7/29/13

From Gary... How do you spell LOVE, anyway?



Thank you Carolyn Sunday, for putting this wonderful video on Facebook!!!

Somehow, when I woke up this morning, I just KNEW today was going to be wonderful!!!  I could feel it in my bones!!!  Then, as I went through my morning routine of mail, posting and then facebook, I noticed that my new friend Carolyn Sunday had put the video above on the site.  I chose the name Love for it because that what it is to me.  And then I selected a picture that coincided with what I can understand of love- something right in front of me.  My wife of 45 years and our new dogs.  All love me in a way that is beyond my understanding. Their love is only surpassed by God and the slightest thought of THAT immediately brought this wonderful verse to mind!!!!

John, Chapter 3
 16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

I have no idea how many years I have left on the planet Earth, but if just a handful produce such happiness as I experienced today, I would consider myself truly, truly blessed.  I have to go now... things to do, but if you have someone you love- tell them so, in both word and deed and do it NOW!!!  And, OH, YES-- pet your dog and give it a treat (maybe two)!!!!!!

From Bill Dayton... FACING OUR FEARS WITH FAITH



FACING OUR FEARS WITH FAITH

The prophet Habakkuk ministered to God’s people during troubled times. Although repeatedly called to repentance, the nation refused to change her sinful ways. As God’s spokesman, Habakkuk carried a heavy burden as the iniquity of Judah was revealed to him. Sometimes we too find ourselves troubled by all the sin, confusion, and turmoil that surrounds us every day. We can learn much from this faithful man of God as we observe how he handled the painful truth concerning God’s discipline against the proud nation of Judah.
At first, Habakkuk was a worrier and a watcher. He was totally focused on the negative. Habakkuk speaks to the Lord saying “O lord, how long shall I cry, And you not hear?” (chapter 1:2). In Chapter 2:1 he says: “I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected.” God reveals to Him a vision in which all the dark sins of Judah are laid before his eyes. Not only this, but God tells Habakkuk that He is going to use the dreaded Babylonians to be His chastening rod upon the nation. What was Habakkuk’s response? He falls to his knees and worships God in prayer! O that we would respond in the same way when we face circumstances that shake our souls to the core.

 All throughout Habakkuk chapter 3, the everlasting power, glory, and justice of God are proclaimed. Habakkuk’s growing knowledge of God made a huge difference in his life. Troublesome times often help us to more completely recognize who God is. Our faith is often increased tremendously as we struggle to understand the ways of our Lord. Habakkuk felt all the emotions anyone would experience when you have received devastating news Hab. 3:16) yet he humbled himself and proclaimed in 3:17-19 his absolute trust in God no matter what may come “…Yet I will rejoice in the Lord…the Lord God is my strength..” (vs 18-19). This is facing our fears with faith!

