Bereans of Trinity

In this talk Rick reflects on the idea of transitions in life, and looks briefly at key transitions throughout redemptive history, from Jacob's blessing of his sons to the Apostle John's words to those he loved late in his life and ministry. In this final Sunday that Rick will be teaching the Berean class, he shares from his own heart about his teaching the class over the past years, and lessons he's learned that will be helpful to the class at it moves forward in the weeks and months ahead. (49 min)

Continuing our study of David's psalm celebrating his deliverance, we considered what happened when David cried out to God in his suffering. What was David trying to say about God's response with his very vivid description of an angry God flying down to deliver him? Is David saying that we always experience immediate deliverance when we cry out to God in our affliction? David makes some very bold claims about himself as to why God delighted in him. If we are reluctant to make such claims about ourselves, does that mean that we can take no comfort from this psalm? We know that David had a number of very significant moral lapses. How could he claim to have been "blameless" and to have kept the Lord before him? Can we have confidence in God's delighting in us? (49 min.)

In looking at this psalm we find David full of love for the God who has delivered him from his terrible struggles. What imagery from David's life experiences does he use to express what God has been to him in his distress? What is the habit that David has established in his life? How is David's God different from the gods of the nations around him? What was David's crisis like? How long did it last? Does God always act when we cry out to Him in our distress? We all know people who have suffered much more than we have. What is a mistake we often make when we compare our suffering to that of others? (41 min.)

In this lesson we take an introductory look at Psalm 18. This was a psalm apparently composed by David after his deliverance from the pursuit of King Saul. It is believed that David also used this psalm in celebration after other great deliverances in his life. What are some of the things about David and his life which serve as a background to the imagery and metaphors David uses in this psalm? What was David like as a person? What are a couple of things that are important to remember about suffering and deliverance as we begin to consider this psalm? What was very unusual about David's expression of love for God? What should we keep in mind when we openly confess to God our love for him? (38 min.)

In this lesson we continue to consider the song of praise of the King's bride. What is the psalmist picturing about the future of God's people when he speaks about the daughter of Tyre and the rich people bringing gifts and seeking favor? What does the beautiful clothing of the bride represent? What is so unusual about the way the bride of Christ is pictured in this psalm compared to how we typically think of the church? How is it possible to think of the church as being attired with glorious deeds? What does the new bride of the King receive in the place of what she's had to leave behind. (63 min.)

In this abbreviated lesson we continued our study of Psalm 45 about the King's Wedding. In the portion we looked at in this section the psalmist shifts our thoughts to the King's new bride. What were the ancient Jewish weddings like, particularly in the case of the wedding of a king? Who does the bride represent? What does the psalmist do to stress the importance of what he has to say to the bride? What has been a condition of being joined to God throughout Scripture? As the bride approaches the King in the palace, what is the first gesture she is called to make, and why? (34 min.)

In this lesson we began looking at a psalm celebrating the wedding of the King. What is different about interpreting the Psalms from other portions of Scripture? What are some of the literary devices we encounter when we read the Psalms? What are the two main divisions of this psalm? What has the psalmist been meditating upon that has so filled his heart? Why do we believe that this is a messianic psalm? How does the True King of Israel differ from all others? What are the two contrasting features of the King which are praised in this psalm? How does the psalmist characterize the King's throne? How does the psalmist convey the beauty and splendor of the King's environment and His court? To whom are we introduced at the conclusion of this section of the psalm? (69 min)

In this message Rick shares things that God has been doing in his own life and has been teaching him over the past several years. Meanwhile, the Lord has also been leading the church leadership to establish a one year repeating Campus Group pertaining to apologetics and related issues. They have asked Rick to lead this project. Rick shares how the Lord has led him in his own experience to agree to take this position for at least the first year. Of course this entails big changes for our Berean class as we move forward. Rick challenges class members to be seeking the Lord regarding their own lives and what He desires of the class as he moves on to another ministry. (65 min)

In this final lesson of Paul's epistle to the church in Rome, we considered those who were sending greetings to the believers in Rome, and then contemplated the doxology at the end of the letter. Why was Timothy so dear to Paul? What was outstanding about this young man? Who was Tertius? What are some of the difficulties presented by the doxology at the end of Romans 16? How can we resolve those difficulties? What is Paul's primary point that he sets out to make in the doxology? What is the measure and means by which we are established in the faith? What is the Gospel? What are three things we learn about the Gospel in this doxology? What will be a subject of our glorifying of God throughout the eons of eternity? (57 min.)

