Welcome back to Basic Training. We have 4 weeks remaining in our study of the book of Romans after today.
We have covered a lot of ground so far in the book of Romans. Hopefully you have read through the book of Romans at least one time since we began this journey.
If you have not read through it yet, I encourage you to do so before we finish our 10 week series.
There is a vast treasure of Scriptural truths found in this book. Truths that can lead the believer to a personal revival in their life.
The word "revival" is as familiar to us as any other word we use today.
We Christians are constantly speaking about and praying for a revival. So what does revival mean?
The word revive is from the Latin and means, to live again, to receive again a life which has almost expired; to rekindle into a flame the vital spark which was nearly extinguished.
A good illustration of this comes from my years as an EMT B and firefighter. I know that when a person has been rescued from drowning or nearly drowned, many on the scene fear that the person is dead.
When rescuers arrive and are able to assess the person to see if life still lingers, we check for a pulse, we check to see if there are any lung sounds, we check the ABC’s, airway, breathing, and circulation.
If any of those things are missing in the person when we assess them, then we use the proper means restore life to the patient.
The chest is compressed, oxygen is pumped into the body, stimulants and medicine are administered, and if by God's providence life still tarries in that person; they will open their eyes and begin to breathe again.
Another example is when a person faints and then returns to consciousness, we say, “they have been revived.”
According to the great evangelist Charles Spurgeon, the term "revival" can only be applied to a living soul, or to that which once lived.
Spiritually speaking we all need a revival in our lives. A true revival is something that should be looked for in the church of God and it is something that needs to begin in the children of God. Revival begins in the individuals of which the church is made up of.
The results of a revival within the church is that the people of God will grow closer to God and this will then extend to the outside world.
I pray that all of our hearts will be ignited with revival and that each of us will draw closer to the Father through our study of the book of Romans.
God promises a river of blessings to those who are revived and He wants us to jump in with both feet and totally immerse ourselves in His righteousness.
Let’s pray,
Father,
Open my eyes so I can see Your truth.
Open my ears so I can hear Your voice.
Open my mind so I can understand Your Word.
And open my heart so I may receive all that You want me to receive. AMEN
Who is God’s mercy for? Everyone, first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
That is how Paul classified people. That is how the Jewish people classify people. Jews and Gentiles.
The Jewish people are originally God’s chosen people. He made a covenant with the father of the Jewish people who was Abraham. I think we are all familiar with that covenant.
God told Abraham that He would make him into a great nation and bless him and that all people would be blessed by him.
Does God still stand by that covenant today?
God advised Israel “up front”, that if they persisted in disobedience, they would forfeit the blessings that He promised and supplied for them, and would obtain curses as a substitute. This is found in Deuteronomy 28:15-68.
These curses included disease, drought, crop failure, hunger, thirst, nakedness, persecution, plundering and enemy invasion; even to the point of their resorting to cannibalism of their young children because of their hunger.
As a substitute of becoming as the stars in multitude, as God had promised in Genesis 15:4-5, they would be decreased to being “couple of in number” according to
Deuteronomy 28:62.
Instead of Israel getting the head and other folks being the tail, as God had promised in Deuteronomy 28:13, Israel would turn into the tail, whilst their enemies would be the head Deuteronomy 28:44.
As a substitute of the Lord’s multiplying and undertaking great things for Israel, giving them their land forever, and getting other nations and kings to serve them, as He had promised Genesis 13:14-15. Instead the Lord would rejoice in destroying Israel and bringing them to practically nothing, and would pluck them from their land; additionally Israel would serve its enemies and be destroyed by them, and no one would save Israel, Deuteronomy 28:29, 48, 63.
In actuality, God says that all of these curses would carry on and be upon Israel and overtake Israel and its descendants “forever” according to Deuteronomy 28:45-46.
Why? Because they turned their back on God. They forsook the covenant that He made with Abraham.
God’s “everlasting” guarantees, covenants and blessings upon Israel, were conditionally based upon Israel’s obedience to God.
Israel’s disobedience has negated these promises and blessings, and has exchanged them with the curses.
All of these curses have been poured out upon Israel because they have turned their back on God. From the Babylonian captivity, to the holocaust of Nazi Germany even today with the Islamic terrorism that haunts their nation.
Israel suffers because they rejected God, they rejected His prophets, and they rejected Jesus Christ, declaring that His blood was on their own hands and the hands of their children.
This is why Jesus spoke the parable of the vineyard in Matthew 21:33-43.
At the end of that parable Jesus said, 43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
Who is that people? We are that people. The Apostle Peter calls that people a “holy nation, a royal people.” He is talking about the Christian Church. We have been adopted into the family of God.
Adam and Eve jeopardized their relationship with God by sinning in the Garden of Eden.
The Jewish people seriously jeopardized their covenant with God by disobeying and rejecting the Messiah.
