7/30/13

From Gary... The lines of God

Yesterday, I turned my hands palm up and was a little surprised at what I saw. My hands were not the hands I remember from my youth- They were like Hubert Yankee's hands!!! Now, Hubert lived around the block from us in Valley Falls and he was a mechanic at Thompson's mill (which processed burlap). He was a quiet man, respected for both his sensibility and abilities. These things were only exceeded by his kindness and generosity. Most of all though, I remember his hands. Worn, scarred from decades of hard use, they were filled with the most pronounced lines I have ever seen in a human being. Somehow, those lines seemed etched his heart as well. For of all the people who lived near the bridge in Valley Falls, I remember him the most. In reality he was an unimportant, hard working mechanic, but to me he was a model of everything a husband and father should be. And then I remembered the words of the sixteenth Psalm...

Psalm 16

1 Preserve me, God, for in you do I take refuge.

2 My soul, you have said to Yahweh, “You are my Lord.

Apart from you I have no good thing.”

3 As for the saints who are in the earth,

they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight.

4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied who give gifts to another god.

Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer,

nor take their names on my lips.

5 Yahweh assigned my portion and my cup.

You made my lot secure.

6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places.

Yes, I have a good inheritance.

7 I will bless Yahweh, who has given me counsel.

Yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons.

8 I have set Yahweh always before me.

Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoices.

My body shall also dwell in safety.

10 For you will not leave my soul in Sheol,

neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption.

11 You will show me the path of life.

In your presence is fullness of joy.

In your right hand there are pleasures forever more.

This English Rose is beautiful to me; not only for the quality of the picture, but for the lines. You see, if a life is lived with God, then it changes you, molds you and you change into a creation of The Almighty. Your lines, whether on the face, hands or anywhere are just an indication that you have lived. And if God is with you, you have an inheritance, a blessing, a future!!!

The Apostle Peter puts it this way...

1 Peter, Chapter 1

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy became our father again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that doesn’t fade away, reserved in Heaven for you, 5 who by the power of God are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

May you live with the daily presence of the Almighty and may your lines be beautiful!!!

PS. Here is a picture of Valley Falls, New York from the 19th century- We lived on the left side of the bridge, on the North side (Thompson's mill [built after this photo]) was on the right...

From Jim McGuiggan... Jesus: His Person and Self-awareness

Jesus: His Person and Self-awareness

I've combined earlier bits and pieces in the hope of doing a better job in expresing myself. You who are interested, see what you think.

1. I believe that "Jesus" is God being a man. I believe it is absolutely true that Jesus is God being a man but I also believe that he is God being a man and only a man.

2. In being the man Jesus, God is not being a "God-man" or something other than simply a man. [A teacher told me that Jesus was a God-man just as Tarzan was an ape-man. I reminded him that Tarzan was not an ape in any sense. He didn't get the point.]

3. In being the man Jesus, God is not being a "composite being" that is a mixture or blend of God and man, a hybrid—he is being a man, end of story!

4. But the man Jesus is God being the man Jesus. It isn't an angel or some exalted created being that is being Jesus—it is God, nothing other and nothing less than "very God" being a man.

5. The man Jesus is not God being God—he is God being something other than God, something that God is not; he is the man that God is being.

6. The man Jesus exists because God ceaselessly chooses to be the man Jesus. If God ceased to choose to be the man Jesus then the man Jesus would cease to exist.

7. The man Jesus is not a man being a man—he is God being a man. Peter is a man being a man but Jesus is God being a man.

8. When we say "Jesus is God" we need to fill the statement out with something like, "Jesus is God being a man."

9. When you looked at Jesus of Nazareth you saw what God was being. You saw a man, only a man, nothing more than a man, but you were able to see that man only because God was choosing to be that man. The form God took at the virgin birth and continued to choose was the form of a man. In seeing Jesus you saw the man God was choosing to be; a man and nothing more than a man. Once more: not a "composite being" or "a god" but a man, pure and simple. Different from all other men in all the ages because this is the man God chose and chooses to be.

10. Supposing that to be in the neighbourhood of the truth (however limited) it would follow that Jesus' self-understanding as far as it rose from within himself would be that he was a man, pure and simple. He would not be aware that he was the man God was being—unique and unparalleled—unless he learned it from sources outside himself. That is, given the various streams of testimony Jesus being the sanest man alive would say of himself something like, "I am the man God is being." The man is not God and the man God is being—he is the man God is being.

[11. We're not to forget that the man Jesus is not a man being God but he is God being a man. The initiative was and always is in God's hands for it cannot be otherwise.]

12. The one who chooses to be Jesus of Nazareth is God, fully and completely God and not "mostly" God or a "reduced" God or something "less" than fully God.

13. It is critically important that we maintain that Jesus is the incarnation of God in all God's fullness (compare Colossians 2:9). This is vitally important with regard to atonement, reconciliation and the faithful fulfilment of all God's creation purposes. Jesus is "God with us" and not "God [minus elements essential to Godhood] with us".

14. If God could and did dispense with elements essential to Godhood to become incarnate, then it is not "God" who has become incarnate in Jesus. To jettison elements essential to Godhood would be to jettison Godhood and if the Word jettisoned Godhood then Jesus is not "God" with us.

15. No, it is not the Word without elements essential to Godhood that became flesh—it was the one who was equal with God who took the form of a servant (John 1:14 and Philippians 2:6-7). It is God in all his fullness that chooses to be the man in all his completeness. We're to avoid two extremes. We're to insist on the full deity of the One who maintains an incarnate form and we're to insist on the full humanity of the incarnate form he has taken. Neither truth is to be diluted. [See below on "self-emptying.]

