Introduction: In the last several lessons we winced when we learned
that “good” Christians may well be like the older brother in the
story of the prodigal (Luke 15), or the religious Jews in the story
of the “Good Samaritan” (Luke 10), or the friends of the king in the
Matthew 22 story of the wedding feast. The “less righteous” readers
of the lesson, on the other hand, were rejoicing. Salvation by grace
is good reason to rejoice and keep on rejoicing. But, Jesus gives
us all (“good” and “bad” Christians alike) sobering news when He
describes ( Matthew 7:13-14)the path to salvation as being “narrow”
with “only a few find[ing] it.” How can it be “narrow” when it is
given to all who believe? Is putting on the wedding garment of
salvation a one-time event which we can later forget? Or, is it
more? Let’s dive into our Bible study and find out!
- Smart Salvation
- Read Romans 10:1-4. What is wrong with the Israelites?
Are they lazy? (No. They are “zealous,” meaning “hard
working.” The problem is that they do not understand the
gospel. They have a gap in their knowledge.) - If you continue to read Romans chapters 10 and 11 you
will learn that salvation is by belief, but the problem
is understanding it. Read Romans 12:1-2. Against what
failing is Paul warning us? (Do not to be conformed to
the world.) - Why is this be a problem if we are saved by grace?
(Notice that Paul is still talking about knowledge.
If we are transformed by the gospel, then we “will
be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His
good, pleasing and perfect will.” To “test”
something is to learn more about it.) - This sounds like a science project – we test
something to be sure it is true. Why do you
think that conforming to the world means we
cannot properly conduct the test? (The problem
with the Israelites of Paul’s time is that they
did not properly understand God’s will. We have
the same challenge – how to understand God’s
will. If we are transformed by the gospel,
rather than conformed to the world, we are
given the tools to test who is accurately
describing God’s will. If you are in the world,
you testing ability is too dull.) - Sincere Love
- Read Romans 12:9-13. Is there an insincere love? (Yes!)
- If you love evil, is your love for God insincere?
(This text suggests a series of standards for
sincere love. It seems that sincere love involves a
serious commitment.) - Considering the texts that we have read, would it be
fair to conclude that the misunderstanding of the
Israelites who rejected Jesus arose from an
insincere love? - Are a lack of knowledge and a lack of sincere
love the same thing in this situation? If not,
are they related? (Let’s continue on, we need
more information!) - Let’s continue reading Paul’s argument. Read Romans 13:1-5. If we love God, what should be our attitude towards
government? (We should not be rebels!) - Why is there a link between a sincere love for God
and a submissive attitude towards authority? (Romans
13:1 says that God instituted authority.) - Read Romans 13:6-8. What do taxes and debt have in
common? (Loving God means that we are good citizens. We
pay our taxes and we pay our debts.) - Read Romans 13:9-10. Do those who are saved by grace obey
the Ten Commandments? (Yes!) - Why? (They arise from our obligation to love
others.) - Let’s revisit our “sincere love” conclusion. Is
obeying the Ten Commandments and showing
kindness to our neighbor a test of the
sincerity of our love? (If we are transformed
by the gospel, rather than conformed to the
world, we can see this is a true test.) - Let’s also revisit the issue of whether a lack
of knowledge and a lack of sincere love are
related? (Yes, they are related. If you do not
understand that a sincere love is reflected in
a changed life, you do not understand the
gospel.) - Recall the older brother in the prodigal story? Read Luke
15:28-30. Would you consider the older brother’s attitude
to be one of “sincere love?” (He did not feel loving
towards his father or his brother. He viewed his service
and obedience to the father as slavery!) - Does grace get us out of obedience? (By no means.
Grace means our obedience is motivated by love, not
obligation. The older brother knew about obligation,
he did not seem to know much about love. For further
proof of the idea that grace, love and obedience are
linked, read Romans 6.) - Getting to the Life of Grace – The Two Part Approach
- So, how does this happen in your life? How do we obtain a
sincere love that results in a positive attitude towards
God, government and those around us? Do we grit our teeth
and hum? (Unless, like the Israelites, I’m confused about
this, I’ve lived long enough to realize that this is easy
to write about, but not so easy to do. Love is not
something that comes from determination, sincerity or
obligation.) - I believe that there are two parts to living a true life
of grace. Read Romans 8:1-4. How do we satisfy the
righteous requirements of the law? (Jesus satisfied “the
righteous requirements of the law” for us. Jesus did it
in our place. That is the first part. That was heavy
lifting for Jesus, but not for me.) - Notice that Romans 8:4 seems to say that Jesus
fulfills the righteous requirements of the law “in
us, who do not live according to the sinful nature.”
Does that mean something else is required of us to
qualify for the first part? (It sure seems that way.
This sounds very much like the “sincere love” we
previously discussed.) - Read Romans 8:5-8. How do we avoid living in accord with
our sinful nature? (We make a decision to set our minds
on what the Holy Spirit desires rather than what our
sinful nature desires.) - Let’s jump ahead for a moment. Read Romans 8:12-15. How
do we use the Spirit to put to death the “misdeeds of the
body?” (This suggests a progression – living by the
Spirit causes us to notice, and then reject (“put to
death”), those things which are sin.) - Read Romans 8:9-11. How important is it to have the Holy
Spirit active in our life? (“If anyone does not have the
Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.” It
determines the eternal outcome of our life – heaven or
hell.) - How, then, would you describe putting on Jesus’ robe of
righteousness? (It is certainly not a one-time thing. It
is not a “grit your teeth and obey” thing. It is first
(first part) a decision to accept the sacrifice of Jesus’
perfect life on our behalf. It is second (second part) a
daily choice to be led by the Holy Spirit. This is what
Romans calls “sincere love.”) - What part of this did the Israelites of Paul’s time
not understand? (They did not understand the first
part (Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb of God). Jesus
said they were like the older brother in the
prodigal story – they were motivated by obligation,
not love. That means they also missed the second
part.) - Does this discussion of necessary parts destroy our
confidence in our salvation? (No. We are saved when
we decide to accept Jesus’ robe of righteousness.
That decision can be undone if we continue to make
the wrong choices. That decision is confirmed by
making a decision to live a life led by the Holy
Spirit. This is the “sincere” part of our love. What
Jesus has done for us makes a difference in our
attitude, thus a difference in our life. We still
have “misdeeds of the body” to put to death by God’s
power. But, we are on the right track. Praise God!) - Reward
- Read 1 Corinthians 15:50-52. What continues until the
“last trumpet?” (Our flesh and blood. The final and
everlasting change comes “in a twinkling of an eye” at
the Second Coming of Jesus. That is when our
transformation is complete.) - Read 1 Corinthians 15:53-57. What enemies are defeated?
(The law, sin and death.) - Why is God’s perfect law, the transcript of His
character, an enemy that is defeated? (Because the
power of sin is the law. The law saves no one. It
simply condemns us and shows us our sinfulness. When
Jesus perfectly obeyed the law, He destroyed an
enemy that would have otherwise required our death.
For that reason, the law, sin and death are all
defeated.) - Friend, would you like to embark on the journey of
transformation? Would you like to hear that sin and
death are defeated in your life? If you want that, then
accept by faith the sacrifice of Jesus on your behalf,
and commit that each day you will ask the Holy Spirit to
help you live a Spirit-led life. - Next week: We start a new series of lessons on worship.