From Jim McGuiggan... Jesus at a traffic light

Jesus at a traffic light

We read the world in light of our most impressive experiences—well, I do. When I’m in the mood to think that the world isn’t worth saving (myself included—myself especially!) I turn to bitter experiences, past and present, to prove my point to myself and I extrapolate from there. The entire human enterprise becomes sour—a royal waste of time.
Take this couple that’s old enough to know better, that God’s been good to over the years; a couple that resolutely refuses to have anythingto do with me or mine despite my/our pleading for reconciliation. The details don’t matter but the grounds for this rift are trivial and are no more “all their fault” than they are ours. The matter could be settled, immediately, if they had the will for it but instead they refuse to receive emails, answers calls, respond to invitations to family celebrations, agree to meetings, accept apologies and so forth. I’m an acquired taste and I know it so if the problem lay only with me—that is, if I were the only one they treated this way I’d soul-search even more than I do but they treat their own children the same way.
Now all that’s not just sad—it’s tragic! What adds tragedy to tragedy is that from time to time they both teach/preach about the reconciling Jesus, the Prince of Peace, who offers forgiveness to the repentant and who died and lives to destroy sinful fragmentation. On top of all that, they somehow justify their hypocrisy and make their great evil appear right in their own eyes. I say they “somehow” justify it because I’ve asked time without number why it is that this can’t be settled as brothers/sisters and they refused to say. “Don’t want to talk about it!”
We can all tell such stories and may ourselves be part of such stories—they’re not hard to come by. You see and hear of them anywhere you go and if I myself am a part of one that only makes my point sharper.
The human enterprise is a waste of time and effort!
By now I’ve convinced you that I’m lancing an inner boil and that what this piece is about is someone spewing the sour bile out of his bitter, twisted little mind. I don’t deny that that is part of this existential mix but I can’t confess that it's my dominant thought at the moment. My dominant thought at the moment is the astonishing character and the long, long patience of God!
I was driving to the grocery shop earlier this morning to get some sandwich material for our little gathering this evening and I was thinking of the above and more. I had the sinking feeling that comes over me when I survey the world (with myself as part of it) and how little we care about the higher life. I thought to myself that God was wasting his time!
But then at a traffic light Jesus (so to speak) climbed into the passenger seat. He looked at me in that gentle but intense way of his and,without ever speaking a word, asked me: “Now what was that you were saying?”
I thought for a moment of denying that I was thinking such a thing but I knew that wouldn’t work. I thought of rehearsing all of the above and reminding him that he knew from start to finish the depths that we humans have sunk to and the universal nature of our selfishness and corruption. I simply said: “Well, you know how we are!”
“Yes, I do,” he said, simply by his presence and without a word, “and your point is…?”
I was about to say, “My point is that we’re not worth bothering with—not even the best of us!” but I knew what he would say; besides I noticed the scars in his hands and thought they were/are his most profound denial that people are a waste of time. His wordless presence said humans (including the two people I mentioned and me) are worth living and dying for. When he got out of the car at the shop and he walked off into the crowd he looked back and again, without a word, he wanted to know, "D'you get my message?" and I nodded yes and murmured, "For now, but..." His final look said, "Oh, don't worry, I'll always be around to tell it to you again."
It doesn’t seem to matter to him whether we want him or not—he wants us! How we respond to him matters supremely to him, of course, but only because he has already committed himself to us and we can’t have life without our receiving him. In light of the fact that countless millions of us have never shown any interest in him I find it astonishing that he has always been interested in us. [It’s at this point the difference between the human Jesus and me leaves me speechless.]
And it’s the good news of his refusal to despise us that draws those of us who hear it to him and reminds us that what he feels toward some of us he feels toward all of us.
There’s more to be said about this matter (like what God will make of us before he’s done) but I have enough for now to mull over and rejoice in, enough to dismantle my well constructed arguments that the human race isn’t worth the bullet that would shoot it. Human unworthiness is real but so is God’s commitment to us.

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

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

From Jim McGuiggan... Jesus and Shrek

Jesus and Shrek

It would be easy to think of "Prince Charming" as the hero and Shrek, the ogre, as...well...the ogre! But in the marvellous animated movieShrek 2 while "Prince Charming" has the looks, the physique and the speech of a palace person, he’s vain, self-centred and greedy for what’s not his. Cut off from the husband she loves and longs for Princess Fiona is surrounded by dark powers and scheming authorities and while someone else sings the words only Fiona feels the real need for a hero.
And the hero that comes riding on a "fiery steed" is Shrek, the compassionate, honourable, loyal and courageous ogre, the one whose ugliness and political incorrectness made him the disgust of the ruling powers and the laughing stock of the populace. Fiona’s heart, if not her mouth, is pounding out the confession and longing in the words and music of Jim Steinman and Dean Pitchford’s Holding Out for a Hero.[Bonnie Tyler’s throbbing version of the song is so much better than the one in the movie and given the right context should be listened to at least once a month.]
Where have all the good men gone
And where are all the gods? 
Where’s the street-wise Hercules
To fight the rising odds? 
Isn’t there a white knight upon a fiery steed? 
Late at night I toss and turn and dream of what I need.
I need a hero
I’m holding out for a hero ’til the end of the night
He’s gotta be strong
And he’s gotta be fast
And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I’m holding out for a hero ’til the morning light
He’s gotta be sure
And it’s gotta be soon
And he’s gotta be larger than life

