Eternal City Church Sunday Sermons

Romans 12:10 instructs Christians to outdo one another in showing honor. This command takes the practical method of seeking to encourage one another in their ministry efforts and Christian growth, recognizing their positive character traits, and telling them what you see in a motivating way.

There is an unquestionable man crisis in the USA and worldwide; most men are not living up to their biblical potential. The scriptures are not unclear or with direction and aim for men; knowledge of how we must live and where the power for that kind of living comes from is no secret.

God has crafted each Christain uniquely and individually. The same Spirit that calls men and women to salvation in Christ is the same Spirit that then empowers that Christian to serve God by serving others within their local church and then broadening out to their sphere of influence.

The normal Christian life is anything but normal, it's supernormal or supernatural. The lifestyle Christians are instructed to live in these verses necessitates the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 12:9-21 (ESV)

This is a unique passage of Romans as it appears to be a different structure and theme than the prior sections of Romans. These verses are generally short, seemingly disconnected phrases or commands. Paul may be using a particular writing style for this. Regardless, Paul’s focus is on the idea of love in action.

The beginning of v9 in the ESV is a command, but the literal translation is just “sincere love.” We could consider this a heading of sorts from Paul as he will begin to explain what genuine love should look like.

The word translated “genuine” is actually the word unhypocritical and gets at the idea of not being phony or two-faced with people in our lives.

The two other phrases of v9 are describing how genuine love is demonstrated. So, genuine love is not simply an emotion but has an actual expression is doing what is good and not evil.

Paul continues with the theme of love in vs10-16 and shifts the focus to what love looks like in a community with one another.

The idea of the phrase in v10 to “love one another with brotherly affection” is meant to convey that the church community is that of a family.

The phrase “serve the Lord” in v11 helps ground us. It is not simply zeal or enthusiasm (“fervent in spirit”) that Paul desires, but enthusiasm about humbly serving God.

The word “needs” in v13 refers to physical, and material needs. The same word is used 11 times in the NT all in reference to physical needs. So, one of Paul’s calls to serving is to care for the physical needs of those within the church.

The idea of “seek to show hospitality” is that the Christian is to search for and go out of our way to show hospitality in the church.

Paul probably has the Sermon on the Mount in mind when writing v14 as it is very similar to Jesus’ words in Mt 5 and Lk 6.

Paul’s imperative to have mutual sympathy (v15) is really only possible if our mindsets are in common and marked by humility (v16).

To summarize vs17-21, we could say that the only way to destroy evil is with forgiveness and love towards the evildoer. God will avenge the wrongs we have done.

Questions:

How can you fight against the temptation to be hypocritical or disingenuous with people?

What is something you can do this week to in love show honor to others at ECC?

What aspects of genuine love are the most challenging for you?

How can we go out of our way to be hospitable to others in the church this week?

Have you ever had anyone wrong you? What are some wrong responses you have had as a result of their wrong? How does this passage help you rest in God’s justice?

What does it mean to overcome evil with good? What does that look like?

Can genuine, sacrificial love be damaging or dangerous? Explain why or why not

In view of God's amazing grace in the gospel, Christians, having received this grace, lived changed and transforming lives for God's glory, others' good, and the believer's joy.

Romans 12:1-8 (ESV)

Paul has spent 11 chapters in Romans explaining some vital theological truths. Paul transitions here in Romans 12 to begin to apply that theology to how we should live. So, the remainder of Romans will deal with very practical things like how to live holy, unity in the body, how to submit to the government, living in unity when we think differently on a subject, etc.

The idea of sacrifice is probably drawn from OT imagery of a whole burnt offering where a whole, spotless, valuable animal was sacrificed to represent complete and total devotion to God.

The difference is that the Christian does not offer a burnt sacrifice. Christians are not killing animals on an altar. Rather, Christians are a living sacrifice, and the idea is that of the continual sacrifice of ourselves in worship to God.

The word “spiritual” has the idea of rational or logical. The only rational response to the mercies of God is to give God the worship He deserves. Compare this with Romans 1 and the depraved refusing to worship God.

Worship should not be limited to what we do when we gather together as a church. It is not limited to singing either. Those are aspects of worship, but true worship encompasses all of our lives where we sacrifice and give ourselves in devotion and service to God.

