The Justifier of the one who has Faith in Jesus
Amos 4; Romans 1:15-18; 3:21-31 INTRODUCTION TO AMOS 4 A. Amos was a prophet sent by God during a time of great prosperity enjoyed by Israel. Yet in Israel there was idolatry, extravagant indulgence, godlessness, immorality and corruption. B. Amos 4 emphasizes that the calamities which came upon Israel were a call to repentance. 1. I gave you empty stomachs…yet you have not returned to me, declares the LORD (Amos 4:6) 2. I also withheld rain…people did not get enough to drink… yet you have not returned to me, declares the LORD (Amos 4:7,8; cf. Rev.8:10,11) 3. Locusts devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you have not returned to me, declares the LORD (Amos 4:9; cf. Rev.9:1-12) 4. I sent plagues among you as I did to Egypt… yet you have not returned to me, declares the LORD (Amos 4:10; cf. Rev.8-9) 5. I overthrew some of you as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah… yet you have not returned to me, declares the LORD (Amos 4:11; cf. Rev.9:2 with Gen.19:28) I. AN OVERVIEW OF ROMANS 1-3 A. The Gospel is revelation (Rom.1:17). B. God’s wrath is revelation (Rom.1:18). Different people react in different ways to God’s wrath: 1. some scoff 2. some say God doesn’t exist or God is only a God of love 3. some rejoice in God’s wrath because they are self-righteous a. Many of the Jews that Jesus and Paul preached to believed in God’s wrath, but they trusted in their own righteousness. b. Many Jews thought that because they had the law, they were better than the Gentiles.
b. “There is none who understands” (Romans 3:11a) c. “There is none who seeks for God” (Romans 3:11b) d. “There is none who does good, thee is not even one” (Romans 3:12b) e. “There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Romans 3:18) II. GOD’S
WRATH AGAINST UNRIGHTEOUSNESS IS ONE OF THE WAYS HE CALLS THE WORLD TO REPENT (Revelation 9:20-21).
A. Death does not end God’s wrath for the unrepentant. Rather, death is the doorway into a place where the full extent of His wrath is unleashed (Romans 2:5). B. For some people (perhaps 50%), near death experiences are terrifying. "Each time he regained heartbeat and respiration, the patient screamed, "I am in hell!" He was terrified and pleaded with me to help him. I was scared to death. . . Then I noticed a genuinely alarmed look on his face. He had a terrified look worse than the expression seen in death! This patient had a grotesque grimace expressing sheer horror!...Then still another strange thing happened. He said,"Don't you understand? I am in hell. . . Don't let me go back to hell!" (Dr. Maurice Rawlings, Beyond Death's Door). C. Jesus alone can speak authoritatively on death because He experienced death in all its fullness and rose again from the dead never to die again. 1. Jesus did not ignore the topic of wrath and hell in His preaching and teaching. 2. There are about 162 references in the New Testament to hell and Jesus spoke about 70 of them (cf. Matthew 7:19; 10:28; 13:41-42). D. Why are there so many lies about death? 1. Parents lie to their children about death. 2. Public schools are more than happy to teach young children about the facts of life and even hand out contraception. But when it comes to the facts of death, there is denial or lies. 3. Many are assured at funerals by ministers that they all are going to a better place. III. THE
CROSS IS A REVELATION OF THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD WHICH IS A GIFT RECEIVED
THROUGH FAITH (Romans 3:24-26) A. The death of Jesus on the cross was a propitiation of God’s wrath (Romans 3:25). Propitiation (Romans 3:25; Hebrews 2:17; 1 John 2:2; 4;10) - The substitutionary suffering of Christ upon the cross which satisfied the wrath of God and His justice. Propitiation is a turning away of divine wrath. “‘Propitiation’ is a reminder that God is implacably opposed to everything that is evil, that his opposition may properly be described as ‘wrath’, and that this wrath is put away only by the atoning work of Christ” (Leon Morris, New Bible Dictionary [3rd edition]). B. The only way that we as sinners can escape the wrath of God is through faith in Jesus Christ. There is no other way by which we can make peace with Him (Romans 5:1,9). “God gave what he promised in order to be revealed as righteous. For he had promised that he would justify those who believe in Christ, as he says in Habakkuk: ‘The righteous will life by faith in me’ (Hab. 2:4). Whoever has faith in God and Christ is righteous” (Ambrosiaster, 4th century commentary, quoted in Thomas Oden, The Justification Reader, p. 63) QUESTIONS FOR SABBATH
DISCUSSION & MEDITATION Take what you have learned this morning and make it
into a prayer. Pray that God would
enable you to understand what righteousness is and how His righteousness is
received. Explain in your own words what Paul is arguing in
Romans 1-3. God’s wrath against unrighteousness is one of the ways
He calls the world to __________. Why do so many people believe that death is a “good”
thing? Why isn’t it good for the
unrighteous? Are all “Near Death Experiences” positive? Did Jesus teach that death is a positive experience for
the unrepentant? Why can Jesus alone
speak authoritatively about death? What are some of the lies people tell about death? What is propitiation? Why is the death of Jesus the only means of turning
away God’s wrath? Q.83 of the Westminster Larger Catechism What is the communion in glory with Christ which the
members of the invisible church enjoy in this life? The members of the invisible church have communicated to them in this life the first-fruits of glory with Christ, as they are members of him their head, and so in him are interested in that glory which he is fully possessed of; (Eph. 2:5–6) and, as an earnest thereof, enjoy the sense of God’ s love, (Rom. 5:5, 2 Cor. 1:22) peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, and hope of glory; (Rom. 5:1–2,Rom. 14:17) as, on the contrary, sense of God’ s revenging wrath, horror of conscience, and a fearful expectation, are to the wicked the beginning of their torments which they shall endure after death. (Gen. 4:13, Matt. 27:4, Heb. 10:27, Rom. 2:9, Mark 9:44) |
