(#435) Romans 13 - Remember When We Used to Respect Authority?

Class Outline:

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Welcome To 

BARAH MINISTRIES

a Christian Church

Rory Clark

Pastor-Teacher

 

Good Morning!

 

Welcome to Barah Ministries…a Christian Church that makes a difference.  My name is Pastor Rory Clark.  At Barah Ministries, our God is the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  We make a difference by teaching the Word of God from God’s perspective, and not from man’s perspective. 

 

Pastor Appreciation Day is fast approaching, and I was imagining that I was face-to-face with the Lord for a brief conversation.  He asked me, “Rory, what makes you special as a Pastor?”  I told him, “The fact that I endured fifty-years in two false systems, yet I relentlessly pursued the truth until I found it!”  The Lord said, “Rory, I asked what makes YOU special…not what makes ME special!”  The Lord is The Way!  There would have been no getting out of those lies if it weren’t for the Lord’s guidance through God the Holy Spirit.

 

So, in short, there is NOTHING that makes me special except for the things the Lord has done for me.  Perhaps a better question for me to answer would be, “Rory, how do you want to be remembered as a Pastor?”  I want to be remembered as a Pastor that taught WHO Jesus is, what Jesus THOUGHT, what Jesus SAID, what Jesus DID, and what Jesus and His thoughts, words and actions MEAN TO YOU.  You would do well to reflect His goodness by letting others see Him in your thoughts and words and actions.

 

You may wonder, on occasion, what makes the God we worship so special.  Among the many things that make Him special is a truth we studied last week…God is special because of how He treats His enemies.  Romans, Chapter 5, Verses 6 to 10…

 

ROMANS 5:6

For while all His creatures were still helpless (as unrighteous unbelievers), at just the right time, the Lord Jesus Christ died on behalf of the ungodly ones (all of us at physical birth).

 

ROMANS 5:7 

For a person will hardly die on behalf of a righteous man…though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.

 

ROMANS 5:8 

But God the Father keeps on demonstrating His own unconditional love toward all His creatures, in that while we were still sinners (as unrighteous, ungodly unbelievers…as enemies of God), (the Father…He allowed) Christ to die a sacrificial death on behalf of us.

 

ROMANS 5:9 

Much more then (if that weren’t enough), having now been justified (declared absolutely righteous) by means of the Lord Jesus Christ’s shed blood…we believers in Christ shall be delivered from the wrath of God the Father through our union with Christ.

 

ROMANS 5:10 

For since while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God the Father through the death of His Son…and of course it’s true…much more (if that weren’t enough), having been reconciled to God the Father, we shall be delivered by the Lord Jesus Christ’s resurrection life.

 

Welcome to a place where you can learn about the Sovereign God of the Universe…our true authority…the One who saved us and delivered us…the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

Remember When We Used to Respect Authority?

 

If I told you that selfishness has reached an all time high in this world, you wouldn’t at all be surprised.  But if I told you that the apostle Paul was talking about the same thing in His day, over two thousand years ago, ot might cause you to stop and think.

 

SECOND TIMOTHY 4:3

For the time will come when people will not endure sound doctrine (the truth of the Word of God)…but wanting to have their ears tickled (wanting to be told what they want to hear)…people will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires…

 

SECOND TIMOTHY 4:3

…and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

 

False teachers and their heresies are very successful at turning people away from the truth. People turn from true authorities that teach the truth…to false authorities who teach lies…and then worst of all, when the lies of false teachers are not enough to satisfy, people turn to themselves.

 

Remember when we used to respect true authority?  In today’s lesson we begin the study of Romans, Chapter 13, and it starts by turning our heads back to the genuine authority set forth by our Almighty God.

 

Our choice in this life is simple…obey God or disobey God.  Yet the truth is, God’s will is going to be done.  Here’s Hillary Scott to remind us of the simplicity and purity of obedience to Christ in her song THY WILL BE DONE.

