1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,520 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church Podcast, 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,480 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,720 My name is Pastor Josh and I want to thank you for listening to 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:10,480 this podcast. 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,680 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:16,080 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,160 Now come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has 8 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:21,440 for us here today. 9 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:27,010 If you're sitting in here with us today, we're going to have somewhat 10 00:00:27,010 --> 00:00:28,170 of a recap Sunday. 11 00:00:28,890 --> 00:00:31,730 Many of you know that before Christmas we were studying the Book 12 00:00:31,730 --> 00:00:35,210 of Romans and we have gone through Romans 1 through 8. 13 00:00:35,370 --> 00:00:37,770 That's a lot of ground that we have covered so far. 14 00:00:37,930 --> 00:00:39,850 If you have not been with us, that's okay. 15 00:00:39,850 --> 00:00:43,370 Every message is going to be individually unique to itself and 16 00:00:43,530 --> 00:00:46,410 have lessons for us to learn and application in our lives. 17 00:00:47,050 --> 00:00:51,960 But I do know that sometimes it's tempting and possible, sometimes 18 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:54,800 probable, that we will forget things after a while. 19 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:58,880 And I know for me, even I forget what I did last week, no less, 20 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:00,440 what I was doing before Christmas. 21 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:03,680 And so I want to recap Romans 1:8 here this morning. 22 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:05,280 And you say Romans 8. 23 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:07,680 We could talk about Romans 8 all day. 24 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:09,840 We're going to talk through Romans 1:8 today. 25 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:12,360 Well, we're going to go quickly, but it's all going to lead 26 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:17,480 up to Romans 9, because in Romans 9 we do have a very interesting 27 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:19,760 passage of scripture that many people debate about. 28 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:23,680 And I think it's good to understand context as we lead up 29 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:26,480 to that passage that we're going to be talking about here this 30 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:26,800 morning. 31 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:30,920 So by way of reminder, the book of Romans obviously is inspired 32 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:31,360 by God. 33 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:34,120 We know all scripture is given by inspiration of God. 34 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:36,640 And so we know that this is from God to us. 35 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:41,000 But on a more personal level, the Apostle Paul wrote this letter 36 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:44,800 to the church in Rome, the Christians in Rome, teaching them 37 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:48,020 various things about what they should believe, teaching them why 38 00:01:48,020 --> 00:01:50,140 they need Jesus, why they need salvation. 39 00:01:50,140 --> 00:01:53,580 And really, we see in Romans chapter one, you're going to be turning 40 00:01:53,580 --> 00:01:54,620 a lot with me here this morning. 41 00:01:54,620 --> 00:01:59,060 Romans, chapter one, verse 16, he tells us, for I am not ashamed 42 00:01:59,060 --> 00:02:00,660 of the gospel of Christ. 43 00:02:01,220 --> 00:02:04,740 And so what we can see here is he starts his message to the church 44 00:02:04,980 --> 00:02:06,500 with the message of the Gospel. 45 00:02:06,500 --> 00:02:08,100 And that's really where it all starts. 46 00:02:08,260 --> 00:02:12,340 All the way back In Matthew, chapter 16, Jesus asked a question 47 00:02:12,420 --> 00:02:13,380 to his disciples. 48 00:02:13,380 --> 00:02:15,730 He says, whom do men say that I am? 49 00:02:15,730 --> 00:02:17,570 And if you remember, what did they say? 50 00:02:17,570 --> 00:02:19,850 They say, well, some people think you're Jeremiah. 51 00:02:19,850 --> 00:02:21,490 Some people think you're Isaiah. 52 00:02:21,490 --> 00:02:24,330 Some people think that you're John the Baptist or one of the prophets. 53 00:02:24,330 --> 00:02:27,250 And then Jesus said, okay, that's what people say about me, 54 00:02:27,250 --> 00:02:29,290 but whom do you say that I am? 55 00:02:29,290 --> 00:02:32,330 And Peter answers for them and says, well, you're the Christ. 56 00:02:32,650 --> 00:02:33,570 You're the Messiah. 57 00:02:33,570 --> 00:02:35,130 You're the Son of the living God. 58 00:02:35,210 --> 00:02:36,610 That's the message of the gospel. 59 00:02:36,610 --> 00:02:37,650 That Jesus is God. 60 00:02:37,650 --> 00:02:40,170 That he came to this earth, that he lived that perfect life, 61 00:02:40,170 --> 00:02:43,090 that he died on the cross for our sins, and that he conquered death 62 00:02:43,090 --> 00:02:43,970 through the resurrection. 63 00:02:43,970 --> 00:02:47,970 And so Jesus says, peter, upon that rock, upon that proclamation, 64 00:02:47,970 --> 00:02:49,010 I'm going to build my church. 65 00:02:49,010 --> 00:02:52,290 And so everything that we do in our lives is based on the truth 66 00:02:52,290 --> 00:02:54,930 of who Jesus is and what he has done for us. 67 00:02:54,930 --> 00:02:56,010 We could say it this way. 68 00:02:56,010 --> 00:02:59,370 The person and work of Jesus Christ, that is the foundation of 69 00:02:59,370 --> 00:03:02,410 the church, that is the cornerstone to our Christian walk. 70 00:03:02,650 --> 00:03:05,610 Everything that we do should be focused in the Gospel. 71 00:03:05,690 --> 00:03:09,050 And so in verse number 16 of chapter one in the book of Romans, 72 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:13,480 Paul reminds us that we should not be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. 73 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:17,800 How many Christians today struggle with that shame of being 74 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:18,440 a believer? 75 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:18,680 Why? 76 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:20,600 Because culture tells us that it's wrong. 77 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:25,240 Culture tells us that living for Christ, believing in Jesus, believing 78 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:29,000 in his work, believing that he's God, believing that he can change 79 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:32,280 lives, believing that he can give us new life, that's wrong. 80 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:32,800 That's. 81 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:35,360 That's old, that's, that's antiquated. 82 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:36,840 That's not something for us today. 83 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,000 And so what we see today in our world is that there are some 84 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:43,240 people that claim to be Christians, but they're ashamed of 85 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:43,920 the gospel. 86 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:46,800 And the way that we know that people are ashamed of the gospel 87 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:49,520 is because we're ashamed to proclaim the gospel. 88 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:52,200 And Paul says, no, we should proclaim the gospel. 89 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:52,560 Why? 90 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:58,880 For it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. 91 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:01,440 The Bible says that the gospel has power. 92 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:02,240 What's the power? 93 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:05,040 Well, it's the power of God to save. 94 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:06,600 Why do we need a savior? 95 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:08,760 Well, we're going to talk more about that later on in the book of 96 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:09,200 Romans. 97 00:04:09,460 --> 00:04:12,940 But here in chapter one, Paul reminded us that we can't be ashamed 98 00:04:12,940 --> 00:04:13,580 of the gospel. 99 00:04:13,580 --> 00:04:13,940 Why? 100 00:04:14,020 --> 00:04:17,620 Because it's the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believe 101 00:04:17,620 --> 00:04:17,820 it. 102 00:04:17,820 --> 00:04:20,860 To the Jew first, we know that the word of God came to the Jews 103 00:04:20,860 --> 00:04:21,020 first. 104 00:04:21,020 --> 00:04:24,540 But then it says also to the Greek to all the Bible says that 105 00:04:24,540 --> 00:04:28,500 anyone who comes and believes in Jesus Christ will be saved. 106 00:04:28,500 --> 00:04:30,140 It's not a matter of your good works. 107 00:04:30,140 --> 00:04:33,300 It's not about a matter of your Lineage, where you were born, 108 00:04:33,460 --> 00:04:36,340 how you were born, how much money you have, how good you look. 109 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:39,520 The Bible says it's by faith in Jesus Christ that saves us. 110 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:41,200 That's what verse 17 is all about. 111 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:43,840 For therein is righteousness of God. 112 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:47,120 Some people are trying to find righteousness in all of the wrong 113 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:47,600 places. 114 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:50,200 People are trying to find righteousness in being a good person 115 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:55,200 or having good karma or doing enough to maybe justify themselves. 116 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:57,920 But the Bible says that none of that can justify us. 117 00:04:58,320 --> 00:04:58,680 Why? 118 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:00,520 Because the righteousness of God is revealed. 119 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:00,800 What? 120 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:03,050 From faith to faith as it is written. 121 00:05:03,050 --> 00:05:04,370 The just shall live by faith. 122 00:05:04,370 --> 00:05:06,090 The only way that we can say that we're just. 123 00:05:06,330 --> 00:05:09,690 The only way that we can say that God has justified us is by saying 124 00:05:09,690 --> 00:05:12,370 that I have faith in him and through Jesus Christ. 125 00:05:12,370 --> 00:05:13,290 John 14:6. 126 00:05:13,290 --> 00:05:15,450 He is the way, the truth, and the life. 127 00:05:15,850 --> 00:05:17,450 And so it starts with the gospel. 128 00:05:17,530 --> 00:05:18,610 It starts with the truth. 129 00:05:18,610 --> 00:05:21,930 Paul says, you need to know what the gospel is. 130 00:05:22,890 --> 00:05:25,450 There's so many people today preaching different gospels. 131 00:05:26,650 --> 00:05:27,490 Say, what is that? 132 00:05:27,490 --> 00:05:30,220 Well, the word gospel literally means good news. 133 00:05:31,100 --> 00:05:33,180 There's a lot of people trying to tell you that there's good news 134 00:05:33,180 --> 00:05:34,860 in all these different places. 135 00:05:35,500 --> 00:05:38,500 And you could turn on your tv, you can turn on your phone, you can 136 00:05:38,500 --> 00:05:42,020 turn on whatever electronic device, and you could find someone 137 00:05:42,020 --> 00:05:43,180 telling you what to believe. 138 00:05:43,820 --> 00:05:45,900 Bible says that there's a lot of gospels out there. 139 00:05:46,060 --> 00:05:49,580 And actually in 2 Corinthians, chapter 11, verse 4, it warns us 140 00:05:49,580 --> 00:05:51,580 to be aware of false gospels. 141 00:05:51,580 --> 00:05:54,540 Not every gospel that's preached to us is the gospel of the 142 00:05:54,540 --> 00:05:55,500 truth of Jesus Christ. 