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THE ROMANS SERIES

A STUDY GUIDE FOR THE TAPE SERIES
ON THE BOOK OF ROMANS

PRESENTED BY:
MR. RAY WOOTEN

UNITED CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES
"UNITED THROUGH THE SPIRIT OF GOD"
P.O. BOX 361725
HOOVER, ALABAMA 35236
(888) 985-9066
(205) 985-9000
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE ROMANS SERIES
CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE

The Clearest Gospel of All - (Tape One) - ................................................. 1
The Wrath of God - (Tape Two) - .............................................................. 6
The Sin of Self-Righteousness - (Tape Three) -........................................ 9
Universal Sin and Guilt - (Tape Four) -...................................................... 13
Righteousness By Faith - (Tape Five) - .................................................... 16
Legal Justification - (Tape Six) - ................................................................ 21
The Law and the Gospel - (Tape Seven) - ................................................ 25
In Defense of Justification By Faith - (Tape Eight) - .................................. 28
Fruits of Justification By Faith - (Tape Nine) - ........................................... 32
Unconditional Love - (Tape Ten) - ............................................................ 37
Adam: A Type of Christ - (Tape Eleven) - .................................................. 41
The Two Adam's - (Tape Twelve) - ........................................................... 45
The Reign of Sin and Grace - (Tape Thirteen) - ....................................... 50
Baptized Into Christ - (Tape Fourteen) - .................................................... 54
The Danger of Libertinism - (Tape Fifteen) - ............................................. 59
Not Under Law - Under Grace - (Tape Sixteen) - ...................................... 63
Slaves of God - (Tape Seventeen) - .......................................................... 68
Delivered From Under The Law - (Tape Eighteen) - ................................. 72
Exceedingly Sinful - (Tape Nineteen) - ...................................................... 77
O Wretched Man - (Tape Twenty) - ........................................................... 81
The Truth about Christ's Humanity - (Tape Twenty-One) - ....................... 85
Life In The Spirit - (Tape Twenty-Two) - .................................................... 88
The Blessed Hope - (Tape Twenty-Three) - .............................................. 92
Agape Never Fails - (Tape Twenty-Four) - ................................................. 98
The True Israelite Part I - (Tape Twenty-Five) -......................................... 101
The True Israelite Part II - (Tape Twenty-Six) - ......................................... 104
The True Israelite Part III - (Tape Twenty-Seven) - ................................... 107
The True Israelite IV - (Tape Twenty-Eight) - ............................................ 110
The Jewish Tragedy - (Tape Twenty-Nine) - ............................................. 115
God Keeps His Promise - (Tape Thirty) - ................................................... 119
Born Crucified - (Tape Thirty-One) - .......................................................... 123
The Body of Christ - (Tape Thirty-Two) - ................................................... 126
Into His Likeness - (Tape Thirty-Three) - ................................................... 129
Loyal Citizens - (Tape Thirty-Four) - .......................................................... 132
Love Is the Fulfillment - (Tape Thirty-Five) - .............................................. 135
Dealing With the Weak - (Tape Thirty-Six) - .............................................. 140
Bearing One Another's Burdens - (Tape Thirty-Seven) - ........................... 143
One In Christ - (Tape Thirty-Eight) - ........................................................... 146

UNITED CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES
"United Through The Spirit Of God"
P.O. Box 361725 Hoover, Alabama. (888) 985-9066
All Rights Reserved

THE CLEAREST GOSPEL OF ALL.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape One)

Recommended reading - Romans 1:1-17.

No book or section of scripture expounds so clearly and so masterfully the plan of salvation, which is the doctrine of righteousness by faith, than Paul's Epistle to the Romans. This Epistle has been described as the clearest gospel of all. In Acts 9, We see the conversion of Saul. Saul's name was later changed to Paul. After Paul's conversion he immediately preached Jesus Christ. Prior to Paul's conversion he was a persecutor of true Christian's. Paul (Saul) was a Pharisee and spent his life in Judaism. However, to God, Paul was a chosen vessel. God chose Paul to be the instrument to expound the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to both the gentiles and the Israelite world.

I. Introduction of Paul's Epistle to the Romans.

* In Romans 1:1 Paul starts by stating that he is a servant (or by using the Greek word refers to himself as a slave) of Jesus Christ.
* Paul was a scholar of the scriptures. Almost half of the New Testament is the writing of Paul.
* A more specific reason for the book is that this is the only letter that Paul wrote to a church, or body of Christians, which he had not established or visited. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, or others, he was writing to people to whom he had already verbally expounded the Gospel. When Paul wrote to the Romans, a people he had not met, he expounded all the wonderful truths of the gospel.
* Romans 1:11 - Paul wanted to impart to them a spiritual gift so that they might be established in Christ. We must also be established in Christ, that is why it is so important that we study this Epistle.

II. Paul is not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.

* In Romans 1:15-17, Paul states that he is not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation for every one who believes.
* The Romans had class distinctions. The Romans viewed themselves as first class citizens, hence, they were almost never crucified because crucifixion brought shame to them and to their nation. The Romans looked at Jews as second class citizens. The Christians who worshipped a crucified savior were third class citizens. Paul said, I am not ashamed of this Gospel because it is the power of God.
* Rome, with all her pride and all her success, had failed to conquer sin. Paul said there is only one power that can conquer sin and that is the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Man must accept that salvation and believe.
* There is only one solution for man's sinful problem and that is Jesus Christ. Paul preached and taught this message without shame.

III. When Paul refers to the righteousness of God in Romans 1:17 . he means:

* A righteousness planned by God.
* A righteousness prepared by God without any human contribution.
* A righteousness made available by God Himself.

IV. The unconditional good news of salvation.

* This will be studied in more detail in Romans chapter five. In that study we will discover four areas in which the unconditional good news applies to us.
1.) While we were helpless.
2.) While we were Un-Godly.
3.) While we were enemies.
4.) While we were sinners.
* God reconciled Himself to us by the death of His son. God takes the initiative, He gets all the credit.
* Paul presents in this book the unconditional good news of salvation, which God prepared for us in His son Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has come to redeem us. The world is desperately waiting for this message.

V. The Apostle Paul unfolds the whole counsel of God.

* The following six points are important aspects of that counsel.
1.) Our sin problem - man's sinful condition.
2.) The truth about Christ, His life and death as our substitute and surety.
3.) Faith in Christ as the basis of making salvation effective and the solution to the sin problem.
4.) Work of the Holy Spirit in our sanctification, we in Christ, then Christ in us.
5.) The place of God's people in this world. We have a work to do.
6.) Practical applications of the Gospel in daily Christian living.

VI. Righteousness by faith.

* The purpose in this study is to breech the gap between righteousness by works and righteousness by faith. There for the Gospel, as revealed in Romans, will become meaningful to all of us. We will study this in detail because this is the most extended treatment of this most crucial doctrine of righteousness by faith.
* We do not have righteousness by works. We cannot produce works of righteousness on our own, that can only be done by Christ in us. Salvation is not dependent upon our righteousness produced through us with Christ in us. Salvation is dependent upon our accepting Christ and our being in Him. We must understand this important point.
* It is a duty of God's people to search the truth. When this is done one truth will prevail, that is, Christ our righteousness.

VII. There are four major areas that Paul covers in Romans.

* The doctrine of Righteousness by faith is a truth about what God has already accomplished. God has already redeemed, not just the elect as some have taught, but all man-kind. Legally all mankind stands justified in Christ. That is the unconditional good news of the Gospel. Ephesians 1.

* The legal justification for all man-kind must be made effective. All mankind will not be glorified, not because God has not redeemed them, but because they have rejected the salvation. The legal justification is made effective by faith alone, and nothing else. The believer who accepts Christ is clothed with the perfect righteousness of Christ, which is known as imputed righteousness. As far as God is concerned, we are qualified for glory now and in the judgment. This is the basis of peace. Romans 5:1.
* Justification by faith does not stop there. We are partakers of the divine nature of God. We must escape the corruption that is in the world. The corruption in the world is in us because our nature is corrupt. We will remain corrupt until the second coming of Christ, when this corruption puts on incorruption. The Holy Spirit helps us to overcome corruption so that we can do righteous things. We can live lives that are pleasing to God because of the Holy Spirit. That is the power of justification by faith. John 15 - We are to abide in God and He in us. If we have received this justification by faith, we have actually accepted Jesus Christ and the Spirit of God is in us, therefore we will bear fruit.
* Matthew 5 - We are many but we comprise that one light. The one light is Jesus Christ. Jesus came as light in darkness. Jesus physically is not here. His body which is the church - the ecclesia - the called ones is here. We are to be the light of the world. Matthew 5:16. Justification by faith is able to produce a company of believers, a called people. It doesn't matter what their numbers are, they will be knit together in love. They will be of one heart and one mind. The gospel of Christ can do that. When this happens this earth will be lighted with His glory. Acts 4:32. We must be like minded and like hearted.

VIII. Acts 4:33 - The resurrection of Christ is the greatest evidence that God has conquered sin.

* The Gospel of Christ is His death, burial and also His resurrection. It is this way that He paid for our sins and provided for our salvation. Christ provided for our eternal life through the resurrection. If we can conquer the grave, we can conquer sin. Jesus conquered the grave as the greatest evidence that He conquered sin. The disciples, with great power, gave witness to this truth.

IX. There are five things that are important to cover before the close of this first session.

* Paul - The name Paul means humble or little. The antithesis of Saul which means desired.
* Apostle - The word means messenger. This was the least important office in the synagogue. Christ chose this least important office in the synagogue and elevated it to the most important responsibility among His people. Paul was set apart as a messenger of the Gospel of God.
* The gospel had been promised through the prophets in the Holy scriptures.
* Through Jesus Christ is effectuated the obedience of faith. Salvation is a gift, faith effects obedience. Those who do have salvation and grow in faith will effect obedience.
* We are called to be saints. All true believers are saints because Christ's true righteousness is attributed to us.

THE WRATH OF GOD.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Two)

Recommended reading - Romans 1:18-32.

The Gospel is God's Good News for all mankind. In this section of Romans, Paul declares that there is nothing good in man and that in and of ourselves we are helpless. Paul explains that any confidence in the flesh must be destroyed. Jesus clearly states that, "There is none good," Matthew 19:17 (KJV). The primary reason for this is our motive. We are self-centered. Paul paints a dismal picture of the human race. This can be discouraging; however, there is wonderful Good News for us as Paul describes in Romans 3:21. Paul begins with the words - "But now". After Paul paints the dismal picture of mankind, he explains the Good News for all mankind.

I. Paul uses a distinct methodology when he writes.

* Paul makes a statement, then he expounds and explains the statement.

* We must first understand the statement, before we try to understand what Paul is explaining.

II. Paul begins in Romans 1:18 by describing the wrath of God.

* We must not equate God's wrath with that of human wrath. God's wrath is not a loss of self control or emotional anger.

* Two items describe God's wrath.

1.) God hates sin; because, He loves us.

2.) God's wrath is revealed against all ungodliness.

* Ungodliness can mean two things:

1.) Being unlike God.

2.) Deliberately, willfully, and persistently living without God. This is how Paul is describing the term ungodly, in these scriptures.

* If we look closely at the problem, we realize that unrighteousness is the consequence of ungodliness. Unfortunately, during the last several decades, mankind has turned its' back on God and has become ungodly. It is clear that unrighteousness is the fruit of ungodliness.

* We must realize that man cannot resolve the problem. The problem is not between man and man, rather; the problem is man's relationship with God.

III. The Law depicts a beautiful way of life that we must come to fully understand.

* God's law has two important sections:

1.) Man needs to Love God.

2.) Man must love his neighbor as himself.

* God hates, detests, and His wrath is revealed against ungodliness and its' fruit unrighteousness. Man does not want to retain the knowledge of God because he detests God.

* Man, who is clearly self serving, does not want to accept the fact that he can do nothing to save himself. That is the main problem with legalism. Individuals who are legalistic want to contribute to their salvation. They still want to have a certain element of goodness in themselves and do not realize there is none. A legalist would have you believe that you can earn your salvation. Mankind can not earn salvation. Jesus says, "Without Me you can do nothing."

IV. Ever since the fall of man, we have been running away from God.

* Romans 1:19-20, If man does not have a knowledge of God, it is not because he is ignorant of God; it is also because he has deliberately pushed God out of the picture. Man began with the knowledge of God.

* God has reveled Himself to man. He has done so in the creation of man, as well as through nature, which He also created.

* Many have tried to use their own human logic to intellectualize the nature of God. We don't want to accept the true nature of God, as He is revealed in the Bible, and by what we see about God through creation itself.

V. The moment that Adam sinned, he legally had no right to live one more second.

* If Adam would have died, all would have died in him.

* God planned a way of escape for all man. He predestined, from the foundation of the world, that all men would be redeemed in His Son. Please note that God did not give eternal life to all men. Our loving God redeemed all men making eternal life available.

VI. Romans 1:24-28, God let man go his own way.

* Those who have left God, have gone against nature.

* God does not force us to live His way; God allows us to go our own way.

* God could wipe out mankind, but that is not God's purpose. God realized all of this was going to occur; that is why Jesus was sacrificed from the foundation of the world.

VII. As long as man turns his back to God, there is no solution.

* Man tries everything to find a solution by trying to live without God; however, everything is failing.

* God is waiting until we raise up our hands and say, "God we can not do it." We are God's children and He is very patient with us. He is waiting for us to say, "God take over." God's way works. God is waiting with open arms; He will not reject us.

VIII. God is not giving His Gospel to the masses, because the masses are not ready.

* The masses feel they can make it on their own, without God. Eventually, the masses will turn back, and God will use His children to teach them.

Before all of what has been discussed can occur, we must reach the position Paul himself reached. Paul finally lost confidence in himself and turned his life over to Jesus Christ. We must realize our only hope is Jesus Christ and His righteousness. We must realize that true faith does not look to ourselves, but to Jesus Christ. God wants us to return to Him. God wants us to accept Him as the only source of hope, salvation, and righteousness. To do this we must use the only true formula - Not I, but Christ!
May God bless us and help us to know the truth as we study the Epistle to the Romans.

THE SIN OF SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Three)

Recommended reading - Romans 2 and 3:1-8.

Imagine sitting in the congregation at Rome in the mid first century AD, when this letter from Paul was first read. Paul wrote this letter to the Romans, long before he visited their city. The Service continues, as the individual from the congregation slowly reads this letter. An important amount of information has been covered at this point, in the letter. The individual has read the truth about the wrath of God against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. The reader has covered Paul's description of the terrible things, that men are doing. They have turned their backs on God, and have rejected the idea of God. As you are sitting in this congregation at Rome, you notice a group of brethren, who are Jewish Christians sitting on one side. You notice that they are nodding their heads and agreeing whole heartedly with this letter, that Paul has written. The group begins whispering to each other. The whispering is loud enough, that you can hear them. They arrogantly begin to say, that "these Gentiles have always been rebellious and sinful." Then suddenly, the whispering stops as the reader starts to cover what we now find in Romans 2. The Jewish Christians, and others in their frame of mind, now start to listen more closely.

I. The goodness of God that leads to repentance.

* When we read about repentance in the Bible, we always see God's goodness, His long- suffering and His love. We, as Christians, have failed to understand true repentance. We need to understand, that fear of death or losing something does not lead to Godly repentance. It might lead to changing your outward appearance or conduct, but it doesn't lead to Godly repentance.

* God wants a change of heart, as true repentance occurs on the inside. God's goodness leads us to want to do what is right, because you love, and appreciate His kindness, love, and mercy.

II. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ led to the changing of the disciples.

* The disciples were very carnal and selfish human beings right up to the point of Christ's crucifixion. The disciples fought among themselves, even during the last supper with Jesus Christ.

* When the disciples saw the sacrifice that Jesus made for them, and for all mankind, they finally began to change. Real repentance came about as a result of what they had seen Christ do for them.

* Hebrews 12:17. We must not reject God's loving kindness, goodness, mercy, and the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ. If this is rejected, there is nothing else that can lead us to repentance. If we go to Christ out of the wrong kind of fear, that will not lead to real repentance. The proper understanding of the goodness of God will lead to real repentance.

III. Paul in this letter starts to turn his focus from the Gentiles to the Jews.

* Paul makes this distinction because the Jews were in a very special position. The Jews had the revelation and the oracles of God given directly to them. God revealed Himself to them in a special and explicit way. The tragedy being that the Jews were relying wholly on this special relationship. They felt because they had the Law in this explicit form, that they were better off than the Gentiles.

* The church is in a similar position, as were the Jews. God has given some wonderful truths to the church. He has restored the Law, and the purpose of the Law. We have the genuine Sabbath of God. We are gaining a clearer understanding of the death of Christ. We can be in the same danger as the Jews, if we rely on these things. We have committed the same mistakes, because we have looked down on others as inferior. We must understand what Paul is saying to the Jews in Rome; because he is also saying the same thing to us.

* We must learn from the important lessons, which Paul taught to those in Rome.

1.) The possession of truth and knowledge of the Law does not, in and of itself, make you righteous and acceptable before God.

2.) The Jews were mistaken, when they felt it was sufficient to earn salvation by keeping the Law to the best of their ability, or even by keeping a majority of the law. Eternal life is a gift; we do not earn eternal life. If we do not keep the Law we are cursed. We will be cut off from God eternally. That is what the curse is. Jesus Christ bore that curse for us, when He was crucified.

3.) The Jews were experts, only, in the letter of the Law. They failed to see that the Law demands obedience in the heart and in the spirit. Sin is more than just an act, it is a motive and a thought.

* The only way to produce the character of God is to ultimately become God. That is why we cannot yet produce the character of God. God is in us through His spirit, reflecting His character through man. That is proof, that we will ultimately become part of the very family of God.

IV. If one tries to keep the Law outwardly, that does not make him righteous before God.

* Our acts must be to praise and glorify God, not to praise and glorify ourselves. We must look honestly at ourselves and determine our motive. We must not desire to be praised by men, but to be praised by God.

* The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God. HE is the one who died! HE is the one who has been resurrected! HE is the one who has ascended into the heavens! HE is the one who is at the right hand of the throne of God acting as our High Priest and as our intercessor. It is He who imparts to us the wonderful Spirit of God! That is what changes us. He comes into us, through the Holy Spirit. Romans 7:6,

* Legalism and self-righteousness is an outward religion. Paul demolishes the platform on which those stand, who keep the Law to earn salvation.

V. We must keep the law.

* We keep the law because we obey our savior Jesus Christ; but, we do not keep the law to earn salvation.

* Many things that true Christians do are good and pleasing to God. We must have a right relationship with Christ, for this to be the case.

* God is not a respector of persons. There were Gentiles in that very congregation who had a closer relationship with God than did some of the Jews.

* Paul is destroying, in these verses, every confidence that man has in himself - whether he be Jew or Gentile. Paul is doing this because man cannot receive the Gospel unless, the confidence in himself is destroyed.

VI. God gave the Jews the truth, as it is in Christ.

* He gave them the truth, to lead them to Christ.

* The Jews took the truth and perverted it. Instead of allowing the Law to show them their total depravity, and their need to go to Christ for salvation; the Jews made the Law their salvation.

* We have the truth. Has it led us to a closer walk with Jesus Christ? Have we been led closer to Him and His life style? We must have the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. We must sacrifice who we are, and what we want to be.

VII. Paul has a purpose for dealing with the sin problem.

* The purpose is to destroy, in every human being, confidence in ourselves and our own ability. We can accept nothing else, other than Jesus Christ, as our hope and as our righteousness!

* We must be convinced that we are 100 % sinners.

* We must have no confidence in the flesh; our confidence must be in Jesus Christ!

Paul is preparing us for the Good News that is ahead. We must all agree with Paul that we are sinners, that our hope is in Christ, and in His righteousness. We must realize that apart from the Grace of God, we are incapable of doing any righteousness in the spirit. We must do it in the spirit, as we cannot do it in the letter. May God help us to take what Paul is saying and apply it to our lives. We must thank God for opening our eyes to this truth. THIS TRUTH WILL TRULY MAKE US FREE.

UNIVERSAL SIN AND GUILT.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Four)

Recommended reading - Romans 3: 9-20.

In this section of scripture, Paul brings the whole matter of sin to a conclusion. It is important to note that, what Paul is covering is not just ancient history; it is true of the world which we live in today. We must clearly learn that, from head to foot there is nothing good in us. Once this realization occurs we will begin to understand the Gospel. Salvation is entirely a gift from our Lord Jesus Christ. All men, Jews and Gentiles, can only plead "Guilty!" The Law reveals man's sinfulness, but does nothing to cure it. We must confess that we are morally bankrupt. If there is any hope for man, it must be found in the mercy of the Almighty loving God. Romans 3:9, Paul clearly defines in these scriptures that there is universal sin and guilt. Romans 3:10-18, Paul quotes from the Old Testament scriptures of Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs and Isaiah. The quotations from the Old testament show that no one is righteous or good. Paul concludes that no man will be justified, and that no human being will ever make it into the Kingdom of God by His own good works. Every human being, who will be in God's family, will be there because of Jesus Christ.

I. God will write the Law in the heart, and in the mind of His people.

* It must be understood that it is not the same for the believer, and for the unbeliever.

1.) In the unbeliever, God has put in the conscience what is right and wrong - the pure knowledge. The most primitive of societies have a basic knowledge of right and wrong. This is writing the Law in the conscience.

2.) In the New Covenant God writes the law in the heart. He is putting the love of God in the heart. This very fact makes the keeping of the Law possible. God makes it a part of your nature; so that it becomes part of you. You now want to act and to be as He is. God puts His unconditional love in your heart and that love is the fulfillment of the Law.

* Has the Law properly done its work; or are we in the same place as the Jews were in these scriptures? Have we become a very proud and self-righteous people looking down on others?

II. We need to pay attention to Paul's strong proclamation that all are under sin.

* Under sin means, to be ruled by, or to be dominated by sin. Paul is stating that mankind is ruled by sin. Romans 7:14, The Law is spiritual; we are carnal. We are by nature, slaves to sin. There is none, no not one, who is righteous.

* Man, by his nature, is against God. Apart from God there is no salvation.

III. Romans 3:19, The whole world is under the Law.

* There are two things that we are under:

1.) We are under sin;

2.) We are under the Law.

* We are under the Law, because we have the knowledge of the Law. All who are under the law are guilty before God. That is, every single one of us!

* Has the work of the Law silenced our mouth? The Gospel is not for self-righteous mankind. It is for those who realize their depravity. We need to understand, that of ourselves, we cannot produce the smallest amount of genuine righteousness. This ultimately leads to our silence.

* Those who cannot be silenced by the Law will never accept the true gospel. The Gospel will be a stumbling stone.

IV. No man except Christ has kept the Law.

* We are all guilty of the whole Law. We are all unrighteous and unholy! We must see this or we will never be able to come to understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

* Neither the Law, nor works, produce righteousness. Works we do are works of righteousness, only after we see what we truly are. Once we have accepted Jesus Christ, He makes the works righteous.

V. Why the Law was given.

* Nowhere do we find in scripture that God gave the Law as a means of salvation. The Law is not now, nor has it ever been, a means of salvation.
* God gave the Law to give us the knowledge of sin. Romans 3:30, clearly reflects this truth. There is only one way that man is saved. From Adam, to the last human to exist, it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was slain from the foundation of the world. It is also important to understand that God did not give the Law in order to maintain salvation. God does not forgive us and then state that we must, from that point forward, keep the Law perfectly to either earn salvation or to maintain salvation.

* Sin is a deceiver. Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is deceitful." God has to expose sin so we know what sin is. Romans 7:9, Paul realized that he was not earning salvation, but the Law was showing him that he was a sinner.

* The very moment you cherish a sinful desire is when you have sinned.

VI. God did not give the law to solve the sin problem.

* God gave the Law so that the realization of sin may abound. Sin is more than an act in God's eyes.

* God gave the Law to bring sin out of its' hiding place. Everyone of us camouflage outwardly the sin inside. The Law opens us to the realization of sin.

* We are under sin and under the Law! When those two are put together it is fatal. There is nothing wrong with being under the Law, as long as you have a sinless nature. There was not a problem with Adam being under the Law prior to his fall.

VII. Jesus Christ learned obedience by what He suffered. (Hebrews 5:8)

* Obedience means someone over you has a will that is contrary to your will. Obedience means you do not give into your will, rather you obey their will.

* The Logos never had to obey; it was His very nature to live by the Law of God. Jesus Christ clearly stated, " Not My will but Your will be done." When Jesus became a human being He learned obedience.

The Gospel is all inclusive, it affects every human being. To accept the Gospel, the good news of salvation, we first must realize that we are totally lost. The Law must do its work in our lives. The Law is there to remind us that, in and of ourselves, we are 100% sinners saved by grace. We need to thank God for the Law! The moment we try do away with the Law, we no longer need a gospel. We need the Law to show us that we need a savior. We need to allow the Law to lead us to Christ. Every mouth should be stopped, and all should stand guilty before God and say, " What shall I do now?".

RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Five)

Recommended reading - Romans 3:21- 23.

A common mistake that mankind has made throughout history is, he believes he can live his life without God. Paul says that when man turns his back on God, the result is unrighteousness. A knowledge of the law does not make us righteous, as some have said; rather, we are all under sin. We are by nature sold to sin. No person can, of themselves, produce a righteousness that qualifies them for the Kingdom of God. The purpose of the Law is to silence us. All mankind is under the Law and all are guilty under the Law; therefore, all deserve the punishment of the Law. The whole world is guilty before God. We must get to the point where we can say, along with the Apostle Paul, "There is nothing good in me."

I. The Law has a glorious part in the Gospel.

* The Law shows us that we are not righteous.

* God did not give the Law to save us! It was not given as a means of salvation or as an added requirement for salvation. Galatians 3:17, points out that God gave the Law, 430 years, after He promised salvation to Abraham and to his seed.

* The Law was used as a school master that would lead us to Jesus Christ and would enable us to be justified by faith. If there was no Law, we would not need to be justified because we would not be unjust.

II. Paul introduces and defines the Gospel in this very crucial section of scripture.

* Paul defines how mankind is saved, and how salvation becomes effective.

* Paul introduces the Gospel in Romans 3:21, by using two very important words - "But now". The words "But now," are very important to us for the following reasons:

1.) These words introduce the Gospel in contrast to the dark, dismal, and hopeless picture that has been previously painted about the human race. Paul immediately shows the Good News. He shows what happens, after the Law has done its' work. We see what occurs, after we have been placed on death row with no escape. God shows us that we can say, "But now the righteousness of God is available to us;"

2.) The two words come to us as a time factor. Salvation was not an after thought. God promised salvation from the moment that Adam had sinned. Salvation was a promise to Adam, to Noah, and to Abraham. Paul makes it clear that Abraham was saved by a promise. Now it is no longer just a promise; it is manifested; it is a historic reality. We are not living in the period of BC; we are living in the time period of AD. The time factor has to be applied not only in historic terms but also in terms of each believer's life. Every believer can divide his own personal life into two periods - BC and AD. Before Christ, we were under condemnation; there was no hope. Now that you have accepted Christ, you do not live in the BC period of your life; you now live in the AD period. Christ has now become our righteousness;

3.) The words are a tool for us as Christians, in terms of our assurance of salvation. Notice King David in Psalm 51. David did not go before God saying he was righteous, holy, and good. He Knew he had violated the Law. If there had not been a Law in existence, he would not have known that he had broken the Law. David had a beautiful attitude before God. God was justified in condemning David. God is not only justified in condemning us, He is also justified for forgiving us. David was born in sin (in Adam), as we all have been. God could not remove the sin from David, as if the sin simply did not exist.

* God was creating in David, and is creating in us, a clean heart. He is accomplishing this, as He puts His Law and His nature into man. We must realize that we can not do this by ourselves.

III. Some may struggle and disagree with what is being taught.

* Please study this whole series. Don't take small parts and apply them out of the context of the whole.

* The study will turn your life around! It will make you different. We will have a better understanding of the Great God. We receive on our account, as the free gift of God, the perfect record of Jesus Christ. That is a precious thought. Place this in our heart and in your mind.

* The enemy of God does not want us to understand this. We do not have to slink around guilty all of the time. We have the righteousness of God on our account. This has been imputed through Jesus Christ. The secret of victorious living is to be rooted in and grounded in the righteousness of Christ. The ground is justification by faith; the fruit is sanctification. We will never produce the fruit unless, we are secure about our salvation.

IV. The first thing God gives us is - "But now the righteousness of God".

* It is a righteousness planned by God. God planned this long before we were born. It was planned before Adam was created. Ephesians 1:4, explains this fact. There were no surprises to God; He knew exactly what was going to happen.

* Once it was planned, God immediately promised salvation to the human race, after Adam sinned. Once Adam and Eve sinned, God came to visit the garden. Adam and Eve felt God came immediately to punish them, and to execute judgment. God came to give them the promise of salvation!

V. The proper understanding of the priesthood is important.

* The Logos and Melchizedek are the same Beings. Christ is the incarnation of the Logos. The High Priest was in the garden with Adam.

* Immediately, after the sin of mankind, an animal was killed. The hide was used for the covering of Adam and Eve, and the animal also was used as a sacrifice pointing to Jesus Christ.

* It is a righteousness, planned by God, promised by God, and a righteousness provided by God.

VI. Apart from (or without) the Law.

* The Bible is a unified book. There is only one way that God saves mankind; that is through His righteousness, and as a gift to us through Jesus Christ.

* Salvation by grace is not an after thought because the Law failed. The Law did not fail. Paul, in reference to that thought, said certainly not, God forbid! What Paul means when he states "Apart from the Law," is the righteousness of God is entirely from God. We have not contributed to our Law keeping.

* We are justified by faith apart from the deeds of the Law. We are given a heavenly robe often known as the righteousness of Christ. A heavenly garment without a thread of human devising; it is entirely from God.

* There is no boasting in righteousness by faith because it is entirely a gift from God. How can we have this righteousness; what must we do for this righteousness to be ours? We do not get righteousness by faith by doing something. Paul answers this question in Romans 3:22. The righteousness of God is ours through faith in Jesus Christ. This applies to all mankind. There is only one way in which man can be saved, and that is through faith alone. We do not contribute; it is all from God.

VII. The prerequisite for faith is a knowledge of the Gospel.

* Romans 10:17, explains that faith comes by the hearing of the Word of God. We must understand the awesome power of God. His Gospel will be proclaimed.

* No man should ever think that it is through Him alone that the Gospel message will be taught. No man should exalt himself, or place himself, in some perceived great position within an organization.

