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 …
The Reconciliation/Romans 18
INTRODUCTION: We have a tendency to describe our conversions as one single-faceted event. But in the Scripture, conversion to Christ is multi-faceted, and the different words we use are not synonyms. We will be considering some of those terms in the context of this passage, and it is important to note that they describe different …
Peace With God/Romans 17
INTRODUCTION: Recall that the first three chapters of Romans address the universal problem, the problem of sin. Sin afflicts the Gentiles, as we saw in chapter 1. It afflicts the Jews, as St. Paul shows in chapter 2. Sin has both Jew and Gentile in its grip—that is the argument of chapter 3. In the …
Fully Persuaded/Romans 16
INTRODUCTION: We continue following the apostle’s discussion of Abraham’s faith. We finished our treatment of Romans 4:16, knowing that Abraham was the father of believing Jew and believing Gentile alike. But what do we mean by that word believing? Abraham sets the pattern, and in this passage we learn what his faith was actually like. …
The Day He Left Off Preaching and Took to Meddling
“The preacher who stands before his people and roundly denounces the sins of others, and yet fails to confront his hearers with their own greed, lust, hard-heartedness, and pride, is not bold, no matter how loudly he may thunder. It is relatively easy for a preacher to let fly the salvos of Scripture against the …
Father of Us All/Romans 15
INTRODUCTION: We rightly refer to father Abraham. He is the central model for us from the pages of the Old Testament, living out the implications of radical faith, faith at the root. As we walk in imitation of him, we are his children indeed. As we walk in imitation of him, we have the family …
Learning to Say “Geronimo” to Yourself in the Pulpit
“The apostle believes that boldness in preaching is at heart a question of getting the message of Christ out clearly, despite the fearful threat of unpleasant consequences. In short, as I said before, boldness in the preacher is the willingness and ability to be clear in the face of fear” (Wagner, Tongues Aflame, p. 42).
Blessed Is the Man/Romans 14
INTRODUCTION: The word imputation may seem like one of those technical-sounding theological words to make your head hurt, but it is really quite straightforward—and full of blessing. THE TEXT: “What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof …
Preaching that Damns the Torpedos
“Essentially, whether the Greek term is translated ‘boldness’ or ‘confidence’ (for ‘plainness’ or ‘sincerity’), at the heart of the idea is freedom to make the truth of God known without fear of opposition or consequences” (Wagner, Tongues Aflame, p. 41).
The Just God Who Justifies/Romans 13
INTRODUCTION: If God failed to fulfill His promise to Abraham, then He would be unjust. If God fulfilled His promise by simply declaring that everyone was now justified, then He would be unjust under that circumstance as well. If He doesn’t save the nations, then He is unjust. If He saves the nations, then He …