|
We Serve Whom We Obey I. Study Text:
Romans 6:12-23 II. Theme: Jesus was God's perfect servant because
Jesus surrendered to God in total obedience. God wanted His son to devote himself to a ministry of service.
Jesus obeyed. He assumed the role of a servant and did a servant's work. God
wanted His son to be devoted exclusively to God's
purposes and objectives. Jesus obeyed. He did only those things he saw the
Father doing and spoke only those things the
Father wanted him to speak. God wanted His son to surrender life in a
criminal's death. Jesus obeyed. He was executed by Roman
soldiers on a cross. Today God's mature servants serve and
obey. The world can see our obedience in our service. The world can see
our service in our obedience. Many Jewish Christians did not
appreciate a presentation of and emphasis on grace. Grace made it possible
for people who had not known God to be "first
class citizens" in the kingdom of God. A resentment of God's grace was
founded on a misunderstanding of their baptism.
First, Paul led these Christians toward an understanding of their baptism.
Then Paul led them toward an understanding of
obedience. III. Questions
and Application Romans 6:12-23 1. A
Christian must not allow sin to "reign" in his or her physical
body. He or she must not allow "lusts" to control how he or she uses his or her body
(verse 12). a. What does the word "reign" mean? What concept was Paul
emphasizing? b. What does the word "lusts" mean? What concept was Paul
emphasizing? 2. To
what does the Christian not present the parts of his or her body (verse 13)? a. What determines if he or she presents parts of his or her body to
sin? b. If he or she presented members of his or her body to sin, how
would sin use those parts presented to it? 3. To
whom should the Christian present his or her body (verse 13)? a. As the Christian presents his or her body to God, how does he or
she view the body? b. How does he or she want God to use his or her body? 4. Sin
is not to be what over the Christian (verse 14)? 5. Did
God intend grace to be used as a license to sin (verse 15)? 6. What
basic truth did they need to understand about obedience (verse 16)? 7. They
were sin's slaves (verse 17). What delivered them from that slavery? 8. When
they were freed from sin's slavery, what did they become (verse 18)? 9. State
the physical illustration that Paul used (verse 19). 10. When they were sin's slaves,
how much righteousness did they serve (verse 20)? 11. They were ashamed of the
things they served prior to coming to Jesus Christ (verse 21). What was the consequence of serving those shameful things? 12. Now that they were delivered
from slavery to evil and voluntarily were enslaved to God, what outcome would
their sanctification produce (verse 22)? 13. Sin pays wages (verse 23).
What are sin's wages? 14. God gives a gift (verse 23).
What is God's gift? IV. Conclusion:
We begin life in God by
focusing on and understanding Jesus Christ. We realize he is the Word and the
Light. We study the Bible to
understand God. We study the New Testament to understand (a) Jesus and (b)
Christian existence in Jesus. We learn who we
are as individuals in Christ. We learn who we are as the church. We serve God
to be God's community of people in
Christ. We serve God because we want our lives and existence to be ruled by
God. Our obedience comes from our faith,
our hearts and our love. The objectives of our obedience include these four
things: (1) to build our personal relationship
with God; (2) to build our personal relationship with all who come under
God's rule by being alive in Christ; (3) to
reveal to weak Christians the values and joys of allowing God to control our
lives; and (4) to reveal to those enslaved to sin the
life and freedom found in Christ. Grace and obedience are not enemies.
Grace never gives us "the right" to be disobedient. Obedience never
"earns" salvation or "obligates"
God. Grace renews our relationship with God when Satan defeats us through
temptation. Obedience expresses our love and
gratitude for God's grace. We serve God because the benevolent God of compassion
saves us from death. Obedience
expresses our love and demonstrates
our gratitude. How have you demonstrated your obedience to God this week? |