ROMANS

THE DEMONSTRATION OF YOUR CONSECRATION–ROMANS 12:3-8

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THE DEMONSTRATION OF YOUR CONSECRATION

ROMANS 12:3-8

Introduction:

We as Christians are sometimes all talk and no substance when it comes to serving the Lord. The Apostle Paul speaks with the authority of God here as he admonishes us to demonstrate what we say that we have in Christ.

He is saying that we need to have the right attitude about ourselves and others in order to glorify our Lord in our lives. He gives us good counsel in relation to others and how we can be used by the Lord for His glory.

I. A JUST ESTIMATE OF YOUR GIFT

A. We are what we are by the Grace of God, 1 Corinthians 15:10, “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”

1. Jesus died for us by the Grace of God, Hebrews 2:9, “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”

2. Our rejoicing is by the Grace of God, 2 Corinthians 1:12, “For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.”

B. Our Gifts or abilities are given to us for God’s glory, 1 Corinthians 14:12, “Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.”

C. Paul spoke of a more excellent gift, the gift of love, 1 Corinthians 12:31, “But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.”

1. Without love we are just noise, 1 Corinthians 13:1, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.”

2. Even if we might have great knowledge and have all faith, without love we are nothing, 1 Corinthians 13:2, “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.”

D. Paul counsels us not to be intoxicated with conceit, Romans 12:3, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”

1. Paul is saying here that Pride has no place in the Lord’s work, Romans 3:27,“Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.”

2. Paul illustrates this fact, Romans 11:18-21, “Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. 19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. 20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.”

3. Therefore every Christian should have a proper sense of humility, Proverbs 18:12, “Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.”

a. Paul’s attitude in serving the Lord, Acts 20:18-19, “And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, 19 Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews:”

b. Peter admonishes us to be clothed in humility, 1 Peter 5:5-6, “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:”

CONCLUSION

God has blessed each of us with gifts and abilities with which we can honor and glorify our Saviour. Each believer is special to the Lord. Each has a place in the Lord’s work where he or she can contribute one way or another to build a strong church. We need to use those gifts for his honor and glory.

THE ABIDING REALITY–ROMANS 1:1-16

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THE ABIDING REALITY

ROMANS 1:1-16

Romans 1:1, “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,”

Introduction:

The most vital need of the Christian worker today is to know what is the most important thing in his life. The one thing that is all-important is that the Gospel of God should be realized as the Abiding Reality.

God has redeemed us from the curse of sin to show forth His Grace in Redemption. How we live our lives is the effect of the redemption that He has brought into our lives.

I. WHAT IS THE ABIDING REALITY IN THE LIFE OF THE BELIEVER?

A. Reality is not…

1. Human goodness, Ecclesiastes 7:20, “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.”

2. Holiness, Isaiah 35:8, “And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.”

3. Heaven, Psalms 14:2, “The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.”

4. Hell, 2 Peter 2:4, “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;”

B. Reality is Redemption, Ephesians 1:7, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”

1. Redemption is the only Reality, Titus 2:14, “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”

2. Personal holiness is an effect of redemption, 1 Corinthians 6:19, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20- For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

a. Paul’s eyes were not on the personal whiteness of his own character, but on Jesus, Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

1) As long as our eyes are on self we will never get to the reality of Redemption, Isaiah 31:1, “Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!”

2) What is necessary is to “walk in His way,” Deuteronomy 10:12, “And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,”

b. Paul did not say he separated himself, Galatians 1:15, “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,”

c. In God own time, Galatians 4:4-5, “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”

II. LIVING IN THE REALITY OF REDEMPTION

A. To TALK ONLY is a sign that the reality of the Gospel of Christ has NOT reached us, Exodus 32:32, “Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.”

B. Paul was UNCONSCIOUS of HIMSELF and separated by God for one purpose, the preaching of the Gospel, Romans 9:3, “For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:”

C. That is the reality of our redemption, to reach people with the Gospel of Christ, Matthew 10:27, “What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.”

