Pastor Mark Mikels – February 28, 2010
“DUELING DYNAMICS”
(The Law and The Spirit)
(Romans 7:1-6)

Intro … Today in our journey through the Book of Romans we come to Romans chapter seven – a most challenging chapter; it’s a chapter that many find bewildering or even cause for consternation. They might say,

“I wish Paul had never written it” –
“It strikes too close to home”.

Others, however, find Romans Seven to provide a convenient excuse for them living a less-than stellar Christian life – for them, Romans Seven provides great comfort whenever they mess up as in …

“What did you expect? …
“None of us ever fully escapes sin’s clutches –
even Paul didn’t – just read Romans chapter seven!””

We will approach Romans Seven in neither of those two ways and when we are done, I want us to hold neither of those two attitudes.

I want us to emerge from this study clearly understanding just how absolutely vital Romans Seven is in our journey through this incredible revelation. – I want us to emerge with a deeper understanding of the way things work as we live out our lives in this fallen, sin-filled world.

Romans Seven tackles the incredibly important relationship between the Law and the Spirit … between “living in response to a written code” and “living in response to an indwelling Spirit” and how sin responds to and is affected by both.

Sound like a big enough task?

Today we begin with a look at the first six foundational verses upon which the rest of the chapter is built …

“Do you not know, brothers-for I am speaking to men who know the law-that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives?

For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress.
But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.

So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that
we might bear fruit to God.

For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” (NIV)

Three Key Realities contained in the first part of this brief passage …

Reality #1 … Laws Only Apply To The Living (vs. 1-3)
(Death eliminates the law’s authority and control)
* Example: The “marriage law”; the widow is free to re-marry
though she may chose not to.

Reality #2 … Believers have died with respect to the Law (vs. 4a)
“So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ…”

(Romans 6:11 … “Reckon yourselves dead to sin” and to the
entire framework of things that has grown up around sin.)

There’s a vast difference between things that are theologically true and things that are experientially true – and the deeper we get into this chapter the more that will become apparent.

Reality #3 … Believer’s have permission to bond with Christ (vs. 4b)
“that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead …”

(Romans 6:11 … “Reckon yourselves alive to God through Jesus Christ” and
to the entire network of things that such life provides)
In summary, our death to sin (our rebirth in Christ) has granted us the opportunity to either live under law or live under grace. The unsaved have
no such choice – they are not freed from the law and they have no way of escaping its authority this side of the grave.

So having a choice, let’s consider which is the better of the two
ways to live …

First of all, Consider with me The BENEFITS of Living Under Law …
That is, living LEGALISTICALLY.

* Everything is written down in BLACK and WHITE …
“Thou Shalt” and “Thou Shalt Not”

* Everything has already been THOUGHT out and SPELLED Out

*Very little need to MANEUVER – to adjust or adapt or even think!

* The Only RESPONSIBILITY I shoulder is that of COMPLIANCE.
(Just do what the law says and you’ll be fine.)

Some people think that “living under law” is just great – especially if they are the ones “making the laws”. There’s structure and orderly process. If everyone would just “follow the rules” everything would be fine.

In the religious world of Paul’s day, the Pharisees were such people.
In our day today they go by many different names.

But there’s a fundamental flaw in the “rule-run society” …

A LAW-BASED SOCIETY’S FUNDAMENTAL FLAW …

A Law-Based Society Gives Rise To REBELLION
for it directly challenges man’s fallen sinful nature. (vs. 5)

For when we were controlled by the sinful nature,
the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies,
so that we bore fruit for death.
For every law that says “Thou shalt not” there is a corresponding attitude in man’s sin nature that says …

“I will if I want to” – if I think that doing so
is in my own best interest.”

Now that attitude can stir man toward the most rebellious of actions -actions that might only be curtailed by force.

Frequently man’s rebellious spirit expresses itself more subtly as mere resistance.

For every law that prescribes a certain set of procedures to be followed in a given situation, there is a tendency in man’s sinful nature to question and challenge and find inconsistency and inadequacy.

Citizens do it; students do it; children do it; employees do it; in fact, all members of Adam’s Fallen Race do it – they resist and they rebel as a result of living under Law. It’s hard-wired right into them.

If they could, they would live absolutely “Above the Law” … they would be a
“Law to themselves” … they would obey the laws they agree with and they
would ignore the ones that they don’t agree with.

The truth is, they have no other way to live … they are rebellious human beings living in a Law-Based Society.

There’s a definite discernable Dynamic here …

The Law stimulates man’s inner spirit of rebellion which leads to
specific rebellious actions which the Law-Givers must address.

Ironically, the Law sometimes actually stirs man toward actions that he wouldn’t have even thought of if the Law hadn’t identified them and prohibited them.

The parent says “Don’t” and the child thinks …

“I don’t even know what it is but now I’ve got to try it.”
We’ll see Paul speaking to that scenario next week …

Generally speaking here’s how it plays out …

“The More Law – The More Sin and the More Sin –
the More Punishment and then generally comes More Law.”

It’s a discouraging dynamic but in a fallen world populated by fallen people,
it’s the best that we can hope for. It’s certainly better than just giving up and allowing everyone to live lawlessly, though there are some who have tried that.

Now here’s the point today … Christians don’t have to live that way; in fact, Christians are not supposed to live that way.

Christians do not have to live within the “Discouraging Dynamic” of a
Law-Based System …

Consider Today’s Incredible Reality

TODAY’S INCREDIBLE REALITY …

Christians have an opportunity to live “BEYOND LAW” …
not ABOVE the LAW but so in tune with THE LAW that they live
free of all feelings of resistance and rebellion and thus avoid
all the negative consequences of violating the LAW.

Now living that way is exactly the way Jesus lived.
He came as he said …

“Not to destroy the law but to fulfill the law.”
(Matthew 5:17)

And he made it through his entire earthly life without once violating the Law though he never seemed to be all that caught up in obeying it.

This now is what Paul is getting at in this passage when he says (vs. 6)

“… we have been released from the law so that we serve in
the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.”
So here it is … Paul says that there is a whole “new way” to live and to serve God …

It’s what he calls “The way of the Spirit” and he contrasts it to the “old way of the written code” – the system of rules and regulations that have been printed and posted and are to be committed to memory and carefully followed.

Now a good part of the rest of the book of Romans is given to identifying and clarifying what that “Way of the Spirit” is and we will be discovering more
and more about it as we proceed but today we make a start …

And we start with Two Key Clarifications that distinguish these “’Dueling Dynamics” from one another

Two Key Clarifications…

* Whereas the Written Code (Laws written on the Wall)
Stimulates RESISTANCE, the Internalized Code (Laws
written on the heart) stimulates OBEDIENCE.

Here’s the confession of one who has chosen this path …

”Rather than a focus on satisfying myself,
obeying the Lord is the very thing that I have on my heart to do –
I obey him because my heart is of that sort.”

This is the type of Heart that Jesus Himself had as he came to earth.

Hebrews 10:5-7 ..

“Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared
for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased …
(that is, not completely satisfied)

Then I said, `Here I am – it is written about me in the scroll-
I have come to do your will, O God.’”

Now that’s the attitude of the Spirit that has been placed within us and the orientation of the re-born spirit which has been granted to us …

“I have come (I exist for no other purpose than)
to do Your Will, O God”

Thoughts of resistance or rebellion are completely foreign – struggle with obedience is not an issue.

This is in keeping with the desire that God expressed long centuries before Paul ever picked up a pen …

I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God, and they will be my people.
(Jeremiah 31:33)

God knew the desirability of the “New Way” before he ever initiated the “Old Way” and through Christ we have an opportunity to live it.

Here now is our second Key Clarification …

* Whereas the Written Code (laws written on the wall) stimulates questions
like “How LITTLE can I get by with?” and “How MUCH can I get away with?”,
the Internalized Code (law written on the heart) stimulates questions
like “How can I do this even BETTER?” or “’What is the FULLEST
possible expression of this obedient action?”

It’s an interesting and revealing exercise to run those questions through your mind and sample those words on your tongue and see which set of them is the more familiar and “tastes better” …

It’s that “New Way Dynamic” that caused Paul to write these kinds of exhortations to the church …

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord,
not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from
the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
(Colossians 3:23-24)

Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you,
but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.
(Ephesians 6:6)

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do,
do it all for the glory of God.
(1 Corinthians 10:31)

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble,
whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy –
think about such things.

Whatever you have learned or received or heard
from me, or seen in me—put it into practice.
And the God of peace will be with you.
(Philippians 4:8-9)

Doing things in the “new way of the Spirit” actually means doing them just
as if Christ Himself were doing them for (though His Spirit within us)
He actually is!

So here’s the Final Thot of this first message from Romans
Chapter Seven …

Final Thot …

Christians can CHOOSE to Live in the Old Way of the Law or
in the New Way of the Spirit – Which CHOICE are you making?

Pastor Mark Mikels – January 17, 2010
“A GRACE-FILLED LIFE”
(Romans 5:1-11)

Intro … Today we come to another most significant passage of Scripture – it’s the passage that begins our transition into the heart of the Book of Romans – a passage that begins the revelation of the fullness of the Christian Life. We could say that the passage that we focus on today is Paul’s exposition of these well-known and most cherished words of Jesus Himself (John 10:9-10) …

“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in
and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Abundant Life … that’s what Jesus came to provide; Abundant Life … that’s what God would have every Son and Daughter of His experience; Abundant Life is the real Christian Life – the authentic or (as a great Christian writer of a generation ago put it) the “Normal Christian Life”.

This Abundant Life is what Paul begins to address in our passage of the
morning – Romans 5:1-11 – I’m calling it “A Grace-Filled Life”.

