Crisis in the Churches of Northwest Asia

• The Christians throughout the Empire are suffering severe persecution.
• Peter has received word that the churches in northwest Asia are suffering massive attacks.
• They are distressed and in great need of encouragement.
• The persecution has become so bad that the Gentile Christians are being tempted to revert to their past pagan lifestyles to lessen the heat.
• Some believers are rebelling against local authorities because of the mistreatment and slander they are receiving from them.

PETER WRITES 1 PETER

• Year: A.D. 65
• From: Rome
• To: The churches in northwest Asia: Pontus, North Galatia, Cappadocia, and Bithynia.[1]
• 1) Set your hope (1:13)
• 2) Be holy (1:16)
• 3) Conduct yourselves (1:17)
• 4) Love one another (1:22)
• 5) Crave spiritual milk (2:2)

 
WIVES AND HUSBANDS
1 PETER 3
1 In the same way, wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, even if some disobey the word, they may be won over without a word by the way their wives live 2 when they observe your pure, reverent lives.

• In the previous chapter Peter was talking about submitting to leaders of different types because there is no point in revolting against leadership.
• Instead, we are to love and serve our leaders.
• Likewise, Peter is recognizing that wives ought to love and serve their husbands by allowing them to lead.
• This submissive attitude then impacts men in a positive way.
• If they are not believers, then perhaps they will be won over by the love of their wives.
• If they are believers, then they will feel respected and encouraged.

3 Don’t let your beauty consist of outward things like elaborate hairstyles and wearing gold jewelry or fine clothes, 4 but rather what is inside the heart—the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

• Peter is not forbidding the wearing of Jewelry or any clothing that is attractive.
• Peter is talking about not making beauty merely an outward attribute.
• He is against making external beauty the big deal.
• Instead, women are to seek to know Christ and live from His Spirit.
• This type of beauty never ceases, even with the coming of old age, because it is internal.
• Thus, Peter wants women to find their worth not in that which is visible but in that worth which is spiritual and precious.
• When the focus is on this inner beauty, women may choose to dress nicely or wear Jewelry, but not in order to become something more than who they are in Christ.

5 For in the past, the holy women who put their hope in God also adorned themselves in this way, submitting to their own husbands, 6 just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord.

• The women in the Old Testament wore submission to their husbands like clothes.
• The clothing of submission is a perfect fit for children of God.
• It is completely compatible with who wives, as well as husbands, are in Christ.
• Christians can choose to wear behavior that is not fitting for saints.
• But this will never yield peace and joy.
• Only the fruit of the Spirit is fitting for Christians.
• When wives express the fruit of the Spirit to men, then men will feel honored and valued.
• The fear that women carry with this type of lifestyle is based on not wanting to become doormats to their husbands.
• But Peter is clear: Women are co-heirs with their husbands.

You have become her children when you do what is good and do not fear any intimidation.
7 Husbands, in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker partner, showing them honor as coheirs of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

• Husbands are to love their wives as one would love a weaker person.
• In other words, husbands are to be gentle with their wives.
• This is not a statement about women's value in marriage.
• Notice that they are fellow heirs of salvation with their husbands.
• Instead, Peter is speaking of physical strength.
• Obviously, in many marriages, the wife is the stronger person: emotionally, mentally, spiritually, morally, socially, and/or physically.
• Nevertheless, physically, the wife is usually weaker than her husband. Most men tend to choose as their wives women who are not as strong as they are.
• This pertains to physical force as well as emotional and verbal abuse.
• Peter likely also has in mind the emotional depth of women and how vulnerable this makes them.

 

• Hinder your prayers: This is a practical statement for couples who are not treating one another well.
• People will not want to pray with their spouses if they are being treated poorly.
• If, however, we express the fruit of the Spirit to one another, then nothing will get in the way of our prayer life.

DO NO EVIL
8 Finally, all of you be like-minded and sympathetic, love one another, and be compassionate and humble,

• Peter has in mind the whole church, men and women.
• Christians are to have mutual respect and love for one another regardless of gender.
• Males and females must be united under the lordship of Christ.
• This behavior verse and all others encourage Christians to live according to their new nature.
• Ultimately, these verses are timesavers.
• God simply wants us to save ourselves from turmoil which comes from choosing to live in a way that is no longer compatible with our natures.
• God has worked righteousness into us and, consequently, wants us to live in accordance with this nature.
• This will produce good days for the believer as they live from the Spirit and experience the unceasing joy Christ gave us.

9 not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you may inherit a blessing.

• Christians are not to fight back against opponents.
• Instead, they are to know the blessing of Christ’s indwelling life and to choose to love despite any insults that come our way.
• We can choose not to be concerned about our status, instead forgive insults, and live from the inner person that we are in Christ.
• If we understand God’s opinion of us, then the opinion of humans doesn’t matter.

10 For the one who wants to love life
and to see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit,

• The mouth determines the health of our relationships.
• Our words have the ability to sooth and edify people, or cause harm.
• Likewise, our tongues can tell truth or lies.
• Lies will always lead to distrust in relationships.
• Truth, however, always edifies.
• Speaking truth will reflect our new natures in Christ.

11 and let him turn away from evil
and do what is good.
Let him seek peace and pursue it,

•  Christians are to seek edifying relationships with one another and the world, even though it will always inherently resist the claims of Christ.

12 because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against
those who do what is evil.

• God is not in a swivel chair.
• God’s eyes are always on the eyes of His children.
• Likewise, His ears are always attentive to our prayers.
• His face, however, is against all who have rejected the Son of God.
• God hates sin and is forever against it.

 
UNDESERVED SUFFERING
13 Who then will harm you if you are devoted to what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear them or be intimidated, 15 but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy,

• Believers do not make Christ Lord.
• He is Lord.
• When we receive Christ as Savior, we also receive Him as Lord because we believe that He can save us and has the authority to save us.
• This is a recognition of His lordship.

ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.

• Peter is encouraging believers to be ready to give a reason or a defense of our hope in Christ to all who ask us.
• This means that our expression of the Gospel is to be to all who engage us.
• This means that we only tell the Gospel to those who are interested.
• Notice that Peter is not encouraging Christians to walk out onto the street and be belligerent.
• This would not be gentle and respectful of unbelievers.
• Our place is to be ready to engage those who engage us simply.

