Union In Liberty (Part 4)

Thanks for tuning in to No Compromise Radio with pastor and author Dr. Mike Abendroth. Today on No Compromise Radio, we'll be hearing Pastor Mike open the Word of God in a recent message he preached at Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston, Massachusetts.

Now let's join Pastor Mike in progress as he preaches through the scriptures, verse by verse, with No Compromise.

Christ’s Self-Denial and the Call to Christian Liberty

My work is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work, John 4. John 5, I did not seek my own will but the will of Him who sent me. John 6, not to do my own will but the will of Him who sent me.

John 8, I do nothing of my own initiative. I always do the things that are pleasing to Him. Jesus Christ's life was a life of self-denial. And so when we meet other Christians, yes we have freedom in Christ and we're stronger to do things, but he's saying, Paul is, Jesus denied Himself, shouldn't we then deny ourselves?

The Old Testament as a Book of Hope and Endurance

And then Paul appeals to scripture. Verse 3 goes on to say, but it is as it is written, the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me, quoting this messianic psalm, Psalm 69. Quoting this psalm that talks about David as a type of Christ, same thing.

And then something fascinating happens, verse 4. Should you read your Old Testament? Absolutely. Why should you read the Old Testament? Well some say the reason you read the Old Testament is so you can see the redemptive thread found throughout the Old Testament.

I say, Amen. Some say you should read the Old Testament because it was Jesus' Bible. I say, Amen. Some say read the Old Testament because you can learn about the character and nature of God and the character and nature of man.

Yes. But let me give you another reason to read the Old Testament. Because the Old Testament is chock full of people who said, I'll say no to now because I know glory is going to follow. I'll say no to immediate gratification because I'm hoping in the Messiah to come.

I'll say no now because there's a heavenly city for me. In this day and age we live in where it's self-gratification and instant gratification and going apoplectic in a line if it doesn't go fast enough, where is the delayed gratification?

And you know where you'll find good illustrations of the delayed gratification and hope? The Old Testament. Look at verse four. People just like to yank this verse out of context. It's in the context of Christian liberty.

And verse three, four, whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction that through endurance, you're going to see a lot of saints endure by the grace of God in the Old Testament. And through the encouragement of the scriptures, we might have hope.

You want to see illustrations of self-denying people who say no to the world now because they're saying yes to the glories of heaven to follow, then read the Old Testament. Of course it's a redemptive story.

Of course you could see Christ in the Old Testament. But Paul says here, you want to see illustrations of people enduring affliction and temptation, read the Old Testament. Weak people, excuse me, strong people need to know that because they could say yes now, but they're saying no now because there's a greater reward in heaven for the self-deniers.

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.

They desire a better country that is a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God for he has prepared for them a city. By faith, Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.

And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised since God had provided something better for us that apart from us, they should not be made perfect. Assurance of future blessing versus grab all the gusto you can now, found regularly in the Old Testament.

I could call the Old Testament in light of this the book of hope, which is a lot different than Churchill's supposed last words on his deathbed, there's no hope. Say no to liberty now, future reward. There's hope for those who say no now.

Strong Christian. Yeah, but how could I do it? How could I ever say no to myself? I'm still enslaved, not to sin, but in this world system and still have sin principle dwelling in me. Verse five. Look what Paul does.

He says, this is what you should do. Let me show you Christ. And now let's give you a little prayer wish. Prayer wishes are good because they address both the people and then the Lord. May the God of endurance.

What a neat name for God. May the God of encouragement. What a name grant you to live in such harmony with one another in accord with Christ Jesus that together you may with one voice glorify the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

How can I do this? How can I live strong, weak, weak, strong? Well, I look at Christ and I say, Lord, help me help. Paul prays for that. Give me wisdom. Give me discernment. Help me to say no to self.

The God of patience and consolation. Verse seven gives us a summary. Therefore, welcome one another. Roll out the mat as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God. Yeah, but those other people are sinful.

How did Christ welcome you? Yes, but those other people don't measure up. How did Christ welcome you? But those other people aren't worthy. How did Christ welcome you? Those other people aren't growing fast enough.

I don't know if you know this about me, but Jesus didn't receive me and accept me into his heart because I was irresistible. I know it's hard to believe. I'll see the first service. They didn't laugh so loud.

