Book of Romans - Ch. 15, Vs. 19-33 (01/30/2005)

The 15th chapter of the book of Romans, verse 19.

We're coming close to the end of this book. It's been a wonderful study.

And if everything goes as I have planned it, which it seldom does, I plan to go to Revelation next.

Several of you have asked for Revelation. All right, the 19th verse.

Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the

Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about unto

Eloracom, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

Through mighty signs and wonders. Now, these signs and wonders were produced by Paul.

Dennis? I heard on the television this morning a very well -known preacher.

His initials were Charles Stanley. I wondered, what is it?

Stanley. He devoted his entire message to the fact that you have to decide yourself to be saved.

And he concentrated on the little ones. Well, I'm not going to get into that.

But he said a loving God will not send someone to hell.

He openly preached the entire service.

I didn't listen to all of it, but enough of it that I didn't want to listen anymore.

I don't know where we're headed. Paul used signs and wonders that the

Spirit of God had supplied. And he did it in all of the territory around Jerusalem.

Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation.

Paul was very, very careful to not go where other men had gone.

The mark of a true evangelist. But as it is written, to whom he was not spoken, they shall see, and they that have not heard shall understand.

There are certain people, certain Christians, that the

Lord will send to another certain Christian. Do you believe that?

How many believe that? Okay. So, certain people both here and abroad, here at home and throughout the world, this is how

God gets his word to all of his people. That's in an area that we do not know.

But you must remember that he does the sending.

Not man, not the church, not a good Baptist organization, not an individual.

If there is a sending, he does it. Now, it's through people that he works.

Twenty -two. For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming to you.

But now I have no more place in these parts and having a great desire these many years to come unto you.

Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you, for I trust to see you in my journey and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I somewhat, at first I be somewhat filled with your company.

Antiquity does not afford us the information that Paul ever went to Spain.

Joy, did the words of Paul ever go to Spain? How? Did they ever go to England?

How? It's recorded in history that there was a noble man in England.

I don't know, he wasn't a king, but he was something. And he and his wife made a journey to Rome during Paul's stay in Rome.

And they heard about him in Rome and they listened to him in Rome and they carried the word back to England.

Though Paul did never go to England or any of the

European countries that we know of, the word did. And it did at the guidance of God.

But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints, for it hath pleased them of Macedonia and of Acacia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.

It hath pleased them verily, and their debtors they are, for if the

Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, of the spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things.

When therefore I have performed this and have sealed to them this fruit,

I will come unto you in Spain. Paul had all intentions of going to Spain, but first, what did he have to do,

Dwayne, or Dennis? Yes.

That's right. Now, we know it was at Jerusalem that he was arrested, but we see two things here, and you must know them concerning the giving of your money.

This is an example that we had of people taking up an offering for the poor saints in Jerusalem.

Now, before you give your money to an organization or to a person, first, what are they doing with it?

Do not give blindly and say, I have fulfilled my duty, and it stops with my giving.

That's not true. You have to know where that money goes. You have to understand what they're doing with that money.

Are they getting out the word of God in such a way that it is effective in the hearts and lives of people?

If it is not, don't give to them. I know there's a lot that we feel that we should give, and when we check a little bit further, we see how it's used, and I cannot condone that.

These people on television, they're basically saying, give, give, give, and they live in fine homes, have three or four houses, one in Florida, and they wear tailor -made suits and rings.

That's not God's way. And I am sure that when

I come unto you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.

I want to know, David, what is the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ?

All right, all right.

Greg, what does he mean by the blessing of the gospel of Christ? Did you ever say, any of you, when trouble comes and things are dark and you don't know how to get out of it, well,

I must not be in the will of God or this wouldn't happen. David, is it possible for you to be out of the will of God?

I wish we could get that fixed in our minds. That is a false statement.

It is a way of your pacifying yourself. Another thing, when you make this statement, you're saying that there are some things over which

God has no control. Is that true, Dennis? Now you confuse me.

Yes. Is that so hard to understand?

Then why do I forget it when I get in trouble? Paul would say,

God forbid such a statement. All things come from God.

Are they good or bad, Russell? Well, where does the bad come from?

Has my good been turned into bad? Anything that happens in this world is of God.

Now, I cannot explain that any more than just on the surface, but it's true.

All of the war in the Mideast, God wouldn't ordain that, would he?

Sure he would. There's always been wars. Well, you're right,

Russell. Everything that comes from God is good, but it is

Satan's work on us. You want...

