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The Heart and Soul of the Gospel - Romans 1:1-7

Taught on | Topic: the gospel | Keywords: barriers, bondservant, Christ, good, grace, Jesus, mankind, news, plan, religions, saved, sin, will, wrath

Today we embark on a thirty-two-week journey through the book of Romans. Considered to be Paul the apostle’s magnum opus, this book is largely responsible for igniting the fires of the Protestant Reformation and the Wesleyan Revival. As Paul introduced himself to the church at Rome, he got right to the heart and soul of the matter—the gospel—the good news that presents Jesus Christ as God’s great answer to the pressing need of the human race.

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The Heart and Soul of the Gospel
Romans 1:1-7
Skip Heitzig
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Today we embark on a thirty-two-week journey through the book of Romans. Considered to be Paul the apostle’s magnum opus, this book is largely responsible for igniting the fires of the Protestant Reformation and the Wesleyan Revival. As Paul introduced himself to the church at Rome, he got right to the heart and soul of the matter—the gospel—the good news that presents Jesus Christ as God’s great answer to the pressing need of the human race.
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Heart & Soul: A Study through Romans

Heart & Soul: A Study through Romans

When the wrath of God meets the righteousness of God, where does that leave us? The apostle Paul says that we are marked by sin at birth but marked righteous at salvation. In this series through Romans, Skip Heitzig explains the essentials of Christian doctrine that can transform your thoughts, words, and actions. Move from sinner to saint, and from saved to Spirit-filled as you inscribe the essence of the gospel onto your heart and soul.

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Outline

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  1. Its Servant (v. 1)

  2. Its Source (v. 2)

  3. Its Subject (vv. 3-4)

    1. The Seed of David

    2. The Son of God

  4. Its Scope (vv. 5-7)

Study Guide

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Connect Recap Notes: May 5, 2019
Speaker: Skip Heitzig
Teaching: "The Heart and Soul of the Gospel"
Text: Romans 1:1-7

Path

With this teaching—"The Heart and Soul of the Gospel"—we embark on a thirty-two-week journey through the book of Romans. Considered to be Paul the apostle's magnum opus, this book is largely responsible for igniting the fires of the Protestant Reformation and the Wesleyan Revival. As Paul introduced himself to the church at Rome, he got right to the heart and soul of the matter—the gospel—the good news that presents Jesus Christ as God's great answer to the pressing need of the human race.
  1. Its Servant (v. 1)
  2. Its Source (v. 2)
  3. Its Subject (vv. 3-4)
    1. The Seed of David
    2. The Son of God
  4. Its Scope (vv. 5-7)
Points

Its Servant (v. 1)
  • Paul began his letter to the Roman church with good news—the gospel of Jesus Christ.
  • Gospel means "good news", a common word in ancient Rome, which proclaims a favorable event. Why do we need good news? Because of the bad news—all have sinned.  
  • Romans is the Christian manifesto of freedom in Christ and has transformed many lives.
  • The theme of Romans is the righteousness of God—how to be right with God. There are four sections which fall under the headline of the gospel: the wrath of God, grace of God, plan of God, and will of God.
  • Paul was born to Jewish parents in Tarsus (modern Turkey). Paul was a religious zealot, a Pharisee, educated by the anti-Christian rabbi Gamaliel.
  • Paul's conversion occurred on the road to Damascus; the chief antagonist of Christianity became the chief protagonist. Paul saw himself as a "bondservant of Jesus Christ."
  • As a Pharisee, Saul had been self-righteously separated from the people, but now, Paul was "separated to the gospel". Paul forsook all others for the high calling of Christ.
Its Source (v. 2)
  • God is the source of the gospel—the prophets didn't invent it, and the apostles only discovered it as it was revealed. In verse 2, Paul pointed out that God promised the good news through the prophets, using Scripture to reveal God's revelation.
  • The New Testament is not an addition, but a continuation and fulfillment of God's revelation. As Augustine said: "The New is in the Old contained—the Old is in the New explained"; there is a continuity between the Old and New Testaments.
  • The Gospel is part of a progressive revelation that began in Genesis and continued throughout the Old Testament—more than 300 passages point to Jesus (see Genesis 3:15, Isaiah 53, Jeremiah 31, Psalm 22, and more).
  • Biblical prophecy always has multiple contingencies—aspects that cannot be known or controlled. Prophecy provides evidence of the divine authorship of Scripture. Scholars have calculated that there is a one-in-a-billion chance that all the prophecies concerning Jesus could be fulfilled without divine intervention.
  • Most of the prophecies of the Old Testament point to Jesus; He is the subject of both the Old and New Testaments.
Its Subject (vv. 3-4)
  • Since Jesus is the main subject—the overarching theme—of the Bible, there is great anticipation concerning Christ throughout Scripture:
    • Old Testament: anticipation of the Messiah
    • Gospels: presentation of Jesus as the Messiah
    • Acts: continuation of the work of Jesus
    • Epistles (letters): explanation and clarification of Jesus' life and ministry on earth
    • Revelation: consummation (the final wrap-up) by Jesus
  • Did the prophets in the Old Testament have the complete picture of the coming Messiah? As 1 Peter 1:10-11 indicates, they wondered to whom it was all pointing and when it would happen.
  • In the Bible, two titles are given to the Messiah which refer to His divine-human nature:
    • The Seed of David: the Messiah was fully human, born of a woman.
    • The Son of God: the Messiah was fully divine, conceived by the Holy Spirit.
  • The good news is that the Messiah was not just a good man, but the God-Man, who came to seek and save the lost.
  • Being fully man, Jesus had the ability to substitute for mankind. Being fully God, Jesus had the capacity to save all of mankind.
Its Scope (vv. 5-7)
  • The scope of the gospel wasn't local, but worldwide: it affected the entire human race. The good news is not limited to one people, in one place, and at one time, but is for all people, in every place, for all times (see Romans 3:29). The commission Jesus gave to His disciples covers the entire world (Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:47, Acts 1:8).
  • Christianity is not a western religion, but a world faith that began in the Middle East. Jesus said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations" (Matthew 28:19). As we see in John 3:16, God loved the "world", not just western culture.
  • The good news is the treatment for the disease of sin; it is the same across the globe. The cure Jesus provides for sin is universal, because it's bought by the blood of Christ.
  • The world has many religions, but there is only one Gospel of Jesus Christ.
  • God's good news proclaims two truths:
    • God is there, and He is knowable
    • People can know God through the saving work of His Son, Jesus
Practice

