The Romans Road (Applying God's Word - Part 3)

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. It has been said that before you can get someone saved, you have to get them lost. Of course, the reality is they're already lost.

You just have to make them realize it. Only the Holy Spirit can do that, but it's in cooperation with the preaching. Romans 3 .23, you know what it says, for all have sinned and have come short of the glory of God.

And that penalty for sin is death. Romans 6 .23, for the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord. But praise God, that penalty for sin was paid on the cross of Jesus Christ.

Romans 5 .8 says that God demonstrates his own love toward us and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Scripture teaches that if we would repent and trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will be saved from sin and its penalty.

But it has to be more than just a mental ascent in your head. You can't just believe the thought in your head. It has to be real to you. And if it's real, it comes out in what you do. Romans 10 .9 -11, to the one who has placed their faith.

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

For the scripture says, whoever believes on him will not be put to shame. But there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon him. It doesn't matter where a person lives in the United States, in Africa, in Asia, and your God is God of the whole world.

This applies to everybody. So if a person places their faith in Jesus, the Great Commission says the next step is to be baptized. This is done through the ministry of a local church. And then we are to spend the rest of our lives learning in the local church, growing, and serving God in whatever way he has gifted you.

The Disconnect Between Belief and Application

But where does the disconnect come in? At some point there's a disconnect. You can read that and say I believe it all, but sometimes there's the disconnect. Where the word of God, yeah it's true, but it's not always applied.

Here's the problem. It's in our nature. We want to do what we want to do. Right? You can hear all of this and you know it's right and you know it's true and you believe it's true, but even the believer has that sinful flesh and we don't like being told what to do.

And we want to be the Lord of our own lives. But the Christian who is submitting to the will of God, he says, like Jesus said, not my will be done, but thine. That's why I get up here every Sunday, preaching to myself first before I preach to you, but that all of us would get to that place where daily we say not our will, Lord, but thine.

You know, Jesus didn't have his own agenda. Did you know that? Jesus didn't come to the earth to do what he wanted to do. Jesus came to the earth to do what the Father wanted him to do. So Jesus, again, leads by example.

Look at Philippians 2, verse 5. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.

And being found and fashioned as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. So we are supposed to obey God. Why? Because Jesus obeyed God. Because Christ obeyed and we are Christians.

And because of that, wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Christ Exalted and the Rebellion of the Heathen

Now the heathen don't like that, but that's the truth. One day the heathen, the people who hate Jesus Christ, who blaspheme the name of Jesus Christ, you know that sometimes unbelievers talk about Jesus more than we do, except they use his name as a curse word, even they will bow the knee and confess that he is Lord.

But this idea that God has highly exalted Jesus, what's the tie-in to Psalm chapter 2? Remember David wrote, he's writing in the spirit, Lord I have set my king on my holy hill, the Father has exalted Christ.

So the heathen rage because they want to break free from God's sovereign rule. They want to live the way they want to live and they just can't stand the idea of a God in heaven telling them what to do.

That's really what it boils down to. Now let's turn to Psalm chapter 2 and we'll begin to bring this to a close. But when Christians live out their faith, when Christians talk about their faith, when Christians apply the word of God, when Christians vote, when Christians establish churches, when Christians build schools, anytime we actually do something, the devil and his minions, they can't stand that.

What did Jesus say? The gates of hell shall not prevail against the church. Gates are defensive in nature, right? So the church is pictured as being on the offense. If we're going to be on the offense, we have to do something.

I used to work at a place and the boss would say, you know, he's sort of joking around I guess, but he'd say, do something. Even if it's wrong, do something. You ever heard that? That's bad advice really.

Do the right thing. But the point is, hey, you believe the word of God, amen, do something about it. Verse 9, they want to break free. What does it say? That the Lord, he will rule, he will rule them with what?

A rod of iron. Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Jesus Christ one day will have the complete rule of this earth. He will exercise that dominion that Adam lost in the garden. Therefore, verse 10, be wise now therefore, O ye kings, be instructed ye judges of the earth, serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.

You realize all the judges in this nation are under God, whether they want to be or not. You realize every politician is under God, and God will hold them accountable for disobeying him. Every lawmaker that's passing godless laws, they're going to be held accountable by the king of kings.

That's our job to proclaim it, because nobody else is going to. So, serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. But they can't do that, because they're not reading the Bible, they can't do that unless they hear the warning.

They can't do that unless the church and Christians are proclaiming it. So, we need to take this message of scripture and declare it from the rooftops. If we truly believe that the Bible is the word of God, we have to bring it to bear.

I know I'm repeating myself, but I'm doing it intentionally. We have to apply it. So, before we close, let's try. Let's just try to apply it in some ways. So, you could say amen to everything I've said so far, probably.

If you're saved, I think you can say amen to just about everything I said. Now is where I might start losing people. Because I'm going to try to apply it to the modern day. Let's try to do this. Jesus said in John 14, verse 15, If you love me, keep my commandments.

And we all fall short in that area. But we need to strive to keep God's commandments. Amen? Are you with me on that one? Okay. Doing okay so far. It is said in Hebrews 10, 25, to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together.

That's in the Bible, but some people forsake the assembly. It's the most basic Christian confession. Three words, Jesus is Lord. That's the most basic Christian confession. Do you believe that Jesus is Lord?

Well, is he Lord of your life? Have you believed on him? Have you been baptized in his name? Do you do what he says? In other words. Another application. The scripture calls Jesus the King of Kings. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't that make him king over the United States of America?

I mean, really, if you believe he's king of kings, then he's king of this nation, and we should recognize him as such. We say, well, Christians do. It's the nonbelievers that don't. Well, they should.

It's our job to tell them that. You see, it's a big difference between saying, hey, yeah, the Bible's true. I believe it, and actually bringing it to bear. I debated whether I was going to bring this up, but I will.

You know, the Bible teaches modesty. Well, that's not a popular subject today. You know, and I understand we all have been brought up in this culture, and it seems normal to people. And so I'm not against anybody, but the Bible teaches modesty.

And there's actually biblical definitions of what that looks like. So we should dress modestly. As long as we live the way we want, or we take the teachings of Scripture and leave them in the past and not apply them to the modern day, it's like a short circuit.

There's something wrong. There's a disconnect. That doesn't mean someone is a bad person or anything like that. It's just we want to grow. We want to recognize these things. We want to move forward. We want to apply what the Word of God says.

Salt, Light, and the Church's Witness

And if the heathen are not raging, it's probably because the church, which is supposed to be salt and light in the world, if the heathen are not raging, it's probably because the church has lost its savor.

If Morse Corner Church is beloved by the residents of Leverett, we're doing something wrong, folks. I want to be liked. You want to be liked. We want to be loved. But if we're loved by the world, we're doing something wrong.

The church, churches in general, if the heathen are not raging, we have lost our savor. And Jesus said people like that or a church like that is good for nothing except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

The book of Revelation also speaks about this. When we don't apply God's Word, we might say the right things, but if we do the opposite, what does the Lord do to a church like that? He removes their candlestick.

But what did Jesus say? He said to his followers in the Sermon on the Mount, you are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

So let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. You are the light of the world. Make that light shine. Believe God's Word, apply it, and leave the rest to the Lord.

Amen? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I just ask that you would be with us. I pray that as bitterness and anger and rage continues to rise in this country and even throughout the world, that you would be a shelter in a time of storm for your people.

Lord, I pray that you would fill us with your Holy Spirit and that you would shower spiritual blessings upon those who seek you with all of their heart. Lord, save the sinner, restore the backslider, and it's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.