Sold Out for Its Advancement
As participants in the gospel’s benefits, we must enthusiastically embrace the responsibility and calling of being gospel emissaries to everyone else.
Series: Romans
Verse by Verse
May 4, 2008
• Romans 1-16
Verse by verse exposition of the book of Romans
Confident In Its Veracity
Romans 1:2-7
We should be bold & confident in calling people to Christ because we know the gospel has been verified by predictive prophecy and the resurrection of Christ.
Joyful About Its Progress
Romans 1:8-10
We should be much more ambitious and optimistic about sharing the gospel because until Christ returns there are more people in this world who need to and will be saved!
Willing to Serve Its Participants
Romans 1:11-15
We must work through all the obstacles that stand in the way of enthusiastically investing in the gospel’s harvest because the goal is worthy and the rewards are great!
Unashamed of Its Reproach
Romans 1:16-17
Dig into the key verse for Book of Romans. God has called us to proclaim the gospel despite opposition, and to keep in mind the enormity of what’s a stake.
Sin & God's Necessary Aversion to It
Romans 1:18
As we gain a more accurate view of God we will learn to respect, not resent, God’s necessary and stern response to all things sinful.
Sin & God's Universal Campaign Against It
Romans 1:19-20
Everyone is able (though most are not willing) to perceive the power & goodness of God in the universe he created, which should lead us all to turn from sin & trust him.
Sin & Its Deceitfulness
Romans 1:21-23
All people are culpable before God because our sin has involved a rejection of God, a willful rationalization and a love of folly over wisdom!
Sin & God's Temporary Concession
Romans 1:24-25
We must be mindful that the current moral chaos is a result of God’s temporary concession to sin and sinners, always anticipating his coming righteous solution!
Sin & Sexual Deviance
Romans 1:26-27
Indulging in rebellious and dishonoring practices that transgress God’s good plans for sex will result in his judgment and abandonment to increasing self-destruction.
Sin & Unholy Thinking
Romans 1:28-29a
The problem of sin is a problem with our thinking that needs to be remedied by new birth in Christ and constant maintenance and daily discipline.
Sin & Unrighteous Behavior
Romans 1:29b-32
We would do well to identify the sins that so easily entangle us, wage war against them and never applaud those who practice them.
Being Totally Honest About the Problem
Romans 2:1-3
Our ability to readily discern sin in others must be utilized in honestly appraising and admitting our own sinfulness as God’s unmerited forgiveness requires.
Making Sure You're Repentant
Romans 2:4-5
We must not misconstrue God’s current passivity and kindness toward sinners as approval of sin or a portend of the future; his patience should prompt us to repent.
Paying Close Attention to Your Deeds
Romans 2:6-11
While eternal life cannot be earned (and is granted to the repentant who trust Christ), God’s retribution of both the redeemed and the lost will be based on what they do.
No Excuses About the Man in the Jungle
Romans 2:12-16
God is perfectly just to judge all people for their sins because he has provided a moral standard in human conscience which makes everyone culpable before God.
Learning to Hate Hypocrisy
Romans 2:17-24
The hypocrisy of thinking we are “better than others” when in fact we all break God’s laws is terrible because it keeps us from seeing our need for Christ and gives onlookers cause for disdaining God’s people.
No Hiding Behind Religious Trappings
Romans 2:25-29
Grace (acquired through faith) transforms a heart which responds in obedience; but partial adherence to the law (ceremonial or moral) cannot and does not save you.
The Centrality of Scripture
Romans 3:1-2
The Bible claims to be the inscripturated record of God’s words to us, and if so, it demands our attention and a willingness to accept what it says to us and about us.
The Unfailing Promises of God's Word
Romans 3:3-4
God is a faithful God who by nature always keeps his promises (for our good and for our correction) in spite of our unfaithfulness and disobedience.
Making Sense of the Bad in "The Good Book"
Romans 3:5-8
Sin is a terribly bad even though God uses it for good – that’s why we should work to run from temptation without any rationalization or excuses.
The Word's Clarity About Our Sin
Romans 3:9-18
We must vigilantly avoid relative definitions of sin & righteousness and humbly accept God’s scriptural declarations about our deficiency before a holy God.
The Goal of Scripture's Many Rules
Romans 3:19-20
The rules & the assessments of the Bible are directed strongly and specifically toward each of us so that we might own our many sins and cry out for grace without excuse.
Scripture's Overarching Theme of Grace
Romans 3:21-24
An acute awareness of sin should drive us to embrace (then celebrate) the imputed righteousness of Christ that is freely granted through faith to all variety of sinners.
The Word's Ultimate Solution
Romans 3:25-26
God’s perfect justice was settled on behalf of sinners who trust in Christ by the substitutionary death of Jesus on the cross resulting in a complete atonement.
Reading Scripture in Light of Redemption
Romans 3:27-31
There is no room for prideful feelings that we in some way achieved our salvation because God’s salvation is freely and sovereignly bestowed through faith not works.
Its Eternal Provision
Romans 8:32-39
The incomparable love of God affords us permanent peace and enduring security through the past, present and future work of Jesus Christ on our behalf.
Making Sense of Abraham's Faith & Works
Romans 4:1-5
If even the best people you know are wicked before God and must trust God to be gifted salvation, then we should never think we can earn God’s forgiveness!
Celebrating Unearned Forgiveness
Romans 4:6-8
We must learn to respect, admire and fully embrace the total forgiveness that is immediately granted to us by faith through the atonement of Christ.
Rethinking Outward Signs & Inward Realities
Romans 4:9-12
We should be careful not to misunderstand the role of the ceremonial signs (both in the Old and New Covenants) which God has chosen to represent his justifying work.