GRATITUDE That ADORNS The GOSPEL-VIII—Romans 1:15-25
OR: Gratitude That Graces The Gospel
Attention:
A woman was the wealthy wife of a very successful businessman. One day, she decided to have her portrait painted as a gift to her husband.
When she arrived at the artist's studio for her first sitting, she immediately explained to the artist exactly what she wanted.
“You should paint me like I am. These little wrinkles, you put them on your canvas. The lines under my eyes, the flab on my arms, the turn in my nose, & the mole on my cheek, they all stay. BUT on my hands paint me with lots of rings with big diamonds & the most exquisite of jewels. Around my neck paint chains of gold & diamonds. Do you understand?”
The artist looked at her in earnest & asked why she should want such detail of real life in her physical appearance, but adorn herself with the nonexistent jewelry.
She replied, “When I die, I know my husband will quickly re-marry. When he does, his new wife will go crazy looking for the jewels.”
The wife had herself ‘adorned’ with many jewels to gain the attention of her audience.
Likewise, God adorns Himself with the Gratitude of His people, in order to capture the attention of all who are in need of salvation.
Need:
Our lives in Christ Jesus encourage celebration with gratitude! God’s people continuously offer up sincere thanks to Him for offering them His wisdom, which in turn, causes them to view the world very differently than those who are without Christ in the world.
Christian influence in all societies encourages an appreciation for the life with which God has blessed them(although it is not always accepted).
Christians openly recognize God’s love expressed towards them in His sustained salvation & moment-by-moment blessings.
Christians openly recognize & prioritize God’s ever available invitation to approach Him with their actual needs.
Christians openly recognize God’s provision for them.
These realize that they have been abundantly blessed by the ever-living & loving Lord their God...And their lives show it!
Those who are not so inclined may still be positively influenced by the Church to such a degree that they readily attach a religious sentimentality to holidays & to life in general.
“ADORN”—To make more beautiful, or attractive; To enhance.
Titus 2:9-10—“Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.”
1Pet. 3:3-4—“Do not let your adornment be merely outward--arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel-- rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle & quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.”
For the Christians in Rome, Paul delineated the relationship of gratitude to the Gospel.
Personal Gratitude must properly adorn the Gospel of Christ.
What manner of Gratitude properly adorns the Gospel of Christ?
OR...
How can your Gratitude adorn the Gospel of Christ?
9 assurances that your Gratitude is one that Adorns God’s Good News.
So far we have found that
Our Gratitude adorns the Gospel thru...
1. Our SHAMELESS TRUST(:15-16)
2. SHARING(:17)
3. REINFORCING GOD’s WRATH(:18)
4. KNOWLEDGE(:19)
5. SIGHT(:20)
6. CHOICE(:21)
7. AFFIRMATION & PRACTICE(:22-23)
8. HONOR(:24)
9—Gratitude adorns the Gospel thru...
UNWAVERING TRUST(:25)
Explanation:(:25)Unshifting/Settled
:25—“who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, & worshiped & served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”
“who exchanged the truth of God for the lie,...”
Those whom God gave up to uncleanness(:24) had, thru that uncleanness, “exchanged the truth” with(“for”) “the lie.” That is, they willingly shifted priorities in their lives. They shifted from truth to “the lie” of Satan & worldly humanity.
“The lie” is highlighted & describes the ultimate “lie” of Satan—that he sees & projects himself as god rather than YHWH, & that you & I are deserving of better or more than we have.
Thus the world at large, in choosing lesser gods &/or themselves—& thereby Satan as their god—has willingly succumbed to him(Eph. 2:2—‘prince of the power of the air’).
“Who/Which”—ostiv, including the feminine--htiv & the neuter--o,ti—Pronoun—1) Whoever, whatever, who. Strong—Which some, i.e. Any that; also(def.)--Which same.
“Exchanged/Changed”—metallassw—Lit.-‘Behind another’—Verb—1) To exchange, change. Strong—To exchange. RWP—old word for exchanging trade. What a bargain they made, “the truth of God for(en) the(tw) lie.” Used 2X--Rom. 1:25 & :26.?From—meta—1) With, after, behind. Strong—a primary preposition; properly--Denoting accompaniment; “Amid”(local or causal); occupying an intermediate position between apo[off, away from] or ek, ex[from, out] & eiv[to, into] or prov[toward, near to]; less intimate than en[in] & less close than sun[with, together]).—&—allassw—To make different.—From—allov—1) Another, other. Allov denotes numerical in distinction from qualitative differences; allov adds('one besides'), eterov distinguishes('one of two'); every eterov is an allov but not every allov is a eterov; allov generally denotes simple distinction of individuals, eterov involves the secondary idea of difference of kind.
