Podcasts about jesus christ rom

Join us in today's sermon podcast as we explore the profound teachings of the Apostle Paul on grace, inspired by Ephesians 2:1-10. Discover how God's grace, rich in mercy and incomparable in kindness, reaches out to us, transforming lives and offering salvation through faith as a gift. Reflect on the captivating story of John Newton, the former slave ship captain turned pastor, whose life was radically changed by God's amazing grace, leading to the creation of the beloved hymn, 'Amazing Grace.' In this episode, we delve into the four facets of God's grace: seeking, saving, sanctifying, and sustaining. Learn how God's grace precedes our acceptance, guides us into the fullness of salvation, transforms our inner nature, and maintains our spiritual journey. Through personal anecdotes and scriptural insights, be encouraged to embrace the abundant life offered by God's grace and allow it to shape your path forward. Join us in reflecting on the generous and enduring love of our Savior, who seeks us endlessly and offers the gift of grace to every soul. With Pastor Mike Curry PEOPLE OF GRACE The Reach of Grace Ephesians 2:8-10 Introduction: Amazing Grace Seeking Grace (Luke 19:10) God's prevenient grace, goes before us, reaches out to us in numerous ways, and draws us to the heart of God. God reaching out to bring his children back to himself (Luke 15:1-31). The lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. Saving Grace (Rom. 6:23) We cannot save ourselves; only God can save us by his grace (Romans 2:8-10). Salvation is being “born again” (John 3). Christ made our salvation possible (Rom. 1:17-18). III. Sanctifying Grace (1 Thess. 5:23-24) God's sanctifying grace deals with the inward nature that compels us to demand our own way, which often leads to sin. God's sanctifying grace works at a moment in time as he renews our hearts by faith and across a lifetime of growth in grace as he transforms us into the image of his Son, Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29-30). Sustaining Grace (Jude vv. 24-25) We cannot sanctify ourselves through our own efforts, we must rely on the power of the Holy Spirit's presence in our lives (Acts 1:8). God transforms believers into the image of his Son as we grow in his grace (Gal. 4:19). Sustaining grace is the power of God that keeps us from falling and causes us to stand blameless before him on the final day. We can fall from grace, but the sustaining grace of God makes it possible not to have to. Conclusion: Have you experienced the Amazing Grace of God? Find other Podcasts, Sermon Notes and the Bulletin here. https://www.mvcnaz.org/live Stay in touch with our Church Center App at https://www.mvcnaz.org/churchcenter Contact us through our CONNECT form at https://www.mvcnaz.org/connect

What I mean by the statement, All dogs go to heaven, is really a question I have been asked numerous times by both young and old: Will my pet go to heaven when it dies? I want to do my best to answer that question, but I want you to know that my answer will also address a much broader question related to what Gods ultimate plan is for his creation. We know what His plan is for humanity, but do you know if Gods plan of redemption includes animals? Let me begin by stating some things that could not be any clearer from the Bible and then we will dive into Psalm 8. So, here is what I know beyond a shadow of a doubt: The Bible assures us that God is the giver of every good thing (James 1:17); what this means is that God is not the taker of every good thing. When Nathan was five years old, we got him a kitten because we believed that he would enjoy having a cat. You have given gifts to your children out of your love for them as well. Here is what Jesus said about what we do for our children: If you, despite being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him (Matt. 7:1011)! God is so good that there is no room for improvement for Him to be better. I already mentioned James 1:17 but listen to what the verse actually states: Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. In Psalm 106, we are told to give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy is everlasting (v. 1). According to Psalm 145, God is righteous in all His ways, and kind in all His works (v. 17). Because there is no room for improvement, God is not trying to get it right in the way He exercises His goodness. However, we live in a reality where the curse of sin is inseparable from our human experience and sorrow and sighing are like the compounds that come out of the curse that suck the joy out of life. You may even feel like Bruce from the movie Bruce Almighty in the way he described God: God is a mean kid sitting on an anthill with a magnifying glass, and I'm the ant. He could fix my life in five minutes if He wanted to, but he'd rather tear off my feelers and watch me squirm. So, lets walk through Psalm 8 together with the hope that there is enough in these verses to help us gain a fuller appreciation of what God is doing with this sin-cursed world. A Good God Created a Grand Creation I love the way the Bible begins: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters (Gen. 1:12). The earth was a formless and desolate emptiness until God spoke. He did not speak out of any need, for He was perfectly content within the fellowship of Himself in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God was not lonely or bored, nor was He obligated to speak and create. No, God created because He wanted to, and He wanted to create because He was motivated by love. Out of love, God desired to share that which nothing else could top or compare, which was Himself. God was motivated by love to share Himself with us. Our solar system is estimated to be about 12 trillion miles wide. The diameter of our sun is estimated to be 109 times the size of our earth, and if you were to drive from the Sun to Pluto, it would take an estimated 6,000 years to complete the trip. If that were not enough, you should know that our galaxy, the Milky Way, contains thousands of solar systems like ours. On our little planet, in our vast galaxy, lives just over 8 billion people. The renown astronomer, Carl Sagan, died believing that there was no compelling evidence for the existence of a Judeo-Christian-Islamic God, and said of our earth and the universe: If we are alone in the Universe, it sure seems like an awful waste of space. David, in Psalm 8, answers Carl Sagans question, and if only Sagan could have opened his eyes to see what David saw: Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth, You who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens! If you are wondering if the universe is too big if life on earth is all there is, the answer is a resounding NO! The universe is the size that it is because it is testifying to the majesty and splendor of the One who spoke all of it into existence. The God who spoke all things into existence out of the overflow of His love and goodness is not only knowable but created us with purpose! A Grand God Created Mankind in His Image with Purpose There is only one creature of all the creatures created that was created in the image of God, and that creature is all of humanity. On the sixth day, after God created the animal kingdom and everything else, He created Adam and Eve: Then God said, Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth (Gen. 1:26). To Adam and Eve, God gave them the responsibility to manage His creation as His image bearers. Humans were commissioned and commanded to care for creation and at the same time add to creation by filling the earth with humans like themselves. We are not a part of the animal kingdom; we stand above the animal kingdom as stewards of what Almighty God created! King David marveled over this magnificent reality in his psalm: When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place; what is man that You think of him, And a son of man that You are concerned about him (Ps. 8:34)? David does not stop there, for what he says in the following verses ought to be enough to answer what place your pet has in the universe: You have him rule over the works of Your hands; You have put everything under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the animals of the field, The birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas (vv. 68). Adam and Eve were commanded to manage the Garden, to be fruitful and multiply, and not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. As you know, they ate the forbidden fruit from that one tree, and by eating the fruit they brought a curse upon Gods creation. As a result, all of creation was cursed as the Scriptures testify: Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all mankind, because all sinned... (Rom. 5:12). There is only one creature who bears the image of God, and that creature is mankind. As image bearers of the living God, we were created to live forever. There is a part of us that lives on after death known as our soul which is also referred to as our spirit (not to be confused with the Holy Spirit).[1] Unlike the rest of creation, humans have a soul that only God is able to destroy. So, when it comes to death, our soul lives on even after our body dies, but death for the Christian is not the end as we are assured from the Bible: For we know that if our earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made by hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed, in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, since in fact after putting it on, we will not be found naked. For indeed, we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. (2 Cor. 5:14) So, when your pet dies, there is no immaterial part of them that lives on because they do not bare the image of God and therefore do not have a soul. What this means is that when your pet does eventually die, regardless of the behavior, there is no eternal punishment or eternal life waiting for them... they simply cease to exist. The only creature that is born and lives in active rebellion towards God are humans. Unlike the animal kingdom, sin is now a part of our nature. A Good and Gracious God Has Provided Redemption Through a Second and Perfect Adam Now, remember what I said at the beginning of my sermon: Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights... (Jas. 1:17). God is a good God who is the giver of every good thing, not the taker of every good thing! After Adam and Eve sinned, they were promised a Descendant who would reverse the curse of sin. A second and more perfect Adam was promised who would come to reverse the curse of sin: For if by the offense of the one, death reigned through the one, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:17). The second and more perfect Adam was also promised to David who wrote Psalm 8! God assured David, When your days are finished and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever (2 Sam. 7:1213). What will this second and more perfect Adam do? According to Jeremiah 23:5-6, He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land.... Oh, and the Name by which the Son of David will also be called will be, The Lord Our Righteousness. In Isaiah we are promised that when He reigns as King, He will judge between the nations, and will mediate for many peoples; and they will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning knives. Nation will not lift up a sword against nation, and never again will they learn war (Isa. 2:4). The second Adam would, be born of a virgin as fully human and fully diving: ...a Son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. When the second Adam comes to reign as King, His reign will bring the kind of peace only God is capable of restoring: ...the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and fattened steer will be together; and a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.... They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. (Isa. 11:6-7, 9) When it was announced by the angels to the shepherds that the promised King was born, it was declared to them: Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:10-11). Jesus, as the second and better Adam, humbled Himself by, taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men.... He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross (Phil. 2:7-8). He was born to live the perfect life we could not live to die the death we all deserved. There is only One who is qualified to reverse the curse of sin, and it was and is Jesus! In Revelation 21:5, we are told that through His death and triumphant victory over death, that He is making all things new! This is what we all want and what all of creation is longing for! We long for a day without the dark cloud of the curse of sin. This is why Paul wrote, For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the eagerly awaiting creation waits for the revealing of the sons and daughters of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. (Rom. 8:18-21) When Jesus entered into Jerusalem the week before He was to be crucified for the sins of mankind, the children in the temple area shouted something that irritated the chief priests and scribes. As Jesus entered into Jerusalem, the children shouted: Hosanna to the Son of David! (see Matt. 21:15-16). The chief priests and scribes said to Jesus, Do you hear what these children are saying? What were the children saying? They were celebrating the promised second Adam, the righteous Branch of David, and the One who is to be called The Lord our Righteousness (see Jer. 23:5-6). Guess how Jesus answered the irritated religious leaders who were concerned about what the children were saying? He answered them by quoting Psalm 8:2, here is what He said: Yes. Have you never read [chief priests and scribes], From the mouths of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself? Do you realize what Jesus said to the chief priests and scribes? He was essentially saying that although Adam made a mess of creation through his sin in the Garden, there was a Son of Man who was made a little lower than the angels and God when He willingly took on human flesh to become fully human while remaining fully God at the same time! Jesus did this for the purpose of redeeming mankind through His cross for our sins, and by doing so, made redemption possible for all creation, and this is the point of Psalm 5, Yet You have made him a little lower than God, and You crown him with glory and majesty! Do you hear Philippians 2 in Psalm 8? And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:8-11) Now, against the backdrop of Philippians 2:8-11, listen what Psalm 8:7-8 promises: You have him rule over the works of Your hands; You have put everything under his feet, All sheep and oxen, And also the animals of the field, The birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas. All of creation, including your pets, are eagerly awaiting for the completion of our redemption because when it happens to us, creation will enjoy the good and faithful reign of the second Adam over them as well, and when He comes to do that, He will make all things new and it is what He will restore that all of creation is longing for: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. And He who sits on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new. And He said, Write, for these words are faithful and true. On the Day Revelation 21 becomes our reality, all that was lost, will be restored and it will be even better than the Eden the first Adam lost! I am not sure if that means He will restore and make new your pet that was lost to the curse, but I do know that it will be better! The glory we will be crowned with will be the glory of King Jesus when, There will no longer be any curse... (Rev. 22:3). We will obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away (Isa. 51:11)! The great hope of our future is not who is in office as our president, but the King who is coming to restore all that was lost through the first Adam. Christian, because you belong to the second Adam, you can declare with David: Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! [1] Soul and spirit are used synonymously in the Bible (e.g. Acts 7:54-60; Matt. 10:28).

