Expound: Romans 14-16 - Part B

To me this one of the key verses in the book of Romans certainly is one of the key verses in this last fourth section of the book of Romans. The practical section is writing to believers the church is one of the mill believer involved getting a fellowship says something I believe about you and that is your full of goodness filled with knowledge able to admonish one another Scripture shows the Christian life is not meant to be lived alone. We are part of the new community today on connect with Skip Skip shares how you are a vital part of Christ church that pull together glorifies the Lord would begin to tell you about a lease that will help you enjoy studying your Bible Guinness world record has again confirmed that the Bible is the best-selling of all time, research, and portions of Scripture been translated into nearly 3500 different languages but there's a difference between having access to allowing it to change her life to death about practical Bible study from skip. I think observation was legal interpretation which must lead to application somebody once but if you want to meet in the street you take good Bible truths and you put shoe leather on the lungs where the rubber meets the road.

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Get your copy today and take the mystery out of studying Scripture, 892 1888, or get online securely connect.com/offer Romans chapter 15 as we get to the teachings. We then burst one of our strong box bear with this group sensitivities of the week and not please ourselves. It's not about you. You're right about what you can do what about me let each of us please his neighbor for a good leading to edification. For even Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me. Here Paul is quoting the 69th Psalm, a messianic Psalm is Psalm that predicts the suffering of the coming Messiah hundreds of years before Messiah was born.

Psalm 69 a very notable messianic Psalm, so he is quoting that the reproaches of you fell on me. The point he is making is that even Jesus when he lived his life didn't live his life with his own rights in mind. With his own my own personal passion in life is my own pursuit is. He lived knowing that there were others around many lives for others. In fact, he lived to please his father. He said I always do those things that please the father. It was Jesus who said the Son of Man did not come to be served. The Son of Man came to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Think of how Jesus pleased other served others. How he would teach crowds long into the night long into the evening.

Sometimes he would be doing miracles and sometimes teaching and when his family came to stand. They realize he's not even taking time to eat. He was serving others was thinking about others.

We saw people with an infirmity and healed them howl at the Last Supper.

He washed his disciples feet.

Took taking the role of a servant, and then not only taking the role of a servant of the Last Supper, but he knew within a few hours he would be dying on the cross so he was the one suffering. He was the one who would suffer. He was already feeling the brunt of that he said now my soul is overwhelmed with sorrow.

He said to his disciples, and yet he is thinking of others at that Last Supper, washing their feet when they put him on a cross.

Think of the things he said on the cross, father forgive them. They don't know what they're doing to the thief, today you will be with me in paradise to his mother. Mother received your son and and let John thought of his is own mother being taken care of in the future, which is noteworthy because anybody who is ever suffered physically knows that pain can be so all-consuming in turn your thoughts almost exclusively inward on yourself. It's hard for you to think about others when you're suffering in your pain.

So here is Jesus would have every right to be totally consumed with his own trial his own execution, but he's thinking of others reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me. Back in 1896. I don't expect any of you here to remember that, but back in 1896, and author wrote a book became very famous still as famous today though under another name. The book was called in his steps. The author was Charles Sheldon and it was a story about a church group of believers who made a covenant with each other that for the next period of time. I think it may have been even a year but it was a lease six months. They decided that they would covenant together as God's people that they wouldn't do anything that they would make any decision they would make any action without first filtering it through the thought. What would Jesus do what would Jesus have me to do here what would Jesus have me to do their called in his steps that spawned the what would Jesus do bracelet movement that were popular. They still around today. They still are coming back okay so these things kinda recycle but that whole idea of what would Jesus do came from that and and so Paul is thinking. Think of what Jesus did.

Think of what Jesus did and what Jesus would do when you're dealing with your brother and sister and some of these dicey situations that you're not there to please your self or exercise your own personal rights necessarily so. Verse four for whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patient's and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Now may the God of patients and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another. According to Jesus Christ, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us to the glory of God.

I've always loved verse four. I've referred to it often that everything that was written in the past and from this vantage point is everything written in the Old Testament that was the Scripture of Paul the apostle. Those were the Scriptures for the Lord Jesus Christ. The Old Testament everything that was written in the Old Testament was written for us. This is why I think churches should teach not just the New Testament but the Old Testament because the New Testament teaches us. God wrote the Old Testament for our edification and our learning is why believe in teaching through all the books of the Bible.

