Home
Bible Study- Lutz, Florida
Established
November 2008
Rightly
Dividing the Word of Truth
(2
Timothy 2:15)
This is
good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who
desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1Timothy 2:3-4
Romans by the Book
Lesson 24
Welcome
to our Home Bible Study.
If
you’re a new visitor, thanks for taking the time to check us out.
I
pray you’ll come back and visit us often.
For
all the regular visitors and for those who are members of our Home Bible study
in Lutz, Florida, we’re going to get right back to the business of studying the
most important book in the N. T. written by the Apostle Paul, in my opinion.
Other
people share this opinion, by the way.
Martin Luther wrote in his
preface to the Roman letter:
‘This
Epistle is the chief book of the New Testament, the purest gospel. It deserves not only to be known word for
word by every Christian, but to be the subject of his meditation day by day,
the daily bread of his soul … The more
time one spends in it, the more precious it becomes and the better it
appears.’ He spoke of it as ‘a light and
way into the whole Scriptures …’
John Calvin said of it, ‘when
any one understands this Epistle, he has a passage opened to him to the
understanding of the whole Scriptures.’
Gordon H. Clark recently wrote of
Romans that it is ‘the most profound of all the epistles and perhaps the most
important book in the Bible …’
Paul
wrote this letter while he was in Corinth during his 3rd missionary
journey in the winter of 56-57 AD (approximately). Some folks have him writing it a year later.
He
was on his way to Israel (see Acts 19:21) to deliver an offering that had been
taken up among the established gentile churches to give to the poor Jews in
Jerusalem.
You
see, the Jews had misinterpreted Jesus’ words and the signs prior to His
Ascension. Consequently, they sold all
their personal possessions, pooled their money, and lived off these funds while
they waited for Jesus to return – which would be soon by their reckoning (see
Acts 4:32-37). They thought that money,
land, and possessions really didn’t mean all that much once Jesus
returned? The Jews would have their King
and their Kingdom. But that didn’t
happen. What did happen was their money
ran out and these Jews became impoverished.
Sometime later James, Peter, and John, after extending their hands in
friendship, asked Paul and Barnabas to take up a collection from among the
gentile churches and bring those offerings back to Jerusalem (see Galatians
2:9-10; Acts 24:17).
So
as they say, that was free for nothing, but it may help you to understand what
you are reading as we go along.
Why
do I think this is the most important book in the N.T.?
“Romans” is a carefully
constructed book with a logical summary of Biblical Theology.
It
explains our natural inclination to sin and how this separates us from God
It
explains that we cannot make ourselves “right with God.”
It
goes on to explain that we cannot earn salvation.
It
explains God’s plan of salvation by Grace, through faith in Jesus Christ’s
death, burial, and resurrection and not by works, or by trying to keep the
Law.
Once
a Believer, the Holy Spirit works in each one of us to help us avoid sin and to
assist us in our efforts to become more Christ-like i.e. sanctification.
And
there’s so much more…
But
we’ll move on.
If
you will please open your Bible to the book of Romans, chapter 3, at verse 19
we’ll pick up where we left off in the last lesson.
Romans 3
19: Now we know
that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are (what) under (the control of) the Law, so that every mouth may be
closed and all the world may become accountable to God (see Romans 2:12).
20: because by the
works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His (God) sight; for through the Law comes the
knowledge of sin.
If
no one could be saved (justified) “by the works” of the Law, what was its
purpose?
The
Apostle Paul addresses this concern in his letter to the Galatians in chapter
3.
Let’s turn there now.
Let’s turn there now.
The
question is how does the Law work as it applies to salvation today?
The
answer given by the New Testament is that the Mosaic Law was a temporary dispensation. It was given to Moses by the LORD God for the
purpose of ruling Israel, but it was never intended to direct the way His
people would relate to God on a permanent basis.
Galatians 3
19: Why the Law
then? It was added because of
transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a
mediator, until (the word until
is a time related word and speaks of some future event – in this case, it
speaks of) the seed would come to
whom the promise had been made (who was the promise made to? Abraham and the nation of Israel, right).
In
this verse, it’s clear that the Law was a temporary dispensation. It would last only until “the seed” or the Messiah would come as
promised to the nation of Israel.
After
Jesus came, the Law would be replaced by something else (something better) because
Jesus was the end of the Law.
What
replaced the Law?
Drop
down to verse 23.
Galatians 3
23: But before faith came, we were kept in
custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be
revealed.
24: Therefore, the
Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified
by
(what’s the next word) faith.
25: But now that
faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
26: For you are all
sons
(and daughters) of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
We
have our answer. Faith in Christ Jesus replaced
the Law.
More
accurately stated, faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ replaced the Law.
Not
that the Law at any time had the power to save anyone.
As
verse 24 clearly points out, the Law was meant to lead the Jews to Christ
Jesus.
