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ROMANS CHAPTERS 3 & 4
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Rom 3-1,2
· (4e) Responsible to advocate God’s cause Ø
Being accountable in your stewardship –
I think the nation of
Israel never did know what their true ministry was to the world. They
frankly believed they had no obligation to the world at all; in fact, they
did what they could to avoid it. They considered the gentiles dogs, which I
can understand in part, based on some of the teachings of the Old Testament.
However, they never saw the big picture, how God intended to use them as the
seed of His kingdom. He made them stewards of the old covenant. A steward is
someone who is apportioned responsibility for judiciously handling the
accounts of someone else’s business. This Israel did not do, but
possessively laid claims to the Old Covenant’s intent, which was to pave
the way for redemption of the whole world. They saw no
application of it to the gentiles (the rest of the world), but believed it
was meant for the nation of Israel only. For this reason,
they missed their messiah when He came and lost their stewardship of the New
Covenant that Christ would have happily given them. The Bible paints a
picture of Israel being the center of the world, when God finally
establishes His kingdom on the earth after making all things new.
Essentially, God will restore Israel in all of her glory even more than she
would have, had she been faithful. Israel possessed and
lost more than any nation, and will again obtain perhaps more than they would have
gained by receiving the heavenly city New Jerusalem. This is the justice and righteousness of
God to turn the curse of Israel's unbelief in their own messiah into a
blessing for the whole world forever.
· (148g) Witness Ø
Validity of Jesus Christ Ø Works of the
church bear witness to Jesus Ø Evangelism Ø
Natural advantage regarding the church
· (190h) Die to self (Process of substitution)
Ø Separation from the old man Ø
Circumcision Ø Circumcision is a sign of
obedience Ø Circumcision is a sign of
believing
-- Note that the heading for this topic says
that circumcision is a sign of obedience, then it says that it is a sign of
believing. So which one is it, a sign of Obedience or of Believing?
It is both, because they are one and the same thing, according to the
biblically sound saying, 'those who believe obey, and those who obey
believe.'
Rom 3,3-9
· (17d) Sin Ø
Judging in the flesh Ø Accusing God and
others of sin – When verse 8 says, "Let us do evil that good
may come," it is referring to abusing Rom 5-20, which says, "Where sin
increased, grace abounded all the more." They rationalize that they can control the grace of God, like controlling the flow of water from a
spigot. All they have to do is sin and they instantly have more grace dumped on them. This was great theology to them, especially since sinning
is already a favorite pastime of someone who would concoct such a beastly
doctrine; but Paul met them off at the pass when he made the
comment, "Their condemnation is just," suggesting that God knows
when we are manipulating His grace, and not to be surprised when the
consequences of our sin greet us instead of His grace and mercy.
· (63g) Paradox Ø
Anomalies Ø Sarcasm Ø
Be pretentious Ø Pretending to be stupid
· (184f) Works of the devil Ø
The origin of lawlessness Ø Abusing the grace
of God Ø Spending His grace on your pleasures
Ø Trying to take advantage of God’s
kindness
Rom 3,3-8
· (16i) Sin Ø
Continuing in sin to avoid the light Ø Deny
the truth
· (21a) Sin Ø
Disobedience Ø Demonstrating unbelief in the
character of God
· (75e) Thy kingdom come Ø
Motives Ø Being manipulative Ø
Questioning God’s judgment
· (166a) Works of the devil Ø
Manifestations of the devil Ø Wisdom of the
world Ø Man’s wisdom excuses his sinful
nature Ø Man’s wisdom rationalizes his sin
· (176k) Works of the devil Ø
The religion of witchcraft Ø False doctrine Ø
Extremes Ø Truth is never found in your
thinking on either extreme of any subject
· (178d) Works of the devil Ø
The religion of witchcraft Ø Presumption Ø
Presuming the facts about the circumstances Ø
Philosophy
· (200j) Denying Christ Ø
Excuses for rejecting Christ Ø Using
irresponsibility as an excuse to reject God Ø
Using your sinful nature as an excuse to sin
Rom 3,3-6
· (102j) Thy kingdom come Ø
Faithfulness (Loyalty) Ø Consistency Ø
Loyalty
Rom 3,4-20
· (16b) Sin Ø
Man’s evil nature is the enemy of God -- These verses go with verse
23. The book of Romans is a major source for our understanding the gospel
and how everything ties together with everything else, acting as the hub of a wheel. Paul here in chapter
three first shows us our need to be saved
before he goes on to describe what Jesus did for us to provide the way of
salvation. Paul suggests that we need to be saved because we are evil, not
because we did anything wrong. We were born with an evil nature; we are not
evil because we do wrong; we do wrong because we are evil.
