ROM-126-150823 - length: 63:43 - taught on Aug, 23 2015
Class Outline:
Welcome To
BARAH MINISTRIES
a Christian Church
Rory Clark
Pastor-Teacher
Good Morning!
Welcome to Barah Ministries…a worldwide Christian Church based in Mesa, AZ…my name is Pastor Rory Clark.
John, Chapter 8, Verses 1 to 11…
But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them.
The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court…
…they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act.”
“Now in the Mosaic Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?”
They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.
But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to
them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.
When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, was left in the center of the court.
Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?”
She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”
The Mosaic Law demanded execution for the sinner. In this case the sin was one that is perhaps the most heinous, and certainly the most sensitive sin against a marriage…the act of adultery. The Mosaic Law, which came from the Lord Jesus Christ, is not wrong to condemn the sinner to death. We, at physical birth, are all sinners condemned to death because we are born “in Adam,” and we carry, through imputation by God, the sin of Adam, the federal head of the human race. We are all born guilty and are as worthy of death as is the woman in this story.
The Lord Jesus Christ’s attitude toward the woman was “no condemnation.” The ironic thing about this story is that as the only Righteous One, the Lord Jesus Christ is the only One who is qualified to carry out a sentence of execution against the woman…only the guiltless can carry out a righteous sentence, as the Lord pointed out in John, Chapter 8, Verse 7…
But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Only the one without sin can condemn. And we know that none of us, as human, fit the bill of righteousness. James, Chapter 2, Verse 10 says…
For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of (the violation of) all (points in the law).
None of us keep the whole law…thus all of us are “convicts” … who when guilty of violating one point in God’s law actually are violators of the whole of God’s law. It is as easy for us to get self-righteous in situations like the one with this woman as the scribes and the Pharisees did, and we always do get self-righteous in regard to the sins of another…we are quick to condemn when we see situations like this one with the woman caught in the act of adultery.
Yet the only Righteous One, the One who is just when He condemns, the Lord Jesus Christ, chose grace instead of condemnation. We would do well to follow our Savior’s example. We follow His example when as we accuse others, we remember that we sin as well…we follow His example when we see the evil of others and we don’t remain blind to our own evil…we follow the example of our Savior when we employ grace instead of condemnation is situations when those we accuse are absolutely guilty…when they are caught in the very act…knowing that we have been given grace in all matters, especially in the matter of our “so great” salvation.
Welcome to a place where you can learn what “no condemnation” really means.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION
Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ
Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
CHANGE MY HEART OH GOD
Eddie Espinosa
For us to truly operate as the Righteous Lord operates, we must depend on Him to change us…we must ask Him to change us. The opening song is a request of our God…CHANGE MY HEART OH GOD by Eddie Espinosa.
OPENING PRAYER
Let us pray...
We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…
Thank you for making us aware, over and over again, that we are nothing like You…we are not loving, we are not unconditional, we are not forgiving, we are not gracious. As believers in Christ we are quite arrogant when we think and when we say that one day, through our own efforts, we have a chance to be Christ-like…we will never be any such thing. Yet knowing the depth of our depravity, even before You created us, You chose to love us unconditionally just the same…You chose to create us anyway. You acted toward us in grace when we were at our worst…as sinners. Thank you for overlooking our faults simply because the Person You sent on our behalf paid for our faults for us…Your Son…the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Challenge us to follow Your example in relation to others…to remember our own evil when we are tempted to condemn others for evil…and to remember the grace that You extended to us, so we can pass along the same grace to others, no matter how deeply they may have hurt us.
We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit in Christ’s name...Amen.
TODAY’S STUDY
We Will Never Stop the Condemnation
We are studying the first passage of Romans, Chapter 8, and we are becoming familiar with the One we, as Christians, depend on…God the Holy Spirit. Let’s look at Romans, Chapter 8…Verses 1 to 13…
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in union with Christ Jesus.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
For what the Mosaic Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God the Father did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh…and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh…
…so that the requirement of the Mosaic Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace…
…because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so…
…and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
However, you (believers in Christ) are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, that one does not belong to Christ.
If Christ is in you, (and He is for believers in Christ) though the body is dead because of sin (indwelling), yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness (indwelling).
