Romans

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 49 – Gods Great Promise

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Romans 8:28-30 – “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.  For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

Romans 8:28 is one of the most quoted verses in the Bible.  Rightfully so, it is God’s greatest promise to us.  I want to focus in on two things from these verses today that I hope will be helpful.  First, I want to rightly understand what Romans 8:28 means and what it does not mean, in light of the explanation given in Romans 8:29-30.  Secondly, I want to set a theological foundation for what Romans 9 is going to say, by rightly understanding the word “foreknew” in 8:29.  Most people who know me would say that I lean towards theological understanding vs. emotional, but I would say that in order to have any real true emotions for God, they must be based on a right, true understanding of Him.  So when I discuss theological items, I’m always going to explain why it matters objectively from God’s word, and to what extent it matters subjectively based on my own opinion, understanding, and hopefully wisdom. 

First, what does Romans 8:28 mean?  The most important part of what I want known about Romans 8:28 is that it is by no means a declaration of promised earthly prosperity.  Consider the author, Paul, who has been imprisoned and beaten for the very message that he is writing to the Church at Rome.  God is not promising us any kind of health, wealth, and prosperity as Christians.  A good explanation of Romans 8:28 is found in James 1:2-4 – “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”  Even as Christians, we struggle with believing that our joy can be found in this world and in this life.  God has something infinitely better for us, and it is at the center of what it means to truly “believe” the gospel; the good news of the gospel is our reconciliation to God, our ability through Christ to have perfect fellowship with Him. 

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 48 – The Spirit of God – Our Great Helper

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I had my 32nd birthday a couple days ago, which still qualifies me as a young guy, but not as young as I used to be.  As good as it is to see friends, my physical birthday is reminder of who I am in Christ.  My birthday is about the same time of year as of the time God powerfully drew me to Himself about 8 years ago now, so I often like to think back on where He has taken me since then.  I think back to how for the first year, it just felt like every message each week (on the weeks I fought through the temptation not to go) was directed right at me personally.  I think back to how little I knew about God, doctrine, and God’s calling on my life at that time.  It was a sweet innocent time in some ways, but a violent dark time as well.  God’s reaching into my life was patient, loving, and above all merciful because my life at that point was far darker than I realized.  It took hard events and some amount of suffering to awaken me to my own depravity and the goodness of God.  Outwardly the world might not have noticed.  In some ways I was not a bad guy.  I was always nice to people and most people liked me, but inwardly I was pure evil.  My world terminated on myself.  I was nice to people because I wanted people to like me.  I wanted girls to like me, and not so that I could be a partner, sarving and loving them – but so they could serve my needs for self-affirmation and physical desires.  Now some of you are expecting me to turn as some point and say how now I’m completely different, but that would be a lie, and I don’t think helpful.  There is victory in Christ and there is healing in His blood shed for us, but we still battle with our flesh.  Put another way, 1 John 1:5 – “In Jesus was life, and the life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”  God has entered into my life, the light is shining where there was not light, but there is still darkness to be pushed back.  We are not yet fully sanctified, we are being sanctified, being progressively conformed into the image of God by His Spirit.  So today, as we continue in Romans, I want to praise God for saving us through Christ, but praise Him further still for not leaving us alone, but giving us a Helper.  Our Helper is the Spirit of Christ within us.  He is with us every moment of every day as we strive with Him to push back the darkness within ourselves and within the world.

Romans 8:26-27 – “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.  And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

If there has been one common thread in my life it’s been weakness.  I make the wrong decisions, I will fall to temptation, I am not as disciplined as I ought to be, I will let down people I care about, and on and on it goes.  If this shatters anyone’s view of me, that’s probably a good thing.  We are all equally broken people.  How great news is it then that Jesus did not come to save the righteous, but broken, wretched sinners!  God did not abandon us when Jesus ascended into Heaven, it was actually for our good.  How precious were the words spoken by Jesus to us in John 14:16-18 – “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.  “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”   So our God and Savior knows our weakness, and we have a Helper, God Himself who intercedes for us.  Let me be frank with you all – I thought I would be further along as a Christian after 8 years.  I’m not where I want to be, but we have a Helper, the Spirit of God in us who will never let us go, and will continue to work in and for us conforming us into the image of God. 

My encouragement to you all is to not confuse your sanctification with your justification.  You are saved, you are declared righteous and loved by faith in the blood of Christ.  That is done, settled – press that truth continually into your heart, because we have an enemy that wants us to believe the lie that we are not “good enough” for God.  We are in Christ.  Therefore, as new creations in Christ, keep running the race set before you.  If you fall or if you suffer, know that you have a Helper who knows you, loves you, wants the best for you, and is interceding for you even now.  Be of the same mind with Paul in Phlippians 3:13-14 – “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”   The Spirit of Christ in us is powerful and no darkness can ever overtake Him.  