IIn this lesson we continue to consider Paul's warning to the Roman Christians about the dangers of false teachers disrupting the unity of the fellowship and causing individuals to falter in their walk with Christ. What are the three tools or flags which the scriptures give us for detecting when someone is a false teacher? What do false teachers look like, according to Jesus? Is it possible for a false teacher to produce good fruit in the church? How does Paul's concern here differ from his concern in chapters fourteen and fifteen about people with different teachings? What are some characteristics of the manner in which false teachers go about their destructive work? What is one way to detect what the outcome of a teaching will be before it even begins to take root? If the Roman church was doing as well as everyone, including Paul, had heard, why was Paul so concerned? What was Paul confident that God would do if the Roman believers heeded his admonition? (59 min)

In this passage Paul makes a rather abrupt shift in his subject matter. What has prompted him to interrupt his greetings to interject this warning about danger to the church? Paul mentions two impacts that these kind of peoples have. How are these impacts different? What is a scandal? Against what is the teaching and influence of these people contrasted? How did the New Testament era church know what was the faith "once for all delivered to the saints?" How can we know today? What is to be the relationship of the believer to the kind of people Paul is describing? Where does the motivation of these people fall short, and what actually motivates them? How do these people get Christians to overlook the faulty content of their teaching and to follow them? What kind of Christians are particularly vulnerable to these tactics? (61 min)

In this lesson we explore many more of the individuals to whom Paul sends greetings in Rome. We find that this is much more than just a list of names, but that Paul finds something positive to say about each one of them. What is a key question about Junias? What four things were significant about Adronicus Junias? What did Paul mean by pointing out the Apelles was approved or tested in Christ? What is significant about those of the households of Aristobulus and Narcissus and the man Herodian? What was particularly special about Rufus that Paul would call him "chosen?" What do we think we know about the two groups listed at the end of this section? What is important about the women in Paul's list? What lessons can we learn from how Paul speaks of these 26 individuals? (66 min)

This passage introduces us to Aquila and Priscilla. Who were this couple? Why are they important to the Apostle Paul? What possibly prompted the expulsion of the Jews from Rome? What did Aquila and Paul have in common? Why, apparently, did Paul want to take this couple with him and leave them in Ephesus? What is the connection between Aquila and Priscilla and the man Apollos? What is significant about his being from Alexandria? Why is Apollos important in the unfolding history of the church in Corinth? What was the relationship between Paul and Apollos? What ways did Aquila and Priscilla find to play a part in what God was doing around them? How are Phoebe and Aquila and Priscilla examples for us today? (61 min)

In this lesson we are continuing to learn about the woman Phoebe. Paul wanted the Roman christians to welcome her into their fellowship. What was to be their attitude in receiving here? What is the remarkable privilege that we as Christians have as we do the various things we do in life? What kind of a reception was Phoebe to receive? Why? How does this pertain to our relationship with other believers? In what way did Paul expect the Romans to assist Phoebe? What is particularly distinct about the way that Phoebe had been a service to others, including Paul? What does this tell us about her? How do we know that chapter sixteen of Romans belongs to the epistle to the Romans, and not to some other letter? Who were Aquila and Priscilla? (51 min)

Having concluded the main body of his letter, Paul next sets out to commend and greet a number of individuals. Why is this section of Romans important for us to study? What can we discover about the woman Phoebe from her name and from her home town of Cenchrea? What can we expect the seaport of Cenchrea was like? Why should we not easily pass over Paul's referral to Phoebe as "our sister?" Where did Phoebe appear to stand in the social strata of Cenchrea? Why were letters of commendation important in the early church? Why was Phoebe traveling to Rome? What important task is it believed that Phoebe probably carried out for Paul? Why is it significant that such a task was entrusted to her? (60 min)

