Posts Tagged ‘Romans’

Sometimes, when I am reading through the Scripture, I come across a statement that just doesn’t “feel right” and I begin to question God in my heart. Exodus 9:12 states, “the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh…” God holds Pharaoh accountable and judges him for his actions and attitude. How can that be fair or righteous when the LORD was the one to do the hardening? Even prior to Moses returning to Egypt (Exodus 4) the LORD said to Moses, “I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.” Did Pharaoh have a chance? Could he have made a different choice?

Maybe the fact that this bothers me just shows that I am idolatrously placing my free will on a pedestal. My idea of ‘fairness’ is that I get to make all final decisions that concern me. I am the boss of me! God can only do what I give him permission to do. Ouch! Time for repentance of my attitude; but that doesn’t provide a satisfactory answer to the “it isn’t fair” worry.

Why would the LORD harden the heart of Pharaoh and then still hold Pharaoh accountable for his hard heart? Romans, chapter one, gives some insight into how this might be appropriate and within the character of God. Verses 18-32 lay out a strong case for why God can justly and righteously turn individuals over to their own impure lusts, dishonorable passions, and debased minds. God has clearly revealed himself to ungodly and unrighteous men, but they (we?) suppress the truth. Since they (we?) do not see fit to acknowledge God, He is actually allowing their (our?) free will to rule; he is just giving them (us?) what they (we?) think they (we?) want.

Are we endangering our relationship with the LORD by trusting in ourselves more than in Him? Are we acknowledging Him in all our ways? The only ‘unfair’ action that God may be accused of is demonstrating His love for us while we are sinners.

Reason 4: So that the word of God abides in you

” So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32, ESV)

“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7, ESV)

“I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” (1 John 2:14, ESV)

“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;” (1 Peter 1:22-23, ESV)

The word of God is an abiding word (1 Peter 1:23). The word of God is truth (Romans 10:17) and brings about the new birth (1 Peter 1:23) and brings faith (Romans 10:17) and enables us to overcome the evil one (1 John 2:14, see also Reason 3 of Reasons to Memorize Scripture).  Although memorizing scripture is one method of to have the word of God abide in you, it is not and should not be considered the only means to abide in the word. By nature abiding in the word of God includes spending time in it through reading, mediation, and study.

The abiding word of God brings us within reach of a few of Jesus’ promises. There are a few different kinds of promises. Some are unconditional like when God appeared to Abram and promised to give his offspring the land, while other promises are conditional like when Jesus say’s “if” you abide in my word then ask whatever you wish or then you are truly my disciples. The promise Jesus gives us is a conditional promise. He will not give the result of the promises unless we meet the required condition.

It is important to understand what the promise is. Often times people will create a false promise by taking a verse out of the context of the passage. In the case John 8:31, the promise of abiding in His word, is that we are His disciples. That is important but it does not stop there. It continues to say that we will know the truth and will be set free by the truth. Unless we abide in the word, we are not disciples and we will not know the truth or be set free by the truth. Additionally, John 15:7 indicates that if we abide in the word we can ask God whatever we wish and it will be done for us. Taken out of context this verse fits almost any bad theology. Therefore, we must keep reading. Verse 8 say’s “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” The asking whatever you wish is directly related to bearing fruit and glorifying God the Father. If we abide in the word our desires will be transformed by the renewing of the mind (Rom 12:1-2) so that we can bear much fruit. The asking is for the bearing of much fruit.

Memorizing Scripture will help us to abide in the word of God when we are living our daily lives, running errands, having conversation at work, in a meeting, paying bills, going to the hospital, and reading the test results. If we want to bear much fruit, be disciples, fight sin, defeat Satan and love one another we must abide in the word.

Abiding in the word,

Pastor Ray

 “You shall not offer anything that has a blemish, for it will not be acceptable for you.” Leviticus 22:20 (ESV)

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14 (ESV)

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, 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.” Romans 12:1-2 (ESV)

From the sacrifices stipulated in Leviticus to the words and meditations of our hearts, there is a requirement that what we present is acceptable. Paul’s exhortation to the Roman believers includes a reminder that what we present to God is to be holy, good, acceptable, and perfect. How can we possibly satisfy all of those conditions as we present our lives as a sacrifice to God? WE CANNOT! To be acceptable is only feasible through Jesus Christ. He is truly our Rock and our Redeemer. The Resurrected Christ is the Living Stone, rejected by men, but chosen and precious in the sight of God. The miracle of God’s grace makes it possible for us to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God. Praise be to God for He is our LORD and the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. (Read 1 Peter 2)

“…you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ…” 1 Peter 2:5 (ESV)

In Romans 7, the Apostle Paul recounted his personal struggle to just do the next right thing. I can certainly relate to that struggle. I join Paul in that confession that culminates in the declaration of a complete lack of anything worthy within my flesh.