Grace and Peace,
Adam

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 47 – Salvation through Suffering

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Romans 8:18-25 – “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.  For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.  For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.  And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.  For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?  But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
What a timely Word God has for us today.  Until now we have unfolded man’s sinfulness, God’s intercession for man through Jesus, God’s victory in Jesus, and our security and adoption by God through Jesus by grace given faith.  From the crescendo of Romans 8:1 that “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” to just 17 verses later, we have moved from explaining how God saved us, to explaining what we can expect from our salvation – namely suffering.  It is interesting that the existence of suffering is a barrier to faith for so many, when God tells us so often in His Word to expect suffering.  Suffering is not tangental to God’s plan, it is an integral part of God’s plan.  Why do parents discipline their children?  Is it hateful or loving for them to do this?  In the same way our Heavenly Father loves us, desires our good, and will use suffering to conform us into the image of His Son. 
For many people they do not have an understanding of the infinite joy that will be theirs in eternity with Christ.  It is therefore difficult for them to see suffering as a “good” meant to guide them towards Christ, not away from Him.  My exhortation is to consider it settled in your own heart; God did not subject us to a fallen world and suffering without hope.  Our hope is secure in the finished work of Jesus.  This world is not our home, and we wait for our reuniting with Jesus face to face, where there will be no more sin, no more pain, only infinite joy in fellowship with Him for eternity.  Bigger than the greatest ocean, higher than the tallest mountain, greater than all of the universe and creation is the love of God for us.  That is with us now and will be made known fully to us in eternity.  Now, for a little while, we have suffering – suffering that is meant to push us towards God, towards a hope that will never fail and will never disappoint – our salvation in Jesus.  He took on all our sin, became a curse for us, that we would be made righteous, reconciled to God.  God made Him who knew no sin to be sin, that in Him we might be the righteousness of God.  Now we see dimly as through a mirror this joy in fellowship with Jesus, but then we will know Him even as we have been known, to know the fullness of joy that has existed between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit from all eternity.  Today, wherever you are, embrace where God has you, take your anxieties and troubles to Him knowing He cares for you.  Know you are prayed for and the God of all knowing and power is for you and loves you today.
Grace and Peace,
Adam

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 46 – The Glory of Suffering

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Romans 8:16-17 – “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”

If God is good, why is there suffering?  How could a loving God desire that His only Son be nailed to a cross?  Why does God similarly have us suffer as Christians?  We’re going to answer this today.   In Romans 8:17 God says that we are “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him“ (bolded for emphasis by me)  Let’s flip this around backwards to see if we can better understand what is being said.  In order that we may also be glorified with him, we must suffer with him.  So then, there is a very apparent implication that as true Christians, children of God, we should suffer with Christ.  

The glory of God was perfectly manifested in the suffering, conquering servant Jesus Christ.  Therefore, if we call ourselves followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, looking forward to the riches of our inheritance through him (our glorification), then our lives should look similar to the life of Christ in suffering.  We may not be martyred as Christ was, but our desire for God and His kingdom building should be great enough that it pushes beyond what is comfortable.  Our faith in the promises of God should embolden us to live sacrificially.  This is difficult.  Everything in our flesh and the outside world is going the opposite direction, telling you that you should be happy with posessions and physical comfort.  What happens when reject those lies to pursue Christ?  When we do this is that we draw closer to God, we are sowing to the Spirit of God, and in due time we will reap what we sow.  What are we reaping?  Galatians 6:7-8 – “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.  For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” 

So then, why is there suffering?  It is the mercy of God that we would not sow to our flesh, seeking comfort, but would sow to the Spirit of God, trusting that in Him we have a greater treasure than anything the world would offer.  In sharing in the sufferings of Christ, we will safeguard our faith, securing our salvation and eternal life.  The question is always the same, however – do you believe?  It is not enough to say that you believe, but to remain unmoved.  To truly believe, our actions will be in step with our belief.  If your affections have waned, if your inclination is more towards physical comfort than seeing God glorified around you – know that the love of Jesus Christ for you.  Just ask Him to help you.  Ask Christ for greater affections for Him than this world, ask Him for hold your desires secure and free you from the love of the world.  If you know the love of God in Jesus – How will He answer such a request?
Matthew 7:7-11 – “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?  If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”
If by God’s grace and mercy you are already in possession of such affections and desires, do not become complacent, but ask God all the more to sustain them.  Hebrews 12:1-2 – “let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Grace and Peace,
Adam

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 45 – A Great Inheritance in Adoption through the Lord Jesus Christ

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All, I am eager to go through this scripture with you.  Depending on when you check your email, you should get this Sunday night or Monday morning.  I hope it helps get the week off to a good start.  It’s been a while since my last message, but Romans 8 is difficult to work through.  I am trying to find the balance between bringing out all that I can, and realizing that brevity is needed as some pastors have spent years working through Romans.  It has been very helpful to me in my own study, and I hope it will have the same effect for you.  This passage goes to the heart of our identity in Christ through the gospel, and what is means to live out of that identity.  Specifically, I want us to understand what Paul means when he says we are not “debtors” to the flesh, and I want us better understand what it means for us to have been adopted as sons.

Romans 8:12-16 – “So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.  For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.  For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father! and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”

By the “flesh” Paul is not referring simply to our physical bodies, but to the entirety of man that is alienated from God.  All through Romans 1-5 Paul is explaining exactly what it means to be “in the flesh” to be incapable and unwilling to submit to God and worship Him.  What Paul is saying is that man’s natural inclination apart from God is to serve his/her evil inclination through sin.  The promise of sin is joy, but we know that is a lie.  There is no joy to be found apart from God.  Only in the presence of God do we find true joy, and joy in its fullest measure.

Psalm 16:11 – “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

An important note here is that Paul here is not talking to non-Christians – This letter was written to the church at Rome and he makes his intended audience even more clear by addressing his hearers here as “brothers”.  Certainly non-Christians would not feel the weight of their sin, nor would they be familiar with the joy of a right relationship with our Lord.

