Romans - Part 3

What Saves Us - Romans 2:1-29

SERMON TRANSCRIPT

So if you are new or visiting we have started a series in Romans We started a couple weeks ago and so we are just going verse by verse through it and each week having a new part of this letter. And so little plug if you want to catch up or if you want to listen again. We now have a podcast you can go back and listen to the sermon again if that would please you so check that out. You can get the links on our website or look us up on whatever podcast platform you use.

But yeah, we are going through and so now we're in chapter 2 and so far in this book of Romans, Paul is laying down a foundation. As we go farther and farther into his letter, we'll see how he's laying brick by brick, kind of this argument. He's laying out this argument of the faith, his reasoning to believe, and why unity in Christ is of utmost importance. We've seen in chapter 1 that Paul is passionate about sharing the gospel, that nothing will come between him and getting the truth of Jesus out to all the nations. It's his top priority. And then last week, finishing chapter one, Pastor Chris talked about God's view of sin and how he can't stand sin and that humanity is bent towards sin. So therein lies a problem. I don't know if you know this, well Pastor Chris and I, we didn't know each other growing up, but you know we started to run into similar circles and so we share a mutual friend, someone that He went to elementary school, junior high, and high school, and someone that was a close friend of mine growing up.

And that friend is now a lawyer in DC, and he's a believer. And so I called him up this week to get his lawyer perspective of Romans. I'm not even close to a lawyer, don't even have that mind. Obviously, I'm a pastor, and Pastor Chris. So we have our pastoral conversations about Romans, but I wanted to get another perspective of a lawyer.

Paul had a judicial mind of being a Pharisee, and so I wanted to see, is there anything that I don't see? And so I asked him, I said, "What are your thoughts on Romans, the first couple chapter of Romans, and how Paul lays out this argument for the Gospel?" And he said that, he commented that Paul's rhetoric was top class, like it was amazing. And the rhetoric being the way that Paul weaves together a story and an argument, and how the story will progress the argument, and how the argument progresses the story. And Paul does that beautifully in this book of Romans, and as lawyers they study how to do that when presenting cases and defenses and trying to prove a point. So Paul is an example of that. He also brought up Paul's history, his own personal life as Saul, you know, Saul then becomes Paul, possibly playing a major role in his communication to the early church, especially to the Jewish Christians.

Saul was a highly regarded Pharisee, one of the best, well versed in the law, in the Jewish customs, and at one point, deeply entrenched in the Jewish mindset. So just everything that happened, he would process as a Jew. And so if anyone were to understand what the Jews were thinking and feeling in the early church, understanding their reactions to things, how they would respond, their initial thoughts or frustrations, it would be Paul.

So just further evidence that Paul was the man for the task. God knew, despite Paul's former life and all the persecution that Saul at that time oversaw over God's church, God knew that his power to redeem Paul's life and purpose was far greater. So I think it's fascinating that thousands of years later, Paul's words still make an impact, whether approaching the text from an analytical mindset or a theological mindset, or just wanting to simply understand what is Paul trying to say, there is something here for everyone. And today, Paul will continue to build upon his argument, another brick being laid down in his defense of the gospel, in his argument for the Church of Rome to remain united, to fight to stay together, to find their commonality in Christ. I want us to remember this morning, all of us here, that this letter was written specifically for the Church of Rome, but this chapter definitely pertains to us today. You've probably heard this tendency that we have as Christians when we read the Bible today to associate with the good side.

So in the Old Testament when God is speaking through the prophets and warning or coming down on the Israelites, we tend to think like, "Yeah, Israelites, come on now, you should know better.” Or when Jesus is addressing the Pharisees, we're like, "Yeah," or his apostles for making whatever mistake. We're like, yeah, come on, we understand. Why don't you understand? But really those same words that convicted them might need to convict us today. So we shouldn't always just assume that we know what's up. Maybe God's words are trying to speak to us. And so let's be open-hearted and open-minded as we grow in Christ and mature in our spirituality. Let's not lose that humility that brought us to Christ in the first place. Being willing to listen and undergo further work and and transformation by the Spirit. So let me pray, then we're gonna jump on in to chapter two. God, thank you again for your word that you have given us. And God, we pray for understanding. We're here to better understand your truth, your word that you have given us to live by. And so I pray that through your Spirit that you would help us to better understand you and then therefore better understand who we are supposed to be. We pray that your spirit would work in our hearts to continue to transform us to be more like Christ. Encourage us, God, through the teaching of your word. We pray this in your name, amen.

Okay, so Romans 2. We're gonna kind of break this in half. We're gonna cover verses one through 16. And in this section, I think God is saying, or Paul is saying, sorry, that God's judgment is for everyone. Now if you're thinking, well, we just covered that last week. We just talked about how God's judgment is for everyone. Didn't Paul finish that? Well, let's read and see what this really means. So you guys can follow along. I'm gonna read out loud.

Chapter two, verse one. "You therefore have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them, and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, forbearance, and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when His righteous judgment will be revealed. God will repay each person according to what they have done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. But glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good, first for the Jew, then for the Gentile, for God does not show favoritism. All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law. And all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. Indeed, when Gentiles who do not have the law do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them, and at other times even defending them. This will take place on the day when God judges people's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.

All right, again, God's judgment is for everyone. Paul shifts now from the guilt of the Gentiles

in chapter one, 18 through 32, what Pastor Chris preached on last week, and now points the spotlight on the guilt of the Jews. I don't know if you've, there's a reoccurring scene that happens in movies and TV shows where there's like a classroom or there's a big family at home and all the kids or the students are acting out. You know, they're being crazy. And the teacher or the parent comes in and is like, starts to hand out punishment and starts to lecture them. And sometimes in the scene in TV shows or movies, there's that one student who kind of starts standing by the teacher or the kid and looking at his fellow siblings or fellow students and like, yeah, you guys, that's right. Yeah, you weren't supposed to be doing that. And they think that they're good. standing next to that authority figure like yeah yeah you let's tell them let’s tell them these people what's up and then there's like maybe a silence in this scene and they realize that that parent or authority figure is like looking down be like you too and they're like what I'm your favorite student or I'm your favorite your favorite kid and then they're realizing that they’re gonna also face whatever punishment was happening for the class and whatever favorite favoritism that they had doesn't equate to a reward in that moment. I don't know if this rings true, if you can think of a scene in a movie or a TV show, or maybe real-life experience.

But this is the sort of scene that is playing out here in the second chapter of Romans. The Jews thought they were standing next to Paul as this letter is being read in the early church, and they're like, "Yeah, Gentiles, yeah, that's right, God's going to judge you." And again, Paul is anticipating, he's not there, but he's anticipating, knowing the Jewish mindset, anticipating what he thinks is gonna happen, what these Jews are gonna do. And he anticipates that they're gonna think that they're in the clear. Yeah, this judgment, God's judgment, all those things that Paul's talking about, that's just for you guys, we're good. And now Paul turns and looks down at the Jews in the early church and is like, I'm also talking to you. They thought that they were God's favorites, and Paul is gonna make it clear that This judgment is for everyone. So let's unpack some of these verses here and see how Paul lays this out. In verses one and two, the word for judgment here is the word to condemn. And so we recently talked about this in our Sermon on the Mount series that Jesus talked about not judging others. And while we can discern, talked about this this morning in our class, we can, judging others in the sense of discerning and figuring out who they are, we can do that, but we cannot condemn other people. That is the role of God and God alone. And that's the word, the condemned word is what Paul is saying here, that these Jews were in a sense condemning the Gentiles around them or other people, something that they should not have been doing. That act of condemning others is in a way acting like God, trying to be like God. And the Bible is very clear that you shouldn't try to be like God. Every example that it gives, Adam and Eve, to Satan, to the people at the Tower of Babel, Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, all these people who tried to be like God, it doesn't end well. Don't try to be like God.

So Paul is reinforcing Jesus' words here. The Jews should not be condemning the Gentiles. In verse two, Paul is saying that God's judgment is just and true. Again, Paul is anticipating these thoughts that the Jewish people would have. And they're a thing, he's trying to just squash Every argument, but Paul, and he's like, no, and then this, and then this. So each verse is just another thought of how, geez, you don't have anything to stand on here. You too will also face judgment. And so he's saying that if you have an issue, you gotta go to God's character. God is a just and true God. So in a sense, if you have an issue with this judgment, you have an issue with him. And again, this thought that they were favorites because of all their history of being with God, they would know how just and fair and true God is. So that argument squashed. Verse four, Paul is addressing this Jewish thought that, they thought that God would exclude them from judgment. Again, given all their previous experience of God's goodness and mercy, and that story that I shared of like the favorite child or the favorite student, they thought that they were on that side, that God's judgment didn't necessarily pertain to them. And later he will riff on the memory of God's word of his blessing coming first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles.

And we know that as Jesus being born to the Jews and witnessing to the Jews before spreading out further to the Gentiles. And he uses this in a kind of a sassy remark of, yeah, God's judgment is coming to you first and then to the Gentiles. So he is, as Chris was swinging last week, he's throwing punches and now he's facing the Jews and he's saying, I'm not messing around. This is serious, you too will face judgment. In verse six, Paul shares that God will judge both Jews and Gentiles and he will do so fairly. So we're reminded again that God will judge everyone and in doing so, no one will escape and it's done in complete fairness. And he explains in verses seven through 11 that people will be judged by their hearts and the lives that they have lived. So for the evil person, they will face wrath and anger. For the good person, they will receive honor and glory. For both Jews and Gentiles, this is the same judgment. Now, if you're thinking too about that judgment, that's a little too simplistic. For the evil person, for the good person, well, remember, this is Paul building an argument. So parts that are maybe have gaps right now, he will fill in later. In the coming chapters, we're gonna hear more about good and evil and what that is and who falls under those camps. But for right now, he just says, God will judge fairly based on the lives that they have lived and based on their hearts.

