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Dividing the Word of Truth
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Timothy 2:15)
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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
101
Welcome to HBS and
thanks for being here today.
Scripture
teaches us an individual is justified once
they trust in Jesus Christ (through faith in the God’s Gospel – Romans 3:24-25,
4:5, 5:1). This is a legal declaration
giving the saved individual a “right standing” before God (Psalms 50). It’s a onetime event.
Sanctification begins with justification. It means to separate oneself unto the Lord
Jesus Christ’s service. It is the
continual work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Believer with but one goal
– to conform them to the image of
God’s Son. The Holy Spirit works to
bring about “practical” holiness and produces the fruit of the Spirit in their
life. Sanctification is a lifelong process.
Just
because we’re saved does not mean we no longer sin; we’re still children of the
“flesh,” which means old Adam still exists within each one of us. (1 Corinthians 3:3) There is a continuous Spiritual battle raging
(or there certainly should be) between our new
nature and old Adam; the mind and
the members of every Believer in
Christ Jesus (Romans 7).
I
took the opportunity to point this out to you in last week’s lesson: The
Spiritual battle ground between conforming to the world and being transformed is within the mind of the Believer - we must
think differently than the (unsaved) world thinks and acts. Believers are not to fashion themselves after
the Satanic “order of things,” which the god of this age (Aion) has corrupted
(poisoned), but are to be transformed by
the renewing of their mind.
This
is where the saved person enters into the area of the Holy Spirit’s ministry,
as they elect to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, which means He becomes our Boss,
so to speak. He’s the Lord of our lives in every respect and
not just in some respects (Romans 10:9; 1 Corinthians 12:3). Every choice, every decision we make is
filtered through the written Word of God with the goal of glorifying Him in
everything we do and say (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Considering
the mercies of God, we Believers should
be striving to please Him in everything – all this is accomplished as we allow
the Holy Spirit to have complete control of every area of our lives (Ephesians
5:18); for He explains the Scriptures to us, empowers us with Spiritual gifts
(1 Corinthians 12:4-11), comforts us (John 14:16; 2 Corinthians 1:4), and
guides us (John 14:26). To follow Jesus
Christ means we apply the Truths we learn from His Word and live our lives as
if Jesus Christ Himself were walking beside us every day.
Please
open your Bible at Romans 12:3
Romans 12
3: For through the grace given to me I
say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he
ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God
has allotted to each a measure of faith.
For the grace given
to me
– Paul had received God’s undeserved favor (Grace) while traveling on the road
to Damascus to persecute the Messianic Believers residing there (Acts 9). He was called
to be an apostle of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:5); and as an apostle he now writes
to these Roman Believers concerning humility,
commanding them: not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think;
(or keep old Adam in check, please).
In
other words, Paul says we must think of ourselves appropriately, so as to have sound judgment, and not
be arrogant (puffed-up) with an exaggerated and unrealistic view of our own
authority and/or self-importance. With
our heads “out of the clouds,” so to speak, and both of our feet planted firmly
on terra firma, we need to view ourselves as God the Father does… soberly – sensibly,
seriously, and with a sound mind. Consider
Paul’s comment in Galatians 6:3: For if anyone thinks he is something
when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
The
proud person discounts the blessings of God in their life. They seek to be credited for things they
alone could not have accomplished such as their abilities; health, intellect,
talents, and life itself for these are all gifts
from God.
Apart
from our Lord and Savior we can amount to nothing; we’re all zeroes not heroes. But here’s some good news! God in His Grace is able to make something
out of nothing. God created the heavens
and the earth out of nothing. Do you
seriously think for one second He’s incapable of making something wonderful out
us? Reflect on what he accomplished
through the Apostle Paul. God took this zealous
Jew who intended to stamp out Christianity wherever he found it and transformed him into the greatest
missionary for Jesus Christ of all time, he planted more churches than all the
apostles combined, and he wrote over half of the New Testament. He preached a simple, clear, and passionate
gospel message. Paul followed Jesus
Christ and was Spirit led (Acts 16:6-10; Romans 1:1; 1 Corinthians 11:1-3).
However,
the Believer who thinks too highly of himself is actually comparing
himself with others and exalting himself above them, as he proudly thinks himself (or herself) to be more
important than someone else. This
“feeling” of self-importance must be overcome.
Our Apostle Paul writes: For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not
receive? And if you did receive it, why
do you boast as if you had not received it?
(1 Corinthians 4:7)
Paul
warned this assembly in Rome not to think
too highly of themselves because the sin of pride could destroy them and
this church. After all, God didn’t
create Satan. Lucifer became the devil
because of his pride; the rest is history.
Our
Apostle Paul addresses the need for unity
and love in this assembly (and
yours too) in his letter to the Ephesians:
Therefore…I implore you to walk
in the manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all (what)
humility and gentleness, with
patience, showing tolerance for one another in (what) love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the
Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians
4:1-3)
Each
member of Christ’s body is to be about the business of preserving the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Since Believers have been commanded to protect
the unity of the church, then church
unity must be a very fragile
thing.
Here’s
another thought to consider. Since people
make up the church and are commanded to guard the unity of the church, then it stands to reason that we cause the unity of the church to become
splintered – “We have met the enemy and
he is us.”
I say to everyone
among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think - because of self-pride we’re the
greatest threat to church unity;
hence the warning and the command to maintain church unity from the Apostle Paul.
Paul
points out the path to unity in
Ephesians 4:1b: walk in a manner worthy (Axios: pronounced: ax-ee’-oce:
meaning - to balance the scales) of
the calling with which you have been called.
