Family Study Guide for Romans 10

November 24 – November 30, 2005
(Read Romans 10 Online)
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Reflections on Romans 10 by Sean Dean, Youth Pastor of Fircrest Church UMC

I grew up in the church – seriously I was born on Saturday and attended my first service in church on Sunday at 26 hours old. I’ve known a lot of people that have grown up in the church. Most of us come to know Jesus and become followers of Him, but what about those who grow up in church and never come into relationship with Jesus and start to follow Him. What’s the deal with them? What about people who are on the complete other side of the spectrum, those who have never heard of Jesus? What’s going to happen with them?

These are the questions that the Apostle Paul is dealing with in Romans chapter 10. More specifically he’s trying to figure out what’s going to happen to his Jewish brothers and sisters. They had all grown up in “church”, they knew the scriptures – most of them had the Torah (Genesis – Deuteronomy) memorized by the time they were twelve. Many of them had even come into contact with Jesus while He walked on the earth. And yet so many of them had decided not to become followers.

Paul does not come to any grand conclusions here, but what Paul does say is this: anyone can be saved and the way to start the process of being saved is simple.

Say the welcoming word to God--"Jesus is my Master"--embracing, body and soul, God's work of doing in us what He did in raising Jesus from the dead. That's it. You're not "doing" anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting Him to do it for you. That's salvation. (10:9 The Message).

What’s interesting is that Paul doesn’t leave it there – as we often do. He goes on to say that while salvation is simple, it requires that people be out there proclaiming the word of Christ. What are you doing to proclaim the word of Christ? If no one is out there proclaiming, those who have never heard can never hear and if they never hear they can never believe.

I think that the ending of the passage is very interesting; it’s a quote from Isaiah about how God has been continually calling out to the people of Israel to follow Him. It never says that God stops calling out and that needs to be our perspective as well. Continue proclaiming no matter how often it is rejected, because eventually they will hear and when they hear they can believe.

Questions to Consider:

• Who do you know who grew up “in the church”, but has never come to Christ? Why do you think their knowledge and experience do not help them to know Jesus?
• If you grew up in the church, have you really examined your life and compared it to that of Jesus? Have you really said in your heart “Jesus is Lord” and proclaimed with your mouth that God raised Him from the dead?
• Why is it important that you be telling your friends about Jesus? Who do you know who has grown up around Christians here in America, but still does not know the gospel?
  

Chapter Outline: (From Jim’s Introduction to Romans)

b. God’s sovereign choice applied (9:30-10:21)

Finish the Verses for this Chapter:

That // if you confess with "your mouth, ""Jesus is Lord,"" and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Romans 10:9-10

For there // is no difference "between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’" Romans 10:12-13

How, // then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Romans 10:14-15

Consequently, faith // comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. Romans 10:17

Sample Questions for Studying

Capitalized words are once-used-words

1. I was found by whom?
2. Who did not know the righteousness that comes from God?
3. My HEART'S desire and prayer to God that they may be saved is for whom?
4. Reference : According to Romans 10:17, consequently what?
5. 2 Part : You will be saved if you what?
6. 2 Part : There is no difference between whom?
7. Situation Who said it? About what?: "The man who does these things will live by them."
8. Reference : According to Romans 10:16, Isaiah says what?
9. 2 Part : With your heart you what?
10. They did not know what?
11. How can they hear without someone WHAT?
12. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not what?
13. 2 Part : With your mouth you what?
14. 2 Part : That they may be saved is what?
15. You confess and are saved how?
16. (They) sought to establish their own what?
17. What is heard through the word of Christ?
18. How can they believe in the one of whom WHAT?
19. Who will ASCEND into heaven WHY?
20. 2 Part : The righteousness that is by faith says: "Do not say in your heart WHAT?

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Family Study Guide for Romans 9

November 10 – November 16, 2005
(Read Romans 9 Online)
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Reflections on Romans 9 by Pastor Dave McIntyre, Senior Pastor Calvary EFC

Let’s face it: there are things in life that are much bigger than we are! How does gravity work? Why does the earth stay in orbit around the sun? How is it that you can fill a cup slightly over the top...and the water stays in (Try it...you’ll be amazed)? Why does a high pitched sound break a glass? How is it that teens never see the piles of clothes on their bedroom floor? Life is filled with things that we just can’t fully understand!