That's why afterward and with Romans will be in the Old Testament book of first Samuel and them I told you how that I'm going I've gone through this 90 day excursion to the Scriptures where I have to read the Bible in 90 days by 15 chapters a day given you went through it. A few of you did and and and I realizes I went through and I forgot a lot even though I taught the Bible. Many there's a lot of parts I just keep forgetting and so I'm going to I'm doing that 90 day plan again and I kind of realized there's a few things that I had forgotten about or that I'd never seen before. Not I I've read to the Scriptures for my whole adult life and I'm still learning, and all those precious lessons, written in one of them is how patient God is he's called here the God of patients God puts up with a lot when it comes to people. That's one of the lessons I'm discovering this time. Man, God is so patient. He's never in a hurry.

We are in a EE wasn't in a hurry with Abraham is Abraham and have a baby like tomorrow. He let them get to be over 100 God wasn't in a hurry. In fact, the longer God waited, the more the odds were stacked against Abraham ever having a child, especially Sarah. She was getting up there to.

So the odds were stacked so that when God finally came through with the promise was unmistakably from the Lord God got more glory God was patient when it came to bringing Jesus on the scene, he predicted the Messiah would come and it says in the fullness of the time, God sent forth his son, born of a virgin born under the law, that we might be redeemed from the law. Galatians 4 tells us God was patient, God is patient with you. I know that is God's patient with me.

I have failed him so many times I've fallen so many times how many times it will never do that again.

Lord help me help me for some of us is the daily prayer is the God of patients. We through the comfort of patients of the patients and comfort of the Scripture might have hope he puts up with a lot now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded. So if God puts up with a lot with you why can't you put up with some stuff scruples sensitivities issues that other weaker people have around me in the summers. I know I just really need to be around more mature Christians. Either that or you just need to act more mature yourself by loving them, that we may with one mind and one mouth glorify God and the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore receive one another as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision as to the Jewish people of the Jewish nation.

He came as the fulfillment of Jewish Scripture. He came as the Jewish Messiah became to fulfill the promise made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, RJ, Jacob, the 12 tribes.

David etc. etc. he came to fulfilling that and when he came he came in Judaism under Jewish law. He said I didn't come to destroy the law and the prophets. I came to fulfill them. Not one jot down one tittle will pass from the Law until everything is fulfilled.

He said, so we came to serve them, came in line with the system of Judaism servant of the circumcision for the truth of God to confirm the promises made to the fathers and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy knows the pull out of the hat several Scriptures that God made to the Jewish nation. He came to serve them. Christ came to serve them, but also he mentions the fact that God's plan always included outsiders, not just Jewish people that he wasn't just the Jewish Messiah. He was the Savior of the world and in God's mind and God's heart Gentiles were always on the plate were always part of the plan he he has already covered that in 910 11 Israel and the church was kind of cover that but he just sort of rehashing that reinserting that now that he came to serve you and non-Jew. For this reason, he quotes now Psalm 49. For this reason, I will confess you among the Gentiles and sing to your name and again he says now quoting Deuteronomy 32. Rejoice, O Gentiles with his people, so I made the nation's heart gleamed Gentiles with his people Israel together with them. That's the mystery of the church and again now quoting Psalm 117. Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles laud him all you peoples were nations. And again. Isaiah says now quoting Isaiah 11. There shall be a root out of Jesse and he shall rise to reign over the Gentiles in him. That Gentiles shall hope here's what's interesting to me. There's a lot of things that are interesting to me. But one thing that interests me is that Paul the apostle when he wrote this. He's I believe just pulling these out of this head out of his heart. He did have a cell phone to like Google what word is that Scripture he didn't have a concordance at the back of his bound Bible that he could look up the verses I don't think he pulled the scrolls of Isaiah in the scrolls of the Psalms out to find where those were I think he knew those tax just came to him.

It was a working knowledge of Scripture. This is the value of reading through the Bible and again and again and again. This is why we do what we do and was that there is such value in combing through large swaths of Scripture over and over again to just let it soak into you because you will find that when you're cut. You'll bleed good lien when you go through a trial it just what comes out, you know, is often so when you bump into somebody. Whatever's inside comes out.

