Bible Teaching on Romans 6

Yesterday I taught a group of approximately 15 men for ~45 minutes over lunch at Mimi’s Café in Chandler, Arizona on the subject of Romans chapter 6. The session went very well and we had some great discussion over the 4 embedded questions in the teaching! Below is the content of what I taught (note – starting with end of Romans 5, since the first verses of Romans 6 seem to be referring back to Romans 5):

Romans 5:20-21

20 The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:1-23

1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin.

8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! 16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. 22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  NASB

Here is where we’re at in the context of Romans:

Chapter 6 is transitioning from the topic of Justification (3:21-5:21) to Sanctification.

Verses 1-2

1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?

Paul starts by referring back to chapter 5:15-21 and anticipates the objection of his audience by asking a rhetorical question in v1-2:  “Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?”  He quickly dispatches that idea, using the phrase “May it never be”:

“May it never be” (me ginomai) is the strongest Greek idiom to indicate repudiation and outraged indignation. It is translated in the KJV as “God forbid” but the Greek does not contain “God”. This expression usually carried the connotation of impossibility.  Paul uses this phrase frequently in Romans to denote an instant, even horrified rejection of a conception. (Other uses in Romans 3:4, 6, 31; 6:15; 7:7, 13; 9:14; 11:1, 11).

He goes on to explain (by way of another rhetorical question) that it is a contradiction to claim to be dead to sin and yet to continue living in it. 

Some professing Christians think that once a person is saved, they can go on living in sin, a belief best known as antinomianism. The origin of the word ‘Antinomian’ (or anti-Law) goes back to the Reformation itself. In fact, it was Martin Luther who coined the word, in a book published in 1539 titled “Against the Antinomians”. In this work, Luther smashed together two Greek words to create a new derogatory nickname: ἀντί (anti ‘against’) + νόμος (nomos ‘the Law’).

1 John 1:6 – If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth

1 John 3:9 – No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

Q: What does it mean to practice sin as stated in 1 John 3:9?

However, it is foolish to believe that the Christian can be completely free of sin in this life.  The Apostle John states as much in his 1^st epistle:

1 John 1 – 8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

It is important to remember that Christians are saved from:

1. The penalty of sin (justification – at a point in time, when we trust in Christ)
2. The power of sin (sanctification – over time as we’re conformed to the image of Christ)
3. The presence of sin (glorification – future state in heaven)

Verses 3-10

3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.

Paul teaches that, our “old self” has really died (been crucified) with Christ when He died on the cross and we were raised in newness of life with Him when He rose again!

Q: If the old self is dead, why do Christians still struggle with sin?

Though the Greek word for baptized (baptizo) can refer to water baptism that is likely not what is in view here.  The following is from James Montgomery Boice:

When used in the New Testament, this word more often refers to our union and identification with Christ than to our water baptism. E.g. Mark 16:16. ‘He that believes and is baptised shall be saved’. Christ is saying that mere intellectual assent is not enough. There must be a union with him, a real change, like the vegetable to the pickle! Bible Study Magazine, James Montgomery Boice, May 1989.

Verse 11-14

11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Though the sanctification process is being enabled by the Holy Spirit, we’re told here to exercise our biblically informed wills to “not let sin reign” in our mortal bodies and to not let sin be our master.  Here are a few quotes from John Owen on mortification (killing) of sin:

“It is the Spirit alone who can mortify sin—He is promised to do it, and all other means without Him, are empty and vain. How shall he, then, mortify sin—who has not the Spirit? A man may easier see without eyes, and speak without a tongue—than truly mortify one sin without the Spirit! All attempts to mortify any lust without the Spirit, are vain.”

“Without a sincere and diligent effort in every area of obedience—there will be no successful mortification of any one besetting sin.”

“Sin carries on its war by entangling the affections and drawing them into an alliance against the mind. Grace may be enthroned in the mind, but if sin controls the affections—it has seized a fort from which it will continually assault the soul. Hence, mortification must chiefly be directed to the affections.”

“The vigor, and power, and comfort of our spiritual life—depends on the mortification of the deeds of the flesh. …Believers … ought to make it their business all their days to mortify the indwelling power of sin. Do you mortify sin—do you make it your daily work? Be killing sin—or it will be killing you.”

The theme of mortification animated Owen’s pastoral heart because killing sin is a necessary tool in our pursuit of communion with God. Owen’s approach does not imply any sort of legalism or negative self-concept, although some have read him that way. On the contrary, he knew that, while God’s love for us, his people, is never contingent upon our faithfulness, our experience of communion with God can be helped or hindered by how we deal with our sins. (Kelly M. Kapic, professor of theological studies at Covenant College)

Verses 15-23

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! 16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. 22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul summarizes it all in this famous verse that everyone should have memorized!

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

“Wages” is what we deserve to be paid for our sins – that is death.  Note the phrase “in Christ Jesus”, used liberally in Paul’s writings (“in Christ” 85 times).  This is critical – the free gift of God is not just eternal life (heaven) for everyone, but “eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”.

A Barna survey explored peoples’ views of Heaven and Hell. 76% of Americans believe that Heaven exists, and 71% believe Hell exists. Only 0.5% of Americans expect to go to Hell upon their death. Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64%) believe they will go to Heaven. One in 20 adults (5%) claim they will come back as another life form, while the same proportion (5%) contend they will simply cease to exist.  Nearly half of those who say they are Heaven bound (43%) believe they will go to Heaven because they have “confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.” Others felt they will get to Heaven because “they have tried to obey the 10 Commandments” (15%) or because “they are basically a good person” (15%). Another 6% believed their entrance to Heaven would be based upon the fact that “God loves all people and will not let them perish.”

So most people think there is a Heaven and that they’re going there, whether they’re “in Christ Jesus our Lord” or not.  Most believe in Hell, but almost no one thinks they’re going there!  This is completely opposite of Jesus’s assessment:

Matthew 7:13-14 – Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Q: Have you talked with any non-Christians who think they’re going to heaven after death?

