INTRODUCTION: Remember that the apostle has laid out the gospel for us, and he is now answering objections. The universal problem is set forth in the first three chapters, and then the glorious gospel in chapters four and five. Beginning in chapter six, he starts anticipating and answering objections. The first is that if we …
Ugly Babies/Romans XXII
INTRODUCTION: We come now to Paul’s treatment of the great theme of true liberty and freedom. What is the nature of freedom? We need to be especially careful with this because as Americans we are trained to believe that we understand liberty in some special way, while it appears that we have really lost an …
Listening Beforehand
“You must not only prepare the sermon, you must let the sermon prepare you” (Wagner, Tongues Aflame, p. 76).
Three Kinds of Death/Romans XXI
INTRODUCTION: As we continue to work through this great letter of the apostle, we can see in various ways how his mind works. We see it in how he answers objections—”one of you will say to me then . . .” We also see in this passage a typical Pauline move, where he says, “These …
This is Something We All Do, Do We Not?
“Many preachers are tempted to identify themselves with the congregation in preaching, rather than with God. This may be the most significant reason for their feeling ill at ease in speaking to their congregation in the second person. Such preachers do not want their people to get the impression that the preacher is holier than …
Why Preachers Avoid the Second Person Plural
“For all its talk about honesty, our culture has refined the art of indirection and euphemism in an attempt not to have to say directly what we really mean . . . When things get tense, you put a little verbal distance between yourself and the congregation. The real problem, however, is that in doing …
Straight Up the Middle
“The boldness of the apostolic preaching can be seen first in its directness, and second in its being challenging or confrontational” (Wagner, Tongues Aflame, p. 71).
How to Understand the Gospel/Romans 20
INTRODUCTION: Thus far in Romans we have learned of our universal plight in Adam, whether or not we are Jews or Gentiles (1-3). We have also learned of the universal salvation for the human race that has been accomplished in the second Adam (4-5), the salvation that was promised for the world through father Abraham. …
Ready for Blowback
“It is important to remember that bold preaching will surely bring opposition from some. You must be prepared for opposition, even persecution. It is part of the cost that must be counted as you seek to become a better preacher . . . You must be prepared to face the criticisms which bold, confrontational preaching …
Humanity 2.0/Romans 19
INTRODUCTION: In Adam, with Humanity 1.0, the system crashed. God could have written it off as a wasted project, but in His grace He did not. In Christ, the prototype for the next version was revealed, and subsequent human history has been the period of beta testing for Humanity 2.0. The last day will be …