Bethel Baptist Church

Originally Presented: February 4, 2007 Scripture Reading: Romans 4:23-25 Like a good preacher Paul directly applies, to his readers, the truths he has been unfolding in Romans 4.  The statement Paul has been quoting from Genesis 15:6, that God had reckoned righteousness to Abraham, is now brought gloriously into the light for us .  "Now not for his [Abraham's] sake only was it written . . . but fo...

  Scripture Reading: Luke 24:13-35 Different people are thrilled by different experiences.  For the student, it is a high grade point average and excellent test scores.  For the athlete, it is the competition and a championship victory.  For a mother, it is her baby's smile.  For the farmer, it is the summer rain and the autumn harvest. For the Christian, the deepest joy in life is God, revealed i...

Originally presented on January 28th, 2007 Scripture Reading: Romans 4:18-25 In the section of Romans which begins with Romans 3:21, Paul unfolds the wondrous doctrine of justification by faith.  He spends time, patiently, answering objections to the idea that a man can stand in the judgment of God on the basis of faith alone and not on the basis of his deeds. Not content to let such an important...

Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:14-17 Continuing his description of what a church looks like, Paul reminds us that everything we do, in speech and in action, must be done in the name of Christ.  "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Col 3:17).  To do everything in the name of Jesus is not unlike the answer...

Originally Presented on January 14th, 2007 Scripture Reading:  Romans 4:9-17 Having stated the doctrine of justification by faith in Romans 3:21-31, Paul does not leave notion to stand alone.  In Romans 4 he illustrates justification by faith and contrasts it with other ideas over and over again.  In Romans 4:1-8 we see that the idea of salvation by faith excludes salvation by good works.  In Roma...

Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:16 Music is one of the forces that dominates our culture and, perhaps, every culture.  That is because human beings were made to respond to music and to make music.  The purpose for everything in creation is the honor of God and music is one thing God created as a means to worship Him. God has given us music as a gracious gift, for His glory and for our enjoyment wh...

Originally Presented on January 7th, 2007 Scripture Reading: Romans 4:1-8 In Romans 3:21-31 Paul presents the great doctrine of justification by faith. "But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested . . . even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe . . ." (Rom 3:21,22).  What we have in Romans 4 is an elaboration of this wondrous...

Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:14-17   Our day is a day in which changes have profoundly affected the way life is viewed and the way it is lived.  We have witnessed not only radical changes in communication and technology, but changes in values.  A clear, unambiguous standard of what is right and wrong has eroded before our eyes.  Fewer and fewer people still believe in absolute truth. Paul comma...

Originally Presented on November 19, 2006. Scripture Reading: Romans 3:23 One of the most familiar verses in Romans is Romans 3:23 … "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."  But exactly how do we describe God's glory and what does it mean to "come short" of it?  A meditation on this verse helps us to think more precisely about the glory of God and it helps us to understand the na...

Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:15-17 It is common to be thankful.  What is not common is to be thankful to God .  It is possible to be thankful for something, with a vague, nebulous sentiment without the slightest thought of God.  But God is the source of any pleasure or accomplishment.  Ingratitude to the Almighty is a grievous sin.  It is a way of arrogantly suppressing the truth about God.  In...

Originally Presented on November 19, 2006. Scripture: Romans 3:21-28 Romans 3:21 marks the beginning of the second main section of the book of Romans.  In the first section the entire human race is indicted for denying God's honor ("For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God" - Rom 1:21).  All people, regardless of status, stand guilty. Romans 3:21-5:21 describes, in detail, how...

Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:12 Many times the New Testament refers to Christians as 'chosen' by God.  In Colossians 3:12, Paul calls the Christians in Colossae as "God's chosen ones, holy and beloved."  The implication in the word is that God has chosen some people to be His own and has not chosen others.  The theological name for this doctrine is 'election'.  Arthur Pink defines this doctrine...

Originally Presented on November 5, 2006. Scripture Reading: Romans 3:9-20 This paragraph in Romans forms the climax of the argument of the first major section of the book.  The thrust of the first section of Romans is that the entire human race stands guilty before a holy God.  The pagan man is guilty (Rom 1:18-32);  the moral man is guilty (Rom 2:1-16); the Jewish man is guilty (Rom 2:17-29).  W...

