Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP000042A
|
00:01 The Bible tells us, "In the beginning was the Word,
00:04 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 00:08 It says to receive with meekness 00:10 the implanted Word, 00:12 which is able to save your souls. 00:14 And to be diligent to present yourself 00:16 approved to God 00:18 rightly dividing the Word of Truth." 00:21 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:25 Our study today is Salvation by Faith Alone, 00:30 the Book of Romans. 00:33 Hi, we welcome you once again 00:34 to the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:37 I'm CA Murray. 00:38 And it is my privilege and pleasure to welcome you 00:41 to this study of the Word of God. 00:44 Let me encourage you even now, grab a Bible, pen, pencil, 00:47 iPad, iPhone, whatever you have to take notes on and join us 00:53 because I rather suspect something good and inviting 00:56 is going to be said this very day. 00:57 If you do not have a Sabbath School Lesson 01:00 and that's very, very important for our study. 01:01 May I encourage you to go to ABSG, 01:05 which is Adult Bible Study Guide.Adventists.org. 01:10 And you can download one of those 01:12 and then you can follow along with us, 01:14 very, very handy for keeping notes, 01:17 taking notes hopefully, prayerfully 01:19 something will be said that you will want to refer to 01:22 if you are a Sabbath School teacher. 01:23 It will help you in your teaching. 01:25 If you are a Christian, it will help you 01:26 in your Christian walk. 01:28 If you are leader in the church, 01:29 it will give you something to share. 01:30 As we look at this wonderful book of Romans 01:33 and as we have been dipping our toe 01:36 as it were in the water of the book of Romans, 01:38 we have found it is a deep and fascinating study. 01:41 A wonderful book that we will try 01:43 by the grace of God to unpack it 01:45 just a little bit more today. 01:47 The family is here, Shelley Quinn, 01:50 followed by Pastor John Lomacang, 01:52 followed by Jill Morikone, and Ms Molly Steenson. 01:57 Each having a day of their very own 02:00 to wade into and to share. 02:02 I'm going to ask Jill, if you would now pray for us, 02:05 please and then we'll launch out 02:07 into our study together. 02:09 Let's pray. 02:10 Holy Father, we come before you in the name of Jesus 02:12 and we just thank you for the privilege 02:13 of coming together 02:15 as likeminded brothers and sisters, 02:16 opening up your Word and seeing 02:19 what you have for us today just now. 02:21 And, Lord, we ask that you would open up our minds 02:24 and hearts to receive what you have for us 02:27 and we thank you in the precious 02:29 and holy name of Jesus. 02:30 Amen. 02:31 Amen. Amen. 02:33 One of the things that excites me, 02:36 as we enter into the study is the idea and understanding 02:40 that the Adventist Church Worldwide 02:42 is all studying the same thing together. 02:45 That's sort of a thrilling thing 02:46 that all together, 02:48 20 million strong around the world... 02:50 and really, our Sabbath School numbers 02:52 are larger than our church numbers. 02:53 So 20 million plus are studying this lesson on Romans together 02:57 as we understand again 03:00 and a new the idea of righteousness by faith, 03:03 that it is all centered and wrapped up in Christ Jesus. 03:06 And so we wait further into that this very day. 03:09 One cannot really get an understanding 03:11 of what Christ had to go through 03:14 to be the Redeemer of the human family, 03:17 unless you get a true and accurate understanding 03:20 of the human condition. 03:21 It's true. 03:22 You need to see how far Christ had to come 03:25 to redeem us from sin. 03:27 And we need to be very honest about ourselves 03:29 as to our need of a savior and the fact that we could not, 03:33 no matter how hard we try even if we died for ourselves, 03:36 we could not save ourselves from sin 03:38 and from the consequences thereof. 03:40 And so today's lesson we wade into The Human Condition 03:45 and we deal with that. 03:47 I want to read some things as we sort of set the stage 03:49 for what we're going to talk about 03:50 in the next little bit 03:52 from the beginning of the lesson. 03:54 Early in the book of Romans, 03:56 Paul seeks to establish a crucial truth. 03:59 One central to the Gospel and that is the sad state 04:04 of the human condition. 04:07 And in the ensuing centuries, my dear sister, 04:11 couldn't, we haven't gotten any better? 04:12 No. 04:14 Thanks by the grace of God, we've gotten a whole lot worse. 04:17 And there are things happening now in the world 04:20 that have never happened before. 04:22 The truth is there are mere ways to get hurt, 04:24 there are more ways to get sick, 04:26 and there are more ways to die. 04:28 Every time God invent... 04:30 man invents something new, it seems like it can be used 04:33 for good and so many times is used for evil. 04:36 So... 04:38 And I've said this before, I don't think... 04:40 I'd like to be a few years younger, 04:43 but I wouldn't want to be a child today, 04:44 I wouldn't want to be a teenager today. 04:46 There's so much that they have to face 04:48 and so much that they have to go through. 04:49 So Paul early on, seeks to establish the condition 04:55 that the world finds itself in at the time of his writing. 04:59 This truth exists from the fall onward, 05:03 we have all been contaminated by sin 05:06 and we can all say Amen to that. 05:08 It's wired in our genes, 05:10 as is the color of our eyes. 05:15 So we're in a bad state. Yes. 05:17 And if we were left to think about our bad state, 05:21 brothers and sisters, I think we would be depressed 05:24 and of all men, most miserable. 05:27 But praise God, we've got Jesus. 05:30 That's right. 05:31 And we've got an answer to our problems in this world. 05:35 And so Paul sets out some things very early on. 05:38 I'm in Romans chapter one. 05:40 And we're going to look at this very powerful text 05:44 which we actually ended on in last week's study. 05:47 But Paul says, 05:49 "I am not ashamed of the gospel." 05:53 Hallelujah. 05:54 Amen. Amen. 05:55 "I'm not ashamed of the gospel, 05:57 it is the power of God for salvation." 06:00 Now of course, this usage of power is dunamis, 06:03 this is the physical ability to get the job done. 06:07 It is also speaking of, Molly, miracle working power. 06:13 This is the dynamite power to get the job done. 06:18 Of course, in, I'm thinking of John 1:12, 06:21 where we have the power to become sons of God, 06:23 that's the authority or the right 06:25 to become sons of God. 06:26 But this is a little more earthy, 06:27 this a little more kinetic, a little more physical. 06:31 This is the physical ability to get the job done. 06:35 The Gospel gives us power, a miracle working power. 06:40 Remember the song we used to sing? 06:41 "There is power, power, wonder working power..." 06:45 This is wonder working power. This is miracle power. 06:48 And Paul says, "I'm not ashamed of the Gospel, 06:51 it is the power of God for salvation." 06:54 That's what it's all about getting saved, 06:56 getting out of this world and into the next. 06:58 "To everyone who has," what? 07:01 Faith. Belief. 