* We should serve and divest ourselves of perceived honor, glory, and praise; and we should become humble servants of the Almighty God.

* God will not send condemnation to the world until one of two things occur: the world will have a chance to thank God for His unspeakable gift; or the world will have the opportunity to utterly reject Him. Eventually all will have an opportunity.

* Faith means to believe in the truth. We must know the truth and believe the truth. This is difficult, because faith is a contradiction to human nature and reason. God offers us salvation in the Gospel which is impossible for us to obtain, without the direct intervention of God. When you accept Christ, God looks at you as if you had never sinned.

* It is simply not enough to have a mental thought of the truth. There is a heart obedience required. Paul explains this in Romans 1:5, Romans 6:17, Romans 10:16. To obey the Gospel means we must surrender our will to the truth, as it is in Christ.

VIII. God put us in Christ and rewrote our history.

* Since we are sinners something essential had to take place; we had to die. No one can take our place. The wages of sin is death.

* Jesus did not come to change the death sentence. He did not come to substitute for the death sentence. Jesus came to fulfill the death sentence. In Christ it was fulfilled. In Christ's death, it was not one man dying instead of all men, or in place of all men. In Christ all men died, in one man. We all died; II Corinthians 5:14, when one died all died.

* To obey the Gospel we must say, as Paul said in Galatians 2:20, (paraphrased) that, "I am crucified with Christ yet I am still living. It is no longer I, but Christ who lives in me. The life that I now live I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

* When we understand the true meaning of faith, the fruit is always holiness of living; because Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The life Christ lived 2000 years ago, He can live in us. Christ does this as evidence of righteousness by faith. Obedience to the Gospel is saying, not I, not my life, not my will, but Christ in me. This righteousness is effective through faith alone.

We have all sinned in Adam and we continue to sin; all fall short of the glory of God. The only way to be saved is in Christ. The only way to be in the Kingdom of God is through righteousness by faith; the righteousness of God, that comes to us by faith. It is no longer just a promise; it is a reality. Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ and His righteousness. We can have hope! We walk the Christian life with hope and assurance. May God bless us so that we, having been silenced by the Law, can say - "But now - the righteousness of God" !

LEGAL JUSTIFICATION.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Six)

Recommended reading - Roman 3:24-26.

Paul, in these scriptures, is dealing with an extremely important truth. A truth that details the righteousness of God, which has been made available through Jesus Christ.

I. God's righteousness is available to us.

* The righteousness of God justifies us. The word justify primarily has a legal connotation and is a term used in court, by judges. In civil law if you break the law, you become an unjust person.

* The only way to justify is to pay the penalty. Justify is a legal word that is used relative to man, and his sins against the law. When you obey the law, it justifies you; when you disobey the law, it condemns you. Those who obey the law are legally just. They are justified by the law. Those who disobey are condemned by the law.

* Romans 3:24, explains that righteousness justifies us. When we believe in Christ, God declares us righteous. We need to understand that we are not righteous because of our deeds, but because we accept the righteousness of Christ. In the judgment that we are under, we are being judged - not condemned.

II. We are being judged by our fruits.

* We are not being saved by our works. The works, which we do, show whether we have justification through Christ. If you have justification through Christ, you will appreciate it enough to obey Him.

* The first item you note is Romans 3:24. The moment you believe, the righteousness of God through Christ becomes effective, and you have passed from death to life. You are now being justified.

* Justification comes to us freely, without cost. It is more than a free gift; it is by His grace. Grace is often defined as undeserved favor or pardon. We crucified the Son of God, we beat Him, and we killed Him. Everything we have done is contrary to God and to His Law. We have left this world in a shambles. We have done all of this and God simply forgives us. On the cross, Christ lovingly said, "Forgive them." Christ was dying because of us. He loved us with every fiber of His being; and yet we crucified Him. Christ proclaims, "Father forgive them." That is grace. Grace is not only doing someone a favor, it is doing a favor for someone who hates you, and who is your enemy. Romans 5:10, details this important point.

III. We were reconnected to God by the death of His son.

* The gospel is the unconditional good news. God justifies us freely and by His grace.

* We are justified through redemption that is in Jesus. The same Jesus who created us, is the one who redeemed us. All God had to do to create the world was to speak. He merely had to say, "Let there be light," and there was light. The breath of God is power and energy. He can create, out of nothing, by simply making a statement. God knew we would sin. That is the reason He made us out of dust. We did not catch God by surprise when we sinned. God knew sin would make us an arrogant and proud people. God deliberately made us out of mud; so that when we fall, we will be reminded of what we truly are. Whenever we think of how great we are, remember we are made of mud.

* When it comes to redemption (buying us back), God could not save us by simply making a statement. God could not declare us forgiven. Remember, God is not only a God of love, He is a just God. He could not redeem us, or justify us, by the bypassing of His Law. His Law says, "The soul that sins, it must die." God must be true to His word; otherwise, He Himself becomes an unjust God. Legally a sin or a crime has to have a penalty, and that penalty must be paid. It is simply unjust to forgive the penalty. God could not justifiably and legally forgive, without a price (or the penalty) being paid. God is a Holy, righteous God. Justification by faith is free to us, but is extremely costly to God. God gave us His only begotten son. In giving us His Son, He was giving of himself. God had to send His Son.

IV. We will not comprehend the meaning of Atonement until far into the future.

* We cannot deny the legal framework of the Atonement. God's love and His justice met together at the cross. It was at the cross that God became legally just in justifying us, as Paul explains in Romans 3:25-26.

* Paul is saying, we are redeemed from the curse of the Law. The curse of the Law is eternal death, being totally cut off from God. If we are unjust, the Law demands that we die forever.

* The Law is good; it is we who are bad. The individual, the violator, is bad. Think of how bad it would be to live forever without the Law of God. As a result we would have disorder, hatred, and problems. Think what it would be like if there was nothing to stop those problems. It would be better to be dead, than to live without God's Law.

V. Galatians 3:10, shows that trying to earn salvation puts us under the curse.

* Have we continually kept the Law in detail? If we have not, we are under the curse.

* Christ has redeemed us, becoming the curse for us.

VI. The main truths about the sacrifice of Christ.

* The death of Christ demonstrates that Satan is a liar, a murderer, and that the human heart is desperately wicked.

* The sacrifice demonstrates the love of God.

* The sacrifice demonstrates the justice of God. We have been redeemed, ransomed, and bought back. God has set us free. Christ redeemed us and bought us. He will share with us His throne, His Kingdom, and all the joys of the family of God. This cost us nothing; but it was very costly to God!

* We need to examine two words in Romans 3:25.

1.) Propitiation. The word was used to refer to sacrifices that pagans gave, to appease their angry god. Please be careful, when you use the word. This was not the intended use of this word propitiation in the Word of God. We must not look at God in this fashion. In the Gospel, instead of man offering the sacrifice, it was God who offered Himself as the sacrifice. There is a world of difference between the pagan custom and true Christianity.

2.) Blood. In the new testament, blood does not refer to the blood, that went through His veins. His blood was no different than anyone else's blood. The word blood is a symbol used as a type, symbolizing life. Leviticus 17:11. Blood means life; shed blood means life that is laid down in death.

VII. Jesus did not die the first death.

* Hebrews 2:9, Jesus tasted death for every man. It is obvious that He could not taste the first death, because every man still must die the first death.

* A man, who accepts Christ, will not die the second death as is stated in Revelation 20:6. Christ tasted the second death for us.

* Jesus was willing, on the cross, to say good bye to life forever, so that we may live in His place. That is the love of God. That would satisfy the Law. The death penalty had to be executed. God, through the death of His Son, met the requirements. Christ liquidated the penalty. Hebrews 9:22, According to the Law, there can be no forgiveness without the shedding of blood.

VIII. You are not like a yo-yo, continually being in and out of Christ.

* You sin - you're out of Christ. You repent - you're in Christ. It is not that way. This kind of belief produces poor Christianity. That is not what God intended.

* This does not mean that you condone sin. When Paul refers to the past, he refers to the time before Jesus shed His blood. God could forgive based upon the promise of Christ's sacrifice.

* God forgave out of His kindness, but justice still had to take place. Romans 3:26, God is now, since the cross, legally justified to forgive. Romans 3:31. God is upholding His Law.

The Son now stands at the right hand of the Father, defending this justification, against the accusations of Satan. Christ is just in doing this. The purpose of judgment is not to see if we deserve salvation; none of us deserve it. We are saved by grace! The judgment is because our justification in Christ has to be approved. We are then assigned responsibilities in the Kingdom of God. Jesus will defend our justification, and it will be vindicated. Satan will have no right to accuse us; he will be rebuked. Christ will say to us, "Come, inherit the Kingdom of my Father, which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world." The righteousness of God means three things to us. One, you are justified, right now. Second, you are justified, freely. Three, God is just in justifying us. That is the message of the Gospel. In Christ we have salvation fully and completely! We need to teach this message to a world that is perishing and dying. May God help us to fully understand this message of the unconditional good news and man's legal justification.

THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Seven)

Recommended reading Romans 3:27 - 31.

Paul introduces, in these verses, the unconditional good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. We must keep in mind several important facts in regard to this very point. First, the gospel is the righteousness of God; a righteousness that is entirely God's doing. He planned it, and fulfilled it through His Son. Secondly, righteousness is made effective in the lives of every human being through faith alone. Thirdly, the righteousness of God justifies us and qualifies us for the glory in the family of God. Fourth, God is just and righteous. He is legally just in justifying sinners because of the redemption that is in Jesus Christ. The sacrifice of Christ, legally allows the God of justice to qualify mankind for the Kingdom of God. Hebrews 9:22, God can legally forgive us because of the sacrifice of Christ. Our hope is in Jesus Christ, I Corinthians 1:30-31.

I. We should be grateful that all mankind has access to salvation.

* Many say they are qualifying for God's Kingdom by their works. It does not work that way.

* God has only one way to save, that is by faith in what God has promised and what God has fulfilled.

II. Paul was continually accused of undermining the Law.

* There are two problems with which we struggle, when we begin to understand the truth of justification by faith.

1.) It effects our pride. We begin to understand that we make no contribution; and that there is nothing good in us. We can admit that we make mistakes; but, it is very difficult for us to admit there is nothing good in us. Our thoughts are selfish and often our actions are selfish. We must come to a clear and honest realization about ourselves.

2.) It seems that when you believe in justification by faith, you are undermining the Law.

* Paul was accused both of a lack of belief and an undermining of the Law. We are justified by faith without the deeds of the Law. We cannot keep the Law perfectly. We were born in Adam, which clearly shows that we were simply born into sin. Paul was continually harassed and attacked for his teachings, as we see in Acts 21:27. Paul was never against the Law. Paul simply believed and taught that the Law would not justify you; that is not condemning the Law. We are justified by faith.
III. Is the Law void because of the understanding that we are justified by faith?

* Paul clearly answers this in Romans 3:31. God Forbid!

* Christian living must be in harmony with God; this clearly shows that our lives should be in harmony with the Law.

* Paul is not dealing with the subjective living experience of a Christian; he is dealing with several important points.

1.) Paul is dealing with the truth of the righteousness of God, which justifies us apart from the work of the Law. We must get this point into our minds to understand sanctification and Christian living.

2.) Historically, it is impossible for us to establish the Law. It is not impossible for us, by the grace of God, to keep the Law. The word establish means that the Law is totally and fully satisfied with us. The Law demands perfect righteousness and justice from each one of us. It is impossible for us to do this. In Christ, the law has been established. Christ met these demands for all mankind. Christ led a perfect life, which met the positive demand of the Law. Through His death, Christ met the justice of the Law. Through Christ the Law has been established.

3.) The word the preceding faith is the key grammatical word in Romans 3:31. (See Galatians 3:23 )

* When we stand before the judgment seat how will we answer the question, "have we obeyed the Law?" If we have failed in one point of the Law, we will have to answer that we have not obeyed the Law. The Law will say we have to die because one broken part of the law is a death sentence. Thank God, we will not have to answer the Law that way. We can answer yes, I have obeyed you perfectly. The Law will say, when did you obey me perfectly? Our answer will be, when I am in Christ, I have perfect obedience. The Law will say, you are a sinner you must die! I will say, I have already died. We can then confidently quote Galatians 2:20, I was crucified with Christ.

IV. God does not by-pass His Law to justify us.

* God maintains His integrity to the Law, when He justifies us through His Son Jesus Christ. In the history of the Son of God, every demand of the Law has been met for each one of us. That is the good news of the gospel!

* We cannot experience genuine sanctification, if we have not understood justification. God does not look at the act; He looks at the heart. The moment we do the right act for the wrong reason, God looks at that act as filth.

* God can produce a people who can serve Him without fear or a desire for reward. He can only do this, when we are established in justification by faith, which gives us peace. If we have no peace, we cannot be liberated from the fear of death.

* We can only be delivered from the fear of death by the death of Christ, as is explained in Hebrews 2:14-15. The only hope for mankind is that the Law has been established by the doctrine of justification by faith. The hope is in Jesus Christ who lives in Christians. God's people have a peace that their country and their money cannot give. It is a peace in Jesus Christ.

God is on your side; Jesus is on your side; His law is on your side. The only one against you is the devil, who has no way to knock you down if you are established in justification by faith. When we stand before God, we will not be there for God to determine if we deserve eternal life by our performance. The purpose of the judgment is to vindicate our justification by faith by our advocate Jesus Christ. We will rejoice and have peace. From now on we will not worry about making it into the Kingdom of God. That matter has been settled. From now onward for me to live is Jesus Christ! To die is only sleeping until the resurrection, when we shall see our Lord and Savior. We will thank God for such a salvation as this.

IN DEFENSE OF JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Eight)

Recommended reading Romans 4:1-25.

Paul defines the gospel as the righteousness of God. Righteousness is all of God's doing without human contribution. The righteousness that God attained for the human race is made effective by faith and nothing else. We cannot earn it by our works or buy it with our money. Justification by faith is the only way that man can be saved. Justification by faith qualifies us for eternity now and in the judgment. The fruit of justification by faith is sanctification. The redemption in Christ enables the righteousness of God to be ours, this is not only a promise it is a historical reality. It is ours because of the doing and dying of Christ. God is legally just in declaring sinners righteous in Christ. Paul defends this fact strongly in the scriptures. God can uphold His Law and at the same time justify us. Justification leaves no room for human boasting. We have not contributed anything toward our justification. It is given to us entirely by the grace of God. We don't deserve it; we haven't earned it; we don't contribute to it! We are justified by what God has done, not by what we have done. We are saved by faith, or through faith, but not because of our faith. Justification by faith establishes the law. What Christ did, His life and His death, met all the demands of the Law. To establish the Law, every demand of the law must be met.

I. Paul is defending justification by faith against a three fold opposition.

* The opposition came mainly from the Jewish Christians who followed him everywhere.

* The threefold opposition that Paul faced is as follows:

1.) The issue of works as is found in Romans 4:1-8. The Jewish Christians were insistent that our works were essential for justification by faith. Paul said we are justified without works only by faith.

2.) The issue of circumcision. The Jews said you could not be saved without being circumcised. Paul addresses this in Romans 4:9-12.

3.) The issue of the keeping of the Law. Paul addresses this in Romans 4:13-17.

* To all three of these issues Paul says no. It is important to understand that Paul is not against works or circumcision; in fact, Paul circumcised Timothy. Paul is also not against the keeping of the Law. The problem with these three issues is that they are not to be used as a means of salvation. Paul teaches them as a way of life; he is against them as a means of salvation. Paul is against salvation by faith plus works; he is for salvation by faith that works.

* Paul is not saying that we do not have to do any works, that we don't have to keep the Law, or that we don't have to keep the Sabbath. Paul is defending the doctrine of justification by faith.

II. Paul focuses on the flesh.

* Paul focuses initially in Romans 4:1 on the word flesh. We rejoice in Christ and have no confidence in the flesh. Philippians 3:4-6, Paul defines the word flesh.

* Paul describes his own accomplishments and says if anyone should have confidence in the flesh, he should be the one to have that confidence. Paul accomplished a great deal from a fleshly viewpoint. Paul even states that he was blameless regarding the rules and regulations of the church which he describes as the righteousness of the Law. When Paul understood Christ and what Christ had done for us, he gave up all those things as he describes in Philippians 3:7.

* In respect to Paul's comments about the flesh in Romans 4:1, if we are depending upon ourselves for our salvation, that is the flesh.

III. Paul selects Abraham as an example.

* Abraham was selected because Paul dealing with the Jews so he wanted to use someone that was special to them.

* Abraham did great works, far more than we have done. Notice this very point in
Romans 4:2. All the works that Abraham did, did not contribute to his justification.

* When Abraham believed God that is when it was accounted to him for righteousness. In verse 4-8, Paul clearly shows that if we work for our justification then it would no longer be by grace, rather God would owe it to us. Abraham worked, not for his justification but only as fruit of justification by faith, never as the means of justification. Paul shows that David was justified as was Abraham.

IV. Paul begins to focus on circumcision in Romans 4:9.

* Paul spoke positively at times about circumcision. Paul was not against circumcision. There was an event in Acts 15:1-5, where the Jews were stating that circumcision was essential and a requirement for salvation. Paul and several other Apostles did not want to put a burden on the Gentile Christians.

* Justification, salvation, righteousness, holiness, purity, do not come through obedience because all have disobeyed. We cannot live up to the Law. In Romans 4, Paul states that circumcision does not contribute to our salvation.

* The reason for circumcision is found in Romans 4:11. God gave circumcision as a seal. A seal to confirm a fact. The fact was justification by faith.

V. How is and why is circumcision used as the seal of the righteousness of faith?

* We must first understand the background of the three fathers of Israel - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Genesis 12:1-4, describes the calling of Abraham by God. God promised Abraham a son to fulfill the promise God had made.

* Abraham walked and talked with God asking Him for understanding and clarification. Genesis 15:6, Abraham believed God and it was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. Abraham had tremendous faith in God. Abraham was ultimately very patient in waiting for God.

* Righteousness - whether it be imputed through Jesus Christ or imparted by our submitting to God and obeying God, it is still God who is doing it. Our part from beginning to end is faith.

* God wants Abraham to reach a perfect faith so God tells Abraham to be circumcised. God wants all doubt and unbelief removed. That is the meaning of circumcision. From the point of circumcision forward, Abraham was to walk by faith alone. Abraham agreed and said yes.

* Circumcision did not save Abraham, it was only a sign and a seal. The Sabbath does not save us it is a sign and a seal.

* We read in Exodus 31:13, God gave the Sabbath as a sign. The sign is not to the world. The world does not know that the Sabbath is God's Sabbath. The Sabbath is a sign between God and His people. People who have understood the Sabbath and then leave the Sabbath do so because they do not understand that it is a sign between God and His people. It is not a sign to the world. Loving one another is a sign to the world that we are God's people and that His spirit dwells in us. The Sabbath is a sign between us and God.

* Abraham made mistakes after he was circumcised, but he continued to walk by faith and nothing else. Abraham was justified by faith. As a result he became the father of all who believe as we see in Romans 4:11-12. An individual who is in Christ is of the seed of Abraham and an heir as Paul states in Galatians 3:29.

* Circumcision does not justify, it confirms. The Law was given over 400 years after Abraham was justified by faith.

VI. Faith does produce works but works are not a contribution to our justification.

* The moment we try to save ourselves by the Law, we come under wrath as Paul states in Romans 4:15.

* The moment we save ourselves by faith, we have peace.

VII. God did not give the Law to solve the sin problem.

* God gave the Law to help us realize what we truly are, so that salvation by faith may become desirable.

* Paul discusses in Romans 4:16-17, that our salvation is guaranteed even though we are sinners and failures. It is guaranteed because it is not of works but of faith in Jesus Christ. It is guaranteed because Abraham is the father of all those that believe.

* Paul tells how faith works in Romans 4:18-25. If we are to be the seed of Abraham and therefore the heirs according to the promise, we must have the faith that Abraham had.

The faith we should have does not does not make us feel guilty. We should have a faith that brings peace. God does the promising and the performing, in these scriptures. Abraham believed and that was all. Faith is taking God at His word. God tells us something. We do not need evidence; we simply believe! May God help us to have the faith to take Him at His word.

FRUITS OF JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Nine)

Recommended Reading - Romans 5:1-5.

It is impossible to teach the message of justification by faith without strong opposition from other viewpoints. Mankind often wants to take part in his own justification, elevating himself to believe that what he does and what they he is, good. Notice the important text that plainly explains what our role is in the process of salvation Ephesians 2:8-10. Paul is very clear that our works are not the means of, nor do they contribute to, our justification. Christ saved us and gave us eternal life. God recreates us in His son that we may do good works. We are God's workmanship. The good works that we do are the fruits of Justification by faith. Paul talks to believers who have experienced justification by faith in Titus 3:4-8. Paul states that those who believe in God should be careful to maintain good works. On the one hand our works don't save us, on the other hand, genuine justification by faith always produces good works. It is the evidence of justification by faith. The good works of the Christian Ecclesia should always be a blessing to humanity.

I. Faith is simply taking God at His word.

* Faith goes beyond the realm of the natural.

* God says, that if you walk in the spirit the righteousness of the law will be fulfilled in you; you cannot question God. We must believe it. We are not talking about the natural, we are talking about justification by faith.

* God says we are sinners, but He looks at us as if we are perfect in His Son. God imputes the righteousness of Jesus Christ to us. We may not feel righteous, but we must believe what God says.

II. Justification by faith does bear fruits.

* We need to know the sequence of these fruits. We cannot interchange them, they follow in the exact sequence that Paul gives them.

* There are three fruits which Paul details. The first fruit is immediate, the second fruit is continuous, and the third fruit is ultimate. The three fruits are explained in Romans 5:1-2.

1.) The first (immediate) fruit is peace with God.

2.) The second (continuing) fruit is that we are under grace. We have access to the grace of God.

3.) The third (ultimate) fruit is arriving at the glory of God.

* At the foundation of all three of these fruits is justification by faith.

III. It is impossible to please God without faith as we see in Hebrews 11:6.

* Not one of these fruits can come by works or by keeping the Law; they can only come by faith.

* We may not have peace with ourselves, our neighbors, or our government. Paul is not talking about peace in the general sense. He is not speaking about everything in life being good, right, and peaceful. Paul is talking about having peace with God. If we have peace with God, nothing else matters. If we have peace with God, we have a future that no one can take from us.

IV. What does it mean to have peace with God?

* Justification has already happened; it is the work of a moment. A change takes place in our status, our standing with God.

* The very moment we believe this change takes place. There does not have to be a minister there, or any other human being. The very moment we believe, our status changes. The status change is called justification.

* We pass from condemnation to justification (John 5:24).

* The phrase, "we have peace with God" is in the present tense. The moment we come under the umbrella of justification by faith, we have peace from beginning to end. It is a continuous thing.

* The world in which we live has no peace. Mankind does not have peace of mind. That is because man has not discovered the good news of the Gospel, which allows us to have this peace.

* To have this peace, we must stop exalting ourselves and our works to such a high level, that we think our works contribute in any way to our great salvation in Jesus Christ.

* We do not have to wait for glorification to have this peace, security, and the absolute assurance of salvation. No one can rob us of this peace, except ourselves. Our hearts should not be troubled; Jesus gave Himself for us, the peace has been accomplished. All we must do is accept the peace!

V. The greatest thing that Christ did was taste the second death for mankind.

* Notice what gave Christ the power to taste that death in Hebrews 2:9.

* The grace of God made it possible for Christ to fulfill the will of God. Now grace is assessable to the believer.

* The primary meaning of grace is the loving disposition that God has toward us. God sent His Son so that through His Son He could save us. In Ephesians 1:7, we see this very point. The word grace is also the power of God. The gospel is the good news for all man. We should be anxious to share this special message. People have the need for this beautiful truth.

VI. The fruits of justification by faith are only for those who believe.

* There is no peace with God, unless you are first justified by faith.

* Grace is also the power of God made available to the believer, as we see described in I Corinthians 15:9-10. Paul explains that he is an apostle not because he deserved it, rather, because of the grace of God.

* Paul is not against works; he states he works, but gives the credit to the grace of God. The works we do is because of the grace of God.

* Paul was given a thorn in the flesh to keep him humble. Paul pleads with God to have this removed in II Corinthians 12:7-9. The strength of God is made perfect in our weakness. All God needed was Paul's willingness.

VII. Grace is used in terms of power.

* The power and grace, are available to all. Paul discusses power and grace in Ephesians 3:7 and I Timothy 1:14.

* Since we are standing under grace, we have hope. We can rejoice that we can arrive at the glory of God. Paul is talking about the glory of the love of God shed in our hearts as he discusses in Colossians 1:27.

* God can produce a people who can love as Christ loved. Christ commanded His disciples to love in John 13:34-35. We are to love one another as Christ has loved us. Christ loved us so much He gave Himself for us. The disciples turned around, when they saw Christ give totally of Himself. He was beaten and died for us.
VIII. The disciple knew that Christ was under the curse of the law

* Christ was cut off from the Father.

* The sacrifice Christ made turned the disciples lives around; it will turn our life around if we understand.

* Many have used the scriptures to turn away from God, His way, and His commandments. If you love the way Christ loved, you will sacrifice and not live selfishly. You will not go against His nature; you will lead others to Jesus Christ who can give to them the same love.

IX. Paul states that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

* God created man that we may be the temple of God. We are to have Christ in us and to reflect Christ. God wants His glory to shine through us. God has planned this for all mankind.

* The fall of Adam and Eve robbed us of the glory of God The wonderful thing is that justification by faith not only gives us a right to the Kingdom of God and to peace, it also restores the glory of God in us. Romans 5:3, gives us the steps.

* When Christ lives in us and reveals His glory, we have to say no to the flesh. There will always be a conflict with the flesh.

* Romans 5:3 gives us the steps of conflict.

1.) Tribulation or sufferings.

2.) Perseverance

3.) Perseverance produces experience. The experience is the character.

X. When we have Christ in us our flesh will suffer.

* Our suffering will come from our desires being denied.

* The ultimate fruit is character. When the character of God is reproduced we will not be disappointed or ashamed.

* God's plan is that His work will not to be done half way. God's purpose in us, through justification by faith, is ultimately salvation. Paul states in Romans 8:30, whom God justifies He will glorify.

Our part, from beginning to end, is faith. As long as we walk by faith, the three fruits are guaranteed. The guarantee is peace with God, our standing in grace, and our hope in arriving at the glory of God. We must begin with peace to obtain the glory of God. It is impossible for us to be liberated from fear, unless we have understood justification by faith. We must cast out fear to love as stated in I John 4:17-18. Perfect love will cast out fear. We must understand the love of God. The gospel must liberate us from the fear of death and judgment. We must have peace. May God bless us, that we shall know and understand this truth. When we understand this truth it will make us free from fear. We will then be ready, willing, and able to accept the peace of God that passes all understanding. Then we will ultimately have the love of God. A love which is, outgoing care, concern, and love. We will have, most of all, a sacrificial love. Once this has been done, we can begin to fulfill the new commandment which Christ gave us; to love one another as Christ loved us. May God give us His grace so that we may achieve that glorious, wonderful, and marvelous love of Jesus Christ!

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Ten)

Recommended reading - Romans 5:6-10.

The great God has an unconditional love for all mankind. Once we have accepted Jesus Christ, God looks at us in the same manner as He looks at His Son. God said that He was well pleased with His Son; He says the same thing to us. In His Son, we ultimately have peace with the Father. We can call God, Abba Father. We have access to the grace and power of God. We can resist temptation and behave as the very children of God. We have the power which the unbeliever does not have. The power and the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts through our Lord Jesus Christ. The message of the love of God in our hearts is so radical, revolutionary, and unlike any human experience that we have ever had.

I. The love of God is unlike human love.

* Human love is egocentric and is always self-centered.

* Paul explains God's love by contrasting it with human love.

* The two types of love are opposite.

* The New Testament writers described the love of God with a word that was very obscure, in the Greek language. The writers gave the word a meaning that is derived from the cross of Christ. The writers used the word Agape to describe the love of God.

II. It is important to understand and comprehend the love of God.

* Paul deals with this issue in Ephesians 3:14-19. The Ephesians were discouraged because Paul was imprisoned. Paul was not just teaching them academic, and historical knowledge about Jesus Christ; Paul wanted them to have more than a head knowledge.

* The only way for your faith to be strong, and to have Christ dwell in you permanently, is to be rooted and grounded in the love of God. We are to have deep roots and a strong foundation.

* The knowledge of the love of God cannot be weak; if it is, we will never withstand crisis.

* We cannot come to the knowledge of the love of God simply by human reasoning. When our hearts are filled with the love of God, we are filled with the fullness of God.

* Paul wants us to understand this love for two reasons.

1.) Once we understand the love of God, then and only then, can we fully understand justification by faith.

2.) Paul wants the same love shed abroad, that the world may see the love, through the Ecclesia of God.

III. There are four terms that we will study while focusing on the love of God.

* Two of those terms are found in Romans 5:6. First, when we were "without strength". The Greek word means helpless. We are incapable of saving ourselves. We must come to this knowledge and understanding that we are totally helpless. Secondly, Christ died for the "ungodly". Paul shows that God's love is in complete contradiction with human love. Christ died for the helpless and the ungodly.

* In Romans 5:7, Paul describes the ultimate expression of human love. We can see the contrast to the beautiful love of God. Jesus did not die for someone good; He died for the ungodly.

* The third term to notice is in Romans 5:8, while we were still "sinners". God does not say if you are good, I will die for you. He died for sinners.

* God died for us while we were helpless, ungodly, and sinners. God loves us unconditionally.

* Paul now states in Romans 5:9, we have been justified. We are justified legally before God. We have all violated the law of God. Our nature is contrary to the beautiful, wonderful, just Law of God. We have been justified in the death of Christ. Christ's death and burial had to do with our justification and forgiveness. His resurrection shows that we can have eternal life. We should not doubt the love of God.

* Paul discusses the fourth term in Romans 5:10, we were "enemies". We were helpless, ungodly, and sinners. Now, it is even worse, we were enemies of God. While all of that was going on, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son.

IV. God did not leave His Son in the grave.

* Jesus was helpless, He gave His will completely over to the will of the Father. Jesus prayed, not my will but your will. The will of Jesus, as a human being, was to save Himself. Jesus did not want to experience the shame, the death, the disgrace, and the pain. He did not want to feel the total and complete curse of being cut off from God eternally. Christ, with all of that still said, "Not my will but your will be done."

* How can we distrust a Savior with so much love? How can we distrust a Father, a God, that loved all of His children enough to provide such a sacrifice as this?

* We must understand that we will be saved because of Christ's life and resurrection.