Rom 3-4
· (107f) Thy kingdom come Ø
Truth of the trinity Ø
Father is truth
Rom 3,5-8
· (18f) Sin Ø
False Judgment lacks evidence Ø Accusing God
-- There are some who frankly don't
believe in God's righteous justice, but view Him as some kind of monstrously cruel, wicked person
pitching problems at us to see what we will do with them, and then sending
us to hell if we don't respond appropriately to His hardships. The problem
with this theology is that it is not the result of hours of study in the
word of God, nor of weighing the vast ocean of Scripture that speaks kindly
to us about the gracious side of God, for example the benevolent words
contained within this very chapter! This theology is the result of one more
person reading into the word of God his own twisted reasoning. There are
already enough people who are willing to read their own ideas into the Scriptures,
and not enough willing saints dedicating their lives to understand the words
printed on the ancient manuscripts, thoughts so ethereal that no man could
possibly dream them up without help from above. But these men speak arrogant
words of blasphemy against the very person of God, and then walk away
seemingly unharmed, leaving the hearers wrestling needlessly with their
faith. They are discomforting, tumultuous souls, tortured in their minds,
whose theology will apply to them only, because they would not believe the
truth so as to be saved.
· (58c) Paradox Ø
Opposites Ø Light of the truth is more
brilliant around deception
· (96k) Thy kingdom come Ø
Having a negative attitude about sin Ø Being
willing to practice sin
· (157j) Witness Ø
Validity of the believer Ø Evidence of being
hell-bound Ø Unable to know the truth
· (166k) Works of the devil Ø
Manifestations of the devil Ø
The carnal mind cannot discern between good and evil Ø
The carnal mind’s idea of justice
· (179c) Works of the devil Ø
The religion of witchcraft Ø Hypocrisy Ø
Jesus rebukes the Pharisees Ø The world runs
into the church to escape God’s judgment
Rom 3-5,6
· (41a) Judgment Ø
God glorifies Himself by being the judge of all
-- Paul is asking, 'Why isn't God
unrighteous because of my unrighteousness that proves His righteousness'? This
is more of man's twisted reasoning. In modern terms it's a question like this,
'How can you use a dirty rag to clean your car; wouldn't the dirt on the rag
transfer to the car and make it dirtier'? Paul must have had arguments like
this with a few people along his journeys to include it in his letter to the
Romans. The question should sound more like this, 'Why do you throw a dirty
rag into the washing machine'? We all know the answer to that question; now it
makes sense. The dirty rag proves the power and usefulness of your washing
machine. If you put only clean clothes in the machine and they came out clean,
it wouldn't make sense and you would never know if it actually works. Our
dirty clothes proves that our washing machine works, just as our sin proves
that the blood of Jesus can wash us of our sin.
· (48b) God judges the world Ø
Eternal judgment
Rom 3-5
· (244i) Kingdom of God Ø
Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm Ø
Literal manifestations Ø Literal manifestation
of God’s word Ø Manifesting the righteousness
of His kingdom -- This verse goes with verses 25&26
Rom 3-7,8
· (195d) Denying Christ Ø
Man exercises his will against God Ø Idolatry Ø
Serving two masters Ø You cannot serve
righteousness and sin together
Rom 3-8
· (27c) Consequences of sin Ø
Condoning evil can bring a curse on your life
-- See verses 5 & 6 for commentary. Sometimes
we get a little too liberal with the grace of God and start practicing sin
under the premise that God will forgive us. While that is true, there is a
motive of abuse at work in this mindset by which God is not glorified.
This is not the direction that God is leading us. Going back to the washing
machine analogy, your clothes get dirty enough through the activities of
everyday life; we don't need to rub them in the dirt to see if our machine can
take on the challenge. Remember, there is some dirt that your machine can't
get out that we call stains. While God will completely wash us of all sin and
stains before entering His divine kingdom, we must live with the stains until
that time. The question is, do you want to live with stains? The stains to
which I am referring are things such as mental and psychological maladies, as
well as spiritual strongholds and maybe physical limitations.
