The favored ones are...
Matthew 5:3
When you listen to someone preach or when you sit down to read the Bible, what are you expecting? I remember being taught as a child that the Bible was God’s ‘instruction book.’ So when I would read or listen, I would look for commands to obey - what should I do? How should I live? What are the habits I should develop so that life can be better?
Is that how you’re thinking about Jesus’ teaching now? It would be completely normal to expect a to-do list, complete with rewards and penalties. After all, we can clearly observe cause and effect in the universe. And most of us have a developed sense of justice - if I do right, good things should happen to me.
It would have been normal for Jesus’ disciples to expect this as well. Remember, when Jesus went up the mountain, he was sending the message that God was about to relate to people again, just like he did with Moses. And when Moses ascended the mountain to deliver God’s covenant, God began almost immediately with commands about how his people were to live.
Consider the way that Moses introduced God’s covenant: “And now, Israel, listen to the decrees and laws which I am teaching you, so that you’ll live and go in and take possession of the land...”(Deuteronomy 4:1). Listen and obey and you’ll be rewarded.
So the disciples probably expected an obedience/reward system, and to some degree we probably expect it. And we probably want it. We want to be told, at the end of the day, ‘Good job.’ We want to have the pride of getting something we earned. We want to be able to view ourselves, and have others view us, as doing what’s right. And we want to have control over making sure we can immediately get what we think will make us happy.
But we, and the disciples, would’ve been completely ignoring what Jesus had been doing before this sermon. Remember: God’s Kingdom was on the verge of arriving. And how did one enter it? By ‘repenting.’ And repenting includes the admission that I have broken God’s laws and deserve punishment, not reward. And to push it a little further, it includes the admission that, at the heart level, my desires are rebellious, and my inner-most soul needs to be transformed by God.
There’s one other reason that our expectations of an obedience/reward system would indicate we’ve not been paying attention to Jesus. Remember, Jesus started his ministry by giving out some of the gifts of the Kingdom of God - curing sickness and pain. He didn’t demand that people go live a completely good life out of pure devotion to God, and that then He’d pay them back by healing them. He just healed them, while commanding them to turn the course of their lives Godward.
Still, if we’re honest, we’re asking, “What’s the catch?” We still want to earn rewards. We’re still, like Jesus’ disciples, probably expecting to hear what we’ve got to do.
So when Jesus starts his sermon by saying, “The favored ones are...,” or “Blessed are...,” our world and our expectations get turned on their heads.
Jesus wasn’t giving a list of do’s and don’ts with rewards and penalties, which is what we’d expect. He was simply saying that, since God’s Kingdom via Christ was bursting on the scene, he was about to give gifts to certain people. He’s not saying ‘this is how to get rewarded’; rather, He’s declaring that particular people, particular sinners, are already favored by God.
Now, honestly, there is a catch. God doesn’t give favor to everyone; these gifts aren’t for every individual in the world. God is about to give descriptions of those who he has already chosen to favor.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise, either. After all, God ended the first covenant by declaring Israel - and only Israel - as favored by God. “You are favored, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD!”(Deuteronomy 33:29). They were favored by God not because they’d done anything good, but simply because God chose to love those who didn’t care about him.
God had favored Israel - they got God’s word, and for a time, would get a homeland. But God’s first declaration of favor did not give them God’s Kingdom. It gave them a temporary picture of it.
Jesus’ declarations here are about something far greater: eternal, happy, relationship with God in his presence. And who are these ‘favored ones’? Jesus is about to describe what their lives will look like; but he’s already told us who they are: those who repent. Perhaps at this point, it would be helpful to define repentance. We’ll look at it from multiple angles to get a good picture of the whole.
Those who repent...
- admit that God exists, and that He determines, and has verbally defined in the Bible, what things are right and wrong. We don’t get to decide what right and wrong is.
- admit that we have broken God’s laws, and experience a sorrow that points us to cry out for the mercy that's only found in Christ.
- admit that our breaking of God’s laws deserves punishment, and that the only way out is God, graciously, not exercising justice against us, but against someone else - namely, Jesus, through the punishment he received.
- admit that not only does our record of sin need to be done away with, but that our hearts are wicked - and that we want God to change our very desires, regardless of how that will change our lives.
- commit themselves to learning what God has commanded us to think, feel, and do - and begin to, though imperfectly, pursue learning and keeping those commands... why because a part of the gift of salvation given to us is a new heart that has this overwhelming desire to love Him.
Now I don't want you to go off thinking that everyone must do exactly what this list says in order to experience true biblical repentance. These are principles based off of Scripture pertaining to those who experience godly sorrow that produces a repentance that leads to salvation... a salvation that's without regret of all that was lost upon receiving it.
Everyone who repents is favored by God, and is receiving His Kingdom - yes they're rewarded for good things done (Rev 19:7-9) - but all as a part of the Gift. He not only grants us the penalty paid for our sins but also grants us righteous deeds that are done through the Holy Spirit in us of which is summed up in the perfect work of Christ. The beauty of this is that we are treated as if we actually did the righteous deeds ourselves (even though we wouldn't and couldn't), and this is all simply based on God’s loving favor and His desire for relationship with us. He loves us, and He favors every sinner who repents. He has already given a particular people favor - it is not something we can earn.
Things you may want to pray about:
- Praise God for loving sinners!
- Praise God for the fact that he gives eternal life.
- If you are ‘repentant,’ praise God for giving repentance to you.
- Praise God for forgiving your sins and putting the judgment you deserve on Christ.
Think about people you know who are not repenting and places in the world where people are not repenting. Those people are not under God’s favor. Ask God to give them the gift of His Kingdom.
Consider things that you need to admit to God in which you’ve not obeyed Him. Ask Him for forgiveness and for help to obey Him. Thank Him that forgiveness and eternal life are gifts.
Consider the ways that you try to earn God’s favor. Or if you don’t try to get happiness in life by religious means, consider the ways that you try to get happiness and hope apart from God (i.e. entertainment, food, sex, friendship). Confess these strivings to earn rewards or joy as sins against God. Thank him for forgiveness. Ask Him to help you enjoy the fact that His Kingdom is truly, completely, an unearned gift that we don’t pay for, because He already did.
Onesimus & James Miles III
kNOwbigwords
Monday, June 17, 2013
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
The God Who Introduces Himself
And because he saw the crowds, he went up a mountain. And after he sat down, his students came to him. Then, he opened his mouth and began to teach them, saying...
Matthew 5:1-2
What are you thinking about as you sit down to read this today? Maybe you’re thinking, “I really need to feel connected to God.” Maybe you’re thinking, “Well, here we go - I’m going to be disciplined and read some spiritual stuff now.” Maybe you’re a naturally disciplined person, and you’re doing this out of habit - a very good habit - but thinking about other things that you’ve got lined up for the day.
Whatever it is you’re thinking about, I think you’d agree that what we think about is a result of what we long for, and the action of longing comes from an underlying belief that if we get what we long for, we’ll be happier and avoid pain. And that’s normal. As people, we all are on a pursuit to find lasting happiness and avoid pain.
The people who heard and saw Jesus were no different. They heard the promises of a perfect, happy Kingdom which would be given as a gift to everyone who submitted to God’s commands. And they saw the preacher reverse the effects of sin in the world - stopping sickness, pain, and even death. Word spread, and people gathered. Like us, these people wanted to be happy. And this guy looked like a good candidate to give them what they wanted.
He went up the mountain...
Jesus responded to the gathered crowds by going up a mountain. Now, Matthew, who was one of Jesus’ students who was there, and who wrote this book, isn’t trying to be a good storyteller in telling us that Jesus went up a mountain. He’s not trying to simply give us a setting for this sermon; there are no other setting elements. Further, Jesus intentionally went up the mountain. He was sending a message by his actions along with his words that would shock the crowds (7:29).
This is why Jesus’ ascending the mountain would’ve been surprising. The most important prophet in Israel’s history was Moses. That’s because God established his relationship, technically ‘covenant,’ with Israel, through Moses. Moses was commanded to ascend a mountain to get the terms of the covenant from God to deliver them to the people. And when he did, God, accompanied by darkness, thunder and lightning, from the mountain, verbally announced his Law to the whole nation. They were, understandably, terrified. (See Exodus 19-20.)
God’s covenant with Israel included laws, and it also included promises - promises that were ultimately for the forgiveness of sins and eternal joyful life in God’s presence. The God who had announced himself to all of Israel was certainly scary, but he was also certainly good and loving - and could be trusted. God had introduced himself to Israel way back then - and it was an act of favor to people who had no real, lasting hope.
So when Jesus, the herald of God’s coming Kingdom, went up a mountain he was sending a message. God was about to speak again. God was about to introduce himself. God was about to initiate relationship with man.
Humans were about to see the glory and hear the voice of the God who loves.
He sat down...
When Jesus sat down, he was taking the cultural posture of a preacher in that day. It was as if he was getting behind a pulpit. His students, or disciples, came to him. They were committed to his teaching before this point; but now their attention was really grabbed. And why wouldn’t it be? What experience would be more momentous than God relating to you?
He opened His mouth and taught...
Matthew then tells us that Jesus opened his mouth and taught. On a quick reading, one might pass over that phrase ‘opened his mouth’ as just a strange manner of speaking of ancient people. But it wasn’t. Matthew, reflecting back on this sermon years later, purposefully said ‘Jesus opened his mouth.’
The reason for this is that in the past God is said to have opened the prophets’ mouths - particularly Moses’. That’s an idiom for saying that he gave them the words to say. They were acting as prophets - speaking God’s words. Matthew wrote this to clue us in on this startling fact: Jesus was speaking about the eternal Kingdom of God based on his own authority over it. He opened his own mouth.
Matthew didn’t understand that at this point. But it would just be a short time after this that Jesus would be publicly and brutally murdered. Matthew and the others were scared out of their minds. For a couple days, anyway. Then Jesus rose from the dead and came back to his students. They went up the same mountain together, probably recalling the first time they’d ascended it; and then, Jesus told them clearly: “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me”(28:20).
In that sentence, Jesus claimed to have sovereignty over everything that exists. And when he did, the disciples probably thought back to the first time he ascended this mountain - and remembered with awe - they were not just hearing God’s words given to them by a prophet like Moses, though that would in itself be amazing. No - they sat in the presence of God himself, as God himself spoke to them, based on his own authority as creator of everything they could see, everything they couldn’t see, and every event that would ever take place in space and time.
They weren’t just hearing from a prophet of God. They were actually with God. Or, to be a little more precise, God had come down to be with them.
After rising from the dead, Jesus also told them to announce his teachings to every culture on earth, because he would grant some people entry into his Kingdom. And he promised that he would be with his students always, until the end of the world (28:19-20).
But how would he be with his disciples? Because it certainly doesn’t look or feel like he is here sometimes. Simple - the same way he had done so with the disciples before. By his word. By his teaching... as he governs and controls everything that exists.
Jesus’ disciples didn’t see a cloud of darkness and fire descend on a mountain, with thunder and lightning, and the terror-inducing voice of God like Moses and the ancient Israelites did. They saw a man who they liked, who was righteous, who did miracles - and they sat with him. And they would look back on that moment and be in awe: “We sat with God!”
But that God - Jesus - is still the one who is in charge of everything. And he still comes to relate to people by the words that Matthew and the other disciples recorded. When we come to these words of Jesus, we are coming to more than a religious document, a self-help manual, a list of rules, or a historical writing. We are coming to God himself, just as Jesus’ students were.
But unlike the disciples we can know it now. Jesus came and announced a new Kingdom. He announced the forgiveness of our apathy towards God and the breaking of his laws. He showed what that kingdom would be like by reversing suffering in the world. And he promised to be with us forever.
If you have turned to him as God, away from yourself, he is with you. When you sit down with his word, depending on him to hear from him, God himself, is sitting down with you, to talk to you. And one day, you will be in the physical presence of Jesus. You’ll actually hear his voice, and you’ll actually see his kindness as he listens to you.
Things you may want to pray about:
1. It’s very easy to forget that the greatest gift God gives to people is the experience of knowing him... so thank him for stooping down in love to us so that we could know him, because of Christ.
2. Think of people in your life: friends, family, people in your church, people around the world. Think of places in the world where God isn’t known. Ask God to make himself known to those people and in those places so that they can know him.
3. Think about the things on earth that you trust in to make you happy that aren’t God. Tell God you’re sorry for turning to those things instead of trusting him for joy. Ask him for help.
4. Ask God to deepen your knowledge of him and your love for him. He’ll do this by showing you more and more of his own glory.
Grace and Peace,
Onesimus
Matthew 5:1-2
What are you thinking about as you sit down to read this today? Maybe you’re thinking, “I really need to feel connected to God.” Maybe you’re thinking, “Well, here we go - I’m going to be disciplined and read some spiritual stuff now.” Maybe you’re a naturally disciplined person, and you’re doing this out of habit - a very good habit - but thinking about other things that you’ve got lined up for the day.
Whatever it is you’re thinking about, I think you’d agree that what we think about is a result of what we long for, and the action of longing comes from an underlying belief that if we get what we long for, we’ll be happier and avoid pain. And that’s normal. As people, we all are on a pursuit to find lasting happiness and avoid pain.
The people who heard and saw Jesus were no different. They heard the promises of a perfect, happy Kingdom which would be given as a gift to everyone who submitted to God’s commands. And they saw the preacher reverse the effects of sin in the world - stopping sickness, pain, and even death. Word spread, and people gathered. Like us, these people wanted to be happy. And this guy looked like a good candidate to give them what they wanted.
He went up the mountain...
Jesus responded to the gathered crowds by going up a mountain. Now, Matthew, who was one of Jesus’ students who was there, and who wrote this book, isn’t trying to be a good storyteller in telling us that Jesus went up a mountain. He’s not trying to simply give us a setting for this sermon; there are no other setting elements. Further, Jesus intentionally went up the mountain. He was sending a message by his actions along with his words that would shock the crowds (7:29).
This is why Jesus’ ascending the mountain would’ve been surprising. The most important prophet in Israel’s history was Moses. That’s because God established his relationship, technically ‘covenant,’ with Israel, through Moses. Moses was commanded to ascend a mountain to get the terms of the covenant from God to deliver them to the people. And when he did, God, accompanied by darkness, thunder and lightning, from the mountain, verbally announced his Law to the whole nation. They were, understandably, terrified. (See Exodus 19-20.)
God’s covenant with Israel included laws, and it also included promises - promises that were ultimately for the forgiveness of sins and eternal joyful life in God’s presence. The God who had announced himself to all of Israel was certainly scary, but he was also certainly good and loving - and could be trusted. God had introduced himself to Israel way back then - and it was an act of favor to people who had no real, lasting hope.
So when Jesus, the herald of God’s coming Kingdom, went up a mountain he was sending a message. God was about to speak again. God was about to introduce himself. God was about to initiate relationship with man.
Humans were about to see the glory and hear the voice of the God who loves.
He sat down...
When Jesus sat down, he was taking the cultural posture of a preacher in that day. It was as if he was getting behind a pulpit. His students, or disciples, came to him. They were committed to his teaching before this point; but now their attention was really grabbed. And why wouldn’t it be? What experience would be more momentous than God relating to you?
He opened His mouth and taught...
Matthew then tells us that Jesus opened his mouth and taught. On a quick reading, one might pass over that phrase ‘opened his mouth’ as just a strange manner of speaking of ancient people. But it wasn’t. Matthew, reflecting back on this sermon years later, purposefully said ‘Jesus opened his mouth.’
The reason for this is that in the past God is said to have opened the prophets’ mouths - particularly Moses’. That’s an idiom for saying that he gave them the words to say. They were acting as prophets - speaking God’s words. Matthew wrote this to clue us in on this startling fact: Jesus was speaking about the eternal Kingdom of God based on his own authority over it. He opened his own mouth.
Matthew didn’t understand that at this point. But it would just be a short time after this that Jesus would be publicly and brutally murdered. Matthew and the others were scared out of their minds. For a couple days, anyway. Then Jesus rose from the dead and came back to his students. They went up the same mountain together, probably recalling the first time they’d ascended it; and then, Jesus told them clearly: “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me”(28:20).
In that sentence, Jesus claimed to have sovereignty over everything that exists. And when he did, the disciples probably thought back to the first time he ascended this mountain - and remembered with awe - they were not just hearing God’s words given to them by a prophet like Moses, though that would in itself be amazing. No - they sat in the presence of God himself, as God himself spoke to them, based on his own authority as creator of everything they could see, everything they couldn’t see, and every event that would ever take place in space and time.
They weren’t just hearing from a prophet of God. They were actually with God. Or, to be a little more precise, God had come down to be with them.
After rising from the dead, Jesus also told them to announce his teachings to every culture on earth, because he would grant some people entry into his Kingdom. And he promised that he would be with his students always, until the end of the world (28:19-20).
But how would he be with his disciples? Because it certainly doesn’t look or feel like he is here sometimes. Simple - the same way he had done so with the disciples before. By his word. By his teaching... as he governs and controls everything that exists.
Jesus’ disciples didn’t see a cloud of darkness and fire descend on a mountain, with thunder and lightning, and the terror-inducing voice of God like Moses and the ancient Israelites did. They saw a man who they liked, who was righteous, who did miracles - and they sat with him. And they would look back on that moment and be in awe: “We sat with God!”
But that God - Jesus - is still the one who is in charge of everything. And he still comes to relate to people by the words that Matthew and the other disciples recorded. When we come to these words of Jesus, we are coming to more than a religious document, a self-help manual, a list of rules, or a historical writing. We are coming to God himself, just as Jesus’ students were.
But unlike the disciples we can know it now. Jesus came and announced a new Kingdom. He announced the forgiveness of our apathy towards God and the breaking of his laws. He showed what that kingdom would be like by reversing suffering in the world. And he promised to be with us forever.
If you have turned to him as God, away from yourself, he is with you. When you sit down with his word, depending on him to hear from him, God himself, is sitting down with you, to talk to you. And one day, you will be in the physical presence of Jesus. You’ll actually hear his voice, and you’ll actually see his kindness as he listens to you.
Things you may want to pray about:
1. It’s very easy to forget that the greatest gift God gives to people is the experience of knowing him... so thank him for stooping down in love to us so that we could know him, because of Christ.
2. Think of people in your life: friends, family, people in your church, people around the world. Think of places in the world where God isn’t known. Ask God to make himself known to those people and in those places so that they can know him.
3. Think about the things on earth that you trust in to make you happy that aren’t God. Tell God you’re sorry for turning to those things instead of trusting him for joy. Ask him for help.
4. Ask God to deepen your knowledge of him and your love for him. He’ll do this by showing you more and more of his own glory.
Grace and Peace,
Onesimus
Monday, May 21, 2012
Discipleship - Goals and Definitions
Discipleship is not a word that appears in Scripture. However, the noun form of the word occurs ('disciple'), as does the verbal form of the word ('make disciples'). 'Discipleship' is a word that we commonly use to describe action in obedience to Christ's command, 'Make disciples.'
