Wkly Bible Study for Dial-Up/Broadband, Apr 29, 2013

The new racial species and the new
spiritual species in the angelic conflict.

PLEASE READ FIRST

Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: If available on the website you're viewing this on, a few links (i.e., those without an already written scripture quote or brief explanation) are hover pop-up active, meaning the scripture reference will just pop-up if you hover your cursor over it (don’t click on the link, just hover your cursor over it), they work best using the Firefox browser – pop-ups in Internet Explorer, Chrome & other browsers only appear for a few seconds at best. If you don’t have Firefox (or hover pop-ups aren’t available on the website you’re viewing this on), that’s OK, move your cursor off and on the link until it is read; or left click the link which will open the verse at the online bible; or you can always use your Bible to look up the verses.

Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge (confess) your sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father).

1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (known sins) and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unknown or forgotten sins]." NKJV (New King James Version) [italics added]

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to have faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life:

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." NKJV [italics added]

Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: "¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Grace Bible Church
Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries

The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary:
God’s Word is Wednesday, Friday and Sunday mornings

STUDY TITLE:

The new racial species and the new
spiritual species in the angelic conflict.



OPTION: If you would prefer to go directly to the Grace Bible Church website to read this study message, all verse reference links are active there (but not hover active) and Enlarged Text is also an available option – right click the above link then left click “Open Link in New Window” or “New Tab”

Terms & Abbreviations used:

PPOG = Predesigned Plan of God
Human Good = Evil + Good Deeds while not in fellowship with God
OSN = Old Sin Nature
TLJC = The Lord Jesus Christ
SSE = Spiritual Self Esteem
PVTD = Positive Volition Towards Doctrine
+H - The Happiness of God
NVTD = Negative Volition Towards Doctrine
Doctrine = Bible Truth

To look up other “terms”, go to:

Alphabetical Listing

BEGIN BIBLE STUDY
Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotes and references
are from the NASB – New American Standard Bible

We have been looking at the roles of the new racial species and the new spiritual species in the angelic conflict. This conflict began when Satan, who was created perfect as the highest of all angels and the guardian of God’s throne, became absorbed with himself. So, from this perfection came unrighteousness by choosing to be independent from God. EZE 28:14-16, “You were the anointed cherub who covers, And I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you. By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; Therefore I have cast you as profane From the mountain of God. I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.”

The cherub’s name was changed to Satan, which means accuser, and he was sentenced to the lake of fire to be forever separated from God (MAT 25:41). Since the lake of fire was prepared for the devil and the fallen angels, and the fact that they will not be put there until the end of human history, we conclude that a trial is taking place in which God has allowed Satan, to appeal his case.

We know that God has allowed this so that His Righteousness, Justice, Love, and Grace could be revealed to all His creatures to the fullest. This trial is not unlike the system of jurisprudence that God gave to Israel, and the same one that our nation attempts to follow today. Unfortunately, our system has been corrupted by evil men with power.

A trial, under God’s system of jurisprudence has three phases, and can only be concluded on the basis of two or three witnesses. There is the formal presentation of the case where the prosecution presents its case, followed by the defense presenting its case. We have seen that the formal presentation of Satan's appeal trial corresponds to Old Testament history with the Jews as a race and Israel as a nation as the center of the conflict. Next is the rebuttal phase where the rebuttal arguments of the prosecution [God] is followed by those of the defense [Satan]. Evidence and arguments are offered by both sides. The rebuttal phase of the prosecution is coterminous with the two Christocentric dispensations, the Hypostatic-union, and the Church-age. Dispensations are Divine categories of human history. Dispensations are the vehicle by which believers living at a specific time in history can orient to God's will, plan, and purpose for their lives. God's plan is not the same, in fact quite different for every dispensation. Again, there are only two dispensations or periods of time in human history where Christ lives inside of man, the dispensation of the Hypostatic-union and the Church-age. These two dispensations are when God presents His case and reveals His Justice and Righteousness and Love to the fullest. His Justice is revealed by His fairness in dealing with the fall of mankind and by judging sin and continuing to forgive sin after the use of 1Jn 1:9.

His Righteousness is revealed by the fact that He was willing to forsake His own Son while judging sin and continuing to impute His perfect Righteousness to anyone who will believe in Christ as their Savior. His Love is revealed by the fact that He offered salvation to anyone who would believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and that He continues to deal with His creatures in amazing grace. This also means that there are two categories of main witnesses for the prosecution. Our Lord, and the invisible heroes of the Church-age. Although only two witnesses are needed, a third is added by God, Christian marriage. This is not to mean that Old Testament heroes were not witnesses, they were as we have seen in HEB 12:1, but they are not the main witnesses. Remember that the laws of evidence found in the Bible demand investigation of each accusation. Legitimate evidence is based on two or three witnesses being interrogated independently and agreeing to their testimony. Finally comes the closing argument and summary, first by the prosecution [God] and then by the defense [Satan].

Let’s look at each phase of the trial and the role of the new racial species and the new spiritual species in more detail. Phase 1: The trial phase. This begins with the fall of man in the garden and continues until the beginning of the dispensation of the Hypostatic-union. During this period of time, God has called upon the new racial species, the Jew to bring glory to Him. This is why in Heb 11, God's hall of fame for the Old Testament believers we have such a list of witnesses. These ones by means of doctrine resident in their soul, who conquered kingdoms. Because of their spiritual preparation, they performed acts of righteousness or justice, they gained what was promised; they shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire with the Word of God, they successfully evaded the destructive power of the sword, from weakness they were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, in order that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, chains and imprisonment.

These Old Testament heroes understood why God created them, and why they were here. They were promoted or approved by God, but they must wait for their promised rewards until the Church receives hers. HEB 11:39 And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, None of these who obtained Divine commendation because of the doctrine in their souls has yet obtained the ultimate promise, the blessings that follow resurrection life. Yet in the second phase of the trial, the rebuttal phase, God will create a creature, a new spiritual species that will have the opportunity to enjoy the resurrection life in time.

After the formal trial, God turns up the heat for the rebuttal phase, and brings in His star witness, the Lord Jesus Christ, and millions of His true witnesses, whose lives will attest to His Righteousness, Justice, Love, and Grace. It’s not just hearing the word of God, although that is a most important and necessary step, but its application of the mystery doctrine that we have that will exalt us to the high calling of true witnesses. God has a plan so gracious that He will not begin His closing arguments in the angelic conflict until the true worshippers of God are called to the witness stand to prove to elect and fallen angels, that His Righteousness, Justice, Love, and Grace are not only pure and true, but go beyond what anyone ever thought possible. So, in our main passage in Rom 9 Paul is pleading with his countrymen, the Jews, to understand that the formal trial is over, that the star witness, their Messiah, the One they have been waiting for, has come and defeated all enemies That the Jews who live in the Church-age should stop living in the Mosaic Law, believe on Jesus Christ as their Messiah, and move into the rebuttal phase with the mystery doctrine of the Church, and become the greater witnesses.