* God sent His Son, not to condemn us, but to save us. The Son had the same desire; together they saved us.

* Paul is saying, this is the love God has for us. The same love that God has is the love that God, through the Holy Spirit, will pour into our hearts as is explained in Romans 5:5. God has offered us complete repentance, which is the change of life, and the turn from our will to the will of God.

V. The love of God is poured into our hearts.

* This love should affect us in two ways.

1.) We have a God who loves us unconditionally. Human love differentiates from the love of God. Human love is conditional, changeable, and self- seeking. God's love is unconditional, unchangeable, and self-giving. Christ had the opportunity to choose himself or the world (fallen humanity). Christ chose fallen humanity.

2.) The love should be shed abroad. All should see this love. Paul is teaching what Jesus taught in the sermon on the mount. Christ contrasts Godly and human love in Matthew 5:43-48. The ability to love our enemies comes only through the Holy Spirit living in us.

* The next time we are blessed, don't get the idea that we are good. We are blessed because God is love.

* We must love unconditionally, as God loves. In John 13:34, Jesus is talking to His disciples about love. The word new in this scripture does not mean brand new. The Greek word means a renewed commandment. The commandment had already been given in Deuteronomy and Leviticus. The Jews had perverted the love of God. Christ is now saying that he is renewing the commandment to love each other. The new part is, we are to love as Christ loved us.

VI. We cannot generate Agape love.

* The love of God is a gift. I Corinthians 13, deals with the spiritual gift of Agape love. It is the supreme gift of the Holy Spirit. The love of God will give us boldness in the day of judgment as stated in I John 4:17-18. The love of God gives us peace, boldness, and assurance in the day of judgment.
* This is given to us not because we are good, or if our performance is up to par, it is because we will be as Christ is.

VII. The love of God cannot be perfected if we are insecure about our salvation.

* A Christian is not afraid of death because we are guaranteed life. A Christian who has accepted and who is justified by faith, has passed from death to life as stated in John 5:24.

* The love of God in us shows that we are of God, I John 4:7-12. Christian love is not the means of justification, it is the evidence of justification by faith.

* The standard of righteousness is the ten commandments. It defines righteousness and love. The problem is that for us to keep the ten commandments, we need an ingredient. The ingredient is Agape. Jesus makes this clear in Matthew 22:35-40. In I John 3:23, we see two things that are required of us. First, we must believe on the name of Jesus Christ. That belief is how we keep the first four commandments. The basis in keeping the first four commandments is faith. If I have faith, I will only have one God; I will rest in the lord of the Sabbath, Jesus Christ. If you are keeping the Sabbath without faith, you are not keeping the Sabbath according to the commandments. The only way to keep the first four commandments is by faith.

* God gives us agape that it may go out to others. That is why Paul can say that all the law is fulfilled when you love one another. When the world sees this they will say, now we know that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation.

The world needs to see, not how good we are or how much we know, it needs to see the love of God shed abroad through the Holy Spirit. The greatest fruit of justification by faith, that the world needs to see, is not raising of our hands and saying praise the Lord I am saved. The world doesn't want to know that you are saved; what the world needs to see is that you do have the love of God. The only way they can know God is through His body, the Ecclesia. The gospel should transform us. The world should see the love of God. When this has then happened the work will be finished. The world will be lightened with the glory of God, and the end will come. May God bless us to not only know God's truth, but that we will exemplify, display, and magnify God and His Son Jesus Christ! This can only be done by totally surrendering to Him and allowing His incredible love to flow from Him, through us, and out to others.

ADAM: A TYPE OF CHRIST.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Eleven)

Recommended Reading - Romans 5:11-14.

One of the best places to begin, for an understanding of the book of Romans, is in this particular chapter. The fifth chapter of Romans compares Adam and Christ, and it gives a key to the book of Romans. An understanding of this passage gives an understanding of the gospel, and of righteousness by faith. The passage in chapter five is very difficult to understand. It is a contradiction to the western way of thinking. We will have to look at this passage through the eyes of one who is Jewish. A text that will help us is II Timothy 2:7. Paul gives Timothy advice, which we can also use. We can only understand spiritual things that are revealed to us through the Spirit of God. We should seek Godly understanding, as we study these verses in chapter five.

I. Studying difficult scriptures.

* We must concentrate on what is specifically being said. We should not have preconceived ideas or thoughts prior to an honest study of these verses.

* There are three things which we can do, when studying a difficult scripture.

1.) Ignore the passage.

2.) Skim over the passage

3.) Wrestle with the passage.

* Let us, at this time, wrestle with the scripture. Wrestle with it, as Jacob wrestled with the angel. We should not let go until God has blessed us with an understanding of what He is saying to us, through the Apostle Paul.

II. The problem text of these four verses is Romans 5:12.

* Paul is saying three things in this verse.

1.) Sin entered the world through one man. The Greek word for world is cosmos. Cosmos has six meanings. In this passage, it means the human race or humanity. Paul is saying sin became our heritage; it became part of us through one man. All of humanity is born with a sinful nature.

2.) This sin brought death to Adam.

3.) This death spread to the whole human race. Death became universal. Paul knew what Deuteronomy 24:16 says. He knew all men would die for their own sin's. The soul who sins will die, Ezekiel 18:4,20.

III. Look at the context.

* Review the context of Romans 5:12 to understand what Paul is trying to clarify by his statement at the end of this verse.

* Paul is saying that we all die because we sinned in Adam, not like Adam.

* The following are reasons that will clarify the verse.

1.) Historically, it is not true that all die because all have sinned like Adam. A small baby may die shortly after birth. When that baby dies, it does not have personal sin like Adam.

2.) Grammatically, Paul uses the aorist tense, which is a past historical tense; therefore, it implies a once for all act that took place in the past. If Paul had in mind that it is our personal sins that brings death to us, then he would have used the present continuous tense. Paul does not do that. The tense Paul uses implies an act that took place in the past.

3.) Romans 5:13-14, is an explanation of verse 12. Paul makes it clear in these verses that the people who lived from Adam to Moses were dying even though their sins were not identical to or like Adam's sins or transgressions. Adam knew the Law and he violated it. Sin is a violation, whether you know the Law or not.

4.) In Romans 5:15-18, Paul makes it very clear, four times, that we are judged, condemned, and that we must die because of Adam's sin and not our personal sins. We don't die for Adam's ensuing sin's. We die for the original sin. Sin then became hereditary to us. Adam's death spread to all men because all sinned in Adam.

5.) May be the most important of the points. In Romans 5:12-21, Paul is comparing Adam to Christ. The reason he is discussing Adam, and our situation in Adam, is because he wants to use Adam as a type or a pattern of Christ. What is true of us in Adam must also be true of us in Christ.
If we say that we all die because we sinned like Adam, and to be honest with this passage, you must then believe that we are saved and justified because we have obeyed like Christ. Not one of us has obeyed like Christ; therefore, none of us are saved. If that is the case, this is no longer good news, it is bad news.

6.) The word death appears twice in the text. If we look at the grammar, we see that the same death that came to Adam spread to all men. Adam did not receive the first death. The first death is not the curse of the Law; the curse of the Law is being cut off eternally from God. When did the second death come into play? What did God mean when he said to Adam and Eve, that the day you eat of this forbidden fruit you shall die? God meant the second death, good-bye to life forever. If there was no gospel, Adam legally should have died the very day he sinned. If it was the first death God was referring too, Adam should have died. At that point Adam died the second death in a sense, because he was cut off from God. We would all be in the grave with Adam, if he died the first death that very day of the original sin. The death that comes to us through Adam's sin is not just the first death it includes, the second death.

IV. We are born to a lost race.

* The only two people who have affected all people are Adam and Christ.

* In the majority of the 510 times the word Adam is used in the Old Testament, the word is used in the collective significance. It refers to all of man in one man. The word Adam refers to mankind. The word Adam means clay or dirt. We are all clay or dirt.

* The life that Adam passed on is a life that must die because it is condemned.

* The only way that the righteousness of Christ can be ours is because we are implicated in Christ's obedience. This is because the humanity of Christ is the corporate humanity of the fallen race who needed redeeming.

* In Christ God looks at us as if we had never sinned. We can come boldly before God, without fear, question, or doubt. In Christ we stand perfect before God.

V. The Law of God always existed.

* In Romans 5:13, Paul discusses the official posting of the Law. Paul is saying in Romans 5:14, that even though the Law had not officially been posted at that time, they were guilty because all men sinned in Adam.

* There are twelve words in the bible for sin. Each word has a specific meaning. The word sin means to miss the mark. The word transgression means a willful, and deliberate violation of the Law. You cannot transgress without the knowledge of the Law. The people from Adam to Moses were sinning, but they were not transgressing. God had not spelled out the Law in clear terms to them. The people had an understanding in their conscience as we saw in Romans 2. There was no clear statement of the Law as God had given to Moses
.
* Adam transgressed because he willfully violated a Law. Adam knew the fruit was forbidden. The people described in Romans 12:14, were sinning, but not transgressing, yet they were still dying. They were dying because they were in Adam, when he transgressed. The people in the flood died because they were disobedient to the gospel, not the Law, as stated in I Peter 3:19-21. God said to Noah, build an ark and invite the people into the ark. Only eight souls entered into the ark; the rest were disobedient.

* It is important to read in the New testament about the end time. It is clear that man will not be lost because he is bad or because he broke God's Law. Man is lost for only one reason; he has deliberately and willfully rejected the gift of God - that is Jesus Christ. John 3:18, explains that those who do not believe will be condemned. It is clear that God is not saying to just accept the name of Christ, or to look at Christ as someone who was sent to just save us.

VI. To accept Christ we must use Him as an example for our lives.

* Mark 16:15, discusses belief and unbelief and the resulting consequences.

* The question always arises, is everyone saved? In Romans 5:15-18, we notice two things that Paul says about us in Christ, that is not said about us in Adam.

1.) Paul refers to our position in Christ as a gift. A gift cannot be enjoyed until we receive it. The gift is for all men; whoever believes will enjoy the blessing.

2.) Paul uses the phrase "much more", when referring to Christ. In Christ we receive "much more" than we lost in Adam. God does not simply reverse what was done in Adam, He gives much more in Christ.

Thank God that Jesus Christ was willing to link Himself with us, to redeem us not only from Adam and our personal sins, but to give us much more than we ever lost in Adam. May we be blessed as we wrestle with the scripture, so we can know the truth and be set free!

THE TWO ADAM'S.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Twelve)

Recommended reading Romans 5:15-18.

The truth of the two Adam's, is one of the most neglected doctrines of the scriptures. The understanding of this doctrine is one of the most important in relation to the proper understanding of the gospel. If this doctrine is properly understood and applied by God's people, it will do at least three things. First, it would cure the church of legalism in all of its' forms. Secondly, we would be cured of the antinomianism, the cheap grace that has infiltrated the Church of God. Cheap grace simply means that Christ did it all, and we can live as we like. The gospel does not give us that liberty. Thirdly, there will be a revival and a reformation in the Church of God that will brighten the earth with God's glory. Our lives will change completely, if we properly understand these scriptures.

I. Adam is a type or form of Jesus Christ.

* Adam is a type of Christ in only one sense - what Adam did affected all mankind. Likewise - what Christ did affected all mankind.

* The two lives were parallel, but they were opposite in what they did and what they accomplished. Adam sinned; Christ obeyed. Adam brought condemnation and death; Christ brought justification unto life.

II. It is important to know when we, in fact, entered into life.

* Did our life begin at our conception or in Adam? Genesis 2:7, addresses this issue.

* God breathed into Adam the breath of life. The word life, in the Hebrew text, is in the plural form. God breathed into Adam the breath of lives.

* God created all men out of one as, explained in Acts 17:26. We are the multiplication of Adam's life. We were all alive in Adam. The life that was passed from Adam to us was a life that has sinned, a life that is condemned, a life that legally has no right to live.

III. The opposite of our life in Adam is our life in Christ.

* Christ is the second or the last Adam. The obedience of Christ can legally be credited to us. All mankind obeys in Christ. Every one of us died in Christ, II Corinthians 5:14. All men died in one man.

* The central theme of Paul's theology is the In Christ theme. The central theme of the bible is that God is creating man in His image and man will be a part of His family forever. The heart of the message of righteousness by faith, is to be in Christ.

* In Romans 5:15-18, there are two things that Paul says about our situation in Christ, that he does not apply to Adam.

1.) Paul refers to the obedience of Christ which justifies us, by using the phrase, "free gift". The term is applied only to Christ and never to Adam. A free gift cannot be enjoyed, until we receive it. What is true of us in Adam is not a gift, it belongs to us by native right. We are not naturally in Christ, that is a gift. We can reject that gift; we cannot reject being in Adam.

2.) The phrase, "much more". What we receive in Christ is much more than what we lost in Adam. It is awesome, what we receive in Christ.

* Romans 5:15, explains that Christ did not do the same thing that Adam did. The word offense in this scripture refers to Adam's sin. The word is in the singular, referring to the one sin that Adam committed. The sin that brought death to all men. God then gave us a free gift, a gift that he defines as grace. Grace is doing something very special for your enemy, as defined in Romans 5:6-10.

IV. What Adam did brought death to many; what Christ did was a gift to many.

* Christ did not just cancel out Adam's sin. Christ's death canceled Adam's sins plus our sins, past, present, and future. That is not all that Christ did. The cancellation of sin did not save us.

* The Bible is clear that only the righteous can be in the Kingdom of God. The cancellation of sin does not make us righteous, it makes us neutral. The state that Adam was in before the fall was one of neutrality. Christ did much more than simply cancel sin; Christ also brought in justification. We see in Romans 5:18, that Christ brought justification to life.

* Christ took care of the sin problem and in Him we are righteous. We stand perfect before God and His Holy Law. Christ is a mirror of the Law, the truth, and the love of God our Father.

V. Adam's sin did not just bring condemnation unto death.

* Adam's sin brought death as a conqueror as defined in Romans 5:17. The word reign means to rule over.

* There is only one man who conquered death and that is Jesus Christ. Christ did more than the opposite of what Adam did. Adam brought death; Christ brought much more than just life. The last part of verse 17 says that, we will reign in life.

* We are joint heirs with Christ; Christ will share with us His throne. In Revelation 20:6, The believers will be blessed to have part in the first resurrection over which the second death has no power. We will have already died the second death in Christ, and we have accepted that.

* We shall not just have eternal life, we shall reign with Him. When Christ redeems us, Ephesians 2:6, Christ will take us and share His throne with us. We have an awesome future in the family of God. We have justification of life as Paul explains in Romans 5:18. We are qualified for life in Jesus Christ.

* One man legally condemned all men. One man legally redeemed all men. God so loved the world, everyone, that whosoever believed should not perish. In Christ, the whole world stands legally justified unto life. Justification of life is a gift that has to be received. If we do not receive it, it is not effective.

VI. The first Adam's offense brought mankind under the first and second death.

* The first death being a necessity because of the gospel, the second death being the actual wages of sin.

* If there was no gospel, there would be no first death. If we look at the Hebrew text in Genesis 2:17, God said, the day you sin you are dead.

* The reason Adam and Eve did not die the same day; was that there was a lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world. Legally, Adam had no right to live one minute after he sinned. If Adam would have died, all would have died in him.

* The actual death that came to Adam because of disobedience, is the second death. Apparently, God did not discuss with Adam the two deaths. Adam only knew of one death.

* Adam had a conditional immortality. The condition was, if you obey you will live; if you disobey, you will die forever.

VII. Christ's obedience did several things for all mankind.

* Christ's obedience saved all humanity from the second death.

* Christ's death did not save us from the first death. The wages of sin is the second death. When Christ bore the curse of the Law, Christ bore the second death. Christ tasted death for all men as stated in Hebrews 2:9. In II Timothy 1:10, Christ abolished death and brought to light immortality and life.

* Christians must die the first death. We do not need to mourn as an unbeliever, the first death is only sleep. It is a short wait for the resurrection. We see in Revelation 20:6, for those who accept Christ, the second death will have no power because Jesus Christ abolished that death.

* There are two things that are very important for us to understand about God's gift to us.

1.) Salvation from the second death.

2.) The verdict of justification to life is God's supreme gift in Christ to humanity.

These two things constitute the good news of the gospel. This is what Jesus commissioned His disciples to go and tell the world.

VIII. God the father wants the world to know that He rewrote history in His Son.

* In that history man has been liberated from the second death and has received eternal life.

* We must receive the gift to enjoy the gift. The gift is of value once you accept it; if you refuse the gift you cannot enjoy it.

* Those who knowingly, willfully, and persistently reject God's gift of salvation in Christ, are deliberately choosing the second death instead of eternal life. Since God is a just God, in the judgment, He will give everyone as they choose. At that point Adam cannot be blamed. Christ canceled the death that pertained to Adam, as well as our own personal sin. The only person to blame is ourselves.

* The only reason man is lost is because of unbelief. The one sin God cannot forgive is unbelief. All has to do with our willingness to lay our life down and accept Christ. The definition which Christ gave for sin is in John 16:9, unbelief. Hebrews 10:26-27, if we willfully sin there no longer remains a sacrifice. There will be judgment and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. The third angel of Revelation discusses the mark of the beast, which is unbelief. If the Sabbath is a sign of belief, what is the sign of unbelief? You will receive the wrath of God poured out without mercy.

* Hebrews 10:28. describes the punishment for those who deliberately, willfully, and persistently reject the gospel.

Jesus said that before the end comes, the gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world. When is the end? The biblical end of mankind is not until the latter part of the millennium. We do our part at this time for a witness. We must present the two Adam's because whether we are saved or lost depends to which humanity we belong; to the humanity in Adam, or to the humanity initiated in Christ. When we have accepted our position in Christ, we have said good-bye to Adam. When we say good-bye to Adam, we say good-bye to sin. When we choose Christ, we accept life and righteousness!

THE REIGN OF SIN AND GRACE.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Thirteen)

Recommended Reading - Romans 5:19-21.

When we study this letter we need to be in the same frame of mind as Paul was when he wrote to the Christians in Rome. We should not have preconceived ideas; rather, we should try to clearly understand what Paul is explaining. A number of very important issues are covered in this letter to the Romans. While studying these scriptures many experience a problem of feeling guilty. We need to understand that according to the New Testament, we are guilty only if we willfully and deliberately reject the gift of God, which is Jesus Christ. It is at that point that we become responsible.

I. Paul ad's another dimension to our problem and to our solution.

* We see in Romans 5:19, that Adam's sin not only brings the condemnation of death, but it also made us sinners.

* The same words are used when describing how we are in Adam, as are used when describing how we are in Christ.

* No human being will be in the literal family of God, apart from the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are made sinners by Adam's sin, therefore we are born sinners. Our sins are the fruit of what we already are. We commit sins because we are already sinners.

* When Paul addresses the Christians in Corinth, he refers to them as saints. Their behavior was anything but saintly. Paul called them saints because in Christ they were already righteous. The righteousness that God produces in us, is the evidence or fruit of what we are in Christ.

* We are righteous because of the righteousness of Christ. We ourselves are not yet made righteous. We will be made righteous at the second coming of Christ, when this corruption puts on incorruption. Then and only then will all who accept Christ be made righteous. Until then the just shall live by faith. Justification and sanctification are, by faith alone.

II. Paul proves an important point in Romans 5:20.

* The question often asked is, what did Paul mean when he said the Law entered? God introduced the Law to Moses and the Law entered the promise. The promise was one that was made to Abraham.
* God's Law is eternal; it did not just enter into God's mind. God introduces the Law as a part or a qualification of the promise He was making to Israel. It was the first time God wrote the Law in a codified form.

* The Law and principles of God are eternal and will never change. God's Sabbath has always existed, and will always exist. God did not give the Law as an extra requirement to faith.

* The Law entered that the offense might abound. When you first read that, you might think that God gave the Law to increase sin. In the scripture the word offense is singular; therefore, the word offense refers to Adam's sin. Adam's sin made us sinners. God gave the Law to prove that Adam's sin made the human race sinners. Sinners all produce sin; the Law tells us that we are sinners. Paul stated in Romans 7:7, that he did not know sin except for the Law. God is not a sinner. We are sinners by nature and the Law shows us that to be true.

III. Christ learned obedience by the things He suffered.

* Christ learned obedience because through His humanity, the part of Him that was human had a different will than God. What Christ wanted, as a human, was to do those things that are important to the flesh. Christ chose not to do that; He learned obedience.

* The Logos never had a problem with obedience. The nature of the Logos was the same as God for the Logos was God. The Logos naturally did the Law because the Law was a manifestation of the nature of, or the mind of, and the heart and core of God. There was no pull; it was natural.

* Once the Logos became a human being, He then learned obedience by suffering. The opposite end of that is we have not learned what it is like to naturally be God. We have learned and only know a sinful nature.

* God opened our eyes to the Law to show us that we are sinners, so that we may accept His grace, which is His Son Jesus Christ. The Law did not make us sin. The Law simply took the lid off of our self respectability, and showed us what we are like inside.

* The only way that our nature can change is at a rebirth. The rebirth does nor occur through an emotional tickling in your heart. The rebirth occurs, as was described to Nicodemus, in stating that: what is of the flesh is flesh, and what is of the Spirit is Spirit. John 3:6.

IV. What God did in Christ was super abundance.

* We see this point in the second half of Romans 5:20. God not only canceled Adam's sin, He canceled our sin's, past, present, and future.

* God not only canceled sin, He brought in the verdict of justification to life for all men. God also condemned sin in the flesh. Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.

* In view of these points, Paul states in Romans 5:21, Adam brought into this world a rein of sin. We were born under that rein. If we remain in that condition, we will die eternally. We cannot change that fact. Paul says that we do not need to remain there, because there is a new reign established in Christ Jesus. If we move to that reign, letting righteousness be produced in us, the end will be eternal life. That is a tremendous and awesome blessing.

* Paul clarifies a point that is not clear in Romans 5:19-21, by using two terms concerning Christ, that are found in I Corinthians 15:45-47. One term, applied to Christ, is that He is the last Adam. Christ is also referred to as the second man. These two terms are very significant. As the last Adam, Christ gathered to Himself all that is of the first Adam. That is every single one of us. Christ gathered all mankind. Christ did away with the Adamic race at the cross. The life of Adam had to die.

V. The Law was not affected one way or the other by Christ.

* The Law was not altered, changed or sidetracked by Christ. Christ simply fulfilled the Law; Christ did not end the Law.

* At the resurrection the human race will be raised in Christ with a new life. The life will be eternal and immortal. I John 5:11, explains that we will be raised with eternal life in Jesus Christ.

* Christ rose with a new human race who were redeemed from the old. In this sense Paul can say in II Corinthians 5:17, that if any man is in Christ, he is a new creation.

* Adam's sin brought death to mankind. Christ's obedience brought the gift of grace. We will rule with Christ for eternity. Christ's perfect righteousness brought the justification to life to all humanity.

VI. We have the opportunity to be in the family of God and to live eternally.

* We will be made righteous with a glorified nature, at the second coming of Christ. We will literally be born again.

* We must apply this message to our lives. There are three very important points relative to this.

1.) Every baby is born under the reign of sin, condemnation, and death, because of the fall of Adam. If we continue to live under this reign, we will end up with eternal death. There is no reason why we should remain under this reign, because Christ has made a way of escape. To deliberately remain under this reign, is to ask for eternal death. We can no longer blame Adam, as we are no longer lost because of Adam's sin - that was canceled by Christ. We are lost if we deliberately, willfully and persistently reject the gift of God. Repentance is the process through which this change takes place. In the judgment, the real issue is not the sin question, but the Son question.
In the judgment our sin's will not be reviewed and discussed; what will be discussed is whether we are in the Son of God - Jesus Christ.

2.) You are born in Adam, but you cannot choose to remain in Adam and at the same time accept, by faith, to be in Christ. These two men represent two opposite camps. One represents sin; one represent righteousness. One represents death; one represents life. We must change our position from Adam to Christ. Our citizenship is in heaven. We live in the world but we are no longer of it. We should not participate in it and in it's ways. We cannot be in Adam and in Christ at the same time.

3.) Our eternal destiny depends upon which humanity we have chosen. When the Bible uses the word unbelief as a sin, or in the New testament as the unpardonable sin, it means a deliberate choosing to remain in Adam and in the reign of sin.

* After the gospel has come to us, and if we deliberately choose to remain in Adam, the motto would be: eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you will die. Do not expect to enjoy sin and be in the family of God at the same time. You must come out of sin. Belief is willfully choosing to be in Christ and the reign of righteousness. The master we have chosen, we must serve. That master is either sin unto death, or righteousness unto life.

God put us in Christ over 2000 years ago. He rewrote our history in Christ; in Him we stand perfect. God looks at us as if we had never sinned. We have a new life, a new position, and, a new destiny. God says, will you please accept it? If we say yes, Jesus will say to us what He said in John 5:24; we will pass from death to life. Build your Christianity upon this platform. Christianity is not joining a denomination or becoming a church member, that will not save you. Christianity is the truth of baptism; the truth is, dying and being buried in Christ. Then you are resurrected to newness of life in Christ. Choose Christ to be your righteousness, your life, your savior and your hope. We must build upon the platform of - not Adam but Christ!

BAPTIZED INTO CHRIST.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Fourteen)

Recommended reading - Romans 6:1-6.

Paul, in Romans 6:1-2, strongly condemns those who continue in sin, try to take advantage of the death of Christ and of the grace of God. Paul describes baptism as a death. It is very important that we understand the meaning of baptism. The clearest explanation of the significance of baptism is in Romans 6:3-6. Most individuals who have been baptized have done so by using the correct mode of immersion, or being buried according to verse 4. Many have had the correct mode, but have not understood the truth and the real meaning of baptism. The mode is correct only when it signifies the truth. Baptize is from the Greek - baptizo, which means to be buried in water. Baptism is the public confession of a very special experience to the believer.

I. Baptism is necessary for people to be saved.

* Baptism, belief and being saved, Mark 16:15-16.

* Baptism, as an act, is usually done by a Pastor, a teacher, or another led by God. Notice Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:26-40. Philip was not an ordained minister or a Pastor, he was an individual led by God. Jesus Christ through, His Spirit, gives to us the gifts of the Spirit enabling us to do as He desires.

* God was with Philip so he did not need the ordination of an individual or an organization, he was given the responsibility directly from Jesus Christ. Philip taught Jesus Christ to the eunuch. Philip baptized the Ethiopian.

* What happened to the eunuch after his baptism? Did he join an organization or a church? To whom did he go and submit himself? It is amazing what we have come up with in this modern time, after 2000 years of corrupting the basic truth of the Bible.

* We need to analyze where we have allowed ourselves to be led regarding to these very issues, as noted above.

* The act of baptism is not limited to an ordained ministry. as to whom can baptize. Paul performed few actual baptisms. Whoever baptizes does so in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

II. True baptism is not done by a Minister, a Deacon, or any other man.

* Baptism, of a truth, is done by Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit of God, as we see in Matthew 3:11. We are baptized by the Father, by the Son, and with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes into us to lead and to guide us.

* Paul states the true significance of baptism in I Corinthians 12: 13. The act of Baptism does not save; it is the truth that saves.

* We are baptized by one Spirit into the body of Christ. The foundation of baptism is found in Romans 6:3.

* Baptism is always into Christ Jesus. It is not into a church or into a denomination. There is not one denomination or organization that can save you. Only Jesus Christ can save you.

* Paul explains the meaning of being baptized into Christ Jesus in Galations 3:27. We have been clothed with Christ and become one with Him, when we are baptized. In order for Christ to be our Savior, and for our salvation to become effective, Christ had to identify Himself. In our case we must identify ourselves with Christ. It has to be reciprocal because God is love. God has redeemed all men in Christ. Redemption can only become effective, when we accept identification with the holy history of Jesus Christ.

* God states that I have given to you My Son at infinite cost to me; but, He is a gift. You can accept the gift or you can reject the gift. Jesus says in John 15, abide in Me and I in you. It is a two way relationship for the picture to be complete.

III. Salvation is made effective in a personal way by faith and baptism.

* We notice in the last part of Romans 3:6, that our union with Christ and our baptism is not vague, it is very specific. We are baptized into the death of Christ. We accept the death of Christ as our death.

* Paul explains in Romans 6:10, the kind of death that Christ died. The death was to sin. The Law of God says the wages of sin is death. It is a tragedy when anyone tries to do away with the legal framework of the Atonement. Some try to do away with the fact that the violation of the Law (or that the wages of sin) is death. The breaking of the Law demands a death as we see in Hebrews 9:22.

IV. Christ did not come to change the death sentence.

* If Christ came to change the death sentence, He would be breaking His own Law. The Law demands a death sentence for those that violate the Law.

* Christ came and fulfilled that death sentence; Christ died to sin. He had met the justice of the Law. When Christ arose, He left sin in the grave forever.

* Our sins had separated Christ from God; Christ had no sins of His own. Sin separated Christ from God, as sin separates us from God. Sin causes the separation from God. When that separation occurs, we are separated from the source of life, peace, joy, and happiness. That is why Christ cried out in agony, with sweat of blood.

* The separation was the ultimate agony for Christ. He had experienced tremendous pain up to that point. The ultimate agony was the separation from God. When Christ cried out , "Father ,Father, why have you forsaken me", He was experiencing the curse of the Law. This statement is not calling Christ accursed because of His own sins. Christ was under the curse because he carried our sins. Christ accepted that curse for us. Christ is resurrected and He is blessed of the Almighty God. He was under the curse and separated, but never again will He be separated from His Father.

V. A Christian is baptized into Christ's death.

* We are baptized into Christ and say in our heart good-bye to sin, as Paul explains in Romans 6:11. Our lives of sin have been nailed to the cross.

* God will not separate Himself from those who have been baptized into Christ. There will only be a separation for those that ultimately and persistently reject the gift of God. God will withdraw, and when that occurs the source of life is gone, and all is over.

* The very begetal at conversion is a rare experience in this age in which we live. The churches today are often perplexed because many do not really experience that change inside, in the very heart and core of their being. Many don't experience that true baptism and indwelling of the Holy Spirit, because they don't understand the truth of God. Many are in the church, but not in Christ!

* When one is interested in baptism, one must be confronted with the cross of Christ. An individual must understand the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ. We die and are buried with Christ. Once this has occurred, we are told in the last part of Romans 6:4, to walk in newness of life. We, at that point, should speak as the Apostle Paul spoke in Galations 2:20; we are crucified with Christ.