07:02 "Who has faith or who believes to the Jew first 07:05 and also to the Greek." 07:06 I don't mind it being to the Jew first 07:08 as long as it gets to the Greek. 07:09 You know, I don't... 07:10 it's all right if the Jew gets it first 07:12 as long as that doesn't stop with him it gets to the Greek. 07:14 So that gets you and me in. 07:15 "For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed 07:20 through faith for faith, as it is written." 07:24 And I love this translation. 07:26 I don't use the term, "I love" too much 07:27 when I saw this one... 07:28 This is good. Yeah, this is real good. 07:30 This explanation, 07:33 "He who through faith is righteous shall live." 07:36 That does it for me. That's the Revised Standard. 07:39 Yeah, that's the RSV. 07:41 And I really like that little slant on it. 07:44 "He through faith is righteous shall live." 07:47 That is beautiful. The just shall live by faith. 07:53 So now we sort of move into what we want to talk about 07:58 the human condition and the power of God 08:03 to arrest change readdress that human condition. 08:09 The lesson brings out the point and I think it is important 08:12 that there are certain key words, 08:13 one gospel which we have said for years is the good news 08:17 or the good message, 08:18 given where we are and what we are doing, 08:24 it is good news. 08:25 Amen. 08:26 And in this world of bad news, you need a little good news. 08:29 Well, if you need good news, open the word 08:31 because the Bible says, 08:34 we are born in sin, shaped in iniquity, 08:38 but it doesn't leave us there. 08:40 Amen. That's right. 08:41 God says there is good news, God has given us a way 08:44 to get out of that and to get that sin out of us. 08:48 In fact, we've got to get it out of us 08:49 before we get out of that, 08:51 they go hand in hand 08:53 one sequentially after the other. 08:55 So we are in bad spiritual shape, 08:59 but God finds us in bad spiritual shape 09:02 and then he begins to clean us up 09:03 through the power of the Holy Spirit. 09:05 Let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus. 09:07 And then Romans 12:1. 09:09 Romans is such a good book. Oh boy, amen. 09:12 It's such a good book. 09:13 Where He calls us to be living sacrifices in 8:1, 09:16 everything 1 in Romans 1, something 8:1, 7:1, 09:19 12:1 is good, there's no condemnation 09:21 or in Christ Jesus. 09:23 So yes, we are in bad shape, 09:25 but God doesn't leave us in bad shape. 09:27 He doesn't leave you in bad shape, 09:29 on your worst day, you're still a child of God. 09:31 You surrender yourself to Him and God begins to clean you up, 09:35 it's like, I got this, real quick, 09:36 when my mother is come visit me when I was a single pastor, 09:38 wasn't marriage yet, and my mother was is a... 09:41 she worked at a hospital X-ray room, 09:43 neat freak, clean freak, 09:44 and I would always clean the house 09:46 before she came. 09:48 My mother would take off her hat, 09:49 she is a good Adventist with Panamanian, West Indian, 09:53 Canadian, British background always got a hat on. 09:56 Take off that hat, take off her gloves, 09:57 take off her coat, go into the kitchen 09:59 and begin cleaning. 10:00 And it would aggravate me 10:02 because I'd clean the kitchen already. 10:04 And she would find places to clean that I didn't... 10:06 on top of the refrigerator, up on top of the cabinets, 10:09 you know, she would move things and start cleaning. 10:12 And that's how the Holy Spirit is, you think, 10:14 "Yeah, I'm pretty clean." 10:15 Holy Spirit says, "No, you missed a spot." 10:17 There you go. 10:18 You know, you missed a spot here 10:20 and so Holy Spirit begins to clean and clean. 10:22 So the gospel is good news that a cleaning takes place 10:25 with the entrance of Jesus Christ into your life. 10:28 And let me move forward just a little bit. 10:32 The word Christ, 10:34 the translation of the word Messiah, 10:38 the transliteration about what it says of the Greek word 10:41 which means the Messiah, He is our Savior 10:45 and He is our Lord and He is our example 10:48 and He is our judge and He is our defender 10:51 and he is our king and he is our redeemer. 10:54 We wear a lot of hats down here, He wears more. 10:57 It's true. That's right. 10:58 He wears all of those hats. Righteousness. 11:02 Ellen White says, righteousness is doing right. 11:04 And there are some people who tend to rebel against that 11:07 because they think that's works. 11:09 But righteousness, James takes time 11:11 to say is right doing but it is right doing 11:15 that is an out working of a relationship 11:18 with Jesus Christ. 11:19 You don't work to be saved, you work because you are saved. 11:23 And when you put down the cigarette 11:24 and when you put down those bottle 11:26 and when you put on the carousing 11:27 and when you give your life to Christ, 11:30 those are works of righteousness 11:33 motivated by the enduring Jesus Christ. 11:35 So that mind is in you and it is worked out 11:39 through you and it reveals itself 11:42 in works of righteousness. 11:44 So you're not trying to work to save Jesus, 11:46 you're working 11:47 because you've got a relationship with Jesus. 11:49 Just like when Brother Quinn says, 11:51 "Shelley, give me a glass of water." 11:52 Or vice versa, when Shelley says, 11:54 "J.D., give me a glass of water." 11:55 You don't say, "Oh, you making me work 11:57 just because I said I do, 11:59 I don't have to do for the rest my life." 12:00 No, he does it willingly. Why? 12:03 Because of an existing love relationship. 12:06 And since all of you are married, 12:07 all of you can say, Hallelujah and Amen. 12:09 Amen. 12:10 And that's the way that love works, 12:12 it works through because of an existing relationship 12:16 and of course, faith. 12:17 Ellen White says, 12:19 "Prayer is the key in the hands of faith 12:22 to unlock heaven's storehouse where are treasured 12:25 the boundless treasures of omnipotence." 12:27 So faith is the fulcrum, it is the key that brings 12:32 all of this stuff to you that opens the door 12:34 that allows Christ to come in 12:36 because He doesn't kick down doors, 12:37 Christ is not a bully, 12:38 He's not going to bang the door down. 12:40 He will knock and knock and knock and knock, 12:42 you got to open the door from the inside 12:44 and then Christ will come in. 12:46 And faith is that and that in truth. 12:49 So we've got a condition, but praise the Lord, 12:52 we are not left to our condition, 12:54 there is an answer to our condition, 12:56 there is a remedy for our condition. 12:57 And that's what Paul is trying to show the community at Rome 13:04 that once you lock on to Jesus, once you by faith accept Jesus, 13:09 then the whole world of brand new possibilities 13:12 becomes yours. 13:13 You don't have to work your way to it, 13:15 you don't have to work your way through it, 13:16 you simply have to accept Jesus by faith 13:19 and then you become just, 13:20 and then this world opens up to you 13:23 and Christ lives out in you, he lives through you, 13:27 he blesses you, 13:28 and then you become a blessing to others. 13:30 Amen. Sister Shelley. 