We have officially begun our journey through Paul’s epistles / letters to churches and individuals in this “mystery period” known as the dispensation of the grace of God. God is dispensing grace directly to the world, without having to go through Israel, as in “times past.” Our chart that we see each week, reminds us that at this time Israel has stumbled and fallen and has been cast away, that we Gentiles can be saved without the Law.
Romans 11:11-15: I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?
As we we have seen in Romans 10:9-13, there is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile today. Everyone receives salvation the same way, by grace through faith! We shall do an overview of each of these 13 letters written to us over the next few months, hi-lighting the major doctrinal themes, key verses, etc., giving us a valuable study tool for our daily Bible study. We touched on the fact that Jesus went to hell to accomplish a specific mission. That is found in 1 Peter 3:18-20 and Jude 6.
1 Peter 3:18-20: For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
Jude 6: And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
Paul divides his letters to the churches, laying a foundation of doctrine before giving instructions concerning applying the doctrine.
We will see three basic areas of instruction:
Doctrine – the wealth, the power
Application – the work, the practice
Logistics – instructions and greetings
Karin and I invite you to join us each week as we take this journey through the rich teachings and revelation of the mysteries given to Paul and delivered to us in these books. The rudimentary chart below is an example of what we will receive, as a Bible study tool, for each book. It will be a great time of discovery and adventure!
Background information:
Romans matches historically to the parable of the mustard seed in Matthew 13:31-32, and to John’s letter to Pergamos in Revelation 2:12-17. As we read Romans today, we know that the Babylon Mystery Religion (Satan’s Seat) is headquartered in Rome, just as it was in Pergamos for nearly 600 years, from the time of Alexander the Great, who moved it from Babylon to Pergamos, to Constantine, who moved it from Pergamos to Rome. We mentioned that the first three chapters of Romans is most complete diagnosis of sin found in any one place in the Bible. Chapter One is God’s judgment on pagan / immoral man. Chapter Two is God’s judgment on moral man. Chapter Three is God’s judgment on religious man. Regardless of one’s circumstance, all are guilty before God! Looking forward to next Sunday!