ROMANS Theology for Everybody

A STUDY GUIDE FOR INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS VOLUME 2: ROMANS 6-11

REALFAITH.COM

Mark Driscoll Romans: Theology for Everybody A Study Guide for Individuals and Groups Volume 2: Romans 6-11 © 2021 by Mark Driscoll

ISBN: 978-1-7351028-9-4 (Paperback) ISBN: 978-1-7351028-8-7 (E-book)

Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the author.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ...... 1

REAL GROUPS...... 3

CHAPTER 1: GOOD GIFTS...... 5 Good Gifts: New Freedom (Romans 6:1-14)...... 5 Good Gifts: New Life (Romans 6:15-23)...... 9 Good Gifts: New Power (Romans 7:1-13) ...... 13 Good Gifts: New Desires (Romans 7:14-25)...... 18

CHAPTER 2: LIFE IN THE SPIRIT...... 22 Life in the Spirit: New Father (Romans 8:1-17)...... 22 Life in the Spirit: New Future (Romans 8:18-30)...... 26 Life in the Spirit: New Fortitude (Romans 8:31-39)...... 30

CHAPTER 3: PREDESTINATION PROBLEMS ...... 34 Predestination Problems: Unbiblical? (Romans 9:1-13)...... 34 Predestination Problems: Unfair? (Romans 9:14-19)...... 41 Predestination Problems: Unloving? (Romans 9:30-10:13). . .47 Predestination Problems: Uncaring? (Romans 10:14-21). . . . .52

CHAPTER 4: VINTAGE FAITH...... 57 Vintage Faith: The Past Remnant (Romans 11:1-10)...... 57 Vintage Faith: The Present Remnant (Romans 11:11-24)...... 61 Vintage Faith: The Future Remnant (Romans 11:25-36)...... 65

NOTES ...... 69

ABOUT PASTOR MARK DRISCOLL AND REAL FAITH ...... 70

INTRODUCTION

...through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Romans 15:4, ESV

This volume 2 study guide is intended to help individuals and groups study the New Testament book of Romans (chapters 6-11) verse-by- verse.

The best way to start learning any book of the Bible is to simply pray and read it over and over. As the longest of Paul’s letters in the New Testament, it takes about an hour to read the entire book of Romans. There are 16 chapters, and each chapter takes between 2-5 minutes to read. Here are some practical plans for you to choose from in reading Romans:

1. Read Romans 1 hour each day to read the entire book every day 2. Read Romans 30 minutes each day to read the entire book every other day 3. Read Romans 15 minutes each day to read the entire book every four days 4. Read Romans just under 10 minutes each day to read the entire book once a week

In addition to Bible reading for yourself, the following study guide is intended to help individuals and groups learn Romans. Please use this guide as tools and not rules. As the Holy Spirit guides your time in Scripture, and as you have discussion with others, the goal is not finishing the guide but rather meeting with God through learning the Bible. Consider this guide more as a compass pointing you in a direction than a map that directs your every step.

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To help you learn this breathtaking book of the Bible, we also have additional resources including sermon notes, sermon transcripts, daily devotions, and the sermon series in audio and video format all for free at realfaith.com or on the free Real Faith app, where you can also find our weekly fun church online show called Real Faith Live. We also have a massive free library of Bible teaching such as Real Men, Real Women, Real Marriage, Real Parenting, Real Español, Real Leaders, Real Worship, and Real Classes. There are hundreds of free sermons mainly studying the Bible verse-by-verse, thousands of free daily devotions, and hundreds of real answers for real people under the Have Questions? category. All of this is made possible by our generous financial partners who support Real Faith as a Bible teaching ministry of Mark Driscoll Ministries, so thank you.

-Pastor Mark Driscoll

2 REAL GROUPS WITH REAL FAITH

Faith that does not result in good deeds is not real faith. James 2:20, TLB

t Real Faith, we believe that the Word of God isn’t just for us Ato read, it’s to be obeyed. And living in community with fellow believers is one of the ways God the Father allows us to learn and grow to become more like His Son Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. We do this through something called Real Groups. Here are a few tips to start your own.

1. Invite

Invite your friends, neighbors, family, coworkers, and enemies, because they all need Jesus whether they know Him or not! Whether it’s a group of men, women, families, students, or singles, explain that you’d like to start a weekly sermon based small group based on Pastor Mark Driscoll’s sermons.

2. Listen to the sermon on realfaith.com or on the Real Faith app

You can host a viewing party to watch Real Faith Live and discuss it all at once, or you can watch it separately and gather to discuss it at another time that works for the group.

3. Get into God’s Word

In addition to watching the sermon, make sure you and all group members have a study guide from realfaith.com for the current

3 THEOLOGY FOR EVERYBODY sermon series. There are questions for personal reflection as well as for groups that can guide your devotional times throughout the week. You can also sign up for Daily Devos at realfaith.com.

4. Gather together

Whether at someone’s house, a public place, or through something like Zoom, meet weekly to discuss the sermon and what God taught you through it. The great thing about Real Groups is that you don’t all have to be in the same location. You can talk about sermon takeaways, what stood out to you in the study guide, or what God taught you in His Word that week. Focus on personal application as much as possible.

5. Pray

When you gather, feel free to share prayer requests, pray for each other on the spot, and continue praying throughout the week. Prayer is a great unifying force that God gives us to strengthen His family.

6. Share

Send us photos, videos, testimonies, and updates of how your group is doing to [email protected]. You might even be featured on our Real Faith Live show!

There are plenty more resources to discover at realfaith.com/real- groups, as well. We will be praying for you and your group and look forward to hearing what God does through it.

4 CHAPTER 1 GOOD GIFTS

Good Gifts: New Freedom (Romans 6:1-14) 1What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Memory Verse: Romans 6:1-2a – What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means!

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Summary: A major theme in Romans up to this point has been the fact that God’s grace is really gracious. The question that Paul anticipates is whether or not God’s grace is too gracious (Romans 6:1-2). The concern is that, if God’s grace covers any and all sins for His people, will that not encourage some to abuse God’s grace? Sadly, some have done this very thing. As sinners, we need to use God’s grace. However, in considering if we should abuse God’s grace Paul says, “By no means!” Various English translations say “God forbid”, “Absolutely not”, “Of course not”, “No”, and “That’s unthinkable”. Paul then summarizes what it means to be a Christian to show that our primary motivation to obey God is not a fear of what He might do to punish us but love for what He has done to bless us. 1) God works for you: Justification (Romans 6:3-4). The Christian is supernaturally connected to the life, death, and victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through our connection with Jesus in the Spirit, we are able to walk away from our old life and walk with Him in “newness of life”. In mentioning baptism, we are reminded that there are two kinds of baptism. Baptism in the Spirit happens at conversion and is our internal private connection with God. Baptism in water is our public confession of our relationship with God. Water baptism reminds us that our old life is now dead and buried with Jesus Christ. Our Spirit baptism reminds us that we now live a new life by God’s power. 2) God works in you: Regeneration (Romans 6:5-11). Just as your old life was grafted into the death of Adam, so your new life is grafted into the victory of Jesus. As a new person born again in Christ, you are set free from sin, and set free to God. This is because God’s love forgives you, changes your nature, changes your desires, and gives you the Spirit’s power to change how you live because God has changed who you are. Lastly, since we love Jesus the most, and sin killed Him, we can no longer love the sin that killed the Person we love the most. 3) God works through you: Sanctification (Romans 6:12-14). As a Christian you are new, not yet perfect, but in a process of progress called sanctification that ends in eternal perfection. The language Paul uses is imagery taken from battle. To “Let not sin...reign” means that we are able to surrender to the Spirit instead of sin when

6 ROMANS 6-11 the battle for our behavior rages. Furthermore, the “members” of our body (e.g. mind, eyes, ears, mouth, hands, feet, heart, etc.) are “instruments” or weapons for war that we use to worship God by warring against sinful temptation.

In regard to sin, the Christian does not need to celebrate it, tolerate it, work around it, excuse it, hide it, or fight to keep it alive but under control. Because Jesus died for your sin, you can put your sin to death.