It's like when you bump into a pail.

Whatever inside comes out.

So if lots of swearing and cursing come out that's what's inside. If Scriptures come out in the will of God, come out, that's what's inside. So put that in socket, you know, invest inside you put that in your heart. Your word have I put in my heart stored in my heart that I might not sin against you. So I just love the fact apologist, you know, had that working knowledge of the more we know the Scripture, when you're cut. That's why Siegel bleed building that's I stole it from Spurgeon's not original. Really, nothing is now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Now I myself am confident concerning you.

My brother, that you also are full of goodness filled with all knowledge able to admonish one another to be this one of the key verses in the book of Romans.

Certainly it is one of the key verses in this last for the section of the book of Romans. The practical section. He's writing to believers the church average run-of-the-mill believer in Rome attending a fellowship. He says there's something I believe in about you and that is your full of goodness filled with knowledge able to admonish one another. The word admonish is an important word means to instruct or to advise one another or even counsel one another would be a better translation better idea. I believe Paul says US the body of Christ are able competent will impact the Williams translation says you are competent to counsel one another. The Greek word is news that Tapco and we get the word. If you've ever heard of new aesthetic counseling. It's something that Jay Adams wrote books on. He wrote a book called competent to counsel based on this verse saying that instead of selling out to secular counselors and secular psychologist he believes according to Scripture, every gift necessary for the edification of the body of Christ is present in every local expression of the body of Christ. Every church, and that we are competent to counsel one another. You know we can we don't deal with that. Here you have to go to a professional counselor know we have mature people who can disciple you and get you through this. You know, I truly believe that people can get through life no matter what issues they have for the most part true, a church number one the teachers through the Scriptures. If you have a Bible teaching church and the word of God is explained, expounded, unfolded, taught to people so they understand the principles over and over again. The whole counsel of God number one number two you break it up into small groups because sometimes we all run into hangups and messes and and and complications and in the end it's hard to know how to apply the scripture door live so a small group really advances that I would say 90 to 95% of anything you will encounter in life would be solved with that two-pronged approach large group Bible study through the Bible and then small group application like Arcana groups. I believe you be taken care of now.

On occasion, it might get a little bit more complicated. You need one-on-one counseling one on one discipleship take kind of work to the issues and unraveling as we understand, but I believe you're competent to do that.

You're competent to counsel. You can admonish one another you construct one another and advised because of the maturity level that is here. Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, reminding you because of the grace of God or the grace given to me by God that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles ministering the gospel of God that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the holy spirit is in it interesting that a Jewish rabbi I Hebrew of the Hebrews.

Paul called himself a Pharisee is the one God chose to be the apostle to the Gentiles. Paul had a very unique background American to get into it tonight because of the lack of time.

I want to get through this, but Tom he says ministering.

I I've been made a minister, verse 16 and I am ministering same word the gospel of God and offering of the Gentiles that they might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit that limit. Let me unlock it for you. When Paul uses the word ministry here or ministering here he uses the Greek word lady tour guide us lady tour gospel lady tour guide us is where we get our English word liturgy ever heard of the word liturgy is an ecclesiastical term to church word, it means literally to perform a public active service. Later, Gus. It was used of the priest.

The Jewish priest in the temple they would publicly minister before the Lord for the people by sacrifices that was there liturgy. There lay tour Gus in the temple Gentiles were kept out of that sacrificial process.

The priest did not offer the sacrifices for the nations but for the people of his Gentiles were kept in the court of the Gentiles. They didn't participate in the liturgy.

It's interesting that Paul uses the term liturgy here it says that you Gentiles were excluded from God are made a special offering to God that that's that really unravels the meaning of those verses beautiful those who are excluded. God includes and makes them a special offering.

And Paul is the officiating priest that when he leads a Gentile. The crises offering that Gentile is a liturgical sacrifice to God who accepts that that sacrifice in a beautiful think of that when you lead a person to Christ.

When you witness for the Lord and you and you lead another person on unbeliever to faith in Christ in your offering that person to God as a centralized as part of the liturgy. I love part of worship that wraps up Skip a text message from the series expound room you Skip to share how you can keep these messages coming to you while connecting others to God's word. As believers were called to encourage, teach and share Christ with one another.

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