1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,440 With a heavy heart, earlier in the service we were all invited to bring our burdens, 2 00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:13,640 our troubles to Jesus, and to leave them there. 3 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:22,680 I wonder if there may be some few who are especially disturbed, distressed, distraught. 4 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:27,860 I hope that song is ministered to you. 5 00:00:27,860 --> 00:00:34,280 We have a wonderful priest, a great high priest, who intercedes in our behalf. 6 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:42,720 We may come directly to the Father through him. 7 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:49,560 We are reminded, Lord, that you have invited us to cast our heavy burdens upon you and 8 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:56,320 know your sustaining care and grace. 9 00:00:56,320 --> 00:01:05,120 And while all of us carry our burdens, we fight battles, we want to pray tonight especially 10 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:11,360 for those who have heavy, heavy hearts amongst us. 11 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:13,560 You know them. 12 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:25,920 I pray that you will touch them to encourage, to lift up, to bring wholeness and healing 13 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:30,760 according to your great grace. 14 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:34,960 We come to you, Father, through Jesus with this prayer. 15 00:01:34,960 --> 00:01:35,960 Amen. 16 00:01:35,960 --> 00:01:45,720 Well, it was good to see a brother and sister sing a duet, wasn't it? 17 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:50,160 It's nice to know that brothers and sisters eventually do get along. 18 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:58,000 I read a statement recently that said, no man knows his true character until he's run 19 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:08,640 out of gas, purchased something on the installment plan, and raised a teenager. 20 00:02:08,640 --> 00:02:11,840 Romans chapter 12 will be our beginning place tonight. 21 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:18,560 The theme of the book of Romans, this marvelous book that we have sought to understand better, 22 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:21,560 the theme of it is the righteousness of God. 23 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:27,320 God's righteousness is his impartial justice. 24 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:36,320 It is his transparent holiness leading to fairness of action in every relationship that 25 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:37,920 he has. 26 00:02:37,920 --> 00:02:43,960 God's righteousness is his attribute describing the way that he acts towards everything and 27 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:47,680 everyone outside of himself. 28 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:53,400 We have seen in our study of the book of Romans that God is righteous in his relationship 29 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:56,680 to the world of sinners. 30 00:02:56,680 --> 00:02:59,960 The one word that summarizes that is the word condemnation. 31 00:02:59,960 --> 00:03:06,320 God righteously condemns those who are in sin. 32 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:12,160 And God is righteous toward believers, thank God. 33 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:18,200 He has extended toward us salvation, including both justification and sanctification, which 34 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:24,240 we've talked about, not because of who we are, but because we have believed on his Son, 35 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:26,560 Jesus Christ. 36 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:32,000 And so the one word that summarizes God's relationship to believers, his righteous relationship 37 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:36,640 to believers, is the word salvation. 38 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:41,600 Last Sunday night we talked about God's relationship to the nation of Israel. 39 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:46,160 And really three words are necessary to describe the scope of that relationship. 40 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:51,320 Again, it is a relationship characterized by righteousness. 41 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:57,600 The first word is the word election, chapter 9, God chose them. 42 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:04,840 The second word is the word rejection, chapter 10, because of unbelief they failed and did 43 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:09,520 not attain unto the righteousness that comes by faith alone. 44 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:15,160 But in chapter 11 the word restoration, God will righteously restore the nation of Israel 45 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:21,880 one day to himself when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 46 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:28,760 Now we come to the final section of the book of Romans, chapters 12 through 16. 47 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:33,200 It is a section that applies the righteousness of God to life. 48 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:38,880 If the first 12 chapters, first 11 chapters rather, are doctrinal, the last chapters are 49 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:41,400 practical. 50 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:52,320 God desires his righteousness to be demonstrated in every relationship of believers. 51 00:04:52,320 --> 00:05:00,460 That's the sentence you may be looking to fill in, because it summarizes the final chapters 52 00:05:00,460 --> 00:05:01,460 of the book. 53 00:05:01,460 --> 00:05:11,280 God desires his righteousness to be demonstrated in every relationship of those who are believers. 54 00:05:11,280 --> 00:05:15,440 Who call upon him as God and Father. 55 00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:22,360 In other words, God wants us to live out in a practical manner the beauty of this wonderful 56 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:23,960 quality of righteousness. 57 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:26,600 He wants us to do what is right. 58 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:31,480 He wants us to do in the world what Jesus would do. 59 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:37,240 Sheldon in his book, In His Presence, again and again comes back to that question, what 60 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:38,840 would Jesus do? 61 00:05:38,840 --> 00:05:41,400 What would Jesus do? 62 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:46,560 God wants us to live our lives, asking that question, how would Jesus respond? 63 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:49,440 What would Jesus do in this circumstance? 