And then in 12 through 16, Paul is describing God's judgment on Jews and on anyone who had the law. We've heard this before, right? It's not those who hear the law, but those who obey. It depends on the response. Pastor Chris preached on this, again in the Sermon on the Mount, when dealing with building your house upon the rock. those who hear Jesus' words, then have a decision. Where will they build their house? And God is saying it's not just those, or Paul is saying it's not those who hear, but what they do after they hear. Verse 14, Paul is telling us that even for people who do not have the law, like Israel, Israel had the law from way back in the Old Testament, and there are many people now in Rome with different backgrounds and nationalities coming to the church. They didn't have the law, but Paul is saying there's something innate, natural inside of them that knows what is good and what isn't. And that comes from being made in the image of God. God has put in all of us something different than the rest of creation, and that is his image. And when I say image, think more likeness, not physical characteristics, but inner character, being made in the likeness, the character of God. So we are made in his image, his character, And therefore simply being human means that on an inner level, deep within us, we know to a certain extent what is good and what is evil. And so Paul is saying that even for those who didn't have the law, the official, the 10 commandments and everything in the Old Testament, they could still know what is good and what is wrong. And if they live by that voice within them that's telling them what is good, they too could possibly receive the honor and glory of God. coming to believe in the faith of Jesus Christ. And so how necessary are Paul's words to the Romans back then? How necessary are they for us today? I think they're incredibly necessary for us to hear because as a group of believers in a church, I'm not saying this church, but just in general, churches can quickly become a place of judgment, of condemnation, where believers just condemn those outside the walls of the church, outside of that church family, we start to look down on people that are not a part of this body of believers.

And we make this divide between us and them even bigger, saying we are over here and you non-believers are over there. Or to reference that movie scene, we tend to stand next to God and say, "Yeah, all of you, not me, but all of you guys." We wanna be a place known for loving like God has loved us, known for compassion, for kindness. We can also be known for knowing the truth and living by the truth, but hopefully we're not known for condemning people. So for us today, there can be a tension. Living as Christians, we wanna present and live this inner transformation that the Spirit is doing inside of us. At the same time, we can't lose our ability to be vulnerable and to relate with those who are struggling, to those who are in the midst of sin. If we give off this attitude that we are better than others or above people, then we're losing our ability to witness. So there's this tension that we must deal with, living a life being transformed by God and yet not being above people, not living a life that says because of God and what he's doing in me, I'm actually better than you. It's not how Jesus taught us to live, it's not how he taught us to minister. And so as we encounter new people that God brings into our lives, or maybe the people that were already there, but as we transform, we kind of sense this, well, now we're kind of going down different paths. May we fight against the urge to have any sort of dominance or superiority over them, whether in interactions or just in our minds even, thinking that we are better than them. Instead, our prayer should be that we see a person made in the image of God, standing before us to recognize our responsibility to be a light to them. Whether they're a believer or not, whether we even know of their relationship with God, may we just have an intentional humility and boldness to present Christ in everything that we say and do.

Let's not sit behind our religion as a guard thinking that we are above the messiness of other people around us. 'Cause as Paul points out, we'll all be judged by God. It's our hearts that matter, not necessarily how clean and pristine our lives look on the outside to other people. So in this first section of chapter two, we see that God's judgment is for everyone. We see that God will judge fairly and with no favoritism. And we are reminded that we are not in a place to condemn. It's never our role. As we move into the second half of this chapter, Paul will further explain how the role, what the rule of the law is.

And so I wanna just present now this little question, does the law save us? Don't answer it, just in your heads, think about that. Does the law save us? Let me go ahead and read our second half of the chapter.

Verse 17 says, "Now if you call yourself a Jew, if you rely on the law and boast in God, if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law, if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth. You then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written, God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you. Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. So then, if those who are not circumcised keep the law's requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? The one who is not yet circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you, who even though you have the written code and circumcision are a law breaker. A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person's praise is not from other people, but from God.

I'll be honest, Paul is really wordy, and it's really hard to read sometimes. He just packs so much in there, there's so much. So Paul is continuing this argument that the Jews are not justified simply by having the law. He references their own hypocrisy as they teach others or inform others of the law, but they don't even uphold it themselves. He uses circumcision as an example of how being Jewish only holds value if that person also obeys and lives a holy life. Ethnicity is not as important as a person's heart. I grew up in a church, going to youth group, And in the past 15 years, I've known many of my fellow youth group friends to walk away from the faith. And many of them referenced, as I had conversations with them, the hypocrisy they saw within the church, from people in their lives calling themselves Christians, not living a Christian life. And I'm not saying that Christian hypocrisy justifies them abandoning their faith, But I think I get some of Paul's frustration here as he's talking to the Jews saying, "You were supposed to be a light, be a representative. "And you talk a certain talk that is what God's truth is, "but the way you live your life "is going against those very words that you teach." And I think the same thing happens today. Non-believers are looking down on God because of the way Christians in their lives have acted, giving a false testimony of who God is, a really bad representation of God's character. And it's humbling to think about some of these friends that I've had, a couple of them who were close friends, and we haven't talked about this, but I wonder, did any of my actions fall in that camp of something that they saw as hypocrisy? They saw me at a younger age, so I've gone through different seasons and maturity levels in my life, but back then, I may have misrepresented Christ. Did any of the sin that I let live in my life, that I let fester within me, that I even lived into, did any of that play a part of them walking away from their faith? I don't know. And maybe some of you have wondered something similar about someone in your life, or maybe you're that person who has struggled with hypocrisy in the church. But Paul's words here remind us to be mindful of how we live our lives. to be mindful that other people are watching us and it matters how we live. Not just what we say, not just when someone asks, what do you believe? And then we have the right answers. But from every moment of every day, the words that we say in conversation, how we are with our kids, how we are with friends, what we live out matters. And it shows what's in our hearts.

Paul's words here remind us to be mindful. His warning and scolding of the Jews who were guilty of this is a warning for us too. So let's take a deeper look at some of these verses. Paul is again putting the spotlight on the attitude of moral superiority. He says that you Jews were relying on the law. And again, this is the thought that they had final exemption from God's judgment. So Paul is making sure, he's like ripping it up to shreds. Anything the Jews thought they could stand on to say, no, we're gonna be okay, no, whatever God's judgment is for the Gentiles not for us. He is making sure there's not a shred of that left in them. He's ripping it up. Paul, in verse 19, is pointing to some old references here. The original reference is that God, found in Isaiah 42 verse 16, that God is a guide to the blind. The blind being Israel, they don't know what they're doing, God is their guide. Jesus, in the New Testament, makes a riff on this, mocking the Pharisees, insulting them, calling them blind guides. They're the guides, but they don't know what they're doing.

And so Paul is mocking now the Jewish Christians in the early church calling them guides to the blind. They're again trying to be like God, but you can't be like God. In verses 21 through 23, Paul is pointing out the hypocrisy again. The Jews are not justified by having the law. They are doing the very thing that the ungodly do. They're dishonoring God. They have the law, they possess the law, but they They fail to faithfully heed its commands, and therefore they undermine the law's purpose. And then in 24 through 29, Paul wraps up his point and shows how misguided the Jewish thought could be at that time. In 24, he reminds them that God elected Israel as bearers of his promise, to bless other nations. Somewhere along the line, Israel kind of got selfish with that blessing and didn't feel like sharing it, and felt like, yeah, we'll share some of the blessing, but we're like the OG people here, so we get special status. And Paul's saying, no, it's not how it is. The Jews' hypocrisy instead is making the Gentiles blaspheme God's name. And again, this should make us pause and reflect on our own lives and actions and words. Are we representing God, helping other people better understand who God is, or are you misrepresenting him? Paul then gets into circumcision as a practice closely connected with the covenant to Israel and the Jewish identity.

Paul is warning them that their disobedience decreases the value of their ritual and covenant that they are so attached to. So Paul, again, is making sure that every possible point of these highly religious Jews in the early Roman church might be able to stand on is knocked over. You think, he's saying to them, you think your association with the law can save you? No, it can't. You think because you're circumcised and that's a sign of the covenant, you think that will save you? No, it doesn't. And in verse 29, he wraps it up, Paul says, he's emphasizing God's desire for genuine loyalty and obedience with heart, mind, and soul. And that's a callback to Deuteronomy when God is talking to his people in the greatest command, love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, Jesus would reiterate that to his disciples. So Paul is making it clear what is demanded to be saved. And it is not the law that saves, but it is Christ who saves. He's kind of teasing here, right? We're not gonna get, well, in the coming chapters, we're gonna get a better explanation of how Christ saves in this argument, but he's just laying the foundation here for it. The law is not the answer.