What I mean by the statement, All dogs go to heaven, is really a question I have been asked numerous times by both young and old: Will my pet go to heaven when it dies? I want to do my best to answer that question, but I want you to know that my answer will also address a much broader question related to what Gods ultimate plan is for his creation. We know what His plan is for humanity, but do you know if Gods plan of redemption includes animals? Let me begin by stating some things that could not be any clearer from the Bible and then we will dive into Psalm 8. So, here is what I know beyond a shadow of a doubt: The Bible assures us that God is the giver of every good thing (James 1:17); what this means is that God is not the taker of every good thing. When Nathan was five years old, we got him a kitten because we believed that he would enjoy having a cat. You have given gifts to your children out of your love for them as well. Here is what Jesus said about what we do for our children: If you, despite being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him (Matt. 7:1011)! God is so good that there is no room for improvement for Him to be better. I already mentioned James 1:17 but listen to what the verse actually states: Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. In Psalm 106, we are told to give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy is everlasting (v. 1). According to Psalm 145, God is righteous in all His ways, and kind in all His works (v. 17). Because there is no room for improvement, God is not trying to get it right in the way He exercises His goodness. However, we live in a reality where the curse of sin is inseparable from our human experience and sorrow and sighing are like the compounds that come out of the curse that suck the joy out of life. You may even feel like Bruce from the movie Bruce Almighty in the way he described God: God is a mean kid sitting on an anthill with a magnifying glass, and I'm the ant. He could fix my life in five minutes if He wanted to, but he'd rather tear off my feelers and watch me squirm. So, lets walk through Psalm 8 together with the hope that there is enough in these verses to help us gain a fuller appreciation of what God is doing with this sin-cursed world. A Good God Created a Grand Creation I love the way the Bible begins: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters (Gen. 1:12). The earth was a formless and desolate emptiness until God spoke. He did not speak out of any need, for He was perfectly content within the fellowship of Himself in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God was not lonely or bored, nor was He obligated to speak and create. No, God created because He wanted to, and He wanted to create because He was motivated by love. Out of love, God desired to share that which nothing else could top or compare, which was Himself. God was motivated by love to share Himself with us. Our solar system is estimated to be about 12 trillion miles wide. The diameter of our sun is estimated to be 109 times the size of our earth, and if you were to drive from the Sun to Pluto, it would take an estimated 6,000 years to complete the trip. If that were not enough, you should know that our galaxy, the Milky Way, contains thousands of solar systems like ours. On our little planet, in our vast galaxy, lives just over 8 billion people. The renown astronomer, Carl Sagan, died believing that there was no compelling evidence for the existence of a Judeo-Christian-Islamic God, and said of our earth and the universe: If we are alone in the Universe, it sure seems like an awful waste of space. David, in Psalm 8, answers Carl Sagans question, and if only Sagan could have opened his eyes to see what David saw: Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth, You who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens! If you are wondering if the universe is too big if life on earth is all there is, the answer is a resounding NO! The universe is the size that it is because it is testifying to the majesty and splendor of the One who spoke all of it into existence. The God who spoke all things into existence out of the overflow of His love and goodness is not only knowable but created us with purpose! A Grand God Created Mankind in His Image with Purpose There is only one creature of all the creatures created that was created in the image of God, and that creature is all of humanity. On the sixth day, after God created the animal kingdom and everything else, He created Adam and Eve: Then God said, Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth (Gen. 1:26). To Adam and Eve, God gave them the responsibility to manage His creation as His image bearers. Humans were commissioned and commanded to care for creation and at the same time add to creation by filling the earth with humans like themselves. We are not a part of the animal kingdom; we stand above the animal kingdom as stewards of what Almighty God created! King David marveled over this magnificent reality in his psalm: When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place; what is man that You think of him, And a son of man that You are concerned about him (Ps. 8:34)? David does not stop there, for what he says in the following verses ought to be enough to answer what place your pet has in the universe: You have him rule over the works of Your hands; You have put everything under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the animals of the field, The birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas (vv. 68). Adam and Eve were commanded to manage the Garden, to be fruitful and multiply, and not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. As you know, they ate the forbidden fruit from that one tree, and by eating the fruit they brought a curse upon Gods creation. As a result, all of creation was cursed as the Scriptures testify: Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all mankind, because all sinned... (Rom. 5:12). There is only one creature who bears the image of God, and that creature is mankind. As image bearers of the living God, we were created to live forever. There is a part of us that lives on after death known as our soul which is also referred to as our spirit (not to be confused with the Holy Spirit).[1] Unlike the rest of creation, humans have a soul that only God is able to destroy. So, when it comes to death, our soul lives on even after our body dies, but death for the Christian is not the end as we are assured from the Bible: For we know that if our earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made by hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed, in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, since in fact after putting it on, we will not be found naked. For indeed, we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. (2 Cor. 5:14) So, when your pet dies, there is no immaterial part of them that lives on because they do not bare the image of God and therefore do not have a soul. What this means is that when your pet does eventually die, regardless of the behavior, there is no eternal punishment or eternal life waiting for them... they simply cease to exist. The only creature that is born and lives in active rebellion towards God are humans. Unlike the animal kingdom, sin is now a part of our nature. A Good and Gracious God Has Provided Redemption Through a Second and Perfect Adam Now, remember what I said at the beginning of my sermon: Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights... (Jas. 1:17). God is a good God who is the giver of every good thing, not the taker of every good thing! After Adam and Eve sinned, they were promised a Descendant who would reverse the curse of sin. A second and more perfect Adam was promised who would come to reverse the curse of sin: For if by the offense of the one, death reigned through the one, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:17). The second and more perfect Adam was also promised to David who wrote Psalm 8! God assured David, When your days are finished and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever (2 Sam. 7:1213). What will this second and more perfect Adam do? According to Jeremiah 23:5-6, He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land.... Oh, and the Name by which the Son of David will also be called will be, The Lord Our Righteousness. In Isaiah we are promised that when He reigns as King, He will judge between the nations, and will mediate for many peoples; and they will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning knives. Nation will not lift up a sword against nation, and never again will they learn war (Isa. 2:4). The second Adam would, be born of a virgin as fully human and fully diving: ...a Son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. When the second Adam comes to reign as King, His reign will bring the kind of peace only God is capable of restoring: ...the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and fattened steer will be together; and a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.... They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. (Isa. 11:6-7, 9) When it was announced by the angels to the shepherds that the promised King was born, it was declared to them: Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:10-11). Jesus, as the second and better Adam, humbled Himself by, taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men.... He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross (Phil. 2:7-8). He was born to live the perfect life we could not live to die the death we all deserved. There is only One who is qualified to reverse the curse of sin, and it was and is Jesus! In Revelation 21:5, we are told that through His death and triumphant victory over death, that He is making all things new! This is what we all want and what all of creation is longing for! We long for a day without the dark cloud of the curse of sin. This is why Paul wrote, For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the eagerly awaiting creation waits for the revealing of the sons and daughters of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. (Rom. 8:18-21) When Jesus entered into Jerusalem the week before He was to be crucified for the sins of mankind, the children in the temple area shouted something that irritated the chief priests and scribes. As Jesus entered into Jerusalem, the children shouted: Hosanna to the Son of David! (see Matt. 21:15-16). The chief priests and scribes said to Jesus, Do you hear what these children are saying? What were the children saying? They were celebrating the promised second Adam, the righteous Branch of David, and the One who is to be called The Lord our Righteousness (see Jer. 23:5-6). Guess how Jesus answered the irritated religious leaders who were concerned about what the children were saying? He answered them by quoting Psalm 8:2, here is what He said: Yes. Have you never read [chief priests and scribes], From the mouths of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself? Do you realize what Jesus said to the chief priests and scribes? He was essentially saying that although Adam made a mess of creation through his sin in the Garden, there was a Son of Man who was made a little lower than the angels and God when He willingly took on human flesh to become fully human while remaining fully God at the same time! Jesus did this for the purpose of redeeming mankind through His cross for our sins, and by doing so, made redemption possible for all creation, and this is the point of Psalm 5, Yet You have made him a little lower than God, and You crown him with glory and majesty! Do you hear Philippians 2 in Psalm 8? And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:8-11) Now, against the backdrop of Philippians 2:8-11, listen what Psalm 8:7-8 promises: You have him rule over the works of Your hands; You have put everything under his feet, All sheep and oxen, And also the animals of the field, The birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas. All of creation, including your pets, are eagerly awaiting for the completion of our redemption because when it happens to us, creation will enjoy the good and faithful reign of the second Adam over them as well, and when He comes to do that, He will make all things new and it is what He will restore that all of creation is longing for: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. And He who sits on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new. And He said, Write, for these words are faithful and true. On the Day Revelation 21 becomes our reality, all that was lost, will be restored and it will be even better than the Eden the first Adam lost! I am not sure if that means He will restore and make new your pet that was lost to the curse, but I do know that it will be better! The glory we will be crowned with will be the glory of King Jesus when, There will no longer be any curse... (Rev. 22:3). We will obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away (Isa. 51:11)! The great hope of our future is not who is in office as our president, but the King who is coming to restore all that was lost through the first Adam. Christian, because you belong to the second Adam, you can declare with David: Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! [1] Soul and spirit are used synonymously in the Bible (e.g. Acts 7:54-60; Matt. 10:28).

