God Incomprehensible

Nicholas of Cusa said, "The intellect knoweth that it is ignorant of Thee, because it knoweth Thou canst not be known, unless the unknowable could be known and the invisible beheld, and the inaccessible attained." With all that the Scripture does reveal about God and of all that we can discern concerning His nature and character, God is yet fully comprehensible by finite beings. 

Otherwise, we are guilty as A. W. Tozer once warned, "If we insist upon trying to imagine Him, we end with an idol, made not with hands but with thoughts; and an idol of the mind is as offensive to God as an idol of the hand."

The Righteous Judgment of God (Part 6)

SERMON:        GM15-066

SERIES:          Renewal Through Romans: The Gospel Defined, Explained & Applied

SETTING:        North Kelso Baptist Church

SERVICE:        Sunday AM (July 26, 2015)

SECTION:        The Perversion of Righteousness (Romans 1:18-3:20)

SUBTITLE:    The Righteous Judgment of God (Part 6)

SCRIPTURE:      Romans 3:1-8

SUBJECT:        God is faithful to the Jews

SUMMARY:    God is just in His judgment of the Jews since judgment does not nullify the Jews advantages, God’s faithfulness, or God’s character.

SCHEME:        To inform my people that God is just in His judgment

TITLE:    The Righteous Judgment of God (Part 6)

TEXT:    Romans 3:1-8

TRANSLATION

“What then is the superiority of the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? Much in every way! First of all that they were entrusted with the oracles of God. For what if some did not believe? Surely their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God. Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar just as it is written, ‘that you may be judged in our words and you may overcome when you are judged.’ But what if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Surely God, the on inflicting wrath is not unrighteous. (I speak as a man.) Certainly not! For otherwise how shall God judge the world? For is by my lie the truth of God has abounded to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? And why not say, ‘let us do evil so that good may come?’ – just as we are slandered, and just as some affirm that we say. The judgment of whom is just” (English Majority Version, from Majority Greek Text)

THEME:    God is right in judging the Jews

THRUST:    since His judgment is consistent with His character.

TRUTH:    God is just in judging the Jews since judgment is consistent with His character, because judgment does not nullify the advantages of the Jews, nor the faithfulness of God, nor His righteous character.

THUMBNAIL

1A    The Sinful Heathen (1:18-32)

2A    The Sinful Hebrews (2:1-3:8)

1B    The Judgment of God Declared (2:1-16)

1C    The Jews deserved the judgment of God (2:1-5)

2C    The Jews determined the judgment of God (2:6-10)

3C    The Jews doomed by the judgment of God (2:12-16)

2B    The Judgment of God Discussed (2:17-29)

1C    The Jews Misunderstood their status (2:17-24)

2C    The Jews Misunderstood their symbol (2:25-29)

3B    The Judgment of God Defended (3:1-8)

1C    The Favor by the Judge is not nullified (1-2)

1D    The Anticipation by the Apostle

2D    The Answer for the Adversary

2C    The Faithfulness of the Judge is not nullified (3-4)

1D    The Anticipation by the Apostle

2D    The Answer for the Adversary

3C    The Fame of the Judge is not nullified (5-8)

1D    The Anticipation by the Apostle

2D    The Answer for the Adversary

The Righteous Judgment of God (Part 5)

Disclaimer - I worked for over an hour to correct the formatting. I then uploaded and this is what I got. I give up. I am sorry if you can't or don't read this.

SERMON:             GM15-065

SERIES:              Renewal Through Romans: The Gospel Defined, Explained &           Applied

SETTING:          North Kelso Baptist Church

SERVICE:          Sunday AM (July 19, 2015)

SECTION:          The Perversion of Righteousness (Romans 1:18-3:20)

SUBTITLE:        The Righteous Judgment of God (Part 5)

SCRIPTURE:     Romans 2:25-29

SUBJECT:          The symbol of circumcision

SUMMARY:       The profit that is derived from circumcision is through obedience                                since circumcision is an inward reality given by the HS rather than                                 an outward mark on the flesh made by man.

SCHEME:           To inform my people that religious symbolism does not save

  

 TITLE:      The Righteous Judgment of God (Part 5)

TEXT:       Romans 2:24-29

TRANSLATION

“For circumcision is profitable if you do the law, but if you transgress the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. Therefore, if the uncircumcised keep the righteousness of the law, will not is uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? And shall not the uncircumcised by nature fulfill the law, judge you through the letter and circumcision transgress the law? For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision of the flesh. But he is a Jew hiddenly and circumcision is of the heart in Spirit, not in letter, whose praise is not of men but of God.” (GDM)

THEME:    The Jews misunderstood their symbol of circumcision

THRUST:  by thinking that the outward mark of the flesh would justify them

TRUTH:    The Jews misunderstood their symbol of circumcision because they                         thought they would be justified because of the outward mark on their                    flesh

THUMBNAIL

1A     The Sinful Heathen (1:18-32)

