After 40 weeks…we are drawing to a close in our study of the book of Romans.
Paul’s letter to the church at Rome is filled with Biblical principles and doctrine to ensure that not only that church but every church in every age would have the knowledge necessary to be grounded in solid biblical truths.
That’s the problem with the church today…it’s gotten away from teaching sound doctrine…church leaders becoming increasingly passive or silent on controversial issues and worse yet…Pastors who want to engage in politics from the pulpit on matters that distract from their mission.
They spend most of their sermon time spouting misinformation and conspiracy nonsense rather than mentioning the forgiveness of sins…the resurrection of the body…or eternal life.
What happens is the Church gradually becomes so concerned about their public image that they fail to implement the most fundamental law of biblical exegesis …that Scripture is to be interpreted in accordance with the intent of the writer… when they fail to do that…they exchange the truth of God for a lie.
As painful as it is for a Pastor you can’t just ignore or brush over difficult topics in the Bible…you have an obligation to share those with your Church…exactly what Paul is doing in Romans…the fundamental teachings of Scripture.
Paul explains his reason for writing the book of Romans it was twofold:
–His PURPOSE is to remind the Roman Christians of the fundamentals of faith…to avoid what I just referred to.
–His MOTIVATION was to carry out his God-given mission to the Gentiles.
That should be the same purpose and motivation for every Christian…as Christians we have an obligation to know the fundamentals of the Christian faith …when we lack knowledge of the fundamentals of Christianity we leave ourselves open for false teaching.
For the past 40 weeks we’ve looked at what Paul defines as the fundamentals of the Christian faith…far too often Christians find themselves like the Sadducees who didn’t know the Scriptures or the power of God [Mark 12:24].
How sad it is for us who profess Jesus to actually know very little about the person we’re wanting to spend eternity with…failing to do what the writer of Hebrews says we are to do…to move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ [Heb 6:1] …and move forward towards Christian maturity.
Last week we looked at how Paul described this church…a church that was full of goodness…filled with all knowledge…and able to counsel one another in the deep problems of life.
Now…you would think a church with those attributes would hardly need anything more said to them…BUT…we all at times need to be reminded about the principals of Christianity…hence, Paul’s reason for writing Romans [15:15].
I have written (to) you …to remind you of them again
I want us to focus on that single verse today…I believe Paul is thinking about all the themes he has mentioned thus far throughout this book and the importance of remembering them so we can maintain a biblical worldview of how God functions in a sinful world.
Some of the themes we have looked at over the course of the last 10 months have included the fundamentals of the Christian faith…all from Romans.
If all you had was the book or Romans, you would be well-versed in the biblical principles that define how God deals with His creation.
Our natural inclination is to sin—there is none who does good [Rom. 3:12]
The consequence of sin is death—wage of sin is death. [Rom 6:23]
In the Bible there are 7 different kinds of death mentioned:
spiritual death (Gen 2:17)…physical death (Heb 9:27; John 11:11-17) …eternal death (Rev 20:14; Matt 25:46)…positional death (Rom 6:3-6; Gal 2:2)…relational death (Luke 15:24; 1 Tim 5:6; Rev 3:2-3)…operational death (Jas 2:14-26; Heb 6:1; 9:14) …sexual death (Rom 4:17-19). https://redeeminggod.com/dead-new-testament/
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Here Paul is referring to physical death…something we will all experience.
In chapter [3:9-19] Paul lays out the charge…the indictment…and the verdict for every person who has ever lived:
THE CHARGE — All have sinned. (Rom. 3:23)
THE INDICTMENT — Whole world is accountable to God (Rom. 3:10-18).
THE VERDICT — GUILTY (Rom. 3:19)
God provided a way to save us—Christ died for the ungodly [Rom. 5:6]
By believing and accepting Jesus as Savior we are saved [Rom. 10:13].
We are no longer condemned but declared righteous—[Rom 8:1] Jesus’ righteousness is credited to—those who believe [Rom 4:23]
Having been justified by faith— we have peace with God [Rom 5:1]
It is at that exact instant…when we by faith accept Jesus as Savior…that He performs a number of things for us:
We are justified…referred to as saved…all sins are forgiven.
We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit [1 Cor. 3:16] …He takes up residence in us…He lives within every believer.
We are baptized in the Spirit [1 Cor. 12:13] …into one single spirit of unity… we all equally belong to Christ which makes us all equal members of one body.
