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Psalms 69:14-28 Deliver me
out of the mire, And let me not sink; Let me be delivered from those who hate
me, And out of the deep waters. Let not the floodwater overflow me, Nor let the
deep swallow me up; And let not the pit shut its mouth on me. Hear me, O LORD,
for Your lovingkindness is
good; Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies. And do not
hide Your face from Your servant, For I am in trouble; Hear me speedily. Draw
near to my soul, and redeem it;
Deliver me because of my enemies. You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor;
My adversaries are all before
You. Reproach has broken my heart, And I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; And for comforters,
but I found none. They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they
gave me vinegar to drink. Let their table become a snare before them, And their
well-being a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see; And
make their loins shake continually. Pour out Your indignation upon them, And let
Your wrathful anger take hold of them. Let their dwelling place be desolate;
Let no one live in their tents. For they persecute the ones You have struck, And talk of the grief of those You have
wounded. Add iniquity to their iniquity, And let them not come into Your
righteousness. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, And not be
written with the righteous. Father
I come before you in the name of Jesus. I ask that you open our ears to hear
your word, and the truth of your words to pierce our hearts. I pray that what
you have inspired me to write is such that it can be understood by all. We give
you all the glory and praise. Amen!
Romans 8:5-11 NKJV
The
verses for this lesson do a lot of repeating. Have you notice how often Paul
repeats himself? Why does he do that? I think there are a few reasons. As human
beings we all learn things in different ways. Some people are visual so Paul
paints us a picture with one verse, another verse may be about culture, and yet
another maybe about his experience. Some of us learn by reading and
visualizing, some learn by repetition, some learn by just reading, some learn
by reading or listening and taking notes and some may need to read something
three or four times. A good teacher or factory trainer realizes this and tries
to cover all types. I think Paul is a great teacher and this is what Paul is
doing, but in reality, is he or the Holy Spirit doing the teaching? What do you
think? Pictures are being painted by Paul with analogies, life experiences, and
past experiences. He not only draws on his life and his current culture, but
also refers back to OT laws.
Paul
is saying some pretty strong things in the past chapters along with this
chapter. What we need to do is really examine our life, ask ourselves what we
place our faith in, what we are believing in, and if that is where we want to
be when we die. Even though Paul is addressing the Romans of his time, it very
much applies to current times and the way we live. Don’t just read the Bible or
go to a Bible Study and think of it as a history lesson, because if you do, you
are missing the whole purpose of God’s Law, the Bible. Remember what law is
suppose to do? Point you toward God for repentance and salvation. Bible Study
isn’t something to do once a week as a social thing or thinking by going to a
Bible Study you have done you religious duty of works. Religion never has and
never will save anyone. Salvation only comes through faith in Jesus and what He
did for us on the Cross at Calvary.
5 For those who live according to the flesh set
their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. Verse 5 has been discussed in previous
lessons and it is simply stating that a person that has not repented and asked
Jesus into their life they are living to please themselves by means of the
world, and what the world has to offer. They place their faith in themselves to
provide for themselves and their loved ones. They believe what they want to
believe, what man teaches, what their religion teaches, and disregard anything
that goes against their rationalizing of what life is to be like. They pick and
choose Bible scripture to believe in and twist the other facts of God’s Word so
they can live a life they want to live. They justify their actions with other
human beings instead of God’s Words. Basically in a nutshell they are trying to
live a good life based on their own humanistic being, meaning works, good
deeds, and law.
We can use homosexuality
as an example. Now don’t get me wrong, we are to practice the love of
benevolence with these people, meaning we are to love the individual, but hate
the sin. The media is full of headlines now days on this topic. There are all
kinds of justification like I was born with the wrong genes, I only had one
parent, people of the opposite sex just can’t relate to me, it feels good so it
must be ok, I was abused, etc. But God’s Word states it clear, it is not His
prescribed order and those living this type of lifestyle are living according
to their flesh and not according to the Spirit of God. God’s Word states He has
given them up, He has washed His hands of them, they are doomed, unless they
repent. Romans 1:26-27 For this reason God gave them up to vile
passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against
nature. 27
Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their
lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving
in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
But anyone living
according to the Spirit seeks the things of God. The people Paul is referring
to are saved individuals. They live for God. God is first and foremost on their
minds 24/7. They have a desire to share the Gospel in hopes of others repenting
and asking Jesus to come into their life so they can experience God’s Grace and
Love. They are in prayer the majority of the day. They involve Jesus in their
life situations and decisions. The materialistic things of their pre-spiritual
birth are of no importance any more. They are living and walking a life to
please God.