Verse 23 is used as part of the “Romans Road”.  Following is from ChatGPT:

The Romans Road to Salvation is a method used by some Christian evangelists to explain the basic concepts of salvation through a series of verses found in the New Testament book of Romans. The Romans Road typically consists of a sequence of verses that outline key theological points regarding sin, salvation, and faith. The purpose is to present a clear and concise message about how individuals can be saved according to Christian belief.

Here is a typical sequence of verses used in the Romans Road:

1. Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” This verse highlights the universal condition of humanity, emphasizing that everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s perfect standard.
2. Romans 6:23a: “For the wages of sin is death…” This verse explains the consequence of sin, which is spiritual death or separation from God.
3. Romans 6:23b: “…but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Here, the verse contrasts the negative consequence of sin with the positive gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ.
4. Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” This verse emphasizes God’s love and the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on behalf of humanity, demonstrating God’s willingness to reconcile us to Himself despite our sinfulness.
5. Romans 10:9: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” This verse outlines the response required for salvation: confessing Jesus as Lord and believing in His resurrection.
6. Romans 10:13: “For, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'” This verse assures that salvation is available to all who sincerely call upon the name of Jesus.

The Romans Road provides a systematic way to share the Gospel message, emphasizing humanity’s need for salvation, God’s provision through Jesus Christ, and the response of faith required for salvation. It’s often used in evangelism and personal witnessing to communicate these fundamental truths of the Christian faith.

Q: Do you have a method or way of witnessing to people that you favor?

Resources Used in Preparing this Teaching

1. MacArthur Study Bible
2. Romans 3:5-10 commentary: https://www.preceptaustin.org/romans_35-10
3. Romans 6:1-3 commentary: https://www.preceptaustin.org/pdf/61416/
4. What is Antinomianism?  https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/what-is-antinomianism-and-who-teaches-it/
5. ChatGPT (only regarding the summary of the “Romans Road”)
6. What is the Romans Road to salvation?  https://www.gotquestions.org/Romans-road-salvation.html
7. Americans Describe Their Views About Life After Death: https://www.barna.com/research/americans-describe-their-views-about-life-after-death/
8. Bible Study Tools – definition of Baptizo: https://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/baptizo.html
9. On the Mortification of Sin: A Readers Guide to a Christian Classic:  https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/on-the-mortification-of-sin

Verses to memorize for help combatting sexual temptation

Whenever, Christian, you have achieved a victory over your lusts–whenever after hard struggling, you have laid a temptation dead at your feet–you have in that hour a foretaste of the joy that awaits you when the Lord shall shortly tread Satan under your feet, and you shall find yourself more than conqueror through him who has loved you. – Charles Spurgeon (modernized language)

It is a fact of life that most men (and many women) battle against sexual temptation.

God has prescribed the way that He wants His children to live. He tests each of our hearts (not just what is on the outside). Here is what He expects to find:

1 Chronicles 29:17a

I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity

Not only is He pleased with integrity, but Jesus even said several times in the Scriptures, that He expects anyone who follows Him (Christians) to deny themselves, rather than to “give-in” to themselves:

Luke 9:23

Then He said to them all: “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.“

He wants us to put Him first, not our own evil desires. We need to have the attitude of John the Baptist:

John 3:30

He must become greater; I must become less.

So, to help us along in our quest for holiness, I have listed some verses for you to memorize to help you resist sexual temptation. The Psalmist stated the benefits of memorizing Scripture:

Psalms 119:11

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

The benefit is clear: “that I might not sin against” God.

I have memorized each of these passages myself and have found them to be of great benefit

Let’s start off the list with one that states God’s mandate very clearly and directly:

1 Corinthians 6:18-20

Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Let me provide a very simple definition of sexual immorality:

Any sexual gratification one gets from a source other than your spouse (in a biblical marriage consisting of one man and one woman).

Therefore, sexual immorality may include, among other things, pornography (or even feature films that portray sex between people on screen), masturbation, roving eyes / looking with lust at those in your eyesight, adultery, pre-marital sex (A.K.A. fornication), co-habitation which includes pre-marital sex, homosexuality, impure thoughts, flirting, fantasizing about the possibility of sex with someone other than your spouse, etc.

So, the passage above (1 Corinthians 6:18-20) tells me that I am not my own. I can’t just do whatever I want with my body. My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. He is living in me and sees everything I do. Which leads me to the next verse:

Hebrews 4:13

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

He sees all and we will have to give account for all He sees. As Ray Comfort commented, “What happens in Vegas stays in God’s mind until Judgment Day.”

Ecclesiastes 12:14

For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.

Romans 14:12

So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Am I saying that you’ll be thrown into hell for committing an act of sexual immorality? No. When you were saved, you were justified. All sins, past, present and future were paid for by Jesus’ shed blood on the cross. Yet, we as believers are expected to behave in a way that is “worthy of our calling” (Eph. 4:1). Sexual immorality is definitely not worthy of our calling!

God takes sexual immorality – especially the physical act of adultery – very seriously. So seriously, in fact in the Old Covenant with Israel, the penalty was the death sentence for both involved parties:

Deuteronomy 22:22

If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.

However, sexual immorality is not an external, behavioral issue only (such as adultery). This sin starts in the mind with our own evil desires (James 1:13-14). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus raised the standard of purity so that no one can escape the charge of guilt in this matter:

Matthew 5:27-28
You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Jesus is seeking obedience from those that call Him Lord:

Luke 6:46

“Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?“

Don’t be a hypocrite, one day calling Jesus Lord and then another day, committing sexual sin.

Job was a godly man and was certainly aware of this standard as he strove to avoid lust in this way:

Job 31:1

I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust upon a young woman.

Apparently, Job was successful in this covenant if you look at the way v9-11 of chapter 31 are worded:

Job 31:9-11

If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door, then may my wife grind another man’s grain, and may other men sleep with her. For that would have been shameful, a sin to be judged.

