WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.400 Well, as I mentioned during the reading today, we are continuing our study on Paul's 00:00:06.400 --> 00:00:11.040 letter to the Romans, and we've come to the second half of chapter 15. 00:00:11.040 --> 00:00:15.919 We're going to read together again from verse 15 to verse 18. 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:21.600 But on some points, I've written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the 00:00:21.600 --> 00:00:27.280 grace given me by God, to be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles in the priestly 00:00:27.280 --> 00:00:32.960 service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, 00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:35.520 sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:40.880 In Christ Jesus then, I have reason to be proud of my work, for I will not venture to 00:00:40.880 --> 00:00:51.719 speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience. 00:00:51.719 --> 00:00:59.719 This final section of Romans is very interesting, because when you read it, you see that it 00:00:59.719 --> 00:01:06.560 all starts to become quite specific to the context of the people to whom Paul is writing. 00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:11.319 He's starting to talk about very practical matters relating to life in the early church. 00:01:11.319 --> 00:01:13.039 He refers to specific places. 00:01:13.039 --> 00:01:17.879 So when we were reading, we read about Macedonia, Achaya, Elyricum, Jerusalem. 00:01:17.879 --> 00:01:21.000 He talks about trying to arrange to meet people. 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:27.319 He hopes to see these Roman Christians as he continues on what he hopes would be a journey 00:01:27.319 --> 00:01:28.640 to Spain. 00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:32.879 And he refers to some very, very practical day-to-day issues. 00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:39.799 Right now, he's off to Jerusalem to bring some money to the church there. 00:01:39.799 --> 00:01:45.000 So all very specific to Paul's immediate context. 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:48.680 And of course, whenever we read a passage like that, it's easy to think, well, it's 00:01:48.680 --> 00:01:51.880 not really that relevant to us, is it? 00:01:51.880 --> 00:01:54.280 Not even sure where some of these places are. 00:01:54.280 --> 00:02:00.840 And the needs of individual congregations across the Mediterranean seems a million miles 00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:03.560 from where we are today. 00:02:03.560 --> 00:02:08.760 And because it seems a wee bit irrelevant, it's easy to stop listening when we come 00:02:08.760 --> 00:02:12.840 to a passage like this. 00:02:12.840 --> 00:02:19.879 And what I want to say today is that this passage in the second half of Romans 15 is 00:02:19.879 --> 00:02:30.280 possibly the most relevant passage in the New Testament to the church in Scotland today. 00:02:30.280 --> 00:02:33.879 And I hope that in about half an hour of time, you'll agree with me. 00:02:33.879 --> 00:02:36.199 But we're going to look at it together. 00:02:36.199 --> 00:02:43.159 We're going to notice that there's three big things in this passage that Scotland really 00:02:43.159 --> 00:02:45.759 needs. 00:02:45.759 --> 00:02:48.919 Let's start by just reminding ourselves what Paul has said. 00:02:48.919 --> 00:02:54.359 In verse 14, you remember from last week, Paul had said that he was satisfied with the 00:02:54.359 --> 00:02:55.879 church in Rome. 00:02:55.879 --> 00:02:58.359 There was a very interesting expression he gave. 00:02:58.359 --> 00:03:01.879 It was like he was looking at this church and said, yeah, I'm convinced, and I'm happy 00:03:01.879 --> 00:03:03.280 with the way they are. 00:03:03.280 --> 00:03:06.840 There was for three reasons, it was because they were full of goodness, because they were 00:03:06.840 --> 00:03:12.920 filled with all knowledge and because they were able to instruct one another. 00:03:12.920 --> 00:03:19.879 And it's vital that we never forget that these are three key hallmarks of a successful church. 00:03:19.879 --> 00:03:23.680 But then in these verses that come after verse 14, and the ones that are on the screen, 15 00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:28.360 to 18, Paul starts to speak about his own role. 00:03:28.360 --> 00:03:31.759 And he says something that's really quite fascinating. 00:03:31.759 --> 00:03:33.479 And it's right in the middle. 00:03:33.479 --> 00:03:41.239 He says that he has been given grace to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles 00:03:41.239 --> 00:03:47.679 in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may 00:03:47.679 --> 00:03:52.079 be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 00:03:52.079 --> 00:03:56.439 Now, the reason that's interesting, I think it's really interesting, because Paul uses 00:03:56.439 --> 00:03:59.799 an expression that we would not expect. 00:03:59.800 --> 00:04:04.400 He describes his work as a priestly service. 00:04:04.400 --> 00:04:07.960 You can see it right there in the middle of that passage. 00:04:07.960 --> 00:04:11.600 And the reason that that's a wee bit of an unexpected thing is because if you look at 00:04:11.600 --> 00:04:18.280 the big picture of the Bible stretching from beginning to end, priests are really an Old 00:04:18.280 --> 00:04:20.960 Testament thing. 00:04:20.960 --> 00:04:28.180 And when we come across this expression of Paul's, it seems a wee bit confusing. 00:04:28.180 --> 00:04:30.199 What is he talking about? 00:04:30.199 --> 00:04:34.040 You'll remember that the Bibles in two big sections, Old Testament, New Testament, or 00:04:34.040 --> 00:04:36.439 Old Covenant and New Covenant. 