- Is it real?
- Is it reliable?
What about all the other messages? Can so many people be wrong? When faced with doubts there are 3 things we can so:
- Deny them - but they tend to come back
- Be Destroyed by them - give in, doubt Christ, doubt His Word
- Deal with the doubts - this is the path the Spirit of God will take us down, confronted with the reality of the doubts and then presented in His Word with the solution to those doubts. Is this perhaps why so often the Spirit of God will bring us face to face with our doubts? Confront us with our doubts?
The year was 1949, a preacher and pastor by the name of Charles Templeton who had been used in a prominent and public way in Canada and the USA had a spectacular crises of faith. Charles Templeton with some others had been responsible for setting up Youth for Christ in USA and had seen many come to faith in Christ. Templeton became troubled with doubts, exposed to evolutionary teaching, millions of years theory and doubts about the reliability of scripture. He would eventually follow those doubts down a slippery slope of backsliding and apostasy like Judas Iscariot of old. At the time of Chuck Templetons crises of faith he had a close friend, another young American preacher. Templeton told his friend: “You are 50 years out of date, people no longer accept the Bible as being inspired the way you do. Your faith is too simple.” Templetons friend, challenged by Templetons unbelief went out on a lonely walk through the San Bernadino Mountains, bringing his friend to a crisis of faith that night, “At last the Holy Spirit freed me to say it. 'Father I am going to accept this as Thy Word – by faith! I'm going to allow faith to go beyond my intellectual questions and doubts and I will believe this to be Your inspired Word.” Who was Chuck Templetons friend? A young preacher aged 30 by the name of William Graham, that year saw Billy Graham take a campaign in Los Angeles and that launched his ministry as a powerful evangelist of the gospel. Two men so similar in so many ways both faced with the same questions. Questions do not necessarily lead to doubts it is equally as possible that as the Spirit of God and the Word of God take dealings with us that those questions instead of leading to doubts lead rather to a renewed to determination to trust and a renewed sense of dependence upon the God who does have the answers which we do not have.
To deal with my doubts the Spirit of God:
- Doubts exposed become
- Doubts examined in the light of His Word become
- Doubts explained become
- Doubts expired becomes
- Dependence experienced becomes
- Determination renewed
“Trials should not surprise us, or cause us to doubt God's faithfulness. Rather, we should actually be glad for them. God sends trials to strengthen our trust in him so that our faith will not fail. Our trials keep us trusting; they burn away our self confidence and drive us to our Saviour.” Edmund Clowney, Commentary on 1 Peter.
I have never had a doubt that His Word has not answered!
In Romans 1:1 we have a picture of total commitment For total commitment I must have total confidence For total confidence I must have complete conviction
In Romans 1:1-7 we have the: Conviction / Confidence / Proof of reality, the reason for that total commitment. Here is a peek into the mind of a man burning out for Christ! Jim Elliot reminded us that we either choose to: "Burn out or rust out"
Personal Experience (verse 1)
"And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, 16The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth." (Gen48:15-16) The way He has led us and fed us with His Word Our experience and encounter with Him through scripture (1 Peter 2:1ff) The change that we have known in our life cf. Saul to Paul (Acts 9 and Rom1:1) His guidance and help day by day: "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye" (Psalm32:8)
Promise (verse 2)
The Gospel is really one message through many prophets over 1000's of years and down through all generations. Already seen that Paul as he writes Romans does not design the gospel but rather discerns the gospel down through the pages of scriptures:
- SIN (chps 1-3) Sin is proven from the law of Moses (Exodus 20) – Rom2:20-22 Sin is proven from the Psalms of David - Rom 3
- Salvation (Chps 3-5) Salvation from the Priest (3:25) Salvation from the Patriach (4:3) Salvation from the Psalmist (4:6ff)
Person (v3-4)
" For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day" (2 Tim1:12) "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;" (Phil3:10) "And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." (Acts9:5)
v3 - His Incarnation - Humility and Humanity v4 - His Resurrection - Power and Glory and Deity
When we think of these 2 aspects of Christ:
His Incarnation (v3) He was born - but weren't we all? What is so remarkable about the birth of Christ? So much of the OT prophetic scriptures were focused upon His birth In particular, keeping to the text: "seed of David" The line by which He would come: "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:" Isa 11:1 "For thy servant David's sake turn not away the face of thine anointed. 11The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne. 12If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore." Psalm 132:11-12. "And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever." 2 Sam 7:12-13. When shall all this happen? Ezek 37:21-28 In keeping with Christ as the Son of David Micah 5:2 prophesied that He will be born in Bethlehem in the city of David: "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." (Micah5:2) The incarnation is only part of the story in these verses There is more to Christ than His link with David and with humanity If that is all v3 was to tell us we wouldn't need the phrase: "according to the flesh" In other words Christ was truly human, born into the lineage of David with a real physical link in His flesh to the humanity He came to save and that through Mary. Christ was truly human but not only or solely human Their was a further aspect to His being. Christ did indeed have His roots firmly anchored in humanity (Isa11:1;53:1) But His origins lay in eternity:
"I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father." (John16:28) "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God." (John1:1-2) "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am." (John8:58) The humanity of Christ came through the seed of David but not His:
- Personality - Divine Person
- Identity - Preceded His birth