Daniel was also a godly man, living in exile, in the midst of a vile, wicked, depraved and idolatrous culture. In the beginning of the account, we see his resolution:

Daniel 1:8-9

But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel

Have you resolved not to defile yourself by what your eyes consume? Daniel’s strong resolution here ought to challenge and inspire us to do the same. By resolving, he had made up his mind what he was going to do when he was put in that situation. Don’t just wait until that moment of temptation comes to decide what you’re going to do. If that is your approach, you will fail. Rather resolve ahead of time what steps you’re going to take to avoid defiling yourself in sexual sin.

David, a man after God’s own heart, a man acquainted with moral failure (see 2 Samuel 11), resolved not to let sin come through his eyes:

Psalms 101:3

I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. I hate all crooked dealings; I will have nothing to do with them.

We need our minds renewed by Scripture so that we no longer conform to the pattern of this world, which is so full of sexual temptation:

Romans 12:2

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is –his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Many of these passages can be summed up in this wise counsel from the Apostle Paul:

Romans 13:14

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

What have you done to “make no provision” for your flesh? There are many practices and safeguards that one can implement, but the one thing we should all be doing is putting on the Lord Jesus Christ daily – that is the number one strategy in this battle. Don’t make it easy for your flesh to gratify its evil desires!

And, yes, this is absolutely a battle! It is not a battle against flesh and blood, but at the core it is a spiritual battle:

Ephesians 6:12

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

And since it is a spiritual battle, it needs to be fought with spiritual weapons from God:

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

We are human, but we don’t wage war with human plans and methods. We use God’s mighty weapons, not mere worldly weapons, to knock down the Devil’s strongholds. With these weapons we break down every proud argument that keeps people from knowing God. With these weapons we conquer their rebellious ideas, and we teach them to obey Christ.

Have you ever considered that when we are committing sexual sin, at that moment, we don’t fear God? Think about that… Even one of the thieves on the cross next to Jesus asked the other thief if he feared God, because it was evident by the way he was talking that he didn’t:

Luke 23:40

But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?“

Unknowingly, the first thief was affirming a great truth of Scripture, often repeated:

Proverbs 9:10

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

And:

Isaiah 8:13

Do not fear anything except the LORD Almighty. He alone is the Holy One. If you fear him, you need fear nothing else.

Jesus told His disciples to fear God because of His ability to throw them into hell:

Luke 12:4-5

“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him.“

So, yes, the fear of God is a healthy attitude to have and can keep us from committing sexual sin!

Scripture also states that sin will hinder your prayers:

Psalms 66:18

If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;

Do you stumble into sin? Or do you cherish sin? Our goal should be to avoid both, but worse by far is the one who cherishes (or relishes) sin.

Isaiah echoes the same sentiment about our sin causing separation from God. In the context of the following passage, God was speaking to His “people and to the house of Jacob” (Isaiah 58:1):

Isaiah 59:1-2

Listen! The LORD is not too weak to save you, and he is not becoming deaf. He can hear you when you call. But there is a problem — your sins have cut you off from God. Because of your sin, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.

But God gave us the solution for having our prayers heard again:

2 Chronicles 7:14

If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

The essence of that phrase “seek My face and turn from their wicked ways” is the concept of repentance! There is no change and no transformation without repentance – and God commands it!

Acts 17:30

Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,

By the way, after reading this blog, you can no longer claim ignorance.

In the midst of admonishing believers not to argue over foolish and stupid things, the apostle Paul talked about people who are held captive by the devil to do his will:

2 Timothy 2:26

and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

As believers, we ought not be held captive by anyone or anything except Jesus Christ (since we are His slaves). We are told specifically:

Colossians 2:8

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

Additionally, we as believers ought to be discerning enough and acquainted enough with our own depravity to know what situations, places and people put us into temptation, and that we need to avoid those:

Proverbs 4:26

Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established.

We ought to be able to see the danger ahead and take refuge:

Proverbs 27:12

The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.

In addition to pondering where you go and what situations you put yourself into, you need to be intentional about your thoughts:

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.

And:

Colossians 3:2

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Sexual temptation requires much more than casual action, it requires drastic action on our parts! Though we may be “pondering the path of our feet” and thinking about “whatever is pure”, we are still “in the world” (John 17:14-16) and therefore it is possible, with the best of intentions, that we may find ourselves in a tempting situation. The following verse tells me what to do when I encounter anything that stimulates lust – RUN!!!

2 Timothy 2:22

Run from anything that stimulates youthful lust. Follow anything that makes you want to do right. Pursue faith and love and peace, and enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts

It is also encouraging me who to hang out with – that’s really important too.

As usual, Jesus ratchets up the response even more with His teaching on how to deal with sin:

Matthew 18:8-9
If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

The eye and the hand are are certainly used to commit much sexual sin… Jesus is not advocating self mutilation here, but this is to be understood as instructing us to take whatever actions are necessary to limit our access to those people, places, situations and technologies that give us opportunities to sin.

Another passage that is terrifying when you consider what is being said in it is this:

Hebrews 10:26-27

Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received a full knowledge of the truth, there is no other sacrifice that will cover these sins. There will be nothing to look forward to but the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies.

Does that mean that if we continue to sin at all after having been saved, there we will experience the wrath of God? Well, it depends. One who is truly saved will not continue in an unrepentant pattern of sin for an extended period of time. I consider this a warning for us as believers to examine ourselves:

2 Corinthians 13:5a

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.

This should be a regular practice of all believers, to examine your life critically and see if it represents the life of a true born again Bible believing Christian.

The following passage is one of the key passages when it comes to sexual immorality:

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5

It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God

Not many places in Scripture tell you explicitly what God’s will is – the above passage is one of them. This passage tells me that I need to learn to control my own body. That tells me that it is not “natural” to control my body. I have to go against what feels natural and control my body. Likewise, Paul says:

1 Corinthians 9:27

But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Yes, this requires discipline. It is a spiritual battle and therefore demands your daily and even hourly attention so that you do not get caught off guard! In fact elsewhere Paul reminds us to be on our guard:

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.

