(#445) Romans 13 - What is the Debt Christians Owe to the Lord?

Class Outline:

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(#445) Romans 13 - December, 16, 2018 -TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON - What is the Debt Christians Owe to the Lord?

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. 

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON - What is the Debt Christians Owe to the Lord?

 

Jesus Christ is the Lord…He is God the Son…He is one of the three separate and distinct Persons of the Triune Godhead…along with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.

 

Jesus Christ is The Jewish Messiah.  

 

Jesus Christ is 100% God and 100% man in one Person…and as such He the is unique Person of divine history…there never has been and there never will be anyone like Him. 

 

Jesus Christ is the Sovereign God of the Universe, and nothing happens in the universe without His permission.  So those of you who think the universe provides for you…think again. It’s the Lord Jesus Christ who is at the center of all provision.  

 

Jesus Christ is the Creator…He created you and He created everything in the universe, and nothing has come into being but through Him.  

 

Jesus Christ is…in His very Person…LOVE… UNconditional love.  He loves you totally…He accepts you totally…and nothing you do ever surprises Him or disappoints Him.  

 

Jesus Christ is the only way to get to heaven…no one comes to God the Father in heaven without believing in Him.  

 

Jesus Christ is a Person, so He’s someone you can get to know.  The reason we study the bible is so we can get to know Jesus Christ…the reason I’m telling you these things to open this lesson is because I want you to get to know Jesus…to know how He thinks…to know how He feels…and to apply His supernatural thinking to our very natural every day problems.  What are your problems?  There is a divine solution to every human problem thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

 

Jesus Christ considers your problems to be His responsibility. Whatever problems you have, even when you can’t work them out, the Lord can work them out because nothing is impossible with God. 

 

At the Cross, Jesus Christ died a humiliating death to make payment for every sin you would ever commit…past, present and future…sin separates you from God…so to satisfy the justice requirements of His Father on your behalf, Jesus Christ shed blood…and in the eyes of God the Father, Jesus Christ’s work at the Cross is the ONLY perfectly satisfactory payment for your sins.  

 

Jesus Christ demands one thing from every person who has ever lived…do you know what it is?  It’s PERFECTION.  If you have a single brain cell in your head, you know that you are not perfect, and you know that there is no way anything you do would ever satisfy the righteousness requirements of a perfect God.  Jesus Christ satisfied the righteousness requirements of His Father for everyone who has ever lived, and because of His sacrifice on our behalf, all of us are free to count on His work for our own salvation.  

 

When we stop to reflect on what this Person…Jesus Christ…means to each one of us, we have to agree with the song, and say…three things we pray… to see Him more clearly…to love Him more dearly…to follow Him more nearly…Day by Day.

 

Welcome to a place where you can get to know the most important Person you will ever know…the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

Let’s begin our reflection on the Word of God with a song.  Are you happy?  The late Will Rogers, an American actor, once said, “People are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”  Over the six decades of my life, I have found that happiness is a journey, and not a destination…that happiness is a decision, and not a process…and that always we can be happy, ESPECIALLY in the midst of the trials the Lord Jesus Christ provides to strengthen us.  So as we reflect on our lives and as we seek to make sense of all that we go through, let’s live with joy… here’s King and Country to sing about it in their song…JOY.

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

JOY

For King and Country

 

OPENING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

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

 

Father, You are the lighthouse of our lives…as we navigate this life we often wander off course…we think we have all the answers…we have our own ideas about the “right” way to sail in this life…thank you for being patient with us as we learn that You are the way…You are the truth…You are the life…

 

Call us, Father, back to Your guidance…help us to take our direction in this life from You…teach us to value what You consider valuable…show us how to cast aside the meaningless distractions offered by the kingdom of death we live in, things designed to take us off course from the marvelous resurrection life You have provided…

 

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

name...Amen.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON - What is the Debt Christians Owe to the Lord?

 

We’re studying Romans, Chapter 13, and in the first seven verses we learned that the apostle Paul had to deal with the issue of authority in first century Rome.  The bible is interpreted in the time it was written, and at that time the leaders of The Jewish Race, God’s chosen people, did not want to obey the Roman Gentile rulers of the day.  The Jews thought Gentiles were beneath them.  No one could blame The Jews for not wanting to respect leaders like Herod, Nero, and Pontius Pilate.  Christians in the first century church had the same feeling… “Do we really have to respect evil authority?”  Paul wrote this part of his letter to the Romans to clear things up.

