Announcement: 0:01

Hello and welcome to the Waking Up to Grace podcast, where we celebrate and explore the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Tune in to the Waking Up to Grace podcast on every major platform. You can also listen to our episodes and read our full transcripts at wakinguptogracecom. And now here's Lenny.

Lenny: 0:22

Welcome back to the podcast everyone. And now here's Lenny. Welcome back to the podcast everyone. Last week we looked at what Paul wrote about homosexuality and sexual immorality. We often see the verses on homosexuality isolated for the purpose of making that sin worse, in the sense of how bad God will be punishing that person or how angry God is with that person. But we have to look at the rest of the passage before we start placing Christians who are struggling with homosexuality outside of our Lord's mercy and grace. We also need to recognize the severity of all sin and, most importantly, how we should view sin as Christians.

Lenny: 0:59

We left off our last study with Paul saying in Romans, 1.24 and 25,. Therefore, god gave them up in the lusts of their hearts, to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever, amen. And Paul begins with sexual immorality. When he speaks of the godless and their behavior, we determine that, apart from Yahweh, man is wicked and when he hands them over to their lusts, things never get better. They became consumed. I guess it goes to show how important it is that we now have unbreakable fellowship with the Lord in the new covenant that he's made for us as believers. We need a counselor, don't we? Mankind really needs guidance from the Lord, don't they? That is certainly why we receive the Holy Spirit. We were set free from sin by God's grace. Our debt has been paid. We're reconciled to God. You're right with God now, but is he right with you? Do you see sin the way our Lord sees sin? In our next passage of study we read they're full of evil, covetousness, malice. They're full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They're gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them, but give approval to those who practice them. According to our Lord's righteous judgment, does mankind deserve death for all these sins? Yeah, it says it right there. And did godless people who were committing these acts realize that they deserve death? Yeah, it says that, though they knew God's decree that they deserve death, they not only do them, but they give approval to those who practice them. Does approving others doing the same things display another level of evil? When we approve of sin and tell others that we approve of it and that it's okay. Is that a whole other level of evil? And the answer to that is definitely a yes.

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I would say Satan was the original author and the ambassador for these views. Pride, pride in sin, pride in seeking your own righteousness apart from God's guidance. That was what Satan taught.

Lenny: 3:50

When we look at these passages and we really got to think on this, do you see any of these godless sins in your life? When we look at the list envy, murder, strife. Have you ever caused strife in somebody's life? Have you ever envied? We know what Christ said about murder in the Sermon on the Mount Deceit, anything dishonest and deceiving, maliciousness, gossip, slander. Ever done that? Haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless. Yeah, I think we could all find that in our lives, can't we? We can all find godlessness and godless behavior in our lives, can't we?

Lenny: 4:36

But the question is do you despise these things or do you make light of these things Because you've been set free from sin by the sacrifice of Christ Yeshua? Is it possible to get lost in the freedom of the gospel and find yourself in bondage to sin? Can Christians become consumed in sin. Are you asking the Lord to lead the way in your life? Are you seeking what he wants for you, or do you live how you want and figure he will work out all things for good? Do you fully understand the purpose behind why you've been set free from your sin and what it means to be sanctified or set apart for the Lord's purpose? Are you aware that Yahweh is your God now? Have you ever been afraid to ask Yahweh to guide you to what he would desire in your life? When you read scripture, sometimes Yahweh's views of things wasn't exactly in line with how we would see things, what we would want out of our lives. Is it always going to be what Yahweh wants out of our lives? Are we afraid to ask Him sometimes what His will would be At the end of the episode? I'm going to talk about that question a little bit more and talk about something that really helped me in my life as a Christian.

