ROM-25-140720 - length: 68:21 - taught on Jul, 20 2014
Class Outline:
Welcome To
BARAH MINISTRIES
a Christian Church
Rory Clark
Pastor-Teacher
Welcome to Barah Ministries…a Christian Church…my name is Pastor Rory Clark.
Do you want to eat well? I say if you had someone preparing nutritious meals for you on a daily basis, with a perfectly balanced nutritional mix, you’d still eat a steady diet of potato chips or your other favorite food vices.
Do you want a bank account full of all the money you want? I say if you had it, you’d spend it all by the end of the week and be right back in the same financial condition you are in now.
Do you want a great relationship? I say if you had one, you’d probably start looking for a way to ruin it, thinking that the grass was greener on the other side of the fence.
Do you want to get to know God? I say if you found the perfect place to learn about God and His Word, you’d find a way to profane that sanctuary.
Do you want to improve your health? I say if you had someone who could help you kick a habit, become strong and flexible, rid you of a nagging condition, you’d still find a way to be unhealthy. John, Chapter 10, Verse 10a says…
“The thief (Satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy…”
Such is the human condition when we acquiesce to the temptations of the enemy of God and his kingdom of darkness. They encourage us to waste our freedoms, to abuse grace, and to squander our lives. They have an absolutely uncanny ability to suck all the joy out of a moment. BUT! Apart from the law, the righteousness of God…in spite of the fact that we can do the things we want to do, but in fact practice the very things we hate, our God is at work with His hands outstretched to carry our burdens. Yes, our God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is teaching us how to live the resurrection life, a life of righteousness in which we thrive in freedom, bathe in grace and live our lives to the fullest. John, Chapter 10, Verse 10b says…
“I (the Lord Jesus Christ) came (to earth) that believers in Christ may have the resurrection life, and have it abundantly.”
God is on your side. God wants you to thrive. God has plans for you. And even though life may get you down every once in a while, especially during the summer when everything slows down and everybody unplugs a little bit…especially in the sweltering heat of Phoenix, AZ…be encouraged that God has already prepared the next challenging steps of your resurrection life.
Welcome to a place to get recharged and to learn about all the things that God put at your complete disposal billions of years before He created you.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION
Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ
Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
HOLY IS THE LORD
We begin our worship service today by worshipping the Lord in song. Please stand and join June Murphy in singing the opening song… HOLY IS THE LORD.
HOLY IS THE LORD
We stand and lift up our hands
For the joy of the Lord is our strength
We bow down and worship Him now
How great, how awesome is He
And together we sing
HOLY IS THE LORD
Holy is the Lord God Almighty
The earth is filled with His glory
Holy is the Lord God Almighty
The earth is filled with His glory
The earth is filled with His glory
HOLY IS THE LORD
We stand and lift up our hands
For the joy of the Lord is our strength
We bow down and worship Him now
How great, how awesome is He
And together we sing
Everyone sing!
HOLY IS THE LORD
Holy is the Lord God Almighty
The earth is filled with His glory
Holy is the Lord God Almighty
The earth is filled with His glory
The earth is filled with His glory
HOLY IS THE LORD
Yes…it’s rising up all around
It’s the anthem of the Lord’s renown
It’s rising up all around
It’s the anthem of the Lord’s renown
And together we sing,
And everyone sing!
HOLY IS THE LORD
Holy is the Lord God Almighty
The earth is filled with His glory
Holy is the Lord God Almighty
The earth is filled with His glory
The earth is filled with His glory
HOLY IS THE LORD
The earth is filled with His Glory
Holy holy is the Lord Almighty,
Holy holy…
Holy holy is the Lord Almighty,
Holy holy…
Holy holy is the Lord Almighty,
Holy holy…
OPENING PRAYER
Let us pray...
We’re grateful Heavenly Father for the privilege of studying the absolute truth...the Word of God…
Help us to enjoy our down time…help us to put away the rubber hoses we use to beat ourselves up…repair our relationships…curb our vices…feed our souls with your strength…remind us of the work of Your Spirit which is occurring on our behalf, even when we sleep…
Open our hearts and our minds to the truth of Your Word…help us to reach out to those around us who are in need…remind us to care for ourselves just as You care for us…
We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit...in Christ’s name...
Amen.
TODAY’S STUDY
Romans 3
The Righteousness of God Releases You From Responsibility
To the resident and non-resident members of Barah Ministries,to our guests who join us from time to time, and to all believers in Christ…may you know that God’s grace is with you and may you know that God’s peace is with you. The Lord is on your side even when all others are not. Turn to Psalm, 127, Verse 2…it reminds us…
It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; for The Lord gives to His divinely loved ones even when they sleep.
