Archive for the ‘Romans’ Category

Spiritual Training 04 January 2013

Posted: January 4, 2013 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Romans, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

Romans 5:5-6  (5) And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.  (6) You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the un-godly.    

All there members of the Trinity are involved in salvation.  The Father loved us so much that he sent his Son to bridge the gap between us (John 3:16).  The Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit to fill our lives with love and to enable us to live by his power (Acts 1:8).  We were weak and helpless because we could do nothing on our own to save ourselves.  Someone had to come and rescue us.  Not only did Christ come at a good time in history, he came at exactly the right time according to God’s own schedule.  God controls all history, and he controlled the timing, methods, and results of Jesus’s death,

 

Lets Bring it home: With all this loving care, how can we do less than serve him completely!

Spiritual Training 03 January 2013

Posted: January 3, 2013 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Romans, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

 Romans 5:1-5  (1) Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (2) through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.  And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

(3) Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance.  (4) Perseverance, character, and character, hope.  

 Paul tells us that in the future we will become, but until then we must overcome.  This means we will experience difficulties that help us grow.  We rejoice in suffering not because we like pain or deny its tragedy, but because we know God is using life’s difficulties and Satan’s attacks to build our character.  The Problems that we run into will develop our perseverance, which in turn will strengthen our character, deepen our trust in God, and give us greater confidence about the future.  You probably find your patience tested in some way every day.  Thank God for those opportunities to grow and deal with them in his strength.

(5) And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.     

These verses introduce a section that contains some difficult concepts.  To understand the next four chapters, it helps to keep in mind the two –sided reality of the Christian life.  On the one hand, we are complete in Christ (our acceptance with him is secure).  On the other hand, we are growing in Christ (we are becoming more and more like him).  At one and the same time we have the status of kings and the duties of slaves.  We feel both the presence of Christ and the pressure of sin.

Lets Bring it home: If we remember these two sides of the Christian life, we will not grow discouraged as we face temptations and problems.  Instead, we will learn to depend on the power available to us from Christ, who lives in us by the Holy Spirit.

Spiritual Training 28 December 2012

Posted: January 2, 2013 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Romans, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

 Romans 5:1-5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.  And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance.  Perseverance, character, and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.     

These verses introduce a section that contains some difficult concepts.  To understand the next four chapters, it helps to keep in mind the two –sided reality of the Christian life.  On the one hand, we are complete in Christ (our acceptance with him is secure).  On the other hand, we are growing in Christ (we are becoming more and more like him).  At one and the same time we have the status of kings and the duties of slaves.  We feel both the presence of Christ and the pressure of sin.

Lets Bring it home: If we remember these two sides of the Christian life, we will not grow discouraged as we face temptations and problems.  Instead, we will learn to depend on the power available to us from Christ, who lives in us by the Holy Spirit.

  

Spiritual Training 27 December 2012

Posted: January 2, 2013 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Grace, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Romans, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.  And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.     

We are now at peace with God, which may differ from peaceful feelings such as calmness and tranquility.  Peace with God means that we have been reconciled with him.  There is no more hostility between us, no sin blocking our relationship with him.  Peace with God is possible only because Jesus paid the price for our sins through his death on the cross.

Lets Bring it home: Are you saved?  Have you given your life to Christ?  Are you Under Gods Command?

Spiritual Training 26 December 2012

Posted: December 26, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Romans, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

Romans 4:25: He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.   

When we believe, an exchange takes place.  We give Christ our sins, and he gives us his righteousness and forgiveness (2 Corinthians 5:21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God).  There is nothing we can do to earn this.  Only through Christ can we receive God’s righteousness.  What an incredible bargain this is for us!

Lets Bring it Home: But sadly, many still choose to pass up this gift to continue, “enjoying” their sin.

Spiritual Training 24 December 2012

Posted: December 24, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Romans, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

Romans 4:18-21-Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old-and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.  Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

Abraham never doubted that God would fulfill his promise.  Abraham’s life was marked by mistakes, sins, and failures as well as by wisdom and goodness, but he consistently trusted God.  His faith was strengthened by the obstacles he face, and his life was an example of faith in action.  If he had looked only at his own resources for subduing Canaan and founding a nation, he would have given up in despair.  But Abraham looked to God, obeyed him, and waited for God to fulfill his word.