13:31 Amen. 13:33 Well, I have Mondays 13:34 and the title of Monday's lessons 13:35 is all have sinned based on Romans 3:23. 13:40 So let's read Romans 3:23. 13:42 Paul writes and says, "For all have sins 13:47 and fall short of the glory of God." 13:50 I remember when I was in college 13:56 and really developing a personal relationship 13:59 with Christ and studying the Word a lot. 14:03 And I remember reading in Luke 18, 14:06 where the young ruler comes to Jesus and says, 14:09 "Good Teacher, what must I do to be saved?" 14:11 Well, of course, what did Jesus tell him? 14:13 "Keep the commandments." "Keep the commandments." 14:15 Now, the Ten Commandments were given 14:18 to reveal the character of God, show his righteous standards, 14:24 but they were given to show our sins, 14:27 so that we could see our own sin 14:30 and point to our need for a Savior. 14:33 But the part that I left out there is Luke 18:19, 14:37 where Jesus said to the young man, 14:39 "Why do you call me good?" 14:41 And I thought, I'm reading my Bible and I thought, 14:44 because he says, "No one is good but God." 14:47 And I thought, now wait a minute. 14:48 You are God, now why would you say, 14:51 no one's good but God. 14:52 Why would He ask that? 14:54 And I came to the point of understanding 14:58 Jesus was trying to see if he was recognizing Him 15:01 as the Messiah. 15:02 Why do you call me good? 15:03 Are you recognizing that I am God 15:05 because there's no one good but God? 15:07 But I remember sitting and arguing with the Lord 15:09 that night and saying, 15:11 "Everybody's always told me what a good person I am. 15:14 I'm always doing this and that the other for people, 15:17 am I not good?" 15:18 And I said, "Lord, if I'm not good, show me." 15:21 He kept me up all night long, I mean, 15:23 it was just kind of like a panoramic view of my life, 15:26 showing me different things where I would do things, 15:29 good things for recognition or to get a pat on the back, 15:33 just the wrong motivations, you know. 15:35 And I came to understand, 15:37 "Okay, I'm not as good as I thought I was." 15:39 And I remember once, Cheri Peter had a lady 15:41 who came with her for an interview. 15:44 And you know what she said, she said, 15:47 "I used to think what's the big deal 15:50 about Jesus dying for us. 15:52 I'm a good person. I don't break the big ten." 15:55 And the reason, I mean, it took her a while 15:57 to understand what sin was all about. 16:01 And the reason I'm telling you this story is 16:03 because if we don't understand our sinfulness, 16:08 we'll never understand our need for a Savior. 16:10 Yeah, that's right. 16:11 And basically, it's what sin is. 16:15 Let me just run through a few things. 16:17 Sin is to miss the mark of God's righteous requirements 16:21 like you're missing the bull's eye. 16:23 James 4:17 says, "To him who knows to do good 16:27 and does not do it to him, it is sin." 16:29 So there's sins of omission. 16:32 Romans 14:23, Paul says, "Whatever is not from faith 16:36 is sin, sin is to transgress 16:40 or to trespass to step off your line." 16:42 Proverbs 24:9 says, 16:45 "The devising of foolishness is sin. 16:47 Perverse silliness is sin, naughty little jokes." 16:50 We need to start stifling our laughter 16:53 at these naughty little jokes 16:55 because that's the devising of foolishness 16:58 to commit iniquity lawlessness, that's an intentional 17:03 or even an unintentional offence 17:05 against God's Law. 17:07 1 John 3:4 says, "Whoever commits sin, 17:10 commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness." 17:13 But it goes on 17:14 the different categories of sin, 17:16 it can be unclean, impure, 17:18 commit wickedness which is evil. 17:21 And I think Jeremiah 4:14 says, 17:23 "Wash your hearts from wickedness 17:25 that you may be saved. 17:27 How long shall your evil thoughts 17:29 lodge within you?" 17:31 But the one that gets me, look at ourselves 17:35 as being pretty good say, "Oh, I don't do this, 17:36 I'm not wicked, I'm not doing this." 17:39 But here's the one that's the clincher. 17:43 It says in 1 John 5:17, 17:48 "All unrighteousness is sin." 17:51 To be unrighteous means any deviation from God's holy 17:57 and righteous character. 17:58 That's right. So any deviation is sin. 18:02 When we contrast our character with God, what happens? 18:06 You're sitting here feeling pretty good about yourself, 18:10 looking at your neighbor and thinking, 18:11 "Yeah, I got it together like they do." 18:13 But you start contrasting your character with God's 18:17 and you're filled with self-loathing and disgust, 18:19 are you not? 18:21 I found this quote from Handley Mole 18:24 or Mole here's what it says. 18:27 The harlot, the liar, the murderer 18:29 are short of God's glory but so are you. 18:34 Perhaps they stand at the bottom of a mine 18:37 and you are on the crest of an Alp, 18:39 but you are as little able 18:43 to touch the stars as they are." 18:46 So it doesn't matter, big sins, little sins, 18:48 they all separate us from God, but they can all be forgiven. 18:53 And we must remember, you know, is murder worse than hatred? 18:59 Not according to Jesus. 19:01 Hatred is the equivalent of spiritual murder, isn't it? 19:04 So we all miss the mark of Christ's character. 19:08 And what Jesus can't do 19:10 is to restore the character of God in us. 19:14 So that he could restore the glory 19:16 when he says that we've all sinned 19:19 and fall and short of the glory of God. 19:23 You just think about when Moses said, 19:25 "Oh Lord, show me your glory." 19:26 What did God do? 19:28 In Exodus 34, He walked before Moses, 19:31 He put him in the cleft of the rock, what did he do? 19:34 He declared his righteous ways, his character. 19:39 He said, "The Lord, the Lord God merciful and gracious, 19:42 long suffering, abounding in goodness and truth, 19:46 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity 19:48 and transgression and sin." 19:51 So to fall short, in the Greek this is a continual, 19:56 we're always falling short of the glory of God. 19:59 It means that you're coming like your behind, your just... 20:04 fall coming up short because none of us 20:07 can measure up to the glory of God. 20:09 But John tells us in 1:14. 20:14 "The glory of God rest in the person of Jesus." 20:18 It says, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, 20:22 we beheld his glory, 20:24 the glory as of the only begotten 20:27 of the Father, full of grace and truth." 20:30 And II Corinthians 4:6 tells us 20:33 that Christ is the complete revelation 20:35 of the glory of God. 20:37 It says, "For it is the God who commanded light 20:40 to shine out of darkness who has shown in our own hearts 20:44 to give the light of the knowledge 20:46 of the glory of God in the face of Jesus." 20:51 So we fall short of the glory of God 20:54 when we do not live up 20:55 to the sinlessness of Jesus Christ. 20:58 That's where we praise God for grace and justification 21:01 that his perfect righteousness is credited to our account. 