Pastor Matt's Podcasts

We now come to the center of the message of Romans.  Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who[ a ] do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." In this sermon we examine the meaning and differences behind walking according to the flesh and walking according to the Spirit. 

There are three ways Christians deal with sin in their life.  One is not to acknowledge it at all, in that they don't believe the law applies any longer.  Without the law, there is no sin, no need for sanctification.  the other extreme is to believe that God justified and sactified the believer.  Therefore, they are incapable of sin.  Against both of these views, Paul explains that the battle over...

Paul continues to address the beleiver and unbelievers relationship to the law of God.  To the unbeliever, the law remains an indictment.  To the believer, it becomes a guide for living.  In order for America to become a nation set apart for God's purposes, Chrisitians must embrace God's law from a proper perspective.  And pastors must preach the gospel in terms of God's law-word.

In Chapter Seven, Paul makes an analogy that he didn't use before.  In marriage, when one spouse dies the other is released to re-marry.  Paul relates this to the believer's relatiohsip to sin and death.  When the believer dies he is released from all obligation to the law of sin and death.  He is then free to remarry, in this case, to Christ.  

In this sermon, we examine the implications of living under the reign of grace.  Paul said that people who live under the reign of sin are free from righteousness (justice).  This means that a sinful people, a sinful society is free from righteousness.  They live under and demand injustice.  But a people that live under grace, under righteousness have a truly just society.

At the point of salvation, we are no longer living under the reign of (government and authority) of sin and death, we are no living under the reign (government and authority) of grace.  One brings freedom and liberty under Christ, the other leads to death. 

The law had a purpose from Adam to Abraham to Moses, to Jesus.  What was that purpose and what is the purpose today?  As we go through the book of Romans, we cannot understand God's grace without understanding His law.  This sermon gives some insight into that purpose. 

It was by one man, Adam that sin entered the world.   It is by the life, death and resurrection of one Man, Jesus, that sinful man may be justified, saved, and redeemed.  We have a choice to live by one or the other.   This sermon explains this as well as its practical ramifications in everyday life.  

In this sermon, Paul discusses another benefit to justification by faith: Joy.  This joy surpasses our understanding, over all cirucumstances, from the little things to the big.  If you are needing some encouragement, this is the sermon for you.

In this study, we look at the results of being justified by faith alone.  We have peace with God, access to the Father, hope and tribulation.  From tribulation, which we are to embrace, it produces, character and hope.  knowing our justification by faith establishes us firmly in God.  Nothing will move or shake us.  

In the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk assassination, there were numerous commentaries, stories, outbursts, etc. about him and what he represented.  In this sermon, I take a look at a few biblical examples to see what constitutes a Christian Martyr's death and if Kirk was in fact a martyr.

In this sermon, we study how Abraham's faith is the same faith that all bleleivers have.  It is the faith in practice that is essential.  To beleive, to have faith, is not something that is "out there" not to be realized, it is something that is tangible, to be apprehended, and to be applied.  Enjoy.

In this sermon, we study the expansion of the blessings of the covenant, from Abraham to his descendants to the spiritual children of Abraham, the church.  We also take a brief look at the world's attempts to keep the Christian in a place of guilt in order to manipulate them.  Enjoy!

Paul made it very clear in Romans that our justification is by faith alone.  However, James Chapter 2 says that it is not just about faith, it is also about works.  Which is it?  This sermon defines the bibilical meaning behind justification by faith followed by works.  

Our understanding of salvation rarely goes beyond our teaching in Sunday School.  However, without a proper understanding of the gospel, we risk limiting our growth in the kingdom.  Enjoy.

Far too often the gospel is presented without the need for repentance.  Rather, the gospel is presented as accepting Jesus as something extra in a person's life.  The acceptance of Jesus is the acceptance of life itself.  Therefore, it is essential that the need for the gospel, the need for Jesus be presented.  

Paul addressed the Jews in his epistle to the Romans.  He anticipated their objections to the Gospel of Christ to the Gentiles.  Therefore, he stated the objection and emphatically stated the response.  Though the unbeleiving Jew could not justify himself, just like the unbelieving church-goer, in the end he only condemns himself. 

In his letter to the Romans, Paul addressed the sins of the Gentiles.  He then addressed the sins of the hypocrisy of the Jews.  Their confidence was in receiving the law, being part of the covenant, the chosen people of God.  However, Paul told them that without faithful adherence to the covenant, their blood and their circumcision didn't mean anything.   The New Testament Christian has much the...

In this sermon, we examine the uncomfortable topic of the rewards in heaven and the wrath in hell.  Paul addressed the Jews, who thought their birthright in the Covenant secured for them a place in heaven; however, Paul blows this theory apart when we tells them in no uncertain terms that God is not partial.  Everyone will be judged by their deeds.  

When God gives a people up, or gives a people over to themselves, He does this for redemptive purposes.  God allows the sinners that suppress the truth in unrighteousness to go further into their own sin.  He allows them to feel the consequences by giving them over to themselves, releasing them from His divine restraints.   Paul lists many sins that are representative of all sins as the people, th...

In this study we look at the parallel of what God reveals to man.  Last week we studied God revealing His righteousness to those who believed.  This week we study God revealing His wrath to those who supress the truth in unrighteousness.  God is a God of love, but He is also a God of wrath.

In this study, we once again look at the gospel of the Book of Romans.  The foundation of the Reformation, "The Just Shall Live By Faith" is here laid out for us.  These two verses are packed with Old Testament language, and are extremely relevant to us today due to the pull of "Universalism" on the faith.  

As we get into our study on Romans, it is important to see just how Romans is the gospel of God.  It is a transition from the gospel of the Old Testament to the explanation of the same gospel in the New Testament.  

In this new series, we examine the wealth of content that Paul gives to the Romans in his greeting.  The book of Romans has rightly been called "The Gospel of Romans."  The continuity between the Old Covenant and the New is systematized in this book.  Enjoy.

In this episode we examine the traps that the enemy sets for us.