Today I received the last books to complete the 14 volumes set of Dr. Lloyd- Jones books on Romans. Dr. Lloyd-Jones took over for Dr. G. Campbell Morgan, who retired in 1943 from the Westminister Chapel in Buckingham Gate. And Dr. Jones retired in 1968. These are his sermons that he preached on a Friday Night.
ROMANS STUDY OF CHAPTER TWELVE
Charles e Whisnant
Sermon in Romans #200 I think!
Some just wonder why I preach/teach so many sermons from one book in the Bible! They just can not believe how so many sermons can come from one book. Some have wondered how we can find so much in the book of Romans, and even First Peter chapter one?
Can I remind you that Romans is but an synopsis. You ask why did Paul write this epistle? Well because he could not get to Roman. And since he wanted to expound the glories and the mysteries of this Christian faith, he sends them this kind of synopsis.
So just remember that Romans is just an synopsis, and the duty of the preacher or the expounder of an epistle is not to give a synopsis of the synopsis, which is what many preacher do anyway. So we then are to draw out, to work out what Paul the apostle has condensed in this book of Romans, and Ephesians and Philippians.
Romans 12:1 I urge you, therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
Paul’s pattern in Romans is: Doctrine: 1:1-11:32, Doxology: 11:33-36, Dedication: 12:1-2 and Duty 12:3-16:27
Christian practice is inseparable from Christian truth: The goal of truth is holiness.
Theology (belief about God) precedes and should never be separated doxology (praise and worship of God) for there can be no genuine doxology without theology for who can worship an unknown god.
John Stott writes that…
“All true worship is a response to the self-revelation of God in Christ and Scripture, and arises from our reflection on Who He is and what He has done. The worship of God is evoked, informed and inspired by the vision of God. Worship without theology is bound to degenerate into idolatry. Hence the indispensable place of Scripture in both public and private devotion. It is the Word of God which calls forth the worship of God. On the other hand, there should be no theology without doxology. There is something fundamentally flawed about a purely academic interest in God. God is not an appropriate object for cool, critical, detached, scientific observation and evaluation. No, the true knowledge of God will always lead us to worship, as it did Paul. Our place is on our faces before him in adoration….Bishop Handley Moule said at the end of the last [19th] century, we must “beware equally of an undevotional theology and of an untheological devotion.”
Paul in chapters one to eleven has gone into deep detail about the doctrines or teaching of God about this matter of mankind, and the means of salvation. Romans some say is the greatest masterpiece ever written. Romans gives an incomparable statement of Christian truth.
Then Paul turns the table to another topic: Paul is going to deal with practical matters – that is the outworking and the living of the Christian life.
Paul is moving to some degree from doctrine and argument, but he will also have doctrine and appeal.
http://www.mljtrust.org/collections/preaching-and-preachers/
HERE IS MY QUESTION TO YOU: Bower’s ; Lemaster; Dawkins, Field, Grant’s, Ramey’s and Hall’s and even Charity and Charles?
HOW DO YOU FEEL AS WE APPROACH THIS NEW DIVISION! I.E. What is your reaction as we finish the great doctrinal section (1 to 11) and come to these practical chapters! (of course many of you have little knowledge of what is coming in these last chapters)
Some people just like the doctrinal chapters and care little about the practical application to the truth in the doctrines. On the other hand some like the practical and not the doctrine. Problem: you need both to be the kind of Christian you need to be.
FIVE REASONS WHY WE NEED BOTH KINDS OF TEACHING AND PREACHING: Doctrine and Duty
1A The whole of the Bible is for us.
2A Christianity is not merely a teaching, but a life. The Christian life is not only a way of thinking, but a way of living, a way of behaving. The Christianity is the Christian life: It’s primarily a way of life and the object of the doctrine is to enable us to live that life.WjZi8Ixi
3A Application is important because of the difficulties that are going to come about in the life of the true Christian.
When a person becomes a Christian there is going to be a new life: (Second Corinthians 5:17) But they are still in the world, what must they do now! A new faith, a new belief, and now how to apply this new life in the world that they now live in. Christians have a new outlook on everything which is determined by this new belief. How are you going to relate to the world now that you are a new born again believer?
