Build Up One Another (Romans 14:13-23)

The first principle for maintaining unity when Christians disagree (accept one another - Romans 14:1-12) has to do with our remembering that we are not the master of other Christians and that they are not our servants but the Lord’s servants. God is the head of the family and those whom He has accepted are His children. Since we are children in the family and not the head of the family we don’t try and tell the others what our Father’s will for them is in the gray areas. We accept those whom God has accepted because they are our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The second principle for maintaining unity when Christians disagree (build up one another - Romans 14:13-23) has to do with our remembering that we are brothers and sisters with other Christians. Not only do we accept one another, we build up one another. Here we discover five responsibilities to build up one another in the family.

First, don’t cause your brother to stumble (Romans 14:13). Instead of judging each other, Christians are to determine (judge) this – not to put an obstacle or stumbling block in a brother’s way.

Second, don’t hurt your brother (Romans 14:14-15). The apostle Paul was a strong Christian. He knew his liberties in Christ. He knew that he could enjoy anything the Lord hadn’t declared sinful. But he also knew that there were weak Christians who thought certain things were unclean and not permissible although the Lord had not declared it so. So the strong Christian is completely right in his conviction that he is at liberty to enjoy anything the Lord does not declare to be sinful. The weak Christian, on the other hand, is wrong in his understanding about some of those things. But he is not wrong in the sense of being heretical or immoral. He is wrong in the sense of not having complete and mature understanding of the Word of God in these areas, which causes him to believe that something is sinful when it isn’t really.

However, if he believes something to be sinful and then is enticed by a strong believer to partake in it, he violates his conscience and his submission to the Lordship of Christ, he stumbles and is hurt (see 1 Corinthians 8:7-13). The strong Christian, then, is no longer walking according to love. This is harmful and not helpful. It will seriously impair the spiritual growth of the weaker Christian (15b).

Third, don’t forfeit your witness (Romans 14:16-18). A strong Christian can lose his witness if he uses his liberties in a manner that puts an obstacle or stumbling block not only in a brother’s way but also in the way of men outside of the faith.

Fourth, don’t tear down the work of God (Romans 14:19-21). A strong Christian can also misuse his liberties to the point that his good thing can become an evil thing because he gives offense through it.

Fifth, don’t flaunt your liberties (Romans 14:22-23). The strong Christian who knows his liberties must be so concerned for his weaker brothers and his own witness that he keeps his conviction between him and God. The strong Christian then is to exercise his liberties in private. He is not to force his opinions on anyone else. That goes for the weak Christian also. The reason is that whatever is not from faith is sin. I can’t give another Christian permission to do something he thinks is wrong. His permission must come from his understanding of God’s Word because his obedience obedience must be to the Lord and not me.

When Christians Disagree: Accept One Another (Romans 14:1-12)

Romans 14:1 – 15:7 is dealing with what we could call the gray areas of the Christian life or the nonessentials. All Christians are to agree upon the essentials of the Gospel because we are saved by the knowledge of the truth of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Failure to agree upon the essentials of the Gospel means that there can be no union or partnership with those with whom we disagree (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). But there is to be liberty in the nonessentials and we are to maintain Christian unity with those who agree on the essentials but with whom we may disagree on the nonessentials. So this section of Scripture gives three principles of guidance to maintain unity when Christians disagree: (1) Accept one another (Romans 14:1-12); (2) Build up one another (Romans 14:13-23); and (3) Consider one another (Romans 15:1-7).

For now we will examine the first principle of guidance for maintaining unity when Christians disagree.

Accept one another (Romans 14:1-12). When Christians disagree over the nonessentials they are to accept one another. With those whom we agree on the essentials of the Gospel but disagree over the nonessentials we are to put out the welcome matt and not the wrestling matt. We do wrestle against the spiritual forces of wickedness that seek to corrupt the Gospel and cause us to compromise it (Ephesians 6:10-17). We do war against speculations and every lofty thing raised against the Gospel (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). We do separate from those with whom we disagree over the essentials of the Gospel (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). We do not wrestle with, war with, or separate from Christians with whom we agree in the essentials (a necessity for even being a Christian) but with whom we disagree in the nonessentials. Instead we accept one another. Romans 14:1-12 gives us three reasons for maintaining unity with other Christians when we disagree in the nonessentials.

First, we accept one another because God has accepted us (Romans 14:1-3). These verses make it plain that agreement in the nonessentials is not the basis of God’s acceptance of us and it should not be the basis or our accepting one another. Both the strong and the weak in the faith are in the faith and should accept one another because God has accepted them or else they would not be in the faith. In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty!

Second, we accept one another because Christ is Lord as we are not (Romans 14:4-9). The main point of these verses is that no Christian has the right to “play Lord” in another Christian’s life. How the Lordship of Christ works itself out in another Christian’s life is the Lord’s business and not ours (Romans 14:4). My business is to be sure that whatever I do, I do for the Lord’s sake, being fully convinced that this is what he wants me to do (Romans 14:5) and that He very well may want another Christian to serve Him in a different way (Romans 14:6-9). This truth is illustrated in John 21:15-25 where the Lord told Peter the kind of death he would die in order to glorify God and Peter turned around and saw John following them and Peter asked the Lord, “What about this man?” to which the Lord responded, “If I want him to remain until I come [live], what is that to you? You follow me!” So our concern is to be busy doing what we are convinced the Lord wants us to do and not worry about what he wants someone else to do.

We accept one another because Christ is Lord and we are not. In the essentials, unity; in the nonessentials, liberty. Another way of putting it is this: in the essentials, we must agree; in the nonessentials, we must allow Christ to be Lord. We accept one another because God has accepted us and we accept one another because Christ is Lord and we are not.

Third, we accept one another because God is Judge and we are not (Romans 14:10-12). Since we are not the Lord, then reason demands that we are not the Judge either. These verses quickly put us back in our places as servants of the Lord who are not God and who are not the Judge. Instead of standing in judgment over our brothers and sisters in Christ, we must all stand before the judgment seat of God. For Christians, the judgment seat of God will be a time when we will give an account of how well we lived under the Lordship of Christ. Faithfulness to the Lordship of Christ will result in praise from the Lord when He says, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Lack of faithfulness to the Lordship of Christ for Christians will result in shame and loss of reward but they will be saved, yet so as through fire (1 Corinthians 3:13-15). The Lord will judge His servants and their service or lack there of to Him. As servants, we are not to judge the service of another.

We do not have the ability to accurately judge the service of another to the Lord because we are not God. That is why we are told, “Do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God” (1 Corinthians 4:5).

Notice that the Lord has the ability to bring to light the things hidden in the darkness. This is another good reason to wake up, lay aside the deeds of darkness, and behave properly as in the day (Romans 13:11-14). The Lord is not going to allow us to get away with hidden sin. You can hide your sin from me and I can hide mine from you but we none can hide it from the Lord.

Notice also that the Lord has the ability to disclose the motives of men’s hearts. Here the Lord will reveal the reason we do or do not do something. Whether our actions are because we love the Lord and are submitting to His Lordship, whether we were making provision for the flesh under the pretense of living for the Lord, or whether we were seeking the praise of men under the pretense of dying for the Lord.

The Lord will judge us and He has the perfect ability to do it. We will not judge each other because we are not God and do not have the ability to judge accurately. That is why we shouldn’t be doing it now. In the essentials, unity; in the nonessentials, liberty; in all things charity. When Christians disagree we accept one another because God has accepted us in Christ Jesus; we accept one another because Christ is Lord and we are not; we accept one another because God is Judge and we are not.

The Lordship of Christ in Gray Areas (Romans 14:1)

The Lordship of Christ in the life of the Christian is exactly the same in many areas for all Christians. In other words there are specific commands which apply to all Christians and the observance of those commands are clearly spelled out. For instance, all Christians are commanded to avoid fellowship with false teachers and their teachings (2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Second John 10); all Christians are commanded to abstain from sexual immorality (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7); and all Christians are commanded to lay aside falsehood, stealing, and unwholesome words (Ephesians 4:25-29) just to name a few.

However, there are also some areas in which the Lordship of Christ in the life of the Christian will not look the same as for other Christians. Here I am speaking of gray areas. These gray areas can be a cause for disagreement among Christians and even stumbling if not handled properly. The Bible classifies Christians as either strong or weak in faith and where a person is in his understanding of God’s Word will determine how he lives under the Lordship of Christ. This is what this section is about.

The Problem (Romans 14:1) – two opposing opinions. There are two opposing opinions among Christians because there are strong and weak Christians. The Bible says that the weak are weak in faith – literally “weak in the faith.” The weak are saved but not convinced of Christian liberty. Christ is his Lord so his motive for not doing something is loving loyalty to Christ and not legalism.

