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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The essentiality of the church body, Romans 12, 3-9a

When I look at what a lot of other preachers and teachers and commentators have said about this chapter before us, I think in some respects that many of them are guilty of dealing with  these passages out in a piecemeal sort of way.  What I mean by that is, they take them completely out of context with one another.  For instance, they look at vs1 and 2 separately from the rest of the chapter and see it as some sort of post conversion consecration of the individual believer.  Then in vs 3-8 they tend to disregard the previous verses

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An exhortation to worship, Romans 12:1,2

Last week I went through the entire chapter 11 in one sermon.  Something I normally don’t attempt to do.  Today I am only going to be looking at two verses.  Oddly enough, the sermon length should be exactly the same. I think that the two verses we are looking at today are some of the most important in Romans. They serve as the culmination of Paul’s entire epistle and his argument up to this point.  Up through chapter 11 he has examined and explained the theology of our salvation; particularly the grace and mercies of God in producing and procuring

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God’s grace in salvation, Romans 11:1-36

The previous chapter ended with the verse which says, in Rom 10:21 “But as for Israel [God] says, “ALL THE DAY LONG I HAVE STRETCHED OUT MY HANDS TO A DISOBEDIENT AND OBSTINATE PEOPLE.” And we determined last week that verse emphasizes the patience and mercy of God, in waiting for and calling to a rebellious people that are always resisting His call. It emphasizes that even though Israel as a nation rebelled against God, He is pursuing them even to this day. Yet this rebellion raises the question which Paul asked in vs 1, “I say then, God has

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