16. If Jesus was a man and nothing more than a man (though he is the man God is being) did he not know he was uniquely related to God as his Holy Father? The NT teaches he did know that he was uniquely related to the Holy Father.

17. I don't think there's enough evidence to tell us when Jesus first became aware of his identity or to a full understanding of who he was though there is something revealing about his surprised remark in Luke 2:49 when he is twelve years old. His mother complains that she and his father (Joseph) had been searching for him (she uses an imperfect tense, indicating the ongoing nature of the search) and he wanted to know why they had to do that, should they not have known that he would be in his Father's house. Understandably, Mary called Joseph his father but Jesus' response is about his Father and about his Father ("my") and not just ours. I think Jesus is claiming a Sonship that's of a different order. I don't think that's an over-reading of the text. I think Luke understands Jesus' words as indicating that by twelve years of age Jesus was aware of his unique relationship with the Holy Father.

Taking that to be the case his self-understanding could only have deepened and been enriched as time went by.

18. But how did Jesus become aware of his unique relationship with the Holy Father? In light of my present Christology at this point I'm compelled to think he learned it from sources external to himself. These would include his mother's witness to his birth, the witness of the OT in which he saw himself described, the heavenly witness at his baptism and transfiguration ("direct revelation"), his anointing and empowerment, his life under God and the flow of his life in his ministry. [Though I'm sure he wouldn't share my way of seeing Jesus outlined above I think this is what N.T Wright is saying when he thinks that Jesus learned who he was by his functioning in his life and ministry in ways ascribed to Yahweh in the OT.]

19. Some people think that Jesus might have remembered his pre-incarnate state but that wouldn't be possible if Jesus was simply and solely a man (as I presently hold) because as a human he would not have existed prior to Bethlehem and Mary's womb and therefore would not have had memories of a pre-existent state. The Word existed as God prior to the incarnation but Jesus of Nazareth did not—he was the human that God became at Bethlehem.

20. In keeping with the above, when Jesus said "I", at some point he would have had to think of himself as no ordinary human. He would have known he was fully human in the way other humans were human (compare Hebrews 2:14) but he would also have known he was a unique human (the only human that God was being). He would have thought something like: "I am the man that God is being. God took on my form at my birth at Bethlehem. I am the man that God has chosen and continues to choose to be."

21. But if that's true, he would have known that his existence and continued existence as a human was God's doing. He would have connected himself with the Godhead. "I am the man I am because God is choosing to be me." But in his self-awareness he was aware that he was not the Holy Father being him; but if he knew he was not the Holy Father being him and yet he was God being him it seems he was well aware of what we would call "distinctions of person" within the Godhead.

22. As it's usually stated I'm pretty sure Jesus would have denied the Trinitarian doctrine [on the other hand he might have asked what, exactly, it meant] but I can't help noting that he distinguishes himself from the Father and the Spirit when he speaks of a pre-incarnate relationship—John 17:5. That passage can't be professing that the mortal man, Jesus had glory with the Father before the world began for the man began at Bethlehem in a virgin birth. But in the realisation that in him the pre-existent One has taken human form he's also aware that it is a relational pre-existence and glory. That is, he seems to have known enough to say the glory was "shared" and it was "with" the Father. So some form of the Trinitarian doctrine is involved (when we add the Spirit's presence and "personhood" from other texts). All of this he would have learned and deduced from the many various streams of evidence.

23. Being holy to the uttermost degree and as a consequence, seeing God as only a sinless one could see and understand him and combining his pure vision with other streams of testimony, the speed of Jesus' self-understanding of the purpose and character of God would have been accelerated and refined.

24. I accept the fact that the phrase "the son of God" might mean something less than what we usually mean by it when we speak of Jesus (we usually use it to refer to his divine nature). The phrase the "son of God" can be equivalent in some cases to "Messiah" which has no divine overtones in it but those 1^st century Jews would have been well aware of that and yet when they heard Jesus call God "his" Father they accused him of claiming more than Messiahship—they said he was making himself equal with God (John 5:17-19).

25. The only point I wish to make here from John 5:17-19 is that 1^st century Jews heard Jesus say something about God being his Father and they understood that that claim to Sonship went way beyond mere Messiahship. If 1^st century Jews could think such a thing a 1^st Jesus could also think it and be in step with his time. I repeat, I only want to make the point that they construed what he said as being a claim of equality with God.

26. The Gospels tell their story about Jesus in distinctive ways but they all connect Jesus with the hope of Israel and present him as one who recaps Israel's history, reflecting the nation in its various prominent individuals as well as the nation as a whole. He is brought home from Egypt (see), is proclaimed as God's Son, enters the Wilderness as Israel did (after its baptism—see 1 Corinthians 10:1-2) and is led by the Spirit while there (Luke 4:1 and compare Isaiah 63:12-14) . The illustrations are numerous.

27. At his baptism by John, Jesus is anointed and becomes Israel's Messiah and representative (note that that's where Peter begins the story in Acts 10:37-38). He is personally the Son of God but he is identified as embodying Israel's hopes—Israel, God's son (see Exodus 4:22-23). I mention all this to say that there is more than one layer in the story of Jesus as it's developed in the Gospels.

28. The Holy Father—as Mark 1:11 records it—speaks to Jesus and says, "You are my Son…" Here, if nowhere else, we have an external witness borne to Jesus about who he is. In Luke 1:32 his mother is told that her child would be "the Son of the Most High" and what would make us think she didn't tell him of this? [And if she did tell him would that not affect how he read OT texts like Psalm 2 and other sections about the "coming one" who was Bethlehem born, of the house of David, who would arrive on the scene in the days of the fourth kingdom (the Romans), and so forth?] Now Jesus hears for himself a voice from heaven—a Father's voice—speaking to him and confirming that what his mother (probably) told him again and again and again was true. This might mean that he didn't know this within himself simply by God (within him as part of him) telling it to him all along. That is, if Jesus knew all along that he was the divine Son of God ("the 2^nd person in the Godhead," so to speak) it might appear that the heavenly witness was redundant. Be that as it may, he now has a witness external to himself that what he knew all along by various forms of testimony was indeed true.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Jim McGuiggan.... JESUS: FIRST AND LAST

JESUS: FIRST AND LAST

The early Christians began with the fact of Jesus. To be with him was more than to hear truth revealed; to be in his presence was to be in the presence of revelation—he was revelation!

