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Introduction
- The whole counsel of God
- Our desire to is to teach through the whole Bible Genesis to Revelation…
- Acts 20:27 – “For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.”
- We have finished Acts – and will now move on to Romans!
- 1st – Milk and Meat…
- The Bible uses two terms to describe the teachings of the Bible – milk and meat
- Milk – the basic foundational teachings of the Bible…
- Like a newborn baby – as a young believer – we need the ‘milk’ of the word…
- Much of what we learned in the Book of Acts was milk – simple teachings about Jesus
- I Peter 2:2 – “…as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby…”
- You cannot give a newborn baby a big plate of letson – they will choke…
- You give them milk – because it is easy to swallow and digest…
- When we first come to know the Lord – we are not going to understand much…
- There is a LOT about Jesus and the Word of God we do not yet comprehend…
- Do not stay on the milk – move on to the meat…
- It is cute to bottle feed a young infant – no surprise when they mess their diapers…
- But when a 20-year-old adult is still on the ‘bottle’ – still wearing diapers…
- It is a tragedy – something has gone terribly wrong…
- We should not stay babes – as we get into God’s Word – we should grow…
- Growing in the Lord to a place where we can begin to teach others about Jesus!
- Hebrews 5:12 – “You’ve been Christians a long time, and you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you are like babies who drink only milk and cannot eat solid food.”
- Milk – the basic foundational teachings of the Bible…
- Meat – the more in depth teachings of the Bible…
- Like an adult – we no longer are satisfied by milk – we want meat…
- I Corinthians 3:2 – “I fed you with milk and not meat; for until now you were not able to receive it…”
- Romans in not milk – Romans is getting into the meat of the Bible…
- Up until this point we have been going through narrative books (history)…
- Romans is the first of the books of Doctrine in the New Testament…
- Sit down – listen up – take notes if you want – we are leaving the milk behind!
- The Bible uses two terms to describe the teachings of the Bible – milk and meat
- 2nd – Styles of writing…
- 1st – We all know the Bible is broken up into two main sections – OT / NT…
- But it turns out the Bible is further divided by ‘Styles of writing’…
- 4 main styles of writing in the Bible: History / Poetry / Prophecy / Doctrine…
- The OT and NT are not organized Chronologically – they are laid out by these styles…
- Old Testament: Doctrine – History – Poetry – Prophecy
- New Testament: History – Doctrine – Prophecy
- 2nd – Historical Books of the Bible:
- There are 20 Historical books of the Bible…
- OT: Genesis / Exodus / Numbers / Joshua / Judges / Ruth / I Samuel / II Samuel…
- I Kings / II Kings / I Chronicles / II Chronicles / Ezra / Nehemiah / Esther…
- NT: Matthew / Mark / Luke / John / Acts
- Historical books tell the stories that took place throughout biblical history…
- Covering over 4000 years – from Creation to the birth of the church…
- Historical books are a very easy to understand – and easy to relate to…
- But you have to be careful because not everything in these books is doctrine…
- By doctrine – ‘Truths that are necessary for life and godliness in Jesus Christ’…
- In other words those truths that are necessary to live our lives for Jesus!
- King Ahab wanted to buy a filed from Naboth – I Kings 21…
- Naboth refused to sell the field – so Ahab instead had him killed – took it anyways…
- Just because this story is in the Bible – does not make it how we are to live…
- Obviously if we want something – we cannot kill to take it – Exodus 20:13…
- So the stories in the books of History must be read in the light of Bible doctrine!
- There are 20 Historical books of the Bible…
- 2nd – Poetic Books of the Bible:
- There are 6 poetic books in the Bible – all in the OT…
- Job / Psalms / Proverbs / Ecclesiastes / Song of Solomon / Lamentations
- Poetry does not tell a story – it shares the emotions of the Bible…
- The Bible is not a textbook – God is not only interested in telling us about Him…
- Books of poetry speak to our emotions – stimulate our imagination!
- But you have to be careful because not everything in these books is doctrine
- King David wrote more poetry than any other author in the Bible…
- But at times his poetry was written when he was hurting / or angry…
- Psalms 58:6 – “Break their teeth in their mouth, O God!”
- The Bible here records the prayer of David – it is not telling us how to pray…
- Just because King David prayed for God to break his enemy’s teeth…
- Does not mean that we are to pray for God to break our enemy’s teeth!
- There are 6 poetic books in the Bible – all in the OT…
- 3rd – Prophetic Books of the Bible:
- There are 17 prophetic books in the Bible…
- OT: Isaiah / Jeremiah / Ezekiel / Daniel / Hosea / Joel / Amos / Obadiah / Jonah
- Micah / Nahum / Habakkuk / Zephaniah / Haggai / Zachariah / Malachi
- NT: Revelation
- The prophetic books are some of least known / least read books of the Bible…
- They can be confusing because they are tied up in the History of Israel…
- If you do not know the Books of History – the Books of Prophecy are confusing!
- The prophets were writing to rebellious nations – calling them to repentance!
- But you have to be careful because not everything in these books is doctrine
- Often the prophets were told by God to do dramatic acts…
- The purpose was to get the attention of the people – call them back to God…
- Ezekiel 4:12 – “Each day prepare your bread… While all the people are watching, bake it over a fire using dried human dung as fuel and then eat the bread.”
- God told Ezekiel to make – ‘poop’ bread – does not mean we are to cook that way!
