Special Guest Speaker: Ken Bresser

Scripture Reading: John 4:4-42

Originally Presented On: June 3rd, 2007

Scripture Reading: Romans 7:5,6

In Romans 7:5,6 there is a contrast being made which highlights the wondrous change that takes place in the soul of a converted person. The union Christians experience with Christ causes a change in the motivations and affections of the heart. We see this change briefly described in Romans 6:17 - "But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed."

It is this wonderful change, deep in the heart, that is in focus in Romans 7:6, when Paul mentions the difference between "the newness of the Spirit" and "the oldness of the letter." What he doubtless has in mind, though it is not specifically mentioned here, is the New Covenant which God promised in the Old Testament.

The New Covenant is mentioned in 2 Corinthians 3:6, which has very similar wording compared with Romans 7:6. ". . . our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Cor 3:5,6).

The New Covenant is unfolded in Jeremiah 31:31-34, in which God says, "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people" (Jer 31:33). One significant difference between the New Covenant and the old one, which is the Law of Moses, is this. Under the old covenant, the law, written on tablets of stone, creates demands from without. In the New Covenant God writes His law on someone's heart, creating desire from within. The old brings death. The new brings life. Is there any experience more wonderful than to desire to obey the living God from a heart that beats for Him?

Scripture Reading: Colossians 4:5

We all have 168 hours per week in which to live our lives. Subtract non-negotiable essentials like sleep, work, and eating and most people still have around 50 hours per week for other activities . . . shopping, cutting the grass, exercise, reading.

The wise person makes the most of the time in his/her life, with the truth of Christ governing what he/she does. We keep in mind the unbelievers who are watching us. Living for God's honor, Christians should not waste their hours and days and years. In a similar passage, Ephesians 5:16 reminds us that the days are evil and so a wise Christian knows that some opportunities are few. The need for the light of goodness in living is enormous because the darkness is great.

So the wise person has a plan … a plan for growing in grace … a plan for keeping his/her marriage vibrant … a plan for instructing his/her children. Realizing that the will of the Lord is the most important dimension of life, a Christian orders life's precious hours accordingly.

Because earthly life is a vapor, the only thing that gives it meaning is Christ and His kingdom. Let our fixation on unseen, eternal realities be the fountain of tireless work during our lifetime for Christ's name. "We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Cor 4:18).

Originally Resented: May 27, 2007

Scripture Reading: Romans 7:1-6

Romans 6:14 bluntly states, "For you are not under law, but under grace." Many of the readers of this letter, Jews in particular, might be asking at this point, "What is my relationship to God's law? What does it mean that I am no longer under the law?" Romans 7 is a full discussion of the function of God's law and the Christian's relationship to it, now that Christ has paid the law's penalty.

Romans 7:1-6 is a statement of the Christian's freedom from the law's penalty because of the death of Christ and a believer's union with Him in His death. The illustration (Rom 7:2,3) of this dynamic is what happens when a husband dies. Because of her husband's death, a wife is no longer bound to him and she is free to marry another. Upon her husband's death a wife is free from the law's demand.

Likewise for the Christian, a believer is free from the penalty the law demands because of a death. Due to the death of Christ and the Christian's union with Him, a believer is free from the law. He is not free from the moral obligations of the law, but he is free from the due process of the condemnation of the law, which is hell.

But the glorious purpose in being severed from the law in this way is not simply to be free from hell. Christians are released from the law "so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit for God" (Rom 7:4). There is no greater privilege or pleasure imaginable than to be 'joined' to Christ for all eternity

. . . and to bear fruit for God while we live. Beloved, let us rejoice in the grace of God for His unspeakable gift.

Scripture Reading: Colossians 4:2-4

This passage is an unusually strong exhortation for us to pray. Paul does not simply say that we should pray, but uses two qualifying words to stress that we should engage regularly and passionately in this blessed practice.

The first word, translated in the ESV by the words "continue steadfastly," indicates repetition. This does not mean we pray continually (which is impossible to do), but that we pray repeatedly. Just as there are activities that we do every day … eating, working, talking, sleeping … we should also pray every day.

The word is found in several New Testament passages referring to our continuing in prayer … Acts 1:14; 2:42; 6:4; Rom 12:12. It should be an encouragement to us that Daniel made it a practice of praying three times every day. It should shame us to think that dutiful Muslims pray five times every day.

The second word in this text, translated in the ESV by the words "being watchful," indicates something of the ardor necessary for prayer. We must be devoted to prayer with a longing heart. The issues of life are serious and call for earnestness in our prayers. "Dead and sleepy prayers, which are uttered with a mind either wandering or benumbed, neither reach heaven, nor can move God to hear" (Davenant, Colossians, 2:225).

Originally Presented: May 20th, 2007

Scripture Reading: Romans 6:15-23

In this section Paul continues to give his answer to the question (posed twice - Rom 6:1,15), "Are we to continue in sin because the grace of God has removed the penalty?" In this passage Paul reasons with his readers, not on the basis of theology, but on the basis of experience in their lives.