Anyone who has been on a mountain with the mist all around them, with the shape of things all lost or obscured, knows what it’s like when the sun arises and burns away the mist and there is the real world, in all its grandeur and beauty. Many of us have been blessed to know friends who had that effect on our minds and certainly the early church found it to be true of Jesus.

The news about Jesus spread rapidly across the world, leaping from heart to heart, capturing men and women and when it did, all the supposedly invincible barriers between them turned out to be like mist before the sun.

Temptations of all sorts, habits and patterns of life that were thought to be too powerful or too deeply ingrained were broken to pieces and a new moral dynamic was discovered in experience. Yes, yes, not everyone experienced it as a dramatic and immediate experience but many did and in their tens of thousands they were living proof of what Jesus could do by his Holy Spirit in people’s lives. Paul reminds the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 6:9-11) of what they had been before they met up with Jesus and then he said, “And that is what some of you were but…” Jesus and his Spirit came into their lives and tore down filthy curtains, threw the windows of the heart wide open and let the wind of the Spirit sweep through, forgiving, cleansing and imparting strength and hope.

[But each sinner is unique with his or her own make-up, heritage, shaping and present environment. In some of us sinful patterns are more deeply ingrained and the current we swim against is more powerful than that faced by others. We find our victory over specific sins, sins that throw us down without hardly even trying, so it seems—we find that victory to be long in coming despite our longing for it and despite how powerful we believe Jesus to be and it often worries us. There are some of us whose worry—poor souls—becomes. We see what Jesus has done for others who committed themselves to his redeeming power so we begin to think maybe we aren’t truly Christ’s at all or, at least, that we care very little about holiness. We’re too disappointed in ourselves, too ashamed, too afraid of what others will think if they know the depth and nature of our sinfulness and because we’re swallowed up in thoughts like that, we aren’t able to recognize how profoundly we hate sin and hunger for righteousness. We aren’t able to see that this hatred and hunger is the proof that we have truly committed to Jesus Christ. We ran to him for forgiveness but we ran to him for holy freedom also and because we haven’t yet found the kind of freedom others seem to have found we begin to doubt the forgiveness. Despair sets in and tragically a handful of us can’t bear the burden of such a conflicted life and in our agony we end it and even in that we’re sometimes beaten rather than lamented! (“He should have…She should have…”) True, no doubt but...]

Jesus is the Alpha and Omega. John’s phrase in Revelation but Paul’s truth also in Colossians 1:15-17. God’s first thought was a humanity in the image of Jesus and everything else flowed from that because the eternal purpose of God is summed up in and under Jesus (see Ephesians 1:9-10 and Romans 8:29-30).

We’re not to think of God as a divine Mr. Micawber who began to wring his hands when the rebellious human family wrecked his fine plans and hoped that something would “turn up”. Imagine his surprise and delight when Jesus unexpectedly appeared. No, none of that! God eternally purposed JESUS and all that that name means and in him he finishes the glorious cosmic enterprise and when we see the end of it all we’ll spin like Snoopy in joy-filled delirium. And we’ll rejoice most of all in the fact that we love and rejoice in righteousness more than we ever imagined we could. This is the promise of God signed in Jesus’ blood and confirmed in Jesus glorious life (see Romans 5:9-11 and 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). What he started he will finish! First and last!

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Jim McGuiggan... Jesus, the gods and the Elect

Jesus, the gods and the Elect

Jesus Christ is the judge of this world. His judgement of the world is not something confined to a future day—he has already judged it (see John 12:31 and Acts 17:30-31). He judged it as evil and corrupt by living to please his Holy Father, in all goodness and righteousness. He judged it to be unjust and cruel by honouring and serving the Holy Father's human family, in all holiness and righteousness. He judged it to be destructive and divisive by making the Holy Father's agenda his own—the saving of sinners from their sins and reconciling them to God's holy heart. He judged it to be treacherous and stupid by placing himself in its hands and suffering rejection and death. And he judged it to be ultimately powerless when his Father raised him and exalted him as Lord over it though it had attempted to do away with him. (See Psalm 2:1-12.)

In light of all that, the creation—that has alienated itself from God—stands judged, once and for all. The Prince of that world has been exposed and cast out, once and for all. These realities are not yet future—they already exist! As surely as the sun rises Jesus is Lord of all and he is the conqueror of the world. For him death is no more, for him there are no earthly rulers or invisible powers that are not subject to him. He alone is an immortal human, the new Adam of a new humanity.

His elect are one with him by faith in him; they are the body in which he lives in the world at present until he comes again. Their business is to rehearse his life and proclaim his achievements and they are to do it in their ordinances and liturgy and how they practice righteousness before the world. Their business is more than to be morally upright—God calls the entire human family to that. The business of the elect in Jesus Christ is to be witnesses in the world that Jesus is Lord and they are to do it by "gospeling"—by living out the actuality and meaning of the Lordship of Jesus.

And what the Lordship of Jesus means is not some Liberal interpretation that we should live like Jesus Christ for then we'd have a happier world. [Something we wouldn't doubt for a moment.] Jesus is not some lovely person who when he died left behind him an example of how people should treat one another and though now he lies in some unknown grave he has made an indelible mark on the world.