Here’s how our passage reads:

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Out of that passage arises …

Today’s Key Concept …
FAITH in Christ grants ACCESS To a GRACE-FILLED Life.”
(Romans 5:1-2)

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access
by faith into this grace in which we now stand.

You see the image … Christ is the door (the gate) Faith (the Faith that Works that we look at last week in Romans chapter four) is the key and on the other side of the door is the Grace-Filled Life – a vast expansive repository of all kinds of Life-Transforming Goodness.

Grace transforms all those who possess it … John Calvin the great Reform Theologian attributed to grace an “irresistible” element – it tends to overwhelm and captivate. Grace not only communicates God’s undeserved favor but it also conveys God’s enabling power. Grace is active, not passive. Grace is given for a purpose – Grace is provided in response to challenge and in conjunction with calling. Standing knee-deep in Grace is exactly where our Heavenly Father would have us be. Grace is what enables our “Faith to Work” in God-Pleasing ways!

In this passage, I find five distinctive examples of Grace in Action – five distinctive actions of “A Grace-Filled Life” …

1. GRACE LOOKING ONWARD (verse 2b)
“We rejoice in the HOPE of the GLORY of God.”

Grace causes us to look forward EXPECTANTLY.

How many people can “rejoice” in something that is not yet here? However that’s what “Grace” enables us to do. Grace focuses us on a incredible future reality – our encounter with the “Glory of God”.

Someday we will “be where He is” and we will “see Him as He is” and we will worship Him “for whom He is” forever. Grace enables us to take that expectant onward look and Grace says to us “That’s your future – put your Hope in that” and Grace would tell us (as Paul does later on in this passage) that this Hope
will not disappoint us.
So we can truly and unguardedly “get our hopes up” – we can rejoice and celebrate the fact that such an experience will one day be ours.

Now here’s the deal … though the “experience of the Glory of God” is a “future” reality, the hope and joy are “current” realities.

Grace Looking Onward brings Hope and Joy to the here and now – we know that whatever is going on at the moment, we have read the final chapter and the story ends incredibly well!

Secondly in this passage we see …
2. GRACE LOOKING OUTWARD (verses 3-5)
“We also rejoice in our SUFFERINGS …”

Grace causes us to look at suffering DIFFERENTLY.

“… we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering
produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love
into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

You just can’t escape suffering if you live for any time at all in this fallen, sin-cursed world. Suffering is part and parcel of “things as they are”. Those who identify themselves with Jesus Christ might even experience the kind of suffering known as persecution. But whatever the type or the cause, the
“Grace-Filled Believer” looks at suffering differently.

Suffering for such a one produces Perseverance (the ability to hang in there
and hold on; the ability to maintain focus and remember purpose) and that kind
of Experienced Perseverance develops Character (specifically an inner never-say-die attitude and perspective) and that kind of Established Character produces Hope (an expectation of better things).

Now it’s no easy thing to look at suffering in this way – especially if you are buried under a pile of life’s rubble but once we do, our life and our response to suffering are forever transformed.

But how can we do it – how does Grace produce such a response? Let’s reverse the sequence and see if we don’t gain some insight into the dynamics of process.

Let’s start with Hope since Grace Looking Onward has already provided that.

Here’s how it works … Hope (the confident expectation of better things specifically that we shall someday experience firsthand the Glorious Presence of God) produces Character (that inner never-say die attitude/perspective) which in turn expresses itself in Perseverance (the maintaining of one’s perspective and position despite all pressures or obstacles – refusing to give in or give up) in the face of Suffering of whatever sort.

Thus Hope does not, in fact, cannot disappoint us – This Hope sustains us and stimulates us and in fact saves us from Disillusionment and Despair. And it’s all made even more secure by the very Spirit of God who brings the reality of
God’s grace-filled love right into our hearts.

Indeed, Grace Looking Outward causes us to view suffering completely differently … Suffering, whether for Christ or just because we live in a fallen sin-filled broken world, is seen as something that can provides a valuable service in our growth in grace.

Now as we push on in this marvelous passage we see …
3. GRACE LOOKING BACKWARD (verses 6-8)
“While we were still SINNERS, Christ DIED for us.”

Grace causes us to look at Christ WONDERINGLY.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for
the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a
good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own
love for us in this: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

When I read those words I think of the lines of the old Gospel Song that says …
“Oh what a wonder that Jesus found me!
Out in the darkness no light could I see.
Oh what a wonder – He put His Great Arms under
And wonder of wonders, He saved even me!”

And he did this “when we were still powerless” … trapped in sin, unable to
free ourselves from it, completely unfit for heaven – stuck without God
and thus without hope in this world or in the one to come.

That’s when Jesus stepped in – He died in our place. He gave himself up for us.
The grace that filled the Apostle Paul’s heart would cause him to write these wonder-laden words in his letter to the Philippian believers:

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something
to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled
himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!
(Philippians 2:6-8)

In the great room called Grace that opens up behind the Door that is opened by Faith there will forever be displayed in a prominent place a Picture of Jesus on the Cross – dying for your sins and mine – dying for the sins of all who look upon it. And all who gaze upon it will do so with Wonder for such things go beyond our ability to fully comprehend.

And now as we push further on we discover …
4. GRACE LOOKING INWARD (verses 9-10)
“How much more … shall we be SAVED through his life!”

Grace causes us to look at ourselves DIAGNOSTICALLY.

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be
saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, when we were God’s enemies,
we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more,
having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

How much more indeed …
You see, there’s more than just being born-again – there’s more than just opening the door by faith and simply crossing the threshold.

There’s more than just being saved from God’s wrath that will some day be expressed in judgment upon all who refuse to believe in His Son. There’s a life that has begun – an entirely new way of thinking and feeling and behaving.

There’s so much more here than mere “forgiveness” as awesome and needful as that is … there’s full and complete reconciliation – there’s a restoration to fellowship and a re-discovery of harmony.
The room is full of all the “Out-Workings of Grace” – the ultimate expressions of that Abundant Life Jesus talked about. The kinds of things that caused David of old to say … “Taste and see that the Lord is Good” (Psalm 34:8)

Grace would cause us to look at ourselves Diagnostically and ask

“How much of the graciousness of this place have I allowed myself to experience?
How persistently am I “Touching and Tasting and Enjoying”
all that this incredible room contains?

The Grace-Filled Life seeks to exhaust the Treasures of the Place and as it
does so it takes the final action revealed in this passage …

5. GRACE LOOKING UPWARD (verse 11)
“We also rejoice in GOD.”

Grace causes us to look at God PASSIONATELY.

“Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our
Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

And so the Grace-Filled Life ultimately brings us to a place of worship – praising and rejoicing in the God whose love has set the whole process in motion.

Grace keeps us from forgetting the Giver of the Gift even as we rejoice in
the Gift … Grace reminds us that the purpose of the Gift is to bring us back
into Fellowship with the Giver Himself – a personal fellowship that anticipates
all that is yet to come.

Onward, Outward, Backward, Inward, Upward … Grace covers all the bases and casts our gaze in every direction; and everywhere we look we find reasons to rejoice! What a wondrous thing is a Grace-Filled Life!

Final Thot …
The GRACE-FILLED Life is God’s INTENTION
And PROVISION for EVERY believer!

Pastor Mark Mikels – January 10, 2010
“FAITH-WORKS”
(Romans 4; Genesis 12-25)

Intro … Today’s Key Scripture is one of the most significant, one of the most important in all Scripture. We find it in the third verse of Romans chapter four though Paul was merely passing along what Moses himself had written over 1,200 years earlier. Here’s what it says …

Today’s Key Scripture …

“Abraham BELIEVED God and it was
CREDITED to him as RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
(Romans 4:3 – Genesis 15:6)

Abraham, the father of the Jewish Nation … Abraham, who lived 400 years before Moses led that nation out of Egypt and passed along to them the laws by which they were to live … Abraham, who was the only man in the entire Bible to
be designated “Friend of God” – this Abraham discovered (that is, experienced) the most important spiritual truth that God has ever passed along to man.

And that truth is this …

“The thing that pleases God is Faith – More than anything else, God wants to be believed and when he finds someone who truly believes Him – who takes him at His Word – who exercises faith in Him … He declares that person to be “Righteous In His Sight” and wraps His arms around him.

Salvation is just as simple as that – Salvation comes to those who exercise saving-faith – “saving-faith” that changes forever the destiny of fallen
sinful human beings.

This “Faith that Works” causes God to declare acceptable those who previously were not …

This “Faith that Works” results in complete spiritual transformation – one cannot possess this kind of “saving faith” – this “Faith that Works” and remain unchanged for you see (as our Key Concept this morning expresses it) …

Today’s Key Concept …

The FAITH that WORKS is FAITH that WORKS.
(James 2:26)
“As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”

Just a few verses earlier, James had raised the issue this way …

“But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith
without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.”

Genuine God-Pleasing Faith has always been accompanied by God-Pleasing Deeds – James knew that – and as we will see this morning, Abraham’s life dramatically demonstrated that … Thus the somewhat “catchy” (perhaps even tricky) wording of our Key Concept …

“The Faith that Works” (genuine saving faith) “is Faith that Works”
(produces discernible, God-Pleasing outcomes in our lives).

Four Characteristics of “Faith That Works” … (Check if your faith is working these things out in your life).

Keep in mind that this statement about Abraham was written some 400 years after he died; it was a comment, an observation, a commendation from God Himself that looked back over the entire course of his life – We might say it reflected a “body of work” … a body of “Faith-Works”.