21:07 But now let me quickly, 21:09 I don't know if we've got time to do this. 21:10 The lesson says to read Romans 3:10-18, 21:15 we'll get through as much as we can. 21:16 But see, the Jews received an advantage from God 21:19 and that they received the Word from God. 21:21 But now Paul in Romans 3:10-18, quotes from the Psalms, 21:25 I say Ecclesiastics and Proverbs 21:28 as a witness against them. 21:30 And he says, Romans 3:10. 21:32 "As it is written, there is none righteous, 21:34 no, not one." 21:35 We're all entitled as guilty. 21:37 There's no one in proper standing with God." 21:40 Verse 11 here says, 21:41 "There's none who understands, none who seeks after God." 21:44 We don't have spiritual discernment 21:46 really till we are born again 21:48 and it's not until God woos us with His love, 21:51 that man seeks after God. 21:53 He goes on to say, "They've all turned aside, 21:55 they've come together and become unprofitable. 21:59 There's none who does good. No, not one." 22:02 We've gone off of the path, we've gone out of the way, 22:05 we're like a caravan that's crossing across the desert 22:11 and we're lost, we just get off that path. 22:14 We're very corrupted when we compare ourselves 22:16 to Christ Jesus. 22:18 So we can't do anything without Him 22:20 that is of eternal, spiritual value. 22:23 It goes on to say, "Their throat is an open tomb, 22:26 when their tongues... 22:28 with their tongues they practice 22:29 to seek the poison of asps is under their lips." 22:34 We're like an open sepulcher in the stench of sin 22:39 is displayed by our mouth and the asp had little sacks 22:42 that's a poisonous venomous snake 22:45 had little sacks from where he stored his poison. 22:49 So he's comparing human speech to that. 22:52 He said, "Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness 22:56 their feet are swift to shed blood." 22:59 Did you know in the last century, 23:03 39 million people were lost in war? 23:07 And then conservative estimates governments 23:10 have killed an additional 125 million. 23:13 So it's just destruction and misery are on their way 23:15 to path and peace, 23:17 the way of peace they've not known 23:19 and there's no fear of God before their eyes. 23:21 So that's the condition of mankind. 23:24 And we can't find true peace apart from Jesus. 23:28 So when he says, "All who've sinned 23:30 and fallen short of the glory of God, 23:32 we indeed are falling short, but we can confess." 23:37 Confession is a clearing house of the conscious 23:40 and God will raise us up again. 23:42 Thank you, Shelley. Amen. 23:43 Thank you, Shelley. 23:45 Progress, the title of Tuesday's lesson. 23:48 Very important title because I believe 23:51 as I study the lesson, the more things change, 23:55 the more they stay the same. 23:56 And the wise man Solomon said, 23:58 "There is nothing new under the sun." 24:00 And the Apostle Paul, in unfolding to us 24:04 the chapter of Romans 1, and by the way, 24:07 it's an extensive chapter, we're going to... 24:09 I think deal with this in two parts. 24:12 Romans 1 brings the past and the present together 24:18 in a very striking manner, what it does... 24:21 and the writer of the lesson pointed out that education 24:24 and moral training is not sufficient 24:27 to remedy the issue of sin. 24:28 Amen. That's right. 24:29 People, you know, get very well educated, 24:31 get positions to climb the ladder in society 24:35 and whatever the position they may be in, 24:37 but we'll discover that no matter how high 24:39 or how low they are the moral fiber is the same, 24:43 all have sinned and fallen short 24:44 of the glory of God. 24:46 And, Shelley, thank you for pointing that out. 24:47 Romans 3:23. 24:49 But as I go to Romans 1, 24:52 I'd like you to turn there with me 24:54 because Romans 1 outlines... 24:57 Romans one, Jill, sounds like today. 25:00 Yes, it does. 25:02 I mean, Panel, it sounds like today 25:04 because the things that Paul talked about, 25:06 he takes a page out of the past, 25:10 he goes back to the antediluvian world, 25:12 he takes a page out of the present, 25:14 he takes a page out of Noah's day, 25:16 he pulls it all together, 25:17 and then he talks about how this is still 25:20 a prevalent issue in the Church of Rome. 25:22 And we find thinking that well, 25:24 if it was so many thousands of years ago, 25:27 it could be resolved by now, but it's still today 25:30 and the thing that connects the past to the present 25:32 is human nature is the same in every generation. 25:34 That's true. Well said. 25:36 It doesn't change. Human nature is the same. 25:37 But let's look at some of the symptoms 25:39 and I want to point this out because I would lead into that 25:42 by saying there is no depth to which 25:44 we can fall when sin reigns in us 25:47 but I would also tag that by saying there is no height, 25:51 there's no limit to the height which we can rise 25:54 when righteousness reigns in us. 25:56 So we're looking at the depth of human degradation 25:58 but the height of Christ's righteousness. 26:01 But the ladder between the two is the condition of the mind 26:04 and how we receive the things of God. 26:06 Notice, he points out in verse 22, 26:08 and this has often been the Achilles' heel, 26:11 when a person becomes intellectually recharged 26:17 or when a person comes to the place where they have... 26:22 Excuse me, for saying this and I have to say it, 26:26 intellectually constipated. 26:29 We've got to clear our minds 26:30 of the things that we put in there 26:32 to make room for what Christ wants to put in there. 26:37 Romans 1:22 says it so clearly. 26:41 Professing themselves, as the King James Version, 26:44 I want to quote that, 26:45 "Professing themselves to be wise 26:47 they became fools, professing to be wise." 26:50 In other words, wisdom of this age, 26:52 the Bible uses, as Paul said, 26:55 Jesus uses the simple things of the world 26:58 to profound the minds of the wise. 27:02 He uses the base things of the world 27:04 to bring a quandary to the very highly educated. 27:08 And so there is nothing that's simple in God's sight 27:11 but sometimes when people gain understanding 27:13 and knowledge, they think that the Word of God 27:16 can be replaced now with a wiser mind. 27:19 And today, it almost seems out of step, Jill, 27:24 to not question God. 27:26 People, I've heard people say, 27:28 "Well, the reason why you're a Christian 27:29 is because you don't question what you believe." 27:32 Well, the reason why I am Christian 27:34 is because I've questioned it and I've discovered 27:36 that God's wisdom is higher than mine. 27:38 Amen. 27:40 So not a lack of question but what happens 27:42 when you look at God's truth and you choose to reject it, 27:46 look at verse 23, then all of a sudden 27:48 transitions begin to take place. 27:50 And we'll see in verses 24 down to 32, 27:52 that the conditions of today are a direct result of people 27:57 challenging and ignoring the plain Word of God. 28:00 It says, "And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God 28:04 into an image made like corruptible man, 28:07 and birds, and four footed beasts, 28:09 and creeping things." 28:11 In other words, the creature is now 28:14 the creator is now subpar to the creation, 28:18 they change his glory. 28:20 I could use an example today. 