Archive for the 'Romans' Category

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The Big Picture of Romans

Published on April 15, 2011 in Romans. 0 Comments

Sunday our church will continue with the Romans Project. Here is a very helpful overview of Romans from Michael Horton:

The problem that all of humanity faces is the wrath of God, which is entirely justified because the Gentiles know God according to general revelation and the Jews know God according to special revelation. Yet both have failed to truly acknowledge God since they have violated His law. Since everyone is under sin and God’s wrath the only way out is the Gospel, the announcement that in Christ God has provided a righteousness that satisfies his holy requirements. Christ has absorbed God’s wrath in His death and justifies the wicked in his resurrection. All of this is received by faith alone apart from works as the examples of Abraham and David demonstrate Yet God has not only secured our life from the condemnation of the law, but also from the dominion of sin and death. Baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection we are made new creatures and yet we continue to struggle throughout our lives with indwelling sin and the only hope we have is to look outside of ourselves to Christ, with the indwelling Spirit testifying in our hearts to our free adoption and keeping alive within us the hope that not only we but the whole creation will share in the final redemption.

In the light of all this, nothing can separate us from God’s love. But how then can we trust this gospel if God has been unfaithful to his early promises to Israel? Well, God has always maintained his prerogative of Election, even among the physical descendents of Abraham. So salvation isn’t a matter of physical decent or of human decision or effort, but of God’s mercy alone. God has been faithful to His promises, because even now an elect remnant is being saved from among Jews and Gentiles and after God adds alien Gentile branches to the tree of Israel he will finally bring in the fullness of the Jews as well. In view of all these mercies that stagger our imagination, we can now offer, not the dead sacrifices of animals for atonement, but our own bodies as living sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving. In that light, stop judging each other about things indifferent and get on with the business of loving and serving each other.” –Michael Horton, from an Overview of the Book of Romans, WHI 2006

HT: Reformation Theology

Review of last week’s sermon notes

Published on April 3, 2011 in Doctrine, Preaching, Romans and Soteriology. 0 Comments

Last Sunday, I stressed that a goal for our pulpit is to consider how sound doctrine shapes how we see life.  It’s worth glancing at the sermon notes again to recall not only some of the definitions I gave so we could digest the passage, but also how this doctrine would shape our approach to different situations in life.

Always Be Connecting Sound Doctrine with Life and Experience, Pastor Chris Brauns, Romans 5:6-11, 3/27/11

But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine (Titus 2:1). It’s not enough to teach sound doctrine.  We must demonstrate how that doctrine fits with life.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.  I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching (2 Timothy 3:16-4:2). Scripture is good for something!  It is profitable.

Terms: We cannot digest Romans 5:6-11 apart from reflecting on these terms.

Lostness / total depravity – Without Christ, all people are radically corrupted at the core of our being.  We are dead in our transgressions (Eph 2:1-3, Titus 3:3, John 6:65).  This does not mean all people are as bad as they could be.  It does mean that we are completely and utterly unable to save ourselves.  We need to be born again.

Blood – “The blood of Christ is the clear outward evidence that his life blood was poured out when he died a sacrificial death to pay for our redemption (Grudem, Larger Systematic, 579).”  Grudem also quotes Leon Morris, “the blood of Christ means his death in its saving aspects.”  See 1 Peter 1:18-19.

Justified- This is a legal term that means being declared righteous in Christ (Romans 5:1, 8:1).

Reconciled – To be brought back into fellowship with God through Christ (See 2 Corinthians 5:11-21).

Substitutionary atonement – The truth that Christ stood in the place of Christians and took upon himself the punishment we deserve.

Wrath of God – It is an oft repeated truth in the Bible that God will punish sin.  John 3:36 stresses that whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.  Ephesians 2:3 says that, apart from Christ, we are “children of wrath.”

So how would this doctrine affect our approach to:

Parenting a small child – Our children are not born as blank moral slates . . .

Parenting an elementary age child – Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.  We cannot just be “behavorists” as parents who raise well behaved children.  We must evangelize them.

Being the victim of an horrific offense with an unrepentant offender–We can trust a just God for justice.

A major fight in your marriage- We ought to graciously forgive one another even as God forgave us.

Worship – “I will sing of my redeemer and his wondrous love for me, on the cruel cross he suffered, from the curse, to set me free.”

Facing the possibility of cancer -Whatever our lot, thou hast taught us to say, “It is well with my soul.:

Meet me in Oxford (or at least read Philemon or Romans 3:21-26)

Published on February 12, 2011 in Romans. 0 Comments

I am planning to preach at Oxford Bible Fellowship near Miami University in Ohio tomorrow .  You can read Jeremy Carr’s introduction of me, as well as my encouragement to read Philemon over at Jeremy’s blog. Click here.