“Truth”—alhyeia—Noun Fem.—1) objectively—1a) What is true in any matter under consideration—1a1) Truly, in truth, according to truth, 1a2) Of a truth, in reality, in fact, certainly, 1b) What is true in things appertaining to God & the duties of man, moral & religious truth—1b1) In the greatest latitude, 1b2) The true notions of God which are open to human reason without his supernatural intervention, 1c) The truth as taught in the Christian religion, respecting God & the execution of his purposes through Christ, & respecting the duties of man, opposing alike to the superstitions of the Gentiles & the inventions of the Jews, & the corrupt opinions & precepts of false teachers even among Christians; 2) subjectively—2a) Truth as a personal excellence—2a1) That candor of mind which is free from affection, pretense, simulation, falsehood, deceit. Strong—from alhyhv; Truth.
“For/Into”—en tw——en—Preposition—1) In, by, with etc.. Strong—a primary preposition denoting (fixed)position(in place, time or state), & by implication--Instrumentality(medially or constructively), i.e. A relation of rest(intermediate between eiv[into, unto, to, towards, for, among] & ek/ex[out of, from, by, away from]).—+—tw—o,—OR—feminine--h, —OR—neuter--to—Definite Article—1) This, that, these, etc. Strong—The definite article; The(sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom).
“Lie/Falsehood”—qeudov—Noun Neuter—1) A lie; 2) Conscious & intentional falsehood; 3) in a broad sense--Whatever is not what it seems to be—3a) Of perverse, impious, deceitful precepts. A falsehood. Used 9X.?English prefix=‘Pseudo-‘
“...& worshiped & served the creature rather than the Creator...”
In giving up God in exchange for “the lie” these ended up both “worshiping” & even “serving” that which was created(“the creature”). The word translated “worshiped” is only used 1X in Scripture. It has to do with adoration, reverence, & veneration. It is used of those who have rejected the true God.
And rightly so, we in turn, “serve” what we adore & venerate.
Rather than rightly ascribing glory to the very One who Created all things, the ones professing/declaring their so-called ‘wisdom’ in the world(:22), ironically chose rather to both “worship & serve” that which the Creator created! These chose & choose to serve the Creator’s “creatures.”
I don’t want to mislead you into thinking that I’m some sort of super-saint or that anyone else is. My personal trust of God only wavers in the sense that I do not always know what God is up to, or how he is using me or my circumstances at any given moment. However, my ‘settled trust’ of Him, locks me into a personal attempt at discovering how to make myself available for His use. I do always trust God.
If I exchange His truth for “the lie”—that I am capable without Him—then I have done violence to His entire plan for mankind’s & thus my own redemption.
It is possible for you to become ‘unshifting’ in your trust of organized church politics—rules & regulations—rather than in Christ Himself. It is possible for you to adamantly hold to your opinion versus God’s truth. It is possible to cling to ill-founded ‘doctrine’, because you are merely comfortable with it...asking yourself, ‘Why would we change what our family, neighbors, society has been built upon?’
Our question should be, “In What or Whom do I trust?”
“Worshiped/Reverenced”—sebazomai—1Aorist Middle Deponent Indicative 3rd Plural—1) To fear, be afraid; 2) To honor religiously, to worship. Strong—To venerate, i.e. Adore. Used 1X--Rom. 1:25.?Middle voice from a derivative of—sebomai—To revere, i.e. Adore.
“Served”—latreuw—Verb—1) To serve for hire; 2) To serve, minister to, either to the gods or men & used alike of slaves & freemen—2a) in the NT--To render religious service or homage, to worship, 2b) To perform sacred services, to offer gifts, to worship God in the observance of the rites instituted for his worship—2b1) Of priests, to officiate, to discharge the sacred office. Strong—To minister(to God), i.e. Render, religious homage. Used 21X.?From—latriv—A hired menial.
