Following Jesus Son of God …

“It is only a slight exaggeration to say that the history of the interpretation of Romans 13:1–7 is the history of attempts to avoid what seems to be its plain meaning” (Douglas Moo).

Hello to You,

And welcome to Romans 13:1-7, one of the most controversial passages in the Bible. And there is our key.

“In the Bible …”

I have been thinking through this text for weeks now, anticipating, sometimes almost dreading, our arrival here. But not now. God did something a while back.

He said, “Dave, what does it say? What is the headline? Preach the headline. Preach the words plainly stated, clearly written, and I will be pleased.”

So I am asking you. What does it say? Let’s begin here.

• (Romans 13:1–7 ESV) Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

So what does God say? It is “in the Bible,” so what does God tell us “in the Bible” as he begins to instruct us on our relationship with those in authority over us?

Submit to, be subject to, etc. depending on our translation. Same meaning, same problem.

• “But our government has passed this legislation.” “But we are no longer honoring God in our legislative system.” “But we’ve taken prayer out of the schools.” Righteous indignation, etc.

So will we honor God by taking him at his word? Is our government evil to contend with or God’s servant? What does God say? Three times in our text God calls the people in government over us his ministers or servants. (See the study sheets for more details.)

If we trust God as Sovereign LORD and providential Ruler of the Universe, then we have a wonderful opportunity of blessing to trust him here.

Whatever position you decide to take as you approach this text, you may want to ask yourself this question: Is my study (or my protests or my hypotheticals) bringing me closer to obedience of this very plain truth or taking me further away?

And there you have it. It’s “in the Bible.” Will you study and gather information that directs you to hear the voice of God or will you throw in with the many evangelical and fundamentalist voices that blur the clearly written truth and spew dishonor and fear.

• Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.

Message Title: Governing Authorities: The Servants of God!

Message Text: Romans 13:1-7

• PDF LESSON 34 : Governing Authorities- The Servants of God : Romans 13:1-7 : FFC : dave scott : 051715 : STUDY SHEET ONE
• PDF LESSON 34 : Governing Authorities- The Servants of God : Romans 13:1-7 : FFC : dave scott : 051715 : STUDY SHEET TWO

The Great Battle Is Joined: Good Versus Evil!

Hello to You,

How do I win? How do I overcome evil? What are God’s specific instructions? And where does a person begin?

• We have sound doctrine under our feet (Romans 1-8).
• We see our place in redemptive history (Romans 9-11).
• We have presented ourselves as living sacrifices and are beginning to experientially know the will of God (Romans 12:1-2).
• We have evaluated our lives in humility and embraced the “skill set” God has blessed us with (Romans 12:3-8).

Now our LORD prepares us for practical service and the evil we will face, both within and without.

BIG QUESTION: Do I truly believe God and trust his direction?

• Now we shall see if we really believe God  as he will push us past our understanding to his as we join the fray against the darkness. Now we come to grips with our submission to being transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Message Title: Overcoming Evil with Good!

Message Text: Romans 12:9-21

• PDF LESSON 33 : Overcoming Evil with Good : Romans 12:9-21 : FFC : dave scott : 050315 : STUDY SHEET ONE
• PDF LESSON 33 : Overcoming Evil with Good : Romans 12:9-21 : FFC : dave scott : 050315 : STUDY SHEET TWO

• (Hebrews 11:10 NIV84) For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Hello to All,

May you be blessed this good day on the path of Jesus Son of God!

God is always amazing me. Praise him for his word of truth. Where would we be without his inspired, holy words to guide our lives?

In our Romans study for this Sunday we take the next step on God’s solid foundation to service and worship.

• Note the Progression …
  Bow before God ➼ Now Hear God ➼ Renewed Mind ➼ Changed Life ➼ Know the Will of God by Real World Testing ➼ Ready to See Where the “New” Me Fits in God’s Plan.

Seeing the real you …

• You do not see the “real” you (the “new” you) until you are bowed before the throne of God. When this happens, you will begin receiving a torrent of new “God information” which will absolutely change your life. Now things are clicking. Light bulb flickers, then shines brightly. Welcome to God’s world. Same planet, different view. Still on Earth but your horizon has expanded far beyond. Enjoy the view. You have finally arrived at a place where you will begin to see yourself as God sees you. You will begin to understand the works that he has crafted especially for you. You will begin to drink with great satisfaction the pleasure of your Father in Heaven.

Message Title: Thinking with Sober Judgment!

Message Text: Romans 12:3-8

• PDF LESSON 32 : Thinking with Sober Judgment : Romans 12:3-8 : FFC : dave scott : 042615 : STUDY SHEET ONE
• PDF LESSON 32 : Thinking with Sober Judgment : Romans 12:3-8 : FFC : dave scott : 042615 : STUDY SHEET TWO

(Psalm 89:5–7 NLT)
All heaven will praise your great wonders, Lord; myriads of angels will praise you for your faithfulness. 6 For who in all of heaven can compare with the Lord? What mightiest angel is anything like the Lord? 7 The highest angelic powers stand in awe of God. He is far more awesome than all who surround his throne.

Hello Everyone,

I hope you enjoyed the nice summer weather we had today. Yes. Grass cutting, working in the garden, walking, bicycling … 

Now on to this week’s study.

How do we know the will of God? How do we determine in our world the things that are good, acceptable, even perfect, in God’s eyes?