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you (and He does for believers in Christ), He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—
…for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Our focus so far has been on Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 1 and the idea of “no condemnation.” We’ll finish our look at this expression after a few announcements.
BARAH MINISTRIES ANNOUNCEMENTS
THANKS FOR THE PRAYERS!
Larry Collins
Recovering Nicely!
THANKS FOR THE PRAYERS!
Richard Bixby
Tracy’s Father is Recovering Well
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
VISIT THE VETS
TODAY!
August 23, 2015
1:45P
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Next Deacon’s Meeting
August 29, 2015
7:30AM MST
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EVENING SERVICE
September 20, 2015
6:00P-7:30P
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Barah Ministries
PENNSYLVANIA AND NEW YORK BIBLE CONFERENCE
Binghamton, NY
September 18-19, 2015
The last day to get rooms at the special rate of per night is tomorrow, August 24.
THANKS!
Ryan and Sandy Saloum
Attending the Coeur d’Alene Conference
Say hi to Zoey…about three years old now?
TODAY’S STUDY
We Will Never Stop the Condemnation
Romans, Chapter 8…Verse 1…
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in union with Christ Jesus.
In August of next year, I will celebrate silently and without fanfare, forty years of teaching adults some necessary human expertise. I have spent well over 30,000 hours in the classroom teaching adults different aspects of life, which makes me a triple expert…whether it be teaching them how to sell, or how to get a job, or how to operate broadcast equipment, or how to lead, or how to manage, or how to relate to other human beings…or, best of all, teaching them the Word of God.
I can tell you what causes a vexation to a teacher’s spirit…I can tell you what drives teachers a bit crazy…and that is teaching people the same things over and over again and seeing them not implement what they are being taught immediately in their lives. It drives teachers crazy when people don’t learn.
For those close to me, you know that I sometimes verbalize my displeasure
with this phenomenon. At a time in my life, that verbalization was condemnation…it was self-righteousness…“why don’t they get it? I get it…why don’t THEY get it?” Today, the verbalization of this displeasure is compassion. I just WANT people to get it…for them…for their own sake. This week, I realized that as human beings we will never get it.
I have always been reluctant to admit such a thing. To admit such a thing seemed to me to be fatalistic…an admission that our self-sabotage is inevitable and that we are powerless to stop it. Yet after watching this phenomenon for well over 14,000 days in thirty-nine years, and seeing the phenomenon be true in well over 100,000 people, even I can no longer ignore the evidence. When I ask you not to condemn yourself, I must understand that you won’t do as I ask. We will never stop the condemnation…not the condemnation of others…not the condemnation of self.
When I ask you to realize that you are a royal priest, an ambassador for Christ, a saint, who is holy and blameless, absolutely righteous, and indwelled by the entire Trinity, I realize that you don’t have a clue what that means.
When I tell you believers in Christ that you are saved, and that you can’t lose your salvation…you yawn.
When I tell you that you are dead to sin…you nod…you feel good about it… and then you go right back to asking yourself why you sin, and condemning yourself for doing it.
When I tell you that you are dead to the law, you go right home and make up rules for your kids to follow…and you actually expect that they will be able to follow them.
When I tell you that you will experience a betrayal in your marriage, and you will be forced to use either the law or grace to resolve the problem, you don’t think it can happen to you. And when you think of a betrayal in your marriage, you think you are the one who will be betrayed, but seldom will you see yourself as the one betraying. Then when you do betray, you will beat your breasts and wonder how you could make such a mistake.
This is the human condition. No matter how much you are taught, nor how much you learn, you will show your imperfection by completely missing the point of the lesson. It is wishful thinking to assume you would do anything else. In the matter of condemnation, we will never stop the condemnation… not the condemnation of others…not the condemnation of self. Well this week the Holy Spirit revealed to me that I was missing the point of the “no condemnation” lesson. Let’s take a music break and I’ll tell you what He showed me.
BREAK
He is Exalted
Twila Paris
TODAY’S STUDY
We Will Never Stop the Condemnation
Romans, Chapter 8…Verse 1…
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in union with Christ Jesus.
Since there is now “no condemnation” for those who are in union with Christ Jesus, don’t condemn yourself anymore. That’s what I’ve been saying to you. But it’s not the point. The point of “no condemnation” is that God doesn’t condemn you.