28:21 One firefighter made this comment 28:23 when he was called to rescue a kitten from a tree. 28:27 Everybody was up in arms, 28:28 this kitten got stuck in a tree, and he said, 28:32 "What would happen in society 28:34 if we had the same compassion towards each other 28:36 as we had toward a kitten caught in tree?" 28:39 Amen. 28:40 If a duck got caught in a drain and it made the news, 28:44 but the person laying on the sidewalk 28:45 who is down and out and has lost hope 28:48 is often ignored by those of us who pass them by as the story 28:52 of the Good Samaritan also points out. 28:54 What else happened? Look at Romans 1:24. 28:58 So this is a transitional stage 28:59 because we've read in the Bible. 29:01 The Bible says, "I will never leave you 29:03 nor forsake you." 29:04 But now as we read these verses here coming up, 29:07 I want to prophesy by saying, 29:08 what's happening in our world today, 29:10 and let's just go to put the issue on the table 29:12 that I want to address, 29:13 with this push for same sex marriage. 29:17 There is a transitional stage because God made man 29:20 and made woman 29:21 that one man and woman are joined together 29:23 in a Godly relationship in marriage. 29:25 They are to reveal the image of God in the human race. 29:29 But one man and man are joined together 29:31 and woman and woman are joined together, 29:33 you cannot complete the image of God 29:35 because He made the maleness of man 29:37 and the femaleness of woman to reflect his divinity. 29:42 What happened? 29:44 And when men choose to ignore 29:45 the reflection of God's divinity 29:47 by same sex, same sex, what does God do? 29:51 Look at verse 24, "Therefore God also gave them up 29:55 to uncleanness in the lust of their own hearts 29:59 to dishonor their bodies among themselves 30:02 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie." 30:07 Male and female, they changed it 30:09 for male and male and female and female. 30:12 And it says, "And worship and serve the creature 30:15 rather than the creator who is blessed for ever. 30:18 Amen." 30:19 But let's go on further. 30:21 "For this reason, God gave them up to vile passions, 30:24 for even their women exchanged the natural use 30:28 for what is against nature. 30:30 Likewise also," verse 27. Excuse me. 30:33 "The men leaving the natural use of the woman, 30:37 burned in their lust for one another, 30:39 men with men committing what is shameful and receiving 30:43 in themselves the penalty of their error which was due." 30:47 Is that today or not? Absolutely. 30:50 That's the condition of our world today. 30:51 And so in our society... 30:53 I was recently doing a series of meetings 30:55 and I said to the congregants, 30:57 "Never should the church get to the place 30:59 where we are conciliatory with sin. 31:03 We should not teach acceptance of sin, 31:08 we should continue to teach deliverance from sin." 31:11 Amen. Amen. 31:12 Because acceptance of sin brings us to the place 31:15 where we bring God down to the creature 31:19 rather than exalt him to the creator 31:21 who is blessed forever, but it goes on. 31:24 And here's the reason why this condition exists. 31:27 Paul calls it progress 31:29 and I think with a question mark. 31:30 "Progress?" 31:32 Let's look at this, verse 28, "And even as they did not like 31:38 to retain God in their knowledge." 31:41 In other words, they knew about them 31:42 but they didn't want to keep his thoughts in their minds. 31:45 "God gave them over to a debased mind 31:49 to do those things which are not fitting." 31:52 What's not fitting? Verse 29, "Being filled." 31:56 And I want you to notice how now it expands the category. 31:59 Yes, amen. 32:01 Because the earlier verses talk about sexual immorality 32:03 and perversion but the Lord is saying now, 32:06 "If you think that that's the only thing 32:07 that I'm upset about," let's keep going. 32:09 Yes. 32:10 "Being filled with all unrighteousness, 32:13 sexual immorality," 32:15 reiterate it from the verses before, 32:17 but look at this, "Wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness," 32:23 that's greed, "full of envy, 32:28 murder, strife, deceit, 32:30 evil mindedness, they are whisperers, 32:35 backbiters, haters of God, violent proud boasters, 32:41 inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents." 32:45 Somebody tell me to stop already. 32:48 I mean, this list is just, it's concentrated. 32:50 See, this is sin in God's sight. 32:53 Verse 31, "Undiscerning." 32:55 That means they don't have understanding, "Untrustworthy, 32:58 unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful 33:01 who knowing the righteous judgment of God 33:04 that those who practice such things 33:06 are worthy of death not only do the same," 33:08 but here's, I want to point this out as I transition, 33:12 "But also approve of those who practice it." 33:14 Now let me tell what that means to me. 33:17 You may not do any of these things 33:19 in a practicing way but if you watch it... 33:22 Amen. It's good. 33:24 If you support it, 33:26 if this becomes your entertainment, 33:28 you are in the same category. 33:30 That's right. 33:31 I may not do it, but I'm going to pay money to see it. 33:34 I'm going to watch it. 33:36 So the Lord is saying we can't even approve 33:38 of those practices by lending our support in any way. 33:42 Progress, the only way we get progress, Jill, 33:45 is by keeping our eyes fixed on the righteousness of Christ. 33:49 Amen. Well done, Pastor John. 33:51 On Wednesday, we look at 33:53 what Jews and Gentiles share in common. 33:56 And when we get to the end of it, 33:58 we're going to discover it's the sin problem 34:01 that Shelley talked about, all have sinned 34:03 and fallen short of the glory of God. 34:05 But first, before we jump into that, 34:07 let's look at the advantages that the Jews had. 34:10 Let's look at Romans 3:1. 34:13 What was the advantage that they had? 34:15 And when I read here, I know 34:17 Paul is specifically talking to the Jews 34:19 but I think in a special sense, we could say 34:22 he's also referring to us as Christians. 34:24 That's right. 34:25 Romans 1 talks about the judgment on the gentiles 34:28 and what they did specifically in that whole list of sins 34:32 which is really heavy. 34:33 But we're looking now at the Jews 34:35 or you could say the Christians. 34:36 We like to think we're above that a little bit. 34:38 So Romans 3:1, 34:41 "What advantage then has the Jew? 34:44 Or what is the profit of circumcision? 34:47 Much in every way, chiefly because to them we're committed 34:53 the oracles of God." 34:55 The Jews had an advantage, a huge advantage 34:58 over the gentiles at that time. 35:01 And what was their advantage? 35:02 They knew the Word of God. 35:04 The Old Testament scriptures, they had studied and they knew. 35:09 They had the advantage to them was entrusted. 35:11 What's she say, the oracles of God, 35:14 the Word of God was entrusted to them. 35:16 But with much responsibility, with much advantage, 35:21 comes much responsibility. 35:24 Turn the Bible to Luke chapter 12. 35:26 And then we'll come back to Romans. 35:27 Luke chapter 12, they had great advantages 35:31 because they had the Word of God. 35:33 But with that advantage, comes responsibility. 