Week 12 Romans 15:14 – 16:27
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WEEK 12 PERSONAL MATTERS AND DOXOLOGY ROMANS 15:14 – 16:27 1 PERSONAL MATTERS AND DOXOLOGY - ROMANS 15:14-16:27 ○ 15:14-16:23 – Personal Matters ○ 15:14 – Paul expresses confidence in their goodness, knowledge and ability to instruct others. ○ 15:15-17 – He justifies the boldness with which he had written to them on the basis of his position. ○ We see the motive for Paul’s evangelism – proclaiming the gospel of God so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God ○ 15:16 – Paul says his evangelism is an offering to God in response to all Jesus has given him. ○ Our evangelism is no less part of the way we make an offering of ourselves to Christ ○ Witnessing is not an add-on to the Christian life; it is a 2 central part of it. PERSONAL MATTERS AND DOXOLOGY - ROMANS 15:14-16:27 ○ 15:18-21 – He reviews his missionary labors and his practice of preaching where Christ wasn’t known. ○ 15:18 – Paul’s goal in evangelism is not merely some kind of conversion experience, but completely changed lives. ○ The object of our evangelism must be to make disciples of Christ in accordance with Matt 28:19-20. ○ The goal of evangelism is complete life change. 3 PERSONAL MATTERS AND DOXOLOGY - ROMANS 15:14-16:27 ○ 15:18 – Paul shows us how central evangelism is to him. ● The thing he was most excited about was the people he had seen pass from death to life through his ministry ○ We may not have Paul’s calling or all his gifts, but we are called to make disciples of all nations and to be prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have so that we can make the most of every opportunity (1 Peter 3:15, Colossians 4:5) ○ 15:18,19 – Paul did not only get the message of the gospel across by speaking, but by his life and actions. 4 PERSONAL MATTERS AND DOXOLOGY - ROMANS 15:14-16:27 ○ 15:22-23 – He explains that this is why he has never been to Rome in spite of his desire to visit. ○ 15:24-29 – He plans to visit on the way to Spain, but has to make a delivery to the saints in Jerusalem. ● Helping the poor is not an option; it is a debt to be honored. ● This duty is something Christians will be pleased to do. Grace makes us debtors to those in need. ○ 15:30-33 – He requests their prayers that if it is 5 God’s will, that he may visit them. PERSONAL MATTERS AND DOXOLOGY - ROMANS 15:14-16:27 ○ 16:1-16 – Paul commends Phoebe to the church and sends personal greetings to various individuals. ○ 16:17-20 – He warns the saints to have nothing to do with those who oppose sound doctrine. ○ 16:21-23 – He conveys the greetings of his companions to the saints in Roman. ○ 16:25-27 – The concluding doxology – Paul gives praise to the eternal, all-wise God, who through the Scriptures, has made known the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news of salvation by faith freely offered to all men, Gentiles as well as Jews. 6 PRACTICAL LESSONS FROM ROMANS 15:14-16:27 ○ There are three questions that are given as an outline for testing an act to see if it is sinful. But what if one were faced with a situation of which he was uncertain? Perhaps he does not know if the Bible forbids his doing the thing in question, or perhaps he is uncertain as to whether it would tempt him or offend a brother. In such a case what must he do? The Biblical answer is when in doubt about a thing, don’t do it. “The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God; happy is he who has no reason to judge himself for what he approves. But he who has doubts is condemned, if he eats, because he does not act from faith; for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin” (Rom 14:22,23). 7 PRACTICAL LESSONS FROM ROMANS 15:14-16:27 ○ Using the following three principles for determining Christian liberty demands that each believer know the Scriptures for himself. It also demands that he make decisions for himself and not allow any man or church to dictate to his conscience. Every Christian must declare with Luther, “I am bound by the text of the Bible, my conscience is captive to the Word of God.” Each believer must also determine for himself how and when to use the liberty given him. But he must make his judgements in the full realization that he is responsible to God for all his decisions and in the last day will have to give an account of himself to Him who knows the secrets of the heart. 8 PRACTICAL LESSONS FROM ROMANS 15:14-16:27 ○ (1) Does the Bible forbid my doing this? ○ If the Bible gives an unqualified command forbidding a Christian to do a certain thing, then that act is sinful. For example, if one should ask, “Is it wrong to murder? To commit adultery? To steal? Or to get drunk?” the answer is absolutely YES! For these acts are clearly forbidden in the Bible. No Christian can knowingly and willfully do such things without breaking God’s law. 9 PRACTICAL LESSONS FROM ROMANS 15:14-16:27 ○ (2) Although it is not a sin in itself, would my doing this lead me into temptation and cause me to sin? ○ The words of Christ, recorded in Matthew 5:29,30, plainly teach that Christians are under obligation to avoid occasions of temptation to sin. “ ‘ If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.’ “ Vos, in commenting on this passage, observes that “these words are not to be understood literally; the Lord does not intend us to attempt to avoid sin by actually mutilating our bodies. The real meaning is that the Christian is bound to cut off occasions of temptation to sin.10 PRACTICAL LESSONS FROM ROMANS 15:14-16:27 ○ (3) Would my doing this cause me to offend a weak brother so as to make him stumble? ○ A Christian is not only obliged to avoid acts of sin (things forbidden by the Bible) and the occasions of temptation to sin (things not sinful within themselves but which lead to sin) but he is also told to avoid practices which would offend a weak brother so as to cause him to stumble. Note the admonition of Romans 14:13, 21, “Then let us no more pass judgement on one another, but rather decide never to put a stumbling-block or hindrance in the way of a brother . it is right not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother stumble.” Paul lays down this principle repeatedly in Romans 14:1-15:13; I Cor 8:1-13; 9:19-23; and 10:23-11:1. These passages should be given careful study. 11.