Category: Romans

Christianity, Romans, Sunday School, Sunday School Lesson

Sunday School Lesson (May 26, 2019) Called to Be Transformed / Called To New Life In Christ Romans 12:1-8

Sunday School Preacher
Paul Turns the Corner From Theology to Praxis

Hello Sunday school teachers, preachers, and students! Welcome to SundaySchoolPreacher.com.  This week we take a look at how God calls us to be transformed.  As we are called to new life in Christ we are required to make changes and alterations in our day to day living.  Students of theology call this change praxis.  It is the transformation from theory and thought to action in each of our lives.  That’s what chapter twelve is about as Paul turns the corner from the theology of chapters’ one through eleven.  Some of the ideas surrounding this week’s text include the terms: 

Sacrifice

Praxis

Cooperation

Background: 

Over the previous three weeks I’ve repeatedly discussed how Paul’s letter to the church at Rome is written approximately 57 Common Era.  That was important because it helped establish that Paul was writing to both Jewish and Gentile Christians.  They were different groups that had different practices, customs, and cultures.  That’s still important but less so in this twelfth chapter of Romans.  In this chapter Paul has switched from writing doctrinal statements that helped Jewish and Gentile Christians understand how to work together.  In this chapter he switches to writing more about the practical application of previous chapters.  So what is discussed in chapter twelve is addressed to the believers in Rome but it applies even more specifically to all believers. 

In this chapter, Paul begins to put it all together.  He begins to tell us how to live the Christian life.  Townsend Commentary reminds us of some of the doctrinal journey through Romans.  “They have been “justified through faith” in chapter 5, “set free from sin” in chapter 6,  “released from the law” in chapter 7, and made “alive” in Christ in chapter 8”. 

Some important words to consider in chapter twelve include:

Sacrifice

Gifts

Cooperation

Review Of Last Week and How it Connects to This Week: 

Last week was the third of four lessons in Romans.  This week is the fourth lesson of Romans and the final lesson of the Spring quarter.  Last week’s study began at Romans 11:11.  Here Paul asks a question about his Israelite nation; “have they stumbled so as to fall”?  As he refers to the broader Jewish religion, He answers the question by saying “By no means”!  He explains that the Jewish religious nation has not fallen so far as to fall.  He is telling the Jewish Christians that “salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous”.   In verse thirteen he declares himself the Apostle to the Gentiles.  He hopes to use jealousy of the Christian’s salvation to win some of his Israelite nation to faith in Jesus Christ.  If jealousy works, if envy works, then Paul is prepared to use it.  Verse sixteen continues with a literary device using the first fruits of dough and the root of a tree as a metaphor.  These metaphors paint a mental picture that shows how both the Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians are Holy through their connection to the Jewish religion which was God’s first covenantal family. 

Verses seventeen through twenty-four use a different metaphor.  In these verses both Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians are branches of an Olive tree.  Whereas the Jews were broken off branches, the Gentiles were branches grafted into the tree.

After Paul notes the kindness and severity of God he closes this metaphor with a note of hope that the “natural branches would be grafted back into their own olive tree”. 

In this week we consider practical application of Christian doctrine.  Paul is writing in this twelfth chapter about praxis.  It’s about how to live the Christian life.  Townsend and Boyd’s, Commentary title this week’s lesson Called To New Life in Christ.  Standard Commentary titles it Called to Be Transformed.  The Scripture text comes from Romans 12:1-8.

What Takes Place in This Passage: 

Paul begins by imploring, pleading with, urging, and what seems like even begging the believers at Rome to “offer their bodies as a living sacrifice”.  The imagery of a living sacrifice is placed against the imagery of customary Jewish animal sacrifices.  While Jesus Christ is the ultimate sacrifice for all humanity we should bring our entire life, all of who we are, our entire bodies as a living, breathing, thinking, sacrifice in service to Jesus Christ. 