Simply put, a disciple is one who has submitted and is submitting to Christ in all areas of life: in his affections, belief-structures, and behavior. In other words, a disciple is one who has been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and who is learning to obey all that Christ has commanded.
Thus, the goal of discipleship is the obedience of faith to all the commands of Christ, for the sake of his glory. The object of discipleship is people from every nation. The source or authority over discipleship is Christ himself. We are to make disciples of him, not us.
To summarize, then, to 'make disciples', means to explain Christ's words (the Scriptures) to people in such a manner that those to whom he grants repentance learn to obey everything he has commanded.
In saying this, much is remaining unsaid. However, it must be emphasized that discipleship means explaining all the words of God such that a person obeys all the words of God for the glory of God.
And as one explores the content of discipleship, we must remember that we also are disciples. We should be asking about areas in which we need growth and putting together a plan for said growth as well as planning for the obedience of others.
In what follows, because they're basically my notes, I have left out Scripture references for the sake of brevity. However, if the need arises I can add them or footnote them later.
Discipleship - Content
The Scriptures teach us that the information which must be passed down to a disciple involve three categories: doctrine (what a disciple must believe), character (what a disciple must do), and ministry skill (how a disciple must serve others with the word of God).
What follows is a list of necessary components of the content of discipleship under these three headings. Though the following list is not exhaustive, it is purposefully broad.
Doctrine
-The nature of God
-The person of Jesus
-The role of Jesus as Messiah
-The historical nature of the acts of God
-The human race and its sin
-The penalty of sin
-Jesus Christ as a substitute for his people
-The role of faith in salvation
-The nature of the Scriptures (authoritative, without error, historical, sufficient)
-The sovereignty of God in having a purpose in all of history
-The vindication of Christ in his resurrection
-The status of Christians resulting from Christ's resurrection
-The current status of Christ as reigning ruler of all things
-The current status of Christ as the intercessor for his people
-The return of Christ to complete his reign in judging all humanity
Character
-The role of the Holy Spirit in producing obedience
-The role of the Gospel and faith in it in producing obedience
-The role of repentance and effort in producing obedience
-The uses of the Moral Law
-The content of the Moral Law
-The means of grace (the word of God, especially taught by the ordained men; prayer; the sacraments; fellowship; church discipline)
Ministry Skill
-Learning about people (listening, learning using questions, discerning idols)
-Learning how to boast about Christ in front of Christians and non-Christians
-Evangelism
-Making wise decisions
-Interpreting Scripture or recognizing teachers who do
-Applying the truths of the word of God to different people in different situations
-Planning, executing plans, and evaluating results with regard to the advancement of the word of God
Discipleship - Praxis
What follows is a list of 7 steps that are intended to be helpful in defining the means of discipleship. These steps, however, are to be taken in light of the answers to two questions. First, is the person a believer or unbeliever? Second, is the goal of discipleship moving the person to Christian maturity or Christian leadership? Not all Christians are called to be leaders, and it is okay for someone not to be. (Leaders in this context refers to positional leaders in the church rather than the 'type' of leaders all Christians are called to be i.e. we're all a kingdom of priests to God). The answers to these questions can actually be made clear as the steps are taken.
Seven Steps to Making Disciples
1) Establish credibility as a person whose life is submitted to Christ, who can teach a person what it means to live in obedience to Christ.
2) Invite the person or people into a relationship with the expressed purpose of learning about Jesus from God's word.
3) Investigate, by means of questioning, the person's spiritual state and real spiritual needs.
4) Plan the person's or people's discipleship with a specific goal or end in mind.
5) Teach the person, from the Scriptures. Involve the person in your obedience to the Scriptures (according to the preceding list, in all categories, as you are able). These are two different things; however, they must be happening simultaneously. It is far too easy for Christians to do a bunch of teaching without the involvement of the disciple.
6) Delegate specific tasks to the disciple that are directly related to the promulgation of the word. Help them grow as they serve.
7) Release the person into the care of properly appointed elders or into the role of elder.
Discipleship - A Summary
Discipleship involves the expression of Christ's words for the purpose of bringing people into obedience to him. This will involve what they believe, the way they live, and the way they help others. Some disciples will help others (or serve/minister to them), by becoming elders and Christian leaders in churches. We are called, as missionaries, to make disciples of Jesus according to all the commands of Jesus in dependence on the sovereignty of Jesus for the glory of Jesus.
Grace & Peace,
Onesimus
Simply put, a disciple is one who has submitted and is submitting to Christ in all areas of life: in his affections, belief-structures, and behavior. In other words, a disciple is one who has been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and who is learning to obey all that Christ has commanded.
Thus, the goal of discipleship is the obedience of faith to all the commands of Christ, for the sake of his glory. The object of discipleship is people from every nation. The source or authority over discipleship is Christ himself. We are to make disciples of him, not us.
To summarize, then, to 'make disciples', means to explain Christ's words (the Scriptures) to people in such a manner that those to whom he grants repentance learn to obey everything he has commanded.
In saying this, much is remaining unsaid. However, it must be emphasized that discipleship means explaining all the words of God such that a person obeys all the words of God for the glory of God.
And as one explores the content of discipleship, we must remember that we also are disciples. We should be asking about areas in which we need growth and putting together a plan for said growth as well as planning for the obedience of others.
In what follows, because they're basically my notes, I have left out Scripture references for the sake of brevity. However, if the need arises I can add them or footnote them later.
Discipleship - Content
The Scriptures teach us that the information which must be passed down to a disciple involve three categories: doctrine (what a disciple must believe), character (what a disciple must do), and ministry skill (how a disciple must serve others with the word of God).
What follows is a list of necessary components of the content of discipleship under these three headings. Though the following list is not exhaustive, it is purposefully broad.
Doctrine
-The nature of God
-The person of Jesus
-The role of Jesus as Messiah
-The historical nature of the acts of God
-The human race and its sin
-The penalty of sin
-Jesus Christ as a substitute for his people
-The role of faith in salvation
-The nature of the Scriptures (authoritative, without error, historical, sufficient)
-The sovereignty of God in having a purpose in all of history
-The vindication of Christ in his resurrection
-The status of Christians resulting from Christ's resurrection
-The current status of Christ as reigning ruler of all things
-The current status of Christ as the intercessor for his people
-The return of Christ to complete his reign in judging all humanity
Character
-The role of the Holy Spirit in producing obedience
-The role of the Gospel and faith in it in producing obedience
-The role of repentance and effort in producing obedience
-The uses of the Moral Law
-The content of the Moral Law
-The means of grace (the word of God, especially taught by the ordained men; prayer; the sacraments; fellowship; church discipline)
Ministry Skill
-Learning about people (listening, learning using questions, discerning idols)
-Learning how to boast about Christ in front of Christians and non-Christians
-Evangelism
-Making wise decisions
-Interpreting Scripture or recognizing teachers who do
-Applying the truths of the word of God to different people in different situations
-Planning, executing plans, and evaluating results with regard to the advancement of the word of God
Discipleship - Praxis
What follows is a list of 7 steps that are intended to be helpful in defining the means of discipleship. These steps, however, are to be taken in light of the answers to two questions. First, is the person a believer or unbeliever? Second, is the goal of discipleship moving the person to Christian maturity or Christian leadership? Not all Christians are called to be leaders, and it is okay for someone not to be. (Leaders in this context refers to positional leaders in the church rather than the 'type' of leaders all Christians are called to be i.e. we're all a kingdom of priests to God). The answers to these questions can actually be made clear as the steps are taken.
Seven Steps to Making Disciples
1) Establish credibility as a person whose life is submitted to Christ, who can teach a person what it means to live in obedience to Christ.
2) Invite the person or people into a relationship with the expressed purpose of learning about Jesus from God's word.
3) Investigate, by means of questioning, the person's spiritual state and real spiritual needs.
4) Plan the person's or people's discipleship with a specific goal or end in mind.
5) Teach the person, from the Scriptures. Involve the person in your obedience to the Scriptures (according to the preceding list, in all categories, as you are able). These are two different things; however, they must be happening simultaneously. It is far too easy for Christians to do a bunch of teaching without the involvement of the disciple.
6) Delegate specific tasks to the disciple that are directly related to the promulgation of the word. Help them grow as they serve.
7) Release the person into the care of properly appointed elders or into the role of elder.
Discipleship - A Summary
Discipleship involves the expression of Christ's words for the purpose of bringing people into obedience to him. This will involve what they believe, the way they live, and the way they help others. Some disciples will help others (or serve/minister to them), by becoming elders and Christian leaders in churches. We are called, as missionaries, to make disciples of Jesus according to all the commands of Jesus in dependence on the sovereignty of Jesus for the glory of Jesus.
Grace & Peace,
Onesimus
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
A Godly Woman in Her Leisure Time
A Godly Woman in Her Leisure Time… this is a loaded title. In order to speak on this topic, one would have to assume that the speaker is a “Godly Woman”. In so many ways I feel inadequate to take on this responsibility. There are multiple times throughout the course of a day when I know I am not representing “Godliness”. I am not always the meek and quiet wife I should be. My frustration gets the better of me in my dealings with my children. Even though our home is a constant place of gatherings and fellowship I am not always the most generous and hospitable hostess. There are moments when I have failed miserably at being the “Christ like” image and witness that this world needs to see when I am in public. And although I have the reputation of possessing a laid back personality, I have acquired the skill of slicing an individual with subtlety. The mere reality of knowing just how “ungodly” I am can be overwhelming and I wonder if I will ever grow from what and where I am to true “Godliness”. In times such as these, I often find myself reflecting on the happenings, details and focus of the day (if not week). As a result, I usually find that my behavior is due to a lack of time with the Father in prayer and His Word. Prayer is the lifeline that has been given as a form of communication between us and the Holy, Righteous Creator of this universe. His Word is the blueprint by which we are shown how to survive in this world even though we are not of it. So, if I have deprived myself of these two necessities, then how in the world do I expect to represent, walk and live in “Godliness”?
The demands and responsibilities that we wives hold seem to be endless. I personally have the privilege of being a wife, mother of 4, homemaker, house keeper, school teacher, nurse, cook, waitress, janitor, peace maker, chauffer, and laundry attendant in our home, among others. There are times when I just want to allow my brain to breathe, take a short sabbatical and enjoy “leisure time”.
According to the Webster’s Dictionary, the definition of “leisure” is “Freedom provided by the cessation of activities, especially time free from work or duties”. Paul H. Wright states in The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary that, “The Bible recognizes the need for regularly scheduled breaks from work. The weekly Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11) and several yearly festivals (Lev. 23:1-44, Deut. 16:1-17) were intended to focus on Israel’s spiritual needs but also provided breaks from physical labor. In fact, the Mosaic Law mandated a yearlong honeymoon for newlyweds (Deut. 24:5, Luke 14:20)...”
Anyone who truly knows me is fully aware of the fact that one of my most favorite places in the entire world is to be with Jimmy (my husband)… preferably cuddled. I love his company, conversation, friendship, everything about him. He seemingly has the capability of relieving my stress regardless of the day. I also enjoy catching a good movie, listening to music, going somewhere to enjoy the wonder of God’s creation, or collaborating and creating with others artistically. For some, leisure may be cooking, for others it could be reading a book, some may prefer to shop, exercise, talk on the phone or sip on a cup of coffee/ tea while enjoying a pleasant conversation. “Leisure” has many faces and comes in many forms. This creates a question. Can leisure, although recommended scripturally, become sinful at any point? I believe it can, especially when the leisure time is misplaced. When any form of leisure takes precedence to the gentle tugging of the Holy Spirit that prompts us to spend time with Him, then it has most definitely developed into sin. The problem lies when leisure becomes our first and sometimes only means of release. Those favorite pastimes have been made into idols and before we know it, we have lost the sense of knowing how to think of time spent with Him as enjoyable, but rather as just another task that we have to push through. There have been times when I have been so exhausted that the focus needed to read, pray or meditate on His Word requires more effort than I am willing to sacrifice. All I want to do is “chill” and not “think”! Wow… how self-centered is that? Where does pray without ceasing (1 Thes. 5:17) and delight in the Law of the Lord, and on His Law should I meditate day and night (Psalm 1:2) come into play? How ironic then that I wonder why I have a problem with portraying “Christ likeness”.
What example did Christ set as a model for us to follow? What did He routinely do whenever He went off to get away from the crowds and disciples? He prayed. I think there is something to be said in this. Even though Christ was fully God, He was also fully man. His physical body required the relaxation that mortals must have. During this time of relaxation He deliberately positioned Himself in such a way where His mortality would not give way to sin. Times of fatigue and exhaustion are prime occasions for our flesh to be given opportunity to rise up and surrender to the desires that we are too tired to fight. We are “too tired” to make the necessary sacrifices that are needed to remain focused on a life of Godly submission and obedience. If I am in need of a release/ rest and it is Christ that I am having difficulty representing to the world and my family, then wouldn’t it make sense for me to follow Christ’s example? Christ showed us that it is an honor and privilege to go to the Originator and Creator of all things, at all times, regardless of our “feelings”.
We live in a culture that lacks a true understanding of suffering and deprivation. Regardless of one’s financial status or living circumstances, the fact remains that we live in a land of abundance. It is an abundance of media, entertainment, activities, food, relationships, etc. Suffering believers that live in other regions of the world, consider prayer a necessity for daily living. They risk their lives to merely possess the Holy Scriptures that have become their true daily bread. Our nations’ privileges are such distractions. We have allowed for them to be given power that keeps us from enjoying the intimacy that all believers should experience with the Lord. In light of these things, I have to soberly ask, “How ridiculous does my need to “chill” sound?” The answer is that my priorities must change, which in turn will determine my definition of leisure. In addition, I am learning that as I attempt to spend time with the Father, I must also be willing and ready to allow for the time to be one of self-examination. As He washes me with His Word, my hearts’ cry must be that He exposes every ounce of what I look like before Him. When there is a lack of self-examination, the result of the time spent will only become an increase in head knowledge without life transformation. If we come to these times with this in mind, then the gospel will be that which bleeds into our everyday interactions. As I truly get to know Him and clearly see what it is that I look like before Him, then my interactions will change to resemble “Christ likeness”.
I have come to the conclusion that relaxation is necessary but that Christ must become my first exhale. He must become the One I first seek for “cuddling”, the One I first enjoy. He must be my #1 leisure.
Grace & Peace
Nikki Miles
The demands and responsibilities that we wives hold seem to be endless. I personally have the privilege of being a wife, mother of 4, homemaker, house keeper, school teacher, nurse, cook, waitress, janitor, peace maker, chauffer, and laundry attendant in our home, among others. There are times when I just want to allow my brain to breathe, take a short sabbatical and enjoy “leisure time”.
According to the Webster’s Dictionary, the definition of “leisure” is “Freedom provided by the cessation of activities, especially time free from work or duties”. Paul H. Wright states in The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary that, “The Bible recognizes the need for regularly scheduled breaks from work. The weekly Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11) and several yearly festivals (Lev. 23:1-44, Deut. 16:1-17) were intended to focus on Israel’s spiritual needs but also provided breaks from physical labor. In fact, the Mosaic Law mandated a yearlong honeymoon for newlyweds (Deut. 24:5, Luke 14:20)...”
Anyone who truly knows me is fully aware of the fact that one of my most favorite places in the entire world is to be with Jimmy (my husband)… preferably cuddled. I love his company, conversation, friendship, everything about him. He seemingly has the capability of relieving my stress regardless of the day. I also enjoy catching a good movie, listening to music, going somewhere to enjoy the wonder of God’s creation, or collaborating and creating with others artistically. For some, leisure may be cooking, for others it could be reading a book, some may prefer to shop, exercise, talk on the phone or sip on a cup of coffee/ tea while enjoying a pleasant conversation. “Leisure” has many faces and comes in many forms. This creates a question. Can leisure, although recommended scripturally, become sinful at any point? I believe it can, especially when the leisure time is misplaced. When any form of leisure takes precedence to the gentle tugging of the Holy Spirit that prompts us to spend time with Him, then it has most definitely developed into sin. The problem lies when leisure becomes our first and sometimes only means of release. Those favorite pastimes have been made into idols and before we know it, we have lost the sense of knowing how to think of time spent with Him as enjoyable, but rather as just another task that we have to push through. There have been times when I have been so exhausted that the focus needed to read, pray or meditate on His Word requires more effort than I am willing to sacrifice. All I want to do is “chill” and not “think”! Wow… how self-centered is that? Where does pray without ceasing (1 Thes. 5:17) and delight in the Law of the Lord, and on His Law should I meditate day and night (Psalm 1:2) come into play? How ironic then that I wonder why I have a problem with portraying “Christ likeness”.
What example did Christ set as a model for us to follow? What did He routinely do whenever He went off to get away from the crowds and disciples? He prayed. I think there is something to be said in this. Even though Christ was fully God, He was also fully man. His physical body required the relaxation that mortals must have. During this time of relaxation He deliberately positioned Himself in such a way where His mortality would not give way to sin. Times of fatigue and exhaustion are prime occasions for our flesh to be given opportunity to rise up and surrender to the desires that we are too tired to fight. We are “too tired” to make the necessary sacrifices that are needed to remain focused on a life of Godly submission and obedience. If I am in need of a release/ rest and it is Christ that I am having difficulty representing to the world and my family, then wouldn’t it make sense for me to follow Christ’s example? Christ showed us that it is an honor and privilege to go to the Originator and Creator of all things, at all times, regardless of our “feelings”.
We live in a culture that lacks a true understanding of suffering and deprivation. Regardless of one’s financial status or living circumstances, the fact remains that we live in a land of abundance. It is an abundance of media, entertainment, activities, food, relationships, etc. Suffering believers that live in other regions of the world, consider prayer a necessity for daily living. They risk their lives to merely possess the Holy Scriptures that have become their true daily bread. Our nations’ privileges are such distractions. We have allowed for them to be given power that keeps us from enjoying the intimacy that all believers should experience with the Lord. In light of these things, I have to soberly ask, “How ridiculous does my need to “chill” sound?” The answer is that my priorities must change, which in turn will determine my definition of leisure. In addition, I am learning that as I attempt to spend time with the Father, I must also be willing and ready to allow for the time to be one of self-examination. As He washes me with His Word, my hearts’ cry must be that He exposes every ounce of what I look like before Him. When there is a lack of self-examination, the result of the time spent will only become an increase in head knowledge without life transformation. If we come to these times with this in mind, then the gospel will be that which bleeds into our everyday interactions. As I truly get to know Him and clearly see what it is that I look like before Him, then my interactions will change to resemble “Christ likeness”.
I have come to the conclusion that relaxation is necessary but that Christ must become my first exhale. He must become the One I first seek for “cuddling”, the One I first enjoy. He must be my #1 leisure.
Grace & Peace
Nikki Miles
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Tornados are God's kindness
If you've been following the news, you saw the massive destruction that a tornado wrought in southern Indiana.
Now, I admit it. I wrote the title of this article to get your attention. Tornados aren't perfectly kind; they're, in fact, partially God judging the world.