143 00:05:55,820 --> 00:05:58,420 And so what we have to do is we have to be very clear about what 144 00:05:58,420 --> 00:05:59,420 the gospel is. 145 00:05:59,980 --> 00:06:03,020 The good news is not, hey, just work really, really hard, and 146 00:06:03,020 --> 00:06:04,820 you can make it be. 147 00:06:04,820 --> 00:06:07,660 Be a good person, be better than your neighbor. 148 00:06:07,980 --> 00:06:09,700 These are not things that are found in scripture. 149 00:06:09,700 --> 00:06:12,220 Actually, what's found in scripture is that there is none good. 150 00:06:12,220 --> 00:06:13,100 No, not one. 151 00:06:13,420 --> 00:06:14,660 We're going to read that in Romans. 152 00:06:14,660 --> 00:06:17,380 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. 153 00:06:17,380 --> 00:06:20,420 And so the reality is, is that all of us have a problem, and that 154 00:06:20,420 --> 00:06:21,260 problem is sin. 155 00:06:22,750 --> 00:06:25,270 Well, you might say, well, well, Pastor Josh, you don't know 156 00:06:25,270 --> 00:06:25,550 me. 157 00:06:25,550 --> 00:06:26,750 I'm better than my neighbor. 158 00:06:27,230 --> 00:06:28,830 I'm better than my coworker. 159 00:06:29,470 --> 00:06:30,990 I try my best. 160 00:06:30,990 --> 00:06:32,470 The Bible never says that. 161 00:06:32,470 --> 00:06:35,870 The basis on which he judges us is on how much we're trying. 162 00:06:36,350 --> 00:06:38,950 Because there's a lot of people that are trying hard in this 163 00:06:38,950 --> 00:06:39,150 world. 164 00:06:39,150 --> 00:06:42,390 There's a lot of people that are genuinely doing their best. 165 00:06:42,390 --> 00:06:44,990 But The Bible says that even our best does not save us. 166 00:06:44,990 --> 00:06:48,630 The Bible says clearly that it is only by faith in Jesus Christ 167 00:06:48,630 --> 00:06:50,200 and His work on the cross for. 168 00:06:50,350 --> 00:06:50,830 For us. 169 00:06:50,990 --> 00:06:53,150 So it says, the just shall live by what? 170 00:06:53,150 --> 00:06:53,790 By faith? 171 00:06:53,950 --> 00:06:56,350 Faith is believing, faith is trusting. 172 00:06:56,590 --> 00:06:58,350 Now the works come after faith. 173 00:06:58,670 --> 00:07:03,390 Yes, God does call us to serve him, but it doesn't come from a place 174 00:07:03,390 --> 00:07:04,230 of our own strength. 175 00:07:04,230 --> 00:07:06,990 It comes from the strength and his righteousness that he gives us. 176 00:07:06,990 --> 00:07:08,670 So that's Romans chapter one. 177 00:07:08,670 --> 00:07:12,110 And then we saw that God is righteously judging those that are 178 00:07:12,110 --> 00:07:12,670 in sin. 179 00:07:13,550 --> 00:07:15,230 God has the right to judge those. 180 00:07:15,230 --> 00:07:15,510 Why? 181 00:07:15,510 --> 00:07:16,090 Because He. 182 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:17,360 He created us, number one. 183 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:20,480 And the Bible says here in Romans chapter one and two, that 184 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:23,320 some people left their original state that God had planned 185 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:26,280 for them, and they had basically worshiped the creation 186 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:27,680 instead of the Creator. 187 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:31,080 That's what happens when we essentially fall into a life of sin 188 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:34,360 and flesh is that we begin to worship the creation of God instead 189 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:35,920 of the one who created it. 190 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:37,920 That is, that is he, that is our Savior. 191 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:40,560 And so Romans chapter two tells us that God is a righteous 192 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:40,840 judge. 193 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:41,280 He's. 194 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:42,920 He's willing to save us. 195 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:46,360 He's open to saving us, but he has every right to judge us in our 196 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:46,600 sin. 197 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:49,500 And then Romans 3 tells us why he judges us. 198 00:07:49,500 --> 00:07:50,500 Romans 3:23. 199 00:07:50,500 --> 00:07:53,980 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. 200 00:07:55,260 --> 00:07:56,940 All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. 201 00:07:56,940 --> 00:07:58,940 If you just go back a few verses, Romans 3:10. 202 00:07:58,940 --> 00:08:00,460 As it is written, there is none righteous. 203 00:08:00,460 --> 00:08:01,180 No, not one. 204 00:08:02,060 --> 00:08:04,780 So we, if we left it at that, that would be hopeless. 205 00:08:05,740 --> 00:08:07,620 And some people blame other people for their sin. 206 00:08:07,620 --> 00:08:09,260 You know, sometimes in my life I've done that. 207 00:08:09,340 --> 00:08:10,620 I. I've made a mistake. 208 00:08:10,620 --> 00:08:11,540 And I said, you know what? 209 00:08:11,540 --> 00:08:13,740 The reason why I did this is because of somebody else. 210 00:08:15,150 --> 00:08:19,230 The reason why I went this path is because someone led me astray. 211 00:08:19,630 --> 00:08:22,230 I know my kids all the time, like, they get in trouble. 212 00:08:22,230 --> 00:08:24,750 And immediately it's deflecting to say like, it's my brother, 213 00:08:24,750 --> 00:08:26,630 it's my sister, it's because of them. 214 00:08:26,630 --> 00:08:29,430 And what the Bible says here is that we have no one else to blame 215 00:08:29,430 --> 00:08:30,590 other than ourselves. 216 00:08:30,670 --> 00:08:36,510 Romans 5:12 says, as for one man, one man, sin entered the world, 217 00:08:37,470 --> 00:08:38,310 and that's Adam. 218 00:08:38,310 --> 00:08:39,310 We know that Adam sinned. 219 00:08:39,310 --> 00:08:42,030 And because of Adam's sin, there is death by sin. 220 00:08:42,030 --> 00:08:43,670 And so death passed upon all men. 221 00:08:43,670 --> 00:08:45,650 For that all have sinned. 222 00:08:45,650 --> 00:08:47,930 And so it's not a matter of saying it's Adam's fault. 223 00:08:48,170 --> 00:08:50,570 A lot of times I've heard people Say, man, if Adam just. 224 00:08:50,650 --> 00:08:52,130 If he wouldn't have sinned, we'd all. 225 00:08:52,130 --> 00:08:53,050 We'd be okay. 226 00:08:53,290 --> 00:08:55,330 The truth is, is that all of us have sinned. 227 00:08:55,330 --> 00:08:56,490 All of us are guilty. 228 00:08:56,810 --> 00:09:00,010 So, so, so all of us have fallen into a place where we need 229 00:09:00,010 --> 00:09:00,610 a Savior. 230 00:09:00,610 --> 00:09:02,010 And that's really what we see. 231 00:09:02,010 --> 00:09:03,690 Romans, chapter six talking about. 232 00:09:04,170 --> 00:09:05,130 We read it this morning. 233 00:09:05,130 --> 00:09:06,090 What shall we say then? 234 00:09:06,090 --> 00:09:08,170 So, so Paul says, hey, you can be saved. 235 00:09:08,250 --> 00:09:10,980 But then the idea would be that once we're saved, some people 236 00:09:10,980 --> 00:09:11,700 abuse grace. 237 00:09:11,700 --> 00:09:12,940 Some people say, well, you know what? 238 00:09:12,940 --> 00:09:15,540 If I'm saved and God keeps forgiving me, why don't I just keep 239 00:09:15,540 --> 00:09:15,900 sinning? 240 00:09:15,900 --> 00:09:17,220 He says, what shall we say then? 241 00:09:17,220 --> 00:09:20,220 Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound Meaning, should 242 00:09:20,220 --> 00:09:22,100 I just keep sinning even though God has saved me? 243 00:09:22,100 --> 00:09:25,940 And he says, no, God forbid, because when you're saved, how shall 244 00:09:25,940 --> 00:09:28,500 we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? 245 00:09:29,860 --> 00:09:31,060 The idea would be this. 246 00:09:31,300 --> 00:09:33,220 The thought that Paul is explaining is this. 247 00:09:33,220 --> 00:09:36,020 If we understand what God has saved us from and we understand that 248 00:09:36,020 --> 00:09:39,260 he's given us newness of life, why would we want to walk in sin 249 00:09:39,260 --> 00:09:39,700 anymore? 250 00:09:40,160 --> 00:09:42,920 Know ye not, verse three, that so many of us were baptized into 251 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:44,960 Jesus, were baptized into his death. 252 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:48,280 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death. 253 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:51,080 That like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of 254 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:54,200 the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 255 00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:57,600 The Bible says that when we are saved, we are given a new life. 256 00:09:57,680 --> 00:09:59,760 John 3 says that we are born again. 257 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:01,680 You must be born again. 258 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:05,080 And remember, even Nicodemus in John 3 was so confused about that. 259 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:06,640 How can I be physically born again? 260 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:07,650 Well, it's not a. 261 00:10:07,650 --> 00:10:10,530 A second physical birth, it's a second spiritual birth. 262 00:10:10,930 --> 00:10:14,450 And, and the Bible says that we're new, we're now babes in Christ, 263 00:10:14,450 --> 00:10:15,690 growing in his truth. 264 00:10:15,690 --> 00:10:19,450 And so verse four of chapter six says that we're walking in newness 265 00:10:19,450 --> 00:10:19,810 of life. 266 00:10:19,810 --> 00:10:20,610 We're identified. 267 00:10:21,010 --> 00:10:21,930 We missed the mark. 268 00:10:21,930 --> 00:10:25,450 It actually was an ancient archery term that meant as, as I 269 00:10:25,450 --> 00:10:28,490 was aiming for the target, I didn't hit the target, I hit something 270 00:10:28,490 --> 00:10:28,930 else. 271 00:10:29,170 --> 00:10:30,010 Well, what's the mark? 272 00:10:30,010 --> 00:10:32,890 The mark is God's righteousness, his holiness, that 273 00:10:32,890 --> 00:10:34,290 he lays out for us in his word. 274 00:10:34,680 --> 00:10:36,040 So sin is missing the mark. 275 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:39,720 It's doing things against what God has intended for us in our life. 276 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:42,280 And so he says here, what is the wage of that? 277 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:45,440 What is the payment for that type of sin that we all have in our 278 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:45,720 lives? 279 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:46,600 Well, it's death. 280 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:49,560 And it's not just physical Death, even though that's part of 281 00:10:49,560 --> 00:10:51,000 it, it's spiritual death. 282 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:53,160 It's separation from God, it's punishment. 283 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:58,440 But then we see a beautiful, beautiful verse at the very end of 284 00:10:58,440 --> 00:10:59,320 Romans 6:23. 285 00:10:59,320 --> 00:10:59,960 It says this. 286 00:11:00,470 --> 00:11:06,710 But the gift of God, the grace of God, is eternal life through Jesus 287 00:11:06,790 --> 00:11:07,910 Christ our Lord. 288 00:11:08,790 --> 00:11:10,230 What he says here is our hope. 289 00:11:10,390 --> 00:11:14,910 The world's hope, the hope of pain, the hope of suffering, the 290 00:11:14,910 --> 00:11:18,870 hope of sin, the hope of brokenness, the hope of evil. 291 00:11:19,030 --> 00:11:23,790 Is Jesus Christ to come to him, as the Bible says, to have eternal 292 00:11:23,790 --> 00:11:24,070 life. 293 00:11:24,070 --> 00:11:26,790 And we say, well, why does Jesus offer us that? 294 00:11:27,750 --> 00:11:29,670 How could Jesus do that for us? 295 00:11:30,150 --> 00:11:33,430 The Bible says back in Romans 5, verse 8, but God commended or 296 00:11:33,430 --> 00:11:37,230 demonstrated his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, 297 00:11:37,230 --> 00:11:40,830 Christ died for us because of the love of Christ that He came to 298 00:11:40,830 --> 00:11:42,310 this earth and gave Himself for us. 299 00:11:42,949 --> 00:11:46,270 And so the book of Romans, really, through chapters one through 300 00:11:46,270 --> 00:11:50,110 six, seven and even eight, is a picture of the salvation that God 301 00:11:50,110 --> 00:11:50,830 gave to us. 302 00:11:50,830 --> 00:11:52,070 And so what is the gospel? 