Note also that Paul says “therefore”.  He begins chapter twelve this way because he made his case in the preceding chapters.  He laid the foundation of justification by grace, redemption, salvation, and other doctrine in chapters one through eleven and now he turns the corner by essentially saying “this is what we are supposed to do, THEREFORE… present your bodies a living sacrifice.      

The King James Version ends verse one saying “this is your reasonable service”.  The New Revised Standard Version says “this is your spiritual worship” and the New International Version translates it as “your true and proper worship”.  The idea is the same in either translation; we are expected to offer our complete selves holy to God. 

Verse two tells us to not emulate or conform to the world but rather be transformed or changed.  It is this transformation that is the new life in Christ.  We are transformed by the renewing of our minds.  We are called to be transformed and we achieve transformation by following the Holy Spirit, not the ways of the world. 

Verse three is a gentle reminder and warning not to boast.  It’s a poor frog who doesn’t praise his own pond, yet, praising your own pond is entirely different from bragging about and holding yourself in too high esteem.  Paul encourages us to think soberly, not boastfully about ourselves.  This is no doubt wise advice for people in an environment of different cultures, customs, and practices who need to work together. 

In verses four and five, Paul uses the body as a metaphor for the church.  In the same way the body must work together with arms, legs, eyes, and ears; so must the church work together with different people doing different but necessary things to work together. 

Verses six through eight expound on the idea of working together by mentioning six different gifts.  Those gifts are:

Prophecy

Ministry

Teaching

Exhortation

Leading

Mercy

Note that various gifts are given to each of us by grace.  Paul mentions other spiritual gifts in I Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4.

Context:

God’s word is for our transformation and inspiration not just information.  That’s the point Paul is making in chapter twelve.  He has given a lot of doctrine in chapters one through eleven.  He begins in chapter twelve explaining how to put the doctrine to use.  For Christians today that means praxis.  Praxis is taking theory and thought to actual practice.  It is applying what is said to what should be done.  It’s taking what is heard in the pews to what should be done at home, at work, and in everyday life.  Praxis is moving from thinking about it to being about it.  When Paul says “therefore I urge you” it is almost as if he is begging us to do the work of living this Christian life.  It’s this kind of practical application that chapter twelve requires of us.  In short, Paul is asking at least five things of us in this chapter.  Those include: 

Be a living sacrifice

Renew our minds

Think soberly of ourselves

We belong to each other

Use our various gifts for Christ

If we can make these actions in our living and not theory or just thoughts we are certainly on our way to being transformed and called to new life in Christ.

Key Characters in the text:

Paul – Originally known as Saul of Tarsus before his conversion to Christianity.  He was the most influential leader in the early days of the Christian church.  Paul was a primary instrument in the expansion of the gospel to the Gentiles.  His letters to various churches and individuals contain the most thorough and deliberate theological formulations of the New Testament (Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible). 

Gentile – A term used by Jews for one who is not Jewish by racial origin.  In the Old Testament, “the nations” is used.

Key Words (not necessarily in the text, but good for discussion): 

Sacrifice – Something of value offered as an act of worship or devotion to God.  Sacrifices were offered throughout the Old Testament, accompanied covenant making, and were of various types. 

Praxis – A term used in liberation theologies for a combination of action and reflection which seeks the transformation of oppressive situations and the social order.  It marks the beginning place for theological reflection and focuses on the dialectic of theory and practice. 

Gifts, Spiritual – Those abilities given by the Holy Spirit to persons in the church for the up-building of the church.  Examples are listed in Rom. 12:6-8; I Cor. 12:4-11; Eph. 4:11; and I Peter 4:11.

Themes, Topics, Discussion, or Sermon Preparation Ideas: 

  1. Don’t talk about it, be about it.
  2. Ubuntu – I am who I am because of who we are.

Questions: 

1.  A living sacrifice is a contradiction.  What is Paul really telling us to do in this verse?

2.  Cooperation for the good of the whole seems to be an important point Paul is making.  How can we cooperate with fellow believers today?