16 Yet do this with gentleness and reverence, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God.

• Christ’s sacrifice was so perfect that He only needed to die once for all of our sins-past, present and future.
• When we believe this finished work of Christ cleanses us perfectly.
• Peter encouraged Christians to suffer for adhering to this reality, and not for doing wrong.
• Our sins have consequences, and when we treat one another poorly, these consequences impact relationships with believers and unbelievers alike.
• Instead, believers are to love people and be ready to give a reason for this love they possess.
• If we suffer for believing the Gospel, then we share in Christ’s sufferings who died for our sins.
• He suffered for being the Son of God in the midst of worldly darkness.
• Likewise, Christians too will suffer in different ways.

He was put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, 19 in which he also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison 20 who in the past were disobedient, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared. In it a few—that is, eight people—were saved through water.

• This is a particularly difficult passage to interpret.
• Some believe it means that Christ went to hell to preach to those who were there after the time of Noah’s flood.
• This could certainly be true; however, it is more likely that this is speaking of previous expressions of Christ throughout history.
• The passage specifically speaks of those who were alive when the ark was being built.
• So, it stands to reason, that Christ proclaimed the Gospel through Noah to those who are now currently in spiritual prison.

21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you (not as the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

• Peter is speaking of being baptized spiritually into Christ at faith in Jesus, not a physical baptism.
• Notice Peter’s language: The baptism that saves does not remove dirt from the body.

22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.[2]

• Christ is seated at the right hand of God because His salvific work is complete.
• He has removed our sins past, present, and future.
• This means that there is no longer a sacrifice needed for sin.

His work as a High Priest is, therefore, finished. [3]

[1] Viola, Frank, The Untold Story of the New Testament Church. Destiny Image, Shippensburg, PA, 2004. 166-167.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 1 Pe 3:1–22.
[3] Farley, Andrew. www.BibleCommentary.com. 1 Peter 3.

Crisis in the Churches of Northwest Asia

• The Christians throughout the Empire are suffering severe persecution.
• Peter has received word that the churches in northwest Asia are suffering massive attacks.
• They are distressed and in great need of encouragement.
• The persecution has become so bad that the Gentile Christians are being tempted to revert to their past pagan lifestyles to lessen the heat.
• Some believers are rebelling against local authorities because of the mistreatment and slander they are receiving from them.

PETER WRITES 1 PETER

• Year: A.D. 65
• From: Rome
• To: The churches in northwest Asia: Pontus, North Galatia, Cappadocia, and Bithynia.[1]
• 1) Set your hope (1:13)
• 2) Be holy (1:16)
• 3) Conduct yourselves (1:17)
• 4) Love one another (1:22)
• 5) Crave spiritual milk (2:2)

 
THE LIVING STONE AND A HOLY PEOPLE
1 Peter 2
1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander.

• Peter is addressing behavior that is proper for Christians.
• However, he is not giving us a behavior verse in a vacuum.
• The key is found in the text prior to this section.
• Because we have been purified by the Gospel (1 Peter 1:17-24), we are empowered to live righteously.
• Notice that this is not “thou shalt not” language.
• Instead, this is about laying aside all that is not natural for the Christian.
• In the Old Covenant, there was no ultimate victory over sin.
• However, in the New Covenant God has provided a solution to the sin problem.
• When we believe we are given a new nature (see 2 Peter 1:3-4 - 3 His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.[2]).
• We can, therefore, act in a manner which fits our identity.

2 Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow up into your salvation,

• Peter is not talking about growing through Christian activity.
• Activity does not grow a person.
• The word of God, the Gospel of grace, grows the believer.
• As we form a better understanding of the finished work of Christ, we will mature.
• But the Gospel must be pure, without man-made religion added to it, or we will not grow.
• God has not designed us to grow spiritually under spiritual law.
• Instead, we are called to know the pure milk of the finished work of Christ.
• We will grow as we become more acquainted with God’s nature revealed in Christ.
• But we cannot let false gospels taint our understanding of the true Gospel.

3 if you have tasted that the Lord is good. (Psalm 34:8)

• God’s kindness is what leads us to repentance.
• God is not mean or belligerent.
• He has kindness and gentleness towards us.
• He is a living and breathing being with infinite love and this love is directed to the world.
• Believers have tasted God’s kindness and have been changed as a result.
• And the more we embrace the kindness of God, the more we will grow.

4 As you come to him, a living stone—rejected by people but chosen and honored by God--

• Everyone on the planet looks at Jesus in one of two ways.
• He is either the most precious gift given to us, or He is the most offensive thing in existence.
• But Jesus is the same towards both groups.
• He is the living stone.
• All creation points to Him.
• Our salvation is in Him whether we believe or not.

5 you yourselves, as living stones,

• Believers are also considered living stones.
• Whatever righteousness Jesus possesses, we also possess by grace through faith (2 Corinthians 5:21).
• We are as pure and valuable as Jesus Christ Himself.
• The entire Trinity is pleased with us.
• Because He is pleased with us, He seeks to build us up using His kindness and love.
• The enemy uses legalism and judgment to tear people down. But God uses grace.

a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood

• Whereas the Old Covenant only allowed priests in the line of Aaron and Levi, in the New Covenant all who believe have been made holy or set apart as priests.
• This is due to the fact that believers have unending access to God because He lives within them.
• Therefore, there is no longer a need for the priest to enter the Holy of Holies on behalf of God’s people.
• In the New Covenant, we are the Holy of Holies.

to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

• Peter is an apostle to Jews.
• He is telling his fellow Jews that they are being built up into a holy priesthood.
• Historically, priests have been one person at a time.
• But now he’s saying that all believers are priests.
• Furthermore, he argues that sacrifices are no longer physical, as in the Old Testament, but now spiritual.
• And the sacrifice that God wants is for His children to simply present themselves as the living and holy people that they already are because of Christ.