Conforming to the world is not strictly about how we look or things we say or stuff we do. Paul is not looking for outward conformity to a certain standard, but he wants us to see that transformation takes place inwardly through the renewal of our minds. As we are transformed, we then live out this transformation in thankfulness to God for His work in us.

The idea of the “will of God” in v2 is that of moral consciousness. As the mind is renewed, we know more about how God would want us to live. Again, contrast that with Romans 1 where God gives people over to a debased mind where they know what is right but refuse to live that way.

When Paul uses “sober judgment,” he is referring to accurate, proper thinking. He wants us to see that each of us should be thinking right about ourselves. Not arrogant but also not excessively critical. The gospel helps us to stay balanced when we assess ourselves and our gifts.

The “measure of faith that God has assigned” is a debated phrase with 2 main positions: It refers to the spiritual gifts we have been given. So, God has given more “faith” to others in the sense that He has given more gifts to others.

It refers to the basic faith God gives equally to all Christians and is the standard by which all Christians to evaluate themselves.

The second option is preferred because Paul never uses the idea of faith as being given out disproportionally where some are given more than others. Also, in context, it appears Paul wants to ground right thinking in an objective standard.

Paul is not giving an exhaustive list of gifts in vs6-8 but is thinking of different categories of gifts to consider.

Questions:

Have you ever considered that we are now to live as we were designed? What does that look like for you individually and in the community?

Do you ever obey God out of fear? How do you think your relationship with Him would change if you obeyed out of gratitude?

How have these verses changed your view of the church?

Read 2 Corinthians 12:17-21 and discuss in relation to Romans 12:4-8.

What are the gifts God has given you? How could you use them for the unity and good of the church?

God's wisdom and purposes are unfathomable. God's means and methods confuse and confound us. At the end of this age and the dawn of the next, God's people will see his incomprehensible wisdom and worship!

Romans 11:25-36 (ESV)

After the details and imagery about the Gentile people being grafted into the people of God, Paul turns his attention back to the Jewish people for this final paragraph of Romans 11. Specifically, Paul is going to deal with the mystery of this unfolding drama in salvation history.

The word translated as “mystery” comes from an old Hebrew word that has an apocalyptic meaning. That is, tied into the word “mystery” is the idea of a future event at the end of history that has been predetermined by God.

This same word is used in Daniel 2:17-18, 27-30, 47 where Daniel interprets king Nebuchadnezzar's dream. In the context (v28), God is revealed to be the revealer of the mystery.

The mystery Paul is referring to is most likely in v26 that “all Israel will be saved.” This is the first time Paul has made this explicit statement about the Jewish people.

The phrase “all Israel” is a challenging one as there have been many different perspectives about what this means. Probably the best understanding is that this refers to all of Israel in a corporate sense rather than an individual sense. Paul is not saying that every Jewish person will be saved, but the majority of Jews will be at some point in the future.

An analogy would be to say, “the whole city came out to support their sports team.” It is most likely not true that every resident of the city was present to support the team.

Paul’s prediction of future salvation for Israel is confirmed by OT scripture as Paul quotes from Is 59:21-21 and Is 27:9 in vs26-27.

Paul shifts to a new paragraph in vs28-32.

This is marked by the lack of any connecting words between vs27-28 and the shift in topic. The overall purpose of this paragraph is to ground Israel’s salvation in God and His promises.

It is because of God’s unwavering faithfulness that all Israel will one day be saved. Paul recalls the idea of election bringing back into focus one of the major themes of the last few chapters and he makes a few fascinating claims:

The cause for Israel’s salvation is the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).

This is not to suggest that the patriarchs have earned salvation for the Jewish people (see Gal 3 and Rom 4), but God has made promises to them which He is faithful to keep by His grace.

God’s call and gifts being irrevocable again point to the faithfulness of God that his word has not failed (Rom 9:6). While 9:6 is more “defensive” that God is not unfaithful when Israel did not believe, here Paul is saying that Israel still has a place in the people of God because of God’s faithfulness.

Paul shifts back to the Gentiles in vs30-31 as seen by the use of 2nd person plural pronouns and verbs. In doing this, Paul summarizes his arguments over the last couple of chapters. The Gentiles were at one-time disobedience but received mercy, and Israel’s disobedience will one day lead to mercy from God. Implicit in this again is Paul’s push for the Gentiles to remain humble. They have received all things because of mercy so there is no reason to boast.