Jesus is alive! Jesus is the living one who in his own person has already judged the world and will come again to right all wrongs! Jesus has been raised to God's right hand far above all principalities and powers, far above the gods worshiped by the world today, whether Aphrodite, Mars, Bacchus the Boozer or any other. These are no gods though they may be to others. He who has already judged them in his own person holds the world accountable and will come to right all wrongs and usher in justice and righteousness.

The NT elect exists to live that out until he comes!

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Jim McGuiggan... Jesus our Representative

Jesus our Representative

Christ is our model for living as children of the holy Father but we don't save ourselves by pursuing his likeness. That is, we earn nothing by seeking to be conformed to his image. The Hebrew writer (12:14) assures us that if we will not pursue holiness without which no one can "see" the Lord (that is, find favour in his presence) we will miss precisely that--favour in God's presence. But he wouldn't dream of suggesting that our pursuit of holiness in any way makes God our debtor or that in some way we can claim favour in his presence as the due reward for our pursuit. Favour with God begins, is sustained and ends with sheer grace.

But to choose friendship with the world is to make oneself an enemy of God (James 4:4) and "enemies" are what we were before we were reconciled to God in and through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:10). In what sense were we enemies? Was it that we harboured hostility and rebellion toward God, choosing to be the world's friend or was it that God viewed us as his enemies? Surely the answer is that both these are true. From our side there is no doubt, we cherished active hostility and hatred toward God and all he is and delights in but it is certainly possible for a holy and righteous person to recognise someone as his enemy and yet love him. Didn't Christ call us to "love your enemies"? If it's possible for us to recognise people as our enemies and not hold them in contempt and hatred it is certainly possible for God to love us while were were enemies (Romans 5:8-10). It was possible for the prodigal's father to love his child devotedly but still see him as lost and dead.

It's clear from scripture that it is God who works in us to destroy our enmity and bitterness toward him (Hebrews 13:20-21 would illustrate this truth) but while this is true it is also true that he doesn't do it without our trustful submission to his will. Romans 5:10 says we were reconciled to God (a passive verb) and being reconciled (a present participle) we can be sure of ultimate salvation so we rejoice in Christ Jesus through whom we receive the reconciliation (5:11--a verb in the active voice). We actively receive the reconciliation. We are involved in the reconciliation process--we "take" it. We permit ourselves to be reconciled. We do this in and through Jesus Christ in whom is the reconciliation. We do not lay hold on reconciliation apart from him or outside of him. The world is reconciled in a person and it is in him that we humbly come as we are called ("Be reconciled to God!") and receive the reconciliation.

But why is it that reconciliation with God is possible only in and through Jesus Christ? Because Jesus Christ is the atoner and the atonement for sins. He lives and suffers and bears and dies and lives again in man's name as well as for his sake and when we say our "Amen" by faith to God's heart about sin and life and oneness with him our own hearts are realigned with God's. By God's grace we say "Amen" to all that Christ is, has done and is doing in our name as he pays homage to the holy and loving Father and by this we are reflecting God's own heart.

For Jesus Christ is not only the mediator of humans bringing to God in our name his own heart, he is God bringing to humans (but not as an "alien" or "outsider"--John 1:14) his own heart about sin and life and relationship. When by grace we trust Christ as our representative our heart (by faith) is Christ's heart and Christ's is God's and reconciliation is received and accomplished.

So when we say that we must make Christ our model if we are to be saved, reconciled, forgiven or justified it must not be a declaration about how well we imitate him or the degree of our success in following his example. It is not how well we follow him but that we follow him! He would drive us despair if it were necessary to match him as a moral example. No, but we must take him by faith as our representative and our offering because he is what God is worthy of from humans--he and nothing less. He is what we offer because we can't offer ourselves. He is our confession and apology. He doesn't "make up" what we are lacking; he is altogether what we are lacking. When we come offering Jesus Christ "in our stead" we aren't offering someone that exempts us from holy obedience, we offer the model and inspiration for continued and enriched holy obedience.

This is not a legal transaction where sins and forgiveness are transferred as if it were electronic banking we were talking about. Nor is it some sort of illegal legal structure where innocent people are punished so that impenitent criminals can be called "righteous". All this has to do with a dynamic relationship where in and through Jesus Christ by trusting reliance our hearts are actually realigned with God and we have received the reconciliation because we have been conformed to the image of his Son (Romans 8:29). In and through the person of Jesus Christ and by faith in him we are no longer enemies and stand having been reconciled with a reconciliation we embrace with joyful thanks and loving commitment.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Bill Dayton... FINDING TRUE CONTENTMENT

FINDING TRUE CONTENTMENT

In the 23 Psalm, David refers to Jesus as our Good Shepherd. We are the Lord’s beloved sheep (John 10:14), and as such we are to live our spiritual lives totally dependent on Him. In verses 1-3 we learn that as the Lord’s own, He desires us to be completely content and satisfied. David writes” …He leads me beside the still waters.” (vs. 2). In the natural world, any animal is made aware of water lack by thirst. Thirst indicates the need of the body to have its water supply replenished from a source outside itself. Now, just as the physical body has a capacity and need for water, so Scripture points out to us clearly that the human personality, the human soul has a capacity and need for the Spiritual water provided by our Lord that leads to life everlasting. (John 4:14).

When sheep are thirsty they become restless and set out in search of water. If not led to the good water supplies that are pure and clean, they will often end up drinking from polluted pot holes where they pick up parasites and disease. And in precisely the same manner, our Good Shepherd, made it clear that thirsty souls can only be fully satisfied when their great need is fully quenched by drawing on the living water found in Him. Jesus stated in Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they SHALL be filled (satisfied).” At the great feast in Jerusalem He stated boldly: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.” (John 6:35). “To drink” in spiritual terminology simply means to “take in” or “to accept.” This implies that a person assimilates the life of God in Christ to the point where it becomes a part of him. The Word of God is pure (Proverbs 30:5) and fills all our deepest needs.

