Sermons from 2023 (Page 8)
Romans 10:1-17
Our Responsibility in Salvation Introduction: And now for the rest of the story …. If you were here last Sunday you heard a very strong message on the sovereignty of God. Romans 9 can almost take our theological breath away, as it teaches that God does what He wants with His creatures, and there is no one who can accuse Him of being unjust or unfair—because He is God. He makes choices among men before they are ever born, and those choices are not…
Romans 10:11-14
How in the World Can God Use Us? Introduction: As an undergraduate in college, I took a lot of math classes like Calculus, Differential Equations and Statistics. One of the great things about most math books is that the authors often publish the answers in the back of the book. On some occasions, I found it helpful to look at the answer and then work backward to learn how to work the problems I was given. Having the end in sight sometimes helped me…
Romans 11:11-24
The Kindness and Severity of God Introduction: I want to speak to you today from Romans 11, verse 22: “Consider therefore the kindness and severity (sternness in NIV) of God: severity to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.” When Paul speaks of the kindness and severity of God, he clearly does so within the context of God’s dealings with the Jewish people. This text comes near the end of a three-chapter parenthesis…
Romans 11:33-36
The Wisdom and Knowledge of God Introduction: “The chief end of man,” according to the Westminster Shorter Catechism, “is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” But how do we glorify God? What actions on our part redound to His honor, praise and glory? Well, there are many. For example, Unity in the Church glorifies God. (Rom. 15:6) Simple faith in His Word glorifies God. (Acts 13:48) Handling suffering well glorifies God. (Rom. 8:17) Our obedience and faithful service glorifies God. (2 Cor. 9:13) But beyond everything else…
Romans 12:1-2
Transformed, Not Conformed Introduction: From last Thanksgiving until the end of June I taught you from the book of Romans, the magnum opus of the greatest theologian in the history of the Christian church. In those first eleven chapters we were confronted with the profoundest of theological themes, from sin to justification to sanctification to glorification. Today we return to the book of Romans, and the first word we find in chapter 12 is a clear indication of transition. It is…
Romans 12:1-8
Right Thinking About Yourself Introduction: Our Scripture text today is Romans 12:1-8: Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. {2} Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. {3} For…
Romans 12:9-21
Love Without Wax Introduction: Ray Stedman shares the story of a man who was passing a used bookstore when he spotted a volume in the window which caught his attention. The book was entitled, How to Hug. Feeling kind of lonely, he stepped inside to purchase the book. To his chagrin he discovered that it was Vol. 13 of a set of encyclopedias and covered the alphabet from H-O-W to H-U-G, “How to Hug.”[i] Could it be there’s an analogy to the Church in that…
Romans 13:1-7
Conscientious Christianity Introduction: Before making the move from the marketplace ministry into seminary and the pastoral ministry, my good friend Brad Harper had me speak to the elders. When I met with them, one of the elders asked me what has turned out to be a life-changing question. He asked, “Paul, if the elders would recommend that you not leave the marketplace and pursue theological education, what would you do?” Now I had spent about three years praying, evaluating, and planning to make that…
Romans 13:8-14
The Unpayable Debt Introduction: Our national debt stands right at five trillion dollars—about $17,500 for every man, woman, and child in the United States. To grasp just how much money this is, if you spent $5,000 every minute, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, you would have had to start when Jesus Christ lived on earth to spend $5 trillion by the end of this millennium. (Note added in 2022: our debt just surpassed $30 trillion!) Some economists and some politicians are…
Romans 14:1-12
Respecting One Another’s Lifestyle Choices Introduction: One of the greatest arguments for the validity of Christianity has always been its ability to bring together people from segments of society that would normally be estranged from one another. In Christ (the New Testament teaches), social, cultural, economic, and gender barriers are broken down. The tangible evidence of this is the local church, which operates on the basis of mutual love between those whose only common denominator may be their relationship to Jesus Christ…
Romans 14:13-23
Liberty Limited by Love Introduction: Let’s begin this morning by reading our Scripture text, Romans 14:13-23. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. {14} As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. {15} If your brother is…
Romans 15:1-13
The Imitation of Christ Introduction: This is Advent Season. The normal thing we do on these Sundays before Christmas is to interrupt whatever series we are on and turn to some aspect of the birth of Christ for our themes. Especially would that seem appropriate when our last several messages in the Book of Romans have been on the very un-Christmas-y topic of what to do when other Christians disagree with us regarding our lifestyle choices. Yet as I studied the first half…