And so it was that all those that mourned over their sins and the sins of the human family realised that they needed a hero. And the hero came in Jesus Christ of whom it was said "he had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him." (Isaiah 53:2-3) His political incorrectness was known everywhere and his most determined foes were those that had the power.
No, it wasn’t from the palaces or corridors of power that the hero came for he was a root out of dry ground (Isaiah 53:2). And it wasn’t a fiery steed he rode into Jerusalem that fateful day; it was a donkey (Matthew 21:1-11).
"Where’s your Messiah?" some sceptic was sure to ask.
"That’s him there. The one riding the donkey with his sandals dragging in the dirt."
"That? That’s the hero? Ten to one no one will ever follow him!"
Hmmm.
It isn’t always the case because it can’t always be the case—we’re just not up to it. But once in a great while the sense of Christ’s presence by his Spirit becomes so real to believers that the hair rises on their necks. The faith that he is always watching makes the heart beat with excitement and the "commentary" of Steinman and Pitchford now and then becomes a personal and an immediate inner experience.

Up where the mountains meet the heavens above
Out where the lightning splits the sea
I would swear that there’s someone somewhere
Watching me
Through the wind and the chill and the rain
And the storm and the flood
I can feel his approach
Like the fire in my blood 

This is the one the NT ceaselessly talks about. Not about churches and preachers and programmes and successes or dreams of success. About him! And you do understand, don’t you! that the truth of Jesus Christ is not based on the movie Shrek or the marvellous Steinman/Pitchford song. The reverse is true! It’s because of the truth of the one true God we have come to know in and as Jesus Christ that all great books and songs have been written and great movies have been made. Jesus Christ the hero (who is much more than a "hero") is proof of our awful need and he is the knightly cure for all that ails us.
No wonder there are those marvellous and rare moments when believers feel the approach of the Lord God like fire in the grass and a fire in their blood!

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

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

From Jim McGuiggan... Jesus and Robinson Crusoe

Jesus and Robinson Crusoe

When Robinson Crusoe saw the footprint in the sand it immediately convinced him that he was not alone on the island. The wildness and emptiness of the rest of the island during the long time he’d been there brought its own message, "You’re alone." It took only a single footprint to offset all that the wildness and solitude had told him. There may have been other caves he hadn’t examined, other hollows he hadn’t been in and other hills or trees he hadn’t climbed. Had he covered every square inch of the island and found nothing but solitude the footprint would still have been enough to show he wasn’t alone.
Suppose he sat down and said to himself, "No, I’ve been to every other square inch of this island and there’s no sign of a human. It’s only in this tiny spot that I can find a footprint so I will not believe I have company." That would have been a mistake, wouldn’t it?
Years ago in his book News Essays in Philosophical Theology former atheist Anthony Flew wrote that the whole religious question would not be worth bothering with if it were not for that one life lived and that one death died. He was speaking about Jesus Christ of course. The figure of Christ is a stubborn one. We can ignore him, we can bury him out of sight beneath our pleasures and businesses our worries and burdens our loneliness or our parties but as soon as we’re able to look closely at him the shape of the world begins to change. Possibilities rise up in his presence. Ways of behaving are called into question, stock answers begin to look less likely and our vision of how life and the world are constructed comes under the spotlight in a fresh way.
Crusoe was forced to reassess things as soon as he saw the footprint, wasn't he? His world changed. Coconuts were still coconuts and the sky was still the sky, of course, and yet, nothing was the same once he saw the footprint.
His first emotional response was panic! If you remember his circumstances you’ll understand why that makes sense (and as it turned out there was some reason to panic). I find no pleasure in thinking that for some, one day their meeting with Christ will generate panic beyond description because that isn’t what he desires. He left his footprints in our world for an entirely different reason. The Son of Man didn’t come to condemn the world—we’ve done a perfect job of that without his help. He came that we might have life and have it to the full (John 3:17 and 10:10). If you meet him now in faith you have no reason to panic. He means you no harm. He never did!
A priest, who had gone through that horrifying period in Rwanda in the 90’s that left a million corpses, was asked if his faith in God had been destroyed. He said "Absolutely not!" But he did go on to say that the events in that tortured land had destroyed forever his faith in man. [Only extremely wealthy pop-stars can write and sing haunting songs extolling "the brotherhood of man" as the way to salvation.]
I wonder if we’ve thought enough about what would be true if we knew beyond doubt that Christ hadn’t come to live and die and live again as Lord of all? There’d be no defiant gravestones in graveyards, no hymns would be sung, no prayers would be prayed, assurance that all wrongs will be righted would vanish and the hope of life after life would turn to dust. The deaths of our loved ones would be eternal loss and the heart would be ripped out of all efforts to further justice in life. Do, put your mind to it and think what the world would be like if it wakened one morning knowing—not guessing, not surmising, not debating, not suspicioning but knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that Christ hadn’t come. If the entire Western world wakened, stunned with the undoubted truth that it was all a lie, I think that even those that say the only life they want is the partying kind would feel that the bolts that hold the planet together had been loosened.
If you feel you can’t believe, why then you can’t believe. We can’t act with integrity beyond our perceptions and if the entire Story is a lie then it’s a lie no matter how many wish it otherwise. But wouldn’t you like to be able to believe it? Wouldn’t you want it to be true? Atheist H.J Blackham said the greatest argument against non-belief is that it’s too bad to be true. Puddleglum was right.
Sit down with Christ and give him a fair hearing.