Lets Bring it Home: Are we waiting for God to fulfill his word in the issues of our lives, or are we only looking at our own resources for solving the problems in our life?  Have we been strengthen with the obstacles that we have faced in our life?  Are we putting Faith into action, or are we doing the same old thing, and leaning toward our own understanding?

Spiritual Training 20 December 2012

Posted: December 20, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Romans, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

Romans 4:16-17 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring-not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham.  He is the father of us all.  As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed –the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. 

Paul explains that Abraham had pleased God through Abraham’s faith alone, before he had ever heard about the rituals that would become so important to the Jewish people.

The promise (or covenant) God gave Abraham stated that Abraham would be the father of many nations (Genesis 17:2-4) and that the entire world would be blessed through him.  This promise was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.  Jesus was from Abraham’s line, and truly the whole world was blessed through him.

Lets Bring it Home: We too are saved by faith plus nothing.  It is not by loving God and doing good that we are saved; neither is it by faith plus love or by faith plus good deeds. We are saved only through faith in Christ, trusting him to forgive all our sins.  For more on Abraham, see his Profile in Genesis 17.

Spiritual Training 19 December 2012

Posted: December 19, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Romans, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

Romans 4:09-12 Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised?  We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.  Under what circumstances was it credited?  Was it after he was circumcised, or before?  It was not after, but before! And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.  So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.  And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. 

 Rituals did not earn any reward for Abraham; he had been blessed long before the circumcision ceremony was introduce,  Abraham found favor with God by faith alone, before he was circumcised.  Genesis 12:1-4 tells of God’s call to Abraham when he was 75 years old; the circumcision ceremony was introduced when he was 99 (Genesis 17:1-14).  Ceremonies and rituals serve as reminders of our faith, and they instruct new and younger believers.

Lets Bring it Home: But we should not think that they give us any special merit before God.  They are outward signs and seals that demonstrate inward belief and trust.  The focus of our faith should be on Christ and his saving actions, not on our own actions.  Are we walking in the footsteps of our baptism, or are we walking in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised?

 

Spiritual Training 18 December 2012

Posted: December 18, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Romans, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

Romans 4:6-8 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works.  “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven whose sins are covered.  Blessed is the man shoes sin the Lord will never count against him.”  

What can we do to get rid of guilt? King David was guilty of terrible sins-adultery, murder, lying, and yet he experienced the joy of forgiveness.

Lets Bring it Home: We too can have this joy when we

(1) quit denying our guilt and recognize that we have sinned

(2) admit our guilt to God and ask for his forgiveness, and

(3) let go of our guilt and believe that God has forgiven us.

This can be difficult when a sin has taken root and grown over many years, when it is very serious, or when it involves others.  We must remember that Jesus is willing and able to forgive every sin.  In view of the tremendous price he paid on the cross, it is arrogant to think that any of our sins are too great for him to cover.  Even though our faith is weak, our conscience is sensitive, and our memory haunts us,

God’s Word declares that sins confessed are sins forgiven.

Spiritual Training 13 December 2012

Posted: December 13, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Romans, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

Romans 3:22-24 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus

Some sins seem bigger than others because their obvious consequences are much more serious.  Murder, for example, seems to us to be worse than hatred, and adultery seems worse then lust.  But this does not mean that because we do lesser sins we deserve eternal life.  All sin makes us sinners, and all sin cuts us off from our holy God.  All sin, therefore leads to death (because it disqualifies us from living with God), regardless of how great or small it seems.

Lets Bring It Home: Justified means to be declared not guilty.  When a judge in a court of law declares the defendant not guilty, all the charges are removed from his record.  Legally, it is as if the person had never been accused.  When God forgives our sins, our records are wiped clean.  From his perspective, it is as though we had never sinned.

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