Romans 1-3 Slideshow. The Problem

1. December 1
A Problem You Can’t Solve
Studies in Romans, Winter, 2013-14
John R. Wible
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2. The Point . . .
You can’t meet God’s standard on your
own.
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3. Introit
Find the right person to compare yourself
to, and you can come off looking really
good. Set your standards low enough and
you’ll come out on top.
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4. But, what is God’s Standard?
How do you compare with it?
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5. The Law
“It has been said that the law lays down
what we must do, but the gospel lays down
what God has done.” – Wm. Barclay
Not to be confused with
William Barclay (Bat) Masterson
William Barclay
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6. What is the Point of life?
The Westminster Catechism says, “Man's
chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy
him forever.”
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7. Before you do that,
What must you do?
• You must meet God.
• Recognize your two relative positions
and be moved toward the subservient.
• Give up self glorification by “dying to
self.”
• Fill the vacuum with God.
• Persist . . . persist.
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8. Some ways to try to meet God?
Sacrificing virgins to the god of the volcano
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9. Some ways to try to meet God?
Try hurting yourself or denying yourself
pleasure
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10. Some ways to try to meet God?
Try bringing sacrifices of your stuff.
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11. Try being “good.”
Some ways to try to meet God?
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12. Some ways to try to meet God?
Try the “Old Time Religion” that was “good
enough for my Mother.”
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13. Some ways to try to meet God?
Try walking a church aisle and joining a
church.
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14. Some ways to try to meet God?
Try being a regular attendee of a church
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15. Some ways to try to meet God?
Try being baptized in the River Jordan
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16. Some ways to try to meet God?
Try being a missionary.
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17. Some ways to try to meet God?
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18. An Uncomfortable Question . . .
Will any or all of these acts in and of
themselves bring you close enough to
meet God?
Why or why not?
It can be said that these acts (except
sacrificing virgins to the god of the
volcano) are results of a meeting with
God, not the cause of a meeting with
God.
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19. So, Again . . .
• How do you first meet God?
• Only on HIS terms
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20. Outline of Romans
(1) Chs. 1–8 deal with the
problem of
righteousness
(2) Chs. 9–11 deal with the
problem of the Jews,
the chosen people.
(3) Chs. 12–15 deal with
practical questions of
life and living.
(4) Ch. 16 is a letter of
introduction for
Phoebe and final
personal greetings.
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21. Do-Over
• When have you recently wanted a ‘do
over’?
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22. The Point - Reiterated
• “You can’t meet God’s standard on your own.”
• Remember, each of us is in need of salvation
and it can’t come from within us
• Read Romans 1:16,17. Find some “Good News”
– The gospel is nothing to be ashamed of;
– God gives us power for salvation through the
gospel;
– The gospel is for everyone; God’s righteousness is
revealed
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23. Salvation
• It was salvation from physical illness (Matthew
9:21; Luke 8:36).
• It was salvation from danger (Matthew 8:25,
14:30).
• It was salvation from life’s infection.
• It was salvation from lostness (Matthew 18:11;
Luke 19:10).
• It was salvation from sin (Matthew 1:21).
• It was salvation from the wrath of God
(Romans 5:9)
• It was a salvation which is eschatological - Barclay
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24. Demonstration
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25. Righteousness
• When we try to fix ourselves, we end
up, even at our best, looking like a poorly
glued attempt at perfection.
• The good news is that Jesus Christ has
made God’s righteousness available to us
so we don’t have to fix ourselves.
• What is Righteousness?
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26. What we can say about
Righteousness
• This righteousness from God is available
through Jesus Christ.
• This righteousness from God cannot be
earned.
• This righteousness is received by faith.
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27. So, What is Faith?
• At its simplest, it means loyalty. . . . Faith is
the enduring devotion and loyalty which
marks the real follower of Jesus Christ.
• Faith means belief. It means the conviction
that something is true.
• Faith is sometimes practically equivalent to
indestructible hope. ‘We walk’, writes
Paul, ‘by faith, not by sight’ (2 Corinthians
5:7).
• Total acceptance and absolute trust. It
means ‘betting your life that there is a God’
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28. People Who Don’t Need a Savior
• In chapter 2, Paul focused
on people who believed
they did not need a Savior.
• We all know or have known people who
fit into this category. They believe they
are good people—moral people.
• Name some and tell us what has been
your conversation with them?
• Read Romans 2:5 through 11.
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29. • How would you describe God’s “wrath?”
• One of our oddities as human beings is our
tendency to point out the flaws in others
while ignoring our own.”
• Why do you think that is?
• Why is it tempting to compare ourselves?
• We are all subject to God’s wrath unless . . .
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30. The Referee
•
•
•
•
Read Romans 3:9 through 12
Read the Referee story p. 15
God is entitled to call our “fouls”
Not one person has ever or will ever
measure up to God’s standard.
• What would the world be like if there
were no standards? See Judges 21:23-25.
• If we stop here, how do we find hope?
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31. Hope!
• God’s standard of
righteousness is
impossible for us to
meet.
• But in His love, God
has provided a
solution by grace
though faith in His
Son, Jesus Christ.
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32. So where does this leave you?
•
•
•
•
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Get honest with God.
Get serious about your faith in Christ.
Get concerned about the world.
Were you to consider the three points
listed above, what impact would they
have on your life?
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33. God’s Bema of Reward
• How honest are you with God?
• How serious are your about
your faith in Christ?
• How concerned are you about
the spiritual condition of those
around you?
• Is God pleased with your rating?
• If not, ask God to reveal what you can do
to improve your rating in each area?
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34. Let’s Pray About it!
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