Lenny: 5:50

But last week we determined that Yahweh is not in fact, everyone's God. We live in a godless world. If we find our identity in Christ Yeshua, then we have become property of the Lord. We now represent him. Think about that for a moment. We bear the image of the Lord. We now represent Him. Think about that for a moment. We bear the image of our Lord. We represent Him here on earth. The rest of the world is not His. We are His holy people and we have a higher calling. We are in union with Yahweh now, through His Holy Spirit. Christ Yeshua is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters and we now call Yahweh Father. As Christians, we all have Hebraic roots. Our forefathers are the same as Israel's. We are Israel now, according to Paul in Christ, who is always true Israel all along. This was a mystery that Paul reveals later in Romans 11.

Lenny: 6:44

Today's Christians often get hung up on certain aspects of the law. We wonder why in the world Israel couldn't get tattoos or eat shellfish. What's the deal with that? If you love seafood, grace might take on a whole new meaning here. Thank God for your freedom in Christ. If you love to eat some lobster, it's easy to understand why there would be laws for murder, stealing, lying and so on, but why the food restrictions and the seemingly odd laws that made Israel seem very different in comparison to other nations? Well, I think that question actually reveals its own answer. Our Lord wanted Israel to be different. He wanted them to be set apart. Yahweh was revealing himself through Israel. They were the holy nation of Yahweh and he made them so different they would never blend in with the rest of the world if they were to be faithful to his covenant with them.

Lenny: 7:37

Do you think that Christians would carry on this same purpose being set apart from the world by Yahweh for a higher purpose? I believe so, absolutely so. Should we try to blend in with society or should we embrace who we are in Christ? I would say the latter hands down, wouldn't you? Should we be guided by the ways of the world or purely by the Spirit of God that leads us to all truth? If error puts us in bondage and truth sets us free, should we not seek to see all things the way our Lord would see them and not by the influence of our society? We discussed walking by the spirit on our last study and how it's not an automated process. Is it possible that Christians all over the world are walking in ignorance to what God wants for them in favor of what they want for themselves? An automated process? Is it possible that Christians all over the world are walking in ignorance to what God wants for them in favor of what they want for themselves.

Lenny: 8:30

I constantly speak against religion and how it does not change our true desires. It creates legalism, ignorance and a guilty conscience before the Lord. But I also see a growing error in grace teaching circles. The error I see is in regards to our freedom in Christ and how we perceive that freedom. I believe many are becoming lost in the freedom of the gospel. Can you imagine a country let's just say America where you have full freedom but no law to guide you to what is good or bad? What would people be doing? As Christians we shouldn't need law and order to do what is right, but the rest of the world most certainly does, don't they? But I see this rhetoric emerging that says Jesus wants us to be ourselves. Jesus is just there for us, keeping us company while we live our lives, just letting us do our own thing and being supportive.

Lenny: 9:26

Many are promoting that studying the Bible is not for everyone and it's not necessary at all for Christians to read. Gathering as a church under this perspective, presents more like simply hanging out and having small talk. Studying scripture becomes viewed as having some kind of agenda in a negative sense. A friendship based on doctrine is one that will not last. People under this view have promoted. I've even heard people say they are triggered by the Bible so they just stay away from it. These views truly reveal ungratefulness for what Yahweh did to the performers in the 16th century giving us all Bibles so that we can read all about the Lord for ourselves. It is just disturbing hearing people talk like this.

Lenny: 10:12

You gotta wonder what in the world would make someone teach scripture from the Bible and then tell people they don't need a Bible. Whatever their intention, they're asking for tyranny and trampling on our primary source of truth as Christians. They've turned Christ Yeshua into some kind of hippie that just accepts everything we do and exists only for the purpose of helping us out. If we decide we need his help, man, we need to be very cautious. Heading into that kind of teaching. Freedom in Christ will lead you into bondage. If you decide you are leading the way, anyone with experience in this area could tell you that I doubt anyone's going to admit that they're not led by Christ. But most of those who teach the views I describe will also proclaim that Christ is their co-pilot. Now, that's not to say that we can't also believe that we do what we want and God, being the pilot, will just change us as he wants to. We don't need to do anything or pay any attention. It just happens if he wants it to. In this way, many believe the Christian life is on autopilot. What kind of relationship is that?

