Romans 1:14-17 – Six Important Relationships – Bible study

Romans 1:14-17 Six Important Relationships Relationships – They are the key to our society. We cant get along without them. As the 17th century poet and preacher, John Donne, said, "No man is an island." Yet, as essential as relationships are to everyone of us, we all have trouble with them. We all do. There are lots of reasons why that is so. 1. We are all selfish. 2. We dont understand how important relationships are. 3. We dont work hard enough on maintaining relationships. And the list goes on and on. This morning, I dont want to preach about earthly relationships, although that is important (and we are preparing for a couples retreat in April just to deal with that topic.) This morning, I want to preach on six important spiritual relationships. Most all of them come from this text. If you think you have gotten yourself into a lot of trouble by messing up a few earthly relationships, that is nothing compared to the trouble you will get into if you foul up the eternal ones! Do play close attention to these relationships. I. Relationship of people to God – They are lost. A. This relationship is not specifically stated in the text but it is implied. 1. \#Rom 1:16\ The point is to tell us that the preached gospel can save. 2. To have a spiritual rescue necessitates a spiritual dilemma. 3. That dilemma is that souls are lost and separated from God. 4. There are plenty of other Bible verses that clearly tell us that. 5. \#Romans 3:10-18\ God describes the condition of people as God sees them. It is not pleasant. Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17 And the way of peace have they not known: 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes. B. We need to understand how serious and widespread this problem is. 1. Most who would come to this church have some understanding that the evil or even the unchurched may be condemned before God. 2. However, a lot of people have never considered that even most of the church are lost! Matt 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Matt 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 3. God is not just looking outside the walls of religion to see lost souls. He sees them inside those walls. a. Why is that? b. Again, there are many reasons, but one is that many people dont even understand what Christianity is! C. Most people falsely think that just because a religion recognizes Jesus is some way, it is a Christian religion. 1. Not so! 2. The only ones who are Christians are those who worship the Bible Jesus and have obeyed the Bible gospel. a. This is not the case because I say so, or because a church or denomination says, or even because some doctrine says so. b. It is true because the Bible says so. Gal 1:6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. c. Paul warned a church which he had started that they had moved away from the true gospel. d. He told them that no matter who tried to change the gospel which they had receivedeven if it was an apostle or an angelnot to follow them. e. Paul then stated that anyone who did preach another gospel was cursed. That is a nice way of saying they were damned! f. I might also add that anyone who believes another gospel or in a different Jesus is damned. D. This is all horribly sad, but it is the condition that our sin has left us. 1. We must be careful because the devil is working overtime not just to keep the unchurched damned but to keep those in the church damned as well! 2. How can I know if I am following the real Jesus and the real gospel? a. Throw away any book or writing except the Bible. 1. Millions of people are following false religions who claim to have additional revelation from God. 2. If what you have is the same as the Bible, you dont need anything else. 3. If what you have is different than the Bible, you dont want anything else. b. Reject any gospel that makes you work to get to heaven. Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 3. This is far too serious a relationship not to weigh things carefully. II. \#Rom 1:16\ Relationship of the gospel to people – It is the power to save. A. All you need for salvation is the gospel. 1. There is a reason why the true church preaches the Bible and nothing but the Bible. 2. It is because it contains the gospel and that is all that you need. 3. Paul tells us this. 1Cor 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved. AND WHAT IS THAT GOSPEL? 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: a. The gospel that Paul both received and preached was the good news that Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day. b. Paul is stating that believing and responding to those three truths saved the Corinthians. c. Believing and responding to those three truths will save anyone! 4. Anything else that you add to the gospel makes it a false gospel and damns the soul of those who trust in it. a. baptism – Baptism is an act of obedience, but if made a condition of salvation, it perverts the gospel and renders it ineffective. b. church membership – Church membership is an act of obedience but if made a condition of salvation, it perverts the gospel and renders it ineffective. c. tithing – Tithing is an act of worship, but if made a condition of salvation, it perverts the gospel and renders it ineffective. d. living a better life – Living a better life is a by-product of salvation, but if made a condition of salvation, it perverts the gospel and renders it ineffective. B. Let me give you two more truths about the relationship of the gospel to the lost, but I will not take the time to preach them this morning. 