303 00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:56,400 It's the message and the work and the person of Jesus Christ. 304 00:11:56,880 --> 00:11:57,920 What is salvation? 305 00:11:58,000 --> 00:11:59,360 How do we find salvation? 306 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:03,960 By faith in Jesus Christ alone, by experiencing his gift of 307 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:05,840 grace and his forgiveness. 308 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:07,600 How can we have that salvation? 309 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:08,640 We have it through faith. 310 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:10,160 What do we have in salvation? 311 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:11,840 We have new life in Christ. 312 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:13,440 We have a new hope. 313 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:14,880 We have confidence in Him. 314 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:18,000 We're going to look at Romans 8 here this morning. 315 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:18,340 And. 316 00:12:18,410 --> 00:12:22,290 And we see in Romans 8, 1, it says, there is therefore now no condemnation. 317 00:12:22,290 --> 00:12:23,770 What's that word condemnation mean? 318 00:12:24,170 --> 00:12:25,370 It means judgment. 319 00:12:25,930 --> 00:12:27,210 It means punishment. 320 00:12:27,770 --> 00:12:31,010 So if you're in Christ, if your identity is in Christ, the Bible 321 00:12:31,010 --> 00:12:32,810 says that there's no more condemnation. 322 00:12:33,530 --> 00:12:36,050 There is no more condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, 323 00:12:36,050 --> 00:12:38,570 who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 324 00:12:38,570 --> 00:12:42,330 So the Bible says that, yes, in our sin, there is a ton of condemnation 325 00:12:42,890 --> 00:12:43,210 there. 326 00:12:43,210 --> 00:12:43,650 There, there. 327 00:12:43,650 --> 00:12:46,780 There's a ton of reasons why we should be afraid that. 328 00:12:46,930 --> 00:12:51,330 But in Jesus Christ there is no more fear, there is no more condemnation. 329 00:12:51,330 --> 00:12:51,570 Why? 330 00:12:51,570 --> 00:12:53,570 Because we have confidence in Him. 331 00:12:53,570 --> 00:12:57,970 That word confidence is really two words in, in Latin that we understand 332 00:12:58,050 --> 00:12:59,050 it to be one word. 333 00:12:59,050 --> 00:13:04,050 In the English language, con means with fide, means faith. 334 00:13:04,210 --> 00:13:07,330 So to live with confidence means to live with faith. 335 00:13:07,970 --> 00:13:10,490 So if we're Christians and we're living with faith, we're living 336 00:13:10,490 --> 00:13:12,210 with confidence, but confidence. 337 00:13:12,210 --> 00:13:16,350 Not in ourselves, not in our church, not in our. 338 00:13:16,350 --> 00:13:20,110 Our country necessarily, but in our Savior, Jesus Christ. 339 00:13:20,430 --> 00:13:23,910 And so the Bible throughout Romans 8 tells us that we have victory 340 00:13:23,910 --> 00:13:28,630 in Jesus and, and it goes on further to say that we have a heavenly 341 00:13:28,630 --> 00:13:32,830 Father who we can cry out in verse 15, Abba, Father, we have a 342 00:13:32,830 --> 00:13:33,550 personal God. 343 00:13:33,550 --> 00:13:35,070 We have a God who cares for us. 344 00:13:35,070 --> 00:13:37,910 We have a God who wants to know what's going on in our lives. 345 00:13:37,910 --> 00:13:40,070 And he already knows what's going on in our lives, but he wants 346 00:13:40,070 --> 00:13:41,230 us to share that with Him. 347 00:13:41,390 --> 00:13:42,910 He wants us to walk with Him. 348 00:13:42,910 --> 00:13:46,710 He wants us to be identified with him in every single way. 349 00:13:46,710 --> 00:13:50,310 And then we get to that end of Romans 8, which is, I believe, one 350 00:13:50,310 --> 00:13:53,590 of the strongest passages of speaking of the power of God and 351 00:13:53,590 --> 00:13:55,070 the confidence of a believer. 352 00:13:55,470 --> 00:13:56,230 Verse 28. 353 00:13:56,230 --> 00:13:59,110 And we know that all things work together for good to them that 354 00:13:59,110 --> 00:14:01,390 love God, to them who are called according to his purpose. 355 00:14:02,110 --> 00:14:05,310 The Bible says that yes, God is working all things together for 356 00:14:05,470 --> 00:14:05,870 good. 357 00:14:05,950 --> 00:14:07,240 He's working together for. 358 00:14:07,390 --> 00:14:08,030 For our good. 359 00:14:08,830 --> 00:14:12,150 Sometimes that's a confusing understanding with our lives, the 360 00:14:12,150 --> 00:14:13,630 way that it is within our circumstances. 361 00:14:13,630 --> 00:14:15,270 But we have to know that God loves us. 362 00:14:15,270 --> 00:14:16,430 And he has a bigger picture. 363 00:14:16,430 --> 00:14:19,230 Then he says in verse 31, what shall we say to these things? 364 00:14:19,230 --> 00:14:22,750 If God before us, who can be against us, he spared not his own 365 00:14:22,750 --> 00:14:26,230 Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall we not with him 366 00:14:26,230 --> 00:14:28,430 also have freely give us all things? 367 00:14:28,430 --> 00:14:31,310 And so he's saying that God gave us His Son, so He will give 368 00:14:31,310 --> 00:14:33,550 us all the things that we need in our lives. 369 00:14:33,860 --> 00:14:36,780 And then verse 35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? 370 00:14:36,780 --> 00:14:40,220 Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness 371 00:14:40,220 --> 00:14:43,500 or peril or sword, as it is written, for Thy sake we are killed 372 00:14:43,500 --> 00:14:45,820 all day long, we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. 373 00:14:45,820 --> 00:14:48,620 So Paul says, can any of these things separate us from the love 374 00:14:48,620 --> 00:14:48,940 of God? 375 00:14:48,940 --> 00:14:51,580 Can any of these things separate us from his promises in 376 00:14:51,580 --> 00:14:51,860 our life? 377 00:14:51,860 --> 00:14:53,780 Can anything separate us from his salvation? 378 00:14:53,940 --> 00:14:55,620 Verse 37, Nay, no. 379 00:14:55,860 --> 00:14:58,820 In all these things, we are more than conquerors. 380 00:14:59,710 --> 00:15:01,310 The Greek word there is so amazing. 381 00:15:02,030 --> 00:15:04,750 It actually literally means super conquerors. 382 00:15:05,390 --> 00:15:07,950 We are super conquerors in Christ. 383 00:15:08,590 --> 00:15:10,030 So what we know is this. 384 00:15:10,270 --> 00:15:13,790 Nothing can separate us from the love of God. 385 00:15:13,950 --> 00:15:16,670 Nothing can separate us from the promises of God. 386 00:15:16,750 --> 00:15:19,990 Nothing can separate us from the salvation that he extends to 387 00:15:19,990 --> 00:15:20,190 us. 388 00:15:20,190 --> 00:15:21,230 And then it goes further. 389 00:15:21,230 --> 00:15:23,950 He says, verse 38, For I am persuaded. 390 00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:27,120 He basically says, I. I'm bought out. 391 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:27,560 I'm. 392 00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:29,640 I'm buying into everything that he says. 393 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:35,400 For I'm persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, 394 00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:38,200 nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor 395 00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:42,000 height, nor death, nor any other creature shall be able to separate 396 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:46,120 us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 397 00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:48,560 So what an amazing thing that is all of us. 398 00:15:48,560 --> 00:15:52,320 If we are believers in Jesus Christ, if we have faith in him and 399 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:57,200 him alone for our salvation, we can claim Romans 8 as the confidence 400 00:15:57,200 --> 00:15:58,440 that we have in our Savior. 401 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:02,040 That no matter where I'm at in my life, whether I'm stumbling where, 402 00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:05,400 whether I'm struggling, whether I'm feeling strong, whatever 403 00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:08,560 might be the case, that God is there with me and he's fighting for 404 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:08,680 me. 405 00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:11,960 And then with Him, I'm more than a conqueror because I have his 406 00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:13,080 identity in my life. 407 00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:14,680 I have victory in Jesus. 408 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:17,000 And so sometimes we're tempted to doubt. 409 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:19,040 Sometimes we're tempted to think that God might not keep his 410 00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:19,400 word. 411 00:16:19,400 --> 00:16:21,400 Sometimes we're tempted to think that we're not enough. 412 00:16:21,790 --> 00:16:23,910 And the truth is, let me tell you a secret here this morning, I 413 00:16:23,910 --> 00:16:24,990 tell you guys this all the time. 414 00:16:24,990 --> 00:16:27,230 It's not because I don't love you, because I would tell myself 415 00:16:27,230 --> 00:16:27,550 this. 416 00:16:27,630 --> 00:16:28,510 I'm not enough. 417 00:16:29,310 --> 00:16:31,390 None of us are enough to save ourselves. 418 00:16:31,790 --> 00:16:34,470 But in Jesus Christ, we are more than conquerors. 419 00:16:34,470 --> 00:16:36,590 And so we can find that love. 420 00:16:36,590 --> 00:16:37,910 We can find that confidence. 421 00:16:37,910 --> 00:16:39,230 We can find that strength. 422 00:16:39,310 --> 00:16:41,390 And so that's the end of Romans 8. 423 00:16:41,390 --> 00:16:44,150 Now, that's the quickest way that I could summarize Romans 1 through 424 00:16:44,150 --> 00:16:44,310 8. 425 00:16:44,310 --> 00:16:46,470 Okay, I probably needed about five weeks for that. 426 00:16:46,470 --> 00:16:49,120 But we went in about 10 minutes, 15 minutes. 427 00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:54,720 Okay, so we get to Romans 9, and Paul understands that some people 428 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:56,280 might still have some questions. 429 00:16:56,360 --> 00:16:58,760 And that's one of the things I love about the Book of Romans. 430 00:16:58,760 --> 00:17:01,880 Paul understands the readers, and he knows that they might have 431 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:02,440 questions. 432 00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:04,920 And so he basically asked the questions for them. 433 00:17:05,080 --> 00:17:07,280 He says, I know you might be thinking this. 434 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:09,240 And so this is the answer to that. 435 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:10,680 We saw that in Romans 6. 436 00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:12,520 He says, what should we continue in sin? 437 00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:15,160 Because he understood that people, if they truly understand, 438 00:17:15,310 --> 00:17:17,750 understood grace, that they wouldn't abuse grace. 439 00:17:17,750 --> 00:17:19,990 But some people didn't completely understand grace. 440 00:17:19,990 --> 00:17:22,750 So they said, well, if God just loves me, no matter what, I 441 00:17:22,750 --> 00:17:23,590 can just keep sinning. 442 00:17:23,590 --> 00:17:25,390 He says, no, God forbid. 443 00:17:25,390 --> 00:17:27,310 So he answered that question in their minds. 444 00:17:27,390 --> 00:17:32,070 So the next possible question that the readers of the Book of Romans 445 00:17:32,070 --> 00:17:33,470 would have had was this. 446 00:17:34,910 --> 00:17:36,910 You say that you've been faithful. 447 00:17:37,470 --> 00:17:37,790 You. 448 00:17:37,790 --> 00:17:40,750 You say if you go back to Romans 8, he says those he did for 449 00:17:40,750 --> 00:17:44,460 no, all of those Old Testament saints of the past, God was faithful 450 00:17:44,460 --> 00:17:44,740 to. 451 00:17:44,740 --> 00:17:46,340 God was faithful to Israel. 