Four Characteristics then of Faith That Works or put another
way here are “Four Works of Genuine Saving Faith” …

As much as possible we will allow the Scripture to tell simply the story …

1. Faith That Works TRUSTS GOD COMPLETELY
(Romans 4:17, 21; Genesis 12:1-3; 15:4-5; 17:15-16)

As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed–the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were … being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:17, 21-22)

The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people
and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.

“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you
I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
(Genesis 12:1-3)

Then the word of the LORD came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars–if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Abram believed the LORD … and he credited it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:4-6)

God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” (Genesis 17:15-16)

Faith That Works Trusts God Completely:

Believes first of all that it is in fact God who is speaking;
Believes secondly that what God says is true;
Believes thirdly that God has the power to do what He says (Ro. 4:21);
(You will become a great nation – Sarah will bear a son).

Keep in mind it hadn’t all happened – it hadn’t come close to happening – by the time Abraham died but he died still believing in the Promise.

Faith that Works (Faith that Saves) Trusts God Completely!

2. Faith That Works OBEYS GOD EXPLICITLY
(Romans 1:5; Genesis 12:4; 17:23-27; 22:1-2, 9-10; James 2:20-24)

Paul had pointed out this truth to the believers in Rome in the fifth verse of chapter one of his letter …

“We received grace and apostleship to call people from among
all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.”

Genuine Faith always leads to obedience – explicit obedience. Here’s how it worked out in Abraham’s life …

So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him.
Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.
(Genesis 12:4)

On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, and his son Ishmael was thirteen; Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that same day. And every male in Abraham’s household, including those born in his household or bought
from a foreigner, was circumcised with him. (Genesis 17:23-27)

Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied. Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac,
whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as
a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”

When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
(Genesis 22: 1-2, 9-10)

“… Do you want evidence that faith (words) without deeds is useless?
Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”
and he was called God’s friend.” (James 2:20-23)

Here’s the point … True Faith IS NEVER ALONE! True faith – saving faith always expresses itself in explicit obedience – Following the directives of the God we trust.
No one else in all the Scripture was called to perform such a sacrificial act as Abraham and he was willing to obey – No wonder God called him “Friend”.

Faith that Works (Faith that Saves) Trusts God Completely and Obeys
God Explicitly …

3. Faith That Works ENDURES ADVERSITY CONFIDENTLY
(Romans 4:18-21)

Here we see the Lord inspiring the Apostle Paul to be our interpreter of Abraham’s situation …

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead – since he was about a hundred years old – and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:18-21)

God gave Abraham a promise and then allowed circumstances to pile up that would seem to make the promise unkeepable … Sarah was barren – Abraham was nearly 100 years old – but once God had clarified that it would in fact be from Sarah that the son would come, Abraham believed.

And when it seemed that the promised son was to be taken from them and the promise again put in jeopardy, Abraham believed.

Once the promise was clarified and his faith solidified, there was nothing that could shake him – He endured the adversity (the adverse circumstances) confidently.

The writer of the book of Hebrews even chimes in to tell us (Hebrews 11:19) …

“Abraham reasoned (even if the Sacrifice of Isaac had been made)
that God could raise the dead.”

You could say that Abraham took the position …

“It’s my job to obey and it’s God’s job to work everything out …
and I’m confident that He will.”
So when Isaac asked, “Where is the Lamb?” his father could confidently answer,
“God will provide” … “One way or another God will provide and
keep this whole thing moving forward, I’m sure of it!”

No wonder God loved him and called him “Friend”.

Now one last thing to say this morning … And this is especially intended to encourage you and me.

4. Faith That Works PROVIDES BLESSINGS ABUNDANTLY
(Romans 4:7-8; Genesis 24:1)

Here Paul quotes another great Man of God (Romans 4:7-8) …

David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man
to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

“Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man
whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”

Is there any greater blessing than to know deep down in your heart that you are forgiven of all sin by God Himself and thus acceptable in His sight? Heaven in your ultimate destination and a meaningful life of servant for Christ here on earth is your privilege.

The blessing of forgiveness itself and the gratefulness it generates produces fertile ground in which Faith can Work its wonders in our lives.

Here’s the final word the Scripture gives us on Abraham (Gen 24:1) …

Abraham was now old and well advanced in years, and the
LORD had blessed him in every way.

Faith that Works Trusts God Completely and Obeys God Explicitly and Endures Adversity Confidently and Provides Blessings Abundantly.

Final Thot …
The Faith that Works is FAITH that WORKS;
Allow it to WORK in YOUR LIFE!

Pastor Mark Mikels – January 3, 2010
“THE VALUE OF THE LAW”
(Romans 3:19-31)

Intro … This morning, as we prepare for our first communion service of the New Year, we come to a passage in Romans that could not be more appropriate – Romans 3:19-31. Follow along as I read …

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. (That is, we recognize just how sinful, how unrighteous we are.)

But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished – he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. (Now that’s the only way a man can be justified.)

Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith?
Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law. (That is, we recognize and value the law, for it plays and has played and will continue to play an essential role in our understanding of our salvation itself.)

Thus the title of our meditation this morning:
“THE VALUE OF THE LAW”.

I find in that passage four incredibly helpful and necessary things that the
Law accomplishes in the ultimate plan of God to bring salvation to the world.
Four things that can be incredibly helpful to the saved as well as to the lost;
four things that can place our feet on a good and solid path as we enter into
this New Year.

Let’s look at them together …

* The Law SHUTS Every Man’s MOUTH
As It Establishes Every Man’s GUILT. (vs. 19)

“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are
under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and
the whole world held accountable to God.”

The LAW … whether the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai or the Summarized Law given by Jesus (Love the Lord your God with all
of your heart and with all of your mind and with all of your soul and with all of your strength and Love your neighbor as yourself) or the dozens of specific prohibitions and expectations applied to the Jewish people or the Moral Law that (Paul has previously established) exists inside every human heart … (that LAW) has the ability to shut up those who think that they have accomplished something great – those who would think of themselves as being good or righteous and worthy of honor and distinction.

The LAW would silence all those who would declare their moral superiority over someone else. The LAW would silence and declare foolish anyone who would dare say,
“I’ll take my chances when I stand before God –
I’ve lived a pretty good life – I’m better than most”.

The LAW declares the sinfulness of all … the LAW demonstrates that all are worthy of receiving its harshest judgment. When confronted with the reality of the situation, there’s not one human being who can justifiably declare himself innocent or acceptable.

Thus we come to the second great Value of the LAW seen in this passage …

* The Law Would Bring Every Man
To The POINT of DESPAIR. (vs. 20)

Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law;
rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

Man in and of himself cannot be both conscious of sin and optimistic about his future … Any moral being (and that’s what God has created human beings to be) knows that immoral living leads eventually to judgment … Sinful living leads eventually to self-condemnation.

And the LAW makes sure that man understands that he cannot reverse his course and solve his problem by simply “living better”.

Every New Year’s Resolution ever made in one way or another takes the form … “This year I’m going to live better” – “This year I’m going to live in such a way that come December 31st, I’ll be proud of myself – I’ll be able to pat myself on the back and say ‘You’ve done it’ and possibly and hopefully everyone who knows me will say the same!”

Most of us can’t even do that with regard to some isolated specific behavior let alone all the behaviors of life taken together. And that doesn’t even take into account the thoughts and feelings that lie within that are known to none but us and God – the thoughts and the feelings that God evaluates right along with our outward actions.

The LAW indeed would bring every man to the place of despair – the despair of inability – the despair that says,

“I can’t do it – I’m destined to fall short forever and some day I will stand
before a Holy God whose standard is perfection – whose LAW is absolute”.

And it’s in the bringing of man to such a point of despair that the LAW demonstrates the third great value I find in this passage …

* The Law PREPARES Man For
God’s Gracious PROVISION. (vss. 22-25)

But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished – he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Has there ever been better news than that … God has provided another way – a way that I can be declared righteous (that is, a law-keeper) even though (I know) I cannot actually “keep” the LAW – or even come close to keeping it.

This is like a drowning man being thrown a life preserver … better yet, this is like a rescuer diving into the water and pulling him to shore knowing that he wouldn’t even have had the strength to hold onto a life preserver had he been thrown one.

God has figured out a way to do it all though it required me swallowing quite a bit of water before I was ready for Him to do it for me.

Listen again to that central statement … verse 23-25

“There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His Blood …”

“All fall short” … that we already knew; that’s the truth that the LAW would teach us all … here’s the new thing – the exciting thing …

“All are justified freely” … this applies to everyone and it comes without the requirement of “law-keeping” … in fact, it comes to “law-breakers” like us.

“By His Grace” … this is absolutely undeserved – I didn’t earn it.

“Through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ” … Jesus did something for me that I could never do for myself – He bought me back from the place of judgment and provided me with an entirely different destiny.

“A Sacrifice of Atonement” … This gracious provision of God necessitated not only Jesus’ sinless life on earth but his Sacrificial death on Calvary’s Cross.

“Through Faith In His Blood” … there’s the hint of what is yet to come – what Paul will spend most of chapter four discussing.

“Faith” is the key. Believing in – trusting yourself to – the work that Jesus accomplished on Calvary. That is the sole human element and even that God will help you with …

Remember the distressed father who said to Jesus … “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief” … Billy Graham has always said … “You only need to be willing to be willing.” This morning we provide yet another opportunity for you to exercise “faith in his blood” as we share communion together.

“To be (both) Just and the Justifier” … God didn’t suspend the law and its demands – he provided a “Law-Keeper” and allowed him to take our place.

And now a final thing – a thing that at this point should go without saying but a thing that Paul says nonetheless …

* The Law Eliminates Both PRIDE and PREJUDICE – (vss. 27-31)

Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. (Now that’s the only way a man can be justified.)

Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

There’s no room for pride and pride’s frequent companion prejudice in the heart of a man who has learned the lessons taught by the LAW … He knows he is better than no one else. He knows that he is as needful of God’s forgiveness as anyone else. He knows that in and of himself he stands helpless (along with every other human being) before a God who has brought all men out of one.
The LAW has eliminated his “edge” and taken away any ground upon which he might value one type of man over another.

Four Incredible Values brought into the world by the LAW …

It is any wonder Paul would conclude this passage by saying … “We uphold the LAW” … We underscore his statement with Today’s Final Thot …

Final Thot …
UPHOLDING the LAW readies man to RECEIVE the Savior.

So Where do you stand this morning? Do you uphold the LAW ?

Have you recognized the validity of the LAW to point out your sin and to declare you Guilty before God?

Have you allowed the LAW to bring you to a point of despair – have you realized that there is no way that you can ever keep it, no way that you can ever be acceptable in God’s eyes because of it?

Has your understanding of the LAW prepared you – readied you – stirred a desperate desire within you – for some provision outside of yourself whereby you can get out from under the judgment of God?

Have you received God’s Provision – the very one that the LAW has convinced you that you need? Have you exercised faith in Jesus Christ and his Sacrificial Death on the Cross?

Do you desire to do so this morning – do you desire to renew yourself in that faith as we enter into this New Year?

Share in this communion meal with us …

Eat the Bread and Drink of the Cup as though it were Christ Himself that
you were devouring – yield yourself entirely to Him and trust yourself and your eternal destiny entirely to His Work of Redemption on the Cross and you
shall be saved.

ALAN GILES – December 27, 2009
“THE GOSPEL CALL”

Intro… Today we come to the 4th installment in this series we have come to simply call “The Gospel Series”.

We have examined The Gospel from a few different angles and in each case observed the journey that God has taken me on over the past
nine years.

We began with The Gospel War, where we developed a clearer understanding of who we are in Christ, and I shared with you how this affected my life as I began to truly realize what it meant that, even though I have been justified… or counted as righteous before God…
I am continually being sanctified… or made to be righteous, By the Holy Spirit.

We saw that this was the process Paul was describing in Romans 7, where he gave expression to the fact that his flesh was constantly battling against his spirit, or the inner part of him that delights in
the Law of God… The Gospel War.

Next came the realization of The Gospel Church, where my heart began to burn for Christ’s bride, and the Spirit began to build in me this desire to see the Church redeemed back into The Gospel Driven, Fully Committed, Christ Centered, Called out Body of Witnesses that He had created her to be.

Then, God brought me through the study of The Gospel Church Member, showing me how He has strategically placed each one of us within the Body, and how He had from the very beginning of time Created me in His image, that is a Trinitarian-Like image, in which it is not good for me to be alone.

And so Cassie and I had taken these truths on board in our lives.
We were living in Washington, I was an officer in the Navy, and I
was preparing to deploy on a Nuclear Submarine for the first time
ever… and God was showing me something that was… at first…
absolutely mind blowing.
God Calls His People To Full-Time Ministry.

Now maybe that doesn’t reel you like it did me… but let me explain a little.

Up until that point… sad to say… I thought that there were Christians… and then there were CHRISTIANS…

Or in other words… I thought there were those whose job was to simply believe in Christ… and then there were those whose job was to tell EVERYONE about Christ.

We called these people missionaries, pastors, worship leaders, seminary professors, etc… And these were the people who, for whatever reason, God had told that they were supposed to go to seminary, learn to play the guitar, and be able to read the Bible in Hebrew.

And for the most part… I thought very highly of these people.

I had relatives who were missionaries, knew some really good pastors, and had even come across a couple of worship leaders that weren’t quite as crazy as the people I had seen on TV.

But they were who they were. They were different. They were ministers. They were supposed to be different than me, because they were paid to be different.

And then God started working on me. I was listening to a sermon one the radio one day, and the preacher said something I will never forget…

“We have all been called to be ministers of the Gospel.”

The verse he was working in was 1st Peter 2:5

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into
his marvelous light.”

He had settled in on the phrase, “that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of the darkness into His marvelous light,” and He was making a case for something that I had never thought of…

God Calls…

And not only that, But as I have stated it in today’s Key Truth

Key Truth
God Calls His People To Full-Time Gospel Ministry

Continue Personal Story

Now today, I want us to look, not only at my life, and the way in which God has called me, but I want us to look at the lives of two other Biblical men.

Today’s Examples
Moses – Exodus 2-4 … Paul – Acts 9:1-9, 13:1-3

Now I understand that both of these men are men who led what we might see as extraordinary Christian lives, and I don’t want to downplay in any way the significance of God’s calling on their lives, but I do want us to see how through the story of these two men’s lives, God has laid out Characteristics, Clarifications, and Cautions for us to understand when seeking to know his calling on our lives.

So to begin with, I would have us look at the 4 Characteristics of God’s calling.

First of all, God’s calling is Strategic.

Moses was an Israelite, a member of the tribe of Levi. Yet he was raised by an Egyptian princess.

Paul was an Israelite, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. Yet he was a Roman citizen.

Both men had a strong Jewish Heritage, but through the course of their lives had not only learned another culture, but were most likely versed in the language of those cultures, understood the rhythms and patterns of those cultures, and even understood the ways by which they could seek an audience with figures of higher authority in those cultures.

Have you ever wondered how Moses got an appointment with Pharaoh? Something tells me that not just any Israelite off the street could have had that kind of access to the Egyptian ruler.

Consider also Luke’s entire account of Paul’s dealings with the Roman government throughout the book of acts. Or how Paul was so well versed in the scriptures (a Jew of all Jews), or a Pharisee, and yet how incredibly well he related the gospel to Greek and Roman audiences.

Both men had been called Strategically prepared… and then subsequently Called by God.

Secondly, God’s call is not only Strategic, but it is Specific.

Moses – “Bring my people, the Children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
(Exodus 3:10)

Paul – “that I might preach Him [Christ] among the Gentiles.”
(Galatians 1:15-16)

In both men’s lives, God gives them a calling which is very specific.

He had been preparing them for the specifics of their calling, and then Strategically and Specifically called them to the work He had prepared for them.

Now you might be thinking that God does not call all people in such a specific way. But I would argue that He does call all Christians to certain specifics, and then in all of our lives He goes into a more personally specific calling.

Let me clarify by providing an example from my time on a submarine.
Submarine Example

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.
(Mark 12:30)
Love your neighbor as yourself
(Mark 12:31)
Husbands love your wives.
(Colossians 3:19)
Wives submit to your husbands.
(Colossians 3:18)
Children obey your parents.
(Colossians 3:20)

These are all specific callings.

There is 1 God. Love Him!

There is only 1 you. Love your neighbors like you love you!

Love your wife. 1 Woman. Love her.

Submit to your husband. 1 Man. Submit to him.

How much of our focus is actually on looking to God for direction in regards to how He would have us Love Him, Love those around us, Love our spouses, and honor our parents?

Do we even see these things as God’s calling on our lives or do we treat these as optional paths to follow while living a Christian life?

Because I will tell you this. If we do not come to a point where we see the simple things in life as a calling from God, than we will most likely never come to a place where we are looking to God for the more personally specific calling He has for us!

“God, should I move to here or there, should I take this job or that job, should I attend this school or that school?”

All good questions, all pertaining to our personally specific calling in life, but all questions we may never even lay before God if we do not see the whole of our life as being under the call of God.

Thirdly, God’s calling is Supernatural.

Moses had a burning bush.
Paul had a bright light and an audible voice on the way to Damascus.
Mary had a visit from an Angel.
Joseph had a dream.

I had a stirring in my spirit like I had never known before…
and an understanding.

“Become a Pastor. Love my Bride, the church, and bring her back to what I created her to be.”

You say, “how do you know that’s what you are called to?”

“I just know. God told me.”

“But did He tell you, like, out loud, or in a dream? Did you see some sort of message in the sky?”

“No, but He told me.”

“So then how do you know?”

“I just know”

In fact, this is the point in the conversations on airplanes, or with people I have just met, or am trying to explain my life to, where things just get weird.

Because there always comes a point when people want to know how we know we have been called to what we have been called to… and that’s where we usually get to the point in the explanation where we just have to say, “God told me.”
And that’s what it is. It’s Supernatural. It is an understanding between the Supreme God of the Universe and a human being. It is not ordinary. It is a calling.

Lastly, God’s calling is not only strategic, not only specific, not only supernatural, but God’s calling is Sustaining.

Read the story of Moses’ little 40 year jaunt through the desert with the Israelites. It was not easy.

Read Paul’s account of what He went through for the sake of His calling in 2 Corinthians 11. It was not easy.

In fact, in Paul’s case, his calling led him to:

5 separate occasions of 40 lashes minus 1
3 beatings with rods
1 stoning
3 shipwrecks
A night and a day spent lost at sea
Constantly being on the move
Danger from rivers
Danger from robbers
Danger from Jews
Danger from Gentiles
Danger in the city
Danger in the wilderness
Danger at sea
Danger from false brothers…
Toil
Hardships
Hunger
and
Thirst

What kept him going? What Sustained him?

The CALL.
How about Isaiah? We have probably all read the account of his calling in Isaiah 6:1-8 where Isaiah sees God on His throne, and sees the temple, and the seraphim. He hears the worship of God, and is overwhelmed with who he is in front of such a Holy God.

God then says, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” and
Isaiah responds with “Here am I! Send me.”

But don’t stop there, keep reading. Look at what God calls him to?

