Romans 113: Romans 3 - The Best BUT in Human History
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 ever ask God to forgive you? Do you ever ask God to bless you? If you do, maybe you should consider whether or not you know what it means to have faith in your God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you place your full trust in Him? One verse should clear up your need to ask God to forgive you or to bless you. It’s Ephesians, Chapter 1, Verse 3…
EPH 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us (believers in Christ in eternity past) with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in (the care of) Christ…
We don’t have to ask our God to forgive us. We are forgiven. We don’t have to ask our God to bless us. He has already blessed us. When did God forgive us and bless us? In eternity past! What did God bless us with? EVERY spiritual blessing! Where are those blessings located? In the heavenlies…not here on earth…in a place under the care and protection of God Himself! Who is watching over the blessings? The Lord Jesus Christ from His seat at the right hand of God the Father.
All that we will ever need has already been put aside for us as an established fact. Think of that! All of the striving we think we have to do, all of the struggle that we make of life, all of the needs we will ever have, are already cared for and are waiting for us to tap into them. How sad, when we doubt, rather than having faith, complete confidence in the One who has cared for everything.
We don’t have to ask God to forgive us…we don’t have to ask God to bless us…His forgiveness and His blessings are not in doubt. In Matthew, Chapter 11, Verse 28, the Lord says…
MAT 11:28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”
We are weary and heavy laden when we think we have to handle our problems alone. We are weary and heavy laden when we let liars convince us that we have to do things to be pleasing to a God who has already provided everything for us in the past. Yet often we think and say, “Yes Lord, I know you have provided everything for me, but is it okay if I help? Is it okay if I worry a bit that You might not come through for me because You’re so busy?” Matthew, Chapter 11, Verse 29…
MAT 11:29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.”
When you become a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are yoked…you and the Lord are in a harness together. You are in union with Christ…you never have to worry about doing anything alone again. And there is no question who is taking on the brunt of your burdens when you and the Lord are in the harness together. Your God considers your problems to be His responsibility. Matthew, Chapter 11, Verse 30…
MAT 11:30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Do you have faith in your God, the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you place your full trust in Him? We come to bible study to be reminded that He is our refuge and our strength, our ever present help in times of trouble. He has provided EVERY spiritual blessing. He is not conditional. He is not sending you the message, “As soon as you clean up your life, then you’ll be acceptable to Me.” That’s why I detest teachers who misrepresent the Lord Jesus Christ’s Person and who misinterpret His Word, and seek to return you to the slavery of the law.
On the weekend when we celebrate freedom in the United States of America, I invite all of you, all over the world to remember the freedom the Lord Jesus Christ has provided you, detailed in Galatians, Chapter 5, Verse 1…
GAL 5:1 It was for freedom that the Lord Jesus Christ set us believers in Christ free; therefore keep standing firm in the freedom and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
God forgave you in the past. God blessed you in the past. Everything you need is taken care of. All you have to do is reach out for what has already been provided.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART
We begin our worship service today by worshipping the Lord in song. Please stand and join June Murphy in singing the opening song…OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART.
OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord Open the eyes of my heart I want to see You I want to see You
OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord Open the eyes of my heart I want to see You I want to see You
OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART
To see You high and lifted up Shining in the light of Your glory Pour out Your power and love As we sing holy, holy, holy OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord Open the eyes of my heart I want to see You I want to see You
OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord Open the eyes of my heart I want to see You I want to see You
OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART
To see You high and lifted up Shining in the light of Your glory Pour out Your power and love As we sing holy, holy, holy
OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART
To see You high and lifted up Shining in the light of Your glory Pour out Your power and love As we sing holy, holy, holy
OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord Open the eyes of my heart I want to see You I want to see You
OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord Open the eyes of my heart I want to see You I want to see You
OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART
To see You high and lifted up Shining in the light of Your glory Pour out Your power and love As we sing holy, holy, holy
OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART
To see You high and lifted up Shining in the light of Your glory Pour out Your power and love As we sing holy, holy, holy
OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord Open the eyes of my heart I want to see You I want to see You I want to see You I want to see You
OPENING PRAYER
Let us pray...