Personal Study Questions: 1. Which of these three works of God (justification, regeneration, sanctification) are you most and least familiar with? 2. How can you learn about and apply God’s grace to the work of God you are least familiar with? 3. Which of your body “members” is currently your biggest battle (e.g. mind, eyes, ears, mouth, hands, feet, heart, etc.)? 4. How can you give more of God’s grace to the people who are closest to you (e.g. spouse, child, parent, friend, coworker, church member, etc.)?

Group Discussion Questions: 1. What is the difference, in your own words, between using God’s grace, which is good, and abusing God’s grace which is bad? 2. What area(s) of your life have you seen the most changed by God’s grace in the past year? 3. If you had to pick one area of your life where you could use more of God’s sanctifying grace, which would that be? 4. Who has been a source of God’s grace in your life?

7 NOTES

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Good Gifts: New Life (Romans 6:15-23) 15What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Memory Verse: Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Summary: One of the great myths is that human beings have free will. God alone has free will because He alone has a perfect nature that is perfectly free, and He alone has no limitations and can do whatever He wants. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, had free will insofar as they did not have a sin nature until their rebellion, although their choices were limited by God. For the rest of us who inherit a sin nature, our will is not free. Erasmus released his book, “Freedom of the Will” in 1524 arguing that we are much like Adam and Eve before sin, with a free will. In response, Martin Luther released his book, “Bondage of the Will” in 1525 quoting may Scriptures from Romans regarding unbelievers such as:

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1:18 – “suppress the truth” 1:21 – “futile in their thinking” 1:22 – “claiming to become wise, they became fools” 1:28 – “debased mind” 3:10-11 – “none is righteous, no not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God” Luther’s big idea, echoing Paul in Romans, is that the Christian with a new nature and the Holy Spirit has a freer will, though not entirely free due to our sinful flesh. In this section of Romans, Paul teaches us five things about Christian freedom: 1) Freedom is not freedom to sin, but freedom from sin (Romans 6:15). Before Jesus, someone or something was our Lord, ruled over us, and demanded us to serve them like a slave. This can include such things as your job, an addiction, unhealthy relationship, expectations from others, pressure from your family, or unhealthy longing for approval, comfort, success, money, beauty, etc. With Jesus as our new Lord, we are free from our old lord(s) to enjoy a new freedom under Jesus’ reign of grace. 2) Freedom is not doing what you want but doing what God wants (Romans 6:16-18). Rebellious sins are like the younger brother in the story of the prodigal son. Religious sins are like the older brother in the same story. In contrast, Christian freedom is to do what God wants in “righteousness” rather than continuing in “sin”. The big idea is that you do not need to obey God to be saved, but you do need to obey God to live free. 3) Freedom is not you choosing to go down, but God choosing to pull you up (Romans 6:19). In the ancient Roman empire, upwards of half of the citizens were in the category of servant or slave at some point in their life. This happened in two ways. One, it was imposed upon you, for example in war. Two, it was invited by you as you traded freedom for something you desired. The same is true of us. Some people and things that master us are imposed, but many of our worst addictions, decisions, and problems are invited by us. As sinners, we choose to go down closer to hell until Jesus our Savior

10 ROMANS 6-11 and new Master chooses to pull us up toward Heaven. 4) Freedom is not calling back but running forward (Romans 6:20-22). Regarding slavery and freedom, there are two kinds of people. One, you can be a slave to someone or something and wrongly think you are free. This is the case for all non-Christians who are not free to stop sinning. Two, you can be free to someone or something and wrongly think you are a slave. This is the case for some Christians who do not walk in the Spirit-empowered freedom from sin available to them in Christ. 5) Freedom is not freedom from God, but freedom to God (Romans 6:23). Sin pays wages of punishment and death, but Jesus pays our wages for sin and gives us gifts of grace.

Personal Study Questions: 1. What does it mean for your life to not live free from God but to live free for God? 2. What areas of your life have you already experienced freedom in from Christ? 3. Is there any area(s) of your life you need to exercise your freedom in Christ? 4. Re-read this section of Romans and make note of the reasons Jesus is the best person to be in authority over your life, even better than you ruling your own life?

Group Discussion Questions: 1. How is your will not truly very free until you get a new nature and the Holy Spirit? 2. Which of these five things are you most familiar with in your own faith walk? 3. Which of these five things is God teaching you in the current season of your faith walk? 4. When you think of freedom in Christ, who do you know that is a good example of this?

11 NOTES

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Good Gifts: New Power (Romans 7:1-13) 1Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? 2For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. 3Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. 4Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. 7What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. 13Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.

Memory Verse: Romans 7:6 – …we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.

Summary: The Bible uses a lot of language from marriage and family to help describe our relationship with God. In this section, we are taught that

13 THEOLOGY FOR EVERYBODY the obligations of marriage come to an end once our spouse dies which explains the vows, “’til death do you part”. In this section, the Holy Spirit through Paul will compare and contrast being married to the law verses being married to grace in three ways. 1) Living under the law is like a bad marriage (Romans 7:1-3). Paul uses the Greek word for law “nomos” some 121 times throughout his letters. The word has a variety of uses, but in this context, it likely refers to the general meaning of God’s universal standards of right and wrong over everyone. The law reflects God’s character as Lawgiver, restrains some evil through our conscience (Romans 2) and government (Romans 13), and also reveals to us our own sin. Non-Christians often deny that there is a universal standard of right and wrong, but, when pressed, are forced to acknowledge it in a variety of ways:

1. We rebel against law as we want to be sovereign and not under authority 2. We feel guilty when we violate the law 3. We appeal to the law to criticize and judge others when they violate the law 4. When we do well, we appeal to the law to show our success 5. When we fail to obey the law, we try to ignore or hide the law so we don’t get caught 6. When we fail the law and are found out, we feel defeat and depression for our shortcoming

The law is good, and we are bad. The law is like an MRI machine that shows us what is wrong with us but cannot do anything to fix the problem. The law shows us our sin and need for a Savior who fulfils the law and frees us from it. Living life under, or to use Paul’s metaphor being married to law, feels a lot like rules, control, punishment, failure, and cheerless constant falling short. This can include increasing rules from a parent or spouse at home, boss at work, overreach from government, or laws and legalisms at church. Thankfully, when Jesus died, we too died to the law and are now free to a new relationship with Jesus Christ by grace.

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2) Living under grace is like a great marriage (Romans 7:4-6). The Bible often uses the metaphor of marriage to the Christian faith. Jesus is portrayed as a faithful groom, and the Church as His beloved bride. In marriage there is a sacred moment where the covenant is made, a new legal status is conferred, and a new name is taken by the bride. The same is true for the believer as we are in covenant with Jesus, receive His legal status of eternal righteousness as our inheritance, and take the name Christian to honor Him. 3) We live under the law or in the Spirit (Romans 7:7-13). The two primary purposes of the law are to name our sin and aggravate our sin nature. Paul makes this issue personal, referring to himself nearly thirty times in Romans 7. He says that once he heard about coveting, his sinful nature immediately and passionately started to violate the 10th Commandment. The same is true of us. Every parent knows the reality of the sin nature well – as a child tends to do exactly the opposite of what they are told. Since laws are good and we are bad, more laws tend to result in more rebellion. What we need is a new nature with new desires and new power all possible because of the Holy Spirit. This is precisely where Paul is driving his argument as Romans 8 is about living in the Spirit rather than under the law dead to sin and alive to Christ.

Personal Study Questions: 1. Which of God’s laws do you personally struggle most to not rebel against? 2. Are there any moral limits in God’s Word that you believe are wrong or wish you could change? Why? 3. In what ways has God’s grace changed some behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs in your life as He patiently and kindly walked you through a change process? 4. Who are you least likely to give law to instead of grace? Why? How can that relationship be improved?