In the mean time, we are privileged to have Jess Miller preaching to the Bricks on Romans 3:21-26.  Consider these quotes about this passage:

“possibly the single most important single paragraph ever written”  Leon Morris

“the chief point, and the very central place of the Epistle, and of the whole Bible.”  Martin Luther

See also key terms for a sermon I preached on Romans 3:21-26.

JT Interviews the Apostle Paul

Published on August 20, 2010 in Romans. 0 Comments

Read Romans 7:7-13 aloud – - then use this excellent post from Justin Taylor to help you meditate on the passage.

Paul, thanks for taking some time to help me think through what you’re getting at in Romans 7:7-13. Let’s start with your intended audience here. Who are you talking to?

Those who know the law.

Is the law still binding on them?

The law is binding on a person only as long as he lives.

Well, since they’re alive it sounds like they are still bound to the law. But maybe I’m misunderstanding. Can you give an example of this principle from everyday life?

Sure. A married woman is bound to her husband while he lives.

You gave the initial principle as “the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives,” which had one person and a law. But now you’ve introduced two persons, bound to each other by a common law. I think I’m tracking with you. So when does that “binding” cease to exist?

If her husband dies, then she is released from the law of marriage.

And what happens if she is unfaithful while she is bound to her husband and under the law of marriage?

If she lives with another man while her husband is still alive, she will be called an adulteress.

The rest here.

How the greatest paragraph ever written was used to deliver a hymn writer from suicidal depression

Published on March 25, 2010 in Depression, Piper and Romans. 1 Comment

If you struggle with depression – - and, what an awful battle that can be – - consider reading The Hidden Smile of God: The Fruit of Affliction in the Lives of John Bunyan, William Cowper, and David Brainerd (The Swans Are Not Silent), but, first read this post and Romans 3:21-26.

John Piper told this story this as part of a sermon on Romans 3:21-26, what some theologians say is the greatest paragraph ever written.

Most nights as I tuck Talitha into bed she says, “Sing me a song.” The one we sing most often is one of my favorites by William Cowper,

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds you so much dread,
Are big with mercy and will break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs
And works his sovereign will.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan his work in vain;
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.

What Talitha doesn’t know, but may learn some day is that, in 1759 when Cowper was 28 years old, he had a total mental breakdown and tried three different ways to commit suicide. He became convinced that he was damned beyond hope. In December, 1763, he was committed to St. Alban’s Insane Asylum, where the 58-year-old Dr. Nathaniel Cotton tended the patients. By God’s wonderful design, Cotton was also an evangelical believer and lover of God and the gospel.

He loved Cowper and held out hope to him repeatedly in spite of Cowper’s insistence that he was damned and beyond hope. Six months into his stay, Cowper found a Bible lying (not by accident) on a bench in the garden. First he looked at John 11 and saw “so much benevolence, mercy, goodness, and sympathy with miserable men, in our Saviour’s conduct” that he felt a ray of hope. Then he turned to Romans 3:25, our text for today. This was a key turning point in his life.

Immediately I received the strength to believe it, and the full beams of the Sun of Righteousness shone upon me. I saw the sufficiency of the atonement He had made, my pardon sealed in His blood, and all the fulness and completeness of His justification. In a moment I believed, and received the gospel.

In June, 1765, Cowper left St. Alban’s and lived and ministered 35 more years – not without great battles with depression, but also not without great fruit for the kingdom, like the hymns, “There is a Fountain Filled with Blood,” “O for a Closer Walk with God!” and “The Spirit Breathes upon the Word.”

Key Words for Today’s Sermon

Published on March 21, 2010 in Romans and Soteriology. 0 Comments

Today, D.V., I will be preaching on what some theologians argue is the greatest paragraph ever written (see this post on who suggests it’s the greatest passage ever).

Here is some of the day’s vocabulary:

Atonement – The work of Christ necessary to pay the price for sin. The center of Christ’s atoning work is that that he paid the penalty for his people on the Cross.

Justification – God’s legal declaration that sinners are righteous. It does not mean that we are made righteous. Rather, it is a declaration.[1]

Mercy Seat – The covering of the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark contained the 10 Commandments and was the central symbol of God’s presence with Old Testament Israel. The included picture is from the Holman Bible Dictionary.[2]

Propitiation – The turning away of wrath by an offering.[3]

Redemption – Deliverance at a cost or release by payment.[4] As a slave buying freedom.[5]

Salvation History – The true story of how God is unfolding his plan to redeem His people and His creation. We often summarize the big picture or meta-narrative of the Bible with the words: Creation, Fall, Creation, Consummation.

[1] See R.C. Sproul, Romans: The Righteous Shall Live by Faith, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary (Wheaton: Crossway, 2009), 97-104.

