Like a doctor diagnosing a disease, Paul in chapter one revealed the process by which the human heart rejects God. Then he showed us that rebellion doesn't lead to freedom but rather to deeper and deeper forms of slavery. Now, in chapter two, he shows us that people can remain rebellious while at the same time being very religious. Again like a doctor, in this chapter he catalogues the symptoms. And his list is disturbing because most of us will recognize certain of these tendencies in ourselves. In some ways this chapter hits closer to home for those of us who are churchgoing Christians than the lawlessness of chapter one. In chapter one we may have found ourselves looking over the fence at the behaviors of those who are lawless saying, "Isn't that awful; how sad!" But in this chapter Paul moves over to our side of the fence to examine our hearts and in doing so shows us that religion can do greater damage to a person than lawlessness. And as we listen to him, it isn't long before his words remind us of things Jesus said. We recognize Paul is explaining warnings our Lord gave to us. Paul isn't trying to shame or condemn us; he's trying to ensure that we who know the Bible and go to church won't fall into a dangerous deception. He wants each of us to examine ourselves to see that there's not an unsurrendered heart hiding beneath a cloak of religion.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.

 And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation at no charge, we are still giving this book out as well! 

People often run away from God because we want to be free, but instead of freedom we find ourselves captured by our own passions. Appetites, fears, temper, envy, ambition, greed, lust, etc. rise up and take control. Every area of our personality is affected, but one of the deepest and most obvious areas is our sexuality. Over time our lusts cause us to do things with our bodies that have nothing to do with God's original purpose for giving us sexuality, which is reproduction (Ge 1 :28: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth...") and bonding by mutual desire and pleasure (Ge 24:67; 2Sa 12:24; Song of Solomon).

The main subject of this passage is not sex. Paul is showing us the internal process which takes place when we walk away from God, in order to lead us toward a conclusion which he will state in chapter three (Ro 3:10-20). Humans aren't innocent victims. We're victims all right, but not innocent ones. Our sin comes from the rebellion which took place deep in our hearts. We make deliberate choices to be free from God's control. Paul doesn't tell us this to condemn us but to show us the path we must take when we're ready to come back. We must submit to the One who created us. Returning begins with submission because our problem began with rebellion. And though the main topic of this passage is not sex, no one could read it honestly and miss the point that God would certainly expect our submission to include bringing our sexuality back into His created purpose.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.

 And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation at no charge, we are still giving this book out as well! 

In this remarkable passage, Paul explains how people walk away from God. He lays out the tragic sequence of steps that carry us away from our Creator. And the main point of Paul's blunt analysis is clear: God didn't move away from us; we moved away from Him. He didn't reject us; we rejected Him because we wanted a different god, one we could control, one who wouldn't demand that we live holy lives. We discover that humans aren't innocent victims who've been helplessly enslaved by the devil, but rather rebels willing to lie to ourselves and others in order to break free from God's authority. No one can accuse Paul of flattering us. He does nothing to spare us from the ugly truth. But the reason he does so is not to leave us condemned and ashamed, but rather to show us how to come back to God. He wants us to understand that we can't come home apart from deep repentance and grace. He doesn't want us fooling ourselves into believing we are essentially good people in need of just a little correction. No, to come back to God we must retrace the rebellious steps that led us away. We must recognize our rebellion and surrender at last to the Father who will insist that we become holy and pure like His Son. And thankfully, when we do, we find He is able to bring even hardened rebels like us back to Himself.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.

 And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation at no charge, we are still giving this book out as well! 

There's a huge difference between flattery and a sincere compliment. Flattery is a form of manipulation where someone showers praise or attention on a person in order to ingratiate themselves or gratify the person's vanity (Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary). It's the motive that's wrong. I say something positive to gain a person's trust so I can influence them or protect myself. I assume all of us find ourselves doing this on occasion. For the most part we're not even conscious we are doing it until we hear it coming out of our mouths. And flattery doesn't necessarily require lying. Everything I have said about a person may be true. What makes it flattery is why I said it. The very same words could be said with a different motive and be a sincere compliment.