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Group Discussion Questions: 1. Why is it important that we respect God’s order of right and wrong in our life, family, church, and community? 2. Why is it important that we deal with people and their problems with grace like God deals with us? 3. Are you a person who is more prone to deal with people and problems with law or grace? 4. Who do you know that does a good job pointing out a problem that violates the law, but deals with it in a way that brings grace and help to remedy the problem?

NOTES

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Good Gifts: New Desires (Romans 7:14-25) 14For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18For 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. 19For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 21So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

Memory Verse: Romans 7:24-25 – Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Summary: At some point most every child finds themselves holding one end of a rope and participating in a tug-of-war game. As an adult, that game continues with a twist. We feel like the rope with our sinful flesh is pulling on one side, and the Holy Spirit is pulling on the other. This is precisely what Romans 7 is speaking about. What is less clear is who is being referred to and has erupted to make this one of the most debated and contested sections of the New Testament. There are six common interpretations: 1) This is Paul speaking about his experience before he became a Christian. 2) This is Paul speaking about his experience as a carnal Christian who had Jesus as Savior of his sin but not fully Lord over his life. 3) This is Paul speaking about his struggle, and the struggle of every other Christian, to live by the Spirit and overcome the desires of

18 ROMANS 6-11 the flesh. 4) This is Paul speaking about Adam’s experience in the Garden. 5) This is Paul speaking on behalf of the nation of Israel and identifying himself broadly with God’s people. 6) This is Paul speaking very broadly and generally about the experience of all of humanity under the weight of sin. I believe Paul is referring to the third option, explaining the very real struggle a Christian experiences as they live in the tug-of-war between the flesh and the Spirit. Until this point, Paul has been contrasting who we were in comparison to who we are. We were in Adam, now we are in Christ (5:12-21). We were under death, now we are under life (6:1-14). We were slaves, now we are free (6:15-23). We were under law, now we are under grace (7:1-13). Paul now adds that we were in the flesh, now we are in the Spirit (7:14-25). Thanks to the Spirit for our new nature, we have new desires which makes us not want to sin and frustrated when we do. Each of these explains the same tension in various ways. A Christian is new, but not yet perfect. We are not who we were before we met Jesus, but we are not who we will be in eternity with Jesus. This life is in the middle and the place of our struggle to move from our past to our future. The solution to all of our problems is the power of the Holy Spirit to continue His work of sanctification in and through us, which is the entire point of the next chapter, Romans 8. The Christian life is simply a supernatural life lived by the same power that Jesus did, although imperfectly because He never fell into sin as we have.

Personal Study Questions: 1. How have you experienced the tug-of-war between your flesh and the Spirit? 2. What are the 1-2 areas of your life that this spiritual battle is most frequent or intense? 3. How can you intentionally walk in the Spirit to have more victory in your area(s) of struggle? What specific steps can you

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take (e.g. meet with a counselor, get an accountability partner, study a topic, get better daily spiritual habits, etc.?) Take some time to intentionally put together a plan to walk in the Spirit and enjoy more freedom in Christ.

Group Discussion Questions: 1. What sinful things did you used to enjoy before Jesus that you no longer enjoy? 2. What new holy desires has the Spirit given you since meeting Jesus? 3. How are you experiencing the tug-of-war between the flesh and the Spirit in your own life? 4. How can we be praying for you?

NOTES

20 21 CHAPTER 2 LIFE IN THE SPIRIT

Life in the Spirit: New Father (Romans 8:1-17) 1There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. 12So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of

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God, 17and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Memory Verse: Romans 8:1 – There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Summary: Some religions believe in one god (monotheism), and other religions believe in many gods (polytheism). Only Christianity believes in the Trinity, that there is one God in three persons Spirit, Son, and Father. For Christians, this is a closed-handed issue and one of our beliefs that makes us distinct from all other religions, ideologies, and spiritualities. Our God is relational and changes us when we enter into a relationship with Him. In this section of Romans, we are told in life-changing, heart- warming, eternity-altering detail how a relationship with each member of the Trinity transforms us. First, Jesus died not only to forgive our sin, but also to remove any and all condemnation (8:1-4). God cannot love you any more, and, no matter what you have done or will do, God will not love you any less. Jesus was condemned in your place so that you could be no longer condemned by demonic torment, regrets of your past, criticism of others, or wrath of God. Second, the same Holy Spirit who empowered the life of Jesus also now lives in the believer, bringing resurrection life and power (8:5-13). When Jesus told us that He would send us the Helper (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7), He knew that we would need the Spirit’s help to live a spiritual life. When Jesus needed help, He went to the Helper and we can do the same. Third, God the Father has adopted us into His eternal family, made us children of God, and heirs of the Spirit and all spiritual

23 THEOLOGY FOR EVERYBODY blessings (8:14-17). This incredible truth radically alters how we see God, ourselves, and other Christians. Our Father is perfect, power, loving, and devoted to us. We are loved, secure, cared for, protected, provided, and cherished. Furthermore, we are adopted into a new family called the Church where we enjoy new relationships just like a child brought home by a loving father to meet the rest of the family.

Personal Study Questions: 1. Read this section over and make a list of things you are grateful to the Son, Spirit, and Father for. 2. Is there any area of your life in which you have not believed and received that there is now no condemnation for you in Christ Jesus? If yes, stop and give that sin to God and invite the Holy Spirit to lift that burden in prayer. 3. Spend some time in prayer speaking to God the Son, Spirit, and Father about your relationship with them and have this conversation respectfully but informally to see how the time together unfolds.

Group Discussion Questions: 1. Are you more familiar with God the Father, God the Son, or God the Spirit? Why? 2. What condemnation has Jesus taken from you? 3. What power has the Spirit given you? 4. What love has the Father lavished on you?

NOTES

24 25 THEOLOGY FOR EVERYBODY

Life in the Spirit: New Future (Romans 8:18-30) 18For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. 26Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Memory Verse: Romans 8:28 – And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Summary: I was present when my wife Grace gave birth to each of our five children. Like all women, her entire pregnancy involved lots of pain and discomfort. The bigger each child grew, the harder it was to breathe, sleep, and undertake otherwise normal activities. Her energy level was often low, and her pain level was also high. The closer we got to the birth, the more intense and frequent all the

26 ROMANS 6-11 pains and problems became. Everything culminated with the birth of each child, and then she recovered as new life began. Paul uses this analogy to explain our present life. This life is like childbirth. It’s a painful, awful, constant mess that only gets worse before it gets better. Not only are we, but all of creation, subjected to the curse of the fall and are pushing and groaning for the new world and our new life to be birthed. Thankfully, we have the Holy Spirit with us every moment so that we can access His divine power to meet our needs. Paul concludes this unit of thought with one of the most succinct and significant summaries of salvation in all of Scripture. He is assuring us that the process we are in is worth it and that God will be good to fulfill all of His promises to all of His people. Here are those words defined: 1. Foreknew – God knew all of history in advance including His plan for you. 2. Predestined to be conformed – God chose in advance your destiny to be saved and become more and more like His Son. 3. Called – God sought you out and called you from spiritual death to life, much like Jesus who called the dead Lazarus to come forth from the grave by name. 4. Justified – God has declared you legally righteous in His sight by grace from and through faith in Jesus Christ. 5. Glorified – God sees you as you will be - fully healed and redeemed in eternity -once He is done working to make you like His Son Jesus Christ as one of His adopted “sons”. The big idea is that God’s plan for your life began in eternity past and continues into eternity future. Faith is trusting that He will not fail and remaining steadfast and Spirit-filled in the middle of His plan as we push through the pain on our way to Paradise.

Personal Study Questions: 1. In what areas of your life is the pain of the fall and curse most frustrating right now (e.g. physical or mental health, a loved

27 THEOLOGY FOR EVERYBODY

one is sick or dying, things simply keep breaking and falling apart, etc.?) 2. How can you welcome the Holy Spirit to help you process and push through your pains and problems (e.g. time in prayer, worship, Scripture, talking with wise counsel, etc.)? 3. In what areas are you needing to grow in patience right now? 4. In what areas of your life is it most urgent to be conformed to the image of his Son Jesus Christ so that your old ways are replaced by His ways?