6 For it stands in Scripture:
See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and honored cornerstone, (Ephesians 2:20)
and the one who believes in him
will never be put to shame. (Isaiah 28:16)

• Will not be put to shame: The Gospel does not disappoint believers.
• If our Christianity is disappointing, then it is not true Christianity.
• Whatever we long for and need from God, we have been given in the Gospel.
• God will never judge us, and He will never abandon us.
• Christ’s work is too perfect for this.

7 So honor will come to you who believe; but for the unbelieving,
The stone that the builders rejected--
this one has become the cornerstone, (Psalm 118:22)

• God took Jesus, the one rejected by humanity, and made Him the cornerstone of all creation.
• He is eternal life itself.
• Notice that the cornerstone of the faith is not doctrine or theology.
• It is a person. Jesus Christ is the foundation for Christianity.

8 and
A stone to stumble over,
and a rock to trip over. (Isaiah 8:14)
They stumble because they disobey the word; they were destined for this.

• Before creation, the Trinity planned to save people through Christ.
• He is the cornerstone and the only way to the Father.
• However, God also determined that all who reject Christ will face judgment.

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, (Exodus 19:5-6) a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises (Isaiah 43:21) of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

• God’s people are holy.
• We are not becoming more holy progressively.
• By one sacrifice we have been made perfectly cleansed (see also Hebrews 10:14).

 
A CALL TO GOOD WORKS
11 Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul.

• Peter is encouraging believers to avoid sin, not in order to become more holy, but because they are holy.
• Believers are foreigners and strangers to sin now that they have been redeemed in Christ.
• These fleshly lusts wage war against our souls which are designed for righteousness.
• Believers have the mind of Christ and therefore are no longer designed for sin.

12 Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.

• God will return and show off His precious children.
• Because we are precious and excellent, we are to keep our behavior excellent.
• The world will see this behavior and, hopefully, glorify God upon His return.

13 Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the emperor as the supreme authority 14 or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good. 15 For it is God’s will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good.

• Submission to earthly rulers is for the Lord’s sake, or for the advancement of the Gospel.
• The world is to see our living in peace with one another, and loving those in authority, and believe in Jesus as a result.
• Peter is not saying that earthly leaders are correct about every opinion they hold.
• He is saying that they are in a position in which they punish evil doers.
• This is the position we are to respect even if we have disdain for their beliefs.

16 Submit as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but as God’s slaves.

• There is a spiritual freedom underlying Peter’s word.
• There is nothing that can shake the salvation of the Christian because we are completely free in Christ.
• This is the true source of freedom for the Christian.
• To be sure, this freedom can be used in a negative way, but this is unfitting for believers.
• We are to use our freedom as bondslaves of God.
• Bondslaves have a choice.
• We are slaves to freedom and righteousness in Christ, and we have a choice to express this new propensity or not.

17 Honor everyone. Love the brothers and sisters. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

• Nothing good has come from mistreating people.
• Therefore, Peter is trying to save the Christian time and energy.
• Loving people is always the right decision.
• We have nothing to lose from honoring one another.
• 1 Timothy 2:1 - First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2 for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.[3]
  
  

SUBMISSION OF SLAVES TO MASTERS
18 Household slaves, submit to your masters with all reverence not only to the good and gentle ones but also to the cruel. 19 For it brings favor if, because of a consciousness of God, someone endures grief from suffering unjustly.

• Peter is not asking believers to lead political revolutions.
• Instead, he is teaching Christians the importance of resting in their identity in the midst of whatever governmental context exists.
• The Gospel is trans-circumstantial meaning it applies in every context, but it does not guarantee a change in circumstance.

20 For what credit is there if when you do wrong and are beaten, you endure it? But when you do what is good and suffer, if you endure it, this brings favor with God.

• Suffering for doing what is right and for the sake of the Gospel is different than suffering as a result of sin.
• There are negative consequences when we sin.
• However, believers are inherently opposed to the ways of the world.
• As we live as lights we will suffer because who we are is in direct contradiction to the world system.

21 For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

• Peter is not encouraging seeking out pain and suffering for being a Christian.
• There is plenty of pain and suffering that will happen simply by virtue of being a Christian in this fallen world.
• This is Peter’s point.
• If we suffer because we are opposed to the ways of the world, then we are true believers who are intimately associated with Jesus in this life.
• Titus 3:1-2 - Remind them to submit to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, 2 to slander no one, to avoid fighting, and to be kind, always showing gentleness to all people.[4]
• Daniel
• Joseph
• Paul & Peter

22 He did not commit sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth; 23 when he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.

• Just as Jesus trusted in His Father unto death, so are we to trust in God in the midst of our sufferings.
• Peter is not encouraging Christians to try and overthrow the government or change their circumstances in some forceful way.
• Instead, he is saying that regardless of whether circumstances change or not, we are to entrust ourselves to God, our Shepherd and Guardian.

24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness.

• Peter is speaking of the certainty of the Christians death to sin in Christ.
• Therefore, the word might is not speaking of a hypothetical outcome.
• It speaks, rather, of a promised outcome for all who believe.
• Dying to sin is not a surface level action in which we become moralists.
• Instead, it is an inner reality in which Christ has changed our nature.
• We no longer thrive under the reign of sin.
• Christians are no longer compatible with anything but righteousness.

By his wounds you have been healed.

• Peter is speaking of the spiritual healing which occurred for all in Christ.
• When we believe we are healed spiritually from sin.
• This is not a verse guaranteeing physical healing.
• Miracles of physical healing are a reality but there is a difference between God acting in a miraculous way through physical healing and what has been achieved by the death and resurrection of Christ.

25 For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.[5]

• Peter is communicating the importance of knowing our safety in God.
• God is our eternal shepherd and guardian; he keeps us safe from the evil one and the world.
• When we believe we are forever saved and reunited with God.
• We are hidden with Christ in God and are therefore safe (Colossians 3:3).
• The Gospel, therefore, is designed to bring in rest and security for the Christian.
• False gospels promote fear which in turn encourages religious rules and regulations to be obeyed in order to earn somehow or keep God’s favor.[6]

[1] Viola, Frank, The Untold Story of the New Testament Church. Destiny Image, Shippensburg, PA, 2004. 166-167.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 2 Pe 1:3–4.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 1 Ti 2:1–2.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Tt 3:1–2.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 1 Pe 2:1–25.
[6] Farley, Andrew. www.BibleCommentary.com. 1 Peter.

