Romans 6-9: Where Do You Start Teaching Somebody?

One of the reasons we FREEZE UP and don't ask friends and neighbors to study the Bible is: We don't know where we would start teaching. The problem is, everyone is on a different page. Some don't believe in God. Some believe in the God of the Old Testament, but not in Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit. Some believe in Allah. Some in Buddha. Some believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but they have been taught an incorrect view of what God requires from them. Some are very religious but still lost.

Where do you start?

Paul started with SIN in Romans. Think about that. Gentiles didn't have such a problem with this, because they KNEW they were stinking sinners. They KNEW they had come out of idolatry, fornication, blasphemy, etc. And the Jews nodded their heads smugly. All THEY had to do was step out of Judaism and into Christianity. They didn't have to change Gods. They felt like they didn't have to change a thing. But Paul very carefully set them up in Romans 1-3. He showed how bad the Gentiles were and then dropped the bomb on the Jews in Romans 2:1: "Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things."

He says, "What then? Are we [Jews] better than they [Gentiles]? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin..." (Romans 3:9). And again, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

The FIRST step in coming to God is realizing there is a moral standard, there are rules set by the Creator, and we have missed the mark! Not only have we sinned, but the consequences of the sin are (1) a complete separation from God, the source of life, and (2) Jesus, God's Son, had to suffer, bleed, and die because of it. I'm sure we could come up with a huge list of consequences if we wanted.

So...thinking about teaching your neighbor? You need to somehow show him that he's a sinner. Don't ram it down his throat as if you are blameless. He needs to know YOU have fallen just as far as he. He needs to know the only material difference between a Christian and an unbeliever is the fact that the Christian has been washed by the blood of Jesus Christ and been forgiven!

God bless,
Nathan

Tomorrow's Reading: Romans 6-9