(16)  knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

(19) ” For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God.  (20)  I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh i live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.  (21)  I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”

The letter to the Galatians was written by the Apostle Paul.  Paul had founded Christian churches in southern Galatia and after he moved on, he was alerted that certain “legalizers” from Jerusalem had approached these churches and corrupted the gospel that Paul had preached.   They claimed that Gentile Christians must adhere to the Mosaic Law and be circumcised.   They also questioned Paul’s authority as an apostle.

In Chapter 2 of his letter to the Galatians, Paul stresses his authority as an apostle and as one who received his knowledge of the gospel directly from God.  He writes that the other Apostles recognized his authority as proof of his equal commission.

The verses we study today concern the doctrine of justification through faith in Jesus Christ.  The death of Christ was the death of the Law.  The gospel Paul preached is that justification – where the guilty are pardoned and reinstated as God’s children and fellow heirs with Jesus Christ – is only by faith in Christ.  The gospel is the instrument of our justification and not the law.  Faith is the means, not the source, of justification.  In verse 16 we see that the Apostle Paul repeats this great doctrine of justification three times.   Then Paul ends verse 16 by stating that there is no possibility to be justified  by works done in obedience to any statutes.

Paul continues in this letter by becoming personal and particular.  He declares that he is dead to the law – that he has abandoned all hope of justification and salvation by obeying the law as Christ’s death superseded the law.  It was treated as an end in itself and no one can perform perfect obedience to the law.  Paul had renounced all hopes of justification under the law – there was no further need for sacrifice, purification.  Paul claims life unto God through Jesus Christ – a new life of faith in the free grace given by God to those who become “right” with God through faith in Christ.

Paul closes this chapter by saying that if justification comes under the law – to be the result of works – it is not of grace from faith.  He argues that if salvation is from works, it must follow that Christ died in vain.  Wow.

But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not accordin to man.  (12) For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.

(13) For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it.  (14) And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

(15) But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, (16) to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, (17) nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

(18) Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days.  (19) But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.

The letter to the Galatians was written by the Apostle Paul.  He founded Christian churches in what was known politically as southern Galatia and it is believed this letter was written to those believers.  Paul preached salvation by God’s free grace through faith in Jesus Christ who died for the redemption of sin – he did not teach that conformity to Jewish law and the Jewish rite of circumcision brought salvation to sinners.

After Paul had moved on from the Galatians in his missionary journeys he heard that conservative Jewish teachers – called legalizers – had arrived from Jerusalem.  These legalizers claimed authority from the Christian church in Jerusalem to teach that the converted Christians had to obey the Law of Moses and also be circumcised.  These men challenged Paul’s apostolic authority as a genuine apostle and rejected his teaching.  Paul wrote in response to the subsequent situation in the Galatian churches where the believers were abandoning the gospel.

In the early chapters of this letter Paul writes the story of his life emphasizing that his apostolic teaching came by revelation from God.  He cites the recognition of this authority by the other apostles as confirming his apostolic standing.  Most importantly in this letter Paul addresses the issue of the law providing the path for salvation and states that the basis of salvation is faith in Jesus Christ as redeemer.

Paul stresses that the gospel he preaches is of divine origin –  the conditions and trajectory of his life to the time of his conversion proves he could not have received this gospel from men.  Paul was a “Hebrew of Hebrews” and not only opposed but actively persecuted the early church.  He was a fanatic against the church.  Paul stresses that only God could – and did – accomplish a conversion in him and called him by His grace,  Paul began to preach Christianity immediately.  He insists that he did not consult anyone, particularly the Jerusalem apostles but instead he went to Arabia.  Paul was not under the authority of the Apostles but was on his own.  His revelation was directly from God.  Paul taught that salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ alone and NO work can earn salvation.  Any other thinking contradicts the truth and is a turning away from God.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (2) through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  (3) And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, (4) and perseverance, character; and character, hope.  (5) Now, hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

The letter to the Romans was written by the Apostle Paul.  In earlier chapters of this wonderful letter, Paul has covered the justification of believers through Christ and his saving work.  The beginning word of Chapter 5, Therefore, tells us that the foundation for today’s verses has already been established.  Paul is assuming the reality of justification by faith for himself and his readers.   He is now telling the reader of the blessings/benefits of justification conveyed to the child of God.  Paul’s approach is to show that unsaved, we have been an enemy of God.  Now Paul shows us what we have through Christ.

Paul explains that the believer’s justification is a guarantee of heaven.  It is a source of tremendous blessings in our present life.  And, stunningly, our justification is a lasting thing.   The believer has been found not guilty.  It was something that happened and was completed the moment we believed.  God declared us righteous, never to change His mind.  True faith is a firm conviction and a surrender to that truth.  The believer’s conduct proceeds from that surrender and leads to a genuine changed life.   The true believer will find peace with God – not a state of mind but a relationship outside of ourselves, coming from the finished work of Christ on Calvary.  This life is still a battle but no longer a battle against God.

Paul tells us that the believers standing as children of God is an eternally settled matter.  We get this standing by grace when we believe in Christ and his works and person – by God’s free grace we are justified.  Paul tells us that not only are we to rejoice in this triumph, we are to rejoice in tribulations.   when we are justified we have the innermost presence of the Holy Spirit – and therefore that of Jesus – and that we are not alone.  We are given hope that does not disappoint.  I should repeat that  – the hope that never disappoints.

There are two threats to the assurance of our salvation.  First, that our faith might be fake – the fire of tribulation is a gift from God to prove us (test us) and show that we are real.  Second, the object of our faith might be fake – God’s remedy for this threat is His love in our hearts.  What matters here only is God’s love for us, not our love for God.   Hope is the desire for future good with the confident expectation of getting that future good.  Hope as used here by the Apostle Paul means certainty – it is sure, steadfast.

The truth of Romans, Chapter 5, is that God gives assurance to the Christian believer through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  I find today’s verses breathtaking – that if we are born again and have faith in the person and works of Jesus Christ, we are guaranteed heaven.  I just sit back in wonder at this doctrine that Paul writes of in the magnificent letter to the Romans.

So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

(9) But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.  Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.  (10) And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.  (11) But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

(12) Therefore, brethren, we are debtors – not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.  (13) For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.  (14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.  (15) For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out “Abba, Father.”  (16) The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,  and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him,  that we may also be glorified together.

The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Christian church at Rome in preparation for his intended visit.  This letter is an exposition of the gospel that Paul had been preaching for 20 years.   This epistle is a towering letter of theological principles and great truths set forth for the early church and, as Scripture, is the word of God to us.

The verses we study today concern the fallen nature of man and the bondage that man inherited from the sin of Adam.   The wages of sin is death and unregenerate man in his sinful nature was unable to please God.  All this changed with the acceptable sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and also made man.  He was without sin and became the perfect acceptable  redemptive sacrifice in atonement for the sin of man. 

The very clear text  tells us that fallen man, redeemed by Christ gives the believing, faithful man new life by the grace of God.  The first activity of our new life is faith in Christ and acceptance of God’s gift of eternal life because  as carnal beings we face physical death, spiritual death and eternal death.

Paul then addresses the reader indicating he is now talking to believers -Those whose spirit is alive because Christ lives in them and thus the righteousness of God is imputed to them – they have the life of the spirit.By grace through faith in Christ, we are acceptable to God.  We are justified even though our believer’s body is mortal.  Paul contrasted eternal spiritual life to death of the body.   As redeemed sinners the Holy Spirit lives continually in us.  Paul modified the belief of the Jews that God would raise the dead at the end of this age but he says God has already raised Jesus and this is a sure sign of the future resurrection of the believer.

the effect of the Holy Spirit  living within us is we are now children of God.  The Apostle Paul is teaching privilege with responsibility.    He now tells us how the privileged should live their lives.  Paul begins with But – recipients are not able to act independently.  It is by the Spirit they are being led.  Salvation is God’s gift from start to finish but there is still is an obligation to perform.  There is always the thread that believers by themselves would never be able to fulfill God’s commands – We acknowledge our empowerment only by the in dwelling Spirit and the love of Christ.  We are no longer debtors to the flesh but to Christ and the Spirit.

Spiritual death results in the separation of the soul from God and equates with the loss of eternal life.   Paul is telling us that believers are no longer under condemnation – but God expects moral commitment and personal effort.    Faith is the key to this.  Grace changes the nature of man but nothing can change the nature of sin  It can be destroyed but never cured.   In reading Chapter 8 of Romans we must keep these verses in context, “There is no condemnation for those who are in Jesus Christ”.  If we slip and fall there is no sentence of eternal death. Instead Paul contrasts different lifestyles – the one of Adam and our fallen, sinful nature -that of death – to those believers in Christ.

When we trust in Christ we are superior to the ways of our sinful nature.    Those who are led by the Spirit are sons of God.  This does not mean we are involved in a new bondage like the law where men were moved by fear rather than by faith.  Those being led are progressively sanctified – set apart from the world and becoming holy.

We have been bought from death into a new life. Christ is the pivot in this new life. God raised Jesus from the dead and the believer with Him – triumph is assured if we live after the Christian life   The believing Christian lives In liberty in Christ, led by the Spirit. This does not mean he/she is free to do what they please but this is freedom from the law and the flesh in the Spirit and we are able to please God. Every believer is a child of God – a rightful heir and more, joint heirs with Christ.  This adoption never needs to be repeated and is permanent.  this is the grace of God.  the believer has new standing before God, from grim condemnation to privileged heir.  The believer’s heirship is future hope and present reality. We possess in principle what we look forward to in  full possession

But he, being full of the Holy Spoirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God (56) and said, “Look! I see the heavens opening and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

(57) Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; (58) and they cast him out of the city and stoned him.  And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.  (59) And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”  (60)  Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.”  And when he said this, he fell asleep

The Acts of the Apostles was written by Luke, writer of one of the gospels and historian of the early Church.  After Pentecost, (a Jewish festival celebrated 50 days after Passover –  originally celebrating the first fruits of the harvest and later considered a time for annual renewal of the Mosaic covenant)  the Holy Spirit entered those waiting in a small room in Jerusalem.   There was an explosion of spiritual energy.  The ancient church grew so rapidly in this time of miraculous expansion that the apostles found that they were spending time and energy on tending to the material concerns of the new converts. The solution, to appoint seven ministers/deacons of the early church, included the appointment of Stephen to this ministry.  Luke tells us that Stephen was preaching the gospel while also supervising relief for the poor in his role as deacon.  Apparently his preaching greatly antagonized a faction of the Jewish people and Stephen was brought before the Sanhedrin, the same Jewish Council which had only recently “judged” Christ.

Stephen was accused of blasphemy against Moses and God for he spoke his conviction that God never intended to confine His favors to one place and that the temple would be destroyed and the customs of the ceremonial law would be changed.  Stephen argued that both the temple and the law were figures of things to come.  He claimed that God had been in the world many ages before the holy temple was built and the law given –   Abraham had been called by God before the law and was justified by faith.  David was not allowed to build a temple for God as God was satisfied with the tabernacle built to His specifications. It was not until David’s son, Solomon, was king that God allowed the temple to be built. Stephen said in essence that it was not treason or blasphemy to say that Jesus ended the law and that the temple service, stripped of the ceremony of the old law, had ended.  Stephen emphasized that God could not be confined to temples made with hands.