64 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:55,160 And if we answer that question rightly, it will expose through us the righteousness of 65 00:05:55,160 --> 00:05:56,160 God. 66 00:05:56,160 --> 00:06:01,200 We heard sung this evening, I want to be like Jesus. 67 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:03,520 But what does that mean? 68 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:05,360 What does it mean to be like Jesus? 69 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:08,760 What does it mean to live out the righteousness of God? 70 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:10,760 What does that look like? 71 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:15,640 Well, these chapters are devoted to the answer to that question. 72 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:24,580 The first part of the division is the believer and his body, chapter 12 verses 1 and 2. 73 00:06:24,580 --> 00:06:29,480 This is the most intimate environment a believer has, his own body. 74 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:34,240 It is an environment where stewardship is to be expressed. 75 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:38,040 It is also the battleground as all of us know. 76 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:45,960 The body itself is not inherently sinful and bad, but the body is the seat of indwelling 77 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:49,880 sin as we saw in chapter 7. 78 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:55,040 Paul says that the principle of sin dwells in his body and it does for all of us who 79 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:56,040 are believers. 80 00:06:56,040 --> 00:07:04,400 There is a battleground with sin in our bodies and it is our bodies which relate to the sinful 81 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:06,000 world. 82 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,600 It is the point of temptation for us. 83 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:17,480 So he says in chapter 6 that we are to yield the members of our bodies to God as instruments 84 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:26,440 of righteousness and we are to stop presenting them to sin so that sin can use them. 85 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:29,720 The body is the instrument by which we are to serve God in this world. 86 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:33,560 So he tells us of an important action in these two verses. 87 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:36,200 He says we are to present our bodies to God. 88 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:41,560 A few weeks ago we talked about these two verses and so I am not going to spend a lot 89 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:44,560 of time on them. 90 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:51,120 But the word present here means to place beside and it is a technical term referring to placing 91 00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:55,200 the sacrifice beside the altar. 92 00:07:55,200 --> 00:08:01,000 It has the idea of putting the sacrifice at the disposal of God. 93 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:05,200 And so he says present your bodies to God. 94 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:10,540 That is put them at his disposal. 95 00:08:10,540 --> 00:08:15,360 The word sacrifice here is the word thesia in the Greek and it comes from a verb that 96 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:18,320 means to go up and smoke. 97 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:24,680 We talked about these two verses around Christmas time in conjunction with the burnt offering 98 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:26,400 described in Leviticus. 99 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:32,600 One of the offerings of the Old Testament Jewish nation was the burnt offering in which 100 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:37,560 the whole offering was consumed and went up in smoke. 101 00:08:37,560 --> 00:08:40,040 That is exactly the picture that Paul uses here. 102 00:08:40,040 --> 00:08:46,800 He says we are to present our bodies to God as a living burnt sacrifice. 103 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:55,000 Our bodies are to be given to God irrevocably, completely, just as completely as were those 104 00:08:55,000 --> 00:09:01,080 animals brought to the altar for burnt offering in the Old Testament. 105 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:02,960 Except there is a contrast. 106 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:08,200 Our sacrifice is a living sacrifice, not a dead sacrifice. 107 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:11,600 He further describes this as a holy sacrifice. 108 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:16,120 It is dedicated to sacred use. 109 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:21,080 No longer are our bodies our own. 110 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:25,800 They have been redeemed by a price, the blood of Christ. 111 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:29,280 Our bodies are not common any longer. 112 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:34,440 They are sacred, sacred vessels of God himself. 113 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:40,680 They are holy, set apart for God's use. 114 00:09:40,680 --> 00:09:45,280 He says that when you and I present our bodies to God as a living and holy sacrifice, it 115 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:47,240 is acceptable to him. 116 00:09:47,240 --> 00:09:49,800 It pleases him well when we do this. 117 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:50,800 Why? 118 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:55,120 Because it is the right sacrifice with the right spirit. 119 00:09:55,120 --> 00:10:03,680 He says further that when we do this, it is on our part a spiritual service of worship. 120 00:10:03,680 --> 00:10:11,560 Murray in his commentary says the use of our bodies is characterized by conscious, intelligent, 121 00:10:11,560 --> 00:10:14,800 consecrated devotion to the service of God. 122 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:16,800 That is what he means here. 123 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:23,900 This service of worship is spiritual in the sense that it is an act of intelligent, definite 124 00:10:23,900 --> 00:10:27,360 worship on our part. 125 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:28,360 It is deliberate. 126 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:32,440 It is not careless. 127 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:40,520 It is to be done as an act of worship as though we were priests in the temple offering our 128 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:42,080 bodies to God. 129 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:45,720 It's a righteous thing that we should do this. 130 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:50,200 He says that there is an important realization that we need to come to about it. 131 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:51,760 This involves the total person. 