452 00:17:46,340 --> 00:17:50,980 Then why do many people that are considered to be the Jewish leaders 453 00:17:50,980 --> 00:17:54,500 of the day reject the Messiah that came for their sins. 454 00:17:55,620 --> 00:17:58,059 Because that would have been the understanding, if you remember, 455 00:17:58,059 --> 00:18:00,660 Paul was persecuted there in the Book of Acts. 456 00:18:00,660 --> 00:18:02,980 Paul was persecuted throughout the whole New Testament. 457 00:18:03,620 --> 00:18:06,420 And a lot of people think in their minds that it was just the 458 00:18:06,420 --> 00:18:08,020 Romans that were persecuting Paul. 459 00:18:08,510 --> 00:18:11,510 Though Paul did face persecution from the Romans, Paul 460 00:18:11,510 --> 00:18:13,390 also faced a ton of persecution. 461 00:18:13,550 --> 00:18:16,350 Most of his persecution from the religious leaders that he was 462 00:18:16,350 --> 00:18:18,750 a part of before the Jewish religious leaders. 463 00:18:18,750 --> 00:18:21,110 They did not accept the Messiah for the most part. 464 00:18:21,110 --> 00:18:24,430 Many of the religious people there in Jerusalem did not. 465 00:18:24,430 --> 00:18:27,270 And around the world for that matter, did not trust in Jesus. 466 00:18:27,270 --> 00:18:30,510 So the question that some of these people that were very familiar 467 00:18:30,590 --> 00:18:33,750 with the Jewish religion at that time would have said, well, 468 00:18:33,750 --> 00:18:36,350 I thought you said that God has always been faithful to his people 469 00:18:36,540 --> 00:18:38,770 and, and that his people will be faithful to Him. 470 00:18:39,250 --> 00:18:40,450 So, so what's the problem? 471 00:18:40,930 --> 00:18:44,490 What was, was basically what we see here, that God's word failed 472 00:18:44,490 --> 00:18:45,330 to those people. 473 00:18:46,210 --> 00:18:47,970 And Paul's going to address that. 474 00:18:48,370 --> 00:18:52,650 And Paul shares his heart for the salvation of his people, the 475 00:18:52,650 --> 00:18:54,690 Jewish people, the Israelite people. 476 00:18:55,330 --> 00:18:59,050 And so at this point in time, many of Paul's enemies were his own 477 00:18:59,050 --> 00:18:59,290 people. 478 00:18:59,290 --> 00:19:02,410 And the persecution came from the Jewish religious, religious people 479 00:19:02,410 --> 00:19:03,010 of the day. 480 00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:07,320 And, and I think that the first few verses Here, Romans chapter 481 00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:11,720 9, tell us a great example of how we should desire to grow in our 482 00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:15,160 compassion for the lost and grow in our compassion for those 483 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:16,160 that are our enemies. 484 00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:18,840 And then there's more to be said here. 485 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:21,360 And so really, Romans 9, 10 and 11. 486 00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:26,840 Is Paul addressing the question of why did the people of 487 00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:30,320 Israel who everything was entrusted to, why did they turn their 488 00:19:30,320 --> 00:19:30,680 backs? 489 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:32,140 Why did, did they turn away? 490 00:19:32,140 --> 00:19:36,060 And Paul addresses that here in Romans 9, 10 and 11. 491 00:19:37,020 --> 00:19:40,940 And so I want you to see here in Romans 9, verse 1, it says this, 492 00:19:41,020 --> 00:19:42,540 I say the truth in Christ. 493 00:19:42,940 --> 00:19:43,900 I lie not. 494 00:19:44,140 --> 00:19:46,660 My conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost. 495 00:19:46,660 --> 00:19:47,419 So what's Paul saying? 496 00:19:47,419 --> 00:19:49,740 He says, what I'm about to tell you is serious. 497 00:19:49,820 --> 00:19:51,980 What I'm about to tell you is going to be hard for you to believe. 498 00:19:52,220 --> 00:19:54,900 What I'm about to tell you is I'm standing before the Lord saying 499 00:19:54,900 --> 00:19:56,060 that I'm telling you the truth. 500 00:19:56,060 --> 00:19:58,540 This is what I believe and this is what I feel, and this is 501 00:19:58,540 --> 00:19:59,180 what I live in. 502 00:19:59,650 --> 00:20:03,330 Verse two, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in 503 00:20:03,330 --> 00:20:03,810 my heart. 504 00:20:04,690 --> 00:20:08,330 So Paul is saying that even right after Romans 8 because, because 505 00:20:08,330 --> 00:20:11,650 you, you would see that kind of Romans 8 is the climax of victory. 506 00:20:11,650 --> 00:20:15,330 It's, it's the excitement point of the book that basically 507 00:20:15,570 --> 00:20:17,330 none of us can fail in Jesus Christ. 508 00:20:17,330 --> 00:20:20,290 But then he says in verse two that he has heaviness in his heart, 509 00:20:20,290 --> 00:20:21,810 that he has sorrow in his heart. 510 00:20:21,810 --> 00:20:22,850 Why would he have that? 511 00:20:22,850 --> 00:20:25,810 Well, he's going to explain why he has that sadness here. 512 00:20:26,510 --> 00:20:29,950 But what I will say is this, and I think this is important for 513 00:20:29,950 --> 00:20:33,270 us to note here in Romans chapter nine, is that this passage 514 00:20:33,270 --> 00:20:36,230 of scripture, though dealing with many topics, is essentially 515 00:20:36,230 --> 00:20:40,470 Paul dealing with the problem associated with the current condition 516 00:20:40,470 --> 00:20:41,310 of Israel. 517 00:20:42,190 --> 00:20:42,790 And so. 518 00:20:42,790 --> 00:20:43,270 So what. 519 00:20:43,270 --> 00:20:46,910 What did it mean that Israel, for the most part, missed its Messiah? 520 00:20:47,710 --> 00:20:49,470 What does it say about God's power? 521 00:20:49,630 --> 00:20:51,950 What does it say about God's love? 522 00:20:51,950 --> 00:20:53,790 What does it say about Israel itself? 523 00:20:53,790 --> 00:20:57,250 What does it say about our present position as Christians who 524 00:20:57,250 --> 00:20:58,490 have confidence in God? 525 00:20:58,490 --> 00:21:00,290 That's really what he's dealing with here. 526 00:21:00,290 --> 00:21:00,930 But before. 527 00:21:01,010 --> 00:21:04,610 Before Paul goes any further here, he wants to share his heart 528 00:21:04,610 --> 00:21:07,930 about the lost people that he loves and that he wants to bring 529 00:21:07,930 --> 00:21:08,570 the truth to. 530 00:21:08,570 --> 00:21:11,970 So he says that his heart is broken over those people that don't 531 00:21:11,970 --> 00:21:12,930 believe in Jesus Christ. 532 00:21:13,410 --> 00:21:15,210 We talked a little bit about this last week. 533 00:21:15,210 --> 00:21:18,890 Even in Matthew chapter 9, When Jesus comes and he sees all 534 00:21:18,890 --> 00:21:22,480 the people that are hurting, he sees all the people that are wandering 535 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:23,840 without a shepherd. 536 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:24,920 And he says that his. 537 00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:26,040 His heart, his. 538 00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:27,000 His mind, his. 539 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:29,240 His body was moved with compassion. 540 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:31,640 And so the question that we have for. 541 00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:35,000 For all of us here this morning is what is our response to 542 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:37,640 those that are in the world that are in rebellion to Jesus? 543 00:21:37,879 --> 00:21:38,760 Are we against them? 544 00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:40,280 Well, we should be against their actions. 545 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:43,440 We should never be condoning the actions of people that are in 546 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:44,400 rebellion to the Lord. 547 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:45,920 We, we never celebrate sin. 548 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:47,320 We never celebrate rebellion. 549 00:21:47,570 --> 00:21:50,810 But the Bible does say for, for many of us as Christians, the 550 00:21:50,810 --> 00:21:55,250 struggle might be having compassion and motivation and desire 551 00:21:55,250 --> 00:21:58,210 and a broken heart over those that need Jesus Christ as Savior. 552 00:21:58,450 --> 00:22:01,090 And I think that this is an awesome passage to show us really 553 00:22:01,090 --> 00:22:04,450 where the goal should be when it comes to our love for the lost. 554 00:22:05,410 --> 00:22:07,770 You know, we look around and, and maybe you have a broken heart 555 00:22:07,770 --> 00:22:08,410 for your family. 556 00:22:08,410 --> 00:22:08,730 May. 557 00:22:08,730 --> 00:22:12,050 Maybe there's some people in your home that aren't believers and 558 00:22:12,290 --> 00:22:15,030 you pray for them, you share the gospel with them. 559 00:22:15,030 --> 00:22:16,110 That's a fantastic thing. 560 00:22:16,110 --> 00:22:17,710 But think about it from a bigger level. 561 00:22:18,190 --> 00:22:21,190 Think about it from the fact that not every single person that's 562 00:22:21,190 --> 00:22:24,270 in the church building on Sunday morning is a believer in Jesus 563 00:22:24,270 --> 00:22:24,470 Christ. 564 00:22:24,470 --> 00:22:26,110 Maybe someone's coming in, they're searching. 565 00:22:26,270 --> 00:22:28,270 Maybe someone's coming and they're a skeptic. 566 00:22:28,750 --> 00:22:32,630 We should Never assume that the people around us are solid in 567 00:22:32,630 --> 00:22:33,870 their belief in Jesus Christ. 568 00:22:33,870 --> 00:22:36,350 And so what Paul says is that he's brokenhearted over the lost. 569 00:22:37,390 --> 00:22:39,870 He desires to see them come to Christ. 570 00:22:40,210 --> 00:22:42,050 He's brokenhearted over a few different things. 571 00:22:42,050 --> 00:22:43,890 One would be the rebellion of his own people. 572 00:22:45,010 --> 00:22:47,370 He's brokenhearted over their rebellion. 573 00:22:47,370 --> 00:22:50,450 He's brokenhearted of their rejection of Jesus. 574 00:22:51,170 --> 00:22:52,090 He's not broken. 575 00:22:52,090 --> 00:22:55,010 He's not broken hearted that they persecuted him, Right? 576 00:22:55,010 --> 00:23:00,210 If it was us, you know, if I was Paul, okay, I would be upset 577 00:23:00,210 --> 00:23:01,490 that they persecuted me. 578 00:23:02,450 --> 00:23:03,010 This, this. 579 00:23:03,010 --> 00:23:03,970 This is my narrative. 580 00:23:03,970 --> 00:23:07,270 If I was Paul and I went into one of these cities and, and the 581 00:23:07,270 --> 00:23:11,470 guys who used to be my friends chase me out, whipping me, stoning 582 00:23:11,470 --> 00:23:13,510 me, doing all the things that they did, I would have said this. 583 00:23:13,510 --> 00:23:13,910 You know what? 584 00:23:13,910 --> 00:23:14,990 I'm trying to serve Jesus. 585 00:23:14,990 --> 00:23:16,070 I'm trying to do my best. 586 00:23:16,550 --> 00:23:18,830 And all these people do is just come back and hurt me. 587 00:23:18,830 --> 00:23:19,110 I'm. 588 00:23:19,110 --> 00:23:21,870 I'm just so brokenhearted that my friends have turned their back 589 00:23:21,870 --> 00:23:22,390 on me. 590 00:23:22,870 --> 00:23:25,230 I. I'm just so brokenhearted that they don't love me. 591 00:23:25,230 --> 00:23:26,550 They don't listen to my message. 592 00:23:26,630 --> 00:23:29,510 That's where I would be in my flesh and in my mind. 593 00:23:29,510 --> 00:23:32,350 I would be brokenhearted over people betraying me. 594 00:23:32,350 --> 00:23:32,560 But. 595 00:23:32,630 --> 00:23:33,270 But do you know where. 596 00:23:33,270 --> 00:23:34,710 Where Paul's brokenhearted over? 597 00:23:34,710 --> 00:23:35,230 He's not. 598 00:23:35,230 --> 00:23:36,550 He doesn't even care about that. 599 00:23:36,710 --> 00:23:39,030 What he's brokenhearted over is that they've rebelled against 600 00:23:39,030 --> 00:23:39,670 his Lord. 601 00:23:40,630 --> 00:23:40,950 He. 602 00:23:40,950 --> 00:23:43,390 He's brokenhearted over the fact that they have turned their 603 00:23:43,390 --> 00:23:45,990 backs against the One who has saved him and equipped Him. 604 00:23:45,990 --> 00:23:49,710 And so that just shows you the perspective of evangelism that's 605 00:23:49,710 --> 00:23:52,510 so much different than we have in our minds today is that it's all 606 00:23:52,510 --> 00:23:55,030 about us, usually where Paul is all about Jesus. 607 00:23:56,150 --> 00:23:59,710 And so ultimately, I believe this passage of Scripture can help 608 00:23:59,710 --> 00:24:00,730 us understand how. 609 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:02,600 How we can have a heart for those around us as well. 610 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:04,680 So he explains verse three here. 611 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:05,840 He says, for I wish. 612 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:08,440 Now what I'm about to do here is I'm going to read verse three, 613 00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:10,600 and when you understand what verse three says, it's going to be 614 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:11,440 hard for you to believe. 