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

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

From Jim McGuiggan... Jesus and My Fair Lady

Jesus and My Fair Lady

The world doesn't change? Of course it does! Reality includes thoughts and feelings, purposes and promises, convictions and emotional responses as well as rocks and rivers, mountains and recliner chairs, stars and ancient trees, sub-atomic particles and huge blue whales. Reality includes how we relate to the world that is "not us" and since our views change about people and things around us—the world changes.
Yes, but trees remain trees and streets still streets! Of course, and there's no point in being silly about that; but what do you think the song-writer had in mind when he said, "I have often walked down this street before/But the pavement always stayed beneath my feet before/All at once am I, several stories high/Knowing I'm on the street where you live"?
Well, that's just poetry! What's just poetry? The way the guy feels! No! That's not just poetry—the description of what he actuallyexperiences is poetic but the experience, the emotional surge, the joy tinged with a little awe is real! He has now come to love this girl and because that's true he no longer feels the same about the street he thought nothing of before. The street has now become "her" street and because it's hers he relates to it differently and that experience of relating is real, as real as the street he walks on. He knows the street is a street but his love for her invests the street with her presence. To tell him he's silly, that he doesn't actually rise off the pavement would be silly—it never entered his head that he did. To tell him he doesn't feel joy and excitement at being on her street would be to talk nonsense for that's exactly what he does feel! That long stretch of concrete with brick structures on each side of it will never be the same to him.
Reality (the world) actually changes because reality is perceived and experienced and how we perceive and experience reality changes depending on events or truths or convictions and such.
Well, this is all psychological stuff! Of course it is! Should we pretend otherwise? Should we pretend that the only reality is what we can bump into or see under a microscope or through a telescope? Reality includes the observer—bumping and telescoping and microscoping and whatever—they're all possible only to personal observers. Nor is the relational truth of things restricted to romance—friendship, parent/child, teacher/student and other relationships work the same transforming magic. The same holds true in our relationship to Jesus Christ for God works at the psychological level as well as all other levels.
I mention all this because just yesterday a young man asked me if the doctrine of the cross, resurrection and exaltation of Jesus made any difference to the "now" of people's lives rather than the future and if it did, in what way.
We should insist, certainly, that a glorious future hope affects the present. Paul thought it should, in 1 Corinthians 15:54-58. He spoke of a coming day when for all who are embraced in Christ's saving work death would be obliterated and then he says (15:58 NRSV), "Therefore, my beloved, be…always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labour is not in vain." The coming resurrection casts a light on their present lives for the Lord—none of it is lost!
The truth is: faith in Jesus is the future, it is the assurance, it is "being sure" of what we hope for (Hebrews 11:1). But that is faith in light ofthe future (and it can never be severed from that) but even now the world is a different place if we have given ourselves in faith to Christ. As surely as streets remain streets pain and suffering remain pain and suffering but in light of faith in Jesus these realities are not the same; we now relate to them in an altogether different way. The pleasures and joys of life take on a new complexion when they are related to Jesus Christ.
If we don't feel that at any serious level it might well be because we haven't yet grasped at a significant depth (or been grasped by) the truth in and about Jesus. Perhaps if we spent more time prayerfully and seriously reflecting on the major issues of our faith and less on the needful but relatively peripheral matters we'd discover that the world has changed since he's come.
Maybe one day, while we're working our way through the truth about him that we'll be transfixed by a realisation, our eyes will get big and round and the world will never be the same. Truth frees!
Heaven above is softer blue
Earth beneath is sweeter green,
Something lives in every hue
That Christless eyes have never seen.
Birds with gladder songs overflow
Stars with deeper beauty shine,
Since I know as now I know
I am his and he is mine.