A WARNING ABOUT THE WORLD
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

• John is warning those who do not believe in Jesus about their spiritual condition.
• All who are in Christ have the love of God poured out inside of them (Romans 5:5).
• Unbelievers love the world.
• They trust in the world system.
• Therefore, they do not have the Holy Spirit in them.

16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world.

• Unbelievers are enslaved to the lust of the flesh, eyes, and pride of life.
• Christians, however, have been set free from the world system.
• This does not mean that Christians cannot struggle with the ways of the world.
• It does, however, mean that we are no longer enslaved to it.

17 And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.
- God’s will which lets us live forever is Jesus.
- God’s will is Christ.
- He wants us to believe in Him and live forever as a result.
- God’s will – Walk in His Spirit
       - The one trick pony says:
         1) Know who you are in Christ
         2) Walk by His Spirit (know Him)
         3) Anything outside of this is not natural… it is of              
             the world.
       - The priority for Leavener… teach identity.
       - The second is live in community.
       - Hitch your wagon to that pony.
         - Job
         - Dating
         - Relationships
 
THE LAST HOUR
18 Children, it is the last hour. And as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. By this we know that it is the last hour.

• John is the only writer who actually uses the word "antichrist(s)" (I John 2:18, I John 2:22, I John 4:3 and II John 1:7).
• The Beast of Revelation 13:1-10 who is generally known as the antichrist, is never really called "The Antichrist," and the usage of the title by John in these verses doesn't seem to be identifying a particular prophetic individual like that prophetic Beast.
• John does use the term "antichrist" in the context of those who stand against Christ.
• In that respect, many feel comfortable in applying that reference to the beast of Revelation 13.
• The epistle is focused on getting people out of major theological error imposed by Gnosticism.
• These beliefs and these false teachers are antichrists.
• For John, the antichrist is not some future figure who will lead an army against the people of God.
• Instead, the antichrists are those who were at one time amongst Christians but who proved to not be authentic believers because of their theological error.
• These false prophets are “antichrists.”
• They have left the churches and have undermined the foundations of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• However, they are still in contact with the believers and are leading some of them astray with their deviant gospel.
• Here is what they are teaching: The material world of matter is evil.
• Therefore, the Divine Christ could not have come to the earth in human flesh.
• He rather came in spirit and only seemed to be touchable human flesh.
• This denial of the Lord’s incarnation later came to be known as Docetism.
• Docetism is the belief that Christ could not possibly dwell in a human body.
• His body must have “seemed” to be human.
• Gnostics did not believe that Jesus came in the flesh.
• Jesus was not the Son of God.
• Since salvation means deliverance from the physical world, including the physical body, it does not matter how a person behaves in their bodies.
• Since sin is part of the material world, sin does not exist for the Christian.
• We (the false prophets) are sinless.
• We (the false prophets) have special insight from God’s Spirit to see these deeper truths.
• As a consequence of embracing this false gospel, some of the brethren are exhibiting hatred toward one another.
• Others are claiming that they have never sinned and that sin does not exist.

19 They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us.

• Apparently, the Gnostics were at one point part of the Christian church gatherings.
• But they were soon revealed to be false teachers through their teachings against the humanity of Jesus as well as the reality of sin (1 John 1).
• John saw these teachings as proof that these were not true believers.
• These Gnostics became their own pseudo-Christian group.

20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.

• All people in Christ have an anointing from Christ.
• Jesus lives within them and they have been adopted into God’s family.
• To the contrary, all who are of the Gnostic teachings and who have rejected the physicality of Jesus, do not contain an anointing.

21 I have not written to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie comes from the truth. 22 Who is the liar, if not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This one is the antichrist: the one who denies the Father and the Son.
23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; he who confesses the Son has the Father as well.

• All who reject Jesus reject the Father also.
• It does not matter how good a person’s works are, or how nice their beliefs are, if they do not believe in Jesus, they are also denying the Father because God is one being and three persons.
• All who confess the Son of God also confess the Father and the Spirit.
• They are a package deal.
• This means that the entire Trinity is pleased with God’s children.
• Believers are perpetually abiding in God, and God is perpetually abiding in His children.

 
REMAINING WITH GOD
24 What you have heard from the beginning is to remain in you. If what you have heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he himself made to us: eternal life.

• God is offering an unending life, the very life of Jesus, to all who believe in Him.
• This salvation is an eternal salvation. This means that nothing can interrupt or interfere with it.
• God’s salvation has nothing to do with our promises or works before God.
• Rather, salvation is based on His promise to save all who believe in Jesus.
• This is the heartbeat of the New Covenant.

26 I have written these things to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. 27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you don’t need anyone to teach you. Instead, his anointing teaches you about all things and is true and is not a lie; just as it has taught you, remain in him.

• John is not suggesting that believers do not need to benefit from one another’s spiritual gifts.
• John is simply telling the church that they have an anointing from God: His presence within.
• Because Jesus lives within them, they have been introduced to the nature and character of God.
• Believers know God and can resist false theology such as Gnosticism as a result.
• 1 Corinthians 2:15-16 - The spiritual person, however, can evaluate everything, and yet he himself cannot be evaluated by anyone. 16 For

who has known the Lord’s mind,
that he may instruct him? (Isaiah 40:13)
But we have the mind of Christ.[1]
​
GOD’S CHILDREN
28 So now, little children, (they understand forgiveness) remain in him so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

• Believers will not be punished and judged at the Second Coming.
• Believers can, therefore, have confidence at His coming.
• Unbelievers, however, will be judged because they have rejected Christ and do not have eternal life.

29 If you know that he is righteous, you know this as well: Everyone who does what is right has been born of him.[2]

• Throughout the letter John argues that there are only two groups of people: Those in the light and those in the dark.
• Those who are in the light are characterized by righteousness.
• God has made them righteous at the core of their being, and they naturally want to live from this new nature.
• Believers practice how to live from their identity in Christ.

We are not fulfilled by sinful behavior.[3]

[1] Christian Standard Bible. 2020. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible. 2020. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Farley, Andrew. www.BibleCommentary.com. 1 John 2.

