John Piper has spent a long time going through the first 7 Chapters of Romans and preaching on it one verse at a time. I'm sure it was difficult to pull all that wealth of study into a single sermon as an overview. I think it is a good idea (my opinion) when approaching God's Word, is to start from His point of view. Like His Holiness and His Sovereignty. So you can see how passages like Romans 1-7 apply to us. I'm not sure we will always have a "practical" or "personal" application to our day to day activities. However, as I am drawn to God's Word and scared to death by His Holiness and also marvel at His Sovereignty.... That has a profound affect on my view of God and my reverence and love for Him. Paul reminds us of God's Holiness and how far we all are from Him. And how far God had to reach to drag us back to Him. So, when we get together on the Lord's Day. Let's sing songs of praise to His Holiness, His Sovereign Grace. And maybe sometimes we should sing songs of lament over our sin. Isaiah 6 "I am undone." or Matthew 5 "Blessed are the poor in spirit."
The grass whithers and the flower falls, but the Word of our Lord will stand forever.
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A Summary of Romans 1-7
Romans teaches that the most fundamental problem in the universe is that God's human creatures – all of us – have sinned and fallen short of his glory and are now condemned under the omnipotent wrath of God. There is the problem of our condition called sin. And there is the problem of its consequence called wrath. Another way to say it is that there is real guilt on every person because of sin, and there is real condemnation over every person because the Judge and Maker of the universe is just and holy.
Paul's conclusion after two chapters of as acting the prosecuting attorney is Romans 3:9, "What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; as it is written, 'THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE.'" Romans 3:22-23, "There is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." And there's a good definition of what our sin is and why it has mainly to do with God, not man.
When he describes the sins of his own people in Romans 2:24, the climax of the indictment is this: "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you." What makes sin sin is not first that it hurts people, but that it blasphemes God. This is the ultimate evil and the ultimate outrage in the universe.
The glory of God is not honored.
The holiness of God is not reverenced.
The greatness of God is not admired.
The power of God is not praised.
The truth of God is not sought.
The wisdom of God is not esteemed.
The beauty of God is not treasured.
The goodness of God is not savored.
The faithfulness of God is not trusted.
The promises of God are not relied upon.
The commandments of God are not obeyed.
The justice of God is not respected.
The wrath of God is not feared.
The grace of God is not cherished.
The presence of God is not prized.
The person of God is not loved.
Grace and Peace,
Chris
http://www.reform-shire.blogspot.com/
Coram Deo!!!
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