Sermon Central
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The Book Of Romans
Contributed by Bob Faulkner on Mar 1, 2024 (message contributor)
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1. Introduction To Romans
Contributed on Mar 1, 2024
Introductory comments on the letter of Paul the apostle to the church at Rome.
Preface. It is hard to raise children in an audio-visual age, where adults have less and less control over what enters their children’s mind. Bombarded by internet, videos, tv, even school lessons. It is equally hard to teach God’s people. So many want entertainment, the big screen, slick ...read more
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2. Paul And His Greeting To The Roman Church
Contributed on Mar 2, 2024
Paul warmly greets the church he would one day see face to face, but as a prisoner.
1:1. “Paul.” We first meet him on the Damascus Road. But his life is told in other parts of the book of Acts, and the epistles. Circumcised the 8th day. Sent to Jerusalem to study eventually under Gamaliel, the grandson of Hillel, the most famous rabbi of Jewish history, except for Jesus ...read more
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3. Paul Will Visit Rome
Contributed on Mar 4, 2024
Paul has a long-standing desire to visit Rome and share the Gospel more deeply with the Roman church.
1:8 “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.” First order of business: thank you, God, for the Roman church. Note he is not thanking the church, flattering them. He is thanking God. But it is Paul’s way, in most every letter ...read more
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4. Faith In The Gospel Saves
Contributed on Mar 5, 2024
No reason to be ashamed of the Gospel since believing in it will save our souls.
1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.” [Once more we have a textual variation. The Textus Receptus says “of Christ”, the Nestle-Aland, no. But again not a serious matter. But this explains why your KJV/NKJV have “of Christ”, and other versions you might read, do not.] Notice in ...read more
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5. No Excuse
Contributed on Mar 6, 2024
God has revealed Himself to humanity. No one can offer an excuse for not knowing Him.
1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven…” This is the God we love to cover up. A God of wrath? Is He not love? Yes, but His love is a holy love. His wrath is the heart of the surgeon who must get rid of the disease so that the body can live. His wrath is the heart of the gardener who ...read more
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6. When God Gives Up On Human Sinfulness
Contributed on Mar 7, 2024
Three times in this passage it is stated that God gave up evil humanity to its own devices. A serious warning to our generation.
1:24 “Therefore God also gave them up …” Therefore. The wrath is coming. We deserve the wrath that is coming. Why? Well, men knew the truth of God and suppressed it. They could see His attributes, but they ignored Him. They did not glorify Him. They were not thankful to Him. They thought they ...read more
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7. The Sins Of Mankind
Contributed on Mar 8, 2024
When God gives up on humanity, it is left to itself. When man is left to himself, only evil follows.
1:29 “…being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness…” It seems to me that these are not the first in the list, but a title over the list. “Sexual immorality” is not in more modern versions, following different Greek texts. But he does mention it in his lists in 1 ...read more
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8. The Judgment Of God
Contributed on Mar 9, 2024
Everyone outside of Christ will be judged according to his works.
2:1 “Therefore…” Since men suppress the truth, and not just a few men here and there, but all men everywhere; and since the entire human race has been given over by God to its own ways, which are universally evil; and since all of humanity is involved, not only in sinning, but in boasting about ...read more
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9. Who Will Be Justified?
Contributed on Mar 11, 2024
The apostle spells out the means of man's justification and the one who is the judge of all.
2:10 “… glory, honor and peace…” Remember who they are? We just read about them in verse 7 above. They are the ones who “work what is good…” And you will recall that we concluded, based on context, that these are not just some ordinary earthlings that tried a little harder than their neighbors; ...read more
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10. No Boasting In The Law
Contributed on Mar 12, 2024
One who would be justified must keep the entire law perfectly. Thus the Law condemns.
2:17. “Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law and make your boast in God,” Following the authorized text and its Greek, that word “indeed” probably doesn’t fit. The word is an interjection used to show surprise and is most often translated “look” or “see”. Old English would be “behold.” ...read more
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11. Circumcision Will Not Save
Contributed on Mar 13, 2024
Paul introduces to the Jew and Gentile, a new circumcision, that of the heart.
2:25 “For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.” Paul is not trying to suggest the physically impossible. He’s stating a spiritual truth. The Jews trusted in their heritage. They trusted in their ...read more
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12. Choice Of The Jews Defended
Contributed on Mar 14, 2024
God is faithful even though the Jews were not. His choice of these people was for His own purposes.
3:1 “What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision?” Try to ignore the chapter division here. The flow of thoughts continues. And understand that when he uses the term “Jew” here, Paul is using it generically to include physical and true Jew. Macarthur adds to the question ...read more
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13. All Have Sinned
Contributed on Mar 15, 2024
Whether Jew or Gentile, everyone comes under the category of "sinner."
3:9 “What then? Are we better than they?” Therefore, what? I’ve just shown you that, in spite of their sin, God chose Israel and gave them a very specific advantage, namely the words of God Himself! What have I proved? That we are better? Please note that the words for “than they” are not in the ...read more
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14. Made Righteous By Faith
Contributed on Mar 18, 2024
Though all have sinned, all can be made righteous through faith in Jesus Christ.
3:19 “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those under the law…” The law. What is your idea of “the law” as mentioned by New Testament writers? Moses? Ten Commandments? Exodus through Deuteronomy? Let’s look. Jesus for the most part spoke of the law as that portion of what we call ...read more
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15. No Boasting Allowed!
Contributed on Mar 20, 2024
Since we are saved by faith and not by works, there is no room for personal pride.
3:27 “Where is boasting then? It is excluded.” Why does Paul bring this up to begin with? Why suddenly talk about boasting? You have to go back to verse 1. He asks, “What advantage does the Jew have?” And the ordinary Jew will answer, “I’ve been circumcised,” or “I have the law,” or “My people ...read more
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16. David And God's Righeousnes
Contributed on Apr 10, 2024
David is in agreement with Paul about the righteousness of God.
4:5 “But to him who does not work but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.” Nothing you can do. Remember Jesus’ parable of the vineyard? A guy comes in at six in the morning and is promised a day’s wage. A guy who comes in at three in the afternoon ...read more
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17. Abraham Justified Before Circumcision
Contributed on Apr 22, 2024
Paul wants his people to know that salvation is not dependent on any work.
4:9 “Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised?” Is God’s blessedness, or happiness, which David just described, for only Jews, or can Gentiles get in on this? He doesn’t use those two terms though. He is making a point. Is a man made right and happy ...read more
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18. A Promise Granted By Faith, Part 1
Contributed on Apr 29, 2024
God's promise to Abraham had nothing to do with any works he performed.
4:13 “For the promise that he would be the heir of the world…” Heir of the world. This one man, Abraham, to be heir of the world? And not just Abraham, though it was to him that the promise was first given. Where is this promise? Genesis 12:3, “In you all the families of the earth shall be ...read more
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19. Abraham's Example Of Faith
Contributed on May 6, 2024
Abraham did not waiver. He believed! We are called to do the same!
4:19 “And not being weak in faith…” How’s your faith today? Let’s test it. Do you really believe that millions of years from this night you will still be alive and well? Do you really believe that Jesus rose from a grave, and that your body is going to do the same? Do you believe that because of ...read more