Union In Liberty (Part 3)

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Thanks for tuning in to No Compromise Radio, with pastor and author, Dr.

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Mike Abendroth. Today on No Compromise Radio, we'll be hearing Pastor Mike open the

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Word of God in a recent message he preached at Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston, Massachusetts.

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

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I read this week, I suppose a true story, in 1830,

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Pastor George Trask of Fitchburg, Massachusetts preached against the vain beard of congregant

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Joseph Palmer, and he demanded that Palmer shave it off.

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Only in Fitchburg, right? When Trask denied Palmer communion, Palmer grabbed the chalice and drank it anyway, shouting,

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I love my Jesus as well and better than any of you. After he was jailed for fighting off attackers who tried to cut off his beard,

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Palmer, and the writer says, and his beard became a New England celebrity.

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Beards, no beards. Courtship, dating, betrothal, gray areas, debatable things.

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What do we do? How do we solve the problem? Let's turn our Bibles to Romans chapter 15 and quickly find out that the problem is found in Christ Jesus the

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Lord. You look to somebody else who seems to be immature or weak in the faith, and they do things that you would never do.

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You look at somebody who's strong in the faith, and they do things that you would never do. How do we solve the problem to make sure this church stays unified and together and thinks biblically about debatable gray areas of difference?

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The answer is, when you look to Lord Jesus Christ, you'll see what he does, and you'll have now a motive and a method and an example.

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For the first time, Paul puts Jesus Christ as an example of what to do when it comes to people who are weaker, people who don't do exactly what you do.

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When I first became a Christian, I wish

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I could go back to the people who were mature in the faith, who were patient with me.

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I wish I could go back and just say, thank you. I've forgotten some of their names, but they were patient with me, and their goal was not initially, we need to change

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Mike on all the debatable things. Their goal was, we would like to disciple him in the

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Lord Jesus Christ and have him learn and grow about Christ, his work, his person.

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Now I haven't always done this, but as the Lord is growing me, I meet new people all the time, and they come into the church, and some people come and they're mature, and maybe they move here, and other people are brand new

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Christians, and you can't expect brand new Christians to be mature. Some people come in with all kinds of crazy theological ideas and methodologies, and just, some of you, when

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I do this, you smile, you know you were one of them. So what do we do? Quick, just try to change them.

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How do I approach them? Now if it's on a doctrine about the deity of Christ, our substitutionary atonement, well, that goes without saying.

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But all kinds of people, in the last 16 years since I've been here, and in the next 16 years until the

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Lord returns, people are going to walk into the church, and they're going to be less than mature.

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Paul is going to say, if you keep your eye on Christ, remember those old songs, and the bouncing ball would go, follow the bouncing ball, your heads are going like this.

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When you look at chapter 15, if you were to go to a computer program like a free one that's an excellent one called the

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Net Bible, N -E -T, online, it's from bible .org. If you pull up the

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Greek, you don't even have to know Greek, but if you put your cursor on the word Christ in Romans 15, it shows all the other times where Christ is named in Romans 15, and you'll see it's one after another, after another, after another.

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The key to Christian liberty is found in who Jesus is. He is the example.

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Finally, we get Romans 15, what would Jesus do? And it applies here.

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It doesn't apply in the temptation of the wilderness, or other places, or walking on water, but finally it does apply here.

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WWJD, bracelet wears unite. This is where it applies. How does

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Jesus treat weaker people? How does Jesus treat sinners? Does Jesus bear with them, or how does he treat them?

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And we'll find that out today in the book of Romans. We're going chapter by chapter, a pretty quick pace, but that's fine.

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We'll go cover all of Romans chapter 15 today. Paul has been dealing with chapter 14 now, and 15, how do strong and weak

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Christians in the body of Christ stay unified? If you don't know that the unity of Christ's church is at a premium, you need to realize that in fact it is.

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No wonder there are so many satanic attacks to try to destroy local church's unity, and invisible warfare to try to have the unity knocked down.

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And what people don't realize is this church, every local church, it's not my church, not your church, it's

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Christ's church. So the offense isn't primarily our attack isn't against leadership, it's attack against the church.

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Paul wants the church unified so that we can all together say Jesus Christ is Lord. Now just to show you that this is all about Christ, just quickly with me, peruse over chapter 15 and see how often the word

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Christ, our Messiah, is stated. Verse 3 of Romans 15, for Christ did not please himself.

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Verse 6, that with one voice you might glorify the God and Father of our

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Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 7, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you.

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Verse 8, Christ became a servant to the circumcised. Verse 16, even

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Paul to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. Verse 17, in Christ Jesus then

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I have reason to be proud of my work for God. Verse 18, what

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Christ has accomplished through me. Verse 19, by the power of the

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Spirit of God so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Lyricum, I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ.

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Verse 20, not where Christ has already been named. Verse 29, the blessing of Christ.

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And finally verse 30, by our Lord Jesus Christ. If you want to know what

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Romans chapter 15 is all about, it's about who Christ is. And when you look to him as example, it can take care of if you're weak, how do you deal with the strong?

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And if you're strong, how do you take care of the weak?