Just as Christ received me, he received me as sinful, as willful, as depraved, as Romans five says, as weak, helpless, ungodly. You want to know what ungodly is? Just think of anything about God that's true of scripture and then we're the opposite.

Ungodly, holy, unholy, just, unjust, forgiving, not forgiving, compassionate, harsh. The list goes on. And even to think in Romans five, I'm called a sinner. Everything about me is just sin, falling short.

One word to describe all of us before salvation, sinful, just didn't measure up to God's holy standards or laws. And to think that we were called enemies. I'm not mad at God, the unbeliever says. And God says, well, I'm mad at you because you've defamed me.

And yet Jesus received us this way. See, the cross slays, the cross levels. You can't say, well, I'm going to receive these weak people when they grow a little bit because that's not how Jesus received us.

Remember the Pharisees and scribes couldn't stand it when Jesus received sinners and ate with them. Matthew nine also says, teachers eating with the tax gathers and sinners. Why is that? Jesus said, it is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.

Go and learn what this means. I desire compassion and not sacrifice, for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners. Jesus receives us. We are to receive others. And now here's an interesting thing that Paul does.

Paul now is going to say, Jesus received not just Jew, but Gentile. Well, we are going to see in the rest of the book, basically, the Jew-Gentile combining for the people of God. Yes, it's one thing for God to receive Israelites, but for him to open up his arm and welcome Gentiles.

That's why I think the real problem here was Jew and Gentiles are both in the church at Rome and they're having problems. The Jew says, I'm now converted. I'm a Christian. And so feast days don't matter.

What about Torah? Doesn't matter for Mosaic law anymore. I still kind of have a hang up on that. How do I really work it? I can drink alcohol. It's fine. But now these poor Gentiles over here, they were drunken, orgiastic, bacchanalian, licentious people, and they don't want to touch alcohol at all, and they don't want to eat any meats because it's been offered to idols.

And so what do we do with these people, Jew and Gentile? How do they get along? And then Paul says, you know what? Jesus received them both. Jesus received Jew and Gentile. Look at the example of Christ.

Jew and Gentile United in the Mercy of Christ

Verse 8, for I tell you that Christ, the Messiah, became a servant to the Jews, the circumcised, to show God's truthfulness in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs. Jesus becomes a servant to the Jews.

So you say to yourself, Old Testament's true. Great is my faithfulness. The prophecies of the Old Testament are completed. Yes and amen in Christ Jesus. But for the Gentiles, why did he include the Gentiles?

In order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. For the Jew, he needed to be accepted because the Abrahamic covenant talked about it, and God keeps his word unilaterally. For the Gentile, he's included so people praise God, not for his faithfulness, not for his truth, but for his mercy.

Oh, I'm in by mercy. The promises weren't primarily for me. The primary promises were made to the fathers of the covenant. But I'm gladly included as a beneficiary of the new covenant. As Lewis Johnson said, the Gentile had no direct covenantal promises from God, but they were included in the promises of the covenant made with Israel, Genesis 12 and 22.

And then Paul gives some proof from the Old Testament. Look at these verses. You probably in your study Bible have the cross references over in your margin, four verses from a scattering of the Old Testament, from the law, from the prophets, from the writings and from the great Jewish prophets, Moses and David and Isaiah.

And so Paul is just going to give this list of Gentile inclusion. So we realize if God includes the Gentiles, we ought to include the Gentiles. And then by inference, we ought to include other people.

Weak people welcome them. Verse 9b, therefore, I will praise you among the Gentiles and sing to your name. Psalm 18. Here we have praising God among the Gentiles. It narrows in the second Bible verse quoted in Romans 15, 10, Gentiles praise the Lord with Israel.

Who could think of that? And again, it is said, Deuteronomy 32, rejoice, O Gentiles. What's the next word? With his people. You mean Jew and Gentile are going to get together, circumcised and uncircumcised and worship the same God?

Yes. How about Gentiles just praising God without Israel found in Psalm 117, Romans 15, 11. And again, praise the Lord, O you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him. And this is all possible because this fourth verse given in verse 12 of Romans 15.

And again, Isaiah says, the root of Jesse, the Messiah will come. Even he who arises to rule the Gentiles and in him, this Jewish Messiah will the Gentiles hope. How can I let Jew and Gentile in? How can I deal with the weak?

How can I deal with the strong? Paul prays again. Here's another prayer wish. Verse 13. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace and believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope.

