Calvary Wolfeboro

For more than 1300 years Israel was right in the middle of God’s plans and purposes. Then, with an historically sudden shift, Israel was gone. No longer, it seemed, would there exist a nation or a people called Israel. Even before the destruction of Jerusalem in the first century and the Roman occupation of Judea, Paul wrote to the church in Rome about the obvious rejection of Jesus by Israel. How could God’s promises for His chosen people be fulfilled if they rejected their messiah? The answer is found in Romans 11: The remnant. There has always been, in the purposes of God with Israel, a remnant (a faithful few who God would use to see His plan through). God used a Jewish remnant to start the church on Pentecost and it is a remnant of a different kind that God uses today to do his work in our world.

There’s nothing magical about the sinner’s prayer. Many a preacher has made that clear. The words of the sinner’s prayer are only as effective as the sincerity of the heart behind them. The words of the Gospel, on the other hand, are truths that have changed the world. They describe both the need and God’s provision for all humanity to be restored and forgiven. The importance of the message of the Gospel cannot be overstated. And yet, in many churches today these words that save have been silenced. They’ve been obscured. It’s into this reality that the observation of Paul in Romans 10:17 need to be considered afresh, “Faith comes from hearing…” How desperately we need to regain boldness in our responsibility to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.

We are saved through faith not by works. This is one of the pillars of the reformation and clearly articulated in verse like Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith and this is a gift from God, not a result of works so that no-one may boast.” We can’t earn our righteousness before God. We can’t earn our forgiveness. Does this mean that we don’t have to do anything? Are we just passive observers in our own salvation? Not at all. In fact, as we see in Romans 10:1-13, we have a definite responsibility in our own salvation. We can’t earn it, but we do have to receive it. And the receiving or accepting of our salvation means that we have to surrender our lives to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. What does that mean exactly? That’s what we will consider this week in our ongoing series in the book of Romans, “Deep and Wide."

Have you ever had the sneaking suspicion that no matter what you do, a particular future is inevitable? It's called fatalism and It's the idea that our future is predetermined and locked in. While fatalism doesn't find it's source in the pages of the Bible, there is a certain inevitability to the plans and purposes of God. This means that the closer a person is to God's work, the more exacting God's providence will be. God chose Israel to carry out his purpose of bringing the Messiah into the world. At Pentecost, God chose the Church to carry out the work of the Gospel in this world. If you're a Christian, you've been chosen too. What does that mean for you? Find out as we dig back in to Romans chapter 9.

The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome that he had, “great sorrow and unceasing anguish” in his heart because of Israel’s rejection of their Messiah. His heart was broken by the apostasy - the departure - of Israel from the center of God’s plan. We know from his other letters and church history that one of the first things Paul did when he came to a new city was to go to a Synagogue and preach the gospel. That was Paul’s response to the apostasy of his “kinsman,” as he called Israel. His example is our model. We, too, are faced with apostasy all around us today. What should our response be? Let’s consider that question and discover along the way that while apostasy will come, God’s love will prevail and God’s plan will not be affected.

The climax of the first eight chapters of the book of Romans is verses 31 through 39 of the eighth chapter. What began, in Romans chapter one, as an introduction to the gospel as the revelation of the righteousness of God available to all who believe, culminates here with one of the most powerful descriptions of God’s love in all the Bible. “Nothing,” writes Paul, “can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” So much encouragement has been poured into the hearts of the saints through these words and yet too many Christians don’t experience this crazy kind of love. Do you? Consider that question as we dig into our next installment of “Deep and Wide” our verse by verse study of the book of Romans.

Lukewarm. The word never has positive connotations. Whether it’s coffee or milk, a hot tub or a cold wrap for a swollen knee, lukewarm is rarely good. What’s true almost always in general is definitely the case for a church. The final letter of the seven churches in Revelation is the only one where Jesus has nothing good to say. Laodicea was the church that Jesus wanted to spew out of His mouth. Let’s find out why this Lukewarm church found themselves in a class all to themselves.