The strong in the faith are convinced of Christian liberty (Romans 14:14). Their motive for doing something is loving gratitude to Christ, knowing that what they are doing is not forbidden, and therefore they are not guilty of libertinism.

The problem is that with weak and strong Christians we have two opposing opinions or convictions. The weak genuinely believe that it is wrong to do certain things that the strong know and understand are perfectly acceptable. This may lead the weak to judge the strong as libertines and the strong to judge the weak as legalists. The text specifically says that the weak will judge the strong and that the strong will regard with contempt the weak (Romans 14:3).

The Solution (Romans 14:1). The strong are to put out the welcome matt and not the wrestling matt. The strong are not to accept or receive the weak for the purpose of passing judgment on their opinions. While the strong will want to build up the weak in the faith (Romans 14:19), he is not to attempt to do it by accepting or receiving him to straighten out his misconceptions in gray areas. Since the weak do what they do “for the Lord” (Romans 14:6-9) they are acceptable to God (Romans 14:3, 18). The strong are to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and build them up (Romans 15:1-21).

This is how the strong are to disciple the weak – “please his neighbor for his good, to his edification” (Romans 15:2). This means that the strong are not to abuse their liberty and attempt to push it down the throats of the weak. The strong are to set aside their liberties to not cause a weaker brother to stumble – not passing judgment on his opinions or deliberately indulging in liberties to try to convince the weak of Christian liberty.

The rule for both parties but especially for the strong is to walk according to love (Romans 14:15). In both cases, the weak and the strong are living under the Lordship of Christ. None of us are the Lord of another Christian and therefore we should be careful to not play God in the life of another Christian (Romans 14:4).

We should all seek to live under the Lordship of Christ remembering that each one of us will give an individual account of our lives to the Lord (Romans 14:10-12).

The Truth of Lordship Salvation (Romans 10:5-13)

Nothing is more important in Bible study and Bible preaching than proper interpretation. If we do not arrive at God’s intended message – what He was actually communicating – then we cannot arrive at proper application. This would prove disastrous in any biblical doctrine but especially in the doctrine of salvation. The dangers associated with an improper interpretation of the Gospel are either legalism or libertinism.

Legalism can be either an attempt to merit God’s favor through works of the Law or a more subtle but just as deadly adding to the finished work of Christ. In the case of adding to the finished work of Christ one would profess faith in Christ plus some other stipulation. One might say that you have to believe in Christ but you also must do this or that.

The Judaizers that hounded the apostle Paul taught that you had to believe in Christ plus be circumcised and observe the Law of Moses in order to be saved. There are those in our day who say that you must believe in Christ plus a myriad of other do’s and don’ts in order to be saved. This is legalism and it is an attempt to make Jesus Lord.

Libertinism is just the opposite of legalism and instead of attempting to merit God’s favor through works of the Law or adding to the finished work of Christ it actually is against the Law and would even dare remove Christ’s obedience to the Law as necessary for our salvation. Libertinism actually takes away from the work of Christ and in essence says that a person can be saved by believing in Jesus as Savior but not as Lord. Libertinism subtracts from the Person and work of Christ. There are many in our day that say you must believe in Jesus as Savior minus His Lordship and His perpetual obedience to the Law from the cradle to the cross. They emphasize His death and resurrection to the exclusion of His Law-keeping obedience. Libertines want to have Jesus as Savior but not as Lord – or at least His Lordship to them is optional and not necessary for salvation.

However, both legalism and libertinism are deadly counterfeits of the true Gospel. Lordship salvation is the true Gospel and it isn’t making Jesus Lord or rejecting His Lordship but receiving Him as Lord. Since both legalism and libertinism tamper with the finished and sufficient work of Christ, neither one believes the testimony God has given concerning His Son. Therefore neither one can confess or “say the same thing” about Jesus that God says about Him. Why? Their belief in His resurrection is deficient – it isn’t from understanding with the heart.

The resurrection of Christ from the dead implies His Lordship! Follow the reasoning carefully. If a man lived a perfect life in perpetual obedience to God’s Law from his birth and then died then of necessity it means that His death was substitutionary and not a result of sin or violation of God’s Law. If His death was substitutionary then He was dying on behalf of others who had sinned and violated God’s Law. Since this was the case then the Law had absolutely no reason to hold this sinless Man in the grips of death because He had never violated the Law but was only upholding it. Therefore, it was impossible that He could be held by death (Acts 2:24) and God raised Him from the dead making Him both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36) declaring Him the Son of God with power (Romans 1:4).

Now how is a sinner who is saved by the works of this sinless Man going to respond to Him? Is he not going to love Him? Is he not going to adore Him? Is he not going to worship Him? Is he not going to obey Him? Didn’t Jesus say, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments”? Didn’t Jesus say, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do what I say”? Isn’t our obedience to Christ as Lord the result of His work on our behalf (Romans 1:5)? Isn’t the goal of the Gospel loving, loyal obedience to Christ because He saved us?

Notice in our text that salvation is a Lordship issue – “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). And then Paul gave us the divine and logical order in which this happens – “For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation” (Romans 10:10). First the heart understands the necessity and the actuality of the resurrection of Christ. Then the mouth confesses Jesus as Lord. So first there is the understanding of the work Jesus did to save us and immediately afterwards – because of His work on our behalf – we confess His Lordship submitting to Him as such. What we believe brings about our obedience and the Bible calls it, “The obedience of the faith” (Romans 1:5).

The Bible gives us a wonderful illustration of the truth of Lordship salvation years before Romans was ever written. In Luke 23:32-43 we read of Jesus’ crucifixion between two criminals. One of those criminals received salvation and the other did not. It’s very interesting to see how this played out. The criminal that did not receive salvation actually spoke to Jesus and wanted Him to be his Savior – “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us” (Luke 23:39)! The other criminal owned his crimes and confessed Jesus’ innocence (Luke 23:40-41). He had been brought to the place of understanding that Jesus wasn’t dying for any crimes He had committed because He hadn’t committed any and that Jesus’ death was of necessity, substitutionary.

Notice what this criminal says to the Lord after realizing this: “And he was saying, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come in Your kingdom’” (Luke 23:42). He believed in his heart that God would raise Jesus from the dead – “When you come!” The apostle Paul said, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

Notice also that this criminal confessed with his mouth Jesus as Lord – “And he was saying, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come in Your kingdom’” (Luke 23:42). That is a confession of the Lordship of Christ – only Kings have kingdoms.

Lastly notice that this criminal called upon the name of the Lord – “Jesus, remember me when you come in Your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). Romans 10:13 – “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Released from the Law (Romans 7:1-6)

In Romans 5 the apostle Paul brought out the truth that the Law came in so that transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more (5:20).

Based on this truth the apostle anticipated being misunderstood and misinterpreted so in chapter 6 he raised the question that would have been asked by those who misunderstood – “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? (6:1). Then he answered that question – “May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? (6:2). Then he goes on to show that we have died to sin and are alive to God proving that the outcome of justification by faith does not issue in a lawless life but in a sanctified life. However, the apostle wanted his readers to know that their sanctification had absolutely nothing at all to do with works of the Law no more than their justification did – “For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under Law but under grace” (6:14).

Once again Paul had to anticipate opposition and misinterpretation of what he was teaching for surely there would be some who would continue to argue that Paul was teaching against the Law and that he was giving license for a lawless life, so Paul asked the question that would have been on the lips of his opponents – “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under Law but under grace?” (6:15).

Paul's response to this objection is No! People who are justified by faith alone will not continue in sin. All of Romans 6, 7, and 8 are an explanation for why that is.

Now in Romans 7, Paul is still dealing with the very same question. He is still answering the objection of Romans 6:15, "Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?" Why doesn't freedom from the law result in lawless people? Why don't justified people sin more and not less?

Here in Romans 7 we will see both the intent of the Law (Romans 7:1-13) and the inability of the Law (Romans 7:14-25). Under the heading the intent of the Law (Romans 7:1-13) we will see two major points: (1) the dominion of the Law (Romans 7:1-6), and (2) the duty of the Law (Romans 7:7-13).

For now we will deal with the dominion of the Law and our removal from under its dominion so that we are not under Law but under grace (Romans 7:1-6).

To show the Law’s dominion over us and how we are removed from under its dominion so that we are not under Law but under grace, the apostle Paul used an illustration in order to make application.

The illustration (Romans 7:1-3) – the illustration is the law of marriage which carries with it self-evident truth that is known by all who know the laws of marriage. The law has dominion over a person as long as he lives – “Or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives?” (7:1).

According to the Law of God the marriage cannot be dissolved except by death or immorality of one of the spouses. Jesus taught this truth to some Pharisees who questioned Him concerning whether or not it was lawful to divorce for any reason at all. The Lord replied that what God has joined together, let no man separate. To which the Pharisees asked, “Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?” Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery” (Matthew 19:3-9).