The verses tell us the story of the first Christian martyr.  Stephen spoke in front of the Sanhedrin and condemned their rejection of God and the gospel.   He compared their actions to  those of their fathers who also rejected the prophets of God.  The men of the Sanhedrin gnashed their teeth – their hatred and rejection of Stephen’s words caused them to act as beasts.  They cried out with loud voices to silence him and excite each other – to drive out reason.  They ran upon him with one accord, all in haste and violence – to terrify and silence him.  They cast him out of the city and stoned him, pretending to execute the law of Moses.  We are told that the executioners took off their upper garments and laid them at the feet of Saul – this is the first we hear of him – later to become the Apostle Paul.

Stephen pulled himself to his kneeS and manifested – by looking at the heavens and speaking in a loud voice – that he saw the glory of God.  He saw Jesus in his human nature so as to be seen by bodily eyes.  He saw Jesus at the right hand of God.  Stephen’s final act was prayer for his persecutors as he knelt and cried out in a loud voice asking for forgiveness for his murderers.  Clearly this terrible event stuck in the mind of Saul, who later as Paul, bitterly regretted his part in this death.

God has a plan – a cosmic plan.  All things work together for good.   It was the martyrdom of Stephen, witnessed and agreed to by Saul/Paul, together with the persecutions that took place at this time that led to the conversion of Paul at the intervention on the road to Damascus.

And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”  (2) Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders about this question.

(22)  Then it pleased the apostles and elders with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas leading men among the brethren.

They wrote this letter by them: 

The apostles, the elders and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:  Greetings.

(24) Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law” – to whom we gave no such commandment – (25) it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, (26) men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  (27)  We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth.  (28) For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:  (29)  that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.  If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.

Chapter 15 of the Acts of the Apostles, written by Luke, concerns the matter of Jewish Christians (Judaizers) who traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch of Syria claiming authority to preach the theological necessity of circumcision and obedience to the Mosaic Law as necessary for salvation to the newly converted Gentile Christians.  This position was also being promoted among Paul’s recent converts in Galatia.  They were firmly opposed by Paul and Barnabus, newly returned to Antioch after their successful first missionary journey – this became such a contentious matter that Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with others of the Antioch congregation, to travel to Jerusalem to meet with the apostles and elders to clarify the position of the ancient church on evangelization of the Gentiles.

Some of the converted Jews still expected a temporal kingdom from the Messiah – they now saw that the Gentiles were included in the salvation of the gospel and wished to extend their hegemony over the Gentiles.  They did not understand or accept what the gospel was telling them.  The position of these men had long been “Except you be circumcized you cannot be saved.”  Paul and Barbabus opposed this.  They knew that Christ unites Jew and Gentile in Himself.  He freed them from the ceremonial law and rites of circumcision.

The apostles, elders and other members of the church discussed this matter at the ensuing Council of Jerusalem.  Luke tells us that Peter, spoke as a missionary, not as head of the Jerusalem church.  Peter spoke. (and i am including his words as quoted in Acts 15: 7-11).

“Men and Brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.  (8) So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, (9) and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.  (10) Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?  (11) But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they”

After Peter  reminded the Council that Paul’s approach to the Gentiles was God’s divine will, Paul and Barnabus spoke of the validation of their missionary policy through “miraculous signs and wonders”.  Then James, the half brother of Jesus and the head of the Jerusalem church,  who presided over the Council, said in effect that the Council cannot oppose the will of God and that Jewish Christians should not stand against the Gentile mission.  The vote of the Council on this matter was unanimous in support of James’s decision and a letter was drafted to be circulated among the Christian churches in affirmation of their position.

The Council of Jerusalem was a hugely important moment in the life of the church.  It recognized that salvation through Jesus Christ was meant for the Jews and the Gentiles and boldy refused to impede the progress Paul had made with the Gentiles.  The Council acknowledged that the Messiah had freed them from the Law.  They had refused to side with the Judaizers and they could not be in opposition to the will of God.

And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, (22) strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”  (23) So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.  (24) And after they had passed through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia.  (25) Now when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.  (26) From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had completed.

(27)  Now when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

The Acts of the Apostles was written by Luke, writer of one of the gospels and occasional traveling companion of the Apostle Paul.  Luke wrote Acts as an historian.  He shows how the message of salvation in Jesus was taught by the ancient church – he also gives us dates, historical context, detailed description of events; all to proclaim the truth of the gospel that was being preached in the early church

The Apostle Paul and his companion, Barnabas, were commissioned by the early church in Antioch to spread the gospel.  In Acts, Luke chronicles how these two witnesses – Paul and Barnabas, went to the Jews in the synagogues first and how they were treated to terribly at Antioch of Pisidia.  As a result, the Apostle Paul, proclaims that his commission to be preacher to the Gentiles was given him by Christ and his power to do so was from the Holy Spirit.  He  then declared he would preach the gospel to Jews and Gentiles together – both are reconciled to God in the one body of Christ.  Paul and Barnabas were exiled from Antioch of Pisidia and they left for Iconium where they spoke to both Jews and Gentiles.  Paul was no longer afraid to give offence to the Jews.  He and Barnabas ventured their souls on the word of God and  the truths  they spoke were confimed by miracles and wonders and signs granted by God. However, Iconium was divided and violence was attempted against the Apostles so they fled to the city of Lystra.

In Lystra, Paul healed – by the power of God – a man lame from birth.  Luke tells us that Paul studied this man and perceived that he had faith enough to be healed.  Ancient Lystra had a pagan background and saw this healing as an action of the gods and they prepared to sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas as to gods themselves.  Greatly upset, Paul and Barnabas rushed to restrain the people and used the occasion to declare that they were just mortal men and God did these miraculous things. People should glorify God, not deify man.   Paul declared that God left as witness to His sovereignity, the rainfall, the light, the fruitful seasons, the fullness and gladness in the hearts of men.  He used the cure of the lame man to introduce the gospel among both Jews and Gentiles – the metaphor is that we are all lame from birth until God puts strength in us.

Certain Jews from Antioch of Pisidia and Iconium came to Lystra and aroused the people – now emotional and confused – to stone Paul and drag his seemingly dead body out of the city.  However, the discliples gathered around Paul and he arose and returned to the city.  The stoning of Paul was not a judicial sentence but mob violence – it was a miracle that Paul could even stand and that these events moved him so little that he reentered Lystra.  But Paul and Barnabas moved on to the city of Derbe.where they preached the gospel.  After some time there they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch to reinforce the foundations of the church thay had planted at these cities.  Paul made sure the believers knew that the only danger was losing their hold on Christ.  The converted were confirmed and the certainty of what Paul preached was reaffirmed –  that they must be bound to God.  The Apostle insisted that the believers must endure tribulation to enter into the kingdom of God.  We have been bought at a price and all His disciples must take up their cross.  We shall not be lost but the joy and glory of God’s kingdom will be our reward.

There was then an organization of a setttled ministry in that ancient church.  Some were ordained to teach, some to preath, to administer gospel ordinances, to instruct, to oversee.  Paul and Barnabas retraced their steps continuing to lay the foundation of the early church and to explain Christ’s teachings and parables.  Finally they returned to Antioch at Syria because that was where the Apostles had been recommended by the grace of God to their missionary journey.  They had fulfilled this journey and gathered the Church together at Antioch to give them an account of all God had done through them.  It was especially important to tell them how God had shown them that the Gentiles were included – not only invited to believe but touched by God’s grace to accept His offer of salvation.

(14) But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down.

(43) Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.

(44) On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.  (45) But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul.  (46) Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.  (47) For so the Lord has commanded us:

‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles

That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth’ “.

(48) Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord.  And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.

(49) And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region.  (50) But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from their region.  (51) But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and came to Iconium.  (52) And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

When the Apostle Paul traveled on his missionary journeys – given the commission by the Holy Spirit – it was his custom to put on his rabbinical robes and go first to the temple to address the Jews.  Chapter 13 is written to show justification of Paul in turning from the Jews, who not only rejected the gospel he was ordained by God to preach, but to show how Paul turned to the Gentile world – a great offense to the Jews.

 In the passage we are reading today, Luke, as writer of Acts of the Apostles, records that there were also devout proselytes (God fearing Gentiles who followed the Law)  who were in attendance that first Sabbath at Antioch of Pisidia.  Paul preaching began with a review of the history of Israel with an emphasis on Israel being the chosen and covenantal nation of God.  The Apostle Paul made use of the Scriptures to show that Christ was the Messianic deliverer promised to Israel.  The heart of his talk was that Jesus was crucified as prophesied and laid in a tomb and then, raised from the dead.  That Jesus was indeed resurrected was witnessed to by the Apostles and many others who were still living at the time of Paul’s address at Antioch of Pisidia. The cornerstone of Paul’s message is that salvation is not earned by following the Law but justification comes only by and through faith in Jesus Christ.

Many of those present at this Sabbath worship asked Paul and Barnabas to return the following Sabbath and to talk further on this Messianic message.   Paul and Barnabus had established their policy of speaking the “good news” first to the Jew and then to the Gentile.  When almost the whole town showed up on the next Sabbath to listen to the words of Paul the Jews became envious.  They showed contempt for his words and went out of their way to condemn them, not because they did not believe the gospel but because they were resolved not to believe and wanted to shut out the words of conviction spoken by Paul.  The Gentiles were as willing to listen as the Jews were not.  The Gentiles wanted what the Jews refused.  Not all Jews turned away – and Paul, a Hebrew of Hebrews, is a prime example.

Paul’s direction was always to first speak to the Jews of redemption and salvation through Jesus Christ – they were the nation to whom the promise was made and to whom Christ was first sent.  The Jews were outraged and opposed the preached doctrine.  They turned to contradiction and blasphemy.  Now the Apostle Paul openly declared the end of his obligation to the Jews and declared his intention of bringing Christ to the Gentiles. Also, Paul and Barnabus became bold and as they had no more fear of offending the Jews.

Paul and Barnabus were expelled from the town  and shook off the dust from their sandals.  This was somewhat ceremonial and the equivalent of declaring they would have nothing more to do with them – let them keep what was theirs which was nothing more than dust.  Paul had made an offer of the gospel and this action proved that he had been there for Christ and the message had been rejected.  Paul and Barnabus left –  they showed no fear or grief but felt elated and filled with joy and trust in Christ.  Whatever difficulties lay ahead they were filled with the Holy Spirit.

And when they had brought them, they set them before the council.  And the high priest asked them, (28) saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name?  And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!”

But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: ” We ought to obey God rather than men.  (30)  The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you            murdered by hanging on a tree.  (31) Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.  (32)  And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

(40b)  they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus and let them go.  (41)  So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.

