Romans 12:14-21

Engaging the Enemy

I have been feeling a lot like Christianity is under attack lately.

PEW Research Study: Over the past seven years, evangelicals have lost less than 1 percent of their share of the population, holding steady at about 1 in 4 American adults (25.4% in 2014, vs. 26.3% in 2007) and preserving their status as the nation’s largest religious group.

Charisma News: A solid majority of Americans would now be comfortable with a president who is gay or lesbian, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

Midland MI Daily News: Religious Freedom Restoration Act is neither freedom nor religious  Jesus did not discriminate against serving people because they were different or did not meet his religion’s standards. 

We Christians would do well to go back to the model of Jesus for our daily living.

I think Romans 12:14-21 give us some excellent ammunition for the battle ahead. Let’s hear what it says:

Romans 12:14-21 

Well, Maybe ammunition for the battle is not the right metaphor. I picked out 4 clear responses to the cultural challenge that is on our doorstep from this passage. Let’s break this down and see what Paul is telling us about engaging the enemy.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse: We are not the “persecuted” church, yet, but it seems to be coming. More than at any time in the past. As we encounter people who want to declare that our views are intolerant and biased, how do we bless them?

Never pay back evil for evil to anyone AND  Never take your own revenge. What kind of attitude does this take?

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. I think to do this you have to see people as the same kind of sinner that you once were. I also think that there can be more power in goodness than there is in evil. Can you think of a circumstance where you have seen evil overcome by good?

Romans 12:9-13

13 exhortations for the believer.

• 1.       Let love be without hypocrisy.
• 2.       Abhor what is evil;
• 3.       cling to what is good.
• 4.       ¹⁰ Be devoted to one another in brotherly love;
• 5.       give preference to one another in honor;
• 6.       ¹¹ not lagging behind in diligence,
• 7.       fervent in spirit,
• 8.       serving the Lord;
• 9.       ¹² rejoicing in hope,
• 10.   persevering in tribulation,
• 11.   devoted to prayer,
• 12.   ¹³ contributing to the needs of the saints,
• 13.   practicing hospitality.

Let’s see if we can think of concrete examples of each of these actions/attitudes, one at a time.

Let’s assume that as we have gone through these exhortations, that we kept score on how well we are doing in each of these areas. I can say that I do pretty good at diligence and rejoicing in hope, but not all that good in being fervent in spirit or practicing hospitality. I just finished giving all the final exams in my classes this week, so grades are on my mind. (Rhetorical) what grade do you think you would get? What is the value of an “A” over a “C”? ie why should we strive to do these things?

Romans 12:3-8

V3 – a measure of faith.

2 short side trips on Faith

Luke 7:1-10 Centurion with Great faith

Matthew 8:23-27 Disciples in the boat with little faith

A little or a lot? How much do we need?

Luke 17:1-6 

What is the worst meal you have ever cooked?

V4-8 talks about exercising your gifts accordingly. Prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, Leadership, and mercy.

Rhetorical Question Have you ever been guilty of thinking, “I don’t have to do this thing all that well – Those people at the church will be glad I did it at all. Just because it is not top notch – that’s OK. It’s better than nothing and besides, they’re not even paying me anyway.”?

What are some of the reasons that are given for doing less than our very best in God’s work?

Low priority, too busy, someone else can do it.

In addition to this passage Colossians says:

Colossians 3:23 do it for the Lord, not for men.

What impact does it have on the church when one of us does not use the gift that God has given us?

Romans 12:1-2

Romans 12:1-2

V1 (re-read V1) – Holy describes a characteristic of God. How can we be holy?

http://www.christianitytoday.com/biblestudies/bible-answers/theology/what-does-god-mean-when-he-asks-us-to-be-holy.html?start=1

Read paragraph 5. Is holiness equal to being morally good, i.e. not sinning, or is God calling us to something else?

How does our holiness impact our worship? Can you worship if you are not holy?

V2 What does a Christian who is conformed to this world do differently than a Christian who is not conformed to this world? In other words, how can you tell the difference?

What specific actions do we have to take to renew our mind as this verse tells us?

