Most Important Notes from BIBL 425 {2,339 words}
XXV. Lesson 25 - The Book of Romans (Chapter 13:8-14)
A. Romans 13:1-7 describe a person's legal duties as a citizen to the state. Romans 13:8-14 describe a person's moral duties as a member to the body of Christ.
B. Romans 13:8 means to not have overdue debts. Exodus 22:25-26 makes provisions for borrowing and lending money and even includes interest. But he is talking about owing love, not money. Love is the act of one person seeking the highest good for another person. Romans 13:9 talks about the Mosaic commandments and the Laws of Christ. When people love as they should, then they will fulfill the Law.
C. In Romans 13:11, Paul writes to WAKE UP. We should learn (understanding) and then apply (wisdom). People are to know something about the time. The time is at hand, and our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. God gives all believers five things. All believers are called into full-time service for the Lord. He gives (1) the ability to do our calling, (2) the desire to do our calling, (3) the field for our ministry, (4) the fruit (John 15:4) that remains, and (5) the time to do what He wants us to do for Him.
D. Romans 13:12 says to LOOK UP. To the unsaved person, the NIGHT of judgment is coming (John 9:4). For the believer, the NIGHT of opportunity is nearly spent and the day is coming (Romans 13:12). For the saved, the story has a happy ending. Romans 13:12 also says to CLEAN UP. Believers are to clean up their lives and live true to their salvation in Christ. Romans 13:13 says, "Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy." The Bible was written to show sinners how to obtain the cloak of righteousness and to show Christians how to wear it properly.
E. Romans 13:14 says to SHAPE UP. The Roman armor did not protect the soldier's back. Note that Paul used the full name for the Lord.
XXVI. Lesson 26 - The Book of Romans (Chapter 14:1-23)
A. Part 1 - Psalm 133:1 and Psalm 139:23-24 - Some believers unjustly judge other believers. No believers are to be judged by another believer in the sense of attitudes. If one believer is doing wrong, then another believer is obligated to try to go to the believer that is doing wrong. In Romans 14:1-4, Paul questions the right of one Christian to judge the attitudes of another Christian.
B. There are two kinds of Christians - (1) mature and experienced and (2) immature and inexperienced. Immature and carnal Christians are not the same.
C. The mature and experienced Christian needs love. The immature and inexperienced Christian needs knowledge. The former is free from the Law, but the second is bogged down by legalism.
D. Christians are not to judge in matters of diet (eating meat - Romans 14:2-3) and in matters of days (Romans 14:5-6). What is meant by days is not completely clear. The days may have been the Old Testament feast days that some believers were still practicing, but that is not known for sure. Maybe some of the new Jewish believers were still worshipping on Saturday because they had not been persuaded to change over yet to Sunday. All food and all days are of the Lord. Romans 14:14 says that some things are neutral, and the above two things come under that category.
E. Legalism is a believer putting himself or herself back under the Old Testament Law (Acts 15:13-21). It is also a believer putting himself or herself under a non-biblical law. One example is slacks (Deuteronomy 22:5), and another is length of hair (I Corinthians 11:14). People would have to take all of that chapter in Deuteronomy if they take one verse. Deuteronomy 22:5 was speaking about modesty and saying that inner beauty was more precious to the Lord. A mature Christian should not judge another Christian that has a different conviction about these things. In I Corinthians 11:14 really was written about homosexuals of Paul's days because they typically had long hair. During these days, long hair has become a sign of rebellion and anti-establishment, so churches and schools began to outlaw it so as to not send out a false signal. Christians should not be in rebellion against the establishment, and they should not wear the long hair that those people wear. Paul warned mature Christians to not let their liberty become a license to do certain things.
F. Romans 14:21 says, "It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall."
G. Part 2 - All believers will be judged by the Lord. So, Christians should be careful about how they judge neutral areas in other Christians. In I Corinthians 3:9-15, Paul wrote about God dealing with believers in a three-fold way. He deals first with them as sinners. Then, He deals with them as sons, and someday, at the Judgment Seat of Christ, He will deal with each believer concerning his or her service. It will probably be just after the Rapture and just before the Second Coming. Motives and attitudes are very important.
