Posts from July 2020 (Page 2)

In Romans 12, Paul transitions from the theology of grace to its practice. (Note the “therefore” in the opening line of verse 1.) To borrow a quote from Spiderman, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Grace is a powerful force, and those who are the recipients of grace are given great responsibility. First and foremost is the responsibility to submit and present ourselves to God as a living sacrifice. Paul describes this as our “reasonable service.” Some versions render this…

Romans 11 is the conclusion of Paul’s excursion into Israel’s rejection of God through their rejection of Christ. Chapter 9 began this exposition of God’s purpose to use Israel’s apostasy and hardness of heart as a means of bringing the Gentiles into God’s final covenant, the gospel of Jesus Christ. In chapter 10 Paul revisits Israel’s pride and false faith in law-keeping (10:1-4, cf 2:17ff) and again shows that all men must be reconciled to God through obedience to the…

“Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved.” So Paul opens the tenth chapter of Romans after lamenting his Jewish brethren’s blind adherence to the law of Moses and rejection of faith in Christ. In this text we find for ourselves a plan for soul winning. Consider the following words and phrases and how each can help us be better soul winners. “My” – Indicates the individual’s responsibility to win souls. The…

A long-time friend and I were discussing God’s sovereignty and how it is manifested in the salvation of men’s souls. He is an ardent Calvinist and I, of course, am repeatedly on record as being an anti-Calvinist. (Note! This does mean I am an Arminian or a Pelagian, but enough of that for now.) As he pressed his argument for hard determinism (God predestined everything that happens and man has no libertarian free will), he said, “I can’t believe you…

Romans 8:28-30 has been a source of theological controversy for nearly five centuries. Many volumes have been written and much preaching and debate has arisen as men seek to impress their views of the text. I would not be so foolish to think I could solve the matter in this five-hundred-word forum. So, I will focus on a single phrase that has unnecessarily caused great distress among professed believers who have no interest in Reformed theology. Romans 8:28 has been…

In extolling the superiority and exclusivity of the gospel of Christ, Paul compared the Law of Moses to a dead husband. While a woman may have once been married to her husband, when he is dead that bond is severed so that she may marry another without being an adulteress. In like fashion, Paul continued, the Law of Moses was to the Jews as a dead husband. Being freed from that law, they were free to be married to another,…

“When a man drives down a road full of potholes in the dark and never hits a single one, you know that he knows where the holes are.” So said Alan Highers at the Freed-Hardeman Lectures a number of years ago, speaking about baptism in John 3 and how deftly denominational teachers managed to avoid it. In like fashion, no one who promotes the teaching known as “the Roman Road to Salvation” manages to travel through chapter 6. They can…

In the margin of his Bible next to Romans 1:17, Martin Luther drew a line from the phrase “the just shall live by faith” and wrote the word “sola,” a Latin word meaning one, only, or alone. It was his conclusion that man was saved by faith alone without any response to God on man’s part. In his own translation of Romans, Luther added the word “alone” to the text, (though it is nowhere to be found), making the text…

Abraham is known as “the Father of Faith.” His fidelity to God is legendary among Bible believers. Today’s text contains a statement that is often misused concerning Abraham and his righteousness before God, specifically verse 3, “For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” To many, this is the “sugar stick” verse to teach salvation by faith only without any response of obedience by man. However, to use this verse in…

Romans 1 was a blanket indictment of the sins of the Gentiles provoked and unrestrained by their reprobate minds (vv 18-32). Romans 2 showed the Jews’ manifold moral failures and hypocrisy “hidden” under the cloak of the Law. Anticipating an objection from the Jews regarding Paul’s perceived disrespect for the Law, the apostle reassures them of their place in God’s plan, for unto them was committed the oracles of God (vv 1-2). But from there Paul goes on to note…