So we are called debtors, meaning we owe something and our debt owner has certain rights over us.  This is true for a non-believer and it is true for a believer.  It’s important to understand the being in debt during Biblical times was different than now.  There was no such thing as bankruptcy, and a debt owner could enslave his debtor or send him to prison.  So the rights of a debtor that Paul is talking about are much greater than what come to mind for us today.   For a non-believer, they are in debt to their flesh.  They obey the lusts and passions of their flesh to pursue joy in whatever way possible apart from the worship of God.  Many today claim that they do not want to trust and follow Christ because they don’t want to be told how to live – this only illustrates how blind they are to their current condition.  They are already obedient every moment of every day to another master – their flesh.  Believers too have a master, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  The difference between the flesh and Jesus could not be greater than it is – they are diametrically opposed.  Where the flesh promises death, judgment, and eternal misery apart from Christ, Jesus promises life, freedom, and infinite, eternal joy in fellowship with Himself.

So then, we true believers, have been ransomed from one master by our new master, Jesus Christ.  He paid the price to for our ransom through His righteous blood on the cross.  We do not owe any allegiance to the flesh any longer – we have a new master, by the grace and mercy of God.  God in His love, however, has much us much greater that mere slaves, but He has called us sons.  God, in His love, has adopted us as sons, co-heirs with Christ.  Now adoption is another area that is not understood very well, so I want to go through that as quickly as possible, looking at a picture of adoption that God gives us from Genesis 48 in the adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh by Jacob, called Israel by God.  I’ve included that text at the bottom of the email if you want to read through it for context.  There are a couple observations I want to highlight about the adoption of Ephraim and Manesseh, as it relates to our adoption as sons to God the Father through Jesus.

1)   In the adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh, they were brought to Jacob by Joseph – they did not come on their own. 

Their adoption was facilitated by Joseph, Jacob’s son, just as our adoption as sons was facilitated by the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

2)  The adoption was sight unseen. 

There was nothing particularly lovely about Ephraim and Manasseh that made Jacob choose them among Josephs other sons.  It was to fulfill the purpose of God to grow the kingdom of God, and to carry his name forward that they were chosen.  There is nothing lovely about each of us that made God want to choose us, it was the mercy of God to choose to adopt us, and it is for His purpose that we were chosen.

3)  The adoption made Ephraim and Manasseh the highest level among Jacob’s sons as it related to the inheritance of Jacob.

When Jacob says to Joseph that Ephraim and Manasseh should be like two of Jacob’s other sons, Reuben and Simeon, he giving them the same level of inheritance as his first born sons. (The highest level).  When God says that we are fellow heirs with Christ, that means that God is granting us the same inheritance that was due his first and only Son, Jesus Christ.  What is the inheritance due Jesus Christ?  A fullness of joy in relationship with the triune Godhead.  We are being grafted into the family of God by the adoption facilitated by Jesus.  This is why when the Bible is talking about our adoption as sons, I want everyone to understand that God isn’t saying that adoption does not extend to daughters as well, but God means all of us to know what our inheritance is through Christ.

4)  The adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh was made without expectation of anything in return. 

Jacob was on his deathbed.  There was nothing that he could have gained by adopting new sons.  In the same way God does not adopt us into his family so that we can “pay him back” with good deeds.  Acts 17:24-25 – “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”  Our good deeds are simply a result of living out who we are through Jesus Christ.  We act as a member of God’s family, because we trust that in Christ we have been ransomed and brought into right fellowship with God.

I’m going to try to land the plane here.  Hopefully some of what we’ve gone through has been helpful to understand what is meant that we are “not debtors to the flesh”, but to the Spirit of God.  Hopefully we have also gained a greater understanding of God’s adoption of us into his family and the inheritance that awaits us through Jesus.  My encouragement is to press these truths into your heart with the result being a desire to live out your calling as sons and daughters of God.  It is a high calling, and your life as a Christian is not about what you do for its own sake, but what you do to make much of the name of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by proclaiming who you are through Him.

Grace and Peace,

Adam

 

Genesis 48:1-16 – “After this, Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And it was told to Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to you.” Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed.  And Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession.’ And now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. And the children that you fathered after them shall be yours. They shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. As for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”
When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?” Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” And he said, “Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them.”  Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them.  And Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also.”  Then Joseph removed them from his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.  And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him.  And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn).  And he blessed Joseph and said,  “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 44 – Pressing Forward in Christ

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Last time we talked about how only God could have saved us from the condemnation of our sin.  We also talked about the difference between having a mind set on the flesh versus a mind set on the Spirit.  Only those who are in Christ (those whose sins have been forgiven in Christ through faith and been put into a right standing with God) are able to have a mind set on the Spirit.   The condemnation removed, being “in Christ” through faith, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, is all a work of God.  Now this all takes place during the “justification” of a sinner, their being made right with God through faith.  The “sanctification” of a Christian, begins at justification and is the practical outworking of the indwelling Spirit to conform us into the image of Christ.  No one knows Christ better than the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit is actively at work to conform us into Christ’s image.  This is not an outward-in activity, it is an inward-out activity.  In making us into a new creation through the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are given a new heart that has desires for God where none existed before.  The mind set on the Spirit is not so much about the works you do, but about the inclination of your heart and mind to desire God and desire greater fellowship with Him through submission/obedience.  This is where we’re going to enter in today.
Romans 8:9-11 “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.  But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.  If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.  For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.  For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”  The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”