- Hosea was told to marry a prostitute / Isaiah walked naked for 3 years!
- But these are not a pattern for us to follow – they are not Bible doctrine!
- There are 17 prophetic books in the Bible…
- 4th – Doctrinal Books of the Bible:
- There are 23 Doctrinal books in the Bible – mostly in the NT…
- OT: Leviticus / Deuteronomy
- NT: Romans / I Corinthians / II Corinthians / Galatians / Ephesians / Philippians
- Colossians / I Thessalonians / II Thessalonians / I Timothy / II Timothy / Titus
- Philemon / Hebrews / James / I Peter / II Peter / I John / II John / III John / Jude
- The Books of Doctrine are the most important books in the Bible…
- They establish the basis for our faith in Jesus Christ…
- They define our salvation and God’s expectations for how to live our life in Christ…
- If we want to know the meaning of life – how to get to heaven…
- How God expects a Christian to live – how to live a life not dominated by sin…
- All of these and more are answered in the Books of Doctrine!
- There are 23 Doctrinal books in the Bible – mostly in the NT…
- 1st – We all know the Bible is broken up into two main sections – OT / NT…
The Book of Romans…
Chapter 16 – Conclusion – salutations
1st – The background of Romans…
1st – Paul wrote the book of Romans…
The same Paul who whose life we followed from Acts chapter 13 to 28…
He opens the letter with his greeting – “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ…”
The authorship of the book has been universally accepted from the early church
2nd – Written on Paul’s 3rd missionary journey – 57-58 AD …
Paul had just taken up an offering from Greece – for the poor saints in Jerusalem…
He spent 3 months in Corinth – Acts 20:3 – during this time wrote Romans
3rd – The 3 reasons why Paul wrote the letter…
To introduce himself as an Apostle…
Paul wanted to go to Rome – but when he wrote the book he had yet been there…
So before he could instruct the church – he had to introduce himself to them…
The world is full of people who will try and teach us ‘what God expects from us’…
But before we listen – we need to make sure they are leading us the right way!
Just because a man says he is a pastor – does not mean he is from Jesus…
We need the discernment of God – to know what is truly from God!
I John 4:1 – “Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits…”
Preach the Gospel – Paul lived to tell others about Jesus!
Romans 1:15 – “I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.”
One of the easiest ways to spot a good teacher – he lives to talk about Jesus…
If you come across a teacher/pastor who loves to talk about himself…
You might want to leave – and go attend another church!
Establish them in solid Biblical doctrine – so they would know the Word of God…
Romans 1:11– “For I long to see you… so that you may be established.”
It is not enough to give people the Gospel – we need to teach them to follow Jesus…
People think their job is done once someone believes in Jesus – it is just starting…
A good pastor – is someone who understands the importance of teaching the Word…
The truth is a church is a reflection of the pastor who teaches them…
If the people in the church are immature / struggling with sin…
It is likely because the pastor not teaching and ministering to the people!
2nd – Overview of Romans…
The Book of Romans – 16 Chapters / 433 verses…
Romans quotes 57 times from the Old Testament – more than any other NT book…
A reference to the Word of God is made 29 times – more than any other book in the…
God is mentioned 161 times – Jesus is mentioned 66 times…
Sin is used 45 times – Justification 65 times – faith is mentioned 61 times…
The purpose is obvious – God telling us in His Word we are saved by Faith in Jesus!
All of us are sinners – Romans 3:23 – and the penalty for sin is death / hell…
But when we believe in the message of the Gospel – believe in Jesus – we are saved…
NOT by any action or good works – it is a gift we receive by faith!
If someone gives you a gift – you do not have to accept it…
Our part of salvation is faith – being willing to believe and receive God’s gift…
God does not want anyone to perish – but He gives all men the choice…
He offers everyone the gift – and then lets any and all choose how to respond…
We can ignore it – decide not to take it – and miss out on heaven…
Or by faith receive from God the most amazing gift we will ever get – salvation!
The way we receive the gift – is through faith – Hebrews 11:1
We cannot see God – and the gift God gives us is not something we can hold…
It is something we believe – by faith we believe God has forgiven us of our sin…
By faith we believe that life is not only about living here on earth…
By faith we believe one day God will take us to be with Him forever in heaven…
So by faith we receive the Grace of God – His free gift of salvation!
The book of Romans is divided into 3 sections…
Chapter 1-8 – The doctrine of salvation
All have sinned…
Chapter 1 – Those who have no religion – are sinners
Chapter 2 – Those who are religious – are still sinners
Chapter 3 – Everyone is a sinner
Saved by faith…
Chapter 4 – The example of Abraham / David
Chapter 5 – One man sinned – Adam / One man saved – Jesus
No more sin…
Chapter 6 – Since we are saved by faith – should we continue to sin
Chapter 7 – Why do I do the things I do not want to do
Chapter 8 – Walking in the power of the Spirit – not in my own strength
Chapter 9-11 – Example of Grace – Israel
Chapter 9 – Israel tried to earn their way to heaven and were rejected
Chapter 10 – The Gentiles did nothing – but were saved by their faith
Chapter 11 – God is patient – He is not done with Israel
Chapter 12-15 – How to live for Jesus through Grace
Chapter 12 – In our personal life – and in the church
Chapter 13 – In our civic life – relating to the government
Chapter 14-15 – In our family and relationships with others
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