©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

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

From Mark Copeland... The Goodness Of God (Romans 2:4-11)


                      "THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS"

                      The Goodness Of God (2:4-11)

INTRODUCTION

1. Many people live their lives with little regard to the goodness of
   God...
   a. Unaware of how gracious God has been and is willing to be toward
      them
   b. Unaware of how their neglect will one day come back to haunt them

2. Have you given much thought to the goodness of God...?
   a. The many blessings He bestows?
   b. The consequences if you fail to respond properly?

[One passage of Scripture that ought to give us pause is the one written
in Ro 2:4-11, in which Paul expounds upon "The Goodness Of God."  From
verse 4, we can glean some things about...]

I. THE NATURE OF HIS GOODNESS

   A. HIS RICHES...
      1. He is rich in grace - Ep 1:7
      2. He is rich in mercy - Ep 2:4
      3. He is rich in supplying need - Php 4:19
      4. He is rich in giving things to enjoy - 1Ti 6:17
      5. He is rich in the strength He provides the Christian - Ep 3:
         16,21

   B. HIS FORBEARANCE...
      1. "Forbearance" (anoche) means "a holding back" - ISBE
      2. We see God's forbearance...
         a. In the days of Israel - cf. Ps 78:38
         b. In our present day (since the fullness of God's wrath has
            yet to come)

   C. HIS LONGSUFFERING...
      1. "Longsuffering" (makrothumia) describes "a slowness in avenging
         wrath" - Strong's
      2. We see God suffering long...
         a. In the days of Noah, prior to the flood - cf. 1Pe 3:20
         b. In our present day, prior to the day of judgment - cf. 2 Pe 3:9-15a

[The Psalmist summarizes well the nature of God's goodness:  "But You, O
Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering and
abundant in mercy and truth." (Ps 86:15).  As we return to our text in
Romans, we are told of...]

II. THE PURPOSE OF HIS GOODNESS

   A. SHOULD LEAD ONE TO REPENTANCE...
      1. God's goodness is intended to cause man to repent - Ro 2:4
      2. Based on Paul's description of repentance elsewhere, God's
         goodness should produce...
         a. Godly sorrow which leads to repentance - cf. 2Co 7:9-10
         b. A change of mind (the actual meaning of metanoia,
            repentance) - Strong's
         c. A turn from sin to God (as evidence of repentance) - cf.
            2Co 7:10-11

   B. SHOULD LEAD ONE TO DO WHAT IS GOOD...
      1. As just described, an indication of true repentance - cf. 2 Co 7:11
      2. As later described in our text, it should lead to doing good...
         a. With patient continuance - Ro 2:7a
            1) Where God was longsuffering (makrothumia) before
            2) We are to do good patiently (hupomone) now - cf. Lk 8:15
         b. Seeking glory, honor, immortality - Ro 2:7b
            1) Glory and honor that will come at the revelation of Jesus
               Christ - cf. 1Pe 1:7; 2Co 4:16-18
            2) Immortality (incorruption) that will be given at the same
               time - 1Co 15:51-54

[Thus  "eternal life" will be given to those who are properly motivated
by God's goodness to repent and do good (Ro 2:7).  But what of those who
spurn the riches of God's goodness...?]

