ROM-54-141102 - length: 76:36 - taught on Nov, 2 2014
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. In John, Chapter 8, Verses 31 and 32, the Lord Jesus Christ gives us a perspective on freedom…
So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, (maybe you will and maybe you won’t…you have a choice), then you are truly disciples of Mine…”
“Believed Him,” in this case, is referring to Jews who were listening attentively to Him…not necessarily to Jews who had believed Him for salvation.
“…and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
The Lord Jesus Christ is saying that there is freedom in the truth. There is never a need to be confused about anything. But when you are confused, you can always find the truth. If the Lord is right about that, then you’d have to assume that those who seek to pervert the truth are doing so for the purpose of creating slaves. That has certainly been the pattern of the Roman Catholic Church throughout the years.
Here are a few excerpts from a recent newsletter of Mike Gendron who has a ministry called, Proclaiming the Gospel Ministries, an evangelistic ministry to Roman Catholics. It is his aim to lead Roman Catholics to the freedom of an unperverted and true relationship with the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
EXCERPTS FROM
PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL NEWSLETTER
by MIKE GENDRON
The Synod of Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church, an advisory board for
the Pope, met in October to discuss the Pastoral Challenges of the Family. The gathering has created some heated discussions on the new direction the Roman Catholic Church may be taking.
EXCERPTS FROM
PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL NEWSLETTER
by MIKE GENDRON
The primary topics of discussion by the Synod of Bishops included the softening of the Roman Catholic Church’s position on homosexuality and birth control, plus a streamlining of the marriage annulment process. The Synod of Bishops also discussed improving pastoral care of divorced and remarried Roman Catholics.
EXCERPTS FROM
PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL NEWSLETTER
by MIKE GENDRON
It is appalling that there is any discussion on issues where God’s authoritative Word has already established His position. No church or pope has the right to adopt a position that is inconsistent with God’s Divine Law. Marriage was established by God and is clearly defined by God, and no one has the right to pervert what He ordained.
In a separate matter, the pope of the Roman Catholic Church addressed another issue…creation.
EXCERPTS FROM
PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL NEWSLETTER
by MIKE GENDRON
Pope Francis reaffirmed long-held Catholic beliefs that evolution is not “inconsistent” with Creation. Pope Francis said, “When we read about Creation in Genesis, we run the risk of imagining God was a magician, with a magic wand able to do everything.”
EXCERPTS FROM
PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL NEWSLETTER
by MIKE GENDRON
“But that is not so.” <In other words, God is not able to do everything.> The pope was talking to a group gathered for a discussion on Evolving Concepts of Nature. The pope also said, “The Big Bang, which today we hold to be the origin of the world, does not contradict the intervention of the divine creator but, rather, requires it.”
The truth is from the source of God. The truth is absolute. The truth is black and white, not gray. The truth never changes. There is nothing man can do to improve the truth. When man changes the truth, it is no longer the truth. It is a lie. And lies create slavery not freedom.
Welcome to a place where you can know the truth, and the truth will make you free. And the way that freedom feels is that every day when you wake up, you know that there is God, He has everything in the universe under control, He has a personal plan for your life, and there is nothing for you to worry about. If you’re confused, if you don’t have God in your life, worrying is all you can do.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION
Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ
Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
WORTHY
Let’s begin our worship of the Lord in song. Have you ever doubted your worthiness? I’m sure, if you’re like me, you have. Well God the Father doesn’t doubt the worthiness of His believers in Christ, because Christ has made us worthy. Enjoy the opening song… WORTHY.
OPENING PRAYER
Let us pray...
We’re grateful to you, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…
Thank you for counting us to be so worthy that you would send Your Son to
die on our behalf, just so we could have a relationship with you. Thank you for placing us believers in union with Him so that we would be eternally secure. Thank you for letting us know that You have all of our interests in mind. Thank you for letting us know that where our mistakes reign, Your grace reigns all the more.
Implant Your Word into our souls today and prepare us for the challenges You will allow us to face in the coming days.
We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit...in Christ’s name...
Amen.
TODAY’S STUDY
Are You In Adam or Are You In Christ?
There’s a quiz question for you…are you In Adam or are you In Christ? As we transition to the next passage of study, Romans, Chapter 5 Verses 12 to 21…you’ll get an answer to that question and you’ll gain insight on the significance of being one or the other.
We continue our study of Romans…turn to Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 8. In Romans Chapter 1, the apostle Paul teaches us the importance of the gospel message.
First, I (Paul) thank my God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ for all of you believers in Rome, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.
In Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 16 we learn that believers in Christ to are to pass along the gospel message of the Lord Jesus Christ to everyone in our periphery…
For I (Paul) am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
What is the gospel message? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. In Romans, Chapter 1, Verses 17 and 18 we learn that every creature has a simple choice…righteousness or wrath…Verse 17…
For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”
If not righteousness, then wrath…and I guarantee you do not want to be on the wrong end of the wrath of God…
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and against the unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness…
You will know the truth and the truth will set you free…and in Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 20 we learn that no creature is allowed by God to remain ignorant of the gospel message…
For since the creation of the world the Lord Jesus Christ’s invisible attributes, His eternal power and His divine nature, have been clearly seen by all creatures, being understood even through what has been made, so that unbelievers are without excuse.