Phase two of the trial was hidden from the Old Testament saints. They missed the fact that was presented to them over and over again that the Messiah must die first. The Cross must come before the crown and that salvation would come to the Gentiles. They should have known this, it was shown to them, but they were too earthly minded. They wanted deliverance into the Millennial kingdom rather than the most important deliverance which is from the bondage of the slave market of sin.

In Act 13 Paul and Barnabus present the Gospel to the Jews and the Gentiles at Antioch, and interestingly it was at Antioch not long before this that the term Christian was first coined for believers in the Church-age. As the Church begins, and is growing like wildfire; the rebuttal trial of the angelic conflict begins. ACT 13:44-52, And the next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming. And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For thus the Lord has commanded us [ISA 49:6], ‘I have placed You as a light for the Gentiles, That You should bring salvation to the end of the earth.’” And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region. But the Jews aroused the devout women of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. But they shook off the dust of their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. It was not as though the Jews were losing anything. They were invited into the Church-age first, even before the Gentiles, but they were arrogant as God’s people. Yet the Gentiles rejoiced at the good news.

So in our passage in Heb 11, the Old Testament believers will not receive their resurrection bodies before us! Though they preceded us chronologically in history, the Church-age believer will precede them in resurrection. This is the plan and the grace of God!

Again HEB 11:40 because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect. There's no chapter break in the original language so HEB 12:1 says Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, The Greek word for witnesses is martus which means a witness in a legal sense to testify as eyewitnesses or a character reference for one being questioned. This does not mean that they can see us now, or are watching us, but that they, the visible heroes of the Old Testament were successful witnesses in the formal trial of the angelic conflict. It also refers to those, who after our Lord's example, have proved the strength and genuineness of their faith in Christ by undergoing suffering or even death. They are not mere witnesses, but testifiers who prove by their own life and experience the impeccable character and nature of God.

So in HEB 12:1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses [Old Testament winners from the new racial species, the Jew] surrounding us, let us [New Testament spiritual species, the church] also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

Isn't it interesting that the writer of the book of Hebrews, a book written to the Jews of the Church-age, now identifies a transition of witnesses from the Old Testament racial species to the New Testament spiritual species. The Greek word for endurance is hupomone meaning to dwell under, a patient steadfast waiting for. The believer must keep on running with endurance. The plan of God is a marathon, not a sprint. The beginning of the race [salvation] is exciting, and the end of the race, if we experience dying grace, is exciting as we break the tape and fall into our Savior’s arms. However, the middle of the race is long and often grueling. Will you keep running or are you going to quit? Every one of us faces different obstacles. There will always be times when we are tempted to quit. Especially after we fail, it is so much easier to quit than to get back up on our feet and start running again. But don’t quit, abide under the pressure; do not try to escape it.

HEB 12:2-3, be concentrating on Jesus [your Shepherd and Husband], the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him [your forerunner] who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart.

When you are tempted to quit, consider Him who has endured all temptations and realize you have the same power and assets as He did, and remember that it is for His glory that you are alive. You need to turn the eyes of your soul away from earthly things when you need endurance in the angelic conflict (COL 3:2-3). Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Compare the way that Christ endured hostility and suffering to the way you might normally attempt to endure it in your human power. The defense mechanisms of the flesh only end up in the arrogant and emotional complex of sins. Christ’s way was the way of the Father. He submitted Himself in His humanity to the plan of the Father. In that way He was strong, courageous, and victorious. Christ was able to fulfill the prototype plan of God because He learned endurance through dependence upon His own spiritual life in submission to the Father’s will. Many of us rejoice because we see that we are in the end times of our dispensation. It seems, from the signs of the times that the rebuttal phase of the conflict is almost at a close. However the reason for your existence is to bring glory to God by becoming a witness for the prosecution in the rebuttal phase of the angelic conflict. There will be much opposition at the hands of the Satan and the kingdom of darkness and their cosmic system to prevent you from getting there. Don’t stop your daily intake of the Word of God and don’t stop rebounding when you sin. Put on the full armor of God that you may be able to hold your ground with endurance (EPH 6:11-13).

At the conclusion of the rebuttal phase, which is the intensified stage of the angelic conflict the final two dispensations will become the closing arguments. The third and final phase of the angelic conflict involves the closing arguments by the prosecution and then the defense, where the Jew again is the center of the conflict in the Tribulation and the Millennial reign of Christ.

This is the relationship between the new racial species, the Jew, and the new spiritual species, the Church, and how they both integrate in the historical phase of the angelic conflict. Each new species, the racial Jew and the new spiritual species, the Church, originates from a category of Biblical death. The new racial species began with Abraham (GEN 17:1-4), and the sign of this covenant would be circumcision. The Church originates from the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the union with the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the Cross. This is why GAL 2:20 says “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.”

It's also interesting to note that each new species was formed from a significant event in history connected with circumcision. The new racial species is related to the circumcision of Abraham at age 99. The new spiritual species is created through circumcision as well, but it is the baptism of the Holy Spirit at Salvation which began on the day of Pentecost. The baptism of the Spirit at salvation and the resultant positional sanctification is the only circumcision of the Church-age (COL1:11-14). The day that you believed in the Lord Jesus Christ you were identified with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection. The spiritual circumcision of being entered into union with Christ is the sign of the new spiritual species, a circumcision made or performed without human hands, as COL 2:11 says. This “circumcision made without hands” means that it is a spiritual reality and not a physical ceremony. Physical circumcision was cutting off of a part of the flesh as a symbol of a covenant relationship with God and His people. In COL 2:11, spiritual circumcision is removal of, not a part of the body, but, the entire body of the flesh or the old sin nature.

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life:
Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Internet Church Service, Sunday, April 28, 2013

This week’s sermon title:
The difference between reparation and restoration, Num 3. Part 3.

Today’s Sermon Message:

The difference between reparation and restoration, Num 3. Part 3.
manifestations of that fruit – Conclusion
Video & Audio

Please join us as we fellowship in the Word of God, listen to
Christian Music, Pray in Christ’s Name and Praise the Lord
in our Hearts and Minds.

