Class Lesson December 1, 2013

Do you ever wish your life had a big, round reset button? Any time things go awry, just hit the reset button and do it over. In the world of golf, this is called a “mulligan.” When a ball goes astray, drop another one and get on with it. 

In your personal life, what do you constantly wish you could replay? Was it an embarrassing outburst you made yesterday? Are you ashamed of the way you handled some criticism? Do you wish sometimes that you could re-do the decisions that have led you to where you are today?

If so, then this study is for you. This Savior is for you. 

In the Book of Romans, the apostle Paul argued persuasively that Jesus Christ alone can cancel a person's past. Through the blood of Jesus, new mercies are available each and every day.

Jesus brings us all the do over we dream of.

There is no matter of greater importance than our relationship with Jesus Christ. He is the source of salvation and eternal life. Salvation is grounded in justification by faith alone. We benefit from looking at this great truth in it’s different facets. The truths about salvation in the Book of Romans help us understand what Christ has done for us. Knowing them also prepares us to live day by day in right relationship with Him. we are not saved only for some future event, but we are saved to live in Christ and for Christ now. Those who want a “do-over” with their lives can only do so if they come to Christ and commit to living faithfully in Him.


Here are the lessons in this series:

1. On December 1st - A Problem You Can’t Solve - Romans 1:16-17; 2:5-11; 3:9-12
2. On December 8th - The Gift You Can’t Give Yourself - Romans 3:21-28
3. On December 15th - A Love You Can Experience - Romans 5:6-11, 18-21
4. On December 22nd - Our Christmas Lesson 
5. On December 29th - An Identity You Must Embrace - Romans 6:8-18 
6. On January 5th - A Fight You Can’t Win By Yourself - Romans 7:14-8:2 
7. On January 12th - A Life You Can’t Live On Your Own - Romans 8:8-17, 26-27 

An now for this weeks lesson:

In the opening section of the Book of Romans, Paul paints a portrait of the planet earth. It looks like a shattered mirror - the whole planet has fallen. Even creation calls out for what? A do over. As you look around you see people are lonely and wounded; their lives filled with pain. This is the backdrop of this potent book, but the good news comes on the heels of the bad. God has not left us marooned. Watch and listen to this video for a good picture of what times were like when Paul wrote Romans and especially today.

But you've got a problem that you can't solve - it's a problem of sin and God will not tolerate sin. He has a standard that is impossible for you to meet on your own - that's what this lesson is about - you don't have to!

Have you played the game Operation? The way to heal “Cavity Sam” is to demonstrate flawless and fine motor skills. With any slight nudge the buzzer sounds, the nose blazes red, and your operation is over. My children love this game, I detest it. The moment I fail, I am disqualified.

In Romans 1:16-17, Paul reminded believers in Rome of the gospel’s power. What makes the gospel powerful? It reveals God’s righteousness and that Jesus makes that righteousness available to us.

I. THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL – ROMANS 1:16-17

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. 17 For in it God’s righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.

Who would you describe as righteous? Why?

Righteousness from God is available through Jesus. Paul began Romans with a focus on the gospel of Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:1-3). Jesus is the righteousness for which we have longed.
 

Righteousness from God cannot be earned. Martin Luther, the 16th-century reformer, recognized Jesus lived a perfect life and all human beings are called to match His moral precision. Luther nearly drove himself mad attempting it. We can know, as Martin Luther ultimately discovered, that perfection has been achieved and Jesus Christ is the One who achieved it for us.
 

Righteousness is received by believing. Most people on earth are lost, meandering though life without direction. Since their conscience condemns them, they enter into a contest to be known as the most pleasant person on the block. Random acts of kindness may minimize the pangs of guilt, but Scripture makes it clear: without faith, there is no pleasing God (Heb. 11:6). The righteousness Christ gives us begins with faith and ends with faith.

The Righteous will live by faith.

 
What does Paul mean when he uses the word faith?