Since legally the marriage cannot be dissolved except by death or immorality then those who are married are bound by the law to their spouses as long as they both are living. The Law has dominion over them and they are under the law with an obligation to fulfill it – “For the married woman is bound by the law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband” (7:2).

In this illustration, once the husband dies then the woman is released from the dominion of the law concerning the husband. But as long as the husband is alive she is under the dominion of the law and cannot break it without becoming a transgressor.

“So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress…” (7:3a). The law has something to say about this situation because the marriage covenant between the husband and wife has been broken and the one who broke it is either an adulterer or an adulteress. So if the husband is alive and has not committed immorality then the wife cannot be joined to another man without violating the law. She is under its dominion and must obey it or else become a transgressor of it and be rightly defined by it as an adulteress.

“But if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man” (7:3b). The law has nothing to say about this situation because the marriage covenant between the husband and wife has not been broken but indeed has been fulfilled – “until death do us part.” So now the law has been fulfilled – it has been established – so that she is free from the law and it has nothing to say about her marrying another man.

The Application (Romans 7:4-6) – Paul’s application in Romans 7:4-6 clinches the argument of how we are not under the dominion Law but under grace through our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We died to the Law (7:4-5) – when we were unsaved and in the flesh (Romans 7:5) we were under the dominion of God’s Law. We were condemned by that Law. When we trusted Christ and were united to Him, we died to the Law just as we died to the flesh (Romans 6:1-10). The Law did not die; we died!

In Paul’s illustration the husband died and the wife remarried. However in his application we are the wife and the Law is the husband. The Law will not and cannot die because it is moral and eternal (Matthew 5:18). So the wife must die and be raised from the dead if she is to be freed from her union with the Law and be united to another. This is the apostle’s point in the application of the marriage illustration.

Christ’s sinless life and sacrificial death, and supernatural resurrection fulfilled the Law. When we trusted Christ we died with Him and His death became our death and likewise just as He was raised from the dead we too were raised to walk in newness of life as those dead to sin but alive to God. So when we died with Christ we died to the Law and arose from the dead in order that we could be under the dominion of the Lord and no longer under the dominion of the Law.

Notice that the wife does not kill herself – she is made to die to the Law through the body of Christ – this is a divine act of God in response to faith in Christ. Just as by His doing we are in Christ Jesus, by His doing we have been made to die to the Law.

It is by our union with Christ that we are set free from the dominion of the Law and are now enabled to bear fruit for God. As we live under loving loyalty to the Lordship of Christ our obedience to Him leads us into obedience to God – “so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:4).

Why is it that we must be set free from the dominion of the Law in order to be enabled to bear fruit for God? Wouldn’t the Law be that which enables us to bear fruit for God? Can’t we be sanctified by keeping the Law? No! The Law arouses our sinful passions because of our badness and in the end we bear fruit for death - “For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death” (Romans 7:5).

It's because until we are united to Christ in his death, and rise with him to newness of life, we don't have the Spirit of God and are merely "flesh." That is, we have only a fallen, sinful human nature without the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We must die to the Law if we are going to bear fruit for God.

We are delivered from the Law (7:6) – this is the logical conclusion: the Law cannot exercise dominion over a dead person. Death means deliverance from the dominion of the Law but our being raised to walk in newness of life is so that we might serve our Lord in love.

The word serve is from the Greek word “doulous” (doo-los). It does not describe the voluntary work of a hired worker but that of a bondslave whose sole purpose is to obey the will of his master. We are God’s bondslaves because of love. We love Him and serve Him because He first loved us by giving His Son for our redemption.

We were delivered from the Law that we might serve Christ. This truth refutes the false accusation that Paul taught lawlessness.

What is different about Christian service as opposed to our old life of sin? We are now energized by the Spirit of God through our love for the Lord. Under the Law there was no enablement, but we have been delivered from the Law’s dominion and placed under the Lord’s enabling love.

People who are not under Law but under grace will not sin more but will in fact sin less!

Understanding Sanctification (Romans 6:14)

To not understand the gospel is to not understand either Law or grace. When this is the case one will either resort to legalism or license. Legalism never gives victory over sin because the flesh is corrupt and weak and so the Law arouses the sinful passions of the flesh rather than arresting them. The Law is that which gives power to sin (1 Corinthians 15:56) and not that which gives victory over sin.

License never gives victory over sin because it turns God’s grace into an excuse to remain in sin by adding the demonic doctrine that you can be saved and still live in sin; that you can believe but you don’t have to behave; that you can be justified and still not be sanctified. In this case people use grace as a license to live in sin.

Legalism tries to behave without believing; license tries to believe without behaving; Christians behave because they believe and therefore are sanctified because they are justified. God’s grace is that which gives the power to behave (Titus 2:11-14) and never that which gives a license to sin (Jude 4).

The gospel of justification by grace through faith stands in direct opposition to both legalism and license. The gospel always gives victory over sin where legalism and license never do. Being justified by faith in Christ through the gospel always issues in being sanctified in life by living under His Lordship. Justification (having been declared holy) always issues in sanctification (being made holy) and therefore there will be progressive victory over sin in the life of the saved person.

Notice that in legalism and license that there is a reversal or a removal of sanctification in relationship to justification. In legalism (attempting to be justified by works of the Law) sanctification precedes justification and this can never be because the Law does not give the power to live a holy life but is in fact that which gives power to sin. So in legalism there is a reversal of the relationship of justification to sanctification. In license justification stands alone with absolutely no connection whatsoever to sanctification following or flowing from that justification and this can never be because grace is not that which gives a license to sin. So in license there is a removal of the relationship of justification to sanctification.

However, salvation with its various aspects is a seamless garment that cannot be divided, rearranged, or have any one aspect removed and still be biblical salvation. People who distort the gospel by distorting the aspects of salvation do it to their own destruction. Salvation has three aspects: (1) justification (past tense), (2) sanctification (present tense), and (3) glorification (future tense).

In justification we are set free from sin’s penalty; in sanctification we are being set free from sin’s power and pollution; and in glorification we will be set free from sin’s presence. Sanctification – being set free from sin’s power and pollution is something that neither legalism nor license can accomplish. Why not?

The missing element in both legalism and license is love. Jesus said, “If you love Me you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Our obedience to Jesus is based on our love for Him which is based on His love for us which was demonstrated to us through the gospel. We love Him because He first loved us and we obey Him because we love Him.

Legalism and license are both perversions of love. Legalism is feigned obedience without love and license is feigned love without obedience. Lordship is true obedience because of true love – love is the power source of sanctification. We read of faith working through love (Galatians 5:6); that love constrains us or controls us – “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15); and that love fulfills the Law (Matthew 22:37-40; Galatians 5:13-14; James 2:8).

Loving loyalty to Jesus as Lord gains victory over the power and pollution of indwelling sin. The Law cannot do this – it gives the command to obey but not the power to obey. The gospel of God’s grace gives the power to love and therefore the power to obey – we are not under Law but under grace – we are under the Lord.

"For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace" (Romans 6:14).

Living for Jesus (Romans 6:14-23)

We have been looking at attaining victory over sin in Romans 6:1-23. We have seen that we are to know – know that we are dead to sin and alive to God (Romans 6:1-10); we have seen that we are to believe or consider this to be true because it is (Romans 6:11); and we have been looking at we are to present or yield (Romans 6:12-23).

We have already considered how we are to present/yield (glad-hearted and free/willingly) in Romans 6:12-13. Now in our study we come to why we are to present/yield (Romans 6:14-23).

Why we are to present/yield (Romans 6:14-23)

We are to yield because of love (Romans 6:14-15). It is because of God’s love for us that we yield ourselves to Him. His love for us is expressed by His grace to us. God in His love has given us His grace which does not give us an excuse to sin but a reason to obey. Paul has proved that we are not saved by the Law and that we do not live under the Law. For many this would mean that we can sin all we want because they don’t understand the wonderful constraining and controlling power of love. Love is what gives the strength or ability to obey.

Sin and Law go together (1 Corinthians 15:56) just as obedience and love go together (John 14:15). Since we are not under Law, but under grace, sin is robbed of its strength. The person who claims to have Jesus as Lord but does not obey Him doesn’t love Him. Jesus said, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, and do not do what I say?” He also said, “If you love Me you will keep My commandments.”

Another way of saying the truth of Romans 6:14 would be to say that sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under the Lord. We are under the Lord because of love. We are to yield because of love.

We are to yield because of liberty (Romans 6:16-20). Whatever you yield to becomes your master. Sin is an unloving and unkind tyrant. It is deceptive promising pleasure and happiness but instead takes one into deeper and deeper misery and ultimately paying death and destruction. Sin will take you farther than you want to go; keep you longer than you want to stay; and cost you more than you want to pay!