A lot of people are mourning the deaths of elementary school children by a lone shooter this week.  This was a horrendous evil perpetrated by an individual agianst those who were defenseless.  Everywhere, people ask the question, how could God allow this to happen? How can we make sure this never happens again?  As Christians we have a different worldview than others.  While not wanting to lessen the rage against the manifest evil of last week, part of me wonders why the people who seem so burdened by the deaths of 20 innocent children are not as concerned about the nearly 5 million children who will die this year due to hunger, that’s over 15,000 defenseless children a day.  This isn’t to guilt anyone, but only to expose a greater evil in the world than what can be seen in one incident.  The world can be shocked by evil, but as Christians, we are not shocked because we fight against this evil every day.  You seen when Adam originally sinned against God, sin entered the world and permeated the deepest, furthest reaches of creation.  We can hear about this incident in Connecticut and mourn the evil there, but we cannot be surprised by it because of what has been revealed by God to us in the gospel.  We know the depths of evil that are in our own heart and we know that unless the grace and mercy of God reaches out to someone, their sin will only grow leading to their death and judgment.  The evil that is innate in the heart of man is fundamentally the same as Adam’s sin – pride.  They will not love others out of a love for God (evidence of a mind set on the Spirit), rather they will do what is in their nature to do and use the world to seek to serve themselves (evidence of a mind set on the flesh).  There is no greater selfish act than to deprive someone of life.  For whatever your reason, you are robbing that person of everything they have to serve your desire, no matter how twisted that desire is.
So we can talk about gun control, we can talk about security in schools, we can talk about better mental healthcare, and any other variety of topics, but we know that there is no “solution” to the evil in the world apart from the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.  As Christians, we have to decide how we are going to engage this world that we live in.  How can we bring light into a dark and dying world?  My encouragement today is not to dissuade you from engaging government to restrain evil, but reckognize that restraining  evil is all a government can do, it cannot eliminate it.  My encouragement to you is to be healers of evil; to war against it through Christ.  How do you start?  You start with yourself.  The great part of Christ’s call to us is that his command to us is not complicated.  Sometimes I worry that Christians can miss this and believe their relationship with God to be a burden – it shouldn’t be.  Jesus has said in in Matthew 11:29-30 – “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  Christianity is not complicated, and it is not meant to be burdensome.
Christianity is about one thing.  Luke 18:18-21 – “And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.”  When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”   Two quick observations from this text.  Jesus asks him why he calls Him good if God alone is good, as if to ask him if he knows that it is God speaking to him.  Secondly, look at Jesus’ response.  He gives the ruler 3 tasks – sell all he has, distribute it, and come, yet Jesus tells him one thing he lacks, not three.  One.  What he lacked was Jesus.  He did not love Jesus, he loved his money.  He did not want to follow Jesus, he wanted to follow his money.  He did not want to be led by the Spirit of Christ, he wanted to set his mind on fleshly pursuits.  He did not want to put to death his fleshly desires by following Christ.  As Christians, we have the Spirit of God in us, and our task is no different – we must be actively submitting ourselves to the Spirit’s leading; denying our flesh to gain a greater joy in fellowship with God.
All of the commands of Jesus come down to this – love God and make his love known to the world.  You know God and love Him, so you want to make Him known to everyone.  It’s the greatest news in the world – we have a Savior.  This world is screwed up, I’m screwed up, you’re screwed up, but in Christ we have been forgiven and freed from bondage to sin to enjoy God forever.  We can’t be suprised by the evil in the world because we know that apart from Christ, people are in debt to their flesh, to obey its desires.  Their flesh tells them to serve it, and they obey because that is their nature.  Through Christ, we are no longer bound to our sin nature.  We have a new heart and a new nature that finds pleasure in God Himself, a greater pleasure in fellowship with the Living God, Jesus Christ.  How do we push back the darkness in the world?  We push it back by pressing into Christ in our own lives.  We defeat sin and death by bringing to life Christ in our hearts, minds, and bodies through the Holy Spirit.  We are being led by the Spirit of God to pursue God, and in pursuing God we leave behind sin and evil.
Every one of us will have battle wounds from this fight.  Every one of us will still have to kill off the temptation of our flesh and sin by pressing into a greater joy in Jesus Christ.  My exhortation to all of us today is to not grow weary in this fight.  Evil is real in the world, and we are the light of the world God has ordained to push back the darkness.  1 Peter 1:3-9 – “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
My hope is that this is encouraging to you if you are active in this fight.  If you have waned in your affections and passion for God and His kingdom of late, be encouraged by Hosea 6:1-3 – “Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.  After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.  Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”  Cultivate a heart that continually cycles between prayer, seeking God in His Word, and taking action in the your own life and the world.  We will not know the impact of our actions until we are with Christ in glory, but I assure you of this, God has far greater plans for you than you can know or imagine. 
Grace and peace,
Adam

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 43 – A Greater Creation

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Last time we labored together to see the depth of our condemnation as sinners born of Adam and how great a salvation we have in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Today we’re going to be looking at what God has for us in Romans 8:2-8.  What God through Paul is wanting to unpack for us in this section of scripture is both how God accomplished removing our condemnation and what that means for us who are “in Christ.”

Romans 8:2-8 – “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.  Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.  You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.  But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.  If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.“

“The law” was given in the Old Testament and inlcuded the over 600 rules and regulations by which God ordained man should live.  The law was good, showing us the righteousness of God and what we needed to fulfill in order to be in a right relationship with God.  The problem of the law, we saw back in Romans 5, began with the sin of Adam.  As a result of Adam’s sin, everyone born through him inherited his sin.  Therefore, everyone of us that have been born “of the flesh” through Adam had an insurmountable weakness.  We could see the righteousness of God from the law, but our flesh would not submit to it – it was our nature to run from it.  That is why Jesus came in “the likeness of flesh”.  In order to be our sinless savior Jesus was not born through the line of Adam, not born of the flesh; He was born of the Spirit of God through a virgin.  Therefore, Jesus did not inherit man’s sin nature, and lived a perfectly righteous life under the law.  Jesus was not “weakened by the flesh” like each of us have been.  By living a perfectly righteous life under the law, Jesus did what all of us were incapable and unwilling of doing. 