[2] C. Brand, Draper, C., England, A., Bond, S., Clendenen, E. R., Butler, T. C., & Latta, B. , "The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary," (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003).

[3] Leon Morris, "Atonement," in The Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, ed. Walter A. Elwell (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990), 888.

[4] Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, 40-55.

[5] Douglas Moo, Encountering the Book of Romans, Encountering Biblical Studies (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002), 83.

The most important paragraph ever written!

Published on March 19, 2010 in Romans. 2 Comments

Sunday I am preaching Romans 3:21-26.  This is generally considered to be the center of the book of Romans and the superlatives with which theologians have spoken of it are truly incredible.

“The chief point, and the very central place of the Epistle, and of the whole Bible.” Martin Luther

Leon Morris (commentary on Romans, 173) wrote that this is, “possibly the single most important single paragraph ever written”

John Piper preached that this paragraph perhaps contains, “the most central or important words in the Bible.”

So, why not take the time to read Romans 3:21-26 aloud several times.

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a [mercy seat] by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.(Ro 3:21-26)."  (ESV, I changed “propitiation” to “mercy seat.”)

*****

In preparation this week, I reviewed Andy Naselli’s notes, The Heart of the Gospel: The Most Important Paragraph Ever Written, on this passage and listened to one of two sermons he preached (Part I and Part II).  Of course, N.T. Wright, Schreiner, Moo, Morris, Piper, Luther, and Moo were also crowded onto my desk.  Andy was in good company.

Looking at this map will help you understand part of Paul’s reason for writing Romans

Published on February 21, 2010 in Missions and Romans. 0 Comments

“I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while (Romans 15:24).

Whether or not you accept that Paul wrote Romans from Corinth, he evangelized Corinth and that area, and when you look at this map you can easily see Paul’s missions strategy.  If he traveled to Rome, as we know he did, then he could hope to solidify the church in Rome and use this as an outpost to reach Spain.

Extended as they were, the boundaries of the Roman Empire would then make it possible for the Gospel to burn throughout the known world.

Romans map showing Paul's strategy

*I added the red stars and labels to this map.  Otherwise, it is a scan of a page from the Hammond Atlas of the Bible, the current edition is shown below.

See also, The Miracle that Was Paul

Theology and Missional Living

Published on February 8, 2010 in Apologetics and Romans. 0 Comments

Sunday (D.V.) I will remind our people that time in Romans should motivate us to be missional: to always be living to further the cause of Christ.  We are all about spreading the Gospel for God’s glory and our joy.

Missions was a major part of why Paul wrote Romans .  He wanted to establish a base in Rome, so that he could eventually make his way to Spain.  Once he reached Spain, Paul would have planted churches like a belt across the breadth of the Roman Empire.  With this accomplished, the Gospel would spread like a fire north into Europe and south to North Africa.  Whether or not Paul made it to Spain, we know this is what happened.

Here, John MacArthur illustrates how pastors and theologians should remember the mission.  MacArthur is best known as a preacher and student of the Bible, but this is an amazing account of how he shared his faith over a 50 year time period.

HT: Unashamed Workman

Lloyd-Jones on the greatest danger to the soul

Published on February 7, 2010 in Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans and Soteriology. 0 Comments

Can you imagine, realizing on judgment day, that you were mistaken about your salvation and now all that waits is eternal torment without a second chance (Matthew 7:21-23)?  I’ve talked more than once to our people about what scares me most as a pastor.

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (on Romans, vol 2, page 98) makes a similar point:

“. . . There is nothing, surely, which is more dangerous to the soul than what we may call a glib believism. 

And you see how this affects all our ideas of evangelism.  If we are so anxious to get people ‘through’, as we say, instead of leaving the Holy Spirit to do His own work, we tend to say, ‘But look here, it is simple – - here, you see, the Scripture says if you believe you are saved.  Do you believe?  Yes.  Very well, you are saved, it is all right’.  But it may be all wrong!  It may be terribly all wrong!  And it can be an exceedingly dangerous thing to say that to a soul, and to give people the impression that because they have said they believe and accept, all is well.  There is a sense in which we have got to say that to them, but we must not stop at that.  We must go on – - we must say, ‘All your good living and all your works can never save you.  You have got to see that, and you have got to admit that to yourself and to God.  You have got to see that you can only be saved by the Lord Jesus through the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit will act upon you.  He will bring into birth a new man within you; He will implant a new principle of life in you, and that will begin to manifest itself’.  In other words, we must never stop at just believing – - we must always emphasize regeneration – - the re-birth – the new man.  Otherwise it seems to me we are leaving souls in a very dangerous position.

2 Corinthians 13:5

If you have questions about your salvation, then you really need to talk to your pastor or another mature Christ SOON.  If you don’t have a pastor, then find a Bible believing, Christ-centered church.