That said, there are at least two reasons why tornados are in fact, God's being kind to the world.
1) We deserve, for our treason against our Holy Creator, the eternal hell of torment. Anything less is kind. I don't plan on defending that here, but if that's an issue for you, write, and we will address it.
2) Natural disasters are a reminder that the end of the world is near. Jesus and his apostles taught that the end of the world would be preceded by natural disasters, financial ruin, and other calamities. It is kind for God to remind us that Jesus is returning to judge the world. That's an event for which we should be prepared.
As I worshiped God this morning, I read this verse: The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. (1 Peter 4:7)
The phrase 'the end of all things is at hand' should jar us. Everything we know is about to come to an end. The next major event in human history doesn't involve politics or nations or teachers or people who will be made popular in the media. The next major event in human history is the revelation of Jesus Christ in all of the glory that he has possessed since eternity past.
At that time, he will judge, destroy, and re-create the world. At that time those who have obeyed him will enter into his new world in joy! And those who have not obeyed him will begin to be tormented for their rebellion.
That is the next major event in human history. As a result, God instructs us to be self-controlled and sober-minded. Those are very 'spiritual' words. People usually don't use them unless they're citing Scripture.
Self-controlled means that we're to do everything we do in life with purpose. We are never to do things by default. We are to make decisions about our activities based on the fact that the world, and everything and everyone we know and love, is coming to an end very, very soon.
Sober-minded means that we are to think in terms of reality. Reality means that the most important things aren't what we're having for dinner. Or what kind of education your kids will have. Or what promotion you're shooting for at work. Or what friends you'll spend time with tonight. Those things aren't bad - but they are of no importance unless they are seen in light of the return of God incarnate to his world. In other words, 'sober-minded' means "Wake up, and snap out of stupid!" It is stupid to be mentally involved in things without a serious eye to why everything exists and towards what end it is careening.
So, as a result of the end being very soon, we're to be self-controlled and sober-minded. God tells us that there's a particular purpose that he wants us thinking seriously, though. That is, our prayers.
This is probably inclusive of both prayers as a local church body, gathered, and prayers as individuals on their own. We are to pray in light of the end of all things. And indeed, it's sort of intuitive that if our mind is towards the end, we will pray!
Let me end with a few application questions.
1) How much do you pray?
2) What practically can you do to increase both your private and public practices of prayer?
3) What do you pray about? Do your prayers reflect the fact that the end is near?
4) Can you make a list of things you ought to pray about and discipline yourself to pray for regularly?
5) What do you spend time thinking about? What practices would be helpful for you to keep 'sober-minded' and to remember that 'the end is at hand'?
Onesimus
Now, I admit it. I wrote the title of this article to get your attention. Tornados aren't perfectly kind; they're, in fact, partially God judging the world.
That said, there are at least two reasons why tornados are in fact, God's being kind to the world.
1) We deserve, for our treason against our Holy Creator, the eternal hell of torment. Anything less is kind. I don't plan on defending that here, but if that's an issue for you, write, and we will address it.
2) Natural disasters are a reminder that the end of the world is near. Jesus and his apostles taught that the end of the world would be preceded by natural disasters, financial ruin, and other calamities. It is kind for God to remind us that Jesus is returning to judge the world. That's an event for which we should be prepared.
As I worshiped God this morning, I read this verse: The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. (1 Peter 4:7)
The phrase 'the end of all things is at hand' should jar us. Everything we know is about to come to an end. The next major event in human history doesn't involve politics or nations or teachers or people who will be made popular in the media. The next major event in human history is the revelation of Jesus Christ in all of the glory that he has possessed since eternity past.
At that time, he will judge, destroy, and re-create the world. At that time those who have obeyed him will enter into his new world in joy! And those who have not obeyed him will begin to be tormented for their rebellion.
That is the next major event in human history. As a result, God instructs us to be self-controlled and sober-minded. Those are very 'spiritual' words. People usually don't use them unless they're citing Scripture.
Self-controlled means that we're to do everything we do in life with purpose. We are never to do things by default. We are to make decisions about our activities based on the fact that the world, and everything and everyone we know and love, is coming to an end very, very soon.
Sober-minded means that we are to think in terms of reality. Reality means that the most important things aren't what we're having for dinner. Or what kind of education your kids will have. Or what promotion you're shooting for at work. Or what friends you'll spend time with tonight. Those things aren't bad - but they are of no importance unless they are seen in light of the return of God incarnate to his world. In other words, 'sober-minded' means "Wake up, and snap out of stupid!" It is stupid to be mentally involved in things without a serious eye to why everything exists and towards what end it is careening.
So, as a result of the end being very soon, we're to be self-controlled and sober-minded. God tells us that there's a particular purpose that he wants us thinking seriously, though. That is, our prayers.
This is probably inclusive of both prayers as a local church body, gathered, and prayers as individuals on their own. We are to pray in light of the end of all things. And indeed, it's sort of intuitive that if our mind is towards the end, we will pray!
Let me end with a few application questions.
1) How much do you pray?
2) What practically can you do to increase both your private and public practices of prayer?
3) What do you pray about? Do your prayers reflect the fact that the end is near?
4) Can you make a list of things you ought to pray about and discipline yourself to pray for regularly?
5) What do you spend time thinking about? What practices would be helpful for you to keep 'sober-minded' and to remember that 'the end is at hand'?
Onesimus
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
The Bible speaks on inflation?
As I sit here thinking about what just happened in my house I see God answering my prayer to help my wife & I react supernaturally instead of fleshly when “bad” things happen. Just after praying before laying it down for the night my wife noticed a dripping sound but couldn’t find where it originated. We eventually found that the ceiling of the lower level of our house had water spots that we had never noticed any other time. Upon further inspection we found that the ceiling was wet & that the water was coming from our furnace & water heater closet on the upper level. We came to see that the overflow pan & pipe going from it to the drain wasn’t sealed properly so the water had made a puddle & was seeping through the floor down to the ceiling of the lower level. You may be wondering how this has anything to do with inflation in the Bible right.
When this first happened my mind went reeling about the fact that due to the economic troubles in our nation my company hasn’t given management a raise in more than four years… & you guessed it I’m in lower management. So in essence I’ve received a pay cut because the cost of benefits has more than doubled & that has nothing to do with the cost of living pertaining to groceries, fuel, utilities, insurance, living expenses… etc. I began to think how difficult it is to save money & the issues we have that constantly arise.
Rev. 6 is about the seals being broken on the scroll that Christ took from the right hand (right hand symbolic of having all dominion, power & authority) of the One who is seated on the throne in heaven. Once read we see that each of the first four seals has to do with judgments authorized by the Lamb (Christ) upon those who dwell on the earth that DO NOT worship the Lamb. These earth dwellers are in stark contrast to those who live on earth & worship the Lamb. Everything in the book of Rev. is black & white, bad vs. good, light vs. darkness, the righteous kingdom of the Lamb vs. the wicked kingdom of the dragon… etc. (I think you get the picture). What is of major significance is what’s said in Rev 6:5-6…
When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!” (Revelation 6:5-6 ESV)
And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand…
What we notice here is the rider on the black horse having a pair of scales in his hand. These scales would be likened to a pair of scales used in biblical times during a season of scarcity/famine. These scales are not to be confused with the scales of justice. The point here is that a source of measurement is needed to ration out resources due to shortages. Shortages cause inflation & that goes for perceived shortages as well.
And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying…
The voice coming from the midst of the four living creatures would be none other than the voice of the Lamb that just appeared there in Rev. 5:6. According to the text this Lamb is now ruling over all inhabitants of heaven & earth... He has all glory & dominion. (Rev. 1:5-6; Rev. 5)
And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius,
So the Lamb states that a quart of wheat will be sold for a denarius. A person would work one day’s labor to receive one denarius (our equivalent to an eight hour shift). One quart of wheat was our equivalent to one meal. In normal circumstances it would cost 1/8 to 1/10 of a denarius to purchase one meal. What the voice from the midst of the four living creatures stated drove the price of one meal to a whole day’s wage. This is the price of one meal (one quart of wheat) inflated 800 to 1000%!! The same concept applies to the three quarts of barley. So we see inflation is used by the Lamb as an act of preliminary judgment on the inhabitants of the earth.
and do not harm the oil and wine!”
Now we see that this judgment of famine and or inflation (that can actually be triggered by any one of the first three “seal” judgments) is limited by the Lamb as well. These are preliminary judgments that keep reoccurring at different times & places on the earth until the 6th seal/final judgment is executed. These judgments aren’t comprehensive because of the following reasons:
1. It’s not all of the earth being conquered by military conquest (seal #1)
2. It’s not all of the people on the earth slaying (killing) one another (seal #2)
3. It’s not all resources/places (foods, fuels, countries, classes) effected simultaneously (seal #3)
4. It’s not all people that will die by being violently killed, famine, disease & killed by wild beast... it’s just a fourth of the earth (seal # 4)
We also see in Rev. 6:9-11 & chapter 7 the reason why these judgments are limited (subject to parameters) & are set as precursors to the final wrath to come. It’s for the sake of those who are and will become followers of Christ. We see that while these preliminary judgments are being executed by the Lamb the people that were purchased by Him for God (Rev. 5) are living on the earth as well. So Christ holds back the severity of His wrath for the sake of His people who are still on earth. This is why Peter says:
This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
(2 Peter 3:1-13 ESV)
Christ hasn’t come back to execute the full wrath of God because the number of those set apart to be martyred for the Faith (Rev 6:9-11) & also the number of those who will come to repentance have yet to do so.
So why is it important to understand & live according to what's just been covered? It’s all about the implications for our lives in this present age. The implications are many but here’s a few:
1. There’s a blessing for those that understand & keep/live according to what’s written in Rev… Rev. 1:3
2. Christ is in complete control of everything that is happening in our lives from the grandest to the minutest of details. He’s actually authorizing it.
3. Christ tells us that we are no longer considered slaves because slaves don’t know what the master’s doing. (John 15:15) The book of the Rev. of Jesus Christ is just that… it reveals what our Master is doing & through that it prepares us for all the things we’ll experience before His return.
4. Not only does this prepare us for what we’ll go through but it gives us a hope that unbelievers don’t have while we go through it. That all things work together for the good of those that love Him & are called according to His purpose. (Rom 8:28) The Rev. keeps emphasizing persevering to the end while giving us a beautiful picture of the end found nowhere else in Scripture. This picture causes us to fix our hope completely on the grace that’s to be given to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Pet 1:13)
5. We as believers experience all of the same trauma in life that unbelievers do… we get robbed, have cancer, experience death, accidents, birth mentally handicapped children & the list goes on & on… the difference between us & them is that we SHOULD (based off of Who we know & what we know of Him) react & live through it in a way that brings attention to the hope that we have in Christ therefore causing unbelievers to question what it is we have that they don’t.
So how did knowing that Christ from His throne is authorizing lack/inflation as a judgment help me not to jump into a self-indulged pity party?
1. It caused me to be thankful for the test because it made me to see that this is God keeping His promise to conform me to His image. My pastor has said that Honda doesn’t put their cars through rigorous testing to prove that they fail, Honda does it to prove that they don’t fail (Mark Vroegop; www.yourchurch.com)… in the same way God puts us through testing to prove to us He doesn’t fail therefore giving us a barometer for where we’re at spiritually. It helps me keep in mind that testing points out where my heart is in proximity to the heart of Christ. It helps me realign my focus back on the things that matter.
2. It helps me see the fruit of the Spirit at work in me in that He’s changing me & working out His will & Word in my life… causing me to trust that even though I can't physically see what I need He has already set aside all that I will need for what He knew was going to happen. (1 Pet 1:5-7)
3. That this trial is actually Him being faithful to me. (Ps 119:75)
4. That the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials & to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the Day of Judgment. (2 Pet 2:6-10)… all that to show how He takes care of His. (Matt 6:25-33)
Grace & Peace,
James Miles
When this first happened my mind went reeling about the fact that due to the economic troubles in our nation my company hasn’t given management a raise in more than four years… & you guessed it I’m in lower management. So in essence I’ve received a pay cut because the cost of benefits has more than doubled & that has nothing to do with the cost of living pertaining to groceries, fuel, utilities, insurance, living expenses… etc. I began to think how difficult it is to save money & the issues we have that constantly arise.
Rev. 6 is about the seals being broken on the scroll that Christ took from the right hand (right hand symbolic of having all dominion, power & authority) of the One who is seated on the throne in heaven. Once read we see that each of the first four seals has to do with judgments authorized by the Lamb (Christ) upon those who dwell on the earth that DO NOT worship the Lamb. These earth dwellers are in stark contrast to those who live on earth & worship the Lamb. Everything in the book of Rev. is black & white, bad vs. good, light vs. darkness, the righteous kingdom of the Lamb vs. the wicked kingdom of the dragon… etc. (I think you get the picture). What is of major significance is what’s said in Rev 6:5-6…
When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!” (Revelation 6:5-6 ESV)
And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand…
What we notice here is the rider on the black horse having a pair of scales in his hand. These scales would be likened to a pair of scales used in biblical times during a season of scarcity/famine. These scales are not to be confused with the scales of justice. The point here is that a source of measurement is needed to ration out resources due to shortages. Shortages cause inflation & that goes for perceived shortages as well.
And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying…
The voice coming from the midst of the four living creatures would be none other than the voice of the Lamb that just appeared there in Rev. 5:6. According to the text this Lamb is now ruling over all inhabitants of heaven & earth... He has all glory & dominion. (Rev. 1:5-6; Rev. 5)
And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius,
So the Lamb states that a quart of wheat will be sold for a denarius. A person would work one day’s labor to receive one denarius (our equivalent to an eight hour shift). One quart of wheat was our equivalent to one meal. In normal circumstances it would cost 1/8 to 1/10 of a denarius to purchase one meal. What the voice from the midst of the four living creatures stated drove the price of one meal to a whole day’s wage. This is the price of one meal (one quart of wheat) inflated 800 to 1000%!! The same concept applies to the three quarts of barley. So we see inflation is used by the Lamb as an act of preliminary judgment on the inhabitants of the earth.
and do not harm the oil and wine!”
Now we see that this judgment of famine and or inflation (that can actually be triggered by any one of the first three “seal” judgments) is limited by the Lamb as well. These are preliminary judgments that keep reoccurring at different times & places on the earth until the 6th seal/final judgment is executed. These judgments aren’t comprehensive because of the following reasons:
1. It’s not all of the earth being conquered by military conquest (seal #1)
2. It’s not all of the people on the earth slaying (killing) one another (seal #2)
3. It’s not all resources/places (foods, fuels, countries, classes) effected simultaneously (seal #3)
4. It’s not all people that will die by being violently killed, famine, disease & killed by wild beast... it’s just a fourth of the earth (seal # 4)
We also see in Rev. 6:9-11 & chapter 7 the reason why these judgments are limited (subject to parameters) & are set as precursors to the final wrath to come. It’s for the sake of those who are and will become followers of Christ. We see that while these preliminary judgments are being executed by the Lamb the people that were purchased by Him for God (Rev. 5) are living on the earth as well. So Christ holds back the severity of His wrath for the sake of His people who are still on earth. This is why Peter says:
This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
(2 Peter 3:1-13 ESV)
Christ hasn’t come back to execute the full wrath of God because the number of those set apart to be martyred for the Faith (Rev 6:9-11) & also the number of those who will come to repentance have yet to do so.
So why is it important to understand & live according to what's just been covered? It’s all about the implications for our lives in this present age. The implications are many but here’s a few:
1. There’s a blessing for those that understand & keep/live according to what’s written in Rev… Rev. 1:3
2. Christ is in complete control of everything that is happening in our lives from the grandest to the minutest of details. He’s actually authorizing it.
3. Christ tells us that we are no longer considered slaves because slaves don’t know what the master’s doing. (John 15:15) The book of the Rev. of Jesus Christ is just that… it reveals what our Master is doing & through that it prepares us for all the things we’ll experience before His return.
4. Not only does this prepare us for what we’ll go through but it gives us a hope that unbelievers don’t have while we go through it. That all things work together for the good of those that love Him & are called according to His purpose. (Rom 8:28) The Rev. keeps emphasizing persevering to the end while giving us a beautiful picture of the end found nowhere else in Scripture. This picture causes us to fix our hope completely on the grace that’s to be given to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Pet 1:13)
5. We as believers experience all of the same trauma in life that unbelievers do… we get robbed, have cancer, experience death, accidents, birth mentally handicapped children & the list goes on & on… the difference between us & them is that we SHOULD (based off of Who we know & what we know of Him) react & live through it in a way that brings attention to the hope that we have in Christ therefore causing unbelievers to question what it is we have that they don’t.
So how did knowing that Christ from His throne is authorizing lack/inflation as a judgment help me not to jump into a self-indulged pity party?
1. It caused me to be thankful for the test because it made me to see that this is God keeping His promise to conform me to His image. My pastor has said that Honda doesn’t put their cars through rigorous testing to prove that they fail, Honda does it to prove that they don’t fail (Mark Vroegop; www.yourchurch.com)… in the same way God puts us through testing to prove to us He doesn’t fail therefore giving us a barometer for where we’re at spiritually. It helps me keep in mind that testing points out where my heart is in proximity to the heart of Christ. It helps me realign my focus back on the things that matter.
2. It helps me see the fruit of the Spirit at work in me in that He’s changing me & working out His will & Word in my life… causing me to trust that even though I can't physically see what I need He has already set aside all that I will need for what He knew was going to happen. (1 Pet 1:5-7)
3. That this trial is actually Him being faithful to me. (Ps 119:75)
4. That the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials & to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the Day of Judgment. (2 Pet 2:6-10)… all that to show how He takes care of His. (Matt 6:25-33)
Grace & Peace,
James Miles
Preach the Gospel to yourself?
The modern Church owes a great debt to Jerry Bridges. It's largely through his teaching that our generation has learned to 'preach the gospel' to ourselves on a daily basis.
I don't plan on defending or explaining that concept in this post (though if people are interested, I can write another post later). Rather, I want to address something that I think we might be missing in some of our 'gospel-centered' fellowships.
I was reading Titus 3 this morning, and it says this in verses 1-2:
Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.
I was praying as I read, and I was struck by the phrase 'to be ready for every good work.' It seems to me that God expects us to do good as a reflex. When something happens in our lives, rather than responding with anxiety, or anger, or indifference, or arguing, we are to respond by actively doing good, because we're ready to do so.
I asked God for help to do this. Then I started asking 'how?' How can I 'be ready for every good work'?
Then God opened my eyes to what's actually happening in this passage. Titus was Paul's missionary to Crete. He was a pastor and was sent to appoint pastors.
Here, Paul is telling him to remind the people what they're supposed to do. In other words, Titus, as a pastor, was to remind all the people how they were supposed to live.
The implication is that we need reminders about how we're to obey God.
This doesn't diminish the need we have for the Gospel. This passage is sandwiched between two passages that are about the Gospel, after all! The Gospel is taught here as the grounds by which we are to obey. We're empowered by hearing about the glory of God in saving sinners to obey him.
