There's a wonderful article on evangelism HERE.
It's right. Except for the infant baptism thing.
Read it, especially if you're reformed.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Legalizing Polygamy
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2009/01/21/8101186-ap.html
Now, that's just consistency.
And the end of it is throwing out any sort of morality altogether. Either there is an absolute, personal, knowable standard - or there's no standard at all.
Read: It's the Bible or nothin'.
Now, that's just consistency.
And the end of it is throwing out any sort of morality altogether. Either there is an absolute, personal, knowable standard - or there's no standard at all.
Read: It's the Bible or nothin'.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
To the preacher and critical people
And I am both a preacher and a criticizer...
our Lord has said, "Disaster is upon you lawyers, as well, since you load people with burdens that are hard to carry, and you don't raise one of your fingers to help carry the burdens!" (Luke 11:46)
Oh that we would all help each other... that you'd help me and I you. None of us can change our inward sinfulness - only Christ. We need cleansing within, and only One can clean us.
our Lord has said, "Disaster is upon you lawyers, as well, since you load people with burdens that are hard to carry, and you don't raise one of your fingers to help carry the burdens!" (Luke 11:46)
Oh that we would all help each other... that you'd help me and I you. None of us can change our inward sinfulness - only Christ. We need cleansing within, and only One can clean us.
Is what you believe consistent with itself?
A 'worldview' is pretty much the lenses through which a person interprets reality. It's the big 'grand story' that explains everything in reality.
Christianity is a worldview.
Naturalism is a worldview. It says that everything that exists and that happens can be explained through observable, natural causes. It thus denies the existence of anything immaterial or spiritual.
Postmodernism is a worldview. It says that truth cannot be known, and therefore to judge anyone's worldview as false is impossible.
Nihilism is a worldview. It says that there's no meaning in anything. It's atheistic. It says that morality doesn't exist. It leads to despair, for beauty, meaning, morality are all subjective and ultimately pointless.
There are only two worldviews that are consistent with themsleves. Christianity and Nihilism.
Christianity is a worldview.
Naturalism is a worldview. It says that everything that exists and that happens can be explained through observable, natural causes. It thus denies the existence of anything immaterial or spiritual.
Postmodernism is a worldview. It says that truth cannot be known, and therefore to judge anyone's worldview as false is impossible.
Nihilism is a worldview. It says that there's no meaning in anything. It's atheistic. It says that morality doesn't exist. It leads to despair, for beauty, meaning, morality are all subjective and ultimately pointless.
There are only two worldviews that are consistent with themsleves. Christianity and Nihilism.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Starting Points...
You know, I was thinking about how we should present the Gospel tonight. And I really just had a thought. I mean, surely it's not wrong to seek comon ground, or to start with creation and explain everything....
But really, the good news is about a person: Jesus. It's about him being God. And it's about our Creator freely choosing to die in the place of his creations - for their being with him forever. And it's about him rising to dead and ruling the world forever.
That's good news. And that's the glory of God.
But really, the good news is about a person: Jesus. It's about him being God. And it's about our Creator freely choosing to die in the place of his creations - for their being with him forever. And it's about him rising to dead and ruling the world forever.
That's good news. And that's the glory of God.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Hellworthy
The nice guy neighbor with the nice family whom he loves - if he loves them for any other reason than the glory of God -
is guilty of rebellion against his maker - just as the man who is living a homosexual lifestyle.
And deserves hell.
And it's because neither of them is giving God the honor due him.
There's only one man who ever did glorify God like we all should.
His name is Jesus.
And he forgives all those who submit themselves to him as Creator, King, God.
is guilty of rebellion against his maker - just as the man who is living a homosexual lifestyle.
And deserves hell.
And it's because neither of them is giving God the honor due him.
There's only one man who ever did glorify God like we all should.
His name is Jesus.
And he forgives all those who submit themselves to him as Creator, King, God.
Prayer Circles
Here's a helpful tip regarding prayer: think of your life as concentric circles of involvement.
So the inner circle is you. Then the next outer one is your spouse. The next outer one is your immediate family. The next outer one is your local church. The next is the Church. The next is your country. The next is our world.