In this lesson we pick up in the middle of Paul's discussion about the offering from the Gentile churches to the poor Jewish believers in Jerusalem. Why is this offering so frequently discussed by Christians? To what does Paul's decision to personally take the offering to Jerusalem alert us? How do we know that this offering is about a whole lot more than simply charity to the poor? How could Paul assure himself that when he arrived in Rome it would be in the "fullness of the blessing of Christ?" How do we know that the contributors to this offering were doing so freely, without compulsion? In what way were the Gentile churches obligated to contribute? How does this offering relate to the subject Paul discussed earlier about the strong and the weak in the church? What does this all mean for the oneness of the Body of Christ? (55 min)

The Apostle Paul has long had a desire to go to Rome to visit the Christians there. He believes now that the time has finally come when he will be able to do so. What are the things that have hindered him from going to Rome before now? What is the corollary of every decision or choice we make in life? How is Paul's experience similar to King David's desire to build a temple, or to some desires in our own lives? What does our faithfulness to the exercise of our spiritual gifts and ministry necessarily imply about doing some other things for God? How did Paul's proposed visit to Rome now fit into God's plan for Paul's ministry? Why did Paul wish to go to Spain? What new difficulties did ministry in Spain present that Paul had not encountered before? How could the Romans help Paul in this? What is significant about the word "help" in this passage, and how does it relate to our own involvement in the missionary outreach of the church? What still stood in the way of Paul's going immediately to Rome and Spain? (60 min)

So, Paul says that he has been given a grace from God, but what exactly was that grace? If we choose to neglect or ignore the gift that Christ has given to us, what are we really saying? How was Paul serving Christ? How do we serve Christ? What is the offering that the believer presents to God when he or she exercises his or her spiritual gift? How did Paul's writing of Romans relate to this offering? What was it that made his offering acceptable? How does the person who transcribed Paul's dictation to the Romans play a role in this? What did Paul have to give up in order to know Christ? In what way did he rediscover this? What was the evidence that Paul was gifted with an apostleship to the Gentiles. How can we know what our spiritual gifts are? Did Paul think there was something wrong with building on the foundation laid by another person? Why was Paul's strategy of going into virgin territory important? (61 min)

Having concluded the main instructional aspects of his letter to the Romans, Paul begins to address matters of a more personal nature. In these verses he begins to address the question of why he has written this letter at all. How is Paul's relationship with the church in Rome different from most of the other churches to which his New Testament letters were written? How does Paul know the condition of the church in Rome? What is his settled opinion of them? How can we know that Paul was not merely flattering the Romans? If the church in Rome was doing so well, then why did Paul even bother writing this letter? How did Paul view God having laid on him the responsibility Gentile world? Do you view your own spiritual gifts in the same way that Paul did? (62 min)

Paul closes off his discussion about differing opinions in the church by returning to the idea of acceptance that he introduced at the beginning of chapter 14. Does Paul mean we are to merely tolerate others with differing opinions, or does he mean something much more profound? What often actually lies at the heart of what we think are doctrinal differences between ourselves and others? What does communion or the Lord's Supper have to do with this passage? What is the particular sin that Paul is concerned could hinder the Corinthians' taking of the Lord's Supper? What two groups did Christ intend to benefit when He became a servant of the circumcision? What is significant about the particular passages from the Old Testament which Paul chooses to prove his point? What is significant about the order in which he quotes them? Why is Christ referred to as the "Root of Jesse?" What is the hope of the Gentiles? (62 min)

Paul continues in this passage his ongoing discussion of how believers of differing opinions are to get along in the church. Why does he spend so much time on this subject? What is the obligation which those with a strong conscience have towards those whose conscience is weak? What is the burden of the weak? How can a believer with a strong conscience bear the burden of one with a weak conscience? How is it that Paul, who insists in other places that it is wrong to be a pleaser of men, can now in this context insist that it is the believer's obligation to please his or her neighbor? What is the difference between these two kinds of pleasing others? What is the foundational example of pleasing of others. Why does Paul refer to the Old Testament for this instruction? What does Paul mean by having the same mind? What is the end result when Christians learn to all have the same mind? (60 min)

