For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.
Rom 9:10  And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;
Rom 9:11  (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
Rom 9:12  It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Rom 9:13  As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.


  1. Those That Are Called by God’s Word Are the True Elect – vs. 6a*
    1. The question that Paul poses is integral to the discussion. If Israel could resist the mercy of God through unbelief does that mean that God is not in control of the will of man? Is God powerless to overcome the rebelliousness of the human heart? If such things were true, there would be no hope for us all. Because there is none that seek after God.
                                                              i.      Peter is supremely confident in the election of the believers in his church.
1.      1 Peter 1:2 
                                                            ii.      The question is, how can he be so confident. Peter is not willing to leave this to the imagination, so he explains.
1.      1 Peter 1:19-25 
  1. Not All the Descendants of Abraham are Truly Called – vs. 6b*
    1. The true Children of Israel are the called ones – vs. 7*
                                                              i.      Isaac responded to the call of God; therefore, his line preserved the godly lineage. Ishmael even though he was a son of Abraham, and his mother was a woman of faith did not ultimately respond to the call of God.
1.      The quotation that Paul sites from Scripture, again, shows the election of Isaac, because the prediction was made before he was born.
a.       Genesis 21:12 
2.      Peter demonstrates the calling of the elect out of the Jewish nation when he says the following.
a.       1 Peter 2:9 
    1. To be born a Jew does not mean that one automatically believes in the One True God. There are plenty of examples of Jews in the OT who were not saved. – vs. 8*
1.      1 Kings 19:10 
2.      1 Kings 19:18 
                                                            ii.      Sara had to have faith in God’s Word. – vs. 9*
                                                          iii.      Rebecca had to have faith in God’s Word. – vs. 10 *
  1. Those That Are Called to Faith in God’s Word Are Chosen Before Time Began. – vs. 11*
    1. This verse is a summary of everything Paul has said up to this point. Election is an act of God that is based in no merit of our own. The point of this is to show us that salvation is not of works, but because of the mercy of Christ alone.
                                                              i.      Ephesians 1:4-5 
    1. Paul gives us two scriptural proofs for unconditional election. – vs. 12-13*
                                                              i.      Scriptural proof number one. – vs. 12*
1.      Genesis 25:23 
                                                            ii.      Scriptural proof number two. – vs. 13*
1.      Malachi 1:2-3 

John MacArthur on Jordan Peterson

I appreciate these comments on JP. Although I do not completely agree with everything JP says, I do have a lot of respect for him. He challenges us to think in a day and age that people do not.



Thursday, May 28, 2020

Friday, May 22, 2020

Romans 9:4-5


Romans 9:4-5
The Love that Will Not Let Me Go!

Rom 9:4  Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
Rom 9:5  Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

  1. Who are the Israelites?
    1. The Jewish Nation could be a difficult problem if you have just been assuring the believer of the enduring love of God. Just like Paul was doing in the previous chapter. While the problem is not immediately obvious to those of us in the western world it should be a question that we would want an answer to. The story of the people of Israel is the story of all of us. Just like you and me they are stubborn, rebellious, arrogant and obstinate. Despite all this God continually forgives them and draws them to Himself. This can be demonstrated in the covenants that still stand despite Israel’s rejection of the Messiah.
                                                              i.      Genesis 35:9-12 
  1. What are the Promises that Israel Still Retains?
    1. Adoption
                                                              i.      Hosea 11:1 
                                                            ii.      Isaiah 46:3-4 
    1. Glory
                                                              i.      Exodus 16:10 
  1. What are the Covenants that Israel Still Retains?
    1. The Abrahamic Covenant
                                                              i.      Genesis 17:6-7 
    1. The Mosaic Covenant – “the giving of the Law”
                                                              i.      Deuteronomy 4:5-8 
    1. The Levitical Covenant – “the service of God or the ministry of sacrifice in the temple.”
                                                              i.      Exodus 29:43-46 
                                                            ii.      Which is now fulfilled in Christ
1.      Hebrews 7:22-24 
    1. The Davidic Covenant – “the promises”
                                                              i.      Which has also now been fulfilled in Christ
                                                            ii.      The promises of David’s Kingdom are fulfilled in his descendent who is the Messiah. For this reason, Jesus was an ethnic Jew who practiced Judaism.
1.      The Messiah who Jesus is blessed forevermore
a.       Psalm 110:1-4 

Friday, May 15, 2020

Romans 9:1-3


Romans 9:1-3
Paul’s Incredible Passion for His People

Rom 9:1  I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
Rom 9:2  That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
Rom 9:3  For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:

      1.      Paul’s Pledge of Allegiance to His People
a.       Paul’s loyalty to his people is driven by his first allegiance, which is in Christ
                                                              i.      Tradition and history do not save us but that does not mean that we through it out altogether.
1.      1 Peter 1:18-19 
2.      Romans 1:16 
b.      Paul’s loyalty to his people is a conviction that is rooted in his conscience
                                                              i.      Paul gives us some not so subtle clues here about the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the believer.
1.      The work of the Holy Spirit is evidenced by a changed life
a.       Galatians 5:22-23 
2.      The work of the Holy Spirit should awaken in you convictions that are based in logic and reason yet are expressed with sincere emotion.
a.       The conscience is originally corrupted which is why unsaved people can do tremendous evil all while sincerely believing they are following their conscience.
                                                                                                                                      i.      Romans 2:15 
b.      The conscience can be purified by the work of the Holy Spirit to again convict of sin and motivate the believer to good works.
                                                                                                                                      i.      1 Timothy 1:5 