CHRISTIAN LIVING AMONG OUTSIDERS
TITUS 3
1 Remind them to submit to rulers and authorities,

• Paul’s words can be hard to understand and even embrace, especially for those who live in democratic nations.
• His point is not that we ought to blindly follow the governing authorities even if they lead us into error.
• But rather believers ought to recognize their position with humility and be subject to their implementation of laws.
• He doesn’t want believers to have a reputation for illegal activities.
• Christianity is not meant to be a movement built on force and the overthrow of governments.
• Instead, it is designed to permeate and transcend every circumstance.
• The Gospel does not call for violent revolutionaries but rather peaceful ambassadors of God’ grace.

to obey, to be ready for every good work, 2 to slander no one, to avoid fighting, and to be kind, always showing gentleness to all people.

• Christians were often looked on with suspicion in the Roman Empire because their conduct was so different, and they met in private meetings for worship (see 1 Peter 2:11–25; 3:13–4:5).[1]
• The Greek word used here, blasphēmeō, describes speaking against someone with the purpose of harming his or her reputation.
• Believers will ruin their own reputation if they seek to ruin the reputation of others.[2]
• This is a hard bit of instruction, but government officials, employers, and any other persons of authority should be the recipients of our every good work.[3]
• Paul encourages Christians to love and respect the inherent value within all people.
• Christians are not to stir up discontent with people but rather to love and express the fruit of Christ in a hurting world.
• God has consideration for all people and therefore wants His children to share the same love.

3 For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved by various passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, detesting one another.

• Paul wanted this reality to encourage humility and compassion in believers towards others.
• As ugly as this world is we must remember that we too were once enslaved to the world system.
• But when we believed we were set free from sin.
• We can now see the errors of the world system in a way that we could not when we were spiritually dead.
• Now that believers are no longer enslaved, we can live free from the constraints of sin.
• Believers are often tempted to look down their noses at unbelievers—forgetting that they too were once lost.[4]

4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, 5 he saved us—not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy—through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

• The love of God appeared in Jesus.
• The two are one and the same.
• Jesus is the love of God made flesh.
• This love of God was expressed perfectly in Christ’s sacrificial work for salvation.
• This salvation is not based on our deeds but the regeneration of the Holy Spirit.
• For Paul, regeneration occurs at faith in Jesus not prior to it.
• Faith, therefore, does not arise because of regeneration but precedes it.

6 He poured out his Spirit on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we may become heirs with the hope of eternal life.

• Justification is often viewed as a position for Christians that is somehow disconnected from the fact of regeneration.
• In other words, we are justified even though we aren’t truly righteous to the core.
• However, such a concept is missing from Pauline theology.
• Justification is synonymous with the inner righteousness of regeneration.
• Justification is the gracious act of God whereby He declares a believing sinner righteous because of the finished work of Christ on the cross.
• God puts to our account the righteousness of His Son, so that we can be condemned no more.
• Not only does He forget our sins, but He forgets that we were even sinners![5]
• This is the message that Paul wanted the believers to be adamant about in the midst of their ministry to the world.

8 This saying is trustworthy. I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed God might be careful to devote themselves to good works. These are good and profitable for everyone.

• Paul connects the message of regeneration to engaging in good works.
• The good works flow out of our new nature.
• These good deeds impact the world and hopefully win people over to the Gospel.

9 But avoid foolish debates, genealogies, quarrels, and disputes about the law, because they are unprofitable and worthless.

• Few things drive away seekers like church infighting.
• Satan loves to encourage selfish strife and division among church members.[6]
• Paul is blatant in his insistence that disputes about the law are worthless.
• This is because of Paul’s overall perspective on the differences between the Old Covenant and New Covenant but also because he was writing to Greeks, non-Jews, who never had the law.
• Therefore, arguing about the law was pointless for them.
• These arguments were also pointless because all who believe in Jesus are participating in a New Covenant, not the Old Covenant.
• Such admonition would be encouraging for the Greek believers as they combatted the false teachers who were mixing law and Gospel.

10 Reject a divisive person after a first and second warning. 11 For you know that such a person has gone astray and is sinning; he is self-condemned.

• Notice that Paul believed the false teachers to be condemned, not by God, but buy their own performance under the law.
• The law condemns all people because it can be kept by nobody.
• God, however, is not condemning.
• He wants to save all people through Christ.

 
FINAL INSTRUCTIONS AND CLOSING
12 When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, make every effort to come to me in Nicopolis, because I have decided to spend the winter there.

• We know nothing about Artemas; Tychicus we met in Acts 20:4.
• He was with Paul in his first Roman imprisonment and carried the epistles from Paul to the Ephesians (Eph. 6:21), the Colossians (Col. 4:7–8), and to Philemon (cf. Col. 4:7–9 with Phile. 10).[7]
• Map of Nicopolis.

13 Diligently help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey, so that they will lack nothing.

• It is possible that Zenas and Apollos (see Acts 18:24ff) carried this letter to Titus.
• Paul had sent them on a mission and Titus was to aid them all he could.[8]

14 Let our people learn to devote themselves to good works for pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful.

• Paul reminded Titus of the main theme of the letter: Insist that God’s people devote them to good works for pressing needs…[9]
• For the Christian productiveness is fun because it arises out of our new natures.
• We do not produce good works to maintain or earn the righteousness which only comes from the regeneration of God.[10]

15 All those who are with me send you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with all of you.[11]

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 267). Victor Books.
[2] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., Whitehead, M. M., Grigoni, M. R., & Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Tt 3:2). Lexham Press.
[3] Evans, T. (2019). The Tony Evans Study Bible (p. 1447). Holman Bible.
[4] Evans, T. (2019). The Tony Evans Study Bible (pp. 1447–1448). Holman Bible.
[5] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, pp. 267–268). Victor Books.
[6] Evans, T. (2019). The Tony Evans Study Bible (p. 1448). Holman Bible.
[7] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 268). Victor Books.
[8] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 268). Victor Books.
[9] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 268). Victor Books.
[10] Farley, Andrew. www.BibleCommentary.com. Titus 2.
[11] Christian Standard Bible (Tt 3:1–15). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

Romans 6:12-16 - 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,
13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!
16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

Romans 6:17-18 - 17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed,
18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

Galatians 5:22-23 - 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Romans 6:19-20 - 19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.

