ESL Northchase Apartment Update

Tonight was our third ESL at Northchase Apartments, and it was awesome.  We had about 30 adults show up, and they were all excited to be there! Amen!  Several of them wanted a more advanced class, and so we are working to develop that.  We hope to have an intermediate class beginning in May and maybe an advanced class by June or July.  It's a lot of work, but the blessing is worth every ounce of effort.  

All of it is definitely a team effort; this is not a one-man show.  We are very thankful for how Paul has made so many inroads thus far into the complex; this would be near impossible without all that he has done.   I also want to thank Lutfi, Roberto, and Sally as they were there to assist tonight.  I especially want to thank Chris and Lutfi who have been involved and very supportive from the very beginning several months ago, and that first night for Lutfi and I with the seven police cars was a real eye-opener for both of us to say the least!  I am most appreciate for  my wife, Meggan, in this start-up ESL ministry, for she has been very supportive with both new ideas and helpful suggestions, not to mention hearing about it all the time :) 

We are still praying for more participation in the Spanish Bible Study.  We fervently pray the Holy Spirit will convict the hearts of the people.  May the Lord draw men and women to Himself in this area and may He guide us into how we are to best minister to these people. To Him be the glory forever! Amen!

Bible Study: Romans 3:9-20

Romans 3:9-20 None Are Righteous Apart From Christ

I. All Under Sin: Both Jew and Gentile (3:9-18)

• Paul asks the anticipated question of whether the Jews are better than Gentiles and affirms that both are under sin.  (3:9)
  
• Paul then quotes at length from the Old Testament to make his case universal in both the past and present; the use of ‘as it is written’ (or some variant) is used frequently when referring to the Scriptures previously written (3:10a). 
  
• There lies three groups of accusatory indictments: Character, Conversation, and Conduct (John MacArthur, Romans Commentary. p182-194). (3:10b-18)
  

             A. Character of the Accused (3:10b-12): From Eccl 7:20; Ps 14:1-3; Ps 53:1-3

                  1. Not only are none righteous, emphasis is added by saying ‘not even one.  The idea that some are at least a little bit righteous is totally false. (3:10b)

                  2. None understand God’s righteousness because all are in sin. (3:11a)

                  3. Lest one try to accuse God of denying saving faith to the man seeking God, this text slams the door to such charges.  None are seeking God in the first place! This charge is baseless because such a case does not exist. (3:11b)

                  4. All have indeed turned aside and become useless as they have turned to some false system of worship in rebellion against the Lord. In the Hebrew equivalent, uselessness here is used to describe milk gone sour and rancid. Ancient Greek literature would even used this word to describe the senseless laughter of a moron (MacArthur p186). (3:12a)

                  5. There are none good, and Christ, being God, challenged the rich young ruler who declared Christ good. He wanted the man to truly understand what it means to be good, for only God is good (Lk 18:18-19). (3:12b)

            B. Conversation of the Accused (3:13-14) From Ps 5:9; Ps 140:3, Ps 10:7

                 1. Their throat is an open grave as they don’t even cover their stench but just let its horrendous odor permeate everywhere (MacArthur 188). (3:13a)

                 2. They are constantly deceiving others. (3:13b)

                 3. They are like venomous snakes as their speech is poisonous. (3:13c)

                 4. Their mouth is filled with vile talk of cursing and bitterness. (3:14)

            C. Conduct of the Accused (3:15-18) From Is 59:7-8; Ps 36:1

                 1. Their thirst for bloodshed is quite evident today as much then. (3:15)

                 2. They bring much misery and destruction everywhere they go. (3:16)

                 3. They usher in no peace or a false peace at best. (3:17)

                 4. Instead having a great awe and reverence for God, they not only plunge into ungodliness, but they have no fear of His coming judgment either. (3:18)

II. Therefore, None are Justified by Works of the Law (3:19-20)

• The Law came to hold man accountable and close the mouth of men. (3:19)
  

             A. Jews are condemned in their inability to keep the Law as revealed by Moses and the Prophets.

     B. Gentiles are condemned in their inability to keep the Law placed upon their hearts.

• No flesh is then justified by the works of the Law; ultimately, the Law came to bring greater knowledge of sin and thus the need for Christ, the Savior. (3:20)
  

Northchase ESL and Bible Study

Two weeks ago, beginning on March 17th, with help from our local congregation, we began an outreach ministry to a primarily hispanic apartment complex here in the metro Atlanta area.  We offer English as a Second Language classes at 7:00 p.m. followed by a Bible Study in the book of Romans taught in Spanish starting at 8:15 p.m. in the club house located within the Northchase apartment complex.