35:36 Luke 12:48. 35:42 You have that, Pastor? Yes. 35:43 Oh, which one? Either Pastor. 35:45 Okay, CA, go for it. 35:48 Luke chapter 12, I'm reading verse 48. 35:50 The Bible says, "But he who did not know, 35:53 yet committed things deserving of stripes, 35:56 shall be beaten with few. 35:58 For everyone to whom much is given, 36:00 from him much will be required, 36:03 and to whom much has been committed, 36:06 of him they will ask the more." 36:09 You know, as Seventh Day Adventist Christians today, 36:13 God has committed to us much light, much truth. 36:17 We could say we have a knowledge of sin 36:20 and salvation. 36:21 We have a knowledge of Jesus and His Word. 36:24 We have a knowledge of God's grace in his law. 36:26 Or we should have a knowledge of all these things. 36:29 We should have a knowledge of His high priestly ministry 36:32 in the heavenly sanctuary right now interceding for us 36:36 in his work since 1844, with the day of atonement, 36:39 with that work. 36:40 We should have a knowledge of the Sabbath 36:42 and the sanctuary truth and the state of the dead 36:45 that when we die, we sleep until resurrection 36:49 and God calls us forth. 36:50 We have this advantage. 36:52 But with that, to whom much is given, 36:54 much will be required. 36:57 Let's jump back to Romans. 36:59 Romans chapter 2, we're looking at 37:03 what Jews and gentiles share in common. 37:05 So we know that the Jews had a great advantage 37:08 because they possess knowledge of the Word of God. 37:11 And then Romans 2:24. 37:14 But with that knowledge of the Word of God, 37:17 look at verse 24, "For the name of God 37:20 is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you." 37:25 That's heavy, Pastor John. 37:27 When I read that, that's heavy. 37:28 The name of God been blasphemed because of them. 37:32 So I want to look what is the sin of Jews 37:34 in particular. 37:35 In our time, I want to look at four sins of the Jews. 37:38 And this is just from Romans chapter 2. 37:41 The first sin is, Romans 2:1. 37:43 Now in the first part of Romans 2, 37:45 this can refer to Jews and gentiles. 37:47 I know specifically Paul gets to the Jews in verse 17 37:51 so this first one could refer to either one. 37:53 Romans 2:1, "Therefore you are inexcusable, oh, man, 37:59 whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge 38:04 another you condemn yourself, 38:07 for you who judge practice the same things." 38:10 Have you ever noticed, Miss Mollie, 38:11 that if you're irritated at a behavior 38:14 in someone else usually... 38:16 It's right out of you. 38:18 It's because you do the same behavior. 38:21 If something bugs me, usually it's because 38:24 I'm doing the very same thing 38:26 that bothers me in someone else. 38:31 Paul says, "You are inexcusable, O man," 38:34 that word for inexcusable occurs twice. 38:38 And actually once it occurs in Romans 1:20 38:41 and the second time in Romans 2:1. 38:43 In Romans 1:20, I know, you did that, Pastor John. 38:46 But it says that, Romans 1:20, 38:49 since the creation of the world, 38:50 his invisible attributes are clearly seen, 38:52 been understood by the things that are made, 38:55 even his eternal power in God had, 38:57 so that they are without excuse. 39:00 That word is the same as used in Romans 2:1. 39:04 You are inexcusable. 39:06 It means without rational or convincing argument. 39:09 It describes really the helplessness 39:11 of trying to defend that case in court 39:14 where lacking in adequate defense. 39:17 So the first sin of Jews 39:19 and this could be Jews or gentiles, 39:21 is the sin of judging other people, 39:23 the sin of looking at what they think 39:27 is the sin in someone else and not seen as it says. 39:30 And the Sermon on the Mount, the mote in your own eyes, 39:34 not seeing the beam in your own eyes, 39:35 and judging someone else. 39:37 The second sin we find in Romans 2:17, 39:41 now this is specifically to the Jews. 39:44 Romans 2:17, "Indeed you are called a Jew, 39:47 and rest on the law, and make your boast in God." 39:52 The second sin is favoritism, thinking they would get a pass 39:56 or get favoritism from God in the judgment. 40:00 They mistakenly believed 40:01 that since they were God's chosen people, 40:04 He would show them favoritism in the judgment. 40:07 Romans 2:11, though, says what, 40:09 "There is no partiality with God." 40:14 All are equal, Jew, Greek. Jew, gentile whatever, 40:19 we are equal before God. 40:20 There is not partiality. 40:22 We would not get a favoritism or a pass in the judgment 40:25 because we have the oracles of God 40:27 or because we know the truth. 40:29 Number three is not practicing what they preach. 40:33 Now Paul, in the book of Romans, of course, 40:35 is an incredible document, 40:38 theological treaties you could say. 40:41 We mentioned on our previous program 40:43 that Romans is one of the... 40:46 It was written about the time of two of the gospels, 40:48 I believe. 40:50 But Paul is really 40:51 one of the first New Testament writers 40:52 if you look at all the other books 40:54 in the New Testament, now I know, 40:55 this is written about the time of a couple of the gospels 40:57 but you think at that time, they had people going out 41:00 and preaching, sharing the gospel, 41:03 the message of the Messiah, the message of Jesus, 41:06 but they did not have a lot of written down theological... 41:11 what's the word I'm looking for, 41:12 theological scripture, documentation. 41:15 They had the Old Testament. 41:16 But I think Paul, in special way, 41:18 pulled from the Old Testament scriptures 41:20 trying to lay our foundation for the Christian church 41:23 and for what they believed. 41:25 And we see that in the book of Romans, 41:26 but not only does it lay it out theologically, 41:29 but Paul is a great writer just in the way he writes. 41:33 And he uses something called diatribe in here. 41:36 He uses it several different times 41:38 in the book of Romans. 41:40 And diatribe is creating dialogue 41:42 with a fictitious opponent. 41:45 It can be violent or bitter criticism 41:47 but really it's a rhetorical device. 41:50 He used against the group or a person or an institution 41:53 or behavior, trying to create that dialogue. 41:56 So what he's doing here, he's creating that diatribe. 41:59 We're in Romans 2:18 42:04 although it doesn't pick up till 21, 42:06 but let's do 18. 42:07 "And know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, 42:11 being instructed out of the law, 42:12 and are confident that you yourself are a guide 42:15 to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness." 42:18 So they thought we have the truth, 42:19 we the oracles of God, we know what we're talking about. 42:22 "An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, 42:25 having the form of knowledge and truth in the law." 42:27 They said we really have it together. 42:29 And then, here comes the diatribe. 42:31 They're not practicing what they preach. 42:33 "You, therefore, who teach another, 42:35 do you not teach yourself? 42:38 You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? 42:42 You who say do not commit adultery, 42:44 do you commit adultery? 