The God of hope for those who are depressed and dejected and discouraged and can't do it. Here's the great God of hope. Well, you know, Paul says, I think you can do it. I think you're equipped. Verse 14.

I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness. See, these are Christian people dwelt by the Spirit of God, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.

Paul said, I know you. And you have the Old Testament. You have this word. And I think you can tell each other about how to actually live this life. You're able to put sense into each other's mind. That's where we get the word new fetic counseling to instruct new to put something in one's mind.

I know you can do it. I know you've been taught and I know you have the Spirit of God. And when it comes to debatable things, I know you can figure it out. The church can figure it out. He says, verse 15, but on some points, I've written to you very boldly by way of reminder because of the grace given me by God.

And now Paul expands it. Look at the minister of Jesus Christ. Who does he go to? Who does Paul go to? Peter might be an apostle to the Jews, but Paul is an apostle to not just God's people, Israel, but God's chosen ones in the Gentiles to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

And so what does Paul say now? If you just tunnel back for a little bit and say to yourself, why is Paul talking now about the Gentiles in his ministry? Because Jesus also included Gentiles in his ministry.

Gentiles and Jews need are both together in the church. The one new man get along weak and strong. And if God sends his men out to be apostles to the Gentiles, they're included. Now, listen how particularly Paul says these next two verses to make sure that any boasting is going to go to the Lord in Christ Jesus, then in Christ Jesus.

I have reason to be proud of my work for God, for I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience by word and by deed. Legitimate boasting.

By the way, if you don't have a ministry, you're missing out on something. Let me tell you what you're missing out on. If you're a Christian without a ministry, you're missing out on having the God of the universe work through a sinful person like you to read down to his glory, to have people's lives changed.

So you can look back and go, you know what? I'm a nobody. I can't really do anything. I have nothing to offer. I'm sinful. I'm rebellious. But God saved me and God used me. And look at how God has used me.

Look at these people. Look at the ministry. Look what's going on behind the scenes. I praise God. He could use me. If you don't have a ministry, you can't say that. Here's a legitimate boasting. Get a ministry and glorify Christ in it.

Jesus did it all. Boy, doesn't this language here, verses 17 and 18, smack against how many people are at the church, attendance, buildings, and cash, what you're running, how many you got, what's the budget?

He's not talking about himself, about the things wrought through him by Christ. And Paul was an apostle and therefore he had apostolic signs and wonders, gifts. Verse 19, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God.

So that from Jerusalem and all the way around to, if you want to know how to pronounce that word, just look for the little word lyric inside illyricum. Makes it a lot easier. I failed a lot of times trying to pronounce that word until you see that little word lyric in there.

Then you're set. Illyricum, I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ. From Jerusalem to Illyricum, not 500 miles, not a thousand miles, 1400 miles. Here's Paul from Jerusalem to Illyricum, the power of God through me.

Paul, a sinner, Paul who one man said started off as a wolf, destroying the church of God. God saved him and made him a sheep. And then God equipped him and made him a shepherd. 1400 miles. Now this morning I said, that's like from here to Des Moines.

And somebody said to me, you know what? I just looked on my computer and from Worcester town center to Omaha town center, it's exactly 1400 miles. Now I'm from Omaha, so I'm taking that as a sign. As sign right there.

I've driven from Omaha to Worcester before, got two flat tires too on the U-Haul, two separate times. 1400 miles. Now who could do that on their own? Paul couldn't do that on his own. So he's praising the Lord.

This is fulfilling the ministry that God did for him. Just like Ephesians chapter two, works prepared beforehand that I might what? Walk in them. Arkan Hughes talked about somebody who would brag in a different way, trying to put the focus on him instead of how God uses people.

Especially when Paul had only sandals to go those 1400 miles. Arkan Hughes says tongue in cheek. If Paul had been someone else, he could have been insufferable. Did I tell you about my Iconium Escapade?

Let me tell you, I was being stoned in Iconium because I stood tall for Jesus. I was always getting the stones. Barnabas managed always to save his pretty face. Well, I was really taking it, but I stood my ground and didn't flinch.

Finally, this guy threw a stone and put me down. Would have killed most men, but not me. So there I was lying on the rubbish pile outside the city. Barnabas and all the saints had all gone to pieces, but I was awake and I got to laughing.

What's a little stoning? The Lord needs more men, I guess. See, that's the exact opposite way. Paul is super careful to try to guard the glory of God. Super careful to guard the church, Christ church.