615 00:24:12,480 --> 00:24:16,000 It's hard for me to believe, but it's here in Scripture. 616 00:24:16,080 --> 00:24:19,440 So I'm going to do my best to say it in a way that I. I understand. 617 00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:20,840 Okay? 618 00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:23,520 I am not saying I'm where Paul is, right here I am. 619 00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:24,480 I am not there yet. 620 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:26,080 But here's what Paul says. 621 00:24:27,540 --> 00:24:28,340 For I wish. 622 00:24:28,820 --> 00:24:35,780 For I could wish that myself were cursed from Christ for my Brethren, 623 00:24:36,100 --> 00:24:39,060 my kidsmen according to the flesh. 624 00:24:39,780 --> 00:24:41,940 So you might say, what's he talking about here? 625 00:24:42,660 --> 00:24:46,700 The way that I understand this is that Paul says, I would be willing 626 00:24:46,700 --> 00:24:49,980 to be separated from my Savior Jesus if my people could come to 627 00:24:49,980 --> 00:24:50,260 Christ. 628 00:24:50,420 --> 00:24:53,260 If this would be a great revival with my people, my own people, 629 00:24:53,260 --> 00:24:54,100 my kinsmen. 630 00:24:55,450 --> 00:24:55,770 That's. 631 00:24:55,770 --> 00:24:57,130 That's a heart of compassion. 632 00:24:57,690 --> 00:24:59,610 That's a sacrificial type of love. 633 00:25:00,010 --> 00:25:02,570 Now, we don't want to elevate Paul to a place of. 634 00:25:02,570 --> 00:25:03,890 We want to worship him, right? 635 00:25:03,890 --> 00:25:04,930 Because Paul was fallible. 636 00:25:04,930 --> 00:25:07,650 Paul was, was not God, and Paul was far from him. 637 00:25:07,650 --> 00:25:08,650 He was a sinful person. 638 00:25:08,730 --> 00:25:09,450 We know that. 639 00:25:09,450 --> 00:25:11,850 But it's a great example of what the love of Christ can do in 640 00:25:11,850 --> 00:25:15,730 our lives because we know that Jesus had that same heart, right? 641 00:25:15,730 --> 00:25:19,330 He went to the cross not just for those who were kind to him, but 642 00:25:19,330 --> 00:25:22,040 he went to the cross for those that, as the Bible says, but God 643 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:25,280 commendeth or demonstrated his love toward us in that while we were 644 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:27,360 yet sinners, Christ died for us. 645 00:25:27,360 --> 00:25:29,600 You know, if it was me, again, I would say this. 646 00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:32,200 I'm going to really be sacrificial to those who care about 647 00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:35,920 me or, or that have some type of association with me. 648 00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:38,520 So I was having this conversation with, with my dad recently. 649 00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:39,920 We were talking about certain things. 650 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:42,880 You know, when my dad used to tell me growing up, he was like, 651 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:44,160 you know, I take a boa for you, son. 652 00:25:44,160 --> 00:25:44,840 I die for you. 653 00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:46,320 I, I kind of understood that. 654 00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:50,330 But I definitely understand it now with my own children, like, there, 655 00:25:50,330 --> 00:25:52,210 there would be no consideration for me. 656 00:25:52,210 --> 00:25:53,170 I wouldn't even think about it. 657 00:25:53,170 --> 00:25:55,370 Like, if my kids were in danger, I would jump in front of 658 00:25:55,370 --> 00:25:55,610 a car. 659 00:25:55,610 --> 00:25:56,650 I would do anything for them. 660 00:25:56,970 --> 00:25:57,970 I love them to death. 661 00:25:57,970 --> 00:25:58,890 I understand that. 662 00:25:59,450 --> 00:26:02,610 But we all understand that, like, it's, it's understandable for 663 00:26:02,610 --> 00:26:04,890 us to sacrifice for people that are good to us. 664 00:26:05,530 --> 00:26:06,210 That makes sense. 665 00:26:06,210 --> 00:26:08,850 The Bible actually says that that's like the heathen do that and 666 00:26:08,850 --> 00:26:09,930 makes complete sense. 667 00:26:10,330 --> 00:26:13,210 But what Jesus teaches is that we would sacrifice and do something 668 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:17,720 beyond comprehension for someone that isn't kind to us, that 669 00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:18,680 doesn't love us. 670 00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:20,520 And that's exactly what Paul is saying here. 671 00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:23,520 Paul says, I would sacrifice for those people so that they could 672 00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:24,200 come to Christ. 673 00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:26,600 That is crazy to think about. 674 00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:30,080 And it's, it's beyond our human comprehension to some degree. 675 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:32,920 But what I will say is that I think that all of us as Christians 676 00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:36,040 could grow in that direction to understand that we should be able 677 00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:39,400 and willing to sacrifice some things to see People come to Christ. 678 00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:43,760 And some people would argue that Paul's using this as a metaphor, 679 00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:45,800 that he really doesn't mean this completely. 680 00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:47,880 I don't really take that understanding. 681 00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:51,200 I believe that that's why he's trying to explain in verses 1 and 682 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:53,680 other passages here, that he's being real about what he's saying. 683 00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:57,160 But nonetheless, I think that if we had this type of perspective, 684 00:26:57,160 --> 00:26:59,960 we would have a greater passion for the loss that's around 685 00:26:59,960 --> 00:27:00,320 us. 686 00:27:01,040 --> 00:27:05,040 You know, a lot of us get more worked up about things that don't 687 00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:09,650 mean anything for the cause of the kingdom than what actually does 688 00:27:09,650 --> 00:27:10,010 matter. 689 00:27:10,890 --> 00:27:13,210 So for me, you know, when someone asked me, how's your week 690 00:27:13,210 --> 00:27:13,530 going? 691 00:27:14,090 --> 00:27:15,130 That's a loaded question. 692 00:27:15,530 --> 00:27:18,810 Because as a pastor, I know I have to say it's a great week, but. 693 00:27:18,970 --> 00:27:20,250 Well, all of you know what I mean. 694 00:27:20,250 --> 00:27:22,170 Sometimes when you don't want to answer that it's a good week, 695 00:27:22,410 --> 00:27:23,050 you know, like. 696 00:27:23,050 --> 00:27:23,290 But. 697 00:27:23,290 --> 00:27:23,890 But a lot of times. 698 00:27:23,890 --> 00:27:24,890 Why is our week bad? 699 00:27:24,970 --> 00:27:28,370 Well, maybe, you know, I'm not feeling well, or maybe someone was 700 00:27:28,370 --> 00:27:32,660 rude to me at work, or maybe something happened with my, my. 701 00:27:32,740 --> 00:27:34,620 My family or my spouse. 702 00:27:34,620 --> 00:27:35,340 I don't know what it is. 703 00:27:35,340 --> 00:27:37,180 There could be a lot of reasons why we would say we're having 704 00:27:37,180 --> 00:27:37,780 a bad week. 705 00:27:37,860 --> 00:27:40,660 And a lot of times we get so worked up about that, and sometimes 706 00:27:40,660 --> 00:27:43,340 it's things that don't even really matter to us, even in our 707 00:27:43,340 --> 00:27:44,260 own personal life. 708 00:27:45,140 --> 00:27:45,860 Some of us. 709 00:27:45,940 --> 00:27:48,180 And I'm going to try to be as kind as I can be with this. 710 00:27:48,260 --> 00:27:52,500 Some of us get worked up about what we see on the news, and it makes 711 00:27:52,500 --> 00:27:55,220 us have a bad week just because something has been told to 712 00:27:55,220 --> 00:27:55,460 us. 713 00:27:55,460 --> 00:27:57,500 And I'm not saying we shouldn't watch the news, but I would 714 00:27:57,500 --> 00:27:58,060 say is what. 715 00:27:58,210 --> 00:28:02,130 Watch the news with the lens of the gospel and, and watch the 716 00:28:02,130 --> 00:28:05,530 news with the lens of knowing that God is in control and that you 717 00:28:05,530 --> 00:28:07,570 are a believer in a lost world. 718 00:28:08,130 --> 00:28:13,210 But what I will say is this, oftentimes, things that don't matter 719 00:28:13,210 --> 00:28:16,130 in the grand scheme of eternity take up our minds, take 720 00:28:16,130 --> 00:28:19,850 up our hearts, take up our time, take up our anger, take up 721 00:28:19,850 --> 00:28:22,730 our bitterness, and we don't do the things that we should be doing 722 00:28:22,730 --> 00:28:24,290 within the cause of the kingdom of God. 723 00:28:24,290 --> 00:28:26,320 And so Paul says, I'm focused. 724 00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:30,200 I know what I have before me, and that is to lead these folks to 725 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:30,440 Christ. 726 00:28:30,440 --> 00:28:34,720 Now, we do know that Paul is called to be an apostle to the Gentiles. 727 00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:38,040 So his sole focus is not just his own people, even though he has 728 00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:39,120 a heart for his own people. 729 00:28:39,280 --> 00:28:42,280 But Paul does have opportunities to preach the Gospel 730 00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:44,800 in other places, which we're going to talk about later on in the 731 00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:45,960 book of Romans as well. 732 00:28:45,960 --> 00:28:49,320 So he says in verse three, basically, that for his kinsmen, 733 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:52,820 according to the flesh, he would be separated from Christ so 734 00:28:52,820 --> 00:28:53,780 that they could come to Christ. 735 00:28:53,780 --> 00:28:55,580 That, that is an amazing thing to think about. 736 00:28:55,580 --> 00:28:57,460 And I think that that's something that we even see with, 737 00:28:57,460 --> 00:28:59,620 with Moses in Exodus chapter 32. 738 00:29:01,060 --> 00:29:02,820 Moses has that same spirit. 739 00:29:02,820 --> 00:29:06,460 In Exodus 32, Moses returned unto the Lord and said, oh, this 740 00:29:06,460 --> 00:29:09,060 people have sinned a great sin, and I made them gods of gold. 741 00:29:09,060 --> 00:29:12,780 Yet now if thou will forgive their sin, and if not, blot me, I 742 00:29:12,780 --> 00:29:15,220 pray thee out of thy book which thou hast written. 743 00:29:15,220 --> 00:29:19,100 So even we see that Moses pictured that same type of love for 744 00:29:19,100 --> 00:29:22,360 his people when it came to his relationship with God. 745 00:29:22,360 --> 00:29:24,160 And I think that's something for all of us to understand. 746 00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:28,480 But of course, we know that Paul shares the heart of Jesus, who 747 00:29:28,480 --> 00:29:32,640 was cursed on behalf of others, that he might bring salvation 748 00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:33,600 to, to many. 749 00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:36,720 And so you would say, okay, so why is he so brokenhearted? 750 00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:38,240 Why is he talking about the Israelites? 751 00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:39,040 Why does that matter? 752 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:40,320 Well, verse four says this. 753 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:43,400 He says, lest you think he's not talking about the Israelites, 754 00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:45,640 by the way, some people might think like, well, he's not really 755 00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:47,440 talking about those people that are Israelites. 