Here then is the Christian person: By definition, is concerned about the glory of God and therefore he lives to please the Lord, and thus he must know how he is going to apply this great salvation to every single question and detail and problem that he is going to face in this world in which he lives.
4A There is the intimate connection between doctrine and practice. Belief and behaviour.
5A The Christian will always be confronted by an adversary, a brilliant, able, subtle, knowledge adversary: Second Corinthians 11:14. And we need to know God’s word and how to respond.
Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament: Strongs,
Romans 12
Verse 1
Therefore (ουν — oun). This inferential participle gathers up all the great argument of chapters 1-11. Now Paul turns to exhortation (παρακαλω — parakalō), “I beseech you.”
By the mercies (δια των οικτιρμων — dia tōn oiktirmōn). “By means of the mercies of God” as shown in his argument and in our lives. See note on 2 Corinthians 1:3 for “the Father of mercies.”
To present (παραστησαι — parastēsai). First aorist active infinitive of παριστημι — paristēmi for which verb see note on Romans 6:13, a technical term for offering a sacrifice (Josephus, Ant. IV. 6, 4), though not in the O.T. Used of presenting the child Jesus in the temple (Luke 2:22), of the Christian presenting himself (Romans 6:13), of God presenting the saved (Ephesians 5:27), of Christ presenting the church (Colossians 1:28).
Bodies (σωματα — sōmata). So literally as in Romans 6:13, Romans 6:19; 2 Corinthians 5:10 and in contrast with νους — nous (mind) in Romans 12:2.
A living sacrifice (τυσιαν ζωσαν — thusian zōsan). In contrast with the Levitical sacrifices of slain animals. Cf. Romans 6:8, Romans 6:11, Romans 6:13. Not a propitiatory sacrifice, but one of praise.
Acceptable (ευαρεστον — euareston). “Well-pleasing.” See note on 2 Corinthians 5:9.
Which is your reasonable service (tēn logikēn humōn latreian). “Your rational (spiritual) service (worship).” For latreia see note on Romans 9:4. την λογικην υμων λατρειαν — Logikos is from λατρεια — logos reason. The phrase means here “worship rendered by the reason (or soul).” Old word, in N.T. only here and 1 Peter 2:2 Λογικος — to logikon gala (not logical milk, but the milk nourishing the soul).
Therefore (3767)(oun) is a term of conclusion. Only 526 times in the NT In context, Paul is saying that you Gentiles have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. You were once spiritually dead in your sins but are now alive in Christ. You once were far off from Christ, country (citizenship), covenants of promise, hope and God, but now you have been brought near by the blood of Christ, Who is your peace and Who has broken down the enmity between you and the Jews, making you both into one body or one new man, both now being reconciled to God because Christ put to death the enmity on the Cross.
Furthermore you are no longer strangers and aliens, but are in the family of God, are a building of God, a holy Temple of God and a dwelling of God. Not to mention that you are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body and fellow partakers of the promise. And besides all these spiritual blessings, I have prayed for you to be enlightened to these truths and to be empowered by the Spirit. So you have the truth and you have the power. Now walk worthy of this high calling in Christ Jesus!
Strong’s Concordance
I beseech 3870 you http://bibleapps.com/greek/3870.htm
Lexicon
parakaleó: to call to or for, to exhort, to encourageOriginal Word: παρακαλέω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: parakaleó
Phonetic Spelling: (par-ak-al-eh’-o)
Short Definition: I summon, entreat, admonish, comfort
Definition: (a) I send for, summon, invite, (b) I beseech, entreat, beg, (c) I exhort, admonish, (d) I comfort, encourage, console.
Thayer’sSTRONGS NT 3870: παρακαλέω
παρακαλέω, παρακαλῶ; imperfect 3 person singular παρεκάλει, 1 and 3 person plural παρεκάλουν; 1 aorist παρεκάλεσα; passive, present παρακαλοῦμαι; perfect παρακέκλημαι; 1 aorist παρεκλήθην; 1 future παρακληθήσομαι; from Aeschylus and Herodotus down;
I. as in Greek writings to call to one’s side, call for, summon: τινα, with an infinitive indicating the purpose, Acts 28:20 (others (less naturally) refer this to II. 2, making the accusative the subjunctive of the infinitive).