The Scriptures contain many other such warnings. For example, the apostle Peter warns us to be on our guard, using different words:

1 Peter 5:8

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

The Lord Jesus Christ Himself even strongly admonished His disciples to keep alert, but added prayer as a way to gain victory over temptation:

Matthew 26:41
Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak!

So, how much sexual immorality is acceptable for the child of God?

Ephesians 5:3-6

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person–such a man is an idolater –has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.

The above passage even speaks of God’s wrath as a consequence of these type of behaviors. You don’t want to go there…

The passage below has really helped me. It tells me that as a regenerated follower of Jesus Christ, I do in fact have the power and ability to not let sin reign in my body or to obey my body’s evil desires. What an encouragement that is!

Romans 6:12-14

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

The above passage raises the question about who you’re letting reign, in other words, who are you serving? Jesus told us you can’t serve two masters:

Luke 16:13

“No servant can serve two masters ; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.“

While the above verse is about money, the same principle applies to your illicit sexual desires.

You know that if you ask some people about why they continue to fall into sexual temptation, they’ll claim that that’s just the way God made them. They have these desires and they were meant to be fulfilled. That is human logic – that’s the way of thinking that “seems right”:

Proverbs 14:12 (&16:25)

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

But that way of thinking really leads to death.

The following verse from Proverbs teaches that our behavior is a visible manifestation of our relationship with (and thoughts about) the LORD:

Proverbs 14:2

He who walks in his uprightness fears the Lord, But he who is perverse in his ways despises Him.

This directly ties “upright” behavior to fearing the LORD and “perverse” behavior to despising Him.

Next are some words from Jesus that hit me like a ton of bricks:

John 3:19-20
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

These words are powerful because, in this passage the “light” which has come into the world IS JESUS. So, when it says “everyone who does evil hates the light”, its saying that everyone who does evil hates Jesus! Wow.

Here is a good one from Paul:

Titus 2:11-13

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope–the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,

This one tells us that God’s grace actually teaches us to “just say no!” to “ungodliness and worldly passions” – that would certainly include lust and sexual sin. But it doesn’t only tell us what to say no to, but it also tells us how to live: “self-controlled, upright and godly lives”. That is a picture of holy living. Notice the phrase “self-controlled”. According to this passage, you have the ability to control your participation in these forms of behavior.

Then, there is the most concentrated teaching on worldliness in all of God’s word:

1 John 2:15-17

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world–the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does–comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

Notice – this passage talks about 2 things that are directly related to lust and sexual sin: “the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes”. If anyone “loves” this kind of stuff, the love of the Father is not in him. By the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, we need to distance ourselves and reject these kind of worldly affections!

John MacArthur, in his excellent sermon on Romans 7:14-25 says that one of the categories of sin is the “sin of remembrance”. Sometimes, the mind of the believer will wander back to ponder some past sin. We must not allow ourselves to fall into that trap. Peter admonishes us:

1 Peter 1:14

As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.

Later on in the same letter, he encourages with the example of Christ Jesus’ suffering:

1 Peter 4:1-5

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do–living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

Notice, that we are not to live the rest of our earthly lives for “evil human desires” – this includes many things. He goes on to list some of those evil human desires: “debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry“. He ends up the passage by indicating that those who live like this will “have to give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead“. If these behaviors are the impenitent, pattern of your life, it indicates you are not saved.

Then, this one from the author of 1 Kings regarding the prophet Elijah’s challenge to the people to “get off the fence“!

1 Kings 18:21

Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing.

How is this applicable to illicit sexual desire? Just replace the phrase “if Baal is God, follow him” with “if [your sexual desire] is God, follow [it]”. That is what we’re doing when we’re giving in to sexual sin – we’re making it our God. Don’t do that!

Did you know that whenever you’re tempted to sin sexually, God will show you a way out? This is an iron-clad promise – you can take it to the bank. The following passage tells us not to be over confident when you’re in a season of strong obedience, but that we should be careful. Then it explains that we’re in the same boat with others:

1 Corinthians 10:12-13

If you think you are standing strong, be careful, for you, too, may fall into the same sin. But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.

Praise the Lord that He is faithful, and that He will not let the temptation become too strong!

Jesus was once asked what was the essential or most important teaching in the old testament:

Matthew 22:36-40

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.“

Notice that He summed up all the expectations of the believer into 2 concepts – Love God and Love others. We cannot do those 2 things while committing sexual sin!

The following verse may not seem to be related to sexual temptation:

Romans 1:25

They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator–who is forever praised. Amen.

But if you think about it. Your sexual desire is a created thing. If you worship and serve it (especially in an illicit manner), you are exchanging the truth of God for a lie…

Sometimes, you’ve gotta follow Jesus’ example and just tell Satan to “get lost” if you’re being harassed:

Matthew 4:10

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’“

But notice – we not only should be telling Satan to get lost, but we need to be worshiping the Lord our God and serving Him only!

There is a favorite verse of many people that says:

Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Again, what does this have to do with sexual immorality and sexual temptation? Well, if you think of it, you’ll realize that your behavior in the world affects God’s reputation in the world, either positively or negatively. But your behavior does not change whether He exists or whether He is glorious or good. So, if you are behaving in an immoral way you are bringing God into disrepute. Then it can be said of you, as in Romans 2:24 – “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” Serious stuff! Don’t do it – you love God too much for that!

