Categories
Scripture

Epistle- Romans 3

Romans 3

God’s Righteousness Upheld

3:1 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. 3 What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written,


  “That you may be justified in your words,
    and prevail when you are judged.”

5 But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) 6 By no means! For then how could God judge the world? 7 But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.

No One Is Righteous

9 What then? Are we Jews1 any better off?2 No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:


  “None is righteous, no, not one;
11     no one understands;
    no one seeks for God.
12   All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
    no one does good,
    not even one.”
13   “Their throat is an open grave;
    they use their tongues to deceive.”
  “The venom of asps is under their lips.”
14     “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
15   “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16     in their paths are ruin and misery,
17   and the way of peace they have not known.”
18     “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being3 will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

The Righteousness of God Through Faith

21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation 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. 26 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.

27 Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

Footnotes

[1] 3:9 Greek Are we

[2] 3:9 Or at any disadvantage?

[3] 3:20 Greek flesh

(ESV)

Categories
Scripture

Epistle- Romans 2

Romans 2

God’s Righteous Judgment

2:1 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking1 and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality.

God’s Judgment and the Law

12 For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God 18 and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; 19 and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—21 you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. 24 For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

25 For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 26 So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded2 as circumcision? 27 Then he who is physically3 uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code4 and circumcision but break the law. 28 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

Footnotes

[1] 2:8 Or contentious

[2] 2:26 Or counted

[3] 2:27 Or is by nature

[4] 2:27 Or the letter

(ESV)

Categories
Scripture

Epistle- Romans 1

Romans 1

Greeting

1:1 Paul, a servant1 of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David2 according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Longing to Go to Rome

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,3 that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians,4 both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith,5 as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”6

God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,7 in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Footnotes

[1] 1:1 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface

[2] 1:3 Or who came from the offspring of David

[3] 1:13 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters

[4] 1:14 That is, non-Greeks

[5] 1:17 Or beginning and ending in faith

[6] 1:17 Or The one who by faith is righteous shall live

[7] 1:20 Or clearly perceived from the creation of the world

(ESV)

Categories
Saturday Study Scripture

Saturday Study

Saturday Study

Joshua 20-24 (6-30-18)

In our last stretch of reading in the book of Joshua, we encounter one of the more famous quotes of Joshua that Christians love and love to hold high. It is found in Joshua 24:15. To give you a reminder of the context, let’s look again at verses 14 and 15:

Joshua 24:14-15 “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

That last part of verse 15 says, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

This is probably one of the most popular verses painted or hung on the walls of Christian homes that there is.

It is a great proclamation of intent to join Joshua in his fervor to dedicate his life and family to the service of our good God.

I can’t help but wonder if for the majority of the homes where that verse is posted, that’s where the fervor ends. In other words, to what extent are those households truly defined by and daily driven by serving the Lord God with their lives? How much of their making and spending their money looks like a family of servants to God, how much of their daily priorities and activities reflect a life of service to God?

If you were to tour a multi-million-dollar American estate or a massive residence of a king in a foreign land, you would likely find the living quarters or home on site where the servants of that estate live. What would we find in daily priorities or activities of that servant family of the lord of the manor?

Hopefully you see what I am getting at. Is the proclamation that we will serve the Lord mostly a lofty idea of devotion, or is it the actual reality of devotion of our homes and lifestyle? Do we wake up with the mindset of a servant? Don’t picture a begrudging servant who hates his master; picture a servant who is elated to get to be in direct service of the King. But picture what that lifestyle would look like. It is not a daily pursuit to build one’s own kingdom but a devoted pursuit to serve and build the kingdom of the King! The goal is not to become independent, but it is a goal that loves to be dependent on the King and His provision and His employment of our family. It is a mindset that says, “There is no higher calling or goal of my life then to be a servant of the most high King.”

The Apostle Paul joined Joshua in his fervor to be a servant of the King. Throughout his epistles, the Apostle Paul describes his relationship to Christ as one of servant to master (Rom. 1:1; 1 Cor. 4:1; Gal. 1:10).

In addition to the name Christian, the Bible uses a host of other terms to name the followers of Jesus: beloved, the body of Christ, the bride of Christ, the chosen, the Church, disciples, the elect, friends, heirs, household of God, saints, sheep, sons of God, and more. All of these descriptions–each in its own unique way–help us to understand what it means to be a Christian.

But the Bible uses one metaphor and title more frequently than any of these above. It is one you might not expect, but it is absolutely critical for understanding what it means to follow Jesus. It is the title of a servant or slave.

Time and time again throughout the pages of Scripture, believers are referred to as slaves of God and slaves of Christ. In fact, whereas the outside world called them Christians, the earliest of believers repeatedly referred to themselves in the New Testament as the Lord’s slaves. For them, the two ideas were synonymous. To be a Christian was to be a slave of Christ.

The New Testament understanding of the believer’s relationship to Christ is that He is the Master and Owner, and we are His possession. He is the King, the Lord, and the Son of God. We are His subjects and His subordinates. In a word, we are His slaves. The gospel is not simply an invitation to become Christ’s benefactor; it is a mandate to become His slave.

The word for slave we see used throughout the English Bible text we read from is the Greek word “doulos.” This is a primary title the Bible gives to Christians: doulo= slaves. The word doulos is used 124 times in the original Bible text, but often times it is unfortunately translated into English as the word “servant.” This shouldn’t be the case.

What is off is “doulos” is not a primary Greek word for servant; rather, there are many words in Greek more specific for the word servant.

While both servant and salve indicate service-hood, the difference between the two words is big in that servants are hired workers, but salves are owned by their master.