He essentially says … “go tell the people that they are deaf, blind, dumb, and evil, and if they do not turn from their ways, I will destroy their cities, raze their land, and send them into exile!”

What a calling! Read Isaiah some time and see what He went through?

What kept him going? What keeps us going?

The CALL.

It is sustaining … It is enough.

Life might bring us to a place where all we have left is The CALL.

Maybe the only reason we can love any deeper, or work any harder, or take that next step, or even get out of bed… is because we know we
are Called.

And as we look back at how we were called so strategically, so specifically, and so supernaturally… we are sustained.
And we continue on… in Gospel Ministry.

Quickly, I just want to make a few Clarifications to God’s calling,
and highlight a couple of Cautions, and then we’ll close.

First Clarification:

* We Are Called By The WILL And COMMAND Of God…
Not To COMMAND God To Our WILL (1 Cor. 1:1, 1 Timothy 1:1)

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus… (1Co 1:1)

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of
Christ Jesus our hope, (1Tim 1:1)

We are called by God’s command, to do God’s will, and not to command God to our will.

Second Clarification:

* We Are Called To JOIN God At WORK…
Not To A WORK Which We Then Ask God To JOIN
(Exodus 3:7-10, Acts 13:1-3)

Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their task-masters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And now, behold, the
cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:7-10)

Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen
a member of the court of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. (Act 13:1-3)

God does not ask us to strike out on our own… start something up… and get it to some unknown point at which He will then show up and start helping us. God works… then calls us to join Him in the work that He is already doing.
Third Clarification:

* We Are Called To A WORKING Gospel…
Not To WORK The Gospel (Romans 1:1-5)

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart
for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, (Rom 1:1-5)

2 sermons ago we looked in depth at how The Gospel has pushed and driven its way from a little upper room in Jerusalem that Pentecost morning, through Judea, through Samaria, through tribe and tongue, through Europe, and Asia, and around the world.

The Gospel is a working Gospel. It does not need to be worked. Our calling is simply to allow The Gospel to work in us and through us… and God will take care of the rest.

Finally, 2 Cautions regarding our calling.

It must be Defended, and it must be Developed.

The last thing Satan wants is for you to take God’s calling on your life seriously. He will attack you through your friends, family, and co-workers. He will distract you with money, trinkets, and toys. He will take shots at your health, your happiness, and even take shots directly at your heart. So our calling must be Defended.

Furthermore, our calling must be Developed. Jesus spent somewhere near 30 years training for his calling. He spent 3 years preparing his disciples for their calling. Paul spent at least 3 years developing his calling, and Moses was 80 years old before God put him into action.

Allow God to help you develop your calling. Spend time in prayer, know Him, Know His Word, seek Godly mentors… Defend and Develop your calling.
Final Thot:
God Has CALLED Us All To Full-Time Gospel Ministry…
He Simply Routes Our PAYCHECKS Through Different AVENUES.

God has not saved us to a meaningless series of years spent wandering this earth, collecting things that gather dust, storing up treasures that will perish, and doing whatever it is that we want to do with our lives.

God has us here for a reason. He has a purpose for every one of our lives. He is calling us all to a life of Full-Time Gospel Ministry. Seek Him. Ask for His guidance, ask for his direction, seek out His calling
for your life.

It might not seem like you are called to anything great. But I guarantee you that you are called.

Maybe it’s to host a cell group. Maybe it’s to help lead worship. Maybe you are called to be a light in a dark place, or a salt to a people who do not sense their thirst for the living water. Maybe you are called to be a friend to someone who has none, or called to be an encouragement to someone who is down. Maybe you are called to be a witness to your neighbors, or to raise children who will be a witness at school. Maybe you are called to train leaders or teach youngsters… I don’t know.

But I do know that He has called us all to Full-Time Gospel Ministry. When we are at work… we are to be at work… in Gospel Ministry. When we go home… we are to bring God with us… and be at work… ministering to our families.

We are ministers on the road… ministers at the store… even ministers at our kid’s athletic events. In every aspect of life we are on the clock as employees of God. Ambassadors… servants… lights. Wherever He calls… we are to go… and whatever the calling… we are called to answer.

Year after year… month after month… week after week… day after day.
Until that final day when God calls us home and greets us with those warm and comforting words that we are all longing to hear…

“Well done, my good and faithful servant…
“YOU ANSWERED THE CALL.”

Pastor Mark Mikels – December 20, 2009
“THE DEVASTATION WROUGHT BY SIN”
(Romans 3:9-18)

Intro … The topic of sin is neither common nor popular today though it used to be the central topic of almost any Christian message.

Reminds me of a cartoon I read quite some years ago … a little boy came home from church one Sunday and his neighbor asked him what the preacher had talked about… “Sin” said the little boy. “And what did he say about it” asked his neighbor. In answer the little boy simply said, “He was against it”.

That preacher would agree wholeheartedly with the truth conveyed in the title of my message today …
“The Devastation Wrought By Sin.”

You see, the truth is, as Today’s Key Thot puts it …

Today’s Key Thot …
There is nothing so DEVASTATING
to a HUMAN BEING as SIN.

And to that key thot I could easily add this corollary one:

“There is no human being in a more dangerous position than one
who has forgotten how devastating to himself sin can be.”

That’s the very position that God would never want us to be in; that’s the very position that Paul wanted to protect the believers in Rome from; that’s the very reason I believe the Holy Spirit inspired him to write the words contained in our text of the morning – Romans 3:9-18 and that’s the very reason I would focus our attention upon it this morning.

In this extended passage, we look as it were with divine x-ray vision into the very heart and life of a sinner and we get to see just what kind of devastation persistent, un-dealt-with sin creates.

Follow along as I read …

“What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written:

(A simple glance at the notes in the margin of your Bible will reveal that Paul weaves together concepts and phrases from at least 8 Old Testament sources in this description)

‘There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away; they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes.’ ”
(Romans 3:9-18)

I find in that passage three key areas of devastation wrought by sin in the
life of any human being who becomes entangled in it … in the life of any human being … saved and unsaved alike.

You see, sin doesn’t stop being destructive in my life just because I’m a
Christian … the only difference in me being a Christian is that my sin can no longer condemn me to Hell and that my sin grieves the Spirit of God within me and His grief might eventually bring me to repentance but apart from those facts, sin is as devastating to me a believer as it is to one who has no relationship to God at all.

So don’t ease yourself into your comfortable spiritual recliner this morning and doze off with the thought that finally you’ve come to a message that is aimed at someone else … This message like just about every other I will ever preach is aimed at every one of us in this room.

It’s vital that each of us understands clearly – for our own sakes as well as for the sake of others – the devastation wrought by sin … by persistent, un-dealt-with sin.

Consider with me then these Three Great Areas of Devastation Wrought By Persistent, Un-Dealt-With Sin …

1. SIN DEVASTATES MAN’S PERCEPTION (11a, 18)
“No one UNDERSTANDS … No one FEARS God …”

There is no one who understands (11 a),
There is no fear of God before their eyes (18).

The first thing that sin does once it takes up residence in our lives is it begins to “mess with our minds” … Some messing, of course, is done before sin ever “sets up house” because somehow we “talked ourselves into doing something that we knew was wrong” or else we wouldn’t have sinned in the first place.

But by whatever means we convinced ourselves that that first sin was okay, sin itself is more than willing to “take it from there” and seek to make us comfortable with a continuation and even escalation of that sin until that particular sin seems like an almost normal part of us.

Frequently we begin by posing the question “What’s so wrong with …” and end up asserting “There’s nothing wrong with it at all” – it’s the way I live my life.”

Sin modifies and ultimately devastates man’s perception of things; Sin challenges every Biblically-Based Perspective that we hold or that we hear taught …
Sin would make its goal to remove the fear of God and His Judgment from man’s mind. Sin would seek to remove any awareness of God’s Standards from man’s mind as well.

The original battle in the Garden was a battle for man’s mind – for man’s perception of things …
“Did God really say …” and “God knows that in the day you eat of it
your eyes will be opened and you will be like God”.

And of the woman it is said … “And when she saw …” that is, when she began to see things from a new perspective – when her perception of things changed, “she took the fruit and ate …”

Sin, left to run its course, will completely devastate man’s ability to perceive things clearly and properly – even Christian man.

To the exasperated inquiry aimed at one who has even repented … ”How could you have done such a thing” frequently comes the answer “It seemed good at the time”. And to those who have not repented, it still seems good.

Oh what a sad state to be in … to become one who “no longer understands”
(who no longer perceives things properly) and who because of that lack of understanding no longer properly “fears God”.

Sin devastates man’s Perception!

Now here’s another thing … something that reveals that something has gone amuck within the heart of man …

2. SIN DEVASTATES MAN’S CONVERSATION (13-14)

Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is
on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.

It never fails … a bad mouth reveals a bad heart and mind …

They DISGUST (that’s) unwholesome speech
(“Their throats are open graves”)
They open their mouths and disgusting things come out … crude things, twisted things; perverted things; ugly things; filthy things … sin has a unique vocabulary.

They DECEIVE (that’s) untruthful speech
(“Their tongues practice deceit”)
They “practice” deceit … maybe in front of a mirror; practice lying with a straight face … Such a thing must be taught in Orientation Sessions for all newly elected Congressmen.

You see, once your Perception of things becomes “What’s best for me is the most important thing” then Deception for the purpose of protecting or advancing yourself is seen to be perfectly acceptable (in your mind at least).

They DEBILITATE (that’s) unhelpful speech
(The poison of vipers is on their lips.)
Those who hang around them eventually suffer because of it. There’s damage done by the things they say … sometimes irrevocable damage. Their words, taken to heart, lead their listeners down dangerous paths.