Before you were saved, you were the slave to sin. Now that you belong to Christ you are freed from the old slavery and made the servant of Christ. Christ is a loving and kind Lord and as we obey Him we experience liberty from the bondage of sin. We grow in our sanctification (Romans 6:16). Our growth in sanctification, our making progress in victory over sin is based on obedience from the heart because of our love for the Lord. Our sanctification is always based on our thankfulness for our justification (Romans 6:17) – He who has been forgiven much loves much! God works His salvation in a person’s innermost being. God changes men’s natures when they trust Him. A person whose heart has not been changed has not been saved. Righteous living issues from an obedient heart because of being committed to Christ because of love for Christ.

Knowing the truth of the gospel (Romans 6:17) and loving Christ because of it issues in liberty from sin and loyalty to Christ (Romans 6:18). This truth can also be stated like this – “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). And just as enthusiastically as we served sin – presenting our members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness – we are to in like manner serve righteousness – so now present your members as slaves to righteousness resulting in sanctification (Romans 6:19).

The late Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote, “As you go on living this righteous life, and practicing it with all your might and energy, and all your time…you will find that the process that went on before, in which you went from bad to worse and became viler and viler, is entirely reversed. You will become cleaner and cleaner, and purer and purer, and holier and holier, and more and more conformed to the image of the Son of God” (Romans: An Exposition of Chapter Six [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1972], pp. 268-69). Obedience to Christ because of love issues in liberty from sin and sanctification.

Obedience to self and sin issued in slavery to sin and condemnation without any reference whatsoever to any form of sanctification (Romans 6:20). To be free in regard to righteousness is to have no connection at all to righteousness or any ability to bring it about. Only loving loyalty to Jesus as Lord can make righteousness our master and bring about liberty from sin.

We are to yield because of love and liberty.

We are to yield because of life (Romans 6:21-23). If you serve a master you can expect to receive wages. There is fruit that comes from the master you serve. Sin pays the wages of death! God also pays wages – holiness and everlasting life.

Jesus said that He came to give life and to give it more abundantly. This is the exact opposite of what sin gives (Romans 6:21). After being saved we became ashamed of the sinful things that we used to do that only had the outcome of death and destruction. The fruit of sin that was in our lives only produced more bondage and more destruction.

However, because we yielded to God because of love and were set at liberty from sin, we derive our benefit or fruit resulting in sanctification (victory over sin) and the outcome, eternal life (Romans 6:22).

So one’s master determines what one receives – either death or eternal life. Those who remain in their sin and remain under sin’s dominion will receive death. Those who are removed from their sin and placed under the Lord’s dominion will receive eternal life (Romans 6:23). The fruit of loving sin is death – the fruit of loving the Lord is eternal life. We will obey what we love! Yield because of love, liberty, and life!

United with Christ in Death and Life

The apostle Paul was constantly misunderstood and falsely accused for preaching justification by faith by preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many speculations and lofty imaginations were raised up against the knowledge of God and His gospel. Paul's ministry was one of persuasion where he used the Word of God to destroy speculations and persuade men of the truth.

The constant attack against the gospel and against Paul's preaching was that he was giving a license to sin and was preaching against the Law if the gospel was true. However, nothing could be farther from the truth! So the speculation was reared by the legalistic Jews and it was rejected by the apostle Paul and then refuted by Paul.

The speculation reared against the Gospel of God (Romans 6:1) – Justification is so free and easy that it appears as that which will give a license to sin – it especially looks that way to the legalist. So the legalist rears up the speculation against the Gospel of God and accuses the Gospel of that which gives a license to sin.

The speculation rejected by the apostle Paul (Romans 6:2) – “May it never be!” Justification is not that which gives a license to sin and therefore there is no way that justification is against the Law – justification, the legal and actual declaration of righteousness in Christ, never fails to issue in sanctification – “How shall we who died to sin still live in it?”

The speculation refuted by the explanation of the Gospel pictured in baptism (Romans 6:2-11).

First, baptism pictures that we died to sin (Romans 6:2-7). In what sense have we died to sin? We have become united to Him. By God’s doing we are in Christ Jesus – God establishes a union between us and Christ so that His death is our death. This is in direct correlation to how we were united to Adam so that his disobedience is our disobedience and his condemnation is our condemnation. Those who are in Christ Jesus through faith in Him died with Him on the cross – His death was our death and God sees it as such and so do we (Romans 6:3); those who are in Christ Jesus were buried with Him – His burial was our burial (Romans 6:4); those who are in Christ Jesus have become united with Him in the likeness of His death (Romans 6:5); and those who are in Christ have been crucified with Him and are no longer to be slaves to sin (Romans 6:6-7).

So the outcome of being united to Christ through faith is that we have a new relationship to sin. You can’t go on living in sin because you have died to sin because Christ died to sin and when He died we died with Him. This is based on union through imputation. Anyone who claims to have a new relationship to God through Jesus should ask himself this question: does my professed relationship with Jesus give me a new relationship to sin? Have I died to sin?

It is an impossibility to be united to Christ without becoming a brand new person (2 Corinthians 5:17) because of now having a different relationship to sin – instead of living in it we have died to it. Justification never fails to issue in a person’s death to sin. Before we were saved we all formerly lived in and walked in the lusts of our flesh and indulged in the desires of the flesh and of the mind (Ephesians 2:3). But that is past tense! We were dead [to God] in our trespasses and sins, in which we formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived…(Ephesians 2:1-3).

Since justification never fails to issue in a person’s death to sin it also never fails to issue in sanctification which is a person’s life to God - “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30). So not only does our union with Christ provide the foundation for our justification; it also provides the foundation for our sanctification. This brings us to our second picture in baptism.

Second, baptism pictures that we are alive to God (Romans 6:8-11). A dead man needs more than anything else a new life principle. This is precisely the purpose of God in the Gospel as He puts us to death to sin in Christ and then raises us up with a new life principle under the Lordship of Christ (Romans 6:4). Here is where our journey of sanctification begins and it contradicts the fallacy that justification through faith gives a license to sin. So perfection is not yet and will not be arrived at in this life.

However, perfection is guaranteed in the future when we see Jesus (Romans 6:5; 1 Corinthians 15:49; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 John 3:2). But that is called glorification and here we are dealing with sanctification.

Baptism not only pictures justification – dying to sin – it also pictures sanctification – living to God – so that we see clearly that baptism contradicts the false notion of easy-believism.

Since baptism pictures that we have died to sin and are alive to God (Romans 6:8-11) then anyone who has been baptized but doesn’t have a new relationship to sin (no longer obeying it and its lusts) also doesn’t have a new relationship to God (obeying Him because we love Him) and his baptism is a sham, he doesn’t know what baptism means, and he doesn’t understand the Gospel.

Do you have a new relationship to God that is proven by your new relationship to sin? Have you died to sin and are you alive to God?

Lordship: The Death Blow to Legalism and Antinomianism

The apostle Paul was often misunderstood and falsely accused of evil for preaching the good news of justification by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He was especially misunderstood and mistreated by the legalistic Jews who thought that the good news of Jesus Christ was a message against the people and against the Law. “When the seven days were almost over, the Jews from Asia, upon seeing him in the temple, began to stir up all the crowd and laid hands on him, crying out, ‘Men of Israel, come to our aid! This is the man who preaches to all men everywhere against our people and the Law and this place…” (Acts 21:27-28).

Paul was perceived as being anti-Semitic (against the Jews) and antinomian (against the Law) because of his preaching of the gospel. The root word for Law is nomous. If we say that someone is autonomous we are saying that he is self-ruled or self-governed. Auto means self and nomous means law. So to say that someone is antinomian is to say that he is against the Law – he is against being ruled or governed. This was the accusation brought against the apostle Paul from the legalistic Jews. They accused Paul of antinomianism – being against the Law and preaching against the Law. For the legalist, the true gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is seen as antinomianism. The legalist perceives the gospel to be that which nullifies the Law and therefore that which gives a license to sin.

However, the apostle Paul proved that the good news of justification by grace through faith in Jesus Christ was that which actually established the law and not that which nullified it (Romans 3:31). Listen! Even the Lord Jesus Christ said that He didn’t come to abolish the Law – He said, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but fulfill” (Matthew 5:17).

The Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law completely. He upheld the Law in principle through His sinless life; He upheld the Law in penalty through His sacrificial death; and He upheld the Law in probity through His supernatural resurrection. Probity means integrity or uprightness. The supernatural resurrection showed the Law to be that which is good and it showed the Person of the Law, God the Father, to be just, good, and right in all His dealings. Therefore when we exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we do not nullify the Law but establish the Law by trusting in the One who completely and perfectly upheld the Law through His life, death, and resurrection.

