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  • This might come as a surprise, but from God's perspective, there's no distinction between a Jew and a Gentile. Romans 3:9 succinctly expresses this, stating that both are under the power of sin and death, and thus require spiritual rebirth through the agency of God's Spirit.

    So, what's the remedy for this condition of being ensnared by sin and its consequences? It lies in embracing new life offered through Jesus Christ. Romans 10:13 assures us that salvation is available to all who earnestly call upon the Lord's name.

  • Is this really fair? "That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone."

    This is how God chose how people would be saved, "By the sanctifying work of the Spirit and belief in the truth"

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  • According to the divine plan, the Gospel was initially destined for the Jews, who were the first chosen people. However, in Acts 10, the Gospel extends to the Gentiles as well, who were also part of the divine selection. This instance illuminates the essence of predestination—it doesn't entail God choosing one individual over another, but rather reveals the sequential outreach of the Gospel. Initially directed to Israel, who ultimately rejected Jesus, the Gospel then embraced the Gentiles.

    Transcript

    Want to discover your freedom in Christ? Then listen in as Mike Stone and Kevin (0:06) Smith talk about it today on Grace Coach. Welcome to Grace Coach, my name is Kevin (0:12) Smith and I've got my best friend Mike Stone with me today. How you doing Mike? (0:19) I'm doing good. Yeah, Romans 9 is an incredible little book. It's kind of a (0:26) shift in what Paul's doing here and he's gonna kind of defend his ministry as an (0:32) apostle to the Gentiles and opening up the good news of the gospel of Jesus (0:38) Christ to the whole world. How exciting is that? Yeah, that's very exciting. You (0:45) know, before we get into that, I thought we would set the stage, Kevin, to talk (0:50) about this thing with the Jews and the Gentiles because a lot of the New (0:55) Testament is talking so much about the Jew and the Gentiles being unified in (1:02) Christ, which really is an unthinkable thing if you think about it today and (1:07) all of the craziness in Israel for Jews and Gentiles to be united in the Spirit (1:13) is incredible. But Jesus even told the disciples not to go to the Gentiles. He (1:19) said that in Matthew 10 5. He said rather go to the lost sheep of Israel. (1:26) And so in Acts 2 you see that they were up in the upper room and the (1:32) Spirit came on the disciples and there were some more people there but they (1:39) were all Jews and you can see that right after the event of Pentecost in chapter (1:47) 2 that Luke the writer was mentioning that it was going to the Israelites and (1:54) you just see that over and over. And then in Acts 10 there's a big switch, Kevin. (2:01) Peter goes up to the roof to pray. He's not even sure why. He sees a sheet come (2:06) down with four-footed animals and God tells him to kill and eat and these (2:12) four-footed animals were non-kosher. So he says that I've never eaten anything (2:19) impure or unclean in verse 14 and then God said no I want you to eat those (2:26) things. So he is completely confused, thought he was obeying the law even (2:31) though he was born again at this point but he still had the law in him and it (2:39) takes years to unshake the law that's in a person's life. But anyway fast (2:47) forward in Acts 27 Peter is in the house of a Gentile Cornelius and the Spirit of (2:55) God comes on the Gentiles while they're in the house and it says in Acts 10 45 (3:01) that the circumcised believers were astonished that the gift of the Holy (3:07) Spirit came on the Gentiles. That was again an unthinkable thing. This was (3:14) something that you don't hear a lot about. I know when I heard that it just (3:19) rocked my world that they were astonished that the Spirit went on the (3:24) Gentiles. But in Acts 28 Kevin Paul finally after going into the (3:31) synagogues, which was normal for him, he was rejected by the Jews and he finally (3:38) made this statement that I want you to know that God's salvation has been sent (3:43) to the Gentiles because they will listen. Because the Jews weren't listening to (3:50) Paul about Jesus and he says they will listen. So I'm just setting that up (3:55) because now we're gonna hear Paul's heart even though this happened his (4:02) heart was broken that the Jews were rejecting the gospel because he was (4:09) Jewish he was a top Pharisee but his heart was broken about this and that's (4:14) where Romans 9 comes in. Yes it is yes it is and so basically what I hear you (4:21) saying is that the gospel going to the Gentiles was part of God's plan from the (4:28) very beginning even in the book of Acts even way before the book of Romans came (4:33) actually way before the book of Acts came it was God's plan for the gospel of (4:40) Jesus Christ to go to the whole world not just to the nation of Israel yet it was (4:48) a hard way to do it I mean the nation of Israel like you're saying they rejected (4:55) the gospel they rejected God's plan they did not go to all the nations as (5:01) Genesis 18 talks about and so you know God God's sovereign he knew it all was (5:07) gonna happen and he brought in the Gentiles as we'll read so why don't we (5:14) jump into Romans chapter 9 I'll read the first five verses and we'll take it off (5:22) what do you think yeah let's do it all right Romans chapter 9 verse 1 through (5:27) 5 I'm speaking the truth in Christ I'm not lying my conscious bears witness in (5:33) the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart for I (5:39) could wish that I myself for a curse and cut off from Christ for the sake of my (5:45) brothers my kinsmen according to the flesh they are Israelites and to them (5:51) belong the adoption the glory the covenants the giving of the law the (5:55) worship and the promises to them belong the patriarchs and from their race (6:03) according to the flesh is the Christ who is God over all blessed forever amen (6:11) would you want to be cut off for the sake of your people I mean I don't know (6:17) how many people would say that that yeah it would be cut off for the sake of my (6:24) people that's how much he loved his Jewish brothers and sisters so yeah Paul (6:31) Paul's willing to give himself up for his kinsmen but I think I think he's (6:38) Paul is such a wise wise writer and he he doesn't say any of this this is not (6:44) just random stuff he's talking he is he's continuing to make his case like a (6:50) expert lawyer in his defense of his ministry you know what I'm a Jew I love (6:58) the Jews and because he is letting us in on the conversations in the arguments (7:05) he's having with Jews and they're saying are you turning your back on us trying (7:11) to go to the Gentiles and he's saying no I'm not turning my back on on you Jews (7:17) but God is calling me to his sovereign plan and it's not just to you Jews it's (7:25) to the whole world so he wants to just nail that in there and the cool thing (7:33) about it is in verse 5 he brings in Christ with it that it's Christ came (7:39) through that line just God's sovereignty again another is point to God's (7:47) sovereignty yeah and that's important as we read this how important the human (7:52) ancestry of the Jewish race to Jesus that it would maintain it would stay (7:58) from Jewish person to Jewish person because that was part of God's plan also (8:05) and that's what predestination is you know it's not that God picks you and (8:09) doesn't pick me he said he predestined that the gospel would first go to the (8:14) Jew and then to the Gentile and that was his plan from the beginning and we're (8:20) living in the age of the Gentiles right now the church is the age of the Gentile (8:26) so let's read verse 6 through 9 Kevin it is not as though God's Word had failed (8:34) and when I read that I'm like well God's Word didn't fail we failed right mm-hmm (8:41) and that's because we're born into this world spiritually dead without the (8:46) spirit of God living in us so there's no way that anybody could follow and uphold (8:52) the law for not all who are descended from Israel are Israel nor because they (8:59) are his descendants are they all Abraham's children who are born again (9:05) and saved that's what a when you're talking about Abraham's children we're (9:08) talking about born-again believers but on the contrary it is through Isaac that (9:14) your offspring will be reckoned and so the bloodline didn't go through Ishmael (9:20) it went through Isaac okay verse 8 Kevin in other words it is not the (9:26) children by physical descent who are God's children but as the children of (9:32) the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring so the children of (9:38) the promise are those who are born again and saved who have come to Christ by (9:43) faith and have been credited as righteousness in verse 9 for this is how (9:49) the promise was stated at the appointed time I will return and Sarah will have a (9:56) son so basically just to summarize this you have the children of Abraham which (10:03) is all the Jews every every Jew is a child of Abraham but then like you said (10:12) the children of the promise are the ones who are born-again children of God the (10:19) promise that the good news would go to all the nation those that's the promise (10:24) that God made to Abraham in Genesis 18 yeah because he believed that Sarah would (10:31) have a son even though she was 100 years old and because he believed it says that (10:37) he was credited as righteousness now I wouldn't believe that my wife was a (10:43) hundred that she was gonna have a son she was in the tent laughing when they (10:48) were saying