12/29/24 Sunday Morning service

I want to begin our time together this morning by reading four different verses from the Bible followed by a story and then ask a question that I hope to answer in a way that is helpful. So here are the four different verses which are from four different books in the Bible, and from four different authors: Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matt. 5:1112) It is through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God. (Acts 14:22) Indeed, all who want to live in a godly way in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (2 Tim. 3:12) Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though something strange were happening to you; (1 Pet. 4:12) Jesus said of anyone who might be thinking about becoming a Christian: If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it (Matt. 16:2425). Some of you are hanging by a thread emotionally, perhaps spiritually, and maybe even physically and you are wondering: Is it worth it? It is my hope that by the end of this sermon, you will be able to answer that question yourself. Remember that Chasing After the World was a Dead End (vv. 17-19) The point of verses 17-19 is not to point the proverbial finger at the gentiles as if to say: Yuck look at those gross Gentile sinners! The point is to remind the Ephesian Christians of what they were once, contrasted with who they are now. Within verse 17 is a command to, no longer walk just as the Gentiles also walk. Why? Because it makes no sense! What we read in this verse is not all that different than what Paul wrote in Romans 6:1-4, What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? Far from it! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. (Rom. 6:14) The Bible never separates belief from action. If you believe something to be true, your behavior will be affected by that belief. What we believe in our minds will inevitably affect how we conduct our lives. Is this not the point that Jesus made in His sermon on the mount? Listen to what Jesus said: Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it (Matt. 7:1314). So, Paul commands his readers: you are to no longer walk just as the Gentiles also walk. He then explains what it was that compelled them to walk the way they walked: It was (1) the futility of their minds, (2) being darkened in their understanding, and (3) excluded from the life of God. Notice that the way the unbeliever thinks results in the way that unbeliever acts. The word for futility literally means empty in the Greek. What this means is that the mind of a person without God is a person without a true understanding of what their purpose is, and how can a person have any real sense of purpose if they reject the Creator who created us to know Him? To be without purpose because you are without God, is to have a mind that is darkened; A person without purpose is a person who stumbles through life like the person who stumbles in a pitch-black room without any real sense of direction for how to get out but does an excellent job at running into wall after wall. The person excluded from the life of God is a person who chases after the idols of the world and the heart thinking it might satisfy when all that it does is prove to be empty. According to Paul, people act the way they think, and what a person thinks is always connected to their heart. James Boice put it this way: People act as they think, and the reason they are constantly messing up is that they are vain in their thinking and darkened in their understanding as a consequence of being separated from God.[1] The person who is spiritually dead does not only have a problem with a mind that does not know God, but also has a problem of the heart. If you are excluded from the life of God, then you are spiritually dead. If you are spiritually dead before God, then your heart is hard towards God to the point of stone. The Greek word used for hardness is pōrōsiswhich is also used for marble. To have a stone heart is to have a heart unable to feel or love God because it has grown calloused towards God and what matters to God. In our home in Colorado, we had a granite island. I had the bright idea to do a box jump onto the granite countertop, and against the wisdom and sage advice from my wife to not try it, I ignored her and did it anyway. When I jumped, my toes caught the edge of the granite countertop just enough so that my shins could feel the full force of my weight has I came down; needless to say, it hurt a lot. The heart of the unbeliever is a heart that is unreceptive to the Word of God in the same way the granite countertop was unreceptive to my shins! Our hearts were not only hard towards God but calloused in the sense that instead of running towards God, we chased after anything but God, namely the idols of our hearts. According to verse 19, before Jesus redeemed us, we were like the Gentile pagans in Ephesus who gave, themselves up to indecent behavior for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But what was true of you Christian, is not true of you today! This is the point Paul is making, and he is encouraging you to not only celebrate your life in Christ, but to live in the reality of who you are in Jesus. Chasing After Jesus is Life (vv. 20-24) Ephesians 4:10 is the equivalent of Ephesians 2:4-5! And you were dead in your offenses and sins. But, God being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (2:1, 4-5). In the passage before us today, we whose minds were darkened, without purpose, and had marble like stone hearts have received Jesus Christ and we have never been the same since! We who were dead in our sins, are now alive in Jesus. We whose minds were darkened, have been enlightened by the light of the Gospel! We who were once without purpose because we did not know God, now have found our purpose in Christ! How did this happen? You heard the truth of the gospel and at the same time God supernaturally and miraculously changed your heart. What you experienced is the thing we read about in 2 Corinthians 4:3-6, And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they will not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants on account of Jesus. For God, who said, Light shall shine out of darkness, is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. (2 Cor. 4:36) Christian, you who were once dead in your sins, are now alive in Jesus! You who chased after the idols of your heart thinking that they would satisfy have been found by the One who said: If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water (John 7:37-38); you have received Him because you heard Him and have been taught in Him (v. 21)! There are three verbs used to describe how it is that you went from being dead in your sins to being alive with Christ in Ephesians 4:20-21. The first verb is learned which comes from the Greek word emathete; literally this verse should read: you learned Christ. So, how do you learn somebody? Well you dont do it by simply collecting some historic facts about that person! In Philippians we get an idea for how we have learned Christ and how we are learning Christ: that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; if somehow I may attain to the resurrection from the dead (Phil. 3:10-11). The second verb that is used to describe how we have gone from death to life is the word heard which comes from the Greek word ēkousate and it is translated in the NASB the way it should be: you have heard Him. How have you heard Christ? You heard Him through His word; you heard His voice through the good news that He lived the life you could not live and died a death for your sins that you deserved in your place, and on the third day, He conquered the grave through His resurrection. You heard His voice in the way Jesus Himself said you would: My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of the Fathers hand (John 10:27-28). The third verb that is used to describe how we have gone from death to life is the word edidachthēte and is translated you have been taught in Him. You were not taught by Him, but in Him. James Boice wrote of this word that it most likely means that, Jesus is the atmosphere within which the teaching takes place. We might say that Jesus is the school, as well as the teacher and the subject of instruction.[2] Whats the point? The point is that you who were once lost are now found, and even though you may have been a great sinner, Jesus is a great savior. No longer are you futile in your thinking. No longer are you chasing after idols in the dark. The life you once lived is now your former way of life according to Ephesians 4:22, so why would you even want to go back to your old self? Of course you do not want to go back to your old way of life because it is futile, it was purposeless, it was empty of God, it was a drinking from one toilet after the other only to discover that not only were you thirstier than before, but sick too! But now now you have Jesus, and because you have Jesus you have life! You have been made alive by Jesus and He who is, the Way, and the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6) has given you purpose. And so now we find ourselves before Ephesians 4:22-24! In regard to your former way of life, you are to rid yourselves of the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you are to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Listen, it is here in these verses that being made alive in Jesus intersects with the relationship we were created for. Listen, there are some Christians from whom all you hear out of their mouths is how you must rid yourself of this and rid yourself of that for the purpose of looking and behaving a certain way, and much of it has to do with how you look and behave on the outside, which is no different than the legalism of the Pharisees Jesus spoke against. There are others from whom all you hear that comes out of their mouths is, Grace this and grace that it doesnt matter how you live because it is all grace. This is also known as antinomianism which is the belief that the Christians is free from having to obey Gods moral law. Neither legalism nor antinomianism is the point of these verses! Conclusion What is the point of Ephesians 4:22-24 then? The point is that we who were once dead in our sins, have experienced the power of God for salvation through the gospel of Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:16)! The point is that we were once dead and now we are alive in Jesus (2:1-5). The point is that we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them (2:10). The point is that while we were dead in our sins, the closest thing we could come to discovering our purpose and finding true satisfaction is by drinking from the toilet bowl of the world only to grow sicker! Now that we are alive in Christ, we have purpose in God, and have the ability to delight in the God who made us for Himself! The point of Ephesians 4:22-24 is delight! The point is that we rid ourselves of the old self by chasing after the Jesus who is the light of the world (John 8:12). We rid ourselves of the old self by feasting on Jesus who is the bread of life (John 6:35). We rid ourselves of the old self by discovering in Him our true north as, the Way, and the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). We rid ourselves of the old self and put on the new self by hungering and thirsting after the only One who can satisfy, for it is Jesus who said: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied (Matt. 5:6). The author of Life and our Redeemer said: If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it (Matt. 16:2425). These are the words that inspired Jim Elliot to pen his famous words: He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. Little did he know that sometime later his life would become the catalyst to reach a violent unreached tribe, the Waodani tribe in South America, with the gospel; his death being the catalyst. So, is it worth it? Yes, He is worth it! He is worth it because even if it seems that we have lost it all, in Jesus we have not lost a thing. When all is said and done, all we have is Christ! [1] James Montgomery Boice, Ephesians: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Ministry Resources Library, 1988), 154. [2] James Montgomery Boice, Ephesians: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Ministry Resources Library, 1988), 161.

