Romans - Chapter 8 (part 3)

Romans 8:31-39


Craig continued this week with the final look at Chapter 8.  Below is all his notes again.  Feel free to comment or give us feedback.  As we continue getting deeper into Romans, the power of the Holy Spirit and God's grace and love becomes more and more evident.

ROMANS 8 PART III

OUR ETERNAL SECURITY – CAN YOU LOSE YOURS?

NOVEMBER 2, 2011

CAN YOU LOSE YOUR SALVATION?  IF IT WAS BASED ON YOU – CERTAINLY!

 ²⁸ And we know (Do you know?) that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[i] have been called according to his purpose. Not for everybody!  God asks us every day; “Do you trust me?”

²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

Philippians 3:21 ²¹ who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

 ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; (Jesus said; “My sheep hear my voice and they follow Me” Jn 10:27-30) those he called, he also justified; (declared righteous) those he justified, he also glorified (become conformed to His son).

Ephesians 1:5, 11  ⁵ he^[a] predestined us for adoption to sonship^[b] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—  ¹¹ In him we were also chosen,^[a] having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,

More Than Conquerors  CAN OPPOSITION DEFEAT THE CHRISTIAN?

 ³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (THE FIX IS IN!)

Psalm 118:6  ⁶ The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.    What can mere mortals do to me?

WILL WE HAVE THE RESOURCES?

³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

John 3:16   ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.                                                                                                                       Romans 5:8  ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

WILL OUR FAILURES REVERSE OUR JUSTIFICATION?

³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.

Isaiah 50:8, 9  ⁸ He who vindicates me is near.  Who then will bring charges against me?  Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me!     ⁹ It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me. Who will condemn me? They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up.

CAN ANYONE CONDEM US FOR ANY REASON?

³⁴ Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

Hebrews 7:25  ²⁵ Therefore he is able to save completely^[a] those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.                                                                                                             Hebrews 9:24  ²⁴ For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence.                                                             1John 2:1   ¹ My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

WHAT KIND OF ASSURANCE CAN WE HAVE OF VICTORY?

³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  (Paul experienced all of these)

³⁶ As it is written:

   “For your sake we face death all day long;
   we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”^[j]

Psalms 44:22  ²² Yet for your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.                                                                                                                                                               2 Corinthians 4:11  ¹¹ For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.

 ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

1 Corinthians 15:57  ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

HIS FINAL GUARANTEE

 ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 1:21  ²¹ far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

Chapter 8 opens with a guarantee of “No condemnation”, and ends with a guarantee of no separation!

Can a man lose his salvation?  Yes!  If it depends on him:

·         The Armenian denies that the true child of God is eternally secure.  (You must persevere to the end or lose it.)

·         The Calvinist insists that, if he does not persevere in holiness, he was never regenerated in the first place.  (You were predestined but you won’t find out until the end.)

The Basis of our Eternal Security

1.      Upon His Sovereign Purpose                                                                                                                 
Eternal purpose declared: Ephesians 1:11-12  ¹¹ In him we were also chosen,^[a] having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, ¹² in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

2.      Upon His Solemn Promise                                                                                                                        
Our salvation depends upon His promise, and not our faithfulness: Romans 4:16  ¹⁶ Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.      (Our part is 0, just to accept the gift!)                                                                                      Romans 4:23-24  ²³ The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, ²⁴ but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.  (Believe in Christ and you shall be saved!)

3.      Upon His Infinite Power                                                                                                                       
He is free to save us.  Christ’s death has rendered God free to save us in spite of moral imperfection.  Our eternal security does not depend upon our moral worthiness.  Christ is the propitiation for our sins. (1Jn 2:2)                                                                                                                                                    He has purposed to keep us saved:  John 6:37-40  ³⁷ All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. ³⁹ And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰ For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”                                                                                                                                                                                                      

John 17

Jesus Prays to Be Glorified

 ¹ After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

   “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. ² For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. ³ Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. ⁴ I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. ⁵ And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

    ⁶ “I have revealed you^[a] to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. ⁸ For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. ⁹ I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. ¹⁰ All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. ¹¹ I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of^[b] your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. ¹² While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by^[c] that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

   ¹³ “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. ¹⁴ I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. ¹⁵ My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by^[d] the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. 

Romans - Chapter 8 (part 2)

Romans 8:18-30

The New Creation

Craig Thomson continued our study of Romans 8.  The last line of my last post was "Christians will suffer", Craig through the Bible will show us why we suffer.  It is because of our sin.  Once sin entered this world through Adam, we have been suffering ever since.  In Romans, Paul even talks about the creation suffering and groaning in pain.  Genesis 3:17-19 To Adam he said, Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, You must not eat from it.

Listed Below are all the notes from Wednesday mornings Bible Study.

Romans 8: THE NEW CREATION

Romans 8

Verses

1-13                       Our deliverance from the flesh

14-17                     Realization of our Son-ship.  Not a son until “adopted”; only then able to inherit; once adopted you can never be disowned.

