Originally Presented on August 27th, 2006

Scripture Reading: Romans 2:1-4

The first word in Romans 2 is 'therefore', which connects what follows with what precedes. Romans 2:1-16 is the second segment in the first main section of the book (Rom 1:18-3:20). The thrust of this section is to take away all the props of the human heart which man uses to justify himself in the sight of God. The point of this main section is to demonstrate that all men, regardless of who they are, stand guilty before God and justly condemned.

In the first segment of this section Paul cataloged many blatant sins that are both visible and obvious, e.g. idolatry, homosexuality, murder, gossiping, arrogance, disobedience to parents. In this segment (Rom 2:1-16) Paul addresses people who are outwardly moral and often judgmental. The people in view in this passage are quick to condemn the sins of others, but they are, in reality, just as guilty before God as the people described in chapter 1.

Though a man may not be a murderer, yet there are dark, hidden evidences of his rebellion against God. In the day of judgment he will not escape God's justice if he refuses to repent of his sins and hope in God's grace in Jesus.

Amazingly, God's response to the hypocrisy of these people is to shower them with kindness and patiently wait for them to see His wondrous goodness toward them. Though these men do not consider God's kindness, yet He continues to show them goodwill. Such is the nature of the Creator . . . slow to anger and abounding in mercy.

Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:1-4

Colossians 3:1 marks a change in the general content of this letter. Following the pattern of many of Paul's letters, Colossians can be divided into two main sections … the doctrinal section (chapters 1,2) and the practical section (chapters 3,4). This pattern is instructive. The truths about God the Father, God the Son, and the work of Christ are foundational for holy living.

A holy life issues from understanding and communing with God. The succinct command summarizes this dynamic … "Be holy, for I am holy" (Lev 11:45; cf. 1 Pet 1:15). We will not pursue holy living if we are not seeking to know the God who is holy.

So Paul's exhortation in Colossians 3:1,2 is built on the doctrinal truths of the work of Christ and our union with Him in conversion. "If [since] you have been raised with Christ (doctrinal truth), seek the things that are above . . . set your minds on things that are above" (practical command).

Since Christ is seated at God the Father's right hand, He is shown to be King, Ruler, Judge. Therefore we should live accordingly … trembling before Omnipotence, fearless because He conquered death, encouraged because He grants grace to His people. To "seek the things that are above" means we live our lives in light of eternal, though unseen, realities. Enjoying God's gift of this world, our deepest thoughts and affections are focused on another, indescribably more enjoyable, world.

Originally Presented on August 20th, 2006

Scripture Reading: Romans 1:28-32

There is a frightening downward spiral of the human mind and soul described in Romans 1. First, a man suppresses the truth about God (Rom 1:18) and refuses to honor God as God (Rom 1:21). Next, God gives him over to his sinful heart to do what is foolish (Rom 1:24,26,28). Next, man's mind becomes darkened and depraved and he loses the capacity to even see what sin is (Rom 1:21,22,28). Finally, the effect of this depraved mind is all kinds of evil, which Paul catalogs in verses 29-31.

Not every sin is mentioned in the list here, but so many are mentioned that the point is unmistakable . . . all sin, regardless of what it is, finds its root in a suppression of the truth about God and a dishonoring of Him as God. All sin has to do with a denial of God.

The rest of the book of Romans was written to describe the work of God which triumphs over sin and its effects. There are some wonderful promises in Romans which display how God gives men a new heart and mind. Romans 6:17 speaks of being 'given over' (the same word as in Rom 1:24,26,28) to God's truth. Romans 12:2 speaks of being transformed by a renewal of our minds.

God's wondrous work in our lives triumphs over sin's dark, destructive results. No wonder, in Romans 6:17, the apostle passionately declares "Thanks be to God."

Scripture Reading: Colossians 2:16-23

We are internally 'programmed' by our sinful hearts to trust in ourselves as the means to gain God's favor. This explains the reality that people all over the world give themselves to religious rituals, from fasting to prayer wheels to bodily mutilation.

The 'Colossian Heresy,' against which Paul is writing in this letter, included a mixture of Jewish rituals and pagan rituals. The people of the Colossian church were being encouraged to follow the rituals of the Mosaic law and to worship angels and to deny themselves certain God-ordained pleasures. The false teaching taught that such religious activity is the path to heaven, but was, in fact, "self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body" (Col 2:23).

The destructive danger of such teaching was that it undermined the centrality and necessity of Christ in the salvation of people ensnared by their sins. Colossians 2:16 begins with the word 'therefore,' which sends us back to what was said in the preceding paragraph about Jesus. In Christ, Christians have been "raised with him through faith and have been "made alive" (Col 2:12,13).