We are sealed by the Spirit [Eph. 1:13] …as a result nothing can separate us from God’s love [Rom. 8:31-39].
With respect to Paul’s motivation…for preaching was…his desire was to carry out his God-given mission to the Gentiles…Paul was fully aware of his purpose…a purpose that was evident to him at the time of his conversion.
Something I frequently mention in my sermons…I can’t think of anything more important as a Christian than being aware of God’s purpose for you in this life…and fulfilling that purpose…SO…with regards to God’s purpose…how do I know if God is telling me to do …or not to do something?
What we are not to do is to expect to hear directly from God…God is not going to have a conversation with you…I always love it when people say these Christianese terms: ‘well God spoke to me and said this’ …or ‘I’m seeking to hear a word from the Lord.’ …or ‘I just feel it in my spirit’ …I always have to say, ‘well what did God tell your spirit and how did He tell it to you?’
If you’re waiting to hear from God audibly…or from an angel…or in a vision or dream…you may be disappointed.
Here’s the problem when people respond with… ‘Well, God told me this…or God revealed this to me’ …most of the time it’s because they’re trying to sound extra-spiritual…or implying they’re some kind of a super-Christian.
Here’s the issue…what God ‘tells’ one person…especially regarding Scripture and what He tells another person often contradicts each other…how can that be?…here’s why…TWO THINGS:
- These ‘revelations’ prove to be divisive as one person’s experience seeks to take precedence over another’s.
- Or…far too often the response they think they hear from God is nothing more than their own personal desire. The result is chaos.
God does not give people a direct…individual…unmistakable call to a particular job or profession…what He does do is give guidance in less dramatic ways.
• Coincidences: when things happen without planning it… Albert Einstein: “Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.” No such thing as luck in the life of a Christian.
• The Written Word: The Bible is God’s primary source of information to us… the most obvious way God speaks to us is through Scripture…the more you know the easier it is for God to communicate to you.
• The Holy Spirit: God often speaks to us by the inner witness of the Holy Spirit to our spirit (Rom. 8:14-16).
Earlier I referred to those who say ‘I just feel it in my spirit’ as if the Holy Spirit is personally guiding them…they mistakenly think that their thoughts are God’s thoughts…that God’s leading them to believe something is true …as if their feelings come straight from God when more realistically…it’s the result of their own personal desires.
There’s a difference between how they feel and how God feels.
So how does that ‘Spirit-leading-me thing’ work?…as believers we must learn to pay attention to the lack of peace we feel in our spirits…at times that lack of inward peace is God’s way of alerting us that something isn’t right.
Goes back to how God speaks to us by the inner witness of His Spirit to our spirit.
It’s what’s referred to as that ‘still small voice’ that can often only be heard by what you sense in your heart…if you’re lacking peace regarding something in your life it could be God’s way of saying proceed with caution or even stop.
• God speaks Through People…preachers…friends…family…through your spouse…kids… associates…and even your enemies…through anyone…God does speak through all those ways.
BUT…CAUTION…you can be assured that you have not heard God’s voice if what you’ve been told in any way contradicts His word.
• Through Our Conscience: an inner awareness of what is right and wrong.
NOW…With respect to God’s purpose for your life…Christians sometimes think that if God calls them to some job, it will be something they hate…that God is going to call you to some faraway place to be a missionary in a country that has no running water or electricity.
The calling of a missionary is a specific call to do a specific task…the best missionaries have a great desire for the place God has placed them in…and for the people they serve…it’s not something done with regret.
The job that God is guiding you towards will more than likely be a job you will find a deep desire for in your heart…here’s what’s even better…the joy and desire that you experience as you fulfill God’s purpose in your life will continue into heaven…SO…what is heaven like? The Bible gives us some clues.
- All believers will receive resurrected bodies [1 Cor. 15:42] …we will not be floating around like Casper the Ghost.
- We will never experience death…sorrow…pain…or getting older.
- We don’t become angels when we die…angels are created beings.
- What we do take into Heaven
People often quote [Job 1:21] “Naked I came into the world and naked I will return’…to validate that we take nothing into Heaven when we go…NOT wanting to contradict that statement I’d like to clarify it…you do take something with you into Heaven.
ONE thing you take into Heaven is your personality…death is a relocation of the same person from one place to another…everyone will not be the same in heaven…just like we’re not all the same in this life…we will be individual people …the place changes but the person remains the same.
SECOND thing I think you take into Heaven is your prayer list…those you have prayed for who are still on earth…I believe those who have departed before us and are in Heaven can and do pray for us.
