Very good. Election is a difficult topic.
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.
- Who are the Israelites?
- 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
- What are the Promises that Israel Still Retains?
- Adoption
i.
Hosea 11:1
ii.
Isaiah 46:3-4
- Glory
i.
Exodus 16:10
- What are the Covenants that Israel Still Retains?
- The Abrahamic Covenant
i.
Genesis 17:6-7
- The Mosaic Covenant – “the giving of the Law”
i.
Deuteronomy 4:5-8
- 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
- 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.
- Can Anything Separate Us from the Love of God? – vs.
38-39
- 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
- Do You Still Doubt God’s Love?
- Jeremiah
31:3
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
- 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
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