Our Lord loves to see His children contented, quiet, and at rest. If we find ourselves becoming restless, anxious or in Spiritual need, He is waiting and watching by the still waters.

From Mark Copeland... Two Dilemmas (Romans 7:14-25)

                      "THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS"

                         Two Dilemmas (7:14-25)

INTRODUCTION

1. In Ro 7:14-25 Paul describes a great struggle...
   a. Between one who knows to do good, but cannot do it
   b. Between a desire to keep the law of God, and a war with the law of
      sin

2. This is a challenging passage that contains not one, but two
   dilemmas...
   a. The textual dilemma
   b. The human dilemma

[Dilemma: (informal) any difficult and perplexing situation;
predicament. To appreciate the difficulty of the passage itself, let's
first look at...]

I. THE TEXTUAL DILEMMA

   A. DESCRIBED BY PAUL...
      1. Is it his struggle as a Christian?
         a. The use of first person pronoun ("I", "me", "my") is
            certainly indicative
         b. That Christians so struggle is taught elsewhere - Ga 5:
            16-17; Jm 4:1; 1Pe 2:11
      2. Is it his struggle as a Jew?
         a. While living under the Law of Moses?
         b. Many think so, including myself
      -- So first there is the dilemma of how to understand the text

   B. DETERMINED BY CONTEXT...
      1. Consider the overall context of the book of Romans
         a. Justification by faith in Christ, not by keeping the Law of
            Moses - Ro 3:28-30
         b. The promise to Abraham comes through faith, not the Law - Ro 4:13
      2. Consider the immediate context of chapters 7 and 8
         a. Paul's comments are especially to those who know the law
            - Ro 7:1
         b. Those once married to the Law, die to the law through Christ
            - Ro 7:4
         c. Those once held by the Law have been delivered from the law
            - Ro 7:6
         d. The law referenced to clearly includes the Ten Commandments
            - Ro 7:7
         e. The law, though good, brought death not deliverance - Ro 7:
            7-13
         f. A deliverance appealed to, alluded to, and then explained
            - Ro 7:24-25; Ro 8:1-2,12
      -- The context helps to resolve the textual dilemma

[That Paul is describing the struggle he experienced as a Jew under the
Law becomes more apparent as we now examine the text itself
regarding...]

II. THE HUMAN DILEMMA

   A. DESCRIBED AS A MAN...
      1. Who is carnal, sold under sin - Ro 7:14-15
         a. Desires to good, finds himself unable
         b. Desires to abstain from evil, finds himself unable
      2. Who agrees the law is good, but finds that sins dwells in him
         - Ro 7:16-20
         a. In his flesh nothing good dwells
         b. The desire to do good is present, the ability to perform is
            not
         c. The good he desires he does not, the evil he desires not he
            does
         d. Thus sin dwells in him
      3. Who is enslaved to a "law" (of sin and death, cf. Ro 8:2) - Ro 7:21-23
         a. Where evil is present in one who desires to do good
         b. Where a law in his members (flesh) wages war against the law
            of his mind
         c. Where the law in his members brings him into captivity to
            the law of sin
      4. Who finds himself wretched - Ro 7:24
         a. "O wretched man that I am!"
         b. "Who shall deliver me from this body of death?"
      -- A wretched dilemma: sold under sin, indwelt by sin, enslaved to
         a law of sin!

   B. DELIVERED BY CHRIST...
      1. Expressed in chapter seven - Ro 7:25
         a. By way of anticipation, interrupting his train of thought
         b. "I thank God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
         c. But again, the dilemma:  willing to serve the law of God
            with the mind, but with his flesh he serves the law of sin!
      2. Explained in chapter eight - Ro 8:1-6,11-14
         a. There is no condemnation for those in Christ, provided they
            walk according to the Spirit
         b. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ frees one from
            the law of sin and death!
            1) Christ's death fulfills the righteous requirement (death
               for sin)
            2) Becoming spiritually minded is life and peace, for
               submission to God is now possible
            3) Indwelt by the Spirit, He imparts life to our mortal
               bodies - cf. Ro 6:12-13; Ep 3:16
            4) We are no longer debtors (enslaved) to the flesh, to live
               according to the flesh
            5) By the Spirit we can put to death the deeds of the flesh,
               and live as sons of God!
      -- A blessed condition:  no longer enslaved to sin, but empowered
         by the Spirit!

CONCLUSION

1. In Romans 7, Paul vividly illustrates the weakness of the Law of
   Moses...
   a. The Law was holy, just, and good, but it did not offer true
      deliverance
   b. It did not offer deliverance from the guilt and power of sin - cf.
      Jn 8:34
   c. One can will to do good, but the ability to truly do as one should
      is not there

2. In Romans 8, Paul provides deliverance from this dilemma...
   a. First, no condemnation to those in Christ
   b. Second, empowerment over the flesh by aid of the Holy Spirit
   c. The struggle is still present, but the ability to perform is now
      possible - cf. Ro 7:18 with Ga 5:16

Have you experienced freedom from the guilt of sin through the blood of
Christ (Ep 1:7)?  Are you experiencing freedom from the power of sin
through the indwelling Spirit (Ro 8:12-13)?