I think of another story in the Bible that makes, I think brings a lot of clarity to those who called themselves believers, but only thought they were believers 'cause of the law. And that's the story of Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a Pharisee, not just any Pharisee, but he was the ruler of the Jews. Jesus even called him the teacher of Israel. Nicodemus was the top dog during Jesus's time. And even though there's a couple different ways to approach the story of Nicodemus, what is true is that Nicodemus was someone who thought they had a tight relationship, sounded Australian right there, that was awesome. They had a tight relationship with God. He thought that he was in. He thought he didn't have anything to worry about. I'm God's special servant. I teach God's people, the nation of Israel. Nicodemus' whole life was devoted to God and his law in a way that honestly would put us all to shame. Like Nicodemus, he had the whole Old Testament memorized. We don't, even as pastors, we do not have the Old Testament memorized. I live closely to this book and I open it often. The one area that Nicodemus was mistaken in is the area that mattered most, And it's what Jesus had to address in John 3-3 when he says, "You must be born again because you're not saved." You think you are. You think that your relationship and how you live your life according to all of God's laws, you think that you are saved, but you are not. And we tend to think of this interaction with Nicodemus as a evangelistic story of Jesus reaching someone who's not saved. And I think I just want to change that tone a little bit to someone who is on a spiritual pilgrimage. He clearly knew of God, he clearly respected God and desired to glorify God through the law. He obeyed the law. And I would better not call Nicodemus a non-believer, I would call him a not yet believer. And I think that mindset would help us today too. Instead of this divide of, well, we're believers and you're not, to have this mindset that Jesus did of I know where you're at and I'm gonna help,

I'm gonna give you a push one step closer to God. And if we view other people not knowing their status, we don't interact with strangers, neighbors, or even if you do, if you don't think that they are a believer yet, think of them as a not yet believer. And what can I do to give them a push in the right direction? What, in my interactions, in my words, in my, the way I live my life around them, how can I push them towards Christ? They're not, the non-believer seems so final. Like, that person's a non-believer. They've made their decision and it's not worth my time. They're a not yet believer. They could be, we don't know. And let's hope and let's push to help them believe. And that's what Jesus does with Nicodemus. Nicodemus had his relationship with God all mixed up, putting all the emphasis on the law, understanding the law, following the law. But he missed that the law points to our inability to keep the law. The law is so perfect and we are not, we will never be able to uphold the law perfectly. And it shows that we need Christ. So Jesus had to tell Nicodemus, you need to be born again. You're not saved from God's judgment. He had to learn that it wasn't his understanding, knowledge that saved him. It was belief in Christ, the need to be born again, to be transformed by the dwelling of the Holy Spirit.

And that lesson that Nicodemus learned, that Paul is also talking about here to the early church in Rome, is one that some people need to hear today, even within the church.

Maybe here in this room, or you know people who call themselves Christians, but maybe they are, they misunderstand what really saves them. Maybe they think that they're ties with the church, or how they were brought up in a Christian home, or how they attend church every Sunday, or they are a moral person, and they're just a law-abiding citizen, maybe they think that's enough. And they're like, "I know I'm good, I'm good with God. I'm not gonna face God's judgment." But they would be incorrect. And we would hate for them to get to the end and find out that they were wrong this whole time. And so if you know someone, if the Spirit's prompting you right now and saying, "That might be me," there's no shame in that. There's no shame at all. Nicodemus was someone who was on a spiritual pilgrimage. And it took, he was in that place for years until Jesus finally interacted with him. It can be years before the truth of God sinks in until we fully understand. And we praise him when it clicks. We just praise him for when it does, finally, we understand what it is that we need to do to be saved. And so if you're here today, I just wanna say this. If you're here and you felt the Spirit prompting you, you'd be like, "I'm not sure if I am saved. I might've been putting my hope in the law. I might've been putting my hope in following what the Bible says without that relationship of Christ, without the work of Christ." Come find me or Pastor Chris Affords. We would love to talk to you and just further understand where you're at and help you in coming closer to Jesus. The law doesn't save us. Christ alone can do that.

And again, now after chapter two, we have this foundational brick being laid down that we are all sinners facing God's judgment. So from the story of Nicodemus to the words of Paul here, we have a better understanding of God's law. And it's clear that the law doesn't save, but only the work of the Spirit. And next week, we're gonna move to God's faithfulness. So one layer of this argument is down. I'm gonna move on to the next layer. Paul has leveled the playing field. Not all of the early Roman church is aware that Jew or Gentile, they are now in the same camp. And he's trying again, if we remember our backstory, there's cause for division in this church, and he's saying, look, you guys are all in the same, you're all in the same room here. There's not one that's better than the other. You're all sinners facing God's judgment in need of Christ. In Spring Valley, as we continue to go through this series, as God continues to work in each of us and refine us and transform our hearts and our minds, let's heed this warning from Paul.

Let's not think that we are superior to anyone. Let's be intentional to remain humble. Let's be proactive in building each other up. Let's be willing to make the sacrifice that is committing to a body of believers. And I say sacrifice because it takes time, it takes energy, it takes vulnerability, patience and understanding. But this is what Paul desired. He desired that the church, that we today at Spring Valley be unified, that we be together in our commonality, in the belief in Christ that we share. So this week, all of us in our lives, from work to home, friends to community group here, let's choose to interact with each other, interact with God and partner with God in what he is doing in our lives and in the lives of others, amen? Let's pray. God, again, thank you for your word that teaches us that we cannot be saved without you. No matter how good we are, no matter how well we understand your law and live by it, it's an incomplete picture and we're still at a loss and we need your son and the salvation that he brings.

And in the coming weeks, as we get into God's faithfulness and how He has saved us and what salvation looks like through this letter to the Romans. I pray for those of us who are saved that we would just have a deeper appreciation and gratitude for the work that you've done. And for those who aren't yet saved, I pray that you would bring them closer to you. God, I pray for the people in our lives that we may think or have a notion that they're not yet a believer. I pray that we would not put them in that box of a non-believer, but we would be intentional to reach out to them and represent you well. Help us to be mindful of our words and actions that everything we say and do is pointing to you. And we want it to be an accurate picture of your character. God, give us the strength, empower us to live for you with everything that we have. We know you will, we know you can, and we give you all the glory. We pray this in your son's name, amen.

Romans - Part 2

Warning Against Ungodliness - Romans 1:18-32

SERMON TRANSCRIPT

Good morning, everybody. A little drizzly, gloomy out there. been kind of a, I don't know, one of those weeks, I guess. And it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. So we're going to continue in our series today, part two of Romans chapter one. And so Pastor Andre did a fantastic job last week and set us up on this journey that we're going to be taking here for quite a while. We're going to go kind of verse by verse, section by section to the book of Romans for the next season, couple seasons. We'll have a couple breaks in there. But I'm really excited about this. Pastor Andre and I have been talking about this for quite a while now and praying through it. And he kicked it off last week, and the Apostle Paul writing this letter to Rome doesn't pull any punches. He opens up the chapter, boom, coming and swinging. I feel like last week Andre just presented like just a giant big old steak dinner and said, let's chew on this for a while. And the theology of this opening section was just so dense. We could probably spend a week, two weeks, three weeks, a month just in this opening section. We won't do that. But Paul just loads up this letter and it's not going to get any lighter. Paul's just going to keep it coming, coming, and coming. And if Paul last week was like a pop, pop, this week is going to be that left hook coming in. So buckle up this morning. No.

But Andre did a fantastic job setting us up and Paul isn't pulling back. Paul isn't slowing down. He didn't hit the gas into the turn then he's kind of feathering off and just kind of coasting like he is in it to win it. And I think I was having a conversation with Angus, a worship leader this morning. We were talking about Paul and who he is and his zeal and his heart and his passion that just flows out of this letter is because of his heart for the gospel and who Jesus is. And this is the series, this is the theme for the entire book of Romans, is all about the power of the gospel. It's all about Jesus. It's all about who he is, what he has done, and how he's here to change lives. And so Paul doesn't pull back, and we're jumping in this morning. If you wanna give a title, Paul is gonna just hit it and give a incredible, serious warning against ungodliness. Paul is kind of preaching some fire and brimstone this morning. So you know that's not my style. That's not usually who I am. But I want to honor the scripture and honor God's word. And so we're going to jump in and dive in today, if that's all right with you guys. We're going to go for it. So let's start in verse 16 because I want to back up a smidge because Paul here kind of tags on what Andre shared last week to kind to be the on-ramp onto where we're going with the scripture this morning.

So starting in verse 16 it says this, it says, "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 the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith. As it is written, the righteous shall live by faith." "For," we're gonna go right into this section, "For the wrath of God is revealed in heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world and things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened, claiming to be wise, but they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, and birds, and animals, and creeping things. Paul runs right into this section after this opening, talking about who God is, and Jesus, and the gospel, and says, The glory of God has been shown and revealed to everyone since the beginning of creation."

Ever since the beginning of the world, God has created around us, as we look out, I love this sanctuary to be able to look out here, Look out here and to see the nature and the glory of God that points us to him. And not only in that, but God also puts within us deep down inside a desire for something bigger than ourselves. A desire for something to make us go, hmm. A desire to go, if this is the world, there's gotta be something out there. And that wooing and that drawing is actually what brings us and draws us into who God is. It's impossible to live on this planet without recognizing God, as nature is proof of his existence. Whether you're toes in the sand on the beach, you're up looking at the snow in Lake Tahoe, you look at animals. I know I make the joke around here, but you think God's creative? Look at the platypus, it's hilarious. God has a sense of humor. The sun, the moon, the stars, even Psalm 19:1, the Psalmist says, "The heavens declare your glory, "the glory of God. "The skies proclaim the works of his hands." Also says in Psalm 33 five, "The Lord loves righteous and justice. "The earth is full of his unfailing love." Jesus himself, even in Matthew seven, talks about knocking and seeking and pursuing God. anybody who knocks, anybody who's, I'm standing at the door knocking, if anybody would just answer me, I'm right there. And so Paul here is sitting this, setting this thing up to say, say Jesus and God Himself, just everything around us is leading and drawing us to Him. That's what Paul's saying. And humanity either chooses to follow that leading, which takes them to Christ and finding salvation in Jesus, or they choose not to. It's one or two of the options.

