April 21, 2019

Romans 5:6-11 - The Love of God Explained

Text:
Romans 5:6-11
  6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
  7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
  8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
  9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Additional Text:
John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
Romans 5:1-5 Paul talks about how believers in Jesus are justified by faith. He begins talking about “the love of God” and how it “has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

I. Misinterpretations of phrase, "God loves you.'
    A. Some think “Yes, and therefore I will continue to embrace sin because God loves me anyway.”
    B. Others think, “Yes, and therefore I will continue to largely ignore God because He still loves me anyway.”
    C. Still others think, “No He doesn’t, because my life seems to be nothing more than an endless sequence of tragedies.”

II. How does the Bible explain God’s love?
    A. It is a Trinitarian act. - The love of God the Father has been poured into the hearts of those who believe in Jesus by the Holy Spirit.
        1. persistent false teachings - God of the Old Testament is solely a God of judgment while Jesus in the New Testament is solely a God of love.
            a. In the Old Testament God the Father restores the Israelites again and again despite their continual unfaithfulness, and in the New Testament Jesus promises to come back to judge the living and the dead.
            b. All three persons of the one true Triune God demonstrate both love and judgment.
    B. God in His holiness loves what is good and hates what is evil. But God’s love is so great that He will even bring good things out of evil things. (Romans 8:28)

III. Romans 5: 6
    A. “without strength” communicates ideas of being weak, sick, and helpless.
        1. No amount of good works can make up for evil things done.
        2. Letting 10 people live doesn’t make up for murdering one person; telling the truth ten times doesn’t make up for telling one terrible lie.
    B. “in due time” (or “at just the right time”) “Christ died for the ungodly.”
        1. Right location
            a. Israel connects Africa, Asia, and Europe - to travel or trade between those three continents by land you go through Israel.
            b. Best place to start to spread the good news of salvation all over the world
        2. Right time
            a. From 27 BC to 180 AD the world enjoyed it’s very first prolonged period of relative peace.
            b. Christ’s good news of salvation is quickly able to spread throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe without large wars slowing it down.

IV. “Christ died for the ungodly.”
    A. The standard of goodness
        1. isn’t based on how you compare to other people.
        2. instead based on God’s standard of absolute moral perfection.
            a.  Jesus “knew no sin.” (2 Corinthians 5:21); is “without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15) and God cannot even lie (Titus 1:2)
            b. God can’t do anything wrong!!!
    B. You can either get mad about that assessment or you can humble yourself and get saved.

V. Romans 5:7-9.
    A. You wouldn’t give up your life for just anybody.because your life is precious to you.
    B. Romans 5:8: “But, God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
    C. None of us deserve God’s love.

VI. Romans 5: 9-10
    A. uses legal terms such as “justified” and “reconciled.”
    B. In the divine court of law all of us are guilty of sinning against God.
        1. We’ve lied, we’ve stolen; we’ve dishonored our parents
        2. Worst of all we’ve worshiped the gods of money, power, and self instead of the God
    C. But if you repent of your sins and have faith in Jesus Christ you have now been justified by His blood.
        1. To be “justified” means “to be declared righteous” or “to be declared as being in right standing before God.”
        2. In a legal sense Jesus bled and died on that cross to take the punishment for your sins upon Himself.

VII. Death
    A. Romans 6:23 will say later “the wages of sin is death” or what we earn from the sins we commit is death.
    B. The underlying reason why all of us are vulnerable to death is because of sin - Both the sin that we ourselves commit and the sin that we inherit from Adam.
    C. Jesus Christ as the Son of God didn’t have to die and yet He both bled and died in our place so that through faith in Him we could be saved from the just wrath of death and hell.

VIII. Romans 5:10-11.
    A. “enemies” of God.
        1. Through faith Christ’s sacrifice reconciles your relationship with God.
            a. Need of reconciliation - Isaiah 59:2 "But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear."
            b. Romans 5:10 says, “we shall be saved by His life.”
        2. As important as Christ’s death is for our justification and reconciliation we need the resurrected life of Jesus Christ in order to give us the hope of our own resurrection into eternal life.
        3. If you are a follower of Jesus then you have the Holy Spirit so even if your body dies it will live again in the paradise of the new heaven and new earth where Revelation 21:4 says, "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
        4. We who were once “without strength,” “ungodly,” “sinners,” and “enemies” of God are now through faith in Jesus Christ “justified,” “saved,” and “reconciled” and this makes us “rejoice.”
            a. Every Sunday is the Lord’s Day.
            b. Every Sunday we rejoice in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead because His resurrection guarantees our own.

Conclusion:

This is what God’s love is really like. It’s not sappy or sentimental. It doesn’t simply overlook your bad behavior. Instead it’s very honest about how far all of us have fallen. Yet despite how terrible you and I have been God showed His great love in a bloody cross and an empty tomb so that you could be saved. So if you haven’t done so already, become a disciple (become a student of everything Christ has commanded you) and He will be with you always.

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Do you feel an emptiness in your life? Are you seeking answers but don't know where to look? Have you ever wondered if you are good enough? Please read the summary of the gospel message, "Four Things You Need to Know About God"

Please send an email to the Pastor if you have questions.

April 14, 2019

Luke 13: 31-35 - In Anticipation of Palm Sunday

Luke 13: 31-35
31 The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee.
32 And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.
33 Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.
34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!
35 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

I. Palm Sunday
    A. Jesus Christ made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
    B. Citizens welcomed Jesus by laying down palm branches and by saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”
        1. This word “hosanna” means “save now.”
        2. Instead of driving out the Romans as many expected, Jesus saved us from the problem of sin and death.