00:04:36.439 --> 00:04:43.240 In the Old Testament, the worship of God was focused around the temple and around the 00:04:43.240 --> 00:04:44.240 sacrificial system. 00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:48.759 So if you go back to the Old Testament, you read through a book like Leviticus, it's full 00:04:48.759 --> 00:04:56.560 of all these details about a sacrificial system in which the priests have a key role. 00:04:56.560 --> 00:05:03.319 They were the ones who offered these sacrifices to God as an act of worship. 00:05:03.319 --> 00:05:08.560 And so when you read the word priests in the Bible, don't think so much of the priests 00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:11.160 that we get in some churches today. 00:05:11.160 --> 00:05:17.840 We should think much more in terms of the temple, in terms of the sacrificial system, 00:05:17.840 --> 00:05:21.240 because they are the priests had a key role. 00:05:21.240 --> 00:05:27.720 Now all of that's an Old Testament thing, because in the New Testament, everything that 00:05:27.720 --> 00:05:34.480 that sacrificial system pointed towards was fulfilled in Jesus Christ when he died on 00:05:34.480 --> 00:05:35.720 the cross. 00:05:35.720 --> 00:05:39.720 His death on the cross means that all of these sacrifices in the Old Testament are no longer 00:05:39.720 --> 00:05:40.720 necessary. 00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:45.639 They were just our shadow pointing towards that ultimate, central once-for-all offering 00:05:45.639 --> 00:05:48.639 of Christ on the cross. 00:05:48.639 --> 00:05:53.759 That's why the New Testament Christians like Paul and like these Romans, they stopped offering 00:05:53.759 --> 00:05:55.919 sacrifices. 00:05:55.919 --> 00:06:02.319 Those who had been Jews no longer needed to take part in that ritual system. 00:06:02.319 --> 00:06:07.759 Those who remained within Judaism continued until the year AD 70, and then the temple 00:06:07.759 --> 00:06:12.879 was destroyed by the Romans, and everything had to change. 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:22.879 But there is a sense in which the Old Testament priests are no longer needed, and in that sense 00:06:22.879 --> 00:06:26.519 there's no priests in the Christian church. 00:06:26.519 --> 00:06:35.279 Instead, Jesus is our high priest because he offered himself on the cross. 00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:45.039 So what on earth does Paul mean when he describes himself and his work as a priestly service? 00:06:45.039 --> 00:06:49.919 Well I think what he's saying here is that the people among the nations of the world 00:06:49.919 --> 00:06:56.359 like these Romans and all the others in places like Irilecom and Dachaea and Macedonia, these 00:06:56.359 --> 00:07:03.239 nations who have come to trust in Jesus and who are now united to him, they themselves 00:07:03.240 --> 00:07:07.240 are an offering of worship to God. 00:07:07.240 --> 00:07:10.960 So instead of these people coming to God with their offerings of animals or of grain or 00:07:10.960 --> 00:07:16.360 anything like that, they themselves are now the offering. 00:07:16.360 --> 00:07:19.319 Paul used a great phrase to describe that in chapter 12 of Romans. 00:07:19.319 --> 00:07:26.600 He describes Christians as being a living sacrifice presented to God. 00:07:26.600 --> 00:07:32.720 And so Paul is telling us that as these people hear the good news and commit their lives 00:07:32.720 --> 00:07:39.480 to Jesus, he views his own role in that as being a bit like that of a priest. 00:07:39.480 --> 00:07:46.760 He is offering these gentle converts to God as an act of worship to him. 00:07:46.760 --> 00:07:54.120 Now that's a very important point to note here because here it's easy to miss the significance 00:07:54.120 --> 00:07:59.480 of this because we are way, way, way past this in terms of time and in terms of what 00:07:59.480 --> 00:08:01.800 life was like back then. 00:08:01.800 --> 00:08:07.920 But these verses here are highlighting to us the absolutely extraordinary change that 00:08:07.920 --> 00:08:14.280 has taken place through the gospel of Jesus Christ because in the Old Testament days, 00:08:14.280 --> 00:08:22.480 the Gentiles, the people who weren't Jews, they were barred from even entering the temple, 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:26.639 let alone offering a sacrifice to God. 00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:31.600 And yet now in the gospel of Jesus Christ, it's not simply that the Gentiles are able 00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:33.000 to make an offering. 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:35.480 They are an offering. 00:08:35.480 --> 00:08:40.200 They are an offering to God in whom he delights. 00:08:40.200 --> 00:08:45.040 And this should not surprise us because the Old Testament prophesied that this would take 00:08:45.040 --> 00:08:47.680 place in Isaiah 66. 00:08:47.680 --> 00:08:55.680 They shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the Lord. 00:08:55.679 --> 00:09:02.879 All is simply saying, this has now happened in and through Jesus Christ. 00:09:02.879 --> 00:09:09.439 In other words, all of this is reminding us that the goal of the gospel is that all the 00:09:09.439 --> 00:09:14.559 nations of the world are to live for God. 00:09:14.559 --> 00:09:19.079 And that should make perfect sense to us because God is our Creator. 00:09:19.079 --> 00:09:21.039 That's a theme that runs right through Scripture. 00:09:21.039 --> 00:09:22.839 It runs right through the letter to the Romans. 