* Romans 6:7 states that once we die, we are freed from sin. The word freed is used three times in this chapter. The first time is in verse 7, the second time is in verse 18, the third time is in verse 22. Verses 18 and 22, use a different word from the one used in verse 7. The word used in verse 7, is the same word Paul used in Acts 13:39. The word freed used in verse 7, is translated as justified in Acts 13:39. Paul is saying he that is dead is justified from sin. We are no longer under the rulership of sin, because sin has died.

* Sin which has ruled over us has been crucified with Christ. The Law says the soul that sins must die. The moment we are born into the world, the Law of God says, we must die.

* We are born on death row because of the fall and sin of Adam. The Law is relentless; the Law will not give up until we die. Once we die the Law is satisfied. Once we die in Christ, the Law cannot come after us.

VI. We are one with Christ

* Paul describes this oneness in Romans 6:5.

* When our baptism is genuine, our resurrection is absolutely guaranteed. In this world we begin with life and end in death. That is the natural order of things. In the gospel it is the opposite. We begin with death and end with life, as Paul explains in Romans 6:8. The word if, in this scripture, means that if we don't die we don't live. Paul gave a very strong message to Timothy regarding this very matter. We see Paul's statement in II Timothy 2:11. If we die with Christ we will live with Christ.

* We have to come to the understanding and reality that, it is not I, but Christ.

* We should fall on our knees before the Great God knowing that, we must have Christ living in us. We still struggle with sin, but in our heart we say good-bye to sin.

* One thing is clear, there is no resurrection with Christ unless we first die with Him. Paul describes our old life in Romans 6:6. The old life, that we were born with, is condemned and must die. The original Greek in this scripture properly stated, is that the body of sin would be deprived of its' power and is rendered powerless.

* Paul tells us not to walk in the flesh but in the Spirit. Galatians 5:24, states that we have crucified the flesh with all its' desires. The human body will be deprived of the power to sin.

* The very life of Christ, a life of love, of caring, and of self-giving can live in us today. The world needs to see this life.

VII. Paul links the experience of the Jews with salvation.

* We see this link in I Corinthians 10:2-5. The Jews who crossed the Red Sea were baptized into Moses. Moses was a type of Christ. We see the symbolism of the New Testament Passover. They ate and they drank the spiritual food. The Rock, what they ate and drank, was Christ.

* The exodus, out of Egypt, was a symbol of salvation. Egypt represents the world; Pharaoh represents Satan; crossing the Red Sea represents baptism. The Jews are headed to Canaan, (the Promised land). The Jews are living on the spiritual food, the body, and the blood of Christ.

* A problem developed because they did not say good-bye to the life in Egypt. While they were physically out of Egypt, their hearts were still in Egypt. They wished they could go back. Their baptism was a sham and they all died in the wilderness.

God did not bring Israel back to Canaan until they were properly baptized. God told Joshua in Joshua 4:1-9, that the life lived in Egypt, and which was brought with the Jews from Egypt, could not go into Canaan. That life must be buried in the Jordan River. The life that was resurrected must be taken to the Promised land. The Jordan River becomes the true baptism. That is why Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River rather than the Red Sea. If we were buried alive then our baptism was a sham. We must understand God's truth about baptism and we must now surrender to the cross of Jesus Christ.

THE DANGER OF LIBERTINISM.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Fifteen)

Recommended reading Romans 6:1-13.

A study, about the cross and death of our savior, creates in us a real appreciation for Jesus Christ. We develop an understanding about His death and the fact that He was willing to say good-bye to life. A proper understanding about His death, produces in us a hatred for sin and what it did to Christ as our Savior. We also gain a better understanding of righteousness by faith, which helps us in our study into the Book of Romans. Paul is a logical and a well educated writer. He was one of the most qualified individuals to deliver the message, that God directed Him to deliver. We gain an insight into the gospel which Paul details more than the other writers. The study into Romans 6, deals with the dangers that comes with preaching the everlasting gospel. The danger comes from people twisting the message. The everlasting gospel is just that, it is the everlasting covenant that has always existed and will always exist.

I. Satan does not want us to understand the gospel.

* Satan doesn't want us to have a clear understanding about the love of God. A love that is everlasting, unconditional, and never changes.

* Satan does not want us to know about or to understand the gospel. Paul tells us that this would occur in II Corinthians 4:3-4. Satan has counterfeited many things including the very gospel message. When we look at the two counterfeits of the gospel, we see how so many, including ourselves, could fall for them. Satan is very clever.

II. The true gospel has been counterfeited.

* The first counterfeit Paul addressed in Romans 4, is called legalism. Legalism in many ways resembles the gospel. Legalists talk about the Law. The gospel certainly includes the Law. God did not change, destroy, or do away with the Law. The law is involved, but living by the Law, and trying to add anything to salvation, to grace, or to the gift of God results in legalism. You cannot earn salvation. You cannot even earn the truth by your faith; you only accept truth by your faith.

* The second counterfeit has several names. One name often used is libertinism or anti- nomianism. Anti meaning against and nomianism is the Law. Sometimes libertinism is also referred to as cheap grace. We have seen that the gospel is the righteousness of God, and that in the holy history of Christ everything necessary for us to be in the family of God is already fulfilled.
* Libertinism states, that since I am already saved by the doing and the dying of Christ, surely I have the liberty to do what I want and what I like. The gospel and its' free gift of salvation is now used as an excuse to sin. As we now look at Romans 6, it will become very clear that this is not true.

* Liberty and license are not the same thing. Yes, the gospel sets me free, but not free to do what ever I please. Freedom means responsibility.

* Religion and churches are very much like the governments of the world; rarely, do they tell what we should hear or the whole truth. They will share with you what you want to hear and will go headlong into what has already been predetermined. Paul does not keep the truth from us. He tells us the truth - to be free in Christ is not a license to do what we want.

III. A misunderstanding of the gospel message is dangerous.

* There are some wonderful statements in the gospel but improper understanding can be dangerous. The dangerous misunderstanding of the statements has led some teachers to not even quote them. One such statement is in Romans 5:20. Paul meant by this statement that no matter how terrible a sinner you are, the gospel can save you. The gift and grace of God abounds far more than sin. The problem is that all of us not only have a sinful nature, even after conversion, we also have a nature that loves sin. We cannot deceive ourselves.

* Our converted mind might hate sin, but our nature will love sin to our dying day. When we read the wonderful statement that Paul made, we could pervert and corrupt that statement by saying that grace is so wonderful that the more I sin, the more grace will cancel my sin. Let us keep on sinning that grace may abound; Paul does not mean that. The flesh will tell you and lead you to believe that this is what Paul means. We pervert Paul's statements for our own personal benefit.

* A second statement is found in Romans 6:14. Paul did mean the 10 Commandments, when he said you are not under the Law but under grace, Paul meant that every time you fall the Law cannot condemn you, sin no longer has authority to execute you. Paul talks about the sting of death in I Corinthians 15:56. Sin gets its' authority to kill us from the law. If you are no longer under the Law, sin cannot do that to you.

* You are free from the condemnation of the Law and its' curse. Under the Law the soul that sins must die. To a Christian the Law cannot say that to us because we are under grace. It is truly good news; but it also can be dangerous news. The danger that we deal with is, since the law cannot condemn you, you can now do both what you want and like to do. The flesh will say keep on sinning; you are no longer under the Law, you are under grace. Notice, being under grace does not give you that liberty. The answer Paul gave to that wrong line of reasoning is "God forbid", it is unthinkable. Paul starts to deal with the danger of the wrong thinking.

IV. Satan does not care whether your legalistic or believe in anti-nomianism.

* He will often sway you from one counterfeit extreme to the other. The two camps often battle it out with each other and neither is correct.

* A legalist always looks good from the outside. Performance is always good. The problem is inward. Christ condemned that behavior as hypocritical.

* Anti-nomianism is outward. You can see the problems, so there is a hope of correction. Both belong to Satan; what we want is the truth as it is in Christ.

* Paul deals with anti-nomianism in Romans 6:1. We have submitted our lives to Christ. The phrase died to sin appears three times in Romans 6:1-13. The first use in Verse 2, applies to the believer. It appears the second time in verse 10, and applies to Christ. Our subjective experience is always based on an objective truth. The truth is the historical Christ. Christ not only died, He brought an end to sin. Sin is eliminated.

V. When Christ comes the second time, he will not deal with the sin problem.

* Christ has already dealt with sin on the cross. When Christ returns, He will come without sin unto salvation.

* When Christ arose from the dead, he left sin and death in the grave forever, as is stated in Romans 6:9. The second half of Romans 6:10, details the life which Christ now lives. Christ now will never again have to experience the God abandonment that our sins produced on the cross.

* A Christian is one who has accepted his identity with Christ. In Christ we are redeemed. We are united in the death of Christ and in His resurrection, as Paul states in Romans 6:5. We have the past tense for death and the future tense for the resurrection. We have died to sin, and in the future, we will live with Christ.

* If we want to live with Christ, we must die with Him. If we die with Christ, we have left our sin in the grave. The grave is not a sepulcher, it is the water into which we were baptized.

* We leave sin in the grave. Paul says if you have died to sin, how can you then say it is all right to sin. You are contradicting your righteousness by faith to say such a thing.

* Paul makes a very interesting comment in Romans 6:7. Paul does not say you are free to sin, he states that you are freed from sin. In Romans 6, Paul is not dealing with performance, rather with the attitude toward sin.

* Even though we have said good-bye to sin in our heart, we still may fall and make mistakes. We still struggle and fall. A Christian's performance must never be because of condoning sin.

* A Christian should always have a negative attitude toward sin. A Christian cannot say it is all right to sin just because he died to sin. Romans 6:11, states that a Christian should consider himself dead to sin. Once we accept Christ, Romans 6:12, tells us that we cannot let sin rule or reign over us.

VI. Paul tells us that in Christ sin no longer has dominion over us.

* We are to enjoy and apply our freedom.

* We do not have to go along with Satan or sin. Do not let sin rule over our bodies.

* We are now alive and Paul tells us how we should present ourselves in Romans 6:13.

Imagine what would happen if we really surrendered ourselves to this truth. We would not have to worry about legalism or compromises in our lives. We should remind ourselves daily, who we are in Christ. We are dead to sin, no longer does it have the authority to rule over us. We are not only dead to sin, we are alive to God. Let God's Spirit lead and guide us and give us power. Let God be our ruler. He is a benevolent loving father, who loves us eternally and will give to us everything that is good.

NOT UNDER LAW - UNDER GRACE.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Sixteen)

Recommended reading - Romans 6:14-15.

Many Christians feel that they are still under the Law. We need to find out what exactly Paul meant when he said that Christians are no longer under the Law but under grace. God has only one way of saving mankind and that is by grace alone. Paul did not mean that the Law was done away with and replaced by grace. Grace and Law are not antagonistic. God is the author of the Law; God is also the author of grace. If grace and Law are antagonistic, then God is against Himself, which is not the case. The definition of righteousness is the Law. The Law defines what righteousness is. The Law refers to both covenants. The difference is that in the Old Covenant man had to fulfill the Law; hence, no one was saved by the Law. In the New Covenant God fulfills the Law to save us. Grace and Law are compatible. Both covenants include the Law.

I. Paul uses the Law as a criteria of righteousness but not salvation.

* We see in Galatians 5:13-14, that Paul uses the obeys the Law in terms of Christian living.

* Paul says we are free in Galatians 4:4-5. Christ came into the world under the Law. In Romans 6:14, Paul states that we are no longer under the Law because Christ freed us from under the Law.

* Paul told the Galatians, who had given up righteousness by faith and had gone back to being under the Law, to stand fast under the umbrella of grace.

II. Paul is not against the Law; he is against legalism.

* He was against the thought that your keeping of the Law gives salvation or adds to your salvation.

* We should not misuse our freedom from being under the Law. We must love one another, which is fulfilling the Law. We see this clearly in Galatians 5:14.

* We are all under sin and all under Law. When these two are put together we have a terrible picture. The whole world is guilty.

* Sin receives its' power to kill from the Law, as is explained in I Corinthians 15:56. The only time it is a problem to be under the Law is, when you are a sinner. The sinner who is under the Law is a person who is condemned. Christ delivered us from being under sin. We should have peace and assurance. We should always ask God for forgiveness but, we should not walk around with the feeling of condemnation. Once we repent and accept Jesus Christ, we move from being in Adam to being in Christ.

III. Once we are in Christ, we are no longer condemned.

* We are not condemned every time we fall or make a mistake. Many feel condemned. God knows that our flesh loves sin. We try to fool God by saying, that is not the case. God will not be deceived or fooled.

* God delivered us so that we might have peace. Do not let a false understanding of grace become a danger to lead you to believe that it is all right to sin.

* Under grace you are free, but not do simply, do as you choose. Paul answers a very important question in Romans 6:15. God Forbid that we should continue in sin.

* We do need to keep the Law. The Sabbath and all of the commandments are important to us and we should keep every one of them. The Law is relevant to us. God is not giving us the freedom to simply disregard His Law.

* We must understand that God is not concerned with our performance; rather, why we do what we do. God is concerned with our motive.

* Christians serve God for a different reason from the reason the pagans serve their gods. Christians serve God with appreciation, love, joy and peace. Christians do not serve God with the wrong kind of fear. We need to obey God, and understand that our works have nothing to do with our salvation. We see in Hebrews 8:10, that God does not put His Law back on the tables of stone which He freed us from; but He puts His Law into our hearts. God makes the Law part of our desire.

IV. Through the Spirit of God, we have a love for His Law.

* We are not afraid or worried, as we now have a desire and a love for the Law of God.

* There are many wonderful and beautiful things to enjoy within the Law of God.

* The Sabbath is a wonderful a wonderful part of God's Law, a beautiful time that pictures what God is doing, where we are going, and the state in which God has always lived.

* The observing of the Sabbath and all of God's ways enables us to come out of this terrible world to celebrate and to honor God in a special way.

* The ways of God are a true blessing.
V. There are many privileges and advantages to being under grace.

* A special privilege is that every time you fall, you do not become unjustified. That is good news. That does not give you the liberty to do what you want. Under the Law the sinner suffers when he sins. The Law does not love you or sympathize with you. Grace does not ignore or excuse sin. Grace is righteous and just, therefore it can't ignore or excuse sin. Under grace the sinner does not suffer, it is the author of grace - Jesus Christ who suffers. We need to let that sink into our minds.

* Christ came under the Law. We are no longer under the Law; we are under Christ. We are under grace. Christ obeyed the Law perfectly. Our position in Him eliminates the condemnation. Christ is the end of the Law as stated in Romans 10:4. Christ is the means through which we can understand the law for righteousness to those who believe.

* In Christ we obey the Law. We have righteousness in Christ. That is good news. We have peace and assurance. Christians don't do good or keep the Law to escape punishment; Christian are free from that problem. Christians do good because they are servants of God.

* When Satan accuses us before God, we can claim that we are in Christ; therefore, we have righteousness. We are servants of God and of Jesus Christ who is the author of righteousness, not sin. We should therefore obey the Law and not sin. Sin has results: under Law it punishes the sinner; under grace it punishes the author of grace. To sin under grace indicates that it is all right for Christ to be crucified. Sin to a Christian is not simply breaking a commandment, it is killing Christ. The Old Testament taught this very fact to the believer. When the believer sinned, he brought a lamb to the Sanctuary and the Priest gave him a knife. The sinner did not kill himself, he killed the lamb. The sinner confessed that his sins killed the lamb.

* We cannot treat sin lightly under grace, because when we do, we kill Christ. We must learn to hate sin for what it is, and what it does to our savior. Never take sin or grace lightly.

* A difference of being under grace, as compared to being under the Law, is that being under the Law we did good for two reasons. We did it out of fear of punishment or a desire for reward.

* We no longer look at the Law as a bunch of do's and don'ts. We look at the character of our Savior and say, this is how I want to be. We want to be like Jesus Christ.

* Grace not only frees us from condemnation and the curse, it is the power that makes it possible to keep the Law. Paul told the Corinthians, that he was what he was, by the grace of God.

VI. Our faith needs to be alive.

* James 2:15-26, gives an example of how we can do good. James talks about a living as compared to a dead faith.

* If your faith is alive, you will obey God as a fruit of that faith. The works that you do show what kind of faith you have.

* If you do not obey God, the faith of God is not in you. The faith of God will inspire and empower you to obey God.

* The works of Abraham showed that he had the faith to be justified. By works, faith is perfected so we can go beyond the faith of just believing God, we can also obey God. It was not works that made Abraham the friend of God, it was his belief and his faith. Works only showed and proved that very fact. Faith without power and works is dead.

* Works do not save us, they show our faith. It is only when we understand these very crucial points of grace that we can understand the words of David. David stated to God - "against you and you only have I sinned." David put Christ on the cross; he hurt his Savior. David asked God to create in him a clean heart. When Joseph was tempted he did not say I cannot do this because I will be punished. He said, how can I do this sin against my God. We should have this very attitude toward sin.

* The day you say good-bye to grace by deliberately, willfully, and persistently saying, "I don't want Christ anymore," is the day you are cursed and condemned.

VII. Satan does not want us to believe in Jesus Christ and grace.

* Satan has been successful in doing this by perverting the gospel. One way he has done this is to falsely have us understand, that salvation is partly of Christ and partly of us.

* Grace and Law are partners, grace and sin are never partners. Paul states in Galatians 5:4, that if you are trying to be justified by the Law, you are alienated from Christ. You have fallen away from grace.

* In Christ we have righteousness, full and complete. We cannot add to or improve upon that.

* Satan tries to put us under legalism, so that we might believe that we are earning our salvation. Paul answers this in Galatians 5:1, by saying, please do not give up your freedom in Christ. Verse 4, says that if you use the Law as a means of salvation, you have fallen from grace.

VIII. Satan dangles the trinkets of the world in front of our eyes.

* Satan tries to pull us away by the cares and offers of the world. He wants the things of the world to become more attractive to us than are the things of God.

* When you are a Christian, you will experience hardships. The Kingdom of God is still in the future; we are living in enemy territory. Satan dangles the trinkets to distract us and pull us away.

* Paul discussed this very problem concerning Demas in II Timothy 4:10. Paul stated that Demas loved the present world and departed.

IX. Satan will also attempt to destroy our position under grace by persecution.

* In many cases this is yet future.

* Satan will make life so difficult it will be tough to bear, and we will want to give up, and go back to the world.

* Jesus said in Matthew 10:22, that the world will hate us; but if we endure to the end we will be saved.

* Our faith can be enhance as we notice in James 2:22. Grace was already perfect, but our faith will be made perfect.

Grace belongs to God; the umbrella of grace belongs to all men. We come under the umbrella by faith. We leave it by unbelief. Never say good-bye to faith. As long as we are true believers, we are under the umbrella of grace and sin has no dominion over us. May God bless us to understand the wonderful privilege of being under grace, to never pervert the truth, and to never use this as an excuse to sin. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be the source of our peace and the source of our Christian living. Enjoy the privilege of being under grace and not under Law. May the privilege of being under grace be seen in the lives of each one of us.

SLAVES OF GOD.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Seventeen)

Recommended reading - Romans 6:16-23.

Slavery was a common practice in the Roman world during Paul's time. Historians estimate that 40 - 60% of the population of the Roman empire were slaves. Paul was able to use the illustration of slavery to get the point of a truth across, concerning grace. Paul begins an illustration in Romans 6:16-23, by using the practice of slavery. The illustration shows that the prior thought, as noted in verse 15, is a contradiction to the gospel. Paul knows that Christians struggle with sin, so he is dealing with, and concerned about, our attitude toward sin.

I. We are slaves.

* We must start with the knowledge that once we are baptized into Christ, we are dead to sin.

* When we start this study in Romans 6:16, there is something that is difficult for many to understand fully. To Americans, freedom is everything. Our forefathers fought for freedom.

* We need to understand that, when we talk in the realm of Spirituality, there is no such thing as total freedom. You are either a slave of sin and Satan, or a slave of God the author of righteousness. We need to face this fact.

* Our natural inheritance is slavery under sin. If there was no gospel, we would have no choice but to be slaves to sin. The gospel has given us a choice as to which of the two will be our master. Paul makes it clear in Romans 7:14, he was sold as a slave to sin.

II. Sin is our master by inheritance.

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* Spiritually, we are all born as slaves to sin. During the time of Paul, many of the Jews lost sight to this fact. In John 8:32, Jesus was telling the Jews that they were under sin, and that they could be freed once they knew the truth.

* Jesus explains what he meant by using the word truth in verse 36. When Christ used the word truth, He was talking about Himself.

* The Jews felt insulted because the were not slaves at the time, and they felt no need to be made free as was covered in verse 33. Jesus tells them in verse 34, that whomever commits sin is a slave.

III. You cannot serve two masters.

* Jesus tells His followers in Matthew 6:24, you cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve God and sin. You have to choose your master.

* You are not concerned for materialistic items, if you seek God. When you seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, all will be supplied to you.

* Before the Gospel came, there was only one master and that was sin. Once the gospel came there were two masters, from which we now have the freedom to choose. Paul is saying in Romans 6:16, if you choose sin as your master, you will sin until sin takes you to the grave. If you choose God and righteousness as your master, then you say good-bye to sin. We look at the two masters; one of sin unto death, and the other of obedience unto righteousness.

* Paul used the word obedience in the comment he made. Obedience is an important aspect of what we do as slaves to Christ. Paul did not use the word faith; to Paul faith is obedience to the truth.

* Paul started this letter to the Romans by saying that he was a servant. The original Greek word should be translated as slave. Paul said he is a slave of Jesus Christ. Paul tells immediately the Roman Christians whom he had chosen as his master. He left no doubt who his master was. Once Paul made that decision, he had to do what Christ told him to do. Paul was separated unto the gospel of God.

* To Paul faith is obedience, and the fundamental definition of faith is obedience. Notice Romans 6:17, Paul states we are slaves to sin; we did not have a choice.

* The Roman Christians obeyed the gospel and many had said their good-bye to slavery to sin. That is also true of us today. In Romans 10, Paul uses the term obedience in a negative manner. He is dealing with the Jews and stating that he is concerned for them because they are lost. The reason they were lost was that they had not obeyed the gospel. We see this point in Romans 10:16. Paul quotes Isaiah in this passage to defend himself. The quotation does not use the word obey, it uses the word believe.

IV. To Paul the words believe and obey are synonymous.

* To obey the gospel is to surrender ourselves and our will to the truth, as it is in Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ we have died.

* Obeying the gospel is to say, "God, I accept the death of Christ as my death." Obeying the gospel is to say, "now Lord I am Your slave, use me and do with me as You want". It is the total surrender of yourself to Jesus Christ. You may say, "I don't want to be a slave".

* Do not fool yourself. If you reject Christ, you are a slave of Satan and sin. You are a slave to one or the other. Your choice is to whom you are a slave.

* You may bluff yourself into believing you are free. If you feel you are free, you need to prove it. Live for one day without sinning in thought, word, and deed. Jesus makes it very plain in John 15:5, that you can do nothing without Him.

V. Slaves to righteousness.

* Paul says in Romans 6:17-18, to thank God. We have been set free from sin and are now slaves of righteousness.

* There is a difference between the two types of slavery. Under sin we have no choice, we do what sin tells us to do. Under Christ, God never uses compulsion. The slavery of God is a slavery of a loving master. Notice in verse 17, we obey from the heart.

* God does not force us. God says to us, "my dear child sin will hurt you, and if it hurts you, it hurts me because I love you". God does not want compulsive obedience or obedience because we are afraid. He wants obedience from the heart. Sin brings pain and God knows that.

* God desires that we change our mind and heart from sinning, and from the pain that sin delivers into our lives. We need to obey the gospel from the heart, and not worry about what we are going to eat and drink. God will take care of us.

VI. Our eternal security is sure, when we are in Jesus Christ.

* Romans 6, ends with the security that we have in Christ. Romans 6:19, Paul says in the part of this verse that, he is speaking in a manner that was not his custom. He was speaking in the fashion of the storytellers who were common in that day. Paul was not using illustration to entertain them as many in that day and many today use. Paul was using that manner of speaking because, they were having a hard time understanding the truth he was expounding.

* Paul went on to say that both forms of slavery are developed. The more you turn your back on Christ, sin develops. Sin hooks you, and once it does, you then have all kinds of problems.

* If you reject the gospel now, you may not have the same opportunity later. Sin can get a hold on you until you may reach the point of no return. Never play with the gospel and postpone your acceptance. Satan continually tries to get you to delay. He does this in particular with the youth, trying to get them to put off accepting Christ, until they are older.
VII. Delaying the acceptance of Christ is a serious deception.

* There is a development of sin, and if you allow sin to continue to develop in you, it will get stronger and stronger. The hold on you will become so strong until you reach the point, like King Saul did, that you cannot turn back. You are finished and it is over.

* Paul says the end result of sin is death in Romans 6:23. In Verse 20, we see that we are incapable of doing genuine righteousness. The sinful man can do many right things but never with the right motive. Only the Christian can produce righteousness without self in it, because he has received the gift of God's unconditional love.

* Romans 6:22-23, say that the two types of slavery have development. When we are slaves of sin, that is developed. When we accept Christ and His righteousness, that is developed.

* A new Christian will grow. Paul and Peter talk about being a babe in Christ. The direction and the development must be toward righteousness.

Each type of slavery bears has fruit. Paul explains righteous fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5. Paul explains that fruit as love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, and temperance. In Romans 6:22, Paul puts all that in one word - Holiness, or sanctification. The end of that is the gift of everlasting life. Each slavery has a development, fruit, and an end result. The wages of sin is death. Paul does not use the term wages for eternal life because eternal life is a gift. The end of righteousness is everlasting life. Righteousness is produced in you, but never as a contribution towards eternal life. We are slaves; the question is, will we be a slave to sin or a slave to Jesus Christ. When we are a slave to sin there will be eternal death. When we are a slave to Christ, the end is everlasting life.

DELIVERED FROM UNDER THE LAW.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Eighteen)

Recommended reading - Romans 7:1-6.

Theologians throughout history have debated whether or not Paul is referring to a converted Christian or a non converted Christian in Romans 7. There are several reasons that lead you to believe that Paul is talking about a converted Christian. First, from Verse 14 onward, Paul moves from a past tense to the present tense. He would not have done that, if he was not speaking to his post-converted experience. Secondly, Paul's reference to his tremendous struggle completely contradicts what he said about himself as a Pharisee in Philippians 3:7. The contrast to the verse in Philippians and in Romans 7:24, is dramatic and completely contradictory to his pre-converted experience. Thirdly, in Romans 7:22, Paul refers to his delight in the Law of God. It is not normal for an unconverted man to delight in the Law of God. Romans 8:7, states that the natural man is enmity with the Law of God. Fourthly, if you notice the context of Romans 5,6,7,8, all deal with the Christian. In light of that fact, he would not immediately turn to his non Christian experience. Fifthly, statements such as in Romans 8:23, speaks about groaning and in Galatians 5:17, he refers to the struggle between flesh and Spirit. The statements agree with Romans 7, and the Christian experience.

I. Our human nature is incompatible with God's Law.

* When you take Romans 7 as a unit and if you ask the question "Is Paul referring to the believer or the unbeliever" you miss the whole point. Paul is proving a very different and important point.

* God's Holy Law (which is good, spiritual, and righteous) compared to sinful human nature, (which is the same in both the believer and the unbeliever), are incompatible.

* If you look at the true issue Paul is dealing with, you can see the irrelevance of whether or not Paul is addressing the believer. You still have human nature and it is incompatible with God's Holy Law.

* The fact that God's Law and human nature are incompatible, means that we can never be saved by the works of the Law.

* Paul states in Romans 6:14, that a Christian is under grace. We have been delivered from under the Law. The statement Paul made in regard to the Law and grace put his physical life at risk. The Jewish Christians referred to Paul as a heretic, because they felt he was against the Law. It was clear that Paul was not against the Law; he was against legalism. We should all understand the difference between the law and legalism. The legalist has the belief that you are earning salvation by obedience. We see the reaction of the people against Paul in Acts 21:28. Paul had to explain his comments and why he said what he said. Paul is speaking to a specific group in Romans 7, those who know the Law.

II. Paul starts by stating clearly that the Law has dominion over man.

* The word dominion means rulership. As long as you are living, you are under the Law. Once you die, the Law no longer has a hold on you.

* The Law Paul is referring to is the moral Law. Paul is including the whole Law because the Jews did not make the distinction between the ceremonial Law and moral Law. Many Christians do, the same today. Paul is speaking about the moral Law as we see in Verse 7.

III. Marriage is until death.

* Paul delivers a difficult illustration in Romans 7:2-3. We need to properly understand this illustration. When a woman marries a man, she stays with him until he dies. The bible teaches that marriage is until death.

* The word bound in Verse 2, means more than, "she is stuck with him". The word also means that she is under him by the terms of the Law.

* We see in Ephesians 5:25, that Husbands are to love their wives, as Christ loved the Church. If we do that, there will never be abuse in a marriage.

* When God created Adam and Eve, they were created equal. When sin came, God gave them another Law, as we see in Genesis 3:16. The husband also became the ruler over the wife.

* The problem in Romans 7:2, is that the woman has found another man. The man she has found is wonderful and she wants to marry him.

IV. What is the problem with the first marriage.

* There are three problems with the first marriage. First, her husband is not sympathetic. When she makes a mistake, all he wants to do is punish her. Second, the job of the first husband is not to help his wife, rather to order his wife. He was not sympathetic, he ordered her around, and he would not help her. Third, all he did was command of her obedience, and when she disobeys he condemns her, so she is always under guilt.

V. Now she finds another man.

* She can't marry him because he is a fine man and he won't commit adultery by marrying her. She says I wish my first husband would die.

* The problem is the first husband can't die. The reason the first husband can't die is because he is the Law. We were married to the Law. We were under the jurisdiction of the Law.

* To be clear, the Law is good and Holy. The problem is the Law can't sympathize with us. The Law cannot help us as stated in Romans 8:3. All the law can do to us is stated in Galatians 3:10. Cursed is the one that does not obey. To live under the Law is to live under fear.

* We immediately think how wonderful it would be to marry the second man. The second man is Jesus Christ. First, Jesus can sympathize with you. Hebrews 4:15, states that Jesus can understand and sympathize with us. Second, He can help us. One of the most beautiful aspects of Christ is the third point; He does not condemn us. Romans 8:1, says that we are not condemned.

VI. The problem we now face is that the first husband will not die.

* We see this point stated in Matthew 5:18. The wife does not have a solution. The woman wants the husband to die, but he will not and cannot die.

* Those who say the Law is done away with, do not understand that the Law cannot die. The Law is eternal. The second man says I can't marry you, you are still married to your first husband.