I start in the inner circle and work my way out. In each circle I have four categories of prayer -
-the manifestation of God's rule (Kingdom) for his glory)
-casting up my anxieties regarding that circle
-confessing sins in each circle
-thanking God for what he's doing in each circle
So the inner circle is you. Then the next outer one is your spouse. The next outer one is your immediate family. The next outer one is your local church. The next is the Church. The next is your country. The next is our world.
I start in the inner circle and work my way out. In each circle I have four categories of prayer -
-the manifestation of God's rule (Kingdom) for his glory)
-casting up my anxieties regarding that circle
-confessing sins in each circle
-thanking God for what he's doing in each circle
Hypocrisy about Prayer
So I was going to say something about how we need to pray...
but then I thought, maybe I should say this instead: what's easier for you, criticizing others or turning the sword of God's holy word on yourself (Hebrews 4:12)
and confessing your sins to others (James 5:16)
?
but then I thought, maybe I should say this instead: what's easier for you, criticizing others or turning the sword of God's holy word on yourself (Hebrews 4:12)
and confessing your sins to others (James 5:16)
?
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Light and Darkness
Today, part of my daily Scripture reading was 1 John 1. I do hope you'll read it. It begins thus:
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
What a punch this has! Jesus IS eternal life. He is God made flesh to show his glory to man to save him! And John proclaims Jesus to people he's not with - and that results in a mystical bond, a friendship, a camaraderie, a love between not only the people - but with God himself.
And that - being in the presence of God the Father and of God the Son with our brothers and sisters in Christ through the Holy Spirit - THAT brings us to fulness of happiness.
Let's look at the message of Jesus as recorded by John. Again, this is God's word. Don't skim it.
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
If we're with God in the light, we're truth-tellers, we enjoy the camaraderie of God's Church, and Jesus' blood cleanses us.
But what's this 'light' vs. 'dark' business? Should we just assume we know what it means?
Perhaps this will help us understand the passage.
Darkness is associated with judgment from God, a lack of understanding, the bringing of fear, and gloom. And even Satan. It is associated with hiding one's actions - sinning.
Light is associated with grace from God, wisdom, righteousness, truth and confession, trust in God, the LORD himself, Jesus himself, and the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus.
How'd I get that? Click here.
Now, that helps, doesn't it?
To be in the light... what's it mean? To trust Jesus. To cling to Jesus. To love Jesus, delight in Jesus, and to obey Jesus.
It means to be vitally, vibrantly connected to the life-giver, our creator, Jesus, the Son of the living God.
And if we are, as the song says, we have mystic, sweet communion with Jesus and his people; we have forgiveness of sins; we have eternal life!
Now, I should state, this isn't about wavering between dark and light based on our actions. It's about who we are. It's the gospel. Come to the Light of the World! He will justify you. He will cleanse you. He will be your delight and your joy and your loving King!
Wow. Praise the LORD!
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
What a punch this has! Jesus IS eternal life. He is God made flesh to show his glory to man to save him! And John proclaims Jesus to people he's not with - and that results in a mystical bond, a friendship, a camaraderie, a love between not only the people - but with God himself.
And that - being in the presence of God the Father and of God the Son with our brothers and sisters in Christ through the Holy Spirit - THAT brings us to fulness of happiness.
Let's look at the message of Jesus as recorded by John. Again, this is God's word. Don't skim it.
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
If we're with God in the light, we're truth-tellers, we enjoy the camaraderie of God's Church, and Jesus' blood cleanses us.
But what's this 'light' vs. 'dark' business? Should we just assume we know what it means?
Perhaps this will help us understand the passage.
Darkness is associated with judgment from God, a lack of understanding, the bringing of fear, and gloom. And even Satan. It is associated with hiding one's actions - sinning.
Light is associated with grace from God, wisdom, righteousness, truth and confession, trust in God, the LORD himself, Jesus himself, and the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus.
How'd I get that? Click here.
Now, that helps, doesn't it?
To be in the light... what's it mean? To trust Jesus. To cling to Jesus. To love Jesus, delight in Jesus, and to obey Jesus.
It means to be vitally, vibrantly connected to the life-giver, our creator, Jesus, the Son of the living God.