Just coming to the knowledge of God isn't enough. Let me say that again. hearing isn't enough. We just talked about this, right? In our master class series talking about the sermon on the mount, the difference between the wise builder and the not so wise builder, the one who built on rock and the one who built on sand. It wasn't an issue of hearing. They both heard. It was their choice. It was their choice that made the difference of whether they were gonna hear and choose to do that or not hear or hear and not choose to do that. Paul Paul here is saying a very similar thing. He's saying that nature itself, there's enough drawing and leading and wooing of us to begin to seek something greater. And that something greater is God. Now I'm not saying this is a salvation thing. I'm saying this is what leads us towards the salvation piece of saying yes to Jesus in our lives. What I'm talking about here is that in this wooing and drawing, there's two choices. Either we say yes to that or we say no. And for those who have chosen not to follow that leading, Paul here is saying they are led by their own desires. 'Cause we don't choose God, who do we choose? Me, ourselves. And in that choosing of their own selves, they create many fake false gods or begin to view themselves as God. Paul says it right here plainly. They became futile in their thinking, their foolish hearts were darkened, claiming to be wise. These are the results of left to our own thinking. That we begin to believe that we know it all, right? We think we have this all figured out, and we put our own crown on our own head and claim our royal throne and say, I am God. And we rule our own lives like that, and we try to rule other people's lives like that. That's what happens. And Paul says all of this is actually so foolish. Foolish because they exchange the truth of the glory of God in our lives and become self-proclaimed gods.

I think we read the Old Testament sometimes and we see these stories of the Israelite people or other nations and they're making these false gods. We go, "How crazy are they? How foolish could they be to carve something out or to cast it with molten metal or whatever and go, "This is God. I will bow down and worship this statue." How insane are these people? And yet we do it in our own lives. We're not necessarily building a little statue out of clay or rock or wood or metal, but we make idols in our own lives of money, materialism, education, a political stance, fame, influence, status, a certain neighborhood or zip code to live in, you name it, we make our own gods. And Paul here is stating a life not choosing God leads down a very, very dark path. And he speaks from experience because that was Paul when he was Saul. Before Paul came and had that encounter on the Damascus Road, and we read about in Acts, where God showed up in his life in a massive, drastic way and shook him to the point that, do I have your attention yet, Saul? That moment when Saul's idol was persecuting Christians and being the religious elite of that day, Paul says, I know what that's like to have an idol in your life, that that's all you think about. You live on it, you breathe it, you focus in on it. Every single moment of every single day I've been there and God rocked my world and saved me by His grace. And I now, Paul, am trying to tell every person I know, don't live that life because it is a dark, dark place.

Let's continue on, verse 24. "Therefore, God gave them up in the lust of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth for God, about God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever, amen. For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature, and men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of righteousness, evil, covetous, malice. They were full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They were gossip, slanders, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.”

Whoo! Pow, pow, left hook. Paul throws down. So to recap, to put this scripture into a couple sentences, it goes like this. "God, since the beginning of time, revealed Himself in creation and in a leading to Himself inside each of us." Humanity either chosen to follow that leading to God or chosen not to. For those who have chosen not to follow that leading, they are led by their own desires. We just read a list. entering into creating either many fake false gods for themselves to worship or bringing themselves as gods. Those desires are not of God and lead to a place of sin, choosing one's own selfishness. That selfishness, left unchecked, leads to sinful desires, which ultimately leads to sin. And Paul lists those out. He says, "Lust, greed, envy, anger, strife, malice, hate, pride, these are the results of choices." That's what this is. These left to our own demise, our own thinking, our own going, "I am God," lead to this dark place of sin.

Paul says it perfect in Romans 1.25, "Because they exchange the truth about God for a lie, and worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen." Paul here also is saying that these choices aren't being made in a vacuum. But these choices here made, as he says in verse 20, that his eternal power and divine nature has been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world and the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. Paul here is saying, these people, you people, humanity, the created being of God, the created being, the only thing that was created in the image of God, us humans, understand what is being at play here. And Paul says, "You are without excuse." This hits hard. Because of the revealed God and the leading towards righteousness inside all of humanity, The consequences of the aforementioned sin that I listed off is death.

Paul's not beating around the bush. He's not buttering people up. He's not like doing the soft lead in. Paul's just like Kramer, like boom, right into the apartment going, "Hey, what's up? Do you know Jesus?" Like he's just like coming in hot. And I'm like, "Paul, bro, pump the brakes, dude." But there was obviously something in his spirit. He's hearing God saying, "Paul, I need you to tell the church in Rome what's going on. I need you to remind them what is at stake and it is their life." This isn't just a, "Hey, here's an investment opportunity. Maybe it works out. Maybe it doesn't." Paul's like, "This is serious business. This isn't something to be messed around with. And he's talking about directly saying that the end result of sin is death. And this is a place that everyone finds themselves in. This isn't for this person over here. It isn't for that worst criminal over here. This isn't for that horrible person over there. This is everyone. And Paul himself in the next chapter here, in chapter 3, we get to in a few weeks, is going to talk about this himself. He says, "No one is righteous," Romans 3 23, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." It's everybody. Paul himself then again talks in Romans chapter 7 about himself being stuck in this cycle of sin in this fleshly, this carnal, unspiritual struggle with sin. Paul understands the struggle of sin firsthand. He isn't some perfect dude out there, because we only know the perfect person to ever be on earth was Jesus. Paul isn't this perfect dude out there going, "Yep, sin's hard. You guys need to fix that problem yourselves." Paul's going, "I know it myself. I struggle with it, but he understands the implications, the drastic nature of it. And it's because of that that he can understand. And he doesn't give himself an excuse. Not only no excuse for himself, but then if you remember the ending part there, he talks about others, those around him who also know better and are supposed to be living that way and see it done in other people they basically have committed it themselves. So there's literally absolutely zero excuse of anything.

The struggle is so real in our lost and broken world. There's been a progressive degradation of morals in our society and this debate over right versus wrong. We see in society this struggle of well it's not that wrong but do I really have to do what's right? there's got to be some gray area where I can kind of play around in, right? Paul here is saying no, it's not. And I think Paul draws on this even so much so of Hebrew tradition and teaching that goes back to King Solomon himself. If you guys know, King Solomon was the son of David. He was the third great king of Israel And he himself prayed to God and asked for wisdom. And he was granted so much wisdom that it was said he was the wisest person ever to live on the face of the earth, both then and forevermore. But King Solomon was the top dog. He knew it all. He reigned in that wisdom. He led Israel well, except for his weakness. And he had a blind spot, a fleshly weakness, a struggle, that he, over time, slowly tarnished the holiness of him seeking God through opening himself up to outside influence. And that outside influence came in the form of his 700 wives and his 300 concubines. And God had warned him, even the wisest dude on Earth has weakness. They're human, not God. And King Saul himself talks about, even recorded through 1 Kings chapter 11, this understanding that this compromise in what we worship and what we allow to influence our lives leads us down a path of immorality. That idolatry ends in immorality. And I would say specifically sexual immorality. I don't think there's a difference there.

And there is nothing different from King Solomon in the early 10th century BC, but it's also true in this first century of Romans in the church in Rome, which is just coming about 20 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. Rome was known for sex. They were. Rome literally worshipped sex. That's what they were focused on. Their abuse of, their pride in, the rampant infatuation of sex shaped their culture and their societal norms. life was completely influenced, wrapped up in, and surrounded in sex. Some scholars would go as far to say that that was actually at the core of the demise of the Roman Empire, was their infatuation with sex. And Paul here is giving a harsh warning against this ungodliness. Paul's giving this warning because of the wisdom he knows from King Solomon. Because the way that the Romans worshipped and viewed and participated in sex is the polar opposite of which sex was originally intended. God has this beautiful image and purpose of sex, which was different than how they viewed it in Rome. See, sex created by God, it is intended for a God-centered marriage between a man and a woman. It is the fulfillment of God's intended creation of the intimacy. And just like the day that Paul wrote this letter, our society today has a corrupt image of sex as well. taking what is supposed to be this loving, emotional communion, bringing together of two hearts, is exchanged for a cheap, manipulative, broken, loveless shell of its original form. And it's an attempt to steal away what God intended for good. Sex in itself within a God-centered marriage actually is a form of worship to God. You ever thought about it like that? And this worship towards God has been polluted by society. Paul here is saying it was never supposed to be like this. It's never how God intended it. But in our selfishness, in our humanity, We made ourselves out to be God and said, "We know better." And that's sin.

And God hates sin. He absolutely hates it. That's just who God is. He is a holy God. And because of that, there has to be a separation between that which is holy and godly and that which is ungodly or sin and evil. Psalm 5, 4 says this, it says, "For you are not a God who takes pleasure and wickedness. "No evil person dwells with you." Paul here is saying, either you're the one who sees God in His nature and the leading inside all of us and responds to follow God, or you're the one who chooses to follow our own desires, our sin nature. And this is black and white and it's hard to swallow. I don't wanna be up here saying this this morning. I don't wanna be preaching a Psalm that says, "Hey, encouragement, trust in the Lord. He'll give you every all desires of your heart. Just seek after Him, it'll all be good." But Seth's not preaching the whole Bible. That's taking this idea of God and focusing only in on this loving God. You wouldn't make an excuse, this is loving, but we've painted this image in our mind of this flowery, loving God, right? Full of grace and mercy and love. Ever patient, abounding in forgiveness. But you can't have that dimension of God without His seriousness of how He views sin. I see it in an equating of a loving parent. You love your kids unconditional. But when they do something wrong, your heart breaks for them. And sometimes that requires a punishment. Sometimes that requires having to go, "I need to get your attention because you're not walking in the way of the Lord." And as parents, that's our obligation to do so. Kids are only on lease with us for only so long, right? And we have to do everything we can to lead them towards God and to push them in that direction. And sometimes it means getting serious with them. But that means we deeply, deeply love them.

