Sunday, January 17, 2016
One of the most confusing things to the Jews in Paul’s day was the phenomenal evangelism and salvation among the Gentiles, (those who were not Jews or Jewish).
The Jews could not understand how the group that pursued after the righteousness of God {the Jews) could not attain it, while those who did not pursue after the righteousness of God {Gentiles } attained it.
Paul has called the Gentiles by a lot of different titles, one of them is the phrase "vessels of mercy."
We need to look upon two doctrinal principles, one concerning the righteousness of God, the other concerning the doctrine of imputation.
"it is hard to explain," = it is not because it was difficult for the teacher to teach but it was difficult for the students to learn since they have become dull of hearing.
The energy to think and ask questions about the most important questions in the world was slipping away and in its place was a kind of spiritual sluggishness and insensitivity.
Things of the world were becoming more exciting and attractive than the Word of God the greatness of His Word and His plan.
Adam and the woman were not told not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and SIN, but good and evil (Gen 2;17), evil being anything that the creature produces without the Creator's help.
One of the pitfalls or the disadvantages or drawbacks of the ministry is having to deal with believer's who are at different stages of spiritual growth.
Many times new believers have no idea what I'm talking about while some other believers might become bored with repetition.
There are the sophomore believers who think they know a lot of doctrine but in reality know very little.
1T3:6 as a new convert, they might become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. -- which is arrogance.
1TI 5:22 Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thus share responsibility for the sins of others [that is the sins that those who are promoted too soon and become a stumbling block to those who listen to them] and their carnal ignorant opinions.
1. New legitimately immature believers who have PVTD. 2. Sophomore believers (wise fools) NVTD 3. Growing believers in spiritual adulthood - PVTD 4. Mature believers - PVTD 5. Apostate Believers. - NVTD
As a pastor you must communicate the same message to all four, although all four, though they hear the same message, respond differently to that message.
There are new believers who desire to know the basics, 1PE 2:2 like newborn babes, they desire or long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,
The sophomores who think they are already know and even disagree with it, the novices of 1Ti 3:6 they are novices who being lifted up with pride fall into the condemnation of the devil.
There are believers who want the advance doctrines who are young and zealous and have the humility to learn; EPH 3:14-21.
There are the mature believers, who no matter what the subject is, they basically live in 1PE 3:15 (ready to answer) and2PE 3:18 (grow in grace and knowledge), and they are always ready for more.
Paul has called the Gentiles by a lot of different titles. one of them is the phrase "vessels of mercy."
The first phrase in ROM 9:30 "What shall we say then?" means that after everything that the apostle Paul has said up to now in Rom 9 forces us to some conclusions.
The phrase "What shall we say then?" can be translated "What conclusions are we forced to?"
1. ROM 9:25 The Lord calls us - 'My people,'
2. ROM 9:25 - He calls us 'beloved.'
3. ROM 9:26 He calls us "sons of the living God. "
We are now called "vessels of mercy" because God can bless the regenerate or born-again Gentiles because we have received the imputation of divine righteousness (+R) at salvation.
God can only condemn the unsaved Jews because they have rejected TLJC and therefore they have rejected His righteousness, and accepted or trusted in their own righteousness by trying to keep the Law.
The noun disciples is the Greek noun or adjective mathetes which is where we get the English word mathematician from which means one who is highly educated in the subject that is in view.
GAL 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Another word for students of God is when they are called "sons of God," the Greek word is Teknon as in 1JO 3:10 which means technical students of the word of God.
+R = salvation righteousness; experiential righteousness; positional righteousness; and ultimate righteousness.
The word for righteousness is the Greek noun dikaiosune which means that which pertains to the integrity of God, His righteousness or justice.
When it used for man receiving righteousness from God it refers to imputed righteousness.
Imputed righteousness = that which the character and the integrity God gives to man as a gift.
The key to understanding the righteousness of God which is given to man is the word imputed.