II. to address, speak to (call to, call on), which may be done in the way of exhortation, entreaty, comfort, instruction, etc.; hence, result a variety of senses, on which see Knapp, Scripto varii arg. edition 2, p. 117ff; cf. Fritzsche, Ep. ad Romans, i., p. 32f.
1. as in Greek authors, to admonish, exhort: absolutely, Luke 3:18; (Acts 20:1 (R G omit)); Romans 12:8; 2 Timothy 4:2; Hebrews 10:25; 1 Peter 5:12; followed by direct discourse, 2 Corinthians 5:20; followed by λέγων with direct discourse, Acts 2:40; followed by an infinitive where in Latinut, 1 Timothy 2:1; τινα, Acts 15:32; Acts 16:40; 2 Corinthians 10:1; 1 Thessalonians 2:12 (); ; 1 Timothy 5:1; Hebrews 3:13; τινα λόγῳ πολλῷ, Acts 20:2; ἰντα followed by direct discourse, 1 Corinthians 4:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:14; Hebrews 13:22 (here L WH marginal reading infinitive); 1 Peter 5:1f; τινα followed by an infinitive where in Latinut (cf. Buttmann, §§ 140, 1; 141, 2; Winer’s Grammar, 332 (311); 335 (315) n.): infinitive present, Acts 11:23; Acts 14:22; Philippians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 4:10; Titus 2:6; 1 Peter 2:11 (here Lachmann adds ὑμᾶς to the infinitive, and WH meg. with manuscripts A C L etc. read ἀπέχεσθε); Jude 1:3; infinitive aorist, Acts 27:33; Romans 12:1; Romans 15:30; 2 Corinthians 2:8; 2 Corinthians 6:1; Ephesians 4:1; 1 Timothy 1:3; Hebrews 13:19; τινα followed by ἵνα with subjunctive (cf. Buttmann, § 139, 42; Winer’s Grammar, 335 as above), 1 Corinthians 1:10; 1 Corinthians 16:15; 2 Corinthians 8:6; 1 Thessalonians 4:1; 2 Thessalonians 3:12; to enjoin a thing by exhortation (cf. Buttmann, § 141, 2), 1 Timothy 6:2; Titus 2:15.
2. to beg, entreat, beseech (Josephus, Antiquities 6, 7, 4; (11, 8, 5); often in Epictetus cf. Schweighäuser, Index graecit. Epictetus, p. 411; Plutarch, apophth. regum, Mor. ii, p. 30, Tauchn. edition (vi. 695 edition Reiske; examples from Polybius, Diodorus, Philo, others, in Sophocles’ Lexicon, under the word); not thus in the earlier Greek authors except where the gods are called on for aid, in the expressions, παρακαλεῖν Θεούς, so Θεόν in Josephus, Antiquities 6, 2, 2 and 7, 4; (cf. Winer’s Grammar, 22)): (absolutely, Philemon 1:9 (yet see the commentaries at the passage)); τινα, Matthew 8:5; Matthew 18:32; Matthew 26:53; Mark 1:40; Acts 16:9; 2 Corinthians 12:18; πολλά, much, Mark 5:23: τινα περί τίνος, Philemon 1:10; followed by direct discourse, Acts 9:38 L T Tr WH with λέγων added and direct discourse, Matthew 18:29; Mark 5:12; (Luke 7:4 (Tdf. ἠρώτων)); without the accusative. Acts 16:15; τινα followed by an infinitive (Winers Grammar, and Buttmann’s Grammar, as above), Mark 5:17; Luke 8:41; Acts 8:31; Acts 19:31; Acts 28:14 (1 Macc. 9:35); τινα followed by ὅπως, Matthew 8:34 (here Lachmann ἵνα (see above)); Acts 25:2 (4 Macc. 4:11; Plutarch, Demetr c. 38); τινα followed by ἵνα (Winers Grammar, § 44, 8 a.; Buttmann, § 139, 42), Matthew 14:36; Mark 5:18; Mark 6:56; Mark 7:32; Mark 8:22; Luke 8:31f; (2 Corinthians 9:5); τινα ὑπέρ τίνος, ἵνα, 2 Corinthians 12:8; πολλά (much) τινα, ἵνα, Mark 5:10; 1 Corinthians 16:12; followed by τοῦ μή with an infinitive (Buttmann, § 140, 16 δ.; Winer’s Grammar, 325 (305)), Acts 21:12; by an infinitive Acts 9:38 R G; by an accusative with an infinitive, Acts 13:42; Acts 24:4; (Romans 16:17). to strive to appease by entreaty: absolutely, 1 Corinthians 4:13; τινα, Luke 15:28; Acts 16:39 (2 Macc. 13:23).