Believers
are to live their lives marked by the characteristics listed by Paul in verse
2. The first one to appear is humility (Tapeinophrosune: pronounced: tap-i-nof-ros-oo’-nay – meaning: lowliness
of mind). This word, in its Greek
form, was never found in secular writing.
It is a word coined by Christians.
Roman and Greek society had no concept of humility. Anyone who placed others ahead of self was
considered weak or a coward and unnatural.
So, when Paul wanted a word to describe the humble person, he had to
invent the word. This word was
eventually picked up by some of the secular writers and used in a derogatory
fashion to describe Christians as weak and perverted.
The
unsaved world still views Believers
in this light. However, even though they
determine humility to be a weakness it is the most fundamental of Christ-like
virtues. Without humility we can never
please the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Philippians 2:5-8)
It’s
been said humility is an elusive thing.
When you reach the place where you think you’ve attained it, you just
lost it.
For
example: a youth pastor was given an
medal one Sunday morning after the service ended in front of the entire
congregation. The medal was for being
the most humble person on his staff. The
young man came forward and graciously accepted his award with a few words. Later that week the award was taken away from
him when he chose to wear it… that’s how elusive humility can be.
Humility
is something we never see in ourselves, yet it is a quality that others see in
our lives, when it is visible. If you or
I were to mention our humility, then we’d be acknowledging it and that would be
pride.
This
brings me to Paul’s comment in verse 3: a measure of faith. Paul’s not talking about one’s salvation
here, and he’s not saying each Believer is given a different amount of faith at
the moment of their salvation. He is
talking about particular and various
gifts which God has gifted to each
Believer and the faith necessary to
exercise those gifts (see verse 6). Our
gifts cannot be exercised rightly
apart from faith and trust in the
Lord Jesus Christ.
I’ll
illustrate: everyone who entered my
classroom came in and sat down in a chair.
They
didn’t pace around the room fretting over the ability of the chair to support
their weight. No lab tests were
performed and there were no surveys taken.
They just came in and sat down, which means they trusted (had faith) in the
chair to bear their weight. In so doing, each one of these students exercised their faith and not their “feelings.”
When
people base their actions and their activities solely on their “feelings,” or
their “senses,” they’re elevating their emotions above the promises of God
found in Scripture. This is how the world behaves. Believers are not to fashion themselves after the standards of this world.
Case
in point: I served alongside several
gentlemen in BSF who couldn’t believe they were standing in front of a
classroom and teaching God’s Word week after week, considering the anxiety they
experienced when it came time to recite an oral book report while in school. Not one of them believed God gave them the gift of public speaking, and you can
include me in this group. I dreaded
those days in school when I had to face my classmates and recite something from
memory or give a speech on current events.
What made this work for my friends and for me in BSF was our faith; and allowing the Holy Spirit to
work in us and through us.
That
last thought brings me to verses 4-5.
Romans 12
4: For just as we
have many members in one body and all the members do not
have the same function,
5: so we, who are
many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one
of another.
Paul
in Romans 12:4-5 wants every Believer to know not only do they have a special place in the Body of Christ they
also possess a God-given gift (or gifts) which is for the benefit of the entire
body. (1 Corinthians 10:17, 12)
People
have told me they don’t have a gift
or if they have a gift they can’t find it...
However, no Believer has been left out in the gift-giving process there
is only the failure of the individual to exercise
or recognize the gift (or gifts) God has
allotted to each.
I
knew one individual who thought God’s gifts
were limited to being a preacher or teacher. I explained not everyone is called to be a
Louie Giglio, a Ravi Zacharias, or a Les Feldick for that matter, but there are
many gifts just as there are many members.
This book says: there are varieties of gifts, but
the same Spirit; (1 Corinthians 12:4).
Maybe
you’re a prayer warrior like my mother.
If a prayer request comes her way, she’ll add it to her list and pray
for it and the person in need. I know some
couples who opened up their homes on a regular basis for a Bible study and
provided delicious food and drink for the attendees. There
are volunteers who knit lap blankets and gave them to the paralyzed veterans at
the hospital. Others spend hours each
day giving their time and talents in various ways serving the veterans and the
hospital staff. Maybe you visit the
shut-ins or folks bedridden in nursing homes.
Maybe God has blessed you with a
lot of money and you give to worthy causes continuously. All these examples represent a variety of gifts but the same Spirit.
I
know an individual who failed to recognize their gifts. They work in a
hospital lab providing vital data to physicians and nurses in the treatment of
their patients. On many occasions their
findings helped save a patient’s life.
But it’s their opinion that lab personnel are unappreciated. I disagreed.
I
said the data you provide to the physician gives them the information they need
to properly treat the patient. So, ask the
patient how they feel now that their life has been saved or their illness was
cured because of your conscientious efforts in the lab? Your willingness to go to work every day to
perform your assigned tasks at the professional level, and exercise your
God-given talents and abilities for the good of others is a gift.
The person’s life that was saved could possibly grow up to be a concert
pianist, the physician that cures breast cancer, or the next Billy Graham.
This
person is also a mother. They
home-schooled their children and raised them in a Christian home along with
Christ-like values in a world that not only opposes God but hates Him. This woman continues to be a shining example
of what it means to stand for what you
believe. Parenting children is also
a gift.
However,
instead of recognizing her gifts and giving God the glory she
picture’s herself serving in the mission field, working against Planned
Parenthood and the abortion industry in this country because this is where her heart is. I’m sure God acknowledges this but this may
not be God’s plan for her. It could
become God’s plan for her one day, but if the “door” hasn’t opened in all these
years, I’d stopped trying to slip in through the window… As one pastor said one Sunday morning, “Bloom where you’re planted.”
Learn
to exercise your faith where God has placed you, use
your God-given talents to the best of your ability, and give God the honor and
the glory.
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
All
Rights Reserved
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