Saturday August 30, 2014

Read Romans 11:25-32

Debate and discussion in the Christian church can be healthy or detrimental. When we discuss and seek to find the Truth, it’s healthy. When we discuss and berate and degrade each other, it’s very unhealthy.

The crux of the case Paul has been making from chapter 9 onwards has arrived and has caused no end of debate, name calling and degradation in the Christian church.

In vs25-26 we read

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved.

Much ink has been spilled over the meaning of ‘all Israel’. Is it national Israel or is it spiritual Israel consisting of both Jew and Gentile?

Some argue that it refers to national Israel because contextually Paul has been contrasting the nation with Gentiles and to include them together would be an aberration in his thinking. This interpretation picks up on the Old Testament prophesies that speak of Israel returning to God.

However, the term ’all Israel’ could also refer to Spiritual Israel. In Romans 9:6 Paul has already stated that not all Israel are true Israel. He has already spoken of an Israel according to the flesh (Romans 9:3,4) and an Israel of the promise (Galatians 6:14-16). This Israel is composed of both Jews and Gentiles who believe in Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:29). Gentiles who believe are grafted into the olive tree of Romans 11:17-21. They become part of the "same body" with believing Jews (Eph. 3:6). Paul calls this unity of believing Jews and Gentiles, "the mystery of Christ" in Eph. 3:4 and tells us in Romans 11:25 that the mystery is revealed.

Added to this, the immediate context of Romans 11:26 is vs. 25. We are told that when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in then (or ‘thus’ in the Greek) "all Israel” will be saved. In other words, the coming in of the fullness of the Gentiles results in "all Israel" being saved. Paul's idea seems to be that when the Gentiles have come in, that is, have been grafted into the vine, they, uniting with the Jews who have become believers, will form the total number of the saved.

There’s nothing wrong with debate and discussion about the Word of God. What is never helpful is anger, hatred and putting each other down. We need to learn to debate and discuss with Word open and, in the end, even if we disagree, part company with love, gratitude and grace towards the other party.

Prayer:

Having read today’s passage and notes jot down various prayer points in each:

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

¨ Pray that your church service tomorrow would be glorifying to God. Pray that those people who are considering not coming along, and hence giving God a lower priority than He deserves, would be rebuked and brought along by the Lord’s grace.

¨ Pray that God would bless each person tomorrow and draw each one nearer to Himself. Pray for the powerful preaching of the Word.

 Witness Moment:

When the non-Christian world sees the Christian world arguing badly or negatively, it turns them off following Christ Jesus.

 Discussion Questions 

1. What do you think ‘all Israel’ refers to in Romans 11:26? Explain your answer.

2. How can Christians debate/discuss opposing views of Scripture in a good way?

3. How can Christians do this in a bad way?

4. When should we stop ‘agreeing to disagree’ and fight for the Truth?

 Discipleship Moment For Girls

Intro: There’s nothing wrong with disagreeing and having different opinions about the Bible (within certain bounds, of course). It’s more about how we disagree.

Discuss some situations in which you have disagreed with another believer and how the situation unfolded.

Read  Romans 14:19-21

What is the driving idea in these verses?

What should be the goal when Cns disagree about something biblical?

How could this have been applied to the situations you discussed above?

Pray together that unity would be rife throughout the Church of God.

 Discipleship Moment For Boys

Intro: There’s nothing wrong with disagreeing and having different opinions about the Bible (within certain bounds, of course). It’s more about how we disagree.

Discuss some situations in which you have disagreed with another believer and how the situation unfolded.

Read  Romans 14:19-21

What is the driving idea in these verses?

What should be the goal when Cns disagree about something biblical?

How could this have been applied to the situations you discussed above?

Pray together that unity would be rife throughout the Church of God.

Friday August 29,2014

Read Romans 11:22-24, Romans 11:33-36

Perseverance is a key characteristic of the Christian faith. Indeed it is only those who persevere who will enter the new heavenly creation. Obviously if we don’t persevere in the faith then we cannot expect to the receive the eternal reward that all the faithful receive. This is clearly pictured in the parable of the four soils that Jesus told. In Mark 4:1-20 Jesus showed that even though many receive the Word of God (the seed), some will not persevere. The seed grown in rocky soil withers in the heat of the midday sun. So too many a so called believer has withered in the heat of persecution. The seed sown in weedy soil sprouts up but does not bear fruit because it is choked by the weeds. So too many a so called Christian has been choked of fruit bearing by the deceit of wealth and the desire for other things.

In Romans 11:22 we are told that we must continue in faith/belief. Hebrews 12:1-12 shows us how we are to persevere. We are to throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that can so easily entangle our lives (vs1). We are to fix our attention on Jesus who is the author and perfector of our faith (vs2). We are to meditate on how Jesus endured the cross for us and how He overcame so that we will not grow weary and lose heart (vs4). Even more so, we are to consider hard times as times of discipline from the Lord (vs5,7) and we are to know deep within ourselves that the Lord disciplines those whom He loves (vs6).

We are to realise constantly that God’s discipline will grow in us a harvest of righteousness (vs12). We are to praise God for His love to us. 

The key to perseverance is to realise that God is the author and perfector of our faith. He gives us faith by grace and by that same grace He leads us through this life into our eternal inheritance. Paul declared in 2 Tim 4:18 that God would rescue us from every evil attack and would lead us safely to our heavenly home. The Christian life is a life of grace from start to finish!