Rom 3,9-18
· (141j) Witness Ø
Validity of Jesus Christ Ø Old Testament bears
witness to the new Ø Old Testament is for our
instruction Ø It reflects the nature of man in
the law
Rom 3-9
· (108e) Thy kingdom come Ø
Balance Ø Sovereignty of God balances the good
from the evil
Rom 3-13,14
· (84i) Thy kingdom come Ø
Words of your mouth Ø Gossip Ø
Attacking a person’s name
Rom 3-19,20
· (52d) Judging Church with world Ø
Law judges sin Ø Law finds all men guilty of
sin
· (205k) Salvation Ø
Salvation is based on God’s promises Ø Faith
versus works Ø The faith of God versus the
faith of men Ø Faith versus the law --
These verses go with verse 28. The true church of born again believers puts
their faith in God, while religion puts its faith in the law. If religious
people get nothing from following after the law except guilt and condemnation,
then why do they do it? It is a way of stiff-arming God to keep Him at a safe
distance, yet close enough to believe they are good people. The law was meant
to make people see their need for redemption since they can't keep it; instead
they misappropriate the law and use it more like a thermometer. When they
haven't done something against the law for a while, they think well of
themselves, and when they break it, they sweep their deeds under the carpet
and just remember all the good things they have done and all the times they
have kept the law. This is not the faith of Abraham, thus is not the way to
God's righteousness, and will not get them to heaven; but it is the way to
their own self righteousness, which is a stench in the nostrils of
God.
Rom 3-19
· (165b) Works of the devil Ø
Manifestations of the devil Ø The world is at
enmity with God Ø The world is accountable to
God
Rom 3,21-28
· (227f) Kingdom of God Ø
God’s kingdom is a living organism Ø God
working in you Ø Dependence on Jesus Ø
Depending on Jesus to have compassion Ø
Depending on Jesus to receive us
Rom 3-21,22
· (41f) Judgment Ø
Satan destroyed Ø Be like Jesus Ø
Righteousness of faith -- These verses go with verses 25&26.
In chapter four Paul is going to validate what he said in chapter three
pertaining to the "Righteousness of faith." He is going to equate
the faith that Abraham had with the faith that God expects us to show Him for
the redemption of our souls. Heb 11-8 says, "By faith Abraham, when he
was called, obeyed ...," and here in Romans Paul says that he was counted
righteous the moment he believed. To have the faith of Abraham we must also
obey as he did, though it is not obedience that makes us righteous before God.
So what is the roll of obedience? It perfects, confirms and establishes, that
is, it completes
our faith; otherwise, how could we prove that we believe? We must not get the
cart before the horse as self-righteous religion does; we must not
misappropriate our works and put our faith in it, but rather keep it in God
where it belongs, and let our works speak to men.
· (51j) Judging the Church with the world Ø
No partiality with God’s righteousness
Rom 3-21
· (41b) Judgment Ø
Satan destroyed Ø Be like Jesus Ø
Jesus is without sin Ø He fulfilled the law
-- The power of the cross is Jesus' fulfillment
of the law. He was the only one who fulfilled God's holy commandments
completely, and since the power of death is sin, of which Jesus had none, it
was impossible for Him to die, though He lived in a mortal body. His mortality
only meant it was inevitable that He should defeat death, since whether He
died on a cross or of old age, death would have no right to His sinless body.
Now that we are believers in Jesus, we have partaken of His victory through
the righteousness of faith; what is more, when we obey His will, His victory
transfers to us in a sense that Christ is leading us in
paths of righteousness for His name sake! This is the goal of Christianity
according to the book of Romans -- the obedience of faith.
· (119l) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Curse of God is
broken Ø Curse of the law is broken --
This verse goes with verses 24-28
· (141d) Witness Ø
Validity of Jesus Christ Ø Old Testament bears
witness to the new Ø It bears witness to Jesus Ø
Prophesy about Jesus’ ministry Ø Jesus as the
savior
-- Jesus Christ is the righteousness of
God. It is a vital ingredient to the coherence
of Scripture that the Old Testament should bear witness to the new, that there
be a connection between them and not be separate writings. Jesus didn't just appear out of the clear blue one day and proclaim
Himself to be the Messiah without any convincing proofs. The miracles alone
that Jesus performed would not have been enough proof throughout all the
generations that He was the Christ, because it would have relied solely on the
witnesses of His day to accurately report about His countless miracles. There
would have been the matter of the authoritativeness of their witness; our
generation (and probably those before us) would have taken issue with their
testimonies, since we would not have had any background knowledge of the
witnesses. No actual accounts exist; there is not even a shard of
archeological evidence to prove Jesus existed. His miracles
proved who He was to the people of His day, but the most well founded proof we
have in the twenty-first century of Jesus' life and works lies in the writings of the Old
and New Testaments and in the history of those writings. In other words we
know Jesus performed miracles and died for our sin because the Bibles says so,
and because we can trace the history of those writings. There is no other
reliable proof beyond that. God the Father becomes Jesus' witness through the
Old Testament as He speaks of who He was, how He
would appear, what He would do, and most importantly the nature of His
ministry, which was something the people of His time completely misunderstood,
which became the reason they crucified Him. Now we see Jesus as the
righteousness of God, bearing faith to believe in Him for eternal life through
the authority of God according to Old Testament Scripture, which itself has a
long, traceable heritage to prove its validity.