The devil was at work the first week to deter community members from attending.  Before my partners and I arrived, about seven gun shots were fired and police had arrived on the scene to investigate and block the entrance to the club house.  By God's grace, they allowed us and others interested in the class to pass through.  There were five to seven adults that arrived, primarily women and one older married couple for the ESL course.  These also showed an excited interest in the Bible study and asked for it to begin the following week.

Last night, the second week of this outreach ministry, 13 to 15 adults attended the ESL classes.  We were very excited to have more in attendance than we expected.  Afterwards two adults and a nine-year old stayed for the Bible study.  One of those adults had recently become a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and expressed his extreme gratitude for our presence in the community and willingness to minister in such a way.

May the Lord be praised!

Bible Study: Romans 3:1-8

Romans 3:1-8 The Righteousness of God Upheld

1. The Jewish Advantage Remains (3:1-2)

• First of all, after focusing on circumcision of the heart in chapter two, Paul then lays out the anticipated questions regarding the value of being a Jew and Circumcision. (3:1)
  
• The Oracles of God and Circumcision are of value because, by the grace of God, the Jews were given the privilege of being entrusted with the Law and being defined as a holy people unto the Lord. (3:2) (MacArthur Romans Commentary 163-175)
  

2. The Unbelief of Jews does not nullify the faithfulness of God in His Promises (3:3-4)

• Secondly, Paul brings up the anticipated question of the lack of faith among Jews throughout their history and how that affects the faithfulness of God. (3:3)
  
• God keeps His Promises (3:4) (MacArthur Romans Commentary 163-175)
  

             A. "May it never be" that God does not keep His promises.  Even in the midst of unbelief, God will still make His plans known as He has already promised long ago. (3:4a)

             B. Let every man be found the liar and not God!  Man is the one in sin and not God. God is the very standard of Truth. (3:4b)

             C. God is justified in His Words and prevails when He is judged. (3:4c)

3. God is not unrighteous by inflicting wrath upon the unrighteousness (3:5-8)

• Thirdly, Paul levels the next question regarding a charge against God’s purity (MacArthur Romans Commentary 163-175).  Is God justified in His wrath if our unrighteousness demonstrates His righteousness? (3:5)
  
• Paul is adamant once again. May it never be!  Just because God’s grace is magnified in the midst of sin (Rom 5:20-21) doesn’t mean that man is justified in his sin.  Otherwise, how would God be able to judge the world?  He can and has already to some extent because He is just and upholds His justice (3:6)
  
• The charge is made personal with Paul’s own unrighteousness with regard to God’s glory.  This magnifies the foolishness of these charges against him. (3:7)
  
• Finally, we read Paul’s punch line. Those who would trump up a false accusation saying that we ought to do evil that good may come are justly condemned.  They are trying to attack Paul’s defense of the gospel, but in reality what they are trying to do is defend their own sinfully rebellious and unrighteous hearts. (3:8)
  
• We therefore must not let the freedom of the gospel be manipulated in our own lives so as to live a godless life; otherwise, we are just as condemned.
  