“Creature/Things God Made/Created Thing”—ktisiv—Noun Fem.—1) The act of founding, establishing, building etc—1a) The act of creating, creation, 1b) Creation i.e. Thing created—1b1) Of individual things, beings, a creature, a creation—1b1a) Anything created, 1b1b) after a rabbinical usage(by which a man converted from idolatry to Judaism was called), 1b1c) The sum or aggregate of things created, 1c) Institution, ordinance. Strong—Original formation(properly--The act; by implication--The thing, literally or figuratively). RWP—ktisiv(from ktizw, To create, to found), Act of creation(Ro 1:20), A creature or creation(Ro 1:25), All creation(Col 1:15), An institution as here. Used 19X.?From—ktizw—To fabricate, i.e. Found(form originally).
“Rather than/But Not/Beyond”—para—1) From, of at, by, besides, near. Strong—a primary preposition; properly--Near; From beside(literally or figuratively); At(or in) the vicinity of (objectively or subjectively); To the proximity with; Beyond or opposed to; On account of.
“Creator/Creator Himself/Him Who Created”—ton ktisanta——ton—o,—OR—feminine--h, —OR—neuter--to——Definite Article—1) This, that, these, etc. Strong—The definite article; The(sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom).—+—ktizw—1Aorist Active Participle Accusative Sing. Masc.—1) To make habitable, to people, a place, region, island—1a) To found a city, colony, state; 2) To create—2a) Of God creating the worlds, 2b) To form, shape, i.e. to completely change or transform. Strong—probably akin to ktaomai(through the idea of proprietor-ship of the manufacturer); To fabricate, i.e. Found(form originally). Used 14X.
“...the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”
“The Creator” of all things, & NOT His creation, is truly(“Amen”) to be “blessed” ‘into the ages’(“forever”)!
?How is the Creator to be “blessed forever”?...OR...
?How can He be “blessed forever” by those whom He has created?
We are created & live within the awesome privilege & purpose of our living eternally. No one will ever be annihilated...you may be wiped off the face of the earth, but you cannot be annihilated.
What the Bible considers eternal deadness(vs. eternal life) is your eternity that is spent in the place outside of His desire for you...that is, that which is outside of God’s desire for you(& for all people), is your(or anyone else’s) eternity spent in hell.
God becomes “blessed” by your willingly & fully giving yourselves—bodily & spiritually—to the Creator’s design & will!
“There is no conceivable situation in which it is not safe to trust God.”—John Oswald Sanders
As I have been asked, “Why does God hate me?”(when someone's life is ‘falling apart’). He does not ‘hate’ you as a person per se,...Rather what He ‘hates’ is your utter distrust of Him...What God 'hates' is your trust in self & sin to the exclusion of Himself!
“Blessed”—euloghtov—Adj.(The ‘good word’ having been put to work)—1) Blessed, praised. Strong—Adorable. Used 8X.?From—eulogew—Verb—1) To praise, celebrate with praises. Strong—To speak well of, i.e. religiously--To bless(thank or invoke a benediction upon, prosper).?From—eu—neuter of a primary euv(good); adverbially--Well.—&—logov—Noun Masc.—1) of speech—1a) A word, uttered by a living voice, embodies a conception or idea; 2) Its use as respect to the MIND alone—2a) Reason, the mental faculty of thinking, meditating, reasoning, calculating, 2b) Account, i.e. Regard, consideration, 2f) Reason, cause, ground. Strong—Something said(including the thought), A topic(subject of discourse), Reasoning(the mental faculty) or motive, A computation. “Forever”—eiv touv aiwnav—Lit=‘Into The Ages’——aiwn—Noun Masc.—1) For ever, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity; 2) The worlds, universe; 3) Period of time, age. Aiwn is usually better expressed by age, it is the world at a given time, a particular period in the world's history. Kosmov has very frequently an unfavorable meaning, denoting the inhabitants of the world, mankind in general, as opposed to God. A similar meaning is often attached to aiwn, it means the spirit of the age, often in an unfavorable sense. Strong—properly--An age; by extension--Perpetuity (also past); by implication--The world; specially(Jewish)--A Messianic period(present or future).