2A     The Sinful Hebrews (2:1-3:8)

          1B     The Judgment of God Declared (2:1-16)

                   1C     The Jews deserved the judgment of God (2:1-5)

                   2C     The Jews determined the judgment of God (2:6-10)

                   3C     The Jews doomed by the judgment of God (2:12-16)

          2B     The Judgment of God Discussed (2:17-29)

                   1C     The Jews Misunderstood their status (2:17-24)

                   2C     The Jews Misunderstood their symbol (2:25-29)

                             1D     …obligation without obedience (vs 25)

                                      1E     Obedience renders profit

                                      2E     Disobedience realizes penalty

                             2D     …religion without reality (26-27)

                                      1E     blurs the official line

                                      2E     burns the offending losers

                             3D     …conviction without clarity (28-29)

                                      1E     lack of clarity concerning outward appearance

                                      2E     lack of clarity concerning inward approval 

Is Your God Sovereign or a Sissy?

First of all, if you feel an impulse to send me a post card in order to rebuke me for using the word "sissy," please restrain yourself. It is an actual word with a specific meaning.

The dictionary first states that it is a noun, secondly defines it, and then thirdly, for our benefit lists some synonyms. Look it up!

Anyways, I was doing some research on prayer and I came across this tid-bit that almost caused me to loose my breakfast:

"Why should we pray? Prayer unleashes God's power so that he is able to work in (sic) our behalf. Prayer is how God accomplishes things that he wants to see happen in our life. Since he respects our freedom of choice and freewill, prayer enables him to step into our lives. Prayer gives God permission to do what he has been longing to do all the time." (robertwells,tripod.com/howtopray.html)

I am glad that this is not true of my God. My God is sovereign who does as He pleases. He is not waiting for me to give Him permission to act on my behalf. Praise God, for the fact that He allows me to share in His sovereign pleasure by desiring and encouraging me to pray. But my sovereign God is not waiting for me to permit Him to unleash His power in order to accomplish His will.

This ideology makes God out to be some kind of sissy who can't do anything while he waits around for our permission or invitation. That may be your God but it isn't my God.


 

The Righteous Judgment of God (Part 4)

SERMON:             GM15-064

SERIES:              Renewal Through Romans: The Gospel Defined, Explained &           Applied

SETTING:          North Kelso Baptist Church

SERVICE:          Sunday AM (July 12, 2015)

SECTION:          The Perversion of Righteousness (Romans 1:18-3:20)

SUBTITLE:        The Righteous Judgment of God (Part 4)

SCRIPTURE:     Romans 2:17-24

SUBJECT:          The Jews Guilty as the Gentiles

SUMMARY:       Paul denies the Jews a refuge from God’s judgment by demonstrating that the possession of the law is of no advantage.

SCHEME:           To enable my people to share with Jewish people that they are as                                guilty as the Gentiles of sin against God, thereby warranting the                                  judgment of God.

Theme:                The Jews are guilty

Thrust:                because the law has limitations

CPT:  In spite of the Jews covenantal position and their covenantal privileges, the Jews are as guilty as the Gentles due to the limitations of the covenantal relationship

CPS:  God will judge the Jews

Interrogatory Sentence: Why will God judge the Jews?

Transitional Sentence:    This passage announces that God will judge the Jews for two reasons:

1.     Because the Jews misunderstood their status (17-24)

2.     Because the Jews misunderstood their symbol (25-29)

Outline:      2A     The Sinful Hebrews (2:1-3:8)

                             1B     The Judgment of God Declared (2:1-16)

                                      1C     The Jews deserved the judgment of God (2:1-5)

                                      2C     The Jews determined the judgment of God (2:6-10)

                                      3C     The Jews doomed by the judgment of God (2:12-16)

                             2B     The Judgment of God Discussed (2:17-29)

                                      1C     The Jews Misunderstood their status (2:17-24)

                                                1D     They relied on their relationship (17a)

                                                2D     They rested on their resources (17b-18)

                                                         

                                                          1E     The resource of the law

                                                          2E     The relationship with God

                                                          3E     Their responsibility of discernment

                                                          4E     Their ritualistic instruction in the law

                                                3D     They reneged on their responsibilities (19-20)

                                                          1E     They were to be guide to the blind

                                                          2E     They were to be a light in darkness

                                                          3E     They were to instruct the foolish

                                                          4E     They were to teach the immature

                                                4D     They redefined their reality (21-24)

                                                          1E     They were guilty of sanctimony

                                                          2E     They were guilty of stealing

                                                          3E     They were guilty of sexuality

                                                          4E     They were guilty of sacrilege

                                                          5E     They were guilty of scornfulness

Is God Mad?

Driving home  I saw a hand painted statement on a concrete retaining wall. First, it irked me that someone had such little or no respect for property that wasn't their own. Second, as I read the statement it was more than obvious that the author did not know God or the Bible at all. The statement read:

God is not mad!