ALL ARE WELCOME!!

# # # # # # # #

from - Romans 8:38-39

Thank you for joining us for today’s worship service. Please enjoy the music before you watch and|or listen to today’s message.

TIP to enlarge the print hold down the “Ctrl” key on your key board, while it is being held down, move your mouse forward until the desired print size is just right for you. To return to normal screen size, reverse the process (some will see a % in the lower right corner of your screen, normal is 100%)

The lyrics have been provided so you can sing along with the artist in your mind and soul; imagine that the artist’s voice is your voice. I’m not a very good singer myself so I often get the lyrics for some of my favorites and sing along in my mind and soul, this way it’s as if I’m doing the singing to the Lord; try it.

Hymn #1

Blessed Assurance – Lyrics in video
(You can skip the commercial if there is one)

Hymn #2

By Faith – Lyrics in video
(You can skip the commercial if there is one)

Preparing yourself for the study of God’s Word

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is— you have trusted in Him for eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to take-in God’s Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge your sins privately to God the Father.

1 John 1:9 says—“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” NKJV (New King James Version)

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is faith alone in Jesus Christ alone:

John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life.” NKJV

Notice again what John 6:47 says, “he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life.” It doesn’t say, “will have”; it says, “has.” Therefore, the very moment you believe Jesus Christ’s promise of everlasting life, you have it (it’s really just that simple), and it can never be lost or taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God’s Word, if there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Lectionary

The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way through, to where soul and spirit meet, to where joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of the heart. (Heb. 4:12) GNB-UK

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed. (2 Tim. 3:16-17) GNB-UK

Do your best to win full approval in God's sight, as a worker who is not ashamed of his work, one who correctly teaches the message of God's truth. (2 Tim. 2:15) GNB-UK

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Opening Prayer
(Do your best to make it your own – below is a sample prayer)

Heavenly Father, we pray that we will all be richly edified by Your Word today and that You will make what we study today clear to us. We pray that all participants in this service as well as those who review it at a later date will be edified and blessed by today’s message. We pray this in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen

Our guest Pastor-Teacher is:

Robert McLaughlin - Grace Bible Church
and Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Doctrinal Statement

This ministry is non-denominational and is dedicated to teaching the Word of God from the original languages and making it available at no charge throughout the world.

Today's Sermon

The difference between reparation and restoration, Num 3. Part 3.

(To view the sermon right click the above link then click on open in “new window” or “new tab” and 3 windows will open – 1) audio or video player which should start automatically, 2) slide show, 3) note pad. When finished return to previous window or tab to finish the service with Hymn and Prayer.)

OPTIONAL: On-line Bible – NASB95

If you wish to use it, right click the link and in the drop-down box, left click the "Open Link in New Window"; when the new window opens, reduce the window size of both the on-line bible and the slideshow and configure them to be side-by-side. Also, the window opens to John 3:16, click the word “more” below the verse, you will then see two online bible columns, Use the column on the left as it is set for the NASB95, at the top of the column where you see John 3:16 in the search box, type the book and verse the Pastor asks you to go to a particular Bible verse, e.g., 1tim 5:21, or eph 3:10, etc., then click “Enter” on your key board. You can use the “right column” if you wish for a different bible version but you’ll need to type in the verse you want each time as I directed you for the column on the left side.

Hymn #3

Before The Throne of God Above
– Lyrics in video
(You can skip the commercial if there is one)

CLOSING PRAYER:
(Again, below is a sample prayer, do your best to make it your own)

Heavenly Father, we pray that the Holy Spirit will make what I’ve learned today clear to me, for I pray this in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’s name. Amen

If you have any questions that are pertinent about today’s message, please don’t hesitate to ask, you are welcome to ask them via a private message or by a reply in today’s post. However, sometimes questions can be real short but require a much longer answer in order to give an adequate answer. If I don’t think that the question is able to be answered quickly I’ll reply back telling you that I’ll research it and get to you with the answer (it may even be a few days as I’m a little slower than I used to be). Please don’t let what I’ve just said make you hesitate to ask questions.

I want to thank all of you who have attended this Sunday service as well as those who will view it at a later time or date.

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can instantly receive eternal life: Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Wkly Bible Study for Dial-Up/Broadband, Apr 22, 2013

Romans 9,10,11. Messianic Prophecy.

PLEASE READ FIRST

Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: If available on the website you're viewing this on, a few links (i.e., those without an already written scripture quote or brief explanation) are hover pop-up active, meaning the scripture reference will just pop-up if you hover your cursor over it (don’t click on the link, just hover your cursor over it), they work best using the Firefox browser – pop-ups in Internet Explorer, Chrome & other browsers only appear for a few seconds at best. If you don’t have Firefox (or hover pop-ups aren’t available on the website you’re viewing this on), that’s OK, move your cursor off and on the link until it is read; or left click the link which will open the verse at the online bible; or you can always use your Bible to look up the verses.

Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge (confess) your sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father).

1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (known sins) and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unknown or forgotten sins]." NKJV (New King James Version) [italics added]

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to have faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life:

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." NKJV [italics added]

Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: "¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Grace Bible Church
Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries

The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary:
God’s Word is Wednesday, Friday and Sunday mornings

STUDY TITLE:

Romans 9,10,11. Messianic Prophecy.



OPTION: If you would prefer to go directly to the Grace Bible Church website to read this study message, all verse reference links are active there (but not hover active) and Enlarged Text is also an available option – right click the above link then left click “Open Link in New Window” or “New Tab”

Terms & Abbreviations used:

PPOG = Predesigned Plan of God
Human Good = Evil + Good Deeds while not in fellowship with God
OSN = Old Sin Nature
TLJC = The Lord Jesus Christ
SSE = Spiritual Self Esteem
PVTD = Positive Volition Towards Doctrine
+H - The Happiness of God
NVTD = Negative Volition Towards Doctrine
Doctrine = Bible Truth

To look up other “terms”, go to:

Alphabetical Listing

BEGIN BIBLE STUDY
Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotes and references
are from the NASB – New American Standard Bible

Continuing in our study of Romans 9, 10, and 11, and these are among the most intense chapters in the word of God. Paul is very emotional in the beginning of chapter 9 where God the Holy Spirit allows him to express what was on his heart concerning his beloved Jewish people. ROM 9:1-5, “I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.”

Paul clearly has strong emotions as he contemplates the fate of unbelieving Jews and the nation of Israel. Paul loves deeply these Jewish people who are on their way to the Lake of Fire. In verses 4 and 5 Paul lists privileges that the Lord bestowed on the Israelites, and this only adds to his grief.

