If you invited someone to your home for dinner and they stopped halfway there, what would you think? That they didn’t care? Didn’t really want to be with you?Hi, I’m Yvon Prehn and Welcome to Bible 805!
In our podcast today we’ll see how that is a little like what it is like if we accept Jesus to be our Savior, but then we quit God’s plans for us only halfway to where He wants us to be.
Below is the Podcast and below that the notes that go with it.
If you would like FREE, editable downloads of this material that you can modify and use to teach without attribution, go to the Bible805 Academy. Just click on the little search (magnifying glass icon) at the top of the page, type in the topic you want, hit enter, and it will bring up the various lessons and infographics on it.
You can also click the following link for a download of the PDF of the notes: NOTES Romans Road, part 2, the rest of the journey home
Review of the Romans Road so far
• Last week in class we talked about the Roman Road—the popular term for how Paul describes God’s plan of salvation for fallen humanity.
• We also looked at the meaning of some of the theological terms that describe it: propitiation, atonement, justification, and redemption
• On podcast and www.bible805.com
Once arrived at salvation
• The thing we need to remember and sometimes forget, is that our salvation is only the START of our relationship with God.
• Have bought us with Jesus blood and death on the cross and redeemed from judgement and eternal death—we are no longer our own.
• We belong to Jesus and should live for him.
• That’s what the Bible refers to as “Sanctification” or being conformed to the Image of Christ
Verses on becoming like Jesus
Romans 8:29—context so important
• For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren. Rom. 8:29 NIV
• 28-30 Moreover we know that to those who love God, who are called according to his plan, everything that happens fits into a pattern for good. God, in his foreknowledge, chose them to bear the family likeness of his Son, that he might be the eldest of a family of many brothers. He chose them long ago; when the time came he called them, he made them righteous in his sight, and then lifted them to the splendour of life as his own sons. Romans 8:29-30 J.B. (PHILLIPS)
Even more complete—think about this
• Romans 8:28-30 The Message (MSG)
• 26-28 Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.
• 29-30 God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.
How we get there, advice for the process is what our lesson today is about
• Rom 1-11 lays out God’s plan of salvation for all people
• Then the emphasis shifts in chapter 12 (though the chapter breaks not part of original text, the organization of thought is)
• Begins “therefore” Gk. “ouv”
• Strongs: “οὖν a conjunction indicating that something follows from another necessarily”
• What follows is the necessary result of what came before
• God did extraordinary things in bringing about the salvation of all humanity, Jews and Gentiles and the necessary result of what follows is the content of the remainder of the book
• God not asking us to do something without Him doing so much first.
Let’s look at the passage
• Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Rom. 12:1-2
• “A living sacrifice” often in the NT it talks about how Jesus gave His life for us (remember last week), we are purchased, paid for, we are not our own
• Dead to sin and alive to Christ—and living it out is how we worship
• Not simply big emotions on Sunday and then live however you want the rest of the week
Be transformed—means to live that reality
• We need transforming, so how are we transformed?
• “By the renewing of our mind”
• We have to learn to think in new ways
• Key for this—because naturally we don’t know how
• Standards of the world, media, other people-often at odds with what God wants from us
• That is why we need to know the Bible—not for the super-spiritual—basic
• You need a plan—devotionals, ***Can get them on your phone, read, listen to your Bible
• You Version ap highly recommended
So let’s see what it has to say in the rest of Romans
• For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Rom. 12:3-8
Know who you are and your place in the body of Christ
• Even if we are growing into a specific “gift” we can all practice the characteristics:
• Be encouraging
• Generous
• Diligent (such a needed characteristic)
• Cheerful***It does matter if you feel like it or not
• Must become the master of our emotions; not let them master us
Live a practical life of love
• Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Romans 12:9-13
• You can’t just say you “love” someone and then stand by when they have needs and you have the ability to help. You HELP them.
• And have a good attitude in what you do.
• Joy is a command—one I have few ideas on how to implement
Joy….
• Rejoicing: Gk.Chairō– a primary verb; to be “cheer”ful, i.e. calmly happy or well-off;
• “calmly happy” I like that…some other verses where used:
• So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy John 16:22
• “Rejoice always” 1 Thes. 5:16
• Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. 1 Thes. 5:16-18 (MSG)
• Try a sanctified “fake it til you make it” Act as if….
• Much in the Christian life, we must simply do as an act of discipline and as in the rest of life, it will then become a habit
• Different things are easy/hard for different people
How to respond to the reality of evil
• Reality however is that not everyone will try to live like that, or understand why you do what you do. So…..
• 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
• 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:
• “If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
• 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
What happens if we don’t do this
• If we retaliate, judge, etc.
• We are putting ourselves in God’s position
• God says “It is mine to avenge”
• This does not mean being a doormat
• We can/we should clarify difficult situations—speak the truth in love
• While keeping in mind, that as far as it depends on us to be at peace with all people
Rom. 13—be a good citizen
• Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Rom. 13:1
• Consider the government Paul served under and that ultimately killed him for his faith
• Though we obey if it does not violate our Christian beliefs, Government, politics NEVER our primary concern
This world is not our home
• All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. Hebrews 11:13 (NIV)
• Hebrews 11:13-16 Each one of these people of faith died not yet having in hand what was promised, but still believing. How did they do it? They saw it way off in the distance, waved their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world. People who live this way make it plain that they are looking for their true home. If they were homesick for the old country, they could have gone back any time they wanted. But they were after a far better country than that—heaven country. You can see why God is so proud of them, and has a City waiting for them.
Importance of love (repeated often)
• Rom. 13:8 -10 , Phil Keep out of debt altogether, except the perpetual debt of love which we owe to one another. The man who loves his neighbour has obeyed the whole Law in regard to his neighbour.
• The debt that is never fully paid
• Love without expectations
Wake up!
• Rom. 13: 11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
• Be especially conscious of attitudinal sins—subtle, but incredibly destructive
• Again, be like Jesus—WWJD—not just an outdated saying
How to deal with “weaker” brothers & sisters
• Rom 14:1 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.
• Many more disputable issues than we often realize
• For Paul issues about eating meat offered to idols
• But there is always something—something that isn’t primary doctrine, but is much more simply preference (cultural, historical, personal)
What to keep in mind when tempted to judge
• Rom. 14:10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written:
• “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.’”
• 12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
• ……
• Similar to not taking vengeance—when you judge others for how they worship, etc., you are putting yourself in place of God
• Instead…..
v. 19: Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
• 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.
• 22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves.
• A clear conscience in ourselves a great treasure
Rom 15: advice for the strong in the faith—get along with people
• 15 1-2 Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?”
• 3-6 That’s exactly what Jesus did. He didn’t make it easy for himself by avoiding people’s troubles, but waded right in and helped out. “I took on the troubles of the troubled,” is the way Scripture puts it. Even if it was written in Scripture long ago, you can be sure it’s written for us. God wants the combination of his steady, constant calling and warm, personal counsel in Scripture to come to characterize us, keeping us alert for whatever he will do next. May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all. Romans 15 The Message (MSG)
Paul ends with asking for prayers and greetings to many people
• Rom. 16:17 I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. 19 Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.
• 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
• The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
• Lots of others mentioned previously (come Tuesday to hear all about them)
• 21 Timothy, my co-worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my fellow Jews.
• 22 I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.
• 23 Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings.
• Erastus, who is the city’s director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings. [24]
• 25 Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, 26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.
• May be all be established in Him and always growing to be more like Jesus!
- Please check out the notes from this lesson, they are in Downloadable PDF format and other materials at bible805.com