It’s no wonder that Paul finishes Romans 11 with a doxology of praise. As we think about the entire argument from chapter 9 through chapter 11 can we do anything else but praise the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God?  We can’t search out His judgements and we can’t trace out His paths. We don’t know the mind of the Lord unless it’s revealed to us and we certainly can’t counsel Him in His ways. What is left but to declare and sing His praises? Let us  join in with Paul in that great doxology of praise:

33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out!

34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counsellor?”

35 “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay Him?”

36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.

Prayer:

Having read today’s passage and notes jot down various prayer points in each:

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

¨ As you think through your congregation, pray for those who are going through a tough time. Pray for God to bring perseverance and a growth in faith. Pray that these people will see this time as God’s discipline.

¨ Ask God to show you how you personally can encourage and edify these people that are going through tough times.

 Walk Moment:

 When we go through trials and temptations we can react in two ways. We can whinge and whine, or we can praise God. Which do you think is more honouring to God?

 Discussion Questions 

1. When you consider the issue of perseverance what is God’s part and what is our part?

2. How can we encourage and build up a believer who wants to give up the faith because of his/her hard trials?

3. What other passages in the Bible speak of perseverance?

 Discipleship Moment For Girls

Intro: Life will always be filled with tough times. Sometimes the tough times will last for a long long time.

Discuss; a time in your life that was particularly tough and how you endured.

Read  Romans 5:1-5

Explain why we can rejoice in tough times?

What tough times have you gone through already in which you praised God?

How can you keep this focus in tough times?

Pray together for perseverance for those you know who are in a tough time

 Discipleship Moment For Boys

Intro: Life will always be filled with tough times. Sometimes the tough times will last for a long long time.

Discuss; a time in your life that was particularly tough and how you endured.

Read  Romans 5:1-5

Explain why we can rejoice in tough times?

What tough times have you gone through already in which you praised God?

How can you keep this focus in tough times?

Pray together for perseverance for those you know who are in a tough time

Thursday August 28, 2014

Read Romans 11:17-21

God’s people have always been a mix of genuine believers and non believers or half hearted believers. When Jesus returns and ushers in the New Creation the people of God will be purified and only genuine believers will be in the church. Until then, we must persevere with both genuine and not so genuine believers.

When the people of God left slavery in Egypt some Egyptians joined them. When they wandered through the desert some trusted God and some did not. In fact, Hebrews 4:1-3 tells us that the message of God was not combined with faith. The people of God consisted of faithful and unfaithful people. The New Testament Church is no different. It is made up of the faithful and the not-so-faithful.

This is clearly illustrated by Paul in the olive tree illustration. There are clearly two types of branches - believing branches and unbelieving branches. Certain branches in that olive tree were broken off because of unbelief. 

Jesus, in John 15, tells a similar parable but uses a grape vine rather than an olive tree. Jesus teaches that every branch that does not bear fruit will be cut off (15:1). Such branches are thrown into the fire and are burned (15:6). Branches that do bear fruit are pruned (15:2) so that they bear even more fruit. Bearing in mind that true faith bears fruit, we can see the parallel to the olive tree illustration in Romans 11.

The hardening of Israel could be seen as the cutting off of dead branches and the pruning of fruit bearing branches so that the tree bears much more fruit.

However we should also realise that our being grafted into the olive tree should not cause us to be proud or arrogant or to look down our noses at others. We should never think that we Christians are inherently better than any other person in the world. We are all made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). The proper response is to lovingly reach out to the world and to have a healthy fear of God (Romans 11:20). We are to continue in God’s kindness (11:22)

God’s plan has always been to grow a beautiful olive tree flourishing and bearing much fruit, bringing glory to Himself. The plan was always to have Jew and Gentile grafted onto one root, bringing glory and honour to God together. In the New Creation God’s church will still be a mix of people but not a mix of believers and unbelievers. In the New Creation, people from every nation, tribe and tongue will gather around the throne and around the Lamb to sing eternal praises to our God.

Prayer:

Having read today’s passage and notes jot down various prayer points in each:

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

¨ Pray that God would bring to conversion any non believers in your church. Pray that you personally would have opportunity to share Jesus with them and to help them make a firm decision to follow Jesus.

¨ Pray that the youth and children in your church would be surely converted to Christ and that they would grow and mature in Him. Pray that God would raise up mature leadership for the youth and children.

Worship Moment:

Nothing detracts more from God’s glory and honour than arrogance and pride. The Lord hates these. We must always remember that we are in God’s presence because of His grace, not because we deserve to be there.

  

 Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. Given that God’s people always have had both believers and non believers in it, what does this mean for your church in the way that it operates?

2. What does it imply for the way the church conducts its Sonday services?

3. What does it imply for the way leadership and ministry positions are filled?

 Discipleship Moment For Girls

Intro: There are two basic groups of people in the church. I wonder if we can work out those two types.

Read  John 15:1-17

What two types of branches are revealed by Jesus?

What are the characteristics of each?

What happens to each branch?

What type of branch does Jesus want us to be?

What type of fruit bearing is mentioned in these verses?

Pray together that you would be a fruit bearing branch that bears much eternal fruit.

 Discipleship Moment For Boys

Intro: There are two basic groups of people in the church. I wonder if we can work out those two types.

Read  John 15:1-17

What two types of branches are revealed by Jesus?

What are the characteristics of each?

What happens to each branch?

What type of branch does Jesus want us to be?

What type of fruit bearing is mentioned in these verses?

Pray together that you would be a fruit bearing branch that bears much eternal fruit.