Concluding thought:

Our call to new life in Christ requires transformation.  Our transformation is achieved though renewing our minds to become more like Jesus Christ.  That is an ongoing process that cannot be achieved with a single act or in a single week, month, or year.  We grow, we learn, we get better and sometimes we have to repeat the process when we sin and get it wrong.  Our call to be transformed is a call that takes practice.  It takes daily and sometimes moment by moment conscious effort.  As we renew our minds, sometimes we alter our life.  We alter choices and make decisions that don’t come naturally.  They are often decisions that benefit others more than ourselves.  That’s the way it is with new life in Christ.  A transformed life is a living sacrifice that does not have too high a regard for its own wants and desires but an humble life that realizes that we belong to each other.  It realizes that whatever spiritual gifts we have we should use them for the up-building of the work of Jesus Christ. 

Preview of Next Week’s Lesson:

Next week is the first lesson of the summer quarter.  The summer quarter will focus on aspects of covenant.  The first nine lessons come from the New Testament so we will view covenant from a New Testament perspective before three lesson in the Old Testament that view it in a more general perspective. 

The June 2nd lesson comes from the Gospel According to Mark and Hebrews.  We will consider how Jesus institutes a new and better covenant made on better promises.

Christianity, religion, Romans, Sunday School, Sunday School Lesson

Sunday School Lesson (May 19, 2019) Called to Mutual Acceptance / The Call Of The Gentiles Romans 11:11-24

Sunday School Preacher
Called to Mutual Acceptance / The Call of the Gentiles – Romans 11:11-24

Hello Sunday school teachers, preachers, and students! Welcome to SundaySchoolPreacher.com.  This week we take a look at the importance of working together as one body.  Paul writes to the Jewish and Gentile Christians at Rome and encourages mutual acceptance as he acknowledges the full authority and call of the Gentile Christians.  They were different people from different backgrounds but serving the same God.  Some of the ideas surrounding this week’s text include the terms: 

Apostle

Metaphor

Acceptance

There are a number of ways we experience acceptance.  Self-acceptance, social acceptance, and expressed acceptance are just a few.  The Gentile and Jewish Christians at Rome needed each of these to work together in their time.  That much certainly has not changed for Christians today. 

Background: 

Paul’s letter to the church at Rome is written approximately 57 Common Era. When this letter is written, the Jewish Christians had been expelled from Rome about eight years earlier by Emperor Claudius (New Interpreters Study Bible).  When Emperor Claudius died in 54 CE the edict lapsed and Jewish Christians began returning to Rome.  They returned to a different and mostly Gentile church.  In this letter Paul is writing to Gentile Christians and Jewish Christians who have different religious practices.  Some of the central points he writes about are righteousness, justification, grace, sin, and the Holy Spirit.  It is his longest letter and considered foundational to Christian doctrine today. 

In this eleventh chapter keep in mind that Paul is an Israelite.  He does not reject his Jewish religion yet he understands and supports the growth and development of Gentile Christians who would have different religious practices.  Part of chapter eleven deals with Paul calling the Gentile and Jewish Christians toward mutual acceptance.  While he accepts the Gentile Christians as full partners in the Christian faith, he also acknowledges the centrality of Judaism as its origin.  Even still, many Israelites have rejected Jesus and Paul’s hope and desire is that they will be won to Christ. 

Some important words to consider in this chapter include:

Gentile

Apostle

Pharisee

Review of Last Week and How it Connects to This Week: 

Last week was the second of four lessons in Romans.  The text came from Romans eight and focused on the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian.  The lesson began with a rejection of condemnation for Christians who walk after the Spirit.  In other words there is no condemnation for Christians who walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh.  Chapter eight answered the question of how to deal with the inadequacy of the Law. 

We were reminded in Verse three of the weakness of the law and the flesh.  In other words, no one can keep all of the rules of the Law.  We need a righteous savior and the answer to that need is Jesus Christ.  God sent Jesus in the likeness of sinful flesh as the eternal answer for a fallen and sinful humanity.