756 00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:51,300 In verse three, he's, he says in verse four, who are the Israelites? 757 00:29:51,780 --> 00:29:57,140 And he's about to explain why he has a heart for them and what 758 00:29:57,140 --> 00:29:59,900 they were gifted in when being the chosen people of God. 759 00:29:59,900 --> 00:30:01,820 Now, there are some people that will argue this. 760 00:30:01,820 --> 00:30:04,100 And, and we're going to break this down in Romans, chapter nine. 761 00:30:04,259 --> 00:30:07,700 Not all of the people that were part of God's chosen people 762 00:30:07,700 --> 00:30:09,460 in the Old Testament were saved. 763 00:30:09,940 --> 00:30:10,380 Okay? 764 00:30:10,380 --> 00:30:13,220 The Bible says that from the book of Genesis all the way to the 765 00:30:13,220 --> 00:30:15,140 book of Revelation, people are saved by faith. 766 00:30:15,790 --> 00:30:17,710 That's, that's the book of Hebrews, Hebrews, chapter 11. 767 00:30:17,710 --> 00:30:18,590 You can look that up. 768 00:30:18,750 --> 00:30:20,830 Nobody was saved by ever keeping the law. 769 00:30:21,550 --> 00:30:24,590 Nobody was ever saved by being born into a certain bloodline. 770 00:30:25,150 --> 00:30:28,430 Everybody, throughout all of history is saved through faith. 771 00:30:28,830 --> 00:30:31,550 And so a lot of people will read Romans chapter 9 and think that 772 00:30:31,550 --> 00:30:35,550 Paul is specifically only talking about individual salvific 773 00:30:35,710 --> 00:30:39,030 salvation, meaning salvation that brings them to everlasting life 774 00:30:39,030 --> 00:30:39,790 with Jesus Christ. 775 00:30:39,870 --> 00:30:41,990 But that's not essentially what he's talking about here. 776 00:30:41,990 --> 00:30:44,890 He's talking about Israel, the people of Israel and what they were 777 00:30:44,890 --> 00:30:45,690 chosen to do. 778 00:30:45,770 --> 00:30:47,610 Why were the people of Israel chosen? 779 00:30:47,690 --> 00:30:49,970 Well, we don't know why they were chosen, but we do know what 780 00:30:49,970 --> 00:30:51,130 they were chosen for. 781 00:30:51,530 --> 00:30:52,490 Verse 4. 782 00:30:52,970 --> 00:30:56,890 He says, who were Israelites to whom pertaineth the adoption? 783 00:30:57,290 --> 00:31:01,090 Meaning they were adopted into the family of God and the glory and 784 00:31:01,090 --> 00:31:01,930 the covenants. 785 00:31:02,170 --> 00:31:02,570 Right? 786 00:31:02,810 --> 00:31:07,130 Moses, the, the Mosaic covenant, the Abrahamic covenant, 787 00:31:07,130 --> 00:31:09,930 all these covenants come through the line of, of Israel. 788 00:31:11,150 --> 00:31:14,230 And he says the covenants were entrusted to them and the giving 789 00:31:14,230 --> 00:31:17,470 of the law, they, they had the, they had the benefit, they had 790 00:31:17,470 --> 00:31:21,070 the blessing of being the mouthpiece for God for so many years 791 00:31:21,230 --> 00:31:23,710 and the service of God and the promises. 792 00:31:24,190 --> 00:31:25,990 Verse 5, who are the fathers? 793 00:31:25,990 --> 00:31:29,070 They were gifted in being blessed with having all the patriarchs 794 00:31:29,070 --> 00:31:32,350 and the prophets of whom as concerning the flesh, Christ came. 795 00:31:32,350 --> 00:31:35,070 And even so, the Bible says that Jesus came to the Israelites, 796 00:31:35,070 --> 00:31:38,670 and so he's saying that these are all the blessings of Israel being 797 00:31:39,380 --> 00:31:40,180 the chosen people. 798 00:31:40,340 --> 00:31:43,860 Now, there's a lot of people that are arguing that today and arguing 799 00:31:43,860 --> 00:31:44,740 whose role is what. 800 00:31:44,740 --> 00:31:48,260 And there's different elements of doctrine and theology, but what 801 00:31:48,260 --> 00:31:50,740 we're basically going to understand throughout this whole 802 00:31:50,980 --> 00:31:52,020 passage is this. 803 00:31:52,100 --> 00:31:55,500 Salvation is given to all who believe, regardless of nationality. 804 00:31:55,500 --> 00:31:56,580 I need you to know that. 805 00:31:56,820 --> 00:32:00,140 So, so I'm not saying that the Israel being the Israelites that 806 00:32:00,140 --> 00:32:02,940 are chosen by God, every one of the Israelites for all of history, 807 00:32:02,940 --> 00:32:03,460 are saved. 808 00:32:03,460 --> 00:32:05,620 No, they don't believe in Jesus Christ as Savior. 809 00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:06,800 They don't have faith in God. 810 00:32:06,800 --> 00:32:07,200 They are. 811 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:08,240 They're not saved. 812 00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:13,120 So all are saved through Jesus, regardless of nationality. 813 00:32:13,280 --> 00:32:17,280 But Paul does explain, even back in Romans chapter three and 814 00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:20,400 in Romans chapter nine, that there was a blessing for Israel as 815 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:23,600 God's chosen people, both past and future. 816 00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:26,240 And we're going to talk about those two things as well. 817 00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:30,040 So just note that what I'm saying here is that not all of the 818 00:32:30,040 --> 00:32:34,500 people that were born through the line of Abraham were saved, were 819 00:32:34,820 --> 00:32:35,700 walking with God. 820 00:32:35,700 --> 00:32:38,700 And actually at this point in time in Romans chapter nine, many 821 00:32:38,700 --> 00:32:39,300 were not. 822 00:32:40,340 --> 00:32:41,540 So what is he saying here? 823 00:32:41,540 --> 00:32:46,420 He says that they as people rejected the things of God and so 824 00:32:46,420 --> 00:32:47,940 therefore there's brokenness there. 825 00:32:48,580 --> 00:32:51,300 And so he says in verse five, they were even blessed with having 826 00:32:51,300 --> 00:32:54,740 Christ come through their line, who is overall God blessed 827 00:32:54,740 --> 00:32:55,380 forever. 828 00:32:55,460 --> 00:32:56,100 Amen. 829 00:32:56,340 --> 00:32:59,960 And so the first five verses is Paul explaining what, why he's 830 00:32:59,960 --> 00:33:01,600 brokenhearted over the nation of Israel. 831 00:33:01,600 --> 00:33:04,520 Essentially, they were gifted all these blessings about being the 832 00:33:04,520 --> 00:33:08,480 mouthpiece of the word of God through the law, through the prophets, 833 00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:11,200 through, through the patriarchs, through the covenants, 834 00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:13,640 and ultimately through Christ, and yet they missed the mark. 835 00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:13,920 Why? 836 00:33:13,920 --> 00:33:15,359 Because they did not believe in Jesus. 837 00:33:15,359 --> 00:33:16,960 Jesus was the stumbling block. 838 00:33:17,280 --> 00:33:18,240 You remember back. 839 00:33:18,240 --> 00:33:20,840 Remember, they thought that Jesus, as Jesus, was coming down 840 00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:25,320 the Palm Sunday road, riding on a donkey, they were proclaiming 841 00:33:25,320 --> 00:33:26,840 hosanna, he's come to save us. 842 00:33:26,840 --> 00:33:29,960 They were waving palm branches, they were throwing clothes 843 00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:30,560 on the ground. 844 00:33:30,720 --> 00:33:33,640 And they were doing all this to basically expect that Jesus was 845 00:33:33,640 --> 00:33:37,240 going to come as a political leader that was going to free them 846 00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:38,320 from the bondage of Rome. 847 00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:41,200 And when Jesus didn't come that way, they turned their backs 848 00:33:41,200 --> 00:33:41,480 on him. 849 00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:44,520 And you know that even Jesus wept over them because they did not 850 00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:44,800 believe. 851 00:33:44,800 --> 00:33:48,960 And so this is Paul trying to bring it all together and explain 852 00:33:49,040 --> 00:33:52,800 how this can all cohesively be part of the message of God. 853 00:33:53,130 --> 00:33:56,730 So Paul continues to amplify and develop these points throughout 854 00:33:56,730 --> 00:33:58,090 the whole next section. 855 00:33:58,170 --> 00:34:02,330 And so he explains that at the time that this is written, many Israelites 856 00:34:02,410 --> 00:34:05,730 did not believe in the very words that had been entrusted to 857 00:34:05,730 --> 00:34:06,010 them. 858 00:34:06,410 --> 00:34:09,289 So God entrusts the Israelites with the Word of God. 859 00:34:09,290 --> 00:34:11,170 They don't even trust in that anymore. 860 00:34:11,170 --> 00:34:14,650 And so he shows that not every Israelite from the seed of Abraham 861 00:34:15,050 --> 00:34:18,410 is chosen for the noble purpose of carrying the Word of God. 862 00:34:18,670 --> 00:34:22,430 So he's about to explain that some parts of the Israelite people 863 00:34:22,430 --> 00:34:25,990 were chosen for the Word to be proclaimed through them and others 864 00:34:25,990 --> 00:34:26,510 were not. 865 00:34:27,070 --> 00:34:30,150 There's going to be many people that take the passage in Romans 866 00:34:30,150 --> 00:34:32,270 chapter nine and basically say this. 867 00:34:32,990 --> 00:34:36,230 From the very beginning of time, God loves some and saved salmon 868 00:34:36,230 --> 00:34:38,030 others he hated and did not save. 869 00:34:39,150 --> 00:34:41,310 Determinism, however you want to call it. 870 00:34:41,550 --> 00:34:43,590 But what we're going to see here in this passage is that I think 871 00:34:43,590 --> 00:34:45,470 there's a different perspective to take when it comes 872 00:34:45,470 --> 00:34:48,030 to when he gets talking about Jacob and Esau. 873 00:34:48,370 --> 00:34:50,730 And so I know that this is a complex topic. 874 00:34:50,730 --> 00:34:52,050 I know that there's a lot here. 875 00:34:52,210 --> 00:34:54,130 We're not going to dive into all of it here. 876 00:34:54,130 --> 00:34:56,850 But what I am going to say is this morning I'm going to ask you 877 00:34:56,850 --> 00:34:59,410 a few questions, then I want to give you a few applications, and 878 00:34:59,410 --> 00:35:01,010 then we're going to close off here this morning. 879 00:35:01,650 --> 00:35:06,210 But it says that the one question that could be posed is, 880 00:35:06,370 --> 00:35:12,130 is if Israel has failed their job, if you will, they were given 881 00:35:12,210 --> 00:35:15,570 all of the law, they were given the covenants, they were given 882 00:35:15,570 --> 00:35:15,820 the. 883 00:35:15,890 --> 00:35:18,490 The promises, they were given the prophets, they were given the 884 00:35:18,490 --> 00:35:20,970 patriarchs, they were even given the Messiah to come through 885 00:35:20,970 --> 00:35:23,010 their line, and they failed. 886 00:35:23,010 --> 00:35:23,890 They didn't believe. 887 00:35:24,690 --> 00:35:25,650 What does that mean? 888 00:35:26,770 --> 00:35:30,850 Some people would have argued and still argue that God failed then, 889 00:35:30,850 --> 00:35:31,210 right? 890 00:35:31,210 --> 00:35:34,690 If God chose Israel to do his work and they didn't do his work, 891 00:35:35,170 --> 00:35:36,370 has God failed? 892 00:35:36,370 --> 00:35:41,330 And if God failed the nation of Israel, will He fail us? 893 00:35:41,800 --> 00:35:44,840 Right, because we're part now of the elect. 894 00:35:44,840 --> 00:35:46,760 We're part of the family of God. 895 00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:48,760 We have confidence in Romans 8. 896 00:35:48,760 --> 00:35:53,200 And you just tell me in Romans 8 that he is going to not allow anything 897 00:35:53,200 --> 00:35:54,320 to separate me from his love. 898 00:35:54,320 --> 00:35:58,080 But then now, Romans 9, some things are separated from from the 899 00:35:58,080 --> 00:35:59,120 love of God in Israel. 900 00:35:59,120 --> 00:35:59,880 How can that be? 901 00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:04,720 Has God failed to keep those that he chose and that he loved? 902 00:36:04,720 --> 00:36:06,680 These are all questions that are being posed. 903 00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:10,600 And if so, will he fail us who believed and are loved? 904 00:36:10,600 --> 00:36:14,090 Now, as we see in Romans chapter eight, so, so essentially 905 00:36:14,090 --> 00:36:17,050 there's a blessing to be an Israelite, but not all are chosen 906 00:36:17,050 --> 00:36:17,930 to carry that blessing. 907 00:36:17,930 --> 00:36:18,930 So has God failed? 908 00:36:19,090 --> 00:36:21,250 And again, Paul is going to answer that question. 