Gospel Dynamite with J. Allen Mashburn

The Call to Holy Living | Romans 12:1-2 | J. Allen Mashburn

Chapters 9-11 formed a break in Paul's letter to the Romans. In that passage, Paul's focus was on salvation and the Jew. Paul wanted to show them that God was not neglecting them in this present age, but that they could be saved by calling on the name of the Lord. Now, Paul returns to the main idea of his letter. He has spent considerable time telling us how we are saved, what we are saved from and what salvation has done for us. In this last section of the book, Paul's focus shifts to some very practical matters. He will discuss many aspects of everyday living in this world.
I am thankful that I have a home waiting on me in Heaven. I am glad that I will live in a perfect mansion some day in the very presence of the Lord God. However, right now, I am a pilgrim and a stranger living on foreign soil. Heaven is a blessing, but I need practical help for my day to day walk with God. These first two verses of Chapter 12, give us some insight into an area of our walk with God that we must never over look. These two verses tell us the secret of holy living. 
Paul tells us what God expects from us and how we are to achieve His goals for our lives. He tells us that holy living revolves around our surrender to three powerful concerns. Let's see just what they are and what they demand as we consider the thought: The Call to Holy Living.

God's Plan for the Jew & You | Romans 11:1-36 | J. Allen Mashburn

In this chapter, Paul concludes his parenthesis to the Jew. He has been trying to show them that God has not forsaken them, but that God has simply postpones His work on their behalf unto a future time. It is God's plan to finish what He has started in regard to the Jew and in the area of His promises to them.
These verses are an explanation of what God is doing in the arena of salvation in this present time. Here, we learn that God has a plan for the Jew and that He has a plan for you. I'd like to look at these verses for a few minutes and discuss the thought, God's Plan For The Jew And For You. Some may have read the book of Romans up to this point and concluded that there is no salvation for the Jew. Paul shows the foolishness of that viewpoint. He teaches us that God has a plan and that God's plan will be fulfilled completely.

God's Plan of Salvation | Romans 10:1-21 | J. Allen Mashburn

Paul continues his appeal to the Jew. He has already shown them that they have had numerous opportunities in the past to enter God's salvation. However, he wants them to know that God is still working to bring them to faith. This chapter is all about what God is doing to bring men to Himself. In these verses, we are given a crystal clear picture of God's plan of salvation. What we will see is that salvation centers in the Lord Jesus Christ.
One of the common misunderstandings in our day is that man somehow cooperates with God in bringing about salvation. People believe that they must be good to be accepted, or they must do certain things to please the Lord and earn His good favor. However, nothing could be farther from the truth! What we will see here is just what we saw in chapter 9. Salvation is the work of God. Let's examine these words from the Apostle Paul and look into God's Plan Of Salvation.
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Bound By the Lord's Purposes | Romans9:6-33 | J. Allen Mashburn

The first part of verse 6 carries our minds back to what Paul said in verse 1-5. There, we are reminded that the Jews had been the recipients of many divine gifts. Verses 4 and 5 contain quite an impressive list of blessings which they had been given. However, just the fact that they had been given these great spiritual gifts and manifestations, did not guarantee them that they would be saved. That having been said, let us remember that the Word of the Lord will be fulfilled, even to its smallest detail, Isa. 55:11; Matt. 5:18. That which God has predestined and foreordained will come to pass. Whether it is in the arena of prophecy or in the arena of salvation!
Paul wants his Jewish readers to understand that salvation is a divine experience. That is, it always begins and ends with God. He is origination, continuation and culmination of our faith, Heb. 12:2. It is all God all the way! In these verses, Paul seeks to explain the matter of God's divine sovereignty in this matter of salvation. He wants us to know, beyond all doubt, that God is in absolute control of the salvation of men's souls.  Paul tells us that we are all Bound By The Lord's Purpose. 