I want to begin our time together this morning by reading four different verses from the Bible followed by a story and then ask a question that I hope to answer in a way that is helpful. So here are the four different verses which are from four different books in the Bible, and from four different authors: Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matt. 5:1112) It is through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God. (Acts 14:22) Indeed, all who want to live in a godly way in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (2 Tim. 3:12) Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though something strange were happening to you; (1 Pet. 4:12) Jesus said of anyone who might be thinking about becoming a Christian: If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it (Matt. 16:2425). Some of you are hanging by a thread emotionally, perhaps spiritually, and maybe even physically and you are wondering: Is it worth it? It is my hope that by the end of this sermon, you will be able to answer that question yourself. Remember that Chasing After the World was a Dead End (vv. 17-19) The point of verses 17-19 is not to point the proverbial finger at the gentiles as if to say: Yuck look at those gross Gentile sinners! The point is to remind the Ephesian Christians of what they were once, contrasted with who they are now. Within verse 17 is a command to, no longer walk just as the Gentiles also walk. Why? Because it makes no sense! What we read in this verse is not all that different than what Paul wrote in Romans 6:1-4, What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? Far from it! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. (Rom. 6:14) The Bible never separates belief from action. If you believe something to be true, your behavior will be affected by that belief. What we believe in our minds will inevitably affect how we conduct our lives. Is this not the point that Jesus made in His sermon on the mount? Listen to what Jesus said: Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it (Matt. 7:1314). So, Paul commands his readers: you are to no longer walk just as the Gentiles also walk. He then explains what it was that compelled them to walk the way they walked: It was (1) the futility of their minds, (2) being darkened in their understanding, and (3) excluded from the life of God. Notice that the way the unbeliever thinks results in the way that unbeliever acts. The word for futility literally means empty in the Greek. What this means is that the mind of a person without God is a person without a true understanding of what their purpose is, and how can a person have any real sense of purpose if they reject the Creator who created us to know Him? To be without purpose because you are without God, is to have a mind that is darkened; A person without purpose is a person who stumbles through life like the person who stumbles in a pitch-black room without any real sense of direction for how to get out but does an excellent job at running into wall after wall. The person excluded from the life of God is a person who chases after the idols of the world and the heart thinking it might satisfy when all that it does is prove to be empty. According to Paul, people act the way they think, and what a person thinks is always connected to their heart. James Boice put it this way: People act as they think, and the reason they are constantly messing up is that they are vain in their thinking and darkened in their understanding as a consequence of being separated from God.[1] The person who is spiritually dead does not only have a problem with a mind that does not know God, but also has a problem of the heart. If you are excluded from the life of God, then you are spiritually dead. If you are spiritually dead before God, then your heart is hard towards God to the point of stone. The Greek word used for hardness is pōrōsiswhich is also used for marble. To have a stone heart is to have a heart unable to feel or love God because it has grown calloused towards God and what matters to God. In our home in Colorado, we had a granite island. I had the bright idea to do a box jump onto the granite countertop, and against the wisdom and sage advice from my wife to not try it, I ignored her and did it anyway. When I jumped, my toes caught the edge of the granite countertop just enough so that my shins could feel the full force of my weight has I came down; needless to say, it hurt a lot. The heart of the unbeliever is a heart that is unreceptive to the Word of God in the same way the granite countertop was unreceptive to my shins! Our hearts were not only hard towards God but calloused in the sense that instead of running towards God, we chased after anything but God, namely the idols of our hearts. According to verse 19, before Jesus redeemed us, we were like the Gentile pagans in Ephesus who gave, themselves up to indecent behavior for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But what was true of you Christian, is not true of you today! This is the point Paul is making, and he is encouraging you to not only celebrate your life in Christ, but to live in the reality of who you are in Jesus. Chasing After Jesus is Life (vv. 20-24) Ephesians 4:10 is the equivalent of Ephesians 2:4-5! And you were dead in your offenses and sins. But, God being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (2:1, 4-5). In the passage before us today, we whose minds were darkened, without purpose, and had marble like stone hearts have received Jesus Christ and we have never been the same since! We who were dead in our sins, are now alive in Jesus. We whose minds were darkened, have been enlightened by the light of the Gospel! We who were once without purpose because we did not know God, now have found our purpose in Christ! How did this happen? You heard the truth of the gospel and at the same time God supernaturally and miraculously changed your heart. What you experienced is the thing we read about in 2 Corinthians 4:3-6, And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they will not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants on account of Jesus. For God, who said, Light shall shine out of darkness, is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. (2 Cor. 4:36) Christian, you who were once dead in your sins, are now alive in Jesus! You who chased after the idols of your heart thinking that they would satisfy have been found by the One who said: If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water (John 7:37-38); you have received Him because you heard Him and have been taught in Him (v. 21)! There are three verbs used to describe how it is that you went from being dead in your sins to being alive with Christ in Ephesians 4:20-21. The first verb is learned which comes from the Greek word emathete; literally this verse should read: you learned Christ. So, how do you learn somebody? Well you dont do it by simply collecting some historic facts about that person! In Philippians we get an idea for how we have learned Christ and how we are learning Christ: that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; if somehow I may attain to the resurrection from the dead (Phil. 3:10-11). The second verb that is used to describe how we have gone from death to life is the word heard which comes from the Greek word ēkousate and it is translated in the NASB the way it should be: you have heard Him. How have you heard Christ? You heard Him through His word; you heard His voice through the good news that He lived the life you could not live and died a death for your sins that you deserved in your place, and on the third day, He conquered the grave through His resurrection. You heard His voice in the way Jesus Himself said you would: My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of the Fathers hand (John 10:27-28). The third verb that is used to describe how we have gone from death to life is the word edidachthēte and is translated you have been taught in Him. You were not taught by Him, but in Him. James Boice wrote of this word that it most likely means that, Jesus is the atmosphere within which the teaching takes place. We might say that Jesus is the school, as well as the teacher and the subject of instruction.[2] Whats the point? The point is that you who were once lost are now found, and even though you may have been a great sinner, Jesus is a great savior. No longer are you futile in your thinking. No longer are you chasing after idols in the dark. The life you once lived is now your former way of life according to Ephesians 4:22, so why would you even want to go back to your old self? Of course you do not want to go back to your old way of life because it is futile, it was purposeless, it was empty of God, it was a drinking from one toilet after the other only to discover that not only were you thirstier than before, but sick too! But now now you have Jesus, and because you have Jesus you have life! You have been made alive by Jesus and He who is, the Way, and the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6) has given you purpose. And so now we find ourselves before Ephesians 4:22-24! In regard to your former way of life, you are to rid yourselves of the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you are to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Listen, it is here in these verses that being made alive in Jesus intersects with the relationship we were created for. Listen, there are some Christians from whom all you hear out of their mouths is how you must rid yourself of this and rid yourself of that for the purpose of looking and behaving a certain way, and much of it has to do with how you look and behave on the outside, which is no different than the legalism of the Pharisees Jesus spoke against. There are others from whom all you hear that comes out of their mouths is, Grace this and grace that it doesnt matter how you live because it is all grace. This is also known as antinomianism which is the belief that the Christians is free from having to obey Gods moral law. Neither legalism nor antinomianism is the point of these verses! Conclusion What is the point of Ephesians 4:22-24 then? The point is that we who were once dead in our sins, have experienced the power of God for salvation through the gospel of Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:16)! The point is that we were once dead and now we are alive in Jesus (2:1-5). The point is that we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them (2:10). The point is that while we were dead in our sins, the closest thing we could come to discovering our purpose and finding true satisfaction is by drinking from the toilet bowl of the world only to grow sicker! Now that we are alive in Christ, we have purpose in God, and have the ability to delight in the God who made us for Himself! The point of Ephesians 4:22-24 is delight! The point is that we rid ourselves of the old self by chasing after the Jesus who is the light of the world (John 8:12). We rid ourselves of the old self by feasting on Jesus who is the bread of life (John 6:35). We rid ourselves of the old self by discovering in Him our true north as, the Way, and the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). We rid ourselves of the old self and put on the new self by hungering and thirsting after the only One who can satisfy, for it is Jesus who said: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied (Matt. 5:6). The author of Life and our Redeemer said: If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it (Matt. 16:2425). These are the words that inspired Jim Elliot to pen his famous words: He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. Little did he know that sometime later his life would become the catalyst to reach a violent unreached tribe, the Waodani tribe in South America, with the gospel; his death being the catalyst. So, is it worth it? Yes, He is worth it! He is worth it because even if it seems that we have lost it all, in Jesus we have not lost a thing. When all is said and done, all we have is Christ! [1] James Montgomery Boice, Ephesians: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Ministry Resources Library, 1988), 154. [2] James Montgomery Boice, Ephesians: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Ministry Resources Library, 1988), 161.