Bible Study: Romans 2:25-29

Romans 2:25-29 Circumcised of Heart

1. The Value of Circumcision and Practicing the Law (2:25)

• There is value in circumcision as that was a sign to Abraham indicating a seal of the righteousness of faith which he had while uncircumcised (Rom 4:11). Paul is not minimizing circumcision, yet he is magnifying the holiness of God in that if one wants to boast in circumcision then he must be keeping the full law. (2:25a)
  
• However, if one is not keeping the Law, then circumcision becomes uncircumcision; physical circumcision did not make a man righteous in and of itself, for obedience to God is what makes a man righteous. (2:25b)
  

2. The Righteous Uncircumcised Man vs the Unrighteous Circumcised (2:26-27)

• Paul’s hypothetical example here of the Gentile who keeps the Law speaks to the heart of the matter: The Heart.  It is always the heart that God is after and to confuse that is to confuse how salvation occurs so that no man may boast (Eph 2:8-10). (2:26)
  
• Paul pierces the dagger deeper into the mere external Jew as he asserts that such a righteous uncircumcised man would even judge the Jew!  That statement surely raised eyebrows, yet Paul does not mince words in his exposure of Jewish hypocrisy. (2:27)
  

3. External Appearance vs Internal Change (2:28-29)

• Boasting in External Jewishness is Insufficient (2:28)
  

             A. Possessing the mere outward appearance of being a Jew is not enough for salvation. (2:28a)

             B. Being circumcised of the flesh is not the heart of the matter. (2:28b)

• The Internal Reality of a Changed Heart Receives Praise from God (2:29)
  

             A. A true Jew is one who has been changed from the inside. (2:29a)

             B. Circumcision of Heart is what the Lord desires, and this come by the Spirit and not by the Letter of the Law. (2:29b)

             C. One who has been circumcised of heart is praised by God and not mere man, and the glory we have in Christ is far greater than anything we can conjure up ourselves for own exaltation apart from Him. (2:29c)

             D. We must desire circumcision of heart and the praise of God and not man, though in doing so persecution is sure to come.  Do we desire the fleeting pleasures and glories of man in Egypt that do not satisfy, or are we willing to endure persecution for the greater eternal glory that lies ahead? Let us not chase after the idols of the world and the vain fleeting glory they promise, but let us boast in Christ alone and what He has accomplished for us on the cross! Amen! Amen!

Bible Study: Romans 2:12-16

Romans 2:12-16 Condemned With or Without The Law

1. Jew & Gentile Standing Before the Law (2:12-13)

• Unbelieving Gentiles will perish without the Law because it is through the Law that a true knowledge of God and man are known.  Therefore, the ‘man on the island’ is condemned by General Revelation yet cannot be saved by it. (2:12a)
  
• The Jew, though he has the Special Revelation of God and man, he is unable to keep the requirements of the Law without error, so he is likewise condemned before God. (2:12b)
  
• Truly, one cannot only hear the Law and be saved; one must do the Law, and no one except Christ has done that perfectly (2:13)
  

2. Gentiles and General Revelation of Moral Commands Found Within the Law (2:14-16)

• With this passage, we see that God reveals Himself generally in at least two ways: through what He has made (Rom 1:19) and also upon the human conscience. 
  
• Some try to accuse God in not giving Special Revelation to true seekers and then condemning them.  However, this scenario does not exist because such people don’t exist, and Romans 3:11 explains that none are looking for God in the unregenerate state.  Until God moves upon the heart, one is still hostile towards God, for the mind set on the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit to the Law; the Scriptures declares that it cannot submit to God’s Law, and those in the flesh cannot please God (Rom 8:7-8).
  
• Doing Instinctively the Things of The Law Without Full Knowledge of It (2:14)
  

             A. The Gentiles don’t have the revealed Law, and only a small percentage had exposure to the Mosaic Law. (2:14a)

             B. However, Gentiles would still instinctively do many of the things contained in the Mosaic Law, particularly the general moral commands like those in the Ten Commandments. It is for this reason that many cultures tend to have similar moral codes. (2:14b)

             C. Because Gentiles would practice this morality to some extent, though without true virtue (which only comes when one worships God from the heart), they are then rightly condemned because they then have a law to themselves. (2:14c)

• The Law Written upon Their Hearts (2:15)
  

             A. By obeying some semblance of the Law even in a limited way, it shows that the Law is written in their hearts. (2:15a)

             B. Therefore, their conscience bears witness and their thoughts alternately accuse or defend them. (12:15b)  No one does this perfectly as all fall short of the glory of God, so all are rightly condemned by a Holy Just God. (Rom 3:23)

• The Day of Judgment (2:16)
  