yeah so Abraham was credited as righteousness and it says in the book (10:57) of Romans in chapter 4 and that wasn't just for him but for us who believe in (11:03) Jesus our faith is credited as righteousness all right so let's pick up (11:11) on first 14 oh let's actually go to 10 Kevin let's can you read 10 to 13 oh (11:20) sure okay so it's where you stop at 9 okay all right Romans 9 verse 10 says not (11:26) only so but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man our (11:31) forefather Isaac through though they were not yet born had done nothing (11:38) either good or bad in order that God's purpose of election might continue not (11:45) because of works but because of him who calls she was told the older will serve (11:52) the younger as it is written Jacob I love and Esau hated okay I'm so glad we (11:59) just read that you're like well wait a minute how could God hate anybody you (12:08) know okay God loved Jacob but he hated Esau so in order to understand that we (12:13) have to go to Genesis 25 we just have to read the story of Jacob and Esau's I am (12:21) going there right now to Genesis 25 okay verse 19 to 34 it says this is the (12:30) account of the family line of Abraham's son Isaac Abraham became the father of (12:37) Isaac and Isaac was 440 years old when he married Rebecca daughter of Bethuel (12:43) the Armenian from Patton Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean Isaac prayed to the (12:53) Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childish she wanted a child just like (12:58) Sarah the Lord answered his prayer and his wife Rebecca became pregnant the (13:04) baby's jostled with each other within her and she says why is this happening to (13:10) me so she went to inquire of the Lord the Lord said to her verse 23 two (13:16) nations are in your womb and two peoples from within you will be separated one (13:23) people will be stronger than the other and the older will serve the younger we (13:28) just saw that in verse 12 when the time came for her birth there were twin boys (13:36) in her womb the first to come out was red and his whole body was like a hairy (13:41) garment so they named him Esau after this his brother came out and his brother (13:47) grasping Esau's heel so he was named Jacob Isaac was 62 years old when (13:54) Rebecca gave birth to them the boys grew up and Esau became a skillful hunter a (14:01) man of the open country while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents (14:07) Isaac who had a taste for a wild game loved Esau but Rebecca loved Jacob (14:16) interesting huh so Jacob was cooking some stew because he was home all the (14:23) time Esau came in from the open country famished and he said to Jacob quick let (14:30) me have some of that red stew I'm famished this is why he was also called (14:36) Eda Jacob replied first sell me your birthright look I'm about to die Esau (14:44) says what good is the birthright to me but Jacob said swear to me first so he (14:51) swore on an oath to him selling his birthright to Jacob and then Jacob gave (14:57) Esau some bread and some lentil stew he ate and drank and then got up and left (15:03) so that story tells us something about Esau that he gave up his birthright for a (15:14) cup of soup and that birthright was the bloodline to Jesus and he basically gave (15:22) that up and so when it says in verse 13 Jacob I love but Esau I hated it's that (15:31) he hated that Esau gave up his birthright to the line of Jesus yeah but (15:39) I don't know about that because it says before they were even born God said this (15:45) so I like I see this I mean there's three different store Old Testament (15:50) stories in this chapter and they basically what I see them all doing is (15:56) pointing to God's sovereignty that however God wants it to happen he could (16:03) have chosen Esau he could have chosen Jacob but he chose Jacob he could have (16:09) you know soften Pharaoh's heart but he chose to harden Pharaoh's heart and he (16:14) could have done anything you know the potter and the clay he could have made (16:19) vessels for you know honorable dishonorable this is the point is is that (16:25) God is in control and if you oh my gosh it's really if you can't that's why this (16:35) the whole chapter ends with the stumbling stone you know laid in Zion (16:42) that's the thing if you're not willing to open your heart and say God you're (16:49) in control I am NOT you're gonna stumble through pride over the stumbling (16:55) stone of that God is laid out in Jesus Christ see the way I see it in 11 Kevin (17:02) is that before the twins were born born and don't forget they were (17:09) jostling in the womb already that's why Sarah was on I mean Rebecca was (17:14) uncomfortable but this happened in order that like you said God's purpose (17:21) in election might stand and he's really this is really talking about the Jews (17:29) and the Gentiles it's yes somehow related because as we read through these next (17:37) few verses and I don't even know if we'll get there today but it's clear to (17:42) see that God's decision to go first to the Jew and then to the Gentile was his (17:49) decision that's the way he wanted it and in the end in the book of Revelation he (17:56) goes back to the nation of Israel again when the last Gentile comes in and and (18:03) the church age is over well the other point to it is is in election you know a (18:10) lot of people talk about election as an individual person being elect yes (18:17) whereas this chapter in you know these stories it's even though it's an (18:24) individual person meaning Isaac and Jacob it they represent I mean Esau and (18:29) Jacob they represent nations it says right there they represent well I'm glad (18:35) you read that in Genesis because they represent nation there you go all part (18:41) of God's plan yeah and so that to me is the big takeaway in this that it's not (18:51) God chose this guy and damned another guy to hell because if you believe that (18:57) kind of line of thinking out there that's what you have to believe that (19:02) that some people in the world have no choice that God has damned them to hell (19:11) and I know some people believe that I know they make try to make a biblical (19:16) case for it but well you're talking about Calvinism because that's what (19:20) Calvinism yes teaches is that God chose you but didn't choose me and that (19:27) thinking that that's what the definition of predestination is that he (19:31) predestined somebody from the beginning of time to be a Christian and others not (19:37) but that's not what predestination is predestination is and we can see this (19:42) clearly in the book of Ephesians also is that God predestined that the gospel (19:48) would first go to the Jews and then to the Gentile nation yeah check this out (19:54) check this out when I was preparing for this I just looked up some verses John 12 (20:01) we won't have to go there but I'm just gonna read a sentence of it John 12 32 (20:05) when I am lifted up I will draw all men to myself 2nd Peter 3 9 he wants none (20:13) to perish but all to come to him 1st John 2 2 Jesus died for the sins of the (20:21) whole world 1st Timothy 2 4 God wants everyone to be saved Hebrews 3 15 don't (20:29) harden your heart so if you were damned to hell then why would God say don't (20:37) harden your heart how about in John 1 12 yet to all who did receive him to those (20:44) who believed in his name he gave the right to become children of God I love (20:49) that verse you have to make a decision to receive Jesus Christ yeah yeah all (20:57) these verses they wouldn't be there and really that's a whole nother podcast (21:03) talking about predestination yeah so let's see if we could just get through a (21:08) few more verses 14 through 16 Kevin what shall we say then is God unjust not at (21:15) all for he says to Moses I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and all (21:21) compassion on whom I have compassion for it does not therefore depend on (21:27) human desire or effort but on God's mercy and that is God's plan it is just (21:37) God is not unjust of how he decided to do this God is just and it's the way he (21:45) wanted the gospel to go out and look Jesus said don't go to the Gentiles (21:50) right go to the lost sheep of Israel you're gonna listen to Jesus so it's no (21:58) wonder this gospel you know in the book of Acts you see it going out to just the (22:04) Jews and not until acts 10 did that switch and God says okay it's time it's (22:11) time to go to the Gentiles yeah yeah you know the cool thing on this is just I (22:18) just marvel at Paul and just what he went through in his life but verse 16 (22:26) like you just read says so then it depends not on human will or exertion (22:31) but on God who has mercy now who do you think Paul was referring to in that (22:37) verse all the Gentiles who you know didn't know anything about the law or all (22:43) the Jews who were working so hard trying to fill the law and get right in (22:50) God's eyes yeah and then again is not part of God's plan it's his plan is that (22:58) you come to faith through belief in the truth yes believing in Jesus putting (23:04) your faith in him yeah that is the good news it's not by works so that nobody (23:10) could boast thank you for listening to grace coach if you want to connect with (23:15) us we would love to engage with you email us at the grace coach at gmail.com (23:22) visit our Facebook page or visit our website grace coach org
  • Is There Anything that Can Divide You from the Love of God in Christ Jesus? Can Continuous Sin, External Forces, or Even Satan Separate You? Though at times it may seem like we're distanced from God's love, those are merely feelings. Feelings aren't always accurate or based on truth. Tune in to discover why nothing can ever sever you from the love of God.