 Romans 7:18 – “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.”

 Recognizing the reality that we are totally inadequate brings us to the truths of Romans chapter 8. With Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father and interceding for us (8:34), and the Holy Spirit interceding for the saints according to the will of God (8:27), we can confidently claim that all things work together for good (8:28).

A phrase began to jump out at me each time I ran across it in my reading of Scripture: “But God…” I noticed that the phrase illuminated a contrast with God’s plans and ways and the world’s plans and ways. I recognized that we could have eliminated the need for the “But God” phrase if we had just begun with God’s perfect plan.

I did a search for the phrase, “But God,” in multiple translations of Scripture and found over eighty examples; each shed light on God’s sovereignty, grace, justice, and mercy. Here are just a few cases in point.

Beginning in Genesis 3, the serpent is questioning, “Did God actually say…” and the woman’s response includes, “But God said.” That should have been enough; the serpent should have been silenced by God’s Word. But he wasn’t.

In Genesis 8, the wickedness of mankind had resulted in a worldwide flood. “But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.”

In Genesis 17, Abraham is asking God to consider Ishmael as a solution to the problem of Sarah’s old age and her not being able to produce offspring, “But God said, ‘No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac…”

Genesis 20 finds Abraham attempting to pass Sarah off as his sister in order to protect her. Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent and took Sarah; “But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, ‘Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.”

Genesis 50 contains one of the more famous “But God” phrases in Scripture. Joseph is putting his brothers at ease when he explains, “You intended to harm me, But God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

Psalm 73:26 says, “My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Acts contains a few instances of the “But God” phrase concerning Jesus Christ, “But God raised him from the dead.”

Romans 5 states, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this; While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

One of my favorite “But God” phrases comes from 1 Corinthians 1:27. “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”

Hebrews 12:10 declares, “Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; But God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.”

Our sin requires correction. Thank the LORD for all of the “But God” passages, where his will is proclaimed against the backdrop of our need.

Even with our best intentions we fall short of God’s righteousness. Numerous places in Scripture^* indicate that man, without the LORD’s leading, will do what is right in his own eyes. That sounds good, makes sense, and is logical and understandable. What more could God expect than for us to do what we believe is right?

The problem is that even our best efforts only amount to filthy rags^** in God’s eyes. Our righteousness is no righteousness at all because anything we do that is not done in faith is sin. ^*** The only way we can put on a robe of righteousness is to do what is right in the eyes of the LORD. ⁺

 ^* Proverbs 14:12, Proverbs 16:25, Proverbs 21:2, Judges 17:6, Judges 21:25, etc.; ^** Isaiah 64:6; ^*** Romans 14:23; ⁺ Exodus 15:26, Deuteronomy 6:18, Deuteronomy 12: 8,25,28, Deuteronomy 13:18, Proverbs 17:24, Isaiah 33:15, etc.

In Exodus 33:15 Moses said to God, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.” In Psalm 127:1 Solomon writes, “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.” The Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 4:13, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” In Luke 1:37 the angel told Mary, “Nothing is impossible with God.” Again, Paul tells us in Romans 8:37, “In all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

Clearly, the Presence of the LORD is necessary and desirable. Are we seeking Him with our whole heart? If we come near to God, He promises (James 4:8) to come near to us.

Pastor Steve recently mentioned that the world doesn’t always see a difference between Christians and non-christians. Are we truly changed beings, or just a social club pretending to be different?

Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (NIV)

Are we collectively imitating Christ or the world? What evidence could be compiled to convict AICF of either of those alternatives?  Which sins do we identify as “not that bad” or “just a little thing?” Are we sold out and radically changed into His likeness?

I praise God for the progess He has made in us; I pray that He will continue to change us more and more.