The Lord puts a knowledge about Himself inside of us, so that from the outside or from the inside we will know about Him, even though nothing in us wants to know about Him. In Romans, Chapter 2, we learn that God’s enemy, Satan, offers three substitute lifestyles to the Christian Way of Life.
SATAN’S LIFESTYLE OFFERS
The Lascivious Life
The Religious Life
The Self-Righteous-Legalistic Life
In Satan’s kingdom, wherever there is truth, there is always Satan’s perversion of the truth. All of us participate in these three lifestyles in our lifetime…yes…even believers in the Lord Jesus Christ participate in these lifestyles…and while the Lord neither condones these lifestyles, nor encourages them, He does allow them so that we can know firsthand that Satan is what the Lord says He is…a liar…and the father of all lies. The Lord allows us, through experience, to know beyond a reasonable doubt that the Satan offered lifestyles do not result in freedom, but slavery. Lies don’t succeed in God’s plan…Romans, Chapter 2, Verses 9 to 11…
There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek…
…but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
For there is no partiality with God.
God always gives us a choice…to choose righteousness or to choose wrath…to choose evil…or to choose good.
In Romans, Chapter 3, we learn that all of us are criminals in God’s eyes…transgressors of the law…not at all worthy…helpless and hopeless to have a relationship with God on our own merits…Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 10…
…as it is written, “There is no creature who is righteous, not even one…”
Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 23…
“…for all creatures have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”
We are guilty as charged of violating God’s laws, and we cannot “weasel off the hook.” When our situation is clear to us, then God let’s us know that He changed everything. In Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 21, God offers an option that supersedes the law…
But now, apart from the Law, the righteousness of God has been manifested…
The Lord paid our debt of guilt so that we wouldn’t have to. As you hear these things we have already studied, a calm should be coming over your soul…that God’s sees fit to remind you of these things so that you can know that you know the truth, and so that you can feel the freedom of knowing the truth. In Romans, Chapter 4, the power of your faith is made clear…Verse 3…
For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
We saw the quite imperfect Abraham make every mistake he could possibly make in his life, and yet one simple act of decision changed everything for Abraham and his descendants… Romans, Chapter 4, Verse 5…
But to the one who does not work for salvation, but simply believes in the Lord Jesus Christ who justifies the ungodly, that person’s faith is credited as righteousness…
Then in the first half of Romans, Chapter 5, we learn that the result of this justification is a manifestation of the Lord’s unconditional love and grace, which gives us peace… Romans, Chapter 5, Verse 1…
Therefore, having been justified on the principle of faith in the past, we believers in Christ now, and forevermore into the eternal future, keep on having peace with God the Father through our union with the Lord Jesus Christ…
In the next passage…Romans, Chapter 5, Verses 12 to 21…we learn about the affect of two men on our lives…the first Adam and the last Adam…
because at this very moment, either you are “In Adam…”
THE BOOK OF ROMANS
Romans, Chapter 5, Verse 12 to 21
In Adam or In Christ
…or you are “In Christ” … which one applies to you? And what exactly does it mean? Take a five-minute break, and when you come back, we’ll explore it together.
BREAK
I Know You’re There
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Welcome back! The Lord Jesus Christ, who accepted our guilt, and who agreed to make a payment for it, removes the guilt of our sins. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only perfectly satisfactory payment to let us off the hook. Because of Christ, we believers in Christ are justified…declared righteous by God the Father…by means of faith. And God’s perfect justification has a perfect result…we receive unconditional love and grace and peace with God. Let’s look at the next passage, Romans, Chapter 5, Verses 12 to 21…
<Read Romans, Chapter 5, Verses 12 to 21>
Romans Chapter 5, Verses 12 to 21 ask us a simple question, “Are you ‘In Adam’ or are you ‘In Christ?’”
God is absolute. So he gives you a single choice if you want to be on His team. In this next passage we will see the effects of your choice. Your choice is absolute as well. You may want to “gray out” your world, and agree with Satan that there is no absolute truth…you may want to soften your position like the Roman Catholic Church and like all the religions do…seeking to modify the truth to your own ends…but God remains absolute…there is one choice in God’s plan, not many choices. Our God is not a God of confusion.
Charles Dickens, in his book The Tale of Two Cities, began his work much as this passage of Romans is constructed…notice the contrasts…
THE TALE OF TWO CITIES
by Charles Dickens
It was the best of times…it was the worst of times…
It was the age of wisdom…it was the age of foolishness…
It was the epoch of belief…it was the epoch of incredulity…
It was the season of Light…it was the season of Darkness…
It was the spring of hope…it was the winter of despair…
So it is within the Word of God. It is the worst of times…In Adam…it is the
best of times…In Christ. In this next passage we notice the contrast and we appreciate God’s absolute nature in detailing for us the single choice that is best. Yes the study of this passage is not The Tale of Two Cities…this passage is the tale of two men…Adam…and Christ.