Lenny: 11:17

In the first century, we had apostles and spiritual gifts being given that extended far beyond human limitations For the purpose of establishing the church. Before the end of the age, we saw spiritual miracles that are far from normal today. The apostle Paul, and his mission itself, was a miracle. He was given supernatural powers and his understanding of grace was second to none. He was able to walk by the Spirit better than any man ever to walk the earth. In my opinion, apart from Christ, obviously, who was God and man? Christ Yeshua chose Paul for that mission and gave him everything he needed to fulfill it. Who better to learn about walking by the Spirit than from Paul himself, and we have so many of his letters to study. It's incredible.

Lenny: 12:05

We see moments in Scripture where those who already had the Spirit of God were quote filled with the Spirit. They already were filled with the Spirit at salvation, but then it says they were filled with the Spirit in these places and it confuses a lot of people, but to me it seems to have placed them under the full control of our Lord. He sovereignly consumed them under his control at times, but we don't see that being the norm. We don't see that being the everyday life of all the members of the church, do we? Yahweh was not messing around in the times of the apostles. He had a plan to usher in the new covenant age and he did just that. He established the church, the body of Christ, the more perfect tabernacle, before wiping out the old one. The destruction of Jerusalem marked the full establishment of the new age and the end of the old or, as many would call it, the end of the world.

Lenny: 13:00

In regards to people who say we don't need a Bible, as Christians, in a sense there's some truth to that. We don't have to have a Bible in our hands to fend off vampires or to get through every moment of our day. We have a bond with Christ. But what did Paul teach from? He taught from the Tanakh. We see it all through Scripture written. He used the Hebrew Bible, which is our Old Testament. And what did the early churches study when he wasn't around? Do you think they studied his letters? They definitely studied his letters.

Lenny: 13:33

Peter even refers to Paul's letter as scripture. In 2 Peter 3.15. We read and count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do other scriptures. See that you therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you're not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, jesus Christ. To him be the glory now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Lenny: 14:19

Today most Christians also see Paul's letters as scripture, just like Peter. So did the early churches have a New Testament? They actually did. The apostles were the New Testament. They got to hear them preach and read their letters. And now we're going to make light of all this and say we can just be guided by our own thoughts without this knowledge. Light of all this and say we can just be guided by our own thoughts without this knowledge, are we going to say we're apostles, we were directly sent by Yahweh and Christ himself? I don't think so. What does Peter also say in verse 17 and 18? He says you therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, christ Yeshua. So how do we discern error? How do we know what the error of lawlessness is? We're learning about it right here in Paul's writing, aren't we? Are you going to go to church and learn this directly from a pastor, or are you going to learn it from the scripture? Does your pastor have to line up with scripture or does scripture have to line up with pastor?

Lenny: 15:28

So why do we want to confuse people by making light of our Bibles? It's just silly and misleading. We play the role of blind guides in doing so. Where are you trying to lead people by saying such a thing? Where are you trying to lead people by saying such a thing when we see people reading their Bibles and quoting Scripture completely out of context? It's extremely frustrating and discouraging, isn't it? There's nothing worse than people proof-texting passages that they don't even know the meaning of. It's like using fancy words out of context and communication while not even knowing what they mean. How do you even have a conversation like that with someone? You can plainly see that Christians are conforming the Scripture to what they're told at church, and they're not letting the Scripture shape their thoughts. It's much easier to superimpose our views onto Scripture when it comes to difficult passages than to actually pursue the true meaning. It's just laziness, though, but should we set down our Bibles because other people are being trained to read ignorantly and just say, oh, we don't need this anyway? Look what happens when you read. The Bible Doesn't do any good. You're just creating a whole other circus by doing those things and promoting that.