“Amen”—amhn—Particle Indeclinable—1)Firm—1a) metaph.--Faithful; 2) Verily, amen—2a) at the beginning of a discourse--Surely, truly, of a truth, 2b) at the end--So it is, so be it, may it be fulfilled. It was a custom, which passed over from the synagogues to the Christian assemblies, that when he who had read or discoursed, had offered up solemn prayer to God, the others responded Amen, & thus made the substance of what was uttered their own. Strong—properly--Firm, i.e. figuratively--Trustworthy; adverbially--Surely(often as interjection--So be it).?From Hebrew—Nma aw-man'; from Nma aw-man'; Sure; abstract--Faithfulness; adverb--Truly.?The word "amen" is a most remarkable word. It was transliterated directly from the Hebrew into the Greek of the New Testament, then into Latin & into English & many other languages, so that it is practically a universal word. It has been called the best known word in human speech. The word is directly related -- in fact, almost identical -- to the Hebrew word for "believe"(amam), or faithful. Thus, it came to mean "sure" or "truly", an expression of absolute trust & confidence.(HMM)
Argumentation:
Js. 1:16-17—“Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift & every perfect gift is from above, & comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”
Eph. 4:11-16—“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, & some pastors & teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith & of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to & fro & carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ-- from whom the whole body, joined & knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
Jer. 17:7-8 -&- 5-6—“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.”.....“Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited.”
Col. 2:8-23—“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy & empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, & not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; & you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality & power. In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses & the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities & powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility & worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, & not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished & knit together by joints & ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God. Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations--“Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” which all concern things which perish with the using--according to the commandments & doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, & neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.”
Zeph. 3:12-14—“I will leave in your midst A meek & humble people, And they shall trust in the name of the LORD. The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness And speak no lies, Nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; For they shall feed their flocks & lie down, And no one shall make them afraid.” Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be glad & rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!”
The only way that will happen(& it hasn’t happened yet) is for Israel to trust in Jesus as their Messiah!
Thankfulness:
Col. 1:12-23—“giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness & conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven & that are on earth, visible & invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him & for Him. And He is before all things, & in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, & by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated & enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, & blameless, & above reproach in His sight-- if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded & steadfast, & are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.”
Col. 3:12-17—“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy & beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, & forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; & be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching & admonishing one another in psalms & hymns & spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
Illustration:
One night I watched on TV, a morbidly obese couple who had recently lost enough weight to leave their house & go out into the public/Together they still weighed well over 600 pounds/They went on an outdoor picnic date to a local park/There they spread out a tablecloth over the top of a metal-framed picnic table/It was one of those tables with a rounded tubular frame which I assumed was unsecured to the ground/As the couple began to sit down at the table, I began to cringe!/Both of them chose to sit beside the other rather than across from each other as counterbalances!/Sitting on the same side, I just knew the table would roll backwards when they sat down!...It did not!/However, they didn’t even hesitate!—They had an unwavering trust in what they were doing/UNWAVERING/Settled TRUST
The house in which you live—Suppose you own it outright/As you drive up to the house, You never hesitate looking around & thinking, “I hope nobody is home!”/Because it’s your home!/You never suppose that someone might take your home from you/It never crosses your mind that squatters may have settled in while you were at the grocery store/You have a settled trust that your home is indeed your home & no one else’s/That trust in your ownership is backed up by the existing authorities/UNWAVERING/Settled TRUST/
With a saving trust in Jesus, there is never an unsettling question as to whether He can save you or not. There is never a time when you doubt ‘His’ ability to meet your ‘real’ need.
However there are plenty of times when you doubt our own ability to surrender to Him fully & to follow Him wholeheartedly!
Application:
?Do You Grace the Gospel of Christ by UNSHIFTING/Settled TRUST in Him?
?Does Your Gratitude Grace the Gospel of Christ?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
“When my husband re-marries, his new wife will go crazy looking for the jewels!” The wife had herself ‘adorned’ with many jewels to gain the attention of her opponent.
Action:
Gratitude adorns the Gospel thru...
9. UNWAVERING TRUST(:25)
1. SHAMELESS TRUST(:15-16)
2. SHARING(:17)
3. REINFORCING GOD’s WRATH(:18)
4. MANIFESTATION(:19)
5. INSIGHT(:20)
6. CHOICE(:21)
7. PROFESSION(:22-23)
8. HONOR(:24)
Pt# 9 only! Presented 08/18/2019am to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave.(Se Ave. A).
Carrabelle, FL 32322
Points 1-8 were presented Nov. 24, 2011 at the Needmore Community Thanksgiving service held at South River UMC, Woodleaf, NC.