And that's what I see here. I see a God who cares for us so much that he would send his son from heaven to come down to live on earth in our struggles, continue to be perfect, to sacrifice, to give himself up a painful, painful, excruciating death on a cross. Defeat death in the grave, rise again so that we could walk in redemption with Him, but that walking in redemption of Him means He wants to change who we are. God loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for us, but He also loves us so much to not leave us the way that he finds us. That's what Paul is talking about here. And in our church, we want to have just this loving God who's accepting of all which he is, but we begin to paint this picture that puts us in a place where we put sins into categories. Well, it's just a white lie. It's not, this is just a small sin compared to this big one over here. Like I'm not going there. I'm just, no I'm not gonna look at it. If I don't look at it I don't have to admit that it's in my life. We justify our actions. We minimize the way in which those pull us apart from God and lead us in unrighteousness. Or even worse, we get into the comparison game. Well, God, I'm not as bad as that guy. Or I haven't done something as bad as they did. I mean, God, let's be honest. I show up to church once a month, drop a couple ones on the way out. Like, God, good man, right? We're good. And I'll tell you, this isn't a situation where we're losing salvation or being pulled away or works versus faith. It's still a faith-based relationship of saying yes to Jesus. But Jesus has a purpose for us. And when we compromise and we sit in these places, we're not being used fully to God for our full purpose.

Paul here is saying, stop it. Stop it. Just stop it. You know better. You know you shouldn't be doing it. Just stop it. You know better. It doesn't matter. Well, God, God, the world says it's OK. It's not that big of a deal. Now, here's the part that I hate. I'm going to quote my mother right now. Well, if everybody jumped off a bridge, would you jump off of it? I hated that as a kid. Like, Mom, I've already inspected the water. I've already checked it out. It's not that far. Like, it's going to be OK. No. Paul here is saying, you know better. Knock it off. But the reality is that everyone has struggles. Yes, 100%. Everybody's got struggles. And Paul himself, on multiple occasions, through multiple letters, says he himself that he is not perfect. Nobody is, just Jesus. And the struggle in this is that there is seen and there is unseen struggles. And the danger is the unseen. When everything on the outside looks perfect, This is that comparison game. That is so dangerous. But I also want to say this morning that the power of the gospel can overcome anything, that nobody is too far gone. Well, Pastor Chris, you just don't know. I've heard stories, man. I've heard stories of God redeeming people that never thought would ever be redeemed. Some of your guys' stories that you have shared with me, you've been in those places, and God's light penetrates the darkest of the darkest of the darkest, can break through even the calloused of hearts.

That is this power of the gospel that Paul is preaching here right now. We could get into so many different things with this scripture this morning, but I want us to focus in on as we close today, is that it doesn't have to be like this. It doesn't have to be this struggle. It doesn't have to be this power that sin might have in your life. It doesn't have to be this struggle all of the time. 'Cause God wants to free you from this. We sang a song this morning, bring it all to the table. There ain't nothing he ain't seen before. I love that line of that song. He's not surprised by any of it. So just bring it to him. And on the other side, we need to stop minimizing sin in our life. That's not that bad. God doesn't want any of it. He doesn't like any of it. He doesn't want it to have any power or any crack or anything. Do you know water is one of the most powerful things on the face of the earth? Water can get into a tiny little crack and begin to expand. And when it freezes, it presses that nothing can stop it. God doesn't want any little crack in your life, even if it's a small crack. That's God's heart.

So the question becomes for us today, how do we respond to this scripture? I think respond in a way of how can you and I live a righteous life? A life that is focused in on who God is for us, allowing him to pour over us and to cleanse us from any little tiny itsy bitsy teeny-weeny thing of sin in our life and to not go, "It's not that bad." That's the kind of attitude that King Solomon had that ultimately went to his demise. It's just one wife from this place over here. We'll put Baal up so she can worship. How can we exponentially increase the revealed glory of God in our world? To allow the gospel of God to completely saturate our lives, bringing the righteousness of God here and now. I think it's amazing that God put his glory in creation so that if nobody on the face of the earth ever recognized God or worshiped him, he would still have recognition in this place. You ever think about that?

So the question for us becomes, will we either reflect that and build upon it, or we, in our settling of saying, it's not that bad, it's not that much sin, it's just okay, Will we then detract and push away God's glory here on earth? Vision of mission says to see our community saturated with the glory of God through making disciples in the everyday stuff of life. Do we add to that glory of God being here and now on earth? Or do we detract from that? So a way to add to that is through making disciples in the everyday stuff of life. of working through all of that junk by the power of God helping each other, encouraging each other, pointing each other to go to Jesus, to Jesus, to Jesus. And this is what Paul is saying. Will we further his reflection of righteousness in this world or will we detract from it? The choice is ours.

Romans - Part 1

Paul's Greeting - Romans 1:1-17

SERMON TRANSCRIPT

We are beginning a new series this morning. We're getting Romans. I'm excited for this. We're going to be in Romans for quite some time. So buckle in, settle down, and just we're going to be in Romans. I'll let you know. We're going to be in Romans for really through the end of the year. So we'll take some breaks for Easter. And it's true. It's a 24 week series. So yeah, I'm excited. We're going-- it's going to be a lot, but it's going to be really good. So we're going to dive in because it's a lot. If you've read Romans, you know it is dense. There's a lot to unpack, so we've got to-- we're already behind. We've got to go. All right. This is-- Romans is kind of like a timeless Christian theology book for all believers, wherever they are around the world through all time. But it still demands that we read it in its proper context, in the way that it was written-- who it was written for. We need to know that in order to understand it correctly and fully. And so with that desire and aim, I want to try to paint the scene before we dive into the actual text, just kind of paint the scene of what's going on.

So I want to cover Paul, I want to cover Rome and the early church, just a little bit here. So Paul, many of you know, was formally Saul. Saul's story was that he was a Pharisee, grew up as a Pharisee, and grew up around the time of Jesus. And so he saw everything that happened. And he was against the early church, persecuted the early church. And really was the name of the Pharisee that had risen to the top. He was a top dog, and until Jesus got a hold of him. And so again, you may be familiar with Saul's conversion to Paul on the road to Damascus, where Jesus confronted him and said, why are you persecuting me? And from that moment, Saul now, Paul, his life has changed. And he goes from, of all people that God could have grabbed, the very one who had taken joy in seeing the church suffer, will eventually suffer for God's church. And I love that radical transformation that happens in him. God has chosen Paul to be the one, the instrumental piece of growth for the early church. This is God's guy that's going to bring about new churches, bring about the gospel message to new corners of the world. Fast forward some time in Paul's life, we won't have time to cover all of him, but by the time he writes the letter Romans, it's been 25 years since he's been converted. So he's had some time in the mission fields. He spent much of that time kind of north above Jerusalem and then east in Aliricum, which is, I didn't know where that was, so modern day. Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia, Herzegovina, I think I said that right, Croatia, all in that area. Paul has been there planting churches for years, for years. And then he comes to this point, this transitional point in his apostolic career. And it's a time of transition for him where he is coming out of that mission fields and heading back towards Jerusalem and has thoughts of where he's going to go next. And along the way of, we'll cover this in a bit of where he wants to go, he's going to have to confront some issues happening in Jerusalem and in some of the other early churches that he was not a part of yet. But Paul has been preparing for this, some of these big church issues for some time. And the work in the mission field is a pivotal piece of why he was chosen to help address what is going on in the early church. So that's Paul, a little bit of Paul, just a little bit.

Rome, the setting for which this letter is written, is the dominant nation at the time. Rome is a world power and pretty much the world power. There's no one else really going up against them yet. They had control over the known world. And the early church at this time was not... It wasn't started by apostles. When I was prepping for this, I was like, yeah, early church. one of the apostles went out there and started it. No, actually, most scholars believe that the early Roman church was started by Jews who were converted at Pentecost. In Acts 2, when Pentecost happened, and they left Jerusalem and went to Rome. And there was already a Jewish community there in Rome, but these early Christian Jews went over there and started the church. And so this church has been happening for years, and it's great until it's not so great. There's some tension that arises. So at first the church is mostly Jewish people. But then as they start to grow and as Gentiles start to come into the fold and start to know Jesus, there's a tension that arises. And that tension is that because the early church was mostly Jewish, not just people, but in their customs. So they had mostly Jewish songs, they had mostly Jewish customs and things that they did in the service, mostly Jewish people, and the leaders were mostly Jewish. And so then there rose this tension for these Gentiles who were commenting and saying, "How much, how Jewish do I have to become? What is Jesus calling me to? Do I have to become a Jew to become a follower of Jesus?" And there was this ripe, it was ripe for division. It could have gone, "Well, let's start our own church. Let's do our own thing." And this is where Paul, God's bringing Paul into the mixing, "Hey, I don't want my church to split, and I need you to address some things going on." So, yeah. the circumstances were perfect for Paul to come in. Douglass Mew, a famous theologian, points out that what Paul had been doing in his years of missionary work is probably why Jesus or God picked him for this. He had been doing missionary work, planting churches, and integrating cultures and early church together. He had been doing that all over. one, maybe compared to other apostles who had stayed pretty local to Jerusalem, that would know best on how to bring the church together. Yes you're from this background, yes you're from this culture but you can still be a part of this church. So Paul knew how this works and how it worked well. He says, "Moo this, theologian says Paul hopes that his words and God through his words will heal the most serious social and theological rift in the early church, the relationship between the Jew and the Gentile and the people of God. And this possible division, Paul sensed this disunity amongst God's people could bring ruin to the entire early church. So this is very early in the church growing. It's not established yet. It's still a movement that's happening. And so any threat to the church, Paul and the apostles felt, like this is a threat to this whole thing that God has been setting up that Jesus started. So this is much of what Paul wants to address in his letter to Rome.

