#romans 7: The Function of the Law #bible study with #jairus

The function of the law is to bring death when we choose sin and the flesh. The purpose of it is to turn our hearts towards the Lord and choose life. The law itself is not wrong, but the reason why the law kills is because a veil lies in our hearts. But when our hearts turn to the Lord, the veil is removed. The Lord is a Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. (ESV, 2 Corinthians 3:16-17).

If you were driving a car on the highway in the United States, you would notice that there are white or yellow lines on the side of the highway, and there is some very bumpy pavement outside the yellow lines. If you accidentally drive your car over the line, it will make a loud noise and your car will shake. The purpose of this is to remind you that if you do not readjust the steering wheel, you could be in danger once you cross this line, and your car could go off the road. This is exactly how the law functions. The law itself is not wrong. Rather, it is the behavior of your flesh that is wrong. The law acts like the bumpy pavement. It doesn’t cause your car to crash, it is your own driving mistakes that cause the car to crash. But the function of this highway border is just like the function of the law. Once you cross this border, your car may go off the road. This is what Paul meant in Romans 7:7-17. It is not the law (border) that caused you to sin (crash), but the behavior of your flesh (driving) caused you to sin (crash). With this being said, if you fail to obey the law or drive across the border, you may crash, or die.

#romans 8, Situations that Hinder the Holy Spirit’s Leading #bible study with #jairus

During our study, we were inspired by the Holy Spirit in a different aspect, which is also very consistent with my personal spiritual experience. The Holy Spirit lives in us and often inspires and leads us. But there are two situations where the Holy Spirit cannot lead us. The first is when we are not obedient. The Holy Spirit may have inspired us many times, but because of our disobedience, the Holy Spirit has no way to get through to us. Therefore, the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf to Jesus and our Heavenly Father with unspeakable groanings, asking the Heavenly Father to arrange the environment and difficulties around us to allow us to learn to obey through the environment.

This secret is revealed in verses 8:27-28 (ESV), "He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

#romans 5 How Christians Overcome “Drug Addiction” #bible study with #jairus

A Christian may go through four stages in their walk with God. First, Satan controls them through death, just like a drug dealer controls his victims through their weakness and sin.

Second, individuals are controlled by the life of sin itself, like an addict who is controlled by the addiction itself.

Third, Christians try hard to keep the law, hoping to be a good Christian, but find themselves unable to overcome the law of sin and death. This is like an addict trying to break his addiction on his own. Finally, Christians may experience freedom through the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, which enables them to overcome the law of sin and death.

#romans 5 The purpose of the law is to usher in the reign of Christ #bible study with #Jairus

The purpose of the law is to usher in the reign of Christ. When Christ came, the law had completed its work. Salvation cannot be achieved through good deeds and human effort. We must rely on the life of God, the lamb of God. An apple falling from a tree will be overcome by the force of gravity, and our attempts at perfection will be overcome by the sins of our flesh. The law tried to help our nature overcome the sin of the flesh, but it ended up condemning us. However, Jesus is like a spacecraft that can help us overcome the law of gravity to bring this apple to the moon. Jesus’ grace reigns in righteousness.

#romans 5 The Law cannot save us just like the law cannot rid drug addiction #bible study #jairus

The law fights unsuccessfully against the sins of our flesh. Although we want to keep God’s law in our minds, our flesh cannot keep God’s law. Though we try to overcome sin, death reigns through the drug addiction we previously accepted. The law, which was meant to usher us into life, instead becomes a tool for death. But because the flesh is so powerful, we violate the law and are convicted by it, leading us to more death. The law becomes a tool to kill rather than to give life. Paul says, “For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:6). Of course, it is not the law’s problem. It is a problem of the sin (drug addiction) of the flesh.

#romans 4: We need to repent our sins like David repented #bible study with #jairus

I can relate deeply to David’s experience. When I was studying in London, England, I heard someone mention the gospel. Suddenly, I began to feel uneasy. I realized I was a sinner. I suddenly felt guilty for many things I did not even previously consider to be sins. It was a very painful experience. I didn’t know where to find relief. I would often browse my computer until midnight before I could fall asleep, and I would wake up suddenly during the night. During that time, I often ran to a nearby park at night, where I cried out with a loud voice to the sky and admitted my mistakes and sins. Even though it wasn’t raining, I felt low air pressure, as if a storm were about to come. I felt out of breath.

Later, when I reflected on this experience, I realized that God’s hands were weighing heavily on me, not allowing me to get by without repentance. Since then, I have repented regularly. After I was baptized in the United States, I knelt on the ground every night to pray for repentance. After coming to the United States, I experienced the joy of the complete forgiveness of sins.