    Transcript

    (0:00) Want to discover your freedom in Christ? Then listen in as Mike Stone and Kevin (0:06) Smith talk about it today on Grace Coach. Welcome to Grace Coach. My name is Kevin (0:13) Smith and I got my best friend Mike Stone with us today.

    How you doing Mike? (0:18) I'm doing good. Good to see you. Good to see you too.

    We are going to be talking (0:22) about Romans chapter 8 starting in verse 28 and going through the end of the (0:30) chapter and we are excited to get to it because it is talking about the love of (0:36) God and how secure we are in God's love. So I'll start off and just read a couple (0:45) verses in Romans chapter 8 verse 28 which says, and we know that in all (0:52) things God works for the good of those who love him who have been called (0:57) according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be (1:03) conformed to the likeness of his Son that he might be the firstborn among many (1:10) brothers.

    And those he predestined he also called, and those he called he also (1:15) justified, and those he justified he also glorified. Yeah, there's a few things (1:22) here that jump out at me that I underlined. Of course that God works (1:27) together for the good of those who love God.

    I mean he takes everything, good and (1:32) bad, things that are happy and sad, and he works them together for our good. I mean (1:38) that is just so wonderful to know even when it doesn't feel good, you know, and (1:45) it doesn't feel that God is there for us, but he's always there working everything (1:50) together for good. And then it says in 29 he knew his people in advance, and that (1:57) is like, wow, he didn't force us to believe.

    He certainly did know in advance (2:04) who would and who wouldn't believe, and so that's mind-blowing to even think (2:08) about. And then the third thing is that he chose us to become like his Son. (2:14) That's my version.

    And when I think about that, you know, I know we're not (2:21) going to perform miracles and raise the dead and do things like that, but it's (2:27) that the God of the universe was living in Jesus, and he was made and (2:37) born in the image of God's likeness. So when I think about that, we have now been (2:43) also made into God's likeness when we came to believe. We were not in the image (2:51) and likeness of God.

    We were born in the image and likeness of Adam, but it says (2:56) that he chose us to become like his Son and now to be made in the image and (3:04) likeness of now Jesus. And that only means that the Spirit of God is now (3:10) living in us like it was living in him. Okay, clarify for me what you just said.

    (3:17) God was living in Jesus? Yes. Chapter 14 of the book of John. Let me just go there (3:27) real quick.

    The only reason why I'm saying that while you're going there is (3:35) because I don't want the audience to be confused that Jesus wasn't God. No, (3:43) he was God. Jesus was God in the flesh, fully God, fully man is what we (3:51) would say and believe.

    Yeah, it says in John 14 20, on that day you will realize (3:58) that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. So God was in Christ (4:08) reconciling the world to himself, not counting men's or people's sins against (4:15) them, and so God was in Christ and now God is now living in a born-again (4:22) Christian. So that's how I look at the image of God, that the likeness in the (4:28) image or the Spirit of God is now living in us, and I love it.

    All right, let's go (4:33) on to read Romans 8 31 to 8 34. I'll do that. What shall we say then about such (4:40) wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he (4:47) did not spare even his own son, but gave him up for us all, won't he also give us (4:56) everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one, (5:04) for God himself has given us right standing with himself.

    Who will then (5:10) condemn us? No one, for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and (5:18) he's sitting in the place of honor at God's right hand pleading for us. (5:25) Amen to that. Says who dares accuse us? Who accuses us is Satan.

    Absolutely. (5:34) He does that through people, through people who aren't saved. Yes, people are (5:41) trying to condemn us for our actions and behaviors and our belief systems.

    Yeah, (5:49) well, I mean, I think he's up there accusing us to God too, but God's (5:56) basically, Jesus is interceding for us saying, I shed my blood for each one of (6:02) these people. Their sin is on me, and so the case is settled. And if you (6:10) didn't spare your own son, you know, if we bring that down to earth and think (6:16) about, if I sacrifice my son as God did, how much more would I, I would do (6:24) anything for you if I've done that, and I think that's what he's saying here.

    (6:31) Absolutely. He has given us everything we need for life and godliness in Christ (6:36) Jesus. Well, that's the best thing he can do, and he gives us so much more.

    I say (6:42) this all the time, you know, our family, our friends, our home, our health. I mean, (6:48) he's given us all this stuff, but the basis of it is Christ. That is the (6:55) foundation of everything.

    Everything else is meaningless without Christ being the (7:02) foundation of what we have. So everything else is basically icing on (7:08) the cake. Jesus Christ is the cake.

    So you think you're gonna have your cake (7:16) and eat it too, I suppose. I'm game for that. Well, in verse 33, it says that God (7:23) has given us right standing with himself.

    That means we're in God's eyes. We are (7:32) perfectly right with him 100% of the time, and that is if you're in Christ, (7:39) because then you have the righteous one, Jesus, living in you. You know, it's not (7:44) that we do righteous things or whether we do righteous or (7:50) unrighteous things.

    It's the fact that the righteous one lives in us, and that's (7:55) why we have this right standing with him all the time, because it also says that (8:00) Jesus will never leave us. The righteous one will never leave us. We're always (8:06) righteous, even though we don't feel like that might be true.

    The Scriptures say (8:12) over and over and here in verse 33 that God has given us a right standing with (8:19) himself. Amen, and there's a saying that's very old saying, but at the foot (8:27) of the cross, the ground is level. Nobody is any better than anybody else.

    We are (8:34) all righteous because of Jesus Christ. Billy Graham is no more righteous than (8:40) us. Mother Teresa, no more righteous than us, and it's not because of all the (8:47) things they've done.

    It's only because they have received the gift of eternal (8:54) life through Jesus Christ by believing. Yeah, it's awesome. Verse 35 says, (9:02) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble, or hardship, or (9:07) persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, for (9:14) your sake we face death all day long.

    We are considered as sheep for the slaughter. (9:21) No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For (9:27) I am convinced that neither death, nor life, neither angels, nor demons, neither (9:33) the present, nor the future, nor any powers, neither height, nor depth, nor (9:39) anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God (9:46) that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

    Very cool. Yes, the other day I was reading in (9:56) my little pocket Bible, and I underlined how many times God or Jesus or the Holy (10:05) Spirit, you know, in this last section, it was amazing how many, I mean, and this is (10:14) just the conclusion of it, but it's like God is doing all of this stuff. God has (10:23) done it in Christ, and he has made a way that is without separation.

    We are solid (10:35) in our relationship with God because of Christ. There is absolutely nothing that (10:42) can separate us. No spiritual demons.

    There's so many people out there, you (10:48) know, talking about demons and all the books that have been written. It doesn't (10:54) matter. They can't touch us.

    We are secure in Christ. You know, there's two reasons, I (11:02) think, that nothing can ever separate us from Jesus Christ and the (11:10) love of God. One, Romans 835, it says that nothing will ever separate you from the (11:20) love of Christ.

    But two, it's because we are forgiven people. Yes. All our sins (11:29) have been taken away, so what caused the Spirit of God to leave Adam in the (11:36) garden in the book of Genesis was sin, his disobedience.

