Sermons on Righteousness
Romans 1:1-6, 14-17
Unashamed of the Gospel Introduction: The official name of this church is First Evangelical Free Church. The first time some people hear that name they wonder, “Is this some kind of a cult, or why do they have such a weird name?” Well, our first name is not such a problem, because lots of churches have that name—it simply signifies that a particular church is the first one of its denomination in a given city. Our last name, “Free,” is a little more difficult…
Romans 4:1-12
Justification Illustrated: The Father of Faith, Part 1 Introduction: We begin this morning by reading together Romans 4:1-12: “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? {2} If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about–but not before God. {3} What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” {4} Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift,…
Romans 4:13-25
Justification Illustrated: The Father of Faith, Part 2 Introduction: For three weeks we have been giving our attention almost entirely to the doctrine of justification by faith. In the first three chapters of Romans the Apostle Paul goes to great lengths to establish, as a prosecutor might do in a court room, that the entire human race stands guilty before God because of SIN. Having built an absolutely watertight case, he stops to await the Judge’s verdict, which, astoundingly, comes down as “not guilty.” God…
Matthew 5:1-12
A Sermon for the Ages: Character Qualities of a Counter Cultural Christian Introduction: I thought I should clarify that when I use the title, “A Sermon for the Ages” this morning, I’m not referring to my sermon but rather to The Sermon on the Mount, which is the subject of my sermon today and for the next seven weeks. Jesus’ sermon, as recorded in Matthew 5-7, is probably the best-known and most often quoted of all of Jesus’ teachings, though arguably it is also the least…
Matthew 5:17-26
A Sermon for the Ages: What Does Acceptable Righteousness Look Like? In our journey through the Life of Christ from the Gospel of Matthew, we have arrived at the Sermon on the Mount. This discourse takes up three full chapters, Matthew 5-7, and opens with the Beatitudes, a description of the life of a true disciple that is radically opposed to our nature and our culture. Twice in our study of the Beatitudes last Sunday we came across the term “righteousness.” In verse 6 we…
Ruth 3
Strategic Righteousness We come this morning to the 3rd chapter of the Book of Ruth, where the romance between Ruth and Boaz develops into full bloom. For the sake of those who haven’t been with us the past few weeks, this Old Testament narrative tells the story of an Arab girl from Moab who married a Jewish boy from Bethlehem. His parents, Elimelech and Naomi, had left Israel and traveled to Moab because of a famine. After Elimelech died, both…