Connect Up: As Pastor Skip stated, prophecy is an indicator that Jesus is the Messiah. Using the texts provided, discuss how prophecy is God's means of proving His point:
  • Deuteronomy 18:15; John 7:40-42; Acts 3:20-23
  • Psalm 22:14-16; Matthew 27:31
  • Psalm 41:9 and 55:12-13; Matthew 26:47; Luke 22:21-22; John 13:18-21
  • Isaiah 53:1-3; John 1:10-11; 12:37-38
  • Isaiah 53:5-6; John 1:29; Acts 10:43
  • Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1-6
  • Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:8-11
Connect In: Since Jesus is the subject—the overarching theme of the Bible—why is it important for the church to teach through the entire text of the Bible? Using Pastor Skip's outline, discuss how each part of the Bible gives a complete picture of the birth, life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
  • Old Testament—anticipation of the Messiah; gospels—presentation of Jesus as the Messiah; Acts—continuation of the work of Jesus; epistles—explanation and clarification of Jesus' life and ministry; Revelation—consummation by Jesus
Connect Out: Consider Pastor Skip's sentence, "The scope of the good news wasn't just local but worldwide headlines: it affected the entire human race." Why is evangelism vital for the health of the church? Look up the following texts Pastor Skip used, discussing the implications of each in the good news:
  • Mark 16:14-16; Acts 1:7-8; Romans 3:29

Detailed Notes

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"The Heart and Soul of the Gospel"
Romans 1:1-7
  1. Introduction
    1. Bad news tends to get more attention than good news
      1. The gospel is good news
      2. The Greek word used here is euaggelion, which is where we get the word evangelism
      3. Paul used the word gospel sixty times in the book of Romans
      4. The word gospel comes from the Anglo-Saxon godspell, which means good story; God's story is a good story
      5. The term originally came from Roman times
        1. Heralds who were sent out into the public square to proclaim news
        2. Someone who would make a favorable announcement
    2. Why do I need to hear the gospel?
      1. You probably haven't heard the bad news yet
        1. Romans 1:18
        2. Romans 3:23
      2. When you understand how bad the bad news is, you will love the gospel
      3. All have sinned, the wrath of God has been revealed, and you have to pay for that yourself—or let somebody else do it for you
    3. The book of Romans is the Christian manifesto of freedom
      1. Romans tells us that we have been set free, unshackled from the grip of sin and Satan, and that we are set free to become God's slaves—a slavery of freedom
      2. The theme of the book is the righteousness of God
      3. The book can be divided into four sections that fall under the banner of the gospel
        1. The wrath of God
        2. The grace of God
        3. The plan of God
        4. The will of God
  2. Its Servant (v. 1)
    1. Apart from Jesus, Paul was the most significant person in the New Testament
      1. Paul was born to Jewish parents in Tarsus in Silicia—modern-day southeast Turkey
      2. His name at birth was Saul, and he was probably named after King Saul
      3. His Roman name was Paulus, which means small or short
    2. Saul was a Pharisee, educated by an anti-Christian rabbi—Gamaliel
      1. Saul became the chief antagonist of the early church
      2. He was converted on the road to Damascus, and the chief antagonist of Christianity became the chief protagonist
      3. After his conversion, Paul considered himself a bondservant of Jesus Christ
        1. On the road to Damascus, Saul asked two questions:
          1. "Who are You, Lord?" (Acts 9:5)
          2. "Lord, what do You want me to do?" (Acts 9:6)
        2. The second question made him a bondservant of Christ
        3. The term bondservant should describe every believer, and every Christian should ask both of these questions
    3. As a Pharisee, Saul was separated from the Gentiles; after his conversion, Paul was "separated to the gospel" (v. 1)
      1. What are you separated to?
      2. It's not all about what you don't do—it's about what you do
      3. How do you serve the Lord?
        1. It is possible to have a saved soul but a lost life
        2. You can be right with God and believe in Jesus Christ but not ask Him what He wants you to do
  3. Its Source (v. 2)
    1. The gospel has its source in God
      1. No human would create the gospel story; nobody would write a story that says all men are condemned apart from Jesus Christ
        1. Man-made religions are about what man can do for God—the goodness of mankind
        2. The gospel is about what God has already done for man—the goodness of God
      2. The apostles didn't invent the gospel—they discovered it as it was revealed to them (see 2 Peter 1:16)
    2. The New Testament is not an addition; it has been anticipated all along
      1. Matthew 5:17
      2. "The New is in the Old contained—the Old is in the New explained" —Augustine
      3. Jeremiah 31:31-34
      4. Acts 2:16
      5. Acts 26:22
    3. The gospel is part of a continuous, progressive revelation that started in Genesis 3:15, continued through Genesis 22 and the exodus, and was predicted in Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, and about 300 other Scriptures
      1. Biblical prophecy is not just a good guess
      2. It always contains multiple contingencies that cannot be known or controlled, and this gives evidence that divine authorship is involved
      3. Luke 24:25
  4. Its Subject (vv. 3-4)
    1. Jesus Christ is the main subject of the Bible
      1. John 5:46
      2. The Old Testament is the anticipation of Jesus Christ
      3. The Gospels are the presentation of Jesus Christ
      4. The book of Acts is the continuation of the work of Jesus Christ
      5. The Epistles are the explanation and clarification of Jesus Christ
      6. The book of Revelation is the consummation by Jesus Christ
    2. The prophets had many questions themselves
      1. They wrote the prophecies but didn't know the totality of what they were writing
      2. 1 Peter 1:10-11
      3. They didn't know it when they wrote it, but it all came true in one person
    3. The Bible is about one person and two events:
      1. Jesus Christ
      2. His first coming: to deal with sin
      3. His second coming: to rule and reign with those who have been cleansed from sin
    4. Paul referred to the dual nature of Jesus Christ with two titles:
      1. The Seed of David
        1. Jesus was fully human
        2. As such, He fulfilled all of the predictions of the Messiah who would be born
      2. The Son of God
        1. Jesus was fully God
        2. Conceived by the Holy Spirit
        3. Jesus has the same nature as God
    5. The good news isn't about a good man—it's about the God-man
      1. Because He was fully man, He had the ability to substitute for mankind
      2. Because He was fully God, He had the capacity to save all mankind
  5. Its Scope (vv. 5-7)
    1. The gospel is not just local news; it's worldwide news
      1. God sent us to tell everyone everywhere the good news; it's for every people in every place at every time
      2. Romans 3:29
      3. God's plan encompasses the whole world
    2. Christianity is not a Western religion; it's no more Western than it is exclusively Middle Eastern
      1. Christianity originated in the Middle East
      2. To say that it's a Western religion defies intellect and basic knowledge of geography
      3. Matthew 28:19
      4. Luke 2:10
      5. John 3:16
      6. Acts 1:8
    3. As the gospel crosses all social and cultural barriers, so must the Christian
      1. Medicine works universally; it doesn't discriminate
      2. The world has many religions, but only one gospel
  6. Conclusion
    1. God's headline is good news
    2. The gospel is good news for two basic reasons:
      1. It tells us that God exists and that He is knowable
      2. It tells us that we can know Him through the saving work of His Son, Jesus Christ
    3. Has the gospel come to you like that?
Figures referenced: Augustine

Cross references: Genesis 3:15; 22; Psalm 22; Isaiah 53; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Matthew 5:17; 28:19; Luke 2:10; 24:25; John 3:16; 5:46; Acts 1:8; 2:16; 9:5-6; 26:22; Romans 1:18; 3:23, 29; 1 Peter 1:10-11; 2 Peter 1:16

Greek words: euaggelion

Transcript

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The Heart and Soul of the Gospel - Romans 1:1-7 - Skip Heitzig

[MUSIC PLAYING]

I've been looking forward to this series for a long time, and I'm happy to say this right now. Turn in your Bibles to the book of Romans, Chapter 1, book of Romans, Chapter 1. Every day, we hear news from a variety of sources, whether you watch the news or get it fed to your phone, or you read a newspaper. We hear breaking news, headline news, 24-hour news. But usually, the news is bad news.

