Category: Justification

Romans 5:1

2/28/2021

Teacher: Kevin Willard
Series: Romans (Acts)

Rusty's Notes from Kevin's Message

Romans 5:1 - Kevin Willard - 02/28/2021
- Romans 5:1 - Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Chasing the phantom of being a “good Christian”
- ‘97 - Matthew 6:15 - If you don’t forgive then God won’t forgive you.
- Grace journey started - 4 Important Lessons:
- 1) Complete forgiveness - Ephesians 1:7-8 & 1 Peter 3:18 & Hebrews 9:28
- 2) God’s unconditional love - 1 John 4:16 & Ephesians 3:17-19
- 3) Total Acceptance - Ephesians 1:6 Be > Do vs Do > Be
- 4) Limitless grace - Romans 5:20 & Titus 2:11-12 - Grace is not distributed like a commodity. It is a person. Jesus.
- 5) Satisfied Father - Hebrews 8:1

Galatians 2:14-21

11/10/2019

Teacher: Rusty Kennedy
Series: Galatians (Acts)

Rusty's Notes

Galatians 2
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. 12 For he regularly ate with the Gentiles before certain men came from James. However, when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, because he feared those from the circumcision party. 13 Then the rest of the Jews joined his hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.[1]
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14 But when I saw that they were deviating from the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas in front of everyone, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel Gentiles to live like Jews?”

1) Circumcision 2) Food laws & 3) Calendar observances
Paul is separating Peter’s personal convictions vs Truth of the Word.
Suppose Peter and Barnabas had won the day and led the church into legalism? What might the results have been?
Would Antioch have continued to be the great missionary church that sent out Paul and Barnabas? (Acts 13)
Would they, instead, have sent out the “missionaries” of the circumcision party and either captured or divided the churches Paul had already founded?
You can see that this problem was not a matter of personality or party; it was a question of “the truth of the Gospel.”
And Paul was prepared to fight for it.[2]

What was the purpose of Paul confronting Peter in front of everyone?
Was there emotion involved?
What is the difference in communicating truth with anger vs no emotion?
The same message is communicated.
It never says what Paul’s emotions are… we just assume.
You realize your reaction to news/information or the correction given will impact future exchanges of a relationship.
Between a husband and a wife
Between a parent and a child
Between a boss and an employer
Between friends or even siblings.

15 We are Jews by birth and not “Gentile sinners,”

They were “Gentile sinners” from birth because they were not given the Law like the Jews were.

16 and yet because we know that a person is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we ourselves have believed in Christ Jesus. This was so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified.

“How should [a] man be just with God?” (Job 9:2) was a vital question, because the answer determined eternal consequences.
“The just shall live by his faith” (Hab. 2:4) is God’s answer.
Justification is not simply “forgiveness,” because a person could be forgiven and then go out and sin and become guilty.
Once you have been “justified by faith” you can never be held guilty before God.
Justification is also different from “pardon,” because a pardoned criminal still has a record.
When the sinner is justified by faith, his past sins are remembered against him no more, and God no longer puts his sins on record.

So important is this concept that three New Testament books explain it to us: Romans (see 1:17), Galatians (see 3:11), and Hebrews (see 10:38).
Romans explains the meaning of “the just”;
Galatians explains “shall live”;
Hebrews explains “by faith.”[3]
Christ died one time and based upon our belief in the Son of God, we were justified one time.
Proven “not guilty”
Double Jeopardy – Cannot be tried twice for the same crime.

17 But if we ourselves are also found to be “sinners” while seeking to be justified by Christ, is Christ then a promoter of sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild those things that I tore down, I show myself to be a lawbreaker. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live for God.

If a man is justified by the works of the Law, then why did Jesus Christ die?
What died?
The Law demanded death for those who broke it, but Christ paid that death penalty for all sinners. [4]
To go back to Moses is to return to the graveyard!
We have been “raised to walk in newness of life”[5]

20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God,

Paul does not refer here to physical death, but to the death of his former self (see Eph 4:22).
The self-righteous, self-centered Saul died.
Paul’s understanding of union with Christ begins with the cross of Christ.
This enables Paul to endure shame, contempt, and false accusations like Jesus, God’s Suffering Servant (Col 1:24; Phil 1:29).
Christ lives in me Refers to new life in Christ as well as the presence of God’s Spirit, which empowers obedience to the gospel (Gal 3:2; 4:6; 5:16–18, 22–25).
the Son of God Faith in the Son of God transforms a person from a slave to a child of God.

who loved me and gave himself for me.

