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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 42
One of the important items we came across in
the previous lesson was this tutoring on the subject of Believers having been “delivered over” to a form (or pattern)
of teaching; that is the gospel of our
salvation or Christ’s work on the cross.
I
want to spend a little more time on this topic before we move on.
This
is the verse where we find this information.
Romans 6
17: But thanks be
to God that though you were (past tense) slaves to sin, you became obedient
from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were
committed.
First things first; when Paul speaks about
becoming obedient from the heart he’s referring to one’s faith. The Bible teaches the absolute necessity of
faith (Hebrews 11:6).
“Faith is the assurance
of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”
(Hebrews 11:1). Faith is taking God at
His Word and acting upon God’s promises concerning those things we have
not yet seen. Many people don’t think
about faith being an action word but it is.
You see,” we walk by faith
not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:6-7).
Romans chapter 10, gives us a good example
of this teaching.
Romans 10
9: …that if you confess
(to make an acknowledgement or admission – to admit) with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe (belief is a voluntary action) in your (what) heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10: for with the
(what) heart a person believes,
resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting
in salvation.
When Paul references the “heart” in the
verses above he is not speaking of that chest muscle that pumps blood. It is not a “feeling.” Paul is not referring to mere emotion when he
mentions “the heart.” Per Scripture, the
heart is the center of your intellect,
emotion, and will. A good synonym would
be the word “mind” (See Matthew 9:4;
Matthew 13:15; Mark 2:6; Luke 2:19; Acts 5:4; Romans 1:24; 2 Corinthians 9:7;
Romans 6:17).
Getting
back to the teaching point Paul is making in Romans 6:17, these Believers have
been “delivered-over” to a form of
teaching that is connected to Christ’s
work on the cross and this is a change from the Law.
Now
I am bringing up the Mosaic Law for a few reasons:
1: Paul begins chapter seven with a comparison
between marriage and the Law.
2: The make-up of this church in Rome consisted
of both Jews and Gentiles.
We
know this because Paul devotes the first 3 chapters of Romans to the
relationship between Jews and Gentiles. Starting
at chapter 1 he writes the gospel is, “to
the Jew first, and also the Greek (Gentile).”
3: You’ll note that Paul mentions the nation of
Israel quite often throughout the book of Roman. In truth, more so than any of his other letters
to the churches in Asia Minor.
Although
it is true Paul reserved a special place in his heart for his countrymen,
deeply regretted his persecution of those who followed “the Way,” and he was
determined to preach the gospel to them at any cost (see Acts 9:20; 13:5;
13:14; 22;) there are other reasons why this letter contains so many Jewish
expressions.
In
addition to the disagreements (conflict) taking place in the church
between the Jews and Gentiles, which Paul addresses in this letter (see chapter
11:17-24; 14). There’s one more reason and
we find a hint of it in a short passage near the end of the book which reads, “Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow
workers in Christ Jesus.” (Romans
16:3)
Priscilla
and Aquila were trustworthy coworkers and friends of Paul. In the Book of Acts, we meet this couple for
the first time when Paul arrives in the Greek city of Corinth.
Acts 18
1: After these
things he (Paul)
left Athens and went to Corinth.
2: And he found (what’s their
nationality) a Jew named Aquila,
a native of Pontus, having recently come from (where) Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had
commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them,
3: and because he
was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade
they were tent-makers.
This
couple assisted Paul in establishing the church in Corinth and moved on with
him to Ephesus, where they remained actively involved in church planting
alongside Paul. Like him, they were followers of Jesus of Jewish descent.
In Acts, it is stated that they were
forced to leave Rome because the Emperor Claudius had expelled all the Jews
from Rome.
The Roman historian Suetonius (69 – after 129 AD) confirms this event and the early church historian Orosius (O-ro-si-us) gives the date as the year 49 AD. This expulsion was no isolated case. Only a few decades earlier, Tiberius had expelled all Jews from Rome to the island of Sardinia.
The Roman historian Suetonius (69 – after 129 AD) confirms this event and the early church historian Orosius (O-ro-si-us) gives the date as the year 49 AD. This expulsion was no isolated case. Only a few decades earlier, Tiberius had expelled all Jews from Rome to the island of Sardinia.
Suetonius
explains the expulsion came about because of the “disturbances and riots among
the Jews at the instigation of Chrestus.”
Most church historians today agree that this refers to Christ. Christians were also frequently referred to
as “Chrestianoi.”
Apparently,
there was an internal dispute among the Jewish residents of Rome over the
Messianic claims of Jesus, as had happened in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1), Antioch
(Acts 15:50); Iconium (Act 14:1-7), Thessalonica and Berea (Acts 17), and
elsewhere. But Claudius had little
tolerance for their debate and expelled all the Jews. This included Priscilla and Aquila, who fled
to Corinth where they met up with Paul. For
several years, they joined his ministry team, moving with him to Ephesus.
But
when a new emperor arose in Rome named Nero,
he allowed the Jews to return to Rome in 54 AD. Priscilla and Aquila returned around this
time, which is why Paul greets them at
the end of his letter.
We
learned in the previous lesson that the Israelites were rescued from their bondage
in Egypt and had been “delivered over” to a pattern (or form) of teaching; that
being Moses and the Law.
The
Apostle Paul’s teaching based on Christ’s
work on the cross contradicts this legalistic system which they were taught
as children and all these traditions which they had learned and grown
accustomed (Deuteronomy 11:19-21). Have
you ever considered that it is so much easier to teach someone something brand-spanking
new then it is to undo something they’ve been practicing for over 2,000 years and
start all over again?