132 00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:53,440 It's not just the outward body. 133 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:55,920 It's all that we are. 134 00:10:55,920 --> 00:11:02,880 He says it begins, this consecration of our bodies begins actually in our minds. 135 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:05,760 Notice how he says it here in verse 2. 136 00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:12,960 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds. 137 00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:20,720 The renovation of your attitudes, your ideals, your imagination, your memory. 138 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:25,080 The way you think, the way you judge, the way you understand, let all of that be renewed 139 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:27,760 by God. 140 00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:34,400 As your mind is renewed, then from the inside out you will be transformed. 141 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:42,760 Don't be coerced into the mold of people around you who do not know God, the world. 142 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:45,680 This age in which we live. 143 00:11:45,680 --> 00:11:52,280 Don't succumb to peer pressure, he says, but from the inside out be changed in the very 144 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:54,240 form that you are. 145 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:56,880 The word is metamorphosis. 146 00:11:56,880 --> 00:11:59,620 Be transformed. 147 00:11:59,620 --> 00:12:08,120 The idea is to be changed just as completely as a tadpole is that becomes a frog or as 148 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:10,960 a caterpillar that becomes a butterfly. 149 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:14,480 The same creature, but metamorphosis takes place. 150 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:20,880 So he says, let there be a transformation on the inside that will result in a change 151 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:27,880 of conduct, a change of lifestyle, a change of standards of your living that reflects 152 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:32,480 the new person that you are in Jesus Christ. 153 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:39,240 As Paul begins to describe what righteousness looks like in our lives, first of all he begins 154 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:45,440 with the most intimate relationship that we have and that is with our own body. 155 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:46,440 Our own body. 156 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:53,640 And he says, if God's righteousness will ever be seen in your life, it begins there 157 00:12:53,640 --> 00:13:00,480 in the inner person with transformation and with your body being presented to God with 158 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:08,620 all of its capacities, all of its potential laid at his disposal. 159 00:13:08,620 --> 00:13:12,600 He moves ahead then to talk about a second relationship of the believer. 160 00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:15,080 It is the believer and the body. 161 00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:20,480 And I'm putting that in quotes because he's talking about the body of the church, verses 162 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:24,440 three through eight of this chapter. 163 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:30,800 How is God's righteousness revealed in our relationships in the body, the church as a 164 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:31,800 whole? 165 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:35,720 Well, he tells us that there are two actions we have to take. 166 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:38,840 First we have to think properly. 167 00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:46,360 And he emphasizes by the use of several words in verses three through five, the importance 168 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:49,480 of the way we think. 169 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:54,520 Basically he says, here's how we are to think in our relationships in the church with one 170 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:55,520 another. 171 00:13:55,520 --> 00:14:01,480 We are each gifted for the good of the whole. 172 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:03,600 Those gifts come to us from God. 173 00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:06,680 They're not our own as though we created them. 174 00:14:06,680 --> 00:14:11,280 Therefore we're to think humbly about ourselves. 175 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:17,680 We're to think humbly because God has given a grace gift to every believer. 176 00:14:17,680 --> 00:14:24,120 And he says, as you think about that, remember God's given it to you for stewardship. 177 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:26,320 You're to use your gifts in the body. 178 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:27,320 Think properly. 179 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:33,640 And he says in verses six through eight, minister properly in the body. 180 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:36,840 Not only think properly, but minister properly. 181 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:41,400 And he mentions seven of the gifts that God gives. 182 00:14:41,400 --> 00:14:47,280 This is not an all-inclusive list by any means, but it is a representative list of the various 183 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:54,280 kinds of giftings here tonight in the body. 184 00:14:54,280 --> 00:15:01,920 And he tells us how we are to minister properly within the body for the good of the whole. 185 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:09,600 So how is God's righteousness revealed, first of all, in our relationship to our bodies, 186 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:14,040 our physical bodies and all that we are presented to God? 187 00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:20,840 Then God's righteousness is revealed in the way that we act in the body of Christ within 188 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:21,840 the local church. 189 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:25,400 We're to think properly about each other. 190 00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:30,560 And we're to minister to each other as God has gifted us to do so. 191 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:38,560 A third relationship which exposes the righteousness of God in the believer's life is that of others, 192 00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:42,640 the believer and others. 