Will you condemn yourself? Absolutely! Will you ever stop? Nope. Do you condemn others? Yes. Will you ever stop? Nope. Again…that’s not the point of “no condemnation.” The point of “no condemnation” is that God doesn’t condemn you.
We can borrow a convenient encoding device, one I use regularly to help you shift your perspective about your spiritual life. It’s the analogy of the Jesus the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As you look at the statue from the outside toward the statue, it is beautiful and amazing. But if you were able to crawl up inside the statue and to look out through the statue’s eyes, you would see a totally different viewpoint. In the analogy, looking out through the eyes of the statue is seeing things from God’s pint of view, not from our point of view as humans. THAT’S the
point of “no condemnation.”
The point isn’t when will you “get it” about the “no condemnation.” You won’t. The point is God doesn’t condemn you. John, Chapter 8, Verses 7 to 11…
But when the scribes and the Pharisees persisted in asking Jesus about the adulterous woman, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Again Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground.
When the scribes and the Pharisees heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, was left in the center of the court.
Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?”
She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”
In the matter of condemnation, we will never stop the condemnation… not the condemnation of others…not the condemnation of self.
So as a teacher, I didn’t get it.
My job isn’t to help you stop sinning. My job isn’t to be concerned at all about what you do or how you choose to live your life. I am concerned about those things, but it is not my job. After all, I have a hard enough job running my own life unsuccessfully. My job is simply to tell you how the Lord Jesus Christ sees things…and how the Lord views things is…John, Chapter 8, Verse 11…
She said, “No one condemned me, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”
When the Lord looks at you, He sees a royal priest because He made you one.
When the Lord looks at you, He sees an ambassador for Christ because He made you one.
When the Lord looks at you, He sees a saint, who is holy and blameless, absolutely righteous, and indwelled by the entire Trinity, because He made you all of those things.
The Lord doesn’t condemn you.
These are established and irrevocable facts. The fact that you choose not to realize the power of all these things is hardly the point, and it doesn’t change the fact that all these things are true, not one bit.
In the matter of condemnation, we will never stop the condemnation…not the condemnation of others…not the condemnation of self. And that’s just fine, because your lack of understanding…your lack of faith…your lack of hope…doesn’t change one thing about what God has done for all of us.
Condemning yourself for your own mistakes is the pits. In the matter of condemning others…it’s decidedly more convenient to see the evil in others and to be blind to your own evil. Yet when we simply look at others as God looks at them…here’s what we see…Galatians, Chapter 6, Verses 1 to 5…
Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual (mature believers), restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.
Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.
For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, and many do, he deceives himself.
But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another.
We must not be intolerant of the mistakes of others. When we are, we are forgetting to examine ourselves…if we do examine ourselves we will likely see the same pattern of errors in ourselves that we see in others.
For each one will bear his own load.
When we realize that each of us must bear his own load, we realize that we cannot save anyone else from life lessons. We must allow others to learn the way they learn and to enjoy the consequences of their choices. We have sufficient burden carrying our own load.
The Lord is relaxed toward us. He is gracious toward us. We would do well to reflect His graciousness to others. “No condemnation” begins with your own attitude toward yourself. When you stop condemning yourself, maybe you’ll stop condemning others…though probably not. But when you are in the midst of condemning, the easy thing to do is to ask, “How does God see me?”
It’s a fact…god does not condemn you. Enjoy.
When the Lord Jesus Christ
Promises Salvation, It’s a Guarantee!
…as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one”
But God the Father demonstrates His own unconditional love toward all mankind, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
For God the Father did not send the Son (the Lord Jesus Christ) into the world to condemn the world, but the Father sent His Son into the world that the world might be saved through believing in Him.
But as many as received the Lord (taking advantage of the free gift of salvation), to them He gave the right (once and for all time) to become children of God…to those who believe in Christ’s name…
CLOSING SONG
HIS STRENGTH IS PERFECT
June Murphy
CLOSING PRAYER
Let us pray...
THANKS- INTERCESSION- PETITION
And we pray that You continue to shape messages from this pulpit that accurately reflect Your unconditional love, Your glorious Person, Your lucid thinking, Your impeccable work, and Your magnificent 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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