The sixth privilege is described simply as “the promises.” The Greek word for promise is epaggelia meaning a promised good or blessing. This word has led us to our present subject of Messianic Prophecy. The word “Messiah” is actually a transliteration of an Aramaic and Hebrew word meaning “the anointed one” or a consecrated person (as a king, priest, or saint). The Greek equivalent is Christos meaning the anointed one or the Messiah; where our Lord gets His title “Christ.” Jesus Christ received the anointing from God the Holy Spirit as Prophet, Priest, and King. The Messiah is the instrument by whom God's kingdom is to be established in Israel and in the world. The hope of a personal deliverer is inseparable from the wider hope that runs through the O.T. The term Messianic prophecy refers to well over 100 predictions in the O.T. promising the Kingdom of God and salvation through the future King or Messiah of the Jewish people. These prophecies have undeniable accuracy even though they were recorded by numerous writers into various books over the span of approximately 1000 years. Their accuracy has been assured through the Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint which existed prior to Jesus' time on earth.

Messianic Prophecy: The Fulfillment. Jesus Christ fulfilled all the Messianic prophecy foretold by the O.T. authors. One can study these prophecies and see the improbability of one person fulfilling even a few of them! When we read about Jehovah promising something to Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, or David, we realize that Christ is the embodiment of God’s faithfulness. Messianic prophecy is the study of the O.T. prophecies about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, with particular emphasis on Christ’s work on the Cross. We will examine the record in the N.T. gospels and Acts to view all of the evidence that a first century Jew, alive at the time Paul wrote Romans, could have had regarding the question: “What do you think of Christ, whose Son is He?”

The promises magnified here in Romans 9 are Messianic prophecies, the promises made to Israel concerning the Messiah, TLJC. That’s why Paul wraps up this section as he does in ROM 9:5 “whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.”

2CO 1:20 “For as many as are the promises of God [including all the O.T. covenants and types and prophecies], in Him [the Son of God, Christ Jesus] they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.” The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the proclamation of the good news, that the promises made to the Jews are now fulfilled in Christ. So it is time for us to dispel any sentimentality or the slightest notion that God in any way was unfair to the Jews. One of the profound manifestations of the faithfulness of God to Israel consists of the tremendous and incessant prophecies and pleading that the Lord made on Israel’s behalf. ISA 5:4 “What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones?” We will see all that the Lord did for His vineyard Israel in the realm of Messianic prophecy. Paul is going to explain that God has not rejected His people. During the Church-age, a remnant of Jews become born again and saved by grace through faith, lest any man should boast. God has temporarily set aside Israel as His chosen vessel until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in. That will occur at the Rapture when the Royal Family will be complete. Meanwhile, Paul says in ROM 10:1-2 that the Jews have zeal for God but that zeal is not in accordance with knowledge. Paul ought to know; he was the most zealous Jew in Israel, but he was ignorant of the things concerning Christ, so God showed him mercy. There were Jews who were zealous for God, but not acting according to the knowledge that God expected them to have. They were told of the good news, the good word about Jesus Christ. They had the information to put together what they should have learned in Codex 1 and 2, namely that they cannot live up to the Law, that they need a Savior, and God has provided a Lamb.

Was it fair to expect them to connect this realization up with the Man of Sorrows bleeding and dying on a Roman cross? Did Israel knowingly reject Christ as their Savior and King? Did God provide them in their Hebrew Scriptures with the facts concerning Christ so that they are without excuse? Did they know that the animal sacrifices pointed forward to Christ? Should they have recognized Christ as their promised Messiah? Paul asks this in ROM 10:16-21, “However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our report?’ So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. But I say, surely they have never heard, have they? Indeed they have; Their voice has gone out into all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world. But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they? First Moses says, ‘I will make you jealous by that which is not a nation, By a nation without understanding will I anger you.’ And Isaiah is very bold and says, ‘I was found by those who did not seek Me, I became manifest to those who did not ask for Me.’ But as for Israel He says, ‘All the day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.’” Did O.T. believers look forward to Christ, and was this Jesus recognizable as their Messiah when He came? Of course the answer is a resounding YES! They should have known who this Jesus was, and we know this because some did. Many Jews became born again, and continue to be saved to this day; they are the promised remnant. We are going to see the extent of the O.T. prophecy concerning the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. To get a clear understanding of the prophecies in the O.T., we must examine the attitude of the N.T. writers toward these Messianic prophecies.

Point 1. The N.T. scriptures, which are all God-breathed just like the O.T., dogmatically state that the O.T. scriptures point to Christ and His work on the cross. LUK 10:23-24, Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see, for I say to you, that many prophets and kings wished to see the things which you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and did not hear them.” Prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah and Moses, and Kings like David. Look at JOH 5:39-47, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. I do not receive glory from men; but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”

Jesus Christ is making a dogmatic statement of fact: Moses wrote about Jesus Christ. The apostles made the same use of the O.T. as the Lord did to apply the prophecies to Christ who came, lived, died, and rose again according to the Scriptures.

Look at ACT 26:1-3, Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and proceeded to make his defense: “In regard to all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, I consider myself fortunate, King Agrippa, that I am about to make my defense before you today; especially because you are an expert in all customs and questions among the Jews; therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.” This man Agrippa was an expert in the details of Jewish religious belief and practice. King Agrippa was not one to be messed with when it came to things pertaining to the Jews. Paul was not intimidated but quite the opposite: he was excited for the opportunity to expound his teaching before a man of Agrippa’s eminence. This one might appreciate the strength of Paul’s argument that the message he proclaimed was the true consummation of Israel’s ancestral faith.

ACT 26:4 “So then, all Jews know my manner of life from my youth up, which from the beginning was spent among my own nation and at Jerusalem;” Here, Paul is before a Jewish judge by the name of King Agrippa; he presented his credentials as the most Jewish of Jews in that generation. ACT 26:5 “since they have known about me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest sect of our religion.” If anyone should know what the O.T. has to say, it’s Paul. If anyone were going to be skeptical about the latest hysterical claim that the Messiah had come, it would have been Paul. If there were loopholes in the story of these Galileans that the Christ had come, suffered and died, and rose again on the third day, in fulfillment of Scripture, Paul would have discovered it! So if Paul came to see the light concerning Christ, then any Jew ought to be able to!

ACT 26:6 “And now I am standing trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers;” Paul is on trial for preaching Jesus, but here he says he is on trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers, and he points to the promises (epaggelia). He points to the O.T. Messianic prophecies and declares that because Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, He now is the embodiment and proof that the Jews will receive everything promised.