Group Discussion Questions: 1. Have someone read aloud Paul’s conversion story from Acts 7:54-8:3 and 9:1-31. 2. Share your testimony and how God called you to Himself. 3. What birth pains are you experiencing in your life right now that we can be praying for? 4. Why is it so important that we truly trust that in this life or eternity, God will work out “all things” for good for those who love Him? 5. What are you most looking forward to when you are fully glorified, healed, and delivered in Jesus’ presence once and forever?

NOTES

28 29 THEOLOGY FOR EVERYBODY

Life in the Spirit: New Fortitude (Romans 8:31-39) 31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died— more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Memory Verse: Romans 8:38-39 – For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Summary: In life, it is not uncommon to hear about people who are in love that fall out of love. This happens all the time in relationships and is most painful in marriage. This raises the question about God’s love and the security of our relationship with Him. Is it possible that someone or something could change God’s heart toward us and remove God’s love from us? No! Our relationship with God is forever secure because His Covenant love for us is unbreakable, unshakable, and unchangeable. This promise of God’s love is well-spoken of in the Jesus Storybook Bible for kids, “God loves us with a Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.” Paul answers four common questions in this breathtaking section of Scripture to defend the complete security of our eternal

30 ROMANS 6-11 relationship with God through Jesus Christ: 1. If God is for us, who can be against us? 2. Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? 3. Who is to condemn? 4. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Throughout life, it seems like every season has its own struggle. The Devil haunts us with failures from our past, we blow it so bad we wonder if God might give up on us, the bottom falls out of life and everyone and everything we depended on falls through as we are left in shock and uncertain what to do or how to survive, and then demonic forces show up to rob us of the last bit of joy and life our soul is capable of mustering. Through it all, one thing is certain – our faith is in a God who is totally, utterly, completely, powerfully, wonderfully, shockingly and eternally faithful. No one, nothing, will change His plan to love and save. The love of God is immovable bedrock upon which our eternal life is built!

Personal Study Questions: 1. Make note of the four questions Paul answers in this section of Romans. 2. Make note of all the categories of problems believers might face according to this section of Scripture. 3. Make note of all the things God promises a believer in this section of Scripture. 4. What does it mean that Jesus Christ is interceding for you right now before the Father as your advocate and intercessor (see also Psalm 110 and Hebrews 7:25, which speaks of Jesus as our Great High Priest)?

Group Discussion Questions: 1. Which of the obstacles Paul lists have you personally endured? 2. Which of the blessings from God Paul lists are the most precious to you? Why?

31 THEOLOGY FOR EVERYBODY

3. Do you truly believe that there is no one and no thing that can separate you from God’s love, including yourself and things you’ve done or might do? 4. Since Jesus lives to intercede for us before the Father, how can we also intercede for you in prayer bringing your requests to Him?

NOTES

32 33 CHAPTER 3 PREDESTINATION PROBLEMS

Predestination Problems: Unbiblical? (Romans 9:1-13) 1I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. 6But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. 9For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— 12she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

Memory Verse: Romans 9:6 – …it is not as though the word of God has failed.

34 ROMANS 6-11

Introduction to Predestination and Election: Some people turn from sin to Jesus for eternal salvation while others remain in sin away from Jesus for eternal damnation. Why? One clue in Scripture is the frequent use of words that, in their Old Testament context, indicate God chooses some people to be saved, such as plana, purposeb, and choosec. Likewise, the New Testament uses a constellation of words, such as predestined, electe, choosef, and appointedg, to speak of God’s choosing to save some people but not all people. The question that logically follows is: Why are some people saved by God and not others? Is it because they do not choose God, or because God did not choose them? This leads to the topic of predestination. By predestination we are asking, is a person’s eternal destiny chosen by God before their birth? Does God predestine people to heaven? Does God predestine people to hell? Theologian Millard Erickson clarifies the applicable theological terms: “Predestination” refers to God’s choice of individuals for eternal life or eternal death. “Election” is the selection of some for eternal life, the positive side of predestination.1 The basic difference between Reformed and Arminian Christians is their belief about salvation. This big issue of how someone enters into relationship with God is connected to numerous related issues, such as whether a Christian can lose his or her relationship with God and how a Christian grows in relationship with God. Simply put, this is no small matter, theologically or practically. Synergism is the belief that, in varying degrees (depending on who is advocating this position), God and man work together in the process of saving a sinner (justification). Conversely, monergism is the belief that God alone works for our justification and we play no a Jer. 49:20; 50:45; Mic. 4:12 b Isa. 14:24, 26–27; 19:12; 23:9 c Num. 16:5, 7; Deut. 4:37, 10:15; Isa. 41:8; Ezek. 20:5 d Rom. 8:29–30; Eph. 1:5, 11 e Matt. 24:22; Rom. 8:33; Col. 3:12 f 1 Cor. 1:27; Eph. 1:4; 2 Thess. 2:13 g Acts 13:48

35 THEOLOGY FOR EVERYBODY part whatsoever in our salvation. Think of it this way: Does God reach down to grab sinners and save them solely by the work of his hand (monergism), or do sinners also reach up and grab God’s hand if they are to be rescued (synergism)? Is salvation one-handed (God alone) or two-handed (God and us)? There are now, broadly speaking, two general Christian schools of thought regarding salvation in general and predestination in particular. These schools follow the teachings of either John Calvin or Jacob Arminius. They are called Reformed (Calvinists) or Arminians, respectively. These and other related issues are at the heart of the debate surrounding Romans 9.

Summary: One common argument against the doctrine of predestination is that it leads to a heartless Christian life that is not motivated to do evangelism or love non-Christians. Sadly, in some instances this criticism is deserved. Yet, in Paul’s writings and in his own life, which he gave wholeheartedly to evangelism and church planting, we see a man who believes in both predestination and passionate evangelism. Here Paul is speaking of Jews who had such blessing and instruction from God yet did not come to know and love Jesus as Paul had. Under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, Paul anticipates five questions that people in his day and every day since have asked. The remainder of Romans 9-10 is Paul’s effort to explain each of these questions in succession.

Question #1: If many Jews did not love Jesus, did God’s Word fail (Romans 9:6)?

Since the Jewish people had descended from Abraham and enjoyed God’s provision and instruction for so many generations, the fact that when Jesus came, many Jews, though not all, rejected Him raises the question of whether God’s Word ultimately failed. God’s Word has not failed and never will fail. Abraham has three kinds of offspring. One, he has physical descendants. Two, he has spiritual descendants who are not biologically related but are related by mutual faith in Jesus Christ. Three, he has physical and spiritual descendants like the Apostle Paul who writes Romans and descends

36 ROMANS 6-11 from Abraham both in birth and new birth. To answer this question, Paul turns to Genesis 25. There we read that Abraham’s son Isaac had two sons, who become the focus of attention in the subsequent 12 chapters of Genesis. The conflict between the boys began in the womb as they wrestled for preeminence. Curious as to what was occurring in her womb, Rebekah prayed to God for insight, and he told her that the boys would struggle throughout their lives. The older would serve the younger, and each boy would grow into a nation in conflict with the other (Esau became the nation of Edom and Jacob became the nation of Israel). The first son born was Esau, which means “hairy,” and he was also called Edom, which means “red.” Apparently, he was a red and hairy child, perhaps like Elmo on Sesame Street. The second son born was Jacob, which means “trickster,” and he came out of the womb grasping his brother’s heel. As the boys grew, Esau was the man’s man who hunted, ate wild game, and was favored by his father. Jacob was a momma’s boy who preferred to stay around the house and be doted on by his mother. As the firstborn, Esau was entitled to the family birthright, which would grant him a double portion of his father’s estate and leave him as the head of the family upon his father’s death. It also allowed him to receive a special blessing from his father. One day, Esau came home hungry and his brother, Jacob the trickster, got Esau to trade his birthright for a meal. In this account, the younger brother displaced the older, as had happened previously in Genesis with Cain and Abel and Isaac and Ishmael. At the bottom of Esau’s sin was indifference about God’s covenant promise to bless the nations through the descendants of Abraham, a blessing that would ultimately bring forth Jesus Christ. Esau flippantly dismissed God’s covenant for the sake of a meal. In short, neither son was particularly holy in their early days, and both lived as most unrepentant sinful men do. Amazingly, this struggle between two brothers in the womb continued well into the future. In fact, many years later it reached its climax when King Herod, a

