OPENING PRAYER
"Man Shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God"- Matthew 4:4- "My mother and brothers are those who hear the Word of God and do it" - Mark 8:21
Having received this day as a gift, I (We) thank You Holy Trinity, for through Your goodness and patience You were not wrathful with me (Us), and idler (s) and sinner (s), neither have You cast me (Us) down in my (Our)sins...But You have shown Your love towards me (us) and have guided me (us) to keep my (our) daily watch to glorify Your power...Enlighten my (our) mind (minds) to study Your teachings in Scripture...Help me (us) to apply what I (we) learn and to praise You with all my (our) heart and glorify Your Holy Name, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and forever...Amen!!!
Shine within my (our) hearts, loving Master, the pure Light of Your Divine Knowledge, and open the eyes of my mind that I may understand Your teachings...Instill in me (us) also reverence for Your Blessed commandments, so having conquered sinful desires I (we) may pursue a spiritual way of life, thinking and doing all those things that are pleasing to You...For You, Christ my God, are my light, and to You I (we) give, glory, together with Your Father and Your Holy Spirit, now and forever...Amen!!!
CHANT PSALM 23
INTO YOUR HANDS LORD YESHUA (JESUS CHRIST) WE COMMIT OUR SOULS AND BODIES, BLESS US AND HAVE MERCY ON US AND GRANT US ETERNAL LIFE!!!
ROMANS 4 STUDY GUIDE & BREAKDOWN
ABRAHAM, MODEL OF FAITH
ROMANS 4:1-12
4:1-5: EVEN ABRAHAM experienced RIGHTEOUSNESS in the sight of God through faith, and this completely apart from the works of the law, for the law had not yet been given: If this holds true for the Jews' founding FATHER, it is true for all Jews: because Abraham responded in FAITH to God's promise- (Genesis 15), he was ACCOUNTED righteous, or justified- (see my notes on Romans 3:24): Only through faith in God can the UNGODLY be justified- (v. 5):
4:6-8: FAITH: not only predated the law, it remained active during the time of the law: As revealed in (Psalm 31), DAVID- discovered what Abraham had known: BEING FORGIVEN comes by God's mercy through repentance, faith, and humility, and not by the WORKS OF THE LAW...
4:11-12: BECAUSE ABRAHAM: was circumcised as a sign of God's covenant, he is the father to all the Jews: Yet Abraham was living by FAITH when he was 75, but was not circumcised until he was 99- (Genesis 12:4; Genesis 17:24): During this time of being uncircumcised, he was still righteous before God by faith; thus he is also THE FATHER OF UNCIRCUMCISED BELIEVERS, THE GENTILES: IMPUTED (v. 11)- means "reckoned" or "rendered": This term does not refer to a mere legal standing, but indicates that God's RIGHTEOUSNESS is actually given to all mankind by grace: This righteousness transforms the whole person, internally and externally: those who say God's righteousness is merely an external declaration or fiat that does not really become ours experientially miss the point and fall short of the truth: God's righteousness is a gift and indeed becomes our own, leading us to pure godliness- (see- and discuss old notes from the article "Deification- in 2 Peter of my Study Bible):
ABRAHAM'S CHILDREN: FAITHFUL BELIEVERS
ROMANS 4:13-25
4:13-18: RIGHTEOUSNESS: does not come through genetic or ethnic ancestry: Though THE LAW requires one to become a Jew, this law only BRINGS ABOUT WRATH- (v. 15): Why??? Its purpose is not to save, but to make man aware of his sins or TRANSGRESSIONS: True righteousness is based on God's PROMISE- (v. 14) and is received by FAITH: The righteous are those who receive God's promise in faith and not to those OF THE LAW-(v. 14), that is, those who are merely physical offspring of ABRAHAM: THE TRUE DESCENDANTS of Abraham are the believers, for he is the father of all who believe, whether it be a Jew or even a Gentile...
4:25: OUR OFFENSES- and for the forgiveness of those transgressions Jesus Died for on the Cross: If He had been a sinner, the law would have condemned Him as it did everyone else: But He is and has perfect love, and He is without sin: So, He perfectly fulfilled both the letter and the heart of the law, and the offering of Himself on the Cross is OUR JUSTIFICATION- (see my Notes on Romans 3:24)...
ROMANS 5 STUDY GUIDE & BREAKDOWN
RIGHTEOUSNESS AS A LIVING REALITY & REIGN OF SIN, REIGN OF GRACE
ROMANS 5:1-21
5:1: FAITH: in Christ makes us JUSTIFIED, an ongoing state of communion with Him- (see my Romans 3:24-notes): Because of this ongoing communion, WE HAVE PEACE WITH GOD, which also ongoing: The Greek word "pistis", here translated as "FAITH", can also be rendered "FAITHFULNESS"... Faith is more than the conviction that something is true-(JAMES 2:19): Genuine faithfulness is continuous loyalty and obedience to God...Such faithfulness justifies a person through God's grace...
5:5: CHRISTIANS ASK, How can I experience THE LOVE OF GOD and pass it on to others???" St. Paul offers the answer here...