193 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:49,200 Verse nine through verse 21 of chapter 12 talks about this. 194 00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:54,720 Having talked about the body goes on to speak about others who are Christians and how we 195 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:58,520 are to act toward them. 196 00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:04,100 He explains what God's righteousness looks like in terms of our actions toward each other. 197 00:16:04,100 --> 00:16:06,040 It might be summarized in the word love. 198 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:11,220 He begins in verse nine by saying, let love be without hypocrisy. 199 00:16:11,220 --> 00:16:18,000 And then he begins to explain what that means within our relationships to others who are 200 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:19,720 believers. 201 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:24,200 Notice all the one and others in these verses through verse 16. 202 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:32,000 But in verse 17 he shifts gears and now he wants to talk about others who are not Christians. 203 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:35,640 For you see, God's righteousness is to be revealed in our lives not only in the way 204 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:43,720 we treat others who are Christians, but others also who are not Christians. 205 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:50,080 And he gives us the principles by which we are to live in regard to them. 206 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:56,840 How God's righteousness can be revealed toward those who are even our enemies, verses 17 207 00:16:56,840 --> 00:17:00,120 through 21. 208 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:04,200 That brings us to a fourth relationship that believers have in which the righteousness 209 00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:09,840 of God is to be expressed in a very practical daily way. 210 00:17:09,840 --> 00:17:12,940 And that is the believer and the government. 211 00:17:12,940 --> 00:17:18,880 Chapter 13, verses one through seven. 212 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:26,000 Righteousness toward authority over us is summed up in the idea of submission. 213 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:31,160 God ordains authority, Paul says in these verses, and God will use that authority for 214 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:36,020 his own purposes as well as for our progress. 215 00:17:36,020 --> 00:17:41,120 So he says, let every person be subject to governing authorities. 216 00:17:41,120 --> 00:17:47,680 Now these people who received the letter lived in the capital city of the empire. 217 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:53,560 They knew both the glory and the shame that was Rome's. 218 00:17:53,560 --> 00:18:02,980 And the apostle says to them, whether it be glorious or shameful, your responsibility 219 00:18:02,980 --> 00:18:09,080 basically to the authority that God has put over you is submission. 220 00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:13,960 He says we're to be cooperative and dutiful. 221 00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:19,440 Verse two he says, he who resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God. 222 00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:25,320 By the way, I take this not only in relation to government, but in relation to all of the 223 00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:33,440 authority that God puts into our lives and other kinds of authority in the home and in 224 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:36,600 other realms in work. 225 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:41,160 And all of the authority that God allows in our lives, we need to be careful not to resist 226 00:18:41,160 --> 00:18:42,160 it. 227 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:48,160 Now of course there is the caveat that if that authority is commanding something of us that 228 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:53,440 is against what God has ordered, then the higher principle kicks in that we obey God 229 00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:55,840 rather than men. 230 00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:59,480 But basically we are to have the attitude of cooperation. 231 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:03,960 He goes on to specifically mention we are to pay our taxes. 232 00:19:03,960 --> 00:19:09,320 That wouldn't mean as much in South Dakota as it does in Minnesota. 233 00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:13,840 And unfortunately the book means the same thing here as it does there. 234 00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:17,920 We have to pay our taxes in this state. 235 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:28,760 Even if they go up, God forbid, we have that duty as citizens in this state, in this nation. 236 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:34,280 And he says we are to give honor to whom honor is due. 237 00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:39,000 So that's the basic relationship a believer has to the government. 238 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:42,920 Before a believer resists the government, he better get on his knees and be very sure 239 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:45,840 that his principles are right. 240 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:47,560 Very sure. 241 00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:49,600 And it's not always easy to figure that out. 242 00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:50,600 It's complicated. 243 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:55,920 And sometimes believers come down on opposite sides of that question, as is the case with 244 00:19:55,920 --> 00:20:06,760 abortion, for example, where believers differ in their approach to resisting that. 245 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:13,520 But we must be careful in our own conscience before God to live out God's righteousness. 246 00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:18,840 And Paul says in this text at least that basically that means we're to be submissive to that 247 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:21,720 authority. 248 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:27,280 Now in verses 8 through 14 he describes a fifth relationship of the believer in which 249 00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:30,280 he is to live out the righteousness of God. 250 00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:33,920 Here he talks about the believer and his neighbor. 251 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:41,040 Oh, nothing to anyone except to love one another, for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled 252 00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:44,640 the law. 253 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:50,280 Righteousness that is lived out in the neighborhood, and by the way I don't take that just geographically, 254 00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:56,320 geographically, but in other relationships as well. 255 00:20:56,320 --> 00:21:02,140 Righteousness that is lived out with our neighbors can be described in two ways. 256 00:21:02,140 --> 00:21:04,860 First of all, that we're to be loving. 