Line Upon Line

Paul addresses the objection that God is unjust for choosing certain people to carry out His redemptive plan, showing that God's selection of Israel was about being a conduit of blessing to all nations, not about electing some individuals for heaven and others for hell. Through the contrast between Moses (who received mercy by faith) and Pharaoh (who was hardened in his rebellion), Paul reveals that God is chiefly merciful, perfectly just, and will be glorified through all His creation.

Examining Romans 9:1-13, Pastor Miles explains Paul's deep grief over Israel's rejection of their Messiah, the unmatched privileges given to the descendants of Abraham, and why physical lineage was never the basis of salvation. The teaching shows that God sovereignly brings salvation by His power, through His promise, and according to His foreknowledge—and that this must be received by faith.

Drawing from the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus's "bread of life" discourse in John 6, this teaching shows that Jesus is the essential element for promoting and sustaining spiritual life, just as physical food sustains physical life. It calls hearers to come to and believe in Christ, and holds together both the responsibility of man and the sovereignty of God in salvation.

Taking a detour from Romans, Pastor Miles meditates on Ephesians 3 and Paul's prison-prayer that climaxes in verse 20, where God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think. He applies this confidence to the life and mission of the church, including an honest update on the church's finances and a call to prayer.

Working through Romans 8:31-39, Pastor Miles shows that because God has already given His own Son for us, He is unalterably for us, has justified us in Christ the Elect One, and through Christ's death, resurrection, and ongoing intercession secures us so that nothing—no trial, power, or created thing—can separate us from His love. The teaching repeatedly stresses that all this victory and security exist only "in Christ."

Continuing in Romans 8, Pastor Miles teaches that the Spirit helps believers in their weakness by interceding when they do not know how to pray, and that God works all things—including suffering—for the good of conforming His children to the image of Christ. He addresses the Calvinist-Arminian debate over foreknowledge and predestination, urging humility and locating our destiny "in Christ."

Drawing from Romans 8:14-18, Pastor Miles teaches that being led by the Spirit is the visible evidence of our sonship in God, modeled supremely by Jesus, and that this adoption secures us as heirs of God who inherit both His glory and His sufferings. The certain glory awaiting us far outweighs any suffering of this present life.

Paul contrasts the carnal mind, which produces death, with the spiritual mind, which produces life and peace, teaching that the believer's victory over sin is real and available now—not by self-effort in the flesh, but by yielding to the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Every Christian possesses the Spirit and therefore the ability to walk in this abundant life rather than the defeat of Romans 7.

Romans 8 opens with the declaration that there is no condemnation for those in Christ, transitioning from the frustration of Romans 7 to the victory available through the Holy Spirit. Pastor Miles teaches that what the law could not do because of our weak flesh, God accomplished by sending His Son, so that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in those who walk according to the Spirit.

Jesus Christ is not only one who experienced resurrection but is Himself the resurrection and the life, as proven by the empty tomb, the 500 witnesses, and the raising of Lazarus. This Easter message calls the hearer to respond to Jesus' call to come out of the tomb of death by confessing sin, believing in the risen Christ, and following Him publicly.