II. Herod's area of control
    A. Luke 13:22 - Jesus teaching while on His way to Jerusalem.
        1. Jerusalem was not His final destination yet
        2. John 10:40 Jesus left Jerusalem and went into a region historical records call Perea.
        3.  Herod Antipas had no authority in Jerusalem or Judea However he remained in control over Galilee and Perea.
        4. Perea was home of the Israelite tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh in the Old Testament and that region still had a sizeable Jewish population in the New Testament.
      
III. Warning given by Pharisees
    A. Was it true?
        1. Luke 9:9 Herod did want to see Jesus both because of His miracles and rumors that Jesus was John the Baptist risen from the dead, but text doesn’t specifically say that Herod wanted to kill Jesus.
        2. Likely Herod Antipas did feel threatened by Jesus (wise men and Bethlehem in Matthew Chapter 2)
    B. Christ’s response
        1. Calls Herod a fox.
            a. Foxes were regarded as nuisances in ancient Israel; Song of Solomon 2:15 - foxes were known to ruin vineyards by eating all the grapes.
            b. Jesus is basically saying that Herod is a varmint or a troublemaker and clearly believes that Herod does want to kill him.

IV. Name calling versus honest assessment
    A. Exodus 22:28 and Acts 23:5 both say, “You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.”
    B. Respecting authorities does not mean that authorities are beyond rebuke when they sin.
        1. Old Testament prophets rebuked rulers who were in clear violation of God’s law.
        2. Example - 1 Kings 21 Elijah prophesied that dogs would eat the remains of Ahab and Jezebel because of their terrible sins against God.
    C. Jesus calling Herod a fox was not a sign of disrespect, but an honest assessment of character.
    D. However, we need to be careful because it’s very easy to cross the line between rightly holding those in authority accountable and wrongly speaking evil of them.
        1.  There’s a difference between honest criticisms and undeserved character assassinations.
        2. We need to never go beyond the facts and into baseless slander.

V. Message Jesus sends back to Herod - verses 32-33.
    A. Not talking about His death and resurrection three days later
    B. Talking about He will finish these three days of ministry while traveling toward Jerusalem because “it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.”
        1. hyperbole; used to make an impression.
        2. not every prophet died in Jerusalem, but a surprisingly high number did because of their faithfulness to God the Father.
    C. major point of application in this text: God is sovereign.
        1. It doesn’t matter that Herod Antipas wants to kill Jesus in Perea, because he won’t.
        2. Instead Jesus will die in Jerusalem because that is His Father’s will.
        3. Nothing can be accomplished that is outside God’s sovereign will.

VI. Sovereignty of nations.
    A. A nation has a right rule itself. But that sovereignty is limited.
        1. We can’t stop natural evils like hurricanes or moral evils like 9-11 from ravaging us.
        2. Our sovereignty is limited, but God’s is not. which is something we as Christians should take comfort in.

VII. Prediction
Matthew 23:37-39
37  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
38  See! Your house is left to you desolate;
39  for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’

    A. Just as Jerusalem and its temple were both destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC both will be destroyed again this time by the Romans in 70 AD. because of the city’s repeated wickedness.
    B. Jesus can make this prediction of Jerusalem’s destruction 37 years before it actually happens because of His sovereign power and knowledge.
    C. Jesus wants to save the people of Jerusalem, but end of verse 34 says they “were not willing!” - a picture both God’s sovereignty and human free will.

VIII. God’s sovereignty (Calvinism) or human free will (Arminianism).
    A. Some verses clearly teach God’s sovereignty while other verses clearly teach human free will. You don’t have to choose one over the other.
        1. No one can explain how both God’s sovereignty and human free will work together. Scripture talks both about the elect and whosoever will.
        2. We should see God’s sovereignty and human free will in much the same way we see there is one God in three persons as well as Jesus Christ being truly God and truly Man.
    B. God is sovereign.
        1. Jesus knows He will die in Jerusalem
        2. He knows Jerusalem will be destroyed because of it.
    C. There is also free will.
        1. Most literal translation of Christ’s words in Greek in Luke 13:34 (YLT) is “how often did I will to gather together thy children” but then the end of the verse says “you were not willing!”
        2. This is the mystery of God’s sovereignty and human free will all wrapped up in one short passage.

IX. Palm Sunday references and Sovereign will
Luke 13:35,
See! Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’
    A. The phrase “hosanna” or “save now” comes from Psalm 118:25 and the verse after that (Psalm 118:26) is how Jesus closes Luke 13:35: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!
    B. Same phrase the people of Jerusalem used in reference to Jesus on Palm Sunday.
    C. When Jesus Christ returns physically and visibly to the earth in glory the people of Jerusalem will once again say (genuinely this time), “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!”
    D. Why? Because in the end Romans 11:26 says “all Israel will be saved.” - the Jews who are still alive by the time Jesus Christ returns will come to believe in Him.

Despite Israel’s long periods of repeated unfaithfulness God will not fail to keep His covenant promises to them. Indeed He will accomplish every last one in the millennial kingdom. And this is further testimony to the greatness of God the Father, the perfect salvation provided by His Son Jesus Christ, and the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. This passage points to the majesty of the Triune God and our need to always worship Him.

Click on the player to listen to the full audio sermon.

If the player doesn't work, you can listen to the sermon on Google Drive.

Do you feel an emptiness in your life? Are you seeking answers but don't know where to look? Have you ever wondered if you are good enough? Please read the summary of the gospel message, "Four Things You Need to Know About God"

Please send an email to the Pastor if you have questions.