III. THE REJECTION OF HIS GOODNESS

   A. INDICATIVE OF A HARD HEART...
      1. For they despise God's goodness - Ro 2:4
      2. For they evidently are insensitive and unappreciative  of God's
         goodness - Ro 2:5
      3. For they remain impenitent in their heart - Ro 2:5

   B. STORES UP WRATH FOR THE DAY OF JUDGMENT...
      1. The wrath of God's righteous judgment - cf. Ro 2:5
      2. A day of wrath involving indignation, tribulation, and anguish
         - Ro 2:8-9a
      3. A vivid description of which is found in 2Th 1:7-9

CONCLUSION

1. Such is the end of one who does not properly respond to God's
   goodness...
   a. Especially as that manifested through the gospel of Jesus
   b. Which Paul will expound upon later in this epistle to the Romans

2. As we close, be careful to note:  there is no partiality with God!
   - Ro 2:9-11
   a. Those who do evil will be punished
   b. Those who do good will be blessed

Have you allowed "The Goodness Of God" to lead you to repentance,
especially that repentance called for in the proclamation of the gospel?
- cf. Ac 2:36-39; 3:19; 17:30-31


Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

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From Mark Copeland... The Wrath Of God (Romans 1:18-32)


                      "THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS"

                       The Wrath Of God (1:18-32)

INTRODUCTION

1. The Scriptures speak of the coming day of God's wrath...
   a. Revealing the righteous judgment of God - cf. Ro 2:4-6
   b. A day of judgment of the ungodly - cf. 2Pe 3:7
   -- In which the fullness of God's righteous indignation is made known

2. The Scriptures also speak of how God's wrath has already come...
   a. Revealed from heaven - Ro 1:18a
   b. Against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men - Ro 1:18b
   -- In which a foretaste of God's righteous indignation is manifested

[Why does God manifest this "foretaste" of His wrath?  How does He
express His righteous indignation even now, long before the day of
judgment?  Our text (Ro 1:18-32) provides the answers...]

I. WHY GOD MANIFESTS HIS WRATH

   A. BECAUSE MAN STIFLES GOD'S REVEALED TRUTH...
      1. By suppressing the truth in unrighteousness - Ro 1:18
         a. Rejecting what is true
         b. Justifying what is ungodly and unrighteous
      2. By spurning what God has revealed - Ro 1:19-20
         a. Things about God that are manifest in man himself
            1) E.g., man's intelligence and personality, implying the
               same of his Creator
            2) E.g., man's sense of ought, implying a righteous Creator
         b. Things about God that are manifest in creation around him
            - cf. Ps 19:1-2
            1) Invisible attributes of God, seen and understood by
               things that are visible
            2) E.g., design and order of the universe imply eternal
               power and Deity
      -- When man fails to listen to the beauty and design of the
         universe that declares "God exists!", God is angry!

   B. BECAUSE MAN IS UNGRATEFUL AND FOOLISH...
      1. Not being thankful to God - Ro 1:21a
         a. Even when they knew Him
         b. Yet failing to glorify Him as God
      2. Becoming futile in their thoughts and foolish in their hearts
         - Ro 1:21b-23
         a. The consequence of not glorifying God
         b. Leading to idolatry (the worship of creation instead of the
            Creator)
            1) E.g., making God into their own image
            2) E.g., making God into the image of other animate objects
         c. Modern man has his own idols:
            1) E.g., secular humanism (worshipping self)
            2) E.g., covetousness (worshipping money) - cf. Ep 5:5; Co
               3:5
      -- When man ceases to be thankful to God, and esteems created
         things over Him, then God is angry!

[The wrath of God at the last day will involve a fiery end (cf. 
2 Pe 3:10; 2Th 1:7-9).  God's wrath being revealed today is more subtle, but
terrible nonetheless...]