The Acts of the Apostles was written by Luke as both historical testimony and chronicle of the early Church.  Luke also wrote one of the four Gospels,   was a Gentile, a convert to Christianity, a missionary and a companion of the Apostle Paul. Luke begins Acts by recording that the apostles were commanded by Jesus to be witnesses for Him and to make disciples of all nations to the ends of the earth.

On the Jewish feast of Weeks on the Day of first fruits,  which fell on the 50th day after the Sabbath of the Passover, the gift of the Holy Spirit, promised by Christ descended upon the apostles.   The Apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit and even though forbidden by the Sanhedrin to speak of Jesus or teach in His name, they continued their teaching with boldness.There were signs and wonders accompanying the teaching of the Apostles and many were converted – remember the early church began in Jerusalem, taught by the Jewish apostles to the Jewish people.  For a second time the Apostles were arrested by the orders of the high priest, the Apostles having ignored the orders of the Jewish Council not to preach the gospel.   Luke records that during the night, an angel of the Lord released them from the jail and told them to go back to the temple to teach publicly the word of God.   When the Sanhedrin sent for the prisoners they  were told that the jailers were in place, the prison doors were shut but the prisoners were not only not there but they had returned to the Temple to teach the people.  This lack of fear shown by these Jewish followers of Christ who was crucified at the behest of the same Council is astounding.

So the Apostles were sent for and came peaceably.  When they were charged with disobeying the orders of the first judgment and the further charge of sedition – setting the people against the Jewish leaders for persecuting to death Jesus, who was the promised Messiah,   Peter responded that God’s authority was superior to that of the Sanhedrin.  Interestingly, this was a reaffirmation of the position of the Apostles, rather than a reasoned defence of their teaching –  The Apostles claimed to be witnesses to Christ, appointed by Him to preach this word of repentance and salvation to the world – not only this but the Holy spirit had been given to the Apostles to glorify Christ and prove that his doctrine is divine.

Furious at this perceived insurrection, Luke tells us that Gamaliel – a Pharisee, Elder of the Sanhedrin, Doctor of the Law, student of the Old Testament and teacher of the Apostle Paul – rose to address and advise the Council that if the accused were acting as on their own they would fail on their own.  However, if they were from God nothing would defeat God.   The Sanhedrin agreed to check their rage and they beat (scourged) the Apostles and commanded them again to speak no more in the name of Jesus.

Instead, after what should have been a humiliating and horribly painful punishment, the Apostles considered it an honor that their suffering could be useful to further the Gospel and were grateful that they were considered worthy to be dishonored for Christ.  They joyfully continued to preach even though commanded not to do so.  They were on fire with the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.

And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people.  And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch.  (13) Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly.  (14) And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, (15) so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them.  (16) Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

The Acts of the Apostles has been traditionally believed to have been written by Luke;  a Gentile, a companion of the Apostle Paul and the writer of one of the Gospels.  This book of the New Testament chronicles the early days of the Church and deals mostly with the “acts” of Peter and Paul and their ministerial work.  Luke wrote as an historian and states that the purpose of Acts was to proclaim the truth of the gospel that was being preached “so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.”  Luke shows how the message of salvation in Jesus was taught by the ancient church – he also gives us dates, historical context, detailed description of events all with regard to the spread of the Word of salvation in Christ Jesus.

The early church began in Jerusalem and spread to the centers of the known world, even to the capital city of Rome under the direction of the Holy Spirit – a message of a process of salvation that finally freed itself from the legalism and lifestyle of the Jewish people.  Acts was meant also to show that Christianity was the culmination and fulfillment of Israel’s hope.  The date of this book almost certainly precedes the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.  It ends with the Apostle Paul enduring his first imprisonment in Rome in 64 A.D.

There was an explosion of spiritual energy at Pentecost and the apostles were on fire with the Word they had been instructed to preach to all nations.  The Jewish high priests and Sadducees were clearly disturbed about an upset to the status quo – there was much popular support of the proclamation that Israel disowned and killed Jesus who was the Messiah and whom God raised from the dead.  The miracles the apostles worked proved their divine mission – not just a few works but many and diverse works.  These wonders were the sign of divine presence and power and these works were not done in secret but in full presence of the people who would witness and verify them.

That the apostles (all Jewish men)  met in Solomon’s Porch indicates they met in the temple in an open place – another sign of god’s work that the high priests let this public worship continue despite their hatred and envy and condemnation of Christianity.  It is also stated that the apostles were of one accord – unanimous in doctrine, worship and discipline.  The wonders and signs gained the apostles great respect – a recognition of the truth of what was being taught.

The early Church grew by great numbers.  The fact that Luke mentions the multitudes grew both of men and women gives us an insight that the apostles were inclusive as they had been taught by Jesus.  The apostles were presented with many afflicted and their reputation and the acceptance by the faithful of the gospel was enhanced by the cures of those people.   I want to add here that the apostles were not magnifying themselves but the works they performed were done to transmit the glory of Christ.  As it was not likely that the Jewish leaders would let these afflicted be brought to the temple and Solomon’s Porch in their jealousy and rage, Luke tells us that the sick were brought into the streets hoping even that the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on them telling us that people of that ancient world believed that Peter possessed magical powers.

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.  (2) Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.  (3) For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God  (4) When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

St. Paul wrote the letter to the Colossians in roughly 62 A.D. during his first imprisonment in Rome.  The occasion of this letter was news of heretical teaching in Colosse.  Paul is tying his ethical teaching to the doctrine of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Redeemer.  The heresies that are alluded to in this epistle seem to indicate an emphasis on the law – circumcision as necessary; certain dietary restrictions; observance of holy days.  Also prevalent was  false teaching relegating Christ to a minor place in the system, with claims that there were other powers that needed to be placated and worshipped.   There was also the error of asceticism – teaching that the body is evil and must be treated as such.  There was an undercurrent of the occult and mysterious.

.  Paul is instructing the Colossians to  concentrate on the eternal realities of heaven.  At the time he was answering the false teachers in Colosse who were instructing the faithful to concentrate on temporal observances.   Paul is saying that those who are saved ought to live worthy of that salvation.   Proper conduct is being taught.  Chapter 3 of Colossians is concerned with practical Christianity and Paul addresses this by emphasizing the believer’s relationship with Christ.  We are to abandon our old life and begin our new life in union with Christ.  We should be aware that the pagan religions of that ancient time said nothing about personal morality – what a person believed or offered had no direct relationship with how he/she behaved.  Christianity is different.  If we have been raised with Christ we have been given a new life, thus sharing His resurrection from the dead.   We are resurrected with Christ and the application of that doctrine is to live in practical holiness in relation to ourselves and others.   This is an ongoing, daily process known as sanctification.

Paul explains the futility of trying to live a spiritual life relying on our fallen selves and legalistic guidance – only because of their resurrection with Christ will true believers realize a new power by which the believer can live a true spiritual life.  Paul is saying that our (the believer’s) resurrection with Christ is a fact –  he has no doubts about that.  The gospel makes clear the freeness and firmness of grace.  We either doubt this or enter into conscious friendship with God.  We make the decision to accept the free unearned gift of grace from God through faith in Christ Jesus.

C.S. Lewis, in his wonderful book, The Great Divorce, says that just to be born means an everlasting surrender to God or an everlasting divorce from Him. This decision is ours –  This is the message of Easter.

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, (6) who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, (7) but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.  (8) And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.  (9) Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, (10) that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, (11) and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

St. Paul wrote the epistle to the Philippians while he was imprisoned in Rome.  This letter is a very personal and joyful letter but also Paul addresses Christological theology and it’s practical application.   The verses we are studying today focus on the great humility and selflessness of Christ Jesus.  The Apostle Paul begins this beautiful passage by commanding that believers display the same attitude of service and humility, that Jesus has shown.  Paul then writes that Jesus is God but put this aside to be made in the likeness of man in the form of a servant.  Christ did not empty himself of His deity but of it’s outward manifestation and added to it a complete human nature of His free will and choice.   Christ always existed and Christ came into the world in the likeness of man – as a real man.  He was true God and true man which no created mind can fully understand.  Jesus Christ possessed the essence of God’s nature from all eternity.  He is the image of the invisible God.  He humbled himself and carried out His obedience even to dying – dying the death of crucifixition, which death was denied to a Roman citizen as too cruel.

Paul then writes that Chist’s exaltation was as great as His humiliation and God raised Him to be above every name – that every knee should bow to his name on earth, above in heaven and those under the earth; that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  God will not leave one single created intelligent being who does not acknowledge Jesus as Lord – even the fallen, the unredeemed.  Even hell will confess that Jesus is Lord.

Jesus is the final and complete explanation of everything.  All things were created through Him and for Him.  Amen

Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ (9) and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; (10) that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,  (11) if, by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

(12)  Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.  (13)  Brethren I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.  (14) I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

The Epistle to the Philippians was written by the Apostle Paul during the time of his first imprisonment in Rome.  This very personal letter was written in a joyful spirit, thanking the faithful in Philippi for send a “gift” and it does not seem that he felt it was necessary to address any  serious underlying problems in that Church.  Paul expands on his relationship to Christ as a model for the faithful – and the warnings he mentions are of a  more cautionary and preventative nature than a rebuke.

The very important message that the Apostle Paul want to convey is that he is a new man in Christ – that what her formerly felt made him a righteousness man with God actually accounted for nothing.  Paul is saying that the acts that men perform – compliance with what the Mosaic law demanded – are meaningless without faith in Christ.  Man’s acts are nothing for salvation.  Man cannot earn salvation.

Using bookkeeping terms, Paul is saying that those things that would count as a gain – obeying the law and practising good works – he now knows that these are a loss.  The Law actually kept him from gaining knowledge of Christ and justification through faith in Christ.  Christ alone is our treasure.  Paul’s previous gain was only on a human plane and in the eyes of men – with his conversion his world was turned upside down and what was gain is shown to be loss – or rubbish.  Personal uprightness means nothing.  God’s righteousness is offered by God’s unmerited grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

The gain that Paul writes of is the gain of our soul – to gain spiritual knowledge of Christ is our foundation and is life transforming.  Paul urges  seeking an ongoing personal relationship with Christ and deems all meaning for this life in Christ.  Paul’s union with Christ was possible only because God imputed Christ’s righteousness to him (Paul) so that it was reckoned by God as Paul’s own.

It is impossible to have this right standing with God on our own.  God is totally righteous and all that he commands, demands, approves and all that He provides is through Christ.  Acceptance with God cannot be accomplished by man’s own supposed merits.  Faith in Christ sets us free from this onerous and useless task.  What Paul wants is not self realization but growing knowledge of Jesus Christ – and that leads to every phase of his life being Christ centered.  There should be a break with our old worldly life – a finality – a new life has been given us as we have been justified by a risen Saviour.  Paul has expectation and hope of attainment of the goal of salvation although he is absolutely certain about our future resurrection.  He does not want any misunderstanding by the Philippians when he states that “I have not attained it.”  Paul is stating that he is working on progression with the goal of sanctification.  Again Paul uses the metaphor of the Greek runner of the early Olympic games.  He urges us to repent, confess our sins and make a break with the past but to keep our eyes steadily on the goal and the prize which is the upward call of God in Christ.  This call is the invitation from God to accept this salvation.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.  (18) Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,  (19) that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

(20) Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us:  we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.  (21) For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

The Second Letter to the Corinthians was written by the Apostle Paul.  It is generally believed that there was a “severe letter” written to the Christians at Corinth addressing deteriorating conditions within the church undermining Paul’s authority and this letter was written between 1st and 2nd Corinthians.  This letter has not survived.  Paul wrote 2 Corinthians in response to favorable reports of the reaction to the severe letter;  to encourage the Christians at Corinth to contribute to the Jewish Christian poor at Jerusalem;  to express his affection for them;  to emphasize his apostolic authority and to expand on his pastoral teachings.