Paul describes the sacrificial love of Christ in personal terms.
Christ’s willingness to die on behalf of sinners brings deliverance from the power of sin for those believe in Him (1:4).
Grace says, “There is no difference! All are sinners, and all can be saved through faith in Christ!”
But Peter’s actions had said, “There is a difference! The grace of God is not sufficient; we also need the Law.”
Returning to the Law nullifies the Cross: “If righteousness came by the Law, then Christ is dead in vain” (Gal. 2:21).
Law says DO! Grace says DONE! “It is finished!” was Christ’s victory cry (John 19:30). “For by grace are ye saved through faith”[6]
In essence Paul affirmed, “If He loved me enough to give Himself for me, then He loves me enough to live out His life in me.”[7]

21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.[8]

Faith in the Son of God transforms a person from a slave of the Law to a child of God.
Paul’s opponents had accused him of using God’s grace to justify unrighteous living.[9]
We have no record of Peter’s reply to Paul’s rebuke, but Scripture would indicate that he admitted his sin and was restored to the fellowship once again.
Certainly when you read his two letters (1 and 2 Peter) you detect no deviation from the Gospel of the grace of God.
In fact, the theme of 1 Peter is “the true grace of God” (1 Peter 5:12); and the word grace is used in every chapter of the letter.
Peter is careful to point out that he and Paul were in complete agreement, lest anyone try to “rob Peter to pay Paul”
Ask yourself:
1) Have I been saved by the grace of God?
2) Am I trying to mix Law and grace?
3) Am I rejoicing in the fact that I have been justified by faith in Christ Jesus?
4) Am I walking in the freedom of grace?
5) Am I walking by the Spirit (that aligns with the Truth of the Gospel)?
6) Am I willing to walk by the Spirit in defense of the Gospel?

[1] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Ga 2:11–13). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 694). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 695). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[4] Campbell, D. K. (1985). Galatians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 596). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[5] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 695). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[6] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 696). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[7] Campbell, D. K. (1985). Galatians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 596). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[8] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Ga 2:1–21). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[9] Barry, J. D., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D., & Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife Study Bible (Ga 2:21). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

