Women in the Word » Romans

TBG · 7/28/2017 10:28 am

Romans 2
2:1 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.

O: Paul was saying that the religious Jews practiced the same sins.

A: We also before we came to Christ practiced the same sins. And even as believers we sometimes do these sins.

I think sometimes as we move further down the process of sanctification we need to remember that we practiced sins of equal measure and sometimes still do sin in ways equally deserving of God's wrath.

Yes, we should rightly identify sin as sin. But, do we go beyond this and act appalled and disgusted by the sin of others? We ask, "how could someone do x?"

Well this verse says that as unbelievers we did the same things. And, if you look at the list, we sometimes still sin in these ways.

Those who want to argue that they have never and do not currently ever do these things, look in your heart. Look at the filth in our own hearts and minds before we came to Christ. Look at the filth in our hearts and minds that as believers we have to act to tear down and dismiss. Look what our natural man drags up in us when we don't abide in God's word.

If you look at the list of sins in Romans 1, everyone focuses on sexual sins. But there are a lot of other "acceptable" sins or sins we can be tempted to minimize that we tolerate in our own lives. Some that I see tolerated in the church.
     - unrighteous: not doing what is just and right
     - covetousness: greedy desire to have more and lack of contentment with what one has already
     - envy
     - strife: contentions and quarrels
     - deceit
     - gossips
     - haughty: arrogant - placing oneself above others, overestimating ones merits, despising others
     - boastful
     - untrustworthy: covenant breaking
     - unloving
     - unmerciful

So, let us look to grow in our own sanctification and lovingly share the good news of the cleansing from sins towards others instead of our derision and disgust.

Discussion Question
Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? (Romans 2:4)

The kindness of God is meant to lead us to repentance. How has God’s kindness led you to repentance? And who can you be kind to today in hopes of leading them to repentance?

When we see God's goodness in His patient self-restraint and long suffering in being slow to judge us, it should make us love Him more and long for and desire to please, honor and serve Him. As we love God more it should make us more disgusted by our sins.

TBG · 7/28/2017 10:44 am

Week Two Devotion, Chapter 2

Chapter 2 discusses why the Jewish people were not justified under the law.

This excellent, 5 minute YouTube video from the Bible Project explains the law, and how and why Jesus came to fulfill the law. This ties into what we are studying in Romans 2.

Last edited by TBG (7/28/2017 10:45 am)

TBG · 7/30/2017 4:47 pm

Week of July 31
This Week’s Reading Assignment

Post your input below this post.
S.O.A.K. any verse of your choosing.

I have broken the reading down by day based on key points in the scripture.
You can read it in one day, several days, or follow the reading plan.

Stop by the forum at least once this week and post your input, what verse stood out to you, or your discussion question response.

Reading Schedule
Condemnation: The Need for God’s Righteousness
Monday: 3:1-4 (Unrighteous Jews)
Tuesday: 3:5-8 (Unrighteous Jews)
Wednesday: 3:9-20 (Unrighteous Mankind)
Justification: The Provision of God’s Righteousness - The Source of Righteousness
Thursday: 3:21-26
Friday: 3:27-31

Verse of the Week
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)

Discussion Question
There is no room for self-righteousness in the family of God. All of us are sinners and have fallen short of God’s standard but through our faith in Jesus, we are redeemed. Write your testimony. When did you realize for the first time that you were a sinner in need of Jesus and His saving grace?

Last edited by TBG (8/16/2017 8:43 am)

esuzannah · 8/06/2017 5:44 am

Hi! It's been a long time since I have participated in GMG study but am in need of some better, more structured quiet time....so I joined in for Romans. This last week Romans 3 could not have been more perfect.
V. 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. The word "all" keeps repeating itself in y mins "all,all, ALL" and just before that verse "there is no distinction"

I am a SAHM, I have a 3 year old and a 5 year old. To say this is challenging is an understatement! God has shown me this last week how self-righteous I can be in regards to my children.....yes they are little sinners no doubt about that. But when I loose my cool, become impatient, get angry- it's my own sin that is causing that- not theirs.