3. to console, to encourage and strengthen by consolation, to comfort, (the Sept. for נִחַם; very rarely so in Greek authors, as Plutarch, Oth. 16): absolutely, 2 Corinthians 2:7; τινα, 2 Corinthians 1:6; 2 Corinthians 7:6f; ἐν with a dative of the thing with which one comforts another, 1 Thessalonians 4:18; τινα διά παρακλήσεως, 2 Corinthians 1:4; with an accusative of the contents, διά τῆς παρακληθῆναι ἧς (for ἥν, see ὅς, ἡ, ὁ, II. 2 c. α.) παρακαλούμεθα, ibid.; in the passive, to receive consolation, be comforted, Matthew 2:18; 2 Corinthians 13:11; ἐπί τίνι over (in) a thing (see ἐπί, B. 2 a. δ.), 2 Corinthians 1:4; of the consolation (comfort) given not in words but by the experience of a happier lot or by a happy issue, equivalent to to refresh, cheer: passive, Matthew 5:4 (5); Luke 16:25; Acts 20:12; 2 Corinthians 7:13 (where a full stop must be put after παρακεκλήμεθα; ἐν τίνι, by the help of a thing, 2 Corinthians 7:6f; ἐπί τίνι, 1 Thessalonians 3:7; with (ἐν) παρακλήσει added, 2 Corinthians 7:7.
4. to encourage, strengthen (i. e. in the language of A. V. comfort (see Wright, Bible Word-Book, 2nd edition, under the word)) (in faith, piety, hope): τάς καρδίας, your hearts, Ephesians 6:22; Colossians 2:2; Colossians 4:8; 2 Thessalonians 2:17, (also χεῖρας ἀσθενεῖς, Job 4:3 for חִזַק; γόνατα παραλελυμένα, Isaiah 35:3f (see the Hebrew) for אִמֵּץ).
5. it combines the ideas of exhorting and comforting and encouraging in Romans 12:8; 1 Corinthians 14:31; 1 Thessalonians 3:2.
6. to instruct, teach: ἐν τῇ διδασκαλία, Titus 1:9. (Compare: συμπαρακαλέω.)
Question: “What is salvation? What is the Christian doctrine of salvation?”
Answer: Salvation is deliverance from danger or suffering. To save is to deliver or protect. The word carries the idea of victory, health, or preservation. Sometimes, the Bible uses the words saved or salvation to refer to temporal, physical deliverance, such as Paul’s deliverance from prison (Philippians 1:19).
More often, the word “salvation” concerns an eternal, spiritual deliverance. When Paul told the Philippian jailer what he must do to be saved, he was referring to the jailer’s eternal destiny (Acts 16:30-31). Jesus equated being saved with entering the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:24-25).
What are we saved from? In the Christian doctrine of salvation, we are saved from “wrath,” that is, from God’s judgment of sin (Romans 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:9). Our sin has separated us from God, and the consequence of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Biblical salvation refers to our deliverance from the consequence of sin and therefore involves the removal of sin.
Who does the saving? Only God can remove sin and deliver us from sin’s penalty (2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5).
How does God save? In the Christian doctrine of salvation, God has rescued us through Christ (John 3:17). Specifically, it was Jesus’ death on the cross and subsequent resurrection that achieved our salvation (Romans 5:10; Ephesians 1:7). Scripture is clear that salvation is the gracious, undeserved gift of God (Ephesians 2:5, 8) and is only available through faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12).
How do we receive salvation? We are saved by faith. First, we must hear the gospel—the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection (Ephesians 1:13). Then, we must believe—fully trust the Lord Jesus (Romans 1:16). This involves repentance, a changing of mind about sin and Christ (Acts 3:19), and calling on the name of the Lord (Romans 10:9-10, 13).