And if we are, as the song says, we have mystic, sweet communion with Jesus and his people; we have forgiveness of sins; we have eternal life!
Now, I should state, this isn't about wavering between dark and light based on our actions. It's about who we are. It's the gospel. Come to the Light of the World! He will justify you. He will cleanse you. He will be your delight and your joy and your loving King!
Wow. Praise the LORD!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
I'm Batman
Right now, I'm watching The Dark Knight, which I must say, I think is one of the best movies of all time.
I think one of the reasons that dudes like stuff like this has to do with our makeup as men. We all want to be Batman. Or Jack Bauer. Or Iron Man. Or James Bond. Or Mark Driscoll, Tim Keller, or even John Piper.
Reason? Those guys exercise authority. Are courageous. They're everything we want to be.
In other words, we want to be them.
But notice something particular about Batman: he's villified. He sacrifices everything he is - a social life, friends, love, esteem - to do what's right.
Are we that way? Or do we want a reward? Recognition, I think, is one of the carrots the devil dangles in front of us.
Even when we're motivated to do good, Kingdom activities. Why do we do them? To honor Christ? Or to honor ourselves?
But maybe we need to be more like Batman. Die to everything we want to do everything Jesus is worth.
I think one of the reasons that dudes like stuff like this has to do with our makeup as men. We all want to be Batman. Or Jack Bauer. Or Iron Man. Or James Bond. Or Mark Driscoll, Tim Keller, or even John Piper.
Reason? Those guys exercise authority. Are courageous. They're everything we want to be.
In other words, we want to be them.
But notice something particular about Batman: he's villified. He sacrifices everything he is - a social life, friends, love, esteem - to do what's right.
Are we that way? Or do we want a reward? Recognition, I think, is one of the carrots the devil dangles in front of us.
Even when we're motivated to do good, Kingdom activities. Why do we do them? To honor Christ? Or to honor ourselves?
But maybe we need to be more like Batman. Die to everything we want to do everything Jesus is worth.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
The Real Santa Claus
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Merry Christmas!
Maybe some of you can identify with this; maybe you can't - but Christmas, because of dysfunctionality in my family, was always a really hard, sad time for me.
But God, in his sovereign grace, has redeemed my family.
He's also redeemed this time of year. Not because of his redemption of my family - but because of the way he's been renewing my mind.
So here's one reason why Christmas - the day we celebrate the fact that God the Son became a man - is a glorious, happy, necessity. There may be more forthcoming.
Jesus fully revealed God's glory. John 1:18 says this: No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side - He made him known.
We all long to know God, don't we? If you're a Christian, this is certainly true. If you're not, consider this: do you have a yearning for purpose? For right and wrong to be done? For truth? For knowledge? For beauty? For something more wondrous than yourself?
Look no further. God has been fully and completely revealed in Jesus. Don't look to other religious or spiritual practices to 'feel' God. Look to Jesus as he's revealed in the Scriptures. He is there!
And don't look to the glory of lesser things for your ultimate satisfaction. True glory, true beauty, true awesomeness, true delight, peace - are in Jesus. Cling to him. Don't cope with life - cling to the one who made it.
Merry Christmas!
But God, in his sovereign grace, has redeemed my family.
He's also redeemed this time of year. Not because of his redemption of my family - but because of the way he's been renewing my mind.
So here's one reason why Christmas - the day we celebrate the fact that God the Son became a man - is a glorious, happy, necessity. There may be more forthcoming.
Jesus fully revealed God's glory. John 1:18 says this: No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side - He made him known.
We all long to know God, don't we? If you're a Christian, this is certainly true. If you're not, consider this: do you have a yearning for purpose? For right and wrong to be done? For truth? For knowledge? For beauty? For something more wondrous than yourself?
Look no further. God has been fully and completely revealed in Jesus. Don't look to other religious or spiritual practices to 'feel' God. Look to Jesus as he's revealed in the Scriptures. He is there!
And don't look to the glory of lesser things for your ultimate satisfaction. True glory, true beauty, true awesomeness, true delight, peace - are in Jesus. Cling to him. Don't cope with life - cling to the one who made it.
Merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
In Jesus' name...