Both blessings begin when one receives Christ (and the Spirit) in
baptism... - cf. Ac 2:38; 22:16; Tit 3:5; Ga 4:6; 1Co 12:13

From Mark Copeland... God's Gift Of Eternal Life (6:22-23)

                      "THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS"

                  God's Gift Of Eternal Life (6:22-23)

INTRODUCTION

1. An familiar verse is that found at the end of Romans six...

   "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life
   in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Ro 6:23)

2. This passage is often used to suggest that eternal life is...
   a. A gift given when one becomes a Christian
   b. A gift requiring no effort on the part of the recipient(s)

3. It is true that elsewhere we learn that....
   a. Eternal life is described as a "present possession", enjoyed now
      by the Christian - 1Jn 5:13
      1) Referring to a relationship made possible by knowing God and
         Jesus - cf. Jn 17:2-3
      2) A feature of that which Jesus describes as the "abundant life"
         - cf. Jn 10:10
   b. Salvation is not merited or earned - cf. Tit 3:4-7
      1) Even though it does require obedience - He 5:9
      2) The gospel contains that which must be obeyed - cf. 2Th 1:8;
         1Pe 4:17

4. But in the context of Romans six, the gift of eternal life as
   described by Paul...
   a. Is not a present possession, but something received at the end of
      life! - cf. Ro 6:22
   b. Is received not without effort, but as the result of a holy life!
      - cf. Ro 6:22

[As we carefully consider verse 22 along with the rest of the chapter,
note first that eternal life is...]

I. GIVEN TO THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN SET FREE FROM SIN

   A. BY DYING TO SIN...
      -- Paul begins chapter six by revealing:
      1. One who dies to sin should no longer live in sin - Ro 6:1-2
      2. He who has died has been freed from sin - Ro 6:7

   B. IN BAPTISM...
      -- He then explains how and when one dies to sin:
      1. Where we are baptized into His death - Ro 6:3-4
      2. Where we are united together in the likeness of His death - Ro 6:5
      3. Where our old man was crucified with Him - Ro 6:6
         a. That the body of sin might be done away with
         b. That we should no longer be slaves of sin

[Those who have died to sin in baptism have been set free from sin. But
now note that according to verse 22 eternal life is...]

II. GIVEN TO THOSE WHO HAVE BECOME SLAVES OF GOD

   A. NO LONGER SLAVES OF SIN...
      -- Consider what Paul wrote:
      1. We have died to sin - Ro 6:1-2
      2. We now live with Christ - Ro 6:8-11
      3. We are not to let sin reign and have dominion over us - Ro 6:
         12,14

   B. NOW SLAVES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS...
      -- Consider what is now the duty of Christians:
      1. We are to present ourselves to God as alive from the dead - Ro 6:13
      2. We are to present our members as instruments of righteousness
         to God - Ro 6:13
      3. We have become slaves of righteousness through obedience - Ro 6:16-18

[As slaves of God, we are now to be obedient slaves of righteousness.
From verse 22 we learn that eternal life will therefore be...]

III. GIVEN TO THOSE WHO HAVE THE FRUIT OF HOLINESS

   A. WHO WERE ONCE SLAVES OF SIN...
      -- They were slaves of sin:
      1. When they presented their members as slaves of uncleanness and
         lawlessness - Ro 6:19
      2. When they were free in regard to righteousness - Ro 6:20
      3. When they produced shameful fruit leading to death - Ro 6:21

   B. WHO ARE NOW SLAVES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS...
      -- They are now slaves of righteousness:
      1. For the purpose of holiness - Ro 6:19c
      2. For the fruit leading to holiness - Ro 6:22

[Finally, from verse 22 we learn that for those who have the fruit of
holiness, eternal life is...]

IV. GIVEN AT THE END OF LIFE

   A. AT THE END...
      -- Eternal life is given to those:
      1. Having died to sin - Ro 6:22a,1-11
      2. Having become slaves to God - Ro 6:22b,12-18
      3. Having had the fruit of holiness - Ro 6:22c,19-21

   B. ETERNAL LIFE...
      -- Some observations concerning that which comes at the end:
      1. Some translations say "everlasting life" (KJV, NKJV), but it is
         the same expression translated "eternal life" in verse 23
      2. Here Paul speaks of our "future hope", given at the Judgment:
         a. Of which Jesus often spoke - Mt 25:46; Mk 10:29-30
         b. As Paul did elsewhere - Ro 2:4-7; Tit 1:2; 3:7
         c. Pertaining to that life with God we enter into in the age to
            come - cf. Re 21:3-7

CONCLUSION

1. From our study of the context of Ro 6:22-23, we have seen that
   eternal life is...
   a. Given to those who have been set free from sin
   b. Given to those who have become slaves to God
   c. Given to those who have the fruit of holiness
   d. Given at the end of life

2. If so, then how is eternal life called a "gift" (or "free gift")...?
   a. Because it requires the kindness, love, mercy and grace of God
      - cf. Tit 3:4-7
   b. Despite our obedience, we have not earned or merited this gift of
      eternal life

3. Do we desire to receive "God's Gift Of Eternal Life"?  Then one must
   ask...
   a. Have I been set free from sin by dying to sin in baptism?
   b. Have I become a slave to God, presenting myself as a servant of
      righteousness?
   c. Am I bearing the fruit of holiness in my life?

Let Jesus be your author (source) of eternal life as you humbly obey
Him... - cf. He 5:9; Mk 16:15-16

From Mark Copeland... Shall We Continue In Sin? (Romans 6:1-23)

                      "THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS"

                   Shall We Continue In Sin? (6:1-23)

INTRODUCTION

1. In Romans, Paul addresses the problem of sin...
   a. In the first two and a half chapters, he demonstrates that all
      have sinned - cf. Ro 3:23
   b. In the next two and a half chapters, he declares how we can be
      justified through faith in Jesus Christ - cf. Ro 5:1-2
   c. He concludes that where sin abounded, grace abounded much more
      - Ro 5:20-21

2. Paul then anticipates an erroneous inference...
   a. "Let's continue in sin, that grace may abound!" - Ro 6:1
   a. A conclusion that is repulsive to him - Ro 6:2a

3. Today, many Christians may live in reference to sin as though they
   had the same idea...
   a. Living as though there is no need to be diligent in overcoming sin
   b. Perhaps reasoning, "If I sin, I can simply confess and God will
      forgive"
   -- I.e., continue in sin that grace may abound!

