Notes From Jon

I’ve already posted the audio version of this sermon, and I still think the audio version is the better version.  But in case you had trouble loading it, I’ll post the text here as well.

Intro: Looking Back

Up to this point, things have been pretty grim.  It’s almost a if Paul has been holding back – every now and then, he breaks into a quick doxology or hymn of praise.  But for the most part, Paul has spoken of forces that are beyond our control, and the news is not very hopeful.

• All human beings are without excuse.
• Ignorance is not our problem – we know the truth and we still turn away from it.
• Quantity and Quality of sin are no matter – any sin at all is detestable to God.
• Our only hope is to trust in God.
• In some way, God has made us responsible for our fellow human beings – to share the good news with them.
• We have been set free from the Law – but we are still drawn to it and still sin from time to time.

All these forces are acting on us – Satan, evil, sin, our sinful nature. Read the rest of this entry »

Romans Chapter 7
“The Battle”

Introduction

First off, two disclaimers:

• This chapter is controversial in Christian scholarship, for reasons we’ll see. I realize you aren’t aware of all the problems with the chapter – but I’ll try to help you as I go along. And if you decide you disagree with my conclusion, that’s OK. I’d love to talk with you about it. But know that my sermon today will be based on my understanding of the passage – and it’s the “minority opinion.”
• This chapter, controversial as it is, really has to be taken as a whole to be understood. And it REALLY has to be taken with chapter 8 as well. But we don’t have time for all that this morning, so I’ll try to tie things together and we’ll have to wait for another week.

Previously (ch. 6) Paul has asserted that we are now free to choose whom we will serve – sin or God.  But that doesn’t end the story, unfortunately.  It’s not that one master has been destroyed and there is no longer a choice as to whom we serve.  Just because we are no longer enslaved to sin doesn’t mean that we are unable to sin.  It simply means that we have the choice now.

Old Law vs. “New way of the Spirit”

An Illustration From Marriage

(1) Do you not know, brothers-for I am speaking to men who know the law-that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? (2) For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. (3) So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.

Paul now gives another example to illustrate his point.  He’s not giving any kind of teaching about marriage… in fact, this passage really has nothing to do with marriage.  He’s simply referring to Jewish law to make a point.  And his point is this: death brings about a change in the circumstances of the law. Under Jewish law, if a woman is with another man while her husband is still alive, she is committing adultery.  While her husband is alive, she is bound to that contract and “law,” and the consequences for breaking it were severe. Read the rest of this entry »

Romans: Part 4
“Justified”
2:25 – 3:31

At the risk of being redundant (and since the hearers will need to be reminded each week) we’ll review where Paul’s taken us so far:

· No one has an excuse: everyone, no matter who or where we are, has some idea of a greater power, and some idea of what is right and wrong.

· Even though we have known God, we still turn away from him.

· Our sinfulness is a result of our turning from God – he allows us the freedom to choose obedience or disobedience.

· Because we have all turned from God in some way, the quantity or quality of the sin is not for us to compare or judge – only God can give judgment. We can give only grace.

· We have failed to live up to the Law – and no matter how much we might preach, our obedience or disobedience speaks volumes about the God we worship.

Paul Drives His Point Home

Moving forward from the end of chapter 2 and into chapter 3, Paul is closing out this part of his argument:

25Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. 26If those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? 27The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.

28A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.

Circumcision, you might recall, was a sign that God instituted among the Jewish people. If someone was to be a covenant-keeper with God, they had a physical sign to show for it. But like so many other things, this act that was meant to merely be a “sign” had taken on significance beyond mere symbol. The Jewish people in Paul’s time obviously believed that circumcision itself gave them righteousness – that the righteousness had taken place of the SYMBOL. Read the rest of this entry »