• We must be very careful to understand faith as Paul uses the word, because he ties faith so closely to salvation. It is not something we must do in order to earn salvation – if that were true, then faith would be just one more deed, and Paul clearly states that human deeds can never save us (Galatians 2:16). Instead, faith is a gift God gives us because He is saving us (Ephesians 2:8). It is God’s grace, not our faith that saves us. In His mercy, however, when He saves us He gives us faith - a relationship with His Son that helps us become like Him.
• Even in Old Testament times, grace, not deeds, was the basis of salvation. As Hebrews points out, “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (10:4). God intended for His people to look beyond the animal sacrifices to Him, but all too often they instead, put their confidence in fulfilling the requirements of the law – that is, performing the required sacrifices. When Jesus triumphed over death, He cancelled the charges against us and opened the way to the Father (Colossians 2:12-15). Because He us merciful, He offers us faith. How tragic if we turn faith into a deed and try to develop it on our own! We can never come to God through our own faith, any more than His Old Testament people could come through their own sacrifices. Instead, we must accept His gracious offer with thanksgiving and allow Him to plant the seed of faith within us.

What makes the gospel powerful?

• Paul was not ashamed because his message was the gospel of Christ, the Good News. It was a message of salvation, it had life-changing power and it was for everyone.

How does the power of the gospel become active in a person’s life?

• The gospel of Christ is a life-changing message whereby we can be saved from sin.
• The gospel makes known the righteousness of God whereby He justifies those who believe.
• Salvation from God enables us to have life and to live faithfully.

Imagine you are a child again. You and a friend are competing in a long-jump contest, leaping off the end of a wooden dock on a sweltering summer day. With gusto and force, you run and jump. Two seconds later, you are swimming. You have out shined your friend, earning Olympian-like status. Replay this scene, but this time the goal is more ambitious. You must leap from the dock and land on something 100 yards away. Defeat swallows you. What’s the point of even trying? A belly full of protein bars couldn’t fuel a jump of that distance. This mirrors our attempts to meet God’s standard of righteousness. Until a person accepts the Bible’s diagnosis of sin – that we have already come up short – there’s no hope of rescue.

II. GOD WILL JUDGE YOUR BEHAVIOR – ROMANS 2:5-11

5 But because of your hardness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed. 6 He will repay each one according to his works: 7 eternal life to those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality; 8 but wrath and indignation to those who are self-seeking and disobey the truth but are obeying unrighteousness; 9 affliction and distress for every human being who does evil, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek; 10 but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does what is good, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. 11 There is no favoritism with God. 

One of the human oddities is our tendency to point out flaws in others while we walk past our own. But we are infested with the fatal germ of sin. Jesus made no bones about His target audience:  “Those who are well don’t need a doctor, but the sick do need one. I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). People must see themselves as terminally ill if they hope to experience the grace of the Healer. 

Because we are sinful, we are subject to God’s judgment.



What do you think Paul means when he says that God will repay each one according to his works?

• Behavior is a reflection of whether one has chosen to live in pursuit of godly attributes or for selfish ambition.
• God will honor godly pursuits with His blessing; He will act in wrath on those who choose evil.
• God shows no favoritism but is just, fair, and faithful to His standard of judgment.

What does Paul mean when he says that our hardness and unrepentant hearts are storing up wrath from God on the Day of Judgment?

• When Paul’s letter was read to the Roman church, no doubt many heads nodded as he condemned idol worshippers, homosexual practices, and violent people. But what a surprise his listeners must have felt when he turned on them and said in effect, “You have no excuse. You are just as bad!” Paul was emphatically stressing that nobody is good enough to save themselves. If we want to avoid punishment and live eternally with Christ, all of us, whether we have been murderers and molesters or whether we have been honest, hardworking, solid citizens, must depend totally on God’s grace. We have all sinned repeatedly, and there is no way apart from Christ to be saved from sin’s consequences.

People have become hardened (Rom. 2:5). We stubbornly suppress truth. We stuff our sins down deep hoping no one will notice. The “eyes of the Lord are everywhere, observing the wicked and the good.” (Prov. 15:3). When people play the comparison game and refuse to confess their own sins, the reservoir of God’s wrath rises (Rom. 1:18).



So how will we be judged?

