Gospel of Grace Fellowship, Sermons (St Louis Park Minnesota)

That salvation is God’s gift means that it is not earned or merited by anything resident in the lost sinner. We can only “boast” in knowing God by His grace and never about anything we might claim we had to offer.

Those who have been rescued by God from their condition of spiritual death are beneficiaries of Christ’s resurrection and exaltation to the right hand of God. This is not a subjective, mystical experience but a secure promise about our present status and certainty of future glory. What is certain is the forgiveness of sins and the fact that we are no longer subject to the hostile, spiritual powers.

In this final message in our study through Romans we focus on Paul’s words from Romans 16:20 where he promises all believers that God “will soon crush Satan under our feet.” In this message we wrestle with the timing of this promise by asking, “when will Satan finally be crushed?”

There are various ways in which false teaching can creep into the church as Paul warns in Romans 16:17 about those who cause dissensions.

In our previous lost state, we were by nature under God’s wrath. Unlike what is commonly believed in our culture, nature is fallen and cannot save us. It will take a supernatural work of God through Christ to convert lost sinners. Paul uses the contrast “but God” to introduce the true answer to our dilemma.

Conversion is going from death to life through faith in Christ’s atoning work. Death is not obliteration, but separation. Spiritual death is separation from God. There is a dangerous tendency in modern evangelicalism to water down this truth about spiritual death in Adam and adopt human sentimentality in its place

Paul had always intended to visit Rome, but had been kept from doing so by his duties as an apostle devoted to the gospel. From this we conclude that God does providentially get His people to the right place at the right time in history.

Baptism is a symbol that points to the fact that every believer has been united with Christ the moment they trusted in Him

The conclusion of the first chapter of Ephesians reveals that the ascended Lord rules over all things for the benefit of His body, the church.

Jesus is supreme above all other powers. We should trust in Christ through the gospel and go to Him with our needs if we are concerned about evil spiritual powers. Believers are safe in Christ. We need to seek Christ and trust Him for our salvation and spiritual well-being.