    He did exactly what God (11:42) told him not to do. What caused the Spirit of God to leave Jesus? It was our sins. (11:49) Yes.

    Right? What's the reason why the Spirit of God will never leave us is (11:55) because all of our sins are taken away, and it's an impossibility. And so between (12:03) those two things, I'm like, of course nothing will ever separate you from the love of God. (12:09) Christ will never leave you.

    John 10, 28, and 29, I give them eternal life, and they (12:17) shall never perish. Well, that's what eternal life is, right? That means you'll never perish. (12:24) Otherwise, it's temporal life.

    No one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given (12:32) them to me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. Bam.

    Either (12:41) that's true or not. Yes, it is true. No one is going to snatch this out of God's hand.

    Well, (12:50) this chapter opened up with no condemnation, and it's concluding with no separation. (12:58) That's the book ends of chapter 8 in the great book of Romans, which I am so excited for. (13:08) Yes, it is amazing.

    Paul wrote 80% of the New Testament, and there's a lot of people out there (13:18) who say, well, what about the book of James? Well, okay. Well, James was a Johnny come lately, (13:26) but still, I believe you can see the grace of God in the book of James without a doubt, (13:32) and that's for another podcast. But really, if you really concentrate on this New Testament (13:39) and read about the love of God, the forgiveness of God that he's living inside of you, (13:45) I'll never leave you or forsake you.

    Your life will never be the same. Amen. (13:52) It will never be the same.

    And as Romans 12 says, we're going to get to it in a few weeks, (14:00) to renew your mind on these truths. Yes. It's just a constant renewal of your mind.

    (14:10) And that's the beautiful thing about God's word is that no matter how many times you read it, (14:16) you can just, because of what you're going through in your life, (14:22) it will hit you in a different way. You may miss something. It's amazing to study that the Bible (14:32) is like no other book in history.

    It is the all time. They don't even put it on the bestseller (14:40) list because for years, it is the absolutely hands down most sold book in the world. Every year, (14:51) there are more Bibles bought than any other book, hands down.

    They don't even put it on the list (14:57) anymore, which I think there's probably more going on there than that. But it is an amazing (15:04) book. And we hope that everybody just understands the major point of it.

    And that is God's love for (15:12) you. Thank you for listening to Grace Coach. If you want to connect with us, (15:18) we would love to engage with you.

    Email us at thegracecoach at gmail.com. (15:25) Visit our Facebook page or visit our website, gracecoach.org.

  • Our ministry is centered on empowering Christians to grasp the full extent of their inheritance in Christ. Through our efforts, we also aim to share the good news of the gospel, which can lead unbelievers to salvation. We rejoice when individuals embrace this message.

    In Romans 8, the Apostle Paul endeavors to enlighten Christians about their spiritual possessions in Christ while simultaneously highlighting what those without Christ lack. Here's a summary:

    For Born-Again Christians:

    God resides within you. You dwell in the realm of the Spirit. God has infused life into your mortal body. Eternal life awaits you with God. You are embraced as a child of God. You have been legally adopted into God's family. You are an heir of God and share in Christ's inheritance. The Spirit has bestowed upon you His first fruits. God orchestrates all things for your benefit. God has foreseen and chosen you. You are being transformed into the image and likeness of God.

    For People Without Christ:

    You lack the indwelling of the Spirit. Pleasing God is unattainable without Christ. There is hostility between you and God. You are confined to the realm of the flesh. You do not belong to Christ. The Spirit does not abide within you.