But that said, we also need reminders to obey! We need to be reminded about how we're to glorify God, even with regard to specific situations.
So here are some practical implications:
1) If you're a preacher, you need to preach both Gospel and Law.
2) You need to listen to your pastors as the teach you both Gospel and Law. Don't dismiss either as something you 'already know.' You need constant reminders of both.
3) If you're in a position of leadership in a church or in a household, you need to teach both Gospel and Law to those in your care.
4) As you read the Bible, you should be looking for what God has done to save you and for ways that you are to honor God in response to his saving work.
Onesimus
I don't plan on defending or explaining that concept in this post (though if people are interested, I can write another post later). Rather, I want to address something that I think we might be missing in some of our 'gospel-centered' fellowships.
I was reading Titus 3 this morning, and it says this in verses 1-2:
Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.
I was praying as I read, and I was struck by the phrase 'to be ready for every good work.' It seems to me that God expects us to do good as a reflex. When something happens in our lives, rather than responding with anxiety, or anger, or indifference, or arguing, we are to respond by actively doing good, because we're ready to do so.
I asked God for help to do this. Then I started asking 'how?' How can I 'be ready for every good work'?
Then God opened my eyes to what's actually happening in this passage. Titus was Paul's missionary to Crete. He was a pastor and was sent to appoint pastors.
Here, Paul is telling him to remind the people what they're supposed to do. In other words, Titus, as a pastor, was to remind all the people how they were supposed to live.
The implication is that we need reminders about how we're to obey God.
This doesn't diminish the need we have for the Gospel. This passage is sandwiched between two passages that are about the Gospel, after all! The Gospel is taught here as the grounds by which we are to obey. We're empowered by hearing about the glory of God in saving sinners to obey him.
But that said, we also need reminders to obey! We need to be reminded about how we're to glorify God, even with regard to specific situations.
So here are some practical implications:
1) If you're a preacher, you need to preach both Gospel and Law.
2) You need to listen to your pastors as the teach you both Gospel and Law. Don't dismiss either as something you 'already know.' You need constant reminders of both.
3) If you're in a position of leadership in a church or in a household, you need to teach both Gospel and Law to those in your care.
4) As you read the Bible, you should be looking for what God has done to save you and for ways that you are to honor God in response to his saving work.
Onesimus
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Teach Us, Lord, to Pray The Lord’s Prayer
Introduction
If we’re honest, most of us would admit that we need help in the area of prayer. Thankfully we’re not alone. One of Jesus’ disciples, after watching him pray, asked, “Lord, teach us to pray”(Luke 11:1).
Jesus responded with the prayer that came to be known as “The Lord’s Prayer.” He provided us with this pattern of prayer to teach us what our prayers should include. Praying through the Lord’s Prayer is an excellent way to improve the content of your prayers and your communion with God. It’s also an excellent way to learn to pray with others. Notice that there’s no ‘I,’ ‘me,’ or ‘my’ in the prayer!
As you approach the first station, ask God to teach you to pray and to draw near to you.
Station 1 - Our Father
Jesus taught us to begin our prayers ‘our Father,’ because it shows us that we are not praying to earn God’s favor. We already have his favor because of what Christ did for us in his life, death, and resurrection.
Here are some specific ways to pray:
1. Praise God for the fact that he loved us, his people from every tongue, tribe, people and nation, and gave his Son to die in our place.
...but God shows his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
2. Praise God that he raised Christ from the dead, and through Jesus’ resurrection, he has birthed us into his family.
He gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3)
3. Praise God that one day all of his people, from every corner of the globe, will see Christ face to face and enter into glory forever.
Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared, but we know that when he appears, we will be like him, because we will see him as he is (1 John 3:2)
Station 2 - in heaven
Jesus taught us to approach God not only as our Father, but our Father who is in heaven. He did this to remind us that God not only loves us dearly, but is holy. That is to say, he is separate from all of his creation, not only in his moral perfection, but also in his being. He alone is God over all, from whom, through whom, and for whom are all things.
Here are some specific ways to pray:
1. Praise God for the fact that he has created all things, and that all things exist by his will.
Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, since you created all things... (Revelation 4:11)
2. Praise God for the fact that everything that happens is according to his will and ultimately, for him.
...from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen. (Romans 11:36)
3. Praise God for his holiness: he alone is God and worthy of praise!
...you alone, whose name is Yahweh, are the Most High over all the earth. (Psalm 83:18)
Station 3 - Sanctify Your name!
The first request Jesus taught us to make of the Father is that he set his name apart from every other name, or in other words, that he glorify himself. Some have said that this request is the controlling request for all prayer - that God would help us to pray for the things that would honor him. This is part of what it means to pray ‘in Jesus’ name’ - namely, to pray for the things that would honor Jesus.
In this request, we admit our inability to glorify God as he deserves, and ask him to glorify himself in our prayers and in the world.
Here are some specific ways to pray:
1. Pray that the requests that you are about to make would be honoring to God.
O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. (Psalm 51:15)
If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit (John 15:7)
Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son (John 14:13)
1. Pray that God would be worshipped by every tongue, tribe, people and nation.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! (Psalm 67:3)
2. Pray that God would remove idolatry and lusts from the earth and replace those longings with a desire for him.
God said, “I am Yahweh! That is my name! I will not share my glory with anyone else, or the praise due me with idols!” (Isaiah 42:8)
Station 4 - May your kingdom come
When Jesus taught us to pray for the Kingdom of God to come, he was teaching us to pray two things, because the Kingdom of God is coming in two stages.
First, the Kingdom of God comes when the Gospel is preached and the Holy Spirit makes it effective by bringing a sinner to a love of Jesus. “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col 1:13-14)
Second, the Kingdom of God will come when Jesus returns to this world and sets the world to rights, bringing justice to the world. “Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘the Kingdom of this world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever!’” (Rev 11:15)
So, in this request, we are asking both for the advance of the Gospel in the world and expressing our desire for Jesus to return to gather us to himself.
Here are some specific ways to pray:
1. Pray for boldness, love and opportunities for yourself and others you know to tell the Gospel to unbelievers. (Acts 4:31)
2. Pray for missionaries that you know of, for their closeness to God and boldness in speaking the Gospel. (Colossians 4:3-4)
3. Pray that God would grant repentance unto eternal life to people you know and to people to whom missionaries are evangelizing. (1 Timothy 2:1)
4. Pray that God would raise up missionaries and send them to places and ethnic groups among whom Christ is not being proclaimed. (Matthew 9:37-38)
5. Pray that the Lord would come quickly. (Revelation 22:20)
Station 5 - May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven
Jesus taught us to pray that the Father would have his will done on this earth. God’s will, in the Gospel of Matthew, means obedience to Jesus’ commands. So when we pray ‘may your will be done,’ we’re admitting our inability to obey God while also acknowledging God’s ability to cause us to obey his laws.
And not only are we praying for ourselves, but all disciples of Christ among every ethnic group throughout the world.
Consider some of the ways our Lord described the ethics of his Kingdom, and pray for help in obeying his commandments, not only for yourself, but for all God’s children.
Here are some of the commandments our Lord gave his Church. Pray that God would grant us all help in obeying them.
1. Rejoice in the midst of persecution, because our reward is in heaven (Matt 5:12)
2. Emulate Christ’s character in the world so that people will come to know and worship him (Matt 5:16)
3. Don’t be angry with fellow-Christian; rather, make sure that there is harmony and love in Christian relationships (Matt 5:22-24)
4. Don’t long for someone who’s not your spouse; rather, take drastic action to escape temptation and sin (Matt 5:28-29)
5. Always keep your word, since every word we speak is spoken in the presence of God (Matt 5:37)
6. Love, be kind to, and pray for the ones who hurt you (Matt 5:44-48)
7. Do righteous deeds for the glory of God - not to receive glory from people (Matt 6:1-6)
8. Set your longings and work on treasures in heaven, not for things on earth (Matt 6:19-24)
9. Don’t be anxious; rather, trust our loving and sovereign God (Matt 6:25-34)
10. Don’t be condemning towards other believers; rather, focus on repenting of your own sins and lovingly help them do the same (Matt 7:1-5)
11. Value the glory of the Gospel more than even people (Matt 7:6)
12. Ask God for the good things pertaining to his Kingdom (Matt 7:7-11)
13. Consider how we’d like to be treated, and then treat others that way (Matt 7:12)
14. Watch out for false teachers. Their lives and doctrine do not accord with Jesus’ teaching (Matt 7:15)
Station 6 - Give us this day our daily bread
When Jesus taught us to ask the Father for our daily bread, he spoke against two tendencies we have. Those two tendencies are, first, the belief that we are independent and capable of supporting ourselves, and second, the belief that our focus should be our distant, earthly future.
The fact is this: we depend on God’s holy pleasure for our continued existence, even in this very moment. Much more, we depend on his good pleasure for our doing his will and sanctifying his name.
Here are some steps to follow in praying this request:
1. Take a minute to think about what you need to live in this world for God’s glory.
2. Admit your complete dependence on God, and ask him to provide to you what you need.
3. Take a moment to thank God for the things he’s given you in the last day.
4. Take a moment to think about the needs of others in Christ’s global Church, including even emotional needs.
5. Pray that God would give his people what they need to serve him well.
Station 7 - Forgive us our debts
Our actions, every day, come infinitely short of what we owe to God. When we pray ‘forgive us our debts,’ we admit that God is worthy of glory, and we have not honored him as he deserves. We also confess that he can and will give us entry into his Kingdom despite our lawlessness, based on Jesus’ obedience to God, not ours.
Here are some steps to follow in asking God for forgiveness:
1. Think about the past day and what God deserved from your efforts, emotions, and time this past day.
2. Confess the ways that you have fallen short in word, deed, and affection.
3. Ask God to forgive you for your breaking of his commandments - for him to treat you with kindness rather than discipline. Ask him to do the same for all of his people worldwide.
4. Thank God for providing forgiveness through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for us.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us, in Christ, with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places... In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses...” (Ephesians 1:3, 7)
Station 8 - as we also have forgiven our debtors
Christ values love as the supreme trait of those who would claim to be his disciples. We cannot legitimately ask God to treat us with mercy rather than justice when we desire others to be punished for hurting us. Such desires betray an underlying belief that we are more worthy of blessing than God himself.
So this is worth asking: are you holding something against a brother or sister in Christ? Are you treating someone in a such a way so as to, in a sense, punish them, rather than treating them as someone Christ loves and died for?
If you are, you cannot seriously ask God to treat all the disciples of Christ with love and kindness - after all, you’d be asking God to forgive sins that you’re wanting to punish people for!
Is there someone with whom you need to be reconciled?
Here are some steps to follow towards reconciliation, as well as some items for which to pray:
1. Ask God for forgiveness for your anger.
2. Make a decision to reconcile with the other person. Today. Decide what time you will contact them.
3. Ask God to treat that other person with grace.
4. Ask God to cause his Church to be known in the world as a group of people who love each other.
Jesus prayed this for us: “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me”(John 17:21).
5. Ask God to give us the strength to love those who persecute us for our obedience to Christ.
Station 9 - And lead us not into temptation
If we are to sanctify God’s name in our lives, we must avoid things in this world that would take our attention from him and divert our affections away from him. Jesus taught us in this request, though, that God is in control of not only our souls and desires but also our circumstances.
Take a moment to consider the things that divert your affections from Christ. Here are a few helpful questions to ask yourself (from Tim Keller):
1. What are you most afraid of?
2. What do you run to for comfort?
3. What do you complain about?
4. What makes you most angry?
5. What makes you happiest?
6. How do you define yourself to people?
7. What do you talk about most?
8. What do you give up other things for?
9. Whose approval do you seek, other than Christ’s?
10. What do you want to control or master?
11. What comfort do you treasure the most?
These questions do a great job uncovering the things in our lives that compete with God for our affections. Ask God to lead you away from these things and give you the power to flee them.
Your idols are probably not unique to you, but are good things that the people of God worldwide need to flee as well. Take a few moments praying for others, that God would guide them away from temptation as well.
Station 10 - but deliver us from the evil one.
This final request has traditionally been translated ‘deliver us from evil’; however, most commentators agree that a better translation is ‘deliver us from the evil one,’ namely, the devil.
The devil’s goal has always been fairly simple: he desires the condemnation of souls, the suffering of God’s people, and the perversion of the truth which saves. Our Lord said of the devil, “He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)
Satan attacks the people of God now with persecution and false doctrines. He keeps the world blinded from salvation with idolatry and rebellious worldviews.
Jesus is teaching us to pray for the deliverance of the Church here. We do desire that unbelievers receive Christ and join his Church, but what we are mainly praying for in this request is for the power to withstand persecution and for the wisdom to discern false beliefs that do not accord with God’s word.
So, pray these things for not only yourself, but for all of Christ’s Church:
1. Pray for the power to testify to Christ without wavering, despite persecution.
“Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being ready to give an answer for the hope that is within you, yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:14-15)
2. Thank God that he will vindicate his persecuted people.
“And they have conquered him (the devil) by the blood of the lamb and their witnessing message, because they loved not their lives even unto death” (Revelation 12:11)
3. Pray that God would set his Church apart with the truth of the Scriptures and give us the power to discern false teaching.
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.” (1 Timothy 4:1)
“In Jesus’ name” means that Jesus’ work in dying and rising has secured our entry into God’s throne room to make requests of him. It also means that we are making our requests for the glory of Christ.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
If we’re honest, most of us would admit that we need help in the area of prayer. Thankfully we’re not alone. One of Jesus’ disciples, after watching him pray, asked, “Lord, teach us to pray”(Luke 11:1).
Jesus responded with the prayer that came to be known as “The Lord’s Prayer.” He provided us with this pattern of prayer to teach us what our prayers should include. Praying through the Lord’s Prayer is an excellent way to improve the content of your prayers and your communion with God. It’s also an excellent way to learn to pray with others. Notice that there’s no ‘I,’ ‘me,’ or ‘my’ in the prayer!
As you approach the first station, ask God to teach you to pray and to draw near to you.
Station 1 - Our Father
Jesus taught us to begin our prayers ‘our Father,’ because it shows us that we are not praying to earn God’s favor. We already have his favor because of what Christ did for us in his life, death, and resurrection.
Here are some specific ways to pray:
1. Praise God for the fact that he loved us, his people from every tongue, tribe, people and nation, and gave his Son to die in our place.
...but God shows his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
2. Praise God that he raised Christ from the dead, and through Jesus’ resurrection, he has birthed us into his family.
He gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3)
3. Praise God that one day all of his people, from every corner of the globe, will see Christ face to face and enter into glory forever.
Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared, but we know that when he appears, we will be like him, because we will see him as he is (1 John 3:2)
Station 2 - in heaven
Jesus taught us to approach God not only as our Father, but our Father who is in heaven. He did this to remind us that God not only loves us dearly, but is holy. That is to say, he is separate from all of his creation, not only in his moral perfection, but also in his being. He alone is God over all, from whom, through whom, and for whom are all things.
Here are some specific ways to pray:
1. Praise God for the fact that he has created all things, and that all things exist by his will.
Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, since you created all things... (Revelation 4:11)
2. Praise God for the fact that everything that happens is according to his will and ultimately, for him.
...from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen. (Romans 11:36)
3. Praise God for his holiness: he alone is God and worthy of praise!
...you alone, whose name is Yahweh, are the Most High over all the earth. (Psalm 83:18)
Station 3 - Sanctify Your name!
The first request Jesus taught us to make of the Father is that he set his name apart from every other name, or in other words, that he glorify himself. Some have said that this request is the controlling request for all prayer - that God would help us to pray for the things that would honor him. This is part of what it means to pray ‘in Jesus’ name’ - namely, to pray for the things that would honor Jesus.
In this request, we admit our inability to glorify God as he deserves, and ask him to glorify himself in our prayers and in the world.
Here are some specific ways to pray:
1. Pray that the requests that you are about to make would be honoring to God.
O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. (Psalm 51:15)
If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit (John 15:7)
Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son (John 14:13)
1. Pray that God would be worshipped by every tongue, tribe, people and nation.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! (Psalm 67:3)
2. Pray that God would remove idolatry and lusts from the earth and replace those longings with a desire for him.
God said, “I am Yahweh! That is my name! I will not share my glory with anyone else, or the praise due me with idols!” (Isaiah 42:8)
Station 4 - May your kingdom come
When Jesus taught us to pray for the Kingdom of God to come, he was teaching us to pray two things, because the Kingdom of God is coming in two stages.
First, the Kingdom of God comes when the Gospel is preached and the Holy Spirit makes it effective by bringing a sinner to a love of Jesus. “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col 1:13-14)
Second, the Kingdom of God will come when Jesus returns to this world and sets the world to rights, bringing justice to the world. “Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘the Kingdom of this world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever!’” (Rev 11:15)
So, in this request, we are asking both for the advance of the Gospel in the world and expressing our desire for Jesus to return to gather us to himself.
Here are some specific ways to pray:
1. Pray for boldness, love and opportunities for yourself and others you know to tell the Gospel to unbelievers. (Acts 4:31)
2. Pray for missionaries that you know of, for their closeness to God and boldness in speaking the Gospel. (Colossians 4:3-4)
3. Pray that God would grant repentance unto eternal life to people you know and to people to whom missionaries are evangelizing. (1 Timothy 2:1)
4. Pray that God would raise up missionaries and send them to places and ethnic groups among whom Christ is not being proclaimed. (Matthew 9:37-38)
5. Pray that the Lord would come quickly. (Revelation 22:20)
Station 5 - May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven
Jesus taught us to pray that the Father would have his will done on this earth. God’s will, in the Gospel of Matthew, means obedience to Jesus’ commands. So when we pray ‘may your will be done,’ we’re admitting our inability to obey God while also acknowledging God’s ability to cause us to obey his laws.
And not only are we praying for ourselves, but all disciples of Christ among every ethnic group throughout the world.
Consider some of the ways our Lord described the ethics of his Kingdom, and pray for help in obeying his commandments, not only for yourself, but for all God’s children.
Here are some of the commandments our Lord gave his Church. Pray that God would grant us all help in obeying them.
1. Rejoice in the midst of persecution, because our reward is in heaven (Matt 5:12)
2. Emulate Christ’s character in the world so that people will come to know and worship him (Matt 5:16)
3. Don’t be angry with fellow-Christian; rather, make sure that there is harmony and love in Christian relationships (Matt 5:22-24)
4. Don’t long for someone who’s not your spouse; rather, take drastic action to escape temptation and sin (Matt 5:28-29)
5. Always keep your word, since every word we speak is spoken in the presence of God (Matt 5:37)
6. Love, be kind to, and pray for the ones who hurt you (Matt 5:44-48)
7. Do righteous deeds for the glory of God - not to receive glory from people (Matt 6:1-6)
8. Set your longings and work on treasures in heaven, not for things on earth (Matt 6:19-24)
9. Don’t be anxious; rather, trust our loving and sovereign God (Matt 6:25-34)
10. Don’t be condemning towards other believers; rather, focus on repenting of your own sins and lovingly help them do the same (Matt 7:1-5)
11. Value the glory of the Gospel more than even people (Matt 7:6)
12. Ask God for the good things pertaining to his Kingdom (Matt 7:7-11)
13. Consider how we’d like to be treated, and then treat others that way (Matt 7:12)
14. Watch out for false teachers. Their lives and doctrine do not accord with Jesus’ teaching (Matt 7:15)
Station 6 - Give us this day our daily bread
When Jesus taught us to ask the Father for our daily bread, he spoke against two tendencies we have. Those two tendencies are, first, the belief that we are independent and capable of supporting ourselves, and second, the belief that our focus should be our distant, earthly future.