But for the life of him, the legalist cannot comprehend that faith establishes the Law. The legalist cannot see how grace isn’t the same as antinomianism. So after establishing the truth of imputed righteousness through the grace of Jesus Christ who upheld the Law on our behalf, whose grace is greater than multiplied sins, the apostle Paul anticipated the false accusation of antinomianism – “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may increase” (Romans 6:1)?

You see, the legalist would attempt to carry Paul’s message of justification by grace through faith to what he believed to be its final conclusion and would inevitably come up with the charge of antinomianism. The legalist would reason: if justification is by grace through faith then the Law has been nullified and men have a license to sin.

The legalist believes that the only remedy against sinning is the Law. The legalist also believes that God cannot be pleased apart from works of the Law. So the legalist adds Law to justification in violation of the plain and clear teaching of the Scripture. So the legalist, being under the Law, has not died to sin because the power of sin is the law (1 Corinthians 15:56), and so there is no deliverance from sin through the Law.

However, the legalist has no real understanding of the working of the gospel so he sticks with his faulty logic rather than looking into how the gospel actually is not that which gives men a license to sin. What the legalist needs is an explanation of the wonder working power of the gospel.

So Paul answered the question that would be raised from the legalist – “May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it” (Romans 6:2)? God in His wisdom and power has designed salvation in such a way that those who are justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ have died to sin so that there is no way that the gospel of grace promotes sin or gives a license to sin.

“May it never be” is a strong and forceful way of saying that the gospel is not that which promotes or perpetuates sin. So the legalist is immediately confronted with the truth that his understanding of the gospel is wrong. If he would examine the gospel closely and see how faith in Jesus establishes the Law, puts one to death in Christ, and raises him with a new life principle under loving and loyal obedience to Jesus as Lord, the legalist would understand how the gospel doesn’t promote sin. Jesus said, “If you love Me you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15).

Any man under the principle of being ruled by the Law is doomed because by the Law comes the knowledge of sin and no flesh shall be justified in God’s sight through the works of the Law. However, any man under the principle of being ruled by the Lord because of his love for the Lord is blessed and justified because we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law and that we are justified without any cause in us by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. We love Him because He first loved us.

Can’t you see how loving loyalty to Jesus as Lord because He loved us and gave Himself up for us doesn’t make one lawless? This is how it works: while unsaved we all lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest (Ephesians 2:3). Our life principle was under the lordship of sin and the principle of Law cannot give life to a sinner but actually gives power to sin. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” (Ephesians 2:4-5).

You see, God put us to death with Jesus our Lord who did fulfill the principle of the Law and died on our behalf so that he could put to death the lordship of sin in our lives and raise us up with Jesus to walk with a new life principle – loving loyal obedience to Jesus as Lord.

Salvation restores that which was lost – obedience to God through obedience to Jesus and is what the Bible calls the obedience of faith. Salvation is a Lordship issue! Lordship is the death-blow to legalism showing it to be the lie that it is.

God's Righteousness for Sinners who will Believe

The righteousness of God does not come through the Law because we all are sinners, there are none righteous, there are none good, and we all like sheep have gone astray and each one has turned to his own way. Many of the Jews were relying upon the Law (Romans 2:17) believing that they could attain to the righteousness of God through it. However and praise God, “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets" (Romans 3:21). If the only way that we could attain the righteousness of God and be saved was by the Law then none – I repeat – none would be or could be saved.

The righteousness of God does come through faith in Jesus (Romans 3:22) because this is the only way that God can give sinners the righteousness of God without violating His own righteousness. Now think about it with me – God didn’t have to save anyone; He could have righteously and justly sent everyone to hell. However, in order to save anyone there was only one way that God could do it and still be true – Penal Substitution. Someone who was willing and able had to live a perfect life fulfilling the commands of the Law and then die in the place of sinners to pay their penalty for committing crimes against the Law. So that Someone was Jesus Christ the Son of God and we read that God did not spare His own Son but delivered Him over for us all (Romans 8:32).

So when we put these two truths side by side – the righteousness of God does not come through the Law; the righteousness of God does come through faith – then we come to the logical conclusion that the righteousness of God by faith in Jesus Christ is only for those who believe – only for those who actually have faith in Jesus because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:22-23).

Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God then all who attempt to attain the righteousness of God some other way or who think that they have faith but not the faith God is looking for will find themselves horrified on the day of judgment. All need the righteousness of God, which is on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ, but not all believe that they need it and not all have saving faith although many believe that they do.

That men are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone has always been God’s only way of saving. All the Old Testament saints were saved this way and all New Testament saints were and are saved this way. While there is such a thing as different dispensations in the way in which God does things – there never has been and never will be a dispensation where men are saved some other way than through faith in Christ. The point of Hebrews 11 is to show that there has never been a means of salvation other than faith in Christ.

But what is a major concern to me, especially in the day in which we live, is that there is such a thing as false faith, even in the name of Christ. Now this has always been true according to the Scriptures but it is also true according to the Scriptures that this will get worse before the return of the Lord (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3).

Today there are people who have prayed a prayer, been baptized, joined churches, and claim to have faith in Jesus but their faith is false. False faith might be faith in good works, faith in a prayer prayed, faith in a denomination, faith in faith, or many other forms of faith misplaced. Many I am sure have head knowledge of the facts about Jesus and confuse that for faith.

But the saving faith in Jesus Christ that the Scriptures teach about is much more than a simple affirmation of certain truths about Christ. One can affirm certain truths about Christ – even His death, burial, and resurrection – and still not love Him and serve Him out of a heart of gratitude for what He has done on their behalf. This means that they have not made proper application with their sinfulness and their need for the righteousness of God that only comes through Christ who loved us and gave Himself up for us.

Those who have a false faith are all for being saved but not for being sanctified. In other words they are all for not going to hell but not all for parting with their sins. These are all for the privileges of Christ but not for being persecuted for Christ. They are for salvation from suffering but they do not desire to be saved from sinning. They would have Jesus as Savior but not as Lord. And yet how can one be saved from hell without being saved from sin and how can one be saved from sin without having Jesus as Lord? Even the Gospel these claim to be saved by, says, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

In order for faith to be genuine and saving faith one must see his sin, see his need to be justified by the righteousness of God, and see that it comes only as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. The person who has been truly saved knows for sure that there is no other way that God can or will save and he is thankful to God and to the Lord Jesus Christ for so great a salvation.

God only gives His righteousness to those who have faith and no man will arrive at the righteousness of God any other way.

The Goal of the Gospel

Romans 1:5.

The Gospel has as its goal the glory of God in the salvation of self-centered, self-ruled, and self-loving sinners which transforms them into God-centered, God-ruled, and God-loving saints – for His name’s sake. Many have wrongly and tragically confused the goal of the Gospel as an endorsement of self-admiration and self-esteem in which the cross is viewed as a witness to man’s worth. However the Gospel does not witness to man’s worth but witnesses to God’s worth – His greatness and His goodness. It is in the salvation of undeserving sinners that God’s grace is magnified to the praise of His glory.

I’m not belittling God’s love for man – I am magnifying it! I am not saying that God doesn’t love man but I am saying that man doesn’t deserve to be loved by God. When you understand this then you will understand that the Gospel is a witness to God’s worth and God’s grace and God’s glory and not to man’s worth or his value. God doesn’t love us because we are worthy of His love, He loves us even though we are unworthy (Romans 5:8).

God’s love is an “out of this world” kind of love. He loves those who are unlovely. He loves those who are His enemies. And it is through His love that He is rich in mercy to those who are dead in their transgressions and makes them alive together with Christ (by grace they are saved). “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God; and such we are” (1 John 3:1). So it is by God’s grace that we are saved and by God’s grace that we serve Him because the grace of God as demonstrated in the Gospel causes us to love and obey God and not just desire His gifts. So then at the heart of the goal of the Gospel is God – the Gospel causes God to become to us our reward; the gospel causes God to become to us our pleasure and satisfaction and then we do not seek to “use” God for selfish and ulterior motives.

So the goal of the Gospel is not to make us choose heaven rather than hell – the goal of the Gospel is to make us enthralled with the One who saved us from sin and hell and promises us eternal life with Him in heaven. Why do you want to go to heaven? If it is not to worship God the Father and His Son the Lord Jesus Christ then the Gospel has not transformed you into a loving and loyal subject of the King of kings.

Consider with me how God gets glory through the Gospel which transforms men into obedient, God adoring saints:

Through whom we have received grace (1:5a) – grace is unmerited, unearned, and undeserving kindness or favor. Therefore grace is rich in mercy because it is rich in love – an out of this world kind of love. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” (Ephesians 2:4-5). Since grace is unmerited, unearned, and undeserving favor, then no one is saved based on his or her goodness – “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). “But when the kindness of God our Savior, and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy…” (Titus 3:4-5). No man gets glory for his salvation – God does!