ACT 26:7-8, “the promise to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. And for this hope, O King, I am being accused by Jews. Why is it considered incredible among you people if God does raise the dead?” The Israelites above all other peoples should be aware of the fact that Jehovah is all powerful. Abraham anticipated the resurrection from the dead, as did Job, and Joseph and David and Ezekiel and all the O.T. Jewish prophets. ACT 26:22 “So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place;” Everything Paul has declared concerning the Person and Work of Jesus Christ was anticipated in the Messianic prophecies of Moses and the Prophets.

ACT 26:23 “that the Christ was to suffer, and that by reason of His resurrection from the dead He would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.” Here Paul went to all of the O.T. scriptures which found their fulfillment in the life, death and victorious resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The early Church gathered these O.T. verses together under appropriate headings, which often took the form of questions.

Here, Luke does not give us Paul’s citations of the Messianic prophecies, but rather indicates them by giving us the questions under which they were grouped: Must the Messiah suffer? Must He rise from the dead? Must He bring the light of salvation to both the people of Israel and the Gentile nations? To illustrate, let’s take the last one. The announcing of light to the Jewish people, and to the Gentiles is assigned to the ministry of Isaiah’s suffering Servant.

So Isaiah 49:6 would have been listed as a text giving Messianic prophecy under this category. ISA 49:6 “He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Paul and Barnabas cited these words as they set out on their first commission to spread the gospel (ACT 13:47). When our Lord was presented at the Temple in His infancy, Simeon greeted Him with these same words from Isaiah (LUK 2:32). The Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon the promise that he would not see death until he had laid eyes on the Lord. Simeon was a Jew, and He recognized Jesus as the promised Messiah. ROM 1:1-2, "Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures", God promised the Gospel, the good news that the Messiah, the Savior would die for our sins beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures! ROM 1:3-4, "concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord". 1PE 1:10-12, "As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven--things into which angels long to look."

The O.T. prophets did not live to see the day when Christ would come. They never knew the name of His mother, or the day of His birth, but they were far from ignorant concerning salvation. They knew enough to look forward to the sacrifice of the suffering Servant, and the glories that would follow. We know so much more about those glories now that He has risen, but they were given the outline. In both the Psalms and the writings of the prophet Isaiah there is this pattern of talking about the gloriousness of the Messiah and then right around the corner the suffering and difficulty. We have seen that when the N.T. talks about Christ fulfilling O.T. prophecy, it talks in terms of the sufferings of Christ followed by the glories (LUK 24:26). The N.T. Jewish writers like Peter, Paul, and John came on the scene and knew that it was all ONE person! The seed of the woman (Redeemer through sacrifice) and the seed of Abraham (blessing to all nations) and the seed of David are all one seed, the man Christ Jesus. The lamb of the Passover and the King who will sit on David’s throne are one and the same, Christ! The suffering Servant and the Lion of Judah are the child King and eternal Father, prince of peace. He’s Jesus Christ the Lord. The N.T. is a trustworthy guide for a journey of exploration into the O.T. for the following reasons: First, it is in a position to give us the best view possible, since it was written, by Jewish eyewitnesses, near in time to the O.T.

Secondly, like a telescope, the Spirit-guided writings bring these precious promises nearer to us, making their outline clearer and more real.

Thirdly, it claims to have the right of interpreting the O.T., and scrutiny over centuries has justified this claim. Jesus, the subject of Messianic prophecy, is Himself an actor and speaker in the N.T. Gospels. In examining these Gospels, we discover some interesting facts. 1) Jesus had the highest respect for the O.T. scriptures. He never accused the spiritual leaders of the Jewish religion of adding to or taking away from the Scriptures. 2) Jesus often recognizes Moses as legislator and writer, and speaks of the fact that Moses wrote about Jesus (JOH 5:46). 3) Jesus applied certain Scriptures to Himself (LUK 4:13-21). When He came to his hometown of Nazareth, He visited their synagogue. The elders invited Him up to the Bima to read from the Portion of the Week, a custom held among the Jews to this day. LUK 4:16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. The Haftorah for that Sabbath must have been from Isaiah 61. Following the reading of the lesson, with the eyes of the congregation on Him, He spoke momentous words. LUK 4:17-21, And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, “the spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

John the Baptist was the herald for Jesus Christ, his forerunner, preparing the way for the Lord. John the Baptist was himself the subject of O.T. prophecy (ISA 40:3-5 fulfilled in MAT 3:3). It is sometimes missed that both John and Jesus drew tremendous crowds. Many people, mostly Jews, were saved during the rallies and teachings; this shows that many Jews did believe in Jesus Christ as their Messiah because they recognized Him as the One promised in their Hebrew scriptures. Jesus Himself identifies John as the Elijah who was to come, and in so doing Jesus declares Himself to be the Lord who was to come after that Elijah (MAT 11:8-15). When John was in prison and disheartened, he experienced some doubts about his mission in life. So he sent some of his disciples to Jesus to check and be sure that this was in fact the promised Messiah. Jews ask for signs, as Greeks seek wisdom. John the Baptist was of course a Jew. MAT 11:2-6, Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.” (MAT 11:5 includes a quotation from Isa 35 and Isa 61). Especially penetrating are the words spoken by the Risen Lord on the road to Emmaus (LUK 24:25-27 and LUK 24:44-48).

Point 2. The N.T. provides an exact map for finding those elements of O.T. prophecy which are most strongly Christological (the Person of Christ) and Soteriological (the salvation work of Christ on the Cross). The N.T. is richly blessed with quotations from the O.T. We are going to focus on two forms in which Messianic prophecy from the O.T. is identified in the N.T. The first turns out to be the speeches given by Peter and Paul to the Jews in the book of Acts. We have already seen an example of this: Peter’s Pentecost day speech in Acts 2:22-39. The second form will be the direct statements in the Gospels that a certain event fulfilled the Scripture. We have seen Luke 4:16-21, when Jesus read ISA 61:1-2a and declared it to have been fulfilled. You are on solid ground for treating an O.T. verse as Messianic prophecy when the N.T. declares that verse to be Messianic prophecy. The apostles who both preached Jesus and wrote the N.T. imitated their Lord in applying the O.T. prophecies to Jesus Christ who came, lived, died, and rose again according to the Scriptures.