Finally, the passage that has been most helpful to me in battling sexual temptation is:

Matthew 23:24-28
You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

The reason this passage is so powerful for me is that, as a Christian leader and teacher, I receive those words from Jesus as directly applying to me. Especially the finishing line which says “on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness”. That one cuts to the heart. Jesus knows what’s “on the inside” – no one else does. I may be able to fool other people, but I can never fool Jesus. Jesus hated hypocrisy with a holy hatred – probably more than anything else. This chapter records the greatest rebuke he ever delivered regarding sin – the sin of hypocrisy. And sexual sin in the life of a believer makes that person a hypocrite, professing one thing with your lips, but thinking and behaving in opposition to that. So, when I hear Jesus’s rebuke directed at me, my unrighteous desires immediately melt away – its like pouring cold water over me. Paul gives us some very good counsel about how we should be viewing our Christian walk:

Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. 2 Corinthians 7:1

Notice that we already have these promises (that he’d been talking about in the prior chapters – especially chapter 5). So, we are not avoiding sexual sin in order to get saved, but rather, now that we are saved (we have these promises), we are to live in a holy manner. Why? “Out of reverence for God”.

Brothers and sisters, I pray that you are convicted and cut to the heart like I am and that you would memorize each one of these passages so that you might be led away from sin when you’re at the moment of temptation. Remember God always provides a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13) if we are willing to take it. He is faithful and will protect you from the evil one:

2 Thessalonians 3:3

But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.

Appendix

Additional Verses

Psalms 119:9

How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.

Psalms 141:4

Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies.

Psalms 86:11

Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

Psalms 119:37

Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.

Psalms 23:3

he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Psalms 19:14

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.

Titus 1:15-16

To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

2 Timothy 1:7

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Galatians 5:19-21

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Revelation 21:8

But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars –their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Titus 3:3-7

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

John 8:31-32

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Acts 3:19

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,

Romans 7:18-19, 7:24-25a,

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing…Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Hebrews 4:15-16

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

1 Peter 2:24

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

Philippians 2:3-4

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Hebrews 2:18

Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Hebrews 12:14

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

mid-week apologetics booster (2-1-2024)

Good morning friends,

Here is a random quote (of over 2700) from Nuggets:

What then is the difference between conviction and condemnation? Conviction is like the work of the prosecuting attorney, proving his case against the defendant and exposing his crime. Condemnation is like the judge’s gavel coming down with a final, irreversible verdict of “Guilty!” Conviction says, “You have sinned. Come back to Me!” Condemnation says, “You are guilty. Get away from Me!”  – Dr. Michael Brown  

To view more of these quotes, visit:

http://www.ps11911.com/bible-app/browseQuotes

Now, here are your weekly links:

1. ‘Escaping Twin Flames’: Why People are Falling for the Love Cult – Christian Research Institute: https://www.equip.org/articles/escaping-twin-flames-why-people-are-falling-for-the-love-cult/
2. Would Jesus Use Razor Wire at Borders? Would He Gaslight People with Dishonest ‘WWJD’ Arguments? – The Stream: https://stream.org/would-jesus-use-razor-wire-at-borders-would-he-gaslight-people-with-dishonest-wwjd-arguments/
3. Objections to the Harvester vs. Gardener Approach – Stand to Reason: https://subsplash.com/standtoreason/media/mi/+vkq5sxb
4. Are All Religions the Same? Part 1: Cosmic Origins | Knight & Rose Show – Wintery Knight and Desert Rose discuss the view that all religions are equally valid paths to God. We start by talking about what truth is, why truth matters, and the difference between objective and subjective truth claims. We discuss how different religions make different testable truth claims. We look at how different religions answer the question “How did the universe get here?”. And then we look at what science has to say about that question. This is the first episode of a five-part series.: https://knightandrose.podbean.com/e/are-all-religions-the-same-part-1-cosmic-origins/
5. How to Evangelize Muslims – Cross Examined: https://crossexamined.subspla.sh/n4jmksf
6. The Deconstruction of Christianity – Cross Examined: https://crossexamined.subspla.sh/gx49v9c
7. Good news: California loses battle against Christian preschool | WINTERY KNIGHT: https://winteryknight.com/2024/01/30/good-news-gavin-newsom-loses-battle-against-christian-preschool/
8. Did Jesus Rise From The Dead? – Stand to Reason – This talk was given at Praise Church (praisechurch.tv) in Beaumont, TX. Tim Barnett looks at some of the reasons why he believes Jesus resurrection is the best explanation of the historical evidence.: https://subsplash.com/standtoreason/media/mi/+mzeycxu
9. Science Doesn’t Say Anything- Scientists Do – Cross Examined: https://crossexamined.org/science-doesnt-say-anything-scientists-do/
10. Is God Real? Evidence from the Laws of Logic | Cold Case Christianity: https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/is-god-real-evidence-from-the-laws-of-logic/
11. Human Genome 20th Anniversary – Junk DNA Hits the Trash | The Institute for Creation Research: https://www.icr.org/article/Human-Genome-20th-Anniversary/
12. List of Factors of Fine-Tuning of Intelligent Life in the Universe: https://www.cltruth.com/2019/factors-fine-tuning-intelligent-life-universe/
13. Staying calm on social media with disagreements | The Domain for Truth: https://veritasdomain.wordpress.com/2020/06/05/staying-calm-on-social-media-with-disagreements/
14. Why did Lot offer up his daughters to be gang raped? Why did God allow Lot’s daughters to later have sex with their father? | GotQuestions.org: https://www.gotquestions.org/Lots-daughters.html
15. James Warner Wallace on “Is Your Transformational Religious Experience Evidence Enough?” – THINKAPOLOGETICS.COM: https://chab123.wordpress.com/2018/06/10/james-warner-wallace-on-is-your-transformational-religious-experience-evidence-enough/
16. America’s Founding Fathers Influenced by a Christian Worldview – New York Apologetics – As the founding fathers set up a new government, they started from what scholars consider a Reformed Christian worldview. Of the 54 signers of the Declaration, 29 were ordained ministers, and most of the others were deeply religious men. : https://www.newyorkapologetics.com/americas-founding-fathers-influenced-by-a-christian-worldview/
17. The Case for the Eyewitness Status of the Gospel Authors | Cold Case Christianity: https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/the-case-for-the-eyewitness-status-of-the-gospel-authors/
18. Jesus in Islam – The Quran does not say the Bible has been changed. Just the opposite. It honors the Torah and the Bible. It mentions the Torah, the “Zabur” (the Old Testament and Psalms), and the “Injil” (the New Testament) many times. When Islam began in the 7th century, 600 years after Jesus Christ, the Bible was accepted as true.  So, you might ask, has the Bible changed since the 7th century? No. All you have to do is compare today’s Bible with a Bible written long ago: https://www.everystudent.com/wires/jesus-in-islam.html
19. As Science Frauds Go, Haeckel Beats Piltdown Man | Evolution News: https://evolutionnews.org/2020/11/as-science-frauds-go-haeckel-beats-piltdown-man/
20. A Case for the Bible: The importance of understanding how the Bible was translated when practicing Christian Apologetics – Truth, Faith and Reason: https://truthfaithandreason.com/a-case-for-the-bible-the-importance-of-understanding-how-the-bible-was-translated-when-practicing-christian-apologetics/
21. Four Truths About the Universe You Can Share with Your Kids to Demonstrate the Existence of God | Cold Case Christianity: https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/four-truths-about-the-universe-you-can-share-with-your-kids-to-demonstrate-the-existence-of-god/
22. Should Apologists Quote the Bible When Trying to Prove it? – Josh.org: https://www.josh.org/apologists-quote-bible/
23. Islam: 3 Reasons Why You Need to Know About it – Think Divinely: https://thinkdivinely.com/islam-3-reasons-why-you-need-to-know-about-it/
24. DNA Battles – DVD documentary demolishes the deceptive claims of Biologos: https://creation.com/dna-battles
25. The Jewish Talmud And Its Use For Christian Apologetics – Christian Research Institute: https://www.equip.org/articles/the-jewish-talmud-and-its-use-for-christian-apologetics/
26. What does it mean to contend for the faith? | OnceDelivered.net: https://oncedelivered.net/2020/12/01/what-does-it-mean-to-contend-for-the-faith-2/
27. The LGBT endgame is to destroy Christianity – For too long, many Americans have misunderstood the goals of the LGBT community, particularly its activist leaders.  Quarterback Drew Brees came under brutal attack recently for having the audacity to appear in a video encouraging Christian students to bring Bibles to school: https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/the-lgbt-endgame-is-to-destroy-christianity/

