God the Architect (Romans 9:14-29)

Do you realize that we started our journey in Romans 118 days ago. Hard to believe it has been that long already. So, what have we learned so far in the first 9 chapters of Romans?

1. Follow the Truth and be on Alert
2. That we have Eternal Security
3. The Reason for Jesus
4. The Promises of God
5. Justification Through Faith
6. We are a New Creation in Christ
7. That we are Free and Not of this World
8. That we are given strength against the old sin nature
9. That He is changing us from the Inside Out – Progressive Transformation
10. That we have been called by God
11. That He Foreknew, Predestined, Called, Justified and Glorified us
12. That God is Sovereign.

So, here we are, week 3 of our discussion on election and predestination. The point of all of this is to point to the Sovereignty of God and to affirm our faith that our God is bigger than time itself.

 “For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.” Hebrews 3:4

Albert Einstein’s wife was asked the question, “Do you understand the theory of relativity?” She responded immediately, “No, but I know Albert, and he can be trusted.” This brilliant response by Meliva Einstein provides a tremendous principle for accurate biblical interpretation. There are some portions of Scripture that are so deep that we can’t understand them fully in this life. As finite beings we just can’t understand the infinite. However, we know God, and He can be trusted.

“Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.” Psalm 100:4

Thank God for what He has done for you – for answers to prayer, for forgiving your sins, for coming in to your life, for making you His child. We can thank Him both for blessings seen and those as yet unseen. It is a key to faith, and it is natural and right that we give thanks always to the One from whom all good things come (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Thank God for the results of prayer, both before and after you see the results (Philippians 4:6-7). Pray with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving expresses your confidence that God has heard and answered your prayer even before you see the result.

As we honor those who have served in the United States Armed Forces, Calvary Fellowship Fountain Valley encourages you to pray for our military families and diligently intercede on behalf of those who continue to fight for freedom across the globe. Scriptures remind us that Almighty God goes before us even on the battlefield:

He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate and encouraged them with these words: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” – II Chronicles 32:6-8

How many of you are dog owners? Perhaps you’ve seen someone walking a dog on a leash when the dog doesn’t want to go where its owner is going? The owner is constantly tugging on the leash pulling the dog back from here and there and telling it to stop and start. That’s the way a lot of Christians live. They’re on a “Law leash.” Their lives consist of, “stop that; come back here; don’t do that,” only it’s in terms of, “read your Bible; pray; witness; go to church; serve; be Christ-like.” Now, there’s nothing wrong with these things. They are all biblical. But God never meant us to do them at the end of a leash! What a difference it is when you see a dog and its owner that have a strong relationship. The dog doesn’t need the leash to go for a walk. Its owner can just speak a word and the dog responds. I’m not comparing you to a dog. Rather, I’m comparing performance to relationship.

For years I’ve been on a “Law leash.” I’ve tried to perform spiritually by reading my Bible, praying, witnessing, serving, and being Christ-like. I’ve always assumed that I’ve been driven by my love for God. Yet, over the years I’ve sensed the failure and frustration of trying to measure up to my own expectations. It’s not the expectations of others as much as it is my own quest for excellence. Like a recovering alcoholic, I could say, “Hi, my name is John and I’m a legalist” (hopefully a recovering legalist). Perhaps you’re unfamiliar with the term legalism? Legalism is “that fleshly attitude which conforms to a code in order to glorify self.” It is anything done in self-effort and human ability apart from the enablement of the Holy Spirit. This includes the spiritual disciplines and Christian qualities like kindness and gentleness done in our own power. It can even be controlling our anger in self-effort. Yet, anything done apart from the Spirit is displeasing to God. What a sobering reality for those of us who do so many “Christian” things without really drawing on strength from the Lord. Like the words of Christ – this kind of strength only comes by Prayer and Fasting (Mark 9:29 and Matthew 17:21).

In Romans 7:7-25 Paul shares his experience as a recovering legalist. Admittedly, this is one of the most disputed passages in the Bible. Various suggestions for the “I” in question have been proposed: an unbeliever, a mature believer, or a hypothetical believer, Israel, Adam, or even humankind in general. Every view has strengths and weaknesses, but I believe the least problematic view is that Paul is sharing his former struggle to mix grace and Law. The challenge Paul issues is: Throw off your Law leash! In this text, Paul explains two biblical fundamentals to live the Christian life.

