Submission to the Authorities
13:1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
Fulfilling the Law Through Love
8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
(ESV)
Author: Disciples Church
A Living Sacrifice
12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers,1 by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.2 2 Do not be conformed to this world,3 but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.4
Gifts of Grace
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members,5 and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads,6 with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
Marks of the True Christian
9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit,7 serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.8 Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it9 to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Footnotes
[1] 12:1
Or brothers and sisters
[2] 12:1Or your rational service
[3] 12:2Greek age
[4] 12:2Or what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God
[5] 12:4Greek parts; also verse 5
[6] 12:8Or gives aid
[7] 12:11Or fervent in the Spirit
[8] 12:16Or give yourselves to humble tasks
[9] 12:19Greek give place (ESV)
Categories
Saturday Study
Saturday Study
Romans 7-11 (3-23-19)
While I recently preached on this passage, I thought it would be good and helpful to revisit some points I made then and expand on a couple things in today’s Saturday Study. Let’s grab our Bibles and dig into Romans 11:33-36.
Romans 11:33-36 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Romans 11:33-36 is where we, scripturally, get what is called the Doxology. It is a historic song that the church loves to sing:
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
In other words, how deep are the riches of God and how deep is the wisdom and knowledge of God. Let’s break down Romans 11:33-36 to help us answer who God is. To do this I want to pick apart this passage in a different order than written. Let’s start in verse 36.
Romans 11:36 “For from him and through him …”
- All things are from Him and through Him.
Paul says, “‘In him we live and move and have our being’” in Acts 17:28.
Ezra says, “You are the Lord, you alone; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.” In Nehemiah 9:6.
David says, “Whatever the Lord pleases he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps” in Psalm 135:6.
Solomon says, “The lot is cast into the lap, but the decision is wholly from the Lord” in Proverbs 16:33.
Job says, “He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away” in Job 12:23.
Daniel says, “… he removes kings and sets up kings; …” in Daniel 2:21.
All things are from Him and through Him! He is God! He is worthy. It gets better.
Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! …
- The riches and wisdom and knowledge of God are really deep! That is what the “Oh” means! Ohhhhh, really deep!
How deep is God? How vast? How rich? In the 1st century, they would say, “A cattle on a thousand hills belongs to God” quoting Psalm 50:10. In an agricultural society, to say, “A thousand hills and all the cattle on them belong to the Lord” was a way that communicated “this is the expanse of the riches of God.”
Romans 11:35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?”
- Because He owns it all, no one can give a gift to God so that one is to be repaid by Him and thereby put God in one’s debt. You can’t give God something He doesn’t already own.
If everything is His, you and I have nothing to give Him that He doesn’t already own. This means, in the end, that God owes no man anything. He owes us nothing. Your very existence has been gifted to you by His grace. Every bit of laughter, every tasty morsel of food, every smile on your face is His grace, and He owes us nothing.
Romans 11:34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”
- No one can counsel God and give Him insight that He doesn’t already have.
Let me ask you, “What is the thing we tend to offer to God more than anything else? More than worship, more than obedience, more than respect, more than trust, more than honor?” We offer Him counsel. “God, I think, you should … How could you … God, why would you …?”
This is like when a four-year-old in the car seat is asking his dad if he knows where he’s going. Or worse, telling his dad which way he should go.
Nobody gets to counsel God. Nobody gets to give God advice. Nobody gets to straighten God’s path—no one.
Isaiah 55:8 says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.”
Does He say to come bodily to the throne with our supplications? Yes. But we come with reverence and we come ultimately to yield to Him, and to seek His face and His will—not to tell Him.
Romans 11:33 … How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
- His judgments are often unsearchable and His ways often inscrutable and unfathomable—meaning they are understood by the mind of God and not the mind of man. This doesn’t mean we cannot understand Him. It just means we understand what He wants us to understand. He will remain being God and we will remain being His subjects.
We do understand much of how God works and His judgments. Paul spends the first 11 chapters of Romans describing such things. Today, this truth is still true. How could anyone scrutinize God? You and I can’t even comprehend and figure out our own shortcomings and our own failures. And yet, we’ll scrutinize God? He is God and we are not! This is good news!
There is so much to say about who God is, I could go on for days. The Bible sure does.
But we must move on and answer this question. What is God alone due? The answer is glory. We use the phrase “glory of God” so often that it can begin to lose its deserved awe. God’s glory is like the sun in the sense that it is no less blazing and no less beneficial just because people ignore it or don’t have a full comprehension about how radiant it is.
So, what is the glory of God? The glory of God is the holiness of God put on display. It is the infinite worth of God made manifest—His importance above all else.
Isaiah 6:3 … “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
When the holiness of God fills the earth for people to see, it is called glory. Holy means “set apart from what is common.” In speaking of God’s glory, God’s infinite value shines. God’s glory is the radiance of His holiness, the outpouring of His infinite value. “The glory of God” is a way to say that there is an objective, absolute reality to which all human wonder, awe, veneration, praise, honor, acclaim, and worship is pointing. God alone is truly worthy of our worship and wonder forever!
This brings us back to Romans 11:36—to its perfect climax.
Romans 11:36 … and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
- To Him are all things. To Him be glory forever!