The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. Matthew 13:20-22

Blessings to you all

Apologetics Class 10/29/2017

Today, in honor of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, we started a 2 week mini series on Martin Luther.  We watched parts 1-3 of Martin Luther the Man:

 

 

Here is the note-taking form I handed out before the video:

Martin Luther

Part 1 His Early Life (13 minutes 17 seconds)

1. The late medieval church was very powerful
2. No social security in those days, your social security policy was your s________
3. Luther’s dad wanted him to be a l___________
4. Luther’s concept of God was influenced by the fact that his father was so strict and he wasn’t sure he l____________ his father at that point (after getting disciplined)
5. Church’s slogan at that time – do what is i___ y________ and God will not refuse you grace.
6. If you fail, confession – priest will give you something to do to satisfy the penalty (penance)
7. If you don’t do enough penance to cover all the sin, the answer was time in p___________
8. You’re the one earning the f____________, you’re the one paying the price
9. When studying at university, he found a copy of the B_______________ in the library
10. It was understood that laymen needed Church’s help to understand/interpret the Bible
11. Several incidents in Luther’s life caused him to develop a fear of d_______________.
12. July 2^nd 1505, Luther caught in thunderstorm – he cries out “Saint Anne, help me and I will become a m________!”
13. Shortly after that, Luther entered a very strict m______________ of the Observant Augustinians
14. Decision to enter monastery motivated in part by what was going to happen after death
15. Obsessed by g_________ and the f_________ of damnation, Luther was trying in vain to find assurance of his s_______________.

Part 2 – His Monk Life (15 minutes 56 seconds)

1. He led a very strict, d_________________ life including self-flagellation
2. He was very concerned about his salvation and didn’t find the s_________ he thought he would
3. The more he tried to do things right and by the book, the more he realized he was falling s_____
4. You had to name all sins – both sins you committed and righteous acts you failed to do – under the medieval system of confession and p____________
5. Not every monk was a priest – he was a man has taken a vow of p_____________ and ch_______________, a priest was one who was trained to handle the sacraments
6. Luther was ordained in 1507
7. His greatest fear as a priest was: how could he possibly tr______________ the bread and the wine into the body and blood of Christ?
8. He was a good monk – especially at m___________________, self-torture – trying to prove to God that you really, truly are sorry for your sins. He whipped himself, walked over stone floors on his knees, laid out in the snow without covering himself.
9. Study of the scriptures made things worse, because he’s finding the r________________ of God
10. He felt that God was a t_______________, demanding what could not be given
11. In 1509, he earned his Bachelor of the Bible degree
12. In the fall of 1510, he made a trip to R____________ to defend a dispute that arose within the Augustinian Hermits of Germany
13. He was disappointed when he really saw what Rome was like.
14. Luther came to his reformation breakthrough as a p________________, not as a single event.
15. The L___________ V____________ was the official Bible of the Church – it was translated by St. Jerome in 380 AD
16. Erasmus organized a newer new testament from the older Greek documents and Luther found that St. Jerome had m___________ the word ‘metanoia’ as ‘do penance’ instead of ‘repentance’
17. Everything changed for Luther when he found out that it’s not about me c____________ up to God, but about God c_______________ to me.