Really? Hmmm, is that true? What does God have to say about that topic? What does the Bible have to say about that topic?

First of all, it can be correct in the sense that God is not mad at Christ. He hurled the full force of His wrath and anger at Christ who had become sin for the elect. But God accepted Christ's sacrifice, and when the elects sin had been atoned for, God turned His wrath against Christ away, and accepted His sacrifice, raised Him from the dead, and then seated Him at His right hand. God is not mad at Christ.

Second, God is not mad at the elect. The elects sin was imputed to Christ where it was atoned for and Christ's righteousness was imputed to the elect. According to Ephesians the elect are accepted in Christ almost as if they were Christ. So God is not mad at the elect.

So, is God mad? Well, let's see.

Psalm 7:11 - "God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day."

Nahum 1:6 - "Who can stand before His indignation? And who can endure the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by Him."

Romans 1:18 - "For the wrath of god is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness."

God is angry. God is angry at sin and God is angry at sinners. Don't forget it was a unbelieving pagan who made the false and unbiblical statement, "God hates the sin and loves the sinner.' David made it clear that God is angry at the sinner.

This is why we need to share the gospel with every sinner. We need to share the gospel with the great hope that perhaps God will grant them repentance and that the Holy Spirit will give them life.

Don't kid yourself. God is angry at sin. God has revealed His anger at the sin of mankind. If you want to see God's anger revealed at sin look at the universal flood, look at Sodom and Gomorrah, look at the Edomites, look at the cross, look at the vials and bowl judgments during the Tribulation Period, and finally look at the great white throne judgment.

Also, for the record, stop saying that God will judge this nation if we don't repent or change our ways, or whatever verbiage suits you. God has judged this nation. He has revealed his wrath against this nation.l The recent SCOTUS ruling shows that God has abandoned the USA to their sin and rejection of God. If the lighting of the White House in celebration of godless decimation of marriage is not judgment then I don't know what is. God has abandoned this nation to a reprobate mind. 

The only reason this earth is not instantly smashed into a billion little pieces of waste or isn't melted into hot lava is due to the church, the true church acting as a preservative (salt) preserving this decaying and rotting world until God has fully worked out His purpose. The church is this world's reprieve from the full force of God's fury. Oh, but wait until the church is removed from this earth.

The Righteous Judgment of God (Part 3)

SERMON:             GM15-063

SERIES:              Renewal Through Romans: The Gospel Defined, Explained &           Applied

SETTING:          North Kelso Baptist Church

SERVICE:          Sunday AM (July 5, 2015)

SECTION:          The Perversion of Righteousness (Romans 1:18-3:20)

SUBTITLE:        The Righteous Judgment of God (Part 3)

SCRIPTURE:     Romans 2:12-16

SUBJECT:          The Jews have no advantage

SUMMARY:       Paul denies the Jews a refuge from God’s judgment by demonstrating                                       that the possession of the law is of no advantage.

SCHEME:           To motivate each member of NKBC to trust the right criteria in                                            anticipation of the coming judgment

_____________________________________________________________

Our theme is:  The Jews have no advantage

 Proposition:        Paul denies the Jews a refuge from God’s judgment by demonstrating that the possession of the law is of no advantage.

Interrogatory Sentence:  Why do the Jews have no advantage before God?

Transitional Sentence: This passage reveals three reasons why the Jews have no                                                      advantage before God

·        Justification is not based on hearing or possessing the law (13)

·        The Gentiles have a form of God’s moral law (14-15)

·         God will judge according to these criteria (16)

Happy Independence Day!

Will this be our last one?

Do We Really Need to Ask 40 Questions?

Are there really genuine believers in Christ who honestly supports and/or embraces open and practicing homosexuals as fellow believers? Are there really genuine Christian churches that also embrace open and practicing homosexuals as genuine believers? I do not mean to say that genuine Christians or genuine churches are not to demonstrate the love of Christ towards and fervently evangelize open and practicing homosexuals.

I ask these questions because circulating on social media is an article suggesting that any Christian or Christian church should ask themselves some forty (40) questions before such a decision is made. At the risk of unintentionally offending anyone, I am appalled, aghast, amazed, astonished, and even angered that any genuine believer and any genuine Christian church would even need to considered these questions.

Doesn't anyone truly read, meditate on, and study the bible anymore? If they did first of all, no genuine believer or genuine Church of Christ would embrace and/or approve of such behavior. Secondly, these questions would not be necessary.

Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." (John 14:15, NKJV) He also said, "he who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me." (John 14:24, NKJV)

If you don't keep the words of the Father and the Son then you do not love God or Jesus Christ. This shows that you are not a genuine believer. If your church does not keep the words of the Father and the Son, then your church is not a genuine church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We do not need to ask 4, 40, or 400 questions about our decisions. Our decisions are to be based on the living word of God. It is very clear on this subject.