And then a little bit about the letter of Romans. It is labeled as an epistle, which is a letter to a church. But unlike other epistles, the way the other epistles worked is usually there was a church there started by an apostle or a bunch of followers of Jesus. And they had any issue or questions they would send a messenger or a letter saying, "Hey, by the way, church player that planted us, this is happening, what do we do?" And they would write back and say, "All right, yeah, you need to do this." And what we have in our Bible is that response letter. We don't have the original letter, but we can deduce from how those are written, like, "Oh, they were bringing up this issue." Because that's all that Paul's talking about is addressing this. Romans doesn't have an original letter. God just put it on Paul's heart to send a letter saying, "Hey, by the way, this is me, and this is the gospel." And so it's a beautiful thing, and it's why it's kind of become our handbook for Christian theology, because it doesn't just focus on one issue, he covers everything. And he covers, when he's covering everything, he covers, we'll kind of see that Paul is a run on thinker. It's like this is the power of Jesus, who is this person, who did this, who is from, you know, just like, "Come after, come after." Which is really good, but it's also why it's so dense. Paul's like, just, he's loading it with so much information. So, the letter of Romans is a little different in a way that really benefits us. Anything else? Yes, okay. Some of the general themes that we'll see throughout Romans and through this series are things that still we need to hear today. And maybe we've heard before, but we can always be reminded of them. We'll see that Paul's addressing the continuity of God's plan of salvation from the Old Testament to the New. He addresses our sin and the need that we have. He addresses God's provision for our sin problem in the person of Christ. He covers what it means to live a holy life. This word of righteousness is a big word that Paul loves to unpack over and over again. We'll talk about security in facing suffering and death. And we know from other letters of Paul that Paul fears he doesn't fear death at all. He almost welcomes it. And there's so much more that Paul covers in Rome.

So we over the the course of our series, we aim to cover all this and understand the truth that Paul has packed in here. And I keep saying this, but there is a lot to unpack. And so, it's a little plug. Come on Sunday mornings, we're going to unpack it some more before the service. We're going to all the questions that after Chris and I preach and we're like, hey, they didn't, they didn't cover this. I still have questions. Perfect time would be Sunday morning. Good. See you there. So we'll dive in now. We'll dive into our, we're going to be covering Romans chapter 1 through 17. And even though it's just kind of the introduction, his greeting, there is still so much in here. And so let me go ahead and pray really quick and then we'll read and we'll continue.

God, Thank you for this time and for this letter to the Roman Church. Thousands of years later, it's still serving us and feeding us your truth. So I pray that through this sermon, God, that it would be your words, that we would be encouraged and empowered to understand what it means to be a follower of you. And I pray that as we leave this morning, we're encouraged to give our entire lives to you, God. Help us to understand Paul's words here to see what he's really saying, understand them in the right context. And I pray that we would have an excitement and a joy for getting into your words. So we pray this in your son's name, Amen.

I'm going to break this into a couple sections. Since I'm going to start with Romans 1 through 7. You guys can follow along on the screen or in your own Bibles. Romans 1, starting at verse 1, says, Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God, the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets and the Holy Scriptures, regarding his son, who asked his earthly life was at the Senate of David, and who through the spirit of holiness was appointed the son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. Run on sentence, by the way. Through him we receive grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his namesake. And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people, grace and peace to you from our God, our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Alrighty. Just an introduction, right? So much in there. So much in there. Paul's, I just want to go verse by verse. But yeah, his, I mean already from the beginning, Paul is writing from a place of passion, right? This is deeply on his heart. He was moved by the spirit to reach out and to write to Romans. And I think that passion really comes through. I mean, even in just saying the word Jesus, you couldn't just say the name. You had to explain who Jesus is, right? Goes to the Old Testament. Paul is, and I love that. I hope that we keep this throughout his writing that Paul is passionate right now. that quill and or, whoever his ghost writers that's writing it down for him is like, "Oh my goodness Paul, you're going crazy." So, there's passion in the text here as Paul is writing it. We'll just dive in.

Verse one. One of the first things that we notice here and it's evidently integrating is that much of Paul's identity is wrapped up in Christ's identity. He now identifies with the person of Christ and Christ's mission and Christ's goal. And I love, again, we covered who Paul was, formerly Saul. And now his identity used to be, I am the guy that's against the church. I am the guy that is going to take down the church. Like, Saul was the one the Pharisees had hoping to, you know, get rid of the early church, that movement. And now he's totally transformed. And now his identity is fully in Christ. And at the mention of his own name, he has to bring up who Jesus is. Because he is so tied directly to him. So I love that, his identity is there. We also hear the Gospel, the Gospel of God. And a little fun point is that the Gospel back in that time was not necessarily a religious word. We hear it today and most of us, and even non-Christians, would hear the word gospel, and they would think about Christianity, they would think about the Bible, they would think about Jesus. But back in that time, the Gospel was used even by Roman generals as a term to say, as a share of victory. we just went and conquered this and they would have a gospel messenger who would go to town to town and give Updating say hey, we just had victory over this area, you know go go Rome and That was the gospel messenger and that was the gospel and so I love that Paul is riffing on that terminology He's calling himself a messenger of the biggest victory in history Christ victory over death over the enemy, he is the gospel, the gospel messenger.

He's already throwing punches. He's like, "Hey, nice to meet you. My name is Paul. Boom, gospel." He's saying the gospel, this message of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the God of the universe, who is the only one with the power to save and the victory on the cross, the meant salvation for those who believe that savior, I carry his redeeming message to all of you.

Moving on to verse, verses three through five. Again, even in this introduction, Paul is connecting the old testament to the life of Jesus. He's making sure that people are seeing the work and plan of Yahweh. That this was not a new thing that God spurred the moment was like, by the way, I think I'm going to send Jesus. No, this has been in the works since Genesis 3. Since sin entered the world, God had a plan of salvation. And this is the one, the God who created the heavens and the earth, who flooded the earth, and saved it with Noah, who, the God of Abraham, of Moses, the God of Israel through King David and Solomon, the God of the Israelites and captivity through the prophets. This, this is that God that put this in the motion. And this is him at work, something he purposed. Verse 4 emphasizes or Paul is proclaiming the power of Christ, his deity, which Paul will reference several times in this letter, continue to emphasize that Jesus is God. So for the Jewish people, he's writing to this diverse church of both Jews and Gentiles, and for the Jewish people, Paul is connecting in their minds that this is the very Messiah that was prophesied in the Old Testament. Don't wait for anyone else. Don't think that it hasn't happened yet. Jesus was here, he lived, he died, he rose again. This is him. All the prophecies that you know, Jewish people, they point to Christ. Don't miss it. And for the Gentiles, Paul is reinforcing, hopefully, what the local church is teaching them, which is, you need to know your Old Testament. This Christ, this plan has been talked about, has been written about. the Jewish people know it comes from their history. This all revolves around Christ and what he has done for us.

He's making sure they understand that you need to know the Torah, you need to know the Old Testament. And that's an issue that gets brought up even today, right? Like, "Hey, I like people, maybe within the church, but people who maybe have a distant relationship with Jesus or kind of not really in the faith." They're like, "Yeah, Jesus's words may be true, but the rest of the Bible I can't get on board with. Or yeah, I like the New Testament, but the Old Testament is really wack. It's really weird. That was a real thing that people say. And Paul's words here address that say, "No, it's all tied together. All Testament, New Testament, it is all truth." And you need to know the Old Testament to fully understand the New Testament. So Paul, bringing it together. And verse five, Paul is bringing people's attention to the life that Jesus has called believers to. He also establishes his own authority, based on Christ's authority. He's saying, "God chose me. I'm an apostle." And he's sharing his purpose as an apostle is to be a messenger of the gospel, to spread the truth of Christ. Paul's whole life purpose at this point is to see people come into obedient relationship with God. And he's saying, "You need to do this. You people, all of you in Rome, come be in obedient relationships with God." So already, just in the introduction, We see themes of God's power to save and the life of righteousness that we are called to live, surfacing to the top. Paul's giving these little hints of like, I can't even help it. I'll bring it in here, but I'm gonna write about it in chapters to come, but like, this is important.

And in verse seven, Paul's audience, again, he's writing to a diverse church, Jews and Gentiles, believers and not yet believers. People who were maybe attending the church, but not yet committed their lives to God. And he's saying, this is the entire gospel message. I'm gonna lay it out for you. All right, so this is just the first seven verses. I imagine the leaders of Rome, like when they got this letter and they're reading it and they're like all circled around and the guys reading it to themselves. Like are you done yet? He's like, done yet. I just said seven verses. I had to think about it and unpack it so much. All right, Romans 8 through 13. We'll continue. It says, first, I think my God, through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. God whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his son, is my witness how constantly I remember you, in my prayers at all times, and I pray that now it lasts by God's will, the way may be open for me to come to you. I'd long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong, that is you and I may mutually, maybe mutually encouraged by each other's faith. I do not want you to be unaware of brothers and sisters that I plan many times to come to you but have been prevented from doing so until now in order that I might have a harvest among you just as I've had among other Gentiles. So as I shared in the introduction earlier, Paul has plans. He's been cultivating this missionary heart, growing heart for more and more people to hear the gospel and he's sharing that intention with the Roman church. I'm Paul. This is about what I am and I am very, very intentional in spreading the gospel message.

Verse 8, Paul writes about how God is moving in the Roman church. And I love that, and this is still true today, when God moves in a person's life or in a group of people's life, it makes waves. When God is moving in a people and in a place, that testimony of what's happening is an encouragement and a source of joy and hope for other believers. How many of you have heard of what's happening at Asbury's University? Yeah, a lot of you. For those of you haven't, over two weeks ago, there was a chapel, a weekly chapel. They have chapels at this Christian college. And two weeks ago, this chapel didn't stop. The praise songs kept going. Times of confession, reading scripture, prayer, and it's still going. The people have been flying out to go attend, and it's amazing. It's making news all over the country that the presence of God is at this place right now, and the people there are worshiping him with everything they have. And there's no reason to stop. Why stop praising God? One pastor commented in I agree, he says, "If this program or this work is merely human, It will fall apart. At some point in time, it will stop, it will fail. But if it is of God, there is nothing that you can do about it. And you better not be found fighting against God.” That was from Pastor Richard Viotis from New York, and I totally agree. We're not there. I don't know what it's like. It sounds amazing. And I hope in prayers that this is completely of God. And it's all to his glory. Now, wonder if it was something similar was happening in Rome.