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

THY WILL BE DONE

Hillary Scott

 

OPENING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…

 

Father you have set apart your godly ones in such a way that we are not of this world system…instead we have an inheritance reserved for us in heaven…undefiled…where moth and rust cannot destroy…we are grateful that you are not allowing us to be conformed into the pattern of this world and squeezed into its mold…instead, day by day, you keep on transforming us by renewing our minds and by changing us into the image and likeness of Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ…

 

Father help us to take every thought captive to Christ…help us to keep on surrendering our hearts and our lives to You in true obedience…teach us to draw closer to each other and to You as You keep on doing Your good works in each of our lives through Your indwelling Holy Spirit…

 

…we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s

name...Amen.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

Remember When We Used to Respect Authority?

 

We begin the transition into the next chapter of Paul’s letter to the believers in Christ at first century Rome…let’s relax and listen as we begin the transition into Romans, Chapter 13…Verses 1 to 14…

 

ROMANS 13:1

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.

 

ROMANS 13:2 

Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God…and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.

 

ROMANS 13:3 

For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same…

 

ROMANS 13:4 

…for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.

 

ROMANS 13:5 

Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake.

 

ROMANS 13:6 

For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing.

 

ROMANS 13:7 

Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

 

ROMANS 13:8 

Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another…for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

 

ROMANS 13:9 

For this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

 

ROMANS 13:10 

Love does no wrong to a neighbor…therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

 

ROMANS 13:11 

Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep…for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.

 

ROMANS 13:12 

The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

 

ROMANS 13:13 

Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.

 

 

 

ROMANS 13:14 

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

 

There are three passages in Romans Chapter 13…Verses 1 to 8…Verses 8 to 10…Verses 11 to 14.  Let’s listen to the whole chapter again with some translation corrections that may help you understand more fully what is really being communicated in the chapter.

 

PASSAGE ONE:  Romans 13, Verses 1 to 8

 

ROMANS 13:1

Every person is to be in subjection to the authorities in power. Why? For there is no authority in power except ones that were put in power by God… and those authorities in power that exist are established by God.

 

ROMANS 13:2 

Therefore whoever rebels against authority has rebelled against the ordinance of God…and they who have opposed the ordinance of God (are rebelling against God as well…and) will receive (both divine and civil) condemnation upon themselves.

 

ROMANS 13:3 

For rulers are not a cause of fear for those who have good behavior (those who obey)…but rulers are a cause of fear for those who indulge in evil (those who disobey). Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the authority…

 

ROMANS 13:4 

…for the authority is a minister of God (a diakonos…a deacon)…given as a grace gift to you for your own good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid… for the authority does not bear the sword (firearms) for nothing…for the authority is a minister of God…an avenger…who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.

 

Governmental force…used properly...is just.

 

 

 

ROMANS 13:5 

Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection to the authority…not only because of (the) wrath (wielded by the authority), but also for your conscience’ sake (which is always imploring you to obey God).

 

ROMANS 13:6 

For because of the authority you also pay taxes…for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very service (full time)…ministering.

 

ROMANS 13:7 

Render to all authorities what is due them…tax to whom tax is due…custom to whom custom is due…fear to whom fear is due…honor to whom honor is due.

 

We are commanded to respect authority.

 

ROMANS 13:8 

(While on the subject of debt…of what is due) Owe nothing to anyone (have no outstanding debts) except (the debt commanded by God) to love one another unconditionally…for he who loves his neighbor unconditionally has fulfilled the Mosaic Law.

 

PASSAGE TWO

 

ROMANS 13:9 

For this (is in the Mosaic Law), “You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet” … and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this one saying, “You shall love your neighbor just as you love yourself…unconditionally”

 

ROMANS 13:10 

Unconditional love does no wrong (no harm) to a neighbor…therefore unconditional love is the fulfillment of the law.

 

PASSAGE THREE

 

ROMANS 13:11 

Do this, knowing the time (the divine season…how near we are to the end… the immanency of Christ’s return)…that it is already the hour for you to awaken from your slumber (lack of alertness)…for now deliverance is nearer to us than when first we believed in Christ.