257 00:21:04,860 --> 00:21:12,400 He quotes here from the Old Testament some of the commandments related to society regarding 258 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:16,280 murder and stealing and coveting and so on and adultery. 259 00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:21,320 And he says all of these can be summed up basically in this word, you shall love your 260 00:21:21,320 --> 00:21:23,520 neighbor as yourself. 261 00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:26,440 Love does no wrong to a neighbor. 262 00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:29,960 Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law. 263 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:37,800 And so he says in our relationships with our neighbors we're to express love, love. 264 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:41,440 We're to do no wrong toward them. 265 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:44,720 He describes it another way though in verses 11 through 14. 266 00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:50,880 We're not to be loving, but he says in 11 through 14 we're to be holy. 267 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:56,360 We're not to be characterized by the same activities as some of our neighbors who are 268 00:21:56,360 --> 00:21:59,560 in darkness. 269 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:02,520 He says knowing the time. 270 00:22:02,520 --> 00:22:06,040 I don't think he's saying well it's now 12 minutes till 7. 271 00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:07,760 That's not what he means. 272 00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:11,760 He's talking about time in the sense of the Lord's eminent return that we're living in 273 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:13,240 the last days. 274 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:17,240 He says don't forget that. 275 00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:24,960 He says the day, he says rather it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep. 276 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:28,580 Now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. 277 00:22:28,580 --> 00:22:31,680 The night is almost gone, the day is at hand. 278 00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:39,560 Paul is picturing the present age as night because Jesus is not here. 279 00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:41,200 But he says the day is at hand. 280 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:44,240 It's about to dawn because the Savior is coming. 281 00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:47,640 You say when is the Savior coming? 282 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:52,720 I don't know what day and hour He's coming, but I do know this confidently. 283 00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:57,360 His coming is one day closer today than it was yesterday. 284 00:22:57,360 --> 00:22:58,720 That's what Paul says here. 285 00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:02,360 And in light of that he says we're to live holy lives. 286 00:23:02,360 --> 00:23:08,360 We're to behave properly as though the day were already here. 287 00:23:08,360 --> 00:23:10,680 Because we are the day. 288 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:14,360 We're God's kingdom now in this world. 289 00:23:14,360 --> 00:23:18,200 We're light present already in the darkness. 290 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:25,360 And so he says we're to avoid things like carousing or orgies is the word. 291 00:23:25,360 --> 00:23:30,040 That was party life in Rome right there. 292 00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:32,760 And Paul says avoid the party life. 293 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:35,600 They knew exactly what he meant. 294 00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:38,600 And drunkenness. 295 00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:46,680 Avoid sexual promiscuity and sensuality, impurity, debauchery and living. 296 00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:51,280 And strife, that means dissension and division and jealousy. 297 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:54,200 All of those things he says are part of the night. 298 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:56,240 You be holy, be of the day. 299 00:23:56,240 --> 00:23:57,240 How do we do that? 300 00:23:57,240 --> 00:24:02,320 Well he says in verse 14, put on the Lord Jesus Christ. 301 00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:03,760 It begins there. 302 00:24:03,760 --> 00:24:05,240 The idea is like clothing. 303 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:07,840 We're to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. 304 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:10,400 In chapter 6 he told us that we're identified. 305 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:12,480 We're united with Christ. 306 00:24:12,480 --> 00:24:14,040 We have died with him to sin. 307 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:18,760 We have been raised from the dead in the likeness of his resurrection to walk in newness of 308 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:19,880 life. 309 00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:24,720 And so he says that being true as it were put on Jesus Christ every day when you get 310 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:27,000 up. 311 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:35,520 And he says make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts. 312 00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:43,960 The thought is don't plan ahead how you can fulfill the lusts of your flesh. 313 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:47,480 Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, step number one. 314 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:53,040 And then don't make provision through the day for fulfilling the sinful desires that 315 00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:57,240 are at work still within your members, your body members. 316 00:24:57,240 --> 00:25:00,960 What he calls here the flesh. 317 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:08,520 The believer and his neighbor, summarized in two commands, be loving, be holy. 318 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:14,000 There's a sixth relationship and it's the last one but it's the most lengthy topic that 319 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:15,640 he addresses in these chapters. 320 00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:22,880 It is chapter 14 verse 1 through chapter 15 verse 13 and it is the believer and the weaker 321 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:24,440 brother. 322 00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:25,920 The believer and the weaker brother. 323 00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:34,480 It gives us principles here that apply to matters where believers have legitimate differences 324 00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:37,360 of opinion. 