             A. There will come a day when God settles all matters of sin, and none will escape His judgment; this is the gospel that Paul proclaims, and any other gospel is no gospel at all. (2:16a)

             B. God will expose the secret things in the hearts of men, so any form of godliness that was but a show will be revealed and rightly judged. (2:16b)

             C. This Judgment will be through Jesus Christ; all will stand before Him and be welcomed or cast into everlasting Hell. (2:16c)

Bible Study: Romans 2:1-11

Romans 2:1-11 God’s Righteous Impartial Judgment

I. Hypocrisy in Judgment Brings Judgment by God (2:1-2)

• Condemnation is brought upon the one who judges because he practices the same things as the one he is judging (2:1)--A play on words regarding judgement in the Greek (BDAG) draws attention to the hypocrisy involved: the one who judges vs. the judgement he receives for doing the same things.
  
• Not only does the judgment of God come, it comes rightly (2:2).  God’s judgment is not arbitrary like pagan notions of judgment done by alleged pagan deities.
  

II. Two Exposing Questions: Hypocrisy & Presumption of God’s Goodness (2:3-4)

• Man often presumes that he can escape God’s Judgment for doing the same things he condemns. What an utter fool! (2:3)
  
• Man thinks God will simply give him a pass and wink at his sin. (2:4)
  

             1. Man’s ‘thinking lightly’ here is best described as man looking down on these attributes of God with contempt or aversion seeing them as having little value (BDAG)

                 A. His ‘kindness’ is His quality of being helpful or benevolent (BDAG).

                 B. His ‘forbearance’ is refraining from the enforcement of something (as a debt, right, or obligation) that is done (BDAG).

                 C. His ‘patience’ in this context is a state of being able to bear up under provocation (BDAG).

                 D. All of these attributes are supposed to bring man to repentance, but man looks upon them with contempt instead.

III. Impartial Wrath Stored Up: Hard and Unrepentant Heart (2:5-11)

• The word used for ‘storing up’ here means to do something that will bring about a future event or condition (ie. a lifelong habit of gluttony will lead to a health crisis).
  
• It is the stubbornness and unrepentant heart that is bringing about a future event, which is the ‘day of the wrath and revelation of the righteous judgement of God’.  
  
• God did not arbitrarily decide to have a Day of Wrath; rather, man’s continuous rebellion causes the need for God to render Justice in His appointed time.  
  
• As rebellion increases so does the need for wrath; the Day of Wrath is not only increasing in intensity because of sin, its necessity is being fueled by sin. (1:5)
  

             1. To Each According To His Work (1:6-11)

                  A. God will render to each man according to what he has done (1:6)

                     i. Perseverance in Good vs. Selfish Ambition (1:7-8)

                        a. Who by doing good seek glory, honor, immortality: eternal life (1:7)

                             -To seek such things are not evil; God has set eternity in the heart of man, but eternal life must be achieved God’s way.

                        b. Selfish ambition and disobedience to the truth reaps wrath (1:8)

                    ii. To the Jew First & Then To the Greek Impartially (1:9-11)

                             -Tribulation & Distress comes to both Jew and Gentile alike; the Jews first because they have the most knowledge of God (1:9)

                             -Likewise, glory, honor, and peace to those who do good (1:10)

                             -God is impartial, lest His Justice be denied. (1:11)

Bible Study: Romans 1:26-32

Romans 1:26-32 Continued Manifestations of the Wrath of God Revealed

1. Given Over To Degrading Passions: The Destructive Sin of Homosexuality (1:26-27)

• Now that man has turned totally to idolatry, man will quickly reap the results as his actions now lead to even greater destructive consequences.
  
• Homosexuality is always prohibited and seen as dishonorable in Scripture (1:26a).
  
• Paul highlights this particular sin because when the nuclear unit (i.e. man and woman in marriage) is undermined, the societal results are devastating.
  
• Women are usually the last ones in a culture to plunge into the deepest immorality.  However, when they do, it is a sign of future implosion of the society because they represent a significant part of nurture.  When that nurture crumbles, the next generation is raised without at least one positive moral stabilizing figure.
  