The verses we are studying today from this pastoral letter discuss the theology of the consequences of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and concern regeneration and reconciliation.    Man’s old thoughts and practices are to be replaced with a new heart and a new nature.  This regeneration is grounded in grace through faith whereby we become new people in Christ – all the old has passed away.

Reconciliation is a privileged gift from God.  Man was separated from God because of a breach of faith and sin entered the world.  God was willing to be reconciled with man and this was accomplished by the death of Jesus on the cross.  Jesus was a man without sin who became sin sacrificed for our redemption.  God is the initiator of this reconciliation and entered into a new covenant of grace – freely justifying by grace all those who believe.  Reconciliation is an accomplished fact and also an ongoing process.  It must be personally appropriated.  Humankind must accept what God has done.

Paul writes that God has communicated this message of reconciliation to him and to the other apostles to administer the gospel on Christ’s behalf.  All that remains for men to do is receive what God has effected.

Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, (2) all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink.  For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.  (5) But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

(6) Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.

(10) nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer.  (11) Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

(12) Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

First Corinthians was written by the Apostle Paul in answer to theological questions and practical problems of daily living  faced by the Corinthians in the earliest days of the Church.  In today’s verses Paul is presenting several examples of sins of the Israel nation at the time of Moses.  Israel had a covenantal relationship with God and enjoyed many blessings and the miraculous deliverance from Egypt but still displayed disobedience and unbelief in God.  The Israelites all passed through the Red Sea, they were under God’s sure guidance of th pillar of the cloud for protection and leadership; they were provided with food and drink from the heavens and from the very rocks.  Still they became idolaters, sexually promiscuous, and murmured against the Lord for bringing them out of Egypt – this protest reached the final provocation at Kadesh Barnea where the Israel nation feared to go forward into the promised land and expressed a desire to return to Egypt and a fear of death in the desert.  God saw their unbelief in spite of all the miracles and signs and only 2 faithful men – Caleb and Joshua – of all those who left Egypt, entered the promised land.  the rest died during plagues and the years of wandering in the desert.

The Apostle Paul is warning the Corinthians against false security by using the examples of the Jews – of the many privileges they enjoyed but they were terribly punished by God for their many sins and we have the record of their history as an example of what not do do as Christians.  Men may enjoy many and great spiritual privileges in this world and yet come short of eternal life.   Some of the Corinthians seem to have also murmured against Paul and in him, against Christ.  Such conduct was very provoking to God and likely to bring swift destruction.  The history of the Jews was written to instruct and warn the Corinthians and us.  If we think we have standards we should take heed of failure – if we are confident and secure we should be on guard.  Others have fallen and this is most likely to happen if we fear no failure and are not on guard against it.  God has not promise to keep us from falling and we must exercise our own care and caution.

Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.  (18) For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:  (19) whose end  is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame – who set their mind on earthly things.   (20) For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, (21) who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

4:1  Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.

The Apostle Paul wrote the letter to the Philippians while in prison, probably in Rome.  This letter is a letter of joy and it is clear that Paul felt that he would soon be a free man. However,  in the verses we study today, Paul is concerned with the conduct of the Philippians – in the early church there was no code of conduct.  Paul invites them to imitate him –  he knew how to live with integrity.  He warns that there were false apostles and false teachers and while the people could not see Jesus but they could see Paul and compare him to the false teachers.   The Apostle makes his behaviour a standard of a new life in Christ.  Paul also encourages the Philippians to watch those who followed the pattern of his life.  I am reminded here of the saying in Alcoholics Anonymous:  “stick with the winners.”

Paul is concerned with enemies of the cross of Christ – those openly hostile and a hindrance to the spread of the gospel.  This warning was against those who professed to be Christians but lived as citizens of this world.  Paul declares that the end of these people is destruction.  By declaring this terrible outcome Paul is saying that such people will suffer total ruin – utter and hopeless loss.  Their existence would end in a destruction which would consist of the loss of eternal life – a separation from God with no possibility of a bridge between the sinner and God.  Their god is their body and temporal pleasures.  Their highest good is to satisfy themselves against God and the inner conviction of their own consciences.  Their glory is their shame and they think it freedom but are slaves to lusts.  They are insensitive to shame which is not a feeling but an experience and they sin against God.  The consciousness of these men is so dulled that they find delight in their sins and they love what they should hate, hate what they should love.  Such men make the standards of the world their standards.

Paul’s point is that we are to be citizens of heaven, not citizens of earth.  Christianity centers on Jesus Christ, and deeds are evidence of what men truly believe.  These men set their minds and the mind set is on the flesh and hostile to God. 

We are born again by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and become citizens of a heavenly kingdom and are given an entirely new set of standards by which to conduct our lives and function as citizens of the kingdom of heaven.  We need to live in such a way that others will see we are different.  Our bodies will be transformed – no more death, disease, sorrow, but an inward spiritual transformation in which we are delivered finally and forever from sin.    Eternal truths do exist and are not limited by time and sensibility.  Paul made it clear that there is an eternal destiny for the body and we have a responsibility as to how to use the body.

Paul turns from the “enemies of the cross” to believers.  He weeps over the one but is filled with joy at the other and contemplates their coming glory.  We have been bought at a price and he commands us to stand firm – persevere – press on toward the goal for the prize.

Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?  (16) For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen.  (17) And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!  (18) Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.  (19) If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.  (20) But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

The Apostle Paul wrote this first letter to the Corinthians to correct the early Christians there and to clarify and remind them of the foundational doctrines he had taught them.   Paul wrote the first 11 verses of Chapter 15 to establish  direct evidence of the resurrection of Jesus by citing Scripture and remind his readers of eyewitnesses to the resurrected Christ:  Jesus appeared to Peter and to a gathering of more than 500 people – many of whom were still alive; to James , the half brother of Jesus; to the disciples and also to Paul.  Now, the Apostle Paul proceeds to argue that because Jesus had risen, it must follow that His people would also rise from the dead.  If it is impossible and absurd that the dead will rise, it is impossible and absurd to think that Christ has risen.   If there is a denial that Christ has risen then there is a denial if Christianity altogether.

Paul follows this by saying that if Christ were not raised up His followers are unpardoned sinners.  If Christ was not raised up He was an imposter and our hopes of forgiveness are  in vain.    If the resurrection of Christ were not true, all Christians who had died had failed of salvation and had been destroyed – their bodies lie in graves and will turn to dust and their souls are destroyed.   All are delusional with their hopes in vain.  This unbelief strikes at the heart of our convictions of what is right and true.  And we of all men are to be pitied.

But now is Christ risen and of this Paul is certain. He has presented irrefutable testimony of the resurrection of Jesus and he, Paul, has seen the risen Christ.   Christ is not merely the first in the order of resurrection but first of the risen of all the dead.

Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand,  (2) by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you – unless you believed in vain.

(3) For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received:  that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, (4)  and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, (5) and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.  (6)  After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.  (7) After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.  (8) Then last of all He was seen by me also as by one born out of due time.

(9) For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.  (10) But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I but the grace of God which was with me.  (11) Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

The Apostle Paul founded the Church in Corinth and he is writing to them to correct reports of strife and dissension.   Chapter 15 of this first letter to the Corinthians is devoted entirely to the doctrine of the resurrection without which Christianity would be little more than wishful thinking.

In the ancient world there were many views of death.  The Sadducees denied life after death; many believed the body was the source of our weakness and sin – the Greeks thought immortality was a spiritual concept and there was no place for the resurrection of the physical body –  matter is evil.  There was nothing in the Greek background of the Gentile that said there was a resurrection of the dead.  They in general believed in the immortality of the soul but not of the body.  The resurrection of Christ is the central truth that the Apostle Paul preached  and the personal experience of transformation culminating in resurrection was not easily accepted in Corinth.

Paul repeats that he has received the gospel and has preached that gospel to the Corinthians – that the Corinthians have received what Paul has received.  He is emphasizing that no man has invented the gospel or discovered it for himself.  Paul says that he has received this from Christ.  This same gospel on which they stand is thus the foundation and certainty that there is salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  Christ died an atoning death and was buried and rose from the dead.  Paul does not want to introduce new truth but wants to remind the Corinthians of the doctrine of death of Christ and the resurrection.  Without this truth there is no religion.  Our salvation depends on this.

Paul writes that this essential truth of the resurrection is historically supported by the Scriptures and by the fact that the risen Christ was seen first by Cephas (Peter) and then by over 500 witnesses – many of whom are alive and some even known by the Corinthians – and also James, the half brother of Christ.  And then, Christ was seen by Paul.

The design here is to affirm the doctrines of the great undeniable and fundamental truths of Christianity which are essential to salvation.  My personal favorite, C.S. Lewis pointed out in his talk titled “The Grand Miracle” that “…the Christian story is precisely the story of one grand miracle, the Christian assertion being that what is beyond all space and time, what is uncreated, eternal, came into nature, into human nature, descended into His own universe, and rose again,, bringing nature up with him.  It is precisely one great miracle.  If you take that away there is nothing specifically Christian left.”

But earnestly desire the best gifts.  And yet I show you a more excellent way.  (13:1)  Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or clanging cymbal.  (2) And though i have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  (3) And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

(4) Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; (5)  does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;  (6) does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;  (7) bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

(8) Love never fails.  But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.  (9) For we know in part and we prophesy in part.  (10)  But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

(11)  When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when i became a man, I put away childish things.  (12) For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face.  Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

(13) And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

The Apostle Paul wrote this first letter to the Corinthians as an occasional letter – in response to news that the Church in Corinth was rife with dissension, jealousy and envy.  Paul had written earlier in this letter that the gifts of the Holy Spirit received by the Corinthians were meant to be used for each other and the glory of God. Instead, these gifts were such a source of such contention that the unity of the Church was almost destroyed.  Paul wrote to correct abuses and in in Chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians he addresses the spirit and manner in which the Corinthian Christians must observe to please God.  This chapter on the superiority of love may be the most quoted chapter of Scripture in the New Testament.

Love is permanent in contrast with the gift of prophecy, tongues and knowledge.  These all will cease to exist because they will not be needed.  We will have perfect knowledge and understanding.  Without a “heart” of love we are worth no more to God than the sounds of a brass trumpet or the inharmonious sound of a cymbal.   Prophecy and knowledge and faith all must spring from love for God and man or they are worthless and we are nothing.  The things described by the Apostle Paul are the gifts which were in the highest repute not only to the Jews but also amount the Christians and Gentiles.  Paul says that these gifts, without love, are of no use to the man who has and enjoys them..   He follows with a description of the love God recommends.