Given that the Kingdom of God is not about eating, but about righteousness, peace, and joy, this calls the believer to act accordingly. What is it that the strong in conscience should pursue? Paul insists that all things are objectively clean, but there are two cases in which they are subjectively evil. What are those two cases? What is the "work of God." How can we destroy the work of God? If our freedom is a right, what is it not? How can someone who is weak in faith grow to understand their freedom if the strong don't push them in that direction? How can the strong help the weak to be built up in their walk with God? What does Paul mean by saying the strong are to have their own conviction before God? How will they be blessed (happy)? To avoid sinning, what must the weak be careful to never do? (48 min)

After restating his admonition to all believers not to judge others in areas of non-essentials, he now focuses his admonitions toward those who are strong in conscience. What are the two things about which Paul is fully convinced? How does Paul know that nothing is unclean in itself? What is the connection between Jesus' words in Mark about all foods being clean and Peter's vision in Acts 10? What are the three reasons the strong should not put an obstacle in the way of a weak brother or sister? What does Paul mean by hurting or destroying a brother? Why is a person's conscience so important to God? What are the two ways in which one's conscience can be in error? Is Paul essentially prohibiting the strong from every enjoying their liberty? How do we know? (63 min)

Paul now introduces to us another area in which Christians hold to different convictions. This area regards the keeping or not keeping of special days. What is the assumption Paul holds to in the points he makes in these verses? What does Paul mean by being "fully convinced?" Why is this important? How can I know if I am sufficiently convinced about something in which I engage? Is God pleased with someone who holds to scruples which are not really an issue to Him? How do we know if what we are doing we are doing for the Lord? What do Paul's remarks about Jesus being Lord of the living and the dead have to do with this question of the weak and the strong? What are the three things we learn about how believers are to relate to others who hold and practice different convictions? (68 min)

In this passage Paul directs our attention to the subject of how Christians relate to one another within the church. Particularly, he is concerned about what we do when we hold differing opinions. It is important to realize that Paul is addressing what we call the nonessentials. What is the difference between essentials and nonessentials? What are the specific nonessentials Paul confronts in this passage? What are some of the nonessentials over which Christians disagree today? What is the context of the conflict in the church in Rome that makes Paul's instruction necessary? Who are the "weak in faith?" Who are the "strong?" What are the strong instructed to do when a weak one seeks fellowship amongst the strong? What are two important things to recognize about a person who is "weak" in this way? How does a person who is strong in faith tend to view those who are weak? How does the person who is weak tend to view the one who is strong? What is wrong when someone who abstains in a nonessential matter judges someone who does not abstain? (58 min)

These verses serve to bookend chapters 12 and 13, corresponding to the first two verses of chapter 12. This passage was central in the one of the greatest conversions in all of church history, that of Augustine of Hippo, in 386 A. D. What is his story? What do night and day represent in this passage? What do sleep and being awake represent? Of what does Paul assume the Christians in Rome are knowledgeable? How do we often misunderstand the significance of the apparent delay in Christ's return? How should we view this long passage of time? What two ways does Jesus teach us to think about the kingdom of God? How can it be night and day at the same time? What is improper for believers to do? What are the deeds of the night? How do we preclude making any provision for the lusts of the flesh? (55 min)

Considering the subject of our obligations to others within the civil sphere, Paul transitions into the subject of loving others. What does Paul mean by instructing us against owing anything to anyone? Is this a blanket prohibition against borrowing money? What do other scriptures have to say on the subject? What is the ongoing debt we all have? Why does Paul speak of our "fulfilling the law" through love in this passage, when earlier in Romans he has said that we have "died" to the law and are "free" from the law? How does love fulfill the law? What is the foundational principle behind all the commandments? What is wrong with the view of this passage that says we need to learn to love ourselves before we can love our neighbor? What is the given assumption in the statement that we are to love our neighbor as ourself? When is low self esteem warranted? When is it unwarranted? How is unwarranted low self esteem a form of pride? Is someone with low self esteem excused from the obligation to love others as themselves? What is the minimum measurement for how we are to love others? Is love for others merely a matter of prohibitions (do not commit adultery, do not steal, etc.)? (53 min.)