             A. The Women: Exchanging the Natural Function (1:26b)
                  i. The word used here for woman is female, thus indicating the contrary nature of homosexuality to normative natural order.
                  ii. Animals do behave in this manner at times as has been recorded and witnessed, but it is not normative.  More than that, to continue in this logic reduces us to mere animals.  Also, we do live in a fallen world, so even the animals may do what is contrary to the original created order.
                  iii. The Feminist Movement in Ancient Greece & Rome was very strong, and so lesbian relationships were not uncommon.  This worldview is not new to the 21st century and the results are just as shattering.

            B. The Men: Burning With Passion Towards Each Other (1:27)
                 i. What the men did was far worse because they not only abandoned the natural function, but they also burned with passion towards each other.
                 ii. Women often times turn to a lesbian relationship due to abuse and thus desire safety.  This is not an excuse for sin, but one can reasonably see how this tragically happens.  However, the men burn with passion indicating a downward spiral of deep-seeded rebellion against a Holy God.
                 iii. The Passion of Sodom drove the men to tremendous depravity as they fought to get into the door.  (Genesis 19)
It is not uncommon for the average homosexual male to have over 500 partners in a lifetime!   The Due Penalty for their error is horrific as homosexual crimes are far more brutal and the STD’s are disastrous. (Catholics Apologetics International online: www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1502263/posts accessed 9 Feb 2009 at 5:18PM)

2. Given Over To A Depraved Mind (1:28-32)

• After highlighting homosexuality, Paul lists a number of sins, which are not exhaustive, that destroy us as individuals and society at large.
  
• All of this is part of God’s wrath; ironically man interprets this total depravity to freedom, but in reality is absolute slavery to sin.
  
• Man was totally given over in all sorts of sin, and the results continue to pile up.
  
• The greater horror is that men not only do these things, but they also give hearty approval to others.  Man feasts upon his sin, and the rottenness of this food leads to death.  What man thinks brings life only brings death. (1:32).
  

Bible Study: Romans 1:18-25

Romans 1:18-25 The Wrath of God Revealed Against Unrighteousness: 

Beginning With Idolatry

1. Wrath Revealed Against Unrighteousness (1:18)

• The Wrath of God is His Furious Anger poured out in Righteousness (1:18a).
  
• His Wrath is Revealed from Heaven because it is from Heaven that He reigns over all. It is already being revealed in the present and not just in the future (1:18b).
  
• He opposes all Ungodliness and Unrighteousness of Men and brings recompense with unbiased and unwavering justice (1:18c).

             A. Men Suppress the Truth in the doing of Unrighteousness because the Truth is the opposite of that.  To be in the Truth is to be living a Righteous life (1:18d).

2. God is Made Known in Creation, so Man is without excuse (1:19-20)

• Through General Revelation God has made Himself Known (1:19)
  

             A. His Invisible Attributes have been Revealed since Creation (1:20a-b)
                  i. Eternal Power--Omnipotence (1:20a)
                  ii. Divine Nature--He is Distinct from Creation; He displays incredible design and complexity through what He has made (1:20b).
                  iii. Man cannot claim ignorance, for He has made Himself known through Creation to be able to condemn the unrighteous man (1:20c).  Man is not saved through General Revelation, but he can be condemned by it.

3. Knowing but Dishonoring (1:21)

• God has set knowledge of Himself within man, but man did not exalt or honor Him as God Almighty (1:21a)
  
• Instead, man’s thinking became futile and his heart was darkened to then do all sorts of evil against a Holy God (1:21b).  The initial part of God’s wrath was letting the sin of man darken his heart.
  

4. Wisdom For Folly (1:22-23)

• In man’s attempt to elevate Himself in wisdom, He has made Himself a fool (1:22)
  
• He exchanged the great and awesome glory of the Immortal God (1:22a)
  
• In His place, Man set up vain images of man and beast--a horrific contrast between great glory and a mere image mortal flesh.
  

5. Given up to Impurity to be dishonored because of idolatry(1:24-25)

• God continues to unleash wrath by then giving men up to their lusts which results in dishonoring their bodies (1:24).
  
• Man gave up the Truth of God for a lie in a vain attempt to usurp the power of God and gain glory and satisfaction apart from God.
  