The fact is this: we depend on God’s holy pleasure for our continued existence, even in this very moment. Much more, we depend on his good pleasure for our doing his will and sanctifying his name.
Here are some steps to follow in praying this request:
1. Take a minute to think about what you need to live in this world for God’s glory.
2. Admit your complete dependence on God, and ask him to provide to you what you need.
3. Take a moment to thank God for the things he’s given you in the last day.
4. Take a moment to think about the needs of others in Christ’s global Church, including even emotional needs.
5. Pray that God would give his people what they need to serve him well.
Station 7 - Forgive us our debts
Our actions, every day, come infinitely short of what we owe to God. When we pray ‘forgive us our debts,’ we admit that God is worthy of glory, and we have not honored him as he deserves. We also confess that he can and will give us entry into his Kingdom despite our lawlessness, based on Jesus’ obedience to God, not ours.
Here are some steps to follow in asking God for forgiveness:
1. Think about the past day and what God deserved from your efforts, emotions, and time this past day.
2. Confess the ways that you have fallen short in word, deed, and affection.
3. Ask God to forgive you for your breaking of his commandments - for him to treat you with kindness rather than discipline. Ask him to do the same for all of his people worldwide.
4. Thank God for providing forgiveness through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for us.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us, in Christ, with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places... In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses...” (Ephesians 1:3, 7)
Station 8 - as we also have forgiven our debtors
Christ values love as the supreme trait of those who would claim to be his disciples. We cannot legitimately ask God to treat us with mercy rather than justice when we desire others to be punished for hurting us. Such desires betray an underlying belief that we are more worthy of blessing than God himself.
So this is worth asking: are you holding something against a brother or sister in Christ? Are you treating someone in a such a way so as to, in a sense, punish them, rather than treating them as someone Christ loves and died for?
If you are, you cannot seriously ask God to treat all the disciples of Christ with love and kindness - after all, you’d be asking God to forgive sins that you’re wanting to punish people for!
Is there someone with whom you need to be reconciled?
Here are some steps to follow towards reconciliation, as well as some items for which to pray:
1. Ask God for forgiveness for your anger.
2. Make a decision to reconcile with the other person. Today. Decide what time you will contact them.
3. Ask God to treat that other person with grace.
4. Ask God to cause his Church to be known in the world as a group of people who love each other.
Jesus prayed this for us: “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me”(John 17:21).
5. Ask God to give us the strength to love those who persecute us for our obedience to Christ.
Station 9 - And lead us not into temptation
If we are to sanctify God’s name in our lives, we must avoid things in this world that would take our attention from him and divert our affections away from him. Jesus taught us in this request, though, that God is in control of not only our souls and desires but also our circumstances.
Take a moment to consider the things that divert your affections from Christ. Here are a few helpful questions to ask yourself (from Tim Keller):
1. What are you most afraid of?
2. What do you run to for comfort?
3. What do you complain about?
4. What makes you most angry?
5. What makes you happiest?
6. How do you define yourself to people?
7. What do you talk about most?
8. What do you give up other things for?
9. Whose approval do you seek, other than Christ’s?
10. What do you want to control or master?
11. What comfort do you treasure the most?
These questions do a great job uncovering the things in our lives that compete with God for our affections. Ask God to lead you away from these things and give you the power to flee them.
Your idols are probably not unique to you, but are good things that the people of God worldwide need to flee as well. Take a few moments praying for others, that God would guide them away from temptation as well.
Station 10 - but deliver us from the evil one.
This final request has traditionally been translated ‘deliver us from evil’; however, most commentators agree that a better translation is ‘deliver us from the evil one,’ namely, the devil.
The devil’s goal has always been fairly simple: he desires the condemnation of souls, the suffering of God’s people, and the perversion of the truth which saves. Our Lord said of the devil, “He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)
Satan attacks the people of God now with persecution and false doctrines. He keeps the world blinded from salvation with idolatry and rebellious worldviews.
Jesus is teaching us to pray for the deliverance of the Church here. We do desire that unbelievers receive Christ and join his Church, but what we are mainly praying for in this request is for the power to withstand persecution and for the wisdom to discern false beliefs that do not accord with God’s word.
So, pray these things for not only yourself, but for all of Christ’s Church:
1. Pray for the power to testify to Christ without wavering, despite persecution.
“Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being ready to give an answer for the hope that is within you, yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:14-15)
2. Thank God that he will vindicate his persecuted people.
“And they have conquered him (the devil) by the blood of the lamb and their witnessing message, because they loved not their lives even unto death” (Revelation 12:11)
3. Pray that God would set his Church apart with the truth of the Scriptures and give us the power to discern false teaching.
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.” (1 Timothy 4:1)
“In Jesus’ name” means that Jesus’ work in dying and rising has secured our entry into God’s throne room to make requests of him. It also means that we are making our requests for the glory of Christ.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
The God of All Comfort
In 2 Corinthians 1, Paul called God the 'God of all comfort,' and repeatedly draws attention to the fact that God loves to comfort his children. He loves to give them reprieve from suffering. He loves to grant them joy.
As a result, I've regularly prayed for the joy and comfort of people who are going through difficult circumstances. I think that's wise and good and would stand by it.
I do, however, want to make some observations about the comfort that God gives:
1) It is in the midst of suffering, not as a replacement for it.
2) It is in the midst of community, and given through speaking with each other about Christ.
3) Our suffering is to imitate Christ's sufferings if we expect to share in comfort. That means that it must either be the result of living like Christ on earth OR the result of living on earth in expectation that Christ will fix the world at the last day.
4) God often pushes us to be desperate, even of life itself, to give us comfort. Desparation and comfort are not mutually exclusive in our experience, and desperation can get pretty bad - but it is a surgical tool in the hand of the God who desires our comfort.
5) Our comfort is ultimately rooted in the fact that God has raised Christ from the dead and will raise us as well. Seeking mere existential comfort without historical rootedness is sub-Christian.
That's not an exhaustive study of the chapter, but I think it's telling that the purpose of comfort is not to rid us of suffering - but to show us, in history, and through godly conversation, how it has been dealt with and will be dealt with.
So, enough with the platitudes and seeking to drive at comfort and security without suffering before Jesus comes back. The comfort God gives, even now, in the midst of desparation, through the message about Christ, is better.
And he loves to grant it to his children.
As a result, I've regularly prayed for the joy and comfort of people who are going through difficult circumstances. I think that's wise and good and would stand by it.
I do, however, want to make some observations about the comfort that God gives:
1) It is in the midst of suffering, not as a replacement for it.
2) It is in the midst of community, and given through speaking with each other about Christ.
3) Our suffering is to imitate Christ's sufferings if we expect to share in comfort. That means that it must either be the result of living like Christ on earth OR the result of living on earth in expectation that Christ will fix the world at the last day.
4) God often pushes us to be desperate, even of life itself, to give us comfort. Desparation and comfort are not mutually exclusive in our experience, and desperation can get pretty bad - but it is a surgical tool in the hand of the God who desires our comfort.
5) Our comfort is ultimately rooted in the fact that God has raised Christ from the dead and will raise us as well. Seeking mere existential comfort without historical rootedness is sub-Christian.
That's not an exhaustive study of the chapter, but I think it's telling that the purpose of comfort is not to rid us of suffering - but to show us, in history, and through godly conversation, how it has been dealt with and will be dealt with.
So, enough with the platitudes and seeking to drive at comfort and security without suffering before Jesus comes back. The comfort God gives, even now, in the midst of desparation, through the message about Christ, is better.
And he loves to grant it to his children.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Reasons the Temple in Ezekiel 40-48 Must be the Heavenly Temple, not an Earthly One
If passages in the Old Testament prophetic books are sometimes unclear, confusing, and shocking, then Ezekiel 40-48 might sit at the pinnacle of those passages. In this vision, Ezekiel sees a future temple.
Now, in a cursory reading, (or if one has been brought up with dispensational underpinnings), one might see this vision as a future, physical-structural temple which will be built in Israel during a future millenium.
Greg Beale, in "The Temple and the Church's Mission," argues that Ezekiel 40-48 is a vision concerning God's end-times temple, which is descending from heaven, filling the earth, and will be fulfilled in the return of Christ and re-creation of the world into a heavenly temple.
In other words, he argues that this vision is about God's heavenly temple descending to earth. This happened ultimately in Christ's incarnation, in the Church's proclamation of the Gospel and spreading, and in Christ's return to glorify this world.
The following is a summary of his argument that this temple must be spiritual and other-worldly - not structural.
1) The vision takes place from a 'high mountain' (40:1-2), but there are no high mountains in Jerusalem.
2) This high mountain is extraordinary in size, being big enough to contain the whole city. Mountains in such visions exist to picture the idea of heaven descending to earth.
3) The phraseology at the beginning of Ezekiel 40 only occurs in chapters 1 and 8, in which Ezekiel gets visions of the heavenly temple. (These assure Israel that God is still reigning and present, though the earthly temple has been destroyed.)
4) Chapter 11 speaks of the heavenly temple descending to earth.
5) The spiritual temple in chapter 11 descends on a mountain.
6) At the end of chapter 11, the promise of an eschatological temple is the promise of the New Covenant - the presence of Christ with all believers.
7) Ezekiel 37's promised temple is not structural, but spiritual, and pertains to the same period of the end as ch's 40-48. Given similar imagery, it is probable that these are the same temple.
8) The beginning and end of the vision describes the temple as a city (40:2, 48:35).
9) The measurements of Ezekiel's temple are approximately the measurements of the 2nd-temple Jerusalem era city, not temple.
10) The land, not just the temple, received glory (43:2).
11) The trickle of water from the temple becomes a river and heals even the Dead Sea (47).
12) The water is reminiscent of Eden, which was supposed to expand to fill the earth. There is a direct reference to Eden in ch. 31.
13) Ch. 28 tells us that Eden was on the 'holy mountain.'
14) The city being perfectly square points to symbolic vision.
15) The territorial allotments having geographical lines running perfectly straight completely ignores geography, and points to symbolic vision.
16) The only recorded dimensions are horizontal - there are no vertical distances recorded; hence, symbolism.
17) The water that flows from the temple deepens as it moves away from the temple. If there were tributaries feeding into this stream they would pollute the water of life. Thus, this must be symbolic.
18) Revelation 11 interprets the Ezekiel vision as about the Church, and as about how the life of the Church imitates Christ's earthly ministry.
19) Sacrifices in the OT are fulfilled in the sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifices of the Church in imitation of Christ. Hebrews prohibits any sort of 'memorial' sacrifices, as even Scofield admitted.
20) Ezekiel uses the word 'kipper' (to make atonement) with regard to the sacrifices in his vision.
21) Jesus, in John 4, is recorded as saying that the Holy Spirit is building a spiritual temple from which living water will flow - seemingly in fulfillment of Ezekiel's vision.
22) Revelation 21 fulfills Ezekiel's vision of an eternal temple.
23) Most of the temple furniture, including the ark (which Jeremiah said would not be in the eschatological temple), is missing.
24) Furniture is missing from all three sections of the temple. If the temple represents the cosmos, then this points to a radical change in the cosmos - not just the temple.
25) In particular, the veil and the ark are missing. This probably is an indicator that God's presence is breaking out into the whole cosmos.
26) We must interpret this symbolic passage in light of what clear, fulfillment passages in the NT say about the temple.
27) The lampstand has become 'trees for healing' (ch. 47)
28) The sea is replaced by a river flowing out to the whole world.
29) As a rule, visions of heavenly temples in Scripture (and extracanonical literature) have no furniture except a throne.
Now, in a cursory reading, (or if one has been brought up with dispensational underpinnings), one might see this vision as a future, physical-structural temple which will be built in Israel during a future millenium.
Greg Beale, in "The Temple and the Church's Mission," argues that Ezekiel 40-48 is a vision concerning God's end-times temple, which is descending from heaven, filling the earth, and will be fulfilled in the return of Christ and re-creation of the world into a heavenly temple.
In other words, he argues that this vision is about God's heavenly temple descending to earth. This happened ultimately in Christ's incarnation, in the Church's proclamation of the Gospel and spreading, and in Christ's return to glorify this world.
The following is a summary of his argument that this temple must be spiritual and other-worldly - not structural.
1) The vision takes place from a 'high mountain' (40:1-2), but there are no high mountains in Jerusalem.
2) This high mountain is extraordinary in size, being big enough to contain the whole city. Mountains in such visions exist to picture the idea of heaven descending to earth.
3) The phraseology at the beginning of Ezekiel 40 only occurs in chapters 1 and 8, in which Ezekiel gets visions of the heavenly temple. (These assure Israel that God is still reigning and present, though the earthly temple has been destroyed.)
4) Chapter 11 speaks of the heavenly temple descending to earth.
5) The spiritual temple in chapter 11 descends on a mountain.
6) At the end of chapter 11, the promise of an eschatological temple is the promise of the New Covenant - the presence of Christ with all believers.
7) Ezekiel 37's promised temple is not structural, but spiritual, and pertains to the same period of the end as ch's 40-48. Given similar imagery, it is probable that these are the same temple.
8) The beginning and end of the vision describes the temple as a city (40:2, 48:35).
9) The measurements of Ezekiel's temple are approximately the measurements of the 2nd-temple Jerusalem era city, not temple.
10) The land, not just the temple, received glory (43:2).
11) The trickle of water from the temple becomes a river and heals even the Dead Sea (47).
12) The water is reminiscent of Eden, which was supposed to expand to fill the earth. There is a direct reference to Eden in ch. 31.
13) Ch. 28 tells us that Eden was on the 'holy mountain.'
14) The city being perfectly square points to symbolic vision.
15) The territorial allotments having geographical lines running perfectly straight completely ignores geography, and points to symbolic vision.
16) The only recorded dimensions are horizontal - there are no vertical distances recorded; hence, symbolism.
17) The water that flows from the temple deepens as it moves away from the temple. If there were tributaries feeding into this stream they would pollute the water of life. Thus, this must be symbolic.
18) Revelation 11 interprets the Ezekiel vision as about the Church, and as about how the life of the Church imitates Christ's earthly ministry.
19) Sacrifices in the OT are fulfilled in the sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifices of the Church in imitation of Christ. Hebrews prohibits any sort of 'memorial' sacrifices, as even Scofield admitted.
20) Ezekiel uses the word 'kipper' (to make atonement) with regard to the sacrifices in his vision.
21) Jesus, in John 4, is recorded as saying that the Holy Spirit is building a spiritual temple from which living water will flow - seemingly in fulfillment of Ezekiel's vision.
22) Revelation 21 fulfills Ezekiel's vision of an eternal temple.
23) Most of the temple furniture, including the ark (which Jeremiah said would not be in the eschatological temple), is missing.
24) Furniture is missing from all three sections of the temple. If the temple represents the cosmos, then this points to a radical change in the cosmos - not just the temple.
25) In particular, the veil and the ark are missing. This probably is an indicator that God's presence is breaking out into the whole cosmos.
26) We must interpret this symbolic passage in light of what clear, fulfillment passages in the NT say about the temple.
27) The lampstand has become 'trees for healing' (ch. 47)
28) The sea is replaced by a river flowing out to the whole world.
29) As a rule, visions of heavenly temples in Scripture (and extracanonical literature) have no furniture except a throne.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Romans 10 BIble Study
The Love of God through Preaching – Romans 10
Gospel in a Sentence: Jesus the Christ was sent to the earth to die, paying the penalty of sin in our place and taking our judgment upon himself; and he rose from the dead, bringing us back to life and giving us new and perfected righteous lives in Himself, who is now the Lord of our lives.
Big Picture: Israel has missed the saving righteousness of God because they’ve rejected Christ.
Goal: That we celebrate the proclamation of the message of the Gospel.
Key Ideas
1) Being passionate doesn’t justify someone; the righteousness of Christ received by faith does.
2) The point of the Law is justification by Christ’s work through the Gospel.
3) Preaching is a gift of God so that we can hear the Gospel and be saved.
4) Israel, by in large, has rejected Christ.
Key Terms
Heart – The seat of the whole self, including mind, emotions, and will. It should not be understood as the seat of the emotions or in any way a reference to emotions. A word that could be substituted for it in your thinking could be ‘soul.’ Also, band made famous by the amazing and infectious song, ‘Barracuda.’
To Save – To rescue from danger, in this case, from death and hell. It’s worth remembering here that the whole discussion in Romans is based on the belief in a future judgment day, which is part of the Gospel message (Romans 2:8-9, 16).
Word – Message. The word ‘word’ usually does not mean an individual word, but a whole message comprised of many words. Also, a colloquialism used in response to indicate agreement or affirmation.
Moses – The person God chose as a mediator for the whole nation of Israel, by whom he gave the Law. Moses wrote the first five books of the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy 18:15-19, God had Moses tell the people that in the future, God would raise up another prophet like Moses, who would directly mediate between God and Israel. That’s Jesus.
Isaiah – Old Testament prophet who made God’s word known when the Kingdom of Israel was about to end. Israel, a nation set apart by God for his glory, had been entrenched in idolatry, and Isaiah prophesied about the fall of the Kingdom of Israel to worldly powers and Israel’s being exiled – scattered in captivity among Gentile nations. However, he also prophesied about Israel’s return from exile and the coming restoration of the whole world.
Key Observations
10:1-2 Paul tells his fellow-Christians that he wants and prays that Israel would be saved. He yearns for their salvation, in part, because they do have a passion for God. However, this passion is an ignorant passion. They don’t know the truth.
3 Here, Paul explains how Israel’s ignorance was demonstrated; hence, the ‘for.’ Israel was ‘ignorant’ of the righteousness from God; that is, they were ignorant of justification by a righteousness which was outside of them credited to them through faith. They did not submit to the message about God’s righteousness.
4 This verse explains Israel’s failure to submit to God’s righteousness. (Again, hence, the ‘for.’) Why did Israel miss God’s righteousness? Because they missed Christ. The whole point of the Law (the end, or goal, of the law) is Jesus himself. With Jesus, one gets righteousness, and thus, justification. This is given to every believer in him – not just Jews.
5 ‘For’ indicates that Paul is giving an explanation for the Jews’ missing of Jesus, and therefore their missing of the righteousness of God. That is, they attempted to attain a righteous status by doing what the commandments require, which we know is impossible. Verse 5 cites Leviticus 18:5.