And apostleship (1:5b) – Here the apostle Paul includes all the saints – through whom we have received grace and apostleship – the word apostle means one who is sent by authority as a messenger. All Christians have been sent with a message by the Lord Jesus Christ who has all authority. However, all Christians do not hold the office of Apostle. There were only thirteen men who held the office of Apostle but all Christians are expected to carry the message of the Gospel and in that sense all Christians have an apostleship. Just like the office of deacon – a deacon is one who serves – all Christians do not hold the office of deacon but all Christians are to serve others. Notice that it is through Jesus Christ that we receive grace and apostleship – not only does no man get glory for his salvation; no man gets glory for his service – God does! “For we are His [God’s] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

To bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles (1:5c) – the Gospel restores that which was lost – our obedience to God. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden they disobeyed God and stepped out from under His lordship and turned to their own way – and so does every person – “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6). Instead of trusting God with all their hearts, Adam and Eve leaned on their own understanding, and loving and loyal obedience was replaced with wicked disobedience. This is now the state of all men everywhere – we are born with a nature that cannot and will not obey God.

So if man is to be saved then obedience to God must be restored. Man’s disobedience (sin is lawlessness) must be paid for and must be removed and loving, loyal obedience must come in its place – salvation is a matter of lordship!

To belong to God in a saving relationship is to be restored into an obedient relationship which is submission to His lordship. As John Macarthur said, “A theology that refuses to recognize the lordship of Jesus Christ is a theology that contradicts the very essence of biblical Christianity” (Romans 1-8, page 25). There is no such thing as Jesus being one’s Savior if He is not his or her Lord. If one’s loving, loyal obedience has not been restored then that which was lost hasn’t been restored and therefore salvation hasn’t taken place (Luke 23:39-43).

I want you to think about and understand this truth – obedience of faith is obedience from the heart based on trust which is based on love. The claim to obey without trusting is legalism! The claim to trust without obeying is libertinism! To trust and obey based on love is loyalty! One is works of the law – legalism! One is words of the lips – libertinism! One is worship of the Lord – loyalty!

Therefore the goal of the gospel of God’s grace is to bring about the obedience of faith but in order to do that the Gospel must bring about love for God and trust in God. So if we are going to trust and obey God then we are going to have to love God and if we are going to have to love God then the Gospel must bring us to that place – and it does – we love Him because He first loved us!

For His name’s sake (1:5d) – would the Lord’s name be great and would He receive any glory if He allowed men into heaven and yet they stayed the same wicked rebels that they had always been?

Here is the heart of the goal of the Gospel – the glory of God in the transformation of undeserving, disobedient, rebels into loving, loyal, and obedient children! The Gospel brings us to God as His children who love and adore Him and find the satisfaction of our souls in Him – “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Until the Gospel is used to bring about the obedience of faith for His name’s sake – until the Gospel is used to cause us to be enthralled with God Himself rather than self and sin, then it is used wrongly.

Christ did not die to forgive sinners who go on loving their sin. Christ did not die to forgive sinners who go on loving self, money, and pleasure – “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money…and lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:1-4). Christ died to forgive sinners who through the Gospel, hate sin and are transformed into lovers of God. The Gospel is not a way to get people to enjoy and treasure God’s gifts; it is a way to get people to enjoy and treasure God!

Why do you want to go to heaven? People who want to go to heaven because they don’t want to go to hell love the idea of God’s gift but not God Himself. Why do you want to go to heaven? People who want to go to heaven because of its beauty and its majesty love the idea of God’s gift but not God Himself. Why do you want to go to heaven? People who want to go to heaven because in heaven God is going to supply whatever makes men happy do not love God but love the idea of His gifts. Why do you want to go to heaven? People who could be happy in heaven if Christ we not there, will not be there! Why do I want to go to heaven? I want to see Jesus – He’s the One who died for me!

The Gospel has as its goal the glory of God in the salvation of self-centered, self-ruled, and self-loving sinners which transforms them into God-centered, God-ruled, and God-loving saints – for His name’s sake.

Content of a Minister's Message

Every minister ought to have credentials that verify that his ministry is not of man but of God. As the apostle Paul told the Galatians, “Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead)” (Galatians 1:1). The credentials that ought to be in every minister’s life are not to be some ordination certificate or letters of commendation or the number of referrals he can list on his resume. The credentials of a minister’s mission are to be that he is a bond-servant of Christ Jesus; that he has been called, authorized, and sent by God; and that he has given his life over to the gospel of God.

Paul, after introducing himself and setting forth the credentials for a minister’s mission, gave the content of the minister’s message. Not only should the minister of the Lord Jesus Christ not be sent from men nor through the agency of man, his message also should not be in the wisdom of man nor should it have its origin in man. The minister must speak God’s gospel and not some man-centered, self-help, human-needs approach gospel which alters the content of the message and corrupts the Word of God.

We now turn our attention to the content of the minister’s message – the gospel of God (Romans 1:2-4).

The promise of the gospel – its origin (1:2)

The gospel is God’s gospel; it doesn’t originate with man and it isn’t an afterthought with God. The gospel is eternal and therefore has as its origin God. God promised His gospel before He ever created the world and then communicated that promise beforehand through His prophets. As Martin Luther put it, “This proves that God’s counsel of salvation was foreordained in detail before it was carried into effect. So all glory for this doctrine must be ascribed to God and none to our merits and efforts; for before we ever existed, it was already ordained” (Commentary on Romans, page 34).

When writing to Titus concerning the origin of the gospel, its eternality, and that God communicated the promise of the gospel beforehand through His prophets, Paul wrote, “In the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago [literally before times eternal], but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior” (Titus 1:2-3).

Since the gospel has as its origin God, since it is eternal, and since it has been promised beforehand through God’s prophets, then doesn’t it make sense that the gospel is not to be tampered with? That is why Paul told Titus, “In the proclamation [of the gospel] with which I was entrusted.” No one has the right to alter the content of God’s gospel and if they do they can expect the certain and terrifying prospect of eternal damnation (Galatians 1:8).

The salvation of the sinner and the existence of the Christian religion owes its existence neither to blind chance nor to fate, but to the divine predetermined counsel, according to which it had to be fulfilled. This means that those who are open-theists are in extreme error and know not either God or His Word.

Open-theism takes on many forms but in essence it says that God doesn’t know everything. Its reasoning would say that God cannot determine the future so when God’s plan "A" fails then God must resort to plan "B". God doesn’t have a plan "B"! God hasn’t changed His plans nor made a revision to His strategy. God promised His gospel beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures.

The gospel did not originate with Paul and it does not originate with any other man and therefore the gospel we preach had better be the gospel that is found in the holy Scriptures. The Old Testament prophesied the gospel and it was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

The Person of the gospel – its Object (1:3-4) – the Lord Jesus Christ

Concerning His Son (1:3a). The gospel isn’t about you and it isn’t about me; the gospel is about Jesus Christ the Son of God. The word gospel is euangelion and it means "good news". There is no good news about us; only bad news. But there is good news about the Son of God and that good news is for us and not about us.

The humanity of God’s Son (1:3b)
His incarnation – Mary was a descendant of David
His inheritance – David’s throne – Joseph was a descendant of David
His innocence – he took on flesh and blood but never sinned

The divinity of God’s Son (1:4)
Made known publicly through the resurrection from the dead (1:4a)
Demonstrated as totally holy and without sin through the Holy Spirit (1:4b)
Exalted as Lord (1:4c)

This is good news indeed! As man, Jesus lived a perfect life of obedience through faith, facing all the sufferings of humanity, being tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin, laid down His life as a sacrifice for sinners, and became for all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation. As God, Jesus is worthy of worship and loving and loyal obedience.

This gospel is the only way that God can forgive sinners while He remains just and the only way that He can redeem men without causing them to become idolaters by worshiping someone who is not God.

A Call to Arms...Jude 3-4: About the Aim

So far in our studies of the letter of Jude we have learned about the author – that Jude was saved; that he was a servant; and that Jude was serious (1a). We have also learned about the audience and their unique position as believers, who had been effectually called into the kingdom of God through the gospel; who were the special objects of the love of God the Father as the beloved; and who were kept or preserved for Jesus Christ (1b).

Today we learn about the aim of Jude’s letter (3-4) – that it is a call to arms; a rally cry for those who are kept for Jesus Christ to keep or guard the truth of the Word of God which has been entrusted to the saints. This is a reminder to the saints that we are in a war for truth, a battle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness, and that we are to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ the Captain of the army. The Christian life is a battleground and not a playground and we are not volunteers but we have been chosen and enlisted by the Lord Himself.

Here we see three aspects of Jude the soldier of Christ: (1) Jude’s important desire, (2) Jude’s impelling necessity, and (3) Jude’s imperative reason.