A definition of the Christian doctrine of salvation would be “The deliverance, by the grace of God, from eternal punishment for sin which is granted to those who accept by faith God’s conditions of repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus.” Salvation is available in Jesus alone (John 14:6; Acts 4:12) and is dependent on God alone for provision, assurance, and security.
This theology of God and his relation to the world is emphasized often in Isaiah. For instance, we read in Isaiah 45: “I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded” (Is. 45:12). God has not made a little universe. He has made the wide stretches of space and has put there all the flaming hosts we see at night, all the planets, stars and galaxies. Wherever we go let us remind ourselves that God has made everything we see.
No matter what man eventually discovers the universe to be, no matter how much it contains or how great its stretch, this man must know—that God made it all. And not only did God make it all, but he is present to work in any part of it at any time he wishes. There is no place in the far-flung universe where the hand of God cannot work.
The Hand of God Preserves
In addition to declaring that God is the Creator of the entire universe, the Bible also makes clear that he did not create the earth and then walk away. His hand also operates to preserve his creation, both conscious and unconscious life: “That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good” (Ps. 104:28). And again, “The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their food in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing” (Ps. 145:15-16).
Nothing lives in a vacuum. Everything in the world is preserved by God on its own level. Machines, plants, animals, men, angels—God preserves each one existentially, moment by moment, on its own level. Can we use our hands to work in the external world? God works in the external world.
An antiphonal doxology in the psalms praises God for being a worker in the creation he has made:
O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good:
for his mercy endureth for ever.
O give thanks unto the God of gods:
for his mercy endureth for ever.
O give thanks to the Lord of lords:
for his mercy endureth for ever.
To him who alone doeth great wonders:
for his mercy endureth for ever. (Ps. 136:1-4)
The succeeding verses praise God for specific actions. One is that God “brought Israel out from among them [the Egyptians]. . . with a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm” (vv. 11-12). Not just a generalized statement about preservation, this mentions a specific event—the Jews’ deliverance from Egypt. Praise is being given here because God is a worker in the creation he has made. The Jews always looked back to this work that God had done in space and time, and therefore they were linked to something that was tough enough to bear the weight of life, for they knew that God was not far away. Their affirmation was not just a poetic expression. Since God had acted in past history, the people knew they could trust him for the future.
After God had brought many plagues upon Egypt, the court magicians had said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God” (Ex. 8:19). During the earliest plagues, the magicians undoubtedly had thought that these might be chance occurrences or that by using the power of the demons they themselves would be able to duplicate the plagues. But as they watched the increasing horror of the plagues, these magicians came to another conclusion: This is more than chance, or, to speak in modern terms, this is more than the machine, more than merely cause and effect in a closed system. They concluded that there was a God who was acting in history. They admitted, “This is the finger of God.”
God’s acting in history is also portrayed forcefully in the giving of the Ten Commandments soon after the Jews left Egypt. The scene is described this way: “And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God” (Ex. 31:18). God took two blank tables of stone (we are not sure what they looked like; we think we do because of the way the artists have painted them for so many centuries, but we really do not) and then, either gradually or suddenly, carved on them the words he wanted there.
If Michelangelo had wanted to chisel words on these tables, he would have placed the tables in his studio, fastened them properly, taken his favorite hammer and chisel (which he would have made lovingly with his own hands, as sculptors did in those days) and worked away. With one hand holding the chisel and the other the hammer, he gradually would have produced words on the stone, and beautifully carved ones, I am sure. Out of his own thought world whatever he would have wanted to put on the tables would have appeared—his personality would have flowed through his fingers into the external world.
And that is exactly what God did on Mount Sinai. As Moses looked at the tables of stone with nothing on them, words appeared. But God did not need physical hands or a chisel. He who spoke all things into existence had only to will, and, in the historic, space-time world, words appeared on stone.
God speaks to men through verbalization, using natural syntax and grammar, as when, on the Damascus road, Jesus spoke to Paul in the Hebrew tongue. He did not use a “heavenly language.” Both on the Damascus road and on Mount Sinai, God used regular verbalization—and the syntax was good, let us be sure. And both events affirm, let us stress again, that God is able to work into the machine any time he will.