Therefore, having tasted the reality of spiritual life in Christ, we see the ineffectiveness of rituals. Vitality of a relationship with God can only come from knowing Him through Christ. No one becomes a child of the living God through some religious ceremony. Hoping in Christ, alone, is acceptable with God.

Originally Presented on August 13th, 2006.

Sermon Reading: Romans 1:21-28

The overarching truth stressed in Romans 1-3 flies in the face of the popular understanding of the nature of man. The widely-held view of man today is that he is basically good. It is outside influences which corrupts his life. Romans teaches us that man is not basically good. On the contrary, he is basically evil . . . a rebel against his Creator.

The root of all evil (greed, malice, envy, ingratitude, homosexuality, pride, disobedient to parents) is a deliberate suppression of the truth about God and a failure to honor Him as God. Which means the solution to evil in the world and in the human heart is a reconciliation with God. Nothing short of such a reconciliation will alter the corruption of life we see in our land and in our world.

This passage displays a structure that is as chilling as it is instructive. Three times man is seen as making an exchange and three times God is seen as imposing a terrifying judgment. Man exchanges "the glory of the incorruptible God for an image . . . of corruptible man . . . and four-footed animals" (Rom 1:23); he exchanges "the truth of God for a lie and worshiped the creature rather than the Creator" (Rom 1:25); and he exchanges the natural [sexual] function for that which is unnatural" (Rom 1:26).

After each of these exchanges it says "God gave them over" (Rom 1:24,26,28). In a frightening judgment God sometimes gives people to their sin. What could be more alarming than to be given to the dark impulses of the human heart? The purpose for this judicial action is to awaken the soul to the truth about rebellion against the living God. Much like Nebuchadnezzar in the book of Daniel, a man's misery can cause him to declare, "Now I . . . praise, exalt, and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride" (Dan 4:37).

Scripture Reading: Colossians 2:8-15

The way that Paul combats false teaching in Colossae is to exalt the nature of Christ and to emphasize His work. In Colossians 2:11-15 we have a description of what Christ has done in us (Col 2:11-13) and what Christ has done for us (Col 2:14,15). We have taken these sections in the order they appear, but logically what Christ has done for us has happened first and is the foundation of what He has done in us.

In Christ, God has broken the dominion of sin's power ("putting off the body of the flesh" - Col 2:11) … and God has made us alive with Him (Col 2:13). What is put away in a spiritual circumcision is the old unbelieving, blind, rebellious self. We are given new affections … love for God and a hatred for our sin.

This is God's merciful work in those who trust in Jesus. The basis for this wondrous work is what is described in Colossians 2:14,15. We cannot experience this glorious work in us without Christ's work for us. In Christ God has canceled "the record of debt that stood against us … nailing it to the cross" (Col 2:14). God has removed the penalty of sin from us because He laid this penalty on His Son.

Second, the devil and his evil forces ("rulers and authorities" - Col 2:15) have been defeated by Christ. It is true that we must still struggle against these "rulers and authorities" (cf. Eph 6:12), but we 'wrestle' with confidence in the power of Christ and in His triumph. These demonic forces are as good as defeated because the blow Christ struck was lethal.

Beloved, we have no reason for despair because the divine condemnation we deserve has been taken away and the unseen enemies of our soul have been defeated. There is every reason for joy and hope … all the days of our lives.

Originally Presented on August 6th, 2006.

Scripture Reading: Romans 1:18-21

Following the introduction of the epistle to the Romans in the first 17 verses of the book, Romans 1:18 begins the first major section of a tightly-knit argument which unfolds the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. After sounding the theme of the book . . . the righteousness of God which justifies people who have faith in Christ . . . Paul proceeds to begin to unfold that wondrous truth.

The first major section of Romans runs from Romans 1:18 to 3:20. This section lays out the need for God to declare men righteous through faith. These chapters answer the question, "Why do we need God's righteousness to act on our behalf?" The resounding answer to that question, presented with an irrefutable logic, is that we all stand rightly condemned before God . . . every last one of us.

The rebellion of the human heart comes in many forms. There is open pagan rebellion (Rom 1:18-32); there is moral rebellion (Rom 2:1-16); there is religious rebellion, characterized by the Jews (Rom 2:17-3:8). The climax to the argument of this section comes in a series of Old Testament quotations concluding that all people stand condemned before God (Rom 3:9-20).