 

ROMANS 13:12 

The night is almost gone (Satan’s time is nearly over), and the day is near (the time of the return of Christ). Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

 

ROMANS 13:13 

Let us behave properly (in lifestyle) as in the day…not in (the deeds of darkness like) carousing and drunkenness…not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality…not in strife and jealousy.

 

ROMANS 13:14 

But put on (that is, clothe yourselves with) the Lord Jesus Christ (righteousness, purity, holiness, blamelessness)…and make no provision for the (gratification of the) flesh in regard to its lusts.

 

The passage is filled with DO’s and DON’T’s…just like Romans, Chapter 12…it tells us what to obey and what not to obey.

 

THE DO’s

 

DO be in subjection to the governing authorities put in place by God.

 

DO what is good if you want no fear of authority

 

DO pay your taxes

 

THE DO’s

 

DO respect customs

 

DO respect leaders

 

DO demonstrate honor

 

THE DO’s

 

DO keep the commandments

 

DO love unconditionally

 

DO lay aside the deeds of darkness

 

THE DO’s

 

DO put on the armor of light

 

DO behave properly

 

THE DON’T’s

 

DON’T resist or rebel against authority

 

DON’T resist the ordinance of God

DON’T do what is evil

 

THE DON’T’s

 

DON’T carouse

 

DON’T get drunk

 

DON’T engage in sensuality

 

THE DON’T’s

 

DON’T be promiscuous

 

DON’T engage in strife (fighting)

 

DON’T get jealous

 

THE DON’T’s

 

DON’T make provisions for the flesh

 

DON’T engage in lust

 

When we get back from the break, we’ll take the offering, and then we’ll begin our study of Romans, Chapter 13 at Verse 1.

  

BREAK

Five Minutes

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

Remember When We Used to Respect Authority?

 

Giving is a “want to” … not a “have to” experience.  As Christians we are to give as we are given to.  But there is a word in God’s instructions on giving that is often overlooked…Second Corinthians, Chapter 9, Verse 7…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 9:7

(In the matter of giving)…Each person must do just as he has decided in his own heart…not giving grudgingly or under COMPULSION…for God loves a cheerful giver.

 

The word we miss in that instructional verse is COMPULSION.  You are not to give against your will because someone coerced you.  You are never to be turned off by a request to give.  When you hear a request to give, it’s simply a “want to” … not a “have to” decision.

 

Let’s welcome up one of the best “want to” coercers I know, Deacon Denny Goodall, with this week’s offering message.

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

FIRST JOHN 4:4

You are from God, little children, and have overcome the antichrists… because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 

 

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

FIRST JOHN 5:4

For whatever is born again of God overcomes the world…and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith in Christ.

 

OFFERING

FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE

Dave McClure, Instrumental

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

Remember When We Used to Respect Authority?

 

Welcome back! 

 

When we know God, it follows that we know that our God is awesome!  But do you know how awesome it is to obey Him?  Here’s Rich Mullins with his song AWESOME GOD!

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

AWESOME GOD

Rich Mullins

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

Remember When We Used to Respect Authority?

 

Romans, Chapter 13, Verse 1…

 

ROMANS 13:1

Every person is to be in subjection to the authorities in power. Why? For there is no authority in power except ones that were put in power by God… and those authorities in power that exist are established by God.

 

Let’s begin our study of authority with a story in Matthew, Chapter 20, Verses 1 to 15…Jesus is discussing authority…

 

MATTHEW 20:1

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning (6:00 AM) to hire laborers for his vineyard.”

 

MATTHEW 20:2 

“When he had agreed with the first set of laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard.”

 

MATTHEW 20:3 

“And the landowner went out about the third hour (9:00 AM) and saw others standing idle in the marketplace…”

 

MATTHEW 20:4 

“…and to those the landowner said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ And so they went.”