Christ’s holiness was not limited to the law – He was perfectly, infinitely Holy.  Therefore, God demonstrated His love and mercy by taking all of the sin of believers past, present, and future and placing it on Christ.  The condemnation that man had by being born in the flesh became the condemnation of Christ who bore our sin.  2 Corinthians 5:21 – “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  Galatians 3:13 – “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”  When Christ died, we were with Him, because our sin was with Him.  When He died for sin, we died to sin.  Our physical death is a testimony to the wages that our sinful flesh requires, but in Christ we have a great hope.  Just as Christ was raised to life, we too will be raised by the Holy Spirit.  Just as Christ was led by the Spirit, we too are led by the Spirit of God.  As the Spirit empowered Christ to do the will of the Father, so too will the Spirit move in us to guide our steps according to the will of God.  We therefore no longer walk according to the flesh, according to it’s guidance, but we are guided by the Spirit of God.

This is what Paul proclaims in Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” 
So that is how God accomplished removing out condemnation.  He accomplished it through the Lord Jesus Christ, by placing our unrighteousness on His infinitely righteous Son.  The implications for us who trust in what God has done for us in Christ, is eternal life and reconciliation to God.  Though our sin and flesh was condemned with Christ, we have life through God, the Holy Spirit.  God also tells us what that looks like to live by the Spirit and how to discern living by the Spirit of God from living according to the flesh (the Spirit Filled Christian vs. the natural man).  God tells us that “setting our mind” on the Spirit is evidence of the Spirit of God at work in us.  Setting your mind on the flesh is no large thing, it is the natural state of anyone apart from Christ.  Setting the mind on the Spirit though, requires us to be a new creation; a massive work of God to change the inclination of our heart and mind away from pursuing joy in the world and towards a fullness of joy in knowing and being known by God.
What does it maen to set the mind on the Spirit vs. setting the mind on the flesh?  Now some of you would expect me to compare a good work, like lets say feeding the homeless against something clearly sinful like adultery.  If I did that, it would be of no help to us, because the same person could do both of those things and have a mind set on the flesh in both.  So I want instead to use an example that Paul uses in scripture – preaching the gospel.  There is a way to preach the gospel that flows from a mind set on the Spirit and there is a way to preach the gospel from a mind set on the flesh.
Paul says in Phlippians 1:15-18 – “Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will.  The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.  The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.  What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.”
So Paul says that one group did a good work of preaching the gospel (something few Christians earnestly do) yet they did it out of a heart that was envious of Paul, perhaps the fame he had as a minister of God’s word.  Their mind was set on the flesh.  Another group preached the gospel out of love.  To encourage Paul who was imprisoned to know that the message of God was continuing to grow outside the walls of his imprisonment, his heart’s desire.  Their mind was set on the Spirit of God, to desire to seek after and do the will of God. 
Even as Christians we can find ourselves setting our mind the flesh even in doing “good things”.  As a teacher of God’s word, there is a great temptation to become prideful or to desire others to think highly of you.  How I combat my flesh in that, is to continue to remind myself that the Kingdom of God is far greater than one person, and to make much of how God is using other people.  In that way, my mind ceases to consider myself in what I’m doing, but only what God is desiring to accomplish.  The rebuke of the Lord is helpful in this too – God has a way of humbling you if you start to set your mind on your flesh. 
So my encouragement to all of us is to consider the work of God in Jesus to remove our condemnation and rejoice.  God has done this, and it is finished.  In reponse, my encouragement for all of us who known and love our savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, is to consider how we can actively be setting our mind on the Spirit each day, in prayer asking God to move in us and through us.  God who gave us His son, and sealed us with the Holy Spirit, Christ in us, will meet us in that desire each day.  By God’s grace, Christ will be formed in us – He will increase and we will decrease, for His glory and our joy. 
2 Corinthians 5:16-17 – “ From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”  We who were dead have life in Christ, the Spirit of God in us, and we will never be the same.
Grace and Peace,
Adam

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 42 – The Victory of Christ and the War Within

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Friends,

Sorry for the gap in teaching…much has been going on, but I’m excited to continue on with God’s revelation to us.  We’ve been working through Romans, and we’ve arrived at what many consider to be the greatest chapter in all of the Bible (if there can be said to be such a thing).  I probably should have more fear in trying to exposit the Truth of God for us from this chapter, but surprisingly what’s coming right now is not fear, but joy.  So I’m trusting God in that.  My burden today is for your peace and joy; that the clarity of God’s redemptive plan and the clarity of the glory of God would create a wellspring of joy in your heart that will carry you for the next 10, 20, 40, 70 years; however long God has for you in this life.  I have gone back and forth on how to approach Romans 8, whether to bite off big chunks at a time and give you an overall understanding of the message of God, or whether to go small and deep.  I started one way, and now have decided to go small and deep.  So after initially planning on covering Romans 8:1-11, instead I’m just going to cover Romans 8:1.  Sorry.  If you know me, this shouldn’t come as a big surprise, but it’ll be good, because God and His promises to us are infinitely good.

Romans 8:1 – “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”I want to you feel the weight of this, not because they are my words, but because they are the words of God to you, yesterday, today, tomorrow, and in eternity:  There is no condemnation for those who are you in Christ Jesus.  There is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  There is no greater foundation for joy than knowing the just wrath of God for our sin has been removed, put on Christ, and there is no condemnation for us if we are in Him.  With so great a Truth before us, we have to ask the question, what is the condemnation we have been freed from?  What does it mean to be “in Christ Jesus”?  How can we be sure that we are in Christ Jesus? 

