Coffee House Chapel #4

May 22

Romans 11:13-15, “ 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?”

What a great and awesome God we serve. None of us deserve anything we have received from His hand. As the prophet wrote, “ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). But if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you, like Lazarus, have heard Him call your name - and when you heard Him call - you were wonderfully resurrected from the death of sin and destruction.

Just as we as believers have responded to the call of God, one day, Israel will also respond to His call. Paul writes later in Romans 11:25-27, “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.”

Many, for a variety of reasons, consider this rebirth of Israel to be impossible. After all, from Paul’s day to our own day - Israel as a nation has rejected her Messiah. Dr. Boice writes, “I cannot even imagine how my sympathetic Gentile neighbor can come to believe in Christ, considering the effects of sin in blinding the human heart, not to mention Jewish people, who have good historical reasons for resenting Christians and resisting evangelism.” Jeremiah asked, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?” (13:23). From the human perspective the answer would seem to be no! But let us remember that our God specializes in the impossible - Matthew 19:26, “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”

I may be preaching to the choir. But let me add a couple of practical thoughts to what we have found in our text. “Because God is God of the impossible and of resurrections, God is also more than adequate for your problems in life right now, whatever they might be.” (Boice)

You may be struggling with a sin that has such a hold on you - that you find it impossible to let go of it. But the Savior that raised Lazarus from the dead can break your destructive habits (sins). You may be in a marriage that was once vibrant and loving - yet now seems as dead as Lazarus was. Don’t succumb to Satan’s lies, the lies that tell you there is no hope. “I tell you on the authority of the Word of God that this is no course for a Christian. You are to stand against the ‘easy’ escape, and prove by the resurrection of your marriage that God is still the God of miracles.” (Boice)

Whatever your problem - no matter how impossible your situation seems to be - “we are speaking about what God can do and will do if you will ask Him to do it and determine to obey Him, however costly that may be.” (Boice) But if you are reading this devotional, and you have never trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior - you need to take care of that largest of all problems first. When you submit to Jesus as Lord and Savior - He will save you by His marvellous grace - just as assuredly as He called out to Lazarus - “Come forth” - and Lazarus walked out of the tomb. Will you trust Jesus today?

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

(If you have trusted Christ as Savior - let us know - we long to rejoice with you!)

 

Excellent lesson - thank you Blackbird!

 

May 24

Romans 11:16, “For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.”

Fill in the blank! God is ____________ !

Most people would probably fill in the blank with LOVE or GOOD or GREAT or POWERFUL or any of a number of other words that describe the characteristics or attributes of God. The Old Testament saints most likely would have filled in the blank with HOLY! The concept of holiness is not an idea that most people today think about. When we fill in the blank with love - good - great - or powerful, etc., it doesn’t demand much from us, but when we fill in the blank with the word holy - it demands a great deal from us. This concept is much like the difference between the baby Jesus and the crucified, buried, and risen Jesus. The baby demands nothing from us - so we can celebrate His birth - and do so with little or no commitment from us to Him. But the crucified, buried, and risen Jesus - demands from us our all - something that even most truly born again believers do not want to give. We like to have control over our lives - but the demands of the Holy God do not allow that as an option. (“Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:33)

Not only did the Old Testament saints think of holiness when they thought about God, but they “thought of holiness in reference to anything or anybody who had contact with God, for they knew that only what is holy can have contact with God, for they knew that only what is holy can have contact with Him.” (Boice) R. C. Sproul, in his study of “The Holiness of God,” provided a partial list of items to which the word applied: “holy ground, holy sabbath, holy convocation, holy nation, holy anointing oil, holy linen coat, holy jubilee, holy house, holy field, holy word, holy covenant, holy ones, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies.” Others I have found: holy men, holy place, holy garments, holy crown, holy sanctuary, holy habitation, holy water, holy vessels, the Holy One, holy things, holy day, holy oracle, the Holy One of Israel, holy mountains, holy people, holy flock, holy oblation, holy portion, holy city, holy temple, and holy land.

“On top of everything else, God was the thrice-holy God. “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” Isaiah 6:3.” (Boice)

For the next few days we will be considering “Holy to the Lord.” I trust that you will join us in this exciting study!

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

I am enjoying these lessons of the apostles - especially the lesser known ones!

Thank you Blackbird!

 

May 26

Romans 11:16, “For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.”

The subject of holiness is totally foreign to us, because we are not holy, because we are sinners. Someone once said that if we could be dangled over the fires of hell but for a moment, it would completely change our lives. If we could but for a second realize the eternal horrors of the lake of fire - we would be totally engulfed in Christ’s marching orders for the Christian soldier - winning the lost to Christ. On the opposite side of the spectrum, if we could only realize the true holiness of God, we would see just how unworthy and undeserving we truly are - and we would be totally engulfed in Christ’s marching orders for the Christian soldier - winning the lost to Christ. Both scenarios lead to the same end, but for entirely different reasons. A glimpse of hell puts fear into our souls. The holiness of God should put the love of God in our souls, when we realize what great love God has for us, in that He would send His only begotten Son, the perfect, holy God-man, to die and pay for our sins.

