Wed, Aug 20th - 8:21PM

A STUDY IN ROMANS

Now Paul seems to pick up that personal note with which he began this epistle to the Romans.

And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brothers, that you also are full of goodness, filed with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another(15:14).

Paul, it would seem, is offering in this verse a gentle apology for his earlier frankness and boldness.  This isn't saying that they were lacking in goodness and knowledge, but rather because they possessed these qualities that Paul was able to be so explicit.  God gave us this letter to the Romans so that He could talk to us about these important issues.  If it hasn't occured to you as yet, this letter to the Romans is an essential part of any Christian's growth spiritually. 

Nevertheless, brothers, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God.

That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost(15:15-16).

Paul is referring to this letter when he says, "I have written."  He wishes to put to rest any argument that might arise over him being the apostle to the Gentiles.  He is also ministering to them.  He is adopting the language of the Levitical temple worship in describing himself as a minister preaching the gospel.

He informs all that the Gentiles are "acceptable" even apart from the Law or any religion, through Jesus Christ.

"Sanctified" means the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the Gentile believers, beginning with Cornelius.  The sanctifying work of God's Spirit begins the very moment of regeneration when the Holy Spirit takes up His dwelling place within each believer.  It is difficult for us to completely understand the full significance of all this, and yet we as Gentiles have gained all that this implies.  Each of us ought to thank God for the apostle Paul since God gave Paul to us. 

I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God(15:17).

Paul wrote to these Romans with confidence.  We can find no personal assumption creeping into his words.  He is a servant of Christ Jesus and is doing His will.  One thing that ought never to characterize a servant of God is pride.  We need to take the position that we are merely serving Jesus Christ and He is the One in charge.

For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed.

Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ(15:18-19).

If we are to understand Paul, we must pay close attention to what he says here.  He says that he will not take credit for the work of God that is done by others, especially among the Gentiles.  He couldn't take credit for what was accomplished on Pentecost, he couldn't take any credit for the ministry that brought the gospel to the very first Gentiles.  It was Simon Peter who took the gospel to the home of Cornelius. 

"Through mighty signs and wonders" were the credentials of the apostles and the ministers of the early church.  This helped establish the foundation of the early church since there was no written New Testament as of yet.  He is not saying that the apostles are the foundation, for only Jesus Christ can be the foundational stone(I Corinthians 3:11).  But the apostles were the ones who put down the foundation of Jesus Christ.

How much area is covered from Jerusalem to Illyricum?  Illyricum was a province of Rome next to Italy.  It extended to the Adriatic Sea and the Danube River.  Paul had preached from Jerusalem to right up to Rome.  He had not yet reached Rome itself, but he had traveled all around in this region.  Did he eventually go to Spain and England?  Perhaps. 

Next time we shall see that Paul strove to preach the gospel in places where no one had yet preached Christ risen.  Until then, I give credit to all those who have written of these things before me, and to those who will write of these things after I am long gone from this world.  I hope and pray that some of you will be included in that group of individuals.  Today I began once again to read "Pilgrim's Progress."  I am simply in awe of the man who wrote this epic Christian work.  And he wrote while he was in jail!  Amazing love.  Grace and peace be yours this night.

~Eric

Wed, Aug 20th - 7:09AM

THE CROSS DIVIDES MEN

We have looked at how the cross of Christ divided two Romans, two apostles, and two women.  Notice its effect on the lives of two Pharisees who at first saw eye-to-eye, but who were later on divided by the cross so that one went into eternity his way and the other went into eternity God's Way.

The Pharisees were a religious-political party.  As a religious party they were what we would describe as fundamental in the faith.  They believed in the inspiration of the Old Testament, the existence of the supernatural, the existence of angels, and the Resurrection.  Today, they would be considered as "cold-blooded fundamentalists."  Even though they believed the Word of God, their personal lives did not contain evidence of its influence.  As always, it is so easy to say, "Yes, I believe," without the Word of God actually affecting the heart! 

When the Pharisees came into the presence of Christ, they were very impressed with Him and initially felt that He was the One that they wanted.  I imagine that many were feeling just a wee bit uncomfortable talking to God in person.  At any rate, they sent Nicodemus to talk to Him, thinking perhaps that somehow they would win Christ over to their side.  They soon found out, however, that they weren't the ones persuading, but rather they were the ones being persuaded by Christ!  They did not like that at all.  Gradually, the Pharisees became His sworn enemies, and ultimately they joined forces with the rest of the Sanhedrin and the Herodians to plot His death.

Pharisee Number One

This first Pharisee goes nameless in the scriptures.  It is fairly certain that this man was an enemy of the Lord Jesus Christ.  One Sabbath Day, he invited Christ home to have dinner with him.  Now, you would think that if this man invited Jesus to dinner he couldn't possibly be His enemy.  Why not?  His invitation was not a gesture of friendliness.  He asked Christ to dinner in order that his crowd of cronies might find something with which they could charge Him.  What awaited Jesus at this man's front door?

And it came to pass, as He went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat on the sabbath day, that they watched Him.  And, behold, there was a certain man before Him who had the dropsy(Luke 14:1-2).

It is fairly certain that this ill man was a plant by the Pharisees, to see what He would do.  Would Jesus heal him, or not?  Without even knowing it, these men were paying Christ the highest compliment they could.  Christ's host was one of the top Pharisees and He willingly entered into the enemy's terrain.

But this Pharisee soon found out that he had a guest who could take care of Himself.  As dinner was announced, our Lord watched as the guests took their places at the table.  We can see His decision in Luke 14:7-11.  Please read the entire 14th chapter to see how Christ dealt with them at this dinner. 

Christ had gone to this man's home.  This man had joined with those who crucified Him.  When he looked at the cross and the crowd beneath it, this Pharisee said to himself, "It is foolishness, I see nothing in that cross for me."  So this man went into eternity his own way.

That is all for this morning, my friends.  Next we shall see another Pharisee who encountered Christ and decided that there was something for him at the cross.  Until then, the grace and peace of God, the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all this day.

~Eric

Tue, Aug 19th - 5:37PM

A STUDY IN ROMANS

Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:

And that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to you among the Gentiles, and sing unto your name(15:8-9).

Jesus came as a minister of the Jews.  This is the only time it can be found in scripture.  His ministry was confined to the nation Israel.  This He said Himself in Matthew 15:24.  Jesus also directed the disciples in Matthew 10:6.  Jesus came in this capacity to confirm the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  He was called Jesus when after eight days He was circumcised, just as the angel had foretold before He was ever conceived in Mary's womb.  He came to fulfill the entire Mosaic system.  Galatians 4:4-5 tells us why Jesus Christ came.  Christ fulfilled and confirmed the Old Testament promises.  Also, through this method salvation was brought to the Gentiles.  We Gentiles only claim is upon the mercy of God.  No promise was ever made to any of the Gentiles' fathers of old. 

"As it is written" introduces four quotes from the Old Testament that show us that the Gentiles are to praise God Almighty.

"For this cause I will confess to you among the Gentiles and sing unto your name" is a quote from Psalm 18:49.  Christ praises God through the Gentiles, which implies their conversion.

And agin He saith, Rejoice, you Gentiles, with His people(15:10).

This quote comes from Deuteronomy 32:43.  It is the conclusion to the song of Moses, which is a prophetic recital of the history of the Israeli nation until the coming of the millennial kingdom.  The Gentiles are invited to join with Israel in praise to God.

And again, Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; and laud Him, all you people(15:11).

Another quote, this time from Psalm 117:1.  The invitation continues to be offered to the Gentiles to join with Israel in praising God.

And again, Esaias says, There shall be a root of Jesse, and He that shall arise to reign over the Gentiles; in Him shall the Gentiles trust(15:12).

This quote comes from Isaiah 11:10.  Obviously it always was the intent of God that the Gentiles should come to Christ.  Some had come to Christ during Paul's day, and they were the firstfruits of an even greater day to come.  Paul was writing to the Roman church, and they were mostly Gentiles, which is very true today of our churches. 

Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost(15:13).

"The God of hope" is a new title for God.  The believer finds here the Rock of Ages who is the shelter from the fury of the storms of life.  Upon studying God's Word one should come out of it with a feeling of joy and peace from believing what you've read to be true.  God's Word ought to strengthen your faith.  How much hope should we have?  Just a little bit?  No, we are to abound in hope and this comes through God's Holy Spirit which dwells within us.  If you do not have lots of hope today, then I say you need to recheck how much of God's Word you are reading, studying, and believing.

That is all for today in this study, my friends.  Next time we shall delve into a continuation of Paul's personal testimony as an apostle to the Gentiles.  Until then, may the God of hope fill each of you with all joy and peace in believing that you might have abundant hope through the awesome power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen!

~Eric

Tue, Aug 19th - 12:43PM

THE CROSS DIVIDES MEN

Let's look at two women who came very close to the cross of Christ.

THE WIFE OF PILATE

First up is Pilate's wife.  We do not know her name, nor much else about her.  We do know that she was very aware of the trial of Jesus, and she knew how her husband was being involved.  Not wanting him to be a part of it, she sent this word to him:

When he was seated on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have you nothing to do with that righteous man; for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him(Matthew 27:19).

She would appear to be superstitous.  We know from historical records that much of that Greek-Roman world was dealing in mystery religions in which women participated.  In fact, women were often leaders in them.  We find that some of the religions were the most immoral that you could imagine.  Their initiations were unspeakable.  For example, to be initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries, the female initiates were brought in, and immediately after a large bull was mortally stabbed, these females set upon it, eating the flesh while the animal was still alive, and continued this way until the bull was dead! 

Rome was aboil with superstitions.  The wife of Pilate reveals this.  Perhaps she also gave him the idea of publically washing his hands of Jesus, I do not know.  She dreamed a dream and believed what she had gone through. 

When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this righteous person.  See you to it(Matthew 27:24).