* The first thing, that the second man says, is that He must make the first marriage null and void. As a result we face two problems. First, you can't get the first husband to commit adultery because, the Law is good and Holy and will not sin. Secondly, he won't die. No matter how you look at it, from the human point of view, there is no solution.

* Christ then says I have a solution. The wife says, what is the solution? Christ says, why don't you die? The wife says, if I die how can I marry you? He says, I don't mean die by yourself, let me take you and put an end to you. When I put an end to you, I will annul your first marriage. Then I will raise you up and you will be my wife. In Romans 7:4, we find the solution. The woman wants the husband to die; in application it is the woman who dies. It is us, those who have been under the Law, who die. When we die in Christ, we have been freed from the marriage to the law.

* The death of Christ was a corporate death. Christ died for all mankind. When we were baptized, we were baptized into Christ's death. We are delivered from sin and the Law, when we accept the death of Christ as we see in Romans 6 and 7.

* The Law is still there, but we are no longer married to the Law. The Law can say, you obey me or else you will die. You say to the Law, I am no longer under you jurisdiction. That does not mean that we can do as we please. You are not a widow, you are simply married to someone else.

* Notice the entirety of Romans 7:4. We see what the second husband has to say about the fruit we are to bear in John 15:1. Under the first marriage you live under rules, do's and don'ts. Under the new marriage you are to bear fruit by abiding in Christ as stated in John 15:4-5. If you are married to Christ, you will abide in Him.

VII. We must understand that we are to produce fruit and be obedient.

* We are to do what is right and good in the eyes of God and according to the Law. We do this in Christ. He is the vine, we are the branches; if it doesn't come through Him, it does not work. Romans 7:5, further details Paul's point. In the flesh, means before we died.

* The only fruit you bear under the Law is sin. In that case we end up in death. Once you accept Christ and become His bride, you see what occurs in Romans 5:6. We are delivered from the Law.

* To God, bearing fruit is not only doing something good, it is doing good with the right motive. We obey God because we are praying to Him. We are in Christ, we love Him, and are filled with His Spirit. When all that occurs, then bearing fruit is automatic.

* We will bear the right fruit because we are connected to the vine. Don't focus on the fruit, focus on being in the vine, and we will do what is right.

* We have a God who saves and does not put guilt on us every time we fall. God says the reason you fell is because, for the moment you stopped abiding in Me. Let that be a reminder, only when you abide in Christ, can you bear fruit.

* We have been delivered from the Law as Paul covers in Romans 7:6. The new marriage does not mean sitting idle; we should be serving. Under the Law you serve the Law for one reason; you serve it out of fear. You are afraid of punishment and the curse. The newness of the Spirit means you serve God out of love and appreciation.

Paul wanted to be a slave of Jesus Christ, and to serve Him because Christ was his friend and Savior. We keep God's Law because we love Him. We are in Jesus Christ and we are His slave because we want to be. You cannot be married to both men, that would be committing adultery. When you have accepted Jesus Christ, He will not divorce you just because you may stumble, fall, and commit sin. He still loves you; He loved you long before you ever married Him. He died for you long before you ever accepted Him. When you fall, you feel terrible because you have hurt Christ. The Christian person hurts when they have hurt their wonderful loving husband. The Law and Christ are not enemies. The problem is, the Law and the sinful nature are enemies. The problem is not the Law. The Law is Holy, good, spiritual, and righteous. The problem is that in the first marriage we are sinners incompatible with the law; therefore, that marriage can never work. Christ gives assurance, hope, and produces fruit; that fruit is in harmony with the Law. What we fail to keep in the first marriage is now in harmony, with what we keep, and what we are in Christ. The second marriage is a wonderful marriage. We are in the Everlasting Covenant, where the Law is written in our Heart. It is part of our delight and desire. How wonderful it is to abide in Christ!

EXCEEDINGLY SINFUL.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Nineteen)

Recommended reading - Romans 7:7-13.

The Law was given to us by God. God is the author of the Law. In several scriptures in the Book of Romans, it sounds like Paul is saying that Law and sin are synonymous, or at least partners belonging to the same camp. If you believe that statement, you would have to say that God is the author of sin; we clearly know that He is not. In Romans 7:7-17, Paul clarifies this issue; he then proceeds to show the purpose of the Law in God's plan of salvation. It is very important to study this passage because there are several important lessons, for us as a people, to learn.

I. Paul strongly states that the Law is not sin.

* Paul begins with a question in Romans 7:7. This verse comes after Paul's comments in prior verses stating that, we have been delivered from the law and have been set free from sin.

* We see that there is a relationship; the Law defines what sin is. The statement in Verse 7, tells us what Paul had in mind, when he discussed our deliverance from under Law.

* There is no other law that defines sin except the moral Law. Every other sin is a ramification of the moral Law of God. The Ten Commandments are a perfect definition of sin. The Ten Commandments, and the ramification of the commandments, define what sin is. Paul, in this verse, had Ten Commandments to choose from and he chose, "You shall not covet". Covet does not mean to specifically commit an act; it means to cherish a desire of something that does not belong to you. Paul is telling us that God's definition of sin is different from man's definition of sin.

* Man defines sin as an act or a violation of a commandment. Until you commit the act, you are not guilty. Man cannot read the heart of man. God defines sin not as an act, but as a wrong desire that has been accepted in our mind. The moment we realize how God defines sin, we realize that we are in bad shape.

* Notice what Jesus said to the Pharisee in Matthew 5:21-23, and 27-28. Jesus discusses the true definition of how sin is committed. Sin does not begin with an act; it begins with a cherished desire. We need to look at sin from God's point of view. We must look at ourselves as God looks at us and our sinful ways. We need to honestly evaluate ourselves in particular, if we believe we can be in the Kingdom of God by being good. You can understand more clearly the comment, that by the works of the Law no flesh is justified. It is almost impossible to keep every thought in your mind in subjection to the Law of God.
II. Sin is a process.

* James brings out several very important Points in James 1:14 . He brings out the issue of temptation. Temptation is a desire; it is not sin.

* When does temptation become sin? James answers this question by stating that, we sin when we are drawn away by our desires and then enticed. Notice Verse 15, there is a process to sin, first the conception, then the birth which leads to death.

* Is keeping the Law an act, or is it love? The Bible states that love is fulfilling the Law. In I Corinthians 13, we see that if we do good and do not have love, we are not keeping the Law. We can perform a good act for a wrong reason, and it is worth nothing.

* There is no way that man can earn salvation. We need to be Bible centered Christians, which properly leads us to this understanding.

III. We cannot save ourselves by Law keeping, we can only see ourselves.

* We see two important points in Romans 7. First, Paul is addressing the moral Law. Secondly, sin does not begin with an act, it begins with a desire.

* When we realize this important fact about sin, it destroys any idea that we can save ourselves by Law keeping, or by being good. Goodness is from God. There is none good but God.

* In Romans 7:8, we see that since Paul was raised as a Jew, he viewed sin in terms of an act. Paul did not realize, as a Pharisee, that he was sinning. Paul covers this in Philippians 3:6. Paul discovered that sin was more than an act and boldly stated, " O wretched man that I am."

* Paul continues this discussion about the Law in Romans 7:9-10. Paul states that he was once alive without the Law. There was once a time that he felt that the Law would give him life because he was keeping the Law. Paul's religion had taught him this fact. Paul came to a proper and clearer understanding about the purpose of the Law, once he became a Christian and accepted Jesus Christ.

* The Pharisees said that, if you keep the Law you will live. The Law was turned into rules and if they were kept, they would qualify you for eternal life. Notice what Jesus said to the rich young man in Matthew 19:16-19. Jesus initially responded to the young man in the same manner that the religious leaders would have responded to the young man. In Verses 20-22, Jesus completes the thought. We should stop trying to earn salvation. Do not think of The Commandments relative to salvation. We should follow Jesus Christ because salvation is in Him. The Law is relevant and has not been done away; however, it is not relevant when it comes to earning salvation.

IV. Paul felt that he was attaining life by keeping the Law.

* In Paul's case, God opened his eyes and showed him the true meaning of the Law. Paul realized in Romans 7:10, that the Law does not give life to a sinner. The Law gives death to a sinner.

* Many have fallen into the same dangerous trap as the Jews of Paul's day. We make rules and think that as long as we keep those rules, we are keeping the Law of God. When we get into this frame of mind, we become self-righteous and self-satisfied. We tend to be like the Jews who Paul is describing. We also make rules in our homes and churches.

* Some ask how they should keep the Sabbath. We need rules and regulations and feel the need to be told how to do this, and how to do that. To answer those questions we need to ask the Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath does not belong to any man it belongs to God. Do not ask man to make rules and regulations, because man's rules do not work. We do not need rules; rules are not Christianity.

* Paul was given rules and he obeyed those rules. He mistakenly believed that he could be in God's Kingdom by keeping those rules. God said those rules are not my Commandments, they are the traditions of man, and by those rules you have turned away from the Law of God. Jesus covers this point in Matthew 15:1-9.

* Paul addresses the reality of sin and death, along with the Law, the Commandments, and holiness in Romans 7:11-12. Paul then creates another problem in Verse 13. Notice when Paul refers to sin, he is using the word in the singular. He is not referring to acts; he is referring to what you are.

V. There are four reasons why God gave us the Law.

1.) The Law defines sin.

2.) The Law exposes sin from its' hiding place.

3.) The Law provokes sin. Human nature does not like to be told what to do. Human nature is rebellious to the Law. The moment you tell human nature not to do it, human nature does it. When we make rules, we often encourage people to break the rules. We have to love people into doing what is right. We do have Laws that are to be followed but, when we create a rule, human nature will want to break it.

4.) The Law condemns sin to death; it tells us that sin will lead us to the grave. Temptation and sin are tremendous pulls. Human nature desires sin.

VI. Sin goes beyond an act; sin is a cherished desire.

* Paul makes it very clear in Romans 7:13. The Law is not responsible for any of the four outcomes of the Law. The Law simply makes us aware of the outcomes.

* The Law shows us what we already are; the blame falls entirely on sin, not on the Law. The Law plays a part in the plan of salvation. The Law shows that sin is a deceiver, because the origin of sin is Satan. God also gave the Law so that when we discovered these truths, we would run to Christ as the solution.

* When we insist that the Law Paul is discussing is not the moral Law, we destroy the purpose of the Law. The Law of God has never given salvation. The purpose of the Law as stated in Romans 7, is to shut us up into the prison of sin, and to point us to Christ as the only solution to the sin problem.

* A perfect conclusion is to read and understand Galatians 3:19. We should start with the context in Verse 15. The Law was added because of transgressions. What we have discussed today deals with what is deep inside of us - our attitude.

The Law was added to show our transgressions and to lead us to Christ, who will forgive our transgressions. The Law shows us that we are sinners in need of a Savior. The Law has done its' work as we see in Galatians 3:21 -25. God did not give us the Law, to give us life. God gave the Law for the purpose we see in Verse 22. The Law plays a very important part to bring us under grace, because the gospel is not I, but Christ! We want so desperately to be able to earn our own salvation, to think we are good and obey the Law, and to say that we have done it ourselves. The hard part for us is the not I, in the above formula. To make it meaningful for us, God gave the Law so we would say not I. We need to understand the very words of Paul in Philippians 3, God gave us the Law so we might loose confidence in the flesh and rejoice in Jesus Christ.

O WRETCHED MAN.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Twenty)

Recommended reading - Romans 7:14-25.

A question has been debated as to whether or not Paul was referring in Romans 7, to the pre-converted Christian or the post-converted Christian, (the believer or the unbeliever). These passages are crucial to an understanding of the real gospel of Jesus Christ. A proper understanding helps us in our daily walk as a Christian, and creates a total and complete change in our lives. We do not have to walk around with fear thinking that, we are going to loose our Christianity. We should not put our ideas into the Word of God; we need to let the Word of God control our ideas. There is no light in those who do not preach from the Word of God, as we see explained in Isaiah 8:20.

I. The Law is Spiritual, we are carnal.

* The key statement Paul makes in this section of scripture is in Romans 7:14; the Law is spiritual and Paul is carnal.

* The personal pronoun I, that appears in this verse, appears 25 times in the passage of verses 14-25. The impression that you get is that Paul is speaking about himself. We need to remember that Paul wrote this in Greek and that he had a Middle Eastern mind. Paul was not referring to himself. Look closely at Verse 14; Paul says he is carnal, sold under sin.

* The statement is not only true of Paul it is true of all mankind. Paul has already covered that all men are guilty of sin.

* The word I, does not refer to Paul as an individual, it refers to all of man or corporate man. The issue is not whether Paul is talking about the believer or unbeliever because the statement in Verse 14 covers all men. Paul has one thing in mind, and that is the person who tries to live a good life independent of God.

II. The Law is good.

* The Bible plainly says that the Law is in force, and the Law is good.

* The question is whether we earn salvation by the Law, or lose salvation when we fall and don't obey the law. To be delivered from under the Law, means that a Christian is no longer depending on his performance in regard to the Law for his salvation.

* Paul is not dealing with Christian living; rather, he is going to lay the foundation for Christian living. Romans 8 deals with the life in the Spirit.

* If we do not understand Romans 7, Christian living will become futile and meaningless. There is hope and peace in knowing that Christ has secured our eternal life.

III. The Holy Law and sinful flesh are always incompatible.

* Paul proves in Romans 7:15-25, that a Holy Law and sinful flesh are always incompatible. The prior statement of incompatibility is true whether it is before or after conversion. The two will never be able to live in harmony.

* There is no change that takes place in our human nature, when we experience the begettal of the Holy Spirit. There is a change in our mind and attitude, but not our nature. The nature of a believer and an unbeliever is identical.

* When we study Romans 8, we understand Paul, as he says, that we are groaning and waiting for the redemption of the body. Our nature is the same no matter how long we have been converted. We have to wait until the second coming of Christ, until this corruption puts on incorruption. Then we will be free from this continual struggle.

* Paul makes a number of key statements in Romans 7:14-25, regarding what occurs when Spiritual and carnal are put together. We may choose to do good, but how to perform good we do not know.

* Paul shows our dilemma and conflict in Verse 15. There is a conflict between the mind which wants to do good and the will which has chosen to do right, with the nature which will not comply. Paul is referring to his current converted state in these verses.

IV. Paul delights in the Law.

* In Romans 7:22, Paul says that he delights in the Law of God according to the inward man. There are two items, which are important to study in reference to this verse.

1.) Paul uses the phrase "inward man", only when he is referring to the believer. Christ in us imparts righteousness, so that we can obey Him. The believer has a renewed mind. Repent means to turn away from former wrong beliefs, and then to believe the gospel. Notice in Acts 26:20, they were to repent and turn to God.

2.) Paul does touch on his pre-converted experience in several scriptures throughout his writings. When Paul discusses pre-conversion, he never mentions a struggle; only after becoming a Christian does he refer to a struggle. To prepare us for the life in the Spirit which is discussed in Romans 8, Paul must do something that is extremely important. The believer must destroy every confidence that he may have in his natural ability. There is only one formula, which we have discussed several times, Not I, but Christ.

* We need to also understand imputed and imparted righteousness. In Romans 4:6-11, 22-25, we see what imputed righteousness is. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to us, as we see in James 2:23. Works do not bring righteousness; they are a result of God being in us. Righteousness we perform in our lives is called imparted righteousness. Imparted righteousness is through the Spirit of God. It is not our righteousness, it is Christ's.

V. We are not good and evil.

* Paul reveals what we are in Romans 7:18. We are not a mixture of good and evil. There is nothing good in us.

* We may will to do good, but we do not know how to perform good. Paul clearly states that sin dwells in him. Paul repeats that fact over and over again.

* Sin dwells in us. Sin is not only what we do, it is what we have in us, as Paul states in Romans 7:22-23.

VI. There is good news for us; there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.

* We are sinners but our hope is in justification by faith. The fruit comes naturally, if the tree is right. We need to focus on the tree.

* The tree in the gospel is justification; the fruit is sanctification. Justification is what Christ has done for us through His life, death, burial, and resurrection. We have been justified. Sanctification is the growing of the fruit, of Christ being in us.

* If the tree is wrong, it is guaranteed that the fruit will be wrong. When we finally get to the point that we understand and believe that it is not I who produces any righteousness, but Christ, the fruits will come.

* When God looks at Christian living, He does not look at it as man does. Man looks at the outward performance; God looks at the motivation. God looks at our heart. Paul wants to destroy any idea that we can make ourselves acceptable before God, by our performance. Salvation is totally a gift from God. We should rejoice in this.

VII. We cannot conquer the law of sin; It is a constant force.

* In light of this Paul cries out in Romans 7:24, "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" Look at the word wretched; that word appears only twice in the entirety of the New Testament. Each time it is used in an opposite sense. Paul is saying that the individual who has Christ in him, recognizes that he is wretched and wants to overcome that wretchedness. The same word is used in Revelation 3:17. Christ is speaking in this verse to the Laodiceans. Christ states that they do not know that they are wretched.

* There is only hope, if you know what you are. We must come to the point that we recognize in our hearts, we are wretched.

* We must say as Paul said in Verse 25, I thank God. We need to destroy our confidence in ourselves. Paul concludes at the close of Verse 25, he by himself, and without Christ, can only serve the law of sin. He can keep the Law only in terms of desiring to keep it, delighting in keeping it, and choosing to keep it. On his own, in actual practice, he cannot keep it. We will see in Romans 8, that the righteousness of the Law can be fulfilled in us, if we walk no longer in the flesh.

Have we come to the conclusion to which the Apostle Paul came? Have we come to the position that there is nothing good dwelling in us? Are we willing to openly confess, as Paul confessed? We need to understand that Paul is talking about every single one of us. If we want Christ to be our righteousness, we must say good-bye to our confidence in ourselves. We need to let Christ be our righteousness. When we walk in the Spirit, the desire to live for the self will go. Every one of us from young to old, needs to say that Christianity is not do's and don'ts. Christianity is Jesus Christ and He is everything to us. We have the Savior who redeems us, and who also delivers us from the sin that dwells in us. We have the complete Savior in Jesus Christ!

THE TRUTH ABOUT CHRIST'S HUMANITY
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Twenty-One)

Recommended reading - Romans 8:1-3.

The humanity of Christ is one of the most important subjects in the study of righteousness by faith. The humanity of the Son of God means everything to us. It is the link that ultimately leads to the binding of our souls to God. Christ was a real man who gave proof of His humanity. He was truly God in the flesh. The incarnation of Christ is a deep study that will tax your mind. It is worth all that is put into it, because it is the most marvelous event that has ever happened. The humanity of Christ is everything to us and is vitally important to our salvation. We must approach this study with reverence, humility, and with a willingness to learn. The study into this subject will prove to be fruitful and will repay those who dig deeply.

I. The Son of God became human?

* Why did Christ become a man; and, what was God's purpose in sending His Son in human flesh? These questions are very thought provoking. The answers to these questions may seem obvious to some. We need to focus on the ultimate and the primary reason, then we will be led to many secondary purposes. The primary reason that Christ became a man was to become the Savior of the world. To those who believe, Christ's life then becomes an example.

* We then ask the question, "How did His humanity save us"? Christ took upon Himself the humanity that stood condemned and needed redeemed. He took it unto Himself so that He may directly redeem man.

* When Christ assumed our corporate humanity he qualified to be the second Adam and the Savior of the world. He could not have been the second Adam or the Savior of the world and yet remain in the Spirit; He had to give that up. By Christ's doing and dying, He not only provided salvation, He actually changed the history of mankind in Himself. That is the message of Romans 8:1-3.

II. We have a new history in Christ, a new identity, and a new position.

* In Christ we stand perfect, reconciled, and legally justified. One of the big issues you run across while studying these verses is the word, "likeness", in Romans 8:3. The Greek word for likeness means, resemble or similar. Paul uses the word likeness both ways in his writings. We cannot find the true meaning of the word in this verse by doing a word study. We have to look at the word in its' context.

* We cannot get so bogged down with one word that we both forget and lose the meaning of what Paul is trying to convey in these scriptures.

* We also need to understand other important words in these verses to properly grasp Paul's intended meaning. Biblical commentaries reveal that the words sinful flesh, in this chapter, refer to fallen human nature.

* To properly answer the questions that arise from these verses, and to focus on the meaning, we must look directly at the verses and read in context. Romans 8:1, the word "therefore" tells you that this verse is connected with the previous statements that Paul had made.

* Remember, there was no verse and chapter division, when Paul wrote. Paul had just completed telling us in Romans 7:14-25, that there is a problem of sin dwelling in each one of our lives. The law of sin dwells in our members; we have a body that is condemned to death. Paul asks the question, "who will deliver me"? The answer is in Romans 7:25, Jesus Christ!

* Paul then explains in more detail in Romans 8:1. We are no longer condemned, when we are in Christ. Verse 2 states, in Christ we are covered. The words, "made me free", are in the past historic tense. It is something that has already happened; we have been freed from the law of sin and death. We have been freed in Christ. Paul continues to explain the importance of Christ's humanity in verse 3.

III. The Law of God could not free us from the law of sin and death.

* What the Law could not do, God did by sending His Son. God sent His Son with a human nature that is like ours.

* God did not condemn sins (plural), rather, He condemned sin (singular). The phrase, "sin in the flesh", in verse 3, the phrase, "the law of sin and death", in verse 2, the phrase, "the law of sin found in my members, in Romans 7:23, and the phrase, "sin dwelling in me", in Romans 7:17,20, are all synonymous terms.

* Paul is not dealing with our performance; he is dealing with the source and foundation of our problems, which is sin dwelling in us.

* Christ did not take the sinful nature that had sin dwelling in it. Christ would be a sinner in need of a Savior, if He took that nature.

IV. The New Testament qualifies Christ's humanity.

* When the New Testament talks about the humanity of Christ, it always uses a qualifying word. In Romans 8:3, the qualifying word is "likeness". In John 1:14 and Galatians 4:4, the word used is "made", or "to become".

* The New Testament simply teaches this, that in the incarnation Christ became, or was made, or shared, what we are as humans. What we are did not belong to Him by native right. He was not born in Adam, the way that we were born in Adam.

* We must never teach that Christ had a sinful nature; that would make Christ all together like us. Christ assumed our sinful nature; He took upon Himself what belongs to us, not to Him. It is true that, if Christ consented to the sinful desires of the nature or yielded to that nature even by a thought, He would have become a sinner. Christ was made flesh (sin), but He was not sin.

V. We must never drag the will and mind of Christ into sin.

* Christ took and struggled with our nature, but He conquered that nature and He executed that nature on the cross.

* The blessing of this wonderful truth is twofold. First, we are sinners by nature and by performance. Jesus saved us from both. He took that nature and executed it on the cross so that we are saved. We are blessed because there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Secondly, it is possible that the righteous requirements of the Law, which we could not keep ourselves, might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh, but who walk according to the Spirit.

* If we walk in the flesh, we will have the frustration of Romans 7. The same Spirit that conquered and executed the law of sin and produced the righteousness in Christ's humanity, is available to begotten Christians.

* When we walk in the Spirit the righteous requirements of the Law may be fulfilled in us, not to justify us, but as evidence that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. The humanity of Christ is everything to us.

The verses we have covered explain that Jesus not only came to save us from our sins but as stated in John 1:29, He is the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world. He took the source of our problem, and with it, He took our sins. In Christ, who became one of us, we have a perfect redeemer. We have a new history and a new hope. We have a Savior who came to where we are and struggled even as we struggle. We have a High Priest in heaven that can sympathize, intercede and help with us with anything, He is the great God who became one of us.

LIFE IN THE SPIRIT.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Twenty-Two)

Recommended reading - Romans 8: 4-13.

I. The work of the Holy Spirit.

* In the New Testament, God the Father is the One to whom Christ looked for guidance. Christ stresses that He came to do the will of, "Him who sent Me".

* The Father is the director of and the Chairman of the plan of salvation. Christ is the Savior as revealed in Matthew 1:21. The work of the Holy Spirit is to communicate to the human race what God has attained in His Son Jesus Christ.

* God, through His Son, has made available eternal redemption for all of mankind. The Apostle Paul explains in Chapter 8, the fact that the Holy Spirit is the communicator. The work of the Holy Spirit is not to save us, but to make effective the salvation which has already been realized in the Holy history of Christ, and to make it real in our experience.

* The work of the Holy Spirit may be divided into three stages. The first stage is justification; the second stage is sanctification; the final stage is glorification.

II. The Holy Spirit will point us to Christ as mans' only hope for salvation.

* Christ clearly explains this point in John 16:8. Jesus describes the mission of the Holy Spirit, and that mission is to convict the world of three things. The world will be convicted of sin, righteousness, and judgment. As we see in John 16:9, the Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin because they do not believe in Jesus Christ. We are lost because we are without Christ.

* Jesus Christ explains in John 16:10, the manner in which the Holy Spirit will convict the world of righteousness. God sent Christ to this world to prepare righteousness for the world. Christ's work of obtaining that righteousness is a finished work.
* One of the last prayers that Christ prayed is in John 17:4. Christ states that He has finished the work that His Father gave Him to do.

* John 16:11, shows that the world is judged; if you reject the gospel, the gift of God, then you have judgment. When you accept Christ as your personal savior, then the work of the Spirit of God continues.

* The Holy Spirit will reproduce in the believer, peace, assurance, and the righteous character of Christ. God will accomplish this through the Holy Spirit. Sanctification does not contribute to our salvation. Our salvation is only in the history of Christ. Sanctification is the fruit of and the evidence of our justification by faith.

III. We have three wonderful blessings in Christ.

* We are perfect in character, perfect in justice, and perfect in nature. In sanctification no change takes place in your nature; our nature will always remain sinful. It is only at Christ's second coming, and our glorification in the resurrection, that corruption will put on in corruption.

* In Romans 8:22-25, Paul states that the whole creation is groaning and waiting for the redemption of the Body. In Philippians 3:20-21, Paul states that he is anxiously awaiting the coming of Christ. Paul cannot wait for the transformation of his corrupt body. Romans 8:4-13, deals with the life led by a Christian with God's Holy Spirit. God intends this life for every Christian. The Christian life is a Spirit led life.

IV. Paul gives practical applications.

* In Romans 8:12-16, Paul gives us practical applications to the foundation that has been built. Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, was victorious and executed the law of sin and death. Christ did that for two reasons. Romans 8:1 explains, that there may be no more condemnation for those in Christ. Romans 8:4 states, that the requirements of the Law will be fulfilled in us. The requirements have nothing to do with our salvation, it is a fruit of our salvation.

* The word us in Verse 4 refers to the believer who has along with Paul, acknowledged their wretchedness. We must realize our wretchedness. The word wretched appears only twice in the whole of the New Testament. The first time is Romans 7:24, the second time is in the Laodicean message in Revelation 3:17. The day that we can say, " O wretched man that I am," is the day we can say, "I thank God through Jesus Christ".

* In Romans 8:4, Paul addresses the righteous requirements of the Law. You do not need the Spirit to mechanically obey the Law; the Pharisees were experts at mechanically obeying the Law. Christ stated that they did not keep the Law according to the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love and love is the fulfillment of the Law.
V. We are to walk according to the Spirit.

* We need to have a proper understanding of the words flesh and Spirit in Romans 8: 4. The word flesh means the natural life in which we live - the sinful human nature. The word Spirit means the life of Christ that was laid down for us, and which comes into us through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

* Christ does not indwell us as a person; however, the Holy Spirit does indwell, which is one of the proofs that the Holy Spirit is not a separate person. The Holy Spirit, which is the power of God, indwells us and leads us into the way that God would have us go.

* We are in the Spirit, if the Spirit dwells in us, as stated in Verse 8-9. The Spirit is what indwells us, not the person of the Father or Son. We do not belong to Christ, if we have not experienced the Spiritual begettal. Jesus made that point very clear to Nicodemus in John 3:6. Nicodemus was trying to produce righteousness by the flesh. Jesus Christ clearly explained that you must be of the Spirit. Legalism produces hypocrites, people who outwardly look like saints, but inwardly are not.

* It is only in Christ, as we walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh, that the life of Christ is reproduced in us. The Apostle Peter is in perfect harmony with Paul in covering the issues we see in Chapter 8. We see in II Peter 1:1-3, Peter talks about the wonderful promises that are ours through Jesus Christ. In Verse 4, Peter states that we will be partakers of the Divine nature and can grow in that nature.

VI. The natural life is driven by the wrong things.

* We see in I John 2:16, that the natural life of man is dominated by three drives, "The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life". The flesh lusts for what it sees. We want everything to be the greatest.

* Paul says the mind must not be set by and dominated by the flesh. Our nature is unchangeable until the second coming of Christ. We must never get the idea that our nature will improve as we grow older as a Christian. Our nature will remain flesh until our dying day. Our character is what changes.

* The change that takes place in a Christian is not in the nature, but in the mind. The Greek word for repentance means a change of mind. Our minds should be led by the Holy Spirit and not by the flesh.

* Paul gives us help on how to direct our minds into the things of the Spirit in Philippians 4:8. Paul tells us to walk in the Spirit; we have a walk and a talk to do.

* We must set our mind on the things of the Spirit. What do we think about? Are our minds on the things of this world or the things of God? That is how we tell, if we are walking in the flesh or in the Spirit.

VII. Walking on dangerous ground.

* Paul states in Romans 8:6, that the person walking in the flesh is walking on dangerous ground. The carnal mind leads to death. The flesh is the tool Satan uses to pull you out of Christ. The only place for the flesh is the cross. Galatians 5:24, states that the flesh should be crucified along with all of its' desires.

* When you walk in the Spirit, you have peace and life. God looks at our hearts. Only the heart that is transformed and has repented can be pleasing to God. In Romans 8:9, Paul explains that if you do not have the Spirit, you may be a church member, and yet you are still not one of His.

* We see the formula of the gospel in Verse 10, not I but Christ. There are two forces in us, as we see explained in Verse 11. One is the force of the flesh, the law of sin and death, the other is the law of Spirit and life.

* Jesus Christ conquered the grave. He did it by the power of the indwelling Spirit; that same power is now available to us. Paul explains that we are debtors in Verse 12. We have an obligation to live according to the Spirit.

* When the Holy Spirit lives in us two things will happen. We will put to an end the sinful deeds of the body; the righteousness of the Law will be fulfilled in us.

* These wonderful privileges are the fruits of justification. One cannot help but be reminded of the words of a famous pagan philosopher. He said to the Christian church, if you Christians expect me to believe your redeemer, you Christians will have to look a lot more redeemed. That is true of the Christian church at large.