H. Five Crowns: (1) Incorruptible (I Corinthians 9:25), (2) Life (Revelation 2:10), (3) Righteousness (II Timothy 4:8), (4) Rejoicing (I Thessalonians 2:19), (5) Glory (I Peter 5:4).
XXVII. Lesson 27 - The Book of Romans (Chapter 15:1-24)
A. This is the six-fold ministry chapter - (1) Our ministry to other believers (Romans 15:1-7), (2) Christ's ministry to the Jews (Romans 15:8), (3) Christ's ministry to the Gentiles (Romans 15:9-13), (4) Paul's ministry to the Gentiles (Romans 15:14-24), (5) The Gentiles ministry to the Jews (Romans 15:25-29), (6) The Roman believers' ministry to the Apostle Paul (Romans 15:30-33)
B. Our ministry to other believers (Romans 15:1-7) - The child of God is to glorify God and edify the body of Christ. We that are strong (mature and experienced) ought to bear the infirmities of the weak (Paul included himself as strong - "We"). The strong are not bogged down by legalism issues like meat and days, etc. The weak Christian (uninformed, needs information, wants to do what is right) and the carnal Christian (unwilling to do what is right) are not the same. Carnal Christians have need of milk and not meat. They refuse to grow, and they do not care. Weak Christians think that they are doing right, but they are simply uninformed and needs more knowledge. Strong Christians (Galatians 6:1-2) minister to the carnal Christian by gently restoring the carnal Christian in the spirit of meekness. Acts 18:24-26 shows how strong Christians (Aquila and Priscilla) deal with weak Christians (Apollos). They instructed him in the way of God more perfectly. No believer has the right to say that what I do is my own business. Christians must take an interest in the actions and attitudes of other Christians. We are one body, and if one part suffers, then the whole body suffers. The child of God is responsible to God, to the state, to his or her family and children, and to sinners. I Corinthians 9:22 says that Paul became all things to all men to win as many as he could. Paul knew that his first responsibilities were to God and others. Romans 15:3 says that even Jesus did not please Himself. God desires unity among the strong and the weak. Jesus received a sinner under a tree (Philip), a sinner up a tree (Zacchaeus), and a sinner on a tree being crucified.
C. Christ's ministry to the Jews (Romans 15:8) - He taught, He served, He healed. He became a servant and fulfilled thirty-seven Old Testament prophecies about Himself. Many of those prophecies were about Him serving others.
D. Christ's ministry to the Gentiles (Romans 15:9-13) - The Root of Jesse is a reference to both David and Jesus. Jesus was the true Messiah can be seen from the fact that Jesus was the only claiming Messiah that has been accepted for two millennium by the Gentiles (Isaiah 42:6-7, Isaiah 49:6, Jeremiah 16:19, and Malachi 1:11).
XXVIII. Lesson 28 - The Book of Romans (Chapter 15:14-33)
A. This is the six-fold ministry chapter - (1) Our ministry to other believers (Romans 15:1-7), (2) Christ's ministry to the Jews (Romans 15:8), (3) Christ's ministry to the Gentiles (Romans 15:9-13), (4) Paul's ministry to the Gentiles (Romans 15:14-24), (5) The Gentiles ministry to the Jews (Romans 15:25-29), (6) The Roman believers' ministry to the Apostle Paul (Romans 15:30-33)
B. Paul's ministry to the Gentiles (Romans 15:14-24) - He gave them the benefit of the doubt by assuming the best about those people. Paul reviewed the miracles that he had done through the power of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 13:5-11, he struck a sorcerer with blindness. In Acts 14:8-10, in Iconium, he did many miracles, and in Lystra, he healed a crippled man. In Acts 16:16-18, he cast a demon out of a girl. In Acts 19:11-22, he healed many. In Acts 20:7-12, he raised Eutychus from the dead. This was one of the eight accounts in the Bible of someone being raised from the dead. In Acts 28:1-10, he did many miracles. Christians do not still have this miracle power because it was necessary back then to validate the early ministry of the church. In John 3:2, Nicodemus had recognized the miracles as being from God. It is not necessary to gain that credit nowadays. In Matthew 10:7-8, Jesus showed the same thing through the disciples that He sent out two by two. Those early miracles gave the early ministers credibility. Now, people are judged by the Bible, which of course they did not have back then. When II Timothy 3:15-16 was written, the whole Bible was almost complete.
