Romans 11:1-36: Overview of Romans 11
Outline Overview of Romans Overview of chapter 11 Overview of views and goals Introduction As I have come to preach on Romans 11 I have come with two competing emotions. The first is fear. If you want to get Christians to be at each other’s throats get them to say disagreeing things about the nation of Israel. If you want to kick a hornet’s nest say, ‘I don’t think that Israel has a right to demand that the Palestinians leave the land.’ The second emotion I am feeling is excitement because this chapter has new wonders for us with...
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Judges 6:1-32: First things first
Outline Repentance Presence Idols Introduction The book of judges is anonymous, we don’t know who wrote it, and it is likely that more than one person did. The most popular theory is that Samuel had a large part to do with it and this is very likely. There is a small indication of the possible time of writing in 1:21, ‘But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.’ David drove out the Jebusites when he established the...
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Revelation 14:1-5: The 144,000
Outline 144,000 Sealed New song Redeemed Virgins Followers First-fruits Blameless Introduction We have just seen the war of the ages with the devil, the beast of persecution and the beast of false religion raging against the church and dividing the human race into two camps. Those who serve the beast, and this is indicated by the mark on their hands and forehead symbolising mind and action, representing the whole person not following Christ but the false religion inspired by Satan; and those who are faithful to Christ. We have seen a great exercise of power where having been given...
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Romans 10:16-21: Culpable Religious Unbelief
Introduction: Unbelief is a cockroach! Cockroaches can survive without food for prolonged periods of time; they are 8-15 times more resistant to radiation than vertebrates; some can go without air for 45 minutes; some have revived after being submerged underwater for 30 minutes; they can survive sub-zero temperatures and continue to have bodily functions even after they have been decapitated. Cockroaches are hard to kill and so is unbelief. The atomic bomb of Christ’s death and resurrection has hit the nation of Israel but unbelief like the cockroach continues to thrive. Paul in chapters 9-11 of Romans is dealing...
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Romans 10:5-9: Saving Faith
Introduction: Martin Luther said that if anyone knows the difference between law and Gospel, make him a doctor of divinity and let him preach. The distinction between the law and the gospel is the heart of Reformation and the heart of the difference between the religion of the first century Jews and the message Paul was preaching. The whole of chapter 10 is a prolonged discussion on why the Jews are to blame for not being saved, it is because of their unbelief. We have seen Paul commend their zeal, but reveal that it is without the knowledge of...
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Romans 10:2-4: Religion that cannot save
Introduction: In the west we are becoming less religious and more religious at the same time. Christianity is on the decline and atheism on the increase, but ironically as Christianity is cast off other religious worldviews are rushing in to take their place. This growth in religion can be put down to many different things. Our increasing knowledge of the world has turned the many isolated countries into a single global village where we have been confronted with others cultures and faiths, this has caused many to re-evaluate their own Christian heritage in the West and opt for an...
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Romans 9:30-33: Why the Jews did not believe
Introduction: Finding the answer to why we do what we do has sparked off differences in philosophy, psychology, theology, sociology and any other science that concerns itself with human action. With the growth of intense research of the human body our behaviour has been looked at from the perspective of brain structure, hormones and other bodily realities. With the growth in psychology we see more interest in personality types and childhood experiences as those things that explain why we do what we do. With the growth in the belief in the theory of evolution animal behaviour has become a...
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Romans 9:27-29: The Jewish Remnant
Introduction: The trophy case of God’s grace holds some unexpected prizes. If we looked into God’s trophy case we would see vessels of dishonour repurposed as vessels for honourable use. We would see the low, the despised, the broken and the rejected. We would not find any perfect trophies but all would be works-in-progress. Paul has been surprising us with who will be in it, God saves Gentiles, outsiders, aliens, those who were once far away, without God and subject to satan. But the biggest surprise of Romans 9 is the fact of who will not be there. We...
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Romans 9:24-26: Who are the elect people of God?
Introduction: Controversy seems to dog every step we take when we try and interpret the bible. It seems that every text and truth is shrouded in debate and division. That reality is no less for us as we look at the next section of Romans 9, v24-26, and answer the question, who are the elect people of God? But before we get into it let me give a word of encouragement to those of you who are not accustomed to finding the truth through arguments or who may just be battle weary. Listen to these wise words from John...
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