Super careful not to go preaching where somebody else is preaching. Verse 20, and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel. Not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation.

It's not my territory. If it's Paul's church, get people whatever way you can. If it's the Lord's church, honor the Lord. Verse 21, but as it is written, those who have never been told of him will see.

Those who have never heard will understand. Right from Isaiah chapter 52, the worldwide effects of preaching the gospel of Christ Jesus and the Messiah goes out, yes, even to Gentiles. And then the rest of the book, we're going to go through quickly.

Paul’s Travel Plans, the Jerusalem Offering, and Prayer for Deliverance

Verses 22 through 23, Paul is going to tell us about his plan to come to Rome. And tucked in here is something else that you've got to get for Christian liberty. Paul is going to say tucked in this section, by the way, the Gentiles have an offering for the Jews in Jerusalem.

What's the big deal there? Well, if the big picture is Jews and Gentiles at Rome were rubbing each other, the wrong way and strong and weak in both camps. Listen, Jesus denied himself. Listen, Jesus included Gentiles.

And Gentiles even come together and pick up an offering for the Jews. All for the sake of Christ's church. Verse 22, this, sometimes this refers to what's in the future verse, the current verse or what's behind here.

It's what he's already talking about. This evangelistic 1400-mile journey is the reason why I've been so hindered from coming to you. I've been evangelizing. I've been doing the Lord's work. Of course, I want to see it, but something else is more important.

But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, covered it, got ran out. Since I've longed for many years to come to you, I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain. Spain was on the Western outer limits, as it were, of the civilized world.

But there were a lot of thinkers there. The poet, Lucian, Seneca. I think I need to get to Spain. And to be helped on my journey there by you once I have enjoyed your company for a while. At present, however, I'm going, verse 25, to Jerusalem, bringing aid to the saints.

For Macedonia, that part of Greece, Gentiles, and Achaia, that part of Greece, Gentiles, have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. All the Jews getting run out of their jobs and persecuted for their faith in Christ.

For they were pleased to do it. And indeed, they owe it to them. For the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings. They had also to be of service to them in material blessings. When, therefore, I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you.

I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ. I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit. I mean your family, aren't you brothers?

Strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf. That I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea. And that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints. So that by God's will, I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.

I need your help. I need your prayers. I need both Jew and Gentiles to get together on their knees and pray for me. May the God of peace be with you all. What do you do with the church when there's so many different people?

We act differently. We are different. But we have the same Lord. How do we all get along? Sometimes I say to myself, besides praying for policemen and chiropractors to get saved and come to the church, I want some people coming through that door who have all kinds of metal sticking out of their head.

Tongues and ears, arms, tattoos everywhere. It just looks like they don't belong in West Boylston. And I want them to come because I want everybody to come, whether you've got metal in your head or not.

But I want to see what you would do. And you know, here's what I think almost every one of you would do. You'd open up your arms to them. Say, welcome to Bethlehem Bible Church. We're glad you're here.

I hope you wouldn't say, could I have a moment with you, please? We don't do that kind of tongue thing that you got there and this little, you know, what are we going to do when people who start putting horns underneath their skin, literally get saved and want to come to the church and they look like gargoyles?

What do we do? There are people out there who look like that. I guess they're unsavable though, right? I can tell you this. I promise you this wasn't in the first sermon, by the way. I promise you when I meet gargoyle man and he's had his tongue cut in half because it looks cool when he was a pagan and he was doing Dungeons and Dragons, stuff like that.

I'm not going to pull him aside and say, you know what? The first thing we got to talk about is getting that tongue of yours stitched up. I'm going to say, welcome to Bethlehem Bible Church. I know I'm kind of tougher in the pulpit.

We've got some kind of cookie ministry here. Hope you can eat cookies with the tongue like that. No, I won't say that. And that's going to be the last thing I talk about. Because whatever that person is on the outside, I was 50 times worse on the inside.

And God said, welcome to the person and work of Christ Jesus. Welcome.

No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston, Massachusetts. Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life-transforming power of God's Word through verse-by-verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 8 .30 and 11 a .m. and Sunday evenings at 6 p .m. We're located on Route 110 in West Boylston, Massachusetts. You can check us out online at bbcchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.

The thoughts and opinions expressed on No Compromise Radio do not necessarily reflect those of WVNE, its staff, or management.