    Transcript

    (0:00) Want to discover your freedom in Christ? Then listen in as Mike Stone and Kevin (0:06) Smith talk about it today on Grace Coach. Welcome to Grace Coach, my name is Kevin (0:11) Smith. I got my best friend Mike Stone with me today. What's up Mike? Hey good to (0:18) be here and I'm glad I'm still your best friend. Nothing's changed from the last (0:23) podcast. From the last podcast. I don't think anybody's ever gonna overtake you (0:28) as much things as we've been through. I think you're in. But there are a couple of people (0:36) that are close second. I'll duke it out with them. You better take me out to (0:41) dinner again sometime soon. Okay. All right, so today we're talking, we're (0:48) actually probably not going to finish Romans chapter 8. This chapter has got so (0:53) much in it. It is unbelievable. And it is just an affirmation of what we have in (1:03) Christ. And it's rock-solid. It solidifies our standing with God in so (1:13) many different aspects of it. So we really hope you guys listen up, get your (1:20) Bibles out. We're gonna be starting in, we're actually gonna backtrack a little (1:25) bit. We covered up to Romans 8 11 last week, but we're gonna backtrack just a (1:30) little bit of a review. I'm gonna read Romans chapter 8 verses 8 through 11. (1:37) Which says, that's why those who are still under the control of the sinful (1:43) nature can never please God. But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You (1:51) are controlled by the Spirit, if you have the Spirit of God living in you. And (1:57) remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not (2:02) belong to Him at all. And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will (2:09) die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right (2:15) with God. The Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you. And (2:22) just as God raised Christ from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies (2:28) by this same Spirit living within you. Wow. That is incredible right there. That (2:37) is packed full of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are dead and (2:43) we are alive by the Spirit. If you look in your Bibles, many of the chapters (2:49) headings, I don't know what Bible you have, but most of them are has something (2:55) to do with life in the Spirit. And that's a major theme of this chapter and what (3:01) we're going to be talking about today. Yeah, and I especially love Romans 8-11, (3:08) Kevin. Whenever you talk to somebody and you ask them what's your understanding (3:13) of salvation, many times you'll hear that, well, Christ died for my sins. And then (3:21) when you say to them, well, what's the meaning of the resurrection? What's the (3:26) resurrection mean to you? Here in Romans 8-11, it really says the purpose of why (3:33) Jesus rose from the dead, that the same Spirit that rose Jesus from the dead, who (3:39) lives in you, will give life to your mortal body. Yes. The same Spirit living (3:47) within you. So that's a unbelievable reason for the resurrection that we're (3:56) made alive by Christ living in us, just as Jesus was resurrected and made alive (4:04) from his tomb. Amen, amen. But what I see, Kevin, and through this, what Paul is (4:14) doing, he's constantly, and I think you said this, he's talking about what we (4:21) have received, which is the Spirit of God living in us. And then he's also (4:26) contrasting that with what you have not received. And so he's just concerned with (4:35) eternal life, that people would be born again and saved and would be raptured one (4:42) day. But he's also constantly comparing that to those who don't, who do not have (4:50) the Spirit of God living in them. And that's how he writes. And so with that in (4:56) mind, I'm going to read Romans 8-12-14. (5:02) Therefore, brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful or (5:09) human nature urges you to do. For if you live by it, it dictates, which really (5:17) means if you live suppressing the truth about the new life in Jesus. If you keep (5:26) suppressing that, it says you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit (5:34) you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live eternally. Because (5:42) those who believe in Jesus have eternal life. That's what all those verses in (5:49) John talk about. John 3-16, John 3-36, John 5-24, that whoever believes in Him (5:59) will have eternal life. Yeah, so it says it. Even in the opening (6:06) verses that we just read, not only that you have the Spirit, but you have (6:11) life. It's a life and death comparison, as we've said, you know, in before in this (6:18) chapter. That's right. And notice he's not talking about those who are forgiven, (6:27) as good as that is. I never want to minimize the power of Jesus taking away (6:34) our sins on the cross, but he's talking about something greater, and that the (6:40) resurrection of Jesus and the new life given to us in Christ Jesus. It's just we (6:47) can't talk about that enough, the importance of the resurrection, because (6:52) we're not made alive when Christ took away our sins. We were cleansed from (6:59) unrighteousness. We were cleansed from our sins so that His life could come live (7:05) inside of us and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Yeah, so now the Spirit is (7:11) living in us and He'll never leave us. Again, we go back to the cross because all (7:17) our sins are taken away. Amen. So verse 14, it says, for all who are led by the (7:25) Spirit, who are born again, who are saved completely, are children of God. Yes. We (7:36) have talked so much about how Paul makes comparisons in this chapter, and as we (7:43) move into verses 15 through 17, he's gonna make another very powerful (7:50) comparison that the people who received this letter could totally understand. It (7:58) was part of their culture, just as it's been a part of our culture, but slavery. (8:04) So the comparison is a slave and a son, and Paul has used this term, adoption, (8:14) five times in his letters, and he's using it again here today. The readers in Rome, (8:23) because Jewish people didn't really have officially recognized adoption, but the (8:28) Romans did, and so when you got adopted into a family as a Roman, you did get (8:35) full rights as son and full heirs as we are to everything that Christ has. This (8:45) is like so plain to them, and it's plain to us, but probably not as powerful to (8:54) the people he wrote it to. So let me read Romans chapter 8 verses 15 through (8:58) 17. So you have not received the Spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead (9:05) you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we (9:12) call him Abba Father, for his Spirit joins with our Spirit to affirm that we (9:20) are God's children, and since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, (9:29) together with Christ, we are heirs of God's glory, but if we are to share his (9:36) glory, we must also share his suffering. So there's that comparison. Slaves and (9:47) sons, and we are rightful heirs of Jesus Christ. I mean, we say this all the (9:58) time, but we have received everything that we have for life and (10:03) godliness in Christ Jesus, because we've received him. So we don't have to... I (10:09) mean, I hear sermons so much. Do more. Be better. Get closer to God. (10:15) You know, seven ways to become closer to God, and I just like, come on people. I (10:22) mean, I understand what they're saying, but do you not see that you're in? You (10:30) can't get any closer to God if you are an heir with Jesus Christ, and you (10:36) share his glory. That is so true. It reminds me of a story that I heard over (10:46) and over at conferences I used to go to about how perfect we are in Christ, in (10:53) God's eyes. Mm-hmm. We're perfect because we have the perfect one living in us, and (10:59) what's happening in the Christian world is like a picture of the Mona Lisa, which (11:06) in most people's mind is a perfect painting. You can't add or subtract to (11:13) the Mona Lisa, but what's happening is many people are putting a mustache on (11:21) the Mona Lisa and say, hey, I think she looks better, and you're messing with (11:30) the perfectness that we have in Christ. Or somebody, some people put a smile on (11:35) her or something, you know. Or a smile. Tweak her a little bit, you know. Do (11:40) something, and there's no need for that. It's a perfect painting, and (11:46) there's no need to try to get more right with God than we are or have him love us (11:53) more than he already does. We are as righteous as we're ever gonna be (12:01) because we have the righteous one living in us. So he's just beating the (12:08) table on this, and I love how I see the word children over and over in verses (12:16) 15 to 17. I think three or four times he's saying we are God's children, and it (12:22) reminds me of John 1 12, Kevin, that reads, Yet to all who did receive him, to those (12:31) who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Amen. (12:39) We're in. We're his children. Yes, and that's the apostle John writing (12:46) that, and here's the apostle Paul. Yet it's the same spirit speaking to both of (12:51) them. Yes. There are a lot, as I've studied this, there's several different places (13:01) where, you know, like Paul would write to the Galatians, you know, about the (13:06) suffering. Geez, there's a whole comparison I was reading. It's in (13:15) Galatians. Let me see if I got it here. I won't read the whole thing, but it's Paul (13:20) just basically saying the same things in his message. It's just the solidifying (13:26) theme of his heart. Yeah. Our heart with God that he wants us to understand, so (13:35) he's telling that to all the churches in just a different way, but it's the same (13:41) theme. Yeah, and I feel like that's what our ministry is about. I know that's how (13:48) I've felt over the past 30 years, that I've always wanted to help Christians (13:54) understand what they have. If God has taken away your sins one time on the (13:59) cross, why would you be asking God to do what he's already done? Yes. It doesn't (14:05) make sense. Just on that level, it doesn't make sense to ask God for what (14:10) he's already done, and there are no scriptures. There's only one possible (14:15) scripture that might lead somebody to believe they need to ask God over and (14:22) over to get forgiven in order to be forgiven. That's 1st John 1 9, but that's (14:27) not what 1st John 1 9 is about. That's a salvation verse. Just read 1st John 1 (14:32) 8 and 1 10. But it's so important to understand what you have in Christ (14:40) because if you don't, you walk around as if you're not even saved and forgiven. (14:47) It's like you don't know it, and it will turn into a deep, dark depression, high (14:55) anxiety. It will just mess with your life. And so that's what our ministry, and (15:03) that's what Paul is trying to do, help these Romans understand what they (15:08) have in Christ. You know, when you say that, it made me think of a couple of (15:14) people that we've known for over 20 years, and I'm not gonna get into any (15:23) details or names, but they just basically walked away from the faith. He went to (15:28) seminary and everything, okay? I know a lot of people...this guy just walked away (15:33) from the faith. I mean, he was a leader. He was a musician on stage, and now he's (15:39) basically turned away. And I mean, I can't help but think that he did not (15:45) understand the whole gospel, and he was on a works righteousness. I didn't (15:54) know him...I wasn't like, you know, I don't think I was ever in a Bible study with (15:58) him, I can say that. So I don't really know exactly what he believed, but he (16:02) seemed solid talking to him and everything. So the point is, hold on to (16:09) the truth. Hold on to the truth. Search for it like it is gold. That's what (16:18) Proverbs tells us to. Search for wisdom like it is gold. This is wisdom, friends. (16:26) Hold on to it. Study it. Treat it like gold. I know we all work jobs to (16:34) earn money, but the Bible tells us this is the most important thing you could (16:41) ever do with your time and energy and life, and it will set you free. That's right. (16:48) Yes. So, you know, in verse 16, Kevin, I love this verse. You just read (16:55) for his spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. So if (17:03) someone says to you, well, how do you know you're born again? How do you know, Mike? (17:08) How do you know, Kevin? Well, this is like a go-to verse for me, that the Spirit of (17:15) God has joined with my spirit, and I know he is affirming in my heart and spirit (17:24) that I am born again, and I am God's children. Yes. I just love how he says (17:32) that. Well, since you said that, I want to read 1 John 5, verse 13. I love (17:42) telling people this after they come to understand their salvation in Christ, (17:47) because the evil one, Satan, will come the very night that you accept Jesus (17:53) Christ as your Savior and confuse you and try to deceive you. But hold on to this (18:00) verse right here, 1 John 5, verse 13. I have written this to you who believe in the (18:06) name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. Friends, people (18:14) don't hear this. People, oh my God, I think of another guy who was a leader in (18:21) the church, and questioned. We went to dinner one time, and he seemed troubled, and I (18:27) just said, Mark, what's going on? I'm questioning my salvation. I don't know (18:33) for sure if I...and he is the president of a national organization right now. I don't (18:40) know why I haven't talked to him in years. But anyway, 1 John 5, verse 13. You know, if you believe, you may (18:48) know that you have salvation. And that is a solid truth that God wants us to know. (18:56) That is right. That's a great verse. All right, I'm going to read Romans 5, 18, and I'm (19:03) going to read through 23. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the (19:10) glory that he will reveal in us later. I believe he's talking about the rapture. (19:16) For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children (19:25) really are. Against its will, with all creation was subjected to God's curse. (19:35) That happened when Adam disobeyed God and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (19:41) And that curse of spiritual death has now been passed on to all people. (19:48) But with eager hope, verse 21, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join (19:57) God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has (20:05) been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers (20:13) also groan even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory. (20:20) For we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. Isn't that true? (20:27) We just long for the day that we have new spiritual bodies and we see the Lord face to face. (20:36) So, we too wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us full rights as his adopted (20:43) children, including the new bodies, new spiritual bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope (20:51) when we were saved. If we already have something, again, we don't need to hope for what we have. (21:00) We only hope for what we don't have yet. But we look forward to something when we don't yet have. (21:08) We must wait patiently and confidently. And what I believe, again, he's talking about, Kevin, (21:14) is the rapture, the day we receive our new spiritual bodies. (21:19) Yes, I totally agree. And you mentioned it. I mean, it began, this whole little section right (21:28) here began in Genesis. And it's ending with our future glory. So, this is a big, big picture (21:37) of what God's plan is, yet it includes us in it. Those of us who are in Christ and those of us who (21:48) are not in Christ. But if you are his children, one day we're going to have new bodies. We are (21:58) going to be in heaven. This is, I mean, common knowledge. I mean, this is what Christians, (22:05) when you become a Christian, you hope for your salvation in eternal life. (22:14) But we have life right now, but there will come a time where we're going to have glorified bodies (22:23) that God is going to, and we don't want to get into all the whole things of revelation, (22:29) but there's going to be a time, a thousand year time here on earth that this creation, (22:35) you know, it's going to be redeemed. It's going to be, there will be a new heaven and a new earth. (22:43) The book of Revelation talks about. And this curse that Paul personifies the creation by giving it (22:51) a mouth, the groan, you know, we know creation doesn't have a mouth, but you know, Paul kind (22:58) of uses this literary term and just gives it this word picture that it's groaning like we groan. (23:08) When we become a Christian, we know that we are not doing everything we need to do. We fail (23:16) numerous times, a million times a day, whatever. If you're keeping score, you know, you know, (23:23) you failed one day. The failure that we experience, it ain't going to be, (23:31) we're going to be in heaven with God. We're going to have glorified bodies. We're going to be. (23:36) Our mind is going to be the whole concept of God. We're going to see him face to face. (23:44) It is going to be a mind blower what he has in store for us. (23:51) That is the glory that we have waiting for us as his beloved children. (23:58) And just so to continue on your thinking and what you just said about, you know, (24:03) when we have trials to know to be hanging on to this future redemption and the future rapture, (24:12) verse 26 says, and the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what (24:18) God wants us to pray for, but the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be (24:25) expressed in words. And the father who knows all hearts knows what the spirit is saying (24:31) for the spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will. I love that. (24:38) Yes. The cool thing about this is when the Holy Spirit prays for us, he's praying a hundred percent (24:46) in accord with God's will. That's the beautiful thing about this verse right here. (24:52) That's right. And we know that God causes everything to work together for good of those (24:59) who love God and who are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in (25:05) advance. Love that. And he chose them to become like his son, those who have come to faith in (25:13) Christ so that his son would be first born among many brothers and sisters. And verse 30, (25:21) having chosen them, he called them to come to him and having calling them, he gave them right (25:29) standing with himself and having given them right standing, he gave them glory. Wow. (25:39) Thank you for listening to Grace Coach. If you want to connect with us, (25:43) we would love to engage with you. Email us at thegracecoach at gmail.com. (25:49) Visit our Facebook page or visit our website gracecoach.org.
  • The Apostle Paul indeed employed stark contrasts to underscore his teachings on salvation and eternal life. In Romans 5:18, he juxtaposed the consequences of one trespass with the outcomes of one act of righteousness, highlighting the parallel between condemnation for all through sin and justification leading to life through Christ's righteousness.