They DEMEAN (that’s) unhopeful speech
(Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.)

There is nothing uplifting in their words … they focus so upon themselves that they find no merit in anyone else – in fact, they must deny the existence of merit outside of themselves lest they diminish themselves. They find it easy and enjoyable to demean others and do so in the strongest language possible.

Un-Dealt-With Sin will eventually Devastate Man’s Conversation – people learn to stay away!

Sin devastates man’s Perception and man’s Conversation … What else?

3. SIN DEVASTATES MAN’S SENSE OF DIRECTION (11b, 12, 15-17)

“Turns him from the path of MAJESTY to the path of MISERY”

Here’s how Paul outlined it …

“They do not seek God … They have all turned away …they have become worthless …
their feet are swift to shed blood …ruin and misery mark their ways …
the way of peace they do not know.”

What a resume with which to highlight one’s life … it’s a lot like saying they have become “senseless, faithless, heartless and ruthless” – the descriptors Paul used in chapter one and it all comes of “refusing to seek God” and of “turning away” from the things of God.

Sin can convince a man that he is making progress even when he is rapidly running the wrong way …

Sin would turn man (would turn you and me) from the path of Majesty to the path of Misery.

More than one professing believer (like the prodigal son) has found himself saying “How did I get in this mess – How did I wander so far from the path I was once on” and the answer is “SIN” … somewhere along the line, sin has entered in and messed with your PERCEPTION of things and thus altered your sense of DIRECTION and most likely gave hints of its presence through your CONVERSATION.

Final Thot … The most FOOLISH thing a human being can do is
PERSIST in a life of SIN.

Pastor Mark Mikels – December 13, 2009
“THE VALUE OF A CHRISTIAN HOME”
(Romans 3:1-2)

Intro … This morning I want to talk about “The Value of a Christian Home”.
It’s a topic stimulated by the first two verses contained in our passage of the week … Romans 3:1-2 … The rest of the passage (verses 3-8) raises issues that Paul will deal with more fully later in the book – we will discuss them then. Verses 1 and 2 raise and answer a question that is of great importance.

Here’s how they read:

“What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.”

Now it’s important that we read this question in context … the word “then” in verse one is just like the word “therefore” … to understand the meaning of the verse we must know what it’s “there for”.

In Chapter One Paul outlines the horrible plight of a world lost in sin – a world from which God has lifted his gracious hand of restraint. He characterizes the people of such a world as having become “senseless, faithless, heartless and ruthless”. He concludes chapter one with the judgment that those who do such things “deserve death” – a judgment with which he would expect his readers to agree.

However, in Chapter Two Paul immediately turns the tables on us his readers – on us who have just “agreed with his judgment” by saying “You who pass judgment have no excuse because you who pass judgment are guilty of doing
the same things” … you are as guilty as they are!

Then, just in case some of Paul’s Jewish readers were considering his remarks to be focused only upon his Gentile readers (as they no doubt were doing), Paul takes the Jews to task in the second half of chapter two as he points out that the Jews were the cause of much Divine Distress … in fact, he goes so far as to say that their behavior has caused “God’s Name to be blasphemed among the Gentiles”. He then pushes the point further by declaring that even the “Sign” of their Covenant Relationship – Circumcision” in and of itself is meaningless.

Now in light of those incredible statements, Paul begins Chapter Three by raising the very question that would be on any Jewish reader’s mind.

“What advantage (if any), then, is there in being a Jew,
or what value is there in circumcision?”

Do we need to throw away our heritage – do we need to forget everything that we have been taught – if we would be saved?

To that frustrated and perhaps even despairing question, Paul gives a most unexpected answer – “Absolutely not” he would declare …

“There is “much (advantage), in every way!” Chiefly (or most importantly)
“They (the Jews) have been entrusted with the very words of God.”

Today I would rephrase the question this way …

Today’s Key Question …

What ADVANTAGE Is There In Being BORN
Into A CHRISTIAN FAMILY?
(Romans 3:1-2)

Some Basic Parameters:
Christian Family Is Composed of PEOPLE who are Committed to CHRIST, Connected To His CHURCH and Convinced of the
TRUTH of His WORD.
(Joshua 24:15)

“As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Now having defined those parameters, back to our “Key Question”

“What advantage is there in being born into a Christian Family?” or
“What motivation is there to seek to establish a Christian Family?”

Now I raise that question because there have been times in my life when I felt like the proper answer to that question was “Not Much” … there is not much advantage to having been raised in a Christian Home.

I never got to experience the world … I was always told what was right and what was wrong … I was never allowed (it seemed) to just make up my own mind …
I was kind of spiritually “coasting along on my parents coattails” as it were …
I was saved when I was nine years old and therefore possess neither a dramatic testimony nor a lurid history with which to impress an audience. Being raised in a Christian home took most of the excitement out of my Christian life.

When I arrived as a freshman at Wheaton College, it was pointed out during our Orientation that the Wheaton years would provide me an opportunity to discover just how much of my “faith” was my own and how much I was in fact just riding on my parent’s coattails.

It was even suggested that I might find myself “setting aside the things that I had always believed” so that I could examine them and make sure that my faith was in fact “my faith” and not just something I had “borrowed” from my parents.

It seemed like I needed to dismantle everything that had been built into me so that I could build it myself … make sure it was my own. Maybe it would have been better (I thought) if I had been an unenlightened 18 year old pagan who was discovering these things for the first time! Then I might have the enthusiasm of discovery and the thrill of a “God turned me around” kind of testimony.

Needless to say, at that point in my life I did not necessarily feel like there was any great advantage to having been raised in a Christian Home. I would possibly have challenged Paul’s declaration in this passage … I certainly would have been lukewarm towards it.

Things drastically changed during those next four years and then in the three years of Seminary training that followed …

By the time I was establishing my own family and stepping into a ministry position where I would be seeking to encourage the establishment of others, I had become absolutely convinced that there had been (in my life) and would always be (for anyone else) great advantage to being born into a Christian Family!

Let me share just three of those advantages with you this morning.
Advantage #1: As a result of being born into a Christian Home …

You Easily EMBRACE Things Others STRUGGLE To ACCEPT.

(The EXISTENCE of God …The WORD of God
The PEOPLE of God …The PLACE of God)

Biblical Example: Timothy … 2 Timothy 3:14, 1:5

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of,
because you know those from whom you learned it and how from infancy
you have known the holy Scriptures,

I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother
Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

“From Infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures” … what a legacy!

Timothy never lived a day outside the awareness that God had revealed His Purposes for man in written form. He didn’t need to be convinced through careful argument or reasoning that the Scriptures were reliable, though that process is helpful … He just knew it – He had always known it. His life was based upon it. His family was steeped in it and so was he!

Those who have been raised in Christian Homes easily embrace things that others (those not raised in Christian Homes) struggle to accept and/or understand.

They embrace the fact of God’s Existence … They embrace the Scripture as God’s Divine Word … They embrace the importance of the Church – their extended family of faith … They embrace the Place of God in the world – His Sovereignty and His Oversight. As far as they are concerned “It just the way things are”.

Advantage #2: As a result of being born into a Christian Home …

2. You Naturally KNOW Things Others Must WORK To LEARN.

(The WORKINGS of God – That’s Biblical HISTORY)

(The WAYS of God – Those are Biblical PRINCIPLES)

Biblical Example: Timothy … 2 Timothy 3:15-17

“From infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise
for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is
useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that
the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

One does not become “wise unto salvation” without some understanding of the entire flow of God’s workings in this world … the Creation of the Perfect World, the Fall into Sin, The Promise of A Savior, The Choosing of A People, The Giving of a Sacrificial System, The Establishing of a Witness Nation … all the things that paved the way for the Coming of Christ into the world.

One does not become “equipped for every good work” without some detailed knowledge of the ways of God – the principles by which He would have His People live their lives.

For the child of a Christian Home these things are second nature – for someone raised in a non-Christian home these things can seem strange and mysterious … much work is needed to master them.

Advantage #3: As a result of being born into a Christian Home …

You Intuitively SENSE Things Others YEARN To EXPERIENCE

IDENTITY – I know who I am;
SECURITY – I know whose I am.
FORGIVENESS – I know that my slate is clean.
CONFIDENCE – I know that God is working in all things.

Biblical Example: Jesus … Luke 2:52
“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men.”

There’s a wonderfully natural progression that can take place in one who has been fortunate enough to be born into a Christian Home. He or she develops from infant to adult in all areas of life in an inter-connected way – physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual – and as a result such a one intuitively senses realities that others yearn for and frequently struggle to experience.

Final Thot … It’s an awesome thing to either CONTINUE or
BEGIN your LEGACY as a CHRISTIAN FAMILY!

Pastor Mark Mikels – December 6, 2009
“MAKING GOD LOOK BAD”
(Romans 2:17-29)

Intro … This morning in preparation for a time of soul-searching, life-renewing communion with Christ, I would draw your attention to what I’m calling …

A HORRIBLE INDICTMENT …

(It’s the indictment the Apostle Paul leveled against the self-righteous Jews of his day – Jews who felt that being God’s Chosen People and knowing the law was enough, Jews who felt that they had a special relationship with God that trumped everything else, Jews who felt superior to all other men, Jews who taught and preached that superiority, Jews who, by their haughtiness and carelessness regularly violated the very law that they professed to cherish.)

Here’s what Paul said to them …

“God’s NAME is BLASPHEMED … because of YOU.”
(Romans 2:24)

In other words …
“People think BADLY of God because they ASSOCIATE Him with you.”

Could any more terrible indictment be brought against anyone?
“The more people get to know you, the less they think of your God.”