In this episode, Cliff discusses what Paul means when he says God will judge the secrets of men through Jesus Christ (Rom. 2:16).

By Robin Webber in Las Vegas, NV, Redlands, CA, San Diego, CA - July 1, 2023 - 2,500 years ago a message was sent to Queen Esther by a kins-man to strengthen her to rise above a life-altering challenge. We too have a spiritual kins-man, our elder spiritual brother, Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29), who has given us a message to refresh and strengthen us in our calling into a greater kingdom than the realms of this present age. The poignant message of "for such a time as this" is paramount in allowing us to maintain our focus as to "why me, why now?" as we maintain our focus on the big picture of the Kingdom of God.

The Holy Triune God “shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners,” ungodly and at enmity with Him, “Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). The incarnate Son has justified us by His blood and reconciled us to His God and Father (Rom. 5:9–10). Whereas sin and death originated with Adam, forgiveness and life abound for all his children through “that one man Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:12–17). As the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, so does He bring us to Himself by the Gospel and make of us “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6) by our Baptism into Christ. For “all that the LORD has spoken” (Ex. 19:8), Christ has done for us. As He has gone up to God by His cross and resurrection, so does He bring us to the Father in Himself (Ex. 19:3–4). Nor does He leave us “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36), but He sends men with authority “to heal every disease and every affliction” by His forgiveness of sins (Matt. 10:1). In their proclamation, “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 10:7). ----- Trinity Lutheran Church, School and Child Care have been "Making Known the Love of Christ" in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and throughout the world since 1853 as a congregation gathering around God's Word and Sacraments to receive forgiveness and life everlasting. Trinity is located in downtown Sheboygan, only one block from the Mead Public Library and the Weill Center for the Performing Arts. We invite you to visit us in person! Trinity Lutheran Sheboygan is a proud member of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Visit their website: https://www.lcms.org/​​​​ Music for this production was obtained through a licensing agreement with One License, LLC. The copyright permission to reprint, podcast, and record hymns and songs is acquired through ID Number: 730195-A #LCMS #Lutheran #DivineService

If God is seeking to grow us up into a particular kind of person, then He is going to provide us with whatever is necessary to accomplish His intention in that. God has no goals for us “in theory,” but somehow unprovided for. The telos of our lives is to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29; Phil. 3:21), to have grown up into a particular kind of person. The last day will not consist of us opening our spiritual ledger books in order that the number of commands kept and broken might be tallied up. Eventually we will all become what we have been becoming, and if that is a good thing, God will have provided you with what you need along the way.

From the title we know that David is the writer of this Psalm. The dedication to the Chief Musician stands at the head of fifty-three of the Psalms, and clearly indicates that such psalms were intended, not merely for the private use of believers, but to be sung in the great assemblies by the appointed choir director. Not only did the ancient Church chant hallowed doctrine and offer prayer amid her spiritual songs, but even the wailing notes of complaint were put into her mouth by the sweet singer of Israel who was inspired of God. According to Paul instructions to the church in Colossians 3:16, we are to, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” This is not so much a “praise” Psalm as it is a song to be sung to teach and admonish us to not go down the path of becoming a “Practical Atheist”. “The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." Did you notice that the fool does not say out loud that there is no God. He says it in his heart, in his mind. In other words, he denies the existence of God so he can do what he wants to do and never have to give an account before a holy God one day in judgment. The real reason that a person claims there is no God is not because of a problem with their intellect or reasoning ability as they are surrounded by evidence of a Creator God, but because of the “filthiness and corruption of their own heart and their abominable deeds”. Years ago, I heard someone say that “A person's theology will be determined by their morality.” These verses seem to bear witness to the truth of that statement. Our English word "fool" comes from a Latin word that means "bellows," suggesting that the fool is a person "full of hot air." In the Hebrew language, there are three basic words for "fool": kesyl, the dull, stupid fool; ewiyl, the unreasonable and perverted fool; and nabal, the brutish person who is like a stubborn animal. Nabal is the word used here in 14:1. Remember it was the name of a man who was brutish and refused to help David (1 Sam. 25). Nabal fools are self-righteous and don't need or want God. They want to live their own lives the way they please. Their problem is willful ignorance and not lack of normal intelligence (2 Peter 3:5; Rom. 1:18-28). But this decision causes sad consequences in both their character and their conduct. By leaving God out of their lives, they cause their inner person to become more and more corrupt. The Hebrew word “corrupt” means "rotten, putrid, decayed." When God looks down to investigate (Gen. 6:5, 11-12; 11:15; 18:21), He sees people who are filthy (v. 3), a word that describes milk that has become rancid. "Gone aside" means they have turned their backs on God (Jer. 2:21) and refuse to fulfill the purpose for which they were created—to glorify God. This indictment is universal: all people, individually or all together, cannot do anything at all that is good enough to merit heaven—"no one, no, not one”. Paul quotes from this passage in Romans 3 as part of his proof that the whole world is guilty before God and can be saved only by the grace of God as revealed in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:9-26). Human depravity doesn't mean that all persons are as wicked as they can be, or that all are equally bad, or that no man or woman can ever do anything good (Luke 11:13). It simply means that all have a fallen nature they cannot change, and that apart from the grace of God, none can be saved from eternal judgment. Despite the foolish and corrupt character and nature of people and leaders around us, we should remember that one day God will restore the fortunes of His people and we should rejoice and be glad (v. 7)! God bless!

“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?" Yesterday we learned that David wrote this Psalm and possibly it was on the occasion of his defeating Goliath of Gath. He meant for it to be song of victory for God's people. In this beautiful expression of praise to God, David stands amazed that the God of creation, the great and glorious Jehovah, would pay any attention to frail people on earth. David understands that God glorifies Himself in the heavens, but how can He glorify Himself on earth through such weak, sinful people? David asked the question, “What is man that you are mindful of him?” This is a "nature Psalm" meaning that David often used God's creation of the heavens and earth to describe His awesome power and glory! For other “nature Psalms read Psalms 19, 29, 65, and 104. Psalm 8 is also a Messianic psalm and is quoted at least three times in the New Testament (Matt. 21:16; Heb. 2:6-8; 1 Cor. 15:27; Eph. 1:22). The answer to the question "What is man?" is ultimately answered by Jesus Christ, the "Last Adam," through whom we regain our lost dominion. That God, in His remarkable condescension, should focus attention on us is proof of our dignity as creatures made in the image of God. The grandeur of men and women is found only there. Apart from knowing God, we have no understanding of who we are or what we are to do in this great universe. In this chapter we learn at least three reasons that we should worship and praise God for God. In verses 1, 2, and 5a, we are reminded that God Created Us. The phrase "our Lord" is a threefold confession of faith: there is but one God, all people were created by God, and the Jewish people in particular are "his people and the sheep of his pasture" (Ps. 100:3). They can call Him "our Lord." Read Psalm 135:5, 147:5, and Nehemiah 10:30. However, Jehovah was not a "tribal god" who belonged only to Israel, for He wanted His name, meaning His character, His reputation, to be known "in all the earth" (Psalm 66:1; 83:18; Ex. 9:14, 16; Josh. 3:11). In verses 4 and 5, we are reminded that God Cares for Us. God spoke the worlds into existence, but David saw creation as coming from God's fingers (v. 3; see Ex. 8:19 and 21:18) and hands (v. 6), the work of a Master Craftsman. It was evil for the Jews to worship the heavenly host (Ex. 20:4-6; Deut. 4:15-19; 17:2-7), but they understood that creation was proof of a caring Creator who prepared the world for the enjoyment and employment of mankind. God is mindful of us ("remembers," see Gen. 8:1; 19:29; 30:22) and cares for us ("visits," see Jer. 29:11; Job 10:12). God completed His creation before He made Adam and Eve and placed them in the garden, so everything was ready for them, to meet their every need. In verses 6, 7, and 8 we are told that God Crowns Us. Why does God pay attention to "frail creatures of dust"? Because He has made them in His own image, and they are special! The Lord crowned Adam and Eve and gave them dominion over the other creatures (Gen. 1:26-27). We are co-regents of creation with the Lord! The angels are servants (Heb. 1:14), but we are kings, and one day, all who have trusted Christ will be like Him (1 John 3:1-3; Rom. 8:29). God the Father created us to be kings, but the disobedience of our first parents robbed us of our crowns. God the Son came to earth and redeemed us to be kings (Rev. 1:5-6), and today the Holy Spirit of God can empower us to "reign in life by one, Jesus Christ" (Rom. 5:17). When you crown Jesus Christ Lord of all, you are a sovereign and not a slave, a victor and not a victim. "O Lord, our Lord, how excellent in your name in all the earth!" God bless!

Preached by Ramen Caliwag on Sept. 11, 2022 at Baliwag Bible Christian Church

Message from Elder Ronnie Loudermilk on September 4, 2022

A Sunday morning message by Dr. Jesse Joyner."'Then Moses said to the people of Israel, 'See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and will all craftsmanship. . .'"  -Exodus 35:30-31God called an artist Bezalel to adorn the tabernacle, the place of worship for God's people. He was not of the priestly line (the Levites), yet God still placed a sacred calling upon him to the work of being an artist and a craftsman. Among Bezalel's most famous works of art is the ark of the covenant.As believers, we are called first and foremost to belong to Jesus Christ (Rom 1:6). God also gifts each person with different talents and abilities, empowered by the filling of His Spirit, in order to serve others in this world and bring glory to Him (1 Peter 4:10).Pray that we might all consecrate our daily work, whatever it may be, unto the Lord and in ways that usher heaven to earth.