 

Romans Chapters 12 and 13 needed to be viewed as a single unit. Romans Chapter 12 outlines a Christian’s duties to the church.  Believers in Christ are spiritual beings, we have a spiritual gift, and we are in unity with other believers in Christ as the body of Christ.  You’ll remember from Chapter 12 that we are to present our bodies as a sacrifice…we are to keep on having our minds transformed by God…we are to think highly of ourselves but not too highly…we are to love the brethren unconditionally…we are to recognize our function in the body…a function different from and critical to others…and while we are to love each other, we also are to love our enemies just as our Lord loved His enemies.  These are a Christian’s duties in the Church Age.

 

Romans Chapter 13 outlines a Christian’s duties to the state.  In the first passage, Verses 1 to 7…Christians are exhorted to be in submission to the governing authorities.  In the second passage, Verses 8 to 10, the passage we’ll begin studying today, we are reminded that as citizens of the state we are expected to have a genuine concern for others…we are to LIVE UNconditional love.  Romans, Chapter 13, Verses 8 to 10 concerns a Christian’s debt to others…which really is the debt we owe the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Romans, Chapter 13, Verses 8 to 10…

 

ROMANS 13:8  Do not keep on owing anything to anyone (said another way…do not keep on falling short in your obligation to anyone) except owing the debt to love one another unconditionally…for he who loves his neighbor unconditionally 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.”

 

These are just a few of the sins that when committed hurt others.

 

ROMANS 13:10  Unconditional love does not keep on doing wrong to a neighbor…therefore unconditional love is the fulfillment of the law.

 

Only in union with Christ can a human being fully meet what the Mosaic Law requires…LOVE.

 

Christians owe it to the Lord to express divine love in every human relationship because the Lord wants us to reflect and to pass on the unconditional love He has given to us to others.

 

First John, Chapter 4, Verses 7 to 11…

 

FIRST JOHN 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another unconditionally, for unconditional love is from the source of God the Father…and everyone who loves unconditionally is a born again one of God the Father and knows God the Father.

 

FIRST JOHN 4:8  The one who does not love unconditionally does not know God the Father, for God the Father IS unconditional love (in His very Person).

 

FIRST JOHN 4:9  By this act…the unconditional love of God the Father was manifested in us believers in Christ…that God the Father has sent His uniquely born Son into the world (the God-man…the Lord Jesus Christ…100% God and 100% man in one person forever) so that we might live the resurrection life through our union with Him.

 

FIRST JOHN 4:10  In this is unconditional love…not that we loved God the Father unconditionally…but that God the Father loved us unconditionally and sent His Son to be the PROPITIATION for our sins.

 

PROPITIATION…one of the things I want you to have a deep understanding of…it means that in God the Father’s eyes, the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ at the Cross is the ONLY perfectly satisfactory payment for your sins…your penance is not satisfactory…your guilt is not satisfactory…your felling sorry is not satisfactory…your confession of your sins is not satisfactory…your naming and citing of your sins is not satisfactory…your sincere vows to never sin again is not satisfactory… only Christ’s blood, shed at the Cross is satisfactory as the payment for your sins.

 

FIRST JOHN 4:11  Beloved, if God the Father so loved us unconditionally…and He did…we also ought to love one another unconditionally.

 

How is your unconditional love, parents, when your kids are acting like goof balls?

 

John, Chapter 13, Verses 34 and 35…

 

JOHN 13:34 “A new commandment I (the Lord Jesus Christ) give to you believers in Christ…that you love one another unconditionally…even as I have loved you unconditionally…so that you also might love one another unconditionally.”

 

JOHN 13:35  “By this unconditional love…all men will know that you are My disciples…if you have unconditional love for one another.”

 

How is your unconditional love when a friend betrays you?   First Corinthians, Chapter 16, Verse 14…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 16:14 Let all that you do be done in unconditional love.

 

How is your unconditional love when you find out that a fellow believer in Christ has made a mistake at your expense?  Ephesians, Chapter 5, Verses 1 and 2…

 

EPHESIANS 5:1 Therefore believers in Christ…be imitators of God the Father…as beloved children (divinely loved ones)…

 

EPHESIANS 5:2  …and walk (as a lifestyle) in unconditional love…just as Christ also loved you unconditionally and gave Himself up as a sacrifice for us…as an offering and a sacrifice to God the Father as a fragrant aroma.

 

How is your unconditional love toward people who are experiencing gender confusion?  Colossians, Chapter 3, Verse 14…

 

COLOSSIANS 3:14 Beyond all these things put on unconditional love…which is the perfect bond of unity.

 

Unconditional love is the glue that holds relationships together.

 

 

When we return from our five-minute break, Deacon Denny Goodall will take the offering and then we’ll hear more about the debt we owe to the Lord…UNCONDITIONAL LOVE!

 

BREAK

Five Minutes

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON - What is the Debt Christians Owe to the Lord?