· (144h) Witness Ø
Validity of Jesus Christ Ø Witnesses of Jesus Ø
Trinity bears witness of Jesus Ø Word of God
bears witness to Jesus
Rom 3-23
· (16b) Sin Ø
Man’s evil nature is the enemy of God – This verse goes with
verses 4-20; See them for commentary.
Rom 3,24-28
· (117f) Thy kingdom come Ø
Rest in Jesus Ø Rest in His mercy
-- We can believe in Jesus' work on the
cross and it is good enough for God to get us to heaven. Nevertheless, His
goal for us in this life is still to practice the law through the members of
our bodies. If you keep reading to verse 31 of this chapter, it says that we
establish the law through faith. The best way to put it is: we inadvertently
full the law as we believe in Jesus. This is the kind of faith that can prove
its existence; it is a complete faith that can also complete us. Think of it
as a circle. Faith without works is a broken circle, whereas works completes
the circle; therefore, works completes our faith. Remember what James said (Jm
2-26), "Faith without works is dead," but Paul hear in Romans wants
to separate the two to emphasize the significance of faith, so that we can
know beyond the shadow of a doubt that faith is the active ingredient and that
our works cannot save us.
· (119l) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Curse of God is
broken Ø Curse of the law is broken --
These verses go with verse 21
Rom 3-24,25
· (37g) Judgment of God Ø
Redemption of man Ø His blood is the gift of
His grace
· (120g) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Forgiveness is an act of mercy Ø We have
forgiveness through the blood of Christ
· (207j) Salvation Ø
The salvation of God Ø Salvation verses Ø
The generosity of God’s salvation Ø Salvation
is the gift of God
Rom 3-24
· (31l) Gift of God Ø
Gift of His grace Ø Forgiveness is an act of
God’s grace
Rom 3-25,26
· (41f) Judgment Ø
Satan destroyed Ø Be like Jesus Ø
Righteousness of faith -- These verses go with verses 21&22.
Verse 25 says that God "passed over" our sins. Wasn't there
another time when God passed over the sins of the house of Israel in
the Old Testament? Then-after, they celebrated the Passover for thousands of
years as a memorial to what God did for them in the land of Egypt,
illustrating the significance of that night. The Old Testament Passover was a prototype of
God's New Testament plan of redemption for us through faith in Christ. When you look
at the Passover and Israel's involvement, it
consisted of merely placing a mark of lamb's blood over the doorway or on the
door post of their houses. This simple command from God required a little faith
and even less effort to perform. This is synonymous with having a simple faith in
Christ vs. attempting to fulfill the law outside of faith. God wants us
to live and thus walk by faith in the redemptive blood of Christ which He
poured out for us, that we might simply believe that it has the power to
deliver us from the judgment of God and act as the basis of His forgiveness.
· (244i) Kingdom of God Ø
Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm Ø
Literal manifestations Ø Literal manifestation
of God’s word Ø Manifesting the righteousness
of His kingdom -- These verses go with verse 5
Rom 3-25
· (126i) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Patience Ø
The patience of God Ø God is patient
Rom 3-27
· (77k) Thy kingdom come Ø
Being Humble Before God Ø Having an attitude of
humility
· (84g) Thy kingdom come Ø
Words of your mouth Ø Boasting in men is not
needed
· (119b) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Freedom Ø Law of the Spirit of truth
-- The law of sin and death states that
if you sin, you must die, whereas the law of the Spirit of life states that if
you believe in the blood of Jesus to cleanse you from your sin, you must live.
In case you haven't noticed, God likes to institute laws and let them govern
His creation while He stands back and supervises, as opposed to, for example,
personally making sure everything you drop falls to the floor. Just as
there are hard and fast laws that govern the natural universe, so there are
laws that govern the spiritual universe. And just as He broke the law of sin
and death through the death of His son who died without sin, so shall there
forever remain a rift in that law for us to walk through without fear of death
except for our beastly bodies that we are temporarily borrowing. It remains under
the curse of death, but our spirit that believes in God has been "set
free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the
children of God."