6-8 These verses are continuing explanation of the Jews’ missing of Jesus. They start off by saying what the message of righteousness through faith does not say, then, they instruct us as to what the message of righteousness through faith does say.
First, we are taught that we need not perform impossible tasks to bring Christ near to us. He has already been incarnated and has risen from the dead.
Second, we are taught that the saving message of the Gospel is something that has drawn near to us. It has been made available to be trusted – and thus, the righteousness of God has been offered to humanity.
Thus, Israel missed Jesus not because they weren’t offered his righteousness – but because of a failure to trust in him.
How Paul Quotes the Old Testament in Romans 10
Some of the more astute students in your study may see the footnotes in their Bibles and decide to look up the passages in the Old Testament that these quotations are from.
While this is certainly a good thing, there is a good possibility that they might end up extremely confused, and might even think that Paul is misusing the Old Testament.
The key to understanding the way that Paul is quoting the Old Testament is to understand verse 4 – ‘Christ is the goal of the law for righteousness.’ The point of the Law is Jesus, not doing enough good to get to heaven. When the New Testament authors cite the Old Testament, they do it in light of the fact that Christ has come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets.
The first quotation in this section is from Deuteronomy 9:4. Here, Israel is warned that they are not being given the Promised Land because of their righteousness. God reminds them of their unrighteousness. Now, the ‘Promised Land’ was a sign of what was to be granted in the future – a New Creation (Romans 4:13, Hebrews 11:9, 10, 13-16). By citing Deuteronomy 9:4, Paul is drawing our attention to the fact that we do not inherit the New Creation by our righteousness – but by Christ’s.
The second quotation in this section is from Deuteronomy 30:11-14. Here’s the problem: in the context of the passage, these truths aren’t about Jesus – they’re about the Law. The basic message is that the message of the Law has been given to Israel and is understandable. They can’t say they didn’t know what the Law required.
So is Paul just misusing the Old Testament to try to make a point about Jesus? No. Remember, he’s just said that Christ is the goal of the Law. He’s the point of the Law and the fulfillment of the Law. The Law is a signpost that points forward to Christ.
So, just as the Law was given in a way that resulted in its accessibility, by the grace of God, so now the fulfillment of the Law, the Gospel, has been given in a way, by the grace of God, that makes it accessible.
Another way of thinking about it is that the message of God began to be given in such a way that made it understandable, and the completion of its being given has been in the same way.
But not only is the fulfillment of God’s message, the Gospel, understandable – it also results in change of the actual heart and mouth. That word becomes part of a person through faith – part of their heart and speech. And it saves them. (See vv. 9, 10.)
This makes total sense in the context of Deuteronomy 30. In this chapter, God promised a future in which he would circumcise the hearts of his people and cause them to turn to himself. And this is exactly what he has done in the Gospel – he has changed hearts and turned people towards himself, and has given them a righteousness that is not theirs, but is Christ’s own righteousness. Therefore, we will be saved.
So, this message of righteousness through faith does not tell us to do impossible tasks – but rather, it instructs us to receive the Gospel of Christ which transforms and saves us.
9-10 Why can we say that the Gospel is near to us – in our mouths and hearts? Because when that word becomes a part of us, we get the promise of salvation. Verse 10 is further explanation (‘for’) of the content of the message of righteousness based on faith. We trust Christ and are given righteousness, confessing him and getting salvation. We should not understand ‘confession’ here as any sort of added condition for salvation, but rather, the natural evidence of a message becoming a part of a person. You take it in and trust it, and you also speak it. The Gospel becomes part of our speech. It is, after all, a message.
11 This verse is a defense of the fact that salvation is received by faith alone. It cites Isaiah 28:16. The shocking thing in this verse is that every believer gets eternal life. In other words, it is not just for ethnic Israelites.
12 This verse is a defense of the idea that everyone who believes in Jesus, regardless of Jewish background, will be saved. That’s why it begins with ‘for.’ The Lord is God, and treats all according to the same Gospel.
13 ‘For’ indicates that this is further defense of the idea that salvation is without reference to ethnicity. It quotes Joel 2:32.
14-15 Paul has just finished arguing that the message of the Gospel has been brought near to be believed – and that Israel’s problem was a rejection of that Gospel. Here, he asks a string of rhetorical questions about the nature of salvation, given that the Gospel must be believed for it. Ultimately, for belief and salvation to happen, a preacher must be sent. The citation of Isaiah 52:7 tells us two things – 1, it tells us that preachers are necessary for the spread of good news. 2, it tells us that preachers have come with the Good News.
16 Even though preachers have been sent out, not everyone has obeyed what the Gospel demands – belief. Isaiah 53:1 is enlisted to support Paul’s point – the Gospel has been rejected. In context, here, ultimately the nation of Israel is responsible for its condemnation. They have rejected the Gospel.
17 ‘Therefore’ or ‘so’ at the beginning of this verse indicates that Paul is giving us a conclusion – and also a transition back onto the topic in general. Faith comes by hearing the Gospel.
18 One might ask then if people, particularly the Jews, have heard the Gospel. People have. Not all are saved because not all believed.
Psalm 19:4 in Romans 10:18
One would like for people to read this verse and simply just think, “Yes, preachers have gone out and people who have rejected Christ are responsible for their condemnation,” since that’s the point of the verse.
However, if someone from your Bible study looks up the quote from Scripture, there will probably be mass confusion. Here’s why. Psalm 19:4 is about nature, not about the Gospel. It says that nature declares God’s glory.
Some have concluded, then, that one can know the Gospel through nature and be saved without the preaching of missionaries. This is contextually problematic, given vv. 14-15. It’s also contextually problematic given 1:18-21, in which all nature can do by demonstrating God’s glory is to condemn us.
So how does this quotation work? If we look back at Psalm 19 we see that it compares the glory of God in nature with the glory of God in the Law. The basic premise is that God’s glory is widespread in creation and yet made special and more glorious through the Law.
We must remember then, that Christ is the fulfillment of the Law. The Law reveals God’s glory even more than creation itself does. So, just as God has caused himself to be glorified in creation, so now, he causes himself to be even more glorified through his word spread to the world through preaching. In other words, Christ is the fulfillment of God’s self-revelation to mankind which began through nature. This self-revelation is being proclaimed to all the world just as it began to be with nature’s splendor.
A simpler explanation is this: Paul is not appealing to this verse to prove that the word of Christ has gone out to the ends of the world. Don’t get caught up on the word ‘world,’ here! Paul is appealing to Psalm 19:4 to demonstrate that it is in God’s character to disclose himself to the world for the sake of his glory. Therefore, God has ordained that preachers be sent out with the word of Christ.
What’s the point of the citation of Psalm 19:4? Everyone is held accountable to believing the Gospel if they’ve heard it. Everyone who has rejected it is guilty for doing so. Paul is particularly applying this truth to the Israelites.
19-20 Paul here narrows his focus on just Israel. Did they merely hear without comprehension of the message? No. Paul appeals to Moses (Deut 32:21) and Isaiah (Isaiah 65:1) to demonstrate his point. In both of these texts, God is honored as gracious in initiating relationship with Israel. Yet, Israel rejects God, and so God lets them go into sin while drawing those who did not seek him, (in this case, Gentiles) to himself.
21 Paul’s final response to the question about whether or not Israel could comprehend the Gospel is from Isaiah 65:2. Indeed, God has opened wide the offer of salvation to Israel; yet, they have continued to reject him.
Sample Discussion Guide:
-Last time we looked at the fact that God’s word doesn’t fail – he does exactly what he desires to do for his glory. That includes electing people to salvation based on his desires, and hardening whom he desires.
-Then we looked at the outcome of God’s election – those he elected believed and got God’s righteousness. Those whom God did not choose did not come to Christ and so stand condemned. Today we’re going to look more at human responsibility in responding to the Gospel message.
-What do you think are different reasons that people reject the Gospel?
-Why do you think so often that Christians, even, do not respond positively to the Gospel being preached to them?
-Would you say that your church does a good job of making sure that the Gospel is the point of every sermon? Why/Why not?
-Our goal tonight is to delight in the widespread glory of God through the Gospel’s being preached (Pray)
-Have someone read vv. 1-4.
-Part of the reason Paul yearned and prayed so much for his fellow-Jews is because they had a zeal for God, but apart from knowledge. What do you think that might look like in the world today? Do you think it’s possible to be a “Christian” in name and have a zeal for God without knowledge? Why or why not?
-Paul says that the Jews sought to establish their own righteousness. What are some ways that modern Americans seek to establish their own righteousness? (Why do we think we’re good?) What behaviors do you take pride in?
-God tells us that seeking to establish one’s own righteousness is dangerous, even damning, because it prevents people from receiving God’s righteousness. He explains how Israel missed out on God’s righteousness in verse 4. Take a minute and write down your paraphrase of v. 4. After a minute or two, have people share their paraphrases.
-Vv. 5-13 develop the idea that the righteousness of faith comes through the preached message of the Gospel. This is in contrast with trying to become righteous by trying to keep the Law, as ancient Israel did. Have someone read vv. 5-13.
-Paul mentions here that the idea of going to heaven or to the grave to somehow attain salvation is ridiculous. What are some of the things that people do today to try to give themselves assurance of a good afterlife?
-What are some things other religions require for salvation? How does that make you feel about the fact that Christ has accomplished salvation, and that it’s simply received by faith?
-Have someone read vv. 14-17.
-We saw in the previous section that faith in the message is necessary for salvation. This section brings out the need for a preacher and hearing.
-Who first clearly explained the Gospel to you? How did he/she do it?
-Are there people in your life that you don’t think have heard the Gospel clearly? Who? What are some practical ways we can respond to that reality?
-Out of about 16,000 ethnic groups in the world, over 6,000 have no church in their own languages. What does this passage say about people that have not heard the Gospel?
-What are some different things we can do about that?
-Have you considered spending time overseas to take the Gospel to people who have no access to it – for a month, a year, or even a lifetime? What are some obstacles to you doing so? (Some people are inevitably going to respond to this question in the language of ‘feeling called’ or ‘feeling led.’ This will be a great opportunity to ask what they mean by those phrases, since they’re unbiblical phrases that often express very unbiblical concepts.)
-Have someone read vv. 18-21.
-Here Paul shows us that God has been gracious in giving the Gospel to Israel, even though Israel has, by in large, rejected it.
-What are some words or phrases that stand out with respect to God’s treatment of Israel?
-Where are we talked about in this section?
-How does this reveal God’s grace?
-Given what this passage says about the Gospel, ignorance, preaching, and human responsibility, how do you think we should pray for ourselves? Our friends? Butler University? The world?
-Spend time in prayer for those spheres.
Gospel in a Sentence: Jesus the Christ was sent to the earth to die, paying the penalty of sin in our place and taking our judgment upon himself; and he rose from the dead, bringing us back to life and giving us new and perfected righteous lives in Himself, who is now the Lord of our lives.
Big Picture: Israel has missed the saving righteousness of God because they’ve rejected Christ.
Goal: That we celebrate the proclamation of the message of the Gospel.
Key Ideas
1) Being passionate doesn’t justify someone; the righteousness of Christ received by faith does.
2) The point of the Law is justification by Christ’s work through the Gospel.
3) Preaching is a gift of God so that we can hear the Gospel and be saved.
4) Israel, by in large, has rejected Christ.
Key Terms
Heart – The seat of the whole self, including mind, emotions, and will. It should not be understood as the seat of the emotions or in any way a reference to emotions. A word that could be substituted for it in your thinking could be ‘soul.’ Also, band made famous by the amazing and infectious song, ‘Barracuda.’
To Save – To rescue from danger, in this case, from death and hell. It’s worth remembering here that the whole discussion in Romans is based on the belief in a future judgment day, which is part of the Gospel message (Romans 2:8-9, 16).
Word – Message. The word ‘word’ usually does not mean an individual word, but a whole message comprised of many words. Also, a colloquialism used in response to indicate agreement or affirmation.
Moses – The person God chose as a mediator for the whole nation of Israel, by whom he gave the Law. Moses wrote the first five books of the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy 18:15-19, God had Moses tell the people that in the future, God would raise up another prophet like Moses, who would directly mediate between God and Israel. That’s Jesus.
Isaiah – Old Testament prophet who made God’s word known when the Kingdom of Israel was about to end. Israel, a nation set apart by God for his glory, had been entrenched in idolatry, and Isaiah prophesied about the fall of the Kingdom of Israel to worldly powers and Israel’s being exiled – scattered in captivity among Gentile nations. However, he also prophesied about Israel’s return from exile and the coming restoration of the whole world.
Key Observations
10:1-2 Paul tells his fellow-Christians that he wants and prays that Israel would be saved. He yearns for their salvation, in part, because they do have a passion for God. However, this passion is an ignorant passion. They don’t know the truth.
3 Here, Paul explains how Israel’s ignorance was demonstrated; hence, the ‘for.’ Israel was ‘ignorant’ of the righteousness from God; that is, they were ignorant of justification by a righteousness which was outside of them credited to them through faith. They did not submit to the message about God’s righteousness.
4 This verse explains Israel’s failure to submit to God’s righteousness. (Again, hence, the ‘for.’) Why did Israel miss God’s righteousness? Because they missed Christ. The whole point of the Law (the end, or goal, of the law) is Jesus himself. With Jesus, one gets righteousness, and thus, justification. This is given to every believer in him – not just Jews.
5 ‘For’ indicates that Paul is giving an explanation for the Jews’ missing of Jesus, and therefore their missing of the righteousness of God. That is, they attempted to attain a righteous status by doing what the commandments require, which we know is impossible. Verse 5 cites Leviticus 18:5.
6-8 These verses are continuing explanation of the Jews’ missing of Jesus. They start off by saying what the message of righteousness through faith does not say, then, they instruct us as to what the message of righteousness through faith does say.
First, we are taught that we need not perform impossible tasks to bring Christ near to us. He has already been incarnated and has risen from the dead.
Second, we are taught that the saving message of the Gospel is something that has drawn near to us. It has been made available to be trusted – and thus, the righteousness of God has been offered to humanity.
Thus, Israel missed Jesus not because they weren’t offered his righteousness – but because of a failure to trust in him.
How Paul Quotes the Old Testament in Romans 10
Some of the more astute students in your study may see the footnotes in their Bibles and decide to look up the passages in the Old Testament that these quotations are from.
While this is certainly a good thing, there is a good possibility that they might end up extremely confused, and might even think that Paul is misusing the Old Testament.
The key to understanding the way that Paul is quoting the Old Testament is to understand verse 4 – ‘Christ is the goal of the law for righteousness.’ The point of the Law is Jesus, not doing enough good to get to heaven. When the New Testament authors cite the Old Testament, they do it in light of the fact that Christ has come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets.
The first quotation in this section is from Deuteronomy 9:4. Here, Israel is warned that they are not being given the Promised Land because of their righteousness. God reminds them of their unrighteousness. Now, the ‘Promised Land’ was a sign of what was to be granted in the future – a New Creation (Romans 4:13, Hebrews 11:9, 10, 13-16). By citing Deuteronomy 9:4, Paul is drawing our attention to the fact that we do not inherit the New Creation by our righteousness – but by Christ’s.
The second quotation in this section is from Deuteronomy 30:11-14. Here’s the problem: in the context of the passage, these truths aren’t about Jesus – they’re about the Law. The basic message is that the message of the Law has been given to Israel and is understandable. They can’t say they didn’t know what the Law required.
So is Paul just misusing the Old Testament to try to make a point about Jesus? No. Remember, he’s just said that Christ is the goal of the Law. He’s the point of the Law and the fulfillment of the Law. The Law is a signpost that points forward to Christ.
So, just as the Law was given in a way that resulted in its accessibility, by the grace of God, so now the fulfillment of the Law, the Gospel, has been given in a way, by the grace of God, that makes it accessible.
Another way of thinking about it is that the message of God began to be given in such a way that made it understandable, and the completion of its being given has been in the same way.
But not only is the fulfillment of God’s message, the Gospel, understandable – it also results in change of the actual heart and mouth. That word becomes part of a person through faith – part of their heart and speech. And it saves them. (See vv. 9, 10.)
This makes total sense in the context of Deuteronomy 30. In this chapter, God promised a future in which he would circumcise the hearts of his people and cause them to turn to himself. And this is exactly what he has done in the Gospel – he has changed hearts and turned people towards himself, and has given them a righteousness that is not theirs, but is Christ’s own righteousness. Therefore, we will be saved.
So, this message of righteousness through faith does not tell us to do impossible tasks – but rather, it instructs us to receive the Gospel of Christ which transforms and saves us.
9-10 Why can we say that the Gospel is near to us – in our mouths and hearts? Because when that word becomes a part of us, we get the promise of salvation. Verse 10 is further explanation (‘for’) of the content of the message of righteousness based on faith. We trust Christ and are given righteousness, confessing him and getting salvation. We should not understand ‘confession’ here as any sort of added condition for salvation, but rather, the natural evidence of a message becoming a part of a person. You take it in and trust it, and you also speak it. The Gospel becomes part of our speech. It is, after all, a message.
11 This verse is a defense of the fact that salvation is received by faith alone. It cites Isaiah 28:16. The shocking thing in this verse is that every believer gets eternal life. In other words, it is not just for ethnic Israelites.
12 This verse is a defense of the idea that everyone who believes in Jesus, regardless of Jewish background, will be saved. That’s why it begins with ‘for.’ The Lord is God, and treats all according to the same Gospel.
13 ‘For’ indicates that this is further defense of the idea that salvation is without reference to ethnicity. It quotes Joel 2:32.
14-15 Paul has just finished arguing that the message of the Gospel has been brought near to be believed – and that Israel’s problem was a rejection of that Gospel. Here, he asks a string of rhetorical questions about the nature of salvation, given that the Gospel must be believed for it. Ultimately, for belief and salvation to happen, a preacher must be sent. The citation of Isaiah 52:7 tells us two things – 1, it tells us that preachers are necessary for the spread of good news. 2, it tells us that preachers have come with the Good News.
16 Even though preachers have been sent out, not everyone has obeyed what the Gospel demands – belief. Isaiah 53:1 is enlisted to support Paul’s point – the Gospel has been rejected. In context, here, ultimately the nation of Israel is responsible for its condemnation. They have rejected the Gospel.
17 ‘Therefore’ or ‘so’ at the beginning of this verse indicates that Paul is giving us a conclusion – and also a transition back onto the topic in general. Faith comes by hearing the Gospel.
18 One might ask then if people, particularly the Jews, have heard the Gospel. People have. Not all are saved because not all believed.
Psalm 19:4 in Romans 10:18
One would like for people to read this verse and simply just think, “Yes, preachers have gone out and people who have rejected Christ are responsible for their condemnation,” since that’s the point of the verse.
However, if someone from your Bible study looks up the quote from Scripture, there will probably be mass confusion. Here’s why. Psalm 19:4 is about nature, not about the Gospel. It says that nature declares God’s glory.