Jude’s important desire (3a) – “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation….” Jude had set out to write an encouraging letter about the common salvation of the saints. This is a very important theme and is a noble and important desire for pastors to teach their people about the glorious truths of their positions as saints. After all, what we do and how we live should be determined by who we are in relationship to our position. Therefore the truth about our position as saints should serve as a motivator for us to walk in a manner worthy of our calling.

Doctrine determines duty or to put it another way belief determines behavior. This is why the apostle Paul began his letter to the Ephesians with the doctrine of who we are in Christ before he ever gave our duties as believers in Christ. A careful reading of Ephesians tells us both who we are and how we should conduct ourselves – and it is interesting that even in the book of Ephesians that our calling and blessings in salvation are to result in our victorious stand in the battle for truth.

While it is an important and necessary desire to teach the saints about our common salvation so that they can walk in a manner worthy of the gospel, it is also important for them to be reminded that based on their position that they are to war in a manner worthy of the gospel. As a pastor I would much rather encourage the saints than to declare war on apostates but the two must go hand in hand.

Jude’s impelling necessity (3b) – “…I felt the necessity to write you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.” Jude had no more than began to write his encouraging letter that he intended to be a discussion on the blessings and benefits of our common salvation that he was compelled or compressed into going another direction. The Spirit of God changed Jude’s mind and laid on him the necessity to write about the battle against the forces of evil which were rapidly gaining a foothold in the church. Jude was impelled by the Holy Spirit and the circumstances of apostates infiltrating the church to the extent that it was necessary for him to sound the trumpet.

What was it that the Holy Spirit impelled Jude to write to the saints? Jude was impelled to write an exhortation or an appeal. In the Greek language, the word for exhort or appeal was used to describe a general giving orders to the army. In other words, inspired by the Holy Spirit, Jude called on the saints to engage in the battle for truth and especially as it pertains to the body of truth, the faith, which was once for all handed down to the saints. The saints have been given the responsibility from the Lord to guard and fight for the faith. The apostle Paul spoke of guarding or fighting for the faith many times in his letters to Timothy. Guarding the doctrine and keeping the gospel pure against the strange doctrines of the apostates and false teachers is a primary responsibility of pastors but it is also a primary responsibility of every Christian. The church is supposed to be the pillar and support of the truth and the only way to accomplish this is to guard the truth and battle for the truth.

We are told that we are to earnestly contend for the faith. Earnestly contend comes from a word from which we get our English word “agonize.” The word speaks of a vigorous intense, determined struggle to defeat the opposition. In other words we are to strain with every fiber of our being in this battle to maintain the purity of the faith without letting it be spoiled or corrupted by apostates and their strange doctrines. We are to exert ourselves to the point of agony in an effort to win the battle for truth. Jude tells us that it is with such intense effort that the saints should defend the doctrines of Christianity.

The exhortation was to earnestly contend for the faith. The faith here is not faith as exercised by the individual, but the body of truth pertaining to Christianity in its historic doctrines and life-giving salvation. In other words we are not seeking some new revelation but to be true to the historic doctrines of God which was once for all delivered to the saints. It is our responsibility to seek the ancient paths and to be sure that what we believe and are preaching, and teaching is in line with the Word of God. God is keeping us and we are to keep or guard the truth of the Word of God.

All the cults and false religions and I should also add apostate religions have abandoned the truth of God’s Word and are not keeping or guarding it but corrupting it with destructive heresies. They come up with new revelations and new interpretations although God’s Word plainly says that the body of truth has been once for all handed down to the saints. God has said what He needed to say and there isn’t going to be any further revelation. Muhammad was a liar, Joseph Smith was liar, and all who claim to have divine revelations of heaven or hell or anything else is a liar. If we want a divine revelation I suggest we read God’s divine revelation – His Word. God’s Word is not only His divinely inspired revelation of truth; it is totally sufficient in all areas of rule and practice. We do not need to look to the psychologists, anthropologists, or sociologists to see how we are to do church or grow the church – we only need to look to the Word of God and the historic truths of Christian doctrine.

Jude’s imperative reason (4) – “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” Jude now gets to the reason that we must earnestly contend for the faith – the stealth of the enemy whose desire is to dilute, distort, and defile the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.

Notice how Jude characterized these apostates – “for certain persons have crept in unnoticed.” They use stealth. They enter alongside by stealth and deceit. They slip in secretly. They have the ability to go undetected by the radar. In other words they claim to be Christian and claim to be followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t misinterpret this passage. The way these people deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ is not through an outright denial but by turning His grace into licentiousness. They could not have crept in unnoticed with an outright denial of the Lord. They actually claim to be His servants and claim to speak His word. They disguise themselves as servants of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). It is the responsibility of the church leaders to guard the flock (Acts 20:28-31) and the responsibility of the saints to be alert.

Jude also characterized these apostates as marked out for condemnation – “those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation.” The word of “marked out” is prographo and it means to write beforehand. God’s word tells beforehand the nature of the apostates and their coming judgment. Before it ever happened, God’s word told of the activity of the apostates who would sneak in and corrupt the meaning and application of God’s word thereby incurring a just and rightful condemnation for such ungodly activity. There is no excuse for apostates who twist God’s word because He has already said beforehand that they would and that He would judge and condemn them.

Another characterization that Jude gave of the apostates is that they are ungodly – “ungodly persons.” Ungodly is one of Jude’s key words in this letter. He used it six times in these twenty five verses. Ungodly means destitute of reverential awe toward God. This means that these people have no fear of God and that they reject His authority. Apostates will have nothing to do with the Lord as absolute ruler but would rather think of Him as their buddy who is interested in their happiness and not their holiness. Apostates want Jesus Christ as Savior but not as Lord. They want Him as a means to be used for their health, wealth, and prosperity but not as the ruler of their lives. They are ungodly!

The apostates are also transposers – “who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” By turning the grace of God into licentiousness, the apostates replace one thing with another. In this case they put licentiousness in the place of the grace of God. This is a redefinition of biblical grace into that which is not biblical and not intended. Licentiousness is nothing short of anarchy by giving the right to do whatever one pleases as though God’s grace allows such activity. Turning the grace of God into licentiousness turns the grace of God into a license to sin rather than a motivator to live righteously (Titus 2:11-12). Therefore, turning the grace of God into licentiousness becomes a denial of the rule and authority of the Lord in our lives. It becomes a denial of the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Apostates “deny our only Master and Lord - “master” is from the word despot and means absolute master or ruler. The apostate views the Lordship of Jesus as a King with absolute or unlimited power as that which is oppressive. Therefore the apostate views the absolute rule of Jesus Christ as a type of tyrannical and oppressive rule. So the apostate recoils against salvation as an issue of Lordship and rejects the Lord’s authority choosing instead to replace God’s grace which gives us the power to live righteously under the Lordship of Jesus with licentiousness which is nothing short of anarchy.

So these persons are ungodly and without reverential awe of God and deny His absolute authority by turning His grace into licentiousness. Apostates claim to know Jesus Christ but they have not and will not receive Him as the King of God’s kingdom. Apostates don’t teach the doctrine of the Lordship of Jesus but rather undermine it. Apostates want Jesus as Savior but not as Lord. We must guard against such destructive heresies!

The Ancestry of the King...His Divine Heredity

Matthew 1:16 and 18 makes it clear that Jesus Christ’s birth was different from that of any other Jewish boy named in the genealogy. Matthew pointed out that Joseph did not “beget” Jesus Christ. Rather, Joseph was the husband of Mary, by whom was born Jesus who is called Christ. Jesus was born of an earthly mother without the need of an earthly father. This is known as the doctrine of the Virgin Birth.

It is the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ that proves that God is His Father and that He Himself is God and not just another man. Had Jesus have had an earthly father then we wouldn’t believe in His deity (that He is God). Had Jesus came into the world without the agent of an earthly mother then we wouldn’t believe in His humanity. But the virgin birth proves that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man.

It is surely no accident that the beginning of Matthew’s gospel is devoted to establishing both the regal humanity and the deity of Jesus Christ. Apart from Jesus’ being both human and divine, there is no gospel. The incarnation of Jesus Christ is the central fact of Christianity. The essence and power of the gospel is that God became man and that, by being fully God and fully man, He was able to reconcile men to God. Jesus’ virgin birth, His substitutionary atoning death, resurrection, ascension, and return are all integral aspects of His deity and the gospel.

After establishing Jesus’ human heredity, Matthew proceeded to establish His divine heredity.

First there was a miraculous conception (1:18)

In His birth Christ was conceived in a borrowed unused womb. We will see that in His death Christ was buried in a borrowed unused tomb. In this section of Scripture we see how God operates. He chooses the things that are not to shame the things that are. He chose Mary and Joseph, two godly but unknown and poor young people, to bring the King of glory into the world. We are reminded in First Corinthians chapter one that God operates in this fashion and that in His choosing us it wasn’t because of our being somebodies but because of our being nobodies. O what a Savior!