Praise God for the gospel and that there is hope and forgiveness for not only my children -but for me. My prayer is that I can remember this. We are in the same boat and I hope I can teach them through the gospel- living it out in my own life so that they can see.

Last edited by esuzannah (8/06/2017 5:50 am)

KimberlyP77 · 8/07/2017 10:19 pm

Below is my testimony that I shared when I got baptized last August on the 14th. Which also happens to be my wedding anniversary. My friend and mentor and I firmly believe this date was chosen by God to be my baptism date to have something to celebrate that day. There ended up not being enough people signed up at church to have it, however with the significance of the day we had a private baptism at one of the Pastor's house in his pool in front of my church family and friends.

I was raised Catholic and have always believed in God however I never knew what a real relationship with Jesus Christ was, after being confirmed in the Catholic Church I felt lost and alone, I was empty and longing for something but never finding what it was I wanted and in turn the further from Christ I became, thought I had found it once again when I married my husband 12 years ago today. I was wrong, my husband later walked out and again I felt lost, and confused. Turns out that is one of God’s Blessings. On January 8=7.3pxth 2012 God spoke to me and said it was time to come back to church and to him. I came to CrossWay and immediately got connected with Women’s Ministry and other woman in the Church, a year later I attended a Joyce Meyer Conference and gave my life back to Christ. It wasn’t until I started volunteering in Kids Ministry that I really learned what an authentic relationship with Jesus was and I yearned for it. Since then I’ve refocused my life, openly seeking him, I’ve forgiven my husband and pray that he will someday find a relationship with God. I’ve distanced myself from those who brought me down and led me astray, I now strive for a deeper and fuller relationship with God and my family including my 5 beautiful nieces hoping that they will one day find a true relationship with Christ. I was lost but now I am found.

Last edited by KimberlyP77 (8/07/2017 10:20 pm)

TBG · 8/11/2017 9:11 am

esuzannah wrote:
Hi! It's been a long time since I have participated in GMG study but am in need of some better, more structured quiet time....so I joined in for Romans. This last week Romans 3 could not have been more perfect.
V. 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. The word "all" keeps repeating itself in y mins "all,all, ALL" and just before that verse "there is no distinction"

I am a SAHM, I have a 3 year old and a 5 year old. To say this is challenging is an understatement! God has shown me this last week how self-righteous I can be in regards to my children.....yes they are little sinners no doubt about that. But when I loose my cool, become impatient, get angry- it's my own sin that is causing that- not theirs.

Praise God for the gospel and that there is hope and forgiveness for not only my children -but for me. My prayer is that I can remember this. We are in the same boat and I hope I can teach them through the gospel- living it out in my own life so that they can see.

So glad you are back with us. Sorry I have not been more active last two weeks. As I said a lot of traveling and then the hectic catch-up and new commitments when I get back.

But what you posted is what stood out to me as well.

3:25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins.

Forbearance - toleration, quality of someone who is patient and able to deal with a difficult person or situation without becoming angry; refraining from the enforcement of something that is due - debt right, obligation

God does not enforce His right to collect the debt I rightly owe Him. And this shows His righteousness. This defines righteousness. And righteousness means integrity, virtue, purity, and correctness of thinking, feeling and acting

If I am growing in God's righteousness, then I will be growing in forbearance as a reflection of God's righteousness.

That means:
- I don't enforce my rights to collect debts due
- I am patient without becoming angry even when someone has wronged me

The other thing that stood out to me was

Romans 3:27-28 Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

This makes it perfectly clear, that we are saved as a free gift because of God's love and it is not works at all; works have no part of our salvation. It is purely faith apart from works.