There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. We have one major concern before us, and that is for the world to see what Jesus Christ is like in us. When that happens the world will be turned upside down. God is not dependent on numbers. He is depending on men and women, who put self aside and are willing to totally surrender to the Spirit. We have a Spirit that is willing to walk in us, a power that is available to us. The power of God's Holy Spirit will reproduce in us the character of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world desperately needs to see Him in us. Let us not disappoint our Lord.

THE BLESSED HOPE.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Twenty-Three)

Recommended reading - Romans 8:14-30.

When a sad situation occurs in our lives, we often ask, why! Paul tells us that all things work together for good. There is a great amount of understanding and belief that we must have to properly understand these scriptures. We often have a hard time believing that all things work together for good. In the study of these verses we will deal with one of God's wonderful ways of helping us, during the time which we are here on this earth. We will have help, while we wait for the glorious return of Christ. We may not understand why things happen, but we do know that God has not left us without a helper.

I. We have help.

* A very special name is given to the Holy Spirit in John 14:16. The name is also a promise that Jesus gave to us forever. We see in this scripture that we are given a comforter.

* The Holy Spirit will help and comfort us. The word comforter comes from a very interesting Greek word. The word is comprised of two words that mean one who is by your side to help you. The word helper is all inclusive. When you need comfort and teaching, the Holy Spirit will be there.

* Jesus brought out the points that the Holy Spirit is our comforter in John 14:16, our teacher in Verse 26, and our guide in John 16:13. Christ came to help us in terms of salvation. He actually did all of the things, described in these verses, for the disciples while He was with them in person. Today, the Holy Spirit does for us, as Christ did for the disciples. Christ was their helper, their guide, and their teacher. The Holy Spirit is our helper, in terms of Christian living, until the glorious and blessed hope occurs.

* Paul presents the Holy Spirit in Romans 8:14-30, as our helper.

II. How we are helped.

* The Holy Spirit helps us in three important areas.

1.) Romans 8:14-17, the Spirit helps us to live like children of God.

2.) Verses 18-25, the Spirit helps us to endure hardships and suffering while we wait for the glorious appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

3.) Verses 26 -30, the Spirit helps us in Christian growth.

III. We will behave as the children of God.

* When we have the Spirit of God in us and are led by the Spirit, we will behave like a child of God. God wants us to behave like His children because we are His children. Paul explains this in Verse 14.

* We need the Spirit of God to behave as a child of God. Once we accept Christ, God gives us His Spirit, and it is then that we are able to walk as children of God.

* In Matthew 5:43-45, Jesus contrasts the walking in the flesh as compared to walking in the Spirit. Jesus gave a few examples, in these verses, to show how we are to behave as the very children of God.

* If we are led by the Spirit, the people around us will know it. We are to be the light of the world as Jesus describes in Matthew 5:14-16. Only those led by the Spirit can behave as God's children.

IV. Bondage in legalism.

* All through the writings of Paul bondage is linked with legalism. Paul addresses bondage in Romans 8:15. There is no peace, assurance, or hope in legalism.

* The Apostle John spoke to those who believe in God in I John 4:16-18. Christians are to know and believe the unconditional love that God has for us. God loves us because He is love.

* We have boldness, not because of ourselves and our performance, but because as He is, so are we. The perfect love of God casts away all fear. Our love and obedience to God cannot be based upon fear. A religion based upon fear, and which produces works out of fear, is worth nothing.

V. Abba Father.

* In Romans 8:15, we see that those led by God's Spirit will cry out, "Abba, Father." These two words are very interesting, they mean Father, Father.

* One Father is for the Gentiles the other for the Jews. Paul did this to stress that whether we are Jewish or Gentile we may call Him Father.

* Paul is saying that He is our Father, not our executor. Our Father loves His children and wants to bestow on us all kinds of blessings.

VI. We are an Heir with Christ.

* Paul then addresses something awesome in Verses 16 and 17. We are children of God and an Heir with Christ.

* God is creating a family. We are give…Ð8¿
¼GET http://www.higd the Spiritual. The physical seed and the ovum are given to ultimately understand the Spiritual begettal of children of God. The Spirit of God (the seed) impregnates the spirit in man (ovum), and a new Spirit life is begotten.

* The Spirit in man is from God. Animal can only produce animal; man can only produce man; and God through His Spirit can produce God.

* The life begotten by the Spirit of God will grow and at the resurrection will be born as an individual member of the awesome family of God. God is reproducing after His kind.

VII. The three element of a human being.

* The Human being is made up of three elements, which Paul points out in I Thessalonians 5:23.

* We are made up of spirit, soul, and body. None of these elements are capable of independent existence.

* Each of the three elements do have a function.

* Animals only have body and soul. Humans have all three. One of the aspects of the spirit is our conscience. We are able to think, reason, and make decisions.

* The Spirit convicts us in our conscience that, we are the children of God because we are in Christ.

* In order for Christ to save us, He had to identify Himself with us.

* To make salvation effective, we have to identify ourselves with Christ. When that occurs, everything that is true of Christ will be true of us.

VII. Suffering because of citizenship.

* Jesus came to this world from heaven. His citizenship did not belong to this world. Satan using the world, made life hard for Christ. He suffered, while He was here, because He was not of the world.

* Jesus's suffering was only for a season, that we might be saved. We must be willing to suffer, that His name might be glorified.

* He suffered that we might be saved; we suffer that he will be glorified. We need to remind ourselves that we are joint heirs with Christ, as Paul states in Verse 17.

VII. What does that mean to be a joint heir?

* In Daniel 2, there is a great image, made from different medals, and each medal represents a kingdom. The kingdom to focus on is the stone Kingdom.

* The stone Kingdom will be an everlasting Kingdom. In Daniel 7, we are told that the saints of the Most High will rein with Christ forever in that Kingdom, when it's established. We need to keep in mind that glorious hope.

* John tells in Revelation 20:6, happy is the person who has part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over the believers who have part in the first resurrection.

* In Christ we have already died the second death; He took the pain and we enjoy the benefits. Christ did not die in our place, we died in Him.

* We will reign with Christ. In Revelation 22:5, we see that we will reign with Him forever and ever. We will reign because we are joint heirs with Christ. He is the King of Kings of whom we are the Kings.

* Paul tells us that this will be our privilege which takes place at the glorification. In the mean time, we will have to suffer because we are living in enemy territory.

VIII. In times of trouble.

* A scripture that is very useful in times of trouble is the scripture, " It came to pass." Whenever we go through a hard time remember, " It came to pass".

* Nothing we face in this world is permanent, it is temporary. While we may have to suffer for a short time, it is only for a season; remember, " It came to pass".

* Our real and blessed hope is the coming of Christ. The Bible makes it clear that we will suffer now, but we will enjoy later.

* We ask, " Is it worth the suffering "? Let us look at what Paul has to say about that in Romans 8:18. We need to have the same attitude as Paul. We need to live in the context of eternity because we have received eternal life in Jesus Christ.

* While we wait for the glorious hope, we will groan as Paul explains in Verse 19-22. When sin entered the world, the world was not destroyed, it was cursed. God gave us hope, but until that reality, we may have to suffer and wait patiently.

* The process of birth is a painful process. However, once the baby is born it is a wonderful time. The suffering and the pain of this present time is worth it. We have great anticipation and eagerly await the redemption of our body as Paul explains in Verse 23.

* The suffering will not be forever. Our minds must not be focused on the present situation, but on the future.

IX. We have a glorious future.

* We have a glorious future that we eagerly wait for with patience, as Verse 24 and 25 details. If we keep that glorious future in mind, then the present suffering will seem as nothing.

* The word hope used in these verses is not a word of doubt. Paul is sure of his salvation, and he is using the word in terms of something that he knows he will get.

* Paul says in Romans 8:26-27, that God understands when we groan. Jesus redeemed us and that redemption is unconditional.

* The Bible teaches that all men are redeemed in Christ and that only those who deliberately, willfully, and persistently push Him away and say, God we don't want you or your gift will be lost. God will not force His gift on anyone.

X. We will not be left helpless.

* The Holy Spirit will be with us all day, every day. The Spirit dwells in us; this is the God whom we worship. He does not leave us helpless. We know this, as Paul states in Romans 8:28.

* Not everything that happens to us is from God; but, God uses everything for our good, because all that God has is good. Everything is good and everything works together for good.

* Remember when things are bad and collapsing, that the Spirit is by our side to help us.

* The statement Paul makes in Verse 29, has caused some confusion. Paul is discussing those individuals who God knew before hand and who would accept the gift of the Kingdom of God at this time. God knows those who will accept Him and His ways. God has predestined that He reproduce in us the character of His Son. He has predestined all men to be saved, but He will not force salvation on man.

* God wants to reproduce in us what He has already accomplished in Christ. We are to reflect Christ, that is what He has predestined for every believer. He has predestined for the world salvation; for the believer He has predestined and foreordained a transformation of character until we reflect the image of His Son.

* The steps to be followed are in Verse 30. There is a promise found in I Thessalonians 5:24; God is faithful and He will accomplish His work. God will do it.

* Through the Spirit God will fulfill in us what He has accomplished in Jesus Christ. Our job is faith and to walk in the Spirit.

We need to learn to daily walk in the Spirit, and to be led by the Spirit, so that God may produce in us the character of His Son. We will suffer in this world; but remember that this suffering is not worth mentioning, when compared to the eternal glory in Christ. We cannot depend on the organizational church, the Pastor, or on any human being. When the time of trouble comes the organizational church will disintegrate and the Pastor may not be there. We must remember that there is one by our side who won't leave us or forsake us. We will have a guide, a source of strength, and a comfort. We must never forget who we are, and who it is that is our helper, our guide and our strength.

AGAPE NEVER FAILS.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Twenty-Four)

Recommended reading - Romans 8:31-39.

The word agape is the Greek word for unconditional love. Our God has love that never fails and will always be with us, especially in times of great trouble. How should we prepare ourselves to face the time known in scripture as the great tribulation? There are many various beliefs concerning the protection of God's people during that time of tribulation. The Bible says that all Christians living in the last time will go through the time of trouble. The Bible also states that they will be delivered by God. We cannot make the suffering of the great tribulation the most important thing in our lives. The suffering of the great tribulation does not impact our salvation. What is important, is remaining faithful to God. If we improperly base what we believe on the verses in Luke 21, we end up with an incorrect concept. We do not qualify for a place of safety by merely looking at world events. The whole context of these scriptures deals with drunkenness and the lifestyle in which most live today. The scriptures say to watch and to pray that you don't live in that lifestyle. We are to watch our lifestyle and not become part of this world. We must continue steadfast and not leave our place in Christ.

I. We must endure to the end.

* Matthew 24:13, states that to be saved we must endure to the end. Our endurance may include a time of tribulation.

* Paul gives an answer in Ephesians 3, of how to prepare for a time of crisis. Paul's prayerful answer was that only those whose faith is rooted and grounded in the love of God will be able to stand.

* We must have an unshakable faith that is rooted and grounded in the love of God. Paul discuses the love of God in Romans 8:31-39.

II. Who can be against us?

* Paul boldly states in Romans 8:31, that if God is for us, who can be against us? Paul is not saying that no one will be against us. There will be accusers and individuals who will be against us. The world will turn against God's people.

* If we, as God's people, have to go through tough times, we will not be the first to experience such trials. We must consider all of the Apostles and Saints throughout history. Paul is saying that if God is on our side, does it matter if anyone is against us? If we have God, it does not matter if the world is against us.

* In Verse 32, Paul gives the greatest evidence that God is on our side. The Father did not even spare His Son.

* In Genesis 22:16, we find the very same meaning of the word withheld, that we find in Romans 8:32. Abraham was in a very severe test and by faith he did not withhold his son. The word withheld, is the same word as not spared, that is found in Romans 8:32. Paul is saying that God did not withhold from His Son the full wages of sin that rightfully belonged to us.

* God delivered His Son up, for all of us. We see in Luke 22:42, that Christ prayed in great agony to be spared. He was facing the wages of our sins. God did not spare His Son because He so loved us.

* He so loved a world that had rebelled against Him, that He did not spare His Son. Romans 8:32, states that Christ was delivered up for all of us. Since God did not spare His Son, He now graciously gives to us everything in Christ.

III. We are not condemned, we are justified.

* Paul then asks the question in Verse 33, who shall bring a charge against God's elect? The word elect does not mean those predetermined to be saved. God predetermined all men to be saved; however, salvation is a gift.

* The gift of God cannot be enjoyed, if it is deliberately refused. The elect are those who, by a heart appreciation, have said thank you God for Your unspeakable Gift - Jesus Christ. We must receive that gift.

* God does not accuse us because He is the one who justifies us. He justifies us, not because we deserve it, but because He loves us and He gave His Son to die for us. Christ died so that there is no condemnation for us, as Paul explains in Verse 34.

* The Law does condemn us and we have all failed because we have broken that Law. The good news is that Christ has redeemed us. We need to see that not only are we not condemned, but our Savior also sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for us.

* Christ intercedes for us because Satan is our accuser. We cannot defend ourselves from the accusation because, often what we are accused of is correct. We are sinners, but we have a Savior who can rightly defend us.

* Christ is our righteousness and our intercessor. Christ will say to Satan - the Lord rebukes you. God is on our side; we are on the winning side. All of this is because God is love.

IV. We cannot be separated from the love of Christ.

* We cannot be separated from the love of Christ as revealed in Verse 35. We must clearly understand that everything described in this verse has occurred to God's people in the past, and will again occur in the tribulation.

* Paul in Verse 36, quotes David, who experienced these things and wrote about it in Psalm 44:22.

* If our whole life and hope revolves around being protected and not experiencing tribulation, you will not be properly focused. Put your whole being into loving God and Jesus Christ.

* We should put our whole being into watching our life and behaving ourselves. The world will treat true believers in the manner David describes - we will be as sheep for the slaughter.

* In the long run we will win. We know the war is over; Christ has won. We can read Verse 37 with assurance, because God is on our side. In all things we are more than conquerors, not because of us but, through Him who loved us. To endure to the end, we need to be rooted and grounded in the love of Christ.

V. An unconditional love.

* We need to listen to the words of the Apostle John in I John 4:16-18. We have known and we believe the love of God. It is unconditional and never fails. God is love.

* God does not have a characteristic of love, He is love! Everything about Him can be defined by the word Agape - God is love. Our anchor is in Him who is love.

* There is no fear in love; perfect love casts out fear. We may be afraid in the time of trouble, but deep down we know in whom we believe. We know that the love of God is greater than the fear that is in the flesh.

* We will not be afraid of the judgment to come because we belong to God. We are justified and not condemned. Paul states that he is persuaded, convinced without a shadow of a doubt, in Verse 38. Not one thing will separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We may feel at times that God has forsaken us. If we are not rooted and grounded in the love of God, we will not make it. When we are rooted in the love of God we will be able to say with Paul that, we are persuaded that nothing in heaven or earth can ever separate us from the love of God. We have to develop that kind of faith. Jesus had that faith as He hung on the cross. He knew that God's love never forsakes. Agape never fails. In John 13:1, we see that God will love us to the end. We are the children of God and joint heirs with our elder brother Jesus Christ.

 

THE TRUE ISRAELITE PART I.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Twenty-Five)

Recommended reading - Romans 9:1-13.

There is a difference between true Israel (who will be saved) and national Israel (who will have the opportunity for salvation). In Romans Chapters 9 - 11, the Apostle Paul addresses his concern for the Christian church at Rome. He directs his concern to his people, the Jewish or Israelite nation. We can benefit from what Paul has said to the Jews because we are told in I Corinthians 10:11, the history of the Jews has been recorded for our benefit. If we forget history, we are doomed to repeat it. God has recorded the history of Israel because He doesn't want us to repeat their mistakes. God gave the Jews a tremendous amount of blessings, as we see in Romans 9:4. The Jews were given the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the Law, the service of God, and the promises. The Jews were a blessed people because they had the advantage of the scriptures that prophesied about the coming Messiah. They rejected Him; however, and today they no longer have that advantage because the Bible, detailing the work of Christ, is available to almost anyone that desires to read it.

I. What constitutes true Israel?

* The Jews failed on two major accounts to understand what constitutes true Israel and that failure has very important significance for us.

* The Jews thought that as long as they were the physical descendants of Israel's three fathers (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), they qualified to be God's elect.

* Today, many who have their name on church rosters feel that they qualify to be God's elect. There is no such thing as group or mass salvation. Salvation is an individual blessing.

* Having your name on a church roll, or being a descendent of the Jewish race, does not give you a ticket into God's Kingdom.

* The churches do not lead you or direct you to God, rather they direct you to themselves, and keep you from properly focusing on God.

* The Jews failed to recognize God's way of saving sinful man. Salvation is by faith alone, in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and not by our own Law keeping.

* God took the keys of the Kingdom from the Jews because they failed. The keys were given to the Body of Christ, the Spiritual organism, which is the true Church of God.

II. God keeps His promise.

* Paul makes a key statement, after expressing his concern for the Jews, in Romans 9:6. There is no hope for physical Israel as we see in Matthew 23:37-38.

* God ultimately keeps the promise that He made to Israel's fathers as we note in Romans 11:26. All Israel will be saved! We need to understand the logic of Paul's statements to properly understand what Verse 26 really means. We must understand what Paul meant, when he spoke about Israel and how Israel will be saved.

* God does not have two separate chosen people, the Gentiles and the Jews. God has only one that is His and that is Israel. You either belong to Israel or you don't.

* In Romans 9:1-5, Paul expresses concern for his fellow Jews. Paul displayed concern for the Jews even after they had treated him very harshly. We need to focus on what Paul is saying in Verse 3. Paul was willing to be lost forever, if that action would save his fellow Jews those who hated him. That is the power of the gospel. To be accursed from Christ means to be lost eternally.

* The love that Paul displayed is not a normal response of a human being. The response is the Agape love that is manifested in the flesh. The people who God will produce are that kind of loving people. Paul is a transformed man revealing in his life the power of the gospel.

* Paul goes on to explain that God did not fail to keep His promise. He tells his listeners that the problem was not God, it was them! They failed to understand what God meant by Israel.

III. Paul explains who is true Israel.

* Paul starts to explain what is meant by Israel in Romans 9:6-9. Abraham had more than one son. All the sons had an equal right to call Abraham father.

* God gave Israel three fathers for a very specific purpose. The three men are to be an example of what all of the children of God should be like. In order to be an Israelite you need to have the qualities of all three of these men.

* Abraham stands for faith; he is the father of all who believe. Isaac was important because of how he came into the world; Isaac was born from above. True believers are like Isaac, the children of promise. Jacob's name was changed, by God, to Israel. Jacob represented those whose faith endures unto the end.

* These fathers qualities represent qualities of God's true spiritual Israel. Spiritual Israel will believe, will be begotten of the Holy Spirit, and will through faith not give up, but endure to the end.

IV. God is sovereign.

* Everything that takes place occurs because God allows it. Justification, sanctification, and glorification all come from God through Jesus Christ.

* Our part is faith; we must believe and surrender to the truth that God has given to us in Christ. God gives mankind a choice; no one will be forced into His Spiritual Family.

* The Jews failed to realize the significance of the three fathers. The failure to understand the three fathers led to the second failure of not seeing how God would keep His promise of saving mankind.

V. Christ, a stumbling stone?

* Paul is not against the Law as a standard for Christian living and the fruit of Christian salvation.

* Paul states in Romans 13, that love is the fulfillment of the Law. Paul is against anyone who tries to earn salvation outside of Christ.

* Paul called Jesus Christ a stumbling stone. Christ is a stumbling stone to anyone who wants to be saved by their own righteousness.

The message to the church at Laodicea was, buy from me white raiment. The word buy means to exchange. We are to give up our self-righteousness in exchange for Christ's righteousness. God has given to His people so many wonderful truths. God is sovereign; we don't deserve what He so wonderfully has given to us. We must depend entirely on His mercy, His righteousness, and His gift - Jesus Christ. We need to learn from the mistakes of the past, and not to repeat those mistakes. We need to have a proper and clear understanding about who is spiritual Israel, and the qualities of those who comprise the family of God.

THE TRUE ISRAELITE PART II.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Twenty-Six)

Recommended reading - Romans Chapters 9, 10, 11 and Galatians 3:26-29.

In these three chapters in Romans, Paul shares his great burden for the Jewish nation. The person who is a descendent of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is not a true Spiritual Jew in God's eyes. A person will not be qualified as a true Israelite and will not be saved simply by being a descendent of one of the Jewish fathers. The qualities of the Israelite fathers is where we must place our focus. It is not Israel according to the flesh, who are God's chosen people; rather, it is the Spirit that determines God's chosen people. The three fathers appear throughout the Bible. The reference to these men is for our proper understanding and knowledge.

I. We are all the Sons of God.

* The Galatian church was a church that was a mixture of both Gentiles and Jews. The Gentiles represented the largest component of the church. In Galatians 3:26-29, Paul refers to everyone as the Sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

* When we are baptized into Jesus Christ, we put on our Lord. When we put on our Lord, we are no longer of a nationality, race, or sex. Jesus Christ is the same for everyone and there is no difference between any of us.

* When we are Christ's, we become part of the seed of Abraham and heirs according to the promise. The promise that was given was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. Paul was not against the Law, he was simply against legalism.

II. Abraham was a prototype.

* We need to understand the details of how Abraham became the prototype for all believers. Abraham is our father and our example.

* The call of Abraham is in Genesis 12:1-4. God had Abraham leave his home because he was raised in idolatry. He had to come out of the culture in which he was raised, and enter into God's culture.

* The world and the religions of this world are of Babylon. Abraham was called out of this world; we likewise are called out of the world and into the way of God.

* God promised to make Abraham a great nation. It is clear that Abraham was going to be the father of the blessing to all the world, not just to the Jews. This fact was established from the very beginning. Abraham obeyed the calling of God.

III. God makes a promise.

* Hebrews 11:8-10, states that Abraham obeyed by faith. In Genesis 15, God tells Abraham not to be afraid, rather to depend on Him.

* Abraham was waiting for the promised son from God. God showed Abraham that his children would be as many as the stars in the sky. A great amount of time passed between the original promise and the actual occurrence of that promised son.

* In Genesis 17, when Abraham was 99 years old, God appears to him. Abraham had several breakdowns of faith throughout the years of waiting for the promised son.

* God wanted to remove those obstacles from the faith of Abraham; God wanted an unshakable faith.

* God entered into a covenant with Abraham in verse10. Note, that circumcision was the sign of the covenant; it was not the actual covenant.

* The Jews took the sign of the covenant and made it the actual covenant. One of the first theological controversies in the Christian church was over circumcision.

IV. Circumcised of the heart.

* Moses made a statement that they were to circumcise the foreskin of the heart. Moses understood the proper symbolism.

* In Jeremiah 4:4, we see that God is telling us to remove unbelief by circumcising our hearts.

* We are to remove all doubt. The New Testament application of circumcision is in Philippians 3:3. Paul says that, " We are the circumcision which worships God in Spirit ". It is not I; it is Christ. He has done everything that is necessary for salvation.

* Colossians 2, explains that in Christ we were circumcised with the circumcision made without hands.

* Baptism today has the same meaning as circumcision did in the Old Testament.

V. We are to have an unshakable faith.

* Abraham's faith stands for faith without any doubt.

* Romans 13:14, tells us to put on the Lord and not to make provision for the flesh. We are not to think about anything fleshly or human as a means of salvation.

* Galatians 5:16, states that we are to walk in the Spirit.

* On the basis of Romans 13 and Galatians 5, we believe that God can give us total victory over sin. We are to have faith that is unshakable. Once God entered into the covenant with Abraham, He gave him a son.

In Hebrews 11:17, we see that Abraham was severely tested and was told to offer his son. Abraham did not question God; Abraham had an unwavering faith. He knew that God would keep His promise. Can God produce such a people today? We need to believe God, when He tells us we are His children. Abram was the father of the literal Jews; Abraham is the father of all believers. Galatians 3:6-9, clearly states that those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. Those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. If we believe, then we are a child of God. God wants a people who believe. We need to change our position from doubt and unbelief, and from a determination to work up our own salvation, to the belief in and the faith in God.

THE TRUE ISRAELITE III.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Twenty-Seven)

Recommended reading - Romans Chapters 9,10,11 and Galatians 4:28-31

God has promised that the Spiritual descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be saved. The Spiritual descendants of these three fathers represent the true Spiritual Israel. In this study we will focus on Isaac who represents a new birth. Isaac was not special because of something he did or performed, he was special because of the manner in which he was born. God has a special lesson for us in the story of the birth of Isaac.

I. A special nation.

* In Romans 9:6-7, Paul explains that God's elect are not necessarily physical descendants of Abraham.

* Abraham, the father of Isaac, was 75 years old when he was called by God and was promised that he would be the father of a special nation; we read this account in Genesis 12:4.

* God promised that in Abraham all of the families of the earth would be blessed. Abraham had no children at the time of the promise from God. The promise would ultimately be fulfilled through Abraham's son Isaac, who was yet to be born.

* The promise was fulfilled and Isaac was born when Abraham was 100 years old, as we read in Genesis 21:5. God waited to fulfill the promise to Abraham. Abraham was totally exhausted as he tried to fulfill the promise through any means, other than total reliance and trust in God.

* Isaac represents something very special in the plan of God; he represents those who are born from above. Isaac's birth was a miracle and a gift from God. His parents were long past childbearing years, and without the miraculous intervention of God, he would not have been conceived or born.

II. A special birth.

* Jesus explained the special birth to Nicodemus in John 3:3-6.

* Jesus taught that you cannot belong to God from a natural birth; you must be born from above.

* The natural life must go and a new life must begin. Our old life must die, and we must then have a new birth in the Spirit. The miraculous birth of Isaac pictures this very special Spiritual birth. We must have this Spiritual birth to belong to God.

III. The Law is Spiritual.

* Paul explains in Romans 7:14, that the Law is Spiritual and we are carnal sold to sin. Our natural life does not have the capacity to keep the law of God, as we read in Romans 8:7.

* Christ has given us a new hope and an opportunity to have a new birth. The new birth becomes a reality, when we have experienced a proper conversion.

* The new birth is a process that begins upon begettal of the Holy Spirit.

* Christ took our condemned life and gave us His life so that we could rise in newness of life.

IV. The children of promise.

* We have an incorruptible inheritance in this new life. Salvation is ours, as we are Isaac's children through the promise.

* We are the children of the promise of God. The reality of this promise will take place at the second coming of Christ.

* In II Peter 1:2-4, we read that grace and peace is multiplied through the knowledge of God and Christ. The truth will set us free!

V. Reflecting the character of God.

* The new life, that we have, gives us two wonderful blessings. First, we are given eternal life; secondly we are given Godliness.

* The new life enables us to reflect the character of God.

* The knowledge and acceptance of Christ gives us an exceedingly great and precious promise that allows us to partake in the very divine nature of God.

VI. A confusion in Galatia that still permeates to this day.

* In Galatians 4:21, Paul addresses the confusion that those in Galatia had concerning being under the Law.

* A teaching had been introduced stressing that one could be saved by the works, which they performed. A confusion of understanding occurred, when many believed that they could earn their salvation. Paul explained to the listeners that they were no longer under the rulership of the law.

* The Law is a standard of living for the true Christian; however, we cannot earn our salvation, it is a free gift. The Law no longer condemns us, if we are in Christ.

VII. A crucial difference between the two mother's and the two son's.

* Paul discusses the sons of Abraham in Galatians 4:23-28. In these verses we read about the difference between the sons of Abraham, the mothers of those sons, and their representation of the Law and the covenant.

* Hagar and Ishmael represent bondage and being under the Law. Sarah and Isaac represent the freedom in Christ.

* When you accept Christ by faith, then the Holy Spirit dwells in you. You become a child of Isaac and experience the new birth. A birth that changes your life from the understanding of who you are to the understanding of true obedience to God and to His loving Law.

* The natural life, in which we were originally born, does not disappear when this beggetal occurs. We will still live the different lives of flesh and Spirit. We will continue to struggle all of our lives with the carnality that is in us.

* The struggle, that we will experience, is addressed in Galatians 4:29-30. The struggle, that we will experience between the flesh and the spirit, is the parallel of the struggle between Isaac and Ishmael in Genesis 21:8-12.

* The scriptures tell us to cast out the flesh, as Abraham cast out the bondwomen and the child. Paul concludes that we are not the children of the bondwoman, rather of the free woman in Galatians 4:31.

We need to review our life and be determined to properly look at the blessing of conversion. Are we a Christian who has been born from above and received the Holy Spirit? Only the children of Isaac, those born from above, will have a right to the Kingdom of God. We have been blessed with a new life that is in Christ. We need to thank God for this special understanding of Isaac and of his special birth, to properly understand that we are the very children of promise.

THE TRUE ISRAELITE IV.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Twenty-Eight)

Recommended reading - Romans chapters 9,10,11, and Genesis 32:24-28.

Paul clearly states, in his Epistle, that God did not fail to keep His promise. He also makes clear, that the promise of God was not specifically fulfilled through the physical descendants of Abraham. Paul mentions in Romans 2:28-29, that a true Jew is one that is a Jew inwardly. The life of a true Christian begins with faith. The first of the fathers of Israel was Abraham, who pictures true Christian faith. Faith is obeying the call of God. Abraham obeyed God and he became the father of all who believe. The faith of Abraham led to the miraculous new birth of Isaac. The faith that a true Christian has, leads to a new birth in Christ. When you experience the new birth, and have the Spirit of God, then you are a child of the promise and you become a part of true Israel. Once we properly understand Abraham (faith), and Isaac (the new birth), we look to the third father, Jacob.

I. The new birth is a real life changing experience.

* The new birth that we experience is much more than just an emotional feel good experience. The new birth is a real experience of the Spirit of God, which brings about a dramatic change in each one of us.

* Our lives actually change in terms of citizenship, status, dominion, and nature.

1. In John 15:19, we see that our call in Christ is that we are to be separated from the world and become part of His Kingdom. Our citizenship is of the Kingdom of God under Christ and the Father. Philipians 3:20-21, explains that our citizenship is in Christ. Christians are under Christ and His Kingdom, while the world is still under the sway of the wicked one.

2. Our status also changes upon our new birth. In Romans 3:19, the whole world is guilty and condemned. We are, by birth and performance, under condemnation of death. When we accept Christ, we experience justification and life. We read in John 3:36, that when you believe in the Son of God, you have everlasting life. A true Christian will uphold the Law of God; however, he will not use that as a means of trying to earn salvation.

