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Psalms 88:1-18 A Psalm of
the Sons of Korah. O LORD, God
of my salvation, I have cried out day and night before You. Let my prayer come
before You; Incline Your ear to my cry. For my soul is full of troubles, And my
life draws near to the grave. I am counted with those who go down to the pit; I
am like a man who has no
strength, Adrift among the dead, Like the slain who lie in the grave, Whom You
remember no more, And who are cut off from Your hand. You have laid me in the
lowest pit, In darkness, in the depths. Your wrath lies heavy upon me, And You
have afflicted me with all Your
waves. You have put away my
acquaintances far from me; You have made me an abomination to them; I am shut up, and I cannot get out;
My eye wastes away because of affliction. LORD, I have called daily upon You; I
have stretched out my hands to You. Will You work wonders for the dead? Shall
the dead arise and praise
You? Shall Your lovingkindness be
declared in the grave? Or Your
faithfulness in the place of destruction? Shall Your wonders be known in the
dark? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? But to You I have
cried out, O LORD, And in the morning my prayer comes before You. LORD, why do
You cast off my soul? Why do
You hide Your face from me? I have
been afflicted and ready to die from my youth; I suffer Your terrors; I am distraught. Your fierce
wrath has gone over me; Your terrors have cut me off. They came around me all
day long like water; They engulfed me altogether. Loved one and friend You have
put far from me, And my acquaintances
into darkness. Father
God, we give you thanks and praise for all you do for us. I ask that you bless
those that read these messages and guide them home. In Jesus name we pray. Amen!
Romans 16:17-27 NKJV
This
is the final lesson of this great book. If there was a book of the Bible to
carry in you hip pocket, Romans would be it. It has covered everything a
Christian needs to know. Why we are the way we are with the inherited sin
nature, what sin is, the fact that we can’t help but sin, what living by faith
is all about, that our own self righteousness means nothing to God, after we
have a Spiritual Birth how to live, what grace is, and the list goes on and on.
If you have had a hard time absorbing what is contained in this book, I ask you
to read it over and over and over and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the
treasure of salvation that is within it. It is all about being Born Again,
which is the only way to Heaven.
17 Now I
urge you, brethren, mark those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to
the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.
Now
I urge you, brethren;
The KJV states this verse as, “Now I beseech you, Brethren,” Paul uses this
phrase I beseech you quite often. The meaning of the phrase is, “I beg of you,
please.” His heart goes out to those in Rome; he is greatly concerned. Paul has
used this expression when addressing other churches about matters also. The
next phrase tells us what his concerns are.
Mark those who cause divisions and
offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned; “Mark them” in the Greek is “skopeo,”
and means “to look at, observe, contemplate, analyze, direct one’s attention
to, scrutinize.”
“Division”
in the Greek is “dichostasia,” and means “disunion, in the sense of being
pulled away from the truth of the Gospel.”
“Offenses”
in the Greek is “skandalon,” and means “an obstacle placed in the way and
causing one to stumble or fall.”
“Doctrine”
in the Greek is “didache,” and means “instruction, teaching, or preaching
regarding the matter under discussion.”
This phrase is a strong
statement and Paul is warning the Church of Rome about a wolf in sheep’s
clothing. This was a great concern of Jesus, Paul, and the other Apostles. Matthew 7:15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's
clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. In fact it is a concern of any Born
Again Saint that people are taught the truth about the Bible and that the facts
and verses are not twisted and misinterpreted. Many modern day churches take
the verses totally out of context. They take just a small phrase and make it
fit a lifestyle they are living, or they don’t preach and teach directly from
the Bible, but from a book they have written this way the student doesn’t know
what the Bible actually teaches. Why do churches think they need to teach from
a book other than God’s Holy Word? So they can twist the facts? Is it income
for the denomination through book sales? Does man think they are smarter than
God? What drives these thoughts? It is
summed up with two words, Satan and flesh. Due to the fall of mankind, men and
women think they have all the answers. They rationalize, let’s use some
psychology or science to solve our problems instead of turning to God, our
Creator, our author of all things. Most people want to live by what man says
and not by what God says. They think that living by man’s ways is easier and it
gives their flesh pleasure. They think living for God is too hard. Little do
they know, that how they are living by pleasing the flesh, is only a temporary
thing while here on earth. When they pass from this earth, and if they haven’t
given their heart to Jesus, there will be no more pleasure, but from that time
on, wailing and gnashing of teeth in the pits of eternal Hell will be their
reward for living a life of pleasing their flesh while on earth. Matthew 13:41-42 The Son of Man will send
out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend,
and those who practice lawlessness,
42 and will cast
them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
And
avoid them: This is a
direct command from God via the Holy Spirit through Paul. Yet many, and I mean
many, don’t heed this command from God. They continue with their life listening
to their flesh and living their lifestyle. This happens to those that don’t
know what the Word of God states and teaches. We have to know what the Word of
God says so we can discern and know right from wrong, whether a minister is
preaching the truth or good feeling messages, whether a church is right with
God, or if God is spewing what they say out of his mouth, etc. WE ARE TO AVOID
THEM! Revelation 3:16 KJV So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,
I will spue thee out of my mouth.
18 For those
who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by
smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.