Part 3 – Purgatory & Indulgences (12 minutes 42 seconds)

1. Purgatory not defined until the Council of Lyon in 1274, but talked about since Augustine (around 4^th century AD)
2. When you went to confession, the priest absolved you, but that absolution only covered the g_____________ of your sins, it did not cover the p__________________ for your sins. You still had to work off the punishment – either in this life, or in Purgatory.
3. The Pope at Luther’s time was Leo the 10^th – needed money to build St. Peter’s Basilica
4. Pope Leo the 10^th instituted the sale of “i___________________”
5. There was a special kind of indulgence called a Plenary Indulgence – time in Purgatory altogether taken care of.
6. The “Treasury of Merit” was under the power of the Pope
7. The indulgences would allow you to escape additional months, years in purgatory if you paid for the indulgence.
8. To the common people they probably thought this was paying for the f________________ of s__________, but it was not.
9. John Tetzel, a Dominican monk, was the chief salesman of indulgences in the territory next to Luther’s
10. How do you get indulgences sold? You make promises, for example if your grandma Schmidt is suffering in purgatory she’ll be freed from her suffering
11. The infamous phrase in the sales pitch was, “As soon as the c_____________ in the coffer rings, the s_____________ from Purgatory springs.”
12. Frederick the wise would not let Tetzel sell his indulgences in his territory. Frederick the wise had a collection of relics, which it was said that if you viewed all of the relics (and offer certain prayers) you could earn forgiveness, and you could get 2 million years off of your time in Purgatory!
13. Some were even showing their indulgences to Luther asking for a s_______________ o________________. People were coming to him and saying I don’t need to go to confession and absolution because I have a “Plenary Indulgence”.
14. Luther knew that people were being told that they had to pay for God’s m_________________.
15. Luther drew up a set of theses on the p_______________ and efficacy of indulgences, ninety-five theses. He posted this list on the door of the church in Wittenberg on October 31st, 1517
16. People got a hold of those theses and translated them from Latin to German and they were being published widely on Gutenberg’s new printing press.
17. Here are some of the theses:
    1. Luther’s theses started with these words: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said repent, he willed the entire life of believers to be one of r_______________________. This word cannot be understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, that is, confession and satisfaction as administered by the clergy.”
    2. Thesis 27: “They preach only h_______________ d_________________ who say that as soon as the money clinks into the money chest, the soul flies out of purgatory.”
    3. Thesis 82: If the Pope could redeem souls from purgatory for the sake of money with which to build a church, why did he not free all the needy souls, for the sake of C_________________ l____________?
18. When Luther posted the theses in 1517, he was still a good C__________________.
19. Luther was aware there was something really r______________ in the church, and the pope had to do something about it. But Luther found that the pope was actually complicit in all of this.

Discussion Questions

 

1. What incident in Luther’s life caused him to want to join a monastery?
2. Why did Luther enter a monastery and become a monk?
3. Did Martin Luther have assurance of salvation when he was a monk?
4. What miracle is every priest expected to perform during the Lord’s Supper?
5. What is the Latin Vulgate? Who was it translated by?
6. What mistake was made in the translation of the New Testament in Mark 1:15 by St. Jerome?
7. What is the doctrine of purgatory?
8. When was the doctrine of purgatory defined?
9. When you went to confession, in the Catholic Church, what occurred and what were the results?
10. What is a Plenary Indulgence? What benefit did this Indulgence have for the believer?
11. Who is John Tetzel? What was he famous for?
12. When did Luther make his 95 Theses? Where did he post it?
13. Did Luther want to leave the Catholic Church at the time when he posted his 95 Theses?

 

AWANA Teaching on Titus 3:5

I’ve prepared my monthly teaching for the 5th and 6th grade AWANA clubbers.  This month the verse is Titus 3:5.  Below are the slides and notes I will be using to present this material this coming Wednesday evening.  My timing of this took 17 minutes.  First is the notes for talking about the slide, then the slide image:

Today, we’re going to be talking about one of your memory verses – Titus 3:5.  This is from the Ultimate T&T Challenge Book 1 (Challenge 3:6 – pg. 65)

Here is that verse – who would like to read it?  “he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit”

Now, I’m going to read the verse in context.  “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” This passage was written by the Apostle Paul to Titus, who he calls “my true son in our common faith” (1:4).

Titus was someone that Paul left in charge of the church he’d established on the island of Crete.  You can see this on the map here.  As you can see, this is in the Mediterranean Sea, just southeast of Greece and southwest of Turkey.

I want you to notice several things about this passage.  (click) The first part of the passage describes how Paul and Titus used to be before their conversion to Christianity.  Consider verse 3 …

“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.” They weren’t acting very nice – they were disobedient and enslaved by passions and pleasures.   They “lived in malice and envy”.  (click) Do you know what malice is?

The New Testament dictionary describes Malice like this: ill-will, desire to injure, wickedness that is not ashamed to break laws, depravity, evil, trouble.

But then, God intervened in the situation.  It says, “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us”.  So, while we were still sinning and rebelling against God, He stepped into history in the person of Jesus Christ and saved us.  The Bible (click) says “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).  Notice that Titus 3:5 says that God saved us “not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy”.  This is very important – we did not and cannot do anything to merit salvation.

Instead, we are receiving God’s mercy.  That’s the word used in Titus 3:5, and it means that we are not getting something bad that we deserve (punishment).  Mercy is kind of the opposite of grace, which is where we are getting something we don’t deserve (God’s favor).

The meaning of the word “grace” is unmerited favor from God.  Later in this passage (v.7) it says that we are “justified by His grace”.  There are many places in the Bible that talk about this concept of Grace – the word appears 156 places in the New Testament to be exact.  You need to understand that (click) this is a uniquely Christian concept.  Some people wonder what sets Christianity apart from other world religions.  Outside of Jesus, this is probably the main thing.  No other world religion has a concept of Grace or unmerited favor from God – you always have to do something to please the god of other religions.  Let’s talk about a few of them.

First, Judaism.  This is the Jewish people – they believe in what we would call the “Old Testament”.  They call it the Tanakh.  Remember, we believe much of what the Jewish people believe, because we also believe what is written in the Old Testament.  However, the Jewish people largely rejected Jesus as their Messiah.  The New Testament talks a lot about the Jews and their beliefs.  They believe that being a Jewish person (a descendant of Abraham) and adherence to the Law is what will get them into heaven.  However, the Bible says “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin” (Romans 3:20)

Next, Islam.  These are Muslims.  They believe that God will weigh up your good deeds and bad deeds and if your good deeds outweigh your bad deeds, you will go to heaven, otherwise hell.