Pilate's wife was very close to the cross, but it meant nothing to her personally, for she was locked into superstition and ignorance.  If she had not been, then she would have told her husband that he had to free Jesus Christ.  This woman went into eternity her own way apparantly.

MARY OF BETHANY

This woman was one of the loveliest people in the bible.  We find her account in Mark 4.  At that supper at Bethany Mary took her alabaster box of ointment, the most valuable thing that she had, broke it, and poured the spikenard on the head and feet of Jesus Christ.  The disciples, lead by Judas Iscariot, began to rebuke her.  They even said to Jesus, "Why was this waste of the ointment made?"  But Jesus erected a monument to her, a monument to stand for all time.  He said, "Wherever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she has done shall be spoken of, for a memorial of her."  Jesus knew that this woman had entered into His death.  His disciples did not understand His impending crucifixion, but this woman most certainly did.  How do we know this? 

For the day of my burial has she kept this(John 12:7).

To this woman, the cross of Christ was not something from which to turn away.  No, she found in it the power of God unto salvation and realized somewhat of the ordeal that Christ faced soon.  Mary of Bethany went into eternity God's Way.

That is all for today, my friends.  Next up will be two Pharisees who were divided by the cross.  We will see how their lives were affected.  Until then, think about all of the funds that we waste in our buildings, funds that could be used to affect peoples' lives directly in a powerful way.  We do not need cathedrals, old sports arenas, or lavish sanctuaries in order to worship Christ.  I think that many times we still do not realize that all of our possessions are God's.  We need to make as much of it as possible available for God's use.  In this day and age we generally dig ourselves into large financial holes that make it very difficult to give God back most of His money.  It bothers me personally.

~Eric

Mon, Aug 18th - 8:12PM

A STUDY IN ROMANS

The next few verses talk to us about the fact that Jews and Gentiles are in one body to glorify God.

For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope(15:4).

So that is why all of those books are a part of the Bible!  For our learning, so that through the scriptures we might have hope.  The Old Testaement has a definite application to all believers in Christ today.  It is simply up to us to be patient and seek God's leading while we read and study His Holy Word. 

In the opinion of Dr. J. Vernon McGee, the greatest sin in the church in this generation is ignorance of the Word of God.  Any elder or deacon who says that they don't know much about the Bible ought not to be in that position!  Such ignorance leads to the insertion of personal opinion which often contradicts God's Word.  No one has excuse.  God wants us to know His Word.  All of the Bible was written for our learning.  We ought to be learning things, then, shouldn't we?  And that is why I am blogging here. 

What do we gain through this "learning?"  We gain patience, comfort, and hope.  Can  I find any hope in the daily newspaper?  How about the local, national, or international news on television?  None of them bring us any hope.  It is rather dark and dismal these days out in the world.  The war on terrorism, Pakistan's government in turmoil, Russia possibly flexing its imperialistic muscles again, the Sudan problems, and the Middle East.  None of this bodes well for us having hope that things are getting any better.

How do we gain hope for ourselves in this distressing world?  By immersing ourselves on a regular basis in God's Word.  It is there that we can find patience, and comfort, and hope.  God's Word is able to transport us to the higher planes spiritually, to fly us up into the sunshine from beneath the raining clouds at the surface.  Reinforcement of this concept comes to us from I Corinthians 10:11, "Now all these things happened unto them for examples:  and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come."  God put David's sin on display, even though it wasn't very nice, and He painted that picture as an example to us today.  Job's ordeals were written to be a comfort to us today.  Noah's life is there as an example for us.  Jonah, Elijah, Daniel, and all of the rest are there as examples for us.

Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus(15:5).

Paul points out to us that God wants all believers to demonstate that they are one in love and consideration of one another. 

That you may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ(15:6).

God desires such harmony in our praise that we reveal the unity of our congregations.  This can cross all denominational lines for true believers do not belong to just one denomination.  Unity comes from like-minded fellowship in Christ Jesus, not from negotiating acceptable doctrines.

Wherefore receive you one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God(15:7).

God receives all men on the simple acceptance of Christ.  That is why we are instructed to let both the strong and the weak receive each other in fellowship.  The glory of God is the all important objective of our lives.

When we agree on the major doctrines of the faith in Christ, even though we may disagree on minor points, we need to receive one another, as Christ commands us.  For instance, I may disagree with Pentacostals over speaking in tongues but there is no reason to break fellowship with them.  The same goes for the Seventh Day Adventists over the Sabbath Day, there is no reason to break fellowship over it.  On those points over which we disagree we ought to be taking them to the Lord in prayer.  And do you know something?  One day we are all going to agree with each other.  When we enter into His glorious presence we are all going to change some more and reach agreement with one another on all things.  So I think that we all ought to be working on concentrating on those things in which we do agree upon now.

That is all for tonight, beloved.  Next time I shall continue along with the next few verses which speak to us about how Jesus came as the minister of the circumcision.  It is a strange term for sure.  Until next time, be more open to receiving those who disagree with you over minor points in God's Word.  Concentrate on being longsuffering over these points which tend towards being questionable in nature.  May our Lord and Savior's grace and peace be with you.

~Eric