Using the imagery of slavery, Paul reminds Christians that they have been freed from the taskmaster of sin (Rom 6:17,20,22). Now they are slaves of God and righteousness (Rom 6:18,22). This is the glorious standing of all Christians. They have passed from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. No longer is the prince of darkness their ruler. They now belong to King Jesus.

But the reality of living is that Christians still sin. Life is a struggle of an increasing turning away from sin. The impulse toward sin is still present in Christian hearts. But to give ourselves to sinning is to, live as though we were back in slavery to sin. So Paul reasons with believers to pursue righteousness by reminding them of the results of sin, on the one hand, and the results of righteousness, on the other hand.

Highlighting the corrupt nature of sin, Paul says, three times, that the result of sin is death (Rom 6:16,21,23). He wants us to see, afresh, the destructive, unsatisfying, damaging effects of sin. On the other hand, obedience results in righteousness (Rom 6:16), sanctification (Rom 6:22), and eternal life (Rom 6:22,23). To remember the unsatisfying and destructive nature of sin, on one hand . . . and to remember how satisfying and pleasurable righteousness is, on the other hand, is a great encouragement to pursue holiness with all our might.

Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:23-25

We often need encouragement and we receive it through several means, most notably through the love and advice of friends. In Colossians 3:24 we have the ultimate means of encouragement. The context is God's command for slaves to obey their earthly masters. In our day we would apply this to employees in their work for their employers.

The command here is that what slaves/employees do, should be done with God in mind. "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men" (Col 3:23). What follows in the next verse is meant to be an encouragement for us to live in such a way.

". . . knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward" (Col 3:24).

In the New Testament, when not referring to an earthly inheritance bequeathed by a deceased loved one, the word 'inheritance' is a reference to eternal life in heaven. "According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you" (1 Pet 1:3,4).

The logic of this passage in Colossians is wonderfully encouraging, especially in times of distress. We do our work … we live our lives … we suffer in our afflictions … remembering that there is a life of everlasting joy and peace with God that awaits His people. With that hope beating in our souls, we can endure every earthly trial with a sustaining strength.

Originally Presented on May 13th, 2007

Scripture Reading: Romans 6:11-15

In Romans 6 we find the same structure and spiritual logic that Paul uses in his letters generally. First we are presented with doctrine and then we have the application. The practical question he is addressing in Romans 6 is this: Since we are justified by faith and not on the basis of what we do, isn't that notion an encouragement to sin?

In verses 3-10 of chapter 6 we have the doctrine of our status in Christ. Because Christians are united with Him, a death of our 'old self' (Rom 6:6) has occurred. Something within us died to sin with Christ. Therefore, verse 11 says, we are to consider or reckon or think about that wondrous reality.

In verses 12-23 Paul reasons with us on the basis of our experience in living out the Christian life. The exhortation to struggle against sin is in verses 12-15 and the practical reason to persevere in the struggle is in verses 16-23.

We sin with the 'members of our bodies' … eyes, tongue, ears, hands, feet, sexual organs. So the exhortation of Romans 6:13 is very specific. "Do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness . . ."

The logic rising out of verses 12 and 14, taken together, is very instructive and encouraging. Verse 12 commands, "Do not let sin reign" and verse 14 instructs "Sin shall not be master over you." For the Christian, the reality is that sin's reign has been broken so sin will never be master over him again. Therefore a Christian is called on to live in his freedom. At the end of the Civil War in 1865 someone might have said to a black man in Alabama, "You have been emancipated. You are no longer a slave. Begin to live like a free man!" The reality of liberty makes possible the change of life.

Scripture Reading: 2 Timothy 2:1-6

Special Guest Speaker: Rev. Greg Hands

Originally Presented on May 6th, 2007

Scripture Reading: Romans 6:5-11

In Romans 6 Paul is answering the concern someone might have about justification by faith, namely that it might actually encourage people to sin. In Romans 6:3-11, Paul gives the theological reason why justification by faith does not encourage sin and in 6:12-23 he gives the practical reason why this doctrine does not encourage sin.

The theological reason why justification by faith is not an encouragement to sin is the reality of what has happened in the heart of a Christian. At the deepest level of a man who has been born again, something has been changed by God's Spirit. This change rests on what is now a union with Christ. Look carefully at the phrases used in this passage: "we have been buried with Him" (v 4) . . . "we have become united with Him" (v 5) . . . "our old self was crucified with Him" (v 6) . . . "we have died with Christ" (v 8).

By virtue of our being united with Christ, something within us has died and is gone. NASB translates "our old self" in verse 6. King James has "our old man." Before becoming a Christian, there was a person we used to be which is now gone forever. Whereas before I was 'in Adam', now I am 'in Christ'. That transformation changes everything. I now have the position of being 'in Christ'. That is the theology of conversion.

Paul's reason for mentioning this is found in verse 11. "Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus." One avenue toward a pursuit of holiness is to contemplate what I actually am in Christ Jesus. It is in the understanding of my status in Christ that I am drawn toward His righteousness.