From God’s view point
there are only two kinds of people in the world; those living according to the
flesh and those living according to the Spirit. Open your bible concordance and
you will find a large list under “flesh”. Galatians 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in
the Spirit.
6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually
minded is life and peace. Here again, Paul is telling us that if
we are not Born Again, we will live a life of pleasing self. The sin nature has
control of our life and we are living for another jesus, Satan. The result is
death meaning eternal Hell. 1
John 2:15-17 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. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and
the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the
world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God
abides forever. (Proverbs 14:23; 16:24; Matthew 7:13,14; Romans 6:21)
If we are spiritually
minded, we are saved, and living a life of peace. Knowing Jesus is in control and
He will provide all that we need. We don’t have to be worried about worldly
things, because we give it all to Him to take care of. The Holy Spirit is
living within us and we have placed our faith in the Cross of Christ. We have
assurance of going to Heaven when we die. All things are possible through God. Matthew 19:26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men
this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Verses for the Spiritually minded; Psalm 4:8; John 14:27; 17:3; 10:10; 1 John 1:2)
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God,
nor indeed can be. Paul is making a very strong statement
here when he uses the word enmity. Enmity means hostile; enemy; the opposite of
friendship; ill will; hatred; unfriendly dispositions; malevolence; deep-rooted
hatred. These descriptions are not descriptions of love. As human beings we are
born with the corrupted sin nature that comes from Satan. This nature is not
subject to God’s Law. The sin nature defies God’s Law because it is not from God. Baptism will not wash
away this inherited sin nature, often times referred to as “original sin”. Many
believe baptism will wash a person clean and they will go to Heaven because
they are baptized. The only thing that will wash us clean is the blood of Jesus
Christ that was shed on the Cross. This is only accomplished through repentance.
There is no other way than believing in the Cross of Christ.
8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot
please God. If
the mind is enmity against God then so is the flesh. If a person is not saved,
they are enemies of God, and cannot please God. What a dreadful thought this
is. Many people living according to their standards, their lifestyle
justification, they pick and choose what to believe in the Bible or twist the
meaning of other verses, are actually enemies of God. Paul is making a very
strong statement of conviction here, isn’t he?
9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit,
if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the
Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
In sentence one of this verse, Paul is addressing the Born Again believers in
the first phrase, but in the second phrase he is raising a question about some
being saved. We know for fact that the Jewish people of that time struggled
with what Jesus, Paul, and the other apostles said. They were stuck on their
beliefs, the laws, tradition, religious doctrine and rituals. Here we are over
2,000 years later, and still many are stuck on the same things. Oh how our
human minds struggle with change and believing.
Paul ends this verse with
a statement that doesn’t need interpretation by simply stating that if a person
doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ living within, then they are not part of
God’s family.
10 And if Christ is in you, the body is
dead because of sin, but the Spirit is
life because of righteousness. As
discussed in earlier lessons our body is dead to sin if we have the Holy Spirit
living within. It is only through repentance (turning from sin, denying what we
believe in, forsaking non-scriptural religious doctrine, etc.), confessing our
sins to Jesus, and asking forgiveness, a Spiritual Birth is possible. It is
putting our faith in Jesus and the works of the Cross that enables the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This is the Spirit of life Paul is talking
about. This is the life of righteousness we will live, being under the umbrella
of Jesus shed blood. We won’t be, and will never be perfect, but by putting our
faith in the Cross of Christ, this life is made possible by God Almighty’s
prescribed order. Galatians
2:19-21 For I
through the law died to the law that I might live to God. 20 I have
been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;
and the life which I now live
in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself
for me. 21
I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ
died in vain."