Lenny: 16:40

Although we don't have free autonomy, we cannot be equal to or above a God that can change anything as he pleases for his glory. We do have a will as Christians, and we're taught to exercise it In Philippians 2.12,. Paul writes Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence, but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Do you see this passage as working out what the Lord worked in to you spiritually. He worked salvation into you and now you work it out with awe and reverence. That's what fear and trembling is in reverence. That's what fear and trembling is in this case. That's what it means You're not terrified of the Lord. It is God who works in you to will and to work for his good pleasure. When he's working in you, you're working for him. If we have to work out what he worked in, isn't that just like following his lead? Work out what he worked in. Isn't that just like following his lead?

Lenny: 17:45

Or, as Paul writes, walking by the spirit. What do we walk by when we lead the way and don't seek his guidance? That would be where Paul writes walking by the flesh. Turn away from God. Look what happens as we're reading our Romans chapter 1 passages Mankind apart, apart from God, does not turn to godly things. We become selfish. Do you think that walking by the Spirit would take a steady and constant focus? Hands down, yes, it absolutely takes focus. You take our eyes off of God for a minute. Next thing, you know, you're wrapped up in worldly things, aren't we? We get all caught up in the things that we can see right in front of us, and forget't we? We get all caught up in the things that we can see right in front of us and forget about the unseen, and we put it in the back burner, can't we? It's really easy to do.

Lenny: 18:30

Later, in Romans, paul writes I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed. So we see what sin is in Romans, chapter 1. This is in chapter 12. This is much later on. We're jumping forward a little bit.

Lenny: 19:00

Does this sound like Paul telling us to just be ourselves? Does this sound like Paul teaching us how to be the holy people that we are in Christ? He's definitely not telling us to just be ourselves, unless he's referring to the new self, and that's guided by Christ, right. So would following the guidance of the Spirit then be a form of worship? Just following the Lord's lead, seeking his guidance? Yeah, he calls that our spiritual worship. Presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God, that's saying God, use me for your will, lead me by your will. Would not being conformed to the world be a radical change from the rest of mankind. Would this set you apart from the rest of the world? Would you be odd? Would you be different the way Israel was? Would you consider this a radical teaching? Yes, I would definitely consider this a radical teaching.

Lenny: 19:59

What do you think Paul means by be transformed by the renewal of your mind, if we look at this passage, be transformed by the renewal of your mind? Would mind renewal be the first stop here? Yeah, be transformed by the renewal of your mind. That means, as your mind is renewed, you become transformed, right? So what does renewing our mind look like? What do you think that would look like? What is the best source we have as Christians when we seek mind renewal? We're going to have to go to scripture, aren't we? We've got to go to scripture If we have it, if we're blessed enough to have it.

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What takes place when our minds are renewed? Based on this passage, what would take place when our minds are renewed? We become transformed. So what are the ways of the world? In this passage? Do not conform to the ways of the world in this passage. Do not conform to the ways of the world. Well, we got to go back to our Romans 1 passage that we just read at the beginning of our study don't we Look at all those sins? That's the ways of the world. Self-seeking, it's not love, it's self-seeking. Does understanding sin have a place in this mind renewal? Absolutely. If you want to realize how to not be conformed to the ways of the world, if you want to be in tune to oh, I'm becoming conformed to the ways of the world, you've got to know what those ways are, don't you?

Lenny: 21:19

And Paul tells us here in our first chapter of Romans these are about godless people. These passages are written about godless people, but who are they written for and who is it written to? He was writing to Christians. Why did Christians need to know about godless people? Paul obviously saw that there was a need for that, didn't he? He didn't want us to think that godlessness was any part of the gospel.

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In Galatians, paul writes I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law. You have fallen away from grace. That's Galatians, chapter 5, verse 3.

Lenny: 22:02

Paul speaks to Christians here who are going back to observing the law. Now, we're not directly on that subject right now, but circumcision was a procedure that was required for national Israel under the first covenant law. These Christians were being persuaded to put themselves back under the law of Moses that was fulfilled in them by the sacrifice of Christ. Paul tells them that they have fallen away from grace. What do you think he means by that? Could Paul be telling these people they're not walking by the Spirit in their thoughts and behavior, that they're conforming to the ways of the world instead of renewing their minds to the things of the Spirit? Observing the law of Moses in order to be right with God was not in line with grace. Was it? When we have a proper understanding? No, it's not at all. It was turning away from faith because the Lord told us I fulfilled that.

Lenny: 22:56

Now, falling away from grace is comparable to not following the Lord's guidance. Can we not also apply the principle to being guided by our own selfish desires versus the will of our Lord, diving into sin unguided by the Spirit? I say we can't. Turning away from the Lord in our lives is falling away from grace. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. So when we change our minds about sin and we decide oh, sin isn't displeasing to the Lord or I have no problem with my sin. I'm proud of my sin. You know what are we doing? We're shaping our minds poorly and we're conforming to the ways of the world. The whole world is telling themselves these things ignorantly, making up their own rules so that they can figure that they're okay with a holy God. So that they can figure that they're okay with a holy God. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

Lenny: 24:00

We read in John 10.27. As Christians, we get to enjoy our walk with the Lord, knowing that he will never let us go. We can't fail at this. We only need to let Him do what he does. Let us go. We can't fail at this. We only need to let him do what he does. Counsel us. We follow his lead, not the other way around. This is our purpose as Christians. It's so simple, yet can be so difficult at times, can it?

Lenny: 24:22

As humans, we believe what we see, what we see with our eyes, shapes our thoughts. Living by the Spirit places our focus on the unseen. This is not natural. It's supernatural. In order to live this way, we need the Lord, we need to be in communication with him, we need to be listening. In Hebrews 11, we read Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. And in Matthew 6, yeshua tells his audience Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal, for where your treasure is there, your heart will be also. Do you believe your life will be blessed if you live by faith in what is unseen? I do. Should we not see the life we have in Christ as our treasure, the true treasure that we get to have here on earth? Paul writes to the Galatians, and because you are sons, god has sent the spirit of his son into our hearts, crying Abba, father, galatians 4, 6. If we're to live by what is not seen, we need a guide. That's most certainly why we've been given the Holy Spirit. If we do this, we're promised a fulfilling life in Christ, true fulfillment, not just temporary pleasure.

Lenny: 25:50

I have a challenge for you guys, should you choose to take it. This is related to my question earlier that I mentioned about have you ever been afraid to ask God for His will about something in your life? This happened to me and it changed my life forever, so I wanted to share it with you guys. Something came upon me spiritually as I was meditating one day and I just really felt like I had to let go. I had to let go of things of the world further than what I had already done. I felt strongly that there was something that I was hanging on to too tightly, so I thought of the two most important things in my life.

Lenny: 26:28

I want to challenge you guys to do it. Think of the two most important things in your life. Whether it be your wife, your kids, your home, your property. You know something that really matters to you in this world and tell Yahweh I trust you with this. Whatever your will is, whatever your will is, whatever your will is, whatever your will is, I trust you with these things because you have given them to me, and I want to please you with my life and be guided by you and your will and what I should be doing and what you would like me to do with my life. Tell the Lord that you trust him with these things, no matter what his will is. You want his will to be done. Just let him go and give them to the Lord for his purpose. Ask him to lead you, guide you, to reveal to you how he wants you to serve him in your life. Just give it a try. Don't be afraid of what the Lord might do in your life. Our God is an awesome God, isn't he?

Lenny: 27:27

When I did these things, something changed. My views on life changed. My views on the unseen realms became more visible to me on that day when I did that, and there was something that took place, and you know, just the thought of that maybe that could happen with somebody else makes me want to share it. So I just wanted to let you guys know. I wanted to give you that challenge today. Give it a try and don't get lost in the freedom of Christ. Be guided by his spirit that dwells within you. Hope you guys have a great day out there. Talk to you again next week.

Announcement: 28:02

Thank you for listening to the Waking Up to Grace podcast, brought to you by the finished work of our Lord, jesus Christ. If you enjoyed today's episode, we would love to hear from you. You can send encouragement our way right from our episodes and transcripts page or reach Lenny privately from the contact form at wakinguptogracecom.