    Expanding on this theme, Paul dedicated two chapters, 6 and 7, to explain that believers are no longer bound by the law but are now united with Jesus Christ. He emphasizes that believers have been freed from condemnation, as seen in Romans 8:1: "There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

    Consequently, Paul draws a clear distinction between those who are in Christ, saved from condemnation, and those who are not, still subject to condemnation. Through various contrasts and illustrations, Paul elucidates the profound difference between the saved and the lost, emphasizing the pivotal role of being in Christ for salvation and freedom from condemnation.

  • Interpreting Romans 7:13-25: Paul's Perspective as a Born-Again Christian or Reflections on His Past? Join Mike and Kevin as They Delve into the Significance of These Verses and Their Implications for Daily Living.

  • In Romans 6, the Apostle Paul employs the analogy of a slave and master to illustrate that a Born Again Christian is no longer bound by the law. Similarly, in Romans 7, Paul utilizes the metaphor of a marriage that ends due to the death of a husband to convey the same idea.

    Once a person experiences the transformative power of being Born Again, the law has fulfilled its purpose in their life. They become liberated from its constraints; they are no longer under its jurisdiction.

    Tune in as Mike and Kevin delve into this thought-provoking and controversial subject.

  • The Apostle Paul Addresses Two Key Questions in Romans 6:

    Shall I continue sinning to increase grace? (Romans 6:1) Shall I persist in sin now that I am no longer under the law? (Romans 6:14)

    These questions often arise when individuals fail to grasp the purpose of the law, which is twofold: to make us aware of sin (Romans 3:20) and to guide us to Christ (Galatians 3:24, 1984 NIV).

    Today, the purpose of the law is often misconstrued. As 2 Peter 3:16 warns, 'His [Paul's] letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

  • Do you know what the purpose of the law is? As Christians, are we suppose to follow the law that was given to Israel? You might be suprised at what Romans 6 says about this topic. Listen in as Mike and Kevin talk about it.

  • The phrase "How much more" is use many times in the Bible. Luke 12:24 says "Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!" The point here is that Luke is saying that God takes care of the ravens, so he will also take care of you and that people are more valuable to Him than birds.

    In the same way, Paul mentions in Romans 5:10 that "we were reconciled to him by the death of his Son, how much more (valuable), having already been reconciled, are we saved by His life"?

    Contrary to most Christian teaching, we are not saved by the death of Christ, for the forgiveness of our sins. Rather we are saved by the life of Christ living in us. As Major Ian Thomas says "Jesus cleared the deck for the divine act of giving life to the dead".

    Listen in as Mike and Kevin more about these important verses.

  • How would you define salvation? Most Christians would say this "Christ died for my sins, and when you believe that, you are saved". But is there more to salvation than believing that Jesus died for my sins? Listen in as Mike and Kevin discuss Romans 5:1-11 and how the Apostle Paul defines salvation in Romans 5:10-11.

  • How would you define salvation? The most common response from a Christian is that "Christ died for my sins". But is there more? Romans 4:25 takes salvation a step further. "He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification". Who will God credit righteousness to and how are we ultimately saved? "For us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead" (Romans 4:24). We are not saved by the death of Christ, but by His life. See also Romans 5:10 and Romans 10:9.

  • Many people ask the question "How do I become right with God?" Is it by works or is it by faith? Two Old Testament patriachs, Abraham and David believed God, and their faith was credited to them as righteous. Was it credited to them only? By no means! The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. The Book of Romans Podcast series is a great way to learn not only what the Scriptures says, but what it means to you.

  • From God's standpoint there are 3 types of people. lost Jewish people, lost Gentile people and then Born Again Christians who are from a Jewish or Gentile backround. Is this something you have ever heard?

    The Jews thought they had a spiritual advantage over the Gentiles. They were given the law, circumcision, the temple and were "entrusted with the very words of God" (Romans 3:1).

    But we learn in Romans 3 that both the lost Jews and Gentiles are alike under sin. There is no difference between these two people groups and that "no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law" (Romans 3:20).

  • Christians Against Poverty (CAP) provides a free debt and financial health service and simple financial education courses in partnership with local churches

    Listen in as John Kirkby explains how and why he started Christians Against Poverty (CAP) in 1996. John believed God was calling him to sacrifice his career in finance and use his knowledge of the industry to help those in need.

    You are invited to join with Christians Against Poverty’s Founder Dr. John Kirkby, CBE and the CAP team for a celebratory evening with delicious food, great friends, inspiring stories of God at work and a chance for you to make an impact.

    Join us at CAP’s main fundraising event of the year to hear the three year vision and the exciting new tools available to churches.