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from
the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life
to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. This verse is simply stating that the
Spirit of God (Holy Spirit) that raised Jesus from the dead dwells within a
Born Again person. He, meaning God, will give life (Eternal life) to a Born
Again believer’s mortal body by means of His (God) Spirit that will come and
live within the person that has had a Spiritual Birth. When a person becomes a
true believer in what transpired at the Cross, our bodies become a temple for
the Spirit of God (Holy Spirit) to take up residence within. 1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple
of the Holy Spirit who is in
you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? When the
Spirit of God takes up residence within an individual, we then are able to live
a victorious life. Through this Spirit we have the same power within us that
raised Jesus from the dead. If we have an unwavering faith in what Jesus did on
the Cross at Calvary for us, then we have available to us the power that was
granted to the Apostles. Mark
16:15-18 And He said
to them, "Go into all the world and preach the
gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is
baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name
they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything
deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and
they will recover." We must believe and have faith. We can’t be
like Peter and take our eyes off Jesus. Matthew 14:29-30 So He said,
"Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on
the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and
beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"
You
know when a person gives their heart to Jesus there is a peaceful calm that
comes over the individual. It was that way for me and other believers have told
me the same thing. You just have a sensation that Jesus is present in a whole
new way and now you have a relationship with Him and not just know Him as a history
character. You know He is in control and will provide for you what you need.
What
I’m about to tell you, please don’t take it the wrong way. As I have said in
the past I’m not trying to get anyone to come out of their religion. Just
remember a religion will not save a person. I just want people to put their
faith in Jesus for salvation. My conversion to becoming a Christian involved
this after searching the Bible for what I was taught. I came to the conclusion
that I had to deny anything and everything I was taught that wasn’t written in
God’s Word and here is a partial list.
·
Praying
to manmade saints and Mary, because Jesus is our intercessor. 1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God and one Mediator
between God and men, the Man
Christ Jesus,
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·
Confessing
sins to man, because God can only forgive sin. Mark 2:7 "Why
does this Man speak
blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
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·
Denying
sacraments will get me to Heaven, because only believing and faith in Jesus
will accomplish this. Acts 26:18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God,
that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who
are sanctified by faith in Me (Jesus).'
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·
Denying
the Catholic religion would get me to Heaven, because only believing and faith
in Jesus will accomplish this. John
3:16 For
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
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·
Call
no man father, because I have only one Father. Matthew 23:9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your
Father, He who is in heaven.
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So I ask you what religion
are you practicing; religion of the
flesh or religion of the Spirit?
For I am not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ,
for it is the power of God
to salvation for everyone who believes,
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a
steadfast spirit within me.
Unless you are Born Again,
you cannot enter into Heaven, the Kingdom of God."
Bill Wiesbrock
Last Week’s Trivia: What is the significance of the folded
napkin and the placement of it in the tomb where Jesus was laid?
Answer: I received an email over a week ago and it
went on to say that a Jewish custom at the dinner table by the master of the
house is this; If the master folded the napkin and placed it neatly by his
plate he wasn’t done eating and would return to finish. If the master wadded up
the napkin and tossed it on his plate he was done and the servant could clear
the table.
The
napkin around Jesus head in the tomb was folded and lying in a separate place,
so the email went on to say it isn’t finish and Jesus is coming back, which he
is, and what a glorious day that will be.
In
researching this email the truth or fiction websites states this is false, but
a friend of mine has an old Jewish friend and he confirmed that yes indeed it
is a Jewish custom as stated above.
Commentaries
explain the folded napkin lying separate from the other wrapping signified that
Jesus body was not stolen and he was resurrected. If his body was stolen why
would the thieves take the time to remove all the wrapping.
So you
can believe what you want. I will take both. Thanks Dorothy for the Trivia
Question!
This week’s Trivia: What does the Bible
and a horse farrier have in common?