In fact, I read a statistic that 90% of all news is negative. So that got my attention. And I thought, I wonder if that's true? So I decided to get some newspapers and look through them. So first of all, I looked at the Wall Street Journal, and I counted on the front page of the Wall Street Journal just how many of the articles that are posted are written negatively. The headline is negative. And I discovered five out of seven on this newspaper are negative.

Then I looked at The New York Times, another important newspaper. Six out of seven headlines are negative. Then I went to the USA Today Weekend. There's only three articles on the front page-- two out of three negative. Then I thought, OK, let's get the old Albuquerque Journal. Actually, they're better than most. But three out of five are still negative.

So that got wandering-- wondering, and wandering, why that is so. And so I found this little insider's tidbit from Industry Week. It's a monthly trade publication. Let me quote it. "Bad news is more likely to attract a casual reader's eye than good news. It's a secret journalists have known for years, that bad news gets more attention than good news, meaning more people are likely to read a story if the headline implies something rotten rather than something wonderful."

The article I just quoted from went on to explain that the article itself may actually be a good report, it's actually good news, but that the journalist will take some bad aspect of a good report and move it forward, usually in the first couple of sentences or in the headlines, to grab readers' attention. Because we're attracted to bad news. There was even one newspaper, I discovered, overseas that made a decision to run only good news for an entire day, positive headlines, encouraging, optimistic stories. And they reported they lost 2/3 of their normal readership on that day. Fascinating, isn't it?

Well, we're in the book of Romans, and Paul the Apostle headlines the book of Romans. His lead story is not bad news, but it's good news. We have bad news every day. He's here to say, God has some great, awesome news. That is found in a single word, the word gospel. The word gospel means good news. You know that probably. Good news-- the Greek word is [SPEAKING GREEK] is the Greek word from where we get evangelism, evangelical, good news. Paul uses the term gospel-- good news-- 60 times. that's 6 0 times in the book of Romans alone, and that's his headline. That's how he begins the book, with good news.

Now, in ancient times, emperors of Rome would give a gospel, a gospel, that is they would have a herald who would proclaim favorable news about the emperor. And the message that that herald would give was called a [SPEAKING GREEK], a gospel. So you just got to picture it's Rome, and out comes a herald in the midst of the streets. And he says, good news-- the emperor's wife has had a son. Or good news-- his heir has come of age. Or good news-- a new king has ascended to the throne. They were statements that were favorable about the emperor. They gave good news.

Our word gospel, our English word, derives from the old Anglo-Saxon word godspell. I don't know if you know that or not. Godspell is where we get the term gospel from in English. Godspell means good story. I like that. God's story is a good story.

Now, some of you, in hearing this, might think, yeah, I've heard gospel before and Jesus before. And why do I need to hear this good news? Well, if you're inclined to think that way, I'll answer that for you. It's because you don't really know the bad news yet. And when you hear the bad news, it makes the good news awesome. You'll love the good news.

And the book of Romans is filled with bad news and good news. It just leads. The lead headline story is good news. But the bad news is also announced like this-- for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. That's in Romans. And also, in Romans, Chapter 1-- for the wrath of God as revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness and ungodliness. And so the bad news is we're all guilty before God, and we're going to pay for it ourselves. Or else, or, if we don't want that option, option number two is somebody else will pay the price for us. That's the good news. The bad news is you pay for it yourself. The good news is you don't have to, because God-- good news-- God sent somebody to do that for you.

Well, for the next 32 weeks, we're going to be in the book of Romans. We're going to be in there a long time. The book of Romans is not just about good news and bad news. It has a single theme throughout it. I'm going to tell you in a minute. But the book of Romans is the Christian manifesto of freedom. The book tells about how God, through Jesus, sets people free from the slavery of sin and old behaviors and sets us free to become-- listen to this-- slaves of Christ. We have a new slavery that leads to freedom, a slavery of freedom.

You should know that the book of Romans transformed the lives of people like a Augustine, Martin Luther. It sparked the Protestant Reformation. John Wesley-- the book of Romans sparked the great Methodist revivals of the past through him. It influenced William Tyndale, John Bunyan. And the theme of this book-- if you're taking notes, write this down-- the theme of Romans is the righteousness of God. That's the theme of the whole book, the righteousness of God; or put another way, how to get right with God. Whether you're Jew, Gentile, religious, not religious, poor, rich, anything in between, it's how a human being can be made right with God in heaven.

There are four sections to the book of Romans. I'm only going to announce them. I'm not going to explain them today. I will through the series. There are four distinct sections of the book of Romans, and they're as follows. Number one, the wrath of God, that's one section; section number two, the grace of God; section number three, the plan of God; and section number four, the will of God-- all of that under the righteousness of God that is headlined by this gospel, this good news, this opening story, this lead news item-- gospel.

Let's begin reading in verse one of Chapter 1 and read some verses down, just to get a feel for the book. "Paul," verse 1, "a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God, which He promised before through His prophets in the holy scriptures. Concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David, according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, through Him, we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; to all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing, I make mention of you in my prayers, making requests, if by some means now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged with you by the mutual faith of both you and me.

Now, I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you, but I was hindered until now, that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among other Gentiles. I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek."

Now, I'm going to confine my thoughts to the first six or seven verses alone today, because verses 1 through 7 are a summary of the rest of the book. Paul sums in a few verses what he is going to unfold and explain for the next 16 chapters about the gospel. So I want to share with you four facts about the gospel-- its servant, its source, its subject, and its scope, those four things.

Let's begin at the beginning. Let's consider its servant. Notice how the letter starts. "Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God."

When we write letters today, we begin letters like-- Dear John, how have you been? I've been wondering about you. We say what we want to say, and then we end it, sincerely yours, Skip. Ancient letters reverse that. They put the guy who wrote the letter first and then, a few verses down, announce to who it is-- which I find very convenient. Because whenever I get a letter from somebody, if it's two or three pages, the first thing I do is go to the last page, find out who wrote the thing. And then I'll go back and read the letter.

So in antiquity, we have the person who wrote the letter first-- Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ. I think you'll agree that Paul was one of the most unique individuals ever in human history. And apart from Jesus Christ, he is the most significant person in all of the New Testament.

A few years back, a Jewish author named Michael Shapiro wrote a book called The Jewish 100. It's a biographical sketch of 100 of the most influential Jewish people of all history. And I thought you'd be interested to just hear the top tier. Number one in his book, the number one most influential Jewish person of all time in Michael Shapiro's book-- Moses. That makes sense. He's the law-giver. They're into the Torah, the law of Moses. That's their covenant.

