Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
Do you ever feel as though I have been reading your diary, or your mind, or watching you like a Gestapo spy? Without being conscious of it, the pastor should be lead of the Lord sufficiently to expose your secret sins once in a while. It was years ago, but I had the...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
As far as I know, the silliest commercials on television right now, are a series promoting Old Spice. And there is one pair in that series which is particularly funny, at least to me. The first of this pair ran for a few weeks, and it was apparently so popular that...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
I gave some thought to reversing messages and teaching this lesson this morning. Obviously, these verses come before the verses that we looked at earlier today. And this has a gospel theme, but the truth is, Paul’s reference did not. His mention of...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
These verses conclude the first half of the Book of Romans – chapters which deal primarily with salvation. And these words form perhaps Paul’s highest praise for that salvation. The prophet and theologian turned psalmist in these verses. It sounds as...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
When I was preparing for today, I re-read chapter 11, jotting down some more potential messages. A sermon could be built around the words, “wise in your own conceits” – verse 25. Verse 25 also makes reference to the interesting thought of the...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
As any casual reader knows very well, the Bible is a book filled with blood. Sometimes it is there in all its vivid color, and sometimes it is only implied. And if you stop and consider the subject, that blood is almost always related to sin in some way. The Bible is...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
When the Apostle John was beginning his record of the Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, he wrote an introduction which set the tone for much of the theology of the book. In Revelation 1:4 he wrote: “John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
Like a few of you I grew up in the 1960’s. I was not lost in the 60’s; actually I was found during those 60’s. The Lord in His grace saved my soul – and my life – at a time when pivotal decisions stood before me. I was spared the...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
Just as it was last week, this message is really the conclusion of the message started this morning. Last week we looked at the Christian’s sacrifice and then the Christian priest who offers it. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
As I have said,, we have moved from the doctrinal section of Romans into the more practical section. I say the “more practical” section, because if our theology isn’t practical, then it isn’t Biblical theology. There are far too many people,...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
Rarely attending any other church than our church, it’s hard for me to be dogmatic about religious trends. I can read and I can listen, but that sort of information usually comes in a biased fashion, either pro or con. Nevertheless, from what I read and hear,...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
Once again, I was surprised to find that we are coming to a doctrine which I have never directly preached. I am positive that in the course of wider messages I have dealt with the Body of Christ, and I am reasonably sure that in some of our Bible lessons on the...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
You might have heard our scripture text this morning and thought to yourself: “Here is another a dull message.” Of course, you were not referring to the scripture itself, but rather to what you expect me to say about it. And you could possibly be quite...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
Not every member of the Lord’s church can be a pastor, preacher or prophet. For example, I believe that the Bible is quite clearly that ladies are not called of God to be pastors. There is a limited sense in which they can, and should be, deaconesses –...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
I thought about borrowing some words from Charles Dickens to use as our title this morning: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” I ran into that quote a few days ago, in a short article about the best sentences ever written. Of course,...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
This is one of those scriptures which separates the liberals from the conservatives. You’d think that it would be the more theological scriptures which raise people’s ire, but it rarely ever is. Those scriptures may actually divide people, but they really...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
One of the most difficult aspects of this part of our study is bringing our subject back to the gospel. And if you have looked at the bulletin and guessed what my theme is for this morning, you might be thinking that this will be particularly difficult today, but...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
If I preached this intended message in many of the churches of our community, I would make a great many people angry. As I said last week, it’s not Biblical doctrine that makes people mad, it’s the application of those doctrines. It may be doctrine which...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
It is said that a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing, and I’ve abundantly proven in my life that it is true. This is particularly the case, when it comes to a little bit of the Word of God. Take for example, when Satan came to Eve. First, the Devil...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
I have plans to come back to this scripture next week, looking at it more theologically, but this evening I’d like to have a little practical, and Biblical, fun with it. Have you ever found that your first impression of the day determined the character of the...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
Do you remember learning the first elements of mathematics – addition, multiplication, division and so on? For some of you it was a very long time ago, while for others it has only been a couple of years. Some of us are still learning them. I sincerely hope...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
I believe, and I have often said, that Paul was expecting the return of the Saviour during his lifetime. There are several scriptures which say essentially the same thing as this: “It is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
We live in a troublesome time with crime, disease, terror and natural disasters in the news every day. Some people look to civil government to answer as many of these problems as possible. They say, “we need to beef-up our defenses against internal and...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
In Paul’s day Rome was the capital of the Western world. It was the metropolis – in some ways similar to New York and in other ways similar to Washington D.C. It was said that all roads lead to Rome, and that meant a great deal of money and traffic,...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
Last Sunday night we made an overview of this chapter. It was either a good message or a very poor one, because there was hardly a peep that night. There were few “amens” – hopefully because people were thinking – and then there wasn’t...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
Nearly everyone here tonight has had to pass judgment on things throughout this day. What should I wear today, since I am going to House of the Lord? Does this blouse match this skirt? I would say, “Does this shirt match these slacks,” but most men...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
We return to an old theme this morning, but one which should be addressed once in a while. I say that, because it is something of which most people are wilfully ignorant. First, there are those who reject the Bible and concoct their own imaginative ideas about...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
I have deliberately put the cart before the horse today. The argument which Paul gives us to live unto the Lord, is that Christ lived and died for us. That may be the simple explanation, but I believe that it is accurate and powerful. So you are a child of God, heir...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
I trust you remember that last week, I began our morning message by referring to Mr. Dan Brown. Brown is the highly popular author who wrote the mystery thriller “The Da Vinci Code.” Someone might think that it’s not my place, as a preacher of the...
Jan 15, 2015 | Romans
In verse 10, Paul refers to “the judgment seat of Christ” – the “Bema” as it is found in the Greek Testament. This was not new theology which he was teaching the people of Rome, because, as we see he didn’t do any teaching about it...