So what do we do when we can’t understand? Some ignore the issue...others struggle, trying to figure it out for themselves. There are explanations for many of the questions man raises about the world in which we live, but when it comes to the greatness of God, there are some things that are just too big for us to fully grasp!! We’re coming to one of those “too big to fully grasp” passages of Scripture in Romans 9-11...so hold onto your seat!! It has been the subject of debate for centuries. Theologians have actually come up with names to summarize their convictions on the topic you begin studying this week in Romans 9. Some people are called “Calvinists” because of their interpretation of these chapters and others are called “Arminians” because of their convictions.

This section of Scripture is all about God’s sovereignty (meaning: His absolute rule over the universe) and it will “make your head hurt” as you try to understand it. Each of these three chapters fit closely together in Paul’s argument and in chapter 9 we find Paul emphasizing the absolute authority God possesses and the way it shapes the lives of men.

Paul describes God’s choice of Abraham and then more specifically Isaac’s descendants, and then even more specifically Jacob’s descendants, the Israelites. Further, God’s Word to Pharaoh (vs 16-18) reveals that God is sovereignly working through Pharaoh to accomplish His purposes. Why do these things occur? Because God was sovereignly at work!!

When Paul imagines someone raising a logical challenge to this truth (vs 19f), he answers it by saying that God’s ways can’t be questioned by man because man isn’t God...never will be God...and is too limited to understand what God fully grasps. We are like lumps of clay, Paul says. What right does the clay have to tell the potter what type of pot it wants to be? That’s absurd! The potter has the wisdom, skill and understanding to do what is best with that lump of clay for his purposes to be accomplished. So it is with our wise, loving, good Heavenly Father. He is Sovereign, but we can trust Him because He is also Good...even when we don’t fully understand.

One more thing that can easily be lost in our discussion of God’s sovereignty is the powerful example we see in vs 1-5. Read those verses slowly and let them sink in!! If you want to know what made Paul a super-evangelist who never met a lost person he didn’t want to share the gospel with...this is it! Paul had Jesus’ heart for lost people. He had such a love for his people the Jews that he could even wish that he be cut off from Christ, if it would result in the unsaved Jews coming to know Jesus. THAT’S THE REAL DEAL, PEOPLE: CHRIST’S HEART FOR THE LOST!!

Questions to Consider:

• When have you wondered about how much of your life is your own, and how much is controlled by God?
• When have you been forced to trust in God, when events were beyond your control? How did God show Himself to be good?
• If God is sovereign, why does He allow people to NOT be saved? How does Free Will mix into all of this?

Chapter Outline: (From Jim’s Introduction to Romans)

5. God’s Righteousness Revealed in Sovereign Choice (9:1-11:36)
a. God’s sovereign choice enunciated (9:1-29)
b. God’s sovereign choice applied (9:30-10:21)

Finish the Verses for this Chapter:

No FTVs for this week. You may want to take the time to memorize some more from Romans 8

Sample Questions for Studying

Capitalized words are once-used-words

1. The Lord will carry out his SENTENCE where?
2. I will call her 'my loved one' who is what?
3. 2 Part : Does not the POTTER have the right to make out of the same LUMP of CLAY WHAT?
4. Who will serve the YOUNGER?
5. What might stand, not by works but by him who calls?
6. 2 Part : Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants, we would have what?
7. Who are the objects of his mercy?
8. My conscience CONFIRMS it how?
9. Reference : According to Romans 9:17, Scripture says what?
10. It is not the natural children who are what?
11. Who did not PURSUE righteousness?
12. Your offspring will be RECKONED how?
13. What is by faith?
14. 3 Part : Whose is the adoption as sons?
15. Reference : According to Romans 9:13, what is written?
16. Situation What says it? To whom?: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might DISPLAY my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."
17. The Gentiles did not what?
18. Theirs is the adoption how?
19. ESAU I what?
20. Only the remnant will what?