The pagan man is condemned because of his rebellious heart (Rom 1:18-23), which is displayed in his repulsive life (Rom 1:24-32). But we all need God to act on our behalf because His wrath has already been revealed against ungodliness and unrighteousness. How desperate is our need of Him!

Scripture Reading: Colossians 2:11-13

The best way to confront falsehood is to declare the truth. In Colossians, in order to rectify false teaching, Paul exalts the truth about Christ. Christ is lauded as the Creator of all things, Lord of all things, head of the church, and the revelation of God because in Christ the fullness of deity resides.

In today's passage we see the truth of Christ's salvation. Colossians 2:11-13 describe what Christ has done in Christians and 2;14,15 describe what Christ has done for Christians.

Using two analogies, verses 11-13 focus on the nature of conversion. One analogy is circumcision and the second analogy is baptism. Both analogies reveal that conversion from spiritual death to spiritual life is a profound work of God in someone's heart … a marked and permanent change.

Becoming a Christian is not a matter of external ritual, but is a matter of having one's heart changed at the deepest level by God. This is the meaning of the reference to a "circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh" (Col 2:11). The other comparison here is that Christians have been buried with Christ and have been raised with Christ, pictured in baptism (Col 2:12).

In conversion Christians are "made alive together with him [Christ]" (Col 2:13). Whereas our hearts were dead, concerning affections for God, now our hearts beat with zeal and love for Him. There is no greater delight.

Originally Presented on July 30, 2006.

Scripture Reading: Romans 1:8-25

A jealous and avenging God is the LORD; The LORD is avenging and wrathful. The LORD takes vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies. Nahum 1:2

He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on Him. John 3:36

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Romans 1:18

"The wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed [up] for the present; they increase more and more, and rise higher and higher, till an outlet is given . . . and there is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, that holds the waters back . . . If God should only withdraw his hand from the flood-gate, it would immediately fly open, and the fiery floods of the fierceness and wrath of God would rush forth with inconceivable fury . . ."

Jonathan Edwards, early American New England pastor (1703-1758) . . . from his sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," preached during the Great Awakening, on July 8, 1741.

Definition: God's reaction to sin and His resolve to punish those who rebel against Him.

God's anger is not like human anger. Human anger is vindictive and usually represents a loss of control. We "lose" our temper. We lash out at others because we are protective of our pride or simply because we are intolerant. God's anger is His holy and controlled response against sin and against those who persist in opposing Him. His wrath rises out of His holiness and justice.

NATURE OF GOD'S WRATH

It is right - Nahum 1:3; Romans 2:5-8

"A hatred of unrighteousness and consequently a will to punish it, is as essential to God as a love of righteousness." Stephen Charnock, The Existence and Attributes of God, 2:181.

God's wrath is not personal revenge meted out because of a temperamental outburst. It is judicial. It is the response of the righteous Judge against evil. If God did not punish sin, He would not be just . . . and He would, therefore, cease to be God. The wrath of God reflects His hatred for sin.

It is terrible, consuming, awesome - Nah 1:3-8; Mt 8:12; 1 Thes 1:9; Rev 19:11-19

The Biblical illustrations of the wrath of God remind us of the horror and magnitude of His anger . . . the flood of Noah's day, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the hideous death of Christ, the description of the days of tribulation in Revelation.

It is sure - Nahum 1:3-6; Deut 32:35,39,41; Psa 103:8,9; Hab 2:3; 1 Thes 5:3

Though God is patient, "slow to anger," His wrath, when it comes, is certain. Because God is omnipotent, there is no escaping His anger.

Who can stand against it?

Scipture Reading: Colossians 2:8-10

In this section Paul directly addresses the heretical teaching that had been plaguing the Colossian church. He begins by warning the believers … "See to it that no one takes you captive . . ." (Col 2:8). The King James translation better captures the strength of this exhortation … "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy."

In the first century, as in our century, there were people who undermined the truth of Christ and actually led people away from Him. The imagery here is, like in the captivity of war, through heresy people were carried away from the truth into the slavery of error. Paul calls the philosophies of falsehood … "empty deceit" … "human tradition" … "elemental spirits (principles) of the world."

Falsehood comes in many forms, from Jewish Pharisaic traditions to other heretical religious teaching to generally accepted, but false ideas within a culture. The ideas can come from religion or universities or Hollywood.

The horror of any false idea is that it is "not according to Christ" (Col 2:9), which means it does not issue from Christ and it does not lead to Christ. This is a disastrous and dreadful result "For (because) in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily" (Col 2:9). Therefore to deny Christ, in any way, is a renunciation of God. May God cause us to be zealous pursuers of Christ, who is the truth.