In this lesson we continue to consider the Christian view of civil authority. In these verses Paul sets forth the second reason for the biblical mandate that the believer is to be in submission to the governing authorities. What can the Christian do to avoid fear of the civil authority? What is the tutorial dimension of civil law, and why do we as Christians need this tutorial aspect? What is the two-fold ministry of civil authorities? What does the sword in this passage represent? Where did the practice of capital punishment originate? What is the reason for capital punishment? What is wrong with the argument that capital punishment diminishes the value of human life? What about the argument that sometimes capital punishment is sometimes wrongly applied? What is to be the Christian's attitude towards paying taxes? The obligation to authority extends beyond merely obedience/submission and the paying of taxes. How else is it to be expressed? Why is it important that as Christians we not be known as ones who are generally opposed to civil authority and who treat rulers with disrespect? What is it about a free democratic society that calls for special care in our attitudes towards government? (56 min)

In these verses Paul begins dealing with the subject or our relationship to authority and rulers. Due to the dramatic shift in subject matter, the passage raises questions with some as to the authenticity of the passage. How does this subject actually flow clearly from the things Paul has talked about in chapter 12? What is a problem we often face in understanding this passage? Who does Paul believe is to be subject to authorities? How do we know that he is talking about human civil authorities and not evil spiritual authorities? What is significant about Paul's use of the the word submission rather than obedience? How should we approach this passage in view of Paul's exclusively positive remarks about civil authority? Does Paul never envision a circumstance in which some might legitimately resist authority? What does the fact that all authority is established by God imply about our acts of submission and, conversely, our acts of resistance? (61 min)

In these verses Paul continues to address the question of how we relate to those who have wronged us. Verse nineteen conveys a slightly different sense than verse seventeen. What is that difference? What are we prohibited from doing when we are personally wronged by someone? What does it mean to "leave room" for God's wrath? Is it wrong for us to desire justice when we are wronged? What are four reasons why God insists that we leave revenge up to him? What is it about God that ensures that His justice is always right? What are the mistakes we often make when we seek to take justice into our own hands? What is the advantage of our leaving room for the justice of God? When our enemy wrongs us, what are we obligated to do? What does he mean when he speaks of "heaping burning coals" on our enemy's head? How are we overcome by evil? How do we overcome evil? (58 min)

Perhaps the most difficult and challenging aspect of Christian duty regarding others has to do with how we are to respond to those who wrong us and to our enemies. It is this area that Paul now begins addressing in this passage. What is the goal to which Paul is moving us in these verses? What does it mean to return evil for evil? What are the two circumstances in which we are categorically prohibited from returning evil for evil? What are some of the difficult challenges we encounter in applying this verse in our daily experience? Why is it important to keep in mind that Paul is dealing here with personal wrongs? What happens when we return evil for evil? When Paul tells us to respect what is right in the sight of all men, is he contradicting what he said earlier about not being conformed to the world? Before we react when wronged, what are some of the things we need to think about? What is my responsibility as a peacemaker? (51 min)

In this passage Paul begins to list for us a number of things that the renewed mind will discover are God's will. Why does the Holy Spirit give us lists like this to consider? What should we do with such lists? Paul begins with the basic truth of love. What is hypocritical love? Why are we to avoid it? What are some misconceptions about agape love? What is our tendency regarding our attitude toward evil? How is love within the church to be characterized? What are two ways to look at Paul's command regarding honor? What often happens to our diligence in the things of God? What is the peril of fervency or zeal? What enables us to rejoice in difficult circumstances? What does Paul mean to fellowship with the needs of the saints? (70 min)