Galatians 5:19-21 - 19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: aimmorality, impurity, sensuality,
20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, dfactions,
21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Ga 5:19–23). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

​Romans 6:21-22 - 21 Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death.
22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.

Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Ro 6:12–23). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

Romans 1

• Al Costlow
• Romans 1:17- For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith,, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.[1] (Habakkuk 2:4)
• How is it that the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel?
• Exactly what we are doing here on the stage… passing our faith to family and friends.
• Not necessarily in words as much as in actions that are a byproduct of what we believe.
• The Gospel is God at work.
• In the Old Covenant it was proven by works, in the New Covenant it is proven by faith.
• Not only just salvation, but a person being transformed and living in freedom.
• Watch people walk this earth of chaos and bring a little bit of heaven to it.

 
Romans 2

• My sister sent me this message this week: “I need more explanation of Romans 2:5-10 sometime”.
• Romans 2:5-11 - 5 Because of your hardened and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed. 6 He will repay each one according to his works: 7 eternal life to those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality; 8 but wrath and anger to those who are self-seeking and disobey the truth while obeying unrighteousness. 9 There will be affliction and distress for every human being who does evil, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek; 10 but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does what is good, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no favoritism with God.[2]
• Bob’s Romans Study: Romans 2:5 states that even the moral man will receive God’s “wrath” due to his “stubbornness and unrepentant heart.” Paul also states that the lost are “storing up wrath for … the day of wrath” (v. 5). Do you realize that God’s “wrath” will be poured out on unbelievers in proportion to the amount of “wrath” they have stored up—in proportion to the degree of their sin? They will face the “great white throne” judgment (Revelation 20:11–15), a judgment of condemnation for all who have refused to exercise repentance and faith while depraved. This “judgment” will be “righteous” (Romans 2:5), which means that it will be just and upright. The unrepentant man will receive exactly what he deserves. After all, he had every opportunity to believe. The “great white throne” judgment (Revelation 20:11) differs from “the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:10). No believer will be judged at the “great white throne,” for it is a judgment of wrath. A New Testament believer faces “the judgment seat of Christ,” a judgment of rewards. Each of our works will be tested “with fire” (1 Corinthians 3:10–15), and we will be rewarded for deeds done in faith. God “… will render to every man according to his deeds” (Romans 2:6) Those who do “good” will receive “glory … honor … peace … and immortality, eternal life” (vv. 7, 10). Those who “do not obey the truth” receive “wrath … indignation … tribulation and distress” (vv. 8–9). According to verses 7–10, all who habitually do “evil” and enjoy it, proving that they have never repented of sin and accepted Christ as Savior, will receive God’s “wrath.” All who do “good,” if their good deeds result from yielding to Christ’s indwelling presence, will receive “glory … honor and peace.” After studying this comparison, do you wonder how anyone could choose to reject Christ? Note: These verses do not teach that good deeds yield a right standing with God. Paul will confirm this fact to a greater degree in subsequent verses.

 

• Brandon Leum
• In the study, Romans 2, verse 13 talks about "doers of the law" And how this can be misconstrued with "if we do good things (good works) this results in God justifying us or looking better upon us.
• I know that the only thing that matters is that Jesus died one time for us on the cross - One time only!
• I think that in life it can be hard to not fall into being a "doer of the law" and if we do something good (volunteering - helping someone in need – tithing, etc.) for some reason we feel better about how God views us.
• How can we in our mental mind work through every day that "it doesn't matter...Just believing and trusting through FAITH in Christ is the answer is satisfying our Lord and Savior?
• Because of this, we do things in the Spirit...and trusting these are good things.

 

• Bob mentions. Yes, God loves man enough to allow man to live eternally separated from his presence should he (man) so desire.
• If you have a man or woman that has a good heart, does good things, yet does not have a relationship in Christ, it hurts my heart to think that person will be "thrown in the lake of fire" based on Revelation 20:15 (Again, just a discussion around this would be good)

 
Romans 3

• Brandon Leum
• On page 20 of the study, the question for the 4th day, #2.
• In Romans 3:4, Paul writes let God be found true, though every man be found a liar..." what does this statement communicate?
• Would we continue to view God as being "true" and worthy of serving if everyone you know should deny him?
• It communicates Romans 3:23 – For all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.

 

• Al Costlow
• Romans 3:23---What is "the glory of God" that is spoken of in this verse that "all have fallen short of"?
• It’s not a thing. It is the greatness, beauty, and perfection of all that He is.

 

• Doug spoke of righteousness and justification that we now have. But doesn’t that lead to a license to sin?

 
Romans 4

• Ryan kept talking about the Old Covenant and New Covenant rather than the Old Testament and the New Testament. What is the difference?

 
Chris Pickrell
You are going through a current season of difficulty with family health/issues… how does what you know from this study impact you directly during this time?

• I grew up in a family that had rules but we didn’t have church. I always knew there was a God that loved me however I came to know that but we didn’t do church or nightly prayer time. I am not even sure I remember a Bible in our house but sure we had one somewhere.
• My point is when I studied Romans, it was easy for me to understand because I didn’t have the preconceived ideas and beliefs to unlearn. I had felt like people had always judged me all through my life, too small, too poor, didn’t belong with this or that group.
• I always treated people how I wanted to be treated and was taught to help others but strive for perfection in my own self. I started thinking perfection wasn’t possible so why try. If I had to walk the tight rope then I wasn’t going to make the cut anyways, had to many personal issues for Jesus to want me in His house. 
• What Romans did for me was give me peace and freedom and my question would be why are people so critical against or so fought against by other people and churches. It is in the same bible most groups read and study.
• Romans 8:1- Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus[3]
• If He loves me, why would He condemn me? I spent my time worrying about and thinking about my actions instead of focusing on who loved me. Why do “Christians” spend so much effort worrying about and judging people (sin comparison- like one is worse than the other) instead of recognizing He died to cover them all regardless of what or when they happened. 
• Like I said- Romans was the good news I always thought the Bible was supposed to be so I guess it just made more sense to me that Jesus would love me no matter what instead of because of what I did or didn’t do. It just made sense. 
• I am not a biblical scholar and trust that loving Him and others with all my heart is what I am supposed to do.  It looks good some days, ugly others and “just not sure” days but what I don’t do is stay in that.   

