Christ Church Bentonville

The Gospel according to Isaiah begins with a snapshot of the two themes of the entire book, the severity of judgement and the hope of salvation.  

Paul closed his letter to the church in Rome with a doxology, and in doing so he summarized the entirety of the letter.  It was a fitting conclusion. 

The incarnation, and Paul's description of it, should bring a joy that is both deeper and more lasting than all the tinsel and glitter and celebrations around us.

Right in the middle of what appears to be his conclusion, Paul basically said, “Oh, and one more thing. Keep your eyes and ears open for the potential infiltration of false teachers into the church." 

Christ is the One upon whom we must depend if we are going to experience the community and fellowship God intends for us to experience. (Due to technical difficulties, the recording begins at the end of the introduction and does not include the normal  OT and NT readings.)

Being united Christ, we are united to one another which includes responsibilities for one another.

May our confidence be in the fact that we are in Christ and He is in us.  May we always draw attention to what Christ has done in and through us by His Spirit.

Paul calls those who have been received by Christ to receive others who have also been received by Christ.  It's what brothers and sisters do as members in the family of God.

Paul desired harmony within the church because God desires harmony within the church in order that His people can and will ascribe Him glory and praise in unison.  

Paul reminds the strong in faith that "Christ has already paid the supreme price for the weak Christian, so how can the strong in faith refuse to pay the quite insignificant price of a minor and occasional restriction in their diet?" (Moo)

How do those weak in faith and those strong and faith live in unity in the church despite differing opinions on matters of Christian liberty? By looking to Christ, our stronger older brother, Who is able to make us stand because He died and rose again.

Paul continues to describe the life of those whose minds are being transformed by explaining how we are to related to everyone around us, Christian and non-Christian alike.  He says we are to walk lovingly, urgently, and properly.

Paul explains how we are to live in relation to the state and the governing authorities of the civil magistrate.

The renewal of our minds changes how we relate to those within the community of faith and outside the community of faith, and Christ provides both the power and motivation to do so.

We don't live the Christian life in isolation.  Every Christian has something to contribute to and we all benefit from one another.

Paul makes an appeal to the church at Rome and to us to shift from contemplating the realities of the gospel to living in light of them.

Paul spontaneously broke into praise and worship because he rightly believed God alone was and is deserving of glory and he therefore couldn’t do otherwise.

The mystery of God's plan of redemption was that the gospel was for the Jew first and also for the Greek, but the gospel was embraced by the Greeks first and also the Jews.  He used the disobedience of the Jews for the sake of the salvation of the Gentiles and used the mercy shown to the Gentiles for the sake of the salvation of the Jews.  

God's plan has always involved one people and one way of salvation.  Jews and Gentiles are branches of the same family tree by faith alone in Christ alone.

While God was keeping a remnant chosen by grace, the rest of Israel had stumbled over Christ but had not fallen.

Despite our disobedience, God consistently and faithfully holds out His hands to offer grace to those who will repent and believe.

It’s not only what is heard (the gospel) but who is heard (Christ) that makes all the difference.

We aren't saved by doing the impossible.  We're called to confess, believe, and call on the name of the Lord.

Once again, there are only two options: Christ is a rock upon whom we stand or a stone over whom we stumble.  Faith makes all the difference.

God doesn’t unjustly condemn anyone who deserves to be saved, He mercifully saves those who deserve to be condemned.