Categories
romans study

The Book of Romans Part 8 (3:1-9) Crime and Poetry

This portion in Paul's argument is coming to its pinnacle. Paul has
deftly drawn the reader into the court-room where God is the wronged
party and His defense is being offered. Paul started the argument by
highlighting the point that God is righteous in that He judges.

Not missing the beat, Paul quickly illustrated how
God judges the guilty heathen?no mention of hidden counsels or any such
thing of the sort, but guilty men willfully against God, suppressing
His words and finally embracing their sin, exhorting those who do the
same.

Lest the moralist listener "tut-tut's" these wicked heathens, taking a stand
on the side of God by judging those horrid sinners, Paul makes sure to
point out that they are just as guilty. That by standing on God's side
and judging the sin about them (and not the sin in their own hearts),
they effectively store up wrath for themselves for a future day. These
moralists can be found in the Jews who were given the Law but by their
repeated sin, the Gentiles blaspheme the very name of God.

Paul now does concede a point, as mentioned in our last
(and so very long ago at that) session. It's not that to be Jewish is
worthless, not at all. It would almost seem that Paul has proved his
point too well by leaving off in the middle of this thought-flow with
such an idea that Circumcision is actually of the heart (if we read it
as such, although we've already discussed what Paul was referring to).

Categories
christ worship

The Riches in Christ 11 – Trust and Obey

reynaldo reynoso (admin)

I hear the song all the time, and in all honesty, the tune often bores me. Its structure, like many hymns, is repetitive but seemingly more so in its lilting phraseology. It?s the lyrics in light of its history that makes this hymn ?Trust and Obey? so striking.

The year is 1886 and we?re in one of a series of meetings in Brockton, Massachusetts. We?re enjoying ourselves, after all, D.L. Moody is the speaker and right now we finished marinating ourselves in the lovely music directed by Daniel B. Towner, director of the music department at Moody Bible Institute. In the midst of all this, maybe he was called to do so (we don?t know, we?re only attending the meeting) A young man rises and gives his testimony.

Categories
christ worship

The Riches in Christ – 10 Big Promises

reynaldo reynoso (admin)

The reading is from Genesis 15 and Romans 5

Can you imagine being in Abraham’s sandals right after the rescue of Lot and his subsequent encounter with the King of Sodom? In a relatively short period of time, Abraham went from having a pretty good reputation to making enemies left and right. A hectic few days with the rescue of Lot and being blessed by God via the King Priest of Salem, Abraham likely had a restless sleep. It was at that time of night that the Lord spoke to Abraham in a vision.

Categories
dispensationalism israel

Distinguishing between Israel and the Church

David Dunlap

Distinguishing things that differ is essential in the interpretation of Scripture and failure to do so results in doctrinal and practical consequences. This is true in all of Scripture. Church history will show that those who were cavilier concerning subtle and important theological differences have brought great harm to the Church. The failure to distinguish between justification and sanctification damages the doctrine of grace. The failure to distinguish between law and grace muddies our understanding of salvation by grace through faith alone. So too, the failure to distinguish Israel from the Church will lead to grave consequences. Reluctance to distinguish Israel from the Church has caused some to return to barren liturgical ritual, the unbiblical separation of the clergy and the laity, and the use of military might to accomplish the will of God. Oliver Cromwell(1599-1658) serves as an illustration of the necessity of right thinking in this area.

Categories
christ worship

The Riches in Christ – 09 Streets of Gold

reynaldo reynoso (admin)

The reading is from Revelations 21

J.B. Nicholson Jr. (fondly referred to as Jabe) was speaking the other day and he was telling of a day that him and his family went to a museum to see some precious jewels exhibit. He said that they went in and they stood before this case where some of these precious objects were on display and they examined a jewel the size of a golf-ball. When he told the story I was immediately reminded of going to D.C. and seeing the Hope Diamond, huge and gaudy and really bigger than anyone needed and probably more expensive than anyone could handle.