ALL ABOUT GOD

(Sermon Series)

 by Rev. Richard Jones

FATHER ABRAHAM

Romans Chapter 4

JUSTIFIED BY FAITH, NOT WORKS

Romans 4:1-8 (ESV)

1  What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2  For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3  For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4  Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5  And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6  just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: 7  “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; 8  blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

Genesis 15:1-6 (ESV)

1  After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2  But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3  And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4  And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 5  And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6  And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)

6  And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV)

8  For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9  not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

JUSTIFIED BY TRUST, NOT CEREMONY

Romans 4:9-12 (ESV)

9  Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10  How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11  He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, 12  and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

Ephesians 1:13-14 (ESV)

13  In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14  who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

JUSTIFIED BY GRACE, NOT LAW

Romans 4:13-17 (ESV)

13  For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14  For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15  For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. 16  That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17  as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

JUSTIFIED BY RESURRECTION POWER, NOT HUMAN EFFORT

Romans 4:18-25 (ESV)

18  In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” 19  He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20  No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21  fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22  That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23  But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24  but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25  who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

ALL ABOUT GOD

(Sermon Series)

 by Rev. Richard Jones

GOD IS GOD AND WE’RE NOT HIM

Romans Chapter 3

STUPID IDEAS

Romans 3:1-8 (ESV)

1  Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision?  2  Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. 3  What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4  By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.” 5  But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) 6  By no means! For then how could God judge the world? 7  But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8  And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.

SOILED CONDITION

Romans 3:9-18 (ESV)

9  What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10  as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11  no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” 13  “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 14  “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” 15  “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16  in their paths are ruin and misery, 17  and the way of peace they have not known.” 18  “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

SILENCED MOUTH

Romans 3:19-20 (ESV)

19  Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20  For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

SAVING FAITH

Romans 3:21-26 (ESV)

21  But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—22  the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24  and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25  whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26  It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV)

21  For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Ephesians 1:7 (ESV)

7  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

STOPPED BOASTING

Romans 3:27-31 (ESV)

27  Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28  For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. 29  Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30  since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31  Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

ALL ABOUT GOD

(Sermon Series)

 by Rev. Richard Jones

FALSE SECURITY

Romans 2

MISTAKE OF THE MORALIST

Romans 2:1-11 (ESV)

1  Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2  We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3  Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God?
4  Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5  But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
6  He will render to each one according to his works:
7  to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8  but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9  There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10  but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11  For God shows no partiality.

Matthew 7:1-5 (ESV)

1  “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2  For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3  Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4  Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5  You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

Ezekiel 33:10-11 (ESV)

10  “And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: ‘Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live?’ 11  Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?

2 Peter 3:8-9 (ESV)

8  But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9  The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Revelation 20:11-15 (ESV)

11  Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13  And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14  Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15  And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV)

8  For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9  not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

COMMANDMENTS & CONSCIENCE

Romans 2:12-16 (ESV)

12  For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 13  For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 14  For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15  They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16  on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 4:13 (ESV)

13  And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

JEWISH YET JUDGED

Romans 2:17-24 (ESV)

17  But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God 18  and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; 19  and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20  an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21  you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? 22  You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23  You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. 24  For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

SIGN VS. SINCERE

Romans 2:25-29 (ESV)

25  For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 26  So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27  Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. 28  For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29  But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

Deuteronomy 10:12-17 (ESV)

12  “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13  and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good? 14  Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. 15  Yet the LORD set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. 16  Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. 17  For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.

ALL ABOUT GOD

(Sermon Series)

 by Rev. Richard Jones

WHEN GOD GIVES UP

Romans 1: 18-32

Romans 1:16-17 (ESV)

16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

17  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

THE INTELLIGENCE OF MANKIND

Romans 1:18-20 (ESV)

18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19  For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Psalm 19:1-6 (ESV)
1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2  Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. 3  There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. 4  Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5  which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. 6  Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

THE IGNORANCE OF MANKIND

Romans 1:21-23 (ESV)

21  For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22  Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23  and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

1 Corinthians 10:19-20 (ESV)

19  What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20  No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.

THE INDULGENCE OF MANKIND

Romans 1:24-27 (ESV)

24  Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25  because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. 26  For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27  and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

THE IMPENITENCE OF MANKIND

Romans 1:28-32 (ESV)

28  And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29  They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30  slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31  foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32  Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (ESV)

9  Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10  nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11  And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

ALL ABOUT GOD

(Sermon Series)

 by Rev. Richard Jones

GOOD NEWS FOR YOU

Romans 1: 1-17

CREDENTIALS & COMMISSION

Romans 1:1-7 (ESV)

1  Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2  which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3  concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh. 4  and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5  through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6  including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7  To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

READY FOR ROME

Romans 1:8-15 (ESV)

8  First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. 9  For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you 10  always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 11  For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— 12  that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.  13  I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14  I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15  So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

MESSAGE OF MIGHT

Romans 1:16-17 (ESV)

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