You claim that your God provides peace and joy and yet they see you fret and stew like everyone else. You claim that your God forgives sin and yet they find
in you a most unforgiving heart. You claim that your God is even now preparing for you a heavenly home and yet you live like this life is all that matters. You claim that your God takes sin very seriously and yet you tolerate all kinds of misbehavior and seem to be little affected by it. You claim that Jesus is the only answer and yet you seem to be forever scrambling to find satisfaction.

Like Doctor Phil – the watching world would say – “So how’s that working for you?” – meaning, it’s obvious that it’s not working very well and no thinking person would want to try what you’re demonstrating.

How sad when the person drawing that conclusion is your best friend or a co-worker or your spouse or your child or grandchild …

“The more I get to know you, the less I think of your God.”
“The more I think about the fact that you claim to be a Christian, the less I want to be one.”

Is that not the last thing that we would ever want to hear anyone say?
Is that not however something that could today be said about many?

What causes that to happen – How can a genuine believer keep that from happening?

As we approach this time of communion with Christ, consider with me why Paul brought such an indictment against the self-righteous Jews of his day.

Here’s my answer in a nutshell …

They were living a LIFE that was only HALF-BAKED because
they possessed a FAITH that was only SKIN-DEEP.

Two parts to that answer:

They were living a Life that was only Half-Baked; that is …

* They failed to PRACTICE what they PREACHED. (vs. 21)

“you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the law,
do you dishonor God by breaking the law?”

They were only “half-baked”… they professed but they didn’t perform.

A “Half-Baked Potato” is hard and unappetizing;
A “Half-Baked Pizza” is gooey and unappealing;
A “Half-Baked Chicken” is rubbery and unhealthy; and
“Half-Baked Christianity” is unattractive and generally repulsive!

Something that is “Half-Baked” possesses all the proper ingredients but has had insufficient contact with the flame.
And so we come to the second part of this answer: They possessed a Faith that was only Skin-Deep, that is …

* Their HEARTS had never been REACHED. (vss. 28-29)

“A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely
outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision
is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code.
Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.”

Circumcision was the outward sign of the covenant – a physical indicator that a man was one of God’s Chosen People. But if the man’s heart was not in tune with GOD, circumcision was no more than a physical anomaly .

Paul was not making anything up here … the studious Jew had long known this to be true. Moses (the lawgiver himself) had written these words to the early Israelites (Deuteronomy 10:16) …

“Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and be stiff-necked no longer.”

Earlier in that same chapter (verse 12) Moses had written …

And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Jesus once said of the Jews of his day (Mark 7:6) …

“These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me.”

The heart’s the thing … God wants the heart; for He knows that if He has the heart, then He on His way to having the whole man.

But hearts are fickle things – hearts can cool, hearts can be distracted … even circumcised ones. And when hearts cool, then behavior becomes forced and phony.

So how’s your heart this morning as we prepare for Communion?
Check it out if you haven’t already for as our Final Thot puts it …

Final Thot … A transformed LIFE begins with a transformed HEART and
that TRANSFORMED life puts our God is the best possible LIGHT!

Pastor Mark Mikels – November 29, 2009
“WHEN JUDGMENT CALLS”
(Romans 2:1-16)

Intro …
Have you ever really been set-up? That is, has anyone ever talked you right into a corner where you had no where to turn – where you make one fateful comment and he says, “Gottcha” and all you can say is “He got me good” – “He totally
blind-sided me”?

Well … that’s exactly what Paul has done to his readers in these first two chapters of Romans.

Last week we looked at that incredible passage in chapter one that depicts just what happens when God lifts his hand of gracious restraint and allows a person or a society to simply “go their own way and do their own thing” …

Three times we read the ominous phrase … “He gave them over” – to sexual impurity; to shameful lusts, to a completely depraved mind. He gave them up to
a despicable and disgusting life …

Paul comments in the final verse of chapter one that those who do such things “deserve death” and I’m sure he’s meaning the eternal as well as the physical variety! He’s saying in effect, “Those people who do such things, deserve to
go to Hell!”

And as he says such a thing he, no doubt, has most of his readers nodding their agreement … I mean isn’t that what he expected?

Isn’t that how he would imagine that all “godly” people would respond?
Respond with thoughts like:
“Shame on them!”
“They are the lowest of the low.”
“They are ruining our entire society.”
“They deserve just what’s coming to them.”
“I hope I live long enough to see God’s Justice play out.”
And as we allow those thoughts and feelings to run through our minds and take root in our hearts, we hear him say … “Gottcha”.

And here’s how he says it … Romans 2:1-16

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?

But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God “will give to each person according to what he has done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism.

All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.) This will take place on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.

So Paul is saying – “You have no excuse … You don’t have a leg to stand on …
You who would so surely condemn these sinners for (in the most important of ways) you are just like them!”

Doesn’t mean that your assessment of them is wrong, it just means that you are in the same boat with them. Your judgment of them simply shows that you understand that judgment is what sin deserves and so when you pass judgment on them you are passing judgment on yourself as well. They are simply sinners doing sinful stuff just as you are! So when you condemn them you are actually simultaneously condemning yourself … “Gottcha – Gottcha Good!”
Well, how do we respond to that … even if we only felt those things a little bit?

Surely we can’t just overlook blatant sin, can we? We can’t just say “to each his own”, can we? The fact that I’m not perfect can’t forever shut my mouth, can it?

In fact, am I not obligated – am I not expected – to engage in a certain amount of judging (judgment making) in this life?

Several significant Scriptures on the subject …

John 7:24 …
“Stop judging (this is right where many believers stop reading)
according to mere appearances and make a right judgment.”

1 Corinthians 11:31 …
“If we would judge ourselves we would not be judged.”

1 Corinthians 5:3 …
“As though present, I have judged already concerning him.”

1 Corinthians 6:3 …
“Do you not know that you will judge angels?
How much more the things of this life.”

Romans 2:3 …
“So when you a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same
things, do you think that you will escape the judgment of God?”

Leads us to …

Today Key Question …

HOW can I make the necessary JUDGMENTS which must
be made in this life without FALLING under judgment myself?

Indeed that’s the issue, isn’t it?
There are “necessary judgments” that must be made – all the time.

Behaviors violate God’s Standards and need to be identified as sin – that’s judgment;

Choices present themselves and we must choose between them – that’s judgment;

People come into our lives frequently and we must decide whether to link ourselves to them or not – that’s judgment;

Individuals under our authority mess up and need to be reprimanded and corrected – that’s judgment.

Judgment is an indispensible part of earthly life – through the proper use of appropriately applied judgment, our lives stay free from willful, deliberate sin, the church stays on track and evil-doing is kept somewhat at bay.

But how can we engage in such judgment-making without incurring the wrath
of the Righteous Judge Himself?

Here’s a simple answer tucked away in that third verse …

Be sure that you do not judge as a “mere man” – a man operating in the flesh, motivated by the attitudes of the world, driven by suggestions of the Devil.

Rather … Operate as God’s Man – as one who has been born-again through faith in Jesus Christ, who is stimulated by the indwelling Spirit of God and by the
life-defining Word of God.

Now … within the context of that conviction – “I must operate (especially in this area of judgment-making) as God’s Man” – there are found in our passage of the morning …

FOUR GUIDELINES FOR JUDGING:

1. JUDGE HUMBLY … Recognizing your own FALLEN STATE (vs. 1)

“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else,
for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself,
because you who pass judgment do the same things.”

There is no place for a haughty attitude when one is making righteous judgments. More likely, a believer who is judging properly is doing so with a broken spirit … There is a sense in which our attitude is “There but for the grace of God go I”.

Humility doesn’t keep us from making the necessary judgments but it does remove from us that triumphant sense of superiority that can easily cloud our judgment and even give us pleasure in it.

Recognizing our own fallen state will forever sensitize us to the fact that sinners are not the enemy but they are the victims of the enemy, even as we could easily be. Those who judge humbly will forever make their judgments in the context of sorrow.

This passage would say … When you judge – Judge Humbly!

2. JUDGE ACCURATELY … What actually HAPPENED? (vss. 2, 16)

Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things
is based on truth … This will take place on the day when God will judge
men’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.

God’s eyes see into the very heart of man – He knows all the secrets that lie within it … His judgment is never based on hearsay or supposition. He knows the truth and it’s that truth upon which his judgment is made.

Those who would judge without falling under judgment themselves must be likewise committed to discovering the truth.

Can’t make judgments based upon mere appearances; can’t make judgments based upon rumor or unfounded accusations; can’t make judgments based upon emotional reactions.

Judgments must be made based upon the most truth that can be uncovered … Proverbs 25:2 says:
“To search out a matter is the Glory of Kings”.

Such judgment-making takes time and effort – such judgment-making allows
for the rush of emotions to subside – such judgment-making creates a context of calmness in which sound judgments are more likely to be made.

Judge Humbly – Judge Accurately …

3. JUDGE IMPARTIALLY … No BIAS or PREJUDICE (vs. 11)

“For God does not show favoritism.”

Everyone knows that “biased or prejudiced judgment” is no judgment at all … That’s why in the highest court in our land, justice is depicted as being blind-folded.

In this passage, Paul is saying that God himself does not show favoritism – All people (Jews and Gentiles) will be judged equally upon the basis of their deeds: good will be rewarded no matter who produces it just as evil will be punished no matter who commits it.

Then he goes on to point out that whether we live under the Mosaic law (the Jewish People) or we live under some form of natural moral law (the Gentiles) we will be equally evaluated according to whether
or not we have kept the law as we have known it to be.

So it must be with our judgments – favoritism (special treatment) must not enter in … if it’s wrong, it’s wrong no matter who has done it.