1. The gospel has the power to save you no matter what you have done. a. The Greek word for POWER is doo-nam-is. b. It is the word from which we get the word DYNAMITE. c. Dynamite packs a lot of power and so does the gospel. d. The gospel has the power to save YOU. 2. The gospel has the power to change you. a. That change is largely conditional upon you. b. Half-hearted Christians get half-hearted results. c. If you are truly sorry for the sins that brought you to Jesus, this gospel is loaded and will produce change. III. \#Rom 1:17\ Relationship of the saved to God – They walk by faith. A. The word JUST here means the SAVED. 1. The first two relationships that I mentioned are especially noteworthy of lost people. 2. This relationship is primarily important to the saved, although it has some implications to the lost. 3. The last three relationships are for the saved only. B. Faith is a relationship that is difficult for humans to understand. 1. Faith is when you do something without completely understanding or seeing it. a. To be truthful, most of us have learned over the years NOT to try something if we dont understand it. (1) Most of us are willing to pay a mechanic, a doctor, a lawyer, or another kind of professional because we dont understand all the details they are supposed to know. (2) How many will pay someone else to do their taxes this year? (3) Why? Because you are afraid you dont understand it and you could get into a lot of trouble if you dont do it correctly. b. The problem is that with God, we must learn to start some things without completely understanding it. c. God wants us to to move forward, without complete understanding, while trusting Him. d. That is the practical definition of faith. 2. Salvation is something you that everyone starts by faith. a. None of us understood salvation completely when we got saved. (We still dont. We have chosen just to enjoy it.) b. To be honest, some of us were not completely certain there was even a God when we took our first step toward salvation. (1) It seemed logical that there was a God, but no one has ever seen Him, have they? i. Those who had some doubts just stepped out by faith. ii. They took the Bible at its word and starting moving forward. iii. With each step they took, they saw more and more that God was real. (2) Other of us were not certain salvation would work for us. (3) Some did not think they could live it. c. Each just took a step of faith, believing that if God were real, He would show Himselfand He did! d. Salvation is entered into by faith, by trusting God. C. Once we are saved, the whole of our relationship with God is one of faith. 1. I have been saved more than 35 years. a. I have preached most of those years. b. I still have not seen God. c. And even though I am a preacher, there are a lot more things that I dont understand than there are things I do understand. d. I just keep moving forward by faith. 2. Jesus explained this concept to a Jewish preacher in John 3. a. That Jewish preacher was named Niodemus. b. \#John 3:8\ Jesus explained that believing God is a lot like believing in the wind. (1) We can not see it. (2) We dont know where it came from or where it is going to. (3) However, we know the wind is real because we see its effects. (4) Ask someone who has lived through an Alabama tornado if wind is real! (5) The may not know what causes it or how it works, but they have seen the effect enough to know its power. c. So it is with God. (1) I cant convenience a God-doubter that God is real. (2) I cant explain how God has always been. (3) I do not comprehend the Trinity, the pre-existence of Christ, or the sacrifice Jesus made for us. (4) I dont know why good things happen to bad people or bad things happen to good people. (5) I just know that I have seen the effect of God enough to know He is real and that the Bible is true. 3. As a Christian, even when we dont completely understand what God wants, we trust Him and follow His leadership, His "effects." a. Sometimes, God "effects" us externally. God can both open and close doors of opportunity. b. Sometimes (and this is more often), God "effects" us internally. God speaks to our hearts or perhaps it is better said that God puts thoughts into our heads. c. Sometimes (and this is the most often), God "effects" us through the Word. (1) Sometimes Gods Word relates to our life or situation just as plain as the nose on your face. (2) Sometimes when we are around Gods Word (reading it, listening to a sermon, listening to a good Christian song), God plants one of those thoughts in our head. D. This process is called walking by faith. 1. Paul refers to it in this text as walking from faith to faith or from one experience of faith to the next experience of faith. 2. For a Christian, this is the only way we can have a relationship with God. IV. \#Rom 1:16\ Relationship of believers to the gospel – They are not ashamed. A. Now we begin to talk about Christian relationships. 1. These relationships have little to do with an unsaved person but are essential to the saved. 