Praying Paul's Letters: Lesson 2

Pastor’s Bible Class

Thomas Road Baptist Church

Praying Paul’s Letters Dr. Elmer L. Towns

Lesson 2

March 2, 2008

A. WHY ARE LETTERS IMPORTANT TO US?

1. Hope. Picture a soldier overseas waiting for his name to be called.

2. Information. What’s going on at school/home?

3. Encouragement. Letters make us want to go on!

4. Relief. Everything’s O.K.

5. Feeling of importance. President Ford invited me to lunch.

6. Invitation. A door of opportunity.

7. Announcement. New baby, marriage, promotion, etc.

B. HOW LETTERS GET TO US?

1. Snail Mail.

2. Air mail.

3. FedEx.

4. Hand delivered /courier.

5. Bottle.

6. Balloons.

7. Internet.

8. Flyer.

C. WHY PAUL WROTE ROMANS?

1. To get their support for his next missionary focus: Spain: “I am through with my work here (Corinth) . . . I am planning to take a trip to Spain . . . I will stop off in Rome . . . you can see me on my way” (15:23, LB).

2. To get their prayer support. “Will you be my prayer partners? Pray much with me for my work. Pray that I will be protected . . . that I will be able to come to you with a happy heart” (15:30-32, LB).

3. To deposit a complete copy of biblical truth in the world’s capital to be read and copied again and again.

4. To demonstrate his apostleship to the Gentiles. “That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles . . . bringing the gospel to them” (15:16, ELT).

D. WHY PAUL WROTE 1 CORINTHIANS?

1. Divisions in the church. (I Cor. 1:10-31; 3:1-10). “We are laborers together with God” (I Cor. 3:9).

2. Fornication and adultery reported (1 Cor. 5:1-13). “Ye are the Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you” (I Cor. 3:16).

3. Lawsuits (I Cor. 6:1-11). “Do you not know the saints shall judge the world” (I Cor. 6:2).

4. Marriage (I Cor. 7:1-46). “Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called” (1 Cor. 7:20).

5. Eating meat (I Cor. 8:1-13). “Meat commendeth us not to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, neither if we eat not are we the worst” (1 Cor. 8:8).

6. Drunk at the communion table. “To eat the Lord’s Supper . . . another is drunken” (1 Cor. 11:20-21).

7. Misuse of spiritual gifts (12:1-14:40). “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body . . . and have been made to drink into one spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13).

8. Primacy of love (I Cor. 13:1-13). “Now abideth faith, hope, and love . . . but the greatest of these is love” (I Cor. 13:13).

9. The doctrine of resurrection (I Cor. 15:1-58). “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed” (I Cor. 15:51).

E. WHY PAUL WROTE GALATIANS?

1. Wrote because unscrupulous Judaizers discredited and denounced Paul and his gospel and persuaded many Christians to turn away from Christ to Judaism.

a. “Paul, an apostle, not of man, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father” (Gal. 1:1).

b. Greater than Peter (Gal. 2:2-14). Rebuked Peter.

c. “Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you not made perfect in the flesh” (Gal. 3:3).

2. To write to root out error. “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that you should not obey the truth” (Gal. 3:1).

3. To win back their allegiance to Christ. “You are all children of God by faith in Jesus Christ” (Gal. 3:26).

4. To explain justification by faith. “That we might be justified by the faith of Christ” (Gal. 2:16).

5. To show that a Christian walks by faith and is inspired by love. “If we live in the Spirit, let us walk in the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25).

F. WHY PAUL WROTE TO TIMOTHY?

1. Timothy’s father was a Greek (Acts 16:2) and mother was a Jew (II Tim. 1:5). He knew Scripture from his childhood (II Tim. 1:5, 3:15). Paul led him to Christ (I Tim. 1:2; II Tim. 1:2).

2. Timothy needed motivation and encouragement. “Stir up the gift of God which is in thee by the putting on of my hands” (II Tim. 1:6).

3. Timothy was meek and hesitant. “Be not . . . ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner” (II Tim. 1:8).

4. To validate Timothy’s credentials. “Neglect not your spiritual gift, which you received from preaching by godly men, and was recognized by the church when they laid hands on you in ordination” (I Tim. 4:14, ELT).

G. WHAT MUST I DO NOW?

1. Know why each book in the Bible is there so I can understand and apply its message to my life.