Sharon RP Church

Who are Abraham's children? Are you one of them? How do you know? Paul wants us to look at Abraham. He initially tried to make God's plan happen by his own works. But righteousness was accounted to him, and he was justified by faith – before he was even circumcised. By the same faith that Abraham had, that is how we are justified too. He is the spiritual father of both Jews and Gentiles. Our salva...

God has made a way for sinners like us to be made right with Him. That way is Jesus. All have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. But God counts us as righteous apart from our own works. We don't get to brag unless our boast is in Christ. We are blessed to have our sins covered in the blood of Jesus. Do you see yourself as guilty before God? Blessed and happy are those who enjoy peace in their...

While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. The goodness of the Gospel is for everyone. God is the God of both Jews and Gentiles, and He judges righteously. The only way for sinners to escape that judgment is by faith in Jesus – not by deeds of the law. Abram was a pagan Gentile, but God found him and gave him a promise. And Abram believed that promise. He was not justified by his works or even...

It is Christ's desire to recover and save all who are lost. This parable shows how ready He is to pardon our sins, as well as the obstinacy of those who murmur at God's compassion. The prodigal son lived an extravagant wasteful lifestyle – a life of madness and self-deception. But it is a sign of God's mercy to not leave prodigals in their backsliding. The son came to his change of mind by remembe...

People naturally love to brag and boast about all kinds of things – sometimes even about how good they are. But our only boast and glory should be in Jesus alone. We are all breakers of God's holy law. All our "good deees" are like filthy rags, but Jesus gives us His robe of perfect righteousness. And now we can boast in Christ, because through Him, God has declared us to be righteous; and this go...

We tend to think we have a bit of Superman in us; but in reality, we are all only humans. There's only one hero in our stories, and that's Jesus. Whether we are Jews or Gentiles, we are all under sin. Not one of us can claim righteousness before God. There is no need for us to put on an act. But God is righteous! Jesus paid the price to redeem us from our slavery to sin. He chose to love us while...

How do we reconcile the paradox of a loving and merciful God Who will not leave iniquity unpunished? Our God has irrefutably proven Himself to be unmistakenly righteous in saving sinners. He has displayed Jesus to us as our mercy-seat – a reference to the lid of the Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament Tabernacle, where the high priest sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice once a year on the Da...

Receive God's good news: you are not righteous in yourself, but you are righteous in Jesus! Paul has been proving the point that all have sinned – that's a universal declaration. We are all falling short of the standard of God's holiness and perfection. No matter how high we get, it's never going to be high enough. We are justified freely by God's grace, through our Lord Jesus Christ. He gives it...

A self-sufficent attitude can be good in some things, but not in your salvation. God gave us these first three chapters of Romans so that we have no hope in ourselves. The purpose of the Law was never to save us by our Law-keeping. God's righteous character is vindicated by making another way for us to have a righteousness that is not our own. This plan was revealed all through the Old Testament,...

Every single thing about our theology comes back to who our God is. Who is this God? 1) He reveals Himself to humanity and actively makes Himself known. 2) He is good and gives good gifts – even to those who persist in the ways of sin. 3) He is patient and forebearing, and He does not desire the death of the wicked. 4) He is the impartial Judge who is free from injustice. 5) His wrath is present,...

We always tend to say that we are not the one who has a sin problem. But in this passage, God says that we do indeed. It's time for us to admit that we are sinners, and to look to Jesus alone for justification. No person or group has moral superiority before God. And we can't grade ourselves on a sliding scale and say we're better than others. Our default mode is sin, and we can't blame others or...

A — About: This passage outlines the genealogy of David, revealing both the blessings and failures within his lineage. It highlights God's sovereign plan unfolding through imperfect মানুষ, pointing forward to the promised Messiah. B — Best Verse: 1 Chronicles 3:9 (NKJV) — "These were all the sons of David, besides the sons of the concubines, and Tamar their sister." C — Called to Do: Recognize hum...

We must rest in Christ's character alone, not on our performance, nor on cheap grace. We must beware of thinking that we are "good" in the sight of God, simply because we enjoy the blessing of external privileges, or even because we have God's Word. In this passage, Paul makes it clear that the Gospel that he preaches does not impugn God's covenant, His faithfulness, His justice, or His truth. We...