37 THEOLOGY FOR EVERYBODY descendant of Esau, sought to slaughter Jesus Christ, a descendant of Isaac.a Paul then goes on to argue that before Jacob and Esau were born and before they had done anything good or bad, in pure, predestinating grace, God chose to have the younger brother rule over the older and supplant him as the head of the family through which Jesus Christ would be born. Paul quotes Malachi 1:2–3, which is a source of great interpretive controversy. Some commentators claim that Malachi is saying that God, for no reason whatsoever, chose to love Jacob and hate his brother Esau. Admittedly, this makes God appear cruel and capricious, as if he were playing “duck, duck, damn.” Other commentators make an argument from the original language, claiming that the word hate literally means “to pass over” or “not choose to use,” so that God chose to work through Isaac to bring forth Jesus and chose to not work through Esau. Finally, looking at the context of the verse, still other commentators argue that Paul shifts from speaking of God’s election of Jacob over Esau in Genesis to speaking of their descendants in terms of the nations of Israel and Edom, which proceeded from these men, respectively. They further argue that in the days of Malachi, Edom sinfully sought to destroy Israel; thus, God’s hate for them was justifiable and not capricious because He was responding to their hatred of His chosen people. Whatever one’s conclusion regarding these interpretive options, one thing is clear: God does choose to bless some people and not others, and God can choose to bless some nations and not others. The one thing that Jacob and Esau and Israel and Edom had in common was the absolute failure to merit God’s grace in any way. That God would give grace to anyone speaks of how wonderful he is to some ill-deserving— not just undeserving—people. Therefore, Paul’s answer to the first question is that, within physical Israel, there is a remnant saved by grace, which is spiritual Israel. While on the surface it appears that God had attempted to redeem Israel and failed, Paul reveals that God and His gospel have not failed. This is because while Israel was predestined by God to be blessed as a nation, only some members of that nation—along with a Matt. 1:1–2; 2:13

38 ROMANS 6-11 some members of other nations—were to receive the blessing of salvation through God’s predestined sovereign choice. His examples of Jacob and Esau, who came from the same mother and father, serve as illustrations that although both were physical Israel, they were not necessarily spiritual Israel. Even though both were born in the line of Abraham physically, only one was born again in the line of Abraham spiritually. Paul describes this spiritual Israel found within the physical Israel: “So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.”a

Personal Study Questions: 1. Since Paul quotes Genesis 25, read it. 2. Since Paul quotes Malachi 1, read it. 3. In the end, a person’s salvation is either chosen by Satan, the person, some other person, or God. Why is it good that it is ultimately God who chooses? 4. Do you truly share Paul’s heart for lost people to meet Jesus Christ that is on display in Romans 9:1-5?

Group Discussion Questions: 1. List some good reasons you don’t want to spend all of your time in Romans 9 small groups driving around the cul-de-sac of Calvinism versus Arminianism arguing, fighting, and talking about God’s love and grace without being loving and gracious? 2. Since people who differ on this issue will live together peaceably in Heaven, why is it important to unite around primary issues without dividing over secondary issues? 3. As you look back at how you became a Christian, how do you see that God was pursuing you and chose you before you responded from your new heart empowered by the Holy Spirit given to you by God for faith? 4. Since God is sovereign over the means and ends of salvation, who can you be praying for, speaking to, buying a Bible for, and inviting to church so they meet Jesus?

a Rom. 11:5

39 NOTES

40 ROMANS 6-11

Predestination Problems: Unfair? (Romans 9:14-29) 14What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. 19You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’” 26“And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’” 27And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, 28for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” 29And as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah.”

Memory Verse: Romans 9:15 – “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

Summary:

Question #2: Is God unjust to choose some people for salvation and not others (Romans 9:14-18)?

41 THEOLOGY FOR EVERYBODY

“What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part for choosing some people for salvation but not all people? By no means! For he says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’ So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.” – Romans 9:14-18

By saying that God chooses to save some people and not others “not because of works,” Paul anticipates the charge that God is unjust for doing so. To answer this objection biblically, he deftly turns to Moses and the book of Exodus. There we discover that the Israelite people, numbering a few million, are enslaved to a cruel tyrant named Pharaoh who ruled as the most powerful man on earth and was worshiped as a god. God called Moses to proclaim to the pharaoh God’s demand that His people be released to worship Him freely. To authenticate Moses’ divine call, God promised to allow him to perform miraculous feats. This initial demonstration of spiritual power was important for the validation of Moses’ ministry. The Egyptians were dualistic; they believed there were two realms, a physical world in which people lived, and a spiritual world that was filled with multitudes of gods and spiritual beings. They believed that magic and sorcery were the means by which the spiritual world intersected with the physical world. Therefore, Moses’ miraculous wonders would have meant to the Pharaoh that Moses worked for a powerful god, or perhaps the God. The Exodus account to which Paul refers introduces the concept of the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, a subject that appears 19 more times in upcoming chapters.a Some of these verses say that it was God who hardened Pharaoh’s heart, while others indicate that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. Still, some theologians have said a Ex. 7:3, 13, 14, 22; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7, 12, 34–35; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 13:15; 14:4, 8, 17

42 ROMANS 6-11 that the wording merely reflects the Hebrew understanding of the world, and that the issue is largely one of semantics because they would have seen every action as ultimately a work of God. The question that has erupted from these verses is whether God could have overridden Pharaoh’s will, hardened his heart, and then punished him for his sin. If God had done that, then God would have been unjust and morally responsible for making Pharaoh sin yet still punishing Pharaoh for doing what he was forced to do. Likewise, any abusive father who throws his child across the dinner table and then spanks him for spilling his milk is unjust. Paul is emphatic that God did in fact harden Pharaoh’s heart, and so we must accept that truth. Still, the question of how God hardened Pharaoh’s heart is incredibly important if the justice of God is to be defended. The answer is that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart with patience and grace. God did not need to send Moses to Pharaoh on multiple occasions to invite Pharaoh to repent of his sin and free the Israelites. God did not need to perform miracles in front of the pharaoh to prove his power and sovereign rule over even the pharaoh. Furthermore, God knew that Pharaoh’s heart was hard and that in asking him to repent and come under the leadership of the real God, Pharaoh would only grow all the angrier and more hardhearted. Therefore, it was grace that hardened Pharaoh’s heart, similar to heaping burning coals on the head of one’s enemies, as Jesus said. Subsequently, God remains gracious and is not unjust. The responsibility for the hard heart is ultimately the unrepentant, sinful pharaoh who repeatedly rejects God’s offer of grace. Thus, the truism of the Puritans rings true that “the same sun that melts the ice hardens the clay.” Paul’s point is that we are each like Pharaoh—living as little gods, rejecting the grace of God all the time. God would be fully just to send every one of us to hell. However, He chooses to have mercy and

43 THEOLOGY FOR EVERYBODY compassion on some of us, as He did for Moses. In fact, this is exactly how God describes himself through Moses in Exodus 34:6–7, which is the most frequently quoted verse in the Bible: The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

Question #3: Is God unfair to save some people and not others (Romans 9:19-29)?