4. Yet a careful study of the sixth chapter reveals why such a thought
   is absurd...
   a. Paul provides four reasons why we should not continue in sin
   b. When understood, they will prompt us to say with Paul:  "Certainly
      not!"

[Shall we continue in sin...?]

I. NO! WE DIED TO SIN! (2)

   A. WE WERE CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST IN BAPTISM (3-4)
      1. Baptism is a burial into the death of Christ
      2. Baptism is where we were crucified with Christ - cf. Ro 6:6
      3. Thus baptism (not repentance) is where we die to sin
      -- Having been crucified with Christ should impact how we live
         - cf. Ga 2:20

   B. WE CAN NOW WALK IN NEWNESS OF LIFE (4-5)
      1. Just as Christ rose from the grave, so we rise from baptism to
         walk in newness of life
      2. We are now a new creation in Christ - cf. 2Co 5:17

   C. WE ARE NO LONGER SLAVES OF SIN (6-7)
      1. The very purpose of dying to sin in baptism, to be free from
         sin!
      2. A point Paul will expound upon later

   D. WE CAN NOW LIVE WITH CHRIST (8-10)
      1. Christ now lives with God in newness of life
      2. Because we died with Christ, so can we! - cf. Ep 2:4-6

[The idea of being alive in Christ leads to Paul's second major point in
response to the question "Shall we continue in sin?"...]

II. NO! WE ARE ALIVE TO GOD! (11)

   A. SIN DOES NOT HAVE TO REIGN IN US (12)
      1. We who were dead in sin can now choose not let it reign in us!
      2. We are no longer debtors to sin - cf. Ro 8:12-13

   B. OUR BODIES CAN NOW BE INSTRUMENTS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (13)
      1. We can present ourselves to God...
         a. As alive from the dead
         b. As instruments of righteousness to Him
      2. I.e., we can now glorify Him even with our bodies - cf. 1Co 6:19-20

   C. GOD'S GRACE FREES US FROM SIN'S DOMINION (14)
      1. Sin no longer needs to be our master
      2. In Christ, we have been set free! - cf. Ro 8:1-2

[This freedom is not license to sin.  On the contrary, consider Paul's
third point in response to the question "Shall we continue in sin?"...]

III. NO! WE ARE TO BE SLAVES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS! (19)

   A. WE ARE SLAVES TO WHATEVER WE OBEY (15-16)
      1. Grace is no excuse to sin
      2. We are either slaves of sin, or slaves of righteousness
      3. If we continue in sin, we once again become slaves of sin!
         - cf. Jn 8:34
      4. For Christians to continue in sin makes things worse - cf. 2 Pe 2:20-22

   B. WE BECAME SLAVES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (17-18)
      1. We were slaves of sin
      2. But when we obeyed from the heart the doctrine (i.e., the
         gospel which commands baptism), we were set free from sin
         a. Not just sin's condemnation - cf. Ac 2:38; 22:16; Ro 8:1-2
         b. But also sin's dominion - cf. Ro 8:12-13
      3. We were set free from sin so we could become slaves of
         righteousness!

   C. WE ARE TO SERVE RIGHTEOUSNESS LIKE WE ONCE SERVED SIN (19)
      1. We previously offered our bodies as slaves of sin
      2. So now offer our bodies as slaves of righteousness for the
         purpose of producing holiness - cf. 1Pe 1:14-16

[Finally, we note Paul's concluding point in response to the question
"Shall we continue in sin?"...]

IV. NO! THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH! (23)

   A. THE FRUIT OF SLAVERY TO SIN IS DEATH (20-21)
      1. The end of those enslaved to sin is "death"
      2. Such "death" is separation from God
         a. Living in sin separates us from God now - cf. Isa 59:1-2
         b. Dying in sin will separate us from for eternity - cf. Re 21:8

   B. THE GRACE OF GOD OFFERS ETERNAL LIFE (22-23)
      1. By His grace we have been set free from sin, via baptism! -

         Ro 6:2-14; cf. Tit 3:4-7
      2. By His grace we can now be slaves to God, through continued
         obedience! - Ro 6:15-19
      3. By His grace we can bear the fruit of holiness, which in turn
         leads to eternal life! - Ro 6:22; cf. 2:4-11

CONCLUSION

1. Shall we continue in sin?
   a. If we understand what Paul has written in this chapter...
   b. ...then we will cry out with him:  "Certainly not!" (NKJV) - Ro 6:2,15

2. Paul's strong response has been variously translated...
   a. "It is not to be thought of!" (Knox)
   b. "Not at all!" (Williams)
   c. "That be far from us!" (Conybeare)
   d. "Of course not!" (Phillips)
   e. "May it never be!" (NASB)
   f. "Far be it!" (Rotherham)
   g. "Never!" (Moffatt)
   h. "By no means!" (Goodspeed, NRSV)
   i. "Certainly not!" (NEB, NKJV)
   j. "Heaven forbid!" (TCNT)
   k. "God forbid!" (KJV, ASV)
   -- May we develop the same response to taking sin lightly!

Have you been set free from sin...?  Have you become enslaved to sin
once again...?  Let the grace of God deliver you from the guilt and
power of sin by responding to the gospel of Jesus Christ!