909 00:36:21,330 --> 00:36:22,730 He always answers his questions. 910 00:36:22,730 --> 00:36:27,530 In verse 6 he says, not as though the word of God hath taken 911 00:36:27,530 --> 00:36:28,690 none effect, meaning this. 912 00:36:28,769 --> 00:36:30,370 It's not that God's word has failed. 913 00:36:30,370 --> 00:36:31,410 God has not failed. 914 00:36:31,410 --> 00:36:34,050 He has never failed and he never will fail. 915 00:36:34,770 --> 00:36:39,010 And then he explains, for they are not all Israel which are of Israel. 916 00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:44,280 Israel, meaning not all of Israel, is called to present the 917 00:36:44,280 --> 00:36:46,520 line of the truth of the word of God. 918 00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:47,960 God never fails. 919 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:54,760 It is those who lack faith and openly reject Christ who fail. 920 00:36:55,320 --> 00:36:57,480 God's purpose for Israel didn't fail. 921 00:36:57,960 --> 00:36:59,560 God's purpose for us won't fail. 922 00:36:59,560 --> 00:37:04,240 And so Paul explains the answer that not every descendant 923 00:37:04,240 --> 00:37:07,730 of Israel is entrusted with the word of God, nor is everyone 924 00:37:07,810 --> 00:37:11,490 who is a child of God made a child on the basis that he or she 925 00:37:11,490 --> 00:37:13,810 is a natural descendant of Abraham. 926 00:37:14,210 --> 00:37:17,290 Now we're going to get into a lot of nuances here in Romans chapter 927 00:37:17,290 --> 00:37:17,450 nine. 928 00:37:17,450 --> 00:37:19,610 And I don't want to lose you, so I'm going to wrap it up. 929 00:37:19,610 --> 00:37:23,730 Pose here today is, well, if God rejected Israel, does he reject 930 00:37:23,730 --> 00:37:24,370 some of us? 931 00:37:24,930 --> 00:37:27,490 And we're going to talk more about that along with Romans chapter 932 00:37:27,490 --> 00:37:27,650 9. 933 00:37:27,650 --> 00:37:31,050 But what I will say is that anybody who comes to Christ in faith 934 00:37:31,050 --> 00:37:31,730 will be seen. 935 00:37:32,630 --> 00:37:34,430 There's no one that God is going to reject that comes to him 936 00:37:34,430 --> 00:37:34,910 in faith. 937 00:37:34,910 --> 00:37:38,270 The Bible does say that God does reject some people because of 938 00:37:38,270 --> 00:37:40,630 the decisions that they make in rebellion to God. 939 00:37:40,630 --> 00:37:43,870 Now there's going to be this interesting story of Esau and Jacob 940 00:37:43,870 --> 00:37:45,910 that we're going to study coming up here in the next few weeks 941 00:37:45,910 --> 00:37:47,710 and there's going to be more discussion with that. 942 00:37:47,710 --> 00:37:51,790 But what I will want, want you to know here this morning that some 943 00:37:51,790 --> 00:37:54,590 people that fall into this area of determinism would say this, 944 00:37:54,590 --> 00:37:57,370 that some people from the beginning of time had no choice but. 945 00:37:57,440 --> 00:38:00,880 But to just be unsaved that God did not allow them to be saved. 946 00:38:00,880 --> 00:38:03,200 What I will tell you is that I believe that's not true. 947 00:38:03,200 --> 00:38:05,640 I believe that, as the Bible says, that he is not willing that 948 00:38:05,640 --> 00:38:07,920 any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 949 00:38:08,560 --> 00:38:11,920 And the Bible says in Romans or in John 3:16, for God so loved 950 00:38:11,920 --> 00:38:14,200 the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever 951 00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:14,960 believeth in him. 952 00:38:15,280 --> 00:38:17,160 And so we have to rectify those two things. 953 00:38:17,160 --> 00:38:19,920 And we have to see that sometimes from a different perspective 954 00:38:19,920 --> 00:38:23,240 that God is not specifically talking about salvation here. 955 00:38:23,240 --> 00:38:26,860 And as much as he's calling for the idea that God is using certain 956 00:38:26,860 --> 00:38:29,460 people to present the word of God to the world. 957 00:38:29,540 --> 00:38:30,900 And that's what we're going to be talking about. 958 00:38:30,900 --> 00:38:33,180 But the lessons that we can take away with us here In Romans 959 00:38:33,180 --> 00:38:34,180 chapter 9 is this. 960 00:38:35,220 --> 00:38:37,580 Paul has a burden for those that are rejected. 961 00:38:37,580 --> 00:38:38,100 Jesus. 962 00:38:38,580 --> 00:38:40,740 His burden is not because they persecuted him. 963 00:38:40,740 --> 00:38:44,500 That burden is because they need Jesus as Savior. 964 00:38:44,580 --> 00:38:46,900 His heart is for his people, his nation. 965 00:38:47,060 --> 00:38:49,950 And the question would be for us here this morning is do we have 966 00:38:49,950 --> 00:38:51,230 a heart for the people of our nation? 967 00:38:51,790 --> 00:38:53,950 Do we have a heart for people of other nations? 968 00:38:54,110 --> 00:38:56,630 The Bible says in Acts, chapter one, verse eight, that we 969 00:38:56,630 --> 00:38:59,910 are to go to our Jerusalem, we're to go to our Judea, we're to 970 00:38:59,910 --> 00:39:02,230 go to Samaria, which is the people that we're not used to. 971 00:39:02,230 --> 00:39:03,870 We're to go to the uttermost part of the earth. 972 00:39:03,950 --> 00:39:07,910 Where is our heart when it comes to the profession of the proclamation 973 00:39:07,910 --> 00:39:09,230 of the gospel of Jesus Christ? 974 00:39:09,550 --> 00:39:11,150 Go all the way back to where we started. 975 00:39:11,230 --> 00:39:12,670 We started in Romans 1:16. 976 00:39:12,670 --> 00:39:14,190 For I'm not ashamed of the gospel. 977 00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:16,800 Paul is obviously not ashamed of the gospel. 978 00:39:16,800 --> 00:39:19,520 Therefore he says, I'm going to bring it to people that love me. 979 00:39:19,520 --> 00:39:20,960 I'm going to bring it to people who don't love me. 980 00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:22,600 I'm going to bring it to people who persecute me. 981 00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:24,640 I'm going to bring it to people who reject me. 982 00:39:24,640 --> 00:39:28,400 And ultimately their rejection is going to bring them to a place 983 00:39:28,400 --> 00:39:28,960 of judgment. 984 00:39:28,960 --> 00:39:31,960 Therefore, I need to be more passionate about when I am preaching. 985 00:39:32,280 --> 00:39:35,560 And so we're going to see that, yes, God does have the right 986 00:39:35,560 --> 00:39:37,720 to show mercy upon who he shows mercy to. 987 00:39:38,520 --> 00:39:41,000 I can't sit here and dictate to God what makes him righteous and 988 00:39:41,000 --> 00:39:42,120 what makes him Unrighteous. 989 00:39:42,400 --> 00:39:45,280 All I have to say is that I look at from the whole scope of Scripture 990 00:39:45,280 --> 00:39:48,360 that God has a plan and he has a plan for those who trust in him 991 00:39:48,360 --> 00:39:48,840 in faith. 992 00:39:48,840 --> 00:39:52,000 God still has a plan for Israel, yet it to be in the future. 993 00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:54,640 And we're going to see in Romans chapter 11 that there is this 994 00:39:54,640 --> 00:39:57,920 idea that there will be a great revival there one day. 995 00:39:57,920 --> 00:40:00,960 But the Bible says until that day, until they turn to Christ, it's 996 00:40:00,960 --> 00:40:02,160 not a matter of their bloodline. 997 00:40:02,480 --> 00:40:04,800 He tears that down earlier on in scripture. 998 00:40:04,960 --> 00:40:07,200 He tears that down in many passages of scripture. 999 00:40:07,200 --> 00:40:11,060 It's no longer about what bloodline you have where you're born 1000 00:40:11,060 --> 00:40:11,380 into. 1001 00:40:11,940 --> 00:40:12,500 Okay? 1002 00:40:12,500 --> 00:40:13,780 And I'm thankful for that. 1003 00:40:13,940 --> 00:40:17,780 I'm thankful for the fact that God could say someone that's as broken 1004 00:40:17,940 --> 00:40:18,820 and as. 1005 00:40:19,140 --> 00:40:22,820 As limited as me, I don't deserve the love of Jesus Christ. 1006 00:40:23,460 --> 00:40:24,820 I don't deserve it at all. 1007 00:40:24,900 --> 00:40:28,180 Sometimes people are tempted to think that because I'm a good 1008 00:40:28,180 --> 00:40:29,300 person, God loves me. 1009 00:40:29,380 --> 00:40:31,620 God does not love me because of the way that I look. 1010 00:40:31,620 --> 00:40:34,550 God does not love me because where I'm born, God does not love 1011 00:40:34,550 --> 00:40:35,790 me because how smart I am. 1012 00:40:35,870 --> 00:40:40,150 God doesn't love me because of any of those exterior reasons that 1013 00:40:40,150 --> 00:40:41,790 some of us might think that God loves us. 1014 00:40:41,870 --> 00:40:43,630 God loves us because he loves us. 1015 00:40:43,870 --> 00:40:45,870 God loves us because we are his creation. 1016 00:40:46,350 --> 00:40:50,470 And in spite of the fact that we are in many ways in rebellion 1017 00:40:50,470 --> 00:40:54,150 to him, he still loves us and he still extends grace that shows 1018 00:40:54,150 --> 00:40:55,150 the patience of God. 1019 00:40:55,310 --> 00:40:58,590 Some people say, why isn't God just taking us all away? 1020 00:41:00,440 --> 00:41:01,600 I've been using this analogy a lot. 1021 00:41:01,600 --> 00:41:03,800 If it was me, if it was me, I'd be done. 1022 00:41:03,800 --> 00:41:05,960 I'd be like, all right, guys, you messed it up. 1023 00:41:06,200 --> 00:41:06,840 It's over. 1024 00:41:07,880 --> 00:41:10,840 And the Bible does say that one day God's righteous hand will 1025 00:41:10,840 --> 00:41:14,960 drop upon the world and that every knee will bow and every tongue 1026 00:41:14,960 --> 00:41:16,680 will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. 1027 00:41:16,680 --> 00:41:18,120 But until then, why? 1028 00:41:18,200 --> 00:41:19,160 The question is why? 1029 00:41:19,320 --> 00:41:20,160 The reason why. 1030 00:41:20,160 --> 00:41:23,000 The reason why I believe God has not done that yet is because 1031 00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:26,940 he is righteous and he is patient and he is loving and he's 1032 00:41:26,940 --> 00:41:29,540 extending that time of grace for many people. 1033 00:41:30,420 --> 00:41:32,540 But what I will tell you is that the Bible says that we need 1034 00:41:32,540 --> 00:41:33,140 to get busy. 1035 00:41:33,140 --> 00:41:33,940 Remember last week? 1036 00:41:34,340 --> 00:41:36,820 The harvest is plenteous, but the laborers are few. 1037 00:41:37,620 --> 00:41:41,900 Let's get busy about the process of proclaiming the gospel 1038 00:41:41,900 --> 00:41:42,420 to the world. 1039 00:41:42,420 --> 00:41:44,660 Let's not be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 1040 00:41:45,380 --> 00:41:49,460 I don't expect any of us today to have the same testimony as Paul 1041 00:41:49,460 --> 00:41:49,660 does. 1042 00:41:49,660 --> 00:41:53,110 There In Romans, chapter nine, that's a big step to say that you 1043 00:41:53,110 --> 00:41:55,550 would be willing to give up your relationship with Christ for 1044 00:41:55,550 --> 00:41:56,030 other people. 1045 00:41:56,190 --> 00:41:58,990 But what I will say is that I think all of us can take that step 1046 00:41:58,990 --> 00:42:02,110 closer to having a heart for people that are lost, that are having 1047 00:42:02,110 --> 00:42:04,030 a heart for people that are broken. 1048 00:42:04,910 --> 00:42:07,150 Never to, never to justify sin. 1049 00:42:07,710 --> 00:42:10,070 By the way, that's sometimes how the gospel's preached in our 1050 00:42:10,070 --> 00:42:10,750 culture today. 1051 00:42:11,230 --> 00:42:13,670 Like, to win people, we have to be okay with everything that they 1052 00:42:13,670 --> 00:42:13,950 do. 1053 00:42:14,670 --> 00:42:15,030 Folks. 1054 00:42:15,030 --> 00:42:16,990 I don't ever see that in scripture. 1055 00:42:16,990 --> 00:42:19,560 I, I never see Jesus when he's preaching the message, even to those 1056 00:42:19,560 --> 00:42:22,480 people that are sinners, that he comes in and he condones what 1057 00:42:22,480 --> 00:42:22,920 they do. 1058 00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:24,680 It's always go and sin no more. 1059 00:42:24,680 --> 00:42:25,080 It's. 1060 00:42:25,080 --> 00:42:26,640 It's always about changing their life. 1061 00:42:26,640 --> 00:42:28,360 But at the same time, there's grace extended. 1062 00:42:28,360 --> 00:42:30,400 So we have to understand that there's. 1063 00:42:30,400 --> 00:42:32,840 That there's that barrier there that sometimes we struggle 1064 00:42:32,840 --> 00:42:35,960 with is how much do we allow for. 1065 00:42:35,960 --> 00:42:38,720 When it comes to them coming to Christ, folks, the only thing 1066 00:42:38,720 --> 00:42:42,080 that is a delineating line between who is saved and who is unsaved 1067 00:42:42,080 --> 00:42:43,160 is faith in Jesus Christ. 