· (205j) Salvation Ø
Salvation is based on God’s promises Ø Faith
versus works Ø The faith of God versus the
faith of men Ø Faith is the law of
righteousness
Rom 3-28
· (108d) Thy kingdom come Ø
Balance Ø Faith is the balance between freedom
and law -- This verse goes with verse 31.
This is such an important verse in our understanding of the grace of God. It
perhaps does the best job of explaining the superior role of faith in the
relationship between faith and works. Paul will eventually make the point in the
book of Romans that we must have both faith and works, but it is not the works
themselves that we are after, but the faith that generates the works.
· (205h) Faith Versus Works
(Key verse)
· (205k) Salvation Ø
Salvation is based on God’s promises Ø Faith
versus works Ø The faith of God versus the faith
of men Ø Faith versus the law -- This
verse goes with verses 19&20
Rom 3-29 -- No Entries
Rom 3-30
· (255i) Trinity Ø
Father, Son and Holy Spirit Ø Three in one Ø
God is one
Rom 3-31
· (6e) Responsible to advocate God’s cause Ø
Rest in Jesus’ yoke – All we have to do is believe God and He,
through our faith, does all the work. That is not to say that we do no work at
all, but that our work becomes the work of God, as our will blends to His.
· (11d) Servant Ø
The law is our standard of conduct – Many people find this to be a
difficult topic to understand, because they can’t make up their minds about
whether the law is still in effect or not. Let me ease your mind once and for
all and plainly tell you that the law, being true, will always be true. One of
the essential characteristics of the truth is that it never stops being true,
just like the law will forever remain in effect throughout all eternity. To put
that statement to the test ask yourself if you can imagine a time or an era when
it will no longer be necessary to love the Lord your God with all your heart,
soul, strength and mind. If you cannot imagine a time when that will no longer
be necessary, then the law will always remain in effect. The question is not
whether the law has been abolished, but how we are called to fulfill it; this
verse says through grace. But what does that mean? Keep studying!
· (90b) Keeping The Law
(Key verse)
· (90j) Thy kingdom come Ø
Keeping the law Ø We do not nullify the law
through faith; we fulfill it
-- What good
thing can you do that is not covered by the law? Walking in the Spirit is the
new covenant manner of fulfilling the law. It is defined as: listening for God
in our hearts and doing what He says. This requires time and effort in the word
of God and prayer, and practice in listening for His voice. After walking by the Spirit for a while,
we will notice that the works of the Spirit and the requirements of the law are
in complete harmony. That is, God's Spirit will lead us to avoid coveting our neighbor's things
including His wife. The Holy Spirit will lead us to
love the Lord our God with all our heart and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
In other words, He will lead us to fulfill all the things the law covers and
more.
· (108d) Thy kingdom come Ø
Balance Ø Faith is the balance between freedom
and law -- This verse goes with verse 28.
There are some people who believe the law is abolished, and they also believe we
have no obligation to produce any fruit (good works) through faith. Those
who adhere to this theology are called Lascivious by the Bible; that is,
to have a license to sin. This attitude comes from a distorted definition of
freedom. The Bible teaches that an unproductive faith is the same as having none
at all. If your faith has not changed you in any way, then how do you know you
believe? Just because you believe a set of facts about God doesn't mean you have
faith. However, we shouldn't practice the works of the law as evidence of our
faith. Faith produces works, not the other way around. Those whose theology lead
them to practice the law to prove their faith are considered legalistic, seeking
the favor of God through the law. Biblical faith then is the balance between lasciviousness
and legalism.
Rom 4,1-16
· (205j) Salvation Ø
Salvation is based on God’s promises Ø
Faith versus works Ø The faith of God versus
the faith of men Ø Faith is the law of
righteousness -- These verses go with verses 18-22.
If you don't see faith as the law of righteousness, then you must see it as
the law of commandments (from Moses). Following the written law is what characterizes the
faith of men. In contrast, hearing the voice of God and obeying it is what characterizes the faith of God.
Remember our father, Abraham, how he heard God's voice; he was led to go on
a long journey far from his home and countrymen, and from that point his
life changed forever. Had Abraham not gone, would he have still
believed? How could He? Nevertheless, Paul in Romans here is focusing on
Abraham's faith and ignoring his feet to show that going to a distant
country doesn't make you great in the eyes of God, unless you are led by the
Holy Spirit to go there. It is hearing and believing the voice of the Spirit
that defines the faith of God, our feet merely involve the rest of our body
in believing what we have seen and heard.