Here is the distinction we must see between existential theology, Greek thought and Jewish thought. Modern existential theology says, “Truth is all in your head. You must make a leap, completely removed from the common things of life.” The Greeks were tougher than this, for they said, “If you’re going to have truth, it has to make sense.” If a man would insist, as modem man does, “I will believe these things whether they make sense or not,” the Greek philosopher would answer, “That is foolish. A system which is internally inconsistent is unacceptable.” So the Greeks were better than modern man in his modern theology.
But the Jews were stronger yet. The Jews said, “Yes, truth must fit together in a system that is non-contradictory, but it must do something more. It must be rooted in the space-time stuff of history.” The Jews throughout their history affirmed that God’s hand had done a great thing in releasing them from Egypt. Therefore, they were not shaken in the midst of trial because they knew what God could do in the external world.
The Hand of God Chastises
But God’s action in the external world can be even more personal than it was when he led the Jews out of Egypt. We Christians should be grateful for that event, which, since we are spiritual Jews, is part of our history. It should be our environment to offset the environment of our own day when men are seen as only machines. But God can be even more personal. He can and does say, “I use my hand for you.”
One way God expresses his fatherly care for his children is in loving chastisement. How do parents spank their children? They use their hand. Similarly, when one of his children needs chastisement, God brings down his hand.
In Psalm 32:4, for instance, David says, “For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me,” or, in other words, “You have chastened me.” In Psalm 39:10, David cries, “Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thine hand.”
This chastisement was not merely psychological, another important truth for our generation to understand. The hand of God is pictured as working not in the thoughts of men but into the external world. He uses the word hand so that we have perfect communication: That which we use our hands to do, he, being a personal God, accomplishes without hands. One such action is chastisement.
The chastisement of David for his sin with Bathsheba was not just psychological. In this and in other pictures of chastisement in the Bible God did not do something inside the heads of men. Rather, in his loving care for his people, he chastened them through external situations. God worked into the machine not only to achieve the mighty exodus from Egypt, not only to carve his law upon the rock, but also to show love to his people by chastening them. God is not far off, acting only in the great moments of history; he is acting into our own personal history in a loving way as well.
The Hill of the Skull or Golgotha, located at the site, has eroded badly in the last hundred years, but some maintain they can still see the eye sockets and the nose bridge. Regardless, it is noted that while the Bible locates the crucifixion at the “place of the skull,” it never says that it was on a hill, nor that this place bore the resemblance of a skull. It also could be questioned as to if this hill which resembles a skull looked the same 2000 years ago.
But the fact remains the same, Christ died at a place called the Skull.
Later, during the Roman Empire, only violent offenders, those guilty of high treason, despised enemies, deserters, slaves and foreigners were crucified.
The Roman form of crucifixion was not employed in the Old Testament by the Jewish people, as they saw crucifixion as one of the most horrible, cursed forms of death (Deuteronomy 21:23). The only exception was reported by the historian Josephus when the Jewish high priest Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 B.C.) ordered the crucifixion of 800 enemy Pharisees.
In New Testament Bible times, the Romans used this tortuous method of execution as a means of exerting authority and control over the population. Jesus Christ, the central figure of Christianity, died on a Roman cross as recorded in Matthew 27: 32-56, Mark 15:21-38, Luke 23:26-49, and John 19:16-37.
In honor of Christ’s death, the practice of crucifixion was abolished by Constantine the Great, the first
Definition of Crucifixion:
Crucifixion was an ancient method of execution in which the victim’s hands and feet were bound and nailed to a cross. It was one of the most horribly painful and disgraceful methods of capital punishment.
The word crucifixion comes from the latin “crucifixio,” or “crucifixus,” meaning “fixed to a cross.”
History of Crucifixion:
Crucifixion was not only one of the most disgraceful forms of death, it was one of the most dreaded methods of execution in the ancient world. Accounts of crucifixions are recorded among early civilizations, most likely originating with the Persians and then spreading to the Assyrians, Scythians, Carthaginians, Germans, Celts and Britons. This type of capital punishment was primarily reserved for traitors, captive armies, slaves and the worst of criminals. Crucifixion became common under the rule of Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.).
