____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ March 21, 1999 ____________________________________________________ "Not Under Law, But Under Grace" Romans 6:14 (Part One) by Bill Cavender ``For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace'' (Romans 6:14, KJV). ``For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under law, but under grace'' (Romans 6:14, ASV). There are three clauses in our text: (1) ``For sin shall not have dominion over you:'' (2) ``for you are not under law,'' (3) ``but under grace.'' It is these three clauses which will form the divisions of our lesson. I. ``For sin shall not have dominion over you:'' Men and women, boys and girls -- all accountable, responsible persons -- are guilty of committing sin(s) against the God of heaven by virtue of disobeying Him, violating His holy, just, and good law (Romans 7:11-12). ``For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God...there is none righteous, no, not one...there is none that doeth good, no, not one...for that all have sinned...we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin...For God hath concluded them all in unbelief (``disobedience,'' ASV), that he might have mercy upon all...But the scripture hath concluded all under sin...For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not...for there is no man that sinneth not'' (Romans 3:23, 10, 12; 5:12; 3:9; 11:32; Galatians 3:22; Ecclesiastes 7:20; 1 Kings 8:46). Only Jesus the Christ, the only begotten Son of God, our Saviour, Immanuel, God manifested in the flesh, truly God (Deity) and truly man (humanity), did not sin. He knew no sin (1 Peter 2:21-25; 2 Corinthians 5:21). He was ``holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens...'' (Hebrews 7:25-26). Never in thought, word and deed, during His sojourn in His world among men, did He violate the holy laws of His Father in heaven or the laws of human rulers on earth. He left nothing undone and unsaid that He should have done and said. No sin(s) of commission or omission ever tainted His holy life nor sullied His sinless soul. ``For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin'' (Hebrews 4:15). All of us are sinners. Who and where is that one who will say he (or she) is not guilty? We are the objects of God's mercy and grace in Christ. He came to seek and to save the lost, to give His life as a ransom for many (Luke 19:10; Matt. 20:28). ``Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief,'' so said Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles (1 Tim. 1:15). He is the Lamb of God who ``taketh away the sin of the world'' (John 1:19). Why are we sinners? Not because we are born sinners; not because we inherit the guilt of Adam's sin; not because our parents were (or are) sinners; not because we are inherently evil, etc. These and many other theories are taught in the world of religions. Scriptures are perverted and misinterpreted to sustain these false doctrines. We are sinners because: (1) We go astray from God (Isaiah 53:6; 1 Peter 2:25; 2 Peter 2:15); (2) We disobey and violate the law(s) of God (1 John 3:4; 5:17); (3) We fail to do that which is our duty to do (James 4:17; Matthew 25:1-13, 24-30, 41-46); (4) We cultivate an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God (Hebrews 3:12; Romans 11:32); (5) We become the children of the prince of the powers of the air, the devil, children of disobedience, dead in trespasses and sins, walking in the sinful practices of this sinful world, deserving of punishment (Ephesians 2:1-10). Sin has dominion over us when we live in sin and the guilt of sin abides upon us (Colossians 3:5-7). We are ``servants of sin unto death'' when we obey sin, when sin is our master (Romans 6:15-23). Cain was warned by God that ``sin croucheth at the door; and unto thee shall be its desire; but do thou rule over it'' (Genesis 4:1-8). Men and women can rule over sin through faith and by resisting its overtures, or it will rule over us. We can master sin or sin will master us. ``Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you''...''Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist steadfast in the faith...'' (James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8-9). ``Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and, sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren'' (James 1:13-16). The dominion and rule of sin in our lives is broken and overcome when we become ``dead to sin,'' when ``we walk in newness of life,'' when ``he that is dead is freed from sin,'' when ``we be dead with Christ we believe that we shall also live with him,'' when ``reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord,'' when ``sin (does not) reign in your mortal body,'' when ``your members (are) instruments of righteousness unto God,'' when ``now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life'' (Romans 6:2, 4, 7-8, 11-13, 18, 22). Romans, chapter 6, tells us how and when we ``become dead to sin'' and ``alive unto righteousness;'' how and when we cease to be ``the servants of sin'' and become ``the servants of righteousness''; how and when we are no longer under ``the dominion of sin unto death'' but ``alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.'' This dominion of sin is broken and overcome when we are: (1) baptized into Jesus Christ; (2) baptized into his death; (3) Buried with him by baptism into death (i.e., our own death to sin); (4) raised up from baptism to walk in newness of life, which is a likeness of his resurrection; (5) when the sinful body is crucified and destroyed; (6) when we are dead to sin and freed from sin (Romans 6:3-7). The inspired apostle further writes: ``Ye were servants of sin, but ye have (1) obeyed, (2) from the heart, (3) that form of doctrine which was delivered you. (4) Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness'' (Rom. 6:16-18). Thus the Saviour said, ``He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned'' (Mark 16:15-16). The inspired apostle Peter said, ``Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit'' (Acts 2:37-41). ``Baptism doth also now save us,'' as water saved Noah, when baptism is an act of trust in God, sincere belief in Jesus who died for our sins, repentance and true sorrow for the sins we have committed, and is the response of a good conscience toward God (1 Peter 3:20-22; Acts 8:26-40; 2:37-41; 2 Cor. 7:10). -- Via Watch, March '99 ___________________________________________ The Book of Acts: Bridging the Gap (Acts 1:8) By Jon Quinn ''...but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest parts of the earth'' (Acts 1:8). These are some of the words of Jesus following His resurrection from the grave. They were spoken to His apostles just prior to His ascension into heaven. These eleven men had been with Him from the beginning of His ministry. They had seen and heard it all. For the previous forty days, they had also been witnesses to His resurrection. God's plan to save man was about ready to enter into its final phase. Have you ever considered what a puzzle the New Testament would be without the Book of Acts? This book is vitally important in understanding the rest of the New Testament; the gospels that precede it as well as the epistles that follow it. It functions as a bridge which joins the gospels and the epistles together. It covers a thirty year transitional period as the ``great commission'' is carried out: ``Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit'' (Matthew 28:19). How Did This Happen? ''...if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister'' (Colossians 1:23). How does one go from the eleven apostles plus about 120 other disciples at Jerusalem to churches existing all over the known world in just about three decades? This is what Book of Acts tells us. 1) ``I will build My church'' (Matthew 16:18). As the gospels end, this promise was as yet unfulfilled. By the time of the epistles, we find the church located throughout the known world: at Corinth and Ephesus and Philippi and Rome, and many, many others cities and towns. 2) ``I will send the Helper: the Spirit of Truth'' (John 15:26). Neither is this promise fulfilled as the gospels come to a close. However, we see in the epistles that the Holy Spirit had already come as they are being written (1 Corinthians 6:19,20). 3) ``Go therefore and make disciples of all nations'' (Matthew 28:19). At the conclusion of the gospels, this commission had not been accomplished, with the exception that Mark does briefly supplement the commission by informing the reader that ``they went out and preached everywhere....'' but gives no details at all. But by the time the epistles are written, the gospel had been preached ``in all the world'' (Colossians 1:6). 4) Eleven apostles (Luke 24:33). At the conclusion of the gospels, there are eleven apostles. Judas is no longer among them, having committed suicide over his remorse at having ``betrayed innocent blood.'' But by the time of the epistles, there are, in addition to these eleven, a certain apostle named Paul, unknown in the gospels. Not only that, but the majority of the epistles were written by him. Apart from the book of Acts, we would know very little about how it came to be that this former persecutor of the church became such a dynamo in its behalf (1 Corinthians 1:1). 5) ''... make disciples of all nations'' (Matthew 28:19). There's much said about the Lord's disciples in the gospels, but never once are they referred to as ``Christians.'' But they are known as ``Christians'' in the epistles (1 Peter 4:16). Where did that name come from? We learn this only in the book of Acts (Acts 11:26). 6) No local church government. There was nothing said about local church government. How would a local church operate as an organization? It was only later that God revealed what He wanted, and men were appointed to be elders and oversee the work of the local church of which they were a part (Acts 20:17; Philippians 1:1). 7) Redemption (Matthew 26:28). As the gospels close, Jesus has paid the price of human redemption with His blood shed on the cross. However, the gospels close before either the first gospel message is proclaimed to sinners or the first sinner is baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of sins. However, in the epistles, we have disciples who have been ``buried with Christ in baptism'' and have been ``freed from sins'' (Romans 6:3,4,7). It is in the book of Acts that we find the first gospel sermon preached, and the first invitation offered to ``repent, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit'' (Acts 2:38). Some Key Facts in the Book of Acts ``The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach....'' (Acts 1:1). Luke is the historian who wrote the book of Acts, himself being a witness to much of what is recorded there. The ``first account'' he mentions above is the gospel which he wrote and which also bears his name. He did careful research, interviewing the eyewitnesses and recording, by inspiration, the facts he had compiled (Luke 1:1-4). The book of Acts ends abruptly, speaking of Paul as a prisoner in Rome and continuing, even as a prisoner, carrying out the ``great commission'' that had been given to the apostles by Jesus three decades earlier; ''...preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered'' (Acts 28:31). Perhaps the abruptness of the ending is due to the fact that Luke wrote of events up to what was the present for him. Another possibility is that the point was that the ``story'' of the carrying out of the Lord's commission has no ``end,'' or at least we have not reached it as yet. Disciples are still, even today, preaching and teaching ``concerning the Lord Jesus Christ....'' The attitude of the apostles help to understand why they were so successful at carrying out the commission. This attitude is seen, for example, in the answer of Peter and John to the rulers who had just forbade them to teach anymore about Jesus. They answered: ''...for we cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard'' (Acts 4:20). The book of Acts is also a record of many of the conversions that took place during the first thirty years of the gospel. Over and over again people are brought to the point of faith in Jesus. When they ask what must be done, they are told to obey the gospel of Christ. Believers are told to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins. This response is repeated throughout the book. ``And now, why do you delay? Arise, and be baptized, washing away your sins calling on the name of the Lord'' (Acts 22:16). So, that is the book of Acts in a nutshell. It is important to be familiar with it in order that our understanding of the gospels which precede it as well as the epistles which follow it may be enhanced. The book is certainly well placed in our New Testaments: functioning as a bridge between the gospels and the epistles, and showing us the Lord's church in action, blessed by God, and committed to His word. ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 1314 Montgomery Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________