C. The Gentiles ministry to the Jews (Romans 15:25-29) - God used the Jews to dig the well of salvation for the Gentiles, so they gave them a financial offering to help them out. Paul probably made it to Spain because he said that he had finished his course. Paul called the financial offering fruit. Jesus talked about money matters because money matters.
D. The Roman believers' ministry to the Apostle Paul (Romans 15:30-33) - He asked the believers to pray for his ministry to the people at Judea, first that he would not be killed and also that their offering would be accepted.
XXIX. Lesson 29 - The Book of Romans (Chapter 16:1-27)
A. Six action verbs in this chapter - greeting, warning, rejoicing, reassuring, concluding, and committing.
B. The Book of Romans is probably the most important Book on Theology in the Bible.
C. Greeting (Romans 16:1-16) - Paul greeted numerous believers that he had been praying for or worked with. He had an ability for remembering names. Paul named numerous women, so he was not a woman hater as some have accused him. Some people think that he put women down, but he actually elevated the position of women. Were there women deacons in the early church? Based on Romans 16:1-2, Phoebe might have helped in the leadership of the church, and she may have actually been a deaconess. The word "servant" (NIV and KJV) is "diakonos" in the Greek, which means minister, servant, or deacon. Priscilla and Aquila were tentmakers like Paul, and they worked very closely with him.
D. Warning (Romans 16:17-18) - trouble-making or divisions, immorality, or heresy. These were the three reasons for dismissing someone from the church, IF THE PERSON WILL NOT REPENT.
E. Rejoicing (Romans 16:19) - The Romans church was very good about witnessing.
F. Reassuring (Romans 16:20) - The first of four benedictions to this epistle. God will crush the devil. Satan is doomed even if he has not yet been totally overthrown.
G. Concluding (Romans 16:21-23) - He concludes the epistle with greetings from seven workers that were with him. Timothy met Paul probably at Lystra when he was stoned. Many believe that Timothy, his mother, and grandmother were the Christians that helped him. Also, Timothy might have replaced Mark when Mark when home, and Timothy was the one that brought Mark back at Paul's insistence. Lucius was probably the medical doctor Luke, who was with Paul. Gaius was one of his first converts in Corinth.
H. Committing (Romans 16:24-27) - In Romans 16:25, the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages is that Gentiles and Jews will be in the same body.
XXX. Lesson 30 - The Book of Romans (Final Review)
A. Who, what, when, what - Paul, Romans church, Paul's third missionary journey while in Corinth, a book about righteousness (God is righteous, He demands righteousness, and He provides righteousness.
B. The four divisions of the Book of Romans. The courthouse of Law (Romans, Chapters 1-5), the powerhouse of Grace (Romans, Chapters 6-8), a synagogue (Romans, Chapters 9-11), and the Temple of God (Romans, Chapters 12-16). The just Judge died for the guilty (JUSTIFICATION). Paul used Abraham (Lesson 6) and David (Lesson 7) to show that they were both saved apart from circumcision and the Law of Moses.
C. SANCTIFICATION was in Lessons 10-11 (Know ye, Reckon ye, Yield Ye, Obey Ye).
D. Willmington says, "Romans 8:28 is the greatest verse in the greatest chapter in the greatest Book of the Bible." Predestination pertains to a saint growing in Grace and being conformed to the image of Christ. It has nothing to do with salvation.
E. Romans, Chapter 9-11 show that Israel's rejection was not total, and it is not permanent.
Tom of Bethany "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (I John 5:12)
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