Later, during the Roman Empire, only violent offenders, those guilty of high treason, despised enemies, deserters, slaves and foreigners were crucified.
The Roman form of crucifixion was not employed in the Old Testament by the Jewish people, as they saw crucifixion as one of the most horrible, cursed forms of death (Deuteronomy 21:23). The only exception was reported by the historian Josephus when the Jewish high priest Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 B.C.) ordered the crucifixion of 800 enemy Pharisees.
In New Testament Bible times, the Romans used this tortuous method of execution as a means of exerting authority and control over the population. Jesus Christ, the central figure of Christianity, died on a Roman cross as recorded in Matthew 27: 32-56, Mark 15:21-38, Luke 23:26-49, and John 19:16-37.
In honor of Christ’s death, the practice of crucifixion was abolished by Constantine the Great, the first
Roman crucifixion was an ancient method of execution in which the victim’s hands and feet were bound and nailed to a cross. It was one of the most painful and disgraceful methods of capital punishment. Victims were usually beaten and tortured and then forced to carry their own cross to the crucifixion site. The Roman cross was formed of wood, typically with a vertical stake and a horizontal cross beam near the top. Different types and shapes of crosses existed for different forms of crucifixion.
The Roman form of crucifixion was not employed in the Old Testament by the Jewish people, as they saw crucifixion as one of the most horrible, cursed forms of death (Deuteronomy 21:23). In New Testament Bible times, the Romans used this tortuous method of execution as a means of exerting authority and control over the population.
Before nailing the victim to the cross, a mixture of vinegar, gall, and myrrh was usually offered to alleviate some of the victim’s suffering. Wooden planks were usually fastened to the vertical stake as a footrest or seat, allowing the victim to rest his weight and lift himself for a breath, thus prolonging suffering and delaying death for up to three days. Unsupported, the victim would hang entirely from nail-pierced wrists, severely restricting breathing and circulation. This excruciating ordeal would lead to exhaustion, suffocation, brain death and heart failure. At times, mercy was shown by breaking the victim’s legs, causing death to come quickly. As a deterrent to crime, crucifixions were carried out in highly public places with the criminal charges posted on the cross above the victim’s head.
A few moments after arriving at camp, Jesus said to them: “My friends and brethren, my time with you is now very short, and I desire that we draw apart by ourselves while we pray to our Father in heaven for strength to sustain us in this hour and henceforth in all the work we must do in his name.”
When Jesus had thus spoken, he led the way a short distance up on Olivet, and in full view of Jerusalem he bade them kneel on a large flat rock in a circle about him as they had done on the day of their ordination; and then, as he stood there in the midst of them glorified in the mellow moonlight, he lifted up his eyes toward heaven and prayed:
“Father, my hour has come; now glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you. I know that you have given me full authority over all living creatures in my realm, and I will give eternal life to all who will become faith sons of God. And this is eternal life, that my creatures should know you as the only true God and Father of all, and that they should believe in him whom you sent into the world. Father, I have exalted you on earth and have accomplished the work which you gave me to do. I have almost finished my bestowal upon the children of our own creation; there remains only for me to lay down my life in the flesh. And now, O my Father, glorify me with the glory which I had with you before this world was and receive me once more at your right hand.
“I have manifested you to the men whom you chose from the world and gave to me. They are yours—as all life is in your hands—you gave them to me, and I have lived among them, teaching them the way of life, and they have believed. These men are learning that all I have comes from you, and that the life I live in the flesh is to make known my Father to the worlds. The truth which you have given to me I have revealed to them. These, my friends and ambassadors, have sincerely willed to receive your word. I have told them that I came forth from you, that you sent me into this world, and that I am about to return to you. Father, I do pray for these chosen men. And I pray for them not as I would pray for the world, but as for those whom I have chosen out of the world to represent me to the world after I have returned to your work, even as I have represented you in this world during my sojourn in the flesh. These men are mine; you gave them to me; but all things which are mine are ever yours, and all that which was yours you have now caused to be mine. You have been exalted in me, and I now pray that I may be honored in these men. I can no longer be in this world; I am about to return to the work you have given me to do. I must leave these men behind to represent us and our kingdom among men. Father, keep these men faithful as I prepare to yield up my life in the flesh. Help these, my friends, to be one in spirit, even as we are one. As long as I could be with them, I could watch over them and guide them, but now am I about to go away. Be near them, Father, until we can send the new teacher to comfort and strengthen them.