From Mark Copeland... The Righteousness Of God Revealed (Romans 3:21-31)

                      "THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS"

             The Righteousness Of God Revealed (Ro 3:21-31)

INTRODUCTION

1. A major theme in the book of Romans is the righteousness of God...
   a. It is mentioned in connection with the gospel of Christ - Ro 1:
      16-17
   b. It is the major subject of discussion in chapters 1-11

2. The phrase "righteousness of God" can be understood in two ways...
   a. God's own personal righteousness (i.e., His justice)
   b. God's system of making man righteous (i.e., forgiving man of sin)
   -- Both concepts are addressed in the book of Romans, but the latter
      in particular

3. In chapters 1-3, Paul describes man's need for righteousness...
   a. How the Gentiles are in need of salvation - Ro 1:18-2:16
   b. How the Jews are in need of salvation - Ro 2:17-3:20
   -- Concluding that all the world is guilty, even Israel who had the
      Law - Ro 3:19-20

[But now in our text (Ro 3:21-31), Paul explains how the righteousness
of God has been revealed.  It was revealed in part even...]

I. BY THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS

   A. RIGHTEOUSNESS APART FROM LAW...
      1. "A righteousness that does not spring from perfect obedience to
         law " - B. W. Johnson
      2. "In a way different from personal obedience to the law."
         - Barnes
         a. "It does not mean that God abandoned his law; or that Jesus
            Christ did not regard the law, for he came to "magnify" it,
            (Isa 42:21) or that sinners after they are justified have no
            regard to the law;" - Barnes
         b. "But it means simply what the apostle had been endeavoring
            to show, that justification could not be accomplished by
            personal obedience to any law of Jew or Gentile, and that it
            must be accomplished in some other way." - Barnes
      -- I.e., a system of justification that does not depend upon one's
         perfect obedience

   B. WITNESSED BY THE LAW...
      1. How?  Through shadows and figures (e.g., animal sacrifices)
         - He 10:1-4
         a. The need for animal sacrifices showed that man's perfect
            obedience was inadequate
         b. Of course, animal sacrifices themselves were not adequate,
            but a shadow
      2. How?  Through prophetic utterances - Gen 15:6; Isa 53:4-6,
         10-12; Hab 2:4
         a. E.g., that Abraham's faith was reckoned for righteousness
         b. E.g., that suffering Servant would bear our iniquities
         c. E.g., that the just would live by faith
      -- God's ultimate system of justification (making one righteous)
         was attested to throughout the law and the prophets!

[But what was witnessed through figures and prophetic utterances has now
been fully revealed...]

II. BY THE GOSPEL AND THE APOSTLES

   A. DEMANDS FAITH IN JESUS...
      1. God's way of making men righteous requires faith in Jesus
         Christ - Ro 3:22
         a. We must believe in Him, or die in our sins - Jn 8:24
         b. We must believe in Him, if we desire eternal life - Jn 20:
            30-31
      2. A way of salvation available to all who believe in Jesus - Ro 3:22-23
         a. There is no difference (between Jew and Gentile)
         b. For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God
            (chapters 1-3)
      -- It is not just faith that saves, but faith in Jesus Christ, who
         died for our sins!

   B. INVOLVES JUSTIFICATION BY GOD...
      1. Offered freely by His grace - Ro 3:24-25
         a. Through redemption in Jesus (His blood, the purchase price)
            - Ep 1:6,7; 1Pe 1:18-19
         b. Jesus offered as a propitiation (a sacrifice to appease
            God's wrath) - 1Jn 2:2; 4:10
      2. Demonstrating God's righteousness - Ro 3:25-26
         a. He is just (righteous)
            1) How could God be righteous when He had "passed over" sins
               previously committed (the blood of animals did not truly
               remove sin)?
            2) He knew that Christ would one day bear the sins of the
               world! - cf. He 9:15
         b. He is the justifier (the one who makes others righteous)
            1) His grace makes redemption possible!
            2) His propitiation (Jesus) makes forgiveness possible!
      -- Yet this justification is only for the one who has faith in
         Jesus! - Ro 3:26

   C. ELIMINATES BOASTING BY MAN...
      1. Excluded by the law of faith - Ro 3:27-30
         a. One cannot boast about the works they do - cf. Lk 17:10
         b. That faith is required implies that works cannot save
         c. The "law of faith" (principle of faith) revealed that
            Christ's sacrifice was necessary
      2. Establishing the principle of law - Ro 3:31
         a. Justification by faith does not render obedience obsolete
            - cf. He 5:9
         b. Whether it was the Law of Moses under the Old Covenant, or
            the Will of Christ under the New Covenant, God calls for
            obedience! - cf. Mt 28:20; Tit 2:11-12
         c. "It does not mean that God abandoned his law; or that Jesus
            Christ did not regard the law, for he came to "magnify" it,
            (Isa 42:21) or that sinners after they are justified have
            no regard to the law;" - Barnes
      -- God's way of making man righteous by an obedient faith
         eliminates boasting in one's works, while upholding God's call
         for holy living!

CONCLUSION

1. The mistake made by many Jews...
   a. Believing their obedience and animal sacrifices (i.e., the Law)
      was all they needed
   b. Failing to heed the Law and the Prophets, who bore witness
      regarding God's justification - cf. Ro 10:1-4

2. The mistake many people make today...
   a. Believing that faith only saves, and obedience is not necessary
   b. Failing to heed the gospel and the apostles, that the faith which
      saves is an obedient faith - cf. Ro 1:5; 6:17-18; 16:25-26

When one is careful to note "The Righteousness Of God Revealed", they
learn that God saves those whose faith in Jesus prompt them to obey His
Word. Their obedience does not earn or merit salvation, but receives the
grace of God who has given Jesus as the propitiation for their sins.

Has your faith in Jesus led you to obey His Word? - cf. Mk 16:15-16; Ac
2:38; Re 2:10