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Let's take a look at chapter 15 verse 1 and just work our way through this great passage.

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I have to make a little pastoral confession this morning. When I started off studying this chapter this week,

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I just thought, okay, I understand that I know it's part two of chapter 14 and it's fine.

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And it's from the Bible and has some neat things in there. But as I began to study it this week, I just thought this is unbelievable.

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If you've studied the Bible, you know what I mean? Things start just flooding your mind. You just start saying, this is amazing.

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I finally get it. I understand. I can't wait to preach it. I think you're going to have the same thought go through your mind.

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Here we have Jesus Christ is the model. And it says in verse 1, we who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.

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You notice the we, Paul is saying he is strong. Paul is not saying I'm a weak

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Christian. God has matured, Paul, and he's a strong Christian. And Paul says, I am along with a strong.

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Now, if you weren't here last week, ask yourself the question, what is a strong Christian compared to a weak

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Christian? And the context today here in Romans 14 and 15, the strong Christian is the one who says,

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I remember what justification really does. I look back into Romans 3, 4 and 5 and say to myself,

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I had no righteousness and God credited righteousness to my account. The righteousness of God, even of Christ Jesus put into my account.

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And when God sees me, the wretched, unrighteous, sinful, guilt ridden person, instead of seeing me, he sees

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Christ. Christ's perfect work, because I'm covered and cloaked and robed with the righteous work of Christ by imputation, by credit.

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And amazingly, Jesus then bears all my sins. So when God sees me, he sees

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Christ. He doesn't see my sins because Jesus paid for my sins. And if I'm strong,

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I say, hmm, God can't love me anymore. If I obey or disobey, he can't love me anymore because I'm in Christ.

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When I do my studies in the morning and read my Bible and pray like I ought to, God doesn't love me anymore because I'm in Christ.

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If I put food in my mouth, I worship on a certain day or drink this or that, I'm not more loved by Christ because justification by faith is true.

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And the strong absorb that into their lifestyle, and theology turns into methodology, and they're strong in Christ.

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Weak ones, though, haven't figured that out yet. They still think with this kind of works righteousness thing, they're born a

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Pelagian, they're born again a semi -Pelagian. They haven't really figured out everything else yet. By the way, if you don't know what those words are, write them down, look them up.

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It's the best thing you can do. When you hear words you don't know, write them down and look them up. Okay, where was

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I? The weak say, hmm, I kind of feel like I'm works -oriented. I know

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Jesus saved me, but if I do the things that he wants me to do, then maybe he's more pleased with me. They haven't really appropriated all the benefits of justification yet.

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So you've got strong Christians, weak Christians. How are they get along? How are they to get along?

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By the way, how are we to get along? We have male, female, right? Rich, poor, different colored skins, different colored backgrounds, different culture, different ethnicities.

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We hear the word tolerate all the time in the world, but really, what is the truth? How do we act?

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And here, Paul puts the onus on the strong. It's not, well, once the weak shapes up, then

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I'll be okay. But the strong, since you're strong, since you're the mature one, come alongside, and look at the passage, bear with the failings of the weak.

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Now, the Greek is front -loaded with the word obligation. To emphasize, obligation is the key.

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If you're a strong Christian, I know you'd give all the glory to God. But if you're a strong Christian, then you ought to bear with weak people.

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It's hard to do. It's hard to bear with weak people. It's hard to bear with children sometimes in our own family, let alone spiritual children.

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But we are to bear with them. You have an obligation not to please yourself, but to bear with weaker

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Christians. And here's the idea. The idea is to walk alongside of the weak one so you can help.

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Not to stiff arm or to shun, but to get involved. It means to get right up in someone's face, personal space.

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If I was teaching a college group, I'd say, you got to get up in their grill. But then again,

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I went to college 30 -some years ago. I said to the first service, I taught a college Bible study in Santa Cruz on a

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Monday a few weeks ago, and I was looking at the 20 -year -old students. I thought, I don't feel so old, but I could be your great -grandfather.

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So I'm kind of out of touch with the college lingo. Bear one another's burdens.

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Come alongside and compensate for their weaknesses. A truer false,

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Father Flanagan came up with a slogan for Boys Town in Omaha, Nebraska. He ain't heavy, he's my brother.

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True or false? False. He purchased that right in 1941. But I did find it interesting, just to change things up a little bit.

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His slogan that he invented in 1917 for Boys Town in Omaha, Nebraska was, there are no bad boys.

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I just thought I'd throw that out, and we'll just keep going. I have a wife for lots of reasons.

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And one reason is she compensates for my weaknesses. She has strengths, and I'm weak in those areas, and vice versa.

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Why is there a plurality of elders? Because you have strengths and weaknesses, and you cover one another's strengths and weaknesses.

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And in the body of Christ, it's the same thing. The weak need the strong to help them in their weakness, so one day they'll be strong.

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We don't just tolerate the weak, we can lift more. We're stronger, and so we come alongside pulses.

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We invest in the weak, so it's not, well, let's see, how am I going to figure this out?