Some have concluded, then, that one can know the Gospel through nature and be saved without the preaching of missionaries. This is contextually problematic, given vv. 14-15. It’s also contextually problematic given 1:18-21, in which all nature can do by demonstrating God’s glory is to condemn us.
So how does this quotation work? If we look back at Psalm 19 we see that it compares the glory of God in nature with the glory of God in the Law. The basic premise is that God’s glory is widespread in creation and yet made special and more glorious through the Law.
We must remember then, that Christ is the fulfillment of the Law. The Law reveals God’s glory even more than creation itself does. So, just as God has caused himself to be glorified in creation, so now, he causes himself to be even more glorified through his word spread to the world through preaching. In other words, Christ is the fulfillment of God’s self-revelation to mankind which began through nature. This self-revelation is being proclaimed to all the world just as it began to be with nature’s splendor.
A simpler explanation is this: Paul is not appealing to this verse to prove that the word of Christ has gone out to the ends of the world. Don’t get caught up on the word ‘world,’ here! Paul is appealing to Psalm 19:4 to demonstrate that it is in God’s character to disclose himself to the world for the sake of his glory. Therefore, God has ordained that preachers be sent out with the word of Christ.
What’s the point of the citation of Psalm 19:4? Everyone is held accountable to believing the Gospel if they’ve heard it. Everyone who has rejected it is guilty for doing so. Paul is particularly applying this truth to the Israelites.
19-20 Paul here narrows his focus on just Israel. Did they merely hear without comprehension of the message? No. Paul appeals to Moses (Deut 32:21) and Isaiah (Isaiah 65:1) to demonstrate his point. In both of these texts, God is honored as gracious in initiating relationship with Israel. Yet, Israel rejects God, and so God lets them go into sin while drawing those who did not seek him, (in this case, Gentiles) to himself.
21 Paul’s final response to the question about whether or not Israel could comprehend the Gospel is from Isaiah 65:2. Indeed, God has opened wide the offer of salvation to Israel; yet, they have continued to reject him.
Sample Discussion Guide:
-Last time we looked at the fact that God’s word doesn’t fail – he does exactly what he desires to do for his glory. That includes electing people to salvation based on his desires, and hardening whom he desires.
-Then we looked at the outcome of God’s election – those he elected believed and got God’s righteousness. Those whom God did not choose did not come to Christ and so stand condemned. Today we’re going to look more at human responsibility in responding to the Gospel message.
-What do you think are different reasons that people reject the Gospel?
-Why do you think so often that Christians, even, do not respond positively to the Gospel being preached to them?
-Would you say that your church does a good job of making sure that the Gospel is the point of every sermon? Why/Why not?
-Our goal tonight is to delight in the widespread glory of God through the Gospel’s being preached (Pray)
-Have someone read vv. 1-4.
-Part of the reason Paul yearned and prayed so much for his fellow-Jews is because they had a zeal for God, but apart from knowledge. What do you think that might look like in the world today? Do you think it’s possible to be a “Christian” in name and have a zeal for God without knowledge? Why or why not?
-Paul says that the Jews sought to establish their own righteousness. What are some ways that modern Americans seek to establish their own righteousness? (Why do we think we’re good?) What behaviors do you take pride in?
-God tells us that seeking to establish one’s own righteousness is dangerous, even damning, because it prevents people from receiving God’s righteousness. He explains how Israel missed out on God’s righteousness in verse 4. Take a minute and write down your paraphrase of v. 4. After a minute or two, have people share their paraphrases.
-Vv. 5-13 develop the idea that the righteousness of faith comes through the preached message of the Gospel. This is in contrast with trying to become righteous by trying to keep the Law, as ancient Israel did. Have someone read vv. 5-13.
-Paul mentions here that the idea of going to heaven or to the grave to somehow attain salvation is ridiculous. What are some of the things that people do today to try to give themselves assurance of a good afterlife?
-What are some things other religions require for salvation? How does that make you feel about the fact that Christ has accomplished salvation, and that it’s simply received by faith?
-Have someone read vv. 14-17.
-We saw in the previous section that faith in the message is necessary for salvation. This section brings out the need for a preacher and hearing.
-Who first clearly explained the Gospel to you? How did he/she do it?
-Are there people in your life that you don’t think have heard the Gospel clearly? Who? What are some practical ways we can respond to that reality?
-Out of about 16,000 ethnic groups in the world, over 6,000 have no church in their own languages. What does this passage say about people that have not heard the Gospel?
-What are some different things we can do about that?
-Have you considered spending time overseas to take the Gospel to people who have no access to it – for a month, a year, or even a lifetime? What are some obstacles to you doing so? (Some people are inevitably going to respond to this question in the language of ‘feeling called’ or ‘feeling led.’ This will be a great opportunity to ask what they mean by those phrases, since they’re unbiblical phrases that often express very unbiblical concepts.)
-Have someone read vv. 18-21.
-Here Paul shows us that God has been gracious in giving the Gospel to Israel, even though Israel has, by in large, rejected it.
-What are some words or phrases that stand out with respect to God’s treatment of Israel?
-Where are we talked about in this section?
-How does this reveal God’s grace?
-Given what this passage says about the Gospel, ignorance, preaching, and human responsibility, how do you think we should pray for ourselves? Our friends? Butler University? The world?
-Spend time in prayer for those spheres.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Romans 9 Bible Study
The Word of God Does Not Fail – Romans 9
Gospel in a Sentence: “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”(Romans 10:9).
Big Picture: God is faithful to his word in having mercy on whomever he wills.
Goal: That we honor God for being true to his word in having mercy on whom he wills.
Key Ideas
1) Paul desired fellow-Jews to be saved, since God had set them apart with his word.
2) People are recipients of God’s promise by election, not ethnicity.
3) God is righteous in electing people from every nation for his glory.
4) The result of God’s electing grace is justification through faith for people in every nation.
Key Terms
Nothing new this week.
Key Observations
This section will prove emotionally and intellectually challenging for many people. It challenges the very core of what people normally believe about their rights before God, and it even challenges how highly we think of the nature of mankind – and of God.
It’s worth remembering why this passage is here. Paul has just finished, in Romans 8:18-39, telling us that we should trust that God is working out everything for our good, and will bring us into his kingdom without fail. Inevitably, one will doubt God’s promises; and one may be brought to doubt his promises if he looks at the history of Israel – and the fact that many Jews are not saved.
This section is written to support our faith in God, teaching us that salvation is not by ethnicity, but by the electing grace of God. God has always been true to his word, and his word does not fail, but does exactly what he desires it to do. Therefore, we can trust it, and we should glorify him for glorifying himself in having mercy on whom he wills.
I must admit at the outset here, that I am taking a ‘Calvinistic’ or ‘monergistic’ reading of this text. It’s impossible to go through this text and get at the heart of it without ‘taking sides.’ If you would like a more in depth look at the monergistic interpretation of these verses, check Doug Moo’s commentary on Romans (creatively titled “Romans”). If you would like to read a scholarly reading of the text from an Arminian/synergistic point of view, check out Grant Osborne’s “Romans.” I would encourage you at the outset to avoid exploring the interpretations of these texts through internet sources, most of which are unscholarly, unreliable, and full of straw men and emotionalism.
9:1-3 Paul seems to break his flow of thought here to say something personal. He goes to great lengths in v. 1 to let us know that he’s telling the truth. In v. 2 he tells us about the massive pain he’s experiencing. In v. 3, he tells us why his pain is so great – those closest to him, the Jewish people, are by in large under the curse of God, and Paul wishes he could substitute himself for them. We’re not supposed to ask, as a result of this statement, if we would go to hell in the place of others. Paul wants us to know here how much he loves the Jewish people, because of what he’s about to say about God’s plan for them, which includes the hardening and perishing of a great number of them.
4-5 Paul here explains further reasons for his pain over the exclusion of so many Jews from the grace of God; namely, that they were recipients of the Old Testament Scriptures, Old Testament worship, and the Messiah himself in person, and were set apart by God to receive his promises if they would keep his covenant.
6 In contrast with the blessings Israel received, however, Paul asserts that God’s word has not failed. The reason? Not all Israel is Israel. In other words, not all of the ethnic Jews belong to the Israel who was to receive God’s covenant blessings. We’ve already seen this concept in 4:9-17.
7 Not all ethnic Jews are Abraham’s children, that is, receiving the blessings of God’s covenant with Abraham. To support this point, Paul refers back to Genesis 21:12. Though Abraham had other physical offspring, God would only establish his covenant with Isaac. In like manner, inheriting Abraham’s blessings is not by physical descent. For the full story, see Genesis 16-17.
8-9 Verse 8 interprets verse 7. Children of the ‘flesh’ – or children in the way of thinking in the old world (by physical descent) are not necessarily considered true offspring. It is the children of promise that are. In other words, God chooses people to receive his promises just as he did with Isaac before he was born in Genesis 18:10, 14.
10 ‘And’ indicates that Paul’s going to give another piece of evidence for what he’s teaching. He begins the argument by saying that Rebekah conceived children by one man, which is significant, because that one man was a child of promise. One would naturally think that all his children would be as well. For the background of Isaac and Rebecca, see Genesis 24. For the narrative about their children, see Genesis 25:19-26.
11-12 However, because God desired to uphold his purpose of election, not based on any goodness or badness of the children but based on God’s ability to call whom he desires, he told Rebekah that the younger child, Jacob, would receive God’s covenant blessings. (Genesis 25:23).
13 Paul cites Malachi 1:2-3 to support his point. The reference here is to the fact that God chose Israel (Jacob’s descendants) before they’d done anything good or bad and rejected Edom (Esau’s descendants) in the same fashion. Now, both Israel and Edom were in rebellion against God. However, God gives promises to rebellious Israel for their repentance and salvation; yet, grants no such opportunity to the Edomites. This ‘state of affairs’ was determined by God before Jacob and Esau were born.
God Hates?
It can be really easy to get hung up on the idea that God hated Esau. We must avoid three errors in thinking about the hatred of God:
Error 1: that God’s hatred is like human hatred. It is not. When God hates a person, it is based not on passionate response, but on his righteous judgment for his glory. Though Esau had not yet done anything good or bad, he was himself already considered guilty (Rom. 5:12-14) and incapable of pleasing God (Rom. 8:7-8).
Error 2: that God’s hatred is so unlike human hatred that it’s not hatred. It is hatred. God uses this word here for a reason. Our emotional responses were created by God to ‘image’ (Gen. 1:26-28) his own affections. God does not merely hate sin, he hates sinners, that is, everyone who has not trusted in Christ (e.g. Psa. 5:5). For each person who has trusted Christ, Christ himself has absorbed all of the hatred of the Father towards everyone who would trust Christ in his crucifixion.
Error 3: that God’s hatred excludes God’s love. This is not something a human mind could conceive: but God both hates and loves the wicked. Remember Romans 2:4 – God, in patience and kindness, gives the wicked time to repent. God’s love is holy love and his hatred is holy hatred. He is unlike us. It would be wise of us to see these truths and cry out, with Paul, “Oh the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Rom. 11:33)
People are probably going to get hung up on this in your study. Here are some things you can do to get the discussion back on track:
1) Verse 13 is given to support a claim that Paul’s already made. What is that claim, made in vv. 10-12?
2) It may be a good idea to have your group refer to Malachi 1 to see what it says for themselves. It must be noted, though, that this choice of God was made without reference to any ‘goodness’ or badness that Jacob or Esau might produce.
2) You could just explain those three errors and move on.
14 What will a person’s natural response to the teaching of election be? This is unjust! Is it? Paul curses the idea.
15 This verse is very difficult. As a matter of fact, John Piper’s The Justification of God is a thesis just based on the word ‘for’ at the beginning of this verse.
‘For’ indicates that Paul is about to give us the reason that it’s not unjust for God to elect some to salvation and exclude some from salvation without reference to their ‘goodness’ or badness. To show that God is indeed acting righteously/justly, he cites Exodus 33:19. What does this have to do with God being just, though? In brief, in Exodus 33:18, Moses asks God to show him his glory. God says his ‘name,’ which is synonymous with his character or glory (Exodus 33:19). So God revealed his glory to Moses in his ‘name’, which is, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
In other words, Paul is arguing that righteousness is determined by what gives glory to God. Because it glorifies God to elect some to salvation and leave the rest in their sin, it is righteous for him to do so. This excludes the idea that God is unjust in electing some to salvation and passing over the rest. Therefore, God is just in choosing some to salvation and some for death.
Or to put it yet another way:
1) It glorifies God to elect some to salvation and to leave others in their sins.
2) Righteousness/justice is determined by what glorifies God.
Conclusion: the activity of God in election is righteous.
This may seem unfair. Paul will address the objection that election is unfair beginning in verse 19.
16 ‘So then’ indicates that Paul gives a preliminary conclusion to his argument here. That conclusion – election is not based on human desire or work, but on the God of mercy alone.
17 ‘For’ indicates that Paul is giving further ground for his argument for God’s justice. God’s word, recorded in Exodus 9:16, said to Pharaoh that God raised him up for a reason – to display his power and glory in him to the whole earth. We see this theme again – God acts righteously because righteousness is defined by what glorifies him. For the whole narrative of Israel’s redemption out of Egypt, see Exodus 3- 12:42
Several things are interesting here. First, Pharaoh was a Gentile. Paul is widening his argument here from merely talking about Jews. Second, if God had a purpose in raising Pharaoh up, there was not a real possibility of anything else happening except what God had purposed to happen. He would certainly be glorified by Pharaoh’s rebellious actions.
18 Paul draws the same conclusion again (‘so then’) from this passage that he drew from the last. Mercy is based on God’s choice, not a person’s. It may be that people get hung up on the language of ‘hardening’ here. God had purposed to harden Pharaoh’s heart before any of what happened in Exodus 4 and following. However, we must remember that God hardened an already hard heart. Remember that without the regenerating activity of the Holy Spirit, no one is able to please God. One is either of the flesh or of the Spirit (Romans 8:1-17). And so, since Pharaoh was already of the flesh, God hardened Pharaoh further then he had been before, much like his general wrath against humanity in Romans 1:18-32.
19 Normally, people will respond to this teaching by stating that God can’t then judge us for being sinners if he’s determined everything beforehand. This, indeed, is the argument of Paul’s imaginary debate opponent in verse 19.
20-21 Paul’s first line of argument against this idea is to strip us of our perceived rights. We, like Job (Job 38:1-3), have no right to challenge God, our Creator, who owns us. He is the only one with ‘rights’ in this whole scenario. See Isaiah 29:16 and 45:9 for the Old Testament citation in these verses.
22 Though Paul states what is to follow as a question, he means for it to be taken as the reality. He wouldn’t respond to an objector’s objection with a mere possibility of the way things are! Furthermore, he supports the truths of vv. 22-24 with Scripture, in vv. 25-29.
Briefly, God has glorified himself by demonstrating his wrath and power in enduring people that he created for the purpose of receiving wrath.
Many sloppy internet sources will try to claim that this verse says that the people in question prepared themselves for destruction. However, this claim is both grammatically and contextually invalid. God prepared them for destruction for his glory.
23 God prepared objects of wrath for destruction with a purpose (‘in order to’): to make known the riches of his glory for the objects he created to receive mercy and glory.
24 Paul firms up the idea here that he is not just talking about Jews anymore – but all who are called, and therefore justified, just as their spiritual father Abraham was. Israel is not Israel by ethnicity, but by election.
25-29 ‘As’ at the beginning of this section indicates that Paul is arguing for election/calling being applied to Jews and Gentiles alike. To do so, he cites Hosea 2:23, Hosea 1:10, and Isaiah 1:9; and he alludes to Isaiah 10:22-23. In sum, these verses teach us that God had purposed a remnant of Israel to be saved, not the whole of Israel. He also promised that he would bring those outside of his covenant with Israel into covenant relationship with him. They would become part of a new, spiritual-not-ethnic, Israel.
Though Hosea 1 and 2, cited in Romans 9:25-29, were about Israelites, they were covenant-breaking Israelites, and therefore no different than Gentiles under God’s wrath. What Paul does here is to expand on God’s promise – not only will law-breaking Israelites be saved; but so also will law-breaking Gentiles, who are really no different from law- breaking Israelites. A new Israel of both Jews and Gentiles would be formed. King David, who ruled the ancient nation of Israel and brought in peace and prosperity, was promised that there would eternally be an heir to his throne (See 2 Samuel 7). Those Jews before Christ who were faithful to God put their trust in this promise. The common theme within this new Israel – composed of both Jews and Gentiles – was that they would have a common King in David’s line, namely, Christ. Gentiles would be included in the covenant promise of God by association with the King.
It may seem here like Paul is stretching these verses in Hosea to mean more than they meant. This is not so. Clearly in Hosea 1, there is a distinction between the Israel of promise (1:10) and the Israel of the curse (1:2-9). Gentiles had always been included in God’s covenant with Israel, and ethnic Jews had always been excluded from God’s covenant ever since the beginning of Israel (Genesis 17:12-14, and remember Romans 4). We’ll see this in further detail in Romans 11; but this whole theme (of Gentiles being included into Israel) began in Romans 1:3-4 – though Christ was born in the flesh world as an heir to David’s throne, he has inaugurated a Kingdom of the Spirit in which he is King over all for the obedience of all the nations for the sake of his glory. Israel has expanded his borders.
Inclusion in the external Old Covenant people of God was by circumcision and the Ceremonial Law (though its blessings were still only granted through faith!) Inclusion in the New Covenant Israel of God is through faith in Christ, who is himself Israel (see Galatians 3:15- 29).
In sum, the way that Paul quotes these verses from Hosea shows that Gentiles are being included as recipients of promises given to Israel by means of election. This is because God has chosen that we be united to Christ, who is the only truly obedient Jew.
30-31 ‘What shall we say, then?’ indicates that Paul is about to draw a conclusion from the reality of God’s electing grace. That conclusion is this: Gentiles, outside of God’s covenant, not pursuing God, who never pursued a righteous status before God, have now received it because God, in grace, chose and called them. This righteous status has been received by faith!
It is vital that you understand this. People are not justified without faith. The result of election is righteousness through faith. The Gospel must be preached for the elect to have faith, and thus, the righteousness of Christ.
However, Israel did not get a righteous status. They did not attain the goal of the Law.
32-33 These verses answer why the nation of Israel did not, as a whole, receive a righteous status before God. They thought the goal of the Law was to attain a righteous status based on righteous works. They failed to see that the goal of the Law was Christ himself and his righteousness counted to everyone who would believe in him.
Sample Discussion Guide:
-Last time, we looked at truths that we need to remember in order to suffer like Christ suffered. What are some of those truths? (You can look back at ch. 8 if you need to!)
-In the midst of pain, though, it can be hard to remember and believe these truths. What are some of the doubts that might pop into someone’s head when they’re suffering?
-To Paul, and to anyone in the first century, it may have looked like God wasn’t being faithful to the nation of Israel. So why would he be faithful to Christians? In Romans 9, Paul answers that God is faithful to his word in having mercy on whomever he wills.