We have been given a chance to enter into a right relationship with God by accepting the Messiah and that is what Paul tells us in Romans 10:5-13.
Before we read that Scripture, let me remind you that even though Israel has turned its back on God and even though they have been disobedient to Him, God still loves them and is always ready to give them another chance.
Romans 10:5-13 from the Amplified Version.
5For Moses writes that the man who [can] practice the righteousness (perfect conformity to God's will) which is based on the Law [with all its intricate demands] shall live by it. 6But the righteousness based on faith [imputed by God and bringing right relationship with Him] says, Do not say in your heart, Who will ascend into Heaven? that is, to bring Christ down; 7Or who will descend into the abyss? that is, to bring Christ up from the dead [as if we could be saved by our own efforts]. 8But what does it say? The Word (God's message in Christ) is near you, on your lips and in your heart; that is, the Word (the message, the basis and object) of faith which we preach, 9Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation. 11The Scripture says, No man who believes in Him [who adheres to, relies on, and trusts in Him] will [ever] be put to shame or be disappointed. 12[No one] for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. The same Lord is Lord over all [of us] and He generously bestows His riches upon all who call upon Him [in faith]. 13For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord [invoking Him as Lord] will be saved. Romans 10:5-13 AMP
What a great Scripture! Did you see what it said in verse 8?
“The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: Romans 10:8
The Apostle John wrote, 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. John 1:1-4
The Word of God is Jesus Christ and this is the Good News that we proclaim.
Paul proclaims that God’s righteousness is not too far off and not too difficult to obtain for us and it is available to all! It is our choice to make.
Remember that Paul was well versed in the Old Testament. Paul was making reference here to something that God spoke to the nation of Israel in Deuteronomy 30 that is important for us to read.
1 When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come on you and you take them to heart wherever the LORD your God disperses you among the nations, 2 and when you and your children return to the LORD your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, 3 then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you.
4 Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the LORD your God will gather you and bring you back. 5 He will bring you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors. 6 The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. 7 The LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you. 8 You will again obey the LORD and follow all his commands I am giving you today. 9 Then the LORD your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The LORD will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your ancestors, 10 if you obey the LORD your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. 15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Deuteronomy 30
Blessings and Curses. Life and Death. These things are the future of those who turn to God or those who turn away from God.
The choice belongs to us as individuals as to what our future holds. And it’s not my decisions for you. It’s not your parents or grandparents decisions for you.
Our job is to explain to you the blessings and the curses the life and death and let each of you decide for yourself who you are going serve and which you are going to choose.
Here is that explanation according to the God’s Word. Life and blessing will come to those who turn their hearts to God through Jesus Christ.
When we turn to God and serve God with all our heart and with all our soul we find, life, hope, mercy, love, healing, strength, provision, comfort, peace, and the promise of eternal life with Christ in heaven.
If we do not turn to God then we are promised death and curses. The death is a spiritual death which is a separation from God.
Remember, we are the ones who decide to draw close or turn away from God. When we decide to not follow Him we are separating ourselves from Him and we are condemning ourselves to an eternal death.
You might argue that you know people who are not following God and that you don’t see any curses in their life, as a matter of fact they seem to be doing very well.
Let me remind you that even though all maybe going good on the outside, their hope for a future in eternity is looking very dim.
Sure all may be looking good but do they have the hope and comfort that we as believers have? No. When bad things happen in their lives do they turn to God for help and peace? No.
And most importantly when their life comes to an end on this earth what is going to happen to them? They are promised an eternal separation from God in hell where there will be no relief.
That is why Paul said, “9Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
Our salvation, our hope, our peace, our comfort can only be found in Jesus Christ. He is the only thing that can save humanity.
In our hearts and in our minds we must believe that Jesus is Lord and with our mouths and with our actions we must demonstrate that Jesus is Lord.
These things must be settled in our lives. We need to be convinced and more than that we must totally accept all that God has given us through Jesus Christ and then we need to demonstrate it.
Our demonstration of faith is the natural response to Jesus being the Lord of our lives. We must have the passion of Paul who said, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel!”
Is that your passion today?
Today, the Word of God is near you. He stands at the door of your heart. Many of us have opened the door to Him and some have not.
He is near today and He is asking you to confess with your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord.
Some of us have confessed with our hearts but we have failed to confess with our mouths and our actions.
Today, Jesus is asking that we would do both. That each of us would make a decision and a public confession to stand up for Christ at work, at play, at school, while shopping, in everything we do and in everything we say.
For some that may include water baptism, for some it may mean letting others know that you are a child of God by sharing your faith with them, for others it may be that you start living your life according to your faith in Jesus.
Today I ask, what does it mean for you?
Have you made that confession with your heart?
Have you made that confession with your mouth and actions?
If not will you make that confession today?
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