Many of us were taught to pray and to close our prayers with the phrase "in Jesus' name." Unfortunately, we weren't taught what that actually means, and so it ends up sounding like magic words. And then we wind up wondering why he won't answer our prayers sometimes.
So what's it mean to pray "in Jesus' name?"
The short answer is this: "in Jesus' name" means to pray in union with Christ, and there are 2 facets of that.
First, it means praying with Jesus as our representative. We have no right to enter God's throne room in prayer without fearing condemnation unless Jesus suffered punishment in our place. Thus, praying in Jesus' name means that we are relying on his death and resurrection for acquittal in God's law court. (See Hebrews 4:14-16.)
Second, it means praying to represent Jesus. In other words, saying "in Jesus' name" is like saying, "I ask these things in so much as they represent Jesus' sovereign will." Or in other words, it's like saying "if it's your will, please do this." (See 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 and 1 John 5:14-15.)
These truths should help how we pray. Note that we can't go to God except through the blood of Jesus. We need to depend. We need to recognize that we are sinners approaching a holy God. We need to see his love for us in permitting us to approach him.
We also need to see that prayer is for God. It is an act of worship. It is a means of God doing what he wants - not us getting what we want - unless it's what God wants. It is an act of submission.
That should guide how we pray and for what we pray.
So what's it mean to pray "in Jesus' name?"
The short answer is this: "in Jesus' name" means to pray in union with Christ, and there are 2 facets of that.
First, it means praying with Jesus as our representative. We have no right to enter God's throne room in prayer without fearing condemnation unless Jesus suffered punishment in our place. Thus, praying in Jesus' name means that we are relying on his death and resurrection for acquittal in God's law court. (See Hebrews 4:14-16.)
Second, it means praying to represent Jesus. In other words, saying "in Jesus' name" is like saying, "I ask these things in so much as they represent Jesus' sovereign will." Or in other words, it's like saying "if it's your will, please do this." (See 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 and 1 John 5:14-15.)
These truths should help how we pray. Note that we can't go to God except through the blood of Jesus. We need to depend. We need to recognize that we are sinners approaching a holy God. We need to see his love for us in permitting us to approach him.
We also need to see that prayer is for God. It is an act of worship. It is a means of God doing what he wants - not us getting what we want - unless it's what God wants. It is an act of submission.
That should guide how we pray and for what we pray.
What is Discipleship?
Perhaps that question is a tad broad. Every Christian is a disciple. However - let's define 'a discipleship relationship' for the sake of ministry.
Discipleship is a relationship involving teaching, modeling life and ministry, and delegating ministry. The content of the teachings can be categorized into doctrine, character, and ministry skill.
See Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 4:11ff; 2 Timothy 2:2; Titus 2. And go here for more Scripture.
These categories can be broken down as follows. This list is not exhaustive.
Doctrine
Orthodoxy
The Trinity
Justification by Faith Alone
Of Scripture (nature, authority, sufficiency, etc.)
The Gospel
Anthropology
Perseverance
Final State
(Justification, Sanctification, Glorification)
Character
Spirit-filled life
The 10 Commandments
The means of grace
Scripture taught
Fellowship
Prayer
Communion
Discipline/confrontation
Gospel-centered living
Ministry Skill
Evangelism
Discipleship
Strategic Planning
Problem solving and evaluation
Exegesis
Evangelistic Exhortatory Exposition
Leading a Bible study
Counseling (?)
Decision-making
Administration
Mercy//Hospitality
Discipleship is a relationship involving teaching, modeling life and ministry, and delegating ministry. The content of the teachings can be categorized into doctrine, character, and ministry skill.
See Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 4:11ff; 2 Timothy 2:2; Titus 2. And go here for more Scripture.
These categories can be broken down as follows. This list is not exhaustive.
Doctrine
Orthodoxy
The Trinity
Justification by Faith Alone
Of Scripture (nature, authority, sufficiency, etc.)
The Gospel
Anthropology
Perseverance
Final State
(Justification, Sanctification, Glorification)
Character
Spirit-filled life
The 10 Commandments
The means of grace
Scripture taught
Fellowship
Prayer
Communion
Discipline/confrontation
Gospel-centered living
Ministry Skill
Evangelism
Discipleship
Strategic Planning
Problem solving and evaluation
Exegesis
Evangelistic Exhortatory Exposition
Leading a Bible study
Counseling (?)
