Fact or Fiction? Romans Chapter 4 (1)

 Good morning,

The next few posts are a message I preached on Romans Chapter 4. I hope there is something here to encouragement you in our Lord Jesus.

Much love,

Bob

Fact or Fiction? Romans Chapter 4

 

A few weeks ago in Sunday school Greta gave us a little quiz that consisted of a list of statements; we were to mark on the paper whether the statement was myth or fiction. One of the statements was one of my favorites having to do with the Pilgrims. While I don’t recall the exact wording it went something like this: “The Pilgrims came to the New World to have religious freedom.”

How many brave folks think that statement is true – that it is a fact? How many brave folks think that statement is false – that it is a fiction?

I know I’ve heard and read since childhood that the Pilgrims came to the New World to escape religious persecution and to have religious freedom; however, that is not a fact, it is actually fiction. While it is true that the Pilgrims left England for Holland to have religious freedom, they had religious freedom in Holland. The reason they left Holland is because of Holland’s culture and the effect that the Pilgrims thought it would have on their spiritual lives and especially the lives of their children. 

Are we living life based on fact or fiction? What is the foundation for the way we live? What is the foundation for the things we really and truly believe? Not the things we might like to believe, but the things we truly believe?

We can tell the things we truly believe by how we spend our time, by how we spend our money, by what we think about, by what we talk about – by how we live our lives.

We may want to believe the Bible, we may even say we believe the Bible; but if we don’t know the Bible, if we aren’t spending time in the Bible, if we don’t spend time with others sharing the Bible – then the fact is that we have fictionalized our relationship with the Bible.

In his NT letter to the church in the City of Rome, Paul is dealing with fact and fiction. He is proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ and at the same time showing the religious, philosophical, and cultural fictions that the Roman Christians believe.

Fact or fiction: There is something I can do to earn, or merit my salvation?

Fact or fiction: I may be initially saved by grace, but after I am saved it is up to me to make sure I stay saved, to make sure that I live under the Law and obey God’s commands?

Fact or fiction: I can never be certain of my salvation, of my relationship with God?

Fact or fiction: If I do come to know Jesus, then I can live the way I want to and God will not hold me accountable?

Fact or fiction: God doesn’t want me to give up anything in my life, He wants me to live life the way I want to live it?

Fact or fiction: God doesn’t want me to live supernaturally?

Fact or fiction: God will understand if I don’t explicitly and intentionally share the Gospel with others?

Fact or fiction: A person can be a Biblically – based Christian and not be committed to the Church of Jesus Christ?

 

During our time in Romans we’ll touch on these facts and fictions, in most instances more than once. Let’s ask God to open our hearts and minds and to respond to Him in obedience to the facts, to the eternal realities of His Word.

I’ve spent a good part of my life in new construction and in the renovation of properties; and I can tell you that new construction is a piece of cake compared to renovation. In new construction, if the engineering and architectural work is done well, you can generally go, go, go.

But in renovation before you can put something up, before you can upgrade a kitchen, a bathroom, the common areas of a high rise; or before you can install new mechanical systems – you have to take things down, you have to remove things…and that is usually time-consuming and messy.

Having said that, there are two things critical in both new construction and renovation – at least if you’re involved in the project’s management – you’ve got to see the finished product, you’ve got to know where you are going. If you don’t see the vision, if you don’t see the end result – then you can’t lead a team to get there.

The owner of an apartment community isn’t likely to fund a renovation of a few million dollars if he can’t “see” what his or her property will look like after the work is done. The owner isn’t likely to let me tear things down in order to build things up unless he has a vision for the completed renovation.

Much of the Bible is about tearing things down in order to build things up. This is because we’ve built houses of fiction, we’re living in houses of fiction, we’re living lives of fiction – and we certainly live in a world of fiction, of myth in the sense of stories that aren’t true – there are true myths but we don’t have time to delve into that right now.

All of this means that when I come to the Word of God that I must be willing to allow the Holy Spirit to renovate my life. To tear things down in order to build things up. Every day, I think it is safe to say, our lives ought to see a tearing down and a building up – because if we are in a relationship with Jesus Christ then God’s Word and the Holy Spirit will be working in our lives from here into eternity.

to be continued....