325 00:25:37,360 --> 00:25:42,520 Some people call them the disputed things, some call them the doubtful things. 326 00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:49,480 It is those issues that arise among believers where the word of God is not specific and 327 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:53,400 clear. 328 00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:58,840 And those vary frankly from culture to culture and from time to time. 329 00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:05,400 They're not precisely the same in 1992 as they were in 1963 when I graduated from high 330 00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:06,400 school. 331 00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:09,680 They're a little different today. 332 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:17,560 I remember there was one church in our area that said believers should never roller skate 333 00:26:17,560 --> 00:26:24,720 because in roller skating you're basically dancing on wheels. 334 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:26,080 And so they said don't roller skate. 335 00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:32,880 We did in our church and we were a legalistic church but we roller skated. 336 00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:36,280 There were other things we didn't do. 337 00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:42,000 And today there are similar kinds of issues where believers have difference of opinion. 338 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:43,000 Should I do this? 339 00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:44,280 Should I not do that? 340 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:45,320 Should I observe this? 341 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:48,560 Should I not observe that? 342 00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:53,440 One of the ones that comes to my mind is the issue of Halloween. 343 00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:56,960 Even in our church we have a difference about that. 344 00:26:56,960 --> 00:27:00,000 Some people are very sensitive about that. 345 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:03,840 Feel it's the devil's night and the children should not be involved in any kinds of those 346 00:27:03,840 --> 00:27:06,300 activities. 347 00:27:06,300 --> 00:27:12,120 And there are others of us who believe that it's a night like any other night, it's a 348 00:27:12,120 --> 00:27:17,200 cultural night and there's no harm for children to participate. 349 00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:20,240 Now it's issues like that that divide churches folks. 350 00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:22,920 Isn't that right? 351 00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:29,320 It's issues like that that can become such divisive things. 352 00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:31,200 What does the Word of God say about it? 353 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:38,080 Well people would go to the Word and come up with some different answers. 354 00:27:38,080 --> 00:27:41,200 When the Word of God is not specific. 355 00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:46,280 By the way the Word of God is specific in a lot of things. 356 00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:49,960 But in those issues where the Word of God is not clear, where there's doubt, there's 357 00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:55,120 dispute among the people of God, how do we know what we ought to do? 358 00:27:55,120 --> 00:28:00,840 That was a very real issue in Rome where there were Gentiles and Jews and remember that that 359 00:28:00,840 --> 00:28:07,360 is probably the core issue that Paul is trying to get at in this whole book. 360 00:28:07,360 --> 00:28:12,040 And how are Gentiles and Jews who have different cultural backgrounds to get along together 361 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:15,400 in the same church? 362 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:21,680 So he spends a lot of verses here discussing how we're to get along together in those 363 00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:26,920 areas where the Word of God is not specific and clear. 364 00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:31,880 The first principle is in chapter 14 verses 1 through 12 and it can be summarized in this 365 00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:33,560 sentence. 366 00:28:33,560 --> 00:28:39,480 Accept one another. 367 00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:45,800 Verse 1 says, Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing 368 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:48,880 judgment on his opinions. 369 00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:58,320 One man has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. 370 00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:02,480 Paul is not here commending those who are weak. 371 00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:06,240 He's not saying that people ought to be weak habitually and consistently in their life. 372 00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:11,320 In fact, he calls them weak, but the point is that they have a sensitive conscience about 373 00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:21,000 something and there are others in the church whose conscience is free to participate. 374 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:26,920 Now recognizing the reality of that, he says, you are responsible whether you are strong 375 00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:30,360 or you are weak to accept one another. 376 00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:31,360 Why is that? 377 00:29:31,360 --> 00:29:38,240 He says, in verse 3, we're accepted by God and therefore we're not to judge nor are 378 00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:41,400 we to hold and contempt the other person. 379 00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:45,640 God has accepted him. 380 00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:54,800 So he says, you accept him too, though you differ in your opinions about that issue. 381 00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:59,840 He says we're to accept one another furthermore because we serve the same Lord, verse 4, who 382 00:29:59,840 --> 00:30:03,040 are you to judge the servant of another. 383 00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:09,920 To his own master he stands or falls and stand he will for the Lord is able to make him stand. 384 00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:15,240 We're not in the business of judging the Lord's other servants. 385 00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:22,800 We're to accept the Lord's other servants even when we may disagree on some issues. 386 00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:26,720 He says furthermore in verse 10, we're to accept one another because all of us someday 387 00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:33,080 are going to stand at the same judgment seat of Christ and give answer not for the other 388 00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:36,960 person but for ourselves. 