2. Paul is speaking of himself in this text, but he represents what should be true of all believers. a. When Paul says that HE is not ashamed of the gospel, any believer should be able to insert his or her name into that statement. b. I, CARL HALL, am not ashamed for the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every that believeth. c. No believer should be ashamed of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. B. Jesus spoke about His followers being ashamed of Him and His words. Mark 8:38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. Luke 9:26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Fathers, and of the holy angels. 1. For Jesus to address this, even before He died, tells me that He knew many of us Christians would have a problem being ashamed of Him. 2. I say that not encourage you to be ashamed of Jesus and the gospel, but to say to you that if you have a problem speaking up for Jesus, you are not alone. 3. Notice how important the relationship of the believer is to the gospel of Jesus Christ. a. In both of these texts, Jesus says that if you are ashamed of Him and His wordswhich would have to include the message of what He has doneHe would be ashamed of you. b. I do not know what that would mean. c. I just know that I do not want it to happen to me. C. I understand the why we sometimes dont want to speak about Jesus. 1. We are afraid. 2. Look at what has and is happening to others who share the gospel. 3. Teacher cries hate crime over Bible left on desk Posted: February 18, 2010 Teacher Cries "Hate Crimes" Over Bible Left on Desk, By Chelsea Schilling 2010 WorldNetDaily An eighth-grade teacher has accused her students of committing a "hate crime" and being "cruel" because they left a Bible on her desk and a Christmas card with the word "Christ" underlined. Melissa Hussain, an Apex, N.C., science teacher at West Lake Middle School, is suspended with pay and may lose her job after she purportedly clashed with students on the subject of religion and sent students to the school office when they asked about the role of God in creation during a lesson about evolution. Hussain wrote on her then-public Facebook page that it was a "hate crime" when her students left a Bible on her desk, according to the Charlotte News & Observer. She complained about students singing "Jesus Loves Me" and wearing Jesus T-shirts. Hussain said she "was able to shame her kids" over the incidents. "I cant believe the cruelty and ignorance of people sometimes," Hussain wrote on the social networking site. She said she wouldnt let the Bible incident "go unpunished." The teachers Facebook profile did not indicate her religious affiliation. It has been set to private since her comments became public. The teacher also called parents who complain about their children receiving their first "B" grade in middle school "ridiculous." According to reports, Hussains friends responded by posting comments on the teachers Facebook page that talked about "ignorant Southern rednecks" and calling the parents of Hussains students "bigoted, stupid and uncaring." According to several media reports, parents say they complained to officials with the Wake County Public School System three weeks ago. As of Feb. 12, Hussain is under suspension for five days while district officials investigate the complaints. 4. That is really nothing compared to actually persecutions which are going on around the world. 5. Go to www.PERSECUTION.com to read some of the documented accounts or contact Voice of Martyrs ((877) 337-0302. 6. In the NEWSROOM section are articles of Christian persecution and and killing from Iraq, Laos, Iran, Nigeria, Morocco, and others. D. However, regardless of what it may cost us (and our cost is still minor), we must not be ashamed of Christ or His gospel. 1. We must maintain an on-going courageous relationship with the gospel of Jesus Christ. 2. Christ has no hands but our hands, no feet but our feet, no mouth but our mouth. 3. If we fail in this important relationship, souls will suffer and Christ will be ashamed of us. V. \#Rom 1:15\ Relationship of believers to believers – ready to minister. A. Again this is a relationship the saved must have. 1. Paul represents us, the believers. 2. But Rome also represents believers. 3. Paul is writing to the Christians in Rome but says in this verse that he is ready to preach TO YOU THAT ARE AT ROME ALSO. 4. Paul wanted to minister to the Christians at Rome. B. \#Romans 1:8-13\ Paul had long wanted to go to Rome to minister. 1. Rome was the Gentile capital of the world and Paul was the Apostle to the Gentiles. It makes sense he would want to go to Rome to preach. 2. Paul mentions that desire again later in this book. Romans 15:22 For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming to you. 23 But now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you; 24 Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company. 3. He did not get to make that trip as he desired. (a) As he wrote this letter, he would next go to Jerusalem \#Romans 15:25\. (b) While there, he would be arrested. (c) Eventually Paul did make it to Rome but it was to Romes prison. 4. However, Paul wanted to go to this city to preach the gospel to the lost there and to minister to the saved there. C. As Christians, every believer ought to want to minister to and help the other believers. 1. Gods people are a family and should be the largest, most compassionate, caring family on the whole earth. (a) The Bible teaches us that we are in this thing together. Ephesians 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; (b) And the Bible says as often as you have an opportunity do something good to another brother or sister. Galatians 6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. 