Burdened for a Lost People | Romans 9:1-5 | J. Allen Mashburn

We have arrived, in our study of the book of Romans, to a passage that is ignored and misunderstood by many great commentators and preachers of the Gospel. The next three chapters form something of a parenthesis between chapters 8 and 13. Many Bible scholars feel that this passage had no relevance to the church at all. However, as we shall see from going through these verses, there are truths that must be understood. Up until this point, Paul has been about the task of proving that salvation is a sovereign work of God brought about through grace by faith. He has been telling his readers that men are saved by trusting the finished work of Christ on Calvary, apart from any rituals or works. Any Jew reading Romans, up to this point, might get the idea that salvation by faith was for Gentiles only. He might come to the conclusion that there was no hope for those who were the descendants of Abraham. Therefore, Paul pauses in his teaching to let all of his readers know that God wasn't finished with the Jew! They still figured prominently in God's plan for the future. As we move through the next three chapters, we will see that they have a lot to say to the Jews. But, there is also some meat for the church as well.
In these opening verses of chapter 9, Paul reveals his heart for his people the Jews. In doing so, he teaches us a lesson about the kind of heart we should have for the lost around us tonight. I would like to preach for a while this evening on this thought: Burdened For A Lost People.

Christ-Like Praying in a Pagan World | I Timothy 2:1-4 | J. Allen Mashburn

First Timothy is the first of three letters written by Paul to young preachers. These letters, called the Pastoral Epistles, are Paul’s attempt at instructing and encouraging these young men of God. In these letters, we can find a great amount of material related to behavior in the church and also governing worship. Paul felt compelled to write these letters because Timothy and Titus were serving the Lord in a society that was very secular and openly opposed to the preaching of salvation through Jesus Christ and the lifestyle of separation and holiness that accompanies that salvation. He gives these young men some rules of thumb by which they can operate their ministries.
It seems to me that we live in a society that is growing more and more anti-Christian by the day. A society, which declares right wrong and wrong right. America is no longer a Christian nation, but has become a pagan nation where men live as if God were dead or irrelevant. 
We can complain all we want to about the situation we are in here in America, but this is where we are, and we have been placed here by the providence of Almighty God. As a result, we need to know how to live for God in a pagan world.

The Distinction of Spirit Life | Romans 8:31-39 | J. Allen Mashburn

Of all the promises made to the child of God relating to our salvation, to me, the most precious is the fact that those who are saved by grace are saved forever. Of course, I am referring to the doctrine of the eternal security of the believer. I know that many will take various passages of Scripture and string them together to try to prove that a person can be saved today and lost again tomorrow. I realize that, but what I want to know is this: Why? Why not just let the Bible say what it says and rejoice in the fact that if you have ever been saved, you will always be saved?
 
That's what these verses are all about. If we had none of the other precious passages in the Bible that teach eternal security, John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47; 10:28-29; 1 Pet. 1:5, etc., Romans 8 would be sufficient to make that doctrine crystal clear. As we bring our study of this great chapter to a close this evening, Paul tells us about The Distinction Of The Spirit Life. There is one thing that sets Christianity apart from the rest of the belief systems in the world this evening. That thing is a distinctive plan of salvation that guarantees absolute, eternal security to everyone who is saved thereby. Let's look into these verses this evening and allow the Lord to teach us that if we are saved, we are indeed secure.

The Diligence of the Spirit Life | Romans 8:18-27 | J. Allen Mashburn

Verse 18 of our text reminds us of on of the most fundamental truths of the Christian life. That truth is this: we are not home yet! While we wait to be delivered from this world, we need to remember that we are living in a world that is under a curse. As a result of that curse, there is a lot of groaning and turmoil taking place. In the midst of all that, it is easy to become discouraged and it is easy to want to give up.
However, if there is one thing this passage teaches us, it is that the Spirit life is one of diligence. The word diligence means, "to be characterized by steady, earnest and energetic activity." It is the opposite of giving up! In fact, the Spirit of God is able to give us hope during the troubled times of our lives.
This passage concerns the struggle that is going on in and around all of us this evening. Paul shares with us three arenas of life where there is diligence in the midst of a devastated world. Let's look at these together.