Verse four reminded us that righteousness is required, yet the requirement is fulfilled in those who walk after the Spirit.  So then, the law is a guide to righteousness but a guide that no one could perfectly follow.  Verse five reinforced the point that the flesh is concerned about the things of the flesh and the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 

Verses six through eight dealt with the conflict between the flesh and the Spirit.  We were reminded that Christians should be governed by the Holy Spirit, not by our own lustful, self-serving desires.  In fact, Paul writes that being governed by the flesh is death but being governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 

Verses ten and eleven helped us understand that it is the Spirit of God that brings life through righteousness.  Paul begins to wrap-up his thoughts on life in the Spirit beginning in verse twelve.  He reminds us that we have an obligation to live according to the Spirit, not according to the flesh.  “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God”.  

This week we consider how Paul encouraged unity between the Jewish and Gentile Christians as well as the call of the Gentiles.  Townsend and Boyd’s, Commentary title this week’s lesson The Call of the Gentiles.  Standard Commentary titles it Called to Mutual Acceptance.  The Scripture text comes from Romans 11:11-24.

What Takes Place in This Passage: 

This chapter begins with Paul writing directly to the Jewish Christians.  They are a minority group in the Roman church.  This first part of chapter eleven is sympathetic to their plight and he writes using Israelite history that will resonate with them.  Paul mentions Elijah and how God had reserved a remnant of 7,000 when Elijah thought he was alone.  These Jewish Christians in Rome could identify themselves as a remnant also.  These words are no doubt comforting to the Jewish Christians.  They are a minority in their own religious family.  For the Jewish Christians in Rome that included being a minority in their Christian faith as well as a minority from the broader Jewish faith. 

Our text picks up at verse eleven.  Here Paul continues by asking “have they (his Israelite nation) stumbled so as to fall”?  Paul is referring to the broader Jewish religion.  He continues “By no means”!  Paul tells the Jewish Christians that “salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous”. 

Paul switches to address the Gentiles in verse thirteen.  He declares himself the Apostle to the Gentiles and writes “I glorify my ministry in order to make my own people jealous, and thus save some of them”.  Here, Paul hopes to use jealousy of the Christian’s salvation to win some of his Israelite nation to faith in Jesus Christ.  If jealousy works, if envy works, then Paul is prepared to use it.  I am reminded of Paul’s writing in I Corinthians 9:22: “To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak.  I have become all things to all people that I might by all means save some”.

Verse fifteen repeats the idea of Israel stumbling but offers hope that acceptance will be life from the dead.  Verse sixteen continues with a literary device using the first fruits of dough and the root of a tree as a metaphor.  This metaphor paints a mental picture that shows how both the Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians are Holy through their connection to the Jewish religion which was God’s first covenantal family. 

Verses seventeen through twenty-four uses a different metaphor.  In these verses both Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians are branches.  Whereas the Jews were broken off, the Gentiles were grafted in to the tree.  In verses eighteen through twenty Paul asks the Gentile Christians not to boast that they have been grafted in.  Rather, they should recognize that the Israelites were broken off because of their unbelief.  After Paul notes the kindness and severity of God he closes this metaphor with a note of hope that the “natural branches would be grafted back into their own olive tree”.  

Context:

A metaphor is “a figure of speech by which one thing is spoken of in terms of another”.  For example Paul uses the metaphor of a part of dough to explain how the Jewish Christians at Rome are a remnant that can make the entire lump of dough holy.  Metaphors are used in everyday language to help paint a mental picture and often to emphasize a point.  It’s raining cats and dogs, she’s sharp as a tack, or these instructions are Greek to me.  These are all metaphors that people understand are not literal but figurative. 

In the text today, Paul uses figurative language to make his point.  The broader Jewish community had rejected faith in Jesus Christ as savior.  Paul writes in Chapter ten that his “hearts desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved”.  Paul is writing to the Jewish and Gentile Christians at Rome but He wants all of Israel to be saved along with the Gentiles.  Although this writing is figurative, it gets the point across in ways the Jews and Gentiles understood then and in ways we still understand today.        