Are you trusting in religious markers of your own? What are you resting in to stand before the holy and righteous God? Religious priviliges can lead to religious pride. And Paul teaches nothing in this section that is different from Jesus' words directly to the Pharisees. We often like to act as if we have everything together in our lives, and rationalize our sins. It's easy to instruct others wha...

A — About: This passage traces the genealogy of Caleb within the tribe of Judah, highlighting how God preserved a lineage through generations, including flawed individuals, to fulfill His covenant purposes. B — Best Verse: 1 Chronicles 2:51 — "Salma the father of Bethlehem…" (This points to Bethlehem, a significant place in God's redemptive plan.) C — Called to Do: Trust in God's covenant faithful...

A – What is this about? This passage traces the genealogy of Judah, highlighting God's covenant faithfulness across generations, leading from Judah to David despite human sin and failure. B – Best verse 1 Chronicles 2:15 – "...Ozem the sixth, and David the seventh." C – What are we called to do? Trust in God's faithfulness, recognize His work through imperfect people, and place our hope in Jesus a...

Sometimes it's really easy to accuse others when we ourselves have the same problem. But we cannot avoid God's judgment by pointing our finger at someone else. How, then, do we escape His righteous wrath against our sins? We first have to be honest about our natural condition: we are under judgment, and the Lord will judge with equity. There's no way we can stand before the Omniscient Judge and sa...

A – About: This passage traces the descendants of Abraham, showing how nations and kings emerged, especially highlighting the line that would eventually lead to a true and greater King. B – Best Verse: "Now these were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before a king reigned over the children of Israel." (1 Chronicles 1:43) C – Calling: Trust in Jesus Christ as the promised King, recognizing...

A — About: This passage presents a genealogy from Adam to Abraham, showing the continuity of God's plan across generations and His faithfulness in preserving His covenant line. B — Best Verse: "Abram, who is Abraham." (1 Chronicles 1:27) C — Called to Do: Recognize God's faithfulness through history, value your place in His redemptive story, and live in obedience as part of His covenant family.

A – About: This passage concludes 1 Samuel with the سقوط of Saul. His disobedience, pride, and rejection of God lead to his death in battle, the loss of his sons, and national defeat. It reveals the failure of human leadership apart from God. B – Best Verse: 1 Samuel 31:4 — "Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it." C – Called to Do: Place your trust not in human leaders or earthly power, but i...

A – About: David returns from victory over the Amalekites and ensures that both those who fought and those who stayed behind receive equal shares, establishing a principle of fairness, unity, and God-centered gratitude. B – Best Verse: 1 Samuel 30:23 — "But David said, 'My brethren, you shall not do so with what the Lord has given us, who has preserved us and delivered into our hand the troop that...

It is important that we call sin sin, but first we need to look in the mirror. When sinful humans suppress the truth and turn to idolatry, God's wrath is revealed on them by turning them over to do the things they love. Paul focuses in on all manner of sins here, leaving all people – without exception – under the scope of God's judgment. How many times do we find ourselves in these verses? Are we...

A – About: David returns to find Ziklag destroyed and families taken. In deep distress, he seeks the Lord, pursues the Amalekites, and recovers everything that was lost. B – Best Verse: "But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God." (v.6) C – Called To Do: Strengthen yourself in the Lord, seek His direction, and trust Him to restore what is lost according to His will.

A — What is this about? This passage reflects how David, while living among the Philistines to escape Saul, is unexpectedly prevented from fighting against Israel. God intervenes through the সন্দicions of the Philistine leaders, sparing David from a morally compromising situation. B — Best verse "Therefore, return now, and go in peace, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines." (1 S...

A – About: Saul, abandoned by God due to disobedience, becomes desperate and seeks guidance from a forbidden medium, while David is placed in a difficult position among Israel's enemies. B – Best Verse: "Why do you ask me, seeing the Lord has departed from you and has become your enemy?" — 1 Samuel 28:16 (NKJV) C – Called to Do: Seek God alone for direction, obey His word, and resist turning to un...