    Location: Abbington Distinctive Banquets, Corner of Route 53 and Butterfield Road, Glen Ellyn, IL 60137.

    Book Your Free Ticket Today...

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  • What is the difference between a highly religious Jew who does not believe in Jesus Christ and a Gentile who does not believe in Jesus Christ? Nothing! There is no one righteous, no not one.

    The Apostle Paul does a masterful job in Romans 2:17-29 of explaining why there is no difference between these two people groups.

    Listen in as Mike and Kevin read through these verses and comment on what they might mean to you.

  • After the Apostle Paul addresses the Gentiles in Romans 1:18-32, he now turns to the Jew in Romans 2. First he said that the unsaved Gentiles had no excuse and are under God's wrath, and now he says that the unsaved Jews have no excuse and are also under God's wrath. All unsaved lost people (Jews and Gentiles) who have fallen short of the glory of God, need to turn to Christ by faith and be saved. They will be saved from God's coming wrath.

  • In Romans 1:17, the Apostle Paul makes a bold statement. "For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.

    As born again Christians, we have been made right with God by our faith, and not by our works so that no one can boast. That is the good news!

    But then in Romans 1:18, Paul makes a 180 and makes a bold warning to the unbelieving Gentiles so that they might be saved and escape from God's wrath. This is the bad news for unbelievers who are not born again.

    Listen in as Mike and Kevin talk about it.

  • Romans 1:8-17 talks about a few important things. Why was it so astonishing that the faith of the Gentiles was being reported all over the world? Next the Apostle Paul introduces that in the Gospel, that our righteousness from God comes by faith alone. What does it mean to be right with God? How can I be made right with God? Is it by my good deeds or is it by faith and faith alone?

    Transcript:

    Want to discover your freedom in Christ, then listen in as Mike Stone and Kevin Smith talk about it today on Grace Coach. Hello, this is Mike with Grace Coach. It is good to be here here. And I'm with Kevin Smith. What's up, Mike? Yeah, I am excited about this podcast. I've been looking at chapter one versus eight to 17, and there's a lot here, Kevin. Well, I'm surprised we're not going to get through chapter one in two weeks. I mean, it's going to take us three weeks to get through it. Maybe not even three weeks. But you know what? God's timing is perfect. I guess I just want to review the first seven verses in chapter one. We read that Paul was set apart by God to be an Apostle, that God met him on the road to Damascus while he was crucifying Christians and murdering them, taking them to jail. It also talked about how God promised this gospel in the Old Covenant. So everything about Jesus was prophesied in the old Covenant. We read that Jesus was a descendant of David and that he was declared to be God by the resurrection of the dead. Amen. We talked a little bit that he wasn't declared with power when he died on the cross, which is the main message of Christmas today. But he was declared to be God by the resurrection of himself, which was very cool to go into Romans one, verses eight to 17. Kevin, to get the full picture and the impact of what Paul is saying, because really just before I did this and to say what is going on here, why is he writing what he's writing? I really had to dig deep into some verses to find out what is he talking about in verses eight to 17. Jesus, this is crazy when you read this, even when I Typed it out and read it in Matthew ten, five and six, Jesus said to the disciples, he says, do not go to the Gentiles or any town of the Samaritans, but rather go to the lost sheep of Israel. This was his command. This is God himself commanding the disciples, don't go to the Gentiles. The Jew first, then the Gentiles. Yeah, only go to the Jews. And in Acts twelve and 222, after the Holy Spirit came on the disciples who became Apostles at Pentecost, Peter addresses all these people and he says, fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem. And he said, fellow Israelites, listen to this. He is not talking to the Gentiles. He's only talking about the Jews. He's following Jesus command of going to the Jews and not going to the Gentiles. And you really got to scratch your head. What verse was that? Acts 214, where Peter says, fellow Jews and Acts 222 and he says, fellow Israelites, I'm just following what Jesus said in Matthew ten, five and six, that he said, do not go to the Gentiles. Or any town of the Samaritans, but rather go to the lost sheep of Israel and you see that happening. You see Paul and Peter following that command until Peter goes up to the roof in Acts ten. And Peter went up to the roof, and he prayed, and he fell into a trance, and he saw heaven open like a large sheep being led down to Earth by its four corners. It contains all kinds of four footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, Peter, get up, kill and eat. Surely not, Lord. Peter said, I have never eaten anything impure or unclean. The voice spoke to him a second time. Do not call anything impure that God has made clean. And so Peter is like, are we talking about food here? These were Orthodox Jews who followed their schedule for eating foods and types of foods perfectly. And God is telling Peter to eat what is not clean, what is not kosher. And so he didn't know what to make of it until he understood that when they were with Cornelius in Cornelius'house and Cornelius had a vision from an angel. And the angel told him, Go get Peter. And Peter came with the Centurion soldiers, and they were in a home, and something happened. The Holy Spirit came on Cornelius and all of the Gentiles that were with them. And it says that they were astonished. Why were they astonished? Because the Gentiles did not pursue righteousness. Only the Jews pursued it. And it says that in Romans 930, the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have obtained it. A righteousness, that is, by faith. But the people of Israel who pursued the law as a way of righteousness, have not obtained it. Isn't this crazy? It's a huge slap in the face for Jewish people that are hyper legalistic with the law to read that huge slap in the face. Yeah. Because Jews consider themselves the chosen people. Yes, they are. Well, they were just chosen first. And that's what we'll read in Romans 16 and 17 1st for the Jew. And then the Gentile, the Jews were chosen, but also the Gentiles were chosen. They were chosen second. Yes. That means that anyone who believes and has chose to put their faith in Christ are the chosen. That's right. I mean, as much as God dealt with the nation of Israel, and I know that they're close to his heart. He gave them the land, he gave him the book, and he gave them the law, he gave them the law. But I do agree that when you look at Salvation, they're no better than we are, because it's all about Christ. It's all about being in Christ. It's just that they were the first ones to hear about God's plan. They rejected it. The Gentiles came in by faith, not by the law. And that's where we find ourselves today. Absolutely. And that's what happened in Acts 28, where it says in a 28, 26 to 28, go to this people and say, you will be ever hearing, but never understanding. This is about the Jews you will be ever seeing, but never perceiving for this people's heart. The Jews have in callous, they hardly hear with their ears and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they may see with their eyes and hear with their ears and I would heal them. Therefore, I want you to know that God's Salvation has been sent to the Gentiles and they will listen. The good news, man, when you were reading that, I was thinking of the term stiff necked people. Well, the problem was that they thought, Kevin, that their righteousness came about by the law which God gave them, but they made it a law of righteousness. And the Gentiles, as we read in Romans 930, did not pursue a law of righteousness, but have become righteous by faith. Yes. Not by works, not by the law. And this is stunning to most people to even hear this today. Yeah. A lot of people don't really understand that huge aspect of God's plan. God had a plan all along to the Jew ones. They rejected it. Even in the Old Testament. It even goes back that far. God wanted them to go to all the nations and tell them and they wouldn't. They kept it to themselves. And God was like, okay, stiff neck people. Yeah. And they considered the Gentiles unclean. One of the laws of the 613 law is that in Acts 1028, you could read this. And Peter says to Cornelius, when he's in the house with these Gentiles, he says, Are you aware it's against our law to associate or even visit a Gentile? Right? Yeah. But God has shown me through the vision of the four corners with the unclean animals that I shall not call anyone impure or unclean.

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    Yeah. Wasn't it Peter that got called out because he was hanging out with the Gentiles? But then when Paul came, he didn't hang out with them and Paul called him out on it. Exactly.