These N.T. Jews are the best interpreters of the O.T. prophets. They were the eyewitnesses of the coming of the Expected One, the only Savior of the world. Philip is a fascinating example; he starts out his career immediately acknowledging the fact that Jesus is the Promised Messiah. JOH 1:43-46, The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” In Acts 8, Philip is preaching Jesus the Messiah to the Ethiopian eunuch: 8:26-40, But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: “HE WAS LED AS A SHEEP TO SLAUGHTER; AND AS A LAMB BEFORE ITS SHEARER IS SILENT, SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH. IN HUMILIATION HIS JUDGMENT WAS TAKEN AWAY; WHO WILL RELATE HIS GENERATION? FOR HIS LIFE IS REMOVED FROM THE EARTH.” The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea. Of all the passages of scripture that this man could have been reading, God the Holy Spirit had led him to this particular one. God will move heaven and earth to get gospel information to anyone who is positive! What is breathtaking about the Bible study of this Ethiopian is the fact that in Isa 53 there are 24 parallel statements about our Savior. This Hebrew poetic form reveals the Lamb as the center point for the whole universe! Note that the exact center of these 24 parallels is ISA 53:7b.

Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, The Lamb is absolutely essential to understanding Messianic prophecy. The Lamb is the unifying factor that ties together the O.T. sacrifices with the O.T. predictions of the Savior! The Lamb runs from Genesis to Revelation, and each time the lamb appears, more details are given. The bleats of thousands of slain lambs were on the ears of the Jewish establishment as they urged Pilate to remove the bodies from the Cross before the onset of Passover. How incredible that they were completely blind to the fact that THE LAMB of GOD hung on the center placed cross (ISA 53:13-15; ISA 53:1-12).

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life:
Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Internet Church Service, Sunday, April 21, 2013

This week’s sermon title:
The difference between reparation and restoration, Num 3. Part 2.

Today’s Sermon Message:

The difference between reparation and restoration, Num 3. Part 2.
manifestations of that fruit – Conclusion
Video & Audio

Please join us as we fellowship in the Word of God, listen to
Christian Music, Pray in Christ’s Name and Praise the Lord
in our Hearts and Minds.

ALL ARE WELCOME!!

# # # # # # # #

from - Romans 8:38-39

Thank you for joining us for today’s worship service. Please enjoy the music before you watch and|or listen to today’s message.

TIP to enlarge the print hold down the “Ctrl” key on your key board, while it is being held down, move your mouse forward until the desired print size is just right for you. To return to normal screen size, reverse the process (some will see a % in the lower right corner of your screen, normal is 100%)

The lyrics have been provided so you can sing along with the artist in your mind and soul; imagine that the artist’s voice is your voice. I’m not a very good singer myself so I often get the lyrics for some of my favorites and sing along in my mind and soul, this way it’s as if I’m doing the singing to the Lord; try it.

Hymn #1

Be Still and Know – Lyrics in video
(You can skip the commercial if there is one)

Hymn #2

Because He Lives – Lyrics in video
(You can skip the commercial if there is one)

Preparing yourself for the study of God’s Word

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is— you have trusted in Him for eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to take-in God’s Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge your sins privately to God the Father.

1 John 1:9 says—“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” NKJV (New King James Version)

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is faith alone in Jesus Christ alone:

John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life.” NKJV

Notice again what John 6:47 says, “he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life.” It doesn’t say, “will have”; it says, “has.” Therefore, the very moment you believe Jesus Christ’s promise of everlasting life, you have it (it’s really just that simple), and it can never be lost or taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God’s Word, if there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Lectionary

The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way through, to where soul and spirit meet, to where joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of the heart. (Heb. 4:12) GNB-UK

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed. (2 Tim. 3:16-17) GNB-UK

Do your best to win full approval in God's sight, as a worker who is not ashamed of his work, one who correctly teaches the message of God's truth. (2 Tim. 2:15) GNB-UK

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Opening Prayer
(Do your best to make it your own – below is a sample prayer)

Heavenly Father, we pray that we will all be richly edified by Your Word today and that You will make what we study today clear to us. We pray that all participants in this service as well as those who review it at a later date will be edified and blessed by today’s message. We pray this in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen

Our guest Pastor-Teacher is:

Robert McLaughlin - Grace Bible Church
and Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Doctrinal Statement

This ministry is non-denominational and is dedicated to teaching the Word of God from the original languages and making it available at no charge throughout the world.

Today's Sermon

The difference between reparation and restoration, Num 3. Part 2.

(To view the sermon right click the above link then click on open in “new window” or “new tab” and 3 windows will open – 1) audio or video player which should start automatically, 2) slide show, 3) note pad. When finished return to previous window or tab to finish the service with Hymn and Prayer.)

OPTIONAL: On-line Bible – NASB95

If you wish to use it, right click the link and in the drop-down box, left click the "Open Link in New Window"; when the new window opens, reduce the window size of both the on-line bible and the slideshow and configure them to be side-by-side. Also, the window opens to John 3:16, click the word “more” below the verse, you will then see two online bible columns, Use the column on the left as it is set for the NASB95, at the top of the column where you see John 3:16 in the search box, type the book and verse the Pastor asks you to go to a particular Bible verse, e.g., 1tim 5:21, or eph 3:10, etc., then click “Enter” on your key board. You can use the “right column” if you wish for a different bible version but you’ll need to type in the verse you want each time as I directed you for the column on the left side.

Hymn #3

Before The Throne of God Above
– Lyrics in video
(You can skip the commercial if there is one)

CLOSING PRAYER:
(Again, below is a sample prayer, do your best to make it your own)

Heavenly Father, we pray that the Holy Spirit will make what I’ve learned today clear to me, for I pray this in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’s name. Amen

If you have any questions that are pertinent about today’s message, please don’t hesitate to ask, you are welcome to ask them via a private message or by a reply in today’s post. However, sometimes questions can be real short but require a much longer answer in order to give an adequate answer. If I don’t think that the question is able to be answered quickly I’ll reply back telling you that I’ll research it and get to you with the answer (it may even be a few days as I’m a little slower than I used to be). Please don’t let what I’ve just said make you hesitate to ask questions.

I want to thank all of you who have attended this Sunday service as well as those who will view it at a later time or date.

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can instantly receive eternal life: Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Wkly Bible Study for Dial-Up/Broadband, Apr 15, 2013

Romans 9,10,11. God's Faithfulness.