I believe Paul is using Old Testament illustrations to make his point, that being, God has not permanently forsaken His people Israel. Yes - God has temporarily set aside the mass of Israel that the Gentiles might come to salvation. But even in this time of rejection - not all of Israel has been utterly rejected, as Paul previously told us that a remnant is still being saved. There will come a day, when the mass of Israel will be saved (Romans 11:26, “all Israel shall be saved.”).

The firstfruits were applied to several things. In Exodus 23:19 (“The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God.”), firstfruits are applied to the first produce of the land - whatever that might be. In Exodus 34:22 it is applied to the wheat harvest and the Feast of Weeks and in Numbers 23:16 to the Feast of Ingathering. Leviticus 2 indicates that the firstfruits are a grain offering. Numbers 15:20-21 describes them as a cake made from ground meal. In Numbers 18:12 they are oil, fine wine, and grain. Though Paul doesn’t tell us which firstfruit offering he has in mind, many have suggested it is the cake of Numbers 15. Boice offers the following interpretive translation, “If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy.”

What are the firstfruits, the lump (dough), the root, and the branches? There are two possibilities:

1. Some have suggested that the firstfruits were the first Jewish converts to Christianity and the lump is the “all Israel” that will eventually be saved. This thought does not “march in step” with Paul’s second illustration of the “root and the branches.”

2. In the second illustration - the roots are the patriarchs. Paul interprets the roots as such in Romans 11:28, “As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' [patriarch’s] sakes.” The parallel between the firstfruits and the roots strongly suggest that each refers to Abraham.

The root and the branches are best understood by studying Romans 11:17-24. The roots of the natural olive tree are the patriarchs (Abraham), and the branches are Israel. The branches are broken off (Israel’s temporary rejection) and wild branches are grafted in (Gentiles). Ultimately, God will graft the natural branches back into the tree.

Boice writes, “This brings us to the root meaning of verse 16, of course. For Paul is saying that the patriarchs were ‘set apart’ to God and that this has inescapable consequences for their descendants. To put it in the simplest possible terms: The Jews are a special people because of their descent from Abraham, and this is true of them even in their rebellious and unregenerate state. It means that even yet God has not given up on Israel.”

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

[ May 26, 2004, 07:58 AM: Message edited by: Dan Todd ]

 

I'm trusting in Him - alone!

Thank you Blackbird!

 

May 28

Romans 11:16, “For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.”

Holy is one of the most difficult words in the Bible to define. Why? Because God is holy - His holiness is His chief attribute, “and we can never understand God as He is in Himself completely.” (Boice) To complicate the situation, the word is also used of people (1 Peter 1:16, “Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”), and of objects (such as the furniture in the temple).

“The bottom line of these three applications of the word holy – (1) to God, (2) to human beings, and (3) to objects – is that holiness has to do with being ‘set apart.’ If you can remember that, you will be able to understand the word in each of these rather diverse applications.” (Boice)

1. A holy God. What is the first thing that comes to mind when speaking about God being holy? For me, it is that God does not sin, and that everything He does is right! That is certainly involved in God being holy, but it is not what holiness is all about. “Holiness means that God is ‘set apart’ from us. That is, He is not like us. He is over and above and utterly beyond us, so that we cannot even begin to imagine what He is like except to the extent that He stoops to reveal Himself to us.” (Boice) Theologians stretch to find ways to express what this concept means. Germans theologians speak of God being “wholly other.” English theologians speak in terms of God’s transcendence. Rudolf Otto coined a Latin phrase which is translated “awe-inspiring mystery.”

What causes man to have such difficulty defining and understanding God’s holiness? The reason simply stated is - because we are not holy! Sin (our sin) is the great separator between God and man. Because we define terms and concepts in relationship to ourselves, and because we are sinners, we cannot comprehend something that we are not (that is holy)! The chief reason man has developed idols is because we cannot relate to God. So we create gods that are like us - gods that we can relate to!

Let’s look at this another way. “When we speak of God’s attributes, we are inclined to list holiness along with such other things as sovereignty, omnipotence, eternity, grace, mercy, love, and so on. But, strictly speaking, holiness does not belong in this catalogue at all, since it describes all that God is and since it qualifies every other attribute. In other words, God is not just sovereign, His is a holy sovereignty. God is not just love; His is a holy love. And so on.” (Boice)

Boice writes, “Holiness is what sets God apart from us and renders Him awesome to us, who are both finite and sinful.”

2. Holy objects. If holiness refers to what God is wholly in Himself, how can objects be holy? At first this seems to be an utter impossibility. But remember our first definition that holiness describes what has been “set apart,” and then it begins to make sense. Objects become holy when they are set apart for God’s service rather than for common use. Most all the items in the tabernacle(temple) fit this concept. A table has a common use - and can be used for both good and bad. But the table of shew bread that was used in those sacred structures was holy, because it had been “set apart” for use in the worship of and service to God. We can also speak of holiness as dedication or consecration, that is, something that has been given to God, which means to render sacred or holy.

Next time, Lord willing, we’ll look at holy people.

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd