Dove Creek Bible Church's Podcast

What is the real context of Romans 9? Is Paul making a defense of election or something else? Is it possible we don't see the forest for the trees when it comes to Romans 9? Romans 9 is actually a continued defense of grace over works. We tend to make it about election as we argue over what it means that God hated Esau, what it means that God hardened Pharaoh's heart and what it means that God made some pottery for noble use and some for common use. In Romans 9:14-33, Paul addresses the objections of those who basically argue God's choices should be based upon merit.

We're at the midpoint of our study of the book of Romans. Romans has been described as a book that has eight chapters of gospel in the beginning, four chapters of application at the end and three chapters of puzzlement in the middle. The absolute worst of the three chapters of puzzlement is the one we start today - chapter 9. What about the chapter is hard to accept? The first 13 verses deal with God making a distinction between certain people. God chose to work through Isaac, not Ishmael. God chose to work through Jacob, not Esau. Being chosen by God led to blessings and benefits. Not being chosen led to separation and ruin. Is this fair? Why and how did God make the choices He made?

Pastor D'Amato pesents the unfathomable depth and height and length of God's love.

Merry Christmas to everyone and let's celebrate the gift of Jesus in our lives each day, not just on Christmas.

In Romans 8:31-39, Paul asks six questions about adversaries and adversities which may threaten to try and separate from the love of God in Jesus Christ. Assurances are given that on one and nothing will be able to do that for in Christ there is no condemnation and no separation from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

One of the main controversies in the evangelical world is the interplay of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. Is everything in our lives predestined so that freewill is an illusion or are we truly free to choose our destiny? Perhaps, in the course of arguing over the details of “how” predestination and election work, we lose sight of “why” the doctrine is presented to us in the first place. In other words, we are so busy arguing about the "how" that we fail to really consider the "why"? This sermon tries to figure out the “why” even if we are still confused about the “how”.

Earlier in Romans 8, Paul said despite the fact that Christians presently suffer because of sin in the world, we are nevertheless assured of a glorious inheritance in a future world. Paul said suffering and glory are inseparable, but now he adds they’re also incomparable. Why do we suffer? How do we maintain hope in suffering? These issues are addressed in this sermon.

In Romans 7 the key word was "I" -- 53 times in those verses Paul said "I ... me ... my ... myself". But the secret of Christian living is not living the Christian life on our own, but letting the Holy Spirit live through us and the key word of Romans 8 is the word "spirit". The word "spirit" is not used once in Romans 7 and it’s used 19 times in Romans 8. The secret to success in overcoming the power of sin is the power of the Holy Spirit.

If my old nature in Adam was crucified with Christ, according to Paul in both Romans 6 and Galatians 2, and I was given a new heart and a new spirit as a new creation in Christ, why do I still sin? The answer may surprise you.

Romans 6:1-14 begins the sanctification section of Romans. In order for sanctification to work we have to know what God says, believe what God says and then act like we believe what we know. If our knowledge is unclear, our belief will be hazy, and our follow-through will at the very least be inconsistent, if not altogether non-existent. In these verse Paul explains what we have to know, what we have to believe, and how we are to act on this knowledge and belief.

When you’re a kid one of the first lessons in life you learn is that one person can ruin it for everyone else whether it is in the classroom or on the fields and courts of recreational sports. One kid can annoy the teacher so badly that the whole classroom suffers. One kid can drop the ball that causes the whole team to lose. The passage we look at today is based on the principle of the effect of the actions of one person upon many other persons. Paul contrasts and compares Adam and Jesus and how a singular act by each man affected others.

In Romans 4:1-16, Paul illustrated the priority and pattern of Abraham’s faith. The author of Hebrews states by faith we are inwardly assured and outwardly certain that God will bring to reality the fulfillment of the promises that we hope for given in His Word that we cannot presently see. Abraham was commended for exactly this kind of faith . In Romans 4:17-25, Paul wants to address whether Abraham’s faith was reasonable in the first place and why.

In Romans 3, Paul says the only way we can be declared righteous by God is by grace through faith in Christ. Romans 3 gave us the principle. Romans 4:1-16 now gives us the pattern of Abraham who was justified by faith apart from observing the law.

Forgiveness

In Romans 1-3:20, Paul explains the problem of righteousness and the problem is we do not have any righteousness. What we do have, however, is condemnation because of sin. In the next section of Romans, Romans 3:21-5:21. Paul explains the provision of righteousness; justification which results in salvation. Paul didn’t start with the provision because no one seeks the provision until they’ve come to understand the problem. The provision is appreciated only when the problem is acknowledged. Romans 3:21-31 gives us six righteous facts about justification.

Paul makes the closing arguments of his case against mankind’s righteousness. His objective is to show that neither Jew nor Gentile merits God’s acceptance or approval; therefore, everyone needs the merit of the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

According to Paul there is a three-fold division of mankind when it comes to spiritual matters. In chapter 1, Paul addressed the defiant rebellious person who openly rejects and resists God. In the beginning of chapter 2, Paul addresses the decent respectable person who would readily admit that the defiant rebels of Chapter 1 may need grace and forgiveness, but they certainly are not in their company. The decent moral person is typically quick to judge others whose shortcomings are more obvious and gross. In today's text Paul says there is one more group of people who go even one step further. This person thinks "I'm not a defiant rebel and I’m more than simply a decent respectable person -- I'm a devoutly religious person." The devoutly religious often have a false sense of security about their eternal destiny. He uses the Jews as the example of the religious person because that was his own experience. However, the principles apply to any person who trust their religion to keep t

In his letter, Paul now anticipates that some people reading his description of the defiant rebels in Chapter 1 might be prone to think, "I am definitely not a defiant rebel like those described in Chapter 1. I'm more of a decent respectable morally responsible type person…so certainly, God would have no beef with me." I think most Americans would consider themselves to be in this category…even if they’re not particularly religious they think if there is a God they’re not particularly worried about being condemned because they are not like the depraved sinners described in Chapter 1. Paul will now point out that decent respectable morally responsible people are just as guilty, maybe even more so, than the obviously immoral person.