42:46 You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 42:49 You who make your boast in the law, 42:51 do you dishonor God through the breaking of the law?" 42:55 So number one for the sin of the Jews was judging others. 42:58 Number two, thinking they'd get a pass 43:00 or favoritism in the judgment. 43:02 Number three, not practicing what they themselves preached. 43:06 And number four was outwardly obeying the law 43:09 but not obeying from the heart. 43:11 We see then in Romans 2:28. 43:12 "He is not a Jew who is one outwardly 43:16 nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh, 43:18 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, 43:21 and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, 43:24 not in the latter, whose praise is not from men but from God." 43:28 So Wednesdays is what the Jews and gentiles share in common. 43:32 They share the problem with sin. 43:34 They share the problem with sin. 43:35 But praise the Lord, our lesson this week does not end there 43:39 because when we have sin, 43:41 we can repent and go to the Savior. 43:43 And I think that's where you have, Molly. 43:44 Yes. 43:45 Thursday is the gospel and repentance. 43:48 Now Shelley brought out the scripture, 43:51 "All have sinned and fall in short 43:53 of glory of God." 43:55 And I think you've mentioned it as well. 43:57 And I can remember so many times, 44:02 I have prayed, "Oh, God, 44:03 give me a fresh revelation of the person 44:05 of Lord Jesus Christ." 44:07 Remember when you first make Jesus the Lord of your life, 44:10 how really was to you and how your heart 44:12 just would sing and rejoice before the Lord. 44:15 And so I've prayed that... 44:16 But you know, I think I might need to pray, 44:18 "God, give me your fresh revelation of my heart." 44:22 Oh, Lord, that my heart... 44:25 what is your heart? It's deceitful. 44:29 And so, "Lord, don't let my heart deceive me. 44:32 Show me," because if you don't know 44:36 you need to repent, you're not going to repent. 44:39 And what I'm looking at is the gospel and repentance. 44:42 And I want us to start out, go to II Peter 3:9. 44:46 I want us to start with that scripture. 44:49 We're going to start with II Peter 3:9. 44:52 And my intention is to end with II Peter 3:9. 44:56 II Peter 3:9 says, 44:58 "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, 45:02 as some count slackness. 45:04 But is longsuffering toward us, 45:07 not willing that any should perish, 45:10 but that," what? 45:11 "All should come to repentance." 45:13 So what is God's perfect will for everybody? 45:16 Oh, He doesn't want anybody to be lost. 45:18 He wants us all to come to repentance. 45:21 That's right. Now, Romans 2:24. 45:25 Oh, talking about repentance. 45:27 Romans 2:4... 45:28 I'm sorry, it's Romans 2:4. 45:32 And we talk about scriptures we love. 45:35 And see, I think there are times 45:37 when we need to love this word. 45:39 This word, oh, is the person, the Lord Jesus Christ, 45:42 I love this scripture. 45:44 "Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, 45:48 and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God 45:54 leads you to repentance?" 45:56 Oh, God, first show me the condition of my heart 45:59 so that I'll know I need to repent. 46:01 Oh, Father, you wouldn't have any of us to be lost. 46:04 Now, Father, oh, it's your goodness 46:06 that leads me to repentance. 46:08 See, God uses no coercion, no force. 46:12 He is patient and draws us by His love. 46:16 Amen. 46:17 The biblical definition of repentance 46:20 is to change one's mind. 46:24 The Bible tells us that when a person repents, 46:28 his or her actions change. 46:31 Acts 3:19 says, "Repent then and turn to God, 46:37 so that your sins may be wiped out that times 46:41 of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord." 46:47 There's a difference in confessing our sins 46:50 and repenting of our sins. 46:52 Absolutely. That's right. 46:53 The word confession, I may give you the definition. 46:56 Confession: a formal statement admitting that 47:01 one is guilty of a crime. 47:02 "Yes, I did that." 47:04 Sometimes, we say, "Yes, I did that 47:06 and I'm glad that I did." 47:07 That is not repentance, that's confession. 47:10 If we confess our sins, you knew, I'd say this, 47:14 He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins 47:17 and then cleanses from all unrighteousness. 47:21 But that cleansing process requires something on our part. 47:25 Did you all know that? That's right. 47:26 That's the repentance. That's right. 47:28 Repentance, here's the definition of repentance. 47:31 "To turn from sin and dedicate oneself 47:35 to the amendment of one's life, 47:38 to feel regret or contrition to change one's mind." 47:44 Amen. 47:45 So you can go before the Lord, 47:47 and this is an experience I've had. 47:49 Go before the Lord and confessed my sin, 47:52 "Oh, Father, I confess that I did this." 47:56 "Good, now repent." 47:58 "Well, I confessed my sin." 47:59 "Good, now repent." That's right. 48:01 So I confessed my sin, He wants me to change. 48:04 Amen. 48:05 See, confession is just acknowledge that I did it. 48:08 Repentance is a broken heart because of that. 48:12 That's where we need God. 48:14 See, it's the goodness of God that brings us to repentance. 48:17 We need God to touch our hearts. 48:19 It says, "To change one's mind." 48:23 Do you know you can't change your own mind? 48:25 No. 48:26 It takes that drawing power, 48:28 that convicting power of Almighty God. 48:31 Nobody can change your mind. 48:35 Have you ever heard, 48:37 "A man convinced against his will 48:40 is of the same opinion still"? 48:42 So you go before God, oh, Father... 48:45 It's just not forgiveness, that's that repentance. 48:49 "Oh, God, you see my heart, I'm not really sorry I did it, 48:54 but Lord, I know that I mist repent of this 48:56 or I will never stand before you 48:58 with clean hands and a pure heart. 49:00 I must be cleansed of this thing. 49:02 Father, oh, give me repentance. 49:05 Let that repentance touch my heart, Father, 49:08 that I would have a broken heart 49:10 that I am standing before you with unclean hands 49:13 and an impure heart." 49:15 Repentance must be an act of the free will 49:18 responding to the Holy Spirit's convicting power. 49:22 Let me tell you the difference in consequences and reward. 49:28 If you put a Biblical principle into operation, 49:32 you are going to reap the benefits. 49:34 That's right. 49:36 If you put a Biblical principle, 49:38 like repentance, 49:40 you're going to reap the benefits of it. 49:43 But if you reject a Biblical principle, 49:48 if you put an ungodly principle into effect, 49:51 do you know what you're going to do? 49:53 Suffer the consequences. 49:55 So consequences, reward. Let me finish reading this. 49:59 "Repentance must be an act of the free will, 50:03 responding to the Holy Spirit's convicting power." 50:06 Who convicts our heart, Jill? Holy Spirit. 50:08 It's the Holy Spirit, but we must respond to it. 50:11 And if you don't want to ask God 50:13 to put the want too in, 50:15 you just like you don't want to forgive somebody. 