Gary Gleans

                                                                                  Romans 14:10-12 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For   we will all stand before   the judgment seat of God;   for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,   and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then   each of us will give an account of himself to God.   Paul continues to give us arguments that are designed to convince us to stop dividing over differences of opinions in areas of personal preference.  This argument points to the eternal consequences that a failure to live by the pervious principles will cause.  Believers need to take these things seriously because one day we will stand before God to account for these issues and the result will be eternal in nature.   WE WILL ALL BE JUDGED BY GOD: It is impossible for us to judge one another’s motives, but that does not mean that our motives are unimportant.  The reason we a

                                                                             Romans 14:5-9 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.   The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.   For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself.   For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.   For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.   When we have a difference of opinion, preference, or conviction with another brother in Christ, we need to make sure that we check our motives very clearly.  We cannot judge, or even know, the motives of others, but we must evalu

                                                                             Romans 14:1-4 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables.   Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.   The body of Christ is made up of a variety of people from a variety of backgrounds with a variety of different traditions.  These are not issues of right or wrong, but they are issues of personal preference.  At times we have issues that are called “wisdom issues.”  Paul wants to make it clear that these things are not supposed to divide us against one another.  There is room within the body of Christ for a vari

                                                                        Romans 13:11-14 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.   The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.   Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.   But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.   In light of all Christ has done for us, there is an expectation about how we are to live.  There is an urgency that should mark our lives and a contrast with how we used to live and the world continues to live.  The fact that Christ has come and is returning should have clear implications on our lives.    BE PREPARED FOR THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST: The Bible uses many images to depict the unbeli

                                                                             Romans 13:8-10 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.   For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”   Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.   The responsibilities of the Christian life are very easy to understand but are very hard to fulfill.  It is easy for us to understand that we are to love one another, but it is a difficult standard to keep.  If we could just apply this one principle to our lives in every sphere of our influence, the church would be radically transformed and would very likely be overrun with people.   NEVER OWE MONEY: One of the worst habits we have is to spend more money than we earn.  This culture makes it easier a

                                                                             Romans 13:1-7 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.   For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval,   for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.   Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience.   For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing.   Pay to all what is owed to them: taxe

                                                                                  Romans 12:14-21 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.   Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.   Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.   Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.   If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.   Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”   To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”   Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.   It is rather easy to love those who love us.  Paul continues his description of love in this passage.  Only, the love in the previous section w

                                                                                  Romans 12:9-13 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.   Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.   Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.   Love is the distinguishing mark of the follower of Christ.  However, love can be easily confused with other things that are only imitations of what true love is, things like lust and romance.  Paul’s description of love is very helpful for us to understand how God would have us to love one another.  The list is long, but practical and can be divided into four categories.   LOVE MUST BE PURE: By definition, love does what is best for the object of that love.  True biblical love will always contribute to and strive for the purity of one another.

                                                                                  Romans 12:3-8 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.   For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function,   so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.   Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.   How are our spiritual gifts to be used?  This is an important question for Christians to answer as we seek to serve him.  The gifts we have come from God, and

                                                                             Romans 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.   What does God want me to do?  This is a question that Christians constantly ask throughout their lives.  There are situations where the answer is clear from Scripture.  However, there are other specific situations that are harder to discern.  In such cases, the principles of this passage can be very helpful as we seek to discern and follow God’s will.   SURRENDER YOUR BODY: Our bodies are either instruments in the hands of the Spirit to do God’s will or they are of the flesh to practice sin.  In light of the mercies of God and the glory of the Gospel, t

                                                                                  Romans 11:25-36 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel,   until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.   And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,  “The Deliverer will come   from Zion,   he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;   “and this will be my   covenant with them   when I take away their sins.” As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are   beloved for the sake of their forefathers.   For the gifts and   the calling of God are irrevocable.   For just as   you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience,   so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy.   For God   has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all

                                                                                       Romans 11:11-24 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass   salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.   Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!   Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as   I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry   in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and   thus save some of them.   For if their rejection means   the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?   If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.   But if   some of the branches were broken off, and you,   although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nouri

                                                                                       Romans 11:7-10 What then?   Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest   were hardened,   as it is written,  “God gave them a spirit of stupor,   eyes that would not see   and ears that would not hear,   down to this very day.” And David says,  “Let their table become a snare and a trap,   a stumbling block and a retribution for them;   let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,   and bend their backs forever.” What happened to bring Israel to the place where they were not open to the Gospel?  Paul shows that this failure to see the Messiah and understand the Gospel was foretold by both Isaiah and David.  Having a hard heart had basically become the nation’s identity.  This reality should not come as a surprise and cannot call into question the sovereign plan of God.   THE HEART OF ISRAEL BECAME UNRESPONSIVE: There is a consequence to rejecting the truth