Let’s start with the condemnation.  What is man’s condemnation before God?  What I want you to see is that our condemnation is not something that came upon us at a certain point in time, like maybe the first time we knowingly sinned.  God doesn’t speak about man’s condemnation that way.  To understand man’s condemnation, we only need look back to Romans 5 to get a description.  In Adam (not me – the other Adam), as his descendant, you were born a sinner in bondage to sin.  Now I realize most of you think about yourself as a sinner because maybe you’ve lied, or you’ve been angry, or you’ve performed some kind of action deemed unrighteous by God.  Roman’s 5 doesn’t describe our sin problem that way, Romans 3 doesn’t talk about our sin problem that way.  We are not sinners because we sin, we are sinners in our innermost being – therefore we sin.  Sin was not merely something you did, you were a sinner from birth; you are by nature a sinner in your flesh (“flesh” being who you are apart from the saving work of Jesus Christ).  Psalm 51:6 – “I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”  Ephesians 2:3 – “we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”  In Psalm 51 says that
Your condemnation by God is deep; it reaches back into time from the beginning of sin in Adam and carries forward to cover your entire being.  I know people mean well, but I cringe every time I hear someone way, God hates the sin, but loves the sinner.  You won’t find any Bible passage to support that saying.  You cannot separate who you are apart from God from what you do.  What you do simply gives evidence to who you are, and who you are in your flesh apart from Christ is sinful beyond what you can imagine – an infinitely offensive offront to a infinitely holy and righteous God.  Perhaps people take lightly their salvation because they take so lightly their sin.  The infinite wrath of God abides on sinners.  
If you want to know what it means to be in Christ Jesus, you only need to remember the picture we were given in Romans 5.  Romans 5:15-16 – “the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.  And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.”
If you hope in Christ alone for salvation and your life bears evidence of that hope in how you live, you have great assurance that you are in Christ Jesus, and there is no condemnation for you.  Your heart’s inclination towards God to trust Him, love Him, and follow Him is evidence that you are in Christ Jesus.  I can say that with authority because Romans 8 says it, and 1 John 5 says it.  Apart from God, you would never have any love for Jesus.  You might have a selfish desire to escape his wrath, but you would never love Jesus for who He is.  The fact that you love God for who He is and desire to grow closer to Him is evidence of the Holy Spirit in you, because that is what your loving Heavenly Father wants for you too.  So, if those affections for Christ are present for you, you are in Christ Jesus, and no matter where you are struggling with sin, no matter what sins you have committed in your past, no matter what sin you may struggle with in the future, there is no condemnation for you.  This isn’t to make little of the grace of God, to suggest that your war against sin is not important, but you have to understand grace first, and scripture wants you to have peace that if you are trusting in Christ, the battle against sin has been won and you are free.  Christ is victorious, and His victory has been counted as our victory.  So wherever you are, I would encourage you take a moment and rest in the weight of that – in light of everything that you have going on in your life right now to remember that our greatest need; that the wrath of God be removed from us for our sin and that we be reconciled with God – that need has been met fully in Jesus Christ for all time.  We are his, He is ours, and nothing can separate us from His love. 
This is gospel.  The foundation of all Christianity and the Christian life is the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ.  For us sinners, we will always be tempted by our flesh and Satan to deny God’s grace towards us in Jesus Christ because of our sin, which is why we must pressh this precious truth into our hearts.  Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.  He was buried, and he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.  If you are hungry, He is bread.  If you are thirsty, He is drink.  All who are weary and in need of rest, run to your Savior and find peace to the uttermost.  No conditions, no barriers, no waiting to “clean yourself up” or you will never come.  Just come.  Rest in Him, and know that in Christ, the God of all Creation, there is no condemnation for you.  He loves you, and His love will never end.  I hope this finds you well, and know you’re loved and prayed for.

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 41 – Every Christian’s Struggle

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Today we’re going to cover a lot of ground.  That means this message is going long (also why it’s taken me so long to finish)…I really don’t want to split up this section of scripture any more because I want you to see the entire picture of what Paul is saying here.  This is a section of scripture that can be grossly misinterpreted, even used as an excuse to continue in sin.  We don’t want or need that.  We do not want to be mislead in scripture, but we want to see the Truth that God has for us, and so my prayer is that the Holy Spirit would illuminate His great truth to you today.  Rightly understood, there is perhaps no greater scripture for encouragement in the daily walk of Christian life.  That is the weight of my task today – to present clearly this good news for your encouragement and joy.

Romans 7:15-25 – “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.  So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.  For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.  For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.  So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.  For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.  Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”

First I need to quickly address the controversy that surrounds this section of scripture.  Some want to say that Paul is speaking not of who he is currently, but of who he used to be before becoming a Christian.  Why this thought is wrong:  Paul talks about a hatred of sin.  Paul agrees that the laws of Christ are good.  Paul say he has the desire to do what is right, yearning for righteousness.  Now we know that by nature we are at enmity with God, and in love with the world (Eph 2:3, Rom 8:5, Jam 4:4).  Therefore, what Paul is describing cannot be the feelings of a non-Christian. 