389 00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:42,920 So in light of that he says, now, right now, in those issues that may divide you, learn 390 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:48,560 to accept one another and leave the judgment to God. 391 00:30:48,560 --> 00:30:53,440 Now that doesn't mean that there is never any judgment. 392 00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:57,800 Especially if a fellow believer is in sin, we are to discern that and go to that brother 393 00:30:57,800 --> 00:31:00,120 and seek to help him. 394 00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:04,400 We're not to say, oh, well, you know, that's just his way, that's his opinion. 395 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:09,520 No, if he's definitely in sin as the word defines it, we have a responsibility to go 396 00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:17,240 to that brother and to correct him, to admonish him, to seek to restore him. 397 00:31:17,240 --> 00:31:25,960 But in these issues where there is doubt, we're to be careful of judgment. 398 00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:31,000 The second principle is found in verses 13 through 23. 399 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:36,520 It's an important principle and it can be summarized in this one sentence. 400 00:31:36,520 --> 00:31:39,340 Build up one another. 401 00:31:39,340 --> 00:31:41,160 Build up one another. 402 00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:42,160 How do we do that? 403 00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:48,360 Well, he tells us in verse 13, by giving no cause for hindrance. 404 00:31:48,360 --> 00:31:52,680 Let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this, not to put an obstacle 405 00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:55,280 or a stumbling block in a brother's way. 406 00:31:55,280 --> 00:32:01,880 And now he begins to speak to those who have more liberty, who are stronger. 407 00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:09,520 And he says, be careful that you don't use your liberty in such a way that it will cause 408 00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:13,960 a brother who is weaker to stumble. 409 00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:23,920 Don't give cause for hindrance, but rather walk by the law of love, verses 14 and 15. 410 00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:28,280 He tells us that we're to seek the kingdom's priorities, and the kingdom's priorities 411 00:32:28,280 --> 00:32:35,520 really are not dealing with food and drink, but what he describes here is righteousness, 412 00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:37,840 peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 413 00:32:37,840 --> 00:32:44,360 So in verse 19 he says, let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building 414 00:32:44,360 --> 00:32:49,480 up of one another. 415 00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:55,800 He tells us further that we are to live without self-condemnation. 416 00:32:55,800 --> 00:33:03,840 If you and I are not sure where something is right or wrong, we're torn about that 417 00:33:03,840 --> 00:33:09,760 issue, we're better off not doing it, not being involved in it. 418 00:33:09,760 --> 00:33:16,680 Don't do something that will condemn you, in which you condemn yourself and your conscience. 419 00:33:16,680 --> 00:33:21,680 Basically the idea is, if you doubt, don't. 420 00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:27,080 And if you live by that, then you'll not cause yourself or a brother to stumble. 421 00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:30,600 The principle is build up one another. 422 00:33:30,600 --> 00:33:35,560 And then the final principle in chapter 15, verses 1 through 13 is that we are to please 423 00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:37,400 one another. 424 00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:38,400 To please one another. 425 00:33:38,400 --> 00:33:40,800 What does that mean? 426 00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:44,760 He says, we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and 427 00:33:44,760 --> 00:33:50,720 not just to please ourselves, let each of us please his neighbor for his good to his 428 00:33:50,720 --> 00:33:51,720 edification. 429 00:33:51,720 --> 00:34:00,840 We are to please the other in the sense that we are willing to restrict our own freedom 430 00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:08,920 in Christ for the sake of the other person's growth and edification. 431 00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:12,380 Now how is that done? 432 00:34:12,380 --> 00:34:17,940 Because being willing to restrict ourselves when we feel freedom to do something seems 433 00:34:17,940 --> 00:34:20,860 to step on our toes. 434 00:34:20,860 --> 00:34:24,400 We want to express our rights. 435 00:34:24,400 --> 00:34:32,520 Paul says here that we are to trust the power that God gives us, the supernatural source, 436 00:34:32,520 --> 00:34:35,320 this God who gives perseverance and encouragement. 437 00:34:35,320 --> 00:34:44,520 We are to trust him for what we need so that we might live according to this principle. 438 00:34:44,520 --> 00:34:46,720 When we do live this way, what does it accomplish? 439 00:34:46,720 --> 00:34:51,520 He says it accomplishes unity in the fellowship of the church. 440 00:34:51,520 --> 00:34:57,200 Unity oneness of heart and oneness of mind. 441 00:34:57,200 --> 00:35:00,680 And the motive for that is the glory of God. 442 00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:06,520 God is glorified when a church is united. 443 00:35:06,520 --> 00:35:14,280 God's name, God's reputation in a community is harmed when a church divides. 444 00:35:14,280 --> 00:35:21,320 Sometimes we joke and we call church divisions church planting. 445 00:35:21,320 --> 00:35:24,640 And in a sense, I suppose that does happen on occasion. 446 00:35:24,640 --> 00:35:30,440 But it's a sad thing when a church divides. 447 00:35:30,440 --> 00:35:39,540 We need to rather set unity and oneness of heart as our goal, our priority, because that 448 00:35:39,540 --> 00:35:44,200 glorifies God. 449 00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:49,600 And so if we practice these principles, we will have the righteousness of God revealed 450 00:35:49,600 --> 00:35:56,200 in our lives in our relationship with the weaker brother. 451 00:35:56,200 --> 00:36:02,400 Now beginning in verse 14 of this chapter, Paul starts his conclusion, and this is the 452 00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:07,380 longest conclusion that Paul writes in any of his epistles. 453 00:36:07,380 --> 00:36:13,280 He ends chapter 15 with an affirmation of his own calling so that they might know that 454 00:36:13,280 --> 00:36:19,560 God has called him and how God has called him and what he's called him to do. 455 00:36:19,560 --> 00:36:26,680 He speaks about his plans to first go to Jerusalem with an offering that he's collected and 456 00:36:26,680 --> 00:36:33,180 then finally to come to see them after he's visited them to go on to Spain. 