The Lord was hard at work on your behalf while you slept last night. We have turned our attention from sin to righteousness in our study of the book of Romans. We need to do the same thing in our lives…we need to turn our attention away from sins, for which we have no more responsibility, and we need to turn our attention to the power of divine righteousness.
THE BOOK OF ROMANS
Righteousness:
Your Justification is ONLY by Faith
Romans 3:21 to Romans 4:25
We have turned our attention from works and self-righteousness to grace and God’s divine righteousness. Turn to Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 21…let’s read the first section of this new passage together, Romans, Chapter 3, Verses 21 to 31…
<READ ROMANS, CHAPTER 3, VERSES 21 TO 31>
The righteousness given to us by God releases us from responsibility for so many things. Yet if the tenets of the Mosaic Law are deeply embedded in our hearts, because we enjoy listening to teachers who are liars, who make constant attacks on the character and nature of God, then our release from responsibility into freedom is a message that we just can’t accept and don’t want to hear.
We reject perfection, especially in ourselves. Yet when God gives us His righteousness, that’s exactly what He gives us, a share in His perfection.
Think about it…what are the Lord’s actions toward the believer who sins? What are The Lord’s actions toward the unbeliever who sins? His actions are the same. The Lord Jesus Christ, through the generosity of God the Father, became the ONLY perfectly satisfactory payment acceptable in the eyes of God the Father for sins. Turn to First John, Chapter 2, Verse 2…
My little children (believers in Christ), I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, and of course we do, we have an Advocate with God the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and Jesus Christ Himself is the propitiation for our sins ; and not for our sins only as believers in Christ, but also for the sins of the whole world.
First John, Chapter 4, Verse 10…
In this sending of His Son is unconditional love, not that we loved God the Father unconditionally, but that God the Father loved us unconditionally and sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be the propitiation for our sins.
In the Old Testament…under the Mosaic Law…sins were covered…it was called atonement…in the New Testament under the grace of the Cross and through propitiation, sin is taken completely out of the way. You are no longer responsible for your sins. The Lord Jesus Christ is responsible. He is your Advocate, and He considers your problems to be His responsibility. Turn to Colossians, Chapter 2, Verse 13…
When you were dead in your transgressions (a sinner) and in the uncircumcision of your flesh (ungodly and unrighteous), God the Father made you alive together with the Lord Jesus Christ (in union with Him), having forgiven us all our transgressions…
…having canceled out the certificate of debt (the written code, the Mosaic Law) consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and God the Father has taken the Mosaic Law out of the way, having nailed it to the Cross.
John the Baptist said, in John, Chapter 1, Verse 29…
The next day John the Baptist saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
Sin is no longer your responsibility…what words let you know? They begin with…BUT NOW! Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 21…
But now apart from the Mosaic Law the righteousness from God has been made clearly visible, being witnessed to by the Mosaic Law in sacrificial offerings and being witnessed to by the Old Testament Prophets in direct statements…
Statements like Jeremiah, Chapter 23, Verse 6…
“In His days (the Millennial reign of Christ) Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, ‘The LORD our righteousness.’”
If we are going to leave Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 21, which is a pivotal and transitional verse, with a true understanding of it…we must understand this…the law and divine righteousness are like the Hatfield’s and the McCoy’s! They are feuding, and they would never consider marrying each other!
THE LAW and RIGHTEOUSNESS ARE SEPARATE
“But now apart from the law”
“Apart from the law,” from a believer in Christ’s perspective is the admission that we put no trust in self…no trust in the flesh…only trust in Christ…our faith, our hope is in Christ alone…
If we are going to leave Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 21 with an understanding of it…we must understand this…there is a righteousness that comes from God, and there is a righteousness that comes from man…the righteousness that comes from man does not cut it…can not cut it…will not cut it...no… absolutely not…not never!
If we are going to leave Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 21 with an understanding of it…we must understand this…apart from the law…through your faith in Christ…through your union with Christ…He did everything for you. There is no need for you, as a believer in Christ, to continue thinking you need to help Christ. Repeat after me…“As a believer in Christ, I am not under the law.”
Repeat after me… “As a believer in Christ, I am dead to the law.”
Repeat after me… “As a believer in Christ, I am under grace.”
Repeat after me… “As a believer in Christ, I am alive to Christ.”
Take a five-minute break.
BREAK
Voice of Truth
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Welcome back! Turn to Romans, Chapter 7, Verse 4…
Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead (the Lord Jesus Christ), in order that we might bear fruit for God.
The Cross was a divorce for all creatures who expressed faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation…you are divorced from the Law and married to Christ! Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 9…
…you believers in Christ are not “in the flesh” but you believers in Christ are “in the Spirit,” if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you, and it does. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ dwelling in him, this person does not belong to Christ.