10 Indictments on the Modern American Church 1. A Denial of the Sufficiency of Scripture—2 Tim 3:15-17 2. A Replacement of the Scriptures with Psychology and Sociology Regarding the Family—Colossians 2:8; Jdg 17:6 3. An Ignorance of God—Acts 17:30; Jer 9:23-24; Psalm 50:21-22; 1 Cor 15:34. 4. A Failure to Address Man's Malady—Rom 3:10-12; Luke 7:47 5. An Ignorance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ—Rom 5:8-9; Gal 3:13 6. An Unbiblical Gospel Invitation—Mark 1:15; Luke 18:13 7. An Ignorance Regarding the Nature of the Church—1 Tim 3:15 8. A Lack of Loving and Compassionate Church Discipline—Gal 6:1 9. A Silence on Separation—2 Cor 6:14 10. Pastors Malnourished in the Word—2 Timothy 4:1;16

Paul speaks to believers regarding three aspects of God's plan for their lives. The first is ADOPTION, which covers future redemption - they were waiting to receive new bodies, inheritance and the right to reign at the return of Jesus Christ -Rom. 8-23- Gal. 4-5-7-. God selected -chose- believers to be holy and blameless, predestinating them to receive sonship -adoption as sons- in Christ. The second aspect is ACQUITTAL, which is past redemption - the forgiveness of sins, where believers are delivered through His blood. God directed His plan to the summing up of all things in Christ - He alone will be the head. The third aspect is ANCESTRY, which describes future redemption - God's design predestined believers to be to the praise of His glory. Once these sinners had decided to take in the message of truth and place their trust in Christ alone, they were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise - a pledge toward their inheritance in the family of God.

Sin & its result, death, entered the world through the disobedience of one man, Adam. All people since then have also sinned and died, except for one Man, a "new Adam," named Jesus. Though Jesus never sinned, nevertheless He died for the sins of all people. Yet He rose again from the dead "so that God's abundant provision of grace...might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ" (Rom. 5:17​, 21). SUNDAY SERVICE PREACHER: Lead Pastor Courtney Hall DATE: March 7, 2021 JOIN US LIVE ONLINE AT 10AM* SERVICE TIME: 10:00am SERIES: ROMANS - Part 6 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pcflosangeles/message

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     The Central Idea of the Text is that God delivered Israel through Tola and Jair, but after they died, Israel again chose idolatry rather than service to God, and the Lord punished them according to His covenant promises, and delivered them according to His mercy.      Both Tola and Jair were judges in Israel, and it appears their leadership produced stability and blessing for 45 years (Judg. 10:1-5).  During the time of peace, Israel failed to grow spiritually, and eventually turned away from the Lord and served the Baals and Ashtaroth, which were the pagan deities of Aram, Sidon, Moab, the sons of Ammon, and the Philistines (Judg. 10:6).  God punished Israel for their idolatry (Judg. 10:7-9).  But Israel cried out to the Lord for deliverance (Judg. 10:10; 15), and though He initially answered them with a rebuke, citing many past deliverances (Judg. 10:11-14), eventually their misery moved Him to act (Judg. 10:16).  “It was not their repentance that he found impossible to ignore, but their misery. Only the Lord’s pity stood between the Israelites and utter ruin. They deserved to be abandoned, but (such is his mercy) he could not give them up (cf. 2:18; Ho. 11:8–9).”[1]      After Israel repented and God relented concerning His anger, Israel then gathered their military forces to battle the Ammonites (Judg. 10:17-18).  In the next chapter Jephthah is chosen to fight against the Ammonites (Judg. 11:1-11), and he judged Israel six years until his death (Judg. 12:7).  It seems Samson was a contemporaneous judge with Jephthah and was used by God to fight against the Philistines (see Judges Chapters 13-16).       We learn from Scripture that God is very patient with people, both unbelievers and believers (Ex 34:6; Num. 14:18; Ps. 86:15; Neh. 9:17; Jonah 4:2).  God is patient with the unbeliever that he/she might come to know Him through faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1-2; Col. 1:19-20; 1 Tim. 1:15-16).  God is also patient with us as believers and gives us time and opportunity to advance to spiritual maturity, which can be hastened by trials (Rom. 5:3-5; 2 Cor. 12:7-10; Jam. 1:2-4).  We tend to desire a life of comfort, but such a life often produces weak character.  God desires that we have a godly character, and this occurs when we have biblical values and consistently make good choices that are pleasing to Him (Eph. 4:1-3; Col. 1:9-10; Heb. 11:6).   [1] D. A. Carson et al., eds., New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 277.

While many are afraid of the spread of the Coronavirus, the Bible talks about a disease we've all been infected with in sin, but it also provides a cure in Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:12).

Intro…Welcome to the Cornerstone Baptist church podcast. My name is Justin Wheeler, I am the preaching pastor for Cornerstone and today we are in week 37 of our journey through the Heidelberg Catechism. Today, I will be talking to you about questions 101 & 102.Transition…This week we are still looking at the third commandment and how we can apply it in our lives in a positive way. Here is the third commandment:Deut 5:11 You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.Last week we tried to figure out why this is such an important issue to God and we learned that the glory of God’s person is directly tied to the holiness of God’s name. There is no way to disconnect the person of God from the name of God, so when we set His name apart in our hearts as holy, we are reverencing Him as holy. Conversely, when we devalue His name by uttering a hateful curse and attach His name to it, we are not just cursing His name we are cursing our God.But this week we are asking the question, can we use God’s name and even swear by God’s name in a way that is not sinful.Lord’s Day Focus...Question 101: May we swear an oath in God’s name if we do it reverently?Answer: Yes, when the government demands it, or when necessity requires it, in order to maintain and promote truth and trustworthiness for God’s glory and our neighbor’s good. Such oaths are approved in God’s Word and were rightly used by Old and New Testament believers.Now, this hardly seems like the most pressing question that we could discuss. The swearing of oaths by the name of God is not one of those ethical dilemma’s that we tend to wrestle over. In fact, we seldom take such oaths. Also, most of us wouldn’t naturally connect swearing to tell the truth in court, “So, help me God” to be something that may violate the third commandment.It may not be all that pressing to us, but during the reformation this was a pretty significant issue.“For starters, the Reformers had to think through their pastoral counsel to ex-Catholics who had made monastic vows, often including the promise of life-long celibacy, and now wanted to break those vows.”[1]Many of the vows taken by monks and other Catholic churchmen were made with the expectation that spiritual merit was being obtained. The Catholic church taught, and still teaches, that eternal life and other graces of God were to be earned or merited through the outward religious practices defined by the RC church. Since these vows were made in a system that was contrary to Scripture and to the gospel, it was necessary for the men and women who made them to repent of them, and thus they were not bound by God to fulfill them.So, this was a pretty important issue for the newly reformed Protestant church. Today, the taking of religious oaths is not so common, but we may find ourselves in a position to have been called upon to give testimony in court. If so, we can expect to be asked to raise our right hand and swear, “to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.” In this case, we are promising before God and making an oath before Him that we will give honest and truthful testimony in everything that we say.We do this as a way to bring solemnity to the court proceeding and to draw attention to the fact that justice is a matter of grave importance. It is also a matter that is overseen by our Creator God and He will be the final judge over our truthfulness in that trial. The Heidelberg sees this as a good thing for the promotion of truth and trustworthiness in society, and I tend to agree.Now, we know that God sees everything that we do and He hears everything that we say. We know that we will also be judged by God for everything we do and say whether we swear the oath or not. God’s promise to judge the secret thoughts of men by Jesus Christ (Rom 2:16) is part and parcel of the gospel and that means we should strive to be truth-tellers at all times.But ultimately, as believers in Christ we know that the judgment for sin that we deserve has already been poured out. Christ received in His flesh the due penalty for the sins of all who believe. What this means is that ultimate judgment for our sin has already been paid, but there is another type of judgment that will come. God will judge our fruitfulness as a token of the genuineness of our faith.But of even more importance to the Reformers in this matter of oaths was the need to address the fact that it had become customary due to the Catholic influence, that religious people would swear oaths and vows on the name of church saints or even angels.Question 102: May we swear by saints or other creatures?Answer: No. A legitimate oath means calling upon God as the one who knows my heart to witness to my truthfulness and to punish me if I swear falsely. No creature is worthy of such honor.The reformers corrected this practice by refusing to swear an oath by anyone other than God Himself. Since He is the only One who truly knows the heart of man and the only One who can ultimately hold man accountable to keeping an oath, God is the only one by whom any oath or vow should be sworn.If you are in the habit, or can remember a time when you were, of swearing “on your mother’s grave” then you would be in violation of what the Heidelberg says is right and good. Your mother’s grave is no doubt an item of importance to every good son, but your mother, whether dead or alive, is not so special that she can truly know your heart and judge your actions with the type of majestic justice as God.So, of course we shouldn’t swear an oath on the name, head, or even the grave of some mere creature, be it saint, angel or your dear mother. No creature is worthy of such an honor.I think the real question is not about whether or not to swear an oath, the real question is do you put a premium on speaking the truth and nothing but the truth? The first lie occurred in the Garden in Genesis 3 and from that point forward lying is a sin at the very heart of our fallen human nature. Jesus called Satan the “Father of lies” in John 8:44 and Psalm 116:11 tells us that, “All men are liars.” Our God is a covenant keeper who never lies, but we are covenant breakers who lie naturally and treat it like it is no big deal.Jesus wants His followers to be men and women who speak the truth.Matt 5:33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.The main point of what Jesus is saying in this passage is that it doesn’t matter what verbal formula you use, what matters is whether or not you are going to keep your word. If you make a vow you are bound to keep it. If you make a promise you should do everything in your power to keep it. If we learn to be people of our word, people of honesty and integrity; then there really is no need to make a vow at all. We simply become honest and trustworthy people, like our heavenly father.Honest people don’t need to swear by anything, they are known for their honesty and their word is enough. That’s what Jesus wants us to understand. He wants us to be honest and truthful the way He and the Father are honest and truthful. Jesus wants us to follow Him and to be men and women of integrity.Think about it, if we said what we meant and meant what we said there would be no need to make lofty promises. If we kept our word, even down to the smallest thing, it might cause us to be slow in speaking which would be a good thing, but it would also eliminate the need for solemn vows because people could simple trust us. This is what Jesus wants from his people. He wants us to live simple and quiet lives of honesty and trustworthiness.The Bible is filled with warnings for how our tongues can cause destruction.Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,Jesus wants us to be people whose tongues give life. He wants us to be a church whose speech is trustworthy.Next week, we will continue to study these 10 commandments by looking at the fourth commandment, which focuses on the sabbath day and keeping it holy. I hope you will join me for that discussion as we look at Lord’s Day 38 and question 103.Conclusion…If you want to learn more about Cornerstone Baptist church, you can find us online at Cornerstonewylie.org. You can follow us on Twitter or Instagram @cbcwylie. You can find us on Facebook at facebook.com/cornerstonewylie. You can also subscribe to this podcast on iTunes or google play to stay up to date on all the new content.Thanks for listening.[1] Deyoung, Kevin The Good News We Almost Forgot (Pg. 175)