Scripture Reading: Acts: 8:26-40 Guest Speaker: Rev. Bud Fuchs  

Originally Presented on October 29 th , 2006 Scripture Reading: Romans 3:1-8 The first eight verses of Romans 3 form something of a diversion from the flow of Paul's argument about the desperate need of the whole human race for God's granting His righteousness to sinners.  This diversion rises from statements in Romans 2:17-29 regarding the standing of Jews before God.  People acceptable to God ar...

  Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:13 One of the ways life changes when someone becomes a Christian is that he/she becomes more forgiving of the offenses of others.  What Christians are to 'put on' as God's chosen ones is the capacity and willingness to bear with one another and forgive each other.  The foundation for having such a forgiving heart is the fact that "the Lord has forgiven you" (Col 3...

  Originally Presented on October 22 nd , 2006 Scripture Reading: Romans 2:17-29 The third segment in the first main section of Romans is Romans 2:17-29.  It displays the kind of sinning committed by religious people, with the Jews as the focal point.  To the Jews God gave His Law and this gift was precious.  Because of having been instructed in the Law the Jews could "rely upon the Law, and boast...

Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:5 Normally when we think of idolatry, images of gold or stone or wood come to mind with people bowing down before them.  The first command in the Ten Commandments prohibited worshiping other gods and the second command prohibited making an image of any god, including an image of the true God. But idolatry must not be thought of only as someone praying to a ceramic s...

Originally Presented on October 15 th , 2006 Scripture Reading: Romans 2:12-16 In Romans 2:12-16 we have a statement of God's judgment in verse 12 and an elaboration of this judgment in verse 16.  In between these verses we have a parenthetical thought which shows us that God's judgment is right. In Romans 2:12 the human race is divided into two great parts . . . those who have been given the Law...

Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:12-15 Colossians 3:12-17 is the 'addition' side of the glory of salvation. The 'subtraction' side of the glory of salvation is Colossians 3:5-11. What happened in conversion, positionally, we labor to put into practice, in our living. We are called on in this section to "put to death" sinful thoughts and actions and to "put on righteousness." It is not enough to sim...

Originally Presented on October 8 th , 2006  Scripture Reading: Romans 2:3-13 This passage is in the middle of the section in Romans which presses the point that all men are guilty and deserving of God's wrath:  the pagan man (Rom 1:18-32), the moral man (Rom 2:1-16), and the Jewish man (Rom 2:17-3:8).  The chilling warning in Romans 2:5-8 is this:  God will render to every man according to his de...

Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:5-11 Having died with Christ (Col 2:12; 3:3), Christians are called on in this paragraph to "put to death . . . what is earthly" (Col 3:5).  So what we see here is that something has died and something still has to die.  Having "put off the old self" (Col 3:9) and having "put on the new self" (Col 3:10), Christians must still struggle to put sins to death (Col 3:5)...

Originally Presented on August 27 th , 2006  Scripture Reading: Romans 2:1-4              The first word in Romans 2 is 'therefore', which connects what follows with what precedes.  Romans 2:1-16 is the second segment in the first main section of the book (Rom 1:18-3:20).  The thrust of this section is to take away all the props of the human heart which man uses to justify himself in the sight of...

Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:1-4  Colossians 3:1 marks a change in the general content of this letter.  Following the pattern of many of Paul's letters, Colossians can be divided into two main sections … the doctrinal section (chapters 1,2) and the practical section (chapters 3,4).  This pattern is instructive.  The truths about God the Father, God the Son, and the work of Christ are foundation...

Originally Presented on August 20 th , 2006   Scripture Reading: Romans 1:28-32  There is a frightening downward spiral of the human mind and soul described in Romans 1. First, a man suppresses the truth about God (Rom 1:18) and refuses to honor God as God (Rom 1:21).  Next, God gives him over to his sinful heart to do what is foolish (Rom 1:24,26,28).  Next, man's mind becomes darkened and deprav...