Words Defined - Part 2

3/5/2017

Teacher: Rusty Kennedy
Series: Words Defined

Rusty's Notes

Grace
- simple elegance or refinement of movement.
- (in Christian belief) the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.
- a divinely given talent or blessing.
- the condition or fact of being favored by someone.
- a period officially allowed for payment of a sum due or for compliance with a law or condition, especially an extended period granted as a special favor.
- a short prayer of thanks said before or after a meal.
- used as forms of description or address for a duke, duchess, or archbishop.
- "His Grace, the Duke of …"
- verb: grace; do honor or credit to (someone or something) by one's presence.
Exchanged Life
- The term "Exchanged Life" is taken from the well-known passage in Isaiah 40:31. English translations refer to those who wait on or hope in the Lord as being able to "renew" their strength. All commentaries and study Bibles that deal with this verse note that the literal translation of the Hebrew word for "renew" is "exchange." Those who wait on the Lord will exchange their strength for His strength, as stated in verses 25-30.
- The term "Exchanged Life" is directly related to the believer's discovery of a new identity in Christ. The believer is a new creation; one born of God. What was once true is no longer true. J. Hudson Taylor made the English term "Exchanged Life" popular through his testimony of how God made him a new man. (From the book, Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret, chapter 14.)
- To elaborate further, we believe that the believer partakes of eternal life (Christ's Life) at the time of new birth, that identification with Christ in His crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and ascension brought the death of the "old man" and the life of the "new man." This may become a revealed experiential reality through a decision to lose one's life (total surrender) and to appropriate the Christ life by faith, and is continuously revealed by abiding in the Spirit and pursuing holiness. Victorious living is Christ living His life through the believer by the believer's faith and obedience under the Holy Spirit. This does not teach passivity, sinless perfection, or the deification of man.
Redeemed
- 1. Do something that compensates for poor past performance or behavior.
- (of a person) atone or make amends for (error or evil).
- save (someone) from sin, error, or evil.
- 2. Gain or regain possession of (something) in exchange for payment.
- Exchange (a coupon, voucher, or trading stamp) for merchandise, a discount, or money.
- Pay the necessary money to clear (a debt).
Die to self
- Not scriptural… Take up your cross daily (Luke 9:23)
- Romans 6:6 – Old self has died
Justification
- to declare innocent or guiltless; absolve; acquit.
- Just as if I have never sinned.
Sanctification
- to make holy; set apart as sacred; consecrate.
- to purify or free from sin:
- 1 Thessalonians 5:23 – May God of peace sanctify you completely.
Spirit - the activating or essential principle influencing a person; a person having a character or disposition of a specified nature: a supernatural being that indwells our physical organisms.
Soul
- Mind, will & emotions - Personality
Glory
- Colossians 1:27 - 27 God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. [1]
Holiness
Saint
Christian
Back slidden
- To revert to bad habits or laps in religious practice.
- To slip from a higher or better condition to a former, usually lower or poorer one.
Power of Sin
Flesh - Sin Nature
- Flesh... No longer "sinful nature"

Most readers of the NIV(84) Version would never even pick up on the fact that there was an asterisk next to the words "sinful nature" found especially in Romans 7 & 8. If they follow the asterisk to the bottom of the page they will notice that the NIV(84) (and actually the NLT) changed the original intent of the word from "flesh" to "sinful nature". In the new NIV(2010) version, they have changed it back to "flesh". Andrew Farley discusses this issue in his book, "The Naked Gospel". He was also influential with Zondervan in this recent change back to "flesh". Is the change from "flesh" to "sinful nature" a big deal? ABSOLUTELY IT IS!!! Throughout the Scripture (post cross), it is apparent that the evil one is still active and the power of sin works through our "flesh", our earth suit that is temporary and that will go back to dust. We are constantly pounded with corrupt thoughts and struggle with where these thoughts originated. If I know that I am a redeemed, holy, forgiven saint that has the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead living inside of me… how can I possibly have these evil thoughts? (oh man…. And some of mine are doozies!) Paul confirms that it is no longer his own nature that is originating these thoughts. It is the sin and it’s incredible power that the evil one uses to tempt us and cause us to feel terrible about ourselves. We can “feel” terrible just by having horrible thoughts… that we didn’t or couldn’t even have generated. Imagine if you walked around as a believer thinking that you are corrupt just because of your thoughts! That is the case for the majority of believers. The most sold version of the Bible for the last 30 years (that is an assumption), has been telling us that it is our “sinful nature”. It’s not possible! My “sinful nature” was crucified with Christ. Something in me had to die when I died with Christ on the cross (Galatians 2:20). What was it? It was my natural bent to sin. It was that natural bent before I received salvation that established bad habit patterns in my flesh (also my behavior). Now, as I walk with the Spirit, I am being sanctified in my flesh (behavior) and living a victorious life… even though I still sin on occasion. My identity is not as a “sinner” but as a “saint in Jesus Christ”. If I can resolve the Truth that Paul, Peter, John, etc. teach about… Then I can walk victoriously as a believer knowing that the corrupt thoughts were not generated by my nature but it is something I have to deal with as I walk in my earthly flesh. It is only temporary. It is this understanding that is the basis for overcoming the evil one (I John 2:13). Jesus came that we might have abundant life... today!!! Not just when our flesh dies here on earth.

Walk by the Spirit
Pride/Proud
Forgive-Confess-Repent

[1] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Col 1:27). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.

Romans 5:1

Rusty's Notes from Kevin's Message

Galatians 2:14-21

Rusty's Notes

Words Defined - Part 2

Rusty's Notes

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