Rom 4,1-5
· (1h) Responsibility Ø
Carrying a false burden by serving God in ignorance Ø
Not knowing His will – Anyone who works for his salvation is
carrying a false burden, because God does not recognize such labor as faith.
We are accustom to performing some kind of action in association with
expecting a desired result, but when we are called on to merely believe God
it is foreign to us. We are not used to sitting down and letting God do the
work. We are more acquainted to working for a living and paying for
everything we have. However, when working with God, we must trust that He
has taken care of everything.
· (3a) Responsible to avoid offending God Ø
Get out of His way Ø Do not seek your own
righteousness
· (174d) Works of the devil Ø
The religion of witchcraft Ø Form of
godliness Ø Self righteousness Ø
Trying to please God by your own good works -- These verses go with
verses 13&14
· (176d) Works of the devil Ø
The religion of witchcraft Ø Zeal without
knowledge (Spirit w/o the word) Ø Conviction
without commandment
Rom 4,2-5
· (41f) Judgment Ø
Satan destroyed Ø Be like Jesus Ø
Righteousness of faith -- These verses go with verses 9-25
Rom 4-5
· (231d) Kingdom of God Ø
God’s kingdom is a living organism Ø God’s grace is the mystery of
godliness Ø Having favor with God is a mystery --
This verse goes with verse 13. How could God forgive us just because we
believe certain things about Him and about ourselves? First off, there is no
way He could base salvation on our works, since there is nothing we can do to
justify ourselves in His sight, since it was our works that brought
enmity between us and God in the first place. Secondly and more importantly,
everything God does is based on faith, so to believe in God is to be more
God-like than anything else we could do. Take the biblical record of creation
for instance; Genesis 1-3 says, Let there be light and light was." Then
the Faith Chapter, Heb 11-3 says, "By faith we understand that the worlds
were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of
things which are visible." So God spoke these things into existence
through His word. That is what we do when we confess Jesus Christ as the Lord
of our lives. We speak our salvation into existence through faith in the
cross, because God said if we did, He would save us. In as much as the
creation itself is a mystery, so having favor with God is also a
mystery.
Rom 4,6-8
· (120f) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø
Forgiveness is an act of mercy Ø God passes
over our sins -- See Rom 3-25,26 for
commentary
Rom 4,9-25
· (41f) Judgment Ø
Satan destroyed Ø Be like Jesus Ø
Righteousness of faith -- These verses go with verses 2-5
Rom 4,9-16
· (250g) Priorities Ø
God’s prerequisites Ø Sequence of priorities Ø
Spiritual then the natural (Faith then the promise)
-- Try to imagine what would have happened had
Abraham quit believing God. He was simply expected to believe the promise that
God would give him a son. Had Abraham quit believing, he would have been
utterly shocked at Sarah's pregnancy, and he would have lost the promise
associated with the miracle of Isaac his son, had he been born at all.
Throughout Abraham's relationship with Isaac, he would have felt estranged,
disassociated and disengaged from his son's significance as the fulfillment of
God's promise that He had abandoned. Guilt would have inlaid his soul, which would have had a greater
impact on his heart than the joy of a new son and being on track with the
spirit of an all-powerful God who was trying to communicate with him. In
short, He simply would not have had a relationship with God, nor would he have
understood anything about Isaac, who probably would have felt like a fulfilled
promise that was botched. However, in hope against hope Abraham continued to
believe and his faith gave glory to God, and so does ours. There are things
for which we wait patiently our whole lives to see its fulfillment, such as
heaven itself. Do not ever quit believing in God, for there is no reward for
unbelief.
Rom 4,9-13
· (190h) Die to self (Process of substitution) Ø
Separation from the old man Ø
Circumcision is a sign of obedience Ø
Circumcision is a sign of believing
-- According to Strong's Greek dictionary, the
word Seal means, "As fencing in or protecting from
misappropriation; by implication, the stamp impressed (as a mark of privacy, or genuineness), literally or
figuratively." This means that circumcision acted as God's stamp of
approval on Abraham and on those who exhibited the kind of faith that Abraham
lived. The big question that Paul poses is whether Abraham was circumcised
before or after receiving God's blessing of faith reckoned as righteousness;
the answer turns out that he was circumcised after he believed. The
significance of believing before circumcision demonstrates that the blessing
comes through faith and not through the works of the law. Circumcision
originates from the law, since it is something God commands Israel to do,
whereas faith is not of the law. The faith of Abraham was a matter of trusting
that what he heard was God and then trusting that God was not leading him
astray or being malicious about asking him to pickup and move to a foreign
country for no reason of his own. The act of moving to a foreign country was
Abraham's work of faith, which is one and the same with his faith, but miles
apart from the works of the law. A person can impersonate the works of the law
without faith in God, but faith performs the works of the law by nature.