Key Characters in the text:

Paul – Originally known as Saul of Tarsus before his conversion to Christianity.  He was the most influential leader in the early days of the Christian church.  Paul was a primary instrument in the expansion of the gospel to the Gentiles.  His letters to various churches and individuals contain the most thorough and deliberate theological formulations of the New Testament (Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible). 

Gentile – A term used by Jews for one who is not Jewish by racial origin.  In the Old Testament, “the nations” is used.    

Key Words (not necessarily in the text, but good for discussion): 

Apostle – One sent to act on the authority of anther.  Refers to the earliest, closest followers of Jesus. 

Pharisee – A Jewish party during Jesus’ time that obeyed the written law of Moss and its unwritten law of Moses and its unwritten interpretations, known as the tradition of the elders (Mark 7:3).  They focused on holiness (Lev 19:2).  Some were hostile (John 7:32), others were helpful to Jesus (Luke 13:31).

Israel – The nation of Israel as descended from Jacob (Gen 32:28), after whose twelve sons the twelve tribes of Israel were named.    

Judaic – Pertaining to Judaism or the Jewish people.    

Judaism – The religion and culture of the Jewish people.   

Jew – A term for one who is of Hebrew descent or who adheres to the Jewish faith, or both.     

Themes, Topics, Discussion, or Sermon Preparation Ideas: 

  1. Teamwork makes the dream work.
  2. Ubuntu – I am who I am because of who we are.

Question: 

Metaphors can help get the point across in easily understandable and sometimes humorous ways.  List some commonly used metaphors.    

Concluding thought:

Israel, Israeli, Judean, Judaic, Judaism, and Jewish are all terms used in various degrees to describe the Hebrew people, their religion, their descendants or their nationality.  Sometimes the same term is used to describe ethnicity while at other times nationality or religion of a person or group of persons.  An article that explains some of these differences can be found here.  It’s important to use the right term because they are not synonymous although many people use them synonymously simply because they don’t know the difference.  There is also the risk of being misunderstood as anti-Semitic when using the wrong term.

Preview of Next Week’s Lesson: Next week is our final lesson this month on the book of Romans and the final lesson for the Spring quarter.  We study the twelfth chapter of Romans where Paul “turns the corner” from the doctrinal portion of writing to practical application.  Last week Paul used metaphor as a literary device.  This week he returns to a paradox as he begins to explain how we are called to new life in Christ and called to be transformed.

Christianity, religion, Romans, Sunday School, Sunday School Lesson

Sunday School Lesson (May 12, 2019) Called To Life in The Spirit Romans 8:1-14

Sunday School Preacher

Hello Sunday school teachers, preachers, and students! Welcome to SundaySchoolPreacher.com.  This week we take a close look at how we are called to life in the Spirit.  Several ideas surrounding this call are discussed in our text this week.  Those include: 

The Law

Sin

The Requirement for Righteousness

Life in the Spirit

This life in the Spirit is indeed a paradox.  In as much as we are sinful beings we are separated from God.  Yet through the indwelling presence of God’s Holy Spirit we are no longer condemned but made righteous through Jesus Christ. 

Background: 

Paul’s letter to the church at Rome is written approximately 57 Common Era.  It is written to a church that likely has cultural tensions.  The Jewish Christians likely wanted to maintain their Jewish customs and culture.  The Gentile Christians would have practiced religion in different ways.  At this point, the Roman Church was primarily a gentile church.  When this letter is written, the Jewish Christians had been expelled from Rome about eight years earlier by Emperor Claudius (New Interpreters Study Bible).  After Emperor Claudius died in 54 Common Era the edict lapsed and Jewish Christians began to return to a different and mostly Gentile church.  Romans is written to both Jews and Gentiles to let the Jews know they cannot boast of their Jewish heritage and to let the Gentiles know that righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ is all they need for salvation.  Its central focus is salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. 

