Why Works Won't Work(2013) Series

Old story of frog that jumped in a bucket of milk. Instead of just giving up the frog began to swim and swim and swim. The frog swam so much that the milk turned to butter and the frog hopped out of the bucket.

Great story about working so had that you eventually get to where you want to go. Many treat their relationship with God this way.

We work and try and strive and hope that we will eventually gain solid footing under ourselves.

This is the way that all other faiths in the world attempt to become right with God. They work and achieve to be made right. A Muslim will never know for sure that he will die and enter paradise other than to die the death of a martyr.

They are constantly trying to balance the scales more good than bad.

Old adage that most people get money the old fashion way, ‘they earn it’.

I read that the very wealthy get money the real old fashion way, ‘they inherit it’.

In God’s economy of righteousness we can never earn it but can only inherit it through the righteousness of Jesus Christ by faith.

Going to take a deeper look at the issue of Justification by Faith:

Theological explanation in chapter 3:21-31.

Chapter 4 Paul gives us a practical example out of the OT.

Two individuals who were important in Jewish life: Abraham & David

The Jews needed to understand the truth about grace.

IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT GRACE!

JOHN NEWTON lived a very troubled life: Had a very godly mother but a wicked father who was often off to sea and then came home to live a wicked life. Newton’s mother prayed for him and committed him to the Lord but John himself became a sailor on a slave ship and became involved in that terrible lifestyle. Newton was given a book written in the 1400’s by Thomas A’kempis who at age 20 entered a monastery for 71 years. It was called AN IMITATION OF CHRIST

While on the top deck during a ferocious storm he was swept overboard. He cried out to God and another huge wave washed him back upon deck. His life was never the same. Newton eventually wrote: ‘Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me…I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see’ Newton understood God’s SAVING GRACE

Paul has attempted in the first 3 chapters of Romans to make us all understand that we are all in the same category and in need of Salvation. WRETCHES

We may be a good wretch or a bad wretch but we all fall short of God’s standard and need to be saved through Jesus Christ.

Romans 3:23 All have sinned and continually fall short of the glory of God.

The history of Nursery rhymes is pretty scary to me: Jack and Jill went up and hill to fetch a pail of water(water runs downhill?) Jack fell down and broke his crown(head?) and Jill came tumbling after(don’t climb hills?),

Rock a bye baby in the tree top, when the wind blows the cradle will rock, when the bow breaks the cradle will fall and down will come baby, cradle and all(falling babies?) Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the kings horses and all the kings men could not put Humpty together again.

Charles Swindoll says this little nursery rhyme was originally written about people,; broken people; who fell off the wall and found themselves smashed. And all the King’s horses and all the King’s men could not put them back together again. But God can.

Through Adam we had a great fall and all of man’s efforts are unable to solve our dilemma.

We all SINNED IN ADAM Romans 5:12 – Therefore just as through one man sin entered the world and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned. His sin impacted all who descended from him.

The sin nature became the norm in all of us.

We all SIN PERSONALLY: Romans 7:19-23 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. Often even when we don’t want to sin we sin. Paul says that we are to ‘take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ’. All day long we have to challenge every thought and gain victory over it through God’s power in our lives. Otherwise sin will begin to dominate ours thoughts and behaviors.