For Jacob German, Saturday, May 20, 1899, began like any other. He donned his uniform, unplugged his electric taxicab and started collecting fares for the Electric Vehicle Company in New York City. For unrecorded reasons, Mr. German was hurtling down Lexington Avenue in Manhattan at 12mph, four miles per hour above the speed limit. He was pulled over by a policeman on a bicycle and arrested. He didn’t receive a speeding ticket, as they hadn’t yet been invented (that first goes to Harry Myers in Dayton, Ohio, in 1904), but he became the first person in the United States to be cited for speeding (albeit under an outdated law written for non-motorized vehicles).

Speed limits in the United States have been on the books since 1652, with the colony of New Amsterdam’s selectmen issuing a declaration that “no wagons, carts or sleighs shall be run, rode or driven at a gallop.” The fine was approximately $150 in today’s money. One hundred years later, the city council of Boston set a Sunday speed limit for carriages, horses and wagons at a walking pace.

New York City was the first to adopt a comprehensive traffic code in 1903, and in 1909, for example, Washington enforced a 12mph speed limit on straight roads and 4mph on curves. However, as late as 1930, a dozen states had no speed limits at all, while 28 states did not even require a driver's license to operate a motor vehicle. As cars have increased in ability through the years, so have speed limits and other traffic related laws. However, speed limits and rules governing the use of public roads had always been up to the individual states. For example, some California highways were at 70mph; turnpike speed limits in Kansas had been as high as 80mph, while Montana and Nevada had no posted speed limits and instead relied on the concept of “basic rule” -- that drivers are required to drive at a safe speed for conditions.

A pivotal milestone in the history of speed limits in the United States happened on January 2, 1974, when President Nixon signed the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act, a government reaction to the 1973 Oil Crisis. Included in the legislature was the National Maximum Speed Law, setting the maximum speed limit at 55mph throughout the country, trumping all state laws regarding speed limits.

The National Maximum Speed Law (NMSL) affected 29 states that had to lower their limits, while nine states actually had to raise their speed limits from 50mph. The remaining 12 states already had 55-mph speed limits. The anticipated result was that gas consumption would fall by 2.2 percent from the previous year, and states must comply in order to receive Federal funds for highway repair. Interestingly, Montana complied with the change, but did so by charging only $5 for exceeding the new speed limit.

In an effort to enforce the 55-mph law, on September 1, 1979, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) required that speedometers emphasize the number 55 (by either a highlighted color, placing it at the top of the gauge, or both). Two years later, the NHTSA concluded that an emphasized “55” is “unlikely to yield significant safety benefits” and “…adds little to the information provided to the driver by a roadside speed limit sign.” However, for model years to come, the appearance of speedometers would echo this change with the “55” at the top of the gauge.Pressure from the states, public and lobbyists would begin to erode the NMSL during the early half of the 1980s. As part of a 1987 highway funding bill, Congress permitted the states to raise their speed limits from 55 to 65 mph on certain interstates. This was due to falling gasoline prices and a reduced need to save energy, as well as a widespread noncompliance with the Federal speed limit.

It was not until December 8, 1995, that the NMSL was repealed entirely by Congress in the National Highway Designation Act. One of the most compelling arguments made by members of Congress in favor of repealing the federal speed limit law was that it violated states’ rights to set their own limits as they wished. Despite loud opposition from safety, medical, and insurance groups, the Senate repealed the Federal speed limit law by a vote of 80 to 16. Congress did not mandate that speed limits must be raised; it merely allowed states to raise the speed limits as they saw fit.And most states saw fit immediately. All but Hawaii returned the speed limits to pre-1974 limits (Hawaii raised the speed limits on some stretches of freeway to 60mph in 2002). Montana was the only state to revert to no posted daytime speed limit beyond the “reasonable and prudent.” However, after the Montana Supreme Court decided that the “reasonable and prudent” was too vague, Montana's legislature imposed a 75-mph limit on rural freeways in 1999.

In 1983, on his way to Lake Placid in a rental car at two in the morning, Sammy Hagar (of Van Halen fame) was pulled over for speeding. In a 1994 interview, Hagar remembers: “Cop stopped me for doing 62 on a four-lane road when there was no one else in sight. Then the guy gave me a ticket. I was doing 62. And he said, 'We give tickets around here for over 60.' And I said, 'I can't drive 55!' I grabbed a paper and a pen, and I swear the guy was writing the ticket and I was writing the lyrics.”According to the U.S. Census Bureau, an estimated 100,000 people per day are cited for speeding in the United States, with an average cost of $150 per ticket, generating around $15 million per day or around $5.5 billion per year in revenue.

Not of This World – a Doulos for Christ

(Romans 6:15-23)

Doulos (δοῦλος)(doo'-los): Biblically it is commonly translated as bond-servant or slave – defined as someone who is devoted to another to the disregard of one's own interests. That is more than a slave. It is a loyal subject who is cause-centric in their life. This is the way Paul starts this letter in Romans 1:1. That he is a servant – a slave – of Christ Jesus.