Last edited by TBG (8/11/2017 9:30 am)

TBG · 8/11/2017 9:26 am

KimberlyP77 wrote:
Below is my testimony that I shared when I got baptized last August on the 14th. Which also happens to be my wedding anniversary. My friend and mentor and I firmly believe this date was chosen by God to be my baptism date to have something to celebrate that day. There ended up not being enough people signed up at church to have it, however with the significance of the day we had a private baptism at one of the Pastor's house in his pool in front of my church family and friends.

I was raised Catholic and have always believed in God however I never knew what a real relationship with Jesus Christ was, after being confirmed in the Catholic Church I felt lost and alone, I was empty and longing for something but never finding what it was I wanted and in turn the further from Christ I became, thought I had found it once again when I married my husband 12 years ago today. I was wrong, my husband later walked out and again I felt lost, and confused. Turns out that is one of God’s Blessings. On January 8=7.3pxth 2012 God spoke to me and said it was time to come back to church and to him. I came to CrossWay and immediately got connected with Women’s Ministry and other woman in the Church, a year later I attended a Joyce Meyer Conference and gave my life back to Christ. It wasn’t until I started volunteering in Kids Ministry that I really learned what an authentic relationship with Jesus was and I yearned for it. Since then I’ve refocused my life, openly seeking him, I’ve forgiven my husband and pray that he will someday find a relationship with God. I’ve distanced myself from those who brought me down and led me astray, I now strive for a deeper and fuller relationship with God and my family including my 5 beautiful nieces hoping that they will one day find a true relationship with Christ. I was lost but now I am found.

Kimberly, that is beautiful, thank you for sharing.

I grew up in a Christian home where I was blessed to be taught the Bible. I believed and was baptized at an early age. However, even though I was taught Christianity was about relationship, I was not encouraged to spend time in pursuing relationship outside of going to Church. I did know you should read your Bible and did sometimes read my Bible. I in fact had a pretty strong knowledge of the Bible and theology.

However, I lived life just thinking about what I wanted and my goals. I never questioned the truth or stopped believing. I always just knew it was true; it seemed obviously true to me. From a philosophical and science perspective it was logical to me and I also experienced God's presence. The problem was just did not live purposely at all and certainly did not think what God wanted what was honoring to God. I was not reflective at all and just did whatever I wanted or thought at any moment.

As you can imagine I was profoundly unhappy and empty as well. I had a pretty good life, probably almost a charmed life from an outside perspective. But to me, life seemed meaningless. I had been reading the Bible about how God will change me, but I must seek Him. So, I decided that I was tired of living for myself and I was ready to be sold out and to live for God. I prioritized things of God and spending my time in the Word, in prayer, in Christian community, in Christian service and God just changed my heart to love Him even more and to desire to live for Him and Him only.

TBG · 8/11/2017 10:08 am

Romans 3:30-31 since God is one--who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

This is such a foundational truth. However, I have struggled to understand how Christ and how faith fulfills the law. So, I read the Matthew Henry commentary to get some insight.

This is so foundational to Christian faith, that I wanted to share it.

Mathew Henry states:

Paul deals with the objection (v. 31), as if this doctrine nullifyed the law, which they knew came from God.

"No,’’ says he,
1) though we do say that the law will not justify us, yet we do not therefore say that it was given in vain, or is of no use to us;
2) no, we establish the right use of the law, and secure its standing, by fixing it on the right basis.
3) The law is still of use to convince us of what is past, and to direct us for the future;

We cannot be saved by it as a covenant, yet we own it, and submit to it

It is a a rule in the hand of the Mediator that is subordinate to the law of grace;

So we are so far from overthrowing the law that we establish the law.’’

Let those consider this who deny the obligation of the moral law on believers.

TBG · 8/11/2017 10:09 am

Who am I Trusting?

Romans 3:25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins.

If we are placing our trust in God, then we should need never struggle with guilt over past sins. Note, I said past sins. If there are things in our lives that are not honoring to God, what we are feeling is likely the conviction of the Holy Spirit to turn from our sin and to live pure lives that honor God.