 

MATTHEW 20:5 

“Again the landowner went out about the sixth hour (Noon) and the ninth hour (3:00 PM), and did the same thing.”

 

MATTHEW 20:6 

“And about the eleventh hour (5:00 PM) he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’” 

 

MATTHEW 20:7 

They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’”

 

MATTHEW 20:8 

“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.’”

 

MATTHEW 20:9 

“When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius.”

 

 

MATTHEW 20:10 

“When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more… but each of them also received a denarius.”

 

MATTHEW 20:11 

“When they received the denarius, they grumbled at the landowner…”

 

MATTHEW 20:12 

“…saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’” 

 

MATTHEW 20:13 

“But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong…did you not agree with me for a denarius?’”

 

MATTHEW 20:14 

“Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.”

 

MATTHEW 20:15 

“Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’”

 

That’s God’s viewpoint. As the authority, He has a right to do as He wills with what is His own…His creatures.  Yet creatures, now and always, have grumbled at authority. Remember when we used to respect authority?  Romans Chapter 13 is designed by God to put us back on the authority track.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GOD WANTS YOU!

Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life

 

The closing moments of our study are for anyone who does not have a personal relationship with the Sovereign God of the Universe, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  We want you to know that GOD WANTS YOU.

 

What is going to happen to you when you close your eyes in this life?  How can you get to heaven?

 

Many people believe that religious rituals are their ticket into heaven. They embrace religious beliefs that tell them how to live a spiritual life. The religion claims there is a God, or there are many gods…but the religion does not tell you how to have a personal relationship with Him. And, despite all of your religious rituals, your religion does not guarantee that following those rituals will get you into heaven.

 

In John, Chapter 4, Verses 13 and 14, the Lord Jesus Christ is talking to a woman at a well…a Samaritan woman whom the Jews wanted nothing to do with…after a brief conversation, the Lord says to her…

 

JOHN 4:13

“Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again…”

 

JOHN 4:14 

“…but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst…but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

 

It is the Lord’s will for you to come to heaven to live with Him when you close your eyes in this life. Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verse 9…

 

SECOND PETER 3:9

The Lord is not slow about His promise of salvation, as some accuse Him of, but instead He is patient toward you unbelievers, not wishing for any of you to perish (in the Lake of Fire) but for all of you to come to repentance (a change of mind about having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ).

 

First Timothy, Chapter 2, Verses 3 and 4…

 

FIRST TIMOTHY 2:3

This is good and acceptable in the sight of the God who is our Savior (the Lord Jesus Christ)…

 

FIRST TIMOTHY 2:4 

…who desires all men to be saved and for all men to come to the knowledge of the truth.

 

The truth of how to get to heaven is this simple…it’s a nine-word conversation…Luke, Chapter 23, Verses 42 and 43…

 

LUKE 23:42

And a thief being crucified next to Jesus was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!”

 

LUKE 23:43 

And Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

 

Or if you prefer…it’s a five word conversation with God the Father… “Father…I believe in Christ.” Simply believe…and that is the moment of eternal life for you.  Now once the Lord saves you, no matter how hard you try, you cannot lose it…John, Chapter 10, Verse 28 says…

 

JOHN 10:28

“…and I (the Lord Jesus Christ) give eternal life to believers in Christ, and they will never perish…and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”

 

On the other hand, if you reject the relationship offer of this God who does not want you to perish, He will honor your rejection…Matthew, Chapter 13, Verses 49 and 50…

 

MATTHEW 13:49

So it will be at the end of the age…the angels will come forth and take out the wicked (unbelievers) from among the righteous (believers in Christ)...

 

 

 

MATTHEW 13:50 

…and will throw them into the furnace of fire…in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 

Here is June Murphy to tell us about who God is…this God who is the authority…in her song ESSENCE OF GOD.

 

CLOSING SONG

ESSENCE OF GOD

June Murphy

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

Thanks for coming!

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for listening!

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