The final question that Paul seeks to answer is, if God chooses to save some people and not others, is he unfair for punishing people who do his will by not believing? Paul then quotes a number of Old Testament verses to show that God is not unfair. First, Paul says that we must be careful not to stand in the place of Pharaoh and judge God, because that is, in essence, to declare ourselves god. Such folly is akin to a potter making various things out of one lump of clay, and the finished products complaining that they do not like what they have been made to accomplish. Paul is saying that rather than complaining that God is unjust for not saving everyone, we should rejoice that God is gracious and merciful in saving anyone. If you are a Christian, when you see unrepentant, lost sinners destined for hell, you should pursue them with the gospel and thank God that He changed your heart, because apart from His saving you, your condition would be equally pathetic. As an aside, there is a debate among Bible teachers over whether this metaphor of potter and clay refers to individuals or to nations. The Old Testament uses the analogy in more than one place to refer to both individuals and nations.a Second, Paul quotes Hosea 1:10 and 2:23 and to show that God, who is rich in mercy, used election to save some Gentiles who were not pursuing God in any way; apart from God’s predestination and pursuit they were without any hope. In this we see the love and a Isa. 29:16; 45:9–11; Jer. 18:1–6

44 ROMANS 6-11 mercy of God greatly displayed to ill-deserving sinners. Third, Paul quotes Isaiah 10:22–23 to show that God had always promised only some of the Jews would be saved. Therefore, God had not failed by saving only some Jewish people; rather, his Word was perfectly implemented in history. Fourth, Paul closes by quoting Isaiah 1:9 to show that, without God’s mercy and election, no one would be saved from His wrath. Practically, this means that everyone is a sinner who deserves wrath and hell, and anyone who is saved has received an ill-deserved gift from a loving God who is rich in mercy. Paul concludes his answer to this question by saying exactly that, illustrating the beauty of God’s grace to pursue some people who have not pursued Him when He has no obligation to do so, and they would often rather that He simply left them alone to do as they please.

Personal Study Questions: 1. How have you seen God’s love, patience, and kindness cause some people to only become more hardened against God? 2. How is your heart toward God? Is there any part of your heart that is hardening toward God? 3. Look up the places where the Bible uses the analogy of the potter and the clay that Paul uses (Isa. 29:16; 45:9–11; Jer. 18:1–6). 4. Go over all of Romans 9 and make note of everything God does to save sinners.

Group Discussion Questions: 1. Who can you think of, in addition to Paul, that was not seeking God when God found them? 2. If you had to pick one word to define your heart when God found you, what would that be and why (e.g. hard, broken, fearful, hopeful, selfish, tender, etc.)? 3. How is your heart toward God? Is there any part of your heart that is hardening toward God? 4. Since God can change hearts, who can we be praying for (without gossiping about by not disclosing their name and full identity) as their heart right now is not for God?

45 NOTES

46 ROMANS 6-11

Predestination Problems: Unloving? (Romans 9:30-10:13) 30What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. 32Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

1Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. 5For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7“or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Memory Verse: Romans 10:13 – For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

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Summary:

Question #4: Does predestination make God unloving (Romans 9:30-31)?

Some will protest that the doctrine of predestination makes God unloving because not everyone is predestined. Furthermore, if God does not care about non-Christians, why should Christians care about them either? Predestination shows how loving God is. When we did not love Him, He loved us. Because God did the work to save us, it was also very loving as it relieved us from the burden of “works”. In love, Jesus Christ met all the demands of the law doing all the work that was required for our salvation. In love, He gave us His righteousness as a free gift. All of this was done in love as we were God’s enemies when He loved us, and His love changes us to love Him. Predestination, when rightly understood, should also make Christians more loving toward non-Christians. After all, if we know that we are no better, smarter, holier, or more deserving of salvation than anyone else, then we should be compassionate toward non- Christians. It is precisely the sovereign and free nature of God’s predestining grace that should cause us to lay an ax to the root of any religious pride, smugness, and condemnation. When we understand that people are lost because they are sinners, we are compelled to care for them because their condition reminds us of the terrible fate that would be ours had God not freely saved us. We are also compelled to love them in hope that, through our love, they would begin to see something of God’s grace in their lives. Again, the Scriptures are clear on this point. Paul was so aware of his sin that throughout his letters, he repeatedly says that he is the worst of sinners and that by saving him, God demonstrates the fullness of his merciful love. Rather than being smugly religious and unloving toward lost people, the man who more passionately argued for predestination in all of Scripture also labored tirelessly to lovingly evangelize lost people and plant churches despite his own poverty, shame, beatings, and imprisonment. Indeed, for Paul, a correct understanding of predestinating election is actually an impetus for

48 ROMANS 6-11 fervent evangelistic ministry because no matter how dark and bleak someone’s heart may be, there is always the possibility, so long as they are breathing, that God could do a miracle and save them. By way of analogy, if a group of people committed themselves to a mass suicide pact and then gathered in a home and set it on fire, no one would claim that their neighbors were unloving if some of them died in the fire. However, if one of the neighbors ran into the blazing inferno to try to rescue them, only to be met with resistance as he threw them one at a time over his shoulder, kicking and screaming, and ran out of the house, and he did this over and over until he saved some people before he himself died of smoke inhalation, he would be lauded as a hero and not criticized as a villain. No one would accuse him of being unloving because he did not get every suicidal person out of the home. Rather, he was obligated to save no one and gave his own life to save some as the greatest act of love. Likewise, we sinned and lit the proverbial house on fire, and it was Jesus who came to lay down His life to save those who were not seeking to be saved or crying out for help. Everyone who goes to hell can blame themselves, and everyone who goes to Heaven can thank Jesus. In response, we should not accuse God of being love but rather thank him for such great sacrificial mercy. Contrary to the erroneous thinking of some people, predestination reveals how loving God is, for three reasons: 1) God predestines some unlovely people that no one else would ever choose to love. God did not choose only the beautiful, smart, funny, or successful people. In fact, He often chooses the exact kinds of people that no one else would ever choose to love. 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 says, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” 2) Because God saves through election, there is hope for those

49 THEOLOGY FOR EVERYBODY

who have never heard about Jesus, for the unborn, for those who died young, and for the mentally challenged. I am in no way encouraging universalism—hell will be filled with unrepentant sinners. But if God chooses who goes to Heaven, then I know the result will be more loving than if Satan or sinners made the choice, because God is love. 3) The Bible declares that God predestines us not because of anything merit-worthy in us but solely because of the caring love in Himself: “In love he predestined us.”a

Personal Study Questions: 1. Read Isaiah 28:14-29 and 64:1-65:25 since Paul quotes portions of it throughout Romans 9-10. 2. Read Deuteronomy 30 since Paul quotes it in this section of Romans. 3. Even if you do not yet really believe that God predestines people for salvation, if it is true, list the ways it would be actually more loving than allowing everyone to go to hell because they are a sinner? 4. Are there any people you know that you are shocked God chose to save? 5. Be honest and spend some time considering all the reasons God should not have chosen you, then prayerfully thank Him for choosing to save you.

Group Discussion Questions: 1. How do the doctrines of predestination and election give you hope for people who may not have heard about Jesus, the unborn and young children who die, as well as the possibility of last-minute death-bed conversions for some loved ones? 2. Honestly, how would your life be worse right now if God had not inserted Himself in your life and chosen to love, forgive, save, and serve you? 3. Paul talks about people he really wishes would be saved. Who are those people for you and how can we be praying for them? a Eph. 1:4–5

50 NOTES

51 THEOLOGY FOR EVERYBODY

Predestination Problems: Uncaring? (Romans 10:14-21) 14How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. 18But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” 19But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.” 20Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.” 21But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

Memory Verse: Romans 10:17 – So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Summary:

Question #5: Why should we evangelize if people are predestined?