- Life - He is the origin of life: "In him was life; and the life was the light of men" (John1:4) "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John14:6) "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:" (John11:25) When God created man, God said: "And God said, Let us make man in our image" (Gen1:26) Who is the "us" and the "our"? Surely the Father, The Son and the Spirit of God? All 3 Divine persons were involved in the creation of man. Having created mans physical form: "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground," God then "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" In Hebrew literally "the breath of lifes" The lifes that would subsequently come from the lineage of Adam were breathed into man at that point The life that I now possess was originally breathed into Adam in Genesis 2. All human life was potential in Adam Therefore when Adam fell, his fall affected all subsequent offspring: "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" (Rom5:12) Christ did not inherit that fallen and corrupted life from Adam, Christ is the origin of all creation. "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. In Christ we have a distinct, pure and powerful source of life, uncorrupted, undefiled and eternal:" (Col1:15-17) "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men." (John1:3-4) The life of Christ is therefore distinct from the life that flows from Adam. Christ breathed life into Adam in Genesis 2 He did not take His life from Adam! The Life of and from Christ is uncorrupted, undefiled and eternal: "And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit." (1 Co15:45)
All of this was already a feature of OT prophecy and had been for well over 1000 years:
"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." (Gen3:25)
"For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me." (Job19:25-27)
"Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion." (Psalm 2:6) - The Son of David - seated on the throne in Davids city
"I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee." (Psalm 2:7) - The Son of God
"My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer." (Psalm 45:1) - Messiah
"Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever." (Psalm45:2) - Humanity
"Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre." (Psalm 45:6) - Deity
Psalm 110 "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." (Isa 7:14) "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." (Isa9:6) "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." (Isa40:3) "O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! 10Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him." (Isa 40:9-10)
The Power:
There is no Power in a dead Saviour! Christianity is unique in many ways: Buddhists follow the teachings of Buddha Muslims the writings of Muhammed Confucianism the sayings of the philosophers But Christ said: "I AM the way..." The apostles said: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved..." "There is no name under heaven given amongst men whereby we must be saved" "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (1John5:12) If Christianity stopped at the cross of Christ there would have been no Christianity! The men of NT days were no different made from the men of today Having seen their Lord and Saviour tried and condemned and crucified and buried they became deeply discouraged and began to despair: Luke 24:17 John 20:19ff John 18:25-27 Matt 26:56 There is nothing terribly inspiring about a dead Saviour! I know that down through the generations many have preached the words / the works / philosophies / teachings / ideas of a dead man: Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius, Tao and Zoroaster But what they have not done is preach salvation by virtue of the fact he is present, alive and able to save! It has been a message of follow his teachings, his path, his revelation! The message that the apostles preached was the message of a living Saviour: "Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection." (Acts17:18) If we say that these men were wrong about the resurrection of Christ then we are saying that: They are preaching error - admittedly this is very common in religion But more importantly: They are knowingly preaching error - since the apostles were also the "witnesses to His resurrection" (Acts1:22). Normally religious fundamentalists believe what they are preaching - that is why they are so convincing. If these witnesses to the resurrection were nothing of the sort they were lieing and thus not only were they preaching error but they were knowingly preaching error! These men died for the message they preached! They died for a message they knew was false! Not just a false message but a message that they knew was false! If we say they were not witnesses to the resurrection we then are saying:
- They lied about seeing Christ alive and resurrected
- They founded their ministry on a lie
- They then died for what they knew was false!
- ie. they were mad!
Is the letter to the Romans the work of a mad man? Surely it is reasoned, logical, intelligent, knowledgeable and meets the need of my heart? It is surely the Word of God! The testimony of the apostles to the resurrection is therefore very important and very convincing, yet it does not stand alone: Romans 1:4 "...according to the Spirit of holiness..." Romans 1:4 emphasises the role of the Spirit of God in the resurrection of Christ. Why is this? Was only the Spirit of God so involved with the resurrection of Christ? Surely both the Father and the Son were active in the resurrection? "Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." (John2:19) "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." (Rom6:4) Why the emphasis on the activity of the Spirit of God in the resurrection? Is it not because His testimony is ongoing and evident not only to the apostles at the time of the resurrection but even then to the readers of the epistle to the Romans and to you and I today? The testimony of the Spirit of God to the resurrection of Christ is present with us today! It is His Power that continues to run right the way through this epistle and this message of the gospel (Rom8:1) It was by virtue of the resurrection of Christ that the Spirit of God descended: Acts 2 John 14 Eph 4 Thus today in the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and in the reading of the inspired Word of God His Spirit is operative in a powerful way: "convict of sin..." "Convinced of all" (1Co14) "speak as oracle of God" (1Peter4) "not in Word only" (2Thess 1)
https://graceinchrist.org/romans
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