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    I wanted to give that backstory because when we read in Romans eight and nine and ten, do you want to read that, Kevin? Romans one, eight through ten. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, it's my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times. And I pray that now, at the last, by God's will, the way may be opened for me to come to you. All right. So what is he saying? That your faith has reported all over the world? He's talking about the Gentiles faith. It's being reported all over the world because they were excluded. They were on the outs. It says in Ephesians at one time you were excluded from the promises and of God, the Commonwealth of Israel. Yes. This is Ephesians 212. And you are excluded from the promises without hope and without God in the world. Chapter two, verse 13 in Ephesians. But now in Christ, you were once far away talking about the Gentiles have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Beautiful. That's a summary of Peter's vision, that this gospel was going to go to people who were excluded from the promises of God. God was going to also go to the Gentile as he had gone to the Jew. Yeah. And that's why their faith is being reported all over the world, because it's like, wow, who would believe this huge news. That's right. I'm going to get it. Big news. It depresses. All right. So eleven to 13, I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong. That is that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. That's what happens when you get together with a believer or you go to a conference with other believers and you see all these other people believing what you're believing, and you're really mutually encouraged by each other. Amen. Just when I do a podcast with you, I get very encouraged by your faith and knowing who you are. Absolutely. Feelings mutual. And it says in verse 13, I don't want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I plan many times to come to you, but have been prevented from doing so until now in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles. So definitely you can see the direction of his message going to the Gentiles here. In verse 1314 and 15, he says, but I am obligated to both Greeks and non Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. And there Kevin, I think he's mentioning Greeks and non Greeks. I really think he's referring to Gentiles and Jews here. Sure. He just calls them something different. Greeks, non Greeks. And then verse 15, it says, that is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. So he preached to Gentiles in other parts of the world, and now he's preaching the gospel to the Gentiles here who are in Rome. Again, if we remember in Acts 28, he says the Jews would not listen, and he is now the Salvation. His message is now going to the Gentiles and they will listen. Absolutely. And we're off and running 2000 years ago. Yeah. So here is what I think is the meat of the first chapter in verse 16 and 17. You want to read that? I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for Salvation of everyone who believes first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the Gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written, the righteous will live by faith. Those are powerful words that are just really have real deep meaning. And Paul says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. And don't forget, he was the headphiracy. So if he thought back that I was once the headphoracy, and if he ever thought that I was going to be preaching this gospel message of Jesus Christ, he would be embarrassed. He would be ashamed. Oh, yeah, he would. But he's saying, I'm not ashamed, even though this is what I was doing in my past life. But it says that the power of God that brings Salvation for all who believe first to the Jew. So in verse 16, it talks about the power of God that brings Salvation to everyone who believes first to the Jew and to the Gentile. You know, we think of John 316, John 336, John 524, that anyone who believes is born again, has eternal life. And that's because, you know, the Spirit of God comes to live inside of you. That's the power of God. Amen power of God is him living inside of us. Yeah. Not around us, not behind us, not among us, but inside of us. Yes, absolutely. The living God. And again, first to the Jew and then to the Gentile. And that's how God planted again, Jesus said, don't go to the Gentiles, go to the Jews. Only battle switched in Acts Ten, with the spirit of God coming on the Gentiles. The Jews wanted in Acts 15 to put the Gentiles back under the law. Peter. And Paul says, no, we couldn't obey the law. Why would we think the Gentiles could obey the law? And finally, again in Chapter 28 in Acts, Paul says, I'm going to the Gentiles and they will listen. I love how I know it's. Somewhere in there it says, you couldn't even obey the law yourself. And you want to put the Gentiles under the law. Come on. Now, that's real hypocrisy. Exactly. I mean, that goes on today, right, when somebody puts you back under the law and says, Are you doing this? Are you going here? Did you get baptized? Are you giving to the poor? What's your service? It's hypocritical, yes. You know, as I was been reading this chapter this week and just preparation for this, I think one of my realizations is how Paul is basically, of course, setting up the whole book of Romans in this first chapter. He's just setting up the whole book and he's making this righteous versus unrighteous. This is kind of the beginning of it. And it goes on and we'll read this next week. But talking about the unrighteousness, this is the righteous up to now and how you can become righteous, then he's going to come into the unrighteous and he just goes on and he just continues to build the case. But it's like building blocks. And as we go through the whole book of Romans. He just built this absolutely rock solid case for Salvation in Christ through faith and through belief. Yeah. In that word, righteousness that gets thrown around a lot usually gets associated with self righteousness because it makes people nervous when they hear righteousness. Righteousness of God is the imputed right standing. Jesus is the only righteous one. He's the only right one. He's perfect and Holy and blameless. And when he comes live inside of us by association. He makes us righteous. He makes us Holy. He makes us blameless. He makes us perfect in God's sight. I'm so glad you said that, because people listening to this may take that upon themselves to become righteous in their own strength. And that is absolutely not what we're saying. But it's the imputed righteousness of Christ. It's a gift. It's a free gift. As we read on in chapter three. Yeah. That says in chapter 321, we'll get there probably in a month or so, but it says, but now, apart from the law of righteousness of God has been made known, which the law and the prophets testified. Abraham testified to this righteousness by faith because he believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Absolutely. He was the first one. Yeah. Verse 22, chapter three says this righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There's no difference between Jew and Gentile anymore. No, the wall has been broken down. The wall of hostility has been broken down. Kevin, read Romans 424. There sure God will credit righteousness for us who believe in him who raised Jesus, our Lord, from the dead, man. That's the whole enchilada right there, man. Yeah. If we believe that God rose Jesus from the dead and that's so crucial, we're not just talking about Jesus dying on the cross. As good as that is, as important as that is for us, that our sins are taken away. We're talking about faith in the resurrection, believing that a dead man named Jesus is now alive and wants to come live inside of you. Now you're saved from your condition, which was spiritual death. We have a bigger problem that being a sinner in need of forgiveness, that's a big problem. But our bigger problem is that we're spiritually dead and we need life. And the only way to get that is through faith in Jesus, where we become righteous or right with God. You know, there's another cool I don't hate because I love the chosen, but I'm making all these references to the chosen people. Please watch that series. It is awesome. But there is a really cool scene in it. Often they will at the very beginning of the show, they will kind of do a story of the Old Testament and remember when the nation of Israel I don't want to get into the whole story, but they were dying because they were being eaten by snakes and Moses puts a snake on a pole and Aaron's like they're dying left and right. I can't even bear fast enough. What are you doing? Putting a steak on a pole? I'm just doing what God told me. I can't question it. We just got through with the Red sea. I'm not questioning God anymore. He says, do something. I'm going to do it. But he says, whoever looks at this snake as I walk through the camp, all you

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    have to do is look up and believe in Christ. There's no do ten things to become righteous. It's just look up, believe and receive. And then once you're righteous, there's nothing we have to do to stay righteous. I mean, that sometimes is a bigger stumbling stone for people. Once they are saved is thinking they need to stay saved or they go when they sin, they go out of fellowship with God and they ask God to forgive them and he comes back and it's like a roller coaster. It's a terrible life. It's a roller coaster. I love roller coaster. You're saved. You're not saved. You're in the fellowship. You're not in the fellowship. No. This is imputed righteousness. And that's when verse 17 says, for in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed. A righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it has been written, the righteous will live by faith. Yes, that's Romans 117. Yeah. So it's an amazing thing. Most people, as Hebrews 513 talks about, are not acquainted with these teachings about righteousness. Hebrews 513 says, anyone who lives on milk, still being an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. It's a stumbling stone to them. But really, if we soften our hearts and realize that once we're saved, we're saved completely, can't lose our Salvation. We don't become unrighteous. Once we are right with God, it is always in forever. Then really, peace can begin and contentment in your life, it can actually take root in your life. And we could talk more and more about that. But friends, please just listen in and we'll unpack this awesome truth more and more as we dig deeper into Romans and learn more about God's, lavishing his love on every one of us who just look up to Christ and believe. Thank you for listening to Grace coach. If you want to connect with us, we would love to engage with you. Email us at the Grace [email protected], visit our Facebook page or visit our website. Gracecoach.org.