And now the final and perhaps most interesting and challenging guideline
of the four …

In addition to judging Humbly and Accurately and Impartially …

4. JUDGE HOPEFULLY … No earthly judgment is FINAL (vs. 4)

“… Do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience,
not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?”

God’s Judgment is always given within the context of kindness, tolerance and patience with the hope that it will ultimately lead to repentance and re-birth. Our earthly judgment should always have some hopefulness in it …

We who must exercise it need to remember that no earthly judgment
is ever final …

In fact, earthly judgment is intended to lead to correction and restoration. The goal of earthly judgment is never punishment per se but discipline leading to behavioral change.

And since that is the goal then it only makes sense that it is meted out in the context of HOPE …

Hope that the true way will be clearly revealed;
Hope that the sinful way will be completely abandoned;
Hope that the results of the judgment (though painful)
will lead to a life that has been wonderfully salvaged.

The presence of a hopeful heart in the judge is actually made possible by the other three elements of the judgment process.

As Christian judges we are hopeful because we humbly remember that we too have been victims of sin and have been delivered; we are hopeful because we believe that our commitment to complete honesty and accuracy will bring to light the things that truly are the necessary and relevant things – the things that need to be addressed; we are hopeful because we believe that a consistent practice of impartiality will establish the context in which our judgments can be best received as having merit and thus most likely to produce a positive result.
Judging humbly/accurately/impartially enables us to judge hopefully!

Final Thot … Judging presents a believer with one of his greatest
RESPONSIBILITIES and one of his greatest TEMPTATIONS.
We can’t IGNORE it and we mustn’t ABUSE it!

Pastor Mark Mikels – November 15, 2009
“THE WRATH OF GOD”
(Romans 1:18-23)

Intro … Today as we return to our verse by verse study of the Book of Romans we are forced to turn our attention to one of the most neglected or perhaps avoided Truths in God’s Word …

Today’s Key Focus:
“The TRUTH of God’s WRATH”

Here’s our passage of the day … listen as I read and then tell me if you can see any way that we can get around this most sobering truth.

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wicked- ness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. (Rom. 1:18-23)

Talk about shifting gears! Introduction time is over – testimony time is done … Paul has jumped with both feet into some pretty serious stuff.

And it’s stuff that most believers today seldom talk about … certainly it’s stuff that is seldom preached about, especially not by those who would want to remain popular with the masses. But it’s the stuff to which we give our attention this morning and it lays the groundwork for all the stuff that is yet to come and it even establishes the context for the stuff that we have already considered.

Could say it’s some pretty essential “stuff”. It’s stuff concerning
God’s Wrath and the actions of men that stimulate it.

We could call this passage …
“The Wrath of God And The Mess-Ups Of Man.”

This morning I would share three key understandings that arise directly from this passage and then a fourth that I had to borrow from somewhere else.

The first thing that I (and Paul) would have us understand is:

1. THE CHARACTER OF GOD’S WRATH – What is God’s ANGER like?
“The wrath of God is revealed from heaven …” verse 18

* It’s DIVINE not HUMAN

God’s wrath or anger is not like man’s anger – it is not subjective or emotionally based; it is not biased or prejudicial; it is not uniformed or misdirected; it’s the wrath of an all-knowing, all-comprehending Being.

God’s Wrath is “A righteous response of a Holy God” … it is just as “Godly” for God to be angry as it is for him to be loving!

* It’s PATIENT not IMPULSIVE

The term that Paul used that is translated “wrath” is the Greek word “orge” … suggests a slow but steady swelling – like yeast rising or like a balloon growing toward capacity. It’s actually more of an attitude than an action … a growing, ever-intensifying abhorrence of something.

Actually used of Jesus on one occasion … Mark 3:1-6

Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.” Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

Those Pharisees felt his anger – they knew he was disgusted with them.
They decided it would be best for them to get rid of him!

I’m sure it took a lot for Jesus to “hold it in” that day but that’s part of the character of God’s Wrath … It’s patient. Some of those very Pharisees later on repented and become His Followers.

But here’s the next thing we need to understand about the Character of God’s Wrath …

* It’s EXPRESSED not HELD FOREVER

It “is” … has been … and will yet be … revealed from heaven …
There comes a time when the dough has fully risen; when the balloon has reached its maximum capacity; when this God-Felt Abhorrence reaches its limit and God’s Wrath bursts forth in judgment.

It happened in the Flood in Noah’s Day;
It happened at Sodom and Gomorrah;
It happened when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem;
It happened on Calvary.

The Book of Revelation speaks of a time when “Bowls of Wrath”
will be poured out upon the earth in the last days.

Between Christ’s first and second coming, the outward expression of God’s Wrath has been and is being “held-back” …

We live in a marvelous period of grace … a time of salvation … a time for declaring the “Good News” of God’s Glorious Gospel – the news of how we can avoid His Wrath forever – a time when the affects of Christ taking the wrath of God upon himself are being played out.

But make no mistake …

Our God is a God Who is Capable of Great Wrath.

Now that leads us to the second understanding that arises from this passage.

2. THE CAUSE OF GOD’S WRATH – What MAKES God so ANGRY?

“Man’s SUPPRESSION of His TRUTH” (vs. 18)

Listen to the passage again …

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wicked- ness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. (Rom. 1:18-23)

* Man KNOWS the Truth (vs. 19, 21)
“… since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God
has made it plain to them … For although they knew God …”

* Man Is ACCOUNTABLE to the Truth (vs. 20)
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities-his eternal power
and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made,
so that men are without excuse.”

* Man has PERVERTED the Truth (vs. 23)
“… they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for
images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.”

* Man has REJECTED the Truth (vs. 21, 18)
“For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God
nor gave thanks to him, … men who suppress the truth.”

They not only reject God’s Truth for themselves – they actually seek to hide it from others … they deny it- they prohibit it – they make it illegal to declare it or build an educational system upon it.

Man’s actions with regard to His Truth really makes God angry!
Two big conclusions so far …

“Our God is a God who is Capable of Great Wrath”
and
“Man’s Attempts To Suppress God’s Truth Really Make God Angry.”

One more key understanding arises from this passage …
It’s important that we understand …

3. THE COURSE OF GOD’S WRATH – Toward what is it DIRECTED?

“Every Single SIN Ever COMMITTED” (vs. 18)

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.”

The truth is … every willful sin is the result of a conscious decision to “suppress” (to hold down/to ignore/to countermand) God’s Truth – the most basic being that of Loving our neighbor as ourselves.

And so the result is that the Wrath of God is directed against every single sin that has ever been committed by man …

Every little sin – every big sin;
Every secret sin – every public sin;
Every sinful action – every sinful thought – every sinful attitude …
Every Single One!

There are no freebies – there are no do-overs … every single sin is caught in the spotlight of God’s Wrath and every single one is Abhorrent to Him!

The expression of his wrath is certain and it is comprehensive and it bears devastating consequences.

And so Paul launches the main body of his letter with this devastating teaching regarding the WRATH OF GOD …
It was critical that these saints of God to whom he was writing clearly understood that …

“Their God is a God who is Capable of Great Wrath”
and that
“Man’s attempts to suppress God’s Truth is what really Stirs His Wrath”
and that
“His Wrath is directed toward every single sin ever committed.”

Those truths (The Bad News about the Wrath of God) lay the necessary foundation for the Good News of the Gospel.

Based upon this passage I would say …

“Woe to those who would seek to suppress the Bad News
even as they profess to present the “Good News”.

That’s a real temptation today – to fill auditoriums by preaching only the marvelous benefits of a God whose only relevant characteristic (the only one that needs to be mentioned) is LOVE.

It was not such a temptation in years gone by … in fact, one of the most powerful sermons ever preached in America – the sermon that God used to spark the Great Awakening in the early days of this country – was a sermon titled …

“Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God.”

It was preached by a non-emotional, highly intellectual, future President of Yale University named Jonathan Edwards. He read it from a printed manuscript and yet the Spirit of God that day so powerfully moved upon the congregation that there were people holding on to the pillars of the building lest the floor open up and they plunge into the eternal fires of Hell – the very place where God’s Wrath will be ultimately and eternally expressed.

You see, until people know that they are truly lost – that they stand under the damming judgment of a Holy and Angry God – they will not cry out to be saved. But once they do – many will.

And that brings us to the fourth thing that I would have us understand this morning – the thing that doesn’t arise from today’s passage though it is suggested in the passage we looked at two weeks ago.

We have so far come to an understanding of the Character of God’s Wrath and the Cause of God’s Wrath and the Course of God’s Wrath.

Now as we close I would want us to be sure that we understand …

4. THE CURE FOR GOD’S WRATH … How can it be AVOIDED?

How can a sinful human being avoid being caught up in the River of God’s Wrath toward sin once it is released …

How can such a person (like the characters in one of my daughter’s favorite movies: Dante’s Peak) avoid the flow of burning lava that has been spewed out by the volcanic eruption that has torn the mountain apart?

How can a sinner escape – How can anyone avoid experiencing the Wrath
of God?
“COMMIT yourself to JESUS”
(2 Corinthians 5:21; John 3:36)

“God made him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us so that
in him (Jesus) we might become the righteousness of God.”

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,
but whoever rejects will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”

Here’s the Gospel … Here’s the Good News … Though God has never and will never stop hating sin, God has always and will always love the sinner and He has provided a way for that sinner to avoid Judgment.

Commit yourself to Jesus – Trust in Him for your Salvation.
He’s the only one who can protect you from Wrath to come.

Final Thot … Not until we understand God’s righteous WRATH toward sin are we able to fully appreciate God’s LOVE toward sinners!