So we can see why God inspired the title of duolos/slave to be so common; we are servants, but we are more than that: we are slaves, His slaves. He owns us; our lives are for Him.

We need to embrace that a life of submission is much of what a godly life and the Christian life is about at its core.

True Christianity is not about adding Jesus to my life. Instead, it is about devoting myself completely to Him — submitting wholly to His will and seeking to please Him above all else. It demands dying to self and following the Master, no matter what the cost. In other words, to be a Christian is to be Christ’s slave. –John MacArthur, Slave, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2010) 22.

Philippians 2:6-8 [Jesus] who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Jesus said to His disciples in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus came to serve us and sacrifice Himself–to pay for our freedom, our ransom.

I love how Pastor David Platt says this: “He took on a robe of human flesh and took all of your sinful filth, guilt and shame upon Himself. He went to the cross, and He paid the price. He stood in your place as your servant, so that you could be redeemed. This word ‘redeemed’ is a picture of slavery. When we talk about redemption, redemption is to buy something, to pay a redemption price.”

The truth is, before Christ was Savior and Lord, you and I were slaves to sin.

We were in “the snare of the devil.”  We were in his grasp, and Christ our God came, and He set us free from the bondage of sin. This is the good news; we are empowered to honor God in righteousness in the Holy Spirit.

Romans 6:17-18 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

Before we are given saving faith, we are enslaved to sin, and we will choose to sin, because it is all we know; it is all our nature is inclined to.

After we are given saving faith, we are enslaved to Christ, and we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to grow in obedience to God and fight sin. The key is we are no longer enslaved to sin in Christ. Look at Romans 6:18 again! We “have become SLAVES of righteousness!” Slaves of Jesus Christ, the righteous One!

He paid the price with His life, with His death on the cross, with His resurrection from the grave, so that you could be set free from sin and become a son, a daughter of God. That’s THE good news! à Our Master humbled Himself!

Now watch this: Our Master humbled Himself, so in Christ, we gladly become His slaves.

Paul got this, Peter got this, and so must we! It is our utter joy to be mastered by Jesus our LORD.

Romans 1:6 says basically that THE HEART OF CHRISTIANITY is “to BELONG to Jesus!”

We belong to Him!  For His glory!

1 Cor. 6:19-20 (NLT) You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your life.

This means my money is Jesus’ money, my time is Jesus’ time, my days are Jesus’ days, my body is Jesus’ body! My whole life–everything about me–is owned by and under the Lordship of Jesus!

All you are, all you have is God’s.

My kids are God’s kids; my house is God’s house; my days are God’s days.

And when we really begin to get this, we begin to understand the amazing, undeniable privilege it is to BE HIS, and it changes how we manage our time, our talent, and our treasures–everything. We begin to understand why it is a great thing to be slaves of Jesus.

It helps me begin to realize I am not building my kingdom; I am building His Kingdom for His GLORY!

Now, you must see that while He owns us and all of our lives are for Him and His glory, this is the opposite of being owned by sin and death and addiction and anything else.

We are loved. We have been fought for and bled for, and the pages of history are about our rescue by God.

Listen to Peter’s words in 1 Peter 2:

1 Peter 2:9-10 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

We are His people–a people of His own possession.

Church! This is a greatest privilege in this life.

Now, one last emphasis on the life we are to live as slaves, and we find it in the next few verses.

Look at how we are to live free within our slavery and service to Christ:

1 Peter 2:16-20 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.

Christians, we are to wake up every day and get to work on time and bring our very best, because we represent Jesus! This is not something we get to just shirk. This is His purpose for us in this time and place! Let me show why:

1 Peter 2:21b because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

What is the example Jesus has given us? To live honorable, submissive, slave lives!

The gospel is not just about setting you free; it is bigger than that. It is about empowering you to live your entire life for HIS GLORY forever. To PROCLAIM THE EXCELLENCIES of GOD!

I pray that this study gives you a sweet and potent reboot in how you see this verse in Joshua 14:15 but more importantly how you live it every day that the King gives you on this earth to serve His mighty name.

“But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

By His grace and for His glory,

Pastor Joshua Kirstine

Disciples Church

Categories
Scripture

Conquest Era- Joshua 24

Joshua 24

The Covenant Renewal at Shechem

24:1 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel. And they presented themselves before God. 2 And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates,1 Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. 3 Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River2 and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac. 4 And to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. And I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. 5 And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it, and afterward I brought you out.

6 “‘Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea. And the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. 7 And when they cried to the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians and made the sea come upon them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And you lived in the wilderness a long time. 8 Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan. They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. 9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. And he sent and invited Balaam the son of Beor to curse you, 10 but I would not listen to Balaam. Indeed, he blessed you. So I delivered you out of his hand. 11 And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, and the leaders of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And I gave them into your hand. 12 And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow. 13 I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.’

Choose Whom You Will Serve

14 “Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods, 17 for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. 18 And the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God.”

19 But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. 20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” 21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD.” 22 Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.” 24 And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” 25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place statutes and rules for them at Shechem. 26 And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone and set it up there under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. 27 And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.” 28 So Joshua sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.

Joshua’s Death and Burial

29 After these things Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being 110 years old. 30 And they buried him in his own inheritance at Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash.

31 Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the work that the LORD did for Israel.

32 As for the bones of Joseph, which the people of Israel brought up from Egypt, they buried them at Shechem, in the piece of land that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money.3 It became an inheritance of the descendants of Joseph.

33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah, the town of Phinehas his son, which had been given him in the hill country of Ephraim.

Footnotes

[1] 24:2 Hebrew the River

[2] 24:3 That is, the Euphrates; also verses 14, 15

[3] 24:32 Hebrew for a hundred qesitah; a unit of money of unknown value

(ESV)