This
is exactly what the Apostle Paul is attempting to do and “faith is required.
With
this in mind, please open your Bible to Romans chapter 7.
Depending
on your Bible translation, at the beginning of Romans chapter 7 you may find this
header: Believers are united to Christ.
I
don’t want to skip over something I think is relative to our study, so we’re
going to take a moment to examine this: what
does it mean to be united to Christ?
Turn
to 1 Corinthians 15
1 Corinthians 15
21: For since by a
man
(Adam) came death, by a man (Jesus Christ) also came the resurrection of
the dead.
22: For as in Adam all
die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
Before
your salvation you were linked with Adam (in Adam) and destined to die
the second death. After your salvation,
you were linked with Jesus Christ (in Christ) and you are now “Alive to God” (Romans 6:11).
All
Believers are united with Christ in His
death, burial, and His resurrection.
(Romans
6:4-5).
Turn
to Colossians chapter 3.
Colossians 3
1: Therefore if you
have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where
Christ is, seated at the right hand of God (Psalms 110:1).
2: Set your mind on
the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
This
verse is teaching us we need to be mindful of our thoughts. The sin process begins in your mind with a
single thought. If you manage your
thoughts you’ll control your actions; with the Spirits help. This is one of the reasons why Jesus sent us
the Helper.
3: For you have (what) died (to the Law as to its
condemning power) and your life is
hidden with Christ (where) in
God.
What
does this mean? “Your life is hidden with Christ in God?”
People
who do not recognize the Lord Jesus Christ or have rejected Him outright can’t
understand Believers.
We
act differently from those who follow the world and not Jesus. They don’t get us.
They can’t understand the decisions we make,
the way we act or react to situations and difficulties that come our way, and in
general they are ignorant of the Spirit-filled life.
These
things are hidden from those
who are lost (2 Corinthians 4:1-4).
Eternal life is also hidden
from natural men and women for the things “eternal” are things “unseen” by the carnal eye, and
unrecognized by the carnal heart. These
things too can only be glimpsed through the eyes of faith; the evidence of
things not yet seen.
This
phrase “hidden with Christ in God”
is also expressive of the safety and security of each
Believer. Your salvation cannot be lost
or stolen away. For a Believer is “hid”
not only in Christ, where that would be secure enough, but it is with Christ
“in God.” Christ is in God, the Father is in the Son, and the Son is in the
Father.
How’s
that for security? Who do you know that’s
powerful enough to stroll into God’s throne room and snatch you away from Him?
Scripture
has something to say regarding your eternal security. Please take note of it.
Romans 8
38: For I am
convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39: nor height, nor
depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us
from the love of God which is (where) in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul
left nothing out. There is no created
thing that can separate you from the “love of God” which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord. Since, Jesus Christ is the Creator
God, and all things have been created through Him and for Him (1 Colossians
15-17) you’re eternally secure.
Paul
uses the phrase “in Christ” approximately 216 times in his writings to instruct
the churches (and us) that we are inseparable, one with Christ, or put another way, united with Him.
Please
open your Bible to Romans chapter 7.
Here
we have evidence regarding the Jewish population of this church in Rome.
Paul
begins chapter 7 by addressing the Jewish population – “for I
am speaking to those who know the law…”
Gentiles were not required to know the Law. In fact, they were “outsiders, aliens,
excluded from the covenant promises” (see Ephesians 2:11-12).
Romans 7
1: Or do you not know,
brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has
jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives?
2: For the married
woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her
husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the
husband.
3: So then, if
while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be
called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law,
so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.
The
Apostle Paul uses a marriage analogy to demonstrate that death releases
parties that are bound to a legal agreement. When a wife’s husband dies, she is free to
remarry.
So
then to when a person elects to believe the gospel of their salvation, they are
then baptized into the Body of Christ and they die to the Law (Romans
7:4). In other words, death severs the
bonds of the law (Romans 7:1).
Romans 7
4: Therefore, my
brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of
Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him (Jesus Christ) who was raised from the dead, in order that
we might bear fruit for God.
5: For while we
were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear
fruit for death.
In
verse 4 Paul instructs his brethren that at one time they were under the Law of
Moses, and were therefore bound by its restrictions. But now you are dead to that Law and all its
ordinances.
God
has determined that the Law shall no longer be in force. There has been a change.
As
a woman whose husband is dead is freed from the law under which she once lived,
due to her marriage vow, she is free to legally marry another man; because God
has deemed that the Law should only be in force until the advent of the
Messiah.
The
Law cannot save us. It was meant to
drive us to Jesus. Since the advent has
taken place, the Law has ceased. Christ Jesus is the end of the Law; for He is
righteousness to everyone who believes.
In
verse 4, Paul wrote that Believers, both Jew and Gentile, were joined to Christ
Jesus so that we may “bear (good) fruit for God.” The Lord Jesus Christ spoke often about the fruit
of good works and so did the Apostle Paul.
To
those few who chose to believe in Jesus and follow Him, He said:
John 15
5: “I am the
vine, you are the branches; he who abides (where) in Me,
and I in Him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do
nothing.”
The
Apostle Paul wrote in kind:
Ephesians 2
10: For we are His
workmanship, created (where)
in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
And:
Galatians 5
22: But the fruit
of the Spirit (capitalized) is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness,
23: gentleness,
self-control, against such things there is no (what) law.
We
have received the gifts of God’s grace and the Holy Spirit so that we can do
good works while we remain here on this earth.
Without this “union” it would be impossible for us to produce “good
fruit.” As Jesus said, apart from Him we
can do “nothing.”
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
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