Life Lessons with Dr. Steve Schell

What condition were you in when you got saved? For some of us that's an easy question to answer because we've only known the Lord tor a few weeks or months. But for others that encounter took place so long ago we hardly recognize the person we once were. We've changed so much over the years it's like we're talking about someone else. Memories of the old us start us laughing or blushing or cringing. We don't want to think about those days anymore; we've moved on. Over the years God changed us. The process wasn't easy. We often had to learn things the hard way... and then in some cases learn the same lesson again, and even over and over again until it stuck. And no one, no matter how old, would say they've arrived. All of us are painfully aware of how far we still have to go, and that's the point Paul Is trying to teach is in this pas sage. He's reminding us that spiritual growth takes time and since God was patient with us while those changes took place, we need to turn around and pass on to those behind us the same grace He gave us. Their growth will take time just as ours has, and being patient, as Paul will point out, doesn't mean abandoning people and letting them go it alone. It means refusing to exercise our own rights in some cases and putting their good ahead of ours. In other words, it means loving them like Jesus loved us. To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. Also check out our website for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge. And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Genesis at no charge, we are giving out this book as well!

If asked, most Christians will say they want to see people born again and gathered into the church. But when those newly saved actually arrive, some with rough histories and much brokenness, few seem to want to be involved in healing and teaching them. Most long-term Christians prefer to gather with others like themselves and have warm fellowship, and there's certainly nothing wrong with that. But there is something wrong when that's all they we want to do, when we've lost our love for the newly-saved or troubled, for those Paul calls here the "weak in faith" and those Jesus calls His "little lambs" (Jn 21:15). People come into God's family from all sorts of backgrounds. Some are still very wounded, some are fresh out of addictions or demonic control or abuse. It's these Paul's talking about. He's telling mature believers, "Be gentle with these people, don't bully them, don't criticize them. Receive them into your gatherings and into your hearts." Yes, of course, there are moral boundaries that can't be ignored, though there are early seasons in a new believer's life when we may patiently wait for the Holy Spirit to speak to them before we do. In this passage Paul addresses both the strong in faith and the weak in faith telling them to love each other. He tells the strong not to despise the weak, and the weak not to judge the strong. But as we might expect, he focuses his attention on the strong because unless they choose to welcome the weak and be part of their healing, the church in Rome will stop growing. To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. Also check out our website for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge. And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Genesis at no charge, we are giving out this book as well!

Anyone who violates God's moral standards as flagrantly as was apparently being done in Rome (v13) has lost most or all of their fear of God. Any real expectation that they will be held accountable for their actions must have receded in their thinking so far into the future that it no longer had any power to restrain their behavior. Jesus made it abundantly clear how He wants His disciples to think. He said, "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone" (Mt 24:36). Then He gave us several examples of people being caught off-guard by the sudden arrival of God's judgment (Mt 24:36-51). Basically, He tells us you don't know when I'll return, so live each day as if I might arrive at any minute, because when I do come, I will evaluate your lifestyle and judge those whose behavior proves them to be hypocrites. To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. Also check out our website for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge. And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Genesis at no charge, we are giving out this book as well!

Why I do something is more important than what I do, and there is only one reason that pleases God: love. I could do the most noble thing in the world, and if I do it for the wrong reason, it means nothing to Him. I may have benefitted someone else but spiritually I haven't pleased God. If I've done it selfishly or fearfully or pridefully or begrudgingly, I receive no reward from Him at all. The only benefit I'll get is whatever human approval comes my way (Mt 6:1-4). Even great spiritual achievements such as mighty faith or prophetic revelations bring me no approval from God if not done for the right reason. Anger, self-righteousness, pride, competitiveness all leave me a disappointing failure. And the reverse is also true. If I do even the simplest act because I love someone, I will be rewarded for it in eternity and probably in this life as well. So obviously it's very important for me to understand what love is. We should acknowledge right up front that only God knows why I do things (Lk 16:15), but I'd still be wise to examine my own heart to see if love appears to be at work there (1Co 2:11), and if not then I need to drop everything else I'm doing and find some because, as far as God is concerned, I've been wasting my time (1Co 13:1-3). It's not that what I've been doing is wrong necessarily, it's why I've been doing it. Something in my attitude about myself may need to die, and something that comes only from God needs to take its place. I need a miracle... I need His love. To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. Also check out our website for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge. And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Genesis at no charge, we are giving out this book as well!

Paul is teaching the churches In Rome how to live successfully In a non-Christian society. Most of their neighbors and family were not believers and many were growing suspicious or even hostile. And with Nero as emperor, the government was certainly no friend. In a few more years it would become a bitter enemy, so if believers weren't careful, their situation could deteriorate very rapidly. Yet just because they were vulnerable politically didn't mean they were weak spiritually. Paul doesn't for a moment counsel them to compromise or hide their faith. They were still called to reach that city for Christ. What he does is coach them on how to stay effective at winning souls In the midst of that dangerous environment. He explains how believers should respond when someone has treated them cruelly, how to guard the Lord's reputation, and how to witness to the toughest opponent. He doesn't want them drawn into fights that don't really matter, so they can stay focused on what does. Every lesson he gives them applies to us as well. We too need to learn how to live in peace in a non-Christian society, even with those who treat us cruelly. Why? So they too can find peace with God. To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. Also check out our website for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge. And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Genesis at no charge, we are giving out this book as well!