• Although God does not usually punish us immediately for sin, His eventual judgment is certain. We don’t know exactly when it will happen, but we know that no one will escape that final encounter with the Creator. (John 12:48 & Revelation 20:11-15) Paul says that those who patiently and persistently do God’s will find eternal life.

In The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas tells the story of a man wrongly imprisoned for 14 years. With the help of a fellow inmate, he tunneled to freedom and plotted his sweet revenge. This book is listed among the classics because it resonates with our desire for wrong to be made right. Something within us revolts when a person gets away with any form of injustice. Recall a ball game officiated by a passive referee: “Can’t he see that foul?” “Why won’t he reprimand that player?” An otherwise meek mother will angrily scream, “Call it!” The passive referee is unquestionably wrong.



In Romans 3:9-12, Paul communicated that God is altogether right to call out our fouls and to penalize us for our sins. No one is innocent. Not a single person should be set free from his or her past. Far too many crimes remain on our record: envy, pride, greed, slander, lust, and much more. These sins serve as evidence, stacked up against us. There is no way to tunnel out of this penitentiary. 

III. THERE IS NO ONE RIGHTEOUS – ROMANS 3:9-12

9 What then? Are we any better? Not at all! For we have previously charged that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin, 10 as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. 11 There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away; all alike have become useless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one.

 


Have you ever thought to yourself, “Well, I’m not too bad, I think I’m a pretty good person?” Well, now ask yourself this, Have I ever lied? Have I ever hurt someone’s feelings by my words or even the tone of my voice? Am I bitter toward anyone? Do I become angry with those who strongly disagree with me?

In thought, word, and deed you, like everyone else in the world stand guilty before God. We must remember who we are in His sight – alienated sinners. Don’t deny that you are a sinner. Instead, allow your desperate need to point you toward Christ.

The bottom line: humanity has no hope from within. This is a problem you and I cannot solve. Someone must break into this jail and show us the way out. Paul has backed us into a cold cell, the bars coldly locked into place. He has our attention. No one is righteous – not even you. Thankfully, there is a solution.



So, where is our hope? 

• In Christ alone and what He did for us. After all this bad news about our sinfulness and God’s condemnation, Paul gives the wonderful news. There is a way to be declared not guilty – by trusting Jesus Christ to take away our sin. Trusting means putting our confidence in Christ to forgive our sins, to make us right with God, and to empower us to live the way He taught us. God’s solution is available to all of us regardless of our background or past behavior. 

 
 

Are there areas in your life that you will admit that you need help?

I ADMIT IT

Areas where I admit I need help. Check any that apply. Think of a time I needed help with these issues:

___Auto repair

___Finances

___Raising children

___Work dynamics

___Family relationships



Thinking about my relationship with Jesus, what got me to the point I knew I needed Him?

• No matter how good we think we are, we stand before God under sin.
• In our sin we are useless to God and incapable of doing eternal good.

Here are three lasting thoughts you can take from today's lesson to live out this week:



LIVE IT OUT

1. Quit rationalizing your behavior. Pinpoint a time or place you turned a blind eye to your wrongdoing. Get honest with God about that.
2. Refuse to live by a false standard. The next time you find yourself assuming you’re better (or worse) than someone else, stop. No one is better or worse because we’ve all failed to meet God’s standard.
3. Lead others to see their need. Encourage others to see their need for Christ by lovingly showing them their sin and need for a do over.

The world and its standards are shattered. Rather than try to glue it back together, choose the righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ. That’s a do over that can’t be shattered.

Apparently Paul’s Jewish audience thought they were better than the Gentiles and therefore had no need for the gospel, were in favored status with the Lord, and were exempt from His judgment. Paul challenged this thinking at every point and presented his case to prove otherwise. Can you imagine a people who thought they were better than others and favorites of God? On second thought, perhaps we can. Sometimes as Americans, Baptists, churchgoers, and even as Christians, we may think we are better than others. This study should remind us that no matter how good we think we are, we are not good enough. The only goodness that matters is the goodness that comes by being in right relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Prayer of Commitment

Father, I don’t like to admit my sin, but I must confess it is true. Thank You for providing deliverance in Jesus Christ, not for me only but for all who believe. Amen.

See you on Sunday!

In His Love,

David & Susan