 

A FINAL REMINDER:  The end of the year is coming, and it’s a good time to remember that the Federal Government is willing to be your partner in giving.  Your contributions to a not-for-profit-organization like Barah Ministries are completely tax deductible.  In light of the financial challenges we have coming up in the New Year as we prepare to build our new facility, I hope you’ll remember your partnership with the government and consider a larger than usual end of the year contribution.  Let’s welcome Deacon Denny Goodall with the offering message.

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

JOHN 14:26 But the Helper…God the Holy Spirit…whom God the Father will send in My name…He will teach you all things…and bring to your remembrance all that I (the Lord Jesus Christ) said to you.

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

JOHN 14:27 Peace I leave with you…My peace I give to you…not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

 

OFFERING

FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE

Dave McClure, Instrumental

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON - What is the Debt Christians Owe to the Lord?

 

Welcome back!  

 

Even when we know that happiness is both a journey and a decision… sometimes we allow ourselves to feel unhappy.  God has an enemy who celebrates when we are unhappy…he wants us to blame God that things aren’t perfect in our lives…yet I have seen the best times of life be the trials of life.  Spiritual muscles that are irritated become strong…spiritual muscles at rest atrophy…whether unhappy or happy…God is with us every step of the way.  Here’s Colton Dixon to remind us that we have a God THROUGH ALL OF IT.

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

THROUGH ALL OF IT

Colton Dixon

 

God doesn’t say I’ll love you if…His love is not conditional…First John, Chapter 3, Verse 14…

 

FIRST JOHN 3:14 We know that we have passed out of spiritual death into spiritual life, because we love the brethren (other believers in Christ) unconditionally. He who does not love unconditionally (and that is unbelievers, who are not able to love unconditionally) abides in spiritual death.

 

Do you love the unbelievers in your life enough to give them the gospel message in the face of their resistance?  First John, Chapter 3, Verse 23…

 

FIRST JOHN 3:23 This is God the Father’s commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and that we love one another unconditionally…just as the Father commanded us.

 

The Christian Way of Living can be summed up in one word…LOVE.  First John, Chapter 4, Verse 21…

 

FIRST JOHN 4:21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God the Father unconditionally should love his brother unconditionally also.

 

Unconditional love comes from the heart…it is given not taken…Matthew, Chapter 22, Verse 39…

 

MATTHEW 22:39 “The second most important commandment is like the first, ‘You shall love your neighbor unconditionally just as you love yourself…unconditionally.’”

 

Do you love your spouse when they lead your family into bankruptcy? Galatians, Chapter 5, Verses 13 and 14…

 

GALATIANS 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brethren…only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh…but through unconditional love serve one another.

 

GALATIANS 5:14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall LOVE your neighbor unconditionally just as you love yourself…unconditionally.”

 

Only those in union with the Lord Jesus Christ, believers in Christ, are able to fulfill these requests for LOVE from God…unconditional love is the ultimate in freedom…Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 1 to 4…

 

ROMANS 8:1 Therefore (considering all Paul has said in Romans Chapter 7)…(we know) there is now no condemnation for those who are in union with Christ Jesus.

 

ROMANS 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of the resurrection life in union with Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and spiritual death.

 

ROMANS 8:3  For what the Law could not do (even though it was good because it came from God)…powerless as the Law was to free us from sin through the use of the flesh, God the Father did (accomplishing our deliverance from sin)… by sending His own Son (the Lord Jesus Christ) in the likeness of sinful flesh to handle the sin problem…and God the Father passed a judicial sentence (He made a legal decision) against sin in the flesh…

 

ROMANS 8:4  …so that the requirement of the (perfect) Mosaic Law (which requiresperfection from humans) might be fully met in us believers in Christ…who do not walk according to the flesh but who walk according to the Spirit.

 

As believers in Christ we are indwelled by God the Holy Spirit and we have God’s perfect righteousness as a free gift.  As a result we are to keep our minds on what God the Holy Spirit wants for us.

 

ROMANS 8:5 For those who walk according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh…but those who walk according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

 

What is the debt Christians owe the Lord?  LOVE.  Let you holiday be filled with it.  And speaking of love…

 

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 God wants you to know is that there are only thirteen words you need to know to understand the issues of salvation!

 

GOD

 

There is one and only one God…Isaiah, Chapter 45, Verse 5…

 

ISAIAH 45:5 “I am the Lord and there is no other Lord…besides Me there is no other God.”

 

God reveals Himself in ways that make sense to human beings.

MAN

 

If you are human, God created you.  John, Chapter 1, Verse 3…

 

JOHN 1:3 All things came into being through the Lord (God the Son)…and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

 

Genesis, Chapter 1 says “Male and Female…the Lord created them.”