Rome is this epicenter of culture. It's the center of the known world at that time. And God's stirring there is making waves. Rome is also thought of-- and Jewish people's mind, maybe it's the epicenter of everything pagan. This Roman culture is not a godly culture. Romans were thought of as very, very evil. Their obsession with war and victory to their rampant sinful lifestyles. Roman, the Roman world was not a godly one. And so the work that the spirit was doing in this place was becoming undeniable. And I love that God's transformation, it's not just undeniable, but it's also recognizable by other people who have experienced God's power. So other Christians hearing about what's happening in Asbury, what's happening in Rome at that time are saying, "Yep, that's God." There's no other answer besides that. That's how the Spirit works.

We moved to verses nine and 10, we see Paul's affection for the church. He shares his desire to visit soon, praying that God would make a way for it to happen. But even from afar, he's been supporting and praying and partnering with God about what's happening in the Roman church, praying for the continual spiritual transformation for these people. And I love, I think that's such a good reminder for us today to be mindful and intentional about supporting people who are not just in our church circle, our local church congregation. There's people all around the world in different environments, from different cultures, different circumstances that are praising God. And let's be mindful of them. But the church used to work out. We had missionaries that we supported come in and they would sometimes share on a Sunday. And I was always blown away that they would say, "Hey, by the way, we're praying for you. This church across the world is praying for your congregation." And I love that. And I'm sure you guys have here at Spring Valley have done the same. We have missionaries that we've supported. And to know that they're praying, they're thinking of us. We tend to think of it as like a one way, "Hey, we're your support. We're praying for what's God's doing over there, but they're also mindful of what God's doing here. So Paul sets a great example for us in caring for our Christian and brothers and sisters around the world. And then in verses 11 through 13 Paul shares his plan to be in contact for his future purpose. He's planting seeds for future ministry that the church may be called to be involved in. He's partnering, he wants to partner with them in the spread of the gospel.

And now you and I know that Paul is a theological stud. We think of Paul, he's a big boy in the Bible context. And the early church had to learn that. He still had this background of Saul. And so sometimes there was a little like, okay, you're sure, Paul? You're a good guy. You're going to kill me right now. But they learned that this is God's tool for helping the early church grow. Paul is still acknowledging that he can learn something from the church. And I think that's something that both churches and leaders today need to hear. Churches, church congregations, speaking to you, you need to understand and have an accurate view of church leaders. Your pastors, your leaders, speaking for Christ and I, we don't know everything. We are not experts in, well, we may be a little bit expert-ish, but so happens when you go off script, it wasn't planned saying the word expert. We don't know everything, we're not perfect. We are also believers in process being formed by the spirit just like you. And while we may have a different call on our lives as pastors, the position of pastor is still one that learns. It's still one that grows. And any pastor that thinks otherwise is gonna meet failure and a rude awakening at some point in their life and their church will suffer for it. And so leaders, talking to us and then also to you future leaders or you leaders, we need to be like Paul, lead with humility. Leaders are not the superman's, the heroes of the church, the end all be all of church communities. The world does not revolve around them. Leaders are meant to serve, to love, to shepherd. And as a church grows, not just in size, but in maturity and faith over time, hopefully, the maturity of the pastor and the leadership grows as well. They're learning as they're going, being encouraged and shaped and formed as they learn and experience what it means to be a part of God's people.

I love that Paul, who we know is this apostle, is still saying, "I hope that we can I'm usually learning from each other, Church of Rome. I want to learn from you, you learn from me. Paul models for us, that we are always learning and it really points us back to Christ's perfect humility. All right, one more section. We can do it, stay awake, move a lot to arms, whatever you gotta do. Romans 14 through 17. It says, "I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greek, spoke to the wise and the foolish, that is why I'm so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew and then to the Gentile. For in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written, the righteous will live by faith. All of a sudden, the table here for the rest of the letter, letting people know both Jews and Gentiles, they're equally welcome. Against striving, Paul is striving for the unification of the Church. His purpose is to share with everyone. And again, thinking of us today and being like Paul, it's a good gut check for us. We need to be like Paul. And do we really have a desire to share with everyone or just people who are conveniently in our lives? And I say that as one being guilty of one of the struggles with this. I think, God, do I share with that person? I don't even know if I get along with them. They're not really my kind of person. I don't know if that was the time. I'm busy. Whatever it is, they're not my kind of people. I wouldn't know how to talk to that kind of person. I love that Paul's like, no, everyone. I got the gospel. I'm ready. Let's go.

Verse 15, Paul's saying, Rome, you need to hear this. You need to figure out how to be in community for each other. You need to figure out how not to be a segregated church of Gentile Christians and Jewish Christians, but you need to be a church that is united in the gospel and that cause and that purpose excites Paul. Then we come to the first 16 and 17 and this is really the purpose of the letter. This is everything. He talks about the power of salvation for everyone. No matter how bad the sinner, Jesus' saving power is greater still. Now again, we wanna put it out there again. The Jews thought Romans were terrible. There may have been thought in a Jewish mind of like, is this really, this is gospel message really for the Romans because they're the worst. They're the absolute worst. And Paul is saying, "The power of God offered to you, Jews, is also powerful enough to overcome whatever the Gentiles have done, whatever their lifestyle. Whatever sin they have committed in life, no matter how bad they think it is, how unforgivable think it is, no matter how far gone, Jesus's power is greater still. And that is so true for us today. Any of you thinking that? Have any ever thought that or still think that? That when sin enters your life and you think, "Ah, that's just too much. That one, that's a big sin." And I don't know if God will welcome me anymore. I don't know if God's got the power to save me. That one was really bad. Paul will make it abundantly clear now and throughout the letter of Romans.

The power that was used for Jesus to raise back to life from dead, that power, that power that that Jesus did all of his miracles, the power that God has been working everything from Old Testament to New, that power is the power that reaches out to you. Jesus's power is greater still. Verse 17, Paul is saying that the gospel reveals the only way that we can become righteous is through Christ. From faith to faith, righteousness is a gift. It's not based on works. So it'll be something we cover a lot in this series. It's tempting thought for both Jews and Gentiles to think of faith in a workspace system. The Roman Empire was very much a tiered empire, social status, and you gotta do whatever it is to climb to the top. So their minds were structured in a way like, what do I have to do to get to the next level? And we may have similar thoughts too, and it's easy to bring that into the faith. This is how it works in the world. So this must be how it works in church and in my relationship with God. How do I contribute to my faith? What do I do to get better in the eyes of Jesus? And Paul will say, it's not based on any works that you do. He makes it clear that righteousness is found in Christ's alone and it requires faith. It's a gift from God and it requires belief and relationship with God.

All right. We did it. All right, we did it. We did 17 verses in Rome and Romans. I wanna share this as I close. One of the reasons that Pastor Chris and I are so excited about this series is that purpose of Paul to bring together people and have the church be united, touches on a point that I think it's lost in church today, especially in America. And that is the emphasis on communal faith. We are meant to be in community with each other. The church, the people in this room are meant to be a part of your spiritual journey. We often think of our spiritual journey as me and God, but everyone else is included in that journey. They are a part of our spiritual formation, and we need to be doing it with one another. Walking step by step, We are made in the body of Christ, meant to be partaking in God's word and all that God calls us to with each other. You cannot experience holistic spiritual formation apart from the body of Christ. We can easily lose sight of how spiritual transformation is not only for us in our hearts growing, but it brings us closer to God and with each other. Robert Mollhullen Jr., who passed away in 2015, he was a professor at Asbury Theological Seminary just across the street from the Asbury University that things are happening today. And he wrote this, which I think we have the quote, it says, “Our spiritual formation comes within a corporate and social context. Our growth toward wholeness in Christ is for the sake of others within the body of Christ, that we might nurture one another in the wholeness of Christ. When we don't feel like worshiping, the community should carry us along in its worship. When we can't seem to pray, community prayer should unfold us. And when the scripture seems close to us, the community should keep reading and affirming and incarnating it around us.”

I think it's a beautiful picture of the church and what Paul had in mind for the Romans. It's a goal that we should have and we should strive for here at Spring Valley Church that we're not just having a focus on, yes, our personal transformation, but how that incorporates into the larger church body.

There's a story of Dwight L Moody and you guys made the Moody Institute in the Midwest, and he used to have these conversations and weekly conversations. And he was approached one time by this guy who said, "Hey, I want you to come over "and I want to have theological conversation with you." So he said, "Sure." So he goes over to this guy's house and the guys are very welcoming and sit by the fire and they're drinking tea and their chairs. And after some pleasant small talk, the man goes into how he thinks that a Christian can be a Christian outside of the church. And he gives a very well thought out argument. I mean, this man clearly even scripture involved of saying this is why I think that a Christian doesn't have to be a part of a church body. Without saying a word, Moody takes the fire poker. and he gets an ember from the fire, and he scoots it off into the hearth away from the fire. And they sit there silently and watch it go from on fire and flaming and glowing to black charcoal. And the guy sitting there sighs and he says, "Proven your point.”

So as a church as we study and learn our way through Romans, let's have this in mind that it's not just about our individual process of sanctification of becoming more righteous and everything that Paul does. Yes, it's natural. We're going to think about how does this apply to me and we should. But then how do we fit into this church body? How do we do this together? And again, I think one of the ways we do that is not just gathering on Sunday mornings, but we want to be integrated in each other's lives throughout the week. That's not a plug necessarily for the midweek studies, but if you're feeling convicted, probably means to be there. But even outside of that, just we should be involved in each other's lives so that we can grow together in Christ. All right, more next week. Let me pray as we close and come up for the last song.