Rom 4,11-17
· (210i) Salvation Ø
Jews and gentiles are being saved Ø Salvation
is from the Jews Ø Jews are believers
Rom 4,13-22
· (71g) Authority Ø
Ordained by God’s sovereign will Ø God
chooses you
Rom 4,13-18
· (36g) Gift Ø
God opens His home to us Ø Inheritance Ø
We heirs through faith
Rom 4-13,14
· (151b) Witness Ø
Validity of the Father Ø New Testament bears
witness of the Old Ø The Patriarchs Ø
Abraham -- These verses go with verses 18-22
· (174d) Works of the devil Ø
The religion of witchcraft Ø Form of godliness Ø
Self righteousness Ø Trying to please God by
your own good works -- These verses go with verses 1-5
Rom 4-13
· (231d) Kingdom of God Ø
God’s kingdom is a living organism Ø Mystery
of godliness Ø God’s grace is the mystery of
godliness Ø Having favor with God is a mystery
--
This verse goes with verse 16
Rom 4-15
· (52c) Judging Church with world Ø
Law judges sin Ø Power of sin is the law
· (118k) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Freedom Ø
Law of the spirit Ø Law of liberty
-- It says here, "where there is no law,
neither is there violation," suggesting that the law is no longer in
affect as though it has been abolished. You can look at it in two ways,
either that it has been abolished, in the sense that we are no longer using it
to achieve its standard, or that it has not been abolished, since we are inadvertently
fulfilling its requirements through faith. Either way, you can look at like a
train that has switched tracks and is now riding on a new set of tracks that
run parallel to the old ones. The train is still going in the same direction
and has the same final destination, but is no longer using the old set of
tracks (the law) to get there. God has laid a new, better set of tracks that
run through tunnels instead of going over impassible mountain ranges, and that
run across bridges instead of through deep, rugged valleys. The fact is the
law is still in affect, but not necessarily for us, but for those who reject
the faith and the grace of God, that they might be judged by it. So, the law
is associated with condemnation, whereas faith, being the law of liberty, is
associated with justification.
Rom 4,16-25
· (32l) Gift of God Ø
Father will honor your devotion to Him Ø He
will honor your faith
Rom 4-16
· (31h) Gift of God Ø
Grace Ø Salvation Ø
The ministry of reconciliation
· (231d) Kingdom of God Ø
God’s kingdom is a living organism Ø Mystery
of godliness Ø God’s grace is the mystery of
godliness Ø Having favor with God is a mystery
--
This verse goes with verses 19-22
Rom 4-17
· (38c) Judgment Ø
Jesus defeated death (Satan) Ø Resurrection
overcomes death -- This verse goes with verses 23-25
· (150h) Witness Ø
Validity of Jesus Christ Ø Works of the church
bear witness of Jesus Ø Speak the word of the
Spirit Ø
Speaking the words that God speaks
· (212a) Sovereignty Ø
God is infinite Ø He is the creator Ø
The creation glorifies God Ø The creation
exemplifies God’s sovereignty
Rom 4,18-22
· (87h) Thy kingdom come Ø
Obedience is logical to your spirit Ø Obey God
in spite of your carnal mind
· (98i) Thy kingdom come Ø
Endurance Ø (Faith à
Suffering [Integrity] à Glory [Reward])
· (102m) Thy kingdom come Ø
Faithfulness (Loyalty) Ø Loyalty is unswerving
· (103m) Thy kingdom come Ø
Purifying process Ø Purified by circumstances Ø
Purified through faith
-- Sometimes it isn't easy to believe in
God, depending on what we are believing about Him, which so often depends on
our circumstances. Sometimes the easiest thing to believe is the
hardest thing to do. For example, believing your wife will someday have a baby
is relatively easy, but compound that with being very old,
and having believed it for years. Now it isn't so easy. However, it is possible
to believe. It is possible to believe anything, but not everything we believe
will come to pass, only those things that God Himself said would happen, such
as the experience that Abraham had. Abraham was minding his own business one
day, when God spoke to Him and began telling him all the things he was going
to do and all the things that were going to happen to him in the future. In
order for him to see them come to pass, he would need to believe for a long
time what God said would happen. God determines when things should transpire.