How long does it take to be transformed by the renewing of your mind?

1 Samuel 21

Ice Breaker

What is the farthest distance you have ever run?

What do you think about when you are running?

1 Samuel 21 – David fleeing Saul

Background (Samuel so far)

Chapter 10 Saul made King

Chapter 15 the Lord rejects Saul

Chapter 16 David is anointed King (age 10-13)

Goliath

Jonathan

Read Samuel Chapter 21. (Age 15-17, maybe a little older)

David takes the consecrated bread and Goliath’s sword.

David went to Gath.

What was David thinking while he was running?

Do you think David felt like a King when he lied to Abimelech?

Psalm 27 – Intro – Chronological Bible reading

V1-3 David talks about his confidence. Fake it till you make it? OR was David really this confident?

V4-6 David praises God. Why is praising God “good medicine” in times of trouble?

V7-10 David seems to be saying “I need help, now would be good”. Why do we sometimes think that God has hidden his face from us?

V11-14 David is asking God to reveal His ways through this trial. How does this psalm end? Patience.

Mark 14

Key events prior to Jesus crucifixion

Mark 14:1-9 Mary of Bethany anoints Jesus with perfume.

Some of the people thought that Mary’s gift was spent on the wrong thing.

Mary chose to spend her money on something that honored Jesus.

How do you decide whether God wants you to give to one thing over another?

Maybe  - The Joash Project or some other worthy cause?

V9-10: Judas went off to betray Jesus.

In this passage and in Luke 22:3-6 it sounds like the money was an afterthought to the decision to betray Jesus. What bearing does the 30 pieces of silver have on the betrayal?

Judas gave it back later Matthew 27:3

When I read this passage I visualize Elisha in 2 Kings 6 where he prayed that God would open his servant’s eyes so that he could see the chariots of fire and horses all around. This unseen army was ready to battle.

V12-16 Getting Ready for the Passover.

Kind of a mundane set of tasks. It seems that they probably didn’t realize the magnitude of what was about to happen. Do you think they would have acted differently if they had known that this was the last Passover with Jesus? How would they have acted differently?

Would you feel differently about our service today if you knew that there would be some eternally significant event on Tuesday? Like for example, what if the rapture was actually scheduled for March 31^st, 2015 at 3:27pm. It makes me think that our time spent worshipping and serving God is precious and important. 

Matthew 28 - The Church W4

Making disciples starts when someone places their trust in Christ for salvation. I like to divide “Making disciples” in to two parts: Part 1 – what the Bible says, and Part 2 – How the Bible applies to me.

Part 1 What the Bible says (Roman Road)

1.    Romans 3:23 NKJV – for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

2.    Romans 6:23 NKJV – For the wages of sin [is] death, but the gift of God [is] eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

3.    Romans 5:8 NKJV – But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

4.    Romans 10:9-10 NKJV – that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation

5.    Romans 10:13 NKJV – For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

What does a person do once they are saved? – The WORD

6.       Romans 10:17 NKJV – So then faith [comes] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Part 2 How this applies to me

1.       My experience in accepting the gift of salvation

2.       What my relationship with God has meant to me (lately)

If you don’t have these basic concepts in mind – get them.

One of my challenges is finding an opportunity to share this message.

How can we find opportunities to share the message of salvation?

There are lots of excuses for avoiding this command. Most of my friends are saved, This topic just never seems to come up in conversation…

What are some of the barriers that keep us from sharing the gospel?

Skipping to V20 – Jesus promises to be with us always. We have Him interceding for us before our Heavenly father (Hebrews 7:25)  and He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. Why do you think Jesus included this promise along with these commands?

Something very important about this promise to me is that as a teacher, Jesus promises to be with me. I know that doesn’t mean that every one of my words is inspired, but it does mean that I can count on Jesus to guide me and work through me as I teach from his word week by week. On some weeks I can almost sense His presence as we work through a passage of scripture. Sometimes – not so much, but what is important is that opening the word of God (regularly) will increase our faith (Romans 10:17).  So it’s not really my teaching that is important, but the impact that the word has on our faith each week.

Remember – the Lord is with you when you share the gospel.