00:09:22.840 --> 00:09:29.480 We are all made by him, so we are all made to live for him. 00:09:29.480 --> 00:09:37.040 The lives of every single person in every single nation, that life is to be lived for 00:09:37.040 --> 00:09:39.080 God. 00:09:39.080 --> 00:09:45.680 And the amazing thing about Christianity is that living for God does not mean living as 00:09:45.680 --> 00:09:50.120 a slave to a brutal taskmaster. 00:09:50.120 --> 00:09:59.519 It actually means glorifying and enjoying God forever as we fulfill our destiny to live 00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:06.799 out our lives as His people, the most precious and wonderful part of His creation. 00:10:06.799 --> 00:10:13.200 And that's really what that book, Enjoying God, emphasizes so clearly that God wants 00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:23.160 us not to just obey Him and serve Him like a slave, God wants us to really, really enjoy 00:10:23.160 --> 00:10:25.360 Him. 00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:31.320 Now, all of this is raising a very important question. 00:10:31.320 --> 00:10:38.280 Paul says that he views these Gentiles as an offering to God and he views his role as 00:10:38.279 --> 00:10:45.919 a priestly service in the fact that he's helped them to make that amazing transition 00:10:45.919 --> 00:10:50.480 from Godless Gentiles to followers of Jesus Christ. 00:10:50.480 --> 00:10:55.759 But for us today, it raises a very important question. 00:10:55.759 --> 00:11:02.319 Who can make the claim of priestly offering over your life? 00:11:02.319 --> 00:11:07.600 Now, that maybe sounds like a really weird question, but I'll just say it again because 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:08.600 we need to think about it. 00:11:08.600 --> 00:11:14.040 Who can make the claim of priestly offering over your life? 00:11:14.040 --> 00:11:16.040 You might say, nobody. 00:11:16.040 --> 00:11:17.040 What are you on about? 00:11:17.040 --> 00:11:20.279 Well, please think about it for a moment. 00:11:20.279 --> 00:11:26.200 Another way of asking that question is, who is your life being offered to? 00:11:26.200 --> 00:11:29.519 And who can claim ownership of that? 00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:31.879 So, for example, think about your job. 00:11:31.879 --> 00:11:39.399 Are you pouring your life out as an offering to your employer? 00:11:39.399 --> 00:11:46.799 Or if you're self-employed, are you pouring your life out as an offering to your business? 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:55.159 Or maybe even your hobby, are you pouring out your life into sport or music or nature 00:11:55.159 --> 00:11:56.799 or fitness? 00:11:56.799 --> 00:12:01.840 Could your boss say, oh, here's so-and-so. 00:12:01.840 --> 00:12:08.280 Their life is an offering to my business or my department. 00:12:08.280 --> 00:12:11.600 Could your friends say, oh, here's such-and-such. 00:12:11.600 --> 00:12:17.080 Their life is an offering for hearts or for hybbs. 00:12:17.080 --> 00:12:20.360 And even your family, could your family say, oh, here's so-and-so. 00:12:20.360 --> 00:12:26.160 Their life is an offering to the Davis dynasty or whatever your family name is. 00:12:26.160 --> 00:12:29.080 Now, I'm not saying that any of these things are bad. 00:12:29.080 --> 00:12:30.080 They're not bad. 00:12:30.080 --> 00:12:32.800 Like in sport and hobbies are absolutely brilliant. 00:12:32.800 --> 00:12:35.280 Family is such an amazing, precious thing. 00:12:35.280 --> 00:12:41.960 But you have to ask yourself the question, is that everything I'm living for? 00:12:41.960 --> 00:12:50.920 Am I going to pour my life out for this? 00:12:50.920 --> 00:12:58.759 And the answer to that question will tell you who your God is. 00:12:58.759 --> 00:13:05.559 Because whatever your life has been offered to is functionally revealing to you who your 00:13:05.559 --> 00:13:07.039 God really is. 00:13:07.039 --> 00:13:12.039 And we have to ask ourselves, are you really sure that you want to make work or sport or 00:13:12.039 --> 00:13:17.120 even family your God? 00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:21.000 Because the great message of the Bible and the great message that Scotland needs to hear 00:13:21.000 --> 00:13:26.480 today is that only God is God. 00:13:26.480 --> 00:13:34.440 And we find meaning and purpose and fulfillment and hope in our lives only when we live for 00:13:34.440 --> 00:13:36.600 Him. 00:13:36.600 --> 00:13:45.039 Because you can offer your life out to your work, but work will forget you pretty quickly. 00:13:45.039 --> 00:13:51.240 You can offer your life out to sport, but sport will move on from you very quickly. 00:13:51.240 --> 00:13:54.560 Sometimes when you're watching football matches, which I should say, I love football. 00:13:54.559 --> 00:13:57.159 I'm not a big negative about football. 00:13:57.159 --> 00:14:01.319 But sometimes you watch football matches and occasionally, very occasionally, you'll 00:14:01.319 --> 00:14:08.079 maybe find that the crowd will applaud at a certain minute or they'll maybe be silent 00:14:08.079 --> 00:14:13.559 for a certain minute because somebody who's maybe been a lifelong supporter has died. 00:14:13.559 --> 00:14:15.479 And there's something very nice about that. 00:14:15.479 --> 00:14:20.039 You think, oh, it's really nice that the crowd has acknowledged that this person has 00:14:20.039 --> 00:14:21.279 died. 00:14:21.279 --> 00:14:29.240 But whenever I see that, there's a sense in which it breaks my heart because they clap 00:14:29.240 --> 00:14:35.399 for about 30 seconds and then that's it. 00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:42.079 And you think to yourself, did that man or woman go to that terrace of that stadium every 00:14:42.079 --> 00:14:50.759 day for 60 years just for that? 00:14:50.759 --> 00:14:54.240 You will move on from us so quickly. 