For
those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; This is speaking of the previous
verse, wolves in sheep’s clothing. These people are only out to serve
themselves in some way or fashion. Whether it be for money, pride of life,
social status, etc. They aren’t serving God, but their own belly. The word
belly is from the Greek work koilos, meaning a hollow, a cavity, that is specifically the abdomen encompassing the heart, belly, womb area, in other
word their flesh. It is what’s in their heart that defiles them. Matthew 15:18 But those things which
proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 2 Peter 3:3 knowing this first: that scoffers will
come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts,
By
smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. These people that are not called by
God have mild, fair, and plausible speeches, with an appearances of great regard
for the truth. They put on the appearance of great sincerity, sanctity, and
humility. They use praise, love, kindness, and flattery to capture the
attention of the simple, meaning those that don’t know the real truth, and get
sucked into a religion that is of self and works. Colossians 2:4 Now this I
say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. You will seldom if ever hear them
preach the message of the Cross for salvation. There are wolves in all
denominations. Now don’t get me wrong here, I’m not saying all ministers,
pastors, priests, etc., I’m saying some in each of the denominations. When you
encounter such and what they are preaching or failing to preach, then run, run
as fast as you can go and don’t look back, because they are messing with your
eternal life. Paul states this in Corinthians that a man of God only knows to preach
the Cross of Christ. 1
Corinthians 2:2 For I
determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him
crucified.
19 For your
obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I
want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil.
For
your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; Word traveled through the Roman
empire and Paul had come to know of the brethrens faithfulness of the Gospel.
He compliments them on this fact here, as well as at the beginning of the
letter. Romans 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for
you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
But
I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil; The first part of this verse Paul
compliments the believers, but then immediately warns them not to let their
guard down. Satan is a master at deception and he will lead someone in the
wrong direction without them knowing it. Therefore we must always be on guard.
20 And the
God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
And the God of peace; The God who promotes peace. The only
one that can give one peace when they place their faith in what Jesus did for
them at the Cross.
Will
crush; This refers to
the prediction in Genesis
3:15 And I will put enmity Between
you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your
head, And you shall bruise His heel.
“Will crush” means to subdue, to gain victory. It denotes Paul’s confidence
that they would gain the victory, and would be able to overcome all the things
of those who were sowing discord and contention among them.
Satan; The word “Satan” is Hebrew, meaning
originally “an accuser, a calumniator,” and then “an enemy.” It is given to the
prince of evil spirits this hate toward God and human beings. He is here
regarded as the “author” of all attempts to promote discord in the church. Therefore,
they who attempt to produce divisions are called “his ministers;” 2 Corinthians 11:15 Therefore it
is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into
ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
Under your feet
shortly; Refers the
Second Coming and the end of the Millennial reign when Jesus will rule. Satan
is also crushed when one has a Spiritual Birth (Born Again) as long as they keep
their faith in Jesus and what He did for them on the Cross.
The
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be
with you. Amen; This
is Paul’s normal way of closing and praying for his fellow believers.
21 Timothy,
my fellow worker, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my countrymen, greet you.
22 I,
Tertius, who wrote this
epistle, greet you in the Lord.
23 Gaius, my
host and the host of the whole
church, greets you. Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you, and
Quartus, a brother.
Here Paul’s understudy
Timothy, and some fellows Jews are sending greetings to those in Rome, along
with Tertius who was the scribe for Paul’s’ dictation of this Book of Romans.
Paul refers to Gaius as his host, so we can assume that Paul is staying at
Gaius’s home. The whole church of Corinth sends their greeting. Erastus and
Quartus also send their greetings. Erastus is mention in 2 Timothy 4:20 Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have
left in Miletus sick. Acts 19:22 So he sent
into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, but he
himself stayed in Asia for a time.
24 The grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ be
with you all. Amen.
This is the third closing
of this letter, but one more to come. The first closing was the last verse of
Chapter 15. Several thoughts are that Paul thought of others to include in the
greetings after he had closed previously. Maybe Paul’s scribe reminded him of
others that wanted to be included in the greetings. Another possibility is that
some of these people came along at different times and asked how the letter was
going and when they found out it was finished, they may have said to send their
greetings. We don’t know for sure, but I would venture to say something of this
sort happened. Some say these last few verses Paul wrote himself.
25 Now to
Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of
Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the
world began
26 but now
made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations,
according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the
faith—
Now
to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of
Jesus Christ; What
this verse is saying is that this gospel of Paul’s, that he preached, explained
what the finished work of Christ did for us, and if we put our faith in it,
then we become worthy in God’s eyes of being Born Again and He will bless us
with His Grace.
According
to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now made
manifest; This
mystery has been kept secret since the beginning of time, but now is revealed
by the Holy Spirit through Paul. Paul has recorded what salvation by faith is
all about. He preached the message of the Cross, meaning salvation by faith by
believing in what Jesus did for us in dying in our place on the Cross.
And
by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the
commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith; This message of faith had been
foretold by the prophets, but not understood. There was no one that had the key
to unlock the mystery until Paul was given the insight by the Holy Spirit. Some
of the patriarchs understood this like Abraham, Job, Jacob, etc. because they
lived by faith and were righteous in God’s eyes. David was another that placed
his faith in God even though he failed from time to time, but he always came
back to God when he realized he had sinned, and he would repent and ask
forgiveness. God’s grace has always been there for anyone that would place
their faith in Him, Jew and Gentile alike.
27 to God,
alone wise, be glory through
Jesus Christ forever. Amen.
The final closing of
giving all the glory to God Almighty!
Romans 1:16 For I am
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,
for it is
the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes…...
Psalms
51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit
within me.
John
3:3
Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I
say to you,
unless
one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Bill Wiesbrock
Last Week’s Trivia: Who was Adonizedek?
Answer: A king of the Canaanites who ruled
Jerusalem at the time Joshua was invading the Promised Land. Adonizedek
persuaded four other Canaanite chiefs to unite and try to repel Joshua. They
were brilliantly outmaneuvered and defeated by Joshua and were subsequently put
to death. Joshua 10:1-3
This week’s Trivia: Who was Adriel?
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