c.       Paul’s loyalty to his people is based in his deepest emotional longings
                                                              i.      Paul’s heart bleeds for the state of his people. He grieves at their rejection of the Messiah and longs to reach them for the cause of the gospel.
1.      “Give me Scotland ere I die” – John Knox
a.       Jeremiah 13:15-17 
b.      Romans 10:1-3 
d.      Paul’s loyalty to his people is something he is prepared to give his life for.
                                                              i.      Why is the Jewish nation and history relevant for me? Should we like Paul care about a people that have been forgotten?
1.      Moses’ word resonates with the same passion as Paul’s
a.       Exodus 32:32 
2.      Here are some arguments to think about regarding the relevance of Israel.
a.       History repeats itself
                                                                                                                                      i.      Psalm 14:1-7 
b.      Christ is found in the story of the Jews
                                                                                                                                      i.      Zechariah 1:8 
c.       Christ is not done with the Jewish nation
                                                                                                                                      i.      Isaiah 55:13 
                                                                                                                                    ii.      Zechariah 2:10-13

Friday, May 8, 2020

Romans 8:38-39


Romans 8:38-39
What Can Separate You from the Love of God?


Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

  1. Can Anything Separate Us from the Love of God? – vs. 38-39
    1. While Paul could simply say that nothing can separate you from the love of God, that would contradict his desire to fully persuade you of the unconditional and unconquerable love of God. So instead of simply asking you to take him at his word he devises a list of nine overwhelming things that stand powerless before the love of God.
                                                              i.      Everything he is saying in verses 38-39 stands on his previous statements in chapter 8.
1.      Romans 8:29-33 
                                                            ii.      Death (We do not need to fear death because we know it is not the end) – “The cut of affliction for the gospel is sweeter the deeper. A stronger cordial the nearer to the bottom. I mean of course death” – Thomas Browning (a pastor separated from his congregation by prison)
1.      Psalm 116:15 
2.      2 Corinthians 5:8 
3.      Philippians 1:21 
4.      Even suicide cannot separate us from God’s love. There is no unpardonable sin when it is God that justifies.
                                                          iii.      Life (No act that we can do in this life can separate us from God’s love)
1.      Psalm 23:6 

                                                          iv.      Angels (both good and bad – devils could easily be included into this)
1.      Ephesians 6:10-13 
                                                            v.      Principalities (This could be any power, spiritual or otherwise, ecclesiastical, or governmental)
1.      Colossians 2:14-15 
2.      Colossians 1:15-17 
                                                          vi.      Things present (This includes any sin that you have committed up till now)
1.      Romans 3:25 
                                                        vii.      Nor things to come (This includes any sin you may commit in the future)
1.      1 John 2:1-2 
                                                      viii.      Height (No matter how high some one was to go, even there you would not be separated from God’s love)
1.      Ephesians 1:20-21 
                                                          ix.      Depth (Just like height, God’s love knows no physical or spiritual boundaries)
1.      Ephesians 4:8-10 
                                                            x.      Creature (No created being ever made, which includes you, can separate you from God’s love. God is the only being that was never created)
1.      1 Peter 1:3-5 
  1. Do You Still Doubt God’s Love?
    1. Jeremiah 31:3 

More than Conquerors

Very very good...



Friday, May 1, 2020

Romans 8:31-37


Romans 8:31-37
If God be for Us Who can Stand Against Us?

Rom 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Rom 8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Rom 8:33  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
Rom 8:34  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
  
       1.      The Great Question is: If God Be for Who Can Stop Us? – vs. 31
a.       This is not the question that one might think Paul would ask on the eve of one of the fiercest persecutions that the Church has ever endured. If we were Paul we would probably be spouting endless meaningless platitudes that have no relevance. Instead Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, goes on the offensive. Daring even to mock fear and stand with utter confidence in the victory secured by Christ.  Paul levels five emboldening questions that should bolster the confidence of even the most timid of Christians.
                                                              i.      Jeremiah 1:19 
      2.      If God Would Give Up His Own Son for You, would be Mock Your Pleas for Provision? – vs. 32
a.       Matthew 7:8-11 
      3.      Who Can Condemn You When it is God that Made You Righteous? – vs. 33
a.       Romans 5:6-11 
      4.      What Accuser Would Dare Step Forward When it is Christ Who Broke Your Chains of Sin? – vs.          34
a.       Christ died for you
                                                              i.      Philippians 2:6-8 
b.      Christ rose from the dead for you
                                                              i.      1 John 4:9-10 
c.       Christ obtained glory for you
                                                              i.      Philippians 2:9-11 
d.      Christ pleads on your behalf
                                                              i.      John 17:8-10 
       5.      Is there Such a Thing as a Trial so Fierce that it Could Separate You from the Love of Christ? –            vs. 35-36
    1. None of the following can separate us from God’s enduring love.
                                                              i.      Tribulation (Hard times)
                                                            ii.      Distress (The many pressures we all endure in this life)
                                                          iii.      Persecution (Others mistreating us for the cause of the Gospel)
                                                          iv.      Famine (lack of food like – like the dust bowl and depression years)
                                                            v.      Nakedness (The inability to purchase proper clothing and shelter)
                                                          vi.      Peril (The jeopardy that we experience in life)
                                                        vii.      Sword (Government driven persecution)
                                                      viii.      Slaughter (Wholesale slaughter of Christians like the Armenian Genocide in 1915)
       6.      The Love of Christ Conquers All – vs. 37
a.       How can you stop an army that is unafraid of death or the outcome of the battle? That is secure in the victory secured by such a wonderful Savior as Jesus Christ.
                                                              i.      Hebrews 11:32-40 
                                                            ii.      1 John 5:4-5 
                                                          iii.      Revelation 12:11