Questions:

Has the study through Romans 9-11 adjusted your perspective of the Jewish people? What has changed in your thinking? How can you respond to this change practically?

These chapters have addressed God’s faithfulness often. In GCC this week, please find time to share how God has been faithful to you so that others can rejoice in that faithfulness with you.

Take time in GCC to read vs33-36 and appreciate God for his awesome salvation plan.

In this famous illustrative text, Paul describes the Gentiles as being grafted into the olive tree of God’s people. The purpose of the illustration is to show that the Jewish root supports the Gentile branch, not the opposite.

Romans 11:13-24 (ESV)

Having explained God’s plan for Gentile inclusion in the people of God, and the Jews being envious of this to the point of trusting again in God, Paul addresses how this takes place in vs. 13-15.

It is essential to view Paul’s explanation language and understand his intent. It would be easy for people to read Paul’s “title,” Apostle to the Gentiles, as some type of dig at the Jews as though Paul has even given up on his people.

Instead, while Paul has not been tasked with reaching the Jews, he is hopeful that his ministry to the Gentiles will produce that envy in the Jewish people to draw them back to God.

The phrase in v15, “life from the dead,” has been understood in two different ways. Either he was referring to the resurrection that will occur when Christ returns or metaphorically referring to a future blessing of spiritually coming back to life.

There are a few reasons to take this literally that Doug Moo, in his commentary on Romans, explains well:

The vast majority of the time, when the NT says, “from the dead,” it refers to literal resurrection.

The context indicates a literal event. In v12, the logic implies an event following the “fullness” of Israel. In vs25-26, the salvation of Israel comes right after all elect Gentiles have been saved.

The context of Rom 9-11 has an apocalyptic sense based on Paul’s understanding of Jewish eschatology that God is not finished with the Jewish people.

Paul uses v16 as a transition. He simultaneously provides hope for future Israel as the first Jewish believers will lead to forthcoming Jewish acceptance, and Paul also introduces the ideas of roots and branches, which are central themes of vs17-24.

Paul uses the following imagery: the tree represents the people of God, the natural branches are the Jews, and the wild olive shoots are the Gentiles.

In vs17-18, Paul uses this imagery to convey to the Gentiles that they have no basis for arrogance or pride about their position. Gentiles have no natural connection to the people of God, meaning that they are not descendants of Abraham. God has grafted in Gentiles.

If that had not happened, Gentiles would be like a wild olive branch that did not produce anything valuable. So, Gentiles are not superior to the Jews. The very foundation of the gospel has Jewish roots.

In vs19-21, Paul uses a diatribe style of writing. We have seen him do this in Romans, where Paul provides the arguments of a hypothetical person he would be speaking to.

In this case, Paul envisions a Gentile believer arguing with Paul that Jews were rejected to bring in Gentiles, so perhaps there is a reason to boast. Paul reiterates for his readers that it is because of God’s gift of faith that Gentiles are included.

If God cut off the Jews due to unbelief, He would do the same to Gentiles.

Paul moves into theological implications of his metaphor, namely that faith is not presumptive. He is arguing that the Jews presumed they were ok with God regardless of how they lived, and he warns Gentiles not to live the same way.

While this is undoubtedly a debated topic, these verses do not align with a complete replacement theology that the church has replaced Israel.

Paul appears to be arguing against this very idea in vs22-24 as believing Jews are grafted back in. Paul does not want us to think that Israel = Jews and the church = Gentiles.

Questions:

Paul says that we should tremble at the thought of being cut off from God. How do we balance appropriate fear of unbelief with living confidently in the gospel? What are the consequences of focusing solely on God’s kindness or his severity but not on both?

Discuss the relevant factors of Israel and the church. What is the significance for us of replacement theology?

God’s chosen people of Isreal rejected their messiah resulting in the gentile (non-Jewish) admission into the church (the new expression of the people of God). Strangely, this was God’s plan all along. God’s intents and purposes will prevail mightily on and beyond the earth.

Romans 11:7-12 (ESV)

In 11:1-6, Paul argues for the position that God has not abandoned Israel, and the chief argument for his claim is that there is still a remnant of Jewish people who have believed in the gospel. Implicit in this argument is that a portion of Israel is not part of the remnant. This paragraph focuses specifically on this dynamic and reiterates Rom 9:6 that “not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel.”

Paul revisits categories already discussed in ch 9 as he views the Jews as a corporate whole (Israel), the elect, and the hardened.