Romans 9-11 is the great section of Scripture on predestination. It opens in Romans 9:1-5 with Paul’s desire for people to be saved, which is echoed again in 10:1. He goes on to say that God is not only sovereign over the ends of saving people but also over the means; He chooses people to bring the good news of Jesus to lost sinners.a Paul’s own example of evangelistic and church planting zeal must be the context in which his words are understood. Too often, Christians have Paul’s theology but not his heart or work ethic. Not only did he experience God’s sovereign choosing of him for salvation and calling him in to ministry, he also had a heart passionate to a Rom. 10:14–17

52 ROMANS 6-11 preach the gospel so that lost people could be found, and churches could be planted. In roughly a decade of ministry, Paul walked an average of nearly 20 miles a day, preaching a message hated by most everyone. He was single and didn’t have the comfort of a wife, and he was often suffering alone. He was often poor and would spend time working a job to keep himself alive so that He could continue preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ (Acts 18:1-3). Summarizing the life of Paul as a missionary of Jesus, theologian Paul Barnett says, “This ex-Pharisee brought the message about Jesus the Christ to the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire, and wanted to repeat this achievement in the western province, Spain. Apart from Paul’s Herculean efforts, it is difficult to imagine how the gospel of Christ would have taken root so comprehensively in the Greco-Roman world. Paul’s intrepid and energetic travels and tireless work, however, do not in themselves explain his achievements. Here we must understand that for Paul his relationship with Christ and his work for him were inseparable. He regarded all that he did as ‘the work of the Lord’ (1 Corinthians 15:58) that the risen Christ was doing ‘through’ his servant, Paul (Romans 15:18)...In short, to understand Paul’s achievements we need to appreciate his driving passion, which was that Christ loved him and seized him, and that he could never be separated from his love (Rom 8:35, 39), sinner though he was and persecutor though he had been.”2 By believing that God elects people, we are relieved of the burden to manipulate and guilt people into becoming Christians and can work more honestly, lovingly, patiently, truthfully, compassionately, and sincerely. Thus, belief in predestination should not quench evangelistic zeal but rather fuel it. After all, no matter how dark people’s hearts might be, knowing that there are elect people and that God the Holy Spirit has chosen to work through the proclamation of the gospel, we can evangelize in hope, eagerly

53 THEOLOGY FOR EVERYBODY expecting that some will be saved, and not feel guilty when others reject Jesus. Nevertheless, by predestining some people to salvation, God is also unequally merciful. On this point, Paul says, “Isaiah 65:1 is so bold as to say, ‘I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.’” Additionally, a Bible commentary says, “One of the notable features of Romans 10 is that it is saturated with Old Testament allusion and quotation. Paul cites Scripture here in order to confirm or illustrate eight truths: first, the ready accessibility of Christ to faith (6–8 = Dt. 30:12ff.); second, the promise of salvation to all who believe (11 = Is. 28:16; 13 = Joel 2:32); third, the glorious necessity of evangelism (15 = Is. 52:7); fourth, the unresponsiveness of Israel (16 = Is. 53:1); fifth, the universality of the gospel (18 = Ps. 19:4); sixth, the Gentiles’ provocation of Israel (19 = Dt. 32:21); seventh, the divine initiative of grace (20 = Is. 65:1); and eighth, the patient grief of God the evangelist (21 = Is. 65:2). Thus Paul’s emphasis is not only on the authority of Scripture, but also on the fundamental continuity which unites the Old and the New Testament revelations.”3 Paul is seeking to show that God’s heart and salvation plan have never changed throughout history. In this, he is showing us the character of God so that we would know Him better and trust Him deeper. In relationship to evangelism and church planting, which Paul is addressing, we should evangelize the lost because God has chosen to work through our ministry efforts to save people. God works through us not because He needs us, but because He loves us. He does this so that we would share in his joy and get to know the heart of our Father better. Similarly, when I was a little boy, my dad was a union construction worker who hung sheetrock. I still remember the times when I dressed up like my pop, donning overalls, a white T-shirt, steel-toed boots, and a miniature hard hat, and packed up my lunch box and thermos to go to work with my dad. He would give me a few tasks throughout the day, and by working with my dad, I got to know him better and spend time in his world. God is a Father like that. He needs people like me to evangelize the world no more than my dad needed a little boy to build an apartment complex, but he takes his kids to work because He loves them and wants them to be

54 ROMANS 6-11 with Him doing what He loves. Ministry is simply going to work with your Father.

Personal Study Questions: 1. Read Psalm 19 since Paul quotes it in this section of Romans. 2. Who did God send to share the good news of Jesus Christ with you? Is there any way to thank and encourage them this week? 3. Who has God put in front of you to share the good news of Jesus with? 4. How is God calling you to serve with your time and give of your wealth to help further the mission of Jesus Christ?

Group Discussion Questions: 1. Who did God send to tell you about Jesus Christ? 2. Which preachers has God used to help you learn about God? 3. Can anyone share a personal story of the joy they had seeing someone they shared Christ with come to saving faith? 4. Who is God calling you to tell about Jesus Christ? How will you do this and how can we be praying for you?

NOTES

55 56 CHAPTER 4 VINTAGE FAITH

Vintage Faith: The Past Remnant (Romans 11:1-10) 1I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? 3“Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” 4But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. 7What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.” 9And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; 10let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever.”

Memory Verse: Romans 11:6 – But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

Summary: God chose Abraham to bring forth the nation of Israel who would then bring forth Jesus Christ as the fulfilment that all the nations would be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3). While Jesus, His disciples, and most of the first believers were all Jewish, very quickly the

57 THEOLOGY FOR EVERYBODY majority of Christians were Gentiles and not Jewish. Despite having the Word of God as recipients of the covenants and the promises (Romans 9:4-5), the Jewish people in large part chose works over grace (Romans 9:32) and refused God’s gift righteousness (Romans 10:3). This leads to the question which Paul seeks to answer – namely what happens to the Jewish people who have rejected Jesus Christ as God and Messiah? Is God done with them? Is there any hope for them? Paul’s answer is yes and no. Yes, God has a plan for some of Israel (Romans 11:1-6). No, God will not save all of Israel (Romans 11:7- 10). To make this point, he uses the story of Elijah where God had a remnant of 7,000 faithful believers in the godless days of King Ahab (1 Kings 19:9-18), among other sections of the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 29:4; Psalm 69:22; Isaiah 29:10). The big idea is that Abraham has three kinds of descendants: 1) Abraham has physical descendants by birth who are biologically related to him through his son Isaac. This would include all Jewish people, or Israel. This would also include Paul who is writing Romans before he became a Christian. In this section, Paul refers to this group as “the rest”. 2) Abraham has spiritual descendants by new birth who are supernaturally related to him by faith in the Son of God Jesus Christ. This would include most of the people who received his letter to Rome as this was a Gentile city filled with people who had become Christians. In this section Paul refers to this group as the “elect”. 3) Abraham has physical and spiritual descendants who are connected to him both physically by birth and supernaturally through faith in Jesus Christ. This would include Paul at the time of writing Romans, and, in our day, Jewish Christians. In this section Paul refers to this group as “Israel”. Throughout history, it has always been the case that not every biological descendant of Abraham would share his faith in Jesus Christ. Instead, there has always been a “remnant” of people who did. Examples would include Noah’s family in the days of the flood

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(Genesis 6:5-7:23), Joseph and his family (Genesis 45:7), and a group of faithful believers in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah (Ezra 9:6-15; Nehemiah 1:2-3). Jesus says the same thing talking about the sheep (believers) and the goats (unbelievers) from Israel (Matthew 25:32-34). Personal Study Questions: 1. Look up 1 Kings 19:9-18 since Paul uses it to illustrate the point he is making. 2. What words does Paul use to compare and contrast what unbelievers have chosen for themselves versus what God has chosen for believers? 3. What comfort do you find in knowing that God does not reject His people? Take some time in prayer thanking Him for this promise.

Group Discussion Questions: 1. The nation of Israel is a bit like a big family where some family members love the Lord and others do not. What is the spiritual makeup of your immediate and extended family like? 2. Who in your family has God really encouraged you by saving? 3. Who in your family can we be praying for that still needs to meet Jesus?

NOTES

59 60 ROMANS 6-11

Vintage Faith: The Present Remnant (Romans 11:11-24) 11So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean! 13Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. 15For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? 16If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, 18do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. 21For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. 23And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.

Memory Verse: Romans 11:18 – …remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.