2. As far as I can tell, our church does fairly well with this but we can always do better. D. Pauls gift was preaching. 1. That was one of the ways Paul ministered to other Christians. 2. Your gift may not be preaching but you can find some way to minister to those you will spend eternity with! (a) Do you let those who minister to you know that you love and appreciate them? (b) Do you make it a practice to talk with everyone at the church at least every few weeks? (c) Do you notice those who are missing and enquire after them, letting them know that they are important to you? (d) Do you look for ways to help each other? (e) Do you pray for one another, both by name and by need? (f) You ladies that like to cook, do you bake a little offering and give it to an elderly couple or widow man or woman? (g) You men who are gifted with your hands, do you check on the elderlys car and house to make sure everything is running and safe? (h) You young people, do you offer to cut the grass for the older people in the church? Not for money, but because you care about them and want to help them out? (i) You older folks, do you encourage the younger by praying for them and telling them that you are praying for God to work in their life? E. Folks, there are enough people tearing us down and ignoring us without that going on in the house of God! 1. God wants us to have a relationship within the family of God that makes getting together sweet, enjoyable, and something to anticipate. 2. That can only happen as seek to minister to each and every believer, both within this church and without. VI. \#Rom 1:14\ Relationship of believers to the world – We are a debtor. A. One of the relationships I mentioned earlier was that the believer was not to be ashamed of the gospel. 1. However, there is another relationship the believer has with the world. 2. The GREEKS and the BARBARIANS are the lost world. 3. Paul here declares the believer has a debt to the entire world. B. Why does a debt exist between a Christian and the lost world? 1. Paul owed the entire world something for the same reason we all do. a. We are all of one blood, one flesh, one origin, and one destiny. b. We have too much in common with the world to abandon them to a godless eternity. 2. Jesus addressed this issue indirectly in the parable of the Good Samaritan. \#Luke 10:30-37\ a. In this story, a stranger fell among thieves and was robbed and beaten. b. Some passed by, but one man, an ethnic enemy of the wounded man, stopped to help. c. Why did he help? (1) Because they were of the same make up and destiny! (2) Even the earthly differences were not big enough to keep them separated when they faced a common threat. (3) One does not abandon one of his own, even if they have earthly differences, and certainly not to a godless eternity. 3. Every believer has a debt to every non-believer to at least tell them of Jesus Christ and to get them to Him if at all possible. C. What is the debt we owe? 1. We must do for another what we would want another to do for us if we were the lost person. 2. That is, we must work as hard to save others and we would want other to work to save us! 3. Jesus actually gave us this rule of life. Luke 6:31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. 4. So if you were lost, what would you want your neighbor to do to get you to Jesus? a. What you want him to tell you about Jesus or leave you alone? b. What you want him to give you some printed material, maybe a tract or a booklet? c. Would you want him to invite you to church? d. Would you want him to pray for you? e. Would you want to demonstrate the love of Christ in some subtle ways? maybe by going out of your way to be kind? maybe by reminding him that you want to see him trust Christ? 5. If you were lost in lived in China, Haiti, or Mexico, what you want Christian Americans to do? 1. Pray for you? Send you a missionary? 2. Maybe support that missionary sacrificially so that he would have the resources to get to your house? 6. Christians, we owe the lost world something. 1. If it were not for the grace of God, we would be lost. 2. Someone paid on the debt to get the gospel to us. Now we must make a payment with our own time, money, and energy. 3. Now the question that everyone of us answers every week is, "Are we going to let that debt go unpaid? Are we going to sit in the lap of luxury in a padded pew and let the world around us go to hell? 4. I hope the answer is, "NO." The Debt that We Owe, Clara Brooks The Lord of the harvest is calling For laborers true in His field, To gather the sheaves ere they perish, When mercy no more is revealed; We bask in the sunlight of glory, On heavenly manna were fed, While souls oer the ocean, in darkness, Are starving for life-giving bread. Refrain: They perish, they perish, Yet Jesus to save them has died; Go pay them the debt that we owe them, Those souls who in darkness abide. The Savior hath given us freely Salvation and grace through His name, He bids us to publish His gospel, Its words to all creatures proclaim; Were debtors to those who are dying, And never its power have known; Can we who so richly are favored Still leave them to perish alone? When taking His word to the lost ones, It is not a gift we bestow: By working and praying and giving, We pay but the debt that we owe; If millions are lost at the judgment, Their cries shall our conscience upbraid, Because when their souls we could rescue, Our debt unto them was not paid.