Gospel Dynamite with J. Allen Mashburn

Thinking About the Brethren | Romans 12:9-21 | J. Allen Mashburn

This whole chapter is a plea for believers to live lives that are pleasing to the Lord. Verses 1-2 are about Thinking About The Believer. We are to consider our own life and get it where it really needs to be. Verses 3-8 are about Thinking About The Body. They have to do with our place in the whole body of Christ. They are a challenge for us to fulfill our God-given role in being everything the Lord has saved us to be. Verses 9-21 continue the theme Paul is addressing in this chapter. Now, he is going to speak for a while about Thinking About The Brethren. These verses are filled with challenges for the children of God to live together, before the Lord and the world, as a God-honoring family. These verses, if they are heeded and practiced, would revolutionize the average Christian's life.
There are three basic thoughts in view here as we think about Thinking About The Brethren.

Obeying God, Rather Than Men | Francis Schaeffer

Schaeffer was a theologian somewhat before his time.  This recording, goes along with one of his most popular books, "A Christian Manifesto."  
This was recorded in the early 1980's, but it is so relevant for today.  I urge you to listen.  You will be blown away at how "on target" he was in 1980--of today's world.

Thoughts About the Body of Christ | Romans 12:3-8 | J. Allen Mashburn

Paul began his thoughts in chapter 12 by dealing with the individual. He started off by thinking about the believer. Paul's emphasis there was to get believers to understand that they had an obligation to the Lord to give Him the best of their service and sacrifice.
The rest of this chapter is given over to the individual believer's duty to and place in the whole body of Christ. As we consider Paul's words in our text this evening we find that there are 3 observations that every believer needs to make concerning where he or she fits in to God's plan for the body of Christ.
Allow me to share those three observations with you now as we move from Thinking About The Believer to Thinking About The Body.

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.