PLEASE READ FIRST

Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: If available on the website you're viewing this on, a few links (i.e., those without an already written scripture quote or brief explanation) are hover pop-up active, meaning the scripture reference will just pop-up if you hover your cursor over it (don’t click on the link, just hover your cursor over it), they work best using the Firefox browser – pop-ups in Internet Explorer, Chrome & other browsers only appear for a few seconds at best. If you don’t have Firefox (or hover pop-ups aren’t available on the website you’re viewing this on), that’s OK, move your cursor off and on the link until it is read; or left click the link which will open the verse at the online bible; or you can always use your Bible to look up the verses.

Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge (confess) your sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father).

1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (known sins) and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unknown or forgotten sins]." NKJV (New King James Version) [italics added]

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to have faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life:

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." NKJV [italics added]

Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: "¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Grace Bible Church
Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries

The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary:
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STUDY TITLE:

Romans 9,10,11. God's Faithfulness.



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Terms & Abbreviations used:

PPOG = Predesigned Plan of God
Human Good = Evil + Good Deeds while not in fellowship with God
OSN = Old Sin Nature
TLJC = The Lord Jesus Christ
SSE = Spiritual Self Esteem
PVTD = Positive Volition Towards Doctrine
+H - The Happiness of God
NVTD = Negative Volition Towards Doctrine
Doctrine = Bible Truth

To look up other “terms”, go to:

Alphabetical Listing

BEGIN BIBLE STUDY
Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotes and references
are from the NASB – New American Standard Bible

Our main passage is ROM 9:1-5 where we have been noting the intense emotion that Paul has toward unbelieving Israel. Throughout the history of Israel God has revealed to them His program of redemption for them, in fact for the whole world. God gave them the Mosaic Law, Codex 1 was the moral code defining morality, and proving that man is a sinner in need of a Savior. Codex 2 was the spiritual code, a view of Christology and Soteriology (salvation). It was Codex 2 that contained instructions for the animal sacrifices which represented the spiritual death of Christ. The burnt offering (LEV 1:3-9
) was to be a male lamb without blemish, and thus represented the incarnate perfect Person of the Son of God. Throughout its history, Israel offered thousands of these burnt offerings and they were continually instructed as to their meaning and significance as the Savior. So, Codex 1 was a moral code that no man could possibly keep, and Codex 2 taught that the remedy to their status as sinners was the sacrifice of the Messiah, the God-Man-Jesus Christ. There would also be hundreds of prophecies given to Israel over their history that would indicate where He would come from, when He would come, how He would live and what His mission would be.

On top of this, during His earthly ministry, Christ came to them, from the tribe of Judah, from the line of David, and taught them about Himself from the O.T. scriptures. The angel Gabriel prophesied to Mary that He would be the Son of David and sit on David’s throne. God made Himself so clear to the Jews through their laws, their prophets, and through their Messiah Himself. Yet, much of Israel would not lift up and peak under that veil that was over their eyes to see who Jesus Christ was in Hypostatic Union. 2CO 3:1-14, “Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you? You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts. And such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter [the Mosaic Law], but of the Spirit; for the letter kills [Codex 1: couldn’t be followed], but the Spirit gives life. But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, how shall the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? For if the ministry of condemnation has glory [the Mosaic Law brought glory to the nation of Israel in the OT], much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory [the New Covenant in Christ brings full glory]. For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory on account of the glory that surpasses it. For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory. Having therefore such a hope [confidence in the full glory given through Christ], we use great boldness in our speech, and are not as Moses, who used to put a veil over his face that the sons of Israel might not look intently at the end of what was fading away. But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ.” Without the Person of Christ, no matter how many assets the Israelites were given, they are lost, and this is what is making Paul so sorrowful. Yet, all of this shows us that God has gone to the ends of the earth to show Israel their Messiah. He did so, even knowing that much of Israel would reject Him with hardened hearts. All of this points to the depravity and stubbornness of man, but more poignant to us who have believed in Christ, it points to the faithfulness of God.

There is only one person who is totally faithful to you and related to you, and that is God. He can only be faithful to you because of His perfect character. Divine faithfulness is God's grace expression to the believer using His perfect character as the basis for expression. Faithfulness hinges on the essence of God. God is perfect, fair, and stable to Himself, and He will be all these things to you as well. LAM 3:21-25, “This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Thy faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.” God can be faithful to you because of propitiation or the work of Christ on the Cross. His faithfulness, therefore, does not depend upon your spiritual status, but only upon the One who propitiated or satisfied His justice on your behalf. Propitiation removes any compromise to the essence of God due to failure on your part. Divine faithfulness manifests itself in Divine discipline to the apostate and in blessing to the mature believer. That’s your free will choice as to which category you will fall in. Fall into God’s grace or fall into apostasy. God’s faithfulness therefore is concrete and uncompromised at any time. Faithfulness is an attitude to something in life which you love, respect, admire, or recognize its authority. Understanding God’s character through His word under the filling of the Holy Spirit will produce this faithfulness in your soul. Therefore, we must know Him first through the perception and metabolization of Bible doctrine, and then we will be able to apply that faithfulness to others and life’s circumstances. Faithfulness begins by understanding something about God’s character; and that is His grace. The fact that you are alive, plus everything you have, is a matter of God's faithfulness to you. He is faithful and loves you every moment.

God is faithful to us in recovery.

1JO 1:9 “if we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and righteous, with the result that he forgives us our sins [known sins] and cleanses us from all unrighteousness [unknown sins].” Name the sins you know and God forgives all the sin. The same principle is taught in 1CO 11:31; JER 3:13; PSA 32:5; PSA 32:38; PSA 32:18. David set the pattern in PSA 32:5 “I acknowledge my sin to you, and my iniquity I did not hide. I said, 'I will confess my transgression to the Lord.' and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.” God knew our sins in eternity past. He imputed them to Christ on the cross and judged them. God is interested in the fact that Jesus Christ took our place as our substitute. God is justified to forgive us because He has been propitiated by the sacrifice of his perfect Son. Therefore, there is no compromise to His integrity when He faithfully forgives us when we name our sins. There is no merit in naming a sin. Legalism says you must feel sorry to be forgiven, but grace says that how you feel is not the issue. When we cite our sin, God faithfully forgives us regardless of how we feel. Therefore, you can forget the sin and move on immediately. Remember we are to: Name it, 1JO 1:9. Isolate it, HEB 12:15. Forget it, PHI 3:13. Keep moving, PHI 3:14. You must be reminded of this because it only takes one thought to get you to feel guilty and condemned and that one thought can break you. The grace involved in this procedure is a big problem with the legalist and those who are influenced by self-righteous arrogance. Only arrogant people say you can commit a sin which will cause God to abandon you and not forgive you, and our case study for this point is the nation of Israel. Grace forgiveness is never a license to sin, but is the motivation to press on to spiritual maturity. The basis of god's faithfulness is his grace, JAM 1:17 “Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow.”