00:14:54.240 --> 00:15:03.559 And even your family, family is so, so important, something that we should value so highly. 00:15:03.559 --> 00:15:07.639 But you can offer your life to your family. 00:15:07.639 --> 00:15:15.720 But even though your family may really value you, even that won't last forever. 00:15:15.720 --> 00:15:17.519 We can test that. 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:25.000 How much do you know about your great, great, great, great grandfather? 00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:28.600 Because one day that's what you will be. 00:15:28.600 --> 00:15:36.259 Just a name in a genealogy. 00:15:36.259 --> 00:15:41.120 We can offer our life to all of these things. 00:15:41.120 --> 00:15:45.319 But what they offer us cannot compare to what God offers us. 00:15:45.320 --> 00:15:51.680 Because you offer your life to God and He will give you eternal life. 00:15:51.680 --> 00:15:57.440 He will take you to be with Himself and with all others who trust in Jesus and that will 00:15:57.440 --> 00:16:02.520 last forever. 00:16:02.520 --> 00:16:09.120 God will never, ever move on from the fact that He loves you so much. 00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:17.080 And His care towards you and your value in His family will never, ever fade. 00:16:17.080 --> 00:16:24.360 And committing yourself to God in that way does not for one second mean abandoning work 00:16:24.360 --> 00:16:27.639 or giving up on sport or neglecting your family. 00:16:27.639 --> 00:16:30.000 It means the absolute opposite. 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:36.159 Because when we dedicate our lives first and foremost to God, that's what brings real meaning 00:16:36.159 --> 00:16:41.759 and purpose to work and to hobbies and to family and to life. 00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:45.559 Following God and putting Him first makes all of these things a million times better. 00:16:45.559 --> 00:16:50.079 The gospel never, ever devalues these parts of life. 00:16:50.079 --> 00:16:57.199 A God-honoring life is a life that is lived to the absolute full. 00:16:57.199 --> 00:17:02.919 But the danger we face is that we can allow these things to devalue God. 00:17:02.919 --> 00:17:10.319 And our commitment to these things in our lives can lead us to push God to one side. 00:17:10.319 --> 00:17:15.720 And ultimately, that will devalue ourselves. 00:17:15.720 --> 00:17:23.319 Because if you think about it, if you live entirely for work, you might do really well. 00:17:23.319 --> 00:17:31.680 But the best you can be is an immensely valuable asset to your employer and to the people with 00:17:31.680 --> 00:17:34.000 whom you come in contact with. 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:35.640 That's a great thing. 00:17:35.640 --> 00:17:38.200 But compare it with this. 00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:47.799 You live for God and you will never, ever be anything less than an immensely treasured, 00:17:47.799 --> 00:17:57.799 valued and utterly loved child of God Himself. 00:17:57.799 --> 00:18:06.599 And nothing can make you more precious and nothing can make your life more valuable. 00:18:06.599 --> 00:18:14.559 Because you're made by God, you're made for God, and life in Him and life for Him is what 00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:18.839 life is really meant to be. 00:18:18.839 --> 00:18:26.399 And that's why we're being reminded by Paul that the church of which you are part is not 00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:33.160 just a gift from God, it's a gift to God. 00:18:33.160 --> 00:18:36.360 That's why Paul calls us to be living sacrifices. 00:18:36.360 --> 00:18:42.200 And that's why the New Testament uses a beautiful image to describe the church. 00:18:42.200 --> 00:18:52.240 What do you think could be the most beautiful image to imagine a precious gift to God? 00:18:52.240 --> 00:19:04.720 It's the image of a bride, a perfect gift, a perfect bride for Him. 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:09.400 So Paul wants us to think of our lives in the church as an offering to God. 00:19:09.400 --> 00:19:14.160 And that's something, that's the first thing that Scotland in 2019 urgently needs to think 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:18.079 about, what our lives are being offered to. 00:19:18.079 --> 00:19:25.399 Our true goal as a nation is to live our lives as an offering to God. 00:19:25.399 --> 00:19:35.199 Now at the heart of that life for Him is a key word that is absolutely fundamental to 00:19:35.199 --> 00:19:37.519 the Christian life. 00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:44.559 It's a crucial word and it's found in verse 18. 00:19:44.559 --> 00:19:50.399 So which one do you think it is? 00:19:50.399 --> 00:19:52.519 Obedience. 00:19:52.519 --> 00:20:01.720 Now there's a word that's often misunderstood and there's a word that's maybe like, oh, 00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:04.079 what does this mean? 00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:11.119 The word obedience is at the very center of Christianity, but it is often misunderstood 00:20:11.119 --> 00:20:16.239 and there's two big mistakes that people make concerning the word obedience. 00:20:16.239 --> 00:20:22.179 Number one, people think that obedience is a requirement in order to be saved. 00:20:22.179 --> 00:20:26.759 So people think that if we do this or if we do that, if we're more good than we're bad, 00:20:26.759 --> 00:20:31.959 if we can keep God's commandments, then we will be saved through our obedience. 00:20:31.959 --> 00:20:38.079 That is not the gospel and that is not Christianity. 00:20:38.079 --> 00:20:44.319 The whole of Christianity is grounded on the fact that we can never, ever be obedient enough 00:20:44.319 --> 00:20:46.759 ourselves to earn our salvation. 00:20:46.759 --> 00:20:53.679 It is impossible and because we cannot be obedient enough, the only way that we can 00:20:53.679 --> 00:20:59.199 be saved is because Christ has been obedient in our place. 00:20:59.199 --> 00:21:02.679 He has fulfilled all the requirements of the law. 00:21:02.679 --> 00:21:05.679 He's taken on himself all the implications of our failures. 00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:12.080 He stood in our place, he died on our behalf and the only way we can be saved is through 00:21:12.080 --> 00:21:13.080 trusting in him. 00:21:13.080 --> 00:21:17.840 We're never, ever saved through works of our own obedience. 00:21:17.840 --> 00:21:23.180 Salvation is a gift and it's received through faith in Christ. 00:21:23.180 --> 00:21:28.480 So obedience is not a requirement in order to be saved. 00:21:28.480 --> 00:21:30.440 That's the first mistake that people make. 00:21:30.440 --> 00:21:35.440 The second mistake that people make is that people think that obedience is not a requirement 00:21:35.440 --> 00:21:39.200 once you are saved. 00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:45.680 So people think because Jesus has done everything and because we're saved through his free gift 00:21:45.680 --> 00:21:51.160 and because our works contribute nothing to our salvation, then now that we are saved, 00:21:51.160 --> 00:21:53.880 we can do what we like. 00:21:53.880 --> 00:21:59.940 And a lot of people think like that, that how they live their life doesn't really matter 00:21:59.940 --> 00:22:02.080 because Jesus has done it all. 00:22:02.080 --> 00:22:04.840 We can do what we want. 00:22:04.839 --> 00:22:13.919 But that is a tragic and really quite horrible distortion and misunderstanding of the gospel. 00:22:13.919 --> 00:22:21.119 And it's a distortion that arises from a failure to recognize that God's goal for humanity 00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:27.240 is to make life outstandingly good. 00:22:27.240 --> 00:22:30.000 God's goal is to make life outstandingly good. 00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:33.220 That's always been his goal, that life would be brilliant. 00:22:33.220 --> 00:22:35.440 He has created us in his image. 00:22:35.440 --> 00:22:41.000 He's placed us in an incredible universe as our home and he's ready to pour his love 00:22:41.000 --> 00:22:43.839 and kindness out into us over and over again. 00:22:43.839 --> 00:22:49.120 He wants life to be outstandingly good for us. 00:22:49.120 --> 00:22:56.759 And the question is, how do we make life outstandingly good for humanity? 00:22:56.759 --> 00:23:00.400 And the answer is so simple. 00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:05.400 We follow the instructions of our maker. 00:23:05.400 --> 00:23:07.360 And that of course makes perfect sense. 00:23:07.360 --> 00:23:12.920 If you pick up a violin, so you take a violin, you pick it up and you think, okay, I am 00:23:12.920 --> 00:23:15.360 going to make outstandingly good music with this. 00:23:15.360 --> 00:23:17.480 So how do you make outstandingly good music with a violin? 00:23:17.480 --> 00:23:18.480 Have you ever tied one? 00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:20.880 You pick one up and you give it a wee rub. 00:23:20.880 --> 00:23:24.000 It sounds horrific. 00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:26.400 Awful. 00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:29.360 So how do you make outstanding music with a violin? 00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:35.119 You follow the instructions that are required in accordance with how it's been made. 00:23:35.119 --> 00:23:36.399 You can't just do what you like. 00:23:36.399 --> 00:23:41.559 You have to learn to do it in a very particular, careful, specific way. 00:23:41.559 --> 00:23:46.759 And then if you conform to how it's been designed, you can fulfill its potential. 00:23:46.759 --> 00:23:47.759 Same with a football team. 00:23:47.759 --> 00:23:48.919 How do you play brilliant football? 00:23:48.919 --> 00:23:51.399 You just jump onto the pitch and do whatever you like. 00:23:51.399 --> 00:23:52.399 No. 00:23:52.399 --> 00:23:55.439 You follow the laws of the game and you follow the instructions of people who really know 00:23:55.440 --> 00:23:59.519 how to play good football. 00:23:59.519 --> 00:24:03.880 How do we make life outstandingly good? 00:24:03.880 --> 00:24:11.519 We follow the instructions of the one who made us and then we will fulfill our potential. 00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:16.279 And this is what makes sin such a hideous intrusion into life because life is meant to 00:24:16.279 --> 00:24:25.039 be outstandingly good for humanity and sin pulls us away from our potential and it diverts 00:24:25.039 --> 00:24:31.079 us away from God and from His instructions and is constantly seeking to destroy us. 00:24:31.079 --> 00:24:36.159 That's why obedience is so crucial in the Christian life. 00:24:36.159 --> 00:24:42.920 We are not saved by your obedience, but as those who are saved, we're absolutely committed 00:24:42.920 --> 00:24:44.319 to obeying God. 00:24:44.319 --> 00:24:47.480 That's what it means to have Jesus as Lord. 00:24:47.480 --> 00:24:49.000 We say that Jesus is Lord. 00:24:49.000 --> 00:24:51.559 Well, that means we obey Him. 00:24:51.559 --> 00:24:55.359 If He's Lord, we want to follow what He tells us to do. 00:24:55.359 --> 00:25:01.319 Verse 12 in this chapter tells us that He's a risen to rule all peoples. 00:25:01.319 --> 00:25:02.359 He is our ruler. 00:25:02.359 --> 00:25:04.720 He is our Lord who we want to obey. 00:25:04.720 --> 00:25:06.399 And that's not to make our lives a misery. 