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Family Study Guide for Romans 8

November 3 – November 9, 2005
(Read Romans 8 Online)
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Reflections on Romans 8 by Ron Fay, Doctoral Student in N.T. Greek

When I was young, I remember how the people across the street from us seemed to be very different. The kids were abrasive and very aggressive. They were mean and loud. I remember hearing other people talking about them.

“Peter and David cannot help what they are. It is just their parents living through them. After all, both parents are the same way.”

Looking back on that, I realize that in many cases it is true that what most influences us determines, in many cases, how we act. If Muhammad Ali is my hero, I will want to be witty, a fast talker, and a braggart who can back up my claims. If Donald Trump is my hero, I will want to be urbane, yet ruthless.

As Christians, we are not to grow up to be like any earthly hero, rather we want to be like our heavenly Father. But how is this realistically accomplished? That is what Romans 8 is telling us. You and I both began in a state of sin, a state caused by the Fall of Adam and Eve. Due to their Fall, none of us will ever be able to attain God’s righteousness on our own. Instead, we need Jesus to give us His, and He does that through someone else: the Holy Spirit.

Living as a Christian is not easy, but then we do not have just our own power to live by. We no longer have to “live according to the sinful nature,” instead our minds should be “set on what the Spirit desires” (8:5). The Holy Spirit should control us because “the Spirit of God lives in you” (8:9). All of creation awaits the final day when we are declared righteous, the rest are condemned, and creation itself is renewed. Why? Because our sin affects not only ourselves, but the very ground we walk on and all of nature itself. It is through God’s foreknowledge and predestination that we will become glorified, but we are not there yet.

So what about now? That is why He sent the Spirit! The Holy Spirit indwells each of us, not as a security device or monitoring system, but rather as a guide, confidant, and comforter. God wants us to live for Him, and so He has given us HIMSELF to help with it. After all, “if God is for us, who can be against us?” (8:31) We have already overcome this world by making the first decision to follow Christ, we just need to follow up that one decision with the daily determination to truly live for Him. After all, He sent His Son to die, and He sent His Spirit to dwell within us, why would we not choose the Father daily?

Questions to Consider:

• When in your life have you seen friends or neighbors acting in a way that was their parents “acting through them”?
• When is a case where you allowed God to live through you? Why have you found it hard to do so at all times?
• Who is your hero? Is that person acting like God in their lives?

Chapter Outline: (From Jim’s Introduction to Romans)

d. Power for sanctification (8:1-17)
e. Goal of sanctification (8:18-27)
f. Certainty of sanctification (8:28-39)

Finish the Verses for this Chapter:

Therefore, there // is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2

For what // the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met Romans 8:3-4

Those // who live according tothe sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. Romans 8:5

The mind // of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. Romans 8:6-8

For you // did not receive "a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ""Abba, Father.""" Romans 8:15

The Spirit // himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8:16-17

I consider // that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Romans 8:18

In // the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. Romans 8:26

And // we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

For those // God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. Romans 8:29-30

He // who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Romans 8:32

Who shall // separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? Romans 8:35

No, // in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Romans 8:37

For I // am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

Sample Questions for Studying

Capitalized words are once-used-words

1. Who HOPES for WHAT?
2. 3 Part : The sinful mind what?
3. The Spirit himself intercedes for us how?
4. Who justifies?
5. 3 Part : If we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory, then we are what?
6. He who did not spare his own Son, but what?
7. 2 Part : What if Christ is in you?
8. 2 Part : The law of the Spirit of life se me free from the law of what?
9. Those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what?
10. Multiple : I am convinced that WHAT will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord?
11. In all things God what?
12. Those who are LED by the Spirit of God are what?
13. We have an obligation, but it is not to what?
14. The Spirit himself TESTIFIES with our spirit that what?
15. 2 Part : Christ Jesus, who died, is what?
16. In accordance with God's will the Spirit what?
17. 2 Part : We are more than CONQUERORS how?
18. The Spirit himself TESTIFIES how that we are God's children?
19. The creation was what?
20. What is hostile to God?

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