David also experienced this powerful spiritual experience of forgiveness. He said in Psalm 32:5-7, “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah. Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah” (ESV)

#acts 27_ Your Course to Phoenix May Not Be What It Seems #bible Study With #jairus

#Bible Study With #Jairus #Deuteronomy 15 The Sabbatical Year - The Cycle of Falling and Redemption

4 But there will be no poor among you; for the Lord will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess—

7 “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother,

12 “If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold[b] to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you.

19 “All the firstborn males that are born of your herd and flock you shall dedicate to the Lord your God.

#acts 26 Paul’s Journey from Damascus, Jerusalem to Rome #bible study with #jairus

I had a prophetic dream that took me into the future of what would happen in China. Many Chinese people were worshipping God throughout the country. There was a Chinese lady who led the tour of people accompanying me to see this.

She said this revival was not something she had seen when she lived on earth. I also interacted with many Chinese believers there in glory. I witnessed many things in the two hours I was there but only remember a few. In another prophetic dream, I was chased by a group of future Chinese democratic leaders who came to thank me for my articles. They said my writing greatly encouraged them. In the dream, I was puzzled as I saw that they were older than me. How could I have influenced them? I later realized this was a prophetic dream. God’s message might mean that the power of the Gospel will eventfully transform Chinese society. The Bible doesn’t tell us whether Paul saw Caesar, or whether he knew him.

We only know that he appealed to Caesar through King Agrippa. Before Paul had his Damascus road experience with Jesus, he was rich in theological knowledge but did not know the risen Lord. His whole life and perspective changed when Jesus appeared to him. As I mentioned in a previous study, we must be able to overcome the attack of religious spirits in our own Jerusalem so that we, like Paul, can be taken to Rome to preach the Gospel to the secular world. Christians must have their own Damascus road experience to transition from Jerusalem to Rome.

To be a strong witness for God, we must hunger to know and experience the risen Lord to help us rid ourselves of the religious spirits and barriers contained in churches. In other words, from the religious center of Jerusalem to the secular center of Rome, the turning point of Paul’s journey was his experience in Damascus. We need more people to experience what Paul experienced on the road to Damascus because the population of the world is much greater today. There are countless examples of Jesus appearing to people in recent years, yet we need many more to go out into the world, testifying to the resurrection and power of Christ.

#acts 26 Why Paul Appeals to Caesar? #bible study with #jairus

A sentence that our Bible study group didn’t quite understand in this chapter was 26:32 (NIV). After King Agrippa heard Paul’s appeal, he said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

To be honest, this sentence disturbed me because reading the Bible is like watching a movie. When you immerse yourself in the plot of this movie, you are very concerned about the fate of the protagonists in the film, hoping to give them some advice to help change their future. I often say that the Holy Spirit is the best screenwriter. When writing the Bible, each chapter is like a small movie. After reading this far, I hoped that Paul wouldn’t appeal to Caesar so that he could be set free, but he did appeal to Caesar so he couldn’t be set free. Agrippa also said the same thing to Festus. Although Paul tried to persuade Agrippa to believe in the Lord, Agrippa did not make a decision. Despite all this, his attitude towards Paul is somewhat sympathetic. This sentence probably means that Agrippa wanted to set Paul free, but because Paul appealed to Caesar, he couldn’t do anything about it.

If I were the director of this movie (based on this chapter), I would not have had Paul appeal to Caesar so that he could be set free, but the Bible doesn’t record it that way. Why did Paul appeal to Caesar? What was God’s plan in this? Apart from Paul’s appeal to Caesar in the beginning, which could help him break free from the accusation of the Jews, now they have reached a deadlock and his appeal has kept him bound.

The Bible doesn’t record whether Paul met with Caesar while imprisoned or when he was set free. Historians tell us that Paul was eventually set free and later beheaded by Emperor Nero around 67-68 A.D. Emperor Nero ruled from 54-68A.D., while Constantine, the first Roman emperor who accepted Christianity, ruled from 306-337A.D. He began to embrace Christianity from 313 A.D., which was about 245 years after Paul’s death. At that point, evangelization was accomplished to a certain extent in Europe.

We can see that Paul had established the foundation in evangelizing the cities of Europe. He even had the opportunity to testify before King Agrippa. Philippians 4:22 mentions that there are saints in Caesar’s household. That shows that although Paul’s evangelical work wasn’t able to directly change Caesar, it did affect the people in Caesar’s family.