• Acts 11:20-24

What turning to the Lord is NOT:

• Blind obedience – Ephesians 4:22-24; 3:16-17

• Just adding church to my schedule – Hebrews 10:19-25

• Trying to earn salvation by doing enough good deds.

  • Romans 4:1-5, 11-12, 23-25

  • Abraham was justified because he believed God, which resulted in his obedience.

  • We can’t earn salvation!

What turning to the Lord IS:

• It’s a complete surrender …

  • Matthew 13:44-46; Galatians 2:20

• … that results in faithful obedience.

  • Acts 11:27-30

• When I turn to the Lord …

  • My wardrobe will change – I Timothy 2:9-10

  • My language will change – Ephesians 5:4

  • My social media habits will change – Ephesians 5:3

  • My reputation will change – Acts 9:26; II Timothy 3:10

Introduction (Romans 1:1-17)

• Romans 1:1 – See Acts 9:15; Romans 2:17; 11:13. Paul is the writer. The theme of the book is that salvation is for everyone!
• Romans 1:5 – Paul was made an apostle to bring about obedience in all the nations. Compare Romans 16:26.
• Romans 1:6 – The people were “called” by the gospel.
• Romans 1:7 – The people in Rome apparently had a good reputation in the world.
• Romans 1:11-12 – The spiritual gift he is referring to may be the encouragement they receive from each other’s faith.
• Romans 1:15 – We should also be eager to preach the gospel.
• Romans 1:16-17 – The gospel is the universal solution to the problem of sin. This is the theme of the book. Compare Romans 10:3.
  • “from faith to faith” – This could mean “from the gospel to a believing faith.”

Five-word outline of Romans:

1. Condemnation – All of us are guilty of sin and justly condemned by God.
2. Christ – Thankfully, we are justified through faith in Jesus Christ!
3. Choice – We must choose to die to sin, a system of perfect law-keeping, and the flesh.
4. Children – ALL people can be children of God, whether Jews or Gentiles.
5. Conduct – Given God’s love, His people ought to conduct themselves accordingly.

Condemnation (Romans 1:18-3:20)

• Unrighteous people are condemned (Romans 1:18-32).
• Romans 1:19-20 – God expected people to glorify Him! We should honor Him and give thanks.
• Romans 1:24, 26, 28 – God “gave them up” because they chose to sin.
• Romans 1:26-27 – This is a clear condemnation of homosexuality. See also I Corinthians 6:9-11 and I Timothy 1:10. The “due penalty” could be either physical issues, spiritual penalties, or both.
• Romans 1:29-31 – The “rollcall of the hell bound.”
• Romans 1:32 – See Romans 6:23. This is probably referring to spiritual death.

Introduction

• How can God allow suffering to occur?

God allows us the freedom of choice

• Genesis 2:16-17; 3:6 – Adam and Eve had the freedom of choice.

• Joshua 24:14-15

• If there were no consequences, it wouldn’t really be freedom of choice.

• Luke 23:39-43

• Sometimes the choices of others cause our suffering. Sometimes it is our own choices.

• I Peter 4:14-16

• We need to make the right choices!

  • I Timothy 4:8

  • II Timothy 3:12

The world is a temporary stop on the way to eternity.

• Hebrews 11:13-16
• Eternity will far outshine whatever suffering we endure here.
• I Peter 2:11
• Job 3:17
• Romans 8:17-18 – Suffer now, glory later.
• II Corinthians 4:17-5:1

If our attitude is right, we benefit from suffering.

• James 1:2-4
• I Peter 1:6-9
• When did you pray the hardest? When you were suffering!
• Psalms 119:65-68
• There is good that can come from suffering.
• II Corinthians 12:7-10 – We can get to the place Paul was if we have the right attitude.
• II Corinthians 1:8-10

Jesus suffered.

• I Peter 2:21-23
• Jesus suffered for a time and now I suffer for a time.

Conclusion

• Let us not let suffering be a stumbling block!

What is the most foundational pursuit?

• To love, seek, and do what is true.
• John 3:16-21
• John 4:1

Culture of truth

• Context of truth is universal.
• Truth is loved, sought, held to
• Encourage honest discussions
• Questions answered with truth in a spirit of love
• Never settle
• All levels of seekers welcome
• Spread culture to all spheres of influence

Questions

• How do you teach someone the gospel if they don’t believe there is a God or the Bible is His word?
• What evidence convinces you the Bible is from God and that there is a God?
• What evidence is there that the texts are the words of God and have been copied accurately?

How were the Bible texts originally composed?

• Hebrews 1:1-2 – Transmission history of about 1000 years (1000 years for the Old Testament, 50 years for the New Testament).
• How?
  • God speaking to us through prophets, Jesus, and apostles.

Composition of the Old Testament

• Purpose of the New Testament
• Ten commandments – Deuteronomy 10
• Moses wrote the words of the law in a book.
• The “law of Moses” became a formal law.
• Torah (first 5 books)
• Historical books – 1, 2 Samuel, 1, 2 Kings, 1, 2 Chronicles
• The proverbs
• The psalms
• Writings of the prophets

Composition of the New Testament

• Christians did not have a compiled New Testament for about 400 years after Jesus’ time.
• At first, the gospel spread orally.
• Move from oral to written transmission follows the needs of the church
• Period of composition: 30s AD to just before the end of the first century
• Authors: primarily apostles
• Purpose of the writings

The “Original Bible”

• Production of the autographs was recorded in the Bible.

• The Old Testament and New Testament both state they were inspired by God

  • I Chronicles 28:19

  • Jeremiah 21:1; 36:1-2

  • II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 3:15-16

• Why don’t we have the originals?

  • Original materials wore out.

Witnesses to the Old Testament text

Greater weight:

Primary sources; Copies of ancient Hebrew manuscripts

Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic text

Secondary sources; Versions: ancient translations into other languages

Septuagint; Latin vulgate

Tertiary sources: Paraphrase of the Hebrew text

Lesser weight:

Quaternary sources: Quotations of the Hebrew text in Greek

Dead Sea Scrolls

• Probably produced in Hasmonean period (152-63 B.C.) and early Roman period (63 B.C. – 68 A.D.).

Witnesses to New Testament text

Greater weight

Manuscripts

Written in Greek

To date, 5745 known manuscripts.

New Testament versions

Translations into other languages

15,000-20,000 such documents, ranging in date from 3rd to 16th centuries AD

Lesser weight

Citations

Citations of the New Testament in sermons, commentaries, letters, etc.

Over 1 million known citations, ranging in date from 1st to 13th centuries AD

Textual criticism

• Process of diligent appraisal and comparison of texts.

Recovering the Old Testament text

• Two basic steps:

  • Look at Masoretic text

  • Compare Dead Sea Scrolls

Recovering the New Testament text

• Compare available manuscripts

Reference materials

• Randall Price, Searching for the Original Bible

Conclusion

• III John 1:1-4