Love never fails as it is our bridge to God Who never fails.  It supports all graces and is essential to our religious and social life.  Hope shall be answered;, prophecies shall be rendered useless; tongues unnecessary and human knowledge useless.  We know in part – we know so little of earthly things and even less of heavenly things – how deficient we would be without love.

Our future state of blessedness is as far beyond any perfection we can attain in this life as our initial state of being a child and then reaching  maturity .  In our present state we see only as through a glass darkly.  (In ancient times people would see images of themselves through a reflector made of polished metal – an obscure image.)  But, in the eternal unseen world we will see face to face – and be seen.  We now know only in part but God’s great design has length, breadth and heights that we cannot know or imagine in our present imperfect state.

So, we have faith, hope and charity,  We have faith to keep us walking with God; hope that we can expect future blessedness and endure.  Both of these are necessary and useful but the fulfilling of the law is love.  God is love and by love we resemble Him.  Faith and hope respect ourselves but love takes in God and man.  Love remains through eternity.

(12)  For, as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. (13) For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free – and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.  (14)  For, in fact the body is not one member but many. 

(27)  Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually

First Corinthians was written by the Apostle Paul – this was an occasional letter – in response to reports he received that there was trouble in the Christian Church established in Corinth.  In the verses we look at today, Paul compares the church of Christ to the human body – one body may have many members; eyes, ears, hand, foot, etc. but many members of the same body make but one body.  “So also is Christ.”  The Christian Church has one head and one body;  all Jews and Gentiles, slave and free become members by baptism but it is by the Spirit –  drinking into the one Spirit – that makes us true members of Christ’s body.  Baptism is the outward rite and baptism by the Spirit is the internal rite.

There is a distinction of members in the body and it is the same with the body of Christ.  Members have different uses and accordingly, different gifts.  God has set the members as it pleases Him.  Paul tells us that there is no cause for envy of others and nothing to quarrel over as to the distribution of gifts for we must keep in mind always the sovereignty of God.   We are in some degree mutually dependent and should therefore be mutually caring for each other.  Just as with the members of our natural body, the pain of one part affects the whole and the pleasure of one part impacts the whole, so should the members of the body of Christ be honored with their fellow Christians and suffer with them also.

In verse 27, the Apostle Paul sums up his argument:  Every Christian is a member of the body of Christ, not the whole body.  Christians have a relationship to each other, a mutual dependence and should have a mutual bond of care and concern.

(34) Then Peter opened his mouth and said:  “In truth I perceive that God Shows no partiality.  (35) But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.  (36) The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ – He is Lord of all – (37) that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached:  (38) how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil,  for God was with Him.

Acts of the Apostles was written by Luke and is a history of the early church.  Jesus commanded his disciples to go and preach the gospel to all of the known world just before he left them.  The Apostles were also told to stay together in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit would come to them and they would be given power and strength to preach the gospel.  When one considers that the Apostles fled the Garden of Gethsemane the night that Jesus was arrested – and that Peter denied Christ three times that terrible night – one can begin to realize just how far these uneducated, terrified men had come since the crucifixion of Jesus.

The Apostles were all Jewish men.  They were raised to believe that Israel was set aside as a monotheistic nation that alone would receive God’s favor.  The Law and the traditions of Israel strictly forbade certain foods and practices to the Jewish nation – indeed, the Gentiles were considered unclean.  Now Peter has a vision in which God tells him that there are no further barriers of food or fellowship to the Jewish man and his neighbor.  Up to this point the Jewish Christians resisted evangelization of the Gentiles or any acceptance of Gentiles as Christians without a relationship to Judaism.  Peter was the chosen instrument in this opening of the door and the Jerusalem church subsequently accepted a Gentile conversion to Jesus as Messiah apart from any allegiance to Judaism.

At the same time Peter had his vision,  a man named Cornelius, a centurion or captain of men in the Italian – read Roman and superior – regiment, had a vision in which he is told to send for Peter and Peter will tell him about Christ.  When Peter arrives and enters the house of Cornelius where he has assembled his household,  Peter begins to teach what they already know – the account of Jesus of Nazareth that has been proclaimed in all Judea and Galilee – and then Peter begins to teach what they did not know.  The importance of this story is God has now clearly shown that Jesus Christ is the Messiah to all men.  There is no more wall between the Jew and the Gentile.  Christianity is both exclusive and inclusive.  Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life – no one shall know God except through Him –  and He is also the Messiah and High Priest for all who believe.  A powerful message indeed and God has made it known that forgiveness and salvation is for all men.

(2) if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, (3) how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery

(5) which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:  (6) that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel

The letter to the Ephesians was written by the Apostle Paul to encourage and strengthen a congregation and/or planted churches.  The intention was that the audience would understand the underlying concept of “spiritual reality” behind the numerous groups that met all over Asia.  Paul did not deal with particular issues in Ephesians but he taught doctrine in terms of the fellowship of Christians in Christ’s church.  In today’s verses Paul reminds us that he was ordained an apostle by Jesus Christ.  He talks of dispensation or stewardship – God entrusted Paul with great truths and Paul was obliged to communicate these with others.

Paul writes here that the Gentiles are fellow heirs in the kingdom of God with the Jews – fellow members of one body, fellow partakers of the promise of Christ in the gospel – that’s the relationship that did not exist in the Old Testament – that’s the mystery.  In Paul’s writing alone we find this doctrine of the Church.  This was a difficult truth for the Jews to accept.

The Apostle Paul taught that the Jews and the Gentiles are co-heirs solely by the grace of God with the focus on this as an unearned gift.  This new equality of the Gentiles was a bitter pill for the Jews to swallow –  the differences which had seemed so large are reduced to nothing.

(5) Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:

“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,

But a body You have prepared for Me.

(6) In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin

You had no pleasure.

(7) Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come –

In the volume of the book it is written of Me –

To do Your will, O God.'”

(8) Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law),  (9) then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.”  He takes away the first that He may establish the second.  (10) By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

The author of Hebrews is unknown but the audience of this letter is Jewish Christians,  who are in danger of renouncing their commitment to Jesus Christ as Messiah.  The author makes extensive use of scripture to argue that the Old Testament points to the utter finality of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that effectively established the New Covenant.  The writer of Hebrews clearly regards God as the author of Scripture.

In Chapter 10 of Hebrews, the author contrasted the substance of the once and for all blood sacrifice of Jesus crucified with the “shadow” repetitive sacrifices of the Old Testament.   To leave Christ in Judaism would be to choose shadow over the real thing.  Nothing could be said that would be more contrary to Jewish belief and law about the efficacy of repetitive sacrifice as opposed to the final and sufficient sacrifice of Christ.  The Jews would not question the authority of the Old Testament and the author quotes Psalm 40 and Jeremiah to bolster his argument.  The importance of these verses are to show that Hebrews is not coming up with a new idea of religion but simply saying the Scriptures have pointed to Jesus as the Messiah all along.

Jesus comes into the world as one who created the world and as one who has a specific purpose.  The perfect obedience and perfect satisfaction demanded by God was fulfilled by Jesus.  Jesus declared that not only had He come to do the Father’s will but to meet the demands of the Law with perfect righteousness – perfect obedience to the will of God.  This was God’s plan of redemption.

(1) Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!  Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.  (2) Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

(21) Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.  (22) And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.  (23) And this is His commandment:  that we should believe on the name of the Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.  (24) Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him.  And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

This pastoral letter was written by the Apostle John and the Catholic Church designated these verses to be read on the Sunday before Christmas.

  The failure of the world to know God is one of the themes of John’s gospel and he returns to it here.  The world did not recognize Christ as God and did not know/cannot know or relate to those who by faith are the children of God.  Those who live in the world are those living in the material world of darkness.  The believers – those who are the faithful recipients of God’s gift of love earned, not by man, but by the redemptive sacrifice of Christ – are those who live in the light.

 John is writing about the basis for our new birth being the Father’s great love.  Our priority must be relationship over service/works  – our service must be grounded in our love for God.  John opens  this new chapter with the command to Behold – to pay attention and consider who we were and who we are now.  He uses the word agape when referring to this astonishing love – the verb is always active and means love as an act of will, not merely an emotional reaction.  Love may involve emotion but always involves action.  Agape is unrestricted, unrestrained and unconditional.  Agape love is the prerequisite love for all love.  The Father’s great love should teach us about our relationships with one another.  This love is a gift – and the use of the word for bestow means to make a gift of/ to confer.  We cannot earn this love and this great love is not just for a period of time but for all eternity.  This love which results in the believers being called children of God is a permanent gift.  Behold indeed!!!!

We celebrate Christmas as a reminder of the incarnation which was the beginning of our deliverance from the curse of death.  Quoting C.S. Lewis  “The Son of God became man to enable man to become the Son of God.  What a fabulous message and what a wonderful gift we have been given.  Merry Christmas.

(4)  Rejoice in the Lord always.  Again I will say, rejoice!

(5 )Let your gentleness be known to all men.  The Lord is at hand.

(6)  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; (7) and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

I love these verses.  The Apostle Paul commands his readers to Rejoice in the Lord always.   Our joy is meant to be continual.  Paul wants the Philippians to have a full appreciation of their connection with Christ – to exult in Him not as an abstraction but as a living person.    It is so refreshing to think of salvation as a happy event; a happy union with Jesus and a time when believers shall be raised up with eagle’s wings.  Remember that this is a command and a calling for a lifestyle of joy with a deep seated belief that God is in charge of everything for the believer’s good.  Alll is well no matter what the circumstances.  We rejoice not in circumstance, but in Christ.

There was a belief at the time of writing Philippians that the Second Coming of Christ was near or that death could usher the believer into His presence at any time.  Some believe that this is what Paul was referring to when he wrote The Lord is at hand.  But Paul also felt the constant presence of Jesus.   True Christianity does not postpone the presence of Christ but lives in the sense that He is.

It follows that we should stop being fearful and/or anxious.  The use of the present tense calls for this to be habitual and we are to worry about nothing because we are to pray about everything.  God is in control.  This is not meant to belittle trouble but it is an order as to how to deal with circumstances and goes directly to our view of God as sovereign.  Worry can strangle our joy.  This does not mean indifference for that would end prayer which brings us the peace of God.  Freedom is to cast our cares upon God in thankful prayer.   The secret is to replace worry with prayer.  Grateful prayer.

Thankful prayer brings release from fear and worry because it affirms God’s sovereign control over every circumstance and that God’s purpose is the believer’s good.  Fretting is a waste of time .  Wouldn’t that be saying with our actions that we do not need God by not praying?  Worry is unbelief.

