Current Studies

The Mercy of the Gospel (Romans 9)

In our study of Romans we now come to Romans 9-11. These three chapters are considered the more difficult parts of this book. Volumes have been written about the meaning of these chapters. But are these chapters just deep theology and hard teachings that are reserved for intellectual academic studies? I think sometimes we can come across complicated scriptures and think that there is nothing there for us and these things are just for the academics to argue over. But I would like to remind us that all scriptures were given for the average person. Even scriptures that Peter may have called “hard to understand” (cf. 2 Peter 3:16) are scriptures that are given to all people. We recently looked at 1 Corinthians 1 in our Sunday morning Bible study where we learned that the Lord did not reveal these things to the noble, wise, or powerful (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:18-31). The point is that you do not have to be someone special to understand what the Lord is teaching us. So I want to challenge you to want to know the meaning of Romans 9-11. I am going to challenge myself to not get lost in the weeds and get too deep into the details that I lose the message of these chapters. I will not speak on every verse but try to capture the meaning, paragraph by paragraph, as we move through these chapters. Lord willing, we are going to take four lessons to cover these three chapters so we can see the main message Paul is teaching about the gospel and what these things mean for our walk with Christ today…

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The Love of the Gospel (Romans 8:31-39)

“What then shall we say to these things?” (Romans 8:31). Romans 8 is a glorious chapter that has wrestled with the conflict between being children of God and experiencing suffering. The defining mark of the Christian is being led by the Spirit and no longer being led by the flesh. If we live according to the desires and the will of the flesh, we will die (Romans 8:13). But if we live according to the desires and the will of the Spirit, we will live (Romans 8:13). But suffering challenges and tests the way we think about our relationship with God. But Paul has put forward an important truth for every follower of Christ to hear. We are children of God, heirs of God, and fellow heirs with Christ provided we suffer with him (Romans 8:16-17). But our suffering is so that we can be glorified with him (Romans 8:17). Paul then tells us that everything in God’s plan and everything in creation is moving us to our glorification. For those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). This is what brings us to the important question Paul asks: “What then shall we say to these things?” You might notice that the rest of chapter 8 is filled with questions. People ask questions so that we will think and give a response. Paul is going to ask a flurry of questions so that we will think about our circumstances and our relationship with God and then provide the necessary answers. Open your copies of God’s word to Romans 8:31-39 and we are going to explore Paul’s questions so that the answers we give will provide hope and assurance as we see the love of gospel…

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More In Readiness (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11)

Every year we are told to begin preparations because we live in south Florida. When June 1 rolls around we are told that we need to stock up on hurricane supplies. We need to have extra water on hand. We need to make sure we have batteries for flashlights and radios. Make sure your generator is ready to run. Have your trees trimmed back. There are many steps that are given to us so that we can be prepared for any named storms that head our way. But how many of us have done this? When the reminder on June 1 came, how many of us went through the checklist, made the necessary purchases, and have everything ready for this year’s hurricane season? I will not ask anyone to raise their hand. But if we did not make preparations, I want us to consider why not. Maybe we think we are not going to have a storm this year. Maybe we think we can get ready later. Maybe we think we will make preparations when we see the storm heading our way. Maybe we think we are ready and do not need to follow the recommendations given. We can be tempted to approach the return of Christ and our preparation in the same way. At the end of 1 Thessalonians 4, the apostle Paul wrote to those Christians about the future hope of Christ’s return. When Christ comes, we will be gathered together and always be with the Lord. But this leads to Paul’s instruction about being ready for Christ’s return. As Paul concludes his teaching about excelling even more, he wants these Christians to excel even more in readiness…

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