Today, we begin a two part message describing the response of the Christian to Civil Government. Since personal vengeance and retaliation are not for the Christian to engage in (Romans 12:14, 17-21), one of God’s “justice mechanisms” is civil government. As a result of their God-ordained role, Christians should submit to their civil government unless that civil government REQUIRES the believer to disobey God.
As we conclude Romans 12 this morning, we actually conclude on a thought unit that was introduced in verse 14. This thought unit (containing verse 14 and verses 17-21) provides instruction on how to deal with difficult people in our lives. How does a Spirit-filled believer, who is reckoning themselves dead to sin and alive to God and presenting their bodies to the Lord respond to people who attempt to injure them in some way? Join us this morning as we explore the mind of God on this matter through the pen of the Apostle Paul.
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One thing that is crucial to remember in any section of Scripture that deals with Christian conduct is that these instructions are given with the assumption that the believer will utilize the resources he or she has in Christ to execute the prescribed conduct. If not, the believer will turn the Christian life into a legalistic list of do’s and don’ts and will NOT live from the source of life which is Christ Jesus.
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This morning, we continue in a section we started last week on Christian conduct. One thing that is crucial to remember in any section of Scripture that deals with Christian conduct is that these instructions are given with the assumption that the believer will utilize the resources he or she has in Christ to execute the prescribed conduct. If not, the believer will turn the Christian life into a legalistic list of do’s and don’ts and will NOT live from the source of life which is Christ Jesus.
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Join us as we continue to look at spiritual gifts given to the body of Christ. It will be noted that each believer has been given a spiritual gift, AND each believer has been given the faith in order to execute their spiritual gift in an acceptable way to the Lord. Each gift is to be exercised by the believer in proportion to their faith, not kept to oneself or exercised as one determines, but rather as they trust the Lord and His resources.
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One of the reasons Paul was intensely pleading for the three things mentioned in verses 1-2, was because of his desire to see the spiritual gifts God has given each believer be maximized in their effectiveness (verses 3-8).
We find that each believer has NOT only been gifted with a spiritual gift of grace, but that they also have been gifted the necessary allotment of faith to rely upon God to exercise that spiritual gift effectively. These gifts are given to believers ONLY and are designed for the purpose of building up Christ’s church.
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Paul is begging or pleading the Roman believers to do two things: (1) Do not be conformed by this age, AND (2) Be transformed by the Lord. These two things, along with presenting our bodies as those alive from the dead are crucial in the successful outworking of the Christian life in spiritual gifts among the body of Christ (verses 3-8), and in conduct among the world (verses 9-21).
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Many have described chapters 12-16 of Romans as the “practical” section of the book, because it deals more directly with the behavior expected of Christians. What we learn is that all Christian behavior is a result of walking in dependence upon God’s resources provided for us in Christ.
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In today’s passage, we look at Paul’s honest and heartfelt declaration regarding God’s salvation plan for Israel and the nations. Summarized, we could say Paul simply said, “Wow!” God truly is amazing, and his wisdom and knowledge are far beyond what anyone could imagine. Praise God that He is not like us! He does things the right way, the best way, and the most perfect way – we cannot even fathom how wonderful He is!
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In this morning’s passage, Paul briefly summarizes his argument for Chapter 11. God has a future for Israel that He will be faithful to accomplish. The ONLY reason that God will do this is because of His mercy and grace. It will not be on the basis of Israel’s faithfulness to God or unfaithfulness to Him. All have been committed to disobedience (including both Jew and Gentile), so that all may be extended mercy and grace.