SIN

 

All of us were born in a state of sin.  It’s not our fault, but it is our circumstance.  Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 23…

 

ROMANS 3:23 …for all creatures have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…

 

Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 10…

 

ROMANS 3:10 …as it is written “There is no creature who is righteous, not even one…”

 

First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 22…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:22a For all in union with Adam at physical birth (and that is every human being who comes to earth) are set to die the second death in the Lake of Fire…

 

As a result of sin, all of us are born condemned…thus we need a Savior.

 

JESUS

 

The God-Man…Lord Jesus Christ…is our Savior.  John, Chapter 3, Verse 17…

 

JOHN 3:17 For God the Father did not send God the Son into the world to judge the world…but the Father sent the Son into the world that the world might be saved through Him.

 

The Lord Jesus Christ wants you to be saved.

 

CROSS

 

The Lord Jesus Christ chose to die on a Cross to become a sin sacrifice for you…so you wouldn’t have to die for your sins.  Philippians, Chapter 2, Verse 8…

 

PHILIPPIANS 2:8  Being found in appearance as a man…the Lord Jesus Christ humiliated Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death…even death on a Cross.

 

John, Chapter 3, Verse 16

 

JOHN 3:16 “For God the Father loved the world unconditionally…and He loved the world so much…that He gave His uniquely born Son (the God-man…Jesus Christ…to be crucified on a Cross)…that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but instead shall have the resurrection life (eternal life).”
 

RESURRECTION

 

Three days after Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, He proved Himself to be God…just as He said…by His resurrection from the dead…Matthew, Chapter 28, Verses 5 and 6…

 

MATTHEW 28:5-6 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid…for I know you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified.//He is not here…for He has risen from the dead just as He said He would.
 

No one else has ever been resurrected from the dead. 

SALVATION

 

The Lord’s death on a Cross allows God the Father to provide all creatures with a “so great” salvation through Christ…Acts, Chapter 4, Verse 12 says… 

 

ACTS 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else…for there is no other name underheaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved (except the name of the Lord Jesus Christ).”
 

GRACE

 

You cannot work for your salvation…it is a free gift from the grace of God for your benefit.  Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verses 8 and 9…

 

EPHESIANS 2:8 For by God’s grace you have been saved through faith (in Christ for salvation)…and that grace and that faith and that salvation are not from the source of yourselves…it’s the gift of God….

 

EPHESIANS 2:9  …therefore, being saved is not as a result of works (deeds you have done in self-righteousness)…so that no one may boast (about saving himself).

 

FAITH

 

Do you want to be saved?  Use your gift of faith to place your confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation.  Mathew, Chapter 17, Verse 20…

 

MATTHEW 17:20 “…if you have faith the size of a mustard seed (the smallest of all seeds), you will say to this mountain (any obstacle…including being saved), ‘Move from here to there,’ and the obstacle will move…and nothing will be impossible to you.”

 

John, Chapter 14, Verse 6…

 

JOHN 14:6 Jesus said to the doubting apostle, Thomas, “I am the way (to salvation), and I am the truth (through the Word of God), and I am the resurrection life…and no one comes to God the Father (in heaven) but through believing in Me.”

 

REPENTANCE

 

If you don’t have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, repent!  Change your mind about Christ…and you’ll be saved!  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).

 

RIGHTEOUSNESS

 

When you change your mind about Christ, He gives you His absolute righteousness…He credits it free of charge to your account…and it is your admission ticket to heaven.  Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verse 21 says…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 5:21 God the Father made Jesus Christ who knew no sin to be a sin sacrifice on our behalf…so that we might become the righteousness of God the Father in union with Him.

 

When you believe in Christ, you get the gift of absolute righteousness.

 

TRUTH

 

What you are hearing is the absolute truth…and this absolute truth is bigger than your beliefs.  John, Chapter 8, Verses 31 and 32…

 

JOHN 8:31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word (the word of the gospel message), then you are truly disciples of Mine…”

 

JOHN 8:32  “…and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

 

Here’s the truth…Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31…

 

ACTS 16:31  “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and everyone

in your household who also believes.”

 

The truth you must heed is the warning in John, Chapter 3, Verse 36…

 

JOHN 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has the resurrection life right at that moment… but he who does not obey the command to believe in the Son will not see the resurrection life…instead the wrath of God (the Lake of Fire) abides on him.”

 

These thirteen words weave a tapestry that takes you on a tour of the critical biblical thoughts that get you saved.  Let God save you!  Do it now! 

 

As you go forth into your week, here’s a song from June Murphy encouraging you to find a new way to look at the challenges of your life...with LOVE...here’s June with her song COUNT IT ALL JOY.

 

CLOSING SONG

COUNT IT ALL JOY

June Murphy

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

Thanks for coming!

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for listening!

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