• All of this occurs because man worships the creature and not the Creator (1:25).
  
• Jonathan Edwards explains that all men have something which takes their hearts, whether the True God or an idol (Edwards Vol II, Misc Dicourses, p 132-133). John Calvin describes the heart as ‘a factory of idols’ (Calvin, Institutes, Bk I, Ch 11.8)
  

Bible Study: Romans 1:16-17

Romans 1:16-17 The Gospel: The Power of God for Salvation

1. Unashamed of the Gospel, The Power of God for Salvation (1:16)

• Paul is totally sold out for the gospel without shame and willing to endure whatever persecution is required to see it furthered among the nations. (1:16a)
  
• The Gospel is the Power of God For Salvation to all who believe (1:16b)
  

             A. God demonstrated His Great Power in that He alone can save men from their sin, and this happens through our Lord Jesus Christ.
             B. The gospel is not a respecter of status, etc., for all who call on the name of the Lord believing God raised Christ from the dead will be saved--Rom 10:9-13

• To the Jew First and then the Greek (1:16c)
  

             A. The Gospel was given to the Jews first not because they were inherently better but because they were the ones originally entrusted with the Law.  They were advantaged in that they already had more light than anyone else.  They were favored by grace and not because of anything within them.
             B. From the promise given to Eve in Gen 3:15 to the promise of Abraham, all nations would be blessed, for God’s sheep come from all walks of life.  However, the Gentiles must not boast, for the Jew was partially hardened (Rom 11:25), so that Christ would be crucified and thus open the gates of salvation to all tribes, nations, and tongues. [Edwards describes hardening as 1) God withholding His Spirit and 2) by ordering things which the abuse of hardens the heart. Edwards, Vol II, Sermon IV under 17 Occasional Sermons, 849)].

2. The Righteousness of God Revealed in the Gospel From Faith (1:17)

• Luther agonized over God’s righteousness until he saw justification by faith alone.
  
• The Righteousness of God (1:17a)
  

              A. God is Perfect and Holy; He is set apart from all creation.  
              B. In this fallen world, He is set apart in that He is without sin able to judge justly.  
              C. God is consumed with all that is Right and is thus consumed with Himself since He is the Perfect Standard of Righteousness.
              D. He will never turn a blind eye to sin; He would deny Himself if He did and this would plunge all of reality into total chaos and darkness.

• His Righteousness is Revealed (1:17b)
  

              A. It is made known through the Gospel because His Righteousness must be satisfied against the ungodly if He is to redeem a godless world.
              B. It is revealed in that we see it manifested in Christ’s crucifixion where He ultimately took the wrath of God, which was far worse than any persecution He could receive from man.  In becoming sin, God’s full fury was poured out upon Christ for His most undeserving and vile sheep; all of this was to glorify Himself.

• Revealed From Faith to Faith (1:17c)
  

              A. Through Faith in Christ, Christ’s righteousness is imputed to His sheep
              B. (imputed means belonging to--Wayne Grudem Systematic Theology 726-729)
              C. Everything we do that is considered righteous is by faith: from one act of faith to another--from initial belief to a lifelong trust in the Lord.

• The Righteous Live By Faith (1:17d)
  

              A. From of old, the righteous lived by faith and not by works (Hebrews 11)

Bible Study: Romans 1:8-15

Romans 1:8-15 Paul’s Commendation & Desire to Serve the Roman Christians

1. Thanks & Commendation (1:8)

• Paul give thanks through Christ (1:8a)--It is Christ who empowers not the flesh, so He must receive the glory for what occurs 
  
• He gives thanks because of the broad dissemination of the faith of Roman Saints (18b)
  
• This is an incredible commendation just a couple decades after the ascension of Christ because the Gospel has already reached and become entrenched into the heart of the Pagan Empire of Rome itself!
  