To understand ‘Righteousness through Jesus Christ,’ look at the Oak Tree. After chapters and chapters of judgment on Judah the prophet Isaiah begins to speak of their prophetic future and in Ch. 61:3 declares God’s people will be Oaks of Righteousness, the planting of the Lord. In this sermon I unpack righteousness as we see in the Oak Tree; strong, splendid, permanent, fruitful. The aim of Christian life is to attain righteousness, right standing with God. This is only possible through faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:22), he is our way to the strength and stability, the long living permanence like an Oak Tree.

The Gospel of Christ is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes in Christ. In the Gospel the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed as a gift through faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:16-17). The Gospel is God's promise of eternal redemption fulfilled in and through Christ (Heb. 9:11-12). This insightful teaching (Part 4 in a series of 5) aptly explains why the Gospel is rightly referred to in the Bible as the Gospel of Righteousness, the Gospel of His (and your) Salvation, and the Everlasting Gospel.

Geerhardus Vos develops the ethical elements present during the patriarchal period through a brilliant treatment of circumcision. In this episode, Lane Tipton and Camden Bucey discuss pages 88–90 of Vos's book Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments to shed light on the indicative and imperative dimensions of God's covenantal relationship to his people. In the course of this study, the relationship of circumcision to baptism is developed as both are signs of the righteousness God's people have by faith in Jesus Christ (Rom 4:11–12; cf. Col 2:11–12).

Throughout the world you see people in prison of their own beliefs. Beliefs and traditions that have been carried over from one generation to the next. These beliefs are restrictive, destructive and abuse the image of God’s creation. Yet there are some beliefs taught in the Bible that liberates and frees us, to become exactly what we have been created for. Main Scripture: 13 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work. (2 Th 2:13–17) Our faith is rooted in one person - Jesus Christ Rom 10:9-10 “Believe in Him whom He send” John 6:28-29 He is our Focus, our means, the outcome and sum of all things. He is our cause. He is our Life! He is the way! He is the Truth. He is our vision. He is our mission! He is the reason we live. He is our method! He is our example and role model, our Hero! We study His life, His character, values and mindsets. He is perfection! He is the ultimate price and achievement. We are the most fulfilled in life, when

Through whom we have received: 1. Grace 2. Apostleship "...through whom we received grace and apostleship for the obedience of faith among all the nations for His name, (Rom 1:5)among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ: (Rom 1:6)To all those who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." (Rom 1:7)

There are two ways of living for a human. One is to live according to the spirit, and the other is to live according to the flesh. A human is made of a spirit, a soul, and a body. The body is simply a physical entity controlled by a personal being. But both the spirit and the soul are beings, and each has its own personality with will, reason and emotions. A car has only one driver’s seat with one steering wheel, and the person who sits at the driver’s seat can move the car wherever he/she desires to go. In the same way, the spirit or the soul, whichever sits at the throne of your heart controls your entire being as it wills and desires. Needless to say, the “spirit” as discussed above is a human spirit, not the Spirit of God. In discussing the “spirit,” we first need to clarify what kind of spirit we are dealing with. Keep in mind that the word “Spirit” with a capital “S” in our English translations is a result of the particular interpretation given by our translator(s). In Greek, it is simply “pneuma,” and it could mean God’s Spirit, or a human spirit, or any kind of a spirit. Since our churches in the past knew so little about the spiritual beings and their world, there has been a great deal of confusion in the interpretations of this word and the other related terminology. However, the other side of the coin is that as you study the scriptures more in depth, you will be amazed with the fact that the writers of the New Testament knew so much about the spiritual beings and their world including the spiritual aspect of a human being. That is why the Bible is the Bible. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children (Rom 8:16). Note that “the Spirit” is distinguished from “our spirit” in this verse. Here, you can see easily from the context of vv. 9ff that “the Spirit” with a capital “S” meaning the Spirit of God is correct in its interpretation. And this “Spirit” is differentiated from “our spirit” by the pronoun “our.” What this verse teaches is that it is God’s Spirit, or God himself, not us, who testifies that we believers are God’s children being heirs of God, and coheirs with Christ. God himself testifies and confirms it for us against Satan and his world. And the important thing is that he does it “with our spirit”—not with our body, or soul (or flesh). Yet, you remember the following verse: For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ (Rom 5:17). It is “those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness” who reign in life. And we have the following scriptures as well: Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7). Resist him, standing firm in the faith (1 Pet 5:9). We “resist the devil.” We cannot expect God or Christ to do it for us. Amen! But aren’t you one of those who tried to reign over your circumstances without success? You wonder why it did not work for you. Well, biblical principles often do not work when our knowledge of the Bible is partial and limited to certain parts of the whole truth. The Bible is one truth in its entirety. We need to look at other parts of the Bible to see what is missing. The key lies in Rom 8:16, which appears to be contradicting with the principle we have already learned.

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ (Rom 5:17). Since it is in the spirit that we reign in life, the authority with which we reign is of a spiritual kind. If so, it is vital that we maintain ourselves awake spiritually so that this authority can work through us. One of the things that cause us to fail in doing this is a sense of guilt. Needless to say, a sense of guilt comes by sinning, and the best way to avoid it is to not sin. But even if we sin, we have Jesus the advocate who died for our sins, was raised from the dead, and is now interceding for us at the right hand of the Father. We believers have become the righteousness of God though Jesus, and it is unbiblical and illegal for us to have a sense of guilt. A typical phenomenon seen in a person with a sense of guilt is withdrawal from the presence of God as seen in the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis. Look at how they acted right after they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil: Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden (Gen 3:8). It was great joy for them to be and talk with God before this happened, but now they are so afraid of his presence. A sense of guilt, just like fear, causes a person to lose confidence to stand before God, and no confidence means no reigning. A person who feels condemned by God is dominated by fear of judgments—the power of darkness that results in spiritual death. It was exactly for this that Jesus died—to save us from such darkness. The reason why so many Christians suffer from the sense of condemnation is that they still try to earn righteousness thinking they can get it without Jesus Christ. No sin can be forgiven without the death of Jesus Christ, and there is no sin that cannot be forgiven and cleansed by the blood of Jesus. It is so simple that people sometimes have a hard time accepting it. And without full assurance of the forgiveness of sins, no one can really reign in life boldly over the circumstances where the accuser, the devil, constantly attempts to bring troubles. Peter, for example, disowned his master three times. He must have gone through a hard time suffering from the sense of guilt. It was not like some believer who heard Jesus speak several times and came to believe, yet disowned him. Peter was one of the twelve disciples chosen by Jesus, and saw all the miracles performed by him. In fact, he was the best of all the twelve, and was appointed as the “rock” upon which Jesus promised to build his church. He was the only one who walked on the water. Yet, he denied that he knew Jesus, his own master. The sense of guilt he had must have been so strong that there was a great possibility that he would kill himself as Judas Iscariot did. So, it is a great surprise to see in the book of Acts that he preached and proclaimed Christ, whom he once had disowned, so boldly. How could he do that? Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water (Heb 10:19-22).

In order to successfully reign over the circumstances where there are all kinds of daily needs and problems, you need to make sure that you are living in the river of God’s spirit of life and light, not in the river of Satan’s spirit of death and darkness. Otherwise, it is impossible to resist the devil, bind his evil spirits, and go against the forces of this dark world. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves (Col 1:13). God has brought us into the kingdom of the Son. That means, we are under the authority of the Son, and with this authority, we can surely protect ourselves from Satan’s attacks and victoriously reign over the cicumstances. We used to be in the territory of Satan, our enemy, and wherever we fled to, he attacked us and could not get away from him. But now, we are in God’s territory, his kingdom, where Jesus Christ sits as a king with all authority and power in heaven and on earth. … which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come (Eph 1:20-21). We, those who believe in him and confess, “Jesus is Lord,” were brought into this dominion of the Son, and as members of his kingdom, being seated together with Jesus at the right hand of the Father, we can surely reign over our circumstances in life through him. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ (Rom 5:17). Now, standing on this truth, we want to know how actually we can reign over our circumstances. The tool we need to use for that is our mouth confession. We have already learned the importance of our tongue as the following scripture teaches: From the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied. The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit (Prov 18:20-21). The key to successful reigning is to use this tool wisely for our benefits. Think this in terms of two spiritual rivers—God’s river and Satan’s river. If you want this power of your mouth confession work for you, it is essential that you stay always in God’s spiritual river. Our mouth is really a door for the spiritual world, and it determines which river you stay in. Look at the following scripture: Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:3). In fact, it was by the same confession that we came out of Satan’s river and got saved by coming into God’s river. That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved (Rom 10:9-10).

Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves (John 14:10-11). Jesus’ expression, “I am in the Father and the Father is in me,” signifies the kind of unity he had with his father—the Father-Son relationship in the Trinity. The word ‘Trinity’ is not found in the Bible. It is a theological term that has come to be used by Christians to express the total oneness of the divine beings—the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Due to the emphasis on monotheistic belief—one true God, the church struggled to explain the existence of three divine persons, which cannot be denied in the New Testament. So, they came up with this word, Trinity—one God in three persons. Well, no matter what terminology is used, it is true that these three divine beings are in total unity with love as these scriptures reveal. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you (v. 26). Jesus’ last speech to the disciples is amazingly filled with words that reveal secret things about himself, his relationship with the Father, and about his unique relationship with the disciples. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you (v. 20). The expression “I am in my Father” is the first half of the oneness formula—“I am in the Father and the Father is in me” as we have seen above. The second half of the formula is missing, and is replaced by “you are in me, and I am in you” with “you” referred to the disciples. Meditate upon these words. The disciples are now one with Jesus, which is so wonderful, but that is not all. They have now joined the same relationship Jesus had with the Father—by taking part even in the Trinity. Wow! If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him (v. 23). Not only we have the Father and the Son dwelling in us, we have the Holy Spirit, and our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Knowing this truth, we can surely see that death is no longer reigning over us, but we reign in life through Jesus Christ. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ (Rom 5:17). However, you need to combine this truth—not an idea—with your faith. Do not let it simply pass through mentally in your head. For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith (Heb 4:2).

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ (Rom 5:17). Once you come to know what it means to reign in life, at least, in your head, then the next step will be to learn how you actually reign in life. Needless to say, just to know or understand something in your head does not automatically mean that you can do it now. In order to reign in life through Christ, you will need to know and fully believe that Jesus Christ lives in you. You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4). These are the words by John, which are well known among Christians. When we are asked by someone, “Where is Jesus?”, many of us correctly answer, “He is in me.” But we need to keep in mind that God’s word only works in our life when it is combined with our faith. So often, what we think we believe is only in the realm of our mental agreement, and it is not faith. So often, what we confess is only a repetitive routine of saying things, and there is no heart in that confession. God’s word does not work in that way. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Gal 2:20). This is an honest confession by Paul who actually lived, not only by believing this truth, but also by experiencing it as a result of believing. Note the way he says, “I have been crucified … but Christ lives in me,” not “I believe I have been crucified….“ The following words reveal the kind of truth that has become an important foundation for his faith: We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection (Rom 6:4-5). He saw himself as the one who was completely united with Christ in his death and resurrection. It was by this faith that he was used as God’s vessel to carry the name of Jesus. He was indeed the resurrection of Christ. This faith of him is now given to us in the Bible as a truth upon which we also need to stand for our daily life. Look at his following amazing words: … which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come (Eph 1:20-21). But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus (2:4-6).

A key to reigning in life is to stand on the truth that Christ lives in a believer. If you believe Jesus, you are united with Christ, and you can reign in life through him, who is the head over every power and authority. Do not think that Christ will reign for you. No, it is you who must reign though him who lives in you. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ (Rom 5:17). Note that the subject for the verb “to reign” is “those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness,” not God, or Christ, or even life. You reign because the one who lives in you has already defeated “death” and is now seated at the right hand of the Father with all authority and power given to him in heaven and on earth. So, now, together with Jesus, you are also seated at the right hand of the Father. Do not think that it is difficult to be one with Christ or with God. The Bible says: Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit (1 Cor 6:16-17). You might think that it is a mark of elegance to say that you are one with God. No, it is not. Jesus said, “I and the Father are one (John 10:30),” yet, he is the humblest person of all. No truth per se makes you prideful. You become prideful by standing on your own ideas about yourself. Hearing Jesus say that, the Jews got mad, and tried to kill him. When Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father, he answered: Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work (John 14:9-10). The expression, “I am in the Father, and… the Father is in me,” was his way of saying that he was one with the Father. He went on to say: On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you (v. 20). Think what Jesus meant by “you are in me, and I am in you”? It surely is an amazing statement. It was not, however, the first time that he identified himself with somebody else in this way. Look at the following words, for instance: And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea (Mat 18:5-6).

Like light and darkness, death and life are contrary to each other, and cannot coexist. Where death reigns, life is not there. But if we reign in life, death cannot bother us any more. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ (Rom 5:17). In order to understand this truth, we need to realize, first, that all the struggles we are going through in our life are struggles against death. “Death” in the above scripture doses not merely mean physical death—cessation of our life on earth. No, “death” in the Bible is spiritual, and it includes all kinds of other effects, both mental and physical, that this death brings. Sin is one type of such effects, and sickness is another. The above scripture says, “death reigned through that one man.” If so, how did it reign? The story of Cain and Abel in Gen 4 is a good one to learn how death began to reign over humanity. Keep in mind that this took place after the fall of man in chapter 3. Cain came to have jealousy toward his brother Abel because his offering was not accepted by God while his brother’s offering was. So, God said to him: If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it (Gen 4:7). Meditate upon these words, and try to understand what the Bible means by “sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you.” When we think of “reigning,” we normally picture someone like a king who reigns or rules over his kingdom. Yes, it is correct and it means so in the Bible. But when death reigns, it does so in a very sneaky way. Death is not a king, nor is sin. It reigned over Cain by desiring to have him. And he could not resist that, which indicates that he lost that resistance power against Satan. Note that God still said to Cain, “you must master it.” That means God still expected him to master it like a king. Now, let us compare this with reigning in life. First of all, we need to realize that life in the Bible does not merely mean physical life—life we have on earth. It neither means life we live with various activities we do on earth as used in the English expression “our daily life.” Life in the Bible is special life that comes only from God, which is expressed as “eternal life.” Since God is love, there is always a strong connection between love and life. Where there is God’s love, there is life of God. Look at the following scriptures, for instance: Give me life according to your love, so that I keep the testimony (laws) of your mouth (Ps 119:88, translation mine). For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

When we think of all the problems and sufferings we are going through in this world, the descriptions of God’s creation of human beings in Gen 1 and 2 sound very unreal. If the Bible is right, why has our world become the world we know today? Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground (Gen 1:26).” We humans were created in God’s image and in his likeness. That means that we are like God. And we are to rule over this world as kings. Wow! But, are we really living as ones like God, and ruling as kings today? God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground (v. 28).” According to this scripture, God’s blessings are always upon us, and all living things and all that exist in this world are blessed through us who rule. Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food (v. 29). God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day (v. 30). Wow, again! If this is right, why are we still working for living trying to meet our own needs? Something must have gone wrong, very wrong! Because you listened to your wife And ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ Cursed is the ground because of you; Through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, And you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food Until you return to the ground, Since from it you were taken; For dust you are and to dust you will return (3:17-19). I see. This sounds more familiar to us. This is the world we know today. We make every endeavor to live till the last drop of our sweat, but at the end we all fail and die. How miserable! And on the way to our death, sickness, disasters, and the other sufferings attack us unexpectedly, and speed up the death with no time to enjoy anything. So now, we Christians, who are so accustomed to living in this world, should meditate upon the following scripture: For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ (Rom 5:17).

Series: Without Excuse Part 2: The Truth Exchange Program Mankind has exchanged the truth of God for lies. Humanity has given itself up to sin (Eph. 4:17-19). In response, Paul teaches that God also gives them over to the natural consequences of sin (Rom. 1:24, 26, 28). And God is just in this response, for all of humanity has a knowledge of God and His judgment (Rom. 1:28, 32). Thankfully, there is hope in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:21-22).

Series: Without Excuse Part 2: The Truth Exchange Program Mankind has exchanged the truth of God for lies. Humanity has given itself up to sin (Eph. 4:17-19). In response, Paul teaches that God also gives them over to the natural consequences of sin (Rom. 1:24, 26, 28). And God is just in this response, for all of humanity has a knowledge of God and His judgment (Rom. 1:28, 32). Thankfully, there is hope in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:21-22).

Series: Without Excuse Part 2: The Truth Exchange Program Mankind has exchanged the truth of God for lies. Humanity has given itself up to sin (Eph. 4:17-19). In response, Paul teaches that God also gives them over to the natural consequences of sin (Rom. 1:24, 26, 28). And God is just in this response, for all of humanity has a knowledge of God and His judgment (Rom. 1:28, 32). Thankfully, there is hope in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:21-22).

Series: Without Excuse Part 2: The Truth Exchange Program Mankind has exchanged the truth of God for lies. Humanity has given itself up to sin (Eph. 4:17-19). In response, Paul teaches that God also gives them over to the natural consequences of sin (Rom. 1:24, 26, 28). And God is just in this response, for all of humanity has a knowledge of God and His judgment (Rom. 1:28, 32). Thankfully, there is hope in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:21-22).

Salvation is by obedience of one - Jesus Christ (Rom 5:12-21).

Salvation is by obedience of one - Jesus Christ (Rom 5:12-21).

Take a listen to this replay that reminds us no matter what happened in the past, what you are currently facing, or will encounter in the future it will not separate you from the Love of God through Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:35).

No matter what happened in the past, what you are currently facing, or will encounter in the future it will not separate you from the Love of God through Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:35).