We’re grateful Heavenly Father for the privilege of studying the absolute truth...the Word of God…
Help our unbelief…help us to use the faith You have given us to put our total trust in You…in times of trouble, let our first thought be, “What spiritual blessing has my Father put in place to handle this situation?” Help us to know that You have cared for everything.
Father, today we pray that You send this message out to all who have forgotten what faith in You really means, that You place this message deep into their souls through the power of Your Holy Spirit, and that You renew the hope of those who are in despair because they think they are going at this life alone.
We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit...in Christ’s name... Amen.
TODAY’S STUDY Romans 3 The Best BUT in Human History
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. And because God’s grace is with you, you are no longer under the law. You are under freedom. May you know freedom deep inside of yourself. May you know God’s grace life…available for you to appropriate right this very minute…may it send a clear message that you have God’s peace…which means God has nothing against you. May these thoughts sink deep into your soul and free you from the guilt and shame that you may be carrying today, a burden placed on you because you are married to a thought process of tyranny which leaves you thinking that you have some obligation to God to fulfill a law that God has said is designed to increase the sin in your life, not to reduce it. Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 20b…
ROM 3:20b …through the Mosaic Law comes the knowledge of sin.
Romans, Chapter 5, Verse 20a…
ROM 5:20a The Mosaic Law came in so that the transgression would increase…
May you be free from the burden of your sins. May the messages that come from this pulpit free you from your old thoughts and old patterns of operation which rob you of life, and may they be replaced with new thoughts that free you to enjoy, right now, right here on earth, the resurrection life your Savior paid for just for your benefit. John, Chapter 10, Verse 10 says…
JOH 10:10 “The thief (Satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I (the Lord Jesus Christ) came that those who have faith in Me may have the resurrection life, and have it abundantly.”
Turn in your bibles to Romans, Chapter 3…we continue our study of the book of Romans, and we have finished the second of seven sections in Paul’s letter to believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. We have studied the introduction, which covers Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 1 to Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 17…
THE BOOK OF ROMANS The Introduction Romans 1:1 to Romans 1:17
Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 8…
ROM 1:8 First, I (Paul) thank my God (the Father) through (the Lord) Jesus Christ for you all (believers in Christ), because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.
Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 16…
ROM 1:16 For I 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.
Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 17…
ROM 1:17 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.”
We just completed our study of The Consequences of Sin passage in Romans…which covers Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 18 to Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 20…
THE BOOK OF ROMANS The Consequences of Sin Romans 1:18 to Romans 3:20
Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 18…
ROM 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and against all unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth of the gospel in unrighteousness…
Romans, Chapter 1, Verses 22 and 23…
ROM 1:22-23 Professing to be wise, those committed to ungodliness and unrighteousness became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 10…
ROM 3:10 “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE…”
Now we turn our attention from sin to righteousness.
THE BOOK OF ROMANS Righteousness: Your Justification is ONLY by Faith
Romans 3:21 to Romans 4:25
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>
When we come back from break, we’ll take a look at the best BUT in human history!
BREAK You Are My King When I Think About Home
Welcome back!
THE BOOK OF ROMANS The Consequences of Sin Romans 1:18 to Romans 3:20
So what did we learn in Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 18 to Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 20? We learned that we are helpless and hopeless. Not just you…not just me…but the whole world…all mankind is helpless and hopeless. If this is true, then why don’t we just accept the facts? Why don’t we get it that we all are law-breakers. We all are guilty as charged. We attempt to secretly mastermind our sins against and omniscient God who knows all the knowable, including our motives. With cunning aforethought we do things that we think we can hide from Him. We sin, thinking it is going to be successful, and our God works all things together for our good, and teaches us that anything not endorsed by Him will never succeed. When we realize that if it were up to us, nothing in our lives would ever go well, we feel what we are…helpless and hopeless. Because the truth, if we admit it to ourselves, especially as believers in Christ, is that we screw up just about everything we touch.
