Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. (Quotation from Habakkuk 2:4).
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
I Corinthians 1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
I Corinthians 2:4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
I Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. (Quotation from Isaiah 40:8).
MEMORY VERSE: But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. —II Corinthians 4:3-4, 6
CENTRAL THOUGHT: The gospel of Jesus Christ is the power that saves, enlightens and transforms, wherever it is preached or written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, believed on in the heart and received into the life.
LESSON BACKGROUND
Paul wrote the Romans epistle to the Christians who were at Rome, most of whom were Gentiles, but some were undoubtedly Jews and Jewish proselytes who possibly had been to Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost, or had been scattered there because of the persecution.
Romans is divided into two main parts, doctrinal and practical, with the doctrinal part showing the plan of salvation. Included in this is the argument that all men are sinners in need of salvation—Jews and Gentiles alike; the explanation of the method of salvation— justification by faith and sanctification through the Holy Spirit; and the revelation of the blessings of salvation. Although salvation as a free gift is expounded, continuance in sin is not encouraged; rather, believers are exhorted to crucify the flesh and live in obedience to the Holy Spirit. The practical part of Romans gives exhortations and instructions concerning Christian duties.
Romans was most likely written by Paul when he was staying at Corinth, and it was delivered to the Roman saints by Phoebe, the deaconess of Cenchrea (an area on the outskirts of Rome).
Paul wrote two epistles to the church at Corinth. In the first he deals with the strife, division and immorality that was there, giving instructions on how to correctly view the ministry, how to keep marriage and all relationships pure and holy, and how to properly use Christian liberty. He explains the doctrines concerning the Lord’s supper, spiritual gifts, and the resurrection.
Both epistles were written in the Macedonian city of Philippi and delivered to the Corinthians by Timothy, Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus (I Corinthians) and Titus and Lucas (II Corinthians).
We are also reading from Peter’s first Epistle in this lesson. Peter wrote this later in his life, as a man who, filled with the Spirit at Pentecost, had endured many chastenings, persecutions and deliverances, through which he had become solid and sound. In his epistles, he is carrying out Jesus’ two commands concerning his mission: strengthening the brethren and feeding the flock of God.
—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck
DISCUSSION:
- The Power of God unto Salvation: To whom does the gospel become this power? What words show the scope of opportunity?
- The Just Shall Live by Faith: From which Old Testament prophet does Paul quote?
- The Preaching of the Cross: To those who perish, it is __________________, but to those who believe, it is ______ __________ ___ ______.
- Man’s Wisdom: Why should the gospel not be preached in this way?
- The New Birth: What is the powerful seed that is sown in the heart and works regenerating life? Connect with Romans 1:16 and explain what is necessary to make this happen.
- The Enduring Word: From which Old Testament prophet does Peter quote?
- Light: From our memory verse, explain what needs to happen so that man may believe and be powerfully born again by the gospel. Explain what prevents this.
COMMENTS AND APPLICATION
In our lesson today, the writers explain so clearly what the gospel message will do when it is preached in the right way. First, it must be the gospel of Christ—the preaching of the cross—of our sinful condition and need for salvation; of Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins and of His resurrection; of how He lives and intercedes for us as our Lord and Savior.
Also included in the preaching of the cross is an explanation of how we crucify our flesh through His cross and are made holy by His Holy Spirit; how the cross delivers us from our sins so that we do not continue in them, but instead yield our lives to God unto true holiness.
Secondly, it must be preached (or written) in the power of God and not in man’s worldly wisdom. It must be preached under the anointing of the Spirit of God. It is the Spirit that draws men to Christ. It is the Spirit who works the regeneration, or the new birth.
A third important factor is that men must understand the gospel message. They must get it. This is so important! No wonder satan works so diligently to blind the minds of individuals so they cannot understand the gospel. Jesus explained that when a man didn’t understand the Word, satan could pluck it right out of his heart and it would never germinate, never grow up, never bear fruit. What a responsibility we have as parents, as evangelists to our own children, to make sure they get it!
When you get it—when the light from that glorious gospel shines into your heart convincing and convicting you; you receive it and faith is created in you to believe it—that’s when the awesome power of the SEED bursts open NEW LIFE into your being, and you become a NEW CREATURE!
Oh, the glorious, life-giving power of the gospel of Jesus Christ!
—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck
REFLECTIONS
The following is an excerpt from the book “The Persecutor” by Sergei Kourdakov, a KGB leader and persecutor of Christians in communist Russia in 1970:
“Leaving the iron fire door open, we began slinging the copies of hand-written literature into the fire. . . a handful at a time, watching it go up in flames and thinking a fire was all this stuff was good for. What did young people see in this trash? A sense of deep curiosity suddenly came over me. I picked up one booklet and began to read. It was a handwritten portion of the Gospel of Luke, around chapter 11. Some verses were missing. I supposed it was written from memory and the writer didn’t recall all the verses and left gaps to be filled in later. As I read, several words caught my eye. They were some kind of prayer or something. Quickly, I ripped out a couple of pages from the child’s notebook it was written in and shoved them into my pocket.
“That night, at the first opportunity I had, lying in my bunk at the naval academy, I opened up those pieces of paper and began to read them again. Jesus was talking and teaching someone how to pray. I became more curious and read on. This certainly was no anti-state material. It was how to be a better person and how to forgive those who do you wrong. Suddenly the words leaped out of those pages and into my heart. I read on, engrossed in the kind words of Jesus. This was exactly the opposite of what I had expected. My lack of understanding, which had been like blinders on my eyes, left me right then, and the words bit deeply into my being. It was as though somebody were in the room with me, teaching me those words and what they said. They made a profound impact on me. I read them again and again, then sat thinking, my mind lost in the wonder of it all.
“The words grabbed my heart. I was somehow frightened and uneasy, like a man walking on unfamiliar ground. I read the words and reread them and put them down, and still they came back to my mind again and again. They haunted me. It was a feeling totally new to me…
“Something deep within me, some tiny ember of humanity, was still alive somewhere inside me. The life I was leading was not the life that I had wanted to lead. Beating old women was not the kind of life I had dreamed of long ago in my early childhood. My first religion, communism, I believed in wholeheartedly and gave myself to it without reserve. It was the first thing I had to believe in . . .but that belief was gone now, shattered by the realities of life as I had seen them. Nothing satisfactory had replaced that belief I once held.
“It was while I was in this confused state that I made up my mind that I could not continue my way of life. I had no idea what I would be changing to, only what I had to change from. I decided to escape from Russia and get away from this life. Something was driving and compelling me.”
—Sis. LaDawna Adams
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