http://bible.com/events/30235655

Purpose of this series…

Take one passage of Scripture – Romans 8:1-8 – and linger on it, digging deeply to gather its full intent so that God through His word, by the power of the Spirit, might transform us in every way

Romans 8:1-8

8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. ³ For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ⁵ Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.⁶ The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸ Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

Romans 7:22-25

²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. ²⁴ What a wretched (miserable) man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 

²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

Romans 8:1

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

That’s the essence of Christianity, the message of God to the world.

What does it mean there is now no condemnation?
Who gets to enjoy this gift? 
 

Bottom Line: 

Freedom from condemnation is a fact not merely a feeling for those in Christ.

http://bible.com/events/29051199

Burning Questions, Part 3: Do All Roads Lead to God?

Today’s question: Do all roads lead to God?

Why this questions?

-Our world is increasingly influenced by pluralism, the idea that there is truth in all religions and there is not a religion/faith that is the sole and exclusive source of truth

-Our world is increasingly influenced by moralism, the idea that faith doesn’t matter as long as you live a moral life

-We live in a world that loves choices, but the claims of Christ are exclusive

-it is imperative that we understand what the Bible says to each of us as we seek to understand the answer to this question and how we are to respond

John 14:1-7

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

I AM THE WAY

-The Old Testament spoke often of “the way” – Deuteronomy 5, Isaiah 30, Psalm 27

-Jesus does not tell us about the way, but instead declares that he is the way

I AM THE TRUTH

-The Psalmist speaks of “the truth” – Psalm 86, Psalm 119

-Many teachers could claim “I have taught you the truth” but only Jesus could claim “I am the truth”

I AM THE LIFE

-What all people want in the end is not truth in and of itself, but truth that leads to life

-Life with Jesus and through Jesus is a life worth living

Acts 4:11-12

11 Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Some may ask:

-“How can you believe in a God who is so narrow minded?”

-“How can you believe in a God that only would provide one way?”

Perhaps the question should be

-“Why has God even provided one way at all?”

-“Why has provided any way to redeem such a broken and lost world?”

If Jesus is the only way to God, then it begs the question: “now what?”

What do you do with the exclusive call of Christ and its implications?

Bottom Line:

Knowing the way changes you. Showing the way changes the world.

Other Texts for Study/Reflection:

Exodus 20:1-3

And God spoke all these words: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

Matthew 7:13-14

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.