As we read Paul's letter to believers in Rome, we might ask if he is flattering them so they'll welcome him when he arrives, or is he complimenting them in order to encourage them in their service of the Lord? One doesn't have to read far in Paul's letters to discover he is quite willing to confront and correct when it's needed (1Co 11:17-22; Gal 3:1,3). There's simply nothing in him that's falsely manipulative. Strongly authoritative at times, yes, but manipulative, no. Yet the same man who will bluntly speak truth is also willing to compliment, and he does it well. Even though his words aren't directed to us personally, we find it encouraging and healing just to listen to such heartfelt approval. He has a grace each of us would do well to learn because we are surrounded by people who desperately need to be complimented.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.

 And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation at no charge, we are still giving this book out as well! 

If we were to put Paul's teaching in the first three chapters of Romans into one simple statement, it would be this: Everybody needs the Lord. We all need the Savior, or we'll face God's justice for our sins. He shows how Gentile cultures walked away from the truth of God, and then how the Jews who had God's truth revealed In Scripture also failed to obey what they knew to be right. When Paul is finished, we realize the entire human race is in serious trouble. In order to prepare our hearts for the National Day of Prayer, this spiritual crisis needs to confront us afresh. We need to feel compassion tor lost people, not pity them. We need to commit ourselves to do everything in our power to help them find the Savior, And the first, and frankly most important step we can take isn't witnessing; it's prayer. The door to people's hearts Is prayed open, not talked open. History is filled with remarkable examples of God reviving His Church and awakening lost people, but such spiritual breakthroughs are always preceded by believers committing themselves to pray until God's mighty hand moves. When it does, witnessing becomes effective, many are saved, churches are refilled and the culture of whole communities is transformed. Our nation desperately needs a revival now! But remember, you and I can't make revival happen; we can only pray until it comes. So the step we need to take today is to commit ourselves to earnestly and consistently call on God.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.

 And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation at no charge, we are still giving this book out as well! 

It would be easy to brush by this simple statement because these few words seem to summarize an attitude that anyone who reads the Bible becomes familiar with rather quickly. Put in a single word, that attitude is "favoritism." Said in many different ways, it sounds as if God especially loves those who are physically descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and really doesn't love other people groups as much, and in some cases doesn't like them at all. Yet the confusing part is that other passages in the Bible contain statements that sound like He loves all people equally. So which is it? Does He have favorites, or doesn't He? If He doesn't, why would the gospel go "to the Jew first"? And if He does, how does His love differ from ours because we humans have favorites too, and it's a sad thought that His love might be as limited as ours. So that's why, when we come to such passages as this one today, we tend to ignore it and move quickly by. The comment hurts. We Gentiles are very grateful He'll let us into heaven too, but secretly we wish He loved us just as much as them. Thankfully, when we look closer at the question of why God sent the gospel to the Jew first, surprising answers emerge, and we hear the heart of a loving Father who has and is doing everything possible to save us... all of us!

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.

 And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation at no charge, we are still giving this book out as well! 

Paul suffered much persecution for telling people the truth about Jesus Christ. Many Jews hated him for saying God's plan included crucifying their Messiah, and Gentiles were furious when he turned hearts away from pagan gods and laughed at him when he told them a man had risen from the dead (1Co 1:23). There were even so-called Christians who rejected his emphasis on salvation by faith and traveled to cities after he left and tried to convince his converts he had misled them. So when he says "I am not ashamed of the gospel," he is boldly declaring he will continue to speak the whole truth regardless of how he is treated because only the real gospel can rescue lost men and women. An incomplete or distorted gospel can't produce the miraculous new birth which releases a dramatic new power into people's lives. That's why Paul refuses to modify any part of his message. For at least a decade he had been watching God powerfully change those who responded to his message, and he was not willing to trade that glorious transformation for powerless religion. He had tested this gospel by preaching it, and over and over saw the hand of God at work in people. He is absolutely convinced that nothing less than faith in a crucified Messiah and submission to a risen Lord can forgive human sin, free people from slavery to sin, transform lives until they become pleasing to God and resurrect their bodies giving them complete victory over death. He says this salvation is available to everyone, but in order to receive it, each person must believe and choose certain specific things. Today let's understand what those key elements are not only for ourselves, but so we too can preach a gospel that brings God's saving power to those who believe what we tell them.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.