God's faithfulness is manifest in his perfect plan.

1CO 1:9 “God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” We were called in eternity past when God was aware of all our failures, and God found a way to take us through all His grace plan without any compromise of His essence. Knowing every sin, human good deed, and evil thing we would ever do, God still selected us to have human life at birth, and elected us to equal privilege and opportunity at salvation. As a part of His faithfulness, He has provided for every believer his very own plan in which to function as the basis for equal opportunity to reach spiritual maturity.

God's faithfulness is manifest in logistical grace provision and supergrace blessing.

1TH 5:24 “faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” It is God’s power that is going to bring your election to privilege to pass right in front of your eyes. This is done by learning Bible doctrine, being filled with the Holy Spirit, applying the PSD’s. But if you don’t live in God’s power systems during your stay on earth, you havein effect, said no to His will to bring it to pass. Learn His doctrine, confess your sins, apply that wonderful grace to yourself and others in this life and He will pick up the rest. Whether you are a winner or a loser believer, God will continue to provide all your needs during your sojourning on this earth. You should never worry about the basic necessities to sustain your life. The Jews are a great example of this (EXO 16:1-4). God will provide everything you will ever need. It was harder for God to find a way to save us than it is for God to bless us in time. If He could do the most for us at salvation, it follows, a fortiori, that He can provide the lesser blessing of logistical grace support in time. God's perfect faithfulness to you in eternity past inevitably leads to His perfect faithfulness to you in time. There never was a time when God wasn't totally faithful to you. If God was faithful to you in eternity past, He can only be faithful to you in time and eternity as well.

God's faithfulness in testing. (1CO 10:13; 2CO 4:17; ROM 8:18).

God knows what you are capable of doing. Therefore, God’s testing is for you to see what you can do and are capable of. But He will never go beyond what you are able. God will not allow us to be tested or tempted beyond our capacity and capability to pass the test or say no to the temptation. 1CO 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it. We are tested in the area of logistical grace support from God (LUK 12:29). We are also tested regarding our love of doctrine versus social life, loved ones, our failures, other distractions, and our families. Remember that prior to the different stages of spiritual growth, we must all pass through the different forms of suffering that the Lord brings in. Even in spiritual maturity, we face testing, as did Abraham when he was commanded to offer his only son, Isaac, as a sacrifice. So you are tested in all stages of spiritual growth, but never beyond your capacity. As a part of God's faithfulness, He always provides the doctrine or the opportunity to get the doctrine necessary to pass each test before it comes. Therefore, Bible doctrine is your way of escape from each test, and that doctrine is provided by the faithfulness of God. Even the negative believer has help when he finds himself in the presence of Christ. REV 3:20 tells us, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me.”

God is faithful to the Royal Family of God.

HEB 10:23 “Let us keep on holding fast to the profession of our confidence unbending, because the One having promised is faithful.” You have the most fantastic escrow blessings on deposit for you, protected by the faithfulness of God. The more doctrine you have in your soul, the more you see God's perfect character, and the more you advance to spiritual maturity. This results in the things around you which were formerly distracting to your spiritual growth becoming less and less important.

God is faithful to the apostate believer.

2TI 2:13 “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself.”

Since God has perfect character, how can He not be faithful to us even if we reject and deny Him? God cannot be anything less than He is. In fact, God is faithful in keeping the degenerate believer alive for discipline. That same believer still goes to heaven after an entire life of rejection of Bible doctrine, just as surely as the apostle Paul went to heaven.

God is faithful to the believer in the realm of the angelic conflict.

God is faithful to protect and guard you in the midst of the unseen angelic battle which is fought daily all around you, 2 Th 3:3 “but the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.” God's faithfulness becomes a reality as you advance to and reach spiritual maturity. Faithfulness is the consistency and stability of God. Faithfulness is the perfection of God's essence and the fact that He cannot be inconsistent or compromise His essence. Faithfulness is the fact that God cannot change His essence and be unfair to anyone. God is consistent with Himself; therefore, He is faithful and consistent with us. God keeps His word, He has never made a promise He has not kept. There was never a time when God was unfaithful. How refreshing it is to know that in spite of all this there is One who is faithful. Think of all the rebellion that the children of Israel fell into and yet God was faithful. Many times they were faithless, but He was faithful! The Father is faithful in JAM 1:17. The Lord Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever in HEB 13:8. The Holy Spirit is faithful to indwell, JOH 14:16, and to teach Bible doctrine to the believer in 1CO 2:13. Understanding these principles will preserve us from worry. God is greatly honored when under testing for blessing or chastening, we have proper thoughts toward Him and recognize His divine attributes in action. Throughout the bible there is case after case of the faithfulness of God. For example, Abraham, the father of our faith, we have seen his life in detail. Then we have David, we could spend an entire year on God's faithfulness to him. David willfully sinned and told a lie and the result of his lie was that an entire city was wiped out (city of Nob). Thousands were killed in battle because David pretended to be crazy in the city of Gath! Then David failed in responsibility in 2SA 11:1 and stayed home when it was time to go out to battle. The result was disaster on the battlefield and disaster on the home front in Jerusalem itself with a woman.

He committed adultery, got a man drunk, committed murder, and he willfully lied. We could go on and on and talk about Jonah, the reluctant missionary who kept running away from the Lord. He was very disappointed at the success of his own ministry...it was too successful! Yet in JOH 4:1-11
the Lord was faithful to him and taught him a superb lesson on divine love. We have men like Peter, Lot, women like Sarah. We could go on and on with the faithfulness of God toward those who fail!

The people of Israel completely forgot about the faithfulness of God. What did they say to Moses? Notice EXO 16:3 “and the sons of Israel said to them, would that we had died by the Lord's hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

Now this is what happens when people get emotional. Emotion is irrational and can't think in terms of doctrine at all. Yet, emotion, even strong emotion, can be wonderful when it is a responder to Bible doctrine. Paul in Romans 9 has proper responding emotion to Israel’s predicament as we can see in the rest of the chapter and in chapters 10-11. ROM 9:6 “But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel;” We see here that Paul always has doctrine in mind even though he is very emotional about his countrymen. But the Jews in the desert are running on pure emotion with not doctrinal thought at all, and this went on for 40 years. Yet God was still faithful to them. God delivered them, and then He tested them, and then they failed, and then God delivered them, and then He tested them, again.

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The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life:
Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.