What about Mormonism?  That’s also referred to as “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints” or sometimes abbreviated LDS.  They believe that good works factor into their salvation.  The book of Mormon is what they call their scriptures (which they say is “the most correct of any book on earth”). It says “it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.”  By the way, who can say that they have done everything they can do?  No one!  Contrast this with the Bible which says “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith –and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Then there’s Hinduism. Hinduism is a very diverse religion that began in India.   They have the concept of Karma and Re-incarnation, which are connected. Karma, is a system they believe in where your behavior, whether good or bad, will affect what happens to you in the future – both in this life and the life to come.  They believe that Karma affects what you are re-incarnated as.  If you’ve led a good life, you will be re-incarnated as a higher life form (click) (maybe a King), but if you’ve lived a bad life, you will be re-incarnated as a lower life form (click) (maybe a bug).  But the Bible says “Man is destined to die once and after that to face judgment” (Heb. 9:27)

For example, Fakirs are holy men in India.  Here is a fakir sitting on a bed of nails to demonstrate his religious devotion to the gods. They believe that eventually, if you keep living a better and better life each time, you work your way up through the “caste system” to be able to escape the cycle of birth and re-birth and achieve Nirvana. Nirvana, they say, is a place of perfect peace and happiness – it is the highest state that someone can attain, a state of enlightenment, meaning a person’s individual desires and suffering go away.

Here is a Hindu devotee lying on a bed of nails, being carried by fellow devotees during a religious festival in India. Hundreds of faithful devotees offer sacrifices and perform acts of devotion during the festival in the hopes of winning the favor of Hindu god Shiva and ensuring the fulfillment of their wishes.

Finally, Buddhism – Buddhism is based primarily on the teachings of Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama – a spiritual teacher from India who lived from approximately 563BC to 483BC). Buddhism incorporates a variety of religious traditions, beliefs and practices. They believe in what is called (click) the “Eightfold Path”.  These are the “works” they have to do to achieve nirvana or the state of enlightenment.  Like Hinduism, they believe in the cycle of re-incarnation leading to nirvana, but they reject the “caste system”.

So, in summary, all of the other religions we’ve talked about, require man to work (often hard) for their salvation – to please God, but in Christianity salvation is a free gift.

Think about a gift – like a Christmas gift or a birthday gift.  Do you work for that? No.

When someone hands you a gift, do you take out your wallet and pay them for it?  Of course not.  That would be an insult!

So, religion doesn’t save you – Jesus saves you.  Religion is man reaching up to God

Christianity is God reaching down to men.

Now, I want to make sure you know that although we’re not saved by good works, that does not mean we’re not to do good works.  Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” and the book of James tells us that faith without works (good deeds) is dead. (James 2:26)

Now, back to our verse. The passage goes on to talk about the results of our salvation.  It says “so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life”.  What does justified mean? Simply put, to justify is to declare righteous, to make one right with God.

Justification is God’s declaring those who receive Christ to be righteous. As this graphic shows, justification is where Jesus Christ’s righteousness is credited to us, and our guilt is credited to Jesus as he was on the cross.

The verse talks about “heirs”…  What does “heirs” mean? The literal meaning of heir is “someone who has been appointed to receive an inheritance.”

An heir is a person who receives something of value from a father. The Bible sometimes uses the word heir to describe us as recipients of a gift from God

Let’s wrap this up – our verse Titus 3:5 teaches us:

1. (click) We can do nothing to merit eternal life (salvation) from God.
2. (click) We are saved by God’s mercy, which is not getting the punishment we deserve for our sins.
3. (click) We are justified (made right with God) by His grace (unmerited favor), which is a uniquely Christian teaching – all the other religions we talked about require the person to do good works to be accepted by God
4. (click) All we can do is choose to receive His salvation by faith.
5. (click) Since we’ve received this free gift, we can and should choose to thank Him by devoting the rest of our lives to loving Him and others.

Who has questions either about our passage, what grace or mercy means or about the other religions we talked about?

God is Worthy of Worship

You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.  -Revelation 4:11

Everything that we look at – everything on the earth, everything in the sky and in outer space, the water that we drink, the food that we eat, the sun that we look at in the sky, the hydrological cycle that created the clouds that we see in the sky, the air that we’re breathing, the matter that was made available to produce the cars that we drive to work in every morning – it was all created by God and designed by Him for our use and enjoyment (1 Timothy 6:17b). So if that’s true, is it not the most important thing to get to know, to worship, to be reconciled to that Being that created all of this?

Not only did He create all that we see, but He also has created in us a conscience, and that conscience bears witness to the fact that we are all guilty (Rom. 2:14-15) – that we’ve done things wrong (Rom. 3:23) – that one day, we’re going to have to an give account for our lives (Rom. 14:12). We’re going to have to answer for all the bad things we’ve done. We may not be Hitler, we may not be Jeffrey Dahmer, we may not be Charles Manson… Nevertheless we are guilty for every time we’ve lied, stolen, lusted, not honored our parents, not loved God with all our hearts, souls and minds – above everything else. We may think, well lying is not that bad, but the Bible says lying lips are an Abomination to the Lord (Prov. 12:22). We’re not going to be judged on our standards or what we think is ok and not okay. We’re going to be judged on the standards of the Lord God, Who created all this, Who is immensely powerful and intelligent beyond belief.

But also He’s just (2 Thess. 1:6a). He will judge the world in righteousness, the Bible says, by the Man whom He has ordained, and He is given assurance of this to all by raising Him (Jesus) from the dead (Acts 17:30-31). So the resurrection is the authenticating sign declaring Jesus as the One who has been given the authority to judge the world (John 5:22-23).

Be reconciled to Him today, before it’s too late (2 Cor. 5:18-21). You don’t know if you’ll have tomorrow or even the next moment (Ps. 144:4, James 4:14). The Bible says today is the day of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2b). Today means now! Is Nike famously said “Just Do It!”