God, thank you. Thank you for sending Paul, for putting it on his heart to write to the Roman Church about being unified, for sharing a gospel message with them, and that we, thousands of years later, can still benefit, and learn, and grow. And some of us in this room of red Romans a hundred times. And some of us, this may be our first time really diving in deeply into Paul's words, but no matter what, I pray that your spirit would work in our hearts, that you would convict, that you would form us, that you would transform our hearts to be more like you. Open our eyes to see where we need to grow and change and also how we fit into the larger church body. The enemy loves to isolate us God. Love to get us one-on-one because he knows that that's where we're not a threat. But when we're together as a church, that's when your gospel can be used to its fullest effect. And so I just pray, God, keep working in us. Keep working in us individually and through us as a church as a whole. We pray that your Spirit now and through all the weeks to come in this series will continue to move. us. We trust you God. We know that you can do this and that you will do this. Pray this in your name. Amen.

Masterclass - Part 6

True Disciples - Matthew 7:15-29

Masterclass - Learning from Christ’s Sermon on the Mount - is a deeper look into Christ’s explanation of the kingdom of God. In this sermon, Jesus is revealing to the people what the kingdom of God truly looks like, not just in heaven but here on earth. He’s constructing the pieces together correctly (whereas the people at the time had a misunderstanding of God’s kingdom i.e. ruling authority on earth, overthrowing the Roman Empire, etc.).

The people learn that God’s kingdom is upside compared to the world’s kingdoms. Where the world values strong and powerful, Jesus values the meek and the weak. Where the world values status and influence, Jesus values humility and compassion. Jesus’ sermon on the mount is like the 10 Commandments of the Old Testament, it tells the people how to live properly, how to be a follower of Jesus, how to live how God wants us to live.

Our goal, as SVC, will be to relearn and be reminded of what Christ calls us to. How our faith calls us to live differently than the world around us. It calls us to value life differently than the world around us. It calls us to live according to God’s kingdom and not the world’s kingdom, not the U.S. kingdom, not a political party, a cultural subgroup, but God’s kingdom. We are called to be defined by Christ’s love, compassion, kindness, generosity, humility, and peace.

Jesus is giving a Masterclass of being a citizen of God’s kingdom, he’s giving the ultimate lessons of what it means to be a Christian. We are learning from the master.

...

Also please let us know how we can be praying for you. You can always send us a prayer request or praise here or email Prayer@SpringValleyChurch.org.

To find out more about Spring Valley Church or to connect with us, check us out at the links below!

To give online, visit http://www.SpringValleyChurch.org/give

http://www.facebook.com/SVCrocklin

http://www.instagram.com/SVCrocklin

Masterclass - Part 5

Ask, Seek, Knock - Matthew 7:7-12

Masterclass - Learning from Christ’s Sermon on the Mount - is a deeper look into Christ’s explanation of the kingdom of God. In this sermon, Jesus is revealing to the people what the kingdom of God truly looks like, not just in heaven but here on earth. He’s constructing the pieces together correctly (whereas the people at the time had a misunderstanding of God’s kingdom i.e. ruling authority on earth, overthrowing the Roman Empire, etc.).

The people learn that God’s kingdom is upside compared to the world’s kingdoms. Where the world values strong and powerful, Jesus values the meek and the weak. Where the world values status and influence, Jesus values humility and compassion. Jesus’ sermon on the mount is like the 10 Commandments of the Old Testament, it tells the people how to live properly, how to be a follower of Jesus, how to live how God wants us to live.

Our goal, as SVC, will be to relearn and be reminded of what Christ calls us to. How our faith calls us to live differently than the world around us. It calls us to value life differently than the world around us. It calls us to live according to God’s kingdom and not the world’s kingdom, not the U.S. kingdom, not a political party, a cultural subgroup, but God’s kingdom. We are called to be defined by Christ’s love, compassion, kindness, generosity, humility, and peace.

Jesus is giving a Masterclass of being a citizen of God’s kingdom, he’s giving the ultimate lessons of what it means to be a Christian. We are learning from the master.

...

Also please let us know how we can be praying for you. You can always send us a prayer request or praise here or email Prayer@SpringValleyChurch.org.

To find out more about Spring Valley Church or to connect with us, check us out at the links below!

To give online, visit http://www.SpringValleyChurch.org/give

http://www.facebook.com/SVCrocklin

http://www.instagram.com/SVCrocklin

Masterclass - Part 4

Judging Others - Matthew 7:1-6

Masterclass - Learning from Christ’s Sermon on the Mount - is a deeper look into Christ’s explanation of the kingdom of God. In this sermon, Jesus is revealing to the people what the kingdom of God truly looks like, not just in heaven but here on earth. He’s constructing the pieces together correctly (whereas the people at the time had a misunderstanding of God’s kingdom i.e. ruling authority on earth, overthrowing the Roman Empire, etc.).

The people learn that God’s kingdom is upside compared to the world’s kingdoms. Where the world values strong and powerful, Jesus values the meek and the weak. Where the world values status and influence, Jesus values humility and compassion. Jesus’ sermon on the mount is like the 10 Commandments of the Old Testament, it tells the people how to live properly, how to be a follower of Jesus, how to live how God wants us to live.

Our goal, as SVC, will be to relearn and be reminded of what Christ calls us to. How our faith calls us to live differently than the world around us. It calls us to value life differently than the world around us. It calls us to live according to God’s kingdom and not the world’s kingdom, not the U.S. kingdom, not a political party, a cultural subgroup, but God’s kingdom. We are called to be defined by Christ’s love, compassion, kindness, generosity, humility, and peace.

Jesus is giving a Masterclass of being a citizen of God’s kingdom, he’s giving the ultimate lessons of what it means to be a Christian. We are learning from the master.

...

Also please let us know how we can be praying for you. You can always send us a prayer request or praise here or email Prayer@SpringValleyChurch.org.

To find out more about Spring Valley Church or to connect with us, check us out at the links below!

To give online, visit http://www.SpringValleyChurch.org/give

http://www.facebook.com/SVCrocklin

http://www.instagram.com/SVCrocklin

Masterclass - Part 3

Prayer & Fasting - Matthew 6:5-18

Masterclass - Learning from Christ’s Sermon on the Mount - is a deeper look into Christ’s explanation of the kingdom of God. In this sermon, Jesus is revealing to the people what the kingdom of God truly looks like, not just in heaven but here on earth. He’s constructing the pieces together correctly (whereas the people at the time had a misunderstanding of God’s kingdom i.e. ruling authority on earth, overthrowing the Roman Empire, etc.).

The people learn that God’s kingdom is upside compared to the world’s kingdoms. Where the world values strong and powerful, Jesus values the meek and the weak. Where the world values status and influence, Jesus values humility and compassion. Jesus’ sermon on the mount is like the 10 Commandments of the Old Testament, it tells the people how to live properly, how to be a follower of Jesus, how to live how God wants us to live.

Our goal, as SVC, will be to relearn and be reminded of what Christ calls us to. How our faith calls us to live differently than the world around us. It calls us to value life differently than the world around us. It calls us to live according to God’s kingdom and not the world’s kingdom, not the U.S. kingdom, not a political party, a cultural subgroup, but God’s kingdom. We are called to be defined by Christ’s love, compassion, kindness, generosity, humility, and peace.

Jesus is giving a Masterclass of being a citizen of God’s kingdom, he’s giving the ultimate lessons of what it means to be a Christian. We are learning from the master.

...

Also please let us know how we can be praying for you. You can always send us a prayer request or praise here or email Prayer@SpringValleyChurch.org.

To find out more about Spring Valley Church or to connect with us, check us out at the links below!

To give online, visit http://www.SpringValleyChurch.org/give

http://www.facebook.com/SVCrocklin

http://www.instagram.com/SVCrocklin

Masterclass - Part 2

Upside-down Kingdom - Matthew 5:17-48

Masterclass - Learning from Christ’s Sermon on the Mount - is a deeper look into Christ’s explanation of the kingdom of God. In this sermon, Jesus is revealing to the people what the kingdom of God truly looks like, not just in heaven but here on earth. He’s constructing the pieces together correctly (whereas the people at the time had a misunderstanding of God’s kingdom i.e. ruling authority on earth, overthrowing the Roman Empire, etc.).

The people learn that God’s kingdom is upside compared to the world’s kingdoms. Where the world values strong and powerful, Jesus values the meek and the weak. Where the world values status and influence, Jesus values humility and compassion. Jesus’ sermon on the mount is like the 10 Commandments of the Old Testament, it tells the people how to live properly, how to be a follower of Jesus, how to live how God wants us to live.

Our goal, as SVC, will be to relearn and be reminded of what Christ calls us to. How our faith calls us to live differently than the world around us. It calls us to value life differently than the world around us. It calls us to live according to God’s kingdom and not the world’s kingdom, not the U.S. kingdom, not a political party, a cultural subgroup, but God’s kingdom. We are called to be defined by Christ’s love, compassion, kindness, generosity, humility, and peace.

Jesus is giving a Masterclass of being a citizen of God’s kingdom, he’s giving the ultimate lessons of what it means to be a Christian. We are learning from the master.

...

Also please let us know how we can be praying for you. You can always send us a prayer request or praise here or email Prayer@SpringValleyChurch.org.

To find out more about Spring Valley Church or to connect with us, check us out at the links below!

To give online, visit http://www.SpringValleyChurch.org/give

http://www.facebook.com/SVCrocklin

http://www.instagram.com/SVCrocklin