Corporate Israel ultimately failed to obtain the righteousness it sought (9:31). The righteousness the whole of Israel sought was obtained only by the elect.

We often think of hardening through the lens of hostility toward the gospel, and this can be the case. However, ignorance of and insensitivity to the gospel is a better way to think of hardening.

For Israel, this manifested through seeking to obtain righteousness through works. They were ignorant of and insensitive to the idea of grace.

In vs8-10, Paul quotes from 3 separate OT texts – Deut 29:4; Is 29:10; and Ps 69:22-23. It was common in Jewish writings during this time to support an argument using OT texts and cite examples from the law, the prophets, and the writings that Paul’s readers would have been familiar with.

Paul changes the original OT quote from a negative “the Lord has not given” to a positive “God gave.” This is intentional for Paul as he wants to convey the active nature of God’s hardening.

In Ps 69:22-23, David is praying that God would bring disaster on his enemies. The disaster would be just retribution for the things David’s enemies have done to him. Paul applies these verses to the Jews who have rejected Jesus. The just punishment for rejecting Christ is to remain hardened in sin.

The rhetorical question of v11 essentially asks if Israel’s stumbling results in permanent ruin.

There is some debate about whether this is a purpose or a result statement. Was it God’s purpose that Israel would fall, or was it a result of their stumbling? It is difficult to distinguish, and from what we have seen of God already, it would have happened if He had intended for Israel to be permanently ruined. Regardless, based on the answer, Israel is not ruined.

While Jewish failure has led to Gentile salvation, Paul argues from the lesser to the greater that a Jewish restoration would be mean even greater riches for the Gentiles. It is difficult to determine what Paul means with this statement, and at the very least, he wants the Gentiles to understand there is a significance to being a part of the people of God with Israel.

The “full inclusion” probably refers to both the restoration of spiritual blessings to Israel and the numerical increase of Jewish people trusting in the gospel.

Questions:

How do we see the hardened hearts of people on display today? What are some different ways they show their ignorance and insensitivity to the gospel?

Is this hardening by God permanent?

How do we wrestle with the tension of God’s act of hardening with the individual’s act of sin? Is it God that hardens or the individual’s sin that brings about the hardening of the heart?

If God hardens people in their sin, does this mean that there are people God has given up on? How should this inform our evangelism?

Paul continues to reassure the Roman readers of this letter that God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Coming to God by grace and not working has always been the only way to God's favor.

Romans 11:1-6 (ESV)

Since the beginning of Rom 9, Paul has been making a particular argument that he now addresses explicitly, “Has God rejected His people?” The answer is absolutely not, and Romans 11 will unpack all of the reasons Paul gives to support this claim.

Paul provides 4 arguments or reasons why God has not rejected Israel:

Personal (v1): Paul is himself a Jew, and God has not rejected him.

Foreknowledge (v2): God has chosen that some Jews would be saved.

Remnant (vs2-4): Just Elijah was not alone and there were 7,000 who had not bowed the knee to Baal, God has preserved a remnant of Israel that believe the gospel.

Grace (vs5-6); The guarantee of a faithful remnant of Israel who believes the gospel is not works of performance but is grace from God. Grace would not be present if God rejected the Jews.

Paul asks a rhetorical question in v1 to introduce a new paragraph. We have seen him do this a number of times through Romans, and Paul responds similarly to other places in Romans as well, “By no means!” It is the strongest form of negation in the Greek language.

While we have seen the idea of foreknowledge and election to refer to individuals (see Rom 8:29, 9:6-29), the context of this use best fits with the idea of corporate election. This is that God had foreknown and elected the nation of Israel to be His people and be blessed (see Gen 12 and 15).

The phrase “Do you not know” is Paul’s way of implying that he thinks the readers will be familiar with the next thing he says. In this case, Paul believes the Romans reading his letter will recall the story of Elijah.

The story of Elijah Paul cites can be found in 1 Kings 19:1-18 and details King Ahab’s killing of God’s prophets, Queen Jezebel’s threatening of Elijah, and Elijah’s misunderstanding of God’s plan.

Doug Moo in his commentary on Romans provides a helpful thought that it is possible Paul sees a parallel between Elijah and himself. Both are confronted with spiritual Israel falling away from God, but they find hope in God preserving a remnant who are faithful.