3. The good news is that not only does our citizenship and status change, so does our dominion. We are no longer under the rule of the Law and the harsh realities of that dominion. We have a change of status from under the Law to under grace. We are not delivered from under the law by God doing away with the Law. That would be a heretical belief. God did not do away with the Law, He did away with us; we died to the Law as Paul explained in Romans 7:6. Through Christ, God has given us some wonderful promises.
4. We see, along with all the other changes, that our nature also will change. We are blessed in that we may partake in the Divine nature. We see in II Peter 1:4, that we may be partakers in the Divine nature in the new birth experience.

II. The new birth creates a real struggle.

* The changes that occur when we experience the new birth, create several problems that we in the flesh will experience. The problems deal with the struggles that we experience as carnal human beings.

* The third father Jacob represents and symbolizes the characteristic of that struggle. The main problem that we face is, we become an active participant in the great battle with Satan. Christ has won the battle with Satan; however, we still battle the flesh.

* Christ prayed that we should not be removed out of the world, but He diligently prayed that we would be kept from the evil one.

* We deal with the flesh every day of our lives. The unconvertible flesh and the Spirit which dwells in the believer, are in constant struggle. Paul addresses this point in Galatians 5:17.

* No individual in the Bible represents more fully the Spiritual battle and conflict between the flesh and Spirit, than does the life of Jacob.

* Jacob experienced a life of ups and downs. We should not get discouraged, when our Christian experience has ups and downs.

* The wonderful point in the life of Jacob is that he prevailed. He emerged upon the plains of triumphant faith. When Jacob experienced that triumph, God then and only then changed his name from Jacob (which means schemer), to Israel (which means the one who prevailed).

III. The significance of the third father - Jacob.

* Paul finally addresses the significance of the life of Jacob in Romans 9:10-13. In the Jewish culture the firstborn received the birthright. Privileges were bestowed upon the firstborn, which in the case of Jacob should have gone to his brother Esau, who was the firstborn.

* God taught the lesson in this case, that the blessing of God is not based upon natural inheritance, or through works, or anything that we do. The blessing of God is according to the promise and to the election of God.

* The Bible teaches that many are called and few are chosen. It is not God who does the choosing; He does the calling. Man is the one in the position to do the choosing. God accepts everyone who chooses to accept the calling through faith.

* Many people are called, but few accept that very special calling. God offered Esau the promise and salvation - the calling.

* Esau despised his birthright and chose not to accept the calling. Paul quotes verses from Malachi 1:1-3 in Romans 9:13. God is saying that I have loved you Israel even though you do not deserve to be loved.

* God used Jacob and Esau as the example. Esau deserved the birthright but God gave it to Jacob. The word hated in the above verse means rejected; God rejected Esau because he did not want the birthright. Esau chose not to accept the birthright; he chose what seemed best to him at the time - a bowl of soup.

IV. Realize what is important and then be patient.

* We need to realize what is important. Life and death does not matter; what matters is if we are accepting God's truth and the calling that He is giving us.

* The promise that Jacob would ultimately receive the birthright was made to Rebecca (Jacob's mother) before Jacob was born. The problem with Jacob was that he tried to fulfill God's promise himself, which led to a constant struggle.

* The flesh is our greatest hindrance, when God produces righteousness in us. We do not like it, when we don't get the credit for what we accomplish. We struggle with the thought that God gets the credit for any righteous acts, that we may perform.

* Jacob, from his birth, tried to use the flesh to fulfill God's promise. The struggle started right in the womb and continued throughout the life of Jacob. Jacob schemed to get the birthright from Esau. The flesh is always there to scheme, and then not to be patient and wait for God.

* Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all experienced a struggle with the flesh. God used each one of them, with their struggles, to specifically demonstrate the qualifications and characteristics of a true Israelite. Through their examples we see how to become a true Israelite (Christian). We must have faith (Abraham), be born from above (Isaac), and endure (Jacob).

* Jacob finally received the birthright by a scheme that fooled his father Isaac. The birthright fulfillment occurred when Isaac blessed Jacob. Esau threatened to kill Jacob for taking the blessing from him, and Jacob fled for his life. Jacob waited a long time before deciding to return home.

* The struggle and all of the trails that Jacob went through occurred simply because he did not rest in Christ. We as Christians struggle to this day because we simply do not rest in Christ.

* God will deliver us; He will do it. We read about His faithfulness in I Thessalonians 5:24. Jacob had a final struggle, when he tried to appease Esau by his works. Jacob, prior to his arrival, sent Esau some gifts . Have we as Christians tried to appease God by our good works and then hope that God would not be angry with us?

* God tells us that he loves us; we need to simply believe Him. Jacob continually connived and schemed throughout his life. He continually relied on the flesh, a perfect example of what we struggle with in our own lives.

V. Desperately want God's way.

* Jacob fell deeply asleep, while waiting to meet with his brother Esau. During that sleep he wrestled all night with one whom he thought was an enemy. It turned out that Jacob wrestled all night with God.

* God was coming to bless him and to give him assurance and hope. The wrestling match led to a painful dislocation of Jacob's hip. When Jacob realized with whom he was wrestling, he would not let go until he received the blessing.

* God asked Jacob, "What is your name"? Jacob said, "My name is schemer". God said, "Now that you held onto me and did not let go, I will bless you and change your name".

* Even though Jacob schemed and followed the flesh, he desperately wanted to be a part of God's way. God applies this experience to us.

VI. A time of great trouble.

* The last generation of Christians will go through a time of great trouble, as we read in Jeremiah 30:11. The Bible compares the end time of trouble to the time of Jacob's trouble, a time in which Jacob prevailed. Jesus applied this in Matthew 24; picturing a time of great trouble.

* We must endure to the end, as stated in Matthew 24:13. We must endure persecution, the chastening of the Lord, and false doctrine. In Matthew 10:17-22, Jesus states that their will be many betrayals and persecutions. Paul addresses this, as well, in II Thessalonians 1:4.

VII. A refining process.

* God's people are going through a refining process; God is refining Jacob and his spiritual descendants.

* In Hebrews 12:7-11, We find that if we endure chastening God deals with us as His son. If we refuse the chastening of the Lord we will not endure.

* We must endure false doctrine. We need to keep these scriptures in mind (II Timothy 4:3-5 and Ephesians 4:14), when we are experiencing the thrust of false doctrine.

* Jacob was a failure in his own eyes; yet he never gave up his faith in the promise of God. Jacob held onto God and that is why he is remembered.

All of the great men and women of the Bible endured unto the end; their faith held on to God. We also must run with endurance looking to Jesus (the author and finisher of our faith), as Paul explains in Hebrews 12:1-2. We are to endure and use the fathers as our example. The three fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob show how we are to respond to God. We are to have faith in Jesus Christ; we are to be born from above and filled with the Holy Spirit; we are to endure to the end. The proper understanding of the characteristics of the fathers helps us to understand what it means to be the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

THE JEWISH TRAGEDY
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Twenty-Nine)

Recommended reading - Romans 10:13-21.

Individuals and groups, who strictly adhere to the Law of God, are the ones who most likely would fall into repeating the sad history of Israel. The Jews were given the Law of God, which gave them a fantastic advantage, because they knew the Messiah was coming. The history of Israel is one of rejecting the truth of God. Since we have so much in common with them, we become vulnerable to making the same mistakes which they made. It is important, as we look at the sad history of Israel, that we take heed and not repeat that history.

I. Where they failed.

* The Jews failed in three main areas.

1. They failed by not realizing God's purpose in giving them the three fathers - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

2. They failed to understand the gospel. Now physical Israel does not have an advantage; it is the Spiritual body that comprises true Israel. The Jews failed to realize that Christ was the fulfillment of the promise; therefore, they rejected the gospel and they perverted the promise to salvation. Salvation was never available through physical Israel; it is only available through the Messiah.

3. Even though God tried several times to correct the problem, the Jews stubbornly rejected the attempts. God makes a statement about this fact in Matthew 23:37-38.

* The history of Israel has been recorded so that we may avoid this tragedy.

II. Good will to all men.

* Paul begins Romans 10:1, by using the word desire. The word desire means good will; Paul's good will is that his people (Israel) would be…Ð8Á
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* The Jews hated Paul because they looked upon him as a traitor. In spite of this, Paul felt a tremendous burden for his fellow Israelites.

* We should feel a similar burden for those around us. We should have a desire that people be saved and accept their status in the second Adam - Jesus Christ.

III. Zeal according to knowledge.

* Paul pinpoints the problem in Romans 10:2-3. The Jews had a zeal for God; they studied and learned but they did not learn according to knowledge.

* Today, there are many who have a tremendous zeal for God but who do not have a zeal according to knowledge.

* Paul knew what he was talking about because, prior to his conversion he had tremendous zeal. The problem was that his zeal was misguided. Paul zealously, prior to his conversion, instigated the stoning of Stephen. In Paul's heart he thought he was serving God, but it was not according to the knowledge of God. God corrected Paul and he repented.

IV. Looking to establish our own righteousness.

* In verse 3, Paul states the direct problem; the Jews looked to establish their own righteousness and did not submit to the righteousness of God.

* When Paul discovered Christ, he realized that his own righteousness could not save him. The righteousness is through faith and not through works.

* The Holy Spirit does produce fruit and that fruit is good works.

* We must understand clearly that salvation is a gift and not earned. The Jews did not accept God's way of salvation.

V. Exchanging our righteousness for Christ's righteousness.

* We must give up our righteousness in exchange for Christ's righteousness. In Galatians 5:4, this point is made clear.

* The Law should be used as a standard for Christian living and not as a means to earn salvation.

* In Romans 10:3, we need to focus on the word ignorant. The Jews knew the gospel; the problem was that their ignorance was deliberate and persistent.

VI. What was fulfilled and terminated?

* Paul makes a statement in Romans 10:4, which is difficult to understand. The verse is difficult to understand because of the word, "end". The word has several meanings. Paul used this word to mean both fulfillment and termination.

* Christ is righteous and perfect; He cannot save us by overlooking the Law. God is righteous, just, and Holy. In order to save us, Christ, without sinning, had to take on the nature of those He was saving.

* Christ qualified by joining Himself to us; He became one with us. Christ obeyed the Law perfectly. In Christ we have perfect obedience; however, that obedience cannot cancel our disobedience.

* Christ did not come to save the righteous; he came to save sinners. Christ linked Himself to fallen man so that He redeemed man.

* Christ surrendered Himself to the full wages of sin, which was God abandonment.

* Christ is the end of the Law, and the fulfillment of the Law for righteousness to all who believe.

* When Paul uses the word end to mean termination, notice that the word Law is preceded by a definite article, "the". The definite article, "the" does not exist in the original; so what did Paul mean by the word Law? The word legalism in the English language does not have a similar word in the Greek language. Paul used the word Law to mean legalism.

* Legalism is not simply obedience to the Law; it is man trying to save himself by his own works or obedience to the Law. Christ fulfilled the law for righteousness for us. He also terminated the idea of works of the Law as a means of salvation.

* Paul says in Romans 10:5, that if you want to be saved by the Law, you must do what the Law requires (that is impossible).

* Paul then addresses in Verses 6 - 8 that to be saved by faith Christ is the way. Paul states that man thinks there are two ways of being saved. One way is, if you want to be saved you have to go up to God's level. Paul states that you don't have to go find God; He comes to you through the message of the gospel. Paul states in Verse 8, that the Word is near us.

VII. We must believe with our heart.

* What we believe has to come through the heart, as Paul explains in Romans 10:9-11.

* When we believe in Christ, we will not be put to shame. We exchange our righteousness for the righteousness of Christ so that our shame may not be revealed, as we read in Revelation 3:18.

* In Christ our sins will be blotted out. Romans 10:13 shows us that there is no distinction between people; God desires for everyone to be saved.

* The preachers in Verse 14-15 are all of God's people; it is not just a specific few. We all need to go out and preach Christ. In verses 16-17 the word, "by" is incorrect; the correct word is through. Faith comes through the word of God. The old manuscripts do not have the word God, they have the word Christ.

We must hear the direct words of Christ. In days past God spoke through the prophets; in the last days He speaks to us through His Son Jesus Christ. We can read and understand the very words of the Almighty God, spoken directly to us for our admonition and benefit. Paul says in Verses 18- 21 that the gospel went to all the world. The Jews said we don't want Him, while others said, thank you God. In I Corinthians 10:11-12, Paul tells us that all things happened to the Jews for our example. We are then strongly warned that once we have heard the truth and understand that, we should take heed less we fall. Let us take heed to the words of our Lord and savior and cry out, "Thank You God".

GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISE.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Thirty)

Recommended reading - Romans 11:25-35.

The Apostle Paul concludes his discussion regarding the Jews, by addressing several important facts that teach us how to properly understand our mission. We must understand that literal Israel's rejection is not final. Christ declared to the Jews, before His crucifixion in Matthew 23:38, your house is left desolate. Christ simply meant that from that point the Jews would no longer be the only ones who represented Him. He took the torch from them and gave it to His church, which consisted of Jews and Gentiles. There is hope for all men including the Jews, as Paul explains in Romans 11:1-4. God is willing to save anyone who accepts His Son. God made the Israelite nation a great nation. He told them how to live and instructed them not to learn the ways of the pagan and the heathen. The Israelites were warned that they should not convert the Babalonish systems into the appearance of a Christian or Godly practice. The Israelites were God's Covenant people and He wanted them to do as He told them.

I. Godly judgment.

* Paul quotes Elijah stating that the people of Israel continued to forsake God.

* The problem was that Elijah was judging by outward appearance.

* We have to learn from this; we are not to judge by outward appearance.

* God's divine response is that He reserves for Himself whom He chooses.

* God's judgment is right, good, and proper.

II. The worship of yourself.

* The word baal in these scriptures refers to a lord.

* There are many forms of baal worship today; wherever there is self involved you have baal worship.

III. A remnant of the elect.

* In Verse 5 Paul explains that there is a remnant of the people according to the election. There was a remnant then and there is a remnant today.

* There are many, to this day, who are obeying God. The word remnant refers to those who are faithful to God and to His truth, in the midst of apostasy.

* The word elect means to be chosen. God elected all men to be saved in Christ; however, God will not force that choice upon anyone. God gives what people choose; if we reject Christ we have chosen death.

IV. The truth about salvation and God's sovereignty.

* Paul explains the truth about works as a means of salvation in Verses 6-8. In later chapters Paul explains the fruits of salvation which produce works.

* Works are the evidence of salvation, never the means of salvation.

* Israel was seeking to obtain salvation by works and that attempt failed.

* In Verse 8 we must remember that God is sovereign; nothing happens without His permission and knowledge. That does not mean that God causes or initiates all that happens.

* God assumes the blame for things that occur, even when He is not to blame, because he is sovereign. He assumes the blame because, ultimately in the judgment, every knee will bow down and confess that God is right.

* In the judgment, God will reveal to the universe why He held back and did not stop horrible things from happening. The blame will ultimately be placed upon the one that absolutely defied and rejected God - which the day of Atonement pictures.

* God did not put the stupor on the Jews as is written in Verse 8; however, he takes the blame because he allowed it to happen.

V. God turns a rejection into hope.

* In Verse 9-10 Paul quotes David describing the hardening of the Jews hearts.

* Paul says in Verses 11-14 that God had chosen all the Jews to be saved, yet many of them rejected Him.

* In light of this rejection, God takes their failure and turns it into good. He opens the opportunity for salvation to the Gentiles.

* In the judgment it will be revealed that God tried everything before leaving one desolate.

VI. The olive tree.

* In Verses 15-24 Paul discusses an olive tree to symbolize a truth.

* In this truth Christ is the source of life; the natural branches are the Jews. The branches that represent the Jews are in two camps, the believers (the remnant), and the unbelievers (the unfaithful).

* God has no problem with the believers. They are part of Israel, which is the tree. The unbelievers are the branches that are broken off. He then grafts the wild olive branches, which are the gentiles, into the tree.

* The Gentiles are joined together with Israel, and all believers then enjoy the source of life, who is Jesus Christ.

* Paul then strongly proceeds to tell the new branches not to boast. The believer does not support the root; the root supports the believer.

* Christ is our Savior; we do not save ourselves. We need to understand that God cut off the natural branch. If one does not believe, one will not be spared. The problem, with any branch that is removed, is unbelief. Unbelief will separate us from God.

VII. We can make the same mistake.

* We cannot say that we are beyond the mistakes of the Jews, and then turn around and suffer the fate that many Jews suffered.

* We must not say that we are the only ones who have salvation. Remember that God is merciful, but God is also just.

* Those who have been cut off in the past (if they recognize their unbelief and repent), God will graft them right back into the tree.

* In Romans 11:25 Paul reveals the mystery that is now made known. Paul says that the Jews rejected the Messiah and, when that occurred, he made the gospel available to the Gentiles.

VII. A desolate time for the unbeliever.

* Christ explains the desolation of the Jews in the latter times in Luke 21:20-24. There is still time for the Jews and for everyone to repent.

* When you see the time occur that God has been rejected to the point where the entire nation will be destroyed, then depart Jerusalem because the time is over. God will remove His protection.

* The Jews have experienced trouble in history and will face a time of trouble again.

* In terms of Paul's writings, the Jews returning to Jerusalem is not the main issue. The main issue is that God will not close the opportunity for the Gentiles until this gospel is preached to all people.

What we see in Israel is a warning to us that the end is about to come. The gospel message must be preached. The confusion of legalism and the cheapening of the grace of God must be corrected, and the proper message must be taught. In Romans11:26-32 Paul states that the Jews became enemies of the Gospel, so God gave the gospel to the Gentiles. We live in a time where the gospel message is available to everyone. All are sinners and have the death sentence. Your background and race does not matter. We have a blessed opportunity because God has given grace to all men as a free gift. We are all saved by grace, alone. We must be counted among the true believers. In Verse 33-36 there is a song of praise about the greatness of God. All things are through God and He alone is to be given the glory.

BORN CRUCIFIED.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Thirty-One)

Recommended reading - Romans 12:1-3.

Paul addresses Christian living and ethics in this section of scripture. We must study this section in the context of the entire theme of the Book of Romans. To Paul, Christian ethics are the practical application of righteousness by faith (the fruits of the gospel). The central theme of Romans is, he who is just by faith shall live. This theme comes from the Old Testament scripture found in Habakkuk 2:4. The Jews of Paul's time twisted this scripture and turned it from righteousness by faith, to righteousness by works. Paul was aware of this twisting of the scripture and addressed this confusion throughout his letter to the Romans. It is not our faithfulness that saves us; it is God's faithfulness. Paul proves from every spiritual angle that man cannot save himself by his own faithfulness; all are under sin. We are justified by faith apart from the deeds of the Law through God's gift - Jesus Christ. The background, that we have from the prior scriptures, guides us to apply the glorious message of righteousness by faith to our daily Christian lives. We can divide the scripture found in Habakkuk and the book of Romans into three sections. First, "Behold the proud" (the self-righteous), "His soul is not upright" (he is not honest with himself). Second, "The just shall live by his faith"; the only way we can be righteous is by faith alone, there is no other way. Third, "Shall live", he who is righteous by faith shall live; you live righteously because you have become righteous in Jesus Christ. We must properly understand the time frame in which we actually begin to live our Christian lives, as well as, how we should live our Christians lives.

I. Walk in newness of life.

* Paul states that the just shall live by faith, from the moment of the acceptance of Jesus Christ. We should walk in newness of life, from the moment we rise out of the water of baptism.

* Christ said throughout His life, not My will, but the will of My Father. Christ learned obedience through what He suffered.

* A true Christian, in his daily life, will not follow his own will but the will of God. Christ removed the barrier between God and man. We no longer can let sin rule our body. We need to start doing what God wants us to do.

* We should no longer worry about receiving eternal life; we are in Christ. We have to be careful not to give up, go our own way, and reject God and life; we must stay in Christ to receive the wonderful gift of life.

* We do not wait until the second coming of Christ to live the life of a Christian; we live that life now. The greatest evidence, that we can give to the world that we are justified by faith, is by our life. Paul states in I Corinthians 4:20, the Kingdom of God is not in words but in power.
II. Christian Ethics.

* Paul address Christian ethics, at the end of his letter, because he is opposing legalism in all of his writings. A Legalist believes that you must first live a good life, then you will be justified.

* The gospel states that you will be justified first, then you are expected to live a Christian life. God gave the Law that we may be directed to Christ; then when we come to Christ, He turns us to the Law as a standard of Christian living.

* In I John 5:11-13, we are told that we now have eternal life, if we are in the Son of God. The believer has life right now; as long as we are believers we have life.

III. A living sacrifice.

* In Romans 12:1, there are several words that we need to review in detail. Notice the word "present". We are to make a resolute decision to be a living sacrifice. We are to be offered before God, to serve the brethren.

* Why does Paul use the words, "living sacrifice" in this scripture? When we accepted Christ, the change that occurred was in our mind and will. Our nature did not change. We have a mind that wants to follow God, but a nature that is against God.

* We are to sacrifice our body and nature to God; we will no longer follow the control of our nature.

* Christ continually presented His body as a living sacrifice before His Father. Christ stated, "Father, not My will but Thine be done". Christ then presented His body as an ultimate sacrifice upon the cross. God gave Himself for us, so we in turn should be willing to offer ourselves for His cause.

* The word, "reasonable" could be translated worship, so it has a spiritual connotation. Paul is saying that it is our Spiritual service to live for Christ. We are not to live for our nature or by our nature, we are to live for Christ.

IV. Do not conform to this world.

* We are not to conform ourselves to this world. Paul appeals to us in, Romans 12: 2, that we are not to fit into the mold of this world.

* We need to make a distinction between our culture and the Christian lifestyle.
* Unfortunately, what ever the cultural trend is, the church has followed and called it Christianity. We must, as a Christian, have died to the world and we must no longer belong to the world's system.

* The world has been allowed to go into filthy, abominable practices; it is evident that in no way is this nation under God.

* Christ prayed that we not be removed from the world, but that we be kept from the evil of the world. John tells us in I John 2:15-16, that we are not to love the world. He is not speaking about people, he is referring to the things of the world.

V. We have a portfolio.

* We are not an Ambassador without portfolio; we have a portfolio, we are an Ambassador of the kingdom of God.

* We have a responsibility to show that we are a part of the Kingdom of God. Do not ever deny that fact.

* The driving forces that control the worldly person are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

* The mentality of the Christian is found in Galatians 5:24. We have crucified the flesh with its' passions and desires.

God wants to see in us a transformation of the mind; the performance will take care of itself. We read about this transformation in Romans 12:2-3. We are to have the mind that was in Christ Jesus, as we read in Philippians 2:1-5. Once we have this mind, God will reveal the good and acceptable service that He expects from us. We are to think soberly as God has dealt to each of us a measure of faith. The foundation of Christian living is the formula, not my will but Christ. A Christian is justified and now stands perfect before God. We need to daily renew our minds …Ð8Â
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THE BODY OF CHRIST.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Thirty-Two)

Recommended reading - Romans 12:4-8.

A great controversy has occurred concerning the detail of when the human life actually begins. The truth concerning this question is that life began when God created Adam. In Genesis 2:7, God breathed into Adam the breath of life. The proper wording in this scripture should be that God breathed into Adam the breath of lives. All human beings were created in Adam. When Adam sinned, all man sinned and experienced the penalty of that sin. Christ gave freedom to all of mankind through His life and death. A Christian who is justified by faith begins living a new life the moment of conversion. In Romans 12:4-8, Paul begins to address Christian living, in the Church.

I. We have been given a measure of faith.

* We have all been given a capacity of faith. We do not need more faith; we need to exercise the measure of the faith that God has given us.

* We are not vying for the same measure of faith; we all have our own measure.

* In Romans 12:3, the word faith refers to the Spiritual capacity that every believer receives at conversion.

* The measure that we receive enables us to function within the Church, which is the Body of Christ.

II. There are many members.

* The gospel is not a theory or an idea; it is a truth that has to be experienced.

* In Verses 4-5, Paul covers some very key issues. We have a body that is comprised of many parts and members. Each part of our body has a function, which it must perform. The same is true of the Church of God.

* What one part of the body experiences, the whole body experiences. Individually we are members; we are also members of one another.

* We cannot allow ourselves to get sick and affect the whole Body of Christ. In I Corinthians 12:13 we read, we are all baptized into Christ which is the one Body. Christianity is entering into Christ. The birth process that we experience begins, when we are given the Spirit of God. We accept the life of Christ as our life.

III. A special people with a new citizenship.

* The exchange of our life into Christ brings a tremendous and dynamic change in us. Our status, our position, the way we look at things, and the way we do things, all change.

* When we were unconverted, we belonged to the world. When we become Christians, we no longer are citizens of that world. We become members of the Body of Christ, which is the Church.

* The word Church means a called out people led by the Spirit of God. We are a special people to God.

* In I Corinthians 12:13 we read that we are in one Body, that is comprised of many members. To be able to function in the Body, God has given every member a gift. We are all being equipped for the work of service for the building of the Body.

* The head of the Body is Jesus Christ. Christ has not put anyone over the other; there is no hierarchical structure in the Body. Whatever gift God has given you, is for the purpose of edifying and for the building up of the entire body.

* The reason, that we have been given the gift from God, is found in I Corinthians 12:7. We are given a gift so the whole Church may benefit. In the Church, every member of the Body has a part to serve in the Body.

IV. The Church is a Spiritual organism, not a physical organization.

* In Romans 12:6-8, we see that we all have different gifts according to the grace of God. We are to use our gifts. God has given everyone a gift so that every member of the Body may serve to the glory of God.

* In order for the Body to function as a unit, it must have every member and every part in working order. The crying need of the Church today is for this to occur.

* The Church is the Spiritual organism (Spiritual Body), not the organizations that call themselves the church.

* When we accept Christ we are accepting salvation. The first experience of salvation is moving from the world into the Church, which is the Body of Christ.

* Jesus states in John 15:19, that we no longer belong to the world; we belong to Him. We are a separate people, who have been placed into the Body of Christ. There is no organization that is the Church of God. God does not deal with organizations, he deals with individuals. The Church has only one head and that is Jesus Christ, who governs and leads the Body.

V. We have been purchased by Christ.

* We are a special and peculiar people who have been purchased by the blood of Christ. Our loyalty needs to be to Christ, not to any person or organization.

* Christ is our Lord and our Master. In the Church the principle is not self but Christ. He is the head; we are the servant of Him. We are under the government of the most high God. Any human being taking control of you will lead you away from Christ.

* We need to obey God and not fear; He has conquered death. To obey God we must have a living connection with Christ. All body parts must be connected to the head. In John 15, Jesus said if we abide in Him, He will abide in us. We need to be linked by prayer and communication through the Holy Spirit of God.

* We serve because we love people, not to get something. The human body must grow, likewise the Church must grow. The reference to growth is not numerically, we must grow Spiritually. In Ephesians 4:11-12, we see that the saints are to do the work of the ministry.

* God's goal for the Church is to grow spiritually and that in unison (together), we reflect the character of Christ. When we do not use our gifts, we grow stagnate and do not grow. God expects us to grow up and not to act in the manner of a baby. In I Corinthians 3:1-3, Paul refers to those who have not grown up and must be treated as babies.

The greatest stumbling block to evangelism is when the world cannot see a distinction between the Church and themselves. The world will not see God in the flesh as long as we are superficial, nominal Christians. We need to remind ourselves that we are dead and our life is in Christ. The world, from that point, should not see us but Christ in us. When Christ lives in us, His love will permeate through us and we will love each other. Jesus said in John 13:45, that all men will know us when we have love for each other. We need to love each other as Christ has loved us. We need to function in the work that God has given each one of us both to do, and to accomplish. We need to grow Spiritually and draw close to our God. We need to remember who we are - we are members of the Body of Christ. God will bless us as we seek to serve Him, as a member of the Body of Christ.

INTO HIS LIKENESS.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Thirty-Three)

Recommended reading - Romans 12:9-21.

Paul makes a statement, in this section of scripture, that seems impossible for anyone to accomplish. Paul explains, in more detail, two of the verses that he originally wrote in Romans 8:29-30. God elected only a certain number of the human race to be part of the first resurrection, at the return of Jesus Christ. The word foreknew, found in Verse 8, means to know before hand. God's purpose is for all mankind to be saved; however, all mankind will not be in the first resurrection. God knows before hand who will accept His gift; He has predestined them to be conformed to the image of His Son. God's plan for the world is salvation. God's plan for the believer is not only salvation and the first resurrection, but also that his character be transformed until he reflects the image of God's Son - Jesus Christ. Christ is the first born (the prototype), of what we are to become. Jesus is our example for Christian living, which is the point of the scriptures in Romans 12.

I. The conduct of a true Christian.

* The first thing that God wants you to know, when you accept His gift, is that you stand perfect in Jesus Christ. In Romans 12:9-21, we read how a Christian should behave. The lifestyle, approach, and the conduct of a true Christian should be in the manner described in these verses.

* The only way, that we can fulfill in our lives what Paul is suggesting, is to walk in the Spirit. We need to let Jesus Christ walk in us through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit, that dwells in us, is the Spirit of the Father and of the Son.

* The first thing, that we must do, is rid ourselves of self. We need to love with an agape type of love, an unconditional love. The love that we need is the love from God.

* In Verse 9, Paul explains that we are to have a genuine love. When you are controlled by this love, you will hate evil and cling to what is good.

* If we love Christ, we will hate sin because our sin crucified Christ.

* In Verse 10, we read that we are to be kindly affectionate to one another. We are to have a combined love for one another. We are not just members of a church, as we have known a church , we are members of the same family.

* We need to be one, because we share the same life - the life of Christ. When we gossip or put down one another, we are putting down a member of our own family.

II. We are to be diligent.

* We are strongly admonished in Verse 11, to stop being lazy; we are to be diligent in serving the Lord. We need to work in our physical as well as our Spiritual life. God does not want us to be lazily walking around taking advantage of others. We read in II Thessalonians 3:6-12, that we are to withdraw from those who are lazy, and are walking around taking advantage of others.

* The Christian does not want to be a burden on others. The teachers and the ministers are to set an example of a hard working and diligent lifestyle. Verse 10, clearly points out that, if you do not work you should not eat.

* Paul continues in these verses to say that you are commanded to work in quietness and to eat your own bread. One way to sift a genuine need, from those individuals who are out there to take advantage of you, is to offer work to those who have need. In Romans 12:11, Paul is saying not to be lazy and not sponge off of others. We are to serve and to work fervently.

III. A difficult walk.

* The world is without hope; we have hope and we are to rejoice in that hope, as we read in Verse 12. We are to be patient in the troubles we face and then continue daily drawing closer to our God in prayer. We will be mistreated, because we are Christians, living in a sinful world.