Summary: In Romans 11, the picture of our faith is like that of a tree that was planted with God’s promise to Abraham, rooted in the patriarchs, grew forth as the nation of Israel, and brought us the Scriptures and Jesus Christ. The analogy is that non-Jewish Gentiles were grafted

61 THEOLOGY FOR EVERYBODY into this giant towering tree of Jewish faith, and that the Gentiles quickly became a giant and fruitful branch. In the early church, the majority of Christian believers were Jewish. By the end of the first century, things changed as the majority of Christian believers were Gentile. This explains why books of the New Testament were written as the Gentile Christians had a lot of questions about such things as sexual morality (1-2 Corinthians) and circumcision (Galatians) among other issues. These were settled issues among Jewish believers, but the new Gentiles brought a lot of new questions. What Paul wrote has only become more pronounced. Today, the total number of Jewish people living in the nation of Israel is somewhere around 7 million. In comparison, there are a few billion people alive on the earth who profess to be Christians. Curiously, today the nation of Israel has one of the highest percentages of atheists in the world. Despite the great history of faith that Gentiles around the world appreciate because of God’s work for, in, and through the Jewish people, the majority in Israel are atheists.4 Gentile believers should be grateful to Jewish believers who carried forth faith in Jesus Christ through the Scriptures and not arrogantly believe that we are now privileged and beyond being a branch that is cut off. Historically, this arrogance and presumption is exactly what some Jewish people did and why they were branches cut off and tossed into the proverbial fire. Paul ends this section with a note of hope that although the Jews had largely stumbled over the gospel of Jesus, they have not fallen so as to be without hope. As they see the power and kindness of God demonstrated in believing Gentiles, Paul hopes that Israel will grow desirous to return to their Messiah and be a blessing to all the nations. Furthermore, Paul is Jewish and given the mission of being the apostle to the Gentiles and it is his heart’s desire that there will

62 ROMANS 6-11 be a large-scale conversion of Jews to Jesus, and that the Gentile believers would even be a part of that evangelistic ministry.

Personal Study Questions: 1. Look up the places where Paul explains his ministry as Apostle to the Gentiles (Romans 1:1-6; Galatians 1:15-16, 2:1-9; Acts 9:15-17, 22:14-21). 2. Jewish belief started with Abraham. Who do you look back to as the first link in the chain of faith in your family heritage? 3. Paul was given a burden by God for Gentiles. Who has God given you a burden to minister to?

Group Discussion Questions: 1. Does anyone in the group know a godly Jewish Christian and how they live out their faith? 2. Paul speaks of a group of people we should all be thankful for because of their contribution to our faith heritage. Who would fall into this category for you personally (e.g. godly grandparents or parents)? 3. Paul reminds us that we are always one generation away from a falling away from the faith. What can you be doing to encourage the next generation to love and serve Jesus?

NOTES

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Vintage Faith: The Future Remnant (Romans 11:25-36) 25Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; 27“and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” 28As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. 32For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all. 33Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34“For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” 35“Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” 36For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Memory Verse: Romans 11:36 – For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Summary: If you take the nation of Israel and Jewish people out of the Bible starting with Abraham and culminating with the coming of Jesus Christ, there is pretty much nothing left. You would assume that the largest movement of any kind in world history – the Christian church – would be filled with Jewish people. However, the vast majority of believers around the world today are Gentiles, whereas most Jewish people have no interest in Jesus. Paul, who writes this, is Jewish, and the Apostle to Gentiles as we learned in the previous section. In 11:25-32, we learn that this “partial hardening” of their hearts is not necessarily a permanent hardening. Paul says that the Jewish rejection of Christ is only a temporary situation that will be replaced by salvation once the

65 THEOLOGY FOR EVERYBODY full number of Gentiles appointed for salvation have experienced salvation. Paul shows that God has called Israel to Himself and that God will not fail in accomplishing his purposes. Paul also states that just as the Gospel was originally kept by the Jews, then delivered to the Gentiles, so too the Gentiles now keep the gospel and will one day deliver it back to the Jews. Paul calls this future a mystery. This section is one of the most controversial passages in the entire New Testament. For simplicity’s sake, there are two basic broad theological views of this section, and related sections of the New Testament. 1) Replacement theology (also called supersessionism) which is a subsection of Covenant Theology sees the Church as having replaced Israel in all of God’s promises. Abraham began as a Gentile, was saved by grace through faith, and birthed the nation of Israel. Subsequently, whether one is Jewish or Gentile does not matter as all that matters is faith in Jesus Christ. Anyone can trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. Today, the Church has replaced Israel as the fulfilment of all promises, prophecies, blessings and all references to a future restoration of the Promised Land are to be spiritually interpreted as the Heavenly Home for all of God’s people. 2) Dispensational theology teaches that there are two peoples of God and He generally does not work through both equally and simultaneously. In the Old Testament, God worked through the Jewish Israel. Today, God is working through the Gentile Church. One day, God will remove the Gentile Church with the rapture of the saints, and there will be a return of God working on and through Jewish Israel for a massive evangelistic harvest at the end of human history before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Those holding this view look forward to a full restoration of Israel as a nation before the return of Christ. Having now spoken in chapters 9-11 about election, Israel, Gentiles, the remnant, and ingrafting, Paul suddenly transitions from discussing human salvation to adoring God in heartfelt wonder (11:33-

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35). It is as if Paul has exhausted his understanding of this so called "mystery" and recognizes that at the point where understanding ceases, poetry and worship naturally begin. Paul begins by adoring God’s knowledge (understanding of all things) and wisdom (practical insight on how to respond to specific circumstances). He then moves to God’s judgments, paths, mind, counsel, and selfless giving. Paul then concludes by declaring that ultimately, all things come from God, exist through God, and return to God. The big idea is simple – everything from world history to your life is under the rule of God, who has it all figured out. We can trust Him to do what is best, even when we cannot understand what He is doing. While we wait to see His plan unfold, the best thing today is to worship Him, enjoy Him, and trust Him.

Personal Study Questions: 1. Paul says that we need to leave some things in the category of “mystery” which means God will figure it out in the future and we can trust Him. What other things would be well-served to live in the “mystery” category and not become overly dogmatic about? 2. Which part of 11:33-36 is your favorite thing to remember about God? 3. Although it’s an open-handed, secondary issue to be determined by God in the future, which of the two most popular interpretations of this Scripture do you lean toward?

Group Discussion Questions: 1. Paul speaks about having hope that people who have rejected God could still have a change of heart and be saved. How does this apply to the personal story of anyone in the group? 2. Paul talks about a group of people who walked away from Christ, but he longs that they would return. Who do you know that you feel the same way about? 3. Who can you be praying for that they too would have a change of heart and come to Christ?

67 NOTES

68 NOTES

1. Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology., 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1998), 921. 2. Paul Barnett, Paul: Missionary of Jesus (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008), 5-6. 3. John R. W. Stott, The Message of Romans: God’s Good News for the World, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001), 290. 4. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/most-atheist- countries

69 MARK DRISCOLL & REAL FAITH

ith Pastor Mark, it’s all about Jesus! Mark and his wife Grace have Wbeen married and doing vocational ministry together since 1993. They also planted The Trinity Church with their five kids in Scottsdale, Arizona as a family ministry (thetrinitychurch.com) and started Real Faith, a ministry alongside their daughter Ashley that contains a mountain of Bible teaching from Pastor Mark as well as content for women, men, parents, pastors, leaders, Spanish-speakers, and more. Pastor Mark has been named by Preaching Magazine one of the 25 most influential pastors of the past 25 years. He has a bachelor’s degree in speech communication from the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University as well as a master’s degree in exegetical theology from Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. For free sermons, answers to questions, Bible teaching, and more, visit RealFaith.com or download the Real Faith app. Together, Mark and Grace have authored “Win Your War” and “Real Marriage”. Pastor Mark has authored numerous other books including “Spirit-Filled Jesus”, “Who Do You Think You Are?”, “Vintage Jesus”, and “Doctrine”. Pastor Mark and his daughter Ashley Chase have also written “Pray Like Jesus” as a father-daughter project, a book to be released in January 2021. If you have any prayer requests for us, questions for future Ask Pastor Mark or Dear Grace videos, or a testimony regarding how God has used this and other resources to help you learn God’s Word, we would love to hear from you at [email protected].

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