THE TALE OF TWO MEN
In Adam? or In Christ?
The First Adam The Last Adam
You have a choice of the one of these men whom you wish to marry…Adam or Christ. Adam was chosen by God to be the federal head of the human race. Jesus Christ came to be the federal head of a reconciled spiritual race. Who have you chosen to marry? Whose bride are you? When we get to Romans, Chapter 7, we’ll talk more about this marriage you believers in Christ chose… Romans, Chapter 7, Verse 4…
Therefore, my brethren (believers in Christ), you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, joined into union with Him (Jesus Christ) who was raised (resurrected) from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God the Father.
The next passage of study is the tale of two choices…
THE TALE OF TWO CHOICES
In Adam or In Christ
WRATH RIGHTEOUSNESS
In Adam there is spiritual death. That is our situation at physical birth. Those who are alive to Adam, those who are in union with Adam, are dead to Christ. In Christ there is spiritual birth. That is our state at the moment we choose to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who are alive to Christ, in union with Christ, are dead to Adam. We are born in Adam. It’s not our fault. It’s not our choice. It is our circumstance. We can choose to be in Christ instead. The Greek words that illuminate this magnificent choice to believe in Christ? The bible calls it…
In Christ
EN KRISTO IESUS
There is nothing better in this life for you to be…in Christ. The bible is littered with this powerful expression…in Christ. Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verse 17…
Therefore if anyone is in Christ (EN KRISTO IESUS…in union with Christ), and all believers in Christ are, he is a new creature (of the new spiritual race); the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
The next passage of study is the tale of two results…
THE TALE OF TWO RESULTS
In Adam or In Christ
Condemnation Righteousness
Guilt Justification
Death Peace
Isn't it great that God is absolute? Isn’t it great that God loves clarity? Are you In Adam or are you In Christ? You can’t be both. The fatal mistake most people make in the spiritual life is the mistake of polishing a turd. The life In Adam is a turd. The life In Adam is not the life In Christ. The difference is as clear as the male and female anatomy. Males and females do not have the same sexual anatomy. When I was a child I can remember watching the iconic couple, Sonny and Cher, on their weekly TV show. In every show they would bring out their daughter, Chastity Bono. She was the
most gorgeous little girl you’d ever want to see.
Well now, at forty-five years old, the gorgeous Chastity Bono is now Chaz Bono. She is transgender, which means she changed her gender. She believed she was a man trapped in a woman’s body, and she has undergone the operations and the procedures that have, in her mind, converted her into a man. Even in this evil, there is absoluteness. You can’t be a man and woman at the same time. She is a woman, but now she thinks procedures have changed God’s design and that she has, through these procedures, made herself a man. She has not. She can pretend to be a man. But genetically, God made her a woman and there is nothing she can do to change it.
The next passage of study is the tale of two spheres…
THE TALE OF TWO SPHERES
In Adam or In Christ
LAW GRACE
You’ve probably heard the expression “living in sin.” That is a reference to a man and a woman that live together in the same household, and who also have sexual relations outside of the sphere of marriage. If a man and a woman were living together in the same household, and were not having sexual relations, it would still be considered “living in sin” by the world. People always assume the worst about us, and there’s no point in trying to change their already made up minds. Satan always takes biblical truths and distorts them. What is “living in sin” really? “Living in sin” is really the life In Adam…it is the life of the unbeliever. And for those of you who want to take what I have just said as an endorsement to live together before marriage, it is not. Furthermore, if it were such an endorsement, don’t forget that I am not the Sovereign of the Universe. If you do something I tell you to do because it suits your purposes, you’re still on the hook with God for your choices. What you sow, you will reap. It is much better to live in the sphere of grace than in the sphere of sin.
Are you In Adam or are you in Christ? If you’re a believer in Christ, you are in Christ. You are not in Adam. In our study of the next passage of Romans, Chapter 5…in Verses 12 to 21…we’ll learn the significance of this absolute distinction.
The Promises of the Lord Jesus Christ
When God makes a promise…
it’s a guarantee!
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”
Jesus said to doubting Thomas, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through believing in Me.
He who believes in the Son has eternal life (the ZOE life); but he who does not obey the (command to believe in the) Son will not see (the Zoe) life, but instead the wrath of God the Father abides on him.”
CLOSING SONG
His Eye is on the Sparrow
CLOSING PRAYER
Let us pray...
THANKS- INTERCESSION- PETITION
And we pray that You continue to shape the messages from this pulpit that are an accurate reflection of Your unconditional love, Your Person, Your thinking, Your work, and Your essence...we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit, in Christ’s name, Amen.
Thanks for coming…for watching…for listening!
www.barahministries.com
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