Chapter eight deals with the Holy Spirit’s work in the lives of Christians.  It is the Holy Spirit that indwells and, in fact, must indwell every believer.  Paul makes a resolute stand in verse nine that anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.  Thus, we clearly see the importance of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian.  Additionally, other important themes in this chapter include:

Law

Sin

Grace

Carnality

Review of Last Week and How it Connects to This Week: 

Last week we began a study in Romans, Paul’s longest letter. At the time he writes this letter to Jewish and Gentile Christians, they are likely experiencing some tension with religious customs and cultures in Rome.  We discussed how the righteousness of God is now not just through the law.  Now, there is another way to righteousness and that new way was through Jesus Christ.  That’s important because righteousness deals with right relationships.  And it is our relationship with God that secures righteousness for the Christian.  We also mentioned how Romans 3:23 stands as a perpetual reminder that no one is perfect (except Jesus Christ).  We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. 

Paul is writing this letter to both gentile and Jewish Christians who likely still practice the tenets of the Torah.  He reminds both groups that neither is perfect, that all have sinned, and that God’s righteousness is received through faith in Jesus Christ.  Paul is essentially answering the question before it gets asked.  Why is this righteousness necessary?  The answer is because all have sinned. 

 Finally, we were reminded in verse 27 that the Jewish Christians could not boast of their heritage, or their works, because even the law requires faith.  And it closed reminding us that God is God of both Jews and Gentiles.  There is only one God who justifies the circumcision by faith and the uncircumcised through the same faith.

This week we consider the work of the Holy Spirit in Romans 8.  Townsend, Boyd’s, and Standard Commentary title this week’s lesson Called To Life in The Spirit.  The Scripture text comes from Romans 8:1-14.

What Takes Place in This Passage: 

Verse one begins by rejecting condemnation for Christians who walk after the Spirit.  While this verse seems to indicate the qualification that one must not walk after the flesh; it can be understood that if you are a Christian you are no longer controlled by the flesh.  An even more pressing question is who was doing the condemning?  Chapter seven holds the answer.  Chapter seven dealt with the law and sin.  Chapter eight answers the question of how to deal with the inadequacy of the Law.  We deal with it as verse two says through – “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus [who] has set you free from the law of sin and of death” ( that was the condemnation) (NRSV).  Note also that “no condemnation does not mean believers are free from the struggle against sin, but that we are free from the sentence of death and judgement on the last day” (NISB). 

Verse three reminds us of the weakness of the law and the flesh.  In other words, no one can keep all of the rules of the Law.  We need a righteous savior and the answer to that need is Jesus Christ.  God sent Jesus in the likeness of sinful flesh as the eternal answer for a fallen and sinful humanity.

Verse four takes it a step further.  It reminds us that righteousness is required, yet the requirement is fulfilled in those who walk after the Spirit.  Again, notice the importance of the Holy Spirit.  So then, the law is a guide to righteousness but a guide that no one could perfectly follow.  In fact, in Chapter seven, Paul takes issue with the Law (7:5-6).

Verse five reinforces the point that the flesh is concerned about the things of the flesh and the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 

Verses six through eight deal with the conflict between the flesh and the Spirit.  The King James Version uses the term “carnally minded” in verse six.  Carnal is defined as “that which relates to the body, usually associated with desires such as sensuality, lust, and indulgence”.  The New Revised Standard Version uses the phrase “to set the mind on the flesh”.  The idea is Christians should be governed by the Holy Spirit, not by our own lustful, self-serving desires.  In fact, Paul writes that being governed by the flesh is death but being governed by the Spirit is life and peace.  That’s because the carnal or flesh governed mind is hostile to God.  Note also that verse eight says “those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God”.  Conversely, Hebrews 11:6 reminds us that “without faith it is impossible to please God”.  So again, we see the importance of faith and the Holy Spirit.  If we are in the flesh, we cannot meet the requirement for righteousness.  Verse nine reassures us.  We are not in the flesh if the Spirit of God dwells in us.  But note also Paul’s warning.  “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ”.