18-30                     Why do Christians suffer?  “Boot Camp” for Heaven?

Romans 8:16-17  ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.   -This is a conditional reward.  Many may arrive in heaven sorely disappointed!

1 Corinthians 2:9  ⁹ However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,
   what no ear has heard,
   and what no human mind has conceived”^[a]—
   the things God has prepared for those who love him—

We can’t even imagine what God has in store for us!

Present Suffering and Future Glory

 ¹⁸ I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

There is a price for being identified with Jesus.

2 Corinthians 4:17  ¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 

I wager to say the majority of the American church today is dismayed or disappointed with God that they should have ANY troubles!  You’ve heard it before; problems and human limitations have several benefits: (1) they remind us of Christ’s suffering for us; (2) They keep us from pride; (3) they cause us to look beyond this brief life; (4) they prove our faith to others; and (5) they give God the opportunity to demonstrate his power.  So do you see your troubles as opportunities?!

If you ever wonder; “why me?”, think of Job – “he was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.”

¹⁹ For the creation (this is ALL of ‘creation’ for all of creation is involved in the curse) waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration (KJV: ‘vanity = failure, decay or perishable) not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it,

God judged the totality of His Creation along with people for their sin.

Genesis 3:17-19   ¹⁷ To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’  “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. ¹⁸ It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. ¹⁹ By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

in hope ²¹ that^[h] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay (and corruption) and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning (with intense longing) as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, (we have the ‘firstfruits’; 1^st installment or downpayment of the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of our resurrection life) groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.

2 Chorinthians 5:2, 4  ² Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling,    ⁴ For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. (The moment we believed in Jesus Christ as our Savior!)  But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵ But if we hope (the word in the Greek, elpizo, is stronger than “know”: “to trust in.”  It is a confidence, sureness, of future things.) for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

 ²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans (or “groaning’s which cannot be uttered). Have you ever just been where you were so impacted about something or so distraught or confused about a situation that all you could do is say; “Father..”?  I sometimes find that when I read about some tragedy of a family loosing a child by some horrendous accident or illness.  The Holy spirit is interceding at that time.

²⁷ And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

Even though the Spirit’s words are not expressed, the Father knows what the Spirit is thinking.  The Lord Jesus also continually intercedes for the believers in God’s presence 
Romans 8:34 ³⁴ Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.                                  Hebrews 7:25  ²⁵ Therefore he is able to save completely^[a] those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

 ²⁸ And we know that in all things (ALL, not just isolated incidents) God works for the good of those who love him, who^[i] have been called according to his purpose.  (The three most important words: “And we know.”)

Note that God is not working to make us happy, but to fulfill his purpose.  Note also the promise is not for everybody.  It can only be claimed by those who love God and are called according to His purpose.  Those who are “called” are those the Holy Spirit spirit convinces and enables to receive Christ.

 ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed (not yet there) to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

Spurgeon quipped: “God chose me before I was born.  I’m glad He did; otherwise He might have changed His mind!”

³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Ephesians 1:5, 11  ⁵ he^[a] predestined us for adoption to sonship^[b] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—  ,    ¹¹ In him we were also chosen,^[a] having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,

God’s purpose for people was not an afterthought; it was settled before the foundation of the world.  People are to serve and honor God.  For us who believe in Christ, we can rejoice in the fact that God has always known us.  His love is eternal.  His wisdom and power are supreme.  He will guide and protect us until we one day stand in His presence.

TABLE DISCUSSION

Oswald Chambers; “My Utmost for His Highest”

April 1- ‘Heartiness vs. Heartlessness Towards Others’ (taken from Romans 8:34, 27)

            Do we need any more argument than this to become intercessors – that Christ “ever liveth to make intercession;” that the Holy Spirit “make intercession for the saints”?  Are we living in such a vital relationship to our fellow men that we do the work of intercession as the Spirit-taught children of God?  Begin with the circumstances we are in- our homes, our business, our country, the present crisis as it touches us and others- are these things crushing us?  Are they badgering us out of the presence of God and leaving us no time for worship?  Then let us call a halt, and get into such living relationship with God that our relationship to other may be maintained on the line of intercession whereby God works His marvels.

            Beware of outstripping God by your very longing to do His will.  We run ahead of Him in a thousand and one activities, consequently we get so burdened with persons and with difficulties that we do not worship God, we do not intercede.  If once the burden and the pressure come upon us and we are not in the worshipping attitude, it will produce not only hardness toward God but to people for whom we have no affinity, and unless we are worshipping God, the most natural thing to do is to treat them heartlessly, to give them a text like jab of a spear, or leave them with a rapped-out counsel of God and go.  A heartless Christian must be a terrible grief to Our Lord.

            Are we in direct line of the intercession of Our Lord and of the Holy Spirit?