The Result of Justification
Therefore…
Paul begins Romans 5:1 with this word that joins what he is about to say with what he has just said. The connection here, as it turns out is being justified (made into a right relationship with God) through faith. And since we are justified through faith, there are a number of blessings that come our way.
The Result of Justification
In our Sunday morning sermon series we have reminded ourselves again of God’s righteousness and how he has chosen to justify us through faith (Romans 3:20 – 4:25). The next lesson will centre on the results of justification that are presented by Paul in Romans 5:1-11. In preparation for Sunday, perhaps you could read through these verses to identify what God promises to us when he justifies us.
How many different results did you notice? (We can check on Sunday to see if you found the same ones 
)
Why Are There So Many Gods?
This question was recently asked of me. I have attempted to give a short answer here.
We often talk about the “world view” that a person has. Our world view is the way we look at the world and try to make sense of it. As you know, there are many opposing world views that are popular today. They can be identified in different religions or philosophies.
If we look at history, we can identify some great teachers. Often these teachers have an explanation of how the world works that seems to make sense to others, so their world view became popular. Over time these teachers may come to be seen as gods, because of their understanding. One example of this is Buddha. Others, such as Mohammad become elevated to the status of prophet by those who think he figured out what life is really about. Still others together have come to the explanation that everything they see around them is really a god. For most other world views, a similar process has existed.
As these views grow, they become a part of a cultural understanding. It is really interesting that most cultures have come to the understanding that there must be a god of some kind who is involved. Without any direct revelation from that god, though, it is difficult to know a great deal about him.
The big question for each of us is how we are going to shape our world view.
Essentially, the Bible teaches us that our world came into existence because there is a God who created it (Gen. 1:1). Even the creation points to him and his existence (Romans 1:18-20). So many have looked at the world and come to the conclusion that there is a god out there, but they had to guess at a lot of things about his nature.
The Bible also teaches us that he didn’t leave us all alone to figure out what life is really about. He revealed himself to some in the past such as Abraham and Moses, and finally that he came in the person of Jesus to become flesh and live among us(John 1:1-4, 14). We also learn from the Bible, which this God gave us, that he is the one true God.
Now, it leaves us with a choice. Do we accept the explanations that have been given by many who came up with ideas about how things make sense? Do we come up with our own explanation? Or do we accept the explanation given to us by the one who claims to be the creator?
My personal conviction is that the explanation about the true God that is given in the Bible best fits all of the evidence that we can see around us.
Why do you think there are so many gods?
Closing Arguments Re: Israel’s Origins
The following was written by Edward Fudge for his GracEmail list and is copywrited by him.
Among non-professional Bible teachers, only the more adventurous occasionally range into the historical books of the Old Testament. Some of those even dare to dig into the findings of biblical archaeology. There, experts often reach dogmatic but contradictory conclusions: some defending a literal interpretation of every biblical detail; others pronouncing the entire Bible story a theologically-driven myth, while denying that anything resembling the Exodus or the fall of Jericho ever took place.
As it happens, however, the 500-600 members of the Biblical Literacy Class at Champion Forest Baptist Church in northwest Houston, Texas, regularly hear a teacher who not only has an insatiable quest for knowledge and understanding, a degree in biblical Greek and Hebrew, and his own world-class theological library for doing research. This Bible teacher, according to The National Law Journal, also happens to be one of the most influential trial lawyers in America–whose daily work consists of uncovering evidence on all sides of a controversy, then examining and cross-examining fact witnesses and experts involving a spectrum of disciplines, all for what at times seems an almost-hopeless quest for the explanation most consistent with all the credible evidence.
And so it came to pass that, after several months of teaching in Exodus-Judges, and slogging through the contradictory opinions of professional archaeologists, linguists, and historians specializing in the ancient Middle East, it seemed natural to Sunday school teacher and trial attorney Mark Lanier to use his final class on the topic to deliver a “closing argument” on the issue of archaeology and the Israelite settlement of Canaan–just as he would in court. And so he did, giving a 35-minute “summation speech,” complete with Power Point, exactly as he would do in trial. His class hand-out that Sunday had none of the usual footnotes. Instead, class members received copies of the relevant documents attached as “exhibits,” again as if in court.
Now you, too, can settle back and enjoy the next 35 minutes, as a master Bible teacher who happens to be a top-level trial attorney skillfully weaves the jumbled bits and pieces into an intriguing story. It is a tale of ancient Canaan, and a mysterious band of people who came, uninvited to the party–after which things have never been the same. Click here (or go to http://www.biblical-literacy.com/lessons/old-testament-survey/lesson-24-judges-part-4-summation/).
Finishing the Beatitudes
I had thought I would do a separate post on each of the Beatitudes, but I have fallen so far behind that I thought I would try to cover the rest all at once.
So here goes…
Next Jesus says, “God blesses those who are merciful,for they will be shown mercy.” Matthew 5:7 (NLT)
I don’t know anyone who claims to live perfectly. When I recognize that I don’t live perfectly, I know that what I really need is mercy.
Yet, in spite of my need for it, it seems so difficult sometimes to grant others the same mercy. Why can’t we show mercy?
The Hungry and Thirsty
We continue today looking at the Beatitudes from Matthew 5. Let’s brieflysummarize what it means to live by the first three in our relationships toeach other.
I need you.
I’m sorry.
I respect you.
Next Jesus says, God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, forthey will be satisfied. Matthew 5:6 (NLT)
50 Things the Holy Spirit Does
I recently saw a link to a posting of Frank Viola entitled, “50 Things the Holy Spirit Does.”
Is He doing these things for you?
The Humble
We continue today looking at the Beatitudes from Matthew 5. Let’s briefly summarize what it means to live by the first two.
God, I need you.
I’m sorry.
Next Jesus says, God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. Matthew 5:5 (NLT) (more…)
Those Who Mourn
The beatitudes are meaningful as we think about both our conversion and our living as Christians.
Matthew 5:3 “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
We summarize this as being one who says to God, “I need you!”
4 God blesses those who mourn,for they will be comforted.
Poor in Spirit
Matthew 5:3 (NLT) reads, “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.”
There are many differences between those of us with (a degree of) wealth and those who are poor. Those who are poor have fewer choices they can make. When their couch (if they have one) gets tired looking they can’t decide which store to go to for a new one and which style to get. Their only options might be whether moving it would help make it look better, or what they might cover it with, if indeed it comes to their notice that it isn’t looking as good as it once did.
Those who are poor also recognize their needs. The wealthy take care of themselves. They are proud of the fact that they aren’t “beholding” to anyone—they’ve made their money and they can get anything they need, whether it’s a new couch or better or faster healthcare than others have. (more…)