Once man has God's perfect righteousness (+R), he now has something that becomes the potential to be the recipient for many blessings designed by God to give the individual a fantastic life.
All blessing from God comes from His justice and God has provided a way to not only save us but to give us all the blessings we need to have a wonderful and fantastic and meaningful life.
When you understand that God blesses you NOT from His love but from his justice and righteousness, then you'll understand how to receive and take advantage of the gift of divine righteousness.
When we refer to God's imputed righteousness many times as +R that +R = perfect divine righteousness. At the moment of salvation, the justice of God sets up a direct channel or a pipeline from His justice to His righteousness in us for the purpose of bestowing upon us fantastic magnificent divine blessings.
Even though He loves the world and He is not willing for any to perish people still do.
It is only +R - perfect righteousness or those who are perfectly righteous that can satisfy the justice of God.
You must realize that before God can deal with us as our Father, He must be satisfied with us as a Judge.
As a father, He can love and forgive and treat us in grace and mercy, but as a judge, His just and righteous demands must be satisfied.
God blesses us from His justice.
When His justice says, they can NOW handle some of your blessings, they will not be distracted by them...... and they will continue to live the spiritual life....., then, and only then, God blesses us.
We must satisfy the justice of God before we can be blessed by the love of God.
Justice is only satisfied with us when it sees us as being perfectly holy and perfectly righteous.
When righteousness refers to God or the essence of God, we call it God's holiness or His justice.
When God's righteousness is imputed to us and we are the recipients of God's righteousness, we call it justification.
This all means qualification for blessing or potential for blessing.
We need to note the origin of perfect righteousness and how we received it.
ROM 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death [spiritual death] through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned‑‑[all sinned when Adam sinned].
ROM 5:13 for until the Law [that is until the Mosaic Law, the 10 commandments etc.] sin [the sin nature] was in the world; but sin [or the sin nature and the sins it produced] is not imputed when there is no law.
This means that God did not and could not condemn us, that is mankind, for our sins because He had not yet given us a set of rules or do's and don'ts to follow before He gave the Law to Moses.
Rom 5:14 says Nevertheless death [that is spiritual death and separation from God still] reigned from Adam until Moses, [Or from the creation of man Adam until Moses, when the Law or the commandments of God was given].
ROM 5:14-17, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.
It means that just like Adam sinned even though God gave him no commandments so did mankind sin in the same way. But the free gift [salvation] is not like the transgression [the transgression of Adam]. For if by the transgression of the one [Adam] the many died [hoi polloi = altogether, the entire, or simply all referring to every member of the human race] much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many - the human race with emphasis on the unlimited atonement. And the gift [salvation] is not like that which came through the one who sinned [our Lord's gift is different then what Adam gave us]; for on the one hand the judgment [AOS] arose from one transgression [Adam partaking of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil] resulting in condemnation [that is condemnation of the entire human race], but on the other hand the free gift [salvation] arose from many transgressions [Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world] resulting in justification [anyone who believes in TLJC receives +R and is justified before God]. For if by the transgression of the one [Adam, spiritual] death reigned through the one [Adam], much more [a fortiori - even greater than that] those who receive the abundance of grace [salvation, they are now saved] and of the gift of righteousness [+R] will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. So then as through one transgression [Adam] there resulted condemnation to all men [the entire human race], even so through one act of righteousness [TLJC ] there resulted justification of life to all men.
ROM 5:19 For as through the one man's disobedience [Adam] the many [the entire human race] were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One [TLJC] the many [those who believe in TLJC] will be made righteous. And the Law came in that the transgression might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
GAL 3:24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith.
ROM 5:20 And the Law came in that the transgression might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
ROM 5:21 that, as sin or the sin nature reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Grace reigns in our life when we understand the righteousness of God or +H.
+H can refer to the righteousness given to us at salvation or salvation righteousness, experiential righteousness and positional righteousness.