“You gave me twelve men, and I have kept them all save one, the son of revenge, who would not have further fellowship with us. These men are weak and frail, but I know we can trust them; I have proved them; they love me, even as they reverence you. While they must suffer much for my sake, I desire that they should also be filled with the joy of the assurance of sonship in the heavenly kingdom. I have given these men your word and have taught them the truth. The world may hate them, even as it has hated me, but I do not ask that you take them out of the world, only that you keep them from the evil in the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. And as you sent me into this world, even so am I about to send these men into the world. For their sakes I have lived among men and have consecrated my life to your service that I might inspire them to be purified through the truth I have taught them and the love I have revealed to them. I well know, my Father, that there is no need for me to ask you to watch over these brethren after I have gone; I know you love them even as I, but I do this that they may the better realize the Father loves mortal men even as does the Son.
“And now, my Father, I would pray not only for these eleven men but also for all others who now believe, or who may hereafter believe the gospel of the kingdom through the word of their future ministry. I want them all to be one, even as you and I are one. You are in me and I am in you, and I desire that these believers likewise be in us; that both of our spirits indwell them. If my children are one as we are one, and if they love one another as I have loved them, all men will then believe that I came forth from you and be willing to receive the revelation of truth and glory which I have made. The glory which you gave me I have revealed to these believers. As you have lived with me in spirit, so have I lived with them in the flesh. As you have been one with me, so have I been one with them, and so will the new teacher ever be one with them and in them. And all this have I done that my brethren in the flesh may know that the Father loves them even as does the Son, and that you love them even as you love me. Father, work with me to save these believers that they may presently come to be with me in glory and then go on to join you in the Paradise embrace. Those who serve with me in humiliation, I would have with me in glory so that they may see all you have given into my hands as the eternal harvest of the seed sowing of time in the likeness of mortal flesh. I long to show my earthly brethren the glory I had with you before the founding of this world. This world knows very little of you, righteous Father, but I know you, and I have made you known to these believers, and they will make known your name to other generations. And now I promise them that you will be with them in the world even as you have been with me—even so.”
The eleven remained kneeling in this circle about Jesus for several minutes before they arose and in silence made their way back to the near-by camp.
Jesus prayed for unity among his followers, but he did not desire uniformity. Sin creates a dead level of evil inertia, but righteousness nourishes the creative spirit of individual experience in the living realities of eternal truth and in the progressive communion of the divine spirits of the Father and the Son. In the spiritual fellowship of the believer-son with the divine Father there can never be doctrinal finality and sectarian superiority of group consciousness.
Master, during the course of this final prayer with his apostles, alluded to the fact that he had manifested the Father’s name to the world. And that is truly what he did by the revelation of God through his perfected life in the flesh. The Father in heaven had sought to reveal himself to Moses, but he could proceed no further than to cause it to be said, “I AM.” And when pressed for further revelation of himself, it was only disclosed, “I AM that I AM.” But when Jesus had finished his earth life, this name of the Father had been so revealed that the Master, who was the Father incarnate, could truly say:
I am the bread of life.
I am the living water.
I am the light of the world.
I am the desire of all ages.
I am the open door to eternal salvation.
I am the reality of endless life.
I am the good shepherd.
I am the pathway of infinite perfection.
I am the resurrection and the life.
I am the secret of eternal survival.
I am the way, the truth, and the life.
I am the infinite Father of my finite children.
I am the true vine; you are the branches.
I am the hope of all who know the living truth.
I am the living bridge from one world to another.
I am the living link between time and eternity.
It is no secret from the start that I have relied heavily on the preaching/teaching of John MacArthur since 1982. In the beginning Grace To You put out these booklets of the sermons. I have about 100 of the booklets and they did aid me in my sermons. GTY have stopped putting out those booklets back in the last 1990’s. And then came the MacArthur’s commentary. I only have a few but would love to have the whole set.
Rivers Of Joy Baptist Church 