Sermons
Unwrapping the Names of Jesus | The Good Shepherd
The bible teaches that all we like sheep have gone astray. The good news of Christmas is that Jesus came as the Good Shepherd!
December 19, 2022
The bible teaches that all we like sheep have gone astray. The good news of Christmas is that Jesus came as the Good Shepherd!
buy disulfiram implant Paul calls the return of Jesus our “blessed hope.” This implies more than wishful thinking; it is great expectation and high degree of certainty. But why was Paul certain that Jesus would come back? In short, he knew, and we know, Jesus will return because of who Jesus is – the promised Messiah. That Jesus is the promised Messiah means God is a promise-keeping God. He has kept His promises and He will continue to keep His promises, including the return of Jesus. But there is hope for more than just the life to come!
Religious ritual detached from relational affection for God is nothing. The Jews thought that if they were circumcised in the flesh, they were guaranteed entrance into Heaven. Today, Christians sometimes feel the same about baptism or other rituals they perform. In this week’s passage, Paul corrects this false notion and reminds his Jewish readers that it’s always been about the heart, never merely about the ritual act. Christians today would do well to remember that doing the things is not the same as loving the Lord.
As long as any church is filled with people who refuse to get real, the enemy will maintain a foothold and the church will remain impotent. Church, we’ve been given consciences to discern right from wrong. But our consciences are weak and they can be silenced. They need to be practiced and tuned to God’s will if we are going to experience real revival in our church and our community.
No amount of religious credentials is going to suffice to make things right between us and God. Not family heritage, nor nationality, nor service to others, nor myriad other things people hope in as they consider life after death. The only thing that will count is being clothed in the righteousness of Christ. In today’s passage (Romans 2:6-11), Paul breaks down the hypocrites’ presumption that God is going to go easy on them because of their ancestry as Jews. God shows no partiality.
It’s easy to nod your head in agreement that God’s judgment is warranted for people who sin in ways you do not. It’s another thing altogether to realize that the sins you do commit also warrant His judgement. Christians fundamentally acknowledge that their sin, whatever it is, is worthy of God’s wrath. They call out for forgiveness and they repent. Moralizers and religions hypocrites, on the other hand, are quick to judge people for their sin while minimizing and ignoring their own. Paul’s warning is clear: they will not escape God’s judgment.
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