He allows time to test the visions of every visionary and purify those visions
along with the one who sees them until it is time to produce what was
promised. Faith and wisdom are heightened to a level great enough to play our
part to help complete the vision successfully.
· (107a) Thy kingdom come Ø
Truth Ø Word creates faith Ø
Getting a rhema from God
-- The term "Rhema" means to
hear the voice of the Spirit in your heart, as opposed to merely reading the
words of the Bible. The two should complement one another. This often happens while
you are reading the Bible, when you get a sense of inspiration. However, a
rhema is one that typically adds direction to your life, changing it forever.
It is more that just a good feeling.
· (147b) Witness Ø
Validity of Jesus Christ Ø Jesus’ works bear
witness of Himself Ø Remember the Father’s
miracles
· (151b) Witness Ø
Validity of the Father Ø New Testament bears
witness of the Old Ø The Patriarchs Ø
Abraham -- These verses go with verses 13&14
· (194a) Die to self (Process of substitution) Ø
Turn from sin to God Ø Run to God Ø
Run the race that is set before us
· (205j) Salvation Ø
Salvation is based on God’s promises Ø Faith
versus works Ø The faith of God versus the
faith of men Ø Faith is the law of
righteousness -- These verses go with verses 1-16
· (234g) Kingdom of God Ø
Pursuing the kingdom Ø Invest in the kingdom Ø
Sold out Ø Placing no boundaries on your
commitment to God Ø Completely given over to
the will of God
Rom 4,19-25
· (12c) Servant Ø
Examples of God’s people Ø Abraham is our
example of faith
· (86b) Thy kingdom come Ø
Belief Ø Treating the knowledge of God as
fact Ø Believing is the result of the
resurrection
Rom 4,19-22
· (81f) Thy kingdom come Ø
Pray without ceasing Ø Obedience through
continuous prayer
· (122a) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø
Confidence in God Ø Confidence in the word of
God
· (231d) Kingdom of God Ø
God’s kingdom is a living organism Ø Mystery
of godliness Ø God’s grace is the mystery of
godliness Ø Having favor with God is a mystery --
These verses go with verse 5
Rom 4-19,20
· (232b) Kingdom of God Ø
Pursuing the kingdom Ø Seeking the kingdom Ø
Count the cost Ø The cost is more than you can
imagine so don’t count
Rom 4-20
· (161b) Works of the devil Ø
Essential characteristics Ø Satan’s attitude
determines our direction Ø
Wandering from the character of God Ø Wandering
from the faith
· (203b) Denying Christ Ø Dishonor God by your unbelief
· (233h) Kingdom of God Ø
Pursuing the kingdom Ø Seeking the glory of God
Ø Seek His glory without wavering Ø
Seek His glory by faith
Rom 4-21
· (213d) Sovereignty Ø
God is infinite Ø God is all powerful Ø
Christ subjects the creation to Himself
-- Having never seen Him, Abraham believed in
the power and integrity of God and was convinced by merely hearing His voice
that He was capable of performing any miracle and fulfilling every promise He
spoke. That denotes a powerful voice that Abraham heard. This too is another
way to determine whether you have actually heard the voice of the living God,
if it shakes you to your core. Mary, the mother of Jesus is another icon of
the Bible who had the faith of Abraham, who received a promise that she too
would bear a son, only instead of the miracle being about a barren womb and
her age (as it was with Abraham and Sarah) it was about the method of
conception and about the child who would result from it. The angel, Gabriel,
visited Mary and told her what was going to happen, and her response in Lk
1-38 was, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to
thy word. And the angel departed from her." In stark contradiction Zacharias
was the father of John the Baptist, who didn't start out with the same kind of
faith that his son would have, for he questioned the angel saying in Lk 1-18,
"Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well
stricken in years." Mary questioned the angel too, not his credibility,
but more the mechanics of the miracle asking, "How will this be, since I
am a virgin,?" Lk 1-34. While the two questions posed to the angel appear
similar, they are light-years apart in their intent. One is seeking
information to strengthen her faith, and the other is questioning the
credentials of the messenger.
Rom 4,22-24
· (141i) Witness Ø
Validity of Jesus Christ Ø Old Testament bears
witness to the new Ø Old Testament is for our
instruction Ø Teaching from the Old Testament
Rom 4,23-25
· (38c) Judgment Ø
Jesus defeated death (Satan) Ø Resurrection
overcomes death -- These verses go with verse 17
Rom 4-25
· (209i) Salvation Ø
The salvation of God Ø Jesus is our sacrifice Ø
Jesus paid the price for us Ø Jesus paid our
ransom with His own blood
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