Decision-making
Administration
Mercy//Hospitality
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
My Daily Prayer Guide
As promised to you CLT... attenders... this is the prayer list I use daily. I hope it proves useful to you.
Worship
Psalm for the day
Confession
What sins does my Scripture reading reveal today?
What do I love more than Jesus today?
How am I failing to love Lacey (my wife) today?
Thanksgiving
The cross (Jesus dying in my place)
The gospel in the passage I read today
The things from yesterday that God did
Daily Requests
My love for God and making his name known
My love for Lacey as Jesus loves the Church
My love for the Church (God's children)
My love for people in general (made in God's image for his glory)
For my schedule for the day (every aspect of it)
For God to open doors to proclaim the gospel
The Missionaries I support
Those who financially and prayerfully support me
Family’s salvation
Students by name
The places where I've served in ministry, and those I've served with
Miscellaneous Requests
This is where I put things when people ask for prayer, along with things I might need.
Worship
Psalm for the day
Confession
What sins does my Scripture reading reveal today?
What do I love more than Jesus today?
How am I failing to love Lacey (my wife) today?
Thanksgiving
The cross (Jesus dying in my place)
The gospel in the passage I read today
The things from yesterday that God did
Daily Requests
My love for God and making his name known
My love for Lacey as Jesus loves the Church
My love for the Church (God's children)
My love for people in general (made in God's image for his glory)
For my schedule for the day (every aspect of it)
For God to open doors to proclaim the gospel
The Missionaries I support
Those who financially and prayerfully support me
Family’s salvation
Students by name
The places where I've served in ministry, and those I've served with
Miscellaneous Requests
This is where I put things when people ask for prayer, along with things I might need.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Calvinism Vs. Arminianism... FIGHT!
The problem with such debates, which for some odd reason especially occur among college students, is this:
They often become philosophical rather than biblical. You need to look at what the Bible says and submit to it. Period. No extrapoloations from texts. No discussions of concepts and inferences and yadda yadda yadda...
If you can't cite Scripture and merely explain what it says, just shut up.
Submit to what God says. If you don't like it, you're sinning. Repent.
God loves you. He desires you to worship him - not your own wisdom. So love him as he's revealed himself in Holy Scripture.
They often become philosophical rather than biblical. You need to look at what the Bible says and submit to it. Period. No extrapoloations from texts. No discussions of concepts and inferences and yadda yadda yadda...
If you can't cite Scripture and merely explain what it says, just shut up.
Submit to what God says. If you don't like it, you're sinning. Repent.
God loves you. He desires you to worship him - not your own wisdom. So love him as he's revealed himself in Holy Scripture.
Daily Worship
As I worshiped God today through the Psalms, I ran across this verse and thought I'd share it.
"You make known to me the path of life
in your presence there is fullness of joy
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." (Ps. 16:11)
David got it. One day Jesus will be revealed, we will see him and enjoy him forever, and we will worship!
Amen. Come Lord Jesus.
"You make known to me the path of life
in your presence there is fullness of joy
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." (Ps. 16:11)
David got it. One day Jesus will be revealed, we will see him and enjoy him forever, and we will worship!
Amen. Come Lord Jesus.
Monday, December 8, 2008
CLT on Romans 8
Last week at CLT we looked at Romans 8:1-13. I didn't really have notes, so I'm posting an exposition of Romans 8:1-17 here. I pray it proves beneficial to you. Have a Bible open as you read it.
Exposition
We’re at the point in Romans where something extremely significant is going to be brought up. In chapters 1-5, Paul defended the doctrine of justification by faith alone on the basis of Jesus’ work alone.
That gave rise to an objection: if justification is by faith alone, can we go on sinning? Paul says no in several ways. First, in Romans 6, he says that we have had a change of nature, therefore we can no longer live in sin. Second, in Romans 7, he says as Christians, Jesus has already met the demands of the Law for us so we no longer have something to rebel against or try to be justified by.
And that brings us to the third answer – and that is in Romans 8. The answer – in short – is the Holy Spirit’s work in the lives of God’s people.
