Draw Me Close: Podcast - A Ministry of Whitestone Christian Fellowship, with Pastor Bob Lawrenz

Romans 7:1-25 In chapter 7, Paul continues to explain why Christians are not under the Law. He also shows us why we lose our battle with the flesh even when we desire to do what is right and good. In addition, Paul is very open and honest about his own struggle with his flesh and the lessons he learned. This chapter reveals his conclusions concerning our complete deliverance from the Law and how t...

Paul continues his teaching on righteousness, sanctification, The Law, Grace and Mercy, freedom, and bondage. The lessons in this chapter speak of his own past and testimony, learned at the feet of the Rabbis, and how exasperating it was to seek righteousness with God, via the rules of corrupted mankind.

Whose servant are you? As Christians, we are no longer slaves to sin. Why? Paul explains in Romans 6:17, 18. It's because in Christ we have been given a new nature, and that new nature, one that has a compelling desire to know and obey God's Word. We were once slaves to sin, but are now servants of righteousness.

Last week we referenced the Book of Ruth briefly, the daughter-in-law of Naomi. Ruth’s homeland OF Moab held nothing for her after her husband died. She clung to Naomi because of Naomi’s faith in a living God. Naomi saw the possibility of a kinsman redeemer for Ruth because of the Law. Ruth stayed with Naomi and had hope. And as we read a few weeks ago,  “hope maketh not ashamed”  (Romans 5:5). We...

God made King David a promise that his throne would be established forever. David's descendant would be the Messiah. I read somewhere that the Jewish people had a more detailed genealogy than any other group of people in all of world history. When we get to the New Testament it begins with the genealogy of Christ. A second genealogy is found in the book of Luke. These genealogies are recorded to p...

Both Mary and Joseph were of King David’s Royal Lineage as revealed in the two studies of it in Matthew (Joseph’s) and Luke (Mary’s). Much has been written about Mary’s role in the life of our Savior, but scriptures are all but silent about Joseph after Jesus was 12 years old, and His Earthly parents went looking for Him, returning to Jerusalem, and finding Jesus in the Temple ( Luke 2:41-47 ). Th...

Justification and sanctification are two different realities, but they must never be separated and isolated one from the other. If they become totally separated, the logical end is license. If they become merged together, a “works” oriented salvation results. Paul is moving from freedom from the penalty of sin, (1:18-5:21) to freedom from the power of sin (6:1ff). He has explained  “the righteous...

Growing up, my folks put our house up for sale. My father had finished building our house the same year I was born.  The Village was looking for a new Village Clerk, and to qualify for the position, Dad would need to reside in the village. Church and school would be the same, and my friends would be just outside the village. The house did not sell, so we did not move...

As we finish Romans chapter 5, verses 12-21, Paul goes on to show us how one man offers the cure for the consequences of the sin that the first man introduced to the world with his first transgression.  The main point of Paul’s argument is that Christ undid for humanity every horrible thing that Adam did by first sinning. This is why Adam is a “type” of Jesus (verse 14). Christ’s one single action...

Today’s text begins with the word,  “Wherefore.”  It is from the Old English usage, identifying that a summary is to follow. The word takes us back to Chapter 3, verse 19, where this theme began. At the end of that opening verse, we learn from verse 23 that  “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

This week, we begin our study in Romans from chapter 5.  Paul begins Romans by showing the fallen condition of mankind and the righteousness of God in revealing His wrath toward sin. He then shows how God, in righteousness, has provided for man’s salvation, through the person and work of Jesus Christ. It is as though Paul is now saying, almost literally, “But wait, there’s more!” And there is more...

Today, we learn what the Holy Spirit taught Paul by way of correction. When Paul was a  “Pharisee of the Pharisees,”  he lived under The Law of the Jewish faith. He believed in his faith, but missed the plain simple truth of what faith was according to God’s definition.

Paul has already written that there are none righteous.  Our self-imagined goodness is already sin stained; therefore, we cannot earn our salvation through our works or religious observance.  It wasn’t the law that gave Abraham the promise but the righteousness of faith. It is faith in the promise of God that has value not the law itself. Abraham is our father in the faith in the sight of God. Abr...

Holiday Message - Though Thanksgiving Day is behind us, this is still Thanksgiving weekend. Travelers are still traveling, and the Holiday Season has just begun. The hype of retailers getting the newest, most fashionable, and most fun items to the marketplace is at the forefront of their minds.

This chapter is perhaps one of the greatest chapters in the Bible on salvation by faith alone. Many religious groups claim to believe in salvation by faith, but not in salvation by faith alone. It is even common to find people in good churches who are not sure if they are saved or not because of something they may have done since they made their decision for Christ. If our salvation depends on som...

The authority of our Court System seems to always be in question these days. Perhaps it is because there’s too many cooks in the kitchen. Or better stated, too many kitchens! We have local courts, City Courts, County Courts, State Courts, Federal Courts, and The Supreme Court. Each is overseen by a Judge, or by Judges. And if you don’t like the verdict you got in one court, just push an appeal to...

Paul introduces a righteousness from God that comes apart from the Law, though the Law and the Prophets testify to it (Romans 3:21). This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, without distinction (Romans 3:22). All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God but are justified freely by His grace through the redemption provided in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:23-24)....

We have all heard the term “righteousness” bandied about, both in Churches, and in God’s Word. We learn of a righteous life, not so much by witnessing it in others (even when it is there), but by reading of it in the scriptures, the Gospels in particular, covering the Life of Christ. The Four Evangelists tell us of it, each from different perspectives, from different parables and stories they have...

Paul declares that all people—both Jews and gentiles—are under the power of sin and cannot be justified through the Law. Romans 3:9–20  is the conclusion of a longer section of the letter that begins in 1:18. In this section, Paul argues that all people—both gentiles and Jews—have some awareness or knowledge of God, whether through experience of the world and the testimony of one’s conscience, or,...

After last week’s study in the beginning of Romans 3, Paul asks a rhetorical question of the Jews dwelling inn Rome:  “Are we better than they?”  Is God unrighteous because He takes vengeance? 

The Bible is clear in declaring the truth about humanity: we are all sinners and held under the dominion of sin. There is nothing righteous in us to commend us to God. Yet it is only when we acknowledge this truth, and divine assessment of us that we can find God's purpose in revealing this to us, and the ultimate solution, salvation through Jesus Christ.

As we ended Romans 2 last week, it was a blistering critique of Judaism, and how it evolved through the years since God gave the Law to Moses. Chapter 3 begins with the question:  “What advantage then hath the Jew?”  If there is no difference between Gentile behaviors and Jewish, then were the Jews chosen for naught? 

Throughout this section, Paul takes the self-righteous Jew to task. But this text applies to all self-righteous people. Many people think that by keeping the Ten Commandments, they can merit righteousness before God. The problem is that one must do so perfectly one hundred percent of the time. Scripture says,  “whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it”  (Ja...

The message from last week continues, and becomes more personal, more intuitive in its approach to interpersonal behaviors. As Paul continues to address the Romans, we find his Epistle having much in common with the Gospel of Matthew...

Do you believe in a coming day of judgment? The question has been asked many times, and the answers are usually the same.  Some of course will answer, “Yes, of course I do.”  Most others will answer like this:  “I don’t believe a God of love will judge anybody” or “I’m not worried about it because I’m not as bad as others are, in fact I’m a good person, and just as good if not better than most.”  ...