1. We can’t hid the light, Luke 11:33, “No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.”

2. Wisdom cries out, Proverbs 1:20, “Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:”

3. Understanding puts forth her voice, Proverbs 8:1-5, “Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? 2- She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. 3- She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors. 4- Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man. 5- O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.”

CONCLUSION

The Apostle Paul knew the reality of the Gospel of Christ. It was in the proclaiming of that Gospel that men might know Jesus Christ is redemption. And that redemption can only be known by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We must say as the Apostle said, 1 Corinthians 9:16, “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!”

SIN AND IT’S DEFEAT–ROMANS 5:6-14

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SIN AND IT’S DEFEAT

ROMANS 5:6-14

Introduction:

“Sin is a fundamental relationship: it is not WRONGDOING, it is WRONG BEING, deliberate and emphatic independence of God.” (Oswald Chambers).

Sin is a terrible thing. Religion deals with SINS (plural), only the Bible deals with SIN (singular)(the word appears 457 times in Scripture). God deals with the NATURE of sin, the HEREDITY of sin, and He deals with the DEFEAT of sin.

I. THE NATURE OF SIN – TOTAL DEPRAVITY.

A. One whose heart has turned away from God, Deuteronomy 29:18, Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood;”

1. One who rejoices to do evil, Proverbs 2:14, “Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness [perversity] of the wicked;”

2. Those without faith, Deuteronomy 32:20, “And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.”

3. Those who are disobedient, Genesis 2:17, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

B. Those whose every desire is sin, Genesis 6:5, “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

II. THE HEREDITY OF SIN – TOTAL.

A. One man brought sin into the world, Romans 5:12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”

1. “The sin,”—the sin of unbelief.

2. “The death,” both physical and spiritual death.

B. Death came by this man also, Romans 5:18a, “Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation;”

III. THE DEFEAT OF SIN – RECONCILIATION.

A. God sees but two men, Adam and Christ.

1. Note the repetition of the word “one.”

a. In v. 12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”

b. In v. 15, ” But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.”

c. In v. 16, “And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.

d. In v. 17, “For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)”

e. In v. 18, “Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.”

f. In v. 19, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”

B. This story does not end in tragedy, but in victory, 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

1. The Second Adam who knew no sin became sin for us.

2. In Him we see the victory of man over sin by the quickening power of Jesus Christ, 1 Corinthians 15:45, “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.”

CONCLUSION

Jesus has dealt defeat to Satan and sin by the offering of Himself as the sacrifice for sin that God required. Now we who have trusted Jesus Christ as our Savior stand justified before the God of Heaven.

 

SIN, A LITTLE THING?–ROMANS 7:1-13

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SIN, A LITTLE THING?

ROMANS 7:1-13

Key verse: v. 13, “Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.”

Introduction:

The Apostle Paul has successfully shown that peace was not in the law; that justification is by faith in Jesus Christ. The Jews had taught that following the Law promoted peace, but Paul maintained that the Law was to excite the mind to conflict, and anxiety, and distress. He shows that the tendency of the law, as a practical matter, was everywhere the same. It was not to produce peace, but agitation, conflict, distress, v. 7, “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.”

I. AT THE TIME OF CONVERSION…

A. The young believer has a holy timidity, a godly fear, Hebrews 12:28, “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:”

1. He wants to do everything according to God’s pattern, Hebrews 8:5, “Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.”

2. He DOES NOT want a guilty conscience toward God, Hebrews 10:2, “For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.”

B. To the young believer the slightest sin is “exceeding sinful,” v.11, “For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.”

1. God allows sin to “beguile” [make me lose my way] him that he might learn to rely on the Lord, Hebrews 3:13, “But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”

2. Sin can drive one to despair, Job 7:6, “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope.”

II. GIVEN TIME AND EXPERIENCE IN THIS WORLD…

A. The tender, sensitive bloom of salvation becomes like a willow that is pliant, too easily yielding, Romans 6:16, “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”

B. The sin that once startled us does NOT ALARM us in the least, v. 15, “For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.”

1. The believer does NOT RECOGNIZE its true nature, Galatians 6:1, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.”