The first area Paul addresses where our renewed minds can discern the will of God is the area of spiritual gifts. How did Paul know that the Roman believers needed to be instructed in this area? What was the source of Paul's exhortation in these verses? What are the ways in which we think more highly of ourselves in this subject of spiritual gifts? What are we really saying when we deem our spiritual gift to be unimportant or that it can be neglected? What is Paul referring to when he speaks of the allotment of the measure of faith? What is the "analogy of faith?" What are the three things we learn in the analogy of the church to the human body? In Paul's list of gifts, what are the three things he is exhorting us to do with these gifts? What is the difference between gifts, ministries, and effects? What clue do we get in this chapter to how we can discover what our spiritual gift is? (61 min)

In this verse we discover how we are to go about fulfilling the admonition of the previous verse to be a living sacrifice to God. What does the word conform mean? How does the idea of a schematic diagram help us understand this verse? What are some of the ways in which the world pressures us to conform? What are some of the areas in which the world's idea of how we ought to live differs from God's will? When Paul goes on to contrast how we ought to be, he does not use a term that would be opposite of conforming. What is wrong with being a non-conformist? What is the sense of the word transform which Paul uses? What are the acting agents that cause us to be conformed or transformed? What is the "formula" for knowing the will of God? What are the characteristics of God's will that enable us to identify it? (63 min)

In chapter twelve Paul moves from the indicative (the way things are, the truth of the Gospel) to the imperative (the way we ought to be in view of the way things are). Gratitude for the great mercy of God in the Gospel becomes the basis for how we ought to be living as Christians. What is it that the believer is to present? Is this a one time event or an ongoing way of life? How does the Christian view of the body differ from that of the much of the Greek world of Paul's day? How does our modern idea of sacrifice differ from that of the ancient world? How was the Christian view of sacrifice a radical departure from the rest of the ancient world? Why did the Christian view of sacrifice make them hated in the Roman empire? What was revolutionary about the emperor Constantine's decrees regarding sacrifice? What is a "living" sacrifice? How do we, in the twenty first century, present our bodies as living sacrifices? (68 min)

In this lesson we first review Paul's explanation in chapters 9-11 of how God has worked through salvation history. He culminates this masterpiece with a hymn of praise of God. What are the two different ways this passage might be translated? What are three things about God that are infinitely deep? What does Paul have in mind when he speaks of the riches of God? What is God's wisdom? What is God's knowledge? Why can no one be God's counselor? What are two things we must keep in mind about knowing the mind of God in view of what Paul says here about it being unsearchable? How do the "mystery" of Romans 9-11 and Jesus himself relate to the matter of knowing the unknowable mind of God? If everything is from, through, and to God, how can we be comforted while realizing that God's mind is so unsearchable? (52 min)

Picking up from where we left off two weeks ago, Paul explains how it is that all Israel will be saved. With what does he say that Israel's spiritual renewal will be associated? Why does Paul apparently make an alteration in his quotation of Isaiah? What is it about the gifts and calling of God that is the basis for Paul's confidence? What gifts and calling does he appear to have in mind? If the Gentiles to whom Paul writes are inclined to be skeptical about Paul's expectations of a great salvation of Israel, what experience does Paul offer as evidence? How does God's use of Israel's disobedience and His use of the mercy shown to Gentiles bear on the subject of the problem of evil? In all of the hardening of both the Jews and the Gentiles, indeed of all people, what is the overriding purpose of God? How can we be sure this verse does not teach universalism (that all people will be saved)? (56 min)

Paul now begins to summarize all that he has taught us in chapter 11, and also to conclude his entire argument in chapters 9 thru 11. He begins by saying that he does not wish us to be uninformed or ignorant. What is the significance of Paul's repeated use of this phrase in his writings? What is the relationship between knowledge and actions? If we are unaware of the mystery he speaks of here, what is a possible consequence? What are the two ways that the concept of mystery was viewed within the culture of the first century. What were the mystery religions, and how are they manifest in contemporary culture. How does the accessibility to "truth" become a "seller's market," and why is that not good? How does Paul use the concept of mystery? What are some of the many mysteries of which Paul writes? What is the mystery he speaks of in this chapter, and what are its chief elements? What are the three questions that confront us when Paul says "So all Israel will be saved"? (55 min)