But, if you feel badly about a past sin that you have turned from or about a battle against a temptation and you desire to honor God instead of giving into your flesh and you actively fight that temptation, then you may be experiencing guilt.

In the case of the ongoing temptation, I am not implying that you don’t have a role at purging this temptation and desire from your heart. But, I am encouraging you to remember that God is the covering for our sin.

Romans 3:25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins.

Let’s define the terms in this verse.

Propitiate - to make less angry by doing something desired; to appease; to gain or regain favor or goodwill

Expiate – (not in this verse, but related) – to do something as a way to show you are sorry; to extinguish the guilt incurred; to make amends for

Faith – conviction of the truth of something

Righteousness – state of him who is as he ought to be; condition acceptable to God; integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking, feeling, and acting

God is not angry at us when we have repented sin (propitiate) because our guilt is extinguished (expiated). All this is based on faith; if we have the conviction that this is true, then it is true.

His blood was the payment that extinguished all my guilt and paid the entire cost and guilt due all of my sins. This gift came through being redeemed in the blood of Christ.

His righteousness is counted to me as my righteousness and my guild had been placed onto His account.

But, I can only receive this righteousness by faith.

If we are convinced of the truth of Christ, then we cannot live in guilt.

Nothing we do will atone for our former guilt.

Romans 3:26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

If we have faith, complete confidence in the truth of the gospel, then we are justified.

Justifier – takes the penalty to make us just
Justified – to render righteous or as one ought to be; to declare or pronounce one to be just, righteous, or as ought to be

Beloved, if we are trusting in the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ, we are exactly as we ought to be!! We may not see this fully actualized in this world, but the Holy Spirit is in the process of sanctifying us and He will reveal us as we truly are in Christ at the end of all things.

1 John 3:2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see him as he is.

When God looks at us, He sees us as people who are exactly as we ought to be and He is the one who is in the process of actualizing this truth in our life.

So, who are you trusting? Will you trust your own works to justify you, or will you trust and have complete trust in the sacrifice of Christ?

If you have complete confidence in Christ and trust God, He will justify you.

So, who are you trusting? Are you trusting yourself, or are you trusting God?

TBG · 8/11/2017 10:23 am

Week of August 7
This Week’s Reading Assignment

Post your input below this post.
S.O.A.K. any verse of your choosing.

I have broken the reading down by day based on key points in the scripture.
You can read it in one day, several days, or follow the reading plan.

Stop by the forum at least once this week and post your input, what verse stood out to you, or your discussion question response.

This Week: The Example of Righteousness
This week we will continue to look at how God justifies us by providing for our righteousness. We will see an example of this in the life of Abraham.

Reading Schedule
Justification: The Provision of God’s Righteousness - The Example of Righteousness

Monday: 4:1-8
Tuesday: 4:9-12
Wednesday: 4:13-15
Thursday: 4:16-17
Friday: 4:18-25

Verse of the Week
That is why his faith was "counted to him as righteousness." (Romans 4:22)

Discussion Question
This week we were reminded that Abraham remained faithful even though he had to wait to receive what was promised to him by God. His faith made his righteous. What is it that you are waiting on and how strong is your faith today?

Last edited by TBG (8/16/2017 8:45 am)

Index
» Bible Study
» Romans

7/28/2017 10:28 am #11

Re: Romans

7/28/2017 10:44 am #12

Re: Romans

7/30/2017 4:47 pm #13

Re: Romans

8/06/2017 5:44 am #14

Re: Romans

8/07/2017 10:19 pm #15

Re: Romans

8/11/2017 9:11 am #16

Re: Romans

esuzannah wrote:

8/11/2017 9:26 am #17

Re: Romans

KimberlyP77 wrote:

8/11/2017 10:08 am #18

Re: Romans

8/11/2017 10:09 am #19

Re: Romans

8/11/2017 10:23 am #20

Re: Romans

Index
» Bible Study
» Romans

Board footera