2. Our spiritual PERCEPTIONS are DULLED, blinded by sin, 2 Corinthians 4:4, “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

a. The believe can fall into this same blindness and he begins to palliate [cover up or gloss over] sin, 1 Samuel 15:20-21, “And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.”

b. The believer gets familiar with sin by degrees, Psalm 19:13, “Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.”

III. SIN, A LITTLE THING?

A. It is DEADLY poison, Psalm 58:3-4, “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. 4 Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear;”

1. It is deceitful (deliberately misleading), Romans 3:13, “Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:”

2. The tongue of a sinner is out of control, James 3:8, “But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”

B. Sin appears to be a LITTLE thing, however,..

1. It is like little foxes, Song of Solomon 2:15, “Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.”

2. It is like the SMALL things of earth.

a. It is like a TINY CORAL INSECT that builds a rock that WRECKS A NAVY.

b. It is like the little STROKE OF AN AXE that brings down a mighty oak.

c. It is like the CONTINUAL DROPPING of water that wears away a huge stone.

d. It is like a LITTLE LEAVEN in bread, 1 Corinthians 5:6, “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?”

3. It destroys kingdoms, 1 Samuel 15:23, “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”

CONCLUSION

Let us go back to time when we first received Christ as our Savior and have the same attitude toward sin that we had then. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:14, “Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.” And 1 Thessalonians 5:22, “Abstain from all appearance of evil.”

Remember that sin caused our Savior to suffer and die on Calvary’s Tree. Sin put the scars in His hands and a lance in His side. SIN IS A TERRIBLE THING!!!

SIN IS “EXCEEDING SINFUL.”

SIN–ROMANS 3:9-23

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SIN
ROMANS 3:9-23

Introduction:

Sin is the major problem in our lives. We deal with it every day of our lives. The word “sin” appears in the Bible 448 times; “sins” 172 times; “transgression,” 51; “transgressions,” 48; and “trespass” or “trespasses,” 85 times.

The Scriptures tell us in Romans 6:23 that the payment for sin is death, “For the wages of sin is death;” But God did not stop there. He adds, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” So there is hope.

Let examine what the Scriptures say about sin.

I. PERSONAL SIN

A. The sin of commission (doing something prohibited), v. 23.

1. Everyone is guilty of this, Romans 3:9, 19, “What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; 19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”

2. We are all guilty of the same thing, Romans 2:1, “Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.”

B. The sin of omission (failing to do that which is required), James 4:17, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

1. The servant that knows his Lord’s will, Luke 12:47, “And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.”

2. That servant that knew not his Lord’s will, Luke 12:48, “But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.”

II. SIN PORTRAYED IN SCRIPTURE

A. Falling short of God’s glory, Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

1. In Portuguese the expression “come short” is translated “destitute [void] of the glory of God,” 1 Timothy 6:5, “Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute [ void ] of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.”

2. We are called unto the glory of God, 2 Thessalonians 2:14, “Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

B. Going astray like wandering sheep, Isaiah 53:6, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

1. Peter said that we were like sheep gone astray, 2 Peter 2:22, “But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”

2. We have gone out of the way, Romans 3:12, “They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

C. Transgressing or overstepping the law, Psalm 51:1, “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.”

1. Transgression of the law is rebellion, Psalm 5:10, “Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.”

2. They need to be confessed to the Lord, Psalm 32:5, “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.”

D. Sin is portrayed as “trespassing” (exercising our own will contrary to God’s authority), Ephesians 2:1, “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;”

1. Alienated from the life of God, Ephesians 4:18, “Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:”

2. Spiritually dead in trespasses, Ephesians 5:14, “Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”

III. SIN BRINGS HIDEOUS RESULTS

A. It brings physical death, Romans 5:12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”

B. After death it brings judgment, Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”

1. This is for those who have not trusted Christ as their Savior, Romans 2:5-6,“But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; 6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:”

2. Those whose names ARE NOT written in the Lambs book of life, Revelation 21:27, “And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

3. There is the SECOND DEATH, Revelation 20:13-15, “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

CONCLUSION

Remember the second part of Romans 6:23? It says, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Christ died on Calvary’s cross to keep men out of hell. Trust Him for salvation.