Number two in his book-- Jesus Christ. Now, this is Shapiro's list, not God's. God would rank Jesus number one. But Shapiro ranks him number two because of the impact He's made on history; number three, Albert Einstein; number four, Sigmund Freud; number five, Abraham, the patriarch; and number six, Saul of Tarsus, or Paul the Apostle.

Who was he? Well, he was born of Jewish parents in a town called Tarsus of Cilicia, which, in modern terms, is southeast Turkey. When he was born, his parents gave him the Hebrew name Shaul, Shaul, one who hears-- probably named after the first king of Israel, also from the same tribe of Benjamin, Saul, King Saul, Israel's first King. But we know him by a different name. He decided to go by his Roman name Paulos. That's his Roman name, Paul.

The word Paul means little, short-- which begs the question, what did Paul the Apostle look like? Well, the answer is we really don't know. But we have one source alone. It may be true. It may not be true. It's an apocryphal source called the Acts of Paul. It's not a biblical book, but it is an ancient book. And it may be true. We don't know. But it describes Paul the Apostle as a man of little stature, so a short guy, like his name-- a man of little stature, thinned hair upon the head, crooked in his legs, with eyebrows joining. You never thought of Paul as a unibrow, did you?

[LAUGHTER]

With eyebrows joining and a nose somewhat hooked-- so you have to think sort of like Danny Devito, rather than whatever you had in your mind of this great apostle, not tall, dark, and handsome; short, squatty, unibrow. What we do know is Saul of Tarsus was a very religious man. He was a religious zealot, by his own admission, a Pharisee, who was educated by a very famous rabbi, who was also a very anti-Christian rabbi, by the name of Gamaliel.

The reason I say he's an anti-Christian rabbi is because some of his statements and prayers have survived from antiquity. And one of his most famous well-known prayer against the Christian heretics went like this. "Let there be no hope to them who apostatize from the true religion, and let these heretics, how many so ever they be, all perish in a moment." That's his prayer against Christians.

I think Saul of Tarsus took those words to heart, because Saul of Tarsus became the chief antagonist against the Christian church, right? He hunted them down. He arrested them. He beat them up. He may have even killed many of them. He certainly consented to the death of Stephen, the martyr.

But one day, on the road to Damascus, 160 miles north of Jerusalem, Jesus knocked him off his high horse, literally, so that he was on the ground. And his life changed from that moment on. So Saul-- Paul-- had to begin his testimony something like this-- you know, a funny thing happened to me on the way to Damascus.

The chief antagonist now becomes the chief protagonist, in his own words, a bondservant of Jesus Christ. It's a title of surrender. It's I'm his slave. And I think that is the title of every single Christian, or it should be.

What are you? I'm a servant of Christ. Because we call him Lord, right? Lordship implies servanthood. If there is a Lord, there is a servant. And Jesus even said to his disciples, why do you call me Lord, but you don't do what I say? So it's a title. It's a good title. It should describe every believer.

You may recall that when he was converted, Saul of Tarsus asked two questions. He's on the ground looking up at that bright light, and he had two questions. Number one, who are you, Lord. Right? Who am I talking to, Lord? Once he got that question answered-- because the answer back was, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting-- he asked a second question. We should all ask this question. What do You want me to do?

And when you ask that question, then you truly become a bondservant of Jesus Christ. What is it You want me to do? Paul then became a servant of Christ, a servant of the gospel. And now Paul, little Paul, little in his own eyes, in the eyes of God, there were big plans ahead.

Would you notice also, in verse one, that he says, "called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God." Stop right there. Saul called himself at one time a Pharisee. The word for Pharisee and the word for separated are the same word. In fact, the word Pharisee means a separated one. And Pharisees prided themselves in being separated from everyone and everything else.

They were so separated, that a strict Pharisee walking through the streets of Jerusalem would take his robes and tie them closely around his body, place them closely around his body, like this. Because he didn't want to even brush the hem of his robe against a Gentile, like you and me, lest he become defiled. No Gentile cooties are getting next to me. I don't want those cooties.

So he was separated from everyone and from everything, but now he says, I'm separated to the gospel of God. I want to ask you a question. What are you separated to? What are you separated to?

Did you know that you can have a saved soul, but a lost life? You can know Christ. You've been forgiven. Your sins are forgiven. You're going to heaven. But between Earth and heaven, you're not doing anything. You have a saved soul, but a lost life.

A lot of Christians state their testimony in a negative fashion. I don't do this, and I don't do that. I don't smoke. I don't chew. I don't go with girls that do.

[LAUGHTER]

Well, good. What do you do? What on the positive side of that equation are you doing? So you're to be separated from, but also separated to someone and something, sort of like a marriage. When a young couple comes to get married, they're making a statement of separation. I'm going to be separated from everybody else and separated just to you, honey, sweetheart, baby.

And so I begin by asking the young groom, and I say, I want you to repeat after me-- forsaking all others, live only unto you as long as I live. So I ask him, will you do that? And I want him to say, I will. And I ask him to say it loudly, not I will, but I will. That's a big statement. I'm going to forsake everyone else and live only to you.

Now, imagine that young couple, after saying their vows, going to their honeymoon destination. And the young groom says, sweetheart, I have a girlfriend in this city. If you don't mind, I'd like to just go have dinner with her or coffee with her. Do you mind? How do you think that honeymoon or relationship is going to go? Probably not very well, right? No, he needs to be separated from everyone else and separated only unto her. Here's Paul saying, I'm a servant, I'm an apostle, and I'm separated to the gospel of God. So he is its servant.

Second, notice its source. It is called, in verse one, the gospel of what? You can say it out loud, the gospel of what? God, God, the gospel has its source in God. Aren't you glad it isn't of human origin? It's God's gospel.

I had a radio interview this past week. And the person who interviewed me was talking about belief and belief systems. And I said, no one would make up the gospel story. And I said that, because we get accused, a lot of times, of, well, Christianity is just a bunch of-- the Bible is just a bunch of smart men who just made up a story. No smart group of men or women would ever make up a story that condemns the whole world forever except belief in one person. Nobody would do that.

That's not a man-made religion. No. A man-made religion would be something like, everybody's good. We're all doing the best we can. I'm OK. You're OK. We're all sincere. And no matter who you are or what you believe, you'll all go to heaven. That's human religion. Man-made religion is about what man can do for God. The gospel is about what God has already done for man. That is the gospel.

[APPLAUSE]

It's from God. The apostles did not invent it. They discovered it as it was revealed to them by the Lord Jesus. That's why Peter the apostle wrote these words. For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and the glory of Christ.

Look at verse two. He says it's the gospel of God in verse one. The thought continues-- "which," that is which gospel, "he promised before through His prophets in the holy scriptures." What's he talking about? The Old Testament, right? That's where the prophets were hanging out, in the Old Testament. "Through the prophets in the holy scriptures"-- why is this important?

The New Testament is not an addition. It's not like another religion that is completely apart from the Jewish people and the revelation of God to the Jews. Christians weren't a bunch of defectors from Judaism who followed some renegade leader named Jesus. No, it is part and parcel of the same revelation from the Old Testament into the new. This is why Jesus himself said, I did not come to destroy the law and the prophets. I did not come to destroy them, but to fulfill them.

So there is a continuity. That's why Peter, on the day of Pentecost, as this church was born, and all these people are coming to know Christ, and the Jewish leaders said, what is this? Peter's answer was, this is that which was spoken of by the prophet. And he quotes an Old Testament prophet to prove that what they predicted is coming true before your eyes.

And this is why Paul, in front of King Agrippa, said, King Agrippa, I'm not saying anything other than what Moses and the prophets have already said, that Christ would suffer and be buried and rise again. He's saying all of this is part of the same revelation that was predicted in the Old Testament. So this isn't good news that was just sprung on people. It was anticipated for centuries.

And the clearest prediction of that, the clearest prediction of the new covenant, comes in Jeremiah 31, when the prophet said, "thus says the Lord, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, not like the old covenant, under the law of Moses." So then the gospel, the good news, is part of a continuous progressive revelation that began back in Genesis, Chapter 3, verse 15-- we covered in Bloodline series; is woven through Genesis 22, Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah; is displayed at the Passover, with the blood and the lentils and doorposts; predicted by Isaiah, Chapter 53, Chapter 9, and Chapter 7; predicted by the Psalmist, Psalm 22; and, and, 300 other promises or predictions about Jesus, promises like where he'd be born, what he would be like, what he would go through, that he would die, how he would die, that he would be buried and raised again-- 300 of them.

Biblical prophecy, these promises that Paul is writing about, is in a class all of its own. It's not like your weatherman saying, Thursday is going to be sunny, with a possible chance of rain. That's a good guess based on mapping and radar. Biblical prophecy, however, is so detailed, it has multiple contingencies and a multitude of features that no one could know, no one could control. And when they come to pass, they give proof. They give evidence that the authorship of scripture is divine, not human.

Think of it. It's impossible to humanly arrange what tribe of Israel you're going to be born into. If that is predicted, you can't control that. It's impossible to arrange who your mom's going to be. It's impossible to arrange what town you're going to be born in, and so forth. One scholar said, in 100 billion years, there's no chance that the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled could have been fulfilled without God.

Now, in hearing that-- now, listen to this. You know it, but it's going to make more sense now. After the resurrection, Jesus said to his two disciples who were forlorn, he said, oh, foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Ought not the Christ to have suffered and entered into His glory? And then Luke adds these words, in Luke 24-- and beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded to them in the scriptures all the things concerning Himself. Its source is God. Its servant is Paul. Its source is God, promised through the scriptures.

What is the subject of the gospel? What is it concerning? What is it really all about? Verse 3-- "Concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, Who was born of the seed of David, according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." Hey, all those promises in the Old Testament, all those predictions that were made, 300, 330 of them, they all point to one person, Christ. He is the main subject of the Old and New Testament.

Yeah, I know there are other themes. There are other topics, subtopics, subjects. You might have one author talking about Israel's wandering through the wilderness or another one talking about captivity or post-captivity or one king doing this and another king being deposed. There is a number of sub-themes, but the grand theme, the big theme, the central theme, the overarching theme, is Jesus Christ. That's why Jesus said to the Jews, if you would have believed Moses, you'd believe me, for Moses wrote about me. Lo, I come in the volume of the book. It is written of Me.

So let me give to you your Bible in a nutshell form. Here it is. The Old Testament is the anticipation of Jesus Christ. The gospels are the presentation of Jesus Christ; the book of Acts, the continuation of the work of Jesus Christ; the epistles, the explanation and clarification of Jesus Christ; and the Book of Revelation, the consummation by Jesus Christ. That is your Bible in a nutshell.

Anticipated by the Old Testament prophets-- some of you might be saying or thinking, well, how could that be? How could they have anticipated Him? Are you telling me that, when they wrote their prophecies, they knew who they were writing about? Not at all. That's the beauty of it. This is the beauty of it. They were clueless. They had no idea.

Peter makes this point. First Peter, Chapter 1, verse 10-- "The prophets prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you, even though they had many questions as to what it all could mean. They wondered what the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when He told them in advance about Christ's suffering and His great glory afterward. They wondered when and to whom all of this would happen.

Let me illustrate it. The Old Testament prophets were like archers, dudes with bows and arrows. So they shot their arrows of truth into the air, and they had no idea where those arrows were going to land. So Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Hosea, Zechariah, all pulled back on their prophetic bow strings and launched those predictions. And they went into the air, over the horizon. But all 330 of them, written over 1,600 years, all happened to come true in one single individual. And that is Christ.

So then, let me give you the Bible in an even smaller nutshell. Here is the irreducible minimum. If people ask you, so what's the Bible all about? Here's what you can tell them. Bible is about one person and two events, one person, two events-- one person, Jesus Christ; two events. Number one is first coming to deal with sin-- a lot of predictions made about that. And then second event, His second coming, to rule and reign with those who have been cleansed from sin. That's the Bible-- one person, two events; Jesus Christ, first coming and second coming.

Notice what Paul refers to Christ as. "Concerning Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David, according to the flesh, declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." in other words, Paul is referring to the dual nature of Jesus-- fully man, seed of David; fully God, Son of God. As the seed of David, fully human, he could fulfill all those predictions of who this leader, deliverer, would be. And as the Son of God, He was fully God, conceived in a virgin womb, by the Holy Spirit, sharing the same nature as God the Father.

By the way, the term Son of God is a term of deity. That's why the Jews said, what other proof do we need? He said he's the Son of God. That's blasphemy. Let's kill him. He was claiming to be God in human flesh.

All of that to say this-- that means the good news is not about a good man. The good news is about the God man. That's who Jesus was, not a good man. "He was a good man. He was a good teacher." No, He was the God man-- different level.

Being man, he had the ability to substitute for mankind on the cross. Being God, he had the capacity to save all of mankind, because of that substitute on the cross. No wonder, when Encyclopedia Britannica wanted to post its article on Jesus Christ, they used 20,000 words to do it, 20,000 words in Encyclopedia Britannica on the life, ministry, and impact of Jesus Christ. That's more than they used in their article on Aristotle, Alexander the Great, Buddha, Caesar, Cicero, Confucius, and Mohammed put together; the Bible, too, its servant, its source, its subject, Jesus Christ.

Now let's take the last one as we close. What is the scope of the gospel? Verse 5-- "Through Him, we have received grace"-- that means we don't deserve it; it's unmerited favor-- "and apostleship"-- that means we're all set out, we all have a mission-- "for obedience to the faith among all nations." Mark that. Noted that. "Among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ. To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints, grace to you, and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

Here's the deal. This good news isn't just local news. It's breaking news. It's worldwide news. It's for all people. So what Paul is saying, if I can sum him up in these verses, is God sent us to tell everyone everywhere about this awesome news. It's not limited to one race, in one place, at one time, but it's for all people in every place, for all time. Its scope is universal.