00:25:06.399 --> 00:25:11.000 It's to give us joy and peace and hope as verse 12 says. 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:13.960 And you can test that. 00:25:13.960 --> 00:25:16.440 You can test it. 00:25:16.440 --> 00:25:18.039 So think of the Ten Commandments. 00:25:18.039 --> 00:25:19.319 Think of the New City Catechism. 00:25:19.319 --> 00:25:23.079 You recited some of the implications of the teaching. 00:25:23.079 --> 00:25:25.519 I think Commandments was at 6, 7 and 8. 00:25:25.519 --> 00:25:29.200 Let me find the page. 00:25:29.200 --> 00:25:34.960 The sixth, seventh and eighth Commandments, which are do not steal, do not murder, do 00:25:34.960 --> 00:25:37.240 not commit adultery, do not steal. 00:25:37.240 --> 00:25:39.439 The ninth Commandment is do not bear false witness. 00:25:39.439 --> 00:25:41.399 The tenth Commandment do not covet. 00:25:41.399 --> 00:25:45.079 You look through the details of the stuff it talks about there, about being patient, 00:25:45.079 --> 00:25:49.919 about avoiding hate, about being faithful, living pure lives, about not taking stuff 00:25:49.919 --> 00:25:52.879 that belongs to other people. 00:25:52.879 --> 00:26:00.319 When you read that, how could you possibly conclude that disobedience will make for 00:26:00.319 --> 00:26:03.480 a better life? 00:26:03.480 --> 00:26:06.319 And the same is true of the ethical instructions of the New Testament. 00:26:06.319 --> 00:26:10.359 So the New Testament tells us, don't gossip, don't take revenge, don't be bitter, don't 00:26:10.359 --> 00:26:15.319 be heartless, don't be greedy, is ignoring that kind of instruction going to make life 00:26:15.319 --> 00:26:16.319 better? 00:26:16.319 --> 00:26:19.799 Never. 00:26:19.799 --> 00:26:21.919 Obedience to God does not make life worse. 00:26:21.919 --> 00:26:24.639 It makes life so much better. 00:26:24.639 --> 00:26:28.759 And for everyone who's a Christian or for everyone who becomes one, now that God dwells 00:26:28.759 --> 00:26:37.159 in their hearts by His Spirit, we are empowered to obey Him in a way that we never were before. 00:26:37.160 --> 00:26:45.560 So obedience is not an initial requirement of the gospel, but it is absolutely a goal 00:26:45.560 --> 00:26:47.920 of the gospel. 00:26:47.920 --> 00:26:56.200 And that is because God wants life to be outstandingly good. 00:26:56.200 --> 00:27:01.840 The way we achieve that is to listen to Him. 00:27:01.839 --> 00:27:10.639 Now, ultimately, that restoration of human life to being outstandingly good will only 00:27:10.639 --> 00:27:13.079 come in the future. 00:27:13.079 --> 00:27:18.000 It belongs to that age to come where there will be a new creation, a new heavens and 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:23.359 a new earth where there will be no more sin, no more of the horrible damage that sin's 00:27:23.359 --> 00:27:24.919 curse has caused. 00:27:24.919 --> 00:27:29.199 And instead, there will only be the very best of life here. 00:27:29.200 --> 00:27:33.559 So there will be the best friendship, the best music, the best scenery, the best work, 00:27:33.559 --> 00:27:39.960 the best laughter, the best joy, the best fulfillment, the best relationship with God and with each 00:27:39.960 --> 00:27:40.960 other. 00:27:40.960 --> 00:27:44.600 Human life in the new creation will be outstandingly good. 00:27:44.600 --> 00:27:46.759 That's what eternal life is. 00:27:46.759 --> 00:27:50.680 It's not just about it going on and on and on and on forever in terms of length. 00:27:50.680 --> 00:27:56.600 It's about it being at the highest, highest level in terms of quality. 00:27:56.599 --> 00:28:01.399 Life that is outstandingly good. 00:28:01.399 --> 00:28:05.439 But the New Testament also makes clear that although that's going to be fully realized 00:28:05.439 --> 00:28:11.279 in the future, it begins right now. 00:28:11.279 --> 00:28:14.240 And that's why we obey Him now. 00:28:14.240 --> 00:28:16.159 That's why we live for Him now. 00:28:16.159 --> 00:28:23.199 That's why human life starts getting better right now through the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:28:23.200 --> 00:28:27.720 And that's why the church is so incredibly important because that's the place where the 00:28:27.720 --> 00:28:33.559 quality of the life of the age to come can be seen now. 00:28:33.559 --> 00:28:37.640 And that's why Paul told us in verse 14 that the church is a place that should be full 00:28:37.640 --> 00:28:39.319 of goodness. 00:28:39.319 --> 00:28:47.960 And that's why Scotland desperately, desperately needs the influence and impact of Christians 00:28:47.960 --> 00:28:52.960 who are living in obedience to God. 00:28:52.960 --> 00:28:56.200 Because by doing that, you and I can make life better. 00:28:56.200 --> 00:28:58.519 You can make your home better. 00:28:58.519 --> 00:29:00.200 You can make your school better. 00:29:00.200 --> 00:29:02.160 You can make your workplace better. 00:29:02.160 --> 00:29:04.960 You can make your community better. 00:29:04.960 --> 00:29:09.360 You can't make it perfect and you will get bruised and battered along the way, but you 00:29:09.360 --> 00:29:17.120 can still make it better by living in obedience to all that God instructs. 00:29:17.119 --> 00:29:24.239 So where there's harshness in your office, you can bring patience, where there's selfishness 00:29:24.239 --> 00:29:30.599 all around you, you can bring generosity, where there's exploitation in the world that 00:29:30.599 --> 00:29:38.559 we live in, you can bring kindness, where there's tension, you can bring peace, where 00:29:38.559 --> 00:29:48.720 there's weariness, you can bring joy, where there's bitterness, you can bring forgiveness. 00:29:48.720 --> 00:29:53.440 And it all makes sense if we live our lives like that this week and every week in closer 00:29:53.440 --> 00:29:59.399 obedience to Jesus, it will make life better for Scotland. 