The
Law was temporary and a means of ruling Israel until Jesus came.
A
lot of people miss this important point.
This is why I’m taking the time to teach on it.
Jesus
was the end of the Law. But what does
the book say?
Romans 10
4: For Christ is the
end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
So
it could be said from the time the Mosaic Law was given to the Israelites, the
outpouring of God’s wrath upon the nation was inevitable. Why?
The
Jews were no different than either you or me.
We’re
all sinners, “no one does good, not even one.”
This
is what the Bible says.
But
the Old Testament is dotted with prophecies of their failure to obey the LORD
God and the consequences for doing so.
It’s a sad part of their history.
One
of the Major Prophets Jeremiah wrote this:
Jeremiah 9
12: Who is the wise
man that may understand this? And who is
he to whom the mouth of the LORD has spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined, laid waste like a
desert, so that no one passes through it?
13: The LORD said,
“Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have
not obeyed My voice nor walked according to it,
14: but have walked
after the stubbornness of their heart and after the Baals, as their fathers
taught them.”
15: therefore thus
says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “behold, I will feed them, this
people, with wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink.
16: “I will scatter
them among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I
will send the sword after them until I have annihilated them.”
Due
to the sinfulness of the human heart it is inevitable that the Law would bring
about this negative effect on the nation of Israel.
You
and I can’t keep the Ten Commandments, if we’re being honest, so let’s not be
too hard on the Jews (see Romans 3:19).
Paul
writes:
2 Corinthians 3
6: (The Lord Jesus
Christ) who also made us adequate as
servants of a new covenant, not of the letter (of the Law) but of the Spirit; for the letter (does what) kills, but the Spirit gives life.
This
verse in plain English is saying the Law can only condemn a person whereas the
Spirit gives life to an individual.
The
actual stated purposes of the Mosaic Law are:
It
reveals God.
It
ruled the nation of Israel until Jesus Christ came.
It
led the way from the days of the Old Covenant under the Law to the days of the
New Covenant in Jesus Christ.
The
Jewish people lived their lives “under the control” of these commandments.
The
Bible says the Israelites were enslaved by the Law.
How
does this “Good Thing” make slaves out of those who trust in it?
Since
the Law made the Jews like children, in the way that it controlled their
behavior, and in some cases their thinking, they tried to keep to the letter of
the Law, but missed the spirit of the Law.
The
letter of the Law is a matter of physical action, whereas obeying the spirit of
the Law involves the attitude of the mind.
Here’s
an example: Jesus said merely to refrain from adultery is obedience to the
“letter of the Law.” But to obey the
“spirit of the Law, one must also use self-control and not even lust after
someone. For to do so means you’ve
already sinned.
Scripture
says the Law was meant to make the Jews feel the weight of their sins (see Romans
7:7). God intended for the Jews to
realize the depth of their own depravity under the Law and run to Christ Jesus dependent on His grace. Instead, like
children with a list of rules, the Jews scrambled about trying to please God
but in truth this was unachievable on their best day. Paul understood this to be the worst kind of
slavery.
Jesus
was “sent” by God the Father; “under the control” of the same Law
(commandments), to “redeem” those who were “slaves to the Law.
Galatians 4
4: But when the
fullness of the time came (which means: according to God’s time table) God sent forth His Son, born of a
woman, born under the (what’s the next word) Law (Law and not
Grace.
(I’ve
said this many times but it bears repeating; Christianity did not begin with
the birth of the baby Jesus and it certainly did not begin at Matthew 1:1, as
some people teach. Jesus was born under
the Law; read what the book says),
5: so that He might
redeem
(buy back) those who were under the
Law (now think – who is Paul referring to? What people were “under” the Law? The Jews were of course) that we might receive the adoption as sons.
Galatians
4:1-3 - Paul gives us a portrait of a little Jewish boy in a wealthy home.
This
child is the legal heir and future master of the entire estate. But as long as he is a child, his life is
just like that of a slave. He is subject
to guardians and trustees. They
supervise him, discipline him, and control him.
They regulate his behavior. He is
under their authority until the time set by his father, when he will be free
from their control and then enjoy his full rights as heir and master of the
family estate.
Paul
clearly constructed this illustration to dramatize what life was like under the
supervision of the Law. It demonstrates
that the Jewish people, the rightful heirs of God’s promises to Abraham,
experienced a certain kind of slavery for a time while under the Law (see
Galatians 3:23; 3:25). Jesus (the
Messiah) was the intended end of the Law.
But the Jews could not/would not see this Truth so God the Father turned
His attention to the Gentiles (see Acts 9).
However,
this illustration Paul presents is a positive image.
Even
though this child is subject to guardians and trustees, he is still loved by
his father. When he reaches the age of maturity, he will be the heir of his
father’s estate.
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
All
Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment