Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Nov 29th It is Written – And Again

Today’s Passages – Romans 14 – 16 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – Psalms 141 – 145; Proverbs 29)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Deuteronomy 32:4

Read the “1129 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read previous posts from this passage – “Responsibility“, “Giving Back“, and “Just One More Thing“

“Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people. And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” (Romans 15:7-13)

Notice in v. 9 (above) the phrase: “it is written”. Then notice the phrase “and again” used three times. Paul quoted from several Old Testament passages here to support what he was trying to teach to the believers at Rome.

Let’s look first at the context:

In Romans 15:7 – 13 Paul is admonishing the Jewish and Gentile believers to get along with each other. The Christian Jews had a tendency to look down their noses at the Gentile believers. They also held onto many of their Old Testament traditions, which they were entitled to do under grace. However, the Gentiles were not as concerned about these things and did not do them. The cultural differences of these two groups could sometimes cause friction within their churches. In chapter 14 and in the beginning verses of 15, Paul is challenging the saints to acknowledge that there may be different convictions and preferences observed by different believers. The believer with the stronger conviction, or perhaps a different preference, should not stand in judgment of the believer who did not share his conviction or preference. Between the Jewish believers and the Gentile saints, there were probably many such differences. Paul admonishes both groups in vs. 5 and 6 to get along. Why?  Because God had received them both.

In vs. 9 – 12, Paul reminds them of the mercy that God said He would show to the Gentiles by using four (actually five) passages from the Old Testament as supporting texts. Here are the supporting Old Testament passages:

Romans 15:9 was supported with these two Old Testament verses:

“Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people:…” (Deuteronomy 32:43a)

Verse 11:

“O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.” (Psalms 117:1)

Verse 12:

“And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.” (Isaiah 11:10)

I was challenged by that fact that Paul used so many Scriptures to support his argument. Paul was obviously well versed in the Old Testament, and used it to back up his teaching, especially to the Jews. Many Christians today, and even preachers are weak in their knowledge of the Bible, and even those who may know the Bible, fail to use it enough to support their messages. The Bible should be the main source in our preaching and teaching because it is the only source of Truth. Our messages, whether formal sermons to our churches or merely informal instructions to our family and friends, need to be based upon and supported by the Bible. People need to know that our instructions to them are from God via His Word, not just some philosophy rooted in man’s opinion.

Nov 27th “Whosoever” Meaneth Me and “Preacher” Meaneth Me, Too

Today’s Passages – Romans 8 – 10 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – Psalms 131 – 135; Proverbs 27)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – 1 John 3:1

Read the “1127 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read a previous post from this passage – “Paul’s Motivation“

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:13-14)

I love that hymn that we sing that is based upon Romans 10:13, “Whosoever Meaneth Me”:

I am happy today, and the sun shines bright,
The clouds have been rolled away;
For the Savior said, whosoever will
May come with Him to stay (to stay).

“Whosoever” surely meaneth me,
Surely meaneth me, O surely meaneth me;
“Whosoever” surely meaneth me,
“Whosoever” meaneth me.

All my hopes have been raised, O His Name be praised,
His glory has filled my soul;
I’ve been lifted up, and from sin set free,
His blood has made me whole (me whole).

Refrain

O what wonderful love, O what grace divine,
That Jesus should die for me;
I was lost in sin, for the world I pined,
But now I am set free (set free).

The song really says it all. What a wonderful truth it is to know that God loves people and freely offers salvation to “whosoever” comes to Him in faith. The “whosoever” in Romans 10:13 meant me also back in December of 1989 when the gospel of Christ was preached to me via Christian radio, and after listening for several weeks, I realized that I was a lost sinner headed for a Devil’s Hell. But, Praise God, I heard the sweet voice of the Saviour as He invited me to receive the free gift of eternal life, which he paid for through His shed blood on the Cross of Calvary. And this “whosoever” was gloriously saved. To God be the glory.

Notice the last part of the next verse: “and how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14c) In order for people to believe the gospel, they have to hear the gospel, and in order for the gospel to be heard, the gospel must be preached. We who are saved have the responsibility and wonderful privilege of sharing the gospel with the people of this world whom God loves and is willing to save. There are a lot of other “whosoevers” out there that need salvation. Let’s do our part by telling them about the Saviour.

Note – the picture above was taken of Pastor Bob Gray II of Longview, Texas as he was out preaching the gospel in his community.

Nov 26th Imputed Righteousness

Today’s Passages – Romans 4 – 6; (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read –Psalms 126 – 130; Proverbs 26)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 47:1

Read the “1126 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. ” – (Romans 4:7-8)

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” – (Isaiah 53:6)

“And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.” – (James 2:23)

“To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.” – (2 Corinthians 5:19)

In our passage today, and in three of the verses above, you will notice the word “impute”. This word is not used today as commonly as it once was, but it precisely describes a wonderful truth about our relationship with God. The word “impute” means to record, or rekon to ones account. It is a word used more frequently in the financial world. For example if I make a payment to one of my crediters, that amount is imputed on the record. In other word, the record would show that a payment has been made.

As far as our relationship with God is concerned, the word “impute” means that Christ’s payment of blood on the Cross of Calvary was recorded on my account of sin. He did not pay for his own sin, because He knew no sin, but His payment was for me and you, if you are saved. The Lord’s atonement was put on my record. It gets even better. Not only did the Lord’s payment take care of all of my past sins, it also is sufficient to cover any future transgressions. The Lord “will not impute sin” to those that are saved.

This does not give us a liscense to sin, however:

“What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” – (Romans 6:15-18)

We should try our best to not yield to the sin that is in our human nature (“our members”), but, praise be to God, when we do fail there is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel’s veins that completely atones for our sins from the past, as well as our sins in the present and the future.

Nov 25th God Has Not Changed His Mind About Sin

Today’s Passages – Romans 1 – 3 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read –Psalms 120 – 125; Proverbs 25)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – 1 Timothy 1:17

Read the “1125 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: … For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;” (Romans 1:24, 26-28)

The Apostle Paul wrote the Epistle to the Romans from the vantage point of the City of Corinth near the conclusion of his third missionary journey. The city of Corinth was a very immoral place whose practices had crept into the church. There is even a report of an incestuous relationship between a man and his step-mother. Paul explains in the first chapter of Romans, from verses 18 – 32, the depravity of mankind, which he was seeing on a daily basis as he travelled through Corinth and the rest of the Roman Empire. Sin was everywhere, and it was not only accepted, it was even condoned by the mainstream of the citizens.

Today it has become much the same way in America. Sin seems to find no boundaries, and our society is steeped in its wickedness; and there are few who are voicing an opinion of opposition. In the verses listed above, we see that man’s rebellion against God eventually leads to unrestrained lusts, which will manifest themselves into many forms of sexual immorality including fornication, adultery, and homosexuality. In America today homosexuality is being forced down the throats of the people. The schools are spending millions of dollars convincing our children that the old fashioned concept of monogamous, heterosexual marriages are just not in step with today’s enlightened culture. The government is creating volumes of legislation designed to silence anybody who speaks against the madness that is consuming our country from the inside out.

Homosexuality is still sin. God called it an abomination in the Old Testament, and even destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of it. And though homosexuality was not specifically mentioned, I am sure that it was part of the “wickedness” that grieved God in Genesis 6 causing him to destroy the entire earth with a flood. Here in Romans 1, God reaffirms His disdain for sexual impurity, and though He loves people, all people, all sinners, including those who are guilty of homosexuality, He still hates the sin.

I do not think, however, that Christians should elevate one particular sin over another. It would be wrong for us to emphasize the wickedness of homosexuality and minimize other sins, which are just as sinful in the sight of God. Remember, God also said that “divers weights are an abomination unto the Lord, and a false balance is not good” (Proverbs 20:23), referring to cheating people in business transactions. It is all sin, and it is all displeasing to the Lord. But we must not call homosexuality or any other sin anything but what God calls it. The present culture will call you a racist or a homophobe if you do not go along with its pro-homosexual agenda. As Christians, however, we need to be far more concerned about God’s opinion than we are about what the world thinks is right. “We ought to obey God rather than men.”

In these last days, I can only imagine that man will continue to get further and further away from the will of God, but Christians must stand firm. Don’t be duped by this sinful generation into thinking that there is nothing wrong with homosexuality. It is sin. Don’t stop loving all people, including homosexuals. Don’t stop trying to share the message of forgiveness that is available to all of us sinners through the shed blood of Jesus on the Cross of Calvary. But don’t capitulate to this world either by calling homosexuality anything other than what it is – sin. We are all guilty of sin, but let’s not be guilty of disagreeing with God about what sin is.