2. Paul’s Passion to Meet & Serve the Roman Believers (1:9-15)

• Paul passionately and unceasingly prays to come to the Roman Saints (1:9-10)
  

             A. He appeals to God as his witness (1:9a) to intensify the reality of His constant praying to see them
             B. His service to God is best rendered as absolute worship in preaching Christ in the spirit and not the weak wavering desires of the flesh (1:9b). 
             C. Paul is praying without cease (1:9c-10a) to be with the Roman believers--the double emphasis of without ceasing and always praying magnifies this desire.
             D. Though He wants to be meet them, He ultimately appeals the to will of God, lest he overstep his bounds (1:10b).  In such times, we must likewise rest in God’s Sovereign Will as we appeal to Him.

• Why Paul wants to meet the Roman Saints (1:11-12)
  

             A. Paul has a great desire to impart some spiritual gift to them to strengthen them (1:11)
             B. This spiritual gift is not referring to a gift that God gives every believer by the work of the Spirit upon belief, for this is granted by God. As believers, they already had the spiritual gifts.  Rather, it is referring to Paul’s desire to impart the use of his spiritual gifts for their benefit through preaching, serving, etc.
             C. He desires to be mutually encouraged with them, both their faith and his (1:12). Paul was not a lone-ranger Christian, for he needed encouragement as well. Likewise, we are not long-rangers; the body of Christ is a body and works together as a unit. 

• Paul’s Current Hindrance To All Nations and Desire for Fruit (1:13-14)
  

             A. Paul continues to emphasize his desire to come to Rome but has been prevented thus far (13a), yet he wants Fruit from the Roman Believers as from the rest of the Gentile believers he has already encountered (1:13b).
             B. He is under obligation to all walks of life, so Paul continues as he has until the Lord opens a door to Rome (1:14).
             C. The Gospel is not reserved to one particular ethnicity or class of people: Greeks and Barbarians; wise and foolish.  (They were called Barbarians because when the spoke it sounded like gibberish bar-bar).

• Paul’s Eagerness (1:15)

              A. Paul’s eagerness is best understand as a passionate zeal to spread the gospel with a fervent attitude of unwavering service.  

Bible Study: Romans 1:1-7

ROMANS

Written by the Apostle Paul between A.D. 55-57 to both Jewish and Gentile converts in Rome

Multiple Themes: Sin & The Law, Work of Christ and the Spirit, Plan of Salvation, Justification by Faith Alone, Sanctification, Eternal Destinies, Sovereign Electing Grace, Unpacking the Meaning of the Old Testament, Unity of Jews and Gentiles, Christian Citizenship, Principles of Godliness and Morality

Romans 1:1-7 Paul’s Initial Greeting to the Saints in Rome

1. Paul’s Prophetic Authority (1:1)

• A Servant of Christ Jesus (1a)
  
• Called to be an Apostle (1b)
  
• Set Apart for the Gospel of God (1c)
  

2. Unpacking the Gospel of God (1:2-4)

• The Gospel was promised beforehand through the ancient prophets in the Old Testament Scriptures (1:2)
  
• Concerning His Son--Jesus Christ: The Fulfillment of the Messianic Prophecies
  
• Born of King David according to the flesh (1:3)
  
• Declared the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of Holiness by His Resurrection from the Dead, Jesus Christ our Lord (1:4)
  

3. Paul’s Empowerment and Mission of the Gospel (1:5)

• Grace and Apostleship received from Christ (1:5a)
  
• Purpose is to 
  
• Bring about the obedience of faith--obedience that comes from faith and obedience to the faith (1:5b)
  
• For His Name’s Sake (1:5c)
  
• Among all nations which includes those in Rome called in Christ (1:5d-6)
  

4. To Whom It Is Written (1:7)

• Beloved in Rome Called as Saints (1:7a)
  
• Grace (Unmerited Favor) and Peace (complete tranquility free from chaos and disorder) from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (1:7b)
  

Doctrines of Grace

Person & Work of Jesus Christ

Financial Stewardship

Evangelism to Eastern Religious Thinkers

Evangelism in a Postmodern Era

Evangelism to Muslims

Evangelism to Cults

Biblical Sufficiency in Counseling

Biblical Authority--Doctrine of Creation

Scripture Memory Empowers Teaching

When we memorize Scripture, it fills the recesses of our heart, and out of the heart the mouth speaks.

Scripture Memory

Scripture memory is commanded in Scripture, for we are commanded to hide God's Word upon our hearts that we might not sin against Him.