 
David Speckman
One man discipled you through this study. Tell me about that relationship and how it impacted your family and work.

• About Big Micah (Langmaack) taking me through this, I don't even know where to start....  I feel so far removed from my original line of thinking/feeling but the best way to describe it would be to say I was "lost & confused" prior to going through this with Micah.  It's kinda cool (and pathetic) how much I relied on him to figure out almost everything in my life.  Not sure how in depth you want me to go in this response but I think the biggest thing he helped me realize is that I don't have to control everything.  I can just take a deep breath and relax (Micah always uses the word "REST") and know that no matter what happens "God's got it" as Micah would say.  Watching what he and Shannon are going through with Anna right now is the most amazing testament to that.  He definitely practices what he preaches.
• I always knew/felt that there was a God but I didn't really know what that meant or who he was and what was his role in my life. For me though, I always looked at it like you were either "Team God" or not. I always felt like the guy that wanted to be on the team but was never good enough if that makes sense. So I just always watched from the sidelines and admired. I thought that in order to play for the team I'd have to give up everything and make a drastic change to who I was (at that time I was always in trouble). The irony was that once I learned more about Him, the things I found joy in drastically changed. I thought I had to change my behavior to learn my identity in Him but instead learning my identity in Him changed my behavior....

 
Greg Dugger
How long ago and how long did it take for you to see things differently? How has it impacted your life?
 
Al Costlow
I want to hear from you on Sunday about coming to the revelation of your identity through the Romans Study after so many years of viewing it different. You have touched on this recently.
 
Brent Sutton
Would you be willing to share where you are right now and knowing what you do from Romans how it is leading you on a day to day basis?
 
Danny DiSalvo
How does the revelation of grace and identity unfold with you as you lead your family. Share as much as you want.

• Here’s a few questions I have about Romans 1-4.
• Righteous? Me? Right now? Really? How?
• If I am righteous (by faith) what is going on when I commit a sin? Isn’t God upset or mad at me at least?
• If it’s the kindness of God that leads us to repentance... Does that mean I shouldn’t get sideways with people who are lost?
• If the wages of sin are death, and I have been given a gift of eternal life in Jesus, why do I still feel at times like God has to deal with my sin? Wouldn’t that mean I getting paid for something that Jesus paid for? If there is something else that needs to happen for me to be right now today perfect, righteous, blameless, forgiven before God, what is it?
• How can I put expectations of “obeying the law” on my kids or on my spouse if I know that God has no expectation on me to uphold the law?
• If my spouse and kids are righteous because of Jesus....wait what?

 
Brandon Leum
Your journey hasn’t been any easier… how has what you know now impacted your daily conversations with work conversations and friends?

• Growing up in the Lutheran segment of church, there were a lot of rules and expectations in terms of "being a good Christian". Along with that, I grew up in a very small (population 600) town where everyone knew you and the things did. At age 10, I moved away to the city (Indianapolis) and that was when my independence really started. In both of these environments, I knew the figure "Jesus Christ". Even going through confirmation in 7th & 8th grade, I didn't understand. 
• I can tell you this, it took me until I was 45 yrs. old that I finally "tapped out" wrestling with faith, religion, being the good guy, and overall just trying to meet the expectation in order for me to feel good.
• Losing my brother to suicide was not the event, but yet it was the event when the holy spirit walked into my life.
• At that point, that night, was the like the 12th round of a heavy weight match. It took me another almost 4 months until I finally tapped out.
• It took me another 4 months after that to embrace the Leavener family....and it took another 10 months until I started my walk in Roman's.
• What I know, is that is all okay. It didn't matter the time. But I can tell you this, how it came together was truly the Holy Spirit working and knowing us intimately.
• A verse that was shared with me early on was this...Romans 7:17-20. This opened the door to understanding the flesh and the spirit and the spiritual warfare that is going on in this world.  But, I needed more... and that led me to the Romans study...
• That study started on June 23, 2016 and we are still meeting every Friday morning!  
• To all you men,

I struggle everyday with flesh poo poo of life, but I can tell you that I am a believer in Jesus Christ. I am no longer afraid to raise my shield every day and pronounce that when presented that question. He has backed me since the day I was born and walked along side me that entire time. It just took me a little while to see him. But when I did "REALLY" see him, I knew him like my brother, my father, my best friend and my Savior.  All wrapped up in one!

[1] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ro 1:17). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ro 2:5–11). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ro 8:1). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

Romans 4
Fall of 2013, Starbuck in Irvington. Perception of Christian life, behavioral change. I would try, retry, quit, retry. Seemed like a hard road that I couldn’t do, which you can’t. Worldly therapist= Felt like a being was hovering over me waiting to crack my rear-end whom I could never please.
 
Justification by Faith Evidenced in Old Testament
       1     What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?
       2     For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
       3     For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Hello and greetings to everyone. For those that may not know me, my name is David Olthoff.
One day I was having lunch with Rusty when he asked me to speak about Romans 1.
In retrospect I am grateful because I was reminded how Romans had made a significant impact on my life.
You see, in Matt Tully’s basement a few years ago several of us sat down to study the book of Romans.  It was then I understood the power of the gospel.   
 

• In Romans, we learned that through our faith in Jesus, we are made right with God. 

Let’s ponder that statement for a brief moment.
If someone says to you “you are right with me”, what do they mean?
If you could choose anyone to say that to you, who would it be? (spouse, parents, kids, sports hero, the President?)
How about from God?
Romans teaches because of our faith, God looks us in the eye and says, “you are perfect with me”. How great is that? Can anyone be the same after knowing this?
 

• Romans also taught me that as believers, our eternal future is secure in Heaven.

In Romans we’ll learn that because of our faith in Jesus, we can be absolutely certain of our eternal future in Heaven. These promises give me great peace.
 