The subject which Paul introduced in the verses in our last lesson raises a subject he enjoins us to give careful thought to: the kindness and severity of God. This is the subject of the present verse we consider in this lesson. How are we to understand Paul's discussion of groups or nations, as opposed to individuals? What is a common error people make in their view of God? What is an "eccentric" Christian? What is Paul's point in bringing up the subject of God's kindness and severity? How does this truth about God have bearing on Gentile Christians? What personal application can we make from God's kindness and severity? Do God's forgiven people ever encounter the severity of God? What can one who is encountering the severity of God do to experience God's kindness? (62 min)

How can it be that if Israel has failed that Paul can expect that at some time in the future it will once again be included among God's people? This a question Paul now sets out to answer. But it is important to remember that in these verses he is addressing himself to Gentiles particularly, because he has something very important to say to Gentile believers. What does he mean by referring to Gentiles as being of a "wild olive?" Who are the ones with whom those of us who are grafted in are partaking? What is it we are partaking of? What warning does Paul give to the Gentiles regarding how they view Israel? Why is this warning necessary? Why were the "natural branches" broken off? How is it significant that Paul's use of the pronoun "you" when referring to Gentiles is always in the second person singular rather than plural? How do we know that, as severe as Paul's warning is, it does not teach that an individual believer can lose his or her salvation? How does the history of the Gentile church validate Paul's warning about being broken off? (53 min)

Understanding now that, except for a small remnant, Israel as a whole has refused the Gospel and been hardened, another question arises. Has Israel's stumbling over the Stumbling Stone been a total falling from which there will never be a recovery? It is this question Paul addresses in the verses in this lesson. Paul's emphatic response is negative, but what is the basis for his confidence that they have not permanently fallen? Why does Paul speak of the Gentles experiencing salvation due to Israel's transgression? What does Paul expect the Gentiles' salvation to do to the Jews? How is Paul using the idea of jealousy here? What two aspects of Israel's stumbling does Paul mention? What is the impact of these two aspects? Why does Paul make a point that he is addressing himself to Gentiles in these verses? What is the rejection and acceptance that he speaks of here? What is the "life from the dead" that he refers to? What is the wonderful future that we can expect for Israel, and why does it matter to Gentile believers? (54 min)

In this passage Paul continues explaining why we know that God has not rejected Israel. He offers to us the historical evidence in the account of Elijah's complaint to God about Israel. What had prompted Elijah's complaint? What did God say was going to happen in Israel after Elijah's return? What was the basis for God preserving alive a remnant in Elijah's day? Why does Paul change the future tense of God's words to the past tense? What was the basis of God's choice to preserve a remnant in Israel in the days of Paul? What are the two categories of which Paul speaks in this passage? In which of these two categories do we know that Paul classifies faith? What does this passage teach, and what does it not teach? (55 min)

The Apostle Paul, having demonstrated that Israel's unbelief is due only to her own disobedience and obstinacy, he now addresses the question of whether or not Israel has been rejected by God. In this passage we are introduced to the concept of the remnant. What is an important distinction to keep in view when Paul is speaking about Israel? What are the reasons Paul gives for knowing that Israel has not been rejected by God? What is Paul trying to tell us when he speaks of his being an ethnic Israelite? When he says that Israel is foreknown by God, of which Israel does he speak, ethnic Israel or the remnant? Why is an understanding of God's transcendence critical in understanding His foreknowledge? What are the two meanings which are offered for foreknowledge? How can we know which one is correct? How does God's foreknowledge prove that God has not rejected Israel? What encouragement can we take from this reality? (59 min)

Picking up where we left off three weeks ago, we find Paul answering the question of why it is that the Jews have not believed the Gospel. Have they never heard? Have they not understood? To each of these questions Paul answers emphatically that those were not the problem. When God says that he will provoke the Jews to jealousy, is this some random judgment of God, or is there some precedent why He has chosen this particular course? How does Paul know that the Jews have heard the gospel? Why does Paul use the verse from Psalm 19 the way he does? Had the Gospel really been preached in all the world, as Paul claims? How do we know, according to Paul, that the Gospel was not too difficult for the Jews to understand? If the Jews had heard and had understood the word of faith, what explanation does Paul give for their not believing? What does this tell us about the grace of God? (57 min.)