Verses ten and eleven help us understand that it is the Spirit of God that brings life through righteousness.  In fact, it is this same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead that indwells the Christian and will give life to our mortal bodies also. 

Paul begins to wrap this thought up beginning in verse twelve.  He reminds us that we have an obligation to live according to the Spirit, not according to the flesh.  “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God”. 

Context:

A paradox is a true statement that appears to be contradictory.  Some paradoxical Christian affirmations are:  God as “one God in three Persons,” Jesus as “fully divine and fully human,” and the believer as “righteous yet a sinner”.  We see elements of this definition in these verses.  In fact, in my opinion, it is paradoxical that the Holy Spirit indwells humans.  In as much as we rebel against the will of God we are sinful beings.  Our text tells us the Law condemns, but the Spirit liberates.  II Corinthians 3:6 reminds us that God “has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life”.  Where the law condemns us, the Spirit liberates us.  We need a righteousness that cannot be attained through the law.  King David writes in Psalm 51:5 “Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me”.  Yet, through acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Savior we have the privilege of being indwelt by the Holy Spirit.  We are called to life in the spirit.       

Key Characters in the text:

Paul – Originally known as Saul of Tarsus before his conversion to Christianity.  He was the most influential leader in the early days of the Christian church.  Paul was a primary instrument in the expansion of the gospel to the Gentiles.  His letters to various churches and individuals contain the most thorough and deliberate theological formulations of the New Testament (Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible). 

Holy Spirit – The third Person of the Trinity.  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit constitute the eternal Godhead.  The Spirit inspired biblical writers, makes known the saving work of Jesus Christ, and is God as present in and with the church.  The Spirit acts to incorporate all things into the life of the triune God. 

Key Words (not necessarily in the text, but good for discussion): 

Carnal – that which relates to the body, usually associated with desires such as sensuality, lust, and indulgence.

Paradox – A true statement that appears to be contradictory.  Some paradoxical Christian affirmations are:  God as “one God in three Persons,” Jesus as “fully divine and fully human,” the believer as “righteous yet a sinner”. 

Law – That which is prescribed to regulate behavior.  The Old Testament law includes the Ten Commandments and various ritual prescriptions found in the Pentateuch or the books of the Law (Torah).  Theologically, law expresses the will of God and is to be valued (Ps 119). 

Law and Grace – Two differing ways or forms of God’s relating to humanity.  A number of theological views as to the regulation of the two terms have emerged (John 1:17; Rom 4:16; 5:20; 6:14, 15).

Law of Nature – The universal moral law, believed by some theologians to be given by God to all persons or accessible to them through the use of their reason in relation to the order found in nature. 

Themes, Topics, Discussion, or Sermon Preparation Ideas: 

  1. What the Law can’t do.
  2. The Law versus the Spirit.

Questions: 

1) We were created in the image of God, yet, born in iniquity.  Explain this paradox. 

2) The text tells us we must be governed by the Spirit.  How are we governed by the Spirit on a day to day basis?           

Concluding thought:

We need righteousness and that righteousness is only found in Jesus Christ.  In John chapter 14 beginning at verse 15, Jesus promised the Holy Spirit (the Comforter).  It is the Holy Spirit who comforts, secures, and empowers us.  The importance of this gift cannot be stressed enough.  Our good works aren’t enough to secure righteousness.  The Christian Jews Paul included in this letter could not claim their heritage or their customs keeping the law as acceptable righteousness.  It is though the work of Jesus and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives that this desperately needed righteousness is secured. 

Preview of Next Week’s Lesson: Next week we will look at the call of the gentiles.  In Romans chapter eleven Paul, a Judean himself, speaks directly to the Gentile Christians as the Apostle to the Gentiles.  He does so in hopes of saving some of his Judean people.  But he also admonishes the Gentile Christians to not be arrogant.