Git f you cannot give yourself. rom.3.

John R. Wible, 2013 1

December 8 The Gift You Can’t Give Yourself

Studies in Romans, Winter, 2013-14John R. Wible

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The Point . . .Jesus offers you His gift of a relationship

with God.

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Being Good

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Houston, We Have a Problem

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Houston, We Have a Problem• In spite of our bent toward sin, most

people want to be good. • The majority of religions promote this as

the way to salvation. When we keep whatever rules are set before us, we feel good about ourselves.

• But, none of us can perfectly keep a set of rules, much less God’s perfect law.

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There is an Answer

• Beginning in Romans 3:21, Paul pointed us to the solution.

• God’s standard of righteousness was met in Jesus Christ.

• When we place our faith in Christ, His righteousness is credited to us.

• PERIOD!

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The Best Gift Ever• What’s the best gift you’ve ever

unwrapped?”• An unexpected gift can turn a bad day

into a good one.• Read “The Point,” p. 21. “Jesus offers you

His gift of a relationship with God.”• Remember the song, “Give Me 40 Acres

and I’ll Turn this Rig Around?”• Only Jesus can “turn THIS rig around.

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Funeral Home Fans

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•They Don’t work so good on a hot day in South Alabama •Trying to “work our way back to You, Lord” is about as effective.•This is a problem.


The Supreme Problem of Life

• How can I get into a right relationship with God?

• How can I feel at peace with God? • How can I escape the feeling of

estrangement and fear in the presence of God?– Barclay, William (2010-11-05). The Letter to

the Romans (New Daily Study Bible) (p. 66).

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But God Created Air Conditioners

• They work really well• Read Romans 3:20,21• Why are the words “but now” significant?• Were Paul’s words a “cool breeze” to the

Romans and other readers?

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But Now . . .

• Paul went on to identify God’s ‘but now’ gift—righteousness through faith in Christ.

• READ: Romans 3:22-26.• See the math problem on p.p. 25,26. You

get to go back and correct errors.• What would the world be like if God had

made salvation humanly attainable?

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Keys to the Bible

• All of us are sinners. • All of us need the gift that only Jesus

offers.• Salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ

alone.• Salvation is for all who believe.• Read Romans 3:23 “23 For all have

sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

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Drilling Down What Does it Mean?

• All of us are sinners • Salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ

alone?• Salvation is for all who believe?• Who are all?

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The Gift

• Read Romans 3:24 , “They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

• Q: What does this mean?• Q: Why is it a challenge for some people

to accept the grace God offers us through Christ?

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Four Words

• Key Word: Righteousness (v. 21) —This word refers to being right before God. People only become righteous as God declares them so. It is a judicial term. It means being found “not guilty” even though you might, in fact, be very guilty.

• Paul draws from the Roman system of Justice here.

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Four Words - Grace

• Grace points to God’s free and unmerited favor by which God has without charge to believers declared them to have a right standing in His sight.

• Bengel’s ‘supreme paradox of the gospel,’ God is just yet accepts the sinner as being just. The natural thing to say would be: ‘God is just, and, therefore, condemns the sinner as a criminal.’

• But here, the great paradox – God is just, but he accepts the sinner not as a criminal but as a son.

• How? . . .

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Amazing Grace

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Four Words - Propitiation

• Paul uses this word and the concept behind it, as a second metaphor from the religious sacrificial system.

• Q: Did Paul use Propitiation to refer to – an appeasing sacrifice that satisfied God’s wrath; – an atoning sacrifice that removes sin, or, – figuratively speaking, to Jesus as the mercy seat,

the place where the blood of the sacrificial lamb was sprinkled and where mercy is found?

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The Blood

• The answer is found in the blood.• To the Hebrews, the Blood was sacred.• It represents life.• The penalty of sin is death, the shedding of blood,

usually the guilty person, but . .• Christ’s blood is spilt – thus removing not the

guilt, but the stain of the guilt• God indulges a fiction that we, though guilty, now

appear innocent, thus His wrath is appeased.• Jesus is both the sacrifice and the altar

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Enter Pride

• Satan wants believers to feel very proud of themselves.

• He wants us to think, surely God gave me this wonderful gift because He saw something good in me.

• But READ: 3:27-28.

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Pride• Is it possible to boast about our religious

practices only to ourselves and maybe not to others so as not to appear self-righteous?

• Is this any less sin? • Are we fooling ourselves? • Are we fooling God? • How can we avoid even

these internal thoughts?

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Another Word -Scandalon

• “Stone of offense.” Something to over.• Justification by faith in Christ alone apart

from any works can become a stumbling block for people in two significant ways:– Some people cannot accept the truth that

salvation is a gift. So, they try to store up good deeds to outweigh the bad.

– Others believe in accepting the gift by faith but believe they must secure their salvation by works.

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What’s the Problem?

• Both rely on work:– one to receive, – the other to secure salvation.

• We are not the heroes in the salvation story. Jesus is.

• He deserves all honor and glory for our salvation.

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The Foolish Galatians

You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?– Galatians 3:1,2

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What’s Wrong with Good Works?

• It makes us think we have the capacity to do anything worthwhile to be approved of God.

• This is the sin of pride, to the ancient Egyptians, the sin of hubris seeking to be equal with God.

• That’s where Satan went wrong.• So, what do we boast in?

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Boast in Our Weakness & Christ’s Strength

• On behalf of such a man I will boast; but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses.– 2 Corinthians 12:5

• “Boasting” renders kauchēsis which means “the act of boasting, glorying, exultation, exhaulting, glorying or glorifying.” What should happen is not autokauchēsis but christokauchēsis

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http://concordances.org/greek/kauche_sis_2746.htm




Glorying Properly

• Without Jesus, there is no gift of salvation, no hope of a relationship with God.

• Whether we are new to the faith or received Jesus’ gift many years ago, He is the Hero who, as the hymn says, ‘saved a wretch like me.’

• Q: What helps you to “glory in Christ?”

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Question of the Week

Since boasting is excluded, how will you express your faith this week?

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Let’s Pray About it!

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Git f you cannot give yourself. rom.3.

Spiritual

Transcript of Git f you cannot give yourself. rom.3.