Greetings,
I hope this message finds each of you doing well and your relationship with Christ is strengthening daily. I have come to realize that although I try to put a date on these weekly submissions, I have to remain open to following God’s timing. This message maybe considered your weekly version of Wednesday or Mid-Week Bible Study. I ask that you please bear with me, the beginning of this message will be all over the place, but will end with a clear message.
Over the past two weeks I have listened to the following messages:
1. Pastor Lon Solomon, Senior Pastor, McLean Bible Church, Vienna, VA – Who spent the last two weeks discussing the importance on “A Praying Church”.
2. Pastor Charles Swindoll, Insight for Living Ministries, Plano, TX – Covered “What if” – What if you are meant for something great.
3. Pastor Tony Evans, The Urban Alternative, Dallas, TX – Covered “Shaking Things up for Revival.”
4. Pastor Steven Rummage, Moving Forward Ministries, Brandon, FL - Covered “Temptation and the Book of James.”
5. Police Chaplin MC Williams, The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry, Denver, CO – Covered “Understanding Your Calling & Purpose.”
Each of these messages had a different effect on me. I spent the past several days in prayer and meditation requesting the appropriate message to provide to the readers. I found something in common throughout all of the messages. Prayer and lack of faith, was the common factor. The mathematical equation stayed the same throughout each, faith + prayer + God = change. We have all heard the saying, life does nothing but repeat itself. It is my opinion, in today’s society we are experiencing a combination of repetitive ages; a mixture of the 1920’s, 60’s, and 70’s. Our society is in a crisis that places believers and non-believers alike in a state of fear, shock, acceptance, apathy, or compromise.
What I mean is that we lack prayer; we are afraid to accept God’s mission for us; our nation is in need of a revival; our constant acceptance and actions on temptation has destroyed our marriages, families, and personal lives; and our lack of a personal and effective relationship with Christ has caused us to miss our calling and purpose in God’s overall plan. These are all due to a lack of faith, payer, and direct sincere communications with Christ our Lord. Please take a look at the scriptures below and consider reviewing the comments afterwards. As always, comments are always encouraged on the Blog Site.
Book & Verse(s): Romans 1:16-32
Author: Paul is considered the author of Romans
Time: About 57-58 A.D.
Purpose: According to Bible Hub Paul wrote the letter to the believers in Rome, hence the name “Romans”. He wrote it to give them a concrete theological foundation on which to construct their faith and to live for and serve God effectively. The book of Romans reveals the answers to important questions and supplies information on many topics, such as salvation, the sovereignty of God, judgment, spiritual growth, and the righteousness of God. Many scholars also describe it as The Gospel and the Righteousness of God, which can be received only by faith in the atoning death of Jesus Christ.
Romans 1:16-32 - 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith." 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Professing to be wise, they became fools,23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man--and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. 24Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality,wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. (New King James Version – Bible Study Tools)
Matthew Henry Commentary (BST):
Verses 16-17 In these verses the apostle opens the design of the whole epistle, in which he brings forward a charge of sinfulness against all flesh; declares the only method of deliverance from condemnation, by faith in the mercy of God, through Jesus Christ; and then builds upon it purity of heart, grateful obedience, and earnest desires to improve in all those Christian graces and tempers, which nothing but a lively faith in Christ can bring forth. God is a just and holy God, and we are guilty sinners. It is necessary that we have a righteousness to appear in before him: there is such a righteousness brought in by the Messiah, and made known in the gospel; a gracious method of acceptance, notwithstanding the guilt of our sins. It is the righteousness of Christ, who is God, coming from a satisfaction of infinite value. Faith is all in all, both in the beginning and progress of Christian life. It is not from faith to works, as if faith put us into a justified state, and then works kept us in it; but it is all along from faith to faith; it is faith pressing forward, and gaining the victory over unbelief.
Verses 18-25 The apostle begins to show that all mankind need the salvation of the gospel, because none could obtain the favour of God, or escape his wrath by their own works. For no man can plead that he has fulfilled all his obligations to God and to his neighbour; nor can any truly say that he has fully acted up to the light afforded him. The sinfulness of man is described as ungodliness against the laws of the first table, and unrighteousness against those of the second. The cause of that sinfulness is holding the truth in unrighteousness. All, more or less, do what they know to be wrong, and omit what they know to be right, so that the plea of ignorance cannot be allowed from any. Our Creator's invisible power and Godhead are so clearly shown in the works he has made, that even idolaters and wicked Gentiles are left without excuse. They foolishly followed idolatry; and rational creatures changed the worship of the glorious Creator, for that of brutes, reptiles, and senseless images. They wandered from God, till all traces of true religion must have been lost, had not the revelation of the gospel prevented it. For whatever may be pretended, as to the sufficiency of man's reason to discover Divine truth and moral obligation, or to govern the practice aright, facts cannot be denied. And these plainly show that men have dishonoured God by the most absurd idolatries and superstitions; and have degraded themselves by the vilest affections and most abominable deeds.
Verses 26-32 In the horrid depravity of the heathen, the truth of our Lord's words was shown: "Light was come into the world, but men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil; for he that doeth evil hateth the light." The truth was not to their taste. And we all know how soon a man will contrive, against the strongest evidence, to reason himself out of the belief of what he dislikes. But a man cannot be brought to greater slavery than to be given up to his own lusts. As the Gentiles did not like to keep God in their knowledge, they committed crimes wholly against reason and their own welfare. The nature of man, whether pagan or Christian, is still the same; and the charges of the apostle apply more or less to the state and character of men at all times, till they are brought to full submission to the faith of Christ, and renewed by Divine power. There never yet was a man, who had not reason to lament his strong corruptions, and his secret dislike to the will of God. Therefore this chapter is a call to self-examination, the end of which should be, a deep conviction of sin, and of the necessity of deliverance from a state of condemnation.
As I stated earlier, this message would be all over the place. I am sure that you are wondering why I mentioned the multiple messages above. It is my belief that God wanted me to bring to your attention the many ways he tries to reach out to you. I continue to state that I may not know your relationship with Christ, but there is someone out there who does not have one or is trying to figure how to get back to Him. They or you are in the midst of a series of trials and you are trying to understand what’s going on. We are all sinners and I am not saying that all of the previous words fit your current life. However, what I do know is that each of us, at one time or another, lack faith and a good prayer life in our own way. As a matter of fact, some have neither. This world has us believing that free will means you have the right to do whatever you want and no one has a right to say anything about it. Each of those messages provides a Biblical outline on how to live your life. The question remains, how do you plan to live yours?
Reference(s): http://biblehub.com/summary/romans/1.htm
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