Romans 3:29, which we'll get to, Paul asks, "Is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also of the Gentiles?" Rhetorical question-- answer is yes, He is. Why is this important? Well, there's a false assumption out there. I've heard it put to me this way, especially when we send out missionaries to different parts of the world. Why are you doing that? An unbeliever would say, why are you sending missionaries? You have no right to impose your Western culture, a Western religion, on other cultures who think differently.

And anytime somebody says, it's a Western religion, I feel like saying, I think you need another geography course in school. Last time I checked, it originated in the Middle East town of Jerusalem. That makes us about as far away from its origin as you can get. It is not a Western religion anymore than it's a Middle Eastern religion exclusively. Jesus said to his disciples, go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. And Acts, Chapter 1, beginning in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth.

Remember that angel, the Christmas angel, on Bethlehem, who made the announcement, who said, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be to a few people, of you people, you little shepherds here in Bethlehem? It's just for you guys here in this little part of the world. Now, you know what it says-- good tidings of great joy, which will be to all people, for there is born to you this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. It's for all people.

For God so loved the world, not for God so loved Western culture. He loved the world. It's a message for the world. If you have a disease. like lung disease or heart disease, there's medicine for that. It's important, it's true, that if you have heart disease, the same medicine will work for you whether you live in America or you live in Argentina. It's not like, well, that medicine won't work here. That's a Western medicine. It will work. It's called science. It is a universal cure. If somebody has the same disease in different parts of the world, it works.

Same with the gospel, the cure for sin is universally the same. And that is the blood of Jesus Christ. The world has many religions, but only one gospel. And it's God's gospel.

[APPLAUSE]

So not this, but this is God's newspaper. And in God's newspaper, he's got good news. It's good news for a couple of different reasons. It tells you, number one, God is there and knowable. And it tells you, number two, that you can know Him through the saving work of His unique Son, who was fully human. And He felt all of that pain on the cross, and also fully God, so He can save you.

Here's my question. Has the gospel come to you like that? Has the gospel come to you like that? What I mean by that is can you honestly say, at this moment, that this is the best news you've ever heard? Because I don't see a lot of Christians act like that. Their team won-- that's the best news I've heard. Their candidate won-- it's the best news I've heard. Yeah, just wait a few years.

Is the gospel the best news you've ever heard? Because if not, it could be that you are simply making a profession of faith, but there's no possession of faith in Christ. You're not really born again. It's a religious thing. It's a weekend thing. It's a cultural thing. But it's not a personal thing. The gospel is highly personal.

Father, as we close this service, as we close this opening salvo on the book of Romans, this great magna carta, magnum opus, of the apostle Paul, we understand it's not the apostle Paul. It's the gospel of God. It's the good news that He promised for generations, for centuries, anticipated by You for the right time, when You would send Your son, that whoever would believe in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life-- such grand news, that life doesn't have to be the same. It can be different. We can be changed men and women.

You keep your head bowed for a moment. Keep your eyes closed for just a moment. And you think about that last question. Can you honestly say, at this moment, the gospel is the best news you've ever heard? If it isn't, maybe a change needs to happen. Maybe you're hearing it, and you're going, man, that does sound like good news, if it were only true. Because Skip, I've experienced so many things so far. I've done different experiences in life, and I've had many relationships in life. And I've made money here, and I've tried this as a career. But I'm not satisfied deep inside. And you've wondering, is there something more to life than what I've already experienced?

Why don't you come to Jesus? Why don't you become a servant of Christ? Invite him to be your Savior and your Lord, and see how radically he'll change you and put peace in your heart, and fill you with hope, and give you direction and change each morning, when you wake up, from what it used to be. If you want that, that's good news for you personally. If you want that, with your head bowed and your eyes closed-- I'm going to keep my eyes open-- but I want you to raise your hand in the air if you want that life change, if you're ready to accept Christ.

Keep that hand up just for a moment, in the front row, thank you, and right there to my left, in the middle. Anyone else? Raise that hand up, if you don't mind, so I can acknowledge you. Anybody else? Just raise it up. You're just saying, today's the day. I'm going to surrender my life to Christ. Whether you're in the balcony, raise that hand up, or in the family room. God bless you and you, over to my left, in the family room, with three of you, a few of you. Anybody else here, just raise it up high, so I can spot you. Thank you. God bless you, sir; in the back.

Father, for these all around you, you know them intimately. You love them deeply. Behind that hand is a heart, a personal life, a story, several of them, anticipations, failures, hopes, broken dreams, fulfilled dreams, each uniquely made in your image. Thank you for each one. I pray you would do a transforming work in the life, the present and the future, of each person. Let them know their past will be gone as they give their life to Christ. Fill them with hope. Settle them, Lord, with purpose. In Jesus' name, amen.

Would you all stand, please, to your feet. We're going to sing a final song, and I'm going to ask those of you who raised your hand, whether you're in the family room or in the auditorium-- you're up front, so you can just come a few steps. But just come right up here to the front, where I'm going to lead you in a prayer, in just a moment, to receive Christ. This is the day. We're going to encourage you as you come. You're going to hear our applause, and we want to celebrate with you.

But we want you to make it public, because Jesus, when he called people, called them publicly. And I think it'll just settle something in your heart if you make a public decision to follow Christ. If you're in the family room, and you raised your hand, you come right through that door. Come right up here. If you're on the outside, a pastor will bring you in. If you're in the back or in the middle of a row, we'll make way. But you come right now and stand right up in the front. It'll take just a moment.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

(SINGING) Come unto the breakthrough, oh, where every fear is shattered by the one truth, because You are near. Come unto the breakthrough.

Come on. So good.

(SINGING) good, so our love come unto the breakthrough.

God has way better news for you than right here, way better news for you. God's so awesome. Hi, guys.

(SINGING) Come unto the breakthrough. Oh, just one touch is strong enough to make you, so I run, come unto the breakthrough.

I love this song. You want a breakthrough in your life? You want to break through all the pain, all the misery, all the past, be forgiven, get a reset, a new start? Come on up. Welcome. God bless you.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

(SINGING) To the breakthrough. Oh, just one touch is strong enough to break through. So I'll run, come running to the breakthrough.

All right, those of you who have come forward, I'm so glad you did this, and I'm glad to see you here. And I believe that things are going to be different after today. I think you're going to leave here and wake up tomorrow completely thinking differently and feeling differently. And your life's going to be different. But I'm going to lead you in a prayer. I'm going to ask you to say these words after me, out loud. It's not some kind of formula or incantation. It's simply praying to God and saying, take over from now on.

OK, let's pray together. Say, Lord, I give you my life.

Lord, I give you my life.

I know that I'm a sinner.

I know that I'm a sinner.

Please forgive me. Please forgive me.

I believe in Jesus.

I believe in Jesus.

That he came and died.

That he came and died.

That he shed his blood for me.

He shed his blood for me.

That he rose again from the grave.

He rose again from the grave.

And that he's here right now.

He's here right now.

I turn from my past. I turn from my past.

I turn to Jesus as my Savior.

