God’s Workout Routine

Here’s the men’s Romans chapter 5 Bible study from last night.  The workout analogy was made up on the spot.

5:3-5 – How do the steps of the ladder lead to the next step(s)?

• A trial is like a workout
• Perseverance is muscle growth
• Character is who you are: the new muscular body
• Hope is confidence, given by your training regime, that you will win the prize
• Hope does not disappoint because we trust that our trainer’s regimen will give us success

5:7 – Why will someone die for a good man, but not for a righteous one?

5:15 – How does the size of Jesus Christ’s gift compare to Adam’s offense?

5:17 – What is the outcome of the two acts?

5:18 – How much does justification cost?

• Justification: the greatest discount ever. Cost the supplier everything, but made free to you. You didn’t have anything to buy it with anyway.

Romans 4

These are the thought questions that were shared at our men’s Bible study tonight. You won’t have our discussion, but you can get there on your own.

As David says, be happy in the freedom that God offers us through faith. Abraham shows us that faith sees past the impossible, and we can face the infinite gap between us and God with confidence, knowing that Christ has bridged it for us.

4:1,2 – What would there be to boast about before men, and why wouldn’t it work with God?

4:3,4 – Why are are the wages of works a debt?

4:5-8 – Why are these people blessed?

4:9,10 – What are the implications of which state the blessing comes in?

4:11,12 – Why was circumcision given? (Circumcision = outcome)

4:13-15 – Why would the promise be of no effect?

4:16-19 – How was Abraham’s name (father of a multitude) an illustration of faith?

4:20-22 – How did Abraham model rejecting apparent impossibility?

4:23-25 – How does our faith parallel Abraham’s?

Which Difference Do I Make?

I’m reading a book called “The Fred Factor” by Mark Sanborn for a book club.  It’s a short book mainly focused on helping people commit to making a difference in peoples’ lives regularly.  It’s a short read and a nice read.

I want to share  quote from the book that struck me particularly:

You can read books on how to make a difference.  You have probably heard teachers, pastors, and speakers exhorting their listeners to “make a difference.”

The fact is that everybody is already making a difference every day.  The key question is, What kind of difference is each one of us making?

- The Fred Factor, p 35.

What kind of difference do I make?  Or, which difference do I make?

Last night at prayer meeting at the Kettering SDA church, Mike Hagan also asked that question after reading through Romans chapter 2.  Romans 2 is about hypocrisy vs obedience, and not living the life that one believes in mentally.  How do I live my life?  Do people look at me and think, “Seriously, that guy’s not even living up to his own standard,”?

We should be planting uplifting seeds in the lives of others and living consistently so that we water and cultivate those seeds.  It’s a difficult thought to think that we might be planting both seeds and weeds (wheat and tares) in the lives of others.  Which seeds are we cultivating by how we live our lives?  Which difference are we making?  Good one day and bad the next?

Root out the seeds of hypocrisy in your own life.  Dig deep and get the roots.  We need to make a difference for God in this world.  One that we can see the harvest of ourselves.

A Faith the World Knows Of

Paul was looking forward to seeing his future new friends in Rome. He told them so and that he always kept them in prayer. He also said something tremendously interesting:

Romans 1:8 – First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

How is their faith so different or strong or big that people a long way away thought, “Wow, that’s some special faith”?

I think it ties into the reality that faith is more than just believing something. Faith is a belief that impacts our actions. We believe that God said such and such, and therefore we’re going to do X. This is borne out in the following verse:

Hebrews 11:6 – But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

We believe that God exists, that His character is desirable, that He will do what He says, and that His promises are sure. Then we act on them.

Noah’s faith built an ark, Abraham’s faith went on a journey, Moses’ faith left a commanding position in the most powerful nation in the world at that time.

What did those in Rome do? At a time when there was persecution against both Jew and Christian in the civilized world, those in Rome were faithful to their calling in the very capitol. In the heart of darkness they were living for truth and their light burned brightly. They were not ashamed.

Romans 1:16 – For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

Do you want a faith the world knows of? Believe in God, live in harmony with His word, and don’t be ashamed of either of the first two things.