Ian Maclaren wrote  “What does your anxiety do?  It doesn not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but it does empty today of its strength.  It does not make you escape the evil.  It makes you unfit to cope with it when it comes.”

always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, (5) for your  fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now.  (6)  being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; 

(8) For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the  affection of Jesus Christ.  (9) And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment (10) that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, (11) being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

The Apostle Paul wrote this letter addressed to the Philippians .  Paul clearly states that he is a prisoner while writing this epistle and I believe that he was in Rome (60 – 62 A.D.) at the time.  Paul was a citizen of Rome and this accorded him certain rights – apparently among them the freedom to preach the gospel even though he was under house arrest awaiting trial.  The dominant theme of this epistle to the Philippians was that of joy.  Paul rejoiced in the Philippians active involvement in his  ministry but the real joy that Paul expresses is his joy in serving God.  Paul expresses confidence that the work of sanctification that God has begun in the Philippians will continue until it is completed when Christ returns.

The word discernment is found only here in the New Testament.  It is a moral understanding based on the intellect and the senses – a perception or insight.  He prays that “you may approve” which is a term used in ancient times to describe the testing of purity of gold.  Paul is saying that the focus of knowledge is discernment – the ability to evaluate people and situations correctly.

To quote my favorite, C.S. Lewis, “We are to be remade.  All the rabbit in us is to disappear – and then, surprisingly, we shall find underneath it all a thing we have never imagined:  a real Man, an ageless god, a son of God, strong, radiant, wise, beautiful, and drenched in joy.”

And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, (13)  so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.

4 (1) Finally then , brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus, that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; (2) for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

The first letter to the Thessalonians was written by the Apostle Paul and is likely the earliest Biblical letter from Paul.  On his second missionary journey Paul was accompanied by Silas, Timothy and for part of the journey, Luke.  Paul had been directed in a vision to head to Macedonia and, through this trip, the evangelizing of Europe began.  Paul, Timothy and Silas arrived in Thessalonica, a good size city with a natural harbor and the seat of Roman government for all of Macedonia.  Paul began his preaching at the synagogue there – he would prove from the Old Testament that the Messiah must suffer and be raised from the dead and that Jesus is the Messiah.  As Paul attracted believers, Jewish and Gentile,  the Christian group grew and this incited the envy and hostility of the Jews.  There was rioting and accusation against the Christian assembly that they were upsetting society and opposing Caesar’s decrees.  .  In light of this and the threat to Paul’s host, Jason,  Paul, Silas and Timothy left Thessalonica.  Paul was much concerned about the converts there and later sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to encourage the Christians there and to report on them to Paul.  This report of Timothy, brought to Paul at Corinth undoubtedly was the occasion of the first letter to the Thessalonians.

The stamina of the converts at Thessonica in the face of opposition was noted and praised and also Paul addressed the question of his Apostolic authority.  Paul wrote this letter on a number of themes but primarily he addressed the second coming of Christ when  the judgment of God would be devastation against the ungodly but the believers would experience salvation and glory.  The Christian believers could anticipate deliverance at any moment but this immanent return of Christ did not release them from their obligations to continue their responsibilities to work and provide for themselves and their families.

The reading for today concerns the love the Apostle Paul urges for the Christians in Thessalonica.  He is assuming that love is already present from the report of Timothy about the health of the Church there.   The verb for love in this passage is translated as a love of the will and not love that is done for appearance or motivated by emotional attraction.  The Spirit transforms us and we are to look to the Lord to work in our hearts.  This active love is the route to holy conduct in which no fault can be found.  These words read not as a request but as a literal goal.  Every chapter in this epistle ends with a reference to the return of Jesus Christ and in this section this great truth is applied to motivate expected daily living toward salvation.

and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler over the kings of the earth.

To Him who loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, (6) and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever.  Amen.

(7) Behold, He is coming with clouds and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him.  And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him.  Even so, Amen.

(8) “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

The Book of Revelation was written by the Apostle John, probably in A.D. 95, 96 and at the time John was a prisoner on the island of Patmos because of religious persecution.  There is considerable disagreement on how the Book of Revelation should be interpreted.   It is a book of prophecy involving warning and consolation using symbols and visions which were understood by first century Christians but are obscure to today’s readers.  In times of crisis and religious persecution it was not unusual to use symbolism and imagery when writing to the afflicted. Also, John was very dependent on the Old Testament and the first century audience – the seven churches of  Roman Asia (now modern Turkey)  – would have been familiar with the Old Testament, especially the books of Daniel and Ezekiel, both books of prophesy.

The subject matter of the book of Revelation required imagery and symbolism with it’s glimpses into unseen realities.  The Book of Revelation describes the climatic event in the history of the world as having already happened – the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ – the slain Lamb of God – as victory over evil.   John expresses that there will be the final unambiguous victory of God at the end of history.

And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.  (12) But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, (13) from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.  (14) For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.   (18) Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. 

The Levitical priesthood stands – literally stands as there were no chairs in the place of sacrifice.  This peculiarity and the continued ministry of the priests is symbolic of their work never being finished.  The problem with the sacrifice of the priests was not so much with the sacrifices but with the giver of the sacrifice.   Their repeated sacrifices could NOT finally remove sin.  The old priesthood is contrasted to our new High Priest, Jesus Christ, who offered Himself, a voluntary blood sacrifice, once and for all.  This perfect offering completely removes the guilt of sin.  After this perfect offering, Christ sat down at the right hand of power. The sitting of Christ indicates that His work of offering sacrifice is done – it was/is perfectly complete.  God honors His Son with the seat at His right hand to show His satisfaction with the debt paid for sin.  All who accept His offer of salvation receive complete forgiveness and eternal life.

The author of Hebrews wrote his letter as a subtle – or not so subtle – warning to his audience that if they abandoned their Christian faith and went back to Judaism they would be enemies of Jesus.  We are all enemies of God – we toward God in rebellion and He toward us in wrath.  Man is the enemy of God, not the reverse.  The hostility must be removed from man for reconciliation.  God took initiative in this by sending His Son to die for us and this reconciliation is put as strongly as possible.  The divine acceptance of that sacrifice – Christ being seated at the right hand of the power – shows the rightness of Christ as the perfect High Priest.  God now remembers the sin no more, forever.  A sinner can once for all believe and be saved.   Everything essential to the salvation of the individual is included in the gift for salvation which the sinner receives by faith in the Messiah’s sacrifice.

Verse 14 is the conclusion of the doctrine of the Epistle to the Hebrews.  By one offering Christ has perfected forever those who are sanctified – cleansed from sin.  He has perfected them – finished and completed for the sanctified all they need.  This perfection is forever.  This verse speaks of the believer’s sanctification as an accomplished fact – those are saints, holy in Christ.  Just by faith we can enter into Christ’s fullness.   What more can we need??????   There is no more need for symbolic work- the real atoning work and forgiveness is perfect.

Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing.  (24) But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood.  (25) Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.  (26) For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; (27)  who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.  (28) For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.

The unknown author of Hebrews has written this letter to the Jewish Christians to exhort them not to abandon their newly professed faith in Jesus Christ as saviour  in the face of persecution.  In Chapter 7 of this letter, the writer speaks of Jesus as our High Priest and mediator for us with God forever.  He argues the uniqueness of Christ and develops the theme of Jesus as a priest in the line of Melchizedek as being other and also superior to the priests in the line of Aaron (brother of Moses and designated by God as High Priest) and develops this theme for the Jews of his day who knew no other priesthood than the Aaronic.

Melchizedek is mentioned briefly in Genesis.  Abraham, the patriarch of the Jews, was met by the “king of Salem”, Melchizedek,  on his return from defeating the five kings.  Melchizedek was also a priest of God, unrelated to Abraham and who lived hundreds of years before Aaron.    Abraham gave Melchizedek a “tenth of everything” – the spoils of battle – and Melchizedek blessed Abraham.  The situation with the tithing and the giving of a blessing imply that Melchizedek is considered as having superior status to that of Abraham.  This payment of a tithe was also seen as the descendants of Abraham paying it – in the way of speaking in the Bible, the ancestor includes the descendants.

in Psalm 110, God spoke through David about the Melchizedekian priesthood during the time the Aaronic priesthood was established, showing that the priests of the line of Aaron could not accomplish what the priesthood was meant to do.    Priesthood and the law went together so a change in priesthood also meant a change in the law and Jesus did not come from the priestly tribe of Levi but rather the royal line of Judah.  (Both Levi and Judah were sons of Jacob who was known as Israel.)   This Psalm is a prophecy which identifies the Messiah as “a Priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek”.    So the Levitical priests are presented in contrast to Christ.    Christ however is different and superior and remains forever.  Christ has the capacity of bringing a complete salvation to all who approach God through Him.

For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for me in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.  (2) He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness.  (3) Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices for sins.  (4) And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was.  So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him:

     “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”

(6) As He also says in another place: 

“You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek“

The main theme of the Book of Hebrews is that the knowledge of the superiority of Jesus Christ as our High Priest should shore up the drifting believer in his/her Christian faith.  Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians who wanted to reverse their course to escape persecution from their countrymen.

Christ is superior over the Judaic system.  The center of Judaism was the divinely appointed priesthood.  Now Jesus Christ is the High Priest, appointed by God.  Jesus once and for all time has atoned for us through His sacrifice of blood.  He alone and forever makes intercession for us to God.

To understand the significance of this central theme of the Book of Hebrews we need a clearer understanding of the absolute holiness and majesty of God and the sinful nature and depravity of man.  This understanding is provided by the Old Testament which enables us to understand the New Testament.  The O.T. confronts us with the reality of human failures and needs while providing us with the sense of the sovereignty, majesty and power of God.  When considering these two points, the importance of sacrifices and priests emerges.  Jesus is the eternal High Priest who entered the Holy Place with His own blood.  Our High Priest fulfills the requirements of the priesthood in His work; His identification with the people as He was also true man; and His appointment by God.

If men are not sinners separated from a Holy God, then there is no need for priests.  Every Jew knew that he desperately needed a mediator between himself and God and the High Priest was that God ordained mediator.  Christianity has to do with our fundamental alienation from God because of our sins and the work of Jesus Christ who offered Himself as the perfect final sacrifice for our sins.  The whole priesthood of Jesus is to lead us boldly and joyfully to draw near to God and live in fellowship with Him.

(14) Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  (15) For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.  (16) Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

The letter to the Hebrews was written to Jewish believers converted to Christianity who wanted to reverse their course.  The writer of Hebrews makes extensive use of the Old Testament and knowledge of Jewish liturgy and covenantal history to argue that Jesus is the Messiah. He is our great High Priest and has replaced the Levitical priesthood.  The author of Hebrews is giving the general characteristics of the priesthood of Jesus.  He has laid the foundations of the divinity and the humanity of Jesus in earlier chapters of this letter.  Now he is speaking of Jesus as passing through the heavens to the presence of God where he sits continually as our High Priest.

The office of High Priest was established by God through Moses.  The High Priest was appointed by God and functioned as the mediator between Jehovah and Israel, sacrificing and performing rituals like other priests but in addition, only the High Priest was allowed to act to offer sacrifice to expiate the sins of Israel on the annual Day of Atonement.  Now Jesus as our High Priest forever has passed through the heavenly veil once for all time to represent us.