5:6: THE UNGODLY: are all of us: because of sin, everyone stands in alienation from God, and we do not have the capacity to become righteous on our own: because of God's love, CHRIST DIED for our sins to bring us the gift of righteousness!!!
5:10: THOSE WHO ACCPET: and appropriate Christ's love are RECONCILED TO GOD, being restored to peace and communion with Him (Christ our God): God has not ceased to be our Friend, for He is unchangeable: We are the ones who have changed and so we are the ones needing the change: So while we were still rebellious ENEMIES OF GOD, God was working in His love to restore us...
5:12: FOR ADAM AND EVE, SIN CAME FIRST, AND THIS LED TO DEATH: This death then SPREAD TO ALL MEN: The rest of humanity inherits death, and then our mortal state, we all sin: So, all mankind suffers the consequences of Adam's original sin: The Orthodox Church rejects any teachings that would assign guilt to all mankind for Adam's sin: We indeed suffer the consequences of sin, we all do, but truth is we carry the full weight and burdens of our own sins no other blame can be placed but only on ourselves...
5:13: UNTIL THE LAW came, SIN worked freely IN THE WORLD: from Adam to Moses, people suffer from mortality and committed all manner of sin: They were accountable to God for their sin under natural law-(Romans 1:18-21; and Romans 2:14-16): But without the written law, the seriousness of their sin often remained clouded: God gave the law to Moses to expose the magnitude of man's sin- (see my notes- Romans 4:13-18):
5:14: AFTER ADAM, our sin could not be said to be in the LIKENESS of his sin, because only Adam's sin brought mortality to our race: Yet the law of sin and death REIGNED because man overwhelming continued to sin in rebellion against God: However, among both Jews and Gentiles, some kept the law of nature and the law of Moses on the basis of inner faith: yet these still SUFFERED THE DEATH that reigned over humanity: ADAM IS A TYPE, a prefiguring or a foreshadowing of Christ as the head of humanity: As the first man Adam caused death to reign in the human race: As the New and perfect Man, Christ brings eternal life to all of humanity!!!
5:15-17: JUST AS IMMORTALITY is a far superior to mortality, so also the GRACE of Christ exceeds the death we inherited from Adam: For by grace, not only is Adam's sin covered, but the sins of the whole world are also covered: So JUSTIFICATION in Christ far exceeds CONDEMNATION through Adam- (v. 16): As we all inherited Adam's mortality- (v. 15), we shall all inherit Christ's immortality: This saving GIFT -(v. 15) must be received through faith: Though all will be raised, some will be raised to eternal life while others will be raised for eternal judgement- (John 5:28-29):
5:18: ONE MAN'S RIGHTEOUS ACT: refers primarily to Christ's death and Resurrection, but also to His incarnate life as a whole, which reunites human nature with God: JUSTIFICATION: (See my notes on Romans 3:24; Romans 5:1): Does not mean that man inherits the guilt of Adam's sin, nor does it mean that our sinning is completely inevitable: The first thing damaged in Adam's nature was his will, and in our corrupted state, this weakened will is prone to falling into sin: Christ has two wills, one human and the other is His divine will: His human will is totally and willingly subject to the divine will: Through Christ's obedience, healing is brought to man's human will: Therefore, MANY ARE MADE RIGHTEOUS and are able by grace to participate in God's righteousness: Indeed, many saints become so filled with grace that they pass extensive periods of time without sinning, for they allow the healing power of Christ to fill their human will!!!
5:20: THE LAW: was given as a temporary measure on God's part to reveal sin and to lead us to repentance and faith- (Galatians 3:23-25): Instead of decreasing under the law, SIN ABOUNDED even more: This increase of sin amplifies our awareness of our fallen state and serves as an inspiration to bring us to Christ- (Galatians 3:24):
PSALM 8 STUDY GUIDE & BREAKDOWN
PSALM 8
PSALM8: O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens!
2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have [b]ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, 4 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit[c] him? 5 For You have made him a little lower than [d]the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, 7 All sheep and oxen— Even the beasts of the field, 8 The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!
PSALM 8: Speaks of the Incarnate Lord: (1): HIS NAME IS WONDROUS...IN ALL THE EARTH, and He is EXALTED FAR BEYOND THE HEAVENS-(v. 2; see also Philippians 2:9-11): (2): HE BRINGS forth praise from His humble people, who are likened to little children- (v. 3; see also Matthew 18:1-4; and Matthew 21:15-16): (3): HE IS THE CREATOR of the universe-(v. 4; see Hebrews 1:10-12): (4): HE REMEMBERED man and his mortal nature, for example, his fall into death and decay in the grave, and thus, became incarnate to redeem him from death and to CROWN HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR- (vv. 5-9; see also Hebrews 2:6-10): (5): BECAUSE OF THE THINGS MENTIONED ABOVE, the incarnate Lord's name is wondrous in all the earth!!!
PSALM 8: is the communion hymn on Lazarus Saturday, the day before Palm Sunday, and it is also sung at Palm Sunday Orthros-(Matins):
END WITH THE LORD'S PRAYER-LET'S DEPART IN PEACE IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!!!
JPCE SPIRITUAL TALK
NEVER HOLD BACK
THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD
JEHOVAH SHALOM!!!