I turn to Jesus as my savior.

Help me to follow him as my Lord.

Help me to follow him as my Lord.

I ask it in Jesus' name.

I ask it in Jesus' name

Amen.

Amen.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

We hope you enjoyed this message from Skip Heitzig of Calvary Church. How will you put the truths that you learned into action in your life? Let us know. Email us at mystory@calvarynm.church. And just a reminder, you can support this ministry with a financial gift at calvarynm.church/give. Thank you for joining us for this teaching from Calvary Church.

[HEART BEATING]

Additional Messages in this Series

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5/19/2019
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Unashamed!
Romans 1:16-17
Skip Heitzig
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Message Summary
Standing up for and speaking out about our faith in Jesus Christ can sometimes feel awkward and intimidating. Often our message is not received with glad faces or with open arms by the people we work with and live next to. As Paul was planning to visit Rome, he expressed eagerness rather than hesitation to herald this message. Why was that? The apostle gives us five reasons for his readiness and enthusiasm.
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5/26/2019
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Is God Mad?
Romans 1:18-32
Skip Heitzig
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Message Summary
The Wrath of God Is Revealed God is full of love, right? Right! That’s the good news. And Paul gets back to that theme and develops it fully in the chapters ahead. But first, there’s some bad news. Like a powerful prosecuting attorney, Paul made the case as to why we need the good news of Christ. God’s grace is necessary because of our guilt. In this section, we learn about the wrath of God—an attribute that many people can’t wrap their heads (and hearts) around.
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7/7/2019
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Four Mistakes Religious People Make
Romans 2:1-11
Skip Heitzig
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Jesus was not a religious leader. He was a righteous leader. And He was often confronting the religious leaders of His day. Likewise Paul found many enemies among the religious elite of his day, among both Jews and Gentiles. After announcing his theme of good news in Jesus, Paul promptly plunged into the bad news of God’s wrath—a subject that religious people sometimes love (but for all the wrong reasons). Paul tells us some of their most common mistakes.
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7/14/2019
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Hypocrisy Gets an Audit
Romans 2:17-29
Skip Heitzig
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All businesses, corporations, and individuals have blind spots. Auditors can help by giving a clear and unbiased reading of practices and procedures, and then give appropriate recommendations for change. Here, Paul played the role of auditing the hypocrite—the one who has spiritual style but no substance. Let’s consider the assets, the deficits, and the net appraisal of the one who wears a spiritual disguise.
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7/28/2019
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The Advantage of Having the Bible
Romans 3:1-8
Skip Heitzig
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Those who have been raised in a home with spiritual foundations and the teaching of Scripture have an edge over those who were never exposed to such benefits. The advantage of having access to the Bible is enormous, but it is not a fail-safe. Paul addressed the Jews who were caretakers of God’s own words, and much can be applied to anyone who has the advantage of revealed truth but fails to take it to heart.
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8/4/2019
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How Prisoners Go Free
Romans 3:9-26
Skip Heitzig
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Freedom is a huge word for the Christian believer. Picture yourself nervously standing in a courtroom before a judge who has just read the pile of evidence against you. Just before the gavel strikes the bench proclaiming your guilt, a piece of evidence strikes his gaze and he unexpectedly announces your innocence. You can now go free! Here Paul explains how any person anywhere can find hope and freedom because of the gospel.
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8/11/2019
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Old Age; Young Faith
Romans 4
Skip Heitzig
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Our skin may wrinkle but our faith never has to. Abraham’s faith was vibrant and youthful even when he was nearing one hundred years of age. As Paul points to the patriarch Abraham as an example for justification by faith, we can learn what it means to believe God through all the ages of life. How vibrant is your Christian faith? Have you let cynicism and doubt choke out your confidence in God?
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8/18/2019
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Our Benefits Package
Romans 5:1-5
Skip Heitzig
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Why is being a Christian so great? Every unbeliever you meet is asking that question as they observe your life. What are the benefits of living with a committed faith in Jesus? After explaining what it means to be right with God by believing in Christ, and after illustrating that principle with Abraham, Paul gives a short list of some of the benefits of a saved life.
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8/25/2019
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Unrivaled Love
Romans 5:6-11
Skip Heitzig
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Modern wisdom continually tells us, “Love is a verb,” rather than a sentimental feeling. Love is a commitment that involves action. For the first time in the letter to the Romans, Paul introduced the word love and a very singular kind of love—God’s love for us. Wanting to show how secure we are in this salvation, he described the greatest demonstration of love—its proof, its provision, and its product.
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9/1/2019
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A One-Man Show
Romans 5:12-21
Skip Heitzig
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Just one person can do a lot of damage, and conversely just one person can do a lot of good. Paul here showed the effect that Adam brought on by his rebellion and the effect that Jesus bought with His blood on the cross. One caused death. One conveys life. One brought guilt. One bought the gift of grace. The big question is, have you received the gift?
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9/8/2019
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Don’t Look Back
Romans 6:1-7
Nate Heitzig
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Returning to a life of sin after becoming a Christian is like winning the lottery but choosing to continue to live in poverty. Pastor Nate Heitzig poses this question: Can one be a Christian and continually pursue a sinful lifestyle? In examining Romans 6:1-7, we find the biblical answer: No. Because of what God has done for the Christian, the Christian's rightful response to God should be to pursue a transformed lifestyle.
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9/15/2019
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Winning the War with Sin
Romans 6:11-14
Skip Heitzig
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There is not a person I know who doesn’t struggle with sin. Evil thoughts, bad habits, immoral impulses, and recurring temptations all rear their ugly heads, leaving us exhausted and disappointed in ourselves and wondering if any deliverance is possible. This struggle is real. The war can be fierce. How can we believers (who still have our old natures) win in these battles? Consider this four-step strategy.
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9/22/2019
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The Struggle Is Real
Romans 7:14-25
Nate Heitzig
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Christians can struggle with consistency. Like everyone, we sin and fall short in many areas. It's easy to get discouraged and think to ourselves, "I'm weak," or "I must not be called to the Christian life." The struggle with sin is real for every Christian. In this message, Pastor Nate Heitzig examines the believer's situation and struggle with carnality as well as the solution for victory.
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9/29/2019
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Safe and Secure
Romans 8:1-11
Skip Heitzig
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As the old saying goes, “It’s always darkest before the dawn.” That’s certainly true of Paul’s authorship of this book. He closes chapter 7 on a low note, only to crescendo to a swelling high point in chapter 8. “Don’t despair! You’re in secure hands and you’re safe,” Paul tells us. He reminds us of four facts that should settle every heart.
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10/6/2019
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The New You
Romans 8:12-18
Skip Heitzig
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Most people love new stuff: a new car, a new set of clothes, a new puppy, a new haircut, a new adventure. But the best new thing you could have is a new you! Being a Christian isn’t a temporary reformation but a total transformation. When the Holy Spirit gets hold of a person’s life, He begins the process of a total makeover—changing you from the inside out. As a Christian believer these are among the changes you can expect to see.
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10/13/2019
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The Steady Hand of a Caring God
Romans 8:28-30
Skip Heitzig