Unbelievers learn the same lesson, but they are less bothered by it. Often, they attribute their failures to fate, or a run of bad luck, or poor timing. As believers in Christ, we know that our Sovereign will not let a lifestyle of sinning result in the same success as a lifestyle of righteousness. BUT!
So what did we learn in Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 18 to Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 20? We learned that every description in it concerning the whole human race is true, that we are indeed helpless and hopeless…and then comes the passage that changes everything. As we move to the next passage in Romans…it begins with BUT…the best BUT in human history changed everything about our helplessness and our hopelessness. Romans, Chapter 3, Verses 21 begins with a few beautiful words…
ROM 3:21 But now apart from the Law…
Those words should make you breathe a sigh of relief. When we hear someone talking to us, and we hear them use the word BUT, we know that the Word BUT negates everything that comes before it. It actually bothers us.
“You’ve got a really pretty face, BUT…”
“I thought you had pretty good chance to get the mortgage, BUT…”
“I like what you’re telling me, BUT…”
We know a person who uses BUT in this way has just dismissed the everything said before it, and is about to lower the boom. Well the Lord is using the word BUT to dismiss some things as well…
ROM 3:21 BUTNOW apart from the Law…
With the word BUT, the Lord Jesus Christ, through the apostle Paul, is dismissing everything that is true about us in Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 18 to Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 20…and in fact, the Lord is about to lower the boom on everything that was discussed in those verses about the law. The Lord is about to introduce something completely different…GRACE…which lowers the boom on the law.
Imagine this…
When I go on vacation in Los Cabos, Mexico, as I pull up to one of the hotels I stay in, I have to pass through a guarded gate. I give them the magic word and they lift the gate. After I pass through the gate, it’s about a half a mile to three quarters of a mile to get to the hotel. In times when I have been in Los Cabos alone, I would see people walking toward the hotel. It’s a long, hot walk, so I always stop and ask people if they want a ride to the hotel. About one in ten say yes. I always consider this to be funny. A woman alone? I can see a refusal. At night? I can see a refusal. But often it will be three guys who take a pass on the ride. They could easily overpower me if they wanted to. Offering them a ride really puts me at risk if you think about it.
This situation is a fitting analogy as we make the transition to the next passage in Romans. The gate is salvation. The One who is guarding the gate to salvation is the Lord Jesus Christ. The magic words that open the gate of salvation are, “Father, I believe in Christ.” The gate goes up and we are in…admitted to the resurrection life. So many of us then are committed to working for eternity, the equivalent of walking to the hotel. The Lord Jesus Christ offers all mankind a ride on His back into eternity, just as I offered a ride. In Matthew, Chapter 11, Verse 30 the Lord says…
MAT 11:30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Yet one in ten, even after they are admitted through the gate of salvation, are committed to working for eternity. They are committed to keeping the law, which was abolished in their lives at the moment of salvation. Romans, Chapter 11, Verse 6…
ROM 11:6 But if salvation is by means of God’s grace, and it is, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.
BUT negates the law.
ROM 3:21 But now apart from the Law…
Do you still think it is your job to work? Are you still bound to the law, or are you ready to be free from the law? In the next passage of Romans, freedom awaits. The Lord is calling you to freedom. Will you come?
The best BUT in human history invites you to a world of grace. The Promises of the Lord Jesus Christ
PSA 37:3 Trust in the Lord and do good…
PSA 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.
PSA 37:5 Commit your way to the Lord…and He will do it.
PSA 37:7 Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him…
PHI 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in (union with) Christ Jesus.
CLOSING SONG Father I’m Yours
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!
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