50:17 If you don't forgive somebody, you're standing there 50:19 binding your own hands for God to forgive you. 50:22 So you ask God, 50:24 "Put your forgiveness in my heart," 50:26 God will honor that and He will do that. 50:28 "It's a gift from God, but we have to be ready 50:32 and open to receive it. 50:34 And if we don't, there are consequences." 50:37 Again, do you want the consequences 50:40 or do you want to reap the reward? 50:42 Let's look now in Romans 2:5-6. 50:47 "But in accordance with your hardness 50:51 and your impenitent..." 50:53 Impenitent, now that's an interesting word. 50:56 You know what impenitent is talking about 50:58 in impenitent heart, 51:00 not feeling regret about ones sin or sins. 51:06 So, "In accordance with your hardness 51:09 and your impenitent heart, 51:11 you are treasuring up for yourself 51:15 wrath in the day of wrath and revelation 51:19 of the righteous judgment of God." 51:21 You are treasuring up for yourself 51:24 wrath and judgment. 51:27 That's what an impenitent heart is. 51:29 "Who will render to each one according to his deeds." 51:34 But now, look in verse 10. 51:38 It goes on to say, "But glory, honor, 51:42 and peace to everyone who works what is good, 51:46 to the Jews first and also to the Greek." 51:49 So, is there honor, is there reward, 51:53 is there peace to everyone that does good? 51:57 Do we want to do that which is good? 51:58 Oh, yes, definitely. Amen. 52:00 Oh, we can't do it of our own, we can't do it by ourselves 52:03 but with the help of the Holy Spirit. 52:05 You know, even if we don't want to ask God 52:10 to put the want in you, I can stress that enough. 52:13 Paul is good to emphasize the place of good works. 52:16 Although our justification is only by faith, 52:20 good works are necessity in the Christian's life. 52:23 Amen. 52:24 Now, Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace are you saved 52:28 through faith, not of works, lest any man should boast," 52:33 It is the gift of God, not of works, 52:35 lest any man should boast. 52:37 Did I butcher that one? 52:38 But it's for grace through faith 52:40 that you are saved. 52:42 But Ephesians 2:10 says, "We are His workmanship, 52:46 created in Christ Jesus for good works." 52:49 We are created for good works. 52:51 Our good works don't save us, the good works 52:54 or a natural out flowing of a heart 52:57 that's in love with Jesus. 52:58 You are saved through faith, 53:00 but it's through that grace and mercy of God. 53:05 "True repentance: the kind that comes willingly 53:09 from the heart will always be followed 53:12 by a life that reflects a change in your actions, 53:16 bad works to good works." 53:18 Who gets to make that choice, 53:20 we make that choice. 53:22 I'm going to go back to Romans 2:4, 53:24 "It's the goodness of God that leads us to repentance." 53:28 Who all does God want to repent to that first scripture 53:33 that we started with. 53:36 II Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slack 53:39 concerning his promise, 53:41 as some count slackness, but is longsuffering us-ward, 53:45 not willing that any should perish, 53:48 but that all should come to repentance." 53:52 Amen. Amen. 53:53 Amen. Amen. Well done, well done. 53:55 I see from that, Molly, a couple of things. 53:58 One, the necessity of change. Yeah. 54:02 And also the methodology of change. 54:06 Change cannot be forced, it cannot be coerced. 54:08 "By beholding," II Corinthians says, 54:10 "We become change." 54:12 As you contemplate Christ's love for you, 54:14 that love motivates you to change it. 54:17 It drives you from within, it constrains you to change. 54:21 Even if you change outside, I could stand on, Shelley, 54:23 with a whip and make you do certain things. 54:26 But I can't, that doesn't change your heart, 54:28 in fact, it pushes you against. 54:30 So that's very, very important. 54:33 If you would all prepare in your minds a little 54:35 30 second bow to put on your statement. 54:39 I'm looking at the time, in fact, 54:40 we've got to do that right now. 54:41 So let's start with Shelley and go right down. 54:43 I'd like to bow up something that Molly said 54:46 and that is in Acts 5:31, the Bible says that, 54:50 "God has exalted Christ to His right hand 54:54 to be prince and savior to give forgiveness 54:57 and repentance." 54:59 Repentance is a gift and what we need to do 55:02 is as we're praying, as you said, 55:04 is when you confess your sin, pray, 55:07 "Lord, give me the power to repent. 55:09 I cannot change myself." Amen. 55:11 "There's nothing I can do to change myself 55:13 but by the power of the Holy Spirit, 55:15 Christ can change me." 55:17 Amen. Pastor John? 55:19 The major fall was caused by those who did not like 55:24 to retain God in their knowledge. 55:27 So let me reverse that. 55:28 Our rise in Christ would be on the heels of retaining God 55:33 in our knowledge. 55:35 When the Word said, "Let this mind be in you," 55:37 which is also the apostle Paul in Philippians, 55:38 "Let this mind be in you," the only way is the daily diet 55:42 of the Word of God. 55:43 Somebody recently asked me, 55:45 "How do we walk the Christian life? 55:46 How we have to desire the sincere milk of the Word?" 55:49 Peter says that, daily die to self and invite God 55:53 into our hearts by the reading of His Word, 55:55 by the committing of our lives to Him, 55:57 by the work of the Holy Spirit. 55:59 And if you do these things, Peter says, 56:01 "You will not fall," and Paul says, 56:03 "You will make that mark." 56:04 But don't forget, it's not by your work, 56:06 it's by grace through faith and the work 56:08 that Christ does inside of your life. 56:10 Amen. Jill? 56:12 If I can say, I think of the four sins of the Jews 56:14 that I talked about. 56:16 I think the biggest one was outward conformity 56:19 to the law without having Jesus inside. 56:21 And a scripture that I think of, Hebrews 8:10, 56:24 God says, "This is a covenant. 56:26 I will make with the house of Israel after those days, 56:29 I will put my laws in their mind 56:31 and write them on their hearts and I will be their God, 56:34 and they shall be my people." 56:36 So God wants to call you as His son, as His daughter. 56:39 So allow Him, give Him access to your heart and allow Him 56:43 to write His law in your mind. 56:45 Amen. Amen. That's right. 56:46 And, Molly, one last thought. 56:47 Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace you have been saved 56:51 through faith and that not of yourselves, 56:53 it is the gift of God, not of works, 56:56 lest anyone should boast." 56:57 Amen, amen. 56:59 And I page over to in the last 30 seconds, 57:02 1 John 1:7. 57:05 "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, 57:08 we have fellowship with one another, 57:10 and the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin." 57:14 It is God's desire to cleanse you from sin. 57:17 And you can be cleansed from sin, 57:19 your life can be made white and beautiful 57:22 through the power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 57:25 This book of Romans has much to say, stay with us each week, 57:28 God's got something to say to you. 57:30 We'll see you again next Sabbath. 57:33 Amen. |
Revised 2024-07-02