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The world to many people seems to be a random place where anything can happen. But a believer can (and should) step firmly onto the soil of life. Why? Not just because God exists, but also because God cares! There is not a single atom nor molecule out of place in God’s universe; His hands and heart are steadily controlling your every breath. Let’s examine some of the richest truths about the quality of care from a loving God.
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10/20/2019
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A Midterm Exam: Five Questions to Test Your Understanding
Romans 8:31-34
Skip Heitzig
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In the middle of any given course or semester, a test consisting of questions is given. This does two things: it measures the student’s grasp of the course materials, and it helps identify any areas that need work. Right in the middle of his sixteen-chapter book, Paul gives his readers a series of questions to jog our spiritual memory and face some wonderful realities about the love of God. Let’s consider five questions in these verses.
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10/27/2019
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For the Love of God
Romans 8:35-39
Skip Heitzig
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Can anyone really comprehend unconditional love? Perhaps the love that parents have for their children is the closest to unconditional love from a human point of view. But life’s circumstances certainly can challenge the idea that God loves us unconditionally. We’ve all heard about God’s love, we’ve sung about it, and we’ve affirmed it with our “Amens!” But as Paul closes out this section of Romans, he moves us into a fixed and secure confession that no matter what life can throw at us, we need never doubt God’s love for us.
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11/10/2019
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God, the Jew, and You
Romans 9:1-26
Skip Heitzig
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We now come to the third major section of Paul’s letter to the Romans that reveals God’s plan for Jew and Gentile. The early church in Jerusalem was entirely Jewish, but by this point, in most other parts of the world, it had become predominantly non-Jewish. But if God made so many promises to the Jewish nation, does that mean those promises are all now annulled? How does Israel’s rejection of Jesus as Messiah fit into God’s sovereign strategy, and where do we fit in?
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11/17/2019
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Salvation: Reverse Engineered
Romans 10:1, 14-17
Skip Heitzig
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Right in the middle of Paul’s great trilogy about Israel (Romans 9, 10, and 11), he gave an expanded view of how salvation operates. These are the seven components that make up the journey for anyone (Jew or Gentile) who comes to know Christ. Evangelism always begins with God’s sovereign election, but it also involves human cooperation. It takes both someone who will transmit the gospel and someone who will receive it.
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11/24/2019
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God’s Plan for Israel—and the World
Romans 11:25-27
Skip Heitzig
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Can God be trusted? More to the point, can God’s promises be trusted? If He promised to the Jews a kingdom, won’t their rejection of Christ cancel out His promises to them? Wouldn’t that mean that God is finished with Israel as a nation? Does their blindness forfeit God’s blessing? Today we’ll get the big-picture view of Israel, the church, and the kingdom age, and I think you will have a few loose ends tied up about God’s future plan for the world.
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12/8/2019
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Now It’s Your Turn
Romans 12:1-2
Skip Heitzig
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The blessings of God and the work of Christ have been flowing like a dynamic stream for eleven chapters so far. He saves, He justifies, He promises, He gives peace, He works everything together for good in our lives, and He plans an epic eternity for us. So how should we respond to all of this? What is our part? That’s what the next five chapters of Romans are all about. The thrust of this next section is: Based on all that God has done for you, now it’s your turn!
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12/15/2019
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Made for Purpose
Romans 12:3-8
Nate Heitzig
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The beauty of God's creation is evident all around us, yet nature is not God's greatest work; mankind is God's greatest masterpiece. It's estimated that to write down one person's DNA blueprint would require 200,000 pages. And God knows every sentence on every page. For the Christian, there's a custom design—a purpose in life to partner with God through gifts from the Holy Spirit. Pastor Nate Heitzig explains how believers can find their purpose in Christ in this message from Romans 12:3-8.
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12/22/2019
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Exercise for Your Soul
Romans 12:6-8
Nate Heitzig
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Americans seem obsessed with fitness and exercise, yet the U.S. is one of the most obese nations in the world. It’s similar in the body of Christ—many Christians are idle, preferring to sit around rather than exercise our spiritual gifts. The key to both spiritual and physical health is balancing exercise and rest. In this teaching, Pastor Nate Heitzig discusses why God gives certain gifts to each member of the body of Christ as well as how those gifts are given so that the entire body might grow and be strong.
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1/5/2020
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Love Is a Verb
Romans 12:9-21
Skip Heitzig
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Perhaps the most overused (but under-practiced) word in human language is the word love. We use the word for everything that includes a mild liking of a meal to having intense affection for another human. Paul is far more practical, knowing that love will show itself in the form of action. Love is a verb. He shows us how the hallmark virtue of Christianity, love, is shown among other believers and in the world, even when they hate us.
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1/12/2020
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The Christian and Government
Romans 13:1-7
Skip Heitzig
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There has always existed a tension between God’s people and human government, especially when we are not in favor of those who are in power. We may find it hard to “render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s” (Matthew 22:21) while being faithful to God. The Christians in Rome were no different when Paul wrote this letter. Let’s consider five principles that form a practical theology for Christian believers in relationship to secular human government.
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1/26/2020
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Wake Up Call
Romans 13:11-14
Nate Heitzig
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We are a fallen people living in a fallen world. Romans 3:10 says "none is righteous." There is evidence all around us that Jesus is setting the scene for His return, and Romans 13 is Paul’s call for the church to prepare for that event. Jesus Himself told us to "occupy till [He] comes" (Luke 19:13, KJV). In this message, Pastor Nate Heitzig explores the apostle's wake-up call to believers and helps us understand how we can effectively occupy until Jesus returns.
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2/2/2020
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Acceptance, Judgment, and the Essential Point of Nonessential Points
Romans 14:1-6
Nate Heitzig
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Today it seems that the church has become known for being judgmental and critical, not just toward unbelievers but even among fellow Christians. That's why we must focus on our commonality in Christ alone. In Romans 14, Paul addressed two groups of Christians—Gentile believers and legalistic Jews—who were causing division and friction among the early church. In this teaching, Nate Heitzig shares how to navigate the nonessential points of our faith while embracing unity in the essentials.
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2/16/2020
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The Cure for "I" Disease
Romans 15:1-6
Skip Heitzig
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Selfishness is part of our basic human nature. It is the default position for every human being. Left unchecked, everybody would focus on himself and live only to please himself. But redemption brings with it a different lifestyle—one that is focused on others, patient with faults, and motivated by a sense of unity in the church. Let’s consider a fourfold strategy to counteract selfishness and promote harmonious living.
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3/15/2020
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How to Treat Your Family
Romans 16:1-24
Skip Heitzig
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I am so honored and thankful to be part of this spiritual family. You are one of God’s greatest gifts in my life! In this last chapter of Romans, Paul’s tone and subject matter is familial—he approaches them not as Paul the theologian, but Paul their brother in Christ. It’s unfortunate that many believers don’t pay much attention to chapter 16 because in it we get a great example of how to treat our own spiritual family.
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There are 30 additional messages in this series.
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