A second group of people want to say Paul is talking about a “Carnal” Christian.  I cringe every time I hear this term, because it is so unBiblical and unhelpful to actual Christians to believe there is such a thing.  That said, when someone speaks about a “carnal” Christian they mean a Christian that has accepted Jesus as savior, but is still in bondage to sin and continues in their sin without true repentance.  Again, although Christians can struggle with carnality in their flesh, this “carnal” Christian that abides in sin is found NOWHERE in the Bible.  The Bible specifically says that “no one born of God makes a practice of sinning” (1 John 3:9)  This idea was born out of well-meaning pastors who wanted to comfort grandmothers that their grandson was still a Christian because he made a profession of faith at 8 years old, while he has not set foot in a church in 20 years and just left his wife and family for another woman.  Let me be helpful, because the term “carnal Christian” can be confusing – I have another word for a “carnal Christian” and it’s much easier to understand – I call them nonbelievers.  Clearly the idea of a “carnal Christian” as defined above is not what Paul is talking about.   

What Paul is talking about is the war that wages itself in the hearts and minds of believers every day.  That is why this passage of scripture is so helpful to us, because it describes us all and should serve as a comfort and reminder of the peace we have through gospel of Jesus.  Let’s walk through this passage of scripture to see what God has for us.

When Paul is saying that he does not understand his own actions – what is he describing?  He says that he does what he does not want, the very thing he hates – but what does this mean?  Clearly Paul is talking about sin in his life, but what he is describing as his emotions about sin in his life is more than simple remorse.  After all, you don’t have to be a Christian to feel bad about sinful actions.  There are all sorts of reasons why a non-Christian would feel remorse, centered primarily on the consequences of their sin.  Ex: if you cheat on your wife, she may leave you and you feel bad or if you drink heavily, you may do/say things you shouldn’t have and have to deal with the reprecussions.  
For Paul, as a Christian, his sin illicits an emotional response which includes remorse, but extends far beyond the kind of remorse a non-Christian would experience.  Paul doesn’t merely feel bad that he sins, he “hates” sin.  Paul hates sin because he loves Jesus.  Paul doesn’t merely dislike the consequences of his sin, he hates it for its own sake, because it defames the name of the One who set him free.  There is a love of God that drives Paul, and his sin is directly in opposition to the God he loves.  We see this beautifully in 2 Corinthians 14-15 – “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”  Therefore Paul’s hatred of sin is well placed.  As Christians we all should hate our sin in the same way – that it is in opposition to the God we love.  Pragmatically, if your fight against sin begins with trying to merely “stop sinning” instead of growing in your love and affection for God, you will never experience lasting success or experience true freedom and joy in Christ.  
Now, if Paul is controlled by a love of Christ and the law points us to the righteousness of Christ, Paul is in agreement that the law is good.  Even in sinning against the law, and hating his sin, Paul reckognizes that the law is good. 
Right here we’re about to get pretty deep, so stay with me, its worth it.  Paul now says that when he now sins it is not him doing it, but sin that dwells in him.  He explains that there is nothing good in him, that is in his flesh.  He says he has the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry out that desire.  What does this mean?  Is Paul suggesting that he can go on sinning and it doesn’t matter?  Not at all.  Paul refutes that heresy back one chapter in Romans 6:1-4 – “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” 
So what is Paul saying?  Paul realizes that it sin in his body, his sin that is sinning, but there are two reasons why he says that it is not him doing it.  First, there is so great a love for God, and so great a hatred for sin in a believer, that they could rightly say that they are “not themselves” to be sinning.  My fear is that for many Christians, they will have absolutely NO idea what I just meant by that, and the reason is that they neither truly hate their sin, nor truly love their God and Savior.  As Christians, as we draw near to God through the means of grace He has given us in His Word, through prayer, through fasting, through song, through communion, through fellowship with saints, and in enjoying him in nature, our affections for God should grow.  As our affections grow, our disdain for sin and all things that would draw us away from the God we love should also be growing.  This should be continual in the life of a believer, where sin becomes non-sensical – to pursue a lie for suffering and deprive yourself of Truth for joy.  So Paul, out of his great love for God says that it is no longer “him” sinning, but sin that dwells in him. 
Second, and most importantly, we as believers must root our identity in Christ as Paul does in Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  Here you must realize that Paul has labored in Romans 5 two chapters ago to show what it means to no longer be identified with the sin of Adam, but the perfect righteousness of the second Adam, Jesus Christ.  Romans 5:17 – “For if, because of one man’s trespass (Adam), death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ”  The death that Christ died, is your death through faith.  He died to sin.  You died to sin in Him.  He was raised to life in righteousness.  You were raised to life in righteousness.  Before sin was your master.  Now Jesus Christ and His righteousness is your master.  We are not our own, we were bought with the blood of Christ.  We are Jesus Christ’s and he has given us new life, new heart’s affection for Him and His righteousness for His glory.  We must hate our sin, and seek to put it to death by the Spirit in pursuing Christ, but our sin is gone.  It was paid for in full by Jesus on the cross.  When Christ said “it is finished”, it was finished.  Anyone who hears this as liberty to continue in sin is no Christian.  This is liberty to pursue righteousness as a sinner free from the guilt that our enemy Satan and our flesh would have us in bondage to.  
So, for Christians, there should be a growing disdain for remaining sin in your flesh and an identity in the death Christ died to sin.  1 John 3:9 – “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.”  You are not defined by your sin, you are defined by God.  You are not defined by sin and your flesh, but by Christ’s righteousness and His Spirit that dwells inside you.  Our Father claimed you through the blood of His son, therefore, obey the voice of the One who loves you and gave Himself up for you.  This is the cause for peace and rejoicing that Paul has in Romans 7:25. 
I realize in this message, there are probably many questions, but I want you to leave encouraged – In this world, we are at war, but the victory has already been won.  We are at war with the sin in our culture, and we are at war with the sin within us.  We are going into battle with sin and temptation daily, but Satan cannot bring any charge against the chosen of God.  For every charge He makes against us, Jesus proclaims – I paid for that, they are mine.  God knows you.  He knows your past, present, and future.  He knew you completely when he died for your sins once and for all.  You are healed, you are whole, you are righteous in Christ.  Your soul is righteous and safe in Jesus.  This isn’t my story, this isn’t your story, this is the story of Jesus Christ; every one of us was dead in our trespasses, sinners in the flesh and spirit, but God in the fullness of time, put forth his Son Jesus, perfect, omnipotent in power, omniscient in knowledge, possessing a love so far beyond our understanding that it led him to die for his enemies, mockers, sinners like you an me.  The wages of sin is death.  Each of us will die one day because of the sin in our flesh, but in Christ we are a new creation.  We have been redeemed.  In His mercy God chose to reveal Himself to us, grant us faith to trust in the perfect sacrifice of His Son, and in Him we have a hope that is not day to day swayed by the goings on in the world or in the ups and downs of our struggles, but we possess and eternal hope, in the perfect righteousness of Christ.  These are weighty words for those who know their sin and for those who God has revealed the glory of His Son to.  We’re free.  Who we are in Christ is different from who we were.  We are a new Creation in Christ.  Our life now is not rooted in our flesh or abilities, but to manifest the Spirit of God in Jesus Christ who dwells in us to a lost and dying world; to press the love of Christ against a sinful world and preach Christ crucified for sinners that God would reach out to many others still.  Continue to press forward.  You have life in the Spirit of God dwelling in you – don’t turn to sin, but be led by the Spirit of God.  In Him alone are you truly free to pursue that which will offer you a fullness of joy, a relationship with Jesus, the God of all Creation, the God who holds all things together by the Word of His Power, and the God who loves perfectly.
Grace and Peace,
Adam 