The glory of God is the ultimate purpose of everything that exists.
What is included in “all things”?
- God is ultimately for God’s glory:
God is God-centered! It is important that we see that Scripture teaches that the primary reason that God acts, and saves, is “ultimately” for His sake and His glory and not ours.
Colossians 1:15-18 He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, the in everything he might be preeminent.
Everything that exists, including our lives, exists ultimately for the glory of God. Not only do we exist for God’s glory, but we are saved ultimately for the glory of God.
Isaiah 43:25 “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”
Ezekiel 20:44 “And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I deal with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the LORD GOD.”
It is vital that we acknowledge that God is ultimately for God. His eternal glory is the highest purpose in all that He does.
- The universe, and everything in it, is ultimately for God’s glory:
The glory of God is the goal of all things.
Psalm 96:1-3 Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
What this helps us understand is that the things of life are the everyday things we have come to enjoy. These things He has created and entrusted to us, are to be enjoyed so that we will see Him as central to it all and give Him praise.
How do we glorify God alone in our daily living?
We treasure Him above all else!
Our ultimate purpose in life is to give God glory; and the best way we can do that is to not begrudgingly crouch on bended-knee for every hour of our lives. Instead, our lives will most purely, authentically, and fully point to His glory and wonder when it is an overflow of our satisfaction in Him!
In the 17th century, the Westminster Shorter Catechism was written to bring a clarity to our ultimate purpose for life. The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
Notice that is says, “chief end”—not chief ends. What the original authors had discovered was this—giving God glory and enjoying Him forever are the same thing.
True, authentic praise of anything comes out of the mouth of one who has found great enjoyment in it. If not, then that praise is quite possibly founded in something fake or mechanical. Who wants that kind of praise? Nobody.
My favorite quote is one of John Piper’s most famous sayings, “God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him.”
When it comes to the greatest thing you and I could ever, and will ever, enjoy, it is God Himself that He has given us! It is “in Him” that we will become most satisfied.
Glory to God alone means that God is the ultimate prize. Those who want Jesus just to get heaven and not God will not enjoy heaven because eternity in God’s kingdom is all about the glory, wonder, and majesty of God.
In heaven, we will be in the perfect and holy presence of the God of the universe in all His power and glory. If you don’t get this, then you still don’t get God. If you don’t like this, then you still worship the idol in your heart and not God.
So, when we are looking for the best way to give God unceasing glory and praise, we don’t accomplish this by trying really hard to be a “good Christian”. We accomplish this by feasting deeply in Him; and as a result, we will overflow with praise and glory that will terminate not on us and our temporary pleasures, but on Him and His eternal supremacy!
The Apostle Paul got this when he said in Philippians 3:8, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord …”
How does Paul glorify God above all else? By treasuring Christ above all else so that everything else in his life is as nothing by comparison. I count everything—money as loss; food as loss; beauty as loss; friends as loss; family as loss; job and success as loss; graduation as loss—in comparison with the treasure that Christ has become for me.
In the words of the hymn, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”
In Christ, to God alone be the glory, colors every corner of your life. Your motivation of self-glory is replaced with a deep desire to glorify Him above all else.
In this, we begin to ask questions we’ve never asked before:
How can God use this relationship I’m entering into, to bring glory to Himself?
How can I use this new job to bring glory to God?
What is God trying to teach me through this circumstance, ultimately for His glory?
How can I use this new car for God’s glory?
How can I use my apartment for God’s glory?
How can I use this computer for God’s glory?
What can I do in my retirement for God’s glory that I couldn’t do otherwise?
How would God have me use this tough time for His glory?
In Christ, God’s glory is why we do what we do. Why we have what we have. It’s why we date this person, but not that person. Why we speak like this, and not like that. It’s why we live like this, and not like that. It’s why we work hard, as for God, not just for men. It’s why we give sacrificially. It’s why we volunteer our time and talents. It’s why we hold fast to God’s word. May he be glorified in us all.
By His grace and for His glory,
Pastor Joshua Kirstine
Disciples Church
The Remnant of Israel
11:1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,1 a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” 4 But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written,
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”9 And David says,
“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and bend their backs forever.”Gentiles Grafted In
11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion2 mean!
13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. 15 For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? 16 If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root3 of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. 23 And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.
The Mystery of Israel’s Salvation
25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers:4 a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,
“The Deliverer will come from Zion,
he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
27 “and this will be my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”28 As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now5 receive mercy. 32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Footnotes
[1] 11:1
Or one of the offspring of Abraham
[2] 11:12Greek their fullness
[3] 11:17Greek root of richness; some manuscripts richness
[4] 11:25Or brothers and sisters
[5] 11:31Some manuscripts omit now (ESV)
10:1 Brothers,1 my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.2
The Message of Salvation to All
5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6 But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?3 And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
18 But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for
“Their voice has gone out to all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.”19 But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says,
“I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation;
with a foolish nation I will make you angry.”20 Then Isaiah is so bold as to say,
“I have been found by those who did not seek me;
I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.”21 But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”
Footnotes
[1] 10:1
Or Brothers and sisters
[2] 10:4Or end of the law, that everyone who believes may be justified
[3] 10:14Or him whom they have never heard (ESV)