00:29:59.399 --> 00:30:04.319 And that's why this is not an obscure passage about a relic of Macedonia and Achaia. 00:30:04.319 --> 00:30:08.639 It's a priority passage for Scotland today. 00:30:08.639 --> 00:30:11.079 This is what our nation needs. 00:30:11.079 --> 00:30:13.799 It needs people living in obedience to God. 00:30:13.799 --> 00:30:18.200 It needs people obeying the one who made us. 00:30:18.200 --> 00:30:24.839 And so that's another thing that we urgently need to think about as a nation. 00:30:24.839 --> 00:30:30.559 The more we live in obedience to God, the better it'll be for Scotland. 00:30:30.559 --> 00:30:37.960 And then last of all, and briefly, there's a final point that Paul wants us to think 00:30:37.960 --> 00:30:38.960 about. 00:30:38.960 --> 00:30:41.559 It's challenging us to think about what we're living for. 00:30:41.559 --> 00:30:44.319 And as a nation, we need to think, well, what are we offering our lives to? 00:30:44.319 --> 00:30:45.720 We need to think about that. 00:30:45.720 --> 00:30:50.759 We've been challenged to obedience, called to recognize the fact that obedience to God 00:30:50.759 --> 00:30:56.639 will make life better for ourselves, for our communities, for our nations. 00:30:56.640 --> 00:31:04.120 And then finally, Paul says that in order for all of this to happen, two crucial things 00:31:04.120 --> 00:31:06.200 are needed. 00:31:06.200 --> 00:31:10.600 And he identifies them in the closing verses of the chapter. 00:31:10.600 --> 00:31:17.080 What are the two crucial things that Scotland needs? 00:31:17.080 --> 00:31:22.840 Church planting and church revitalizing. 00:31:22.839 --> 00:31:29.199 And that's what he speaks about in the last section of chapter 15. 00:31:29.199 --> 00:31:32.399 Remember Paul said that he was satisfied with the church in Rome. 00:31:32.399 --> 00:31:36.079 He's reached the point of maturity where he's convinced by their status. 00:31:36.079 --> 00:31:37.079 So what now for Paul? 00:31:37.079 --> 00:31:41.279 Is he going to just retire and just relax? 00:31:41.279 --> 00:31:42.799 No way. 00:31:42.799 --> 00:31:49.679 He is going to crack on and plant new churches and revitalize the ones that are struggling. 00:31:49.680 --> 00:31:56.080 And it's a key point for us to remember that we do not aim to plant churches and we do 00:31:56.080 --> 00:32:02.360 not aim to revitalize them in order to make the church stronger. 00:32:02.360 --> 00:32:09.039 We plant and revitalize churches in order to make Scotland better. 00:32:09.039 --> 00:32:11.880 Because what does Scotland need? 00:32:11.880 --> 00:32:14.920 It needs the transforming power of the gospel. 00:32:14.920 --> 00:32:22.120 And for that reason it needs the church of Jesus Christ everywhere, absolutely everywhere. 00:32:22.120 --> 00:32:24.080 And that's why we need to plant new churches. 00:32:24.080 --> 00:32:26.880 That's why we need to revitalize the struggling ones. 00:32:26.880 --> 00:32:31.840 Because if all of our communities are filled with people living in obedience to Jesus Christ, 00:32:31.840 --> 00:32:35.360 in other words when the church is what it really should be, then we're going to take 00:32:35.360 --> 00:32:42.200 huge steps towards returning our nation to what God has always intended us to be, to 00:32:42.200 --> 00:32:46.120 our God commanded destiny. 00:32:46.120 --> 00:32:50.920 So Scotland desperately needs more church plans and it desperately needs struggling 00:32:50.920 --> 00:32:53.440 congregations to be revitalized. 00:32:53.440 --> 00:32:58.559 And through these more and more people will live lives that instead of being offered out 00:32:58.559 --> 00:33:03.480 to the gods of work or sport or entertainment or sex, they're going to be poured out as 00:33:03.480 --> 00:33:07.960 offerings to the God who made us. 00:33:07.960 --> 00:33:15.079 And in the midst of a hideously broken world, that will show people, show people who are 00:33:15.079 --> 00:33:19.960 bruised and battered by that brokenness, it will show people that in Jesus Christ there 00:33:19.960 --> 00:33:24.920 really is good news. 00:33:24.920 --> 00:33:30.640 And that human life really can be outstandingly good again. 00:33:30.640 --> 00:33:36.240 And I want us just to notice very quickly, I'm just going to pull out two or three points 00:33:36.240 --> 00:33:41.120 about church planting and church revitalizing that Paul mentions here. 00:33:41.120 --> 00:33:46.200 Verse 20, he says, I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already 00:33:46.200 --> 00:33:49.640 been named lest I build on someone else's foundation. 00:33:49.640 --> 00:33:52.680 There he's reminding us we need to think strategically. 00:33:52.680 --> 00:33:55.839 We want to identify areas of need. 00:33:55.839 --> 00:33:58.279 We do not want to duplicate our efforts. 00:33:58.279 --> 00:34:01.960 If there's a brilliant church somewhere, we don't need to plant another one next door. 00:34:01.960 --> 00:34:08.280 We want to work together as one church across the denominations in order to reach out to 00:34:08.280 --> 00:34:09.639 our nation. 00:34:09.639 --> 00:34:14.559 Verse 21 says it must be that it's written, those who have never been told of him will 00:34:14.559 --> 00:34:17.599 see and those who have never heard will understand. 00:34:17.599 --> 00:34:23.159 That's reminding us that at the heart of our vision for planting churches needs to be the 00:34:23.159 --> 00:34:25.639 plight of the lost. 00:34:25.639 --> 00:34:29.800 So yes, we may think in terms of places. 00:34:29.800 --> 00:34:35.000 So we would love maybe to plant a church west of Edinburgh, south of Edinburgh. 00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:39.080 We love to think in terms of places, but the goal is not the place. 