WASHOE (WA-SHO): One of the most famous chimpanzees of all time is one by the name of Washoe. Some soldiers picked up Washoe in West Africa. In 1966 she was adopted by two doctors who raised her almost like a child. In 1970, however, she was turned over to another pair of doctors and taken to the University of Oklahoma. Here she went through rigorous training to become the first non-human to learn American Sign Language. She learned over 140 signs! It was discovered, however, that she was just mimicking all that she had been taught. After several years the staff decided that she was able to try to conceptualize. “She is going to say what is on her heart!” the staff declared. In her safe and secure cage, well taken care of, Washoe said the first three words of her own initiative: “LET ME OUT!!!” She signed these words several times.

Even in animals, there is a desire for freedom. Given the chance most animals would leave safety for the chance for freedom. Humans long for freedom as well. We yearn to enjoy life, free from guilt and despair. We want to live significant lives. Moreover, God has created us for freedom—it is our intended destiny. Yet the great Christian paradox is that we are freed from the slavery of sin to become slaves to God. We could put it like this: True freedom is slavery to Christ. In Romans 6:15-23 Paul shares two critical facts about slavery.

In 1947, in the case Everson v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court declared, "The First Amendment has erected a wall between church and state. That wall must be kept high and impregnable. We could not approve the slightest breach." The "separation of church and state" phrase which they invoked, and which has today become so familiar, was taken from an exchange of letters between President Thomas Jefferson and the Baptist Association of Danbury, Connecticut, shortly after Jefferson became President.

The election of Jefferson – America's first Anti-Federalist President – elated many Baptists since that denomination, by-and-large, was also strongly Anti-Federalist. This political disposition of the Baptists was understandable, for from the early settlement of Rhode Island in the 1630s to the time of the federal Constitution in the 1780s, the Baptists had often found themselves suffering from the centralization of power.

I Am Free - part 1 (Romans 6:1-14)

RABBI: There is an old story of a rabbi in a Russian city. Disappointed by a lack of direction and purpose, he wandered out into a chilly evening. With his hands thrust deep into his pockets, he aimlessly walked through the empty streets questioning his faith in God, the Scriptures, and his calling to ministry. The only thing colder than the Russian winter air was the chill within his soul. He was so enshrouded by his own despair that he mistakenly wandered into a Russian compound, off limits to any civilian.

As he did, the silence of the evening chill was shattered by the bark of a Russian soldier. “Who are you and what are you doing here?” he yelled. “Excuse me?” replied the rabbi. I said, “Who are you and what are you doing here?” After a brief moment, the rabbi, in a gracious tone so as to not provoke any further anger from the soldier, said, “How much do you get paid every day?” “What does that have to do with you?” the soldier retorted. The rabbi replied with a tone of discovery, “I will pay the equal sum if you will ask me those same two questions every day: ‘Who are you?’ and, ‘what are you doing here?’”

Let me be that Russian soldier to you as I ask you those same two questions: “Who are you?” and, “What are you doing here?”

In other words, how do you view yourself? Do you see yourself primarily as a sinner or a saint? Are you a victim of the world, the flesh, and the devil, or are you victorious through Christ? What is your purpose in this life? Are you here to make a living or to experience true life? The answers to these questions and more are found in Rom 6:1-14. Paul will argue that right thinking and right responding result in right living. These fourteen verses primarily focus on why we should obey Christ. If this passage is understood and applied, it has the potential to transform our lives as we discover new confidence, purpose, and power. Paul shares two tips that will lead to transformed living from the inside out.

September is a month of great importance throughout Biblical History. It is a season of repentance and restoration. For thousands of years, the Holy Days have pointed to the Messiah, Jesus Christ, and His return. So, it is important to understand the calendar to better understand the signs and the times. Here is a brief summary of what to expect this month:

“Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord… For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people.” (Leviticus 23:26-29)

You don’t need prophetic vision to know that the world is on the verge of a new period heralding in global changes unlike any ever seen before. The signs are obvious and the pieces are all in place. With the Jewish holiday’s fast approaching, God’s plan for change and redemption is unfolding before our very eyes with grave implications for the nation of Israel.

The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, will begin on the evening of September 13 and end after sunset on September 15. According to Jewish tradition, Rosh Hashanah is the day that God begins the process of judging the entire world.

This year’s Rosh Hashanah is especially unique in that it will signal the end of the Shemitah year, the Sabbatical year which occurs in a seven year cycle. According to the Talmud, the written text explaining the oral Torah, the Messiah will come in the year following the Shemitah year.