* Paul tells us to be patient through all that we experience and to be steadfast in prayer, asking God for strength. We should give to those with genuine needs and be given to hospitality. We are to give, share, and love others.

* Romans 12:14,17 and 19 are tied together and state that, we are to bless those who curse us, to not repay evil with evil, and to not take revenge. We are to have regard for good things in the sight of all men and to wait patiently upon the Lord, for he will repay in His own manner.

* God is patient and he wants us to be patient.

* In verse 12 Paul draws from the Old testament scriptures of Proverbs 25:21-22. Paul is saying, in these verses, that we are to help our enemy. In ancient times building a fire was not an easy task. Individuals would cover their fire with coals so they would smolder under the cover. In the morning, if you put fresh wood on the fire, it would flicker and regain its' flame. Paul is saying, we should assist and put the coals of fire in their basket so that they will have fire. He is not referring to making your enemy feel badly, as some have misinterpreted. This Proverb is full of good advice for the believer.

* It is very difficult to put all of this into practice; we realize, in a hurry, that we cannot do it by our own strength. We need to say, not myself but Jesus Christ that is in me through the Holy Spirit.

IV. The light of the world.

* In Hebrews 10:8, God's desire is to not only dwell in us through the Holy Spirit, but to walk in us.

* In Matthew 5:14-16, we see that we are the light of the world and all should see the good works, so that our Father may be glorified. There are many who are in the one light. We are not the light; in John 1:4,9, we see that Jesus Christ is the light.

* When you accept Christ, He gives you life and that life comes from Him. The life, that has been given to us, needs to be revealed to the world, that is the Light we reflect. We collectively, as Christians, reflect that one Light to the world.

* Jesus Christ explains the love we should have in Matthew 5:43-48. We sometimes wonder why good happens to the evil ones of this world. It is because God makes the sun rise on the evil and the good. He has agape love.

* In Verse 48, we read that we are to be perfect as our Father is perfect. Christ uses this word in terms of love. We are to love as our Father and Jesus Christ love. We reveal Christ by conforming to the image of Him.

Sin has robbed us of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 states that we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. John tells us in John 1:14, that the glory of God is self emptying love. The gospel is not only to save us and prepare us for the Kingdom of God, but the gospel also restores in the believer the glory of God. Christ in us is the hope of glory as stated in Colossians 1:27. God is glorifying the character of the life of the believer that it may conform to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. We need to let this happen now, so that our bodies may be glorified at the second coming of Christ. The sinful body will be replaced with the glorified body. The world desperately needs to see Christ. He cannot be seen because he is in heaven; His Body, the Church, may be seen because it is on the earth. God says we are the Light of the world. We have only one light and that is Christ. When that Light shines, a prophesy will be fulfilled as we read in Revelation 18:1; the earth will be lightened with his glory. We need to be willing to let Christ lighten this world with His glory. The world desperately needs to see the power of the gospel. The world needs the Light.

LOYAL CITIZENS.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Thirty-Four)

Recommended reading - Romans 13:1-7.

The example of Jesus Christ is the ultimate life for a Christian to follow. Everyday we are to strive to grow into His likeness. One way for a Christian to grow is by the studying of the very Word of God. A challenge that Christians face is that individuals misuse scripture for their own benefit. It is important that we know the scriptures and draw close to our God. When a scripture is quoted we are then familiar with the context and the God of the scriptures. We can then verify the meaning of scripture with understanding. Governments and religions, throughout history, have sought the obedience of their subjects. Many times Christians have been challenged to obey improper ruling bodies. The message that we read in Romans 13:1, concerning the soul being subject to governing authorities, has been used by many authorities to demand subjection. We need to understand that God is in charge; He is the sovereign creator and the ruler over all that exists. God does not rule as mankind rules. Mankind is selfish and not concerned about the well being of others. Is Paul teaching that a Christian must give absolute obedience to the governing authority?

I. The authority of government.

* One day Christians may face the issue of a governing authority demanding work on the Sabbath Day. The authorities may use Verse 1 for their authority to enact such a decree.

* We must first look at the context of this scripture. When Paul wrote this statement to the Roman Christians, he was writing to Christians whose government was against Christians.

* Paul made a statement in Romans 12:2, that he realized was misunderstood. He stated that we must not be conformed to this world. Paul realized that the Christians would say, since we don't belong to the world, we don't have to obey the governments of this world.

* Paul was writing to clarify the misunderstanding some had in regard to obedience. He is addressing, in Romans 13:1, the specific area of law and order.

* The sinful human world, in which we live, must have restrictions placed upon it to curb evil. God has allowed civil authority the right to place restrictions to try and curb the evil that exists.

II. God permits the government to have authority because of sinful man.

* Once mankind became sinful, God allowed governments to be established. He ordained civil authority to restrict the evil practices of sinful man.

* We read the application of the obedience to this governing in Romans 13:2-4. God has not only ordained civil authorities, He has also given them the right to execute judgment, when people disobey the rules of the authority.

* If the governments of this world practiced more punishment, as the Bible teaches, there would be less crime.

* One of the problems that the world has is, the breaking of rules in today's society does not result in punishment. Too often the time spent in prison is a better life for the individuals being punished, than the life they experience when they are not in prison.

III. A Christian is subject to two kingdom's.

* Paul is saying that Christians should be good loyal citizens and he states why in Verses 5-6. The Christian has to do what is right because he wants to do what is right, not because he is afraid of the governing authority.

* The real question that arises is should a Christian obey the authority in every respect? Paul is not addressing that issue; he did not obey the government in every respect. The early Christians did not obey in all respects.

* We need to place several scriptures next to Verse 1, to properly understand a fundamental principal taught in the New Testament.

* Jesus taught in Mark 12:13-17, that there are two kingdoms in the world, the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world. We are subject to both kingdoms.

* The real obedience to God by a Christian is from within himself. When God places His Spirit within an individual, that person has a conscience toward God. The carnality in us fights against the true nature of God. Inside of the Christian there is this struggle and battle that is occurring.

* The Government of God is working inside of the Christian. Jesus Christ came as the Head of that Government and He sent the Holy Spirit to lead us toward that Government.

* We are to obey God's government because we love it and we don't want to disobey God. The Kingdom of God is not enforced the same way that the kingdom of man is enforced. There is a tremendous difference between the two kingdoms.

IV. Obedience to the superior Kingdom.

* The problem we face is which kingdom is superior? At this time we are subject to both.

* In Acts 5:28-29 we see how to respond, when the kingdoms clash. The apostles were commanded not to preach Christ. The response by the apostles was, "We ought to obey God rather than man."

* When there is a clash between God's way and man's way, we must place God first. If there is not a clash, we are to submit to the authority.

* In Acts 5:40-42, we read that not only did the apostles place God first, they rejoiced in their suffering for the sake of God. The apostles proceeded not only to rejoice but also they did not cease in teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

God has ordained the civil authorities to keep law and order in every country and state. The true Christian is to obey the rules and regulations that keep law and order. We are to keep them, not out of fear, but because we Christians believe in good and not in evil. We should also have the same attitude as the apostles did when they were told to go against God. The apostles did not hesitate to obey God rather than man. When the time comes that the governments of this world go beyond the authority that God has given them and make laws that oppose the God of heaven - then we have to do what Daniel and the apostles did, obey God rather than man. We have to do this no matter what it costs us. We need to be looked upon as loyal citizens, at all times living our life as a Christians, obeying the great God and His kingdom.

LOVE IS THE FULFILLMENT.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Thirty-Five)

Recommended reading - Romans 13:8-14.

The Apostle Paul used repetition in his writings to stress the importance of the message, which he was delivering. One of the great points of interest that Paul continually stressed was that love is the fulfillment of the Law. One of the main accusations made against Paul was that, he undermined the Law. To this very day many misuse the writings of Paul to say that he condoned the elimination of the Law. We must carefully study his writings to properly understand the exact point he was making. In Romans 13:8-14, Paul writes about the true application of the Law in the Christian life. The scriptures, that we will study in this lesson, will help individuals who have deeply focused on the Law for salvation to properly see the place of the Law in the Christian life.

I. Paul and Christ upheld the Law.

* Paul is accused of undermining the Law in Acts 21:28. The exact same accusation was made against Jesus Christ. In both accounts the accusation is incorrect.

* God does not want us to stagnate; He wants us to grow. We should grow every day of our lives in the likeness of Christ. To do this we must study His Word with an open mind in Christ and draw close to Him in prayer.

* In Matthew 5:17, Christ was accused of being against the Law. Christ said, don't ever think that I came to destroy the Law. Christ and Paul were against anyone who used the Law as a method of earning salvation.

* It is made clear, throughout the Bible, that it is simply impossible to perfectly keep the Law. We cannot keep the Law in its' perfection. The Law is perfect; we are imperfect.

* The fact, that we cannot keep the Law in it's perfection, does not mean that Christ and Paul did not teach and address the importance of the Law.

* Jesus told the young man in Matthew 19:16, that he should keep the Law. Christ clarified, to the young man, that none are good except God. He stressed that the definition of goodness is the Law. Christ explained to the young man, who thought he kept the Law, that in fact he had not properly kept the Law. Christ then explained to the disciples in Verse 26, that with man it is impossible but with God all things are possible.

* Christ and Paul were in perfect harmony upholding the Law as a standard of Christian living. Jesus said in John 14:15 if you love Me, keep My commandments. He did not say if you want salvation, keep the commandments. He said, if you love me, keep my commandments. Christ also said, if you are my friend you will keep my commandments He did not say, if you keep the commandments I will be your friend. The true Christian, who with his heart truly loves God, will keep the commandments.

* In II John 6, we read that love is manifested by keeping the commandments. Once we are justified by faith Christ directs us to the Law and says, this is how I want you to live.

* There is a world of difference between using the Law as a method of salvation and using the Law as a standard of Christian living.

II. Problems with using the Law as a method of earning salvation.

* There are several problems an individual has when he tries to use the Law as a method of earning salvation. The individual faces a problem because often he only keeps the letter of the Law; using the Law as a bunch of rules (do's and don'ts). Obedience to the Law in this fashion produces an external righteousness; whereas, the Law of God requires not only an external righteousness but also an internal righteousness.

* Conduct and obedience to the Law is important, but it must come from within and with a right heart.

* Christ describes external righteousness in Matthew 15:7-9. To often people speak about the name of God and worship Him in vain, because they teach the doctrines of men rather than the doctrines of God.

* The individual also faces the problem of trying to look good, but he only looks good to other men. All that man can see is the outward act.

* Christ addresses how external righteousness looks to God in Luke 16:14-15. Christ states that God knows the heart and what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

* To often the individual who is seeking righteousness of the self, does not glorify God, he glorifies himself.

* In Luke 18:11-12, we see an individual who makes every attempt to show his righteousness; the end is self-glorification and not God glorification.

* The individual, who goes humbly before God, left justified because he was not depending on his own righteousness rather he depends on the mercy of God. The one who exalts himself will be abased and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

III. The Law will be written in the heart of the believer.

* David states in Psalm 40:8, that he delights in God's will and the Law is in his heart. Jesus delighted to keep the Law because he delighted to save the human race. We must delight to keep the Law because we love God.

* The Kingdom of God will work by the love that is deep inside of every individual. When a Christian keeps the Law out of delight, he is being obedient, which is a fulfillment of the New Covenant.

* God says, I will take my Laws and I will write them in your heart.

* In Hebrews 8:7-13, the reality is that the problem is not with the Law the problem is with the individual. The new relationship, that we have with our God, is a heart religion that has to do with our inner most being.

* Once the Law has driven us to Christ, we will find justification which is in Him. When that occurs, He will put His Law in our mind and write it on our hearts. He will be our God and we will be His people. God is beginning to write His Law in the hearts of the true believer.

IV. We will always have a debt.

* Paul teaches in Romans 13:8-10, that the only debt that we will always have is to love our fellow man. There will never come a time when we can say that I have done enough.

* Paul addresses the commandments and sums everything up by saying that, we are to love others as we love ourselves.

* There is only one kind of genuine love, that we possess by nature, and that is self love. There is no selfishness in the love of God. When Paul is addressing the fulfillment of the Law as love, he is talking about the Spirit of the Law.

* In Verse 11, the belief in Jesus Christ is what gives salvation.

* The Bible refers to salvation in three tenses. A Christian is saved from guilt and punishment, which is past tense. A Christian is also in the present tense being saved, because he is in the process of being saved from the power and slavery of sin. In the future, when Christ returns, the Christian will receive ultimate salvation from the nature and presence of sin.

* Justification is past salvation; sanctification is a present salvation; glorification is the future ultimate salvation. In Romans 13:11, Paul is referring to the glorification. We are drawing nearer to the ultimate salvation.

V. We must put on the light.

* We are to put away darkness and put on the light, as we read in Verses 12-13. The light is the life of Christ. In Verse 14, we are told to put on the Lord Jesus Christ.

* When we accept Christ, a change takes place; we must realize that our nature stays the same. In and of ourselves we are sinners.

* The Christian who keeps the Law as a standard does not look down on others. He recognizes that it is not him, but Christ that lives in him.

* Paul proclaimed and realized that he was a chief sinner. We must come to see that about ourselves.

VI. We need a special ingredient.

* To keep the commandments in our heart, we need an ingredient; that ingredient is the love of God.

* We cannot generate that agape love. God comes to us and tells us that, while we were sinners He came to us.

* God comes to us with good news and we respond to God in faith. Faith is a heart appreciation for the gift of God. The Holy Spirit then is sent as a comforter and helper.

* The Holy Spirit will give us peace and also the most excellent gift, the love of God. God gives us the agape love that we may give love to others.

* Christ does not focus on the first four commandments in the New Testament because His focus was not on returned love to Him, but on us loving each other.

* God states that when we have perfect love, we will love all unconditionally.

VII. Keeping of all the commandments.

* We keep all of the commandments of God by one word - faith. We show our faith by keeping all the commandments, including the first four commandments.

* If you have faith in God, you will have no other Gods and you will seek His Kingdom, first. If you have faith in God you will rest on His Sabbath, not yours. That is simply the way it is.

* In Hebrews 4:2-3,9, we read that when we believe the gospel, we will enter into His rest. There remains a keeping of a Sabbath rest, for the people of God. The first four commandments are kept by faith, by resting in God, by His love, by His provision, and by His salvation.

When the world sees the agape love practiced by us, they will know that we are the disciples of Christ. Paul is saying to let the love, which we have received, shine outwardly to all, that everyone will know by our life, works, and good deeds that we are of God. There will be no self praise, for all will look to and will glorify our Father, which is in heaven.

DEALING WITH THE WEAK.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Thirty-Six)

Recommended reading - Romans 14:1-23.

Jesus, when He was crucified, abolished all enmity, partition walls, and distinctions between a Holy God and sinful man. When there are distinctions between Christians, that leads to a failure in the ability to reveal to the world the power of Christ. The gospel of Christ abolishes all distinctions. The problem with relationships between believers has always been a major problem in the history of the Church. There were divisions at the Church in Rome that caused several problems. The problem revolved around the fact that many of the believers insisted on pushing their own ideas onto other believers. The Bible is explicit in many areas as to what is right and what is wrong. The absolute clear issues in the Bible are to be agreed upon by all believers. Paul is discussing in Romans 14:1, the issues that are about doubtful things. He is referring to the Gray areas. The fundamental issues must be agreed upon by Christian believers; in the doubtful areas the believer must have charity and forbear one another in love. It is impossible for sinful human beings to see eye to eye on everything. Paul is not trying to prove or establish doctrine in Romans 14; he is establishing how to have proper Christian relationships.
Romans 14, can be divided into 2 sections. In the first twelve verses Paul is counseling members at Rome to properly receive one another. In the balance of the chapter, Paul counsels believers to edify one another.

I. Two camps within the Church.

* Paul is dividing the Church members into two camps, those who are weak in faith and those who are strong in faith.

* Paul addresses the weak in faith and the strong in faith in a different manner than we would.

* Paul addresses the weak in faith as those who are very scrupulous about the details of Christian living. The strong in faith are those who are not always on a guilt trip and are continually condemning themselves and others.

* Paul is not addressing clean and unclean meat as a doctrine in Romans 14:2-3. God is very clear concerning the subject of clean and unclean meat. The issue in the Roman Church was food raised from the ground and food that had to be killed.

* There were two groups of Christians in the Roman Church, those converted from Judaism, and those who were Gentiles. The issue here was that we should not sit around judging each other in every area.

* God has received both individuals, the weak and the strong, so should we as a Christian. We are the servants of Jesus Christ, as Verse 4 states. Who are we to judge another man's servant?

* In Verses 5-6, the issue the Roman brethren were debating was which days they should fast. The issue being discussed was not issues of the Sabbath and Holy Days. If that was the issue, the Jewish converts would have made a very clear dispute concerning the days.

* We must remember that Paul is addressing relationships not doctrine; it is inappropriate to draw doctrinal references from these scriptures.

II. Our judgment does not matter.

* The head of the Church is Jesus Christ and every Christian must live according to the way Jesus Christ our Lord is directing us to live.

* In Verses 4-9 we read that Jesus Christ is the only Lord in the Church and is over all believers. We are to live under His guidance and His direction because, Christ is the Lord over all who accept Him.

* Paul clearly explains in Verse 10, that our judgment does not amount to anything. Christ is the ultimate and the fair judge of all.

* The Christians in the Church of God need this admonition as much now as any time in the history of the Church. Every person will stand before God and answer to Him in the judgment, as we see written in Verses 10-13.

* We do not need to judge each other, because God will do that. What we need to concern ourselves with is our own account because, we will give that account someday before God.

* We must go before God with a loving and open heart willing to have Him guide our path.

III. We must edify one another.

* Paul begins to discuss how true Christians are to edify one another.

* In Romans 14:14, we must keep in mind the context of this scripture. There were many Christians debating whether or not food offered to idols was clean or unclean. The issue here is not clean and unclean meat, it dealt with food offered to idols.

* In Verse 15, we read that our actions affect our fellow believers. Paul advises us that, we should do nothing that causes our brother to stumble or to be grieved.
IV. Christians should have priorities.

* In Verses 16-18, we are instructed that Christians must have priorities. Christians have spent to much time majoring in the minors.

* We need to stop debating and arguing over issues that are insignificant, when we should be lifting up Jesus Christ.

* We should pursue peace and edify one another. We should not destroy the work of God over insignificant issues, as we are instructed in Verses 19-23.

Paul is stating that we are our brother's keeper; we live for and with each other. Whatever we do, we must do because of a faith relationship with God. If we practice any issue in regard to the way of God, it has to be based on a faith relationship with God. We should not do anything that would cause a fellow believer to stumble or to take the wrong direction. Paul clarified and unified this message, when he wrote to the Corinthians in I Corinthians 10:31-33 and 11:1. Whatever we do should be done to the glory of God. We must treat everyone with whom we come into contact, with love. We should not do anything to hinder the growth of a fellow believer. We should all imitate Christ. The Church of God, those lead by His very Spirit, should be united in love because we all belong to Christ.

BEARING ONE ANOTHER'S BURDENS.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Thirty-Seven)

Recommended reading - Romans 15:1-33.

A very important aspect of our Christian life is that, we should love and bear the burdens of others. There is much more to bearing other's burdens than we have realized in the past. The first seven verses of Chapter 15, deal with the relationships that Christians should have with each other. We are to receive one another without question, because Christ received us without question. The family of God should never be in a condition of tearing down each other; rather, we should be helping and building up others. We need to have the understanding that our strength is in Jesus Christ. An individual who is strong in Christ should bear the weaknesses of those who are weak.

I. We are not to simply put up with each other.

* In Romans 15:1, we are taught not to please ourselves, rather we are to bear with those who are weak.

* The word "bear" does not mean to simply put up with someone, it means - to carry. We are to carry and place the weak on our shoulders.

* We need to fully understand the point Paul is teaching, especially during this time of difficulty for so many brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to help carry and bear the burdens of others, who need help. We need to bear the weaknesses and infirmities of our family members.

* A mature Christian has the tendency to forget when he was a babe in Christ, and tend not to be as patient as he should be in helping fellow Christians walk in newness of life. In the same line of teaching, to often babes are critical of others and to dependent on others.

* The Christian must have a balance in his life. The attitude that a mature Christian should have toward a babe in Christ is found in Verse 2. A Christian should not give into the babe, but lovingly, charmingly, and carefully share with the individual what he understands and knows is the need of the babe.

* We need agape, sacrificial love, to accomplish this care for one another. Agape love comes from no other source than from God. It is a love that comes from being in Christ and Christ in us.

* It is only through the Holy Spirit that we can have such a love as agape love. Agape love is not natural to human beings; the only way to have this gift of love is through the Holy Spirit of God.

II. We are given a new command.

* Jesus Christ gave us a new commandment in John 13:34-35. The command to love our neighbor as ourselves is not a new command; that was a part of the commands given to the Israelites through Moses.

* The new command, that was given, is that we are to love one another "as I have loved you." We have to bear burdens of others and carry them as if they are our burdens.

* Christ took our sins, as if they were His, and He carried them for us.

* At the time Jesus spoke these words they were not loving each other, they were fighting each other. Jesus said, that is not of the Kingdom of God, you must love as I have loved you.

* Paul describes that kind of love as the greatest gift in I Corinthians 12:31 and 13:1-3. The gift of love far surpasses any other gift that we may receive. We should earnestly desire the gift of love.

III. The outcome of the manifestation of agape love.

* We read in Verses 4-6 what will happen, when the gift is manifested in the Church of God.

* The Church of God is the Spirit led believers, who comprise the Spiritual organism. In Isaiah 53:6, we read that Christ has carried all of our iniquities; surely we can carry a few infirmities of our brethren.

* Pilot asked Jesus, what is the truth? Christ said to him, "I am the Truth". A Christian who has love in his heart will suffer long and will remain kind.

* Paul is using Christ in these examples, not as the Savior, but as our example. Christ first is our Savior. He redeems us, giving us peace and justification. Once we have accepted Christ as our savior, Christ is presented as our example.

* In Romans 15, Christ is taught as our example. In Verse 3, we read that Christ not only took all of our sins, He also took the blame.

* We are experts at pointing out the things that others do that are wrong. We cannot naturally take the blame for someone else; it takes the grace of God to act in that manner.

* God has put us in the Body of Christ and we must look at ourselves as members of that same Body. All that has been written in the Bible has been written for our learning, as Paul states in Verse 4.

IV. The Christian has power.

* The Word of God gives the Christian power. We need to absorb and apply the Word of God to ourselves.

* We need to spend time with the Word of God to get comfort, power, and direction.

* Paul proceeds in Verses 5-7 to say that, everything we do should be for the specific purpose of glorifying our God.

* We should receive one another, sinners saved by grace, as Christ received us. Jesus loves us but he does not condone sin. He said, I don't condemn you, go and sin no more.

Paul addresses over and over the faction between Christians and in this particular chapter the faction between the Jews and the Gentiles. The blessed gospel was then and is now available to all mankind. Christians are to rejoice; the Gentiles were to rejoice with the Jews; we are in this together, this is the unity of the Body. God sent the Holy spirit to bring hope, joy, and peace. Do we have this joy and peace or are we still fighting amongst ourselves? Paul went to the brethren because God had sent him. The plan of God was for all to be saved. The Gentiles were so appreciative of the gospel that they no longer looked at the Jews as their enemies. They wanted to help their fellow believers. Paul desired that the fighting stop and for there to be no division. He wanted the Body to get along in love. The Christian will take the admonition of Paul in these verses and conclude as Paul concludes by saying, "May the God of peace be with you all."

ONE IN CHRIST.
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Thirty-Eight)

Recommended reading - Romans 16.

The purpose, of the Apostle Paul in the closing of his letter to Roman Church, was to impart to the Roman brethren the Spiritual truth that they might be established in Christ. Paul gives a benediction at the close of the letter in Romans 16:25. He states his desire for the brethren to be established according to the gospel. We should likewise have learned and been established in the gospel, and without doubt or question, we should be constant in our service toward God and His people. We should continue to search the scriptures daily and continue in our study of this particular letter to the Romans, being established in Christ with a faith so strong that nothing can shake us. The Church of God must have a clear understanding of the gospel and of Christ our righteousness. The excitement, that we enjoy from this understanding, should lead us to share this wonderful truth with others. Paul has a common thread throughout a large portion of the letter to Rome. The section of scripture dealing with Christian ethics must be studied in the context of the whole theme of Romans. Paul teaches that Christian ethics are the practical application, the outward demonstration of righteousness by faith. Paul believes that there are good works. The practical application of that is the outward demonstration of righteousness by faith, which is the fruit of the gospel.

I. The just shall live by faith.

* The central theme of Romans is expressed in Romans 1:17. Paul says that he who is just by faith, shall live.

* The statement made by Paul was taken from Habakkuk 2:4. Paul does not quote the whole text, so it is worthwhile to review that whole section of scripture in detail.

* One reason, why Paul uses this scripture as the theme for the epistle, is because the Jews had misinterpreted Habakkuk. The word faith, in that section of scripture, could be translated faithful. The Jews felt that one could be justified by his faithfulness.

* The Jews twisted the text from the proper understanding of righteousness by faith to a belief in righteousness by works. Paul was aware of this and focused his attention upon properly clarifying the issue.

* It is not our faithfulness that saves us; it is God's faithfulness that saves us. God keeps His promise; the only way that man can be lost is by the deliberate and willful rejection of the promise and gift of God.

II. Mankind is Spiritually bankrupt.

* The first section of Romans is, Romans 1:18 to Romans 3:20. Paul proves from every conceivable angle that man is Spiritually bankrupt; therefore, he cannot save himself by his faithfulness because all are under sin.

* Paul then focuses on the point of the gospel, which is righteousness and that justification is through God's gift - Jesus Christ.

* The gospel is introduced in Romans 3:21, as the righteousness of God obtained for us in the Holy history of our Lord Jesus Christ.

* The section of scripture from Romans 3:21 to Romans 7:25, can be summed up by reading Romans 3:28. We conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.

* Man is justified apart from his own faithfulness or performance. In Romans 8, Paul addresses the way Christ's righteousness becomes ours through faith and is experienced in the life of the believer. The important ingredient, for this to be accomplished, is the gift of the Holy Spirit that dwells in every believer.

* The foundation of Romans 12 to 16, is based upon the understanding of the gift of the Holy Spirit.

* In Romans 9 to 11, Paul turned his attention to the Jews because they had misinterpreted the scriptures concerning this matter. Paul concludes with the glorious truth of how the message of righteousness by faith will effect us in our daily Christian living.

III. The concluding chapter.

* Romans 16, can be divided into four parts.

* The first part is Verses 1-16. Paul greets 26 people by name and then 2 others who are not mentioned by name. The greeting which Paul gave gives cause for rejoicing. We should understand that, wherever Paul preached the gospel, there were loyal supporters who stood for the truth that was taught to them.

* Unfortunately, not everyone stood by the truth. We read in the next section Verses 17-20, that Paul is warning the believers to be careful of those who cause division.

* God wants us to be one in Christ, which is one of the greatest evidences of the gospel. The self emptying agape love will make us one. The love of God will unite us and this unity will be the witnessing of the gospel.

* The next section Verses 21-24, delivers a greeting from his fellow workers to the Christians in Rome. The verses, that include naming and greeting of the fellow laborers, demonstrates that the preaching of the gospel will not be finished until all laborers join hands in the effort.

* Every member must join, with the Body in this labor of love, to teach and preach the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

* The final section, Verses 25-27, is the longest benediction that Paul wrote in the New Testament. He begins with the concern that the believers in Rome should be established in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul then clearly gives all of the glory to God.

IV. A great mystery.

* Paul describes a great mystery, that is now made known to all nations.

* The mystery is that the plan of salvation is available to all nations and that we are to be God's Family.

* Every single one of us has our part in the Body to teach and witness this message to every nation.

V. We have a dual identity.

* In this chapter we read two repeated phrases that have the same meaning. The phrases are, "In the Lord" and "In Christ."

* Paul uses the phrases with every person whom he mentions. Every single one of us has a duel identity, who we are in ourselves(poor, educated, wealthy, problems, etc.), and who we are in Christ.

* Paul is asking that we accept one another, not as we are in ourselves, rather as we are in Christ. The clear teaching in the New testament is that we accept one another in Christ.

* Christ has identified Himself with every human being. We see this point expressed in Matthew 25:31-40. Christ s…
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^GET http://warp.cryave done it to the least of My brethren, you have done it to me. We must all understand this principle. We are to treat everyone, regardless of church affiliation or any other difference, with the love of God.

* Christ has identified Himself with the human race; when we mistreat any human being, we are mistreating Christ.

* When God originally dealt with Saul (later he become the Apostle Paul) who was killing and persecuting God's people, God asked him why are you persecuting Me? God did not say why are you persecuting people, or my church. He said why are you persecuting Me?

* Whenever we say anything negative about a fellow believer, remember, we are saying it against Christ.

* Paul is teaching acceptance, because we are all one in Christ. When we were baptized we were not baptized into a denomination, we were baptized into Christ, as Paul teaches in Romans 6:3.

VI. We are one Body.

* We are all one Body and members of one another, as we read in Romans 12:5. Paul uses the example of the human body to explain how the Church should function.

* We have a wonderful human body in the sense that the body is perfectly united within itself. The human body is perfectly united because there is only one boss, the mind (head). All are slaves to the mind (head).

* To experience unity the Body of Christ must be slaves to the mind (head), which is Jesus Christ. He is our Lord and our Master and we are to be in total subjection to Him.

* Jesus prayed in total subjection to the father; He wants us in total subjection to Him. In Ephesians 4:1-6, we read God's desire for the Church and we should pray that this becomes a reality.

VII. We are connected to the head.

* We are all to be subject to the One God and when that occurs, we will reveal the power of the gospel.

* The human body is also in unity because there is a living connection between the body and the mind. There is constant communication between the body and the mind. We must keep a living connection with Christ. The living connection will lead to a crossing of all boundaries and will unite.

* The strength of God's people lies in their union with God through His only begotten Son by the Holy Spirit.

* The true believer must come to a proper and clear understanding of the meaning of the Body, the Church, and being in Christ.

The Body of believers must be a Body who knows how to love and to care. God has given a message to lift up Christ as the Savior of the world. That message is also to bring unity and love to all who come into contact with the Body. It is not enough to preach this message; the world must see this message. The words of Jesus Christ, in His prayer to His father, are so important to us as the very children of God; we read these words in John 17:20-21. Christ prayed that all who believe may be one so that the world may believe. Jesus said to His disciples in John 15:35, by this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another. John 8:32, states that you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.

May God bless you as you seek to serve Him.