WHERE ARE YOU IN GOD\’S PLAN OF REDEMPTION?
Romans 2:17-19
All of us, that is the Church, have been call by God to be an active part of the
body of Christ. All of us were accepted by God just as we were, in our state
of sin. All of us are in God\’s plan of Redemption on a journey of restoration.
Redemption is a continuous process.
CONSCIOUSNESS OF SIN
V:17-18. \” Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; 18 if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law.\”
A. God used various means that are particular to each of us to draw us to Himself.
1. God established a relationship with us through a knowledge of His Son.
2. He gave us His Word so that we would know the truth about sin and the truth
about His righteousness.
B. It is by the study of God\’s Word that we know His will for us. 2 Tim 2:15
1. God has gifted each believer with spiritual gifts necessary to the promotion of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
2. He gifted some of us as teachers of His Word. 1 Cor 12:28
3. The study of God\’s Word should bring us into a closer relationship with Him.
C. With the knowledge of God\’s Word comes a consciousness of sin.
1. The consciousness of sin is through the power of the Holy Spirit that indwells us.
2. The knowledge we have of God\’s Word is superior to the wisdom of the world.
THE CONVICTION OF SIN
D. With knowledge of God\’s Word comes the conviction of sin.
1. By His Word we know that all unrighteousness is sin. 1 John 5:17
2. We must become convicted in our hearts that sin is rebellion against
God.
3. We must become convicted in our hearts that sin grieves the Holy Spirit.
a. The Word says, grieve not the Holy Spirit which has sealed us until the
day of redemption. Eph 4:30
b. It is the new creation in Christ Jesus that grieves over sin.
THE CONFESSION OF SIN
E. Once we are convicted of our sins, we must own up to our sins.
1. Knowledge of God\’s Word demands that we confess our sins before
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
2. Confession is good for the soul.
3. The Word says, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive
us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
4. We must never get to the point where we think we are above sin.
a. We are never outside the temptation of sin. Rom 7:17-23
b. Once we sin, fellowship with Jesus must be reestablished with confession.
KNOWLEDGE OF GOD\’S WORD BRINGS RESPOSIBILITY
V:19-20. \” If you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth\”.
A. We are the Church that the world sees.
1. The power of our influence is based on how we see the importance of service.
2. We are a guides to the blind.
a. It is our duty to guide others to the Lord. Matt 28:19
b. We must act, talk and walk like Christians.
3. We must be the picture of Jesus Christ that world sees.
B. We are light of those in the dark. Matt 5:16
1. Colossians 4:6 states, \” Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with
salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. \”
2. In our conversations, we must encourage others in the Lord.
3. We must always speak the truth.
a. When people are going astray, the truth is not always welcomed.
b. The truth is always needed.
4. Grace says you don\’t purposely try to offend anyone, but you purposely
tell them the truth.
5. Salt is the flavor of God\’s Word that season our lives.
C. We should be instructors for the foolish.
1. The wisdom of the world is foolishness to God.
2. There will never be any shortage of people who need to hear the wisdom of
the Lord.
3. I think God will put foolish people in our mist who need to hear words
of wisdom from us.
4. Decisions that are made based on what the world is doing are often foolish.
5. If a person don\’t know the Word of God, they may not know they are foolish.
D. We should be the first instructors for our Children.
1. The Word says train up a Child in the way they should go and when they
get old they will not depart from it. Psalms 22:6
2. If we don\’t teach our children the truth, they will learn the foolishness of the
world.
KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH FORCES A DECISION TO CHOOSE
RIGHT OR WRONG.
V:21-23. \” You, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?\”
A. We all have to ask ourselves, do we practice being a Christian?
1. Each morning when we wake, we have a decision to make; do we follow
Christ or do we follow the world?
2. All through out each day we are faced with the challenge of following Christ.
B. We would be hypocrites if we taught one thing and did the opposite.
1. We are hypocrites if we preached the Word of God but do not
follow the Word.
2. We are hypocrites if we say one thing and do the opposite.
3. God expects us to be true to our words. Matt 5:37
4. God expects us to say the truth and live by the truth.
C. There is power in the Word of God. Acts 1:8
1. We have the power to live a blessed life.
2. We have promises from God that our lives will be blessed.
3. Psalms 119:1-2 states, \” Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk
according to the law of the Lord. 2 Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek
him with all their heart. \”
4. We have the power to change the quality of our lives.
5. All we have to do is seek the Lord.
ROLE MODELS, GOOD OR BAD.
V:24. \” As it is written: \”God\’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.\”
A. We are role models to others.
1. By our actions, we make a choice of what kind of role model we are going to be.
2. We are either role models for Satan or role models for Christ.
3. The Church should be the role model of righteousness for the world to see.
B. Others may accept or reject God by what they see in us.
1. If we dishonor God, others may dishonor God.
2. If the Church don\’t praise God, how would people in the dark know
to praise God?
3. We do ourselves a disservice when we don\’t give God credit in public.
4. The Word says if we deny Christ before man, he will deny us before
the Father. Matt. 10:33
OUTWARD SIGN OF AN INWARD CHANGE
V:25-26 \” Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. 26 If those who are not circumcised keep the law\’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised?\”
A. Circumcision of all males was a sign of the covenant God made with Abraham
and his seed. It was a symbol of purity. Genesis 17:12
1. Circumcision separated God people from the Gentile nations.
2. Circumcision of male babies on the eighth day of birth was required by the
Mosaic Law.
3. For the Church, it is the circumcision of the heart performed by the sanctification
of the Holy Spirit.
B. Since the circumcision was part of the Law, the failure to keep the Law voided
the value of the circumcision of the Jews.
1. Once we accept Christ as our personal savior, there should be an outward sign
of an inward change.
2. That change, the purification of our hearts occurs by the power of the Holy Spirit
3. Out of the heart flows the issues of life. Matt 15:19
GUIDED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT
V:27-29. \” The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker. 28 A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man\’s praise is not from men, but from God.\”
A. The Redemptive process begins in our lives once we accept Christ.
1. The Redemptive process continues through out our time on earth.
2. We are God\’s work in progress. Phil 1:6
3. The blood of Jesus covers our sins while the Holy Spirit works to change
us into the image of Christ. 1 Cor 11:7, Col 3:10
B. We do not change over night.
1. The bad habits we brought into the relationship with Christ are
gradually changed as we grow spiritually in Christ.
2. We are all one with Christ at different levels of Spiritual growth.
3. It is the power of the Word that cleanse us before God the Father. John 15:3
We must yield our minds and hearts to the redemptive power of the Holy Spirit
to walk this race before God.
THANK GOD FOR REDEEMING US FROM A LIFE OF SIN
Rev M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church
5510 West Sam Houston Parkway, Houston Texas
For a complete list of my lessons, visit my blog
\”goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot.com\”