 And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation at no charge, we are still giving this book out as well! 

The best way to learn how to pray is by listening to people who know how. It's more caught than taught. Mature pray-ers have certain attitudes in the way they approach God. They are obviously confident He hears them and that their prayers are making a diference. There is an intimacy and warmth in the way they converse with Him and a profound trust that He is good and loving and is there listening to every word. They seem to enjoy what they are doing and are actually refreshed by it. And it's usually something they've built into their lives in a disciplined way. Often there's a set time of day and a simple structure they'll follow, yet within that structure there's room for much spontaneity. They feel free to talk to Him about whatever or whoever is on their heart. And mixed into this conversation is a lot of listening as well. God talks to them just as they talk to Him. So answers may be received even while needs are being voiced.

Today, in this portion of Paul's letter to the Romans, he gives us a glimpse into his prayer life. We get to listen to a man with a mature prayer life tell us about a matter for which he has been praying a long time without growing discouraged. Let's listen and learn. 

We hear it all the time: "God loves you." So often, in fact, it loses its impact because we take it for granted, at least in our heads. But quite frankly our hearts are another matter. There most of us usually feel loved only in fleeting moments of worship or prayer or maybe after doing some act of service. I think this struggle in our hearts occurs because we find it very hard to overlook our own failures. Even the best-behaved among us would have to admit they fail in one way or another all the

time. So that leaves us with a pretty steady residue of frustration and shame. This is why when someone says, "God loves you," I think to myself I know that, but if I'm honest, I may not feel that love at all. It's more theological truth to me than experiential reality. Please don't misunderstand me, I'm very glad He loves me. It would be terrible if He didn't, and I believe this truth completely. I'm just saying something inside forgets or doubts or can't hold on very long. Yet obviously the Apostle Paul did believe it and seems to feel it, and not just for himself. He seems deeply aware of God's love for us as well. You can see it in the way he writes. He is passionately convinced God loves and accepts all believers. In writing this greeting to the whole church in Rome, he calls them "the beloved of God and His holy ones."

Today let's examine three foundational words Paul declares over the believers in Rome, because for him they are three pillars upon which his whole gospel is built. And if our hearts can grasp what he is saying, we too will revel God's love.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.

 And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation at no charge, we are still giving this book out as well! 

There are few questions that have arisen over the course of human history that have caused more controversy than, "Who is Jesus?" As you well know, there is a wide variety of opinions on this matter, but not for Paul. The gospel he preached has as much to do with who Jesus is as it does with what He did. By the second verse of this letter, he's already begun to clarify who this Person is who is his Lord, and there's not a hint of doubt in his tone as he writes. For him, Jesus is the promised Son of David and the divine Son of God, and he spends no time at all trying to explain how He could be both of these things at once. Maybe such unwavering faith came easily for Paul because he actually saw Jesus in His resurrected glory and heard Him say, "I am Jesus, the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting" (Ac 22:8). Or maybe his unwavering confidence came from his "out of body" experience (2Co 12:2-4) which I assume took place when he apparently died and was resuscitated after being stoned at Lystra (Ac 14:19,20). Seeing the glories of heaven with your own "eyes" must settle many theological questions. You'd think that after an experience like that, one would be inclined to simply believe. But few of us have had experiences like his, yet God still calls us to believe and surrender our lives with unwavering trust like we see in Paul. How can that happen? How can we believe so completely without first seeing the resurrected Jesus with our own eyes? Let's find out.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.

 And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation at no charge, we are still giving this book out as well!