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I'm going to invite the weak to the cigar club, because it doesn't matter. Tobacco is no big deal, and we'll teach them what real mature

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Christians do. I'm not saying cigar clubs are either good nor bad. Here's what I am saying.

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Why don't you bear with them so you can teach them about who Jesus is, and what he's done, and the things of Scripture, so he'll grow in the faith?

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How do you mature in the faith? By focusing forever on non -negotiables, and focusing forever on debatable things, and gray area things?

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No, not at all. The central issue is not for the strong Christian to look at the weak and say, shape up, or ship out.

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Look at verse 2. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good to build him up.

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Not in any way the neighbor says, but in a way that God says. Build up that weak person so God would be pleased for his spiritual welfare, for the spiritual good of the other person.

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And now Paul gives the theological appeal. Here's what Paul likes to do. Here's what you should do.

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Here's who Jesus is. Let's pray about it. Verse 3, the theological appeal, fixing your eyes on Jesus.

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For Christ, this is the key verse of all of chapter 15, and of 14 as well.

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For Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, the King, did not please himself.

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He didn't please himself. There's your model for ministry. You meet weak people. You say, well, I want to please myself and shape this person up.

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But Christ didn't please himself. What a great illustration of Christ's entire life on earth.

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You want to summarize his ministry on earth? He didn't please himself. My work is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work,

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John 4. John 5, I did not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

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John 6, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

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John 8, I do nothing of my own initiative. I always do the things that are pleasing to him.

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Jesus Christ's life was a life of self -denial. And so when we meet other

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Christians, yes, we have freedom in Christ, and we're stronger to do things. But he's saying, Paul is,

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Jesus denied himself. Shouldn't we then deny ourselves? And then

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Paul appeals to scripture. Verse 3 goes on to say, but it is as it is written.

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The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.

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Quoting this messianic psalm, Psalm 69. Quoting this psalm that talks about David is a type of Christ.

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Same thing. And then something fascinating happens.

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Verse 4, should you read your Old Testament? Absolutely.

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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

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Old Testament. I say, amen. Some say you should read the Old Testament because it was

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Jesus's 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.

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Yes. But let me give you another reason to read the Old Testament. Because the Old Testament is chock full of people who said,

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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

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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.

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Where is the delayed gratification? And you know where you'll find good illustrations of the delayed gratification and hope?

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The Old Testament. Look at verse four. People just like to yank this verse out of context.

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It's in the context of Christian liberty. And verse three, four, whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction.

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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.

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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

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Old Testament. Of course, there'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

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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.

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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.

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For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. They desire a better country that is a heavenly one.

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Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God for he has prepared for them a city. By faith,

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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.

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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.

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Assurance of future blessing versus grab all the gusto you can now, found regularly in the

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Old Testament. I can 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.

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There's no hope. Say no to liberty now, future reward.

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There's hope for those who say no now, strong Christian. Yeah, but how could

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ. How can

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I do this? How can I live strong, weak, weak, strong? Well, I look at Christ and I say, Lord, help me.

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Help. Paul prays for that. Give me wisdom. Give me discernment. Help me to say no to self, the

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God of patience and consolation. Verse seven gives us a summary. Therefore, welcome one another.

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Roll out the mat as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God.

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Yeah, but those other people are sinful. How did Christ welcome you?

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Yes, but those other people don't measure up. How did Christ welcome you?

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But those other people aren't worthy. How did Christ welcome you? Those other people aren't growing fast enough.

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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.

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I know it's hard to believe. I'll see the first service. They didn't laugh so loud.

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Just as Christ received me, he received me as sinful, as willful, as depraved.

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As Romans 5 says, as weak, helpless, ungodly.

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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.

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The list goes on. And even to think in Romans 5, I'm called a sinner. Everything about me is just sin, falling short.

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One word to describe all of us before salvation, sinful, just didn't measure up to God's holy standards or laws.

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And to think that we were called enemies. I'm not mad at God, the unbeliever says. And God says, well,

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I'm mad at you because you've defamed me. And yet Jesus received us this way.

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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

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Jesus received us. Remember, the Pharisees and scribes couldn't stand it when Jesus received sinners and ate with them.

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Matthew 9 also says, teachers eating with the tax gatherers and sinners.

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Why is that? Jesus said, it is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.

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Go and learn what this means. I desire compassion and not sacrifice, for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.

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Jesus receives us, we are to receive others.

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And now here's an interesting thing that Paul does. Paul now is going to say, Jesus received not just Jew, but Gentile.

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Well, we are going to see in the rest of the book, basically, the Jew -Gentile combining for the people of God.

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Yes, it's one thing for God to receive Israelites, but for him to open up his arm and welcome

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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.

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The Jew says, I'm now converted, I'm a Christian, and so feast days don't matter. What about Torah?

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Doesn't matter for Mosaic law anymore. I still kind of have a hang up on that. How do

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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.

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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,

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Jew and Gentile? How do they get along? And then Paul says, you know what? Jesus received them both. No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston, Massachusetts.

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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.

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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.

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We're located on Route 110 in West Boylston, Massachusetts. You can check us out online at bbchurch .org

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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.