The Saints of the Church, Romans 16

We have come today to the end of the epistle to the Romans.  It’s been a long, somewhat arduous journey.  Romans is a very thorough, very dense, theological treatise in the form of a  long letter to the Roman church from the Apostle Paul.  And as I have said quite frequently lately, the first 11 chapters were almost strictly theological, but the second part of the book beginning with chapter 12 are very practical. Now they are practical because these last 5 chapters are dealing with the life of the church.  The first 11 chapters tell us how we receive

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The fruit of the church, Romans 15:22-33

We are coming to the conclusion of our study of Romans. And as I have said previously, the last few chapters of Romans, starting in chapter 12, are not doctrinal so much as they are practical application. And that application is particularly focused on the church. In these three chapters, Paul has written concerning the life, worship and fellowship of the church in great detail. Now at the end of chapter 15, he speaks about what might be called the fruit of the church. At the beginning of the epistle he stated that he wanted to see some spiritual fruit

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The model for the church, Romans 15:14-21

In the epistle to the Romans, Paul spends the first 11 chapters talking about the theology and doctrine of the church. Not the doctrinal distinctives of a particular type or denomination of a church, but the general theology and doctrine which believing through faith leads to salvation, through which you are made a part of Christ’s church. You cannot join this church, you must be born again to be a member of this church. And Paul uses the first eleven chapters to teach the doctrines of being born again, which is the doctrine of salvation. That doctrine is what is

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Following Christ’s example of love, Romans 15:1-13

Starting in chapter 12, Paul has basically been giving a series of admonitions regarding life in the church.  The church is not a building nor an organization, per se.  It is an organism, a living, breathing community of believers who are connected in spirit, soul and body.  The church is the temple of God, of which  indwelled by the Spirit of God. 1Peter 2:5 says, “you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” And beginning in chapter 12, Paul has

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The edification of the church, Romans 14:13-23

I believe that in chapters 12 through 14 of Romans what we have is Paul addressing some practical considerations for how the church is to show love towards one another.  It is one thing to say that you should love one another, and that you should love your neighbor, and you should even love your enemies.  But it is another thing to work out how we do that in real life.  In each of these aspects of love, Paul is explaining the way love is worked out in the church and through the church.  Even in chapter 13, when Paul

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The Church’s acceptance of one another, Romans 14:1-12

I grew up as a preacher’s kid. I was raised in a home that was practically an extension of the church.  We lived next door to the church in the parsonage, and so it seemed we were in church for one reason or another almost every day.  Being a preacher’s kid you can’t get away from the church.  My dad was what they used to call a fire and brimstone preacher.  The church doctrine my dad preached was a little towards what might be labeled today as legalistic.  We had very strict convictions.  We didn’t believe that as a Christian

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The Church’s Responsibility to it’s Neighbors, Romans 13:8-14

Beginning in chapter 12, Paul has been writing a series of practical exhortations to the church.  He started off in ch.12 vs 1 saying that as Christians we have a responsibility to present our bodies to the church as a living sacrifice, which is our reasonable service of worship. Now as we have learned, the church is not a building, nor a denomination, but a people.  The church is the eklesia, the called out ones, the assembly of believers who make up Christ’s body in local community.  So we are to physically present ourselves to be a part of that

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The Church’s attitude towards government, Romans 13:1-7

In the previous chapter, Paul has given us exhortation on the believer’s proper attitude towards God and towards God’s church. And in that commentary he describes how we are to exercise our spiritual gifts for the benefit of the church, and how we are to act in love towards other members of the church. Then at the end of chapter 12 he describes how as the church we are to act in love towards outsiders of the church. Now in chapter 13, Paul describes how the church is to act in response to the governing authorities. And perhaps this passage

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The Church’s attitude towards the world, Romans 12:14-21

If you were here for the last few weeks in our study of Romans 12, then you will remember that chapter 12 deals with the practical application of the doctrine espoused in the first eleven chapters.  And practically speaking, chapter 12 is focused on the life of the church.  Paul says how we are live out the doctrines of justification and sanctification and glorification is by presenting our bodies physically to the church body, as a living sacrifice which is our worship to the Lord.   And the dominate focus of the chapter deals with how we live out our

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The love of the church, Romans 12:9-13

Jesus told His disciples in John 13:34-35 that “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” So in the church we are commanded to love one another, and we will be characterized by our love for one another. Now Paul is talking to the church in this chapter, giving them practical exhortation on how to live out their salvation. And Paul is saying in this passage

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