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 6 STUDY GUIDE & BREAKDOWN
BAPTISM: DEAD TO SIN, ALIVE IN CHRIST
ROMANS 6:1-14
6:1-14: OPPONENTS OF ST. PAUL: twisted his summary of God's past dealings with humanity, and instead applied it to individuals: They accused him of saying, "Sin increases grace, so let us increase sin!!!"-(Romans 3:8 Paraphrased): This argument missed the fact that a person must be allied with one side or the other: if one is willfully living in sin, he-or she- cannot experience union with God: Even if grace is increasing, he is destroying himself-or herself, and for that he or she is responsible: increase of grace honors God when its power leads us to become dead to sin!!!
6:2: TO HAVE DIED TO SIN: does not mean our human nature has died: Instead, it means we are no longer held captive by it: We are to be immovable towards sin as something dead would be!!!
6:3-4: FREEDOM FROM SIN is grounded in the sacrament of HOLY BAPTISM: Ignorance of what happens when we are BAPTIZED is a great enemy: Through ignorance, many are defeated in their battle against sin- What Christ accomplished on the Cross-an actual death to sin-baptism accomplishes in us: an actual death to sin and our liberation from its power: because our baptism INTO CHRIST gives us power over sin, it is an exact likeness of His death: Baptism does not merely- "stand for" this truth, but itself our death to sin!!!
6:5: UNITED TOGETHER: with Christ refers to being planted and growing together in Him, clearly implying the expectation of fruit: IN THE LIKENESS OF HIS DEATH means baptism causes a real unity with Christ's death: WE ALSO SHALL BE IN THE LIKENESS OF HIS RESURRECTION is literally translated, "we shall be of the resurrection", referring both to the new life of baptism in this world and to eternal life in the age to come...
6:6: KNOWING THIS refers to our understanding that baptism is a reality, not merely an outward symbol: OLD MAN does not refer to human nature, but to power of sin in fallen man that once held sway over us: THE BODY OF SIN is not the human body, but all iniquity: It is sin that is CRUCIFIED WITH HIM, and not some kind of sinful nature, for sin is what we do, not what we are!!!
6:7: A PHYSICAL BODY, once it is dead, makes no response to its environment: So we who died with Christ in baptism must not respond to the promptings of sin, for we are FREED FROM SIN...
6:8: WHEN BONDAGE TO SIN HAS DIED, it must be replaced with something else: For those who are baptized, the replacement is Christ's resurrected life: WHAT SHALL ALSO LIVE WITH HIM means both a righteous life on earth after baptism and eternal life in the Kingdom to come...
6:10: CHRIST WAS NEVER UNDER THE CONTROL of death or sin, yet He chose voluntarily to die TO SIN for our sake: In Christ, we too can voluntarily die to sin through baptism: As Christ's death is ONCE FOR ALL, so also for us there is never a second baptism: Constant repentance renews our baptism as we grow in our relationship with God!!!
6:11: A SHIFT: in emphasis comes here, from what Christ has done for us- (vv. 1-10): to our response to Him- (vv. 11-14): RECKON is an action verb, relating to faith: we lay hold of our union with Christ and thereby lay hold of every virtue...
6:12: THE COMMAND TO NOT LET SIN REIGN proves that sin's power over man is not absolute: Instead, it is something we allow by our own free will: Man's will was first aspect of human nature damaged through sin, and therefore it is the first thing Christ heals: His healing allows us to make true choices against sin: While sin continues to plague humanity, those who are baptized into Christ have the power to overcome sin through their union with Him: LUSTS refers to all the passions of the flesh and spirit that make demands on the will: In Christ, a person can resist and defeat these lusts through righteous exercise of the will...
6:13: INSTRUMENTS: (weapons of war) are in this case various aspects of human nature, especially the body: Though God created our members good, we may use them to serve either two rulers, SIN OR GOD: FOR THOSE WHO LIVE OUT THEIR BAPTISM, THE CHOICE IS CLEAR...
BAPTISM: FREEDOM FROM SIN UNDER GRACE
ROMANS 6:15-23
6:15: HAVING COMPLETED his references to baptism, Paul initiates another discussion: Christians are no longer to sin as those who sinned during the period of the law: Those UNDER THE LAW did not have the power of baptism: The law exhorted people to battle sin, the GRACE OF BAPTISM gives people the power to battle sin and win...
6:16: THOUGH WE CHOOSE our master freely, we are always a slave to someone or something: ONLY OBEDIENCE TO GOD leads us to RIGHTEOUSNESS, making us heirs of salvation rather than SLAVES OF SIN- (Romans 8:14-17):
6:17: BAPTISM frees us from being SLAVES OF SIN if we continue in obedience to God: The FORM OF DOCTRINE refers to the apostolic teachings of the Church- (2 Timothy 1:13):
6:18: SET FREE FROM SIN: See (vv. 1-14 and those notes): SLAVES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS- See (my notes for v. 16):
6:19: HUMAN TERMS are the images of slavery by which Paul expresses the fallen human condition, for God does not want us as slaves but as children- (see also- Romans 8:14-17): If previously we served sin so well, certainty we are now empowered to serve RIGHTEOUSNESS even more effectively...
6:20: FREE-(see my notes at v. 16 above):
6:21: WHILE ONE IS ENSLAVED TO SIN, one does not know enough even to be ASHAMED OF IT: but having received the gospel, one realizes how shameful the life of sin is and can clearly see its end: DEATH:
6:22: SLAVERY TO GOD, initiated by baptism, is actually freedom0 (see my notes at v. 19 above-shalom!!!): Only this freedom can bear fruit of HOLINESS AND EVERLASTING LIFE...
6:23: WAGES are something earned; thus death is earned by man through his sins: Eternal life is never earned, but is a GIFT: No human actions, no matter how good or noble they may seem, can earn ETERNAL LIFE, for it is only through the grace and love OF GOD that life everlasting is given to us...
PSALM 9 STUDY GUIDE & BREAKDOWN
PSALM 9: The numerical divergence begins between the Septuagint (LXX) and the Masoretic Text: In the LXX, PSALM 9 AND 10 are combined...PSALM 9 IS CONCERNING THE HIIDEN THINGS OF THE SON: Now this Son is the Only-Begotten Son of the Father, and He is the judge of all mankind: As the Nicene Creed says- "He shall come again in glory to judge the living and the dead"-At THE END, that is, in the coming judgement, He shall reveal="hidden things"-the theme of the judgement runs throughout the psalm- (vv. 5, 8, 9, 17, 20, 26, and 39), and things now hidden will be revealed, some of which are prophesied by David in this Psalm: For example, all the deeds of the ungodly will be remembered, exposed and judged- (vv. 32-35), for everything will be brought into the light, however, the godly now give thanks to the Lord with a repentant heart-and gratefulness-(vv. 1, 2), for they know the Lord will reign over His Kingdom forever- (v. 37): For his Kingdom shall have no end- see also (The Nicene Creed):
1 CORINTHIANS 13:6
does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth
CHRIST IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIGHT!!! IT'S ALL ABOUT THE HEART AND IF WE AREN'T 100% COMMITTED WE COULD END UP LIKE JUDAS!!!
End with the Lord's Prayer- Let's depart in peace in the name of the Lord, my brothers and sisters in Christ!!!
Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have mercy on me, for I'm a sinner (3)- times!!!
JPCE SPIRITUAL TALK
NEVER HOLD BACK
THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD
JEHOVAH SHALOM!!!