This verse makes it plain that Joseph was not the father of Jesus Christ. Joseph was Jesus’ legal earthly guardian-father. Mary and Joseph had been betrothed. To the Jewish people in that day, betrothal (engagement) was equivalent to marriage – except that the man and woman did not live together. They were called husband and wife and at the end of the engagement period the marriage was consummated. If a betrothed woman became pregnant, it was considered adultery.

Second there was a natural misunderstanding (1:19)

Joseph knew that he hadn’t had relations with Mary and yet she was pregnant. But because he was a “righteous man” he didn’t want to disgrace her and planned to send her away secretly. To send away means to divorce.

Legally Joseph could have divorced Mary and had her stoned for adultery but he showed grace and because of it he himself would soon become the recipient of grace – the grace of the Lord Jesus. Because Joseph was a righteous man he was in a predicament. He knew he shouldn’t go through with the marriage but he also knew that he should show grace – so what was he to do?

Third there was a divine explanation (1:20)

While considering what to do the Lord answered Joseph’s predicament by giving him an explanation of what was going on – Mary was pregnant by an act of the Holy Spirit. Joseph was given a couple of commandments in his dream from the angel – (1) do not be afraid and (2) take Mary as your wife. Joseph, the son of David, would be included in the glorious privilege of the arrival and raising of the King.

Fourth, the King’s divine heredity was proven in His names and His birth fulfilling prophecy (1:21-23)

The virgin will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus. The name Jesus means “Yahweh is salvation.” Jesus is the Greek version of the Hebrew name Joshua. The name Jesus was given to our Lord by God. He would be named Jesus because He will save His people from their sins.

All this took place so that what was spoken of through the prophet would be fulfilled: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). Immanuel translated means, “God with us.” This One is God. He is God in flesh and God with us. Jesus is His human name; Christ is His official title; and Immanuel describes who He is – He is God! The King was a Jewish male who was also the divine Son of God.

Finally there was obedience to the commands of the Lord (1:24-25).

After Joseph awoke from his sleep he took steps of obedience that are always necessary to be included in the blessings of God. Notice the verbs of action that characterize obedience – he did; he took; he kept; he called. He did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took Mary as his wife, he kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son, and he called His name Jesus.

Matthew has given conclusive proof that Jesus Christ is the Son of Man and the Son of God who alone is the King of kings and Lord of lords. The question is – is Jesus your King? Do you love and serve Jesus as King because He first loved you and gave Himself up for you?

The Ancestry of the King...His Human Heredity

The Old Testament promised over and over again the coming of a great King who will rule in God’s kingdom. According to the Old Testament this great King would have the character of God Himself (Micah 5:2-4). He would be of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:8-11) and the rightful heir to the throne of King David (2 Samuel 7:12-13). This coming great King would have the righteousness, the wisdom, the power, the authority, and the right to reign not only over Israel but over the entire earth.[1]

The whole New Testament acknowledges Jesus as the promised great King and this is initially presented and explained in the gospels, beginning with Matthew. “In the twenty-seven books of the New Testament the term kingdom is used one hundred forty-four times in referring to the reign of Jesus Christ; king is used directly of Jesus at least thirty-five times; and to reign is used of Him some ten times.”[2]

Matthew’s gospel serves as the bridge that leads us out of the Old Testament and into the New Testament. “The theme of the Old Testament is given in Genesis 5:1: ‘This is the book of the generations of Adam.’ The theme of the New Testament is given in Matthew 1:1: ‘The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.’”[3] Jesus the King is the last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45) and He came to save the “generations of Adam” who rebelled against His kingship.

Matthew’s gospel picks up in verse one with two Old Testament figures, David and Abraham, that God entered into covenant with and will proceed to show that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the promises made in each of these covenants. Matthew will show that Jesus is the King, the sovereign Son of David and that as the King He is also the sacrificial Son of Abraham.[4] Here is an amazing truth: the sovereign Lord is also the sacrificial Lamb.

The message of the book of Matthew centers on the theme of Jesus’ kingship and His kingdom. Matthew presents the Messiah King who is revealed, rebelled against, rejected and resurrected.[5] With His resurrection, Jesus as King commissioned His subjects to bring in His kingdom by bringing others to the point of obedient service to Him through preaching His gospel that offers forgiveness through repentance and faith. And for this purpose the King has promised His power and His presence.

Matthew’s key verse, if we were to pick one out, would have to be Matthew 27:37 which says, “THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” This man Jesus, grew up in the middle of nowhere (Nazareth) with a couple of nobodies (Joseph and Mary). Yet Jesus was the sole legal and rightful heir to the throne of Israel.

Matthew wasted no time in his account of proving that Jesus is the only One who has the credentials to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies of the coming great King who would rule the world in righteousness and redeem His people. Jesus’ genealogy gave proof that He was the rightful heir to the throne and that He was the promised Messiah.

Since royalty depends on heredity, it was important for Matthew to establish Jesus' rights to David’s throne. Matthew 1:1-17 gives Jesus' human heredity and legal right as King to the throne of David.

The King’s Human Heredity (1:1-17)

The first verse of the New Testament is actually stunning. “The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” In this one verse Jesus is presented as the Sovereign son of David and the sacrificial son of Abraham. Jesus is not only the Sovereign Lord He is also the Sacrificial Lamb.

For us to get a good grip on what the Holy Spirit is saying to us through the pages of the Bible we need to understand these two patriarchs and the promises made to both of them by God.

First we will deal with David and the promises given to him by God in what we call the “Davidic Covenant.” The Davidic Covenant is found in 2 Samuel 7:12-16. Messiah’s royal line began with David. Through the prophet Nathan, God promised that it would be David’s descendants through whom He would bring the great King who would ultimately rule over Israel and establish His eternal kingdom.

The promise was not fulfilled in Solomon, David’s son who succeeded him, or in any other king who ruled in Israel or Judah; and the people waited for one to be born of David’s line to fulfill the prophecy. The Messiah would be the King of the Jews. He would be the sovereign son of David.

Next we will deal with the Abraham and the promises given to him by God in what we call the Abrahamic Covenant. The Abrahamic Covenant is found in Genesis 12:1-3 where God promised Abraham that He would bless the nations of the world through Abraham’s seed. Through the seed of Abraham God was going to provide the Messiah to solve man’s sin and rebellion problem by dying as their sacrificial Lamb on Calvary’s Hill. Through the seed of Abraham God would bless the families of the earth.

We are saved today because of God’s covenant with Abraham. “Even so Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham the believer” (Galatians 3:6-9).

God promised to bless the nations through Abraham’s seed and in that statement God was preaching the gospel beforehand to Abraham. God would bless the nations through Christ. “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ” (Galatians 3:16). This is why Jesus told the Jews that Abraham saw His day and rejoiced and was glad in it (John 8:56).

So today, anyone who belongs to Christ is heir to the promises given to Abraham. “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise” (Galatians 3:29).

Matthew has said that Jesus is the son of David and the son of Abraham and now in verses 2-17 he commenced to prove it. Jesus is linked by blood to both David and Abraham and thus giving us His human heredity. Not only is Jesus the Son of God, He is also the Son of man. Because the promised Christ must be descended from both David and Abraham in order to fulfill Scripture, the documentation of His lineage is critically important.

When it comes to kings, people want to know just where they came from. These lists serve a practical purpose. In a day before the man on the street had his own copy of the Bible, people had to rely on memory and oral history. So Matthew traced Christ’s genealogy in three sets of fourteen generations. The three sets are broken down into those generations : (1) before the monarchy, (2) during the monarchy, and (3) after the fall of the monarchy to Babylon.

Matthew did not mention every single ancestor, but traced the generations in systematic, memorable terms. If the reader wanted more detail, it was available through the temple records. Matthew’s undeniable point was that Jesus of Nazareth is the legal heir to the throne of David! The King was on the scene!

In the course of tracing the generations of the Christ, Matthew tossed in a few surprises to help us begin to see the mercy and grace of God. He included no less than four women in the lineage, a highly unusual approach for a Jewish genealogy! Some of those women were Gentiles! God’s grace is clearly seen in the inclusion of outcasts in the kingdom of God.

Jesus is the Christ, the sovereign son of David, the sacrificial son of Abraham, and the King of the kingdom of God who gave His life as a ransom to make willing subjects. “But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence” (Luke 19:27).

[1] John MacArthur Jr., Matthew 1-7 in The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1985), ix.
[2] MacArthur, x.
[3] Warren W. Wiersbe, Matthew in The Bible Exposition Commentary, Vol. 1 (Colorado Springs: Chariot Victor Publishing, 1999), 10.
[4] Stuart K. Weber, Matthew in Holman New Testament Commentary, Vol. 1 (Nashville: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 2000), 9-10.
[5] Wiersbe, 9.