00:34:39.080 --> 00:34:42.080 The goal is the people. 00:34:42.080 --> 00:34:46.640 And God forbid that we are ever numb to the fact that people are going to hell in the 00:34:46.640 --> 00:34:51.360 suburbs of Edinburgh and on the islands of Scotland. 00:34:51.360 --> 00:34:56.480 Those who have never been told desperately need to hear about him. 00:34:56.480 --> 00:35:01.360 And then verse 23 and 24 reminds us that all of this can come at a cost. 00:35:01.360 --> 00:35:02.760 Paul wanted to go to Rome. 00:35:02.760 --> 00:35:07.159 He's been wanting to go to Rome for ages, but we don't always get to do what we want to 00:35:07.159 --> 00:35:09.679 do when we want. 00:35:09.679 --> 00:35:12.039 Sometimes we have to put these things to one side. 00:35:12.039 --> 00:35:18.320 It's a cost to these things, but it's worth it. 00:35:18.320 --> 00:35:23.400 And then he starts talking about church revitalizing because he says, I want to plant new churches. 00:35:23.400 --> 00:35:27.400 I want to go to all these new places, but right now I can't because I'm going to go 00:35:27.400 --> 00:35:30.079 and help a congregation that's struggling. 00:35:30.079 --> 00:35:35.200 I'm off back to Jerusalem to help the saints there. 00:35:35.200 --> 00:35:38.639 And he's emphasizing for us here that there's a collective responsibility. 00:35:38.639 --> 00:35:44.200 So Macedonia and Achia, they've made a collection in order to help the poor amongst the church 00:35:44.200 --> 00:35:45.200 in Jerusalem. 00:35:45.200 --> 00:35:50.400 That shared burden and responsibility for one another where we want to help and support 00:35:50.400 --> 00:35:51.400 one another. 00:35:51.400 --> 00:35:54.119 So he makes a really interesting point in verse 27. 00:35:54.119 --> 00:36:00.720 He emphasizes the fact that we must never forget the debts of the past. 00:36:00.720 --> 00:36:08.000 So the church in Rome and the church in Macedonia and in Achia, they owed a debt to the church 00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:13.360 in Jerusalem because they had sent people out. 00:36:13.360 --> 00:36:17.960 And we must never, ever forget that ourselves. 00:36:17.960 --> 00:36:21.840 Even in Scotland, you look back over history, there's times where the highlands are indebted 00:36:21.840 --> 00:36:22.840 to the lowlands. 00:36:22.840 --> 00:36:25.639 There's times when the lowlands are indebted to the highlands. 00:36:25.639 --> 00:36:31.079 We're all indebted to each other and that unites us to help one another. 00:36:31.079 --> 00:36:36.400 And then in verse 30, which is not on the screen, we're being reminded that we are all, 00:36:36.400 --> 00:36:41.800 whether it's planting or revitalizing, we are to strive together in prayer. 00:36:41.800 --> 00:36:47.119 Because this passage is pressing home to us what Scotland as a nation needs and what the 00:36:47.119 --> 00:36:50.359 church in Scotland needs to do. 00:36:50.359 --> 00:36:52.839 We need to plant new churches. 00:36:52.839 --> 00:36:55.199 We need to revitalize existing ones. 00:36:55.199 --> 00:36:58.359 That's what Paul had to do 2,000 years ago. 00:36:58.359 --> 00:37:03.199 That's what we still have to do today. 00:37:03.199 --> 00:37:11.159 And all of this is reminding us that the people of Scotland are too precious to be lost to 00:37:11.159 --> 00:37:14.239 godlessness. 00:37:14.239 --> 00:37:16.960 God has got something far better for us as a nation. 00:37:16.960 --> 00:37:21.159 God's goal is that we will be a nation offered to him in worship, that we will be a people 00:37:21.159 --> 00:37:28.960 who live in obedience to him and through that, that life would be so much better for everyone. 00:37:28.960 --> 00:37:33.840 And in order to do that, we want to strive towards planting and revitalizing churches. 00:37:33.840 --> 00:37:36.679 Wouldn't it be just brilliant? 00:37:36.679 --> 00:37:42.079 Wouldn't it be just brilliant if people could look at Scotland and instead of saying, oh, 00:37:42.079 --> 00:37:45.400 well, that's a godless nation? 00:37:45.400 --> 00:37:54.119 They could look at Scotland and say, there's a nation that is an acceptable offering to 00:37:54.119 --> 00:37:57.639 God. 00:37:57.639 --> 00:38:06.039 Now you're probably thinking, Thomas, that'll never happen. 00:38:06.039 --> 00:38:16.840 Well, if you are thinking that, then you need to go and learn your Scottish history because 00:38:16.840 --> 00:38:21.199 it happened before in Scotland. 00:38:21.199 --> 00:38:27.559 God has transformed this nation through the power of the gospel. 00:38:27.559 --> 00:38:30.960 He has done it before. 00:38:30.960 --> 00:38:37.119 God forbid that we forget he can do it again. 00:38:37.119 --> 00:38:39.159 Amen. 00:38:39.159 --> 00:38:42.920 Let's pray. 00:38:42.920 --> 00:38:55.039 Dear God, our Father, we pray for our nation and we acknowledge that our nation's greatest 00:38:55.039 --> 00:39:07.440 and most urgent need is to know you and to return to you and to live for you. 00:39:07.440 --> 00:39:16.920 And we know, God, that the nations sit in the palm of your hand and we pray that you 00:39:16.920 --> 00:39:25.720 would just be doing a mighty work across the cities, towns, and villages of Scotland. 00:39:25.720 --> 00:39:32.960 From here in the lowlands to the highlands and islands, we pray that you would once again 00:39:32.960 --> 00:39:39.800 turn people back to you and please give us our vision and our confidence to do all that 00:39:39.800 --> 00:39:46.960 we can to plant new churches, to revitalize struggling ones, to live out our own lives 00:39:46.960 --> 00:39:54.800 in obedience to you so that we can look at our lives and say, this is an offering to 00:39:54.800 --> 00:39:55.800 God. 00:39:55.800 --> 00:39:59.480 May that be true of us all. 00:39:59.480 --> 00:40:11.880 In Jesus' name, amen.