II. HOW GOD MANIFESTS HIS WRATH

   A. HE "GIVES MAN UP" TO MORAL UNCLEANNESS...
      1. God "gave them up" (paradidomi) - Ro 1:24a
         a. No fire from heaven striking them down
         b. But simply leaving man to his own desires
      2. To (moral) uncleanness - Ro 1:24b
         a. In the lusts of their hearts (wherever their wicked hearts
            led them, cf. Mk 7:21-23)
         b. Dishonoring their bodies among themselves (in what way, see
            below)
      3. Why?  Because they exchanged the truth of God for the lie - Ro 1:25
         a. Worshipping and serving that which is created
         b. Rather than He who is the Creator and worthy to be blessed
            forever

   B. HE "GIVES MAN UP" TO VILE PASSIONS...
      1. Again, God "gave them up" (paradidomi) - Ro 1:26a
         a. No lightning from heaven striking one down
         b. But simply leaving man to his vile passions
      2. Case in point, lesbianism - Ro 1:26b
         a. Women exchanging the natural use for what is against nature
         b. Using bodies designed for procreation in ways that do not
            procreate
      3. Case in point, homosexuality - Ro 1:27
         a. Leaving the natural use of women (to procreate, to avoid
            fornication, cf. 1Co 7:2)
         b. Burning in their lust for one another, committing with men
            what is shameful
         c. Receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was
            due (e.g., AIDS?)

   C. HE "GIVES MAN UP" TO DEBASED MINDS AND UNRIGHTEOUSNESS...
      1. Yet again, God "gave them over" (paradidomi) - Ro 1:28
         a. Since they did not like to retain God in their knowledge
         b. God gave them over to a debased mind, to do things not
            fitting
      2. The result of being "given up":  being filled with all
         unrighteousness - Ro 1:29-31
         a. Wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness
         b. Envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness
         c. Whisperers, backbiters, haters of God
         d. Violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things,
            disobedient to parents
         e. Undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving,
            unmerciful
      3. They know the righteous judgment of God, that such are
         deserving of death - Ro 1:32
         a. Yet they still do it
         b. And they approve those who do it

CONCLUSION

1. God's wrath is manifested today by simply allowing man to go his own
   way...
   a. To follow the desires of his heart
   b. To follow the passions of his lusts
   -- Stumbling in blind ignorance to increasing degrees of depravity
      - cf. Ep 4:17-19

2. God's mercy is manifested today for those willing to turn back to
   Him...
   a. Willing to acknowledge His revelation
      1) That given through creation
      2) Even more so that given through His Son! - cf. 1Jn 4:9,10
   b. Willing to be thankful to Him
      1) With the attitude of gratitude - cf. Col 1:12; 2:7; 3:15,17; 4:2
      2) Showing gratitude through repentance - cf. Ro 2:4

Are we thankful?  Do we show it by turning from our sins and turning to
God?  If not, we have every reason to fear the wrath of God - not just
the day of judgment, but the consequence in this life of God simply
"giving us up" to our own desires!



Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

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From Mark Copeland... Not Ashamed Of The Gospel (Romans 1:14-17)


                      "THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS"

                  Not Ashamed Of The Gospel (1:14-17)

INTRODUCTION

1. As Paul began his grand epistle to the Romans, he wrote of his desire
   to see them...
   a. His diligent prayers toward that end - Ro 1:9-10
   b. His desire to encourage them through mutual edification - Ro 1:
      11-12
   c. His plans to come, that he might have some fruit among them - Ro 1:13

2. His desire to see them was related to the gospel...
   a. Which he served as an apostle of Christ - Ro 1:1
   b. The good news concerning Jesus - Ro 1:3
   c. Of which he was not ashamed - Ro 1:16

3. Are we ever ashamed of the gospel of Christ...?
   a. Embarrassed to tell others about Jesus?
   b. Could this be a reason why many are not active in personal
      evangelism?

[Perhaps by examining how and why Paul was not ashamed of the gospel, we
might be more diligent in our efforts to share the good news of Jesus
Christ...]

