Romans Lesson 12, Sunday January 12, 2014 We are moving ahead with this epistle in verses 14 to 26. What Paul has done in Romans Chapter 1 is to give us the GOOD NEWS (of the gospel) first and then moves on to show us our helpless condition. The RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IS BY FAITH, freely given to ALL who believe in Jesus Christ. Paul shows us what mankind has done in response to this offer of grace, what man has done since the beginning of time- turn himself over to every vile thing. The gospel does not announce that everyone is safe because of what Jesus Christ has done, which is universalism. THE GOSPEL IS ONLY EFFECTIVE IN THOSE WHO BELIEVE IT. Believe what? Believe the good news. What is the good news? It is the news that Jesus is the Christ (i.e., the Messiah whom God promised to send) and that He has done everything necessary to save us (cf. 1 John 2:2; 5:1). Note that Paul mentioned no other condition besides believing the good news in this crucial verse (cf. 4:5). He said nothing about our having to do anything in addition (such as undergoing baptism, joining a church, pledging commitment, etc). The issue is believing in the good news and trusting Christ. Either a person does or does not do so. After salvation, we have the potential for further deliverance form the gospel: “The closer we get to the light we should be able to understand the darker we really are. The Word of God illuminates this. We are desperate and in need of a Savior. As we walk toward the Word of God, do we rebel against it and form a stand totally apart from the Word of God? When we realize who we are in desperation apart from Him, then we understand how much we truly need Him. Paul does not say that we are unsaved if we fail to dedicate our lives to him. We should give ourselves out of hope, and love- this reveals a mature attitude in a believer. Far too many believers today have the attitude of ‘we are going to hell in a hand basket, what difference does it make?’” [Pastor John Voisey] The gospel should be the good news for every sphere of your life…not just fire insurance. It is restorative, and brings a peace of mind that surpasses all understanding. The outcome of the gospel in our lives should be total deliverance from human systems of thought resulting in a sound mind or wholeness of mental thought (based on the thinking of Christ). We spent the remainder of this lesson focusing on HOW we get that peace- beginning with the Grace Pipeline [R.B. Thieme, Jr.]. Blessings flow from the grace pipeline of God toward us because of WHO AND WHAT GOD IS NOT who and what we are. The origin of the imputation of the righteousness of God (+R) to the believer comes from the integrity of God. NO ONE, NO SYSTEM OR ORGANIZATION CAN CLAIM RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHAT GOD HAS DONE. The first blessing of God is the imputation of +R and comes by FAITH ALONE IN CHRIST ALONE. This first blessing forms the foundation for all blessings; we are qualified by the imputation of +R, God has met the qualification for all blessing for us. What we do with this in our lives is a matter of our own decision based on volition. God has a purpose for our life. The ultimate objective for God in giving us +R is to His own pleasure and glory. This is begins with God’s immediate objective to bless the believer. Our thought life should be directed toward the glorification of God and should exclude human viewpoint thinking- this requires humility and death to self. Paul considered himself under obligation to the gospel. We are no different than Paul was. Our spiritual gifts are to be used under spiritual maturity to benefit, edify, and encourage the body of believers. This is the motivation to serve God as a debtor to the Gospel. God’s plan works in spite of us. This is embodied in the concept of faith to faith (Romans 1:17)…this is the truth implication of everything that flows from the cross- the imputation of +R and the 40+ things given to us at the moment of salvation. We are called to live form faith to faith as we move from one challenge to another in our post salvation lives. As we face this challenge we must step back and ask ourselves, “What is there for me to learn and understand,” in every situation. From faith to faith is the entire summary of the spiritual life from salvation by faith alone in Christ alone…this should be an ongoing development of who we are becoming in Christ, we should be constantly growing. Romans Lesson 12, Sunday January 12, 2014 gracedoctrinechurch.net/
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 06:50:55 +0000
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