The author of Hebrews writes that Jesus as High Priest is at one with His people:  He too was human and knows temptation and our weakness.   He has been tempted in the way we are tempted as he was fully human and has called us brethren.  The main point is that Jesus remained sinless and did not yield to temptation.  He earned his sinlessness.

Our High Priest forever entered into our human weakness and has sympathy with us.  He represents us – as High Priest – to God and represents God to us.  Jesus is our great High Priest and mediator  and because of this we are exhorted to approach God directly on his throne of grace.

(12) For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  (13)  And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews is unknown.  The audience of this letter seems to be Jewish Christians who had faced some persecution, probably from Jewish authorities and at the time of writing of this letter – around 64 A.D. – they faced severe persecution from Roman authorities.  The readers are being encouraged to remain steadfast in their confession of Jesus Christ as high priest and Messiah.  The readers are warned no to “shrink back” by denying Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament.

The discussion in the verses of Hebrews that we are looking at today concerns the word of God and it’s capabilities.  The Word of God is scripture and the words of Jesus Christ – the only reliable guide we have in order to function properly in a broken world.  The Bible is not intended to replace human knowledge or effort but to supplement and correct this.  Exposition of the Bible is the FIRST responsibility of Church leaders.  It is also why I am writing this blog.

Hebrews draws an analogy between our soul and our spirit and the joints and marrow of our bodies as between our material/physical self and our invisible nature and spiritual self – a transition from the Word of God to God himself.  The word of God is the activity of God and also His revelation of Himself in judgment and salvation.  God is both source and fulfillment.

Nothing is hidden from God.  There is not and cannot be any part of reality which is unknown or incomprehensible to Him who is the source of all being and fount of all knowledge.  God gave us the Word so we can see the sin and unbelief in our own hearts.  Nothing is created – not a creature exists – that is concealed from His sight.  We are not only NOT hidden from His sight, we are completely exposed to Him.  We have to stand before Him and give an account.  That is our judgment, our reckoning and there is NO exception.  These powerful verses tell us that self delusion is of no matter.  God knows our intents and motivations and we must be always mindful of our choices.

(9) But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. 

(10) For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.  (11) For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren.

The author of Hebrews is unknown as is the date it was written except to place it before 64 A.D.  It is unlikely that the author was Paul as his style and use of language is different – and Paul used Greek and Hebrew sources for his Old Testament quotes but writer of this letter uses only the Greek Septuagint for a source.  Also, Paul heard the word of salvation directly from the Lord where the author of Hebrews seemingly did not.  Further, Paul also identified himself in his writings.

The original Christians were Jews, as were Jesus and His disciples, and  these Hebrews were steeped in Jewish law and the Hebrew system of sacrificial priestly rules.  This letter was written to them as tolerance was being replaced by opposition and persecution by the Gentiles and especially from Jews –  Jewish Christians needed to remain steadfast in their belief in Christ as the Messiah and the answers were not to be found in the Old Testament.  Jesus  once and for all times made the perfect sacrifice whereas the Hebrew Law was never complete.  The Hebrew Law could not actually save the believer but Christ by His sacrifice perfected for all time those who are sanctified. Hebrews addresses the supremacy of Christ.  Jesus is better than the angels, better than Moses, better than the priesthood and He is better than the Law for he mediates a better covenant.

In our present sinful state man is lower than the angels and Jesus was made man not as a ruler but as suffering servant.   His death on behalf of man, destroying the power and consequences of sin, was the motive for His incarnation and death on the Cross.  The reference to His being crowned with glory and honor is a reference to Olympic games and the victor’s crown.

Only God can satisfy the demands of God.  Jesus is not just the way, He is the only way; not just the truth but the only truth and the only eternal life.  Hebrews emphasizes the humanity of Jesus.  There was no moral imperfection in Jesus but by means of sufferings God perfected His Son in his human life and death as Redeemer and Saviour.  He stooped to conquer.  His death was sufficient for all and efficient for some and Jesus sets those sanctified and those being sanctified apart.  Those set apart are of one nature and have one destiny and He calls us brethren.

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you.  (2) Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.  (3) Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire.  You have heaped up treasure in the last days.  (4)Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.  (5) You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.  (6) You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.

It is generally believed that the James who wrote this letter to Jewish Christians was the half brother of Jesus Christ.  This letter may have been written close to the end of his life – James was martyred in 62 A.D. – or it may have been written earlier around 50 A.D.  In any case, this letter is addressed to Jewish Christians who are described as “scattered abroad”.  There was a persecution of the early believers that Jesus was Messiah and these believers were forced to leave Jerusalem.  James was the leader of the Jerusalem church and it follows that he may have written this pastoral letter on the occasion of this early dispersion to aid them in dealing with oppression by the rich and to encourage them to hold fast to their faith, especially in the light of coming judgment.

James declares that those who are guilty of wrongs and make use of the power of wealth to injure those in humble circumstances will be judged.  James uses the rot and rust of material goods to illustrate the bondage in which the means of doing good was kept, profiting no one.  He prophesied that there would be a swift and total judgment of those leading such a life.  The first crime of the wicked rich is hoarding so much wealth that it has rotted – the crime of uncontrolled greed.  James declares that this greed will result in the destruction of the rich just as the corrosion that eats the material  wealth – clothing, possessions, gold and silver.  The second crime the rich are charged with is that they failed to pay the workmen who harvest their crops.  The rich are also accused of extravagant and wasteful self-indulgence for which there will be judgment.  James indicates that the men to be judged were unaware of their impending destruction.

Finally, the rich are accused of having “murdered the just”.  This is meant literally and the examples are Christ, Stephen and James the son of Zebedee.  The prophesied judgment is a warning for the wicked and a consolation for the righteous.

Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.  (21) For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.  (22) But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor, yet what I shall choose I cannot tell.  (23) For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.  (24) Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.  (27) Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ

The city of Philippi was one of the leading cities of Macedonia largely because the Via Egnatia, the main road from Asia to the West, ran right through it.  Phillipians were allowed  an autonomous government and were not required to send tribute to Rome.                                          The Church at Philippi was founded in A.D. 50 by the Apostle Paul who was imprisoned in Rome at the time of writing this letter probably in A.D. 61.  Paul is writing to the Philippians to assure them he loved them and was praying for them.  Joy is a prominent theme in his letter.  Paul expresses that he is in chains but his situation has only helped in the furtherance of the Gospel as he has been able to reach the Roman guards and even the royal house.  The Apostle Paul was a Roman citizen and accorded certain rights and though under house arrest in Rome and chained to guards, he was not silenced – so the guards chained to him on a rotating basis were an unwilling (or willing) audience during this period.  Paul considered his imprisonment to be the working of God’s sovereign will.  He expresses that Christ would be magnified by his continued life or by his death as either would glorify Christ.  If he lived, he would continue to minister to the Philippians and the Church.  If he were to be executed he would be with Christ and that would be gain.  He has confidence that Christ is using him to further the Gospel.  Paul has a certain expectation of future good – it is not that Paul will exalt Christ but that Christ will be exalted by the continued work of the Holy Spirit in Paul.  Remember that Paul was awaiting trial and could either be released or executed.  His point is that his life or his death makes no difference – only that Christ be magnified in him.  Either suffices.  Paul’s goal was to complete his ministry one way or another and to manifest the spirit of Christ by leading a life that magnifies and glorifies him.  The issue was in God’s hands and given the choice, the Apostle Paul could not choose either heaven or earth for himself.  Paul was ready to go but willing to wait.  He was pulled in two directions and in both cases it was for the highest reasons.  The mark of God’s man (or woman) is an unwavering and unselfish spirit.  Paul is urging the Church at Phillipi to live in this world as citizens of another world – to be holy or apart; to be reflective of their standing as citizens of a heavenly realm.

(7)For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.  (8) For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord.. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.  (9) For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

Romans was written by the Apostle Paul to the Christian community in Rome about 57 A.D.    In A.D. 49, the Emperior Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome because of disturbances at the “instigation of Chrestus” (Christ).   The Christian Gentiles remained as a relatively peaceful community until the death of Claudius in A.D. 54 when the Jews returned to Rome.  Tensions developed between the Christian Jews and the Christian Gentiles and in Chapter 14 of Romans, Paul addresses these differences out of concern for the full fellowship of the Church in Rome.

Chapter 14, verse 7 refers to the Christian’s use of food, his conduct and observance or nonobservance of days.   The Christian’s life belongs to his Lord.  The same holds true of his dying – he dies when the Lord wills and as the Lord wills.  Paul’s purpose is to disabuse believers of the destructive notions that one set of believers thought themselves to be more spiritual than others who were thought to be more of this physical world. 

A Christian lives his life for the Lord and the Lord is the judge of that life.  So, in life we live to please the Lord and dying we go to  be with the Lord.  Both in life and death we belong to the Lord.  This principle gives us an unerring guide for our conduct.  The Apostle Paul is saying there are questions that each Christian needs to settle and decide for himself.  Paul is not addressing matters about which there can be no controversy.  We are not our own and the duty of devotion and obedience are not founded on creation but on redemption.  We are Christ’s because he bought us with a price.

(8) Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.  (9) For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  (10) Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

In Romans 12, the Apostle Paul turns from laying a doctrinal foundation of the Gospel to the application of principles for living.    Our obligation to God is the primary theme in our lives and in the Old Testament as emphasized by Jesus Christ.  We are now presented with the second great theme of the Bible where we love God by loving each other as the dominant and central theme of the New Testament.  

Paul commands us to owe nothing  to anyone,  meaning we are not to take on debt or obligations which we are unable to discharge.  The word except is then used here and references our duty to love one another.  The Greek word for love used  here by the Apostle Paul (agape) indicates an active selfless love which is more a decision than an emotion and is at it’s foundation, behavior.  

 The commandments which guide our relationships with each other, here enumerated by Paul in verse 9, will be satisfied by loving our neighbors as ourselves for, with this love/behavior, we would do them no harm.    We would fulfill the Law.   This is not a command to love ourselves – that is assumed – but we are to love others as an act of will.  We do not have this unconditional love by nature but we are empowered by the Holy Spirit and this love is manifested by specific action.  It is directed to all our neighbors including the unlovely and the unlovable, those who do not return our love and includes those we do not like. 

In Alcoholics Anonymous there is a saying “drag the body, the mind will follow”.  C.S. Lewis observed “Do not waste time bothering whether you “love” your neighbor, act as if you did.  As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets.  When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him.  If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more.   If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less.”

I BESEECH YOU, THEREFORE, BRETHREN, BY THE MERCIES OF GOD, THAT YOU PRESENT YOUR BODIES A LIVING SACRIFICE, HOLY, ACCEPTABLE TO GOD, WHICH IS YOUR REASONABLE SERVICE.  AND DO NOT BE CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD, BUT BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND, THAT YOU MAY PROVE WHAT IS THAT GOOD AND ACCEPTABLE AND PERFECT WILL OF GOD.

