Oct. 23 - 2010

THE FORM OF THE NT LETTERS- Letters in NT go from "Paul" letters to "general" letters and are in order from longest to shortest...not chronologically- General Format of the letters as follows:---Address/Salutation (ie: paul..to the church of..."grace" and "peace")---Thanksgiving/Prayer (ie "blessed be the God....."and I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened")---Body ---GreetingsThe Genre Of NT Letters- They are letters, not theology research papers.- They are written to specific situations (1 Corinth 7:1)- They are pastoral exhortations (not theological debates) (1 Corinth 2:1.....) (Titus 3:1)- They carry apostolic authority (Colossians 2:5)LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF PAUL - BIOGRAPHY- Pre-Conversion (taught in Hebrew, had one of the best teachers, greek philosophy, language and rhetoric)----He was a Pharisee, zealous...etc.,- Conversion/Calling (became a Christian and a missionary at same time...struggles for 3 years in the wilderness, The Teaching of Paul- Calling (declares, exemplifies and believes in his own calling)- God..(preaches more of Jesus than God...wouldn't have made a good Calvinist...Believes in ONE GOD, THE CREATOR...a Jewish perspective...no need to talk about God, instead assumes everyone knows and believes these things "our father" shows a personal submission to God)- The Christ (Phill. 2:3-11)...."God gave Jesus the name above all names: LORD (Yahweh)....(Col.2:15)." the VICTOR...has already won the battle with Satan".....(Col. 1:15-20)..."Christ is the supreme ruler...puts all things back together...reconciles all things....SUPREME POWER (2 Tim.1:10)..."SAVIOR....brought immortality to light"- Mankind: (Col. 1:21-22)....SINNERS....alienated from God because of our sinful nature....................................(Rom 3:9-20)...."PATHETIC.....we are all under sin..jew and gentile...not even one does good...etc.etc.etc.......- Sin/Evil (Eph.6:12)...."there is a spiritual battle going on...not a struggle of our own willpower...a struggle against Satan that we need God for"- Justification (Rom 3:22)......"the righteousness of God...(Rom 4:3-5)....."declaration of God regardless of fact...God is the JUDGE....and it is up to him whether we are saved or not...we cannot earn it..."God's righteousness is credited to our account in heaven".....- Sanctification (Rom 8:9-11).."controlled not by sinful nature but by the spirit".....sanctification is the process by which God makes us holy...(Gal. 5:22) "love, joy, peace, faithfulness, kindness, gentleness, there is no law against these things"...God puts the Spirit in us to transform us to live like Christ- The Law (Rom 3:19-20)... the law declares our condemnation it does not save us....(Gal 3:24)...the law will lead us to Christ so that we will be saved by faith (Rom 10:4)....Christ is the goal of the law- The Cross (1 Corinth 1:18)...the cross is the power of God unto salvation....(1 Corinth 2:2 )....the only message of importance is Jesus and his crucifiction.....(2 Corinth 5:19)....God was in Christ on the cross reconciling the world unto himself...The Cross is the Gospel.....the Gospel is the Cross.- The Resurrection (1 Corinth 15)...believes in the resurrection as fact...faith is useless if you don't believe in it.....if Christ can be reborn so can we.- The Church (1 Corinth 12:27)..."now you are the body of Christ...".......the church continues to be the presence of God on this earth as Jesus was the presence of God on earth, and will continue to be the ministry and the suffering of Christ.........(Col 1:18)..."and he is the head of the body, the Church...so that he might have the supremacy" (2 Corinth 1:5-15)..."for just as the sufferings of Christ...."....(2 Corinth 4:5)..."are like fragile clay jars containing this.....through suffering our bodies continue to share...so that the life of Christ may also be seen in our bodies".....in the midst of suffering is the hope of resurrection..(Col 1:24).."now i rejoice in what I am suffering....fill up in my body what is lacking in Christs afflictions"......not just a neat analogy..the actual body- Christian Ethics (How shall we live)----not a series of laws but a life lived above the laws...always a higher standard----the greatest expression is love (1 Corinth 13)...in the end 3 things remain..faith, hope, and love..>LOVE (2 Peter 1:5-7)- Last Things---Judgement is coming, as is Christ in his second coming, and you better be ready.

ROMANS- Paul and Rome---more of a general letter...he has not been there but hopes to go there...however, he knows many people that are now in Rome. At the time Rome is the capital city of the world and therefore it is imperative that the gospel reach and be heard there.- The importance of Romans ---has transformed many influential Christians and scholars- The nature of Romans---romans comes the closest to a structured theological statement- The Theme of Romans---The Righteousness of God---Obtainable by All People---Through Christ---And by FaithThe Outline of Romans- Introduction ( A declaration to call people to obedience to faith)Rom 3-5 deals with faith.....Rom 6-8 deals with obedience...the entire books purpose is to wrap them both in a complete package (Rom 12-15)- Man's need for Righteousness (1:18-3:20)----the problem is that man is openly rebelling against the God that has revealed himself to us- The Righteousness of God Imputed to Man (3:21-5)---"but now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been manifested.....through faith in Jesus for all who believe....no distinction for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"(God removes his own wrath by sending His Son Jesus...propitiation) 

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