Now, Romans 8 begins where Romans 7 leaves off. The point of the end of Romans 7 is hat trying to obey God’s Law will just result in realizing that you can’t. Hence the cry at the end ‘who will save me from this body of death?’ The answer: God, in Jesus.
But if you can’t obey the Law by trying to obey it – where does that leave us? Paul gives us the answer in Romans 8: the Holy Spirit causes us who have received Jesus to obey him. Let’s take a look.
vv. 1-4
In verse 1 we have a statement. Note that there is a ground for it, given that it starts with ‘therefore.’ The ground comes in the verses after it (and whole chapters before). Note that there’s no condemnation now for everyone in Christ. That is, already, even before the future judgment, there is at this point in history, no condemnation, which by the way is the opposite of justification. Justification is being declared righteous; condemnation is being declared guilty and being punished for it.
Who’s ‘in Christ Jesus?’ It’s helpful here to consider Romans 6’s language of inclusion into Jesus – unification with him. Everyone unified to Jesus, and thus spiritually alive and believing, is in Jesus. So those people – right now, have already had the end time judgment of condemnation pass by them and have been judged righteous in Jesus.
What’s the reason for this, though? V. 2 says that the reason is that there are two governing principles – or worlds, realms, or Kingdoms at work. He’ll flesh this out more in vv. 5-8, but here, note that there’s no condemnation because the principles of the Spirit’s Kingdom have freed us through Jesus’ actions from the principles of the old realm, which is going to be condemned.
Verse three tells us how this happened. The law couldn’t save sinners, because sinners rebel against the law. What God did in Jesus is to kill, or condemn, sin by killing Jesus. And notice that it’s not ‘sins’ – it’s ‘sin.’ The old nature. The part of us, that is, according to ch. 6, now dead because Jesus died.
Verse four tells us that God had a purpose in destroying the old nature in the death of Jesus. That purpose is that our behavior would be transformed – that we’d walk according to God’s Holy Spirit and do what the law requires.
vv. 5-11
In this section, Paul’s going to contrast the two types of possible people then – people that live in the old world – old Kingdom – the ‘flesh.’ – vs. people that live in the new Kingdom in the Spirit.
Note that vv. 5-7 begin with the word ‘for’ – and so they’re providing a basis for what precede them. So in v. 5, the introduction of this idea – there’s two kinds of people – in the Kingdom and out – is the basis for what comes before, that God did stuff to cause us to walk in obedience to him.
But note what the differences are. If you’re in the flesh – in the old world, your thoughts are governed by it, will cause you to die, is hostile to God because it doesn’t submit to God’s law and actually is incapable of doing so.
If you’re in the Spirit, your thoughts are governed by the Spirit, he gives you life and peace,he wells in you, causes us to belong to Jesus, and has given us and will give us new life.
vv. 12-17
In this section, Paul begins to exhort believers to obey God and trust him through suffering.
Note that 12 is the conclusion of what precedes it. The Holy Spirit has given us new life and will raise us from the dead, so we don’t owe anything to the old world – the flesh – living according to its ways.
What’s the basis for that? 13 – because if we do live like that, we’ll die. However, if in the Spirit we kill the deeds of the body, we’ll live. Of course here it’s talking about eternally live and die. So in other words – we’re not debtors to the flesh because if we acted like that, we’d die. The other option – is trusting in the Spirit and relying on Him and doing the things he’s commanded in Scripture, actively fighting sin in our lives. If we do that – we belong to the Spirit and we will rise from the dead – live.
His basis for that statement is that if we’re doing that – being led by the Spirit to put to death evil deeds, we’re God’s children. Or in other words, we belong to God, not the flesh.
How do we know we’re sons of God? We got the Spirit that causes us to cry out to God, who bears witness that we’re his children, assuming that we suffer trusting ourselves to Jesus, looking forward to our future glory with him – our future being with him in the completely remade new creation.
Exposition
We’re at the point in Romans where something extremely significant is going to be brought up. In chapters 1-5, Paul defended the doctrine of justification by faith alone on the basis of Jesus’ work alone.
