Today we take a broad survey of the entire 6th chapter of Romans. In this chapter, Paul gives us insight into the inner workings of sanctifying faith, the spiritual activity the soul engages in when winning victory over sin.

The Christian in the World (3)

Having defined the terms ‘godliness’, ‘worldly’, and ‘worldliness’, we now go on a survey that looks at what the Bible says about the Christian’s relationship to the world.

The Necessity of Divisions in the Assembly (1 Cor 11:17-19)

Today we begin a series for communion on Paul’s teaching in 1 Cor 11 about communion. He addresses the subject because of divisions within the Corinthian church in the practice of communion. His correction of this error brings to light a revelation concerning the necessity of divisions in the church and the incredible importance God puts on unity in the local assembly.

From our Wednesday look at the psalms…

O give thanks to the Lord (Ps 106:1-48)

Our Psalm this week, like Ps 105, surveys the history of Israel, but in this psalm the perspective is not God’s great intervention on Israel’s behalf, but man’s consistent failure in spite of God’s great faithfulness. Yet the great assurance of the psalm is that the covenant keeping God will answer the pleas of his people. That’s grace!

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One Act Plays (Rm 5:18-19)

We now get to the heart of Paul’s proof that Christ is able to transfer the many benefits of salvation to his many followers by the power of his one act of obedience. Christ’s ability to do this very great thing is shown by mere Adam’s power to transfer his sentence and his state to his many descendents as a result of his one act of sin. Christ’s one act of submission is profound in its power and overwhelming in its ability to transfer many blessings to many people, as many as will receive him.

A few thoughts concerning Baptism (Mt 28:18-20, Rm 6:3-5)

A brief message reviewing the essentials of the meaning and place of baptism, preached prior to a baptismal service.

And Last, on Vows (Lev 27:1-34)

Our last look at Leviticus covers a chapter that seems oddly out of place in the context of the book. The subject, however, is one which God takes seriously, the uttering of vows. Vows are costly and breaking them are costlier. We then look at a vow God took and how certain the performance of that vow makes us of our ultimate salvation in God’s firstborn, the One he dedicated to the ban, his firstfruits of a mighty inheritance.

By One Man Sin Entered (Rm 5:12)

Our Basic Theology lesson:

The Pre-Incarnate Christ

Our monthly communion message from Leviticus:

Ordinary Religion (Lev 24:1-23)

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Our Psalm from the previous Wednesday (3.3.10)

The Lord reigns – Let the Earth Rejoice (Ps 97:1-12)

In this lesson we see how God regulated access to the holy food of the Old Testament (the priests portions of the sacrifices) but how in the new dispensation the Bread of Life (our Lord Jesus) is open to all, the blind, the lame, the diseased, the disfigured, the Jew, the Gentile – to all who will believe on our Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. The banquet table is open to all who receive Christ.

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Our chapter this month provides some more specific rules concerning priestly qualification and conduct. The regulations imply the weakness of the Aaronic priesthood and call for the coming perfect priesthood of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

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Our chapter has four notable features including the theme verse of Leviticus, “Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.” The other features are a repetition or allusion to each of the ten commandments, the revelation of the second great commandment and the constant repetition of the phrase “I am the Lord (your God).” All of this emphasizes a deeper understanding of God’s law and nature and the demands it places on us in all of life for absolute holiness in imitation of our God.

We are conscious, still, of our inadequacy in this chapter. We need more. We can’t meet the standard. Thus, such a chapter about the holiness of God applied to life calls forth a memory of the holy condescension of our holy God in becoming a man, keeping the law even unto death on our behalf.

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We begin the Holiness Code section of Leviticus with a look at laws focused on preserving morality in and out of marriage. The bulk of the chapter consists of prohibitions against various forms of incest, but it also includes prohibitions of child sacrifice and perverse immorality. The redemptive message of these prohibitions is found in 1 Cor 6.9-11: ‘and such were some of you.’ No sin, no matter how distasteful and perverse, can bar the door to the washing, the sanctifying, or the justifying available by the death of Christ and the ministration of the Spirit.

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We discover in this chapter, the Levitical laws of blood, a universal truth expressed in laws applied to several different dispensations – first under Noah, here in Leviticus under Moses, and last in the book of Acts under the Apostles. This universal truth is the notion of life being in the blood, which makes it possible for a bloody death to function as a substitute for a sinner in need of acceptance by God. We see it in the demand for bloody sacrifice and the prohibition against consuming blood in all dispensations. We see it in the pagan world, full of bloody sacrifice (though very corrupt in their practices). And we see it finally in the one bloody sacrifice of Christ for all people for all time.

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The first concept of this verse, and an exceedingly precious one, takes a new tack in understanding the great change now made available to sinners. Previously, we have considered the benefits that accrue to man from his justification by the ‘without-law’ kind of righteousness. In this message, we look at the change wrought in God.

God is propitiated by the work of Christ. That is, he is made propitious, favorable, disposed to receive us, the way is open, free and clear for anyone by faith to come into his presence. Unlike the weakness of the yearly day of atonement, the great atonement of the cross opens the door for men to worship God permanently and forever.

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It so ‘happens’ that as we come to our communion Sunday, the chapter we are in for our Leviticus series is the very chapter needed for the background to our next verse in our Romans study. As a result, we made the Leviticus message our morning message and the Romans message our afternoon and communion message.

The Day of Atonement is the annual ritual whereby the Tabernacle was cleansed to allow Israel access to God for another year. In this cleansing, by ritual, the Israelite had to in faith believe that God indeed would accept the nation, hear their prayers and receive their offerings because the accumulated uncleanness of the year was removed and the sins of the year atoned for. The ceremony is a spectacular picture of the work of Christ on our behalf in many ways.

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