I. PAUL WAS NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL

   A. HOW HE WAS NOT ASHAMED...
      1. He felt obligated to preach the gospel to everyone
         a. To Greeks and barbarians (non-Greeks), to wise and unwise
            - Ro 1:14
         b. His obligation due partly to favor God had shown him - 
            1Co 15:9-10; 1Ti 1:12-14
      2. He was ready to preach the gospel in Rome
         a. Whatever opportunity was given him, he would take it! - Ro 1:15
         b. Even though his preference was to preach where Jesus had not
            been proclaimed before - Ro 15:20
      -- Paul showed that he was not ashamed by his willingness and
         preparedness to preach the gospel anytime and anywhere!

   B. WHY HE WAS NOT ASHAMED...
      1. It is the power of God to salvation
         a. For everyone who believes, both Jew and Greek (Gentiles)
            - Ro 1:16
         b. For it tells of Christ, the power of God and wisdom of God
            - 1Co 1:23-24
      2. It reveals the righteousness of God in salvation
         a. How the just shall live by faith - Ro 1:17
         b. How God is both just and the justifier of those who believe
            in Jesus - Ro 3:21-26
      -- Because of its power and message, Paul was not ashamed to
         preach the gospel to anyone willing to listen!

[From Paul, then, we should note several reasons why...]

II. WE SHOULD NOT BE ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL

   A. THE GOSPEL REMAINS THE SAME...
      1. It is still God's power to save
         a. The power to produce faith in the hearts of those who hear
            it - Ro 10:17
         b. The power to produce fruit in those who hear and know the
            truth - Col 1:5-6
      2. It still reveals God's righteousness in salvation
         a. How Jesus died for our sins - 1Co 15:1-4
         b. How we can receive remission of our sins in Jesus through
            faith, repentance, and baptism - Ac 2:36-38; 22:16
      -- The passing of time has not weakened the power and message of
         the gospel of Christ!

   B. THE NEED REMAINS THE SAME...
      1. Souls are in need of salvation
         a. All have sinned - Ro 3:23
         b. The wages of sin is death - Ro 6:23
      2. Both wise and foolish, both near and afar
         a. Jesus is still the only way to the Father - Jn 14:6
         b. His gospel still needs to be preached to every creature - Mk 16:15-16
      -- The passing of time has not lessened the need and scope of the
         gospel of Christ!

[From the example of Paul, we can know the proper attitude and conduct
of..]

III. THOSE NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL

   A. WILL FEEL A SENSE OF OBLIGATION...
      1. To God who saved them
         a. Are we not thankful for what God has done for us?
         b. Will this not affect how we live our lives? - cf. Ga 2:20
      2. To those who are lost
         a. Are we not concerned about their eternal destiny should they
            die in their sins?
         b. Will this not move us to do something? - cf. 2Co 5:11
      -- Those not ashamed of the gospel will feel an obligation similar
         to Paul's - Ro 1:14

   B. WILL MAKE THEMSELVES READY...
      1. To share the gospel as they have opportunity
         a. If uncertain what to say, they will learn it (even relearn
            it) - cf. 1Pe 3:15; He 5:12
         b. They will not rest until they have found some method, aids,
            or tools, whereby they can communicate the gospel to others
         c. Then they will be looking for "open doors" to teach others
            - cf. 1Co 3:5
      2. To spread the gospel as they have opportunity
         a. They may not be in a position to go, but they can still send
            - cf. Ro 10:14-15; 3Jn 5-8
         b. They may not be in a position to teach, but they can still
            invite - e.g., Ac 10:24,33
         c. Then they will be looking for "open doors" to send - e.g.,
            Php 4:15-16
      -- Those not ashamed of the gospel will make themselves ready like
         Paul - Ro 1:15

CONCLUSION

1. Are you ashamed of the gospel of Christ?  You may be, if you are
   not...
   a. Doing anything to share the gospel yourself
   b. Involved in helping others to spread the gospel

2. You have no reason to be ashamed, it is still the same gospel!
   a. With power to save the souls of men
   b. Revealing the wonderful righteousness of God to save men

May we never be ashamed of the gospel, or of Jesus Himself...

   "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and
   sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when
   He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." (Mk 8:38)

   "Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but
   let him glorify God in this matter." (1Pe 4:16)


Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

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