Scripture tells us that ‘He (Jesus) ever lives (in Heaven) to make intercessions for the saints’ [Heb 7:25] …if Jesus is praying for us in Heaven is it too far a stretch to believe that those who are with Jesus are praying for us as well?
THIRD thing I believe we take into Heaven with us is our knowledge of the Bible…it’s common to hear people say… ‘We don’t understand now, but in Heaven we’ll know everything…NO you won’t.
When we die, we’ll see things far more clearly and we’ll know much more than we do now…but we’ll never know everything…only God is omniscient.
We won’t ever know everything, and even what we will know, we won’t know all at once…we will forever be learners…few things excite me more than that.
The FOURTH thing is the memories and experiences you had with Jesus while here on earth…you will have the opportunity to personally thank Jesus for all the times He intervened in your life…I will forever be grateful that God chose me and allowed me to preach His Word.
The FIFTH thing will be all the people you had a hand in winning to Christ …all those you prayed for or shared the plan of salvation with will want to thank you for your effort.
Every person here this morning is here because someone prayed for you…when you get to Heaven you can personally thank them for their perseverance.
- We won’t be tempted
But we will never forget the ugliness of sin…what it caused…and what it cost. - We will have work to do.
Work that will be satisfying and enriching…work that will never be drudgery… work that will be to God’s glory…if you experienced serving with joy on earth that will only increase in heaven. [Rev 22:3]. - We will recognize one another.
Scripture gives no indication of a memory wipe that will cause us not to recognize family and friends…it will be a time for reunion…we will be able to identify everyone in heaven [1 Thess. 4:17]. - We will feast in heaven…in Revelation John mentions the wedding feast or marriage supper of the lamb [Rev. 19:7-9].
- We will worship in Heaven…[Rev. 7:9-10].
Those are some of the things you can count on happening in Heaven.
The SECOND thing the Roman Christians needed in addition to being reminded of the main themes of the Bible was to be mindful that we are to live our lives in a manner worthy of Christ’s calling…being an example for others to live by.
Paul was called by God…as a minister of Jesus…[16] he was to be an example of how we are to live as strangers in this world…and at the same time to fulfill God’s purpose.
God didn’t just save us for Heaven…he saved us to live for Him and to work for Him.
That’s why Paul could boast…not arrogantly…but in being proud of what he had accomplished…I have reason to be proud of my work for God [17].
Paul was proud of what Christ had accomplished through him…Paul’s intent was that through his efforts as a minister of Jesus to the Gentiles…they might become an offering acceptable to God [16].
What does it mean to bring an offering that is acceptable to God?
Early in the book of Genesis is the story of two brothers who brought their offering to God…God accepted Abel’s and rejected Cain’s…WHY?
When you first read that you think… ‘that’s not fair’ …and the answer most often taught which is just as unfair to God…is that Cain’s offering was inadequate because it wasn’t an animal sacrifice…that’s not the reason.
It’s why God rejects people’s offering today…here’s the whole point in making an offering to God…any offering…it’s not bringing something we can afford…or something we don’t want…or something that makes us happy.
Cain’s attitude and motivation were all wrong…that’s why God rejected his offering. https://ready4eternity.com/the-real-reason-god-rejected-cains-offering/
Paul’s life was about proclaiming the gospel…his attitude and motivation was to serve God in a manner that would glorify God…that was his offering to God.
This goes back to Romans 12:1
I urge you…to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
In every New Testament letter there is an emphasis for us to be exactly what Paul did…as believers to be…examples in speech…conduct…in love…in faith …and in purity [1 Tim. 4:12].
We may have answered the call to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior…two things:
FIRST…does our life reflect that decision…are we truly living changed lives or are we still following the old…habits…patterns and attitudes of our former life?
SECONDLY…have we dedicated our lives as a living sacrifice…with the intent of serving God in a manner that would glorify Him?
This goes back to the opening statement Paul made to the Roman Church…same thing he is wanting us to be mindful of…that we remember the fundamentals of our faith and not to be led astray by erroneous teaching or beliefs.
I have written you quite boldly on some points, to remind you of them again.” [15:15].
Key Takeaways
- Don’t lose sight of these key truths…they are an anchor for your faith.
- Like Paul…boast in what Jesus has done in and through you as a testimony to the power and goodness of God.
- Ministry is a lifestyle and it’s never done. We should always have ambition to continue to finish what God has called us to do.
- Strengthen one another as we minister to one another.