Having established that salvation is available to all who call on the name of the Lord, Paul now sets forth the necessary things that must occur for someone to call on God. This passage has two important messages for us. One is the primary thing that Paul is communicating. The second, and incidental message, pertains to the church's imperative of evangelism and missions. Why is Paul explaining what is necessary for someone to call on God? Is the believing mentioned in verse 14 different from that mentioned in verse 11? Why is it necessary for someone to hear? When Paul speaks of a preacher, how is his concept of a preacher different from what we often think of today? Why does a preacher need to be sent? Now we know what must occur before someone can call on God, yet we discover that Israel has not called on God. What has gone wrong in this process? (52 min)

In this lesson we are wrapping up our study of verses 5-13, in which Paul sets out how the righteousness of faith differs from the righteousness of the Law. How do we know that Paul is not intending to make a strong distinction between the faith of the heart and the confession of the mouth? When Moses speaks of the mouth and the heart, what is his point? How do we know that Paul does not intend us to see the acquiring of righteousness as distinct from salvation, or confession as distinct from believing? What is the underlying foundation to the assertion that whoever believes will be saved?. In what way is there no distinction between Jew and Greek (Gentile)? On what basis does Paul claim there is no such distinction? How did the Jews view the difference between themselves and the Gentiles? If the objective universal lordship of Jesus is the basis of Paul's argument about Jews and Gentiles, what else can we infer from it? (57 min.)

In this lesson we continued our consideration of what the righteousness based on faith says. What are some of the pitfalls we need to avoid in understanding what Paul is saying in this passage? What are the two themes that run parallel through this passage? What is significant about the confession that Jesus is Lord? What is the difference between subjective and objective lordship, and which one is Paul addressing here? What were the two other confessions with which the believers in Rome would have been familiar? How does this confession pertain to those other confessions? How is confessing Jesus is Lord related to calling on the name of the Lord? (55 min)

This lesson is the first in a look at this passage, in which Paul explains more of how and why Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to those who believe. Paul demonstrates how Law righteousness and faith righteousness are different by showing how they say different things. What does he tell us that law righteousness says? What it the context of the passage from Leviticus to which he refers? How does Paul use that passage? When he tells us what faith righteousness says he uses passages from Deuteronomy. What is the context of those two passages? How does Paul's citation of those passages differ from the actual passages? What are some of the ways that Paul's use of these passages are viewed? Why does Paul use the idea of the abyss in the place of Deuteronomy's use of the idea of the sea? Having laid a foundation for understanding this passage, next week we will examine more fully what the righteousness based on faith says, which Paul says is the message he preaches. (55 min)

Paul continues in this passage his explanation of what happened that caused Israel's failure to attain righteousness. He begins by renewing his emphasis on the love and burden he had for the salvation of the Jewish people. In view of what Paul had experienced at the hands of his Jewish opponents, how is this burden significant? How is Paul's own story a personification of the story of the nation of Israel. What is significant about Paul saying that in respect to the Law he had been a Pharisee? In spite of their zeal, what did Israel lack? What did Paul have to relinquish in order to gain Christ and the righteousness of God? What does Paul mean when he speaks of Christ being the end of the Law for righteousness to all who believe in Him? (54 min)

In our previous lesson we discovered that God freely chose to call the Gentiles, who were not his people, his people. In today's lesson we find that in contrast only a few Jews, only a remnant, are among the people of God. This is the conclusion of the point Paul made in the early part of the chapter about not all the descendants of Abraham being true Israel. Is this point of Paul's something new, or does he have biblical warrant for his argument? What is the significance of Paul's use of the Greek word for seed? If God had not left such a seed, what would have happened? Paul begins to tell us now what it is that defines this remnant, as well as what constitutes the true people of God. How does Paul contrast the Gentile and Jewish approach to righteousness? What is important about the words "pursue" and "attain?" How did Gentiles attain righteousness? What hindered the majority of Israel from attaining righteousness? Why is the stone of Romans 9, I Peter 2, and Isaiah a stumbling block to some, but precious to others? What is the promise to those who believe in the stone? (59 min)