Today’s text in Romans 12:1-2 brings us to an exhortation to place ourselves in the best imaginable place in the universe. Before the throne of God in full acceptance. Bowed before God in all his holiness and righteousness and knowing that I am fully embraced by this mighty God.

So I do the only reasonable thing. I worship him and offer my life as a living sacrifice.

Do we understand what God offers us through his glorious gift of salvation? I come to this question again and again. We should be in such awe of God’s wondrous plan … How could we ever rebel? How could we ever stumble in our pettiness?

Here is an overview of Romans.

• Doctrine/Theology: Romans 1-8
• God’s Redemptive History: Romans 9-11
• Practical Theology: Romans 12-16

Presenting our bodies as living sacrifices is a necessary step to making the most of our opportunity as believers in Jesus Christ.

• Want to know the will of God? Be able to properly evaluate your own life? Overcome evil with good? Relate in a God-honoring way to our government? Have God’s priorities established in your life? And the list goes on …

Present yourself to God as a living sacrifice and watch God go to work in and through you.

Do you want to do more than talk about bringing glory to God? Then present yourself before God as a living sacrifice? Do not miss your opportunity while still on this fallen planet!

Hard to believe? God said it, not me.

Message Title: Living Sacrifices!

Message Text: Romans 12:1-2

• PDF LESSON 31 : Living Sacrifices : Romans 12:1-2 : FFC : dave scott : 041915 : STUDY SHEET ONE
• PDF LESSON 31 : Living Sacrifices : Romans 12:1-2 : FFC : dave scott : 041915 : STUDY SHEET TWO

Hello to You,

The gift of salvation that God has blessed us with is glorious. I know. Easy to throw that word around. Very religious sounding.

But also very true!

It is a very excellent and a very biblical word describing our salvation. Truly glorious is our salvation in Jesus Christ, as in the glory of God evident in all aspects. God wants to bring us to himself. Wow factor!

• Not just keep us from hell.
• Not just to have a perfect version of our earth life in heaven.
• But bringing us to his glory.

Be amazed at our God!

• PDF LESSON 30 : How Unsearchable Are His Judgments : Romans 11:25-36 : FFC : dave scott : 041215 : STUDY SHEET ONE
• PDF LESSON 30 : How Unsearchable Are His Judgments : Romans 11:25-36 : FFC : dave scott : 041215 : STUDY SHEET TWO

Hello Everyone,

Very interesting. We are like mists, puffs of air, set in space and time …

And, yet, what we do matters. What I do today matters. What you do tomorrow matters in the grand and glorious plan and purpose of God.

Time to worship. 🙂

As we observe the great waves and movements in God’s redemptive plan, we cannot forget that these things happen in the course of earth time and space.

Jesus’ triumphal entry as recorded in Matthew 21:9 happened one day on a dirt road outside of Jerusalem.

• (Matthew 21:9 ESV)
   And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Ditto for his lament found in Matthew 23:37 as he approached Jerusalem on another day from the east.

• (Matthew 23:37 ESV)
  “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

And one day, as in an actual day in Earth history, Christ will come in triumph again. This time for good.

• (Revelation 1:7 ESV)
  Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

The blessing of redemption first focused on Israel, then the Gentiles, and later on Israel again. God has not rejected his people.

So how do we handle the stewardship of the blessing of salvation to the Gentiles?

We take note of both God’s kindness and his severity to be steadfast, faithful and humble in our service to him.

• PDF LESSON 29 : Note the Kindness and Severity of God : Romans 11:11-24 : FFC : dave scott : 032915 : STUDY SHEET ONE
• PDF LESSON 29 : Note the Kindness and Severity of God : Romans 11:11-24 : FFC : dave scott : 032915 : STUDY SHEET TWO

The LORD your God is indeed God …

Understand, therefore, that the LORD your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands. But he does not hesitate to punish and destroy those who reject him. ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭7:9-10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

http://bible.com/116/deu.7.9-10.nlt

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Hello All,

Grace versus works!

Paul makes his “last run” in Romans at the great battle: GRACE VERSUS WORKS. 

• (Romans 11:6 ESV)
  But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

When it comes to attaining the righteousness of God, it is by grace through faith. No works. Many people struggle with the concept. The Jews did. Still do. Many in our churches also.

The problem? We can’t let go of our idea of righteousness and salvation and embrace God’s idea. And not embracing God’s plan of righteousness, we, as the Jews did in Paul’s day, seek to establish our own. We may not say this. We may not even realize what we are doing. But this is exactly how the battle unfolds.

The Jews would not let go of their moral code. Yes. Their morality was based on the Bible but it had been drastically revised by their human standards. Exactly as we do today.

And their hearts were hardened … 
How hard were their hearts? How stiff were their necks? In their rage against God, they chose Caesar over their Messiah!

• (John 19:15 ESV)
  They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”

Can I draw you into the scene? 

• Pilate: “Shall I crucify your King?”
• Chief Priests: “We have no king but Caesar.”

In their bitterness and rage they threw their allegiance to the pagan Caesar. Arrogance and rebellion drove them away from Israel’s promised Messiah. Tragic … ironic … indeed.

Message Title: A Remnant Chosen by Grace

Message Text: Romans 11:1-10

• PDF LESSON 28 : A Remnant Chosen by Grace : Romans 11:1-10 : FFC : dave scott : 032215 : STUDY SHEET ONE
• PDF LESSON 28 : A Remnant Chosen by Grace : Romans 11:1-10 : FFC : dave scott : 032215 : STUDY SHEET TWO