If you belong to Christ, your problems are no longer your responsibility… they are Christ’s responsibility…turn to Galatians, Chapter 4…we’ll begin at Verse 4…
But when the fullness of the time came, God the Father sent forth His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, born of a woman, born under the Mosaic Law…
…so that the Lord might redeem those from slavery who were under the Mosaic Law, so that we might receive the adoption as sons.
Because you are sons, God the Father has sent forth God the Holy Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
Therefore you, as a believer in Christ, are no longer a slave, but you are a son (a child of God); and if you are a son, and you are, then you are an heir through God the Father
As a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are in union with Christ, you are a new creature, and you no longer stand in the shadow of the Mosaic Law…the Law is not hanging over your head, condemning you about your sins.
For the Mosaic Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.
Why so much focus on the law versus grace?
God is not holding believers in Christ to the Mosaic Law. God is not holding unbelievers to the Mosaic Law. God knows that no creature is free from sin. God is holding every creature to God’s righteousness…both angelic creatures and human creatures. There is only one way to get God’s righteousness…as a free gift.
Why so much focus on this one verse…Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 21…
But now apart from the Mosaic Law the righteousness from God has been made clearly visible, being witnessed to by the Mosaic Law in sacrificial offerings and being witnessed to by the Old Testament Prophets in direct statements…
Why so much focus on the law versus grace? The whole court case of the Creator-Creature Conflict hangs on this very idea.
God is requiring divine righteousness from all creatures as the admission ticket to heaven. Angelic creatures were without sin, until unrighteousness was found in them. Human creatures have always been with sin because they were born with a sin nature. By fulfilling the Mosaic Law perfectly, the Lord Jesus Christ proved that a creature without a sin nature (like the angelic creatures were) could be blameless in the matter of the Mosaic Law.
By going to the Cross, the Lord Jesus Christ provided the opportunity of salvation for those of us who were born with a sin nature. By simply believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are given the free gift of righteousness.
You will hear the angelic creature’s plea…how can a loving God cast one of His creatures into the Lake of Fire? A better question is, “How can a sinful creature turn down the free gift of the righteousness of God?” The same God with unconditional love toward all creatures that will allow any creature through his own free will to reside in the Lake of Fire for all eternity is the God who offers reconciliation to all creatures. How can a sensible creature reject God’s righteousness?
Is it fair for God to give His righteousness to sinners? Only if sin is paid for! The Lord Jesus Christ paid for the sins of all creatures at the Cross. Isaiah, Chapter 53, Verse 11…
As a result of the anguish of the Lord Jesus Christ’s soul, God the Father will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as the Lord will bear their iniquities.
First Peter, Chapter 3, Verse 18…
For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God the Father, having been put to death in the flesh, but having been made alive in the spirit…
If you are righteous, you are joined to Christ and not to the Law…Christ fulfilled the Law perfectly. Then He sacrificed Himself for us. Isaiah, Chapter 53, Verses 5 and 6…
Jesus Christ was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Jesus Christ, and by His scourging we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; But God the Father has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ’s work at the Cross released you from all responsibility for sins. Your sins are Christ’s responsibility, not yours. And if you don’t comprehend freedom, you’ll think that God’s grace gives you license to sin. It does not. If you think that, you are lost. Your free will gives you license to sin, and if you use your free will and your freedom against yourself, welcome to immaturity. As believers in Christ, in union with Christ, neither our defects of character, nor our lousy choices, affect our righteousness. Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verse 21…
God the Father made the Lord Jesus Christ, who knew no sin, to be a sin substitute instead of us, so that we might become partakers of the righteousness of God in union with Him.
The ungodly, unrighteous sinner becomes the righteousness of God by being in union with Christ. John, Chapter 16, Verse 8…
“And God the Holy Spirit, when He comes, will convict the world concerning the fact that they sin, and that they need righteousness and that there will be a judgment…”
Hebrews, Chapter 9, Verse 27…
And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment…
Galatians, Chapter 6, Verse 15…
For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation is everything.
And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
What rule? Romans, Chapter 4, Verse 5…
But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness…
It’s a righteousness that releases you from all responsibility, except the responsibility to enjoy your life.
The Promises of the Lord Jesus Christ
Trust in the Lord and do good…
Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord…and He will do it.
Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him…
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in (union with) Christ Jesus.
CLOSING SONG
I Will
CLOSING PRAYER
Let us pray...
THANKS
INTERCESSION
PETITION
And we pray that You continue to shape the messages from this pulpit that are a reflection of Your unconditional love, Your Magnificent Person, Your perfect thinking, Your impeccable work, and Your indescribable essence... we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit, in Christ’s name, Amen.
Thanks for coming!
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for listening!
www.barahministries.com
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