I can't get my mind around that totally either. But that doesn't prevent it being correct, does it?

No. It's so simple, it's hard to handle.

Now, I beseech you. What does beseech mean, David? I beg you, brethren, for the

Lord Jesus Christ's sake and for the love of the

Spirit that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me.

I beseech you, brothers. He was talking to the Christian.

For the Lord Jesus Christ's sake. What does that mean,

Greg? Very well said.

For the Lord Jesus' sake and for the love of the

Spirit. What Spirit is this, David? The Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit that you strive. Brandon, what does strive mean?

Wow. Try to aggravate, try to exert much effort or energy, endeavor to struggle or to fight forcibly that I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judea and in my service which

I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints.

Now, he doesn't know if the saints in Jerusalem will accept what he has.

He has a pretty good idea, but he won't know until he is there. But he does know that it is of God that he is taking it.

And he prays that he be delivered from them that do not believe.

Now, what's going to happen? Or what's he facing? Why did he pray such,

Dennis? That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God and may with you be refreshed.

Now, David, he prays that he will come unto them by the will of God.

What did he mean? That's so true.

And we should ask exactly the same thing. If it be the will of God, I will do so and so.

Now, the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

We have come to the 15th chapter and finished it. I don't have the 16th here.

But for the most part, it is naming people for which he would ask them to pray and to receive and to pray for.

There's one or two statements in the close of the 16th that I want to touch on next week.

Now, let's review a little bit. Greg, you've been through Romans several times.

What does it start with? What is a doulos,

Joy? Well, maybe we better go back.

Brandon, what is a doulos? A servant.

Now, Dennis, what kind of a servant? What does that mean?

All right, David, tell us, when did this occur in Paul's life?

Well, that certainly was the first time that Paul knew about it. But when did it occur?

Well, let's go back. You will be a doulos until death.

Death separates you from your master here on earth.

Now, there must be a death that Paul is speaking of.

So what was that, David? That's exactly right.

At that instant of his death, we all were set free. Now, doulos, what's the next thing we come to,

Greg? Well, name one.

Anybody. All right, the whole world is guilty, did you say?

How can that be? When did we fall?

I wasn't here. I had no control over that.

We're all guilty. We're guilty. Are you a sinner? Is anybody in the room a sinner?

Saved by grace. I don't see any hands.

All of those that are not a sinner saved by grace, raise your hand. So you're not a sinner saved by grace.

You were a sinner. And you were saved by grace.

When? You've got to be more specific than that.

So, in eternity past, you were with God, is that right?

You know, for 60 years nearly, I've never been able to get a yes or no out of that woman.

She answers it, but it's always in her own words, her own way, and that's right.

So, David, were we originally in God?

Was the whole world of people in God? Did the lost sinner come out of God?

He's another one that won't answer yes or no. Russell, how about that?

Well, all right. Well, you're going to make it that way.

Everything, there was nothing until God. Is that true,

David? All right.

Well, we have to learn to handle them. Everything comes from God.

Another point in Romans, Craig. Boy, the just shall live by faith.

The just, what does just mean, Dennis? The justified shall live.

What does live mean? But they will live by God.

All right, they'll live by the faith of God. Does this living,

David, mean life here on earth? Yes.

All right, is that the only living that we will do? Yes. All right, another point,

Craig. You didn't know he was going to teach, did you?

That's a good one. God is no respecter of persons.

What that says is God is no respecter of your face.

Why the face, David? All right, yell, David. All right.

John, are you back there? No respecter of persons.

What does that mean to you? All right.

We're all equal in his eyes. I say eyes because I have no other means of expressing it.

Another one, Craig. Is that true?

Any teacher will agree. So, I'm sitting out there as one of you when

I'm teaching. I'm reminded of Jesus Christ was in heaven as well as on earth.

All right, we'll stop here. All right.

Well, we have to differentiate between God the

Father and God the Son. Does God the

Father, is he disturbed by anything going on on earth?

Why? All right. Sin cannot abide in the presence of God the

Father. It can be in the presence of Jesus Christ.

He doesn't deal with sin, but he's running this world.

And everything, we keep saying everything is of God. God is in control in all of this when we really mean

Christ is in control. Well, that's been around for years and years.

Well, these teachings will come and go and peak here and peak there.

That depends on the times and on the people and what we do.

In another part of the world, it would be entirely different. But God's true.

His words are true. He has always been true. And there is no variance with God.