Introduction

• Matthew 19:17 – Was Jesus just a legalist?

If we think we’re saved by the law, we’re wrong.

• Romans 3:19-20 – The law made people aware of their sin.
• Romans 1:15-17
• Romans 5:1; 8:1 – Salvation comes through Christ. Not through law!
• Titus 3:4-7
• The New Covenant is better than the Old Covenant, not because it has better laws, but because it is founded on Jesus’ sacrifice.
• Salvation is not through works – it is through Jesus.

But if we think we don’t need to obey, we’re also wrong about that.

• Matthew 7:21; II Thessalonians 1:8
• “spiritual” – Galatians 6:1-2
  • Being spiritual involved obeying God’s laws and helping others do the same.
• “love” – James 2:8-13; Romans 13:8-10; I John 2:2-6; 5:2-3
  • Love is God’s way of summarizing His commands. It is not in opposition to obedience.
• “letter … spirit” – II Corinthians 3:5-18
  • Letter here refers to the Old Covenant. Spirit refers to the New Covenant. This is not referring to two different approaches to following the New Covenant.
• Pharisees – Matthew 15:3, 6; 23:3, 23-24
  • Jesus was not saying to not do the small things. He was teaching against hypocrisy. The Pharisees in their hypocrisy were failing to obey God’s law even though they outwardly proclaimed to be doing so.

Conclusion: Trust in Jesus with an obedient faith.

• Romans 3:21-24, 27-28
• Romans 6:17-18
• Hebrews 5:9

Children (Romans 9-11), continued

• Romans 10:1-4 – Paul wishes that the Jews would be saved. They were religious and believed in God but did not have full knowledge of God’s plan for salvation. They wanted to be saved their own way – through the Law of Moses (see Romans 9:30-33). They were looking for Jesus and He was right in front of them, causing them to stumble over Him. Compare John 9:28-29. The Law of Moses pointed toward Jesus (Matthew 5:17; Galatians 3:23-25). They had all these scriptures, but they read with prejudice and missed the point.
• Romans 10:5-13 – See Leviticus 18:4-5. Man could live by following the Law of Moses, but no one could follow them perfectly. See Galatians 3:10-14.
  • Romans 10:6-8 – The quote is from Deuteronomy 30:8-14. The word of God is not in some far off, inaccessible place.
  • Romans 10:9-10 – Salvation is from God. We can’t look to ourselves to find a way to be saved. Our only option is to turn to God.
  • Romans 10:11 – The writer quotes Isaiah 28:16 here. See Acts 7:35. Paul is pleading with them to not make the same mistakes of the past, when then initially rejected Moses as their leader.
  • Romans 10:12-13 – The quote is from Joel 2:32. Jesus is the way to salvation. He is Lord! See Matthew 7:21; Acts 9:18; 22:16. Calling on the name of the Lord involves more than just saying words. Paul had already been praying for three days, but he still needed to call on the name of the Lord and have his sins washed away. Clearly, “calling on the name of the Lord” involves more than just prayer. See Acts 2:16-21, 37-38, 47. Peter called on them to do more than just pray to be saved. See I Corinthians 1:2; II Timothy 2:22.
• Romans 10:14-15 – This is referring to men that God sent in the first century – not preachers today. See Luke 24:46-49; Acts 1:8; 9:15; 10:42. Jesus sent forth the people who had witnessed His life, death, resurrection, and teaching.
• Romans 10:16-17 – See Acts 14:1; 15:7. Faith comes from hearing (or reading) the word of God. It is not by a direct indwelling of the Holy Spirit as is often believed today. If you want to develop faith, study the Bible! Even when the Holy Spirit did intervene miraculously in Acts 2:4, He made it so everyone could hear the message in their own language. He did not miraculously change their hearts!
• Romans 10:18-21 – The quote in verse 18 is from Psalm 19:4. “They” here is referring to Israel. Everyone has heard the gospel message! Paul then quotes more Old Testament scripture (Deuteronomy 32:21; Isaiah 65:1-2) to illustrate that their behavior was prophesied long before. Israel should have been the first in line to follow Christ, but many of them refused His message.

Introduction

• II Kings 14:25

You can’t hide from God!

• Jonah 1:1-10, 17; 2:1, 10; 3:1-2 – Jonah tried to escape God’s command but could not.
• Romans 10:9, 10; Acts 2:38 – God has commands for us today. We cannot run and hide from them!
• Psalms 139:1-12 – God knows even our thoughts. There is no hiding from Him! He knows everything about us.
• Ecclesiastes 12:14
• Matthew 12:36
• Hebrews 4:12
• If we can’t hide anything from God, how can we cope with that?
  • Romans 3:10
  • The only option is to throw ourselves on his mercy.
  • I John 1:9

God’s word works.

• Jonah 3:1-10 – This is possibly the most successful instance of preaching anywhere in the Bible!
• Jonah’s message was simple and negative.
• Luke 10:27-29 – When the Bible message is simple, leave it simple!
• Matthew 12:41
• There are negative elements to God’s message. We cannot try to hide it or take the teeth out of that message.
• Matthew 7:13
• We do ourselves and others no favors to pretend that hell is not real.

God expects us to love souls.

• Jonah 4:1-11
• The Assyrians were a brutal and merciless people. Israel held a deep-seated resentment against them.
• God wants us to love everyone’s souls!
• Luke 9:59-62
• Luke 23:34 – If Jesus could have this attitude toward His murderers, can’t we love others also?

• Why does the United States celebrate Thanksgiving?
• Is Thanksgiving a religious holiday?
• What are the top three things you are thankful for?
• Is it always easy to be thankful?
  • Philippians 4:6-7; Jonah 2:1, 9-10
• Who is to be thankful?
  • Hebrews 12:28-29; Colossians 3:14-17; 2:6-7; Philippians 4:4-7
• What should we be thankful for?
  • Ephesians 5:17-21 – Be thankful for everything!
• When should we be thankful?
  • I Thessalonians 5:16-18 – Always!
• Where should we show our thankfulness?
  • Psalms 35:18; 95:1-3; Ephesians 5:19-20; Colossians 3:15-17; Philippians 4:6
• Why should we be a thankful people?
  • I John 4:19; John 3:16; Romans 5:6-8; I Corinthians 15:57; II Corinthians 9:15 – Because of God’s love for us!
• What is the danger if we are not a thankful people?
  • Psalms 28:7-9; Romans 1:18-25

Introduction

• Romans 8:28-32

One another

• James 5:15-16 – Brethren can help us when we sin! Confession is good for us.
• Romans 15:14
• Galatians 6:1-2 – We must know about each other’s sins in order to help with them! We need to drop the mask of perfection and admit our faults.
  • I John 5:11

Scripture

• Romans 15:4
• II Timothy 3:14-17 – Timothy had both learned the scriptures and become convinced.

Sufferings

• Hebrews 10:32-34
• Romans 5:3-4 – Persecution brings about perseverance.
• Matthew 5:10-12 – Blessed are you when you are persecuted.
• Revelation 2:8-11 – Be faithful until death!
  • This doesn’t just mean being faithful until the end of your life. Be faithful even if it costs you your life.