In today's sermon, "All Who Were Appointed For Eternal Life Believed", according to the section "Summary From Last Week(#44)": What does man's religious belief look like, yet what is it in reality? How is it that we see a supernatural power in those who can perform incredible miracles in the world? How is this seen inside the church, and how does this problem happen? How can we make our Gospel become the true Gospel as originally intended by God? What does Deuteronomy 13:1-5 have to say about this? How can we build up together the true church of God in spite of all this?
In the section "Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles"(v.46): What happens here when the apostle Paul preaches the Gospel? Who are the Jews, and how does Paul rebuke them? What does the word "worthy" mean, and how does it relate to the word "caught up" in 2 Corinthians 12:2? How does God help us realize the mystery of the cross, and become His captive? What does receiving eternal life mean? How does one's religious belief cause one to gain eternal life, and what is it the same as? What does Paul say about this to the Jews?
What is the hidden motive of religious people, and what does Mark 10:25-27 say about it? What does the word "rich man" mean, and how do Matthew 12:34 and Matthew 23:27-28 relate to this definition? What happens without truly possessing God's intended message spoken by Jesus? How could knowing this help you answer the questions "What would Jesus do?" or "What would Jesus say?", when making decisions in your daily life?
Why do we try hard to keep doing various services in the church? How does one worthy of eternal life realize more depth of truth through his communal life in the church of God, and what is the result? What can we find through our suffering and hardship, and how is this the greatest blessing ever and the most important answer to our prayer?
Why shouldn't we try to apply the question, "If Jesus was in my situation, what would He do?", through a religious mindset and deed? What is the context of the phrase: "Love your enemy", found at the end of Matthew 5? How should this "heavenly" forgiveness be learned, and why isn't our forgiveness possible without deeply experiencing God's forgiveness within us first? Why isn't resembling Jesus the goal of our Christian living?
In the section "For this is what the Lord has commanded us ... and all who were appointed for eternal life believed."(vv.47-48): What will eventually happen when the Gospel becomes a religion in one's life? Why did the word of God given to the Jews set them apart from the grace of God's eternal life? How was God's redemptive promise toward the Gentile already given from the age of Abraham, according to Genesis 17:5, Genesis 22:18, and Genesis 28:14? Why did the people of Israel miss the promise of God's Word? How can we see that this deep religious root still remained in the minds of the apostles, and our minds as well, even after seeing the events in Acts 1 and 2? How does Luke 13:48 express this very moment when the Paul fulfills these scriptures?
Why do we have to understand this precious statement very carefully in its context? What is the real intention of this statement mentioned by Luke? Why is it important that God's saving grace precedes our works? What is the real important emphasis of this statement? How did the Jews harshly judge the Gentiles, and what do they, and Luke himself, clearly see now? How is this the same case as a murderer hanging on the cross right next to Jesus, and anyone, if God decides to save them? However, when is it not the same case, and why not? What do we see here as the core message of the Gospel?
What is, and what is not, the real stumbling block to the grace of God's salvation, and how is this the original nature of all mankind? What will happen without solving this fundamental problem? However, what will happen to those who are chosen to receive eternal life by God's determined grace? What is our task then, and how does 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 remind us of this? What shouldn't we randomly interpret, and what is the process for our sin to be forgiven and our life to be captive to God's elected grace and love?
In the "Conclusion": Who does salvation belong to, and how can we respond to His invitation? How can we keep our religious spirit from becoming a stumbling block to allow our faith, as well as others' faith, grow in true faith?
In "The Radical Word", by Ray Stedman: How did the apostle Paul change the course of world history? How many messages did Paul preach in this portion of scripture, where and on what day were they preached? According to Stedman, why might Mark have left and gone back to Jerusalem? Why did Paul go to the synagogue, and why were they asked to speak? How and why was the introduction to Paul's message similar to that of Stephen's? What is the common factor in Paul's history of the patriarchs?
In the second part of his message, what were the three clear timeless facts of the Gospel mentioned? What were the two reason's Stedman gives for the Jews not recognizing Jesus when He came? In the third part, how does Paul use scripture to show their fulfillment in the ministry and resurrection of Jesus? How does Paul drive his message home in verses 38 and 39? What does it mean to be justified, and how does Stedman use the military term of "honorable discharge" to explain this word, and the term "justification by faith"?
How do verses 40 and 41 handle any remaining doubt? What did the people ask Paul after he spoke, and what was the ultimate result of that request? What did Paul say in verse 47 that had such a powerful response in verse 48? How did the Jews finally succeed in driving Paul out, and what was the response of the apostles?
In today's daily devotion, entitled - Learn The Cost: Why do previous sins usually come back to haunt you later in life? Think of any matters that might be keeping you from full fellowship with the Lord, and bring them to Him privately in prayer.