Language in the Bible of a remnant should remind us of God’s faithfulness both present and future. Just as God is not abandoning His promises to Israel, He will not abandon His promise to us. There is eschatological (think future) hope for all those who believe.

If we consider the broader salvation history presented in this passage and prior paragraphs in Romans, Israel has played an important role leading up to the time of Jesus. Israel is the people of the promises and the blessings of God. Now all of the promises and blessings of God find their fulfillment in Christ. This is why Paul can balance Israel’s continued participation, and in a sense significance, because Israel’s place is not owed to some work they have done, but it is only of grace that we have been chosen.

Paul’s final statement in v6 roots the idea of grace and election as integrated with and an outcome of the very character of God. If election were based on works, God’s freedom would be compromised, and His action then would not be one of grace. So, works-based salvation violates God’s character.

Questions:

How has grace been evident in your life? If someone were to look at how you live, would they clearly see the grace that you enjoy?

What are some ways God has shown Himself to be faithful to you? How can you rejoice in His faithfulness today?

God has made it so that men, women, and children must hear the gospel to be saved (or read it). God has also made it so that Christians are the vehicle by which others would hear the gospel. In this message Justin Coaxum makes a compelling plea that the Church of Jesus Christ should be about sharing the good news of Jesus, making disciples, and planting new churches.

Romans 10:14-21 (ESV)

Paul finished the prior paragraph in v13 by quoting Joel 2:28 and asserting that salvation is a matter of calling on the name of the Lord.

In vs14-21, Paul picks up that idea of calling and explores how calling on the name of the Lord is possible.

In vs14-15, Paul uses four rhetorical questions that begin with the word “how.” These questions function as “steps” to salvation that build on each other. Paul declared a universal statement that salvation is received by calling on the name of the Lord, but:

People cannot call unless they believe (14a).

People cannot believe it unless they hear the word (14b).

People cannot hear unless someone preaches the word (14c).

People won’t preach unless they are sent (15a).

Paul quotes from Is 52:7 at the end of v15, and he does this for two reasons:

This provides OT support for the necessity of preaching.

This suggests that the last condition of salvation has already been met. God has sent preachers. Is 52 is a prophecy with fulfillment in the messianic age, and the phrase “they are sent” is a variation of the word for apostle which implies being sent by God.

The word “preach” means to proclaim or herald. This is not limited to what we typically think of as preaching a sermon. The idea of a herald in this culture is one who shares news or makes announcements. So, preaching in this context really is the act of sharing the good news of salvation.

Verse 16 functions as Paul’s central theme of the paragraph. Salvation has been made available to all, but the Jews (“they”) have not believed. Paul qualifies this with the phrase “not all” or “only a few” reminding us of the idea that there is a remnant of Jews who believe in the gospel.

Paul uses the word “obeyed” instead of believed, but contextually we can understand Paul has faith in mind when discussing why not all the Jews are saved.

Paul quotes Is 53:1 which uses the word “believed.”

In Rom 1:5, Paul speaks of the obedience of faith. For Paul obedience and faith are intricately linked. Obedience does not save only faith, and Paul uses this language to highlight the Jew's active refusal of the gospel not simply passive unbelief.

The “word of Christ” in v17 should be taken to refer to the lordship and the resurrection of Christ (10:8-9).

Paul returns back to rhetorical questions, and this time he focuses on the idea of hearing the gospel. Paul is arguing against anyone who would say that the Jews simply didn’t hear the gospel, and he quotes Ps 19:4.

Ps 19:4 in its original context refers to how creation speaks to the glory of God. Paul is not using this text according to its original meaning. Rather, he is applying this generally and comparatively. Just as God’s Word in creation (general revelation) has gone out to the whole earth, so God’s Word in the gospel (special revelation) has been spread to the whole earth.

The next argument against Paul would be that the Jews didn’t know or understand the gospel. Paul dismisses this argument by quoting Deut 32:21 and Is 65:1 to show that both law and prophets allude to Israel’s knowledge of the truth and rejection of it.

Paul applies Is 65:1 to the Gentiles and quotes Is 65:2 in v21 applying it to the Jews. What Paul is saying is that God has shown Himself most clearly to the Jews (“all day long I held out my hands”), but ultimately it was the Gentiles who responded better to the gospel.

The Jews cannot claim a lack of access to or limited knowledge of the gospel because God has made it apparent to them, and they rejected it.