Throughout history the book of Romans has made a great impact on many others;

1. In the summer of 386 it made a great impact on St Augustine. (Augustine was a predominant theologian, philosopher and writer.) He knew his life of sin and rebellion against God left him empty and feeling dead; but he just couldn’t find the strength to make a final, real decision for Jesus Christ.

 
As he sat, he heard children playing a game in the distance. He thought he heard them chanting something like: “Take up and read! Take up and read!”
Thinking God had a message for him in the words of the children, he picked up a scroll laying nearby and began to read: “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires”. The story goes on to say he didn’t read any further at that time, he didn’t have to. Through the power of God’s Word in Romans, Augustine gained the faith to give his whole life to Jesus Christ at that moment.

1. The letter of Romans impacted Martin Luther also.

In August of 1513, Martin Luther’s inner life was nothing but turmoil. In his studies he came across Romans 1:17, which says, “the righteousness of God is revealed through faith”
Luther the monk went on to say: “Night and day I pondered until… I grasped the truth-that the righteousness of God given to us is through grace and sheer mercy and that God justifies us by faith”. He went on to say; “At that very moment I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise”. Martin Luther was born again, and the Reformation began in his heart.
 
Paul most likely wrote the book of Romans in the city of Corinth on his third missionary journey around 53-58 AD.
Back then traveling from place to place on foot could be treacherous so it is believed Paul wrote this letter so comprehensively that should something happen to him, the Romans would have the entire Gospel message.
 
In verse 1, Paul identifies himself first as a servant of Jesus Christ and secondly an apostle. 
John Wesley, an English cleric, theologian and evangelist once said; “A servant of Jesus Christ is a higher title than “monarch of the world”.
I like thinking about that statement. Because of our faith, we hold a bigger title than “ruler of the world”. That’s kind of cool and wonderful, isn’t it?
 
In verses 2-6
Paul speaks of God’s Son Jesus Christ as the center of the gospel.
In verse 2, he starts out by telling his readers the gospel story was first promised through the prophets. Paul wanted to make certain his readers understood this wasn’t his own new idea but something very old in the plan of God.
Verse 3, He mentions “our savior was born in the lineage of David according to the flesh”.  Old school Jews in the crowd certainly knew who David was and I’m sure that caught their attention.
Verse 4: (Jesus is) declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Holy Spirit, by the resurrection from the dead. 
Jesus had a human side being born into the world, but the proof of his deity is His resurrection from the dead.
 
Verse 5;
“Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith”
 
The gospel gave Paul and the church grace and apostleship, and those two gifts produced obedience to the faith.
 
A British theologian named Adam Clarke who lived in the 1700s stated; “Without the GRACE, favor, and help of the Holy Spirit, Paul could not have become an apostle.” I think this to be true. Before meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul was a Christian hater, right? Grace and Apostleship hit Paul straight between the eyes on the Damascus road. He became saved and his first words were very apostle like; “Lord, what do you want me to do?” (Acts 9:6).
 
Verse 8 
I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world:
 
In my readings, I learned Paul was thankful for the good reputation of the church in Rome. ALSO…Because of its location, this church had a special visibility and opportunity to glorify Jesus throughout the Empire. The Roman Empire brought world peace and order AND they brought an excellent transportation system to the world. Paul used all these advantages in spreading the Gospel.
 
Verse 15
Paul says in verse 15…”I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.”
 
Charles Spurgeon, an accomplished Baptist preacher of the 1800s admired Paul’s “I am ready” motto he carried with him.
Spurgeon states;
 
In addition to “being ready to preach” in verse 15,
 
· Paul was ready to suffer (Acts 21:13).
· Paul was ready to do unpleasant work (2 Corinthians 10:6).
· Paul was ready to die  (2 Timothy 4:6).
 
Paul was the “I am ready guy”.
 
In Verses 16-17…Paul introduces the theme of his letter: the righteousness of God.
16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God’s salvation plan for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”
Leon Morris, an Australian New Testament scholar said this of verse 16;
The gospel is certainly news, but it is more than information; it has an inherent power. “The gospel is not advice to people, suggesting that we lift-up ourselves. The Gospel is power. We don’t lift ourselves up with the truth. The Truth lifts us up.
 
Now the city of Rome thought it knew all about power: Power is the one thing that Rome boasted of the most. Greece might have its philosophy, but Rome had its power. Despite all their power, the Roman people were powerless to make themselves righteous before God…and they knew it!
 
The Romans of Paul’s day, even the proud Romans looked for salvation. Philosophers spoke of their broken condition in the meeting places all the time. They knew they were sick and needed help. For some in Rome, Paul’s message would be epic.
 
 
Verse 17: “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed.”
Simply put, the gospel reveals the righteousness of God.
Martin Luther said it was the happiest day in his life when he discovered the righteousness of God in Romans. Luther paraphrased the words; “God’s Righteousness” with “God’s verdict of righteousness upon the believer.” I like that.
 
John Murry, a Scottish theologian stated; “This declaration of righteousness is even greater when we understand that this is the righteousness of GOD, given to the believer. It is not the righteousness of even the most holy man. It is God’s righteousness, and we are given this through faith in Jesus.
 
 
Verse 18 (to the end of Romans chapter 1) Paul explains the guilt of the human race and the greatest peril facing the human race is the Wrath of God.  
I must confess, in the past I’ve secretly objected to the idea of the wrath of God because I used to equate it with human anger or revenge.
But the wrath of God here is not that way. The wrath of God is completely righteous in character.
 
Let me explain;
Paul speaks against Romans who were behaving very poorly AND refusing to acknowledge God.  
Sexual lust was rampant. Idol worship was popular and apathy toward God’s very existence was the worst of their sins.
But God expresses His wrath in a surprising way. (I’d think he’d just crush the revolt?) But no, He gave them over to their sinful desires which gave them the quality of life they deserved. Rotten living, anxiety, pain and all the rest.
God is perfect in His ways, amen?
 
In conclusion,
Today, I live in more peace because through my faith I have been made right with God and my eternal future in Heaven is secure.
It been years since I’ve woke up in the morning nervous with anxiety like I used to.
Today I thank God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit for bringing us the truth in book of Romans.