Do we truly grasp what Jesus did?
As a pastor, I have tried to practice strategically planning what is called a "sermon calender" for the upcoming year. I tried this for the first time this past year, 2018, and had so much success (and less stress) with it that I have decided to do the same this year in 2019.
Our theme for the year here at Northside Garland, the local congregation I pastor, will be "Discipleship: Living out your faith one day at a time." This theme will focus on personal Spiritual growth in the various disciplines of the Christian life, including but not limited to: Bible study, prayer, worship, tithing/giving, service, evangelism, and leadership. I felt the best way to do this in the Sunday morning worship gathering was to take an expositional journey through the book of Romans. We will go verse by verse, with the occasional break in between, and this study will be for the duration of 2019. I'm excited to go on this journey!
The first message will take place this Sunday and it will be an overview of Romans. It will seek to highlight the overarching themes of the book, taking a birds-eye-view of the scope of the letter. What jumps out at us are basically 5 key themes:
1) Condemnation
2) Justification
3) Sanctification
4) Glorification
5) Restoration
These "tions" are highly important for the Christian and are often overlooked or completely missed by many believers. If we miss these crucial truths as they connect to Christ and our faith in Him, we can only dare to say that we truly grasp what Jesus did for us. In truth, we can't grasp what He did for us at all without understanding these elements.
-->In sin, we are condemned according to God's Law. Not one person, past, present, or future can stand as holy enough to achieve God's standard of absolute moral perfection therefore, we all stand condemned in God's courtroom of Judgment. (Rom.1:20-21, 2:1, 3:23)
-->However, Christ's actions freely offer the believer right-standing with God in His courtroom of Judgment. He accomplished everything required of us by Law in perfectly keeping and fulfilling it. Through repentance and faith in the Person and work of Christ, we are justified. (Rom. 3:21-26, 5:18, 8:1)
-->Immediately upon faith, the Holy Spirit enters us, makes us new, and begins working daily to make us more like Christ. According to 1 Thessalonians 4:3, God's very will for our lives is sanctification - the process of making us like Christ. (Rom. 6:1-4; 7-8)
-->One day, we will be given new, glorified bodies that will be able to withstand eternity and will not be under the effects of the sin nature. They will be pure, holy, renewed bodies. (Rom. 11:29)
-->The culmination of all of the promises of God will come to reality when Christ makes all things new, the new Heaven, the new Earth and the eternal kingdom of the New Jerusalem is placed upon the new earth. Christ will reign with His people, all the redeemed, for eternity. This will be the full realized promise of the restoration of all things. (Rom. 11:28-29)
With all of this in front of us and with the upcoming study of the book of Romans, we have one question to ask of ourselves as Christians - do we truly grasp what Jesus did for us?
Our theme for the year here at Northside Garland, the local congregation I pastor, will be "Discipleship: Living out your faith one day at a time." This theme will focus on personal Spiritual growth in the various disciplines of the Christian life, including but not limited to: Bible study, prayer, worship, tithing/giving, service, evangelism, and leadership. I felt the best way to do this in the Sunday morning worship gathering was to take an expositional journey through the book of Romans. We will go verse by verse, with the occasional break in between, and this study will be for the duration of 2019. I'm excited to go on this journey!
The first message will take place this Sunday and it will be an overview of Romans. It will seek to highlight the overarching themes of the book, taking a birds-eye-view of the scope of the letter. What jumps out at us are basically 5 key themes:
1) Condemnation
2) Justification
3) Sanctification
4) Glorification
5) Restoration
These "tions" are highly important for the Christian and are often overlooked or completely missed by many believers. If we miss these crucial truths as they connect to Christ and our faith in Him, we can only dare to say that we truly grasp what Jesus did for us. In truth, we can't grasp what He did for us at all without understanding these elements.
-->In sin, we are condemned according to God's Law. Not one person, past, present, or future can stand as holy enough to achieve God's standard of absolute moral perfection therefore, we all stand condemned in God's courtroom of Judgment. (Rom.1:20-21, 2:1, 3:23)
-->However, Christ's actions freely offer the believer right-standing with God in His courtroom of Judgment. He accomplished everything required of us by Law in perfectly keeping and fulfilling it. Through repentance and faith in the Person and work of Christ, we are justified. (Rom. 3:21-26, 5:18, 8:1)
-->Immediately upon faith, the Holy Spirit enters us, makes us new, and begins working daily to make us more like Christ. According to 1 Thessalonians 4:3, God's very will for our lives is sanctification - the process of making us like Christ. (Rom. 6:1-4; 7-8)
-->One day, we will be given new, glorified bodies that will be able to withstand eternity and will not be under the effects of the sin nature. They will be pure, holy, renewed bodies. (Rom. 11:29)
-->The culmination of all of the promises of God will come to reality when Christ makes all things new, the new Heaven, the new Earth and the eternal kingdom of the New Jerusalem is placed upon the new earth. Christ will reign with His people, all the redeemed, for eternity. This will be the full realized promise of the restoration of all things. (Rom. 11:28-29)
With all of this in front of us and with the upcoming study of the book of Romans, we have one question to ask of ourselves as Christians - do we truly grasp what Jesus did for us?
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