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 40 – The Gospel of Peace and Joy in the Day of Trouble

/ adamrenken / Leave a comment
No one seemed to notice that my numbering was off on the last WFTD… so I take that to be a great encouragement at the grace of God that is flowing out from each of you!  We’re back on track with the numbering, as we are looking at Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, and how it shapes our understanding of ourselves, God, and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We’re all busy people.  Why do we spend time reading and studying the Word of God?  Why do we need 40+ messages on the gospel?  Shouldn’t we be busy living the gospel out instead of spending our time remembering what it is?  Allow me to share what my own experience has been and why I am convinced that study of God’s Word and the centrality of the gospel is essential to a Christian.  The day after I sent out my last WFTD, I was admitted to the ER with extended chest pains.  They actually started Saturday, but came to a climax early Sunday morning.  I sat in the ER, waiting on tests to come back, and was confronted with an array of thoughts and emotions – What plans for my life would go unfulfilled, what sin lay unconquered, and do I possess the depth of faith to endure until the end?  The answers to all of my hearts questions lay in the promises of God from His Word and the gospel.  The plans for my life are not eternal, the gospel is (Isaiah 40:8).  To the extent God has used me to be a messenger of His gospel, I can be sure my life’s most important work, God’s plan for me, had been fulfilled (2 Cor 5:18).  Though still a sinner, I was comforted that Jesus died for sinners (Rom 5:8), just like me, to reconcile us to God (1 Pet 3:18) – something I could never do and that is a gift of God (not dependent on my sin or “righteousness”) (Eph 2:8-9).  Would I possess the depth of faith to endure until the end?  Yes, God is faithful to see to completion what he has begun. (Phil 1:6)  All of this is the gospel of Jesus Christ from His Word.
Do you know what I was reading in my Bible before I went into the hospital?  I was reading Romans 7.  Do you know what I was reading while in the hospital?  Romans 8.  As Christians, we are not our own.  We have been bought for a price, the precious blood of Christ. (1 Pet 18-19)  If I have been purchased, my life is not my own, but in the hands of my master, the Lord Jesus Christ.  He gave me life and He can take it away, but He has promised to work all things towards good for those who love Him; for those whom He has called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28).  So whether I live or whether I die, that is not my concern, it is in the master’s hands.  My concern is not in how or when I die, but in how I live – to the glory of Christ.  The only way anyone can live to the glory of Christ is to be saturated in faith from His Word, being conformed to His image, and overflowing in love to others.
Romans 14:8 – “For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.”
Romans 10:17 – “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
2 Corinthians 3:15-18 – “to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

2 Peter 1:3-7 – “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.  For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.”

Some of you reading this I know very well, some I am only acquainted with, and others I may never know.  What I can say is that my heart is for your encouragement in the gospel of Jesus Christ from His Word.  My hope is that you do not grow weary in studying God’s Word and the gospel.  There is no greater threat to sin, no greater means of strengthening faith, than seeing and savoring Jesus Christ from His Word.  It is because of that, that satan and your indwelling sin will battle you at every turn to keep you from God’s Word.  Arm yourself with purpose and resolve to continue in the work God has given you. 

I just realized that my hope to continue in Romans 7 has gotten off-course.  That’s ok.  God leads, and this is more important.  There will come a day (for most of us when we do not expect) that God will call us home from this world to spend eternity with Him.  How are you arming yourself from God’s Word to sustain you in that day so that you finish the race well?  How are you being transformed by God’s image today from His Word so that the glory of God is being manifested?  How are you sharing the gospel with others that God has placed in your life?  I can tell you, the greatest peace and joy in life and death will be knowing that you have eagerly sought to know the Lord and make Him known in these ways.  Keep running the race with perseverance; the Spirit of God within you will grant you all the strength you need.

Grace and Peace,
Adam