Sermons and Biblical Studies

ACTS 1:1–11 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). In our popular language we often equate witnessing with evangelism, but there is a distinction in the way … Continue reading “THE GIFT OF EVANGELISM”

ROMANS 1:1–7 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God (Romans 1:1). We have now completed our study of Romans 9–11, in which Paul’s heartbeat for evangelism and missions is so evident. During the next few days, we will focus our attention on our … Continue reading “THE GOSPEL OF THE KING”

ROMANS 11:33–36 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! (Romans 11:33). In response to the “heavy” and magnificent revelation of God that he has been discussing, Paul breaks into praise. Paul emphasizes that God’s ways are amazing, and that … Continue reading “GOD’S GREAT PLAN OF HISTORY”

ROMANS 11:22–32 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved (Romans 11:25–26a) Paul emphasizes what he is about to say … Continue reading “WILL ISRAEL BE RESTORED?”

ROMANS 11:11–21 I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry (Romans 11:13). Throughout this passage Paul speaks of two ethnic groups of people, Jews and Gentiles. At the outset, in verse 11, he writes, “Salvation has come to the Gentiles to make … Continue reading “THE JEW AND GENTILE ANCESTRY”

ROMANS 11:11 Again I ask, Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. (Romans 11:11) One of the great controversies among Christians is how we are to understand biblical prophecies of the future, with specific reference … Continue reading “IS THERE A FUTURE FOR ISRAEL?”

ROMANS 11:7–10 What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened (Romans 11:7) Paul has been discussing God’s remnant, and here he makes the point that it was only the elect who truly heard God’s Word and obeyed it. The rest, he says, were hardened. … Continue reading “GOD’S BLINDING OF ISRAEL”

ROMANS 11:1–6 I ask then, Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin (Romans 11:1). At the end of Romans 10 we found Paul explaining that Israel had refused to pay heed to the Word of God that they heard. Because … Continue reading “HAS GOD REJECTED ISRAEL?”

ROMANS 10:16–21 But I ask, Did they not hear? Of course they did: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world” (Romans 10:18). When Paul asks, “Did they not hear?” he is asking about Israel. The context of his question is verse 16, which says that … Continue reading “ISRAEL DESPISED HER HERITAGE”

ROMANS 10:9–15 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them (Romans 10:14)? As we rejoin Paul in Romans 10 he tells us that “everyone who calls … Continue reading “WE MUST SEND MISSIONARIES”