-Let’s pray and take a look at the text. Pray.
-Have someone read vv. 1-5.
-What’s the feel that you get from this passage? Do you have any questions about it?
-Why do you think Paul’s in such agony over the fact that many Israelites are under God’s wrath?
-We should feel a similar agony over people that are outside of Christ. Why do you think we don’t? What can we do to practice compassion on people who don’t have Christ?
-Have someone read vv. 6-13. How do you feel after reading this? Any questions?
-Can someone explain for us the story of Abraham and Sarah? How about the story of Isaac and Rebekah and the birth of their children?
-The main point here is that God’s word doesn’t fail. How do what happened with Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Rebekah prove that?
-What are some situations in which someone might be tempted to disbelieve or distrust God’s promises?
-What do you think we can do to get our minds and hearts back on track?
-What do these verses teach us about God? How does this affect your view of him or feelings towards him?
-Have someone read vv. 14-18.
-The idea that God chooses people without reference to any good or bad they might do sounds like God is being unjust. In these verses, Paul argues against that.
-Any questions you have about these verses? The reality here is that you may not have all the answers to peoples’ questions. That’s okay. Be honest, teach the text, and say from the text what you know to be true.
-What sort of picture of God is painted by these verses?
-What does it look like God ultimately cares about?
-Given that God is not required to give mercy to anyone, how does this make you feel about his mercy if you have received it?
-Have someone read vv. 19-29.
-Paul just argued that election is based on God’s will for God’s glory. Our natural response to that will be to say that God’s unfair in judging people for their sin. Look at v. 19. That’s exactly what Paul’s debate opponent says.
-What kind of picture of God do these verses paint?
-How does this portrayal of God make you feel about the fact that God has had mercy on you if you have believed in Christ?
-How does Paul answer the objection that God is unjust here?
-What does Paul teach about God here? About you?
-Have someone read vv. 30-33.
-Look at v. 30. ‘What shall we say, then’ is Paul’s way of concluding this section. What is the result of God’s choosing in these verses?
-What is the relationship between election and justification, according to these verses? See also Romans 8:30. One becomes a recipient of God’s promises by being chosen by him. God calls and gives the gift of faith (Philippians 1:29) to each person he has chosen. To each of these, he then credits Christ’s righteousness. In sum, God’s choosing/election leads to God’s call, God’s call leads to faith, faith receives the righteousness of Christ as a gift, and on the basis of that righteousness God justifies the elect.
-How would you summarize what you’ve learned about God and about people in this chapter?
-Given those things, how does having received the righteousness of Christ through faith make you feel?
-How does it change how you worship? How does it change how you pray?
-Let’s worship God in prayer. Pray as a group.
Gospel in a Sentence: “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”(Romans 10:9).
Big Picture: God is faithful to his word in having mercy on whomever he wills.
Goal: That we honor God for being true to his word in having mercy on whom he wills.
Key Ideas
1) Paul desired fellow-Jews to be saved, since God had set them apart with his word.
2) People are recipients of God’s promise by election, not ethnicity.
3) God is righteous in electing people from every nation for his glory.
4) The result of God’s electing grace is justification through faith for people in every nation.
Key Terms
Nothing new this week.
Key Observations
This section will prove emotionally and intellectually challenging for many people. It challenges the very core of what people normally believe about their rights before God, and it even challenges how highly we think of the nature of mankind – and of God.
It’s worth remembering why this passage is here. Paul has just finished, in Romans 8:18-39, telling us that we should trust that God is working out everything for our good, and will bring us into his kingdom without fail. Inevitably, one will doubt God’s promises; and one may be brought to doubt his promises if he looks at the history of Israel – and the fact that many Jews are not saved.
This section is written to support our faith in God, teaching us that salvation is not by ethnicity, but by the electing grace of God. God has always been true to his word, and his word does not fail, but does exactly what he desires it to do. Therefore, we can trust it, and we should glorify him for glorifying himself in having mercy on whom he wills.
I must admit at the outset here, that I am taking a ‘Calvinistic’ or ‘monergistic’ reading of this text. It’s impossible to go through this text and get at the heart of it without ‘taking sides.’ If you would like a more in depth look at the monergistic interpretation of these verses, check Doug Moo’s commentary on Romans (creatively titled “Romans”). If you would like to read a scholarly reading of the text from an Arminian/synergistic point of view, check out Grant Osborne’s “Romans.” I would encourage you at the outset to avoid exploring the interpretations of these texts through internet sources, most of which are unscholarly, unreliable, and full of straw men and emotionalism.
9:1-3 Paul seems to break his flow of thought here to say something personal. He goes to great lengths in v. 1 to let us know that he’s telling the truth. In v. 2 he tells us about the massive pain he’s experiencing. In v. 3, he tells us why his pain is so great – those closest to him, the Jewish people, are by in large under the curse of God, and Paul wishes he could substitute himself for them. We’re not supposed to ask, as a result of this statement, if we would go to hell in the place of others. Paul wants us to know here how much he loves the Jewish people, because of what he’s about to say about God’s plan for them, which includes the hardening and perishing of a great number of them.
4-5 Paul here explains further reasons for his pain over the exclusion of so many Jews from the grace of God; namely, that they were recipients of the Old Testament Scriptures, Old Testament worship, and the Messiah himself in person, and were set apart by God to receive his promises if they would keep his covenant.
6 In contrast with the blessings Israel received, however, Paul asserts that God’s word has not failed. The reason? Not all Israel is Israel. In other words, not all of the ethnic Jews belong to the Israel who was to receive God’s covenant blessings. We’ve already seen this concept in 4:9-17.
7 Not all ethnic Jews are Abraham’s children, that is, receiving the blessings of God’s covenant with Abraham. To support this point, Paul refers back to Genesis 21:12. Though Abraham had other physical offspring, God would only establish his covenant with Isaac. In like manner, inheriting Abraham’s blessings is not by physical descent. For the full story, see Genesis 16-17.
8-9 Verse 8 interprets verse 7. Children of the ‘flesh’ – or children in the way of thinking in the old world (by physical descent) are not necessarily considered true offspring. It is the children of promise that are. In other words, God chooses people to receive his promises just as he did with Isaac before he was born in Genesis 18:10, 14.
10 ‘And’ indicates that Paul’s going to give another piece of evidence for what he’s teaching. He begins the argument by saying that Rebekah conceived children by one man, which is significant, because that one man was a child of promise. One would naturally think that all his children would be as well. For the background of Isaac and Rebecca, see Genesis 24. For the narrative about their children, see Genesis 25:19-26.
11-12 However, because God desired to uphold his purpose of election, not based on any goodness or badness of the children but based on God’s ability to call whom he desires, he told Rebekah that the younger child, Jacob, would receive God’s covenant blessings. (Genesis 25:23).
13 Paul cites Malachi 1:2-3 to support his point. The reference here is to the fact that God chose Israel (Jacob’s descendants) before they’d done anything good or bad and rejected Edom (Esau’s descendants) in the same fashion. Now, both Israel and Edom were in rebellion against God. However, God gives promises to rebellious Israel for their repentance and salvation; yet, grants no such opportunity to the Edomites. This ‘state of affairs’ was determined by God before Jacob and Esau were born.
God Hates?
It can be really easy to get hung up on the idea that God hated Esau. We must avoid three errors in thinking about the hatred of God:
Error 1: that God’s hatred is like human hatred. It is not. When God hates a person, it is based not on passionate response, but on his righteous judgment for his glory. Though Esau had not yet done anything good or bad, he was himself already considered guilty (Rom. 5:12-14) and incapable of pleasing God (Rom. 8:7-8).
Error 2: that God’s hatred is so unlike human hatred that it’s not hatred. It is hatred. God uses this word here for a reason. Our emotional responses were created by God to ‘image’ (Gen. 1:26-28) his own affections. God does not merely hate sin, he hates sinners, that is, everyone who has not trusted in Christ (e.g. Psa. 5:5). For each person who has trusted Christ, Christ himself has absorbed all of the hatred of the Father towards everyone who would trust Christ in his crucifixion.
Error 3: that God’s hatred excludes God’s love. This is not something a human mind could conceive: but God both hates and loves the wicked. Remember Romans 2:4 – God, in patience and kindness, gives the wicked time to repent. God’s love is holy love and his hatred is holy hatred. He is unlike us. It would be wise of us to see these truths and cry out, with Paul, “Oh the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Rom. 11:33)
People are probably going to get hung up on this in your study. Here are some things you can do to get the discussion back on track:
1) Verse 13 is given to support a claim that Paul’s already made. What is that claim, made in vv. 10-12?
2) It may be a good idea to have your group refer to Malachi 1 to see what it says for themselves. It must be noted, though, that this choice of God was made without reference to any ‘goodness’ or badness that Jacob or Esau might produce.
2) You could just explain those three errors and move on.
14 What will a person’s natural response to the teaching of election be? This is unjust! Is it? Paul curses the idea.
15 This verse is very difficult. As a matter of fact, John Piper’s The Justification of God is a thesis just based on the word ‘for’ at the beginning of this verse.
‘For’ indicates that Paul is about to give us the reason that it’s not unjust for God to elect some to salvation and exclude some from salvation without reference to their ‘goodness’ or badness. To show that God is indeed acting righteously/justly, he cites Exodus 33:19. What does this have to do with God being just, though? In brief, in Exodus 33:18, Moses asks God to show him his glory. God says his ‘name,’ which is synonymous with his character or glory (Exodus 33:19). So God revealed his glory to Moses in his ‘name’, which is, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
In other words, Paul is arguing that righteousness is determined by what gives glory to God. Because it glorifies God to elect some to salvation and leave the rest in their sin, it is righteous for him to do so. This excludes the idea that God is unjust in electing some to salvation and passing over the rest. Therefore, God is just in choosing some to salvation and some for death.
Or to put it yet another way:
1) It glorifies God to elect some to salvation and to leave others in their sins.
2) Righteousness/justice is determined by what glorifies God.
Conclusion: the activity of God in election is righteous.
This may seem unfair. Paul will address the objection that election is unfair beginning in verse 19.
16 ‘So then’ indicates that Paul gives a preliminary conclusion to his argument here. That conclusion – election is not based on human desire or work, but on the God of mercy alone.
17 ‘For’ indicates that Paul is giving further ground for his argument for God’s justice. God’s word, recorded in Exodus 9:16, said to Pharaoh that God raised him up for a reason – to display his power and glory in him to the whole earth. We see this theme again – God acts righteously because righteousness is defined by what glorifies him. For the whole narrative of Israel’s redemption out of Egypt, see Exodus 3- 12:42
Several things are interesting here. First, Pharaoh was a Gentile. Paul is widening his argument here from merely talking about Jews. Second, if God had a purpose in raising Pharaoh up, there was not a real possibility of anything else happening except what God had purposed to happen. He would certainly be glorified by Pharaoh’s rebellious actions.
18 Paul draws the same conclusion again (‘so then’) from this passage that he drew from the last. Mercy is based on God’s choice, not a person’s. It may be that people get hung up on the language of ‘hardening’ here. God had purposed to harden Pharaoh’s heart before any of what happened in Exodus 4 and following. However, we must remember that God hardened an already hard heart. Remember that without the regenerating activity of the Holy Spirit, no one is able to please God. One is either of the flesh or of the Spirit (Romans 8:1-17). And so, since Pharaoh was already of the flesh, God hardened Pharaoh further then he had been before, much like his general wrath against humanity in Romans 1:18-32.
19 Normally, people will respond to this teaching by stating that God can’t then judge us for being sinners if he’s determined everything beforehand. This, indeed, is the argument of Paul’s imaginary debate opponent in verse 19.
20-21 Paul’s first line of argument against this idea is to strip us of our perceived rights. We, like Job (Job 38:1-3), have no right to challenge God, our Creator, who owns us. He is the only one with ‘rights’ in this whole scenario. See Isaiah 29:16 and 45:9 for the Old Testament citation in these verses.
22 Though Paul states what is to follow as a question, he means for it to be taken as the reality. He wouldn’t respond to an objector’s objection with a mere possibility of the way things are! Furthermore, he supports the truths of vv. 22-24 with Scripture, in vv. 25-29.
Briefly, God has glorified himself by demonstrating his wrath and power in enduring people that he created for the purpose of receiving wrath.
Many sloppy internet sources will try to claim that this verse says that the people in question prepared themselves for destruction. However, this claim is both grammatically and contextually invalid. God prepared them for destruction for his glory.
23 God prepared objects of wrath for destruction with a purpose (‘in order to’): to make known the riches of his glory for the objects he created to receive mercy and glory.
24 Paul firms up the idea here that he is not just talking about Jews anymore – but all who are called, and therefore justified, just as their spiritual father Abraham was. Israel is not Israel by ethnicity, but by election.
25-29 ‘As’ at the beginning of this section indicates that Paul is arguing for election/calling being applied to Jews and Gentiles alike. To do so, he cites Hosea 2:23, Hosea 1:10, and Isaiah 1:9; and he alludes to Isaiah 10:22-23. In sum, these verses teach us that God had purposed a remnant of Israel to be saved, not the whole of Israel. He also promised that he would bring those outside of his covenant with Israel into covenant relationship with him. They would become part of a new, spiritual-not-ethnic, Israel.
Though Hosea 1 and 2, cited in Romans 9:25-29, were about Israelites, they were covenant-breaking Israelites, and therefore no different than Gentiles under God’s wrath. What Paul does here is to expand on God’s promise – not only will law-breaking Israelites be saved; but so also will law-breaking Gentiles, who are really no different from law- breaking Israelites. A new Israel of both Jews and Gentiles would be formed. King David, who ruled the ancient nation of Israel and brought in peace and prosperity, was promised that there would eternally be an heir to his throne (See 2 Samuel 7). Those Jews before Christ who were faithful to God put their trust in this promise. The common theme within this new Israel – composed of both Jews and Gentiles – was that they would have a common King in David’s line, namely, Christ. Gentiles would be included in the covenant promise of God by association with the King.
It may seem here like Paul is stretching these verses in Hosea to mean more than they meant. This is not so. Clearly in Hosea 1, there is a distinction between the Israel of promise (1:10) and the Israel of the curse (1:2-9). Gentiles had always been included in God’s covenant with Israel, and ethnic Jews had always been excluded from God’s covenant ever since the beginning of Israel (Genesis 17:12-14, and remember Romans 4). We’ll see this in further detail in Romans 11; but this whole theme (of Gentiles being included into Israel) began in Romans 1:3-4 – though Christ was born in the flesh world as an heir to David’s throne, he has inaugurated a Kingdom of the Spirit in which he is King over all for the obedience of all the nations for the sake of his glory. Israel has expanded his borders.
Inclusion in the external Old Covenant people of God was by circumcision and the Ceremonial Law (though its blessings were still only granted through faith!) Inclusion in the New Covenant Israel of God is through faith in Christ, who is himself Israel (see Galatians 3:15- 29).
In sum, the way that Paul quotes these verses from Hosea shows that Gentiles are being included as recipients of promises given to Israel by means of election. This is because God has chosen that we be united to Christ, who is the only truly obedient Jew.
30-31 ‘What shall we say, then?’ indicates that Paul is about to draw a conclusion from the reality of God’s electing grace. That conclusion is this: Gentiles, outside of God’s covenant, not pursuing God, who never pursued a righteous status before God, have now received it because God, in grace, chose and called them. This righteous status has been received by faith!
It is vital that you understand this. People are not justified without faith. The result of election is righteousness through faith. The Gospel must be preached for the elect to have faith, and thus, the righteousness of Christ.
However, Israel did not get a righteous status. They did not attain the goal of the Law.
32-33 These verses answer why the nation of Israel did not, as a whole, receive a righteous status before God. They thought the goal of the Law was to attain a righteous status based on righteous works. They failed to see that the goal of the Law was Christ himself and his righteousness counted to everyone who would believe in him.
Sample Discussion Guide:
-Last time, we looked at truths that we need to remember in order to suffer like Christ suffered. What are some of those truths? (You can look back at ch. 8 if you need to!)
-In the midst of pain, though, it can be hard to remember and believe these truths. What are some of the doubts that might pop into someone’s head when they’re suffering?
-To Paul, and to anyone in the first century, it may have looked like God wasn’t being faithful to the nation of Israel. So why would he be faithful to Christians? In Romans 9, Paul answers that God is faithful to his word in having mercy on whomever he wills.
-Let’s pray and take a look at the text. Pray.
-Have someone read vv. 1-5.
-What’s the feel that you get from this passage? Do you have any questions about it?
-Why do you think Paul’s in such agony over the fact that many Israelites are under God’s wrath?
-We should feel a similar agony over people that are outside of Christ. Why do you think we don’t? What can we do to practice compassion on people who don’t have Christ?
-Have someone read vv. 6-13. How do you feel after reading this? Any questions?
-Can someone explain for us the story of Abraham and Sarah? How about the story of Isaac and Rebekah and the birth of their children?
-The main point here is that God’s word doesn’t fail. How do what happened with Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Rebekah prove that?
-What are some situations in which someone might be tempted to disbelieve or distrust God’s promises?
-What do you think we can do to get our minds and hearts back on track?
-What do these verses teach us about God? How does this affect your view of him or feelings towards him?
-Have someone read vv. 14-18.
-The idea that God chooses people without reference to any good or bad they might do sounds like God is being unjust. In these verses, Paul argues against that.
-Any questions you have about these verses? The reality here is that you may not have all the answers to peoples’ questions. That’s okay. Be honest, teach the text, and say from the text what you know to be true.
-What sort of picture of God is painted by these verses?
-What does it look like God ultimately cares about?
-Given that God is not required to give mercy to anyone, how does this make you feel about his mercy if you have received it?
-Have someone read vv. 19-29.
-Paul just argued that election is based on God’s will for God’s glory. Our natural response to that will be to say that God’s unfair in judging people for their sin. Look at v. 19. That’s exactly what Paul’s debate opponent says.
-What kind of picture of God do these verses paint?
-How does this portrayal of God make you feel about the fact that God has had mercy on you if you have believed in Christ?
-How does Paul answer the objection that God is unjust here?
-What does Paul teach about God here? About you?
-Have someone read vv. 30-33.
-Look at v. 30. ‘What shall we say, then’ is Paul’s way of concluding this section. What is the result of God’s choosing in these verses?
-What is the relationship between election and justification, according to these verses? See also Romans 8:30. One becomes a recipient of God’s promises by being chosen by him. God calls and gives the gift of faith (Philippians 1:29) to each person he has chosen. To each of these, he then credits Christ’s righteousness. In sum, God’s choosing/election leads to God’s call, God’s call leads to faith, faith receives the righteousness of Christ as a gift, and on the basis of that righteousness God justifies the elect.
-How would you summarize what you’ve learned about God and about people in this chapter?
-Given those things, how does having received the righteousness of Christ through faith make you feel?
-How does it change how you worship? How does it change how you pray?
-Let’s worship God in prayer. Pray as a group.
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