Sunday April 15 2012

 

We read Romans 7 over cake and ice cream.  Then we moved onto Romans 8 and lesson 6 about being not guilty.

I didn’t take many notes, so this will be from memory. 

-  In Romans 7, we are told that we now belong to Christ but previously we had been “married” to someone else.  Our question, who were we married to before?  Law? Sin? Satan?   What are your thoughts?

-  How come the Law could not provide salvation?  The study note in my Bible for Romans 7:1 says, “Paul shows that the law is powerless to save the sinner, the lawkeeper, and even the person with a new nature.  The sinner is condemned by the law; the lawkeeper can’t live up to it, and the person with the new nature finds their obedience to the law sabotaged by the effects of their old nature.  Once again, Paul declares that salvation cannot be found by obeying the law.  No matter who we are, only Jesus Christ can set us free!”

-  Who is unable to please God?  Why can’t they please him? --- We struggled with this question and at first we couldn’t put a finger on why.  But then Lori asked… is God looking to be be pleased OR is He looking to be loved?  With the question worded the way it was, it could possibly lead us down the path of a checklist of things to do to keep God appeased.  Is God looking to be appeased?  We think that He is looking for a love relationship with Him, and if we get that part right, everything else will fall into place.

-  How does a person attain true life?  ---- How do we define “true life”?  We batted this around for a bit.  The note I wrote down for this one says – “by living the life God created us for.”

-  Explain what it means to live by the Spirit.  --- To not live by a checklist or a set of rules or a program, but instead to be in relationship with God, on a moment to moment basis via His Spirit. 

-  How should we, believers, deal with feelings of condemnation and guilt?  First of all, all feelings can be deceiving, based on false presumptions.  Instead we need to choose to live in our true identity as God’s children, we have been adopted into His family.  We need to remind ourselves of the truth…. I am not condemned nor guilty… I have been set free by Jesus!!!! 

            -  Romans 8:34 --- Jesus is interceding for us!  God has aquitted us, removed our sin and guilt, so it is Satan who accuses us.  But Jesus is our advocate.

-  Nicole mentioned in her notes that she found this chapter a little confusing.  Can you expand on what you found confusing Nicole?  I don’t want to leave you here confused! <3

-  Something Lori mentioned from the blog post Susan wrote – Acts 13:46…. the words, “you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life.” or as the KJV puts it, “but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life”.  They JUDGE themselves.  Very powerful.  How many out there judge themselves as not worthy of Christ? 

-  And then later on, Lori mentioned she was struggling with the next verse in Acts, verse 48 – “all who were appointed for eternal life believed.”  What is this verse saying?  What does appointed mean in this verse?

 

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A FEW EXTRAS:

-       Something interesting to note:  Paul uses adoption or “sonship” to illustrate the believer’s new relationship with God.  In Roman culture, the adopted person lost all rights in his old family and gained all the rights of a legitimate child in the new family.  The adopted person became a full heir to his new father’s estate.  Likewise, when a person becomes a Christian, they gain all the privileges and responsibilities of a child in God’s family.  One of these outstanding privileges is being led by the Spirit (see Galatians 4:5-6).  We may not always FEEL as though we belong to God, but the Holy Spirit is our witness.  His inward presence reminds us of who we are and encourages us with God’s love.  (study note from my Bible for Romans 8:14-17)

Read more about the Holy Spirit and our connection in Romans 8:23, 1 Corinthians 6:14 (He is a guarantee deposit of eternal life), 2 Corinthians 4:14, and 1 Thessalonians 4:14.

 

-  SALVATION --- we have been saved, we are being saved and we will be saved (past, present and future salvation).   Confused yet?

            -     (from Bible study notes)  -  We have been saved, we were saved the moment we believed, our eternal life began at this moment. (Romans 3:21-26; Romans 5:1-11; Romans 6:1-11, 22,23).      We are being saved at this time because it takes the process of sanctification to make us more like Christ.  And at the same time we have not yet received ALL the benefits that salvation will give us, we won’t get the whole thing until Christ’s new kingdom is completely established.