Chapters one through eleven of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans explores the mysteries of God’s plan for the redemption of sinful man.  The letter to the Romans is more of a doctrinal exposition of the Gospel than a letter, written to the Christian audience in Rome about the year 58 B.C.  The Apostle Paul has laid his foundation and now, beginning with chapter 12 of Romans, he turns to application of these theological principles.

Paul begins by using the word therefore which is a bridge or hinge connecting what has been said earlier with the conclusions which are to come.  Paul has the authority to command his audience to obey the precepts he is about to present but instead the word beseech is chosen.  This choice of word underlies the principle of our free choice. (Remember, the Bible is God’s words spoken to us and was written under the complete supervision of God, using man as his agent.  It is perfect.  Nothing can be added and nothing can be taken away.)

We are urged to present our bodies – meaning our whole selves – body and soul, to God.  Jesus Christ is the full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the world and here Paul is asking us to be a living sacrifice.  We are urged to dedicate all that we are to God:   to make a choice as to how we are to live.

The first step of Alcoholics Anonymous calls for surrender and acknowledges the powerlessness of the alcoholic.  This is followed by an admission that only a power greater than ourselves could restore sanity and finally, a decision to turn the will and the lives of the alcoholic over to the care of God.  What the Apostle Paul is saying i Romans 12 is, we must surrender to the will of God, based on the knowledge of the theology that Paul has laid before us in Chapters 1 through 11.  This foundation does make a difference, because what we believe determines how we behave.

The Apostle Paul explores conformity to this fleeting temporal world we live in.  Instead of adapting to this world we can and should – by surrendering to the will of God – be transformed by the renewal of our minds.  Our outward expression is what is represented by our inner being –  the regeneration of our sinful nature.  We are urged not to be conformed which is external and does not express what is on the inside.  It is putting on an act and accepting a pattern of life that is imposed on us from without; a manner of life that is unstable and changing.  Paul calls for a decisive commitment and a maintenance of that commitment.  William MacDonald explains that the word conform is used here as the society or system that man has built in order to make himself happy without God; a world that is hostile to nonconformists; a world that is self centered, self pleasing, self indulgent, self concerned and indifferent to the needs of others.

Renewal of our minds is a continuous process – an essential change in the character of our thinking.  This is the process of new life that emerges from the new birth by the Holy Spirit.  The word of God, most especially through the Bible, is not merely to inform but to transform.It is not merely about feeling and doing but meditation and study which will lead to discernment and desire to do that will of God.  This ultimately leads to the transformation and renewing of our minds.

Verse 2 ends by saying that with our renewed minds we will be able to test and prove the perfect will of God.  This gift of discernment  is an increased power or ability to perceive what it is God’s will we should do – a stripping away of this temporal sinful world to be replaced by eternal truth and life.

another quote from my favorite, C.S. Lewis:  It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird:  it would be a jolly sight harder to learn to fly while remaining an egg.  We are like eggs at present.  And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary decent egg.  We must be hatched or go bad.

(33) Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

(36) For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen

All we have studied in Romans since I began this blog can best be summed up by citing William Macdonald who explains the concluding doxology (praise to God) as looking back over the entire Epistle and the divine wonders that have been unfolded.  Paul has expounded the marvelous plan of salvation by which a just God can save ungodly sinners and still be just in doing so.  He has shown how Christ’s work brought more glory to God and more blessing to men than Adam lost through his sin.  He has explained how grace produces holy living in a way that law could never do.  He has traced the unbreakable chain of God’s purpose from foreknowledge to eventual glorification.  He has set forth the doctrine of sovereign election and the companion doctrine of human responsibility.  And he has traced the justice and harmony of God’s dispensational dealing with Israel and the nations.  Now nothing could be more appropriate than to burst forth in a hymn of praise and worship.

The Apostle Paul knew the mysteries of God as well as any man but Paul confesses to be at a loss  – the more we know, the more we understand that we do not know.  So Paul is overwhelmed and worships God as he contemplates the divine plan.  I love C.S. Lewis’s (surprised by joy) thoughts on this subject.   Amiable agnostics will talk cheerfully about ‘man’s search for God’.  To me as I then  was, they might as well have talked about the man’s search for a cat.  Our views of God are all skewed by our backgrounds, our biases.  God exists independently of our views of Him and it is impossible to know God’s mind except as God reveals it to us.

God is the creator of all things.  He means to be known and loved and has revealed himself through his creation and has spoken to us through the Bible.  All of redemption history, all of matter comes from God.  God is our source.  Jesus Christ, true God and true man, is our mediator and no one comes to God except through Him.  All creation is under the sovereignity of God and works back to Him.  AMEN

(13) For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as i am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, (14) if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them.   (15) For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?  (29) For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. (30) For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, (31) even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy.  (32) For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.

Luke records in several places in the Acts of the Apostles that Paul has been chosen to minister to the Gentiles.  After Paul has been struck blind on the road to Damascus, Jesus appeared in a vision to Ananias, a disciple at Damascus, and told him to go and lay his hands on Paul

(Acts 9:15) But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear my name before Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel.”

In today’s reading, The Apostle Paul is addressing the Gentiles in Rome.  Paul magnifies his appointed position as apostle to the Gentiles stating that this was his role in God’s plan.  Paul further writes that the acceptance of the gospel by the Gentiles would not only bring them salvation but Paul’s ministry to them might provoke such envy among the Jews that they would imitate or even better, appropriate, the gospel and be saved.  This regeneration of Israel is “life from the dead”.  Paul further states that even though Israel has rejected Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of the Scriptures, God has not rejected Israel.  (verse 29)

Paul’s use of you in verse 30 is referring to Gentiles who might doubt that God has included Israel in a glorious future.  The Gentiles are warned that they have also been disobedient and they are not to be over inflated with pride in their present position of reconciliation to God through free grace, justified by faith.  God has not given up on His chosen people and has a plan for their salvation.  All have been disobedient and this serves to magnify God’s mercy.

I tell the truth in Christ, i am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, (2) that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. (3)  For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, (4) who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; (5) of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God.   Amen.

The Apostle Paul expresses his deep affection for his people, Israel.  He appeals to Christ and to his own conscience, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, as witness to his sincerity.  He would submit to be treated as “accursed” if he could rescue his nation from the destruction about to come on them for their unbelief.  Paul lists the advantage Israel has been given as being the chosen, the covenantel people of God.  Despite centuries of divine preparation for the coming of the Messiah, Israel has rejected the gospel.

Paul has been faithful in going first to the Jew but has been rebuffed  by disbelief and has declared himself as apostle to the Gentile.  In Romans, chapter 9, the Apostle Paul makes liberal use of Old Testament quotations both to emphasize the faithfulness of God  and the failure of Jewish unbelief.

(35)WHO SHALL SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF CHRIST? SHALLTRIBULATION, OR DISTRESS, OR PERSECUTION, OR FAMINE, OR NAKEDNESS, OR PERIL, OR SWORD?  (37)YET IN ALL THESE THINGS WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS THROUGH HIM WHO LOVED US.  (38) FOR I AM PERSUADED THAT NEITHER DEATH NOR LIFE, NOR ANGELS NOR PRINCIPALITIES NOR POWERS, NOR THINGS PRESENT NOR THINGS TO COME, (39) NOR HEIGHT NOR DEPTH, NOR ANY OTHER CREATED THING, SHALL BE ABLE TO SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD WHICH IS IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD.

We have been studying Romans, Chapter 8, where the Apostle Paul has dealt with sinful man and physical death, spiritual death and eternal death.  In Romans, Chapter 8, Paul addresses the issue of sin and says that sin has been atoned for through the death and resurrection of Christ.  The called die to their old sinful nature and the law and live in the new, which is in Christ and the Spirit, by the free grace of God.

Sunday’s reading is Paul’s ecstatic declaration of the final triumph through Christ and the Spirit.  The Apostle Paul speaks with amazement at the depth and breadth of the love of Christ for man.  Paul says ALL THINGS  are not so great a display of God’s love as the gift of His Son to be the atonement for the sin of man.  With that manifestation of God’s love, how can we think that anything can turn aside or do away with that love?

ROMANS 8:31-32

(31) WHAT THEN SHALL WE SAY TO THESE THINGS?  IF GOD IS FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US? (32) HE WHO DID NOT SPARE HIS OWN SON, BUT DELIVERED HIM UP FOR US ALL, HOW SHALL HE NOT WITH HIM ALSO FREELY GIVE US ALL THINGS?

(28) And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (29) For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. (30) Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified: and whom He justified, these He also glorified

The letter to the Romans was written by the Apostle Paul to the Christians in Rome in A.D. 55-57. The truth of Romans 28 is based on God’s sovereignity.  This is taught from the beginning to the end of the Bible.  The Apostle Paul is not saying that all things work together for good but that God is working in all situations.  God is in control of all things.

Paul uses the words ,We Know,  five times in Romans.  The Greek word Paul uses here translates to sure knowledge which one has beyond a doubt – an intuitive knowledge that the Holy Spirit makes real.  All things work together is a comprehensive expression.  Paul tells us that nothing is idle.  Everything works together and there is no discord in seemingly disparate things.  All things work for good – for eternal good – and we may not understand that purpose.  All things work for God to those who love God.  This last is about the character of the called.

There is a wonderful story about a survivor of a shipwreck, marooned on a deserted island.  he prays to God for deliverance and sets about building a shelter and forages for food and drink.  One day, returning from his hunting he sees smoke in the distance and arrives at his shelter to find everything burned to the ground.  His response is anger at God for not answering his prayers.  The next day, a ship arrives at the island and he is rescued.  when asked, the captain of the ship tells our man that the smoke rising from the island drew them to what was seemingly a deserted island.

Paul writes that we are ALL sinners and the central thesis of Romans is that we are not justified by the law – there is nothing we can do that will ever be good enough to merit heaven – but that we are justified by faith.

ROMANS 1:16-17

FOR i AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST, FOR IT IS THE POWER OF GOD TO SALVATION FOR EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES, FOR THE JEW FIRST AND ALSO FOR THE GREEK.  FOR IN IT THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IS REVEALED FROM FAITH TO FAITH; AS IT IS WRITTEN “THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH”.

one of our readers – without access to a bible – requested i post the pertinent scripture.  so, here goes from the new king james version.

(26) Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses.  For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.  (27) Now, He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

We are the ones with groanings which cannot be uttered.

The Apostle Paul wrote the letter to the Romans in preparation for his visit to the Christian community in Rome as exposition of the gospel that he had been preaching for twenty years.  This towering letter argued the great truths of salvation in logical fashion, supported by the Old Testament scripture.  Paul wrote of the doctrines of righteousness, law, sin, justification and sanctification.

In verses 26 – 27, Paul teaches the ministry of the Spirit and His work of intercession for the Christian who is limited while in the human body.  Paul preaches the compensation factor of the power of God.  We do not know our real needs nor do we know God’s will respecting ourselves and others.  We are informed in verse 27 that the Spirit helps us and takes our unintelligible groaning in petition to God in accordance with the will of God.

welcome readers.  the intent of this blog is to provide insight and context to the biblical verses read in the roman catholic churches on sundays during the calendar year.  kit.