457 00:36:33,180 --> 00:36:38,600 There to minister the word of God where no one has yet preached. 458 00:36:38,600 --> 00:36:40,960 That was Paul's heart. 459 00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:46,600 He wanted to get out there in the regions beyond where missionaries had not been yet 460 00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:49,560 and to share the gospel. 461 00:36:49,560 --> 00:36:56,480 In chapter 16 we find greetings to Paul's coworkers and his friends. 462 00:36:56,480 --> 00:37:01,320 From the names that are listed here we see quite a diverse church. 463 00:37:01,320 --> 00:37:08,440 It was a cosmopolitan church, and apparently some of Paul's own relatives had come to 464 00:37:08,440 --> 00:37:13,360 faith in Christ and were a part of it. 465 00:37:13,360 --> 00:37:21,440 Then in verses 17 through 27 he begins to bring it to a close with some final words. 466 00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:28,560 Remember they are a church of Jew and Gentile where there's conflict. 467 00:37:28,560 --> 00:37:33,600 So as he begins to draw the line at the end of the book he says, I urge you brethren keep 468 00:37:33,600 --> 00:37:42,200 your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which 469 00:37:42,200 --> 00:37:45,000 you've learned and turn away from them. 470 00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:47,760 They're to be ostracized. 471 00:37:47,760 --> 00:37:51,760 Don't listen to them if they cause dissension and division. 472 00:37:51,760 --> 00:37:52,760 Why? 473 00:37:52,760 --> 00:37:57,000 Because God wants us to be of one heart and mind. 474 00:37:57,000 --> 00:37:59,000 He further describes them. 475 00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:06,880 In verses 21 through 24 he gives some greetings from those who are with him as he writes the 476 00:38:06,880 --> 00:38:07,880 epistle. 477 00:38:07,880 --> 00:38:13,080 It is interesting in verse 22 he gives the name of his secretary. 478 00:38:13,080 --> 00:38:20,240 His name was Tertius and Tertius inserts his own word of greeting, I Tertius who write 479 00:38:20,240 --> 00:38:23,920 this letter greet you in the Lord. 480 00:38:23,920 --> 00:38:28,560 And then in verses 25 through 27 he gives the benediction. 481 00:38:28,560 --> 00:38:32,200 He praises God in the first place for his work. 482 00:38:32,200 --> 00:38:34,480 His work of establishing believers. 483 00:38:34,480 --> 00:38:39,120 He says now to him who's able to establish you. 484 00:38:39,120 --> 00:38:42,680 That's what God was doing in Rome. 485 00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:47,760 Establishing this church and that's what God is doing in our midst. 486 00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:54,880 The word here means to fix or to set in place or to make stable. 487 00:38:54,880 --> 00:38:59,080 He praises God not only for his work but for his word. 488 00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:00,080 For the gospel. 489 00:39:00,080 --> 00:39:05,280 Who is able to establish you according to my gospel. 490 00:39:05,280 --> 00:39:12,600 That's not a gospel Paul has invented but a gospel that he first believed himself and 491 00:39:12,600 --> 00:39:16,520 possessed in that sense and now he passes on to them. 492 00:39:16,520 --> 00:39:19,520 And the preaching of Jesus Christ. 493 00:39:19,520 --> 00:39:23,160 He says this word of God has been kept secret in the past. 494 00:39:23,160 --> 00:39:26,000 This preaching of Jesus Christ. 495 00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:30,280 It was a mystery which had been kept secret for long ages. 496 00:39:30,280 --> 00:39:33,260 What does he mean there? 497 00:39:33,260 --> 00:39:40,640 He means that the cross of Jesus Christ was to the Old Testament prophets and the Old 498 00:39:40,640 --> 00:39:43,920 Testament people unknown. 499 00:39:43,920 --> 00:39:47,700 They did not have that part of the picture. 500 00:39:47,700 --> 00:39:50,680 But he says now it has been manifested. 501 00:39:50,680 --> 00:39:53,760 This wonderful mystery of Christ. 502 00:39:53,760 --> 00:39:56,080 God come in the flesh. 503 00:39:56,080 --> 00:40:01,140 Crucified and raised from the dead for our salvation. 504 00:40:01,140 --> 00:40:09,280 That message from God he says has been manifested and has been made known. 505 00:40:09,280 --> 00:40:15,360 To all the nations leading to obedience of faith. 506 00:40:15,360 --> 00:40:18,080 There is Paul's heart. 507 00:40:18,080 --> 00:40:22,560 It goes right back to the mission that we talked about this morning. 508 00:40:22,560 --> 00:40:26,440 We are here in a mission center to get a job done. 509 00:40:26,440 --> 00:40:29,920 The same job that Paul was talking about here. 510 00:40:29,920 --> 00:40:36,600 That the word of God may be known, made known to all the nations. 511 00:40:36,600 --> 00:40:40,520 Whether it be a foreign nation across the sea or it be that foreign nation that's right 512 00:40:40,520 --> 00:40:47,520 outside the walls of this church in that culture that's so alien to the standards in the life 513 00:40:47,520 --> 00:40:50,960 and the gospel that you and I love and believe. 514 00:40:50,960 --> 00:40:53,760 Were to take the gospel out there. 515 00:40:53,760 --> 00:41:00,200 That it may be made known that they may come to the obedience of faith and thus be saved. 516 00:41:00,200 --> 00:41:07,480 He says to the only wise God through Jesus Christ be the glory forever and forever. 517 00:41:07,480 --> 00:41:09,960 What a marvelous book is the book of Romans. 518 00:41:09,960 --> 00:41:15,880 I hope that these last few Sunday nights in which we've tried to gain an overview have 519 00:41:15,880 --> 00:41:21,080 been helpful at least to some of you who have not been exposed to this marvelous book. 520 00:41:21,080 --> 00:41:28,200 If you can only master one book in the Bible, seek to master the book of Romans with its 521 00:41:28,200 --> 00:41:32,480 depths, with its wisdom, with its truth. 522 00:41:32,480 --> 00:41:39,640 For it will inspire you not only to be a better Christian but to be a better witness for Jesus 523 00:41:39,640 --> 00:41:41,560 Christ in the world. 524 00:41:41,560 --> 00:41:46,320 The righteousness of God, God is fair in all of his dealings. 525 00:41:46,320 --> 00:41:52,480 You and I are to be fair and righteous in all of our relationships as well. 526 00:41:52,480 --> 00:41:54,120 Let's pray together as we close. 527 00:41:54,120 --> 00:41:59,080 Father God, we give thanks to you for this marvelous book. 528 00:41:59,080 --> 00:42:03,640 We pray that the beauty of Jesus Christ may be seen in us. 529 00:42:03,640 --> 00:42:12,920 The beauty of his righteousness revealed in all of our relationships. 530 00:42:12,920 --> 00:42:20,720 We understand that it begins with our bodies being presented as a living sacrifice. 531 00:42:20,720 --> 00:42:27,400 Then it moves out to others in the body and outside the body and to the governing authorities 532 00:42:27,400 --> 00:42:32,040 around us and to the weaker brother. 533 00:42:32,040 --> 00:42:41,600 God, give us grace through the Holy Spirit who indwells us to live as Jesus would live. 534 00:42:41,600 --> 00:42:44,520 This we pray in his blessed name. 535 00:42:44,520 --> 00:43:05,600 Amen.