1068 00:42:43,750 --> 00:42:46,430 All the other things of spiritual growth come after the Holy 1069 00:42:46,430 --> 00:42:48,550 Spirit indwells and people are taught. 1070 00:42:48,790 --> 00:42:50,870 So what we do is we lead people to Jesus. 1071 00:42:50,870 --> 00:42:52,270 We lead people to the truth. 1072 00:42:52,270 --> 00:42:55,790 If we say, okay, you can't come, you can't be saved unless you 1073 00:42:55,790 --> 00:42:56,550 clean up your life. 1074 00:42:57,590 --> 00:42:58,790 That, that's missing the point. 1075 00:42:58,790 --> 00:43:00,870 Because the only way that we can clean up our life is by coming 1076 00:43:00,870 --> 00:43:01,670 to Jesus Christ. 1077 00:43:01,910 --> 00:43:03,150 So as a church, what do we do? 1078 00:43:03,150 --> 00:43:06,070 We don't worry about, oh, well, we only invite people to our 1079 00:43:06,070 --> 00:43:07,350 church who look like they'd fit in. 1080 00:43:08,550 --> 00:43:10,500 We invite everybody, right? 1081 00:43:10,580 --> 00:43:13,220 I don't care what your background is, I don't care what 1082 00:43:13,220 --> 00:43:14,180 sin you're dealing with. 1083 00:43:14,340 --> 00:43:15,580 We welcome them in. 1084 00:43:15,580 --> 00:43:16,260 What do we do? 1085 00:43:16,260 --> 00:43:19,180 We don't just tell them, hey, be warm to fill and go. 1086 00:43:19,180 --> 00:43:22,180 We preach the gospel and we preach change, right? 1087 00:43:22,420 --> 00:43:24,100 Show up as you are, but leave different. 1088 00:43:26,020 --> 00:43:27,300 We should leave differently. 1089 00:43:27,700 --> 00:43:28,100 The. 1090 00:43:28,100 --> 00:43:29,460 The church should change us. 1091 00:43:29,540 --> 00:43:31,140 Jesus should change us. 1092 00:43:32,660 --> 00:43:33,180 Think about. 1093 00:43:33,180 --> 00:43:33,900 Think I'm. 1094 00:43:33,900 --> 00:43:36,580 I'm gonna get on my hobby horse for just like two minutes. 1095 00:43:36,580 --> 00:43:37,060 Okay? 1096 00:43:37,460 --> 00:43:38,220 Don't count that. 1097 00:43:38,220 --> 00:43:38,580 Don't. 1098 00:43:39,620 --> 00:43:40,020 The. 1099 00:43:42,340 --> 00:43:45,500 The idea in American Christianity that we can just come 1100 00:43:45,500 --> 00:43:49,300 into church, hear a good heartwarming message, go home and 1101 00:43:49,300 --> 00:43:52,020 leave unchanged is not a biblical message. 1102 00:43:52,980 --> 00:43:55,780 The biblical message is that Jesus changes us. 1103 00:43:55,940 --> 00:43:57,380 He changes the way we think. 1104 00:43:57,780 --> 00:43:59,300 He changes the way we live. 1105 00:43:59,620 --> 00:44:01,220 He changes the way we love. 1106 00:44:01,690 --> 00:44:03,450 He changes the way we serve. 1107 00:44:03,530 --> 00:44:06,090 He changes the way that we work. 1108 00:44:06,410 --> 00:44:08,410 He changes the way we do everything. 1109 00:44:08,730 --> 00:44:09,130 Why? 1110 00:44:09,210 --> 00:44:11,010 Because he's a life changer. 1111 00:44:11,010 --> 00:44:12,090 He's a life giver. 1112 00:44:12,090 --> 00:44:13,050 We're born again. 1113 00:44:13,050 --> 00:44:14,570 We're new in life. 1114 00:44:15,610 --> 00:44:18,130 And so you might say, well, I've gone to church for 50 years 1115 00:44:18,130 --> 00:44:18,730 and my. 1116 00:44:20,090 --> 00:44:22,010 I'm the same as I was when I started coming. 1117 00:44:22,330 --> 00:44:23,530 Well, it's never too late. 1118 00:44:23,850 --> 00:44:24,810 It's never too late. 1119 00:44:24,810 --> 00:44:25,610 Let's change today. 1120 00:44:26,010 --> 00:44:27,370 And the idea would be this. 1121 00:44:27,370 --> 00:44:30,370 It's not your change that makes you saved, because that's a 1122 00:44:30,370 --> 00:44:32,170 lot of people think that there's something out there called 1123 00:44:32,170 --> 00:44:33,850 lordship salvation, which would be this. 1124 00:44:33,850 --> 00:44:34,930 Basically, you. 1125 00:44:34,930 --> 00:44:37,330 You've got to be a good person to prove that you're saved. 1126 00:44:37,890 --> 00:44:39,650 Well, none of us are going to be perfect, right? 1127 00:44:40,050 --> 00:44:42,850 None of us can completely keep the word of God. 1128 00:44:42,930 --> 00:44:47,050 But what it does say in the Bible is that we are to transition, 1129 00:44:47,050 --> 00:44:49,490 to be transformed into newness of life. 1130 00:44:50,130 --> 00:44:51,890 And so we're going to talk about that as we come along. 1131 00:44:51,890 --> 00:44:54,130 We're going to be talking about the transformation. 1132 00:44:54,290 --> 00:44:55,970 That's really what Romans 12 is about. 1133 00:44:55,970 --> 00:44:56,140 Roman. 1134 00:44:56,290 --> 00:44:59,650 Romans 12 on is how we live out what we believe. 1135 00:45:01,170 --> 00:45:02,690 We live out what we believe. 1136 00:45:03,650 --> 00:45:06,170 So we're going to be going through some heavy stuff in Romans 1137 00:45:06,170 --> 00:45:06,930 9, 10, and 11. 1138 00:45:06,930 --> 00:45:08,010 Okay, don't skip that. 1139 00:45:08,010 --> 00:45:08,530 Okay, come. 1140 00:45:08,530 --> 00:45:10,210 Because there's some really interesting things that we're going 1141 00:45:10,210 --> 00:45:12,930 to be talking about and things that might be debated. 1142 00:45:12,930 --> 00:45:14,130 But what I will say is this. 1143 00:45:14,130 --> 00:45:17,570 Today, let's think about how Jesus can change our life. 1144 00:45:17,730 --> 00:45:20,250 And just as much as he changes our life, that's the message that 1145 00:45:20,250 --> 00:45:21,090 we take to other people. 1146 00:45:21,980 --> 00:45:24,060 Like, if I come to somebody and I witness to them and I say, 1147 00:45:24,060 --> 00:45:26,380 okay, hey, look, come to church and you'll. 1148 00:45:26,380 --> 00:45:30,300 And you'll learn how to cook a good, you know, potato salad or you're 1149 00:45:30,300 --> 00:45:32,740 not cooking potato salad, but, you know, preparing a potato salad, 1150 00:45:32,740 --> 00:45:33,900 right, the kapala. 1151 00:45:33,900 --> 00:45:34,860 We're missing the point. 1152 00:45:34,940 --> 00:45:38,260 Hey, come to church and you know, come. 1153 00:45:38,260 --> 00:45:41,100 Come to church and you can learn about what it means to have 1154 00:45:41,100 --> 00:45:41,420 friends. 1155 00:45:42,060 --> 00:45:45,980 Come to church and you can learn what it means to do whatever. 1156 00:45:45,980 --> 00:45:49,980 If we're missing the point of why we come together, that's not. 1157 00:45:49,980 --> 00:45:52,260 Evangelism is not telling people that church can make your 1158 00:45:52,260 --> 00:45:52,780 life better. 1159 00:45:53,180 --> 00:45:58,100 Evangelism is telling people that the word of God and the Gospel 1160 00:45:58,100 --> 00:46:01,940 of Jesus Christ can give them life and eternal life. 1161 00:46:01,940 --> 00:46:02,460 That is. 1162 00:46:02,620 --> 00:46:05,020 And so I want you to think about that as we move forward here 1163 00:46:05,260 --> 00:46:05,820 in this. 1164 00:46:05,820 --> 00:46:06,860 In this study. 1165 00:46:06,940 --> 00:46:08,660 Well, I'm going to ask if you're able to to stand with me, 1166 00:46:08,660 --> 00:46:10,060 every head bowed, every eye closed. 1167 00:46:10,060 --> 00:46:11,820 We're going to have the music playing here. 1168 00:46:12,380 --> 00:46:15,580 And I know that it was somewhat of a different message because 1169 00:46:15,580 --> 00:46:18,140 there was a lot of lead up to Romans 9. 1170 00:46:18,380 --> 00:46:19,500 So I will say this. 1171 00:46:19,820 --> 00:46:21,540 God can speak in different ways. 1172 00:46:21,540 --> 00:46:22,100 We know that. 1173 00:46:22,100 --> 00:46:26,020 We know that God could speak to somebody in one pew about Romans 1174 00:46:26,020 --> 00:46:29,339 1, and God could speak to someone in the other pew about Romans 1175 00:46:29,339 --> 00:46:29,660 8. 1176 00:46:30,620 --> 00:46:34,500 It's not for me to decide how God is speaking to you, but what 1177 00:46:34,500 --> 00:46:38,260 I will say is that the truth of God is presented here this morning 1178 00:46:38,260 --> 00:46:40,840 through the truth of who Jesus Christ is. 1179 00:46:42,680 --> 00:46:44,120 The question might be this. 1180 00:46:44,280 --> 00:46:46,840 This morning, have you trusted in Jesus Christ as your savior? 1181 00:46:46,840 --> 00:46:49,560 Not if you're a good person, not if you're working, not if you're 1182 00:46:49,560 --> 00:46:51,720 trying your best, not if you're going to church. 1183 00:46:52,360 --> 00:46:57,080 But that have you individually trusted in Jesus Christ as your personal 1184 00:46:57,160 --> 00:47:00,480 savior, faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. 1185 00:47:00,480 --> 00:47:01,000 That's it. 1186 00:47:01,800 --> 00:47:05,850 But then secondly, if you have trusted in that, Romans 1, am I ashamed 1187 00:47:05,850 --> 00:47:08,130 of the gospel of Jesus or am I proclaiming it? 1188 00:47:09,410 --> 00:47:13,050 Romans 3, have I recognized that my sin is what has hindered 1189 00:47:13,050 --> 00:47:14,490 me, that has caused me pain? 1190 00:47:14,490 --> 00:47:18,010 And Romans 6, have I trusted in the gift of salvation? 1191 00:47:18,010 --> 00:47:20,970 And if I have trust in the gift of salvation, am I preparing 1192 00:47:20,970 --> 00:47:23,490 that and presenting that to those around me? 1193 00:47:24,450 --> 00:47:27,610 Do I have that type of compassion that Paul has there? 1194 00:47:27,610 --> 00:47:31,330 Do I have that type of desire and brokenheartedness over those 1195 00:47:31,330 --> 00:47:32,450 that are in rebellion? 1196 00:47:32,990 --> 00:47:36,950 If, if not, let's ask this morning for God to give us that type 1197 00:47:36,950 --> 00:47:40,030 of compassion and brokenheartedness and motivation 1198 00:47:40,030 --> 00:47:42,270 to spread the word of the truth of the Gospel. 1199 00:47:42,350 --> 00:47:44,710 Let me tell you who this morning, and I'm not trying to preach 1200 00:47:44,710 --> 00:47:47,950 a second message, but there's so many distractions out here today. 1201 00:47:48,110 --> 00:47:52,390 In our world, the enemy wants you to be distracted from the number 1202 00:47:52,390 --> 00:47:55,470 one mission, and that is the mission of glorifying our Savior 1203 00:47:55,470 --> 00:47:56,830 and telling other people about him. 1204 00:47:57,470 --> 00:48:00,670 If there's anything distracting you from that right now, 1205 00:48:00,670 --> 00:48:03,200 if there's something that's holding you back, if there's something 1206 00:48:03,200 --> 00:48:07,000 that's causing you inner turmoil and darkness and hindrance 1207 00:48:07,000 --> 00:48:10,640 to what God has for you, come this morning and give that over to 1208 00:48:10,640 --> 00:48:10,960 him. 1209 00:48:11,600 --> 00:48:15,120 Ask the Lord to give you wisdom and strength and discernment 1210 00:48:15,200 --> 00:48:19,120 to be busy about the work of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 1211 00:48:20,240 --> 00:48:22,360 Lord, I pray that you'd be in this time of invitation, working 1212 00:48:22,360 --> 00:48:22,960 hearts and lives. 1213 00:48:22,960 --> 00:48:27,000 I pray that you can move us to a place of following you to the best 1214 00:48:27,000 --> 00:48:29,120 of our ability in accordance to your word. 1215 00:48:29,120 --> 00:48:30,240 We thank you for the gospel. 1216 00:48:30,720 --> 00:48:31,560 We're thankful for the hope. 1217 00:48:31,560 --> 00:48:32,720 We're thankful for salvation. 1218 00:48:32,880 --> 00:48:35,160 So I pray that this morning there's someone who needs you, that 1219 00:48:35,160 --> 00:48:38,040 they come forward and see in the Word of God what it means to 1220 00:48:38,040 --> 00:48:39,200 know you as Savior. 1221 00:48:39,200 --> 00:48:41,280 Here today we ask all these things in Jesus name. 1222 00:48:41,360 --> 00:48:41,840 Amen. 1223 00:48:41,840 --> 00:48:44,320 As the music plays, follow as the Lord leads here today. 1224 00:50:15,160 --> 00:50:17,640 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 1225 00:50:17,640 --> 00:50:18,280 podcast. 1226 00:50:18,520 --> 00:50:20,920 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 1227 00:50:21,640 --> 00:50:23,840 You would like to find out more information about our church 1228 00:50:23,840 --> 00:50:27,320 or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org 1229 00:50:27,560 --> 00:50:30,120 or find us on Facebook or YouTube. 1230 00:50:30,840 --> 00:50:35,360 You can also email me directly at Josh Massaroiddletownbaptistchurch 1231 00:50:35,360 --> 00:50:37,880 dot com if you've enjoyed this podcast. 1232 00:50:37,880 --> 00:50:41,970 Please please subscribe and follow along for future podcast and 1233 00:50:41,970 --> 00:50:42,610 updates. 1234 00:50:43,250 --> 00:50:44,210 Thank you so much. 1235 00:50:44,450 --> 00:50:45,170 God Bless. 1236 00:50:45,410 --> 00:50:46,690 Have a wonderful day.