That gave rise to an objection: if justification is by faith alone, can we go on sinning? Paul says no in several ways. First, in Romans 6, he says that we have had a change of nature, therefore we can no longer live in sin. Second, in Romans 7, he says as Christians, Jesus has already met the demands of the Law for us so we no longer have something to rebel against or try to be justified by.
And that brings us to the third answer – and that is in Romans 8. The answer – in short – is the Holy Spirit’s work in the lives of God’s people.
Now, Romans 8 begins where Romans 7 leaves off. The point of the end of Romans 7 is hat trying to obey God’s Law will just result in realizing that you can’t. Hence the cry at the end ‘who will save me from this body of death?’ The answer: God, in Jesus.
But if you can’t obey the Law by trying to obey it – where does that leave us? Paul gives us the answer in Romans 8: the Holy Spirit causes us who have received Jesus to obey him. Let’s take a look.
vv. 1-4
In verse 1 we have a statement. Note that there is a ground for it, given that it starts with ‘therefore.’ The ground comes in the verses after it (and whole chapters before). Note that there’s no condemnation now for everyone in Christ. That is, already, even before the future judgment, there is at this point in history, no condemnation, which by the way is the opposite of justification. Justification is being declared righteous; condemnation is being declared guilty and being punished for it.
Who’s ‘in Christ Jesus?’ It’s helpful here to consider Romans 6’s language of inclusion into Jesus – unification with him. Everyone unified to Jesus, and thus spiritually alive and believing, is in Jesus. So those people – right now, have already had the end time judgment of condemnation pass by them and have been judged righteous in Jesus.
What’s the reason for this, though? V. 2 says that the reason is that there are two governing principles – or worlds, realms, or Kingdoms at work. He’ll flesh this out more in vv. 5-8, but here, note that there’s no condemnation because the principles of the Spirit’s Kingdom have freed us through Jesus’ actions from the principles of the old realm, which is going to be condemned.
Verse three tells us how this happened. The law couldn’t save sinners, because sinners rebel against the law. What God did in Jesus is to kill, or condemn, sin by killing Jesus. And notice that it’s not ‘sins’ – it’s ‘sin.’ The old nature. The part of us, that is, according to ch. 6, now dead because Jesus died.
Verse four tells us that God had a purpose in destroying the old nature in the death of Jesus. That purpose is that our behavior would be transformed – that we’d walk according to God’s Holy Spirit and do what the law requires.
vv. 5-11
In this section, Paul’s going to contrast the two types of possible people then – people that live in the old world – old Kingdom – the ‘flesh.’ – vs. people that live in the new Kingdom in the Spirit.
Note that vv. 5-7 begin with the word ‘for’ – and so they’re providing a basis for what precede them. So in v. 5, the introduction of this idea – there’s two kinds of people – in the Kingdom and out – is the basis for what comes before, that God did stuff to cause us to walk in obedience to him.
But note what the differences are. If you’re in the flesh – in the old world, your thoughts are governed by it, will cause you to die, is hostile to God because it doesn’t submit to God’s law and actually is incapable of doing so.
If you’re in the Spirit, your thoughts are governed by the Spirit, he gives you life and peace,he wells in you, causes us to belong to Jesus, and has given us and will give us new life.
vv. 12-17
In this section, Paul begins to exhort believers to obey God and trust him through suffering.
Note that 12 is the conclusion of what precedes it. The Holy Spirit has given us new life and will raise us from the dead, so we don’t owe anything to the old world – the flesh – living according to its ways.
What’s the basis for that? 13 – because if we do live like that, we’ll die. However, if in the Spirit we kill the deeds of the body, we’ll live. Of course here it’s talking about eternally live and die. So in other words – we’re not debtors to the flesh because if we acted like that, we’d die. The other option – is trusting in the Spirit and relying on Him and doing the things he’s commanded in Scripture, actively fighting sin in our lives. If we do that – we belong to the Spirit and we will rise from the dead – live.
His basis for that statement is that if we’re doing that – being led by the Spirit to put to death evil deeds, we’re God’s children. Or in other words, we belong to God, not the flesh.
How do we know we’re sons of God? We got the Spirit that causes us to cry out to God, who bears witness that we’re his children, assuming that we suffer trusting ourselves to Jesus, looking forward to our future glory with him – our future being with him in the completely remade new creation.
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