26-0301sc Transcript

(0:04) Romans the first chapter. I’m going to cover what I didn’t cover last week. (0:10) I got a couple other things to add to it too.

In my hermeneutic rumination. I like what Jim said, (0:19) ruminate to ruminate. Now that’s a very important part of studying the scriptures.

(0:25) Hermeneutics and ruminating. That’s what David did. David mulled over everything, (0:34) ruminate.

And let’s have a prayer and then we’ll talk a little bit more about hermeneutics. (0:43) Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you at this time asking your blessings upon our study. (0:48) We believe that the Holy Spirit is involved in helping us to understand the word because (0:56) he was the one who inspired the writers to compile the scriptures as we know it.

(1:04) We know that the Holy Spirit dwells in us and he’s been given the assignment to convict the (1:12) world of sin and to remind us of the things that Jesus had taught and that God wants. (1:21) We ask your blessings upon our study that you give us the understanding and (1:27) an insight that we need to have in order to be able to comprehend Paul’s writings. (1:33) As Peter would say, Paul’s writings are difficult.

Many people wrestle with it (1:39) to their damnation and we pray that we do not. We ask your blessings upon our study. (1:45) This is a prophet in Jesus' name.

Amen. As I’ve been looking into this, (1:54) first of all, I hope that you’ve read through the book of Romans at least once this week. (2:02) The more often times as you read through the scripture or through the letter, (2:07) it’ll come to you a little bit clearer and clearer and clearer.

(2:12) And so I hope you’ve read at least one time through the letter this week, (2:21) maybe more times than that, at least. Because it’s my perception, just Steve Cain’s perception, (2:35) that Paul is laying the groundwork for what the balance of the letter (2:40) or the bulk of the letter is really going to address. (2:47) And in my reading Romans, I feel that Paul is laying out in the first three chapters (2:54) what he wants to illuminate or build upon or develop better in the balance of the letter.

(3:03) So he wants us to know that this is what he’s laying out and he’s using it as the groundwork, (3:11) the framework, to help us to make application of the balance of the letter that he has. (3:20) So as we reflect upon this, we know that he’s writing to the church in Rome. (3:29) We know that the church is comprised of Jews and Gentiles.

We know that the Jewish (3:37) population of the church is probably the greatest. Then the Gentiles (3:44) comprise the balance of it. So when we’re looking at the letter, we need to understand (3:52) what both of these groups are bringing to the congregation.

And they have their own concept (4:02) of who God is, what God wants, and so on. And so the Jews were raised understanding the true God. (4:14) They were brought up as children and in the faith, and so they have been given Moses (4:25) and the Ten Commandments.

They have been given the scriptures over the period of time, (4:31) and God has been trying to develop in them. And this is my belief. God tries to develop (4:38) a faith in him.

And so he took, for example, he takes Abraham, and this is my concepts. (4:49) He takes Abraham, who is a Gentile, and he tries to develop Abraham to believe in him (4:58) instead of the idols that he had been introduced to. So he wants Abraham to come to a point (5:08) where he believes in the God of creation, the God that created the world, and the God that (5:15) is mentioned in Moses' Genesis, the book of Genesis.

And so we see that Abraham’s faith in (5:25) God and trust in God and relying on God gets stronger and stronger and stronger as he gets (5:32) older and older and has more experiences with God divinely intervening in his life. (5:40) And I believe in divine intervention, providence, and preservation. (5:43) And so we see God using those things to help Abraham develop the faith that he needed (5:51) so that when God challenges him to take his son and offer him as a sacrifice, (5:59) Abraham has come to a conviction that he believes, according to the Hebrew letter, (6:05) he believes that if he goes ahead and sacrifices his son Isaac, that God would bring him back to (6:12) life.

Number one, he believes in the promise that God gave him. What was the promise that God gave (6:22) him? I’m asking. Any promise that God gave Abraham? He promised him, number one, that (6:39) he would become a great nation.

All right, he’d become a great nation. And that from this great (6:50) nation would come the blessings of all nations. And he would be the father of all nations.

(7:02) And the first one, I know there was a third one. You’ve got a land promise, a nation promise, (7:13) and a seed promise. And he said that through his seed, the world would be blessed.

So he believes (7:23) that Isaac is the child of promise, and because he is the child of promise, (7:32) that this is the reason why he believes that God is going to bring him back to life (7:37) if he goes ahead and performs the sacrifice, according to Hebrews, the 11th chapter, (7:45) where it talks about Abraham’s faith. So God develops him and brings him to that faith. (7:52) He takes Israel, who comes out of Egypt, and it’s my conviction that he’s going to try to (8:00) help Israel come to the point where they believe in him as a nation, and that he is looking after (8:08) them in their faith as a nation, as a people.

And it takes, because they don’t, when they come out (8:20) of Egypt, they believe in God, but yet they still want to hold on to their idols. They want (8:27) to play the means against the ends, you know, that type of thing. And so they’re constantly doing (8:34) that, constantly doing that.

And we see that even when he puts them into the land of promise, (8:41) that during the judge’s period, they’re still wavering back and forth. Do I believe in God, (8:48) or do I believe in my idols? Do I believe in God, or do I believe in the idols that these people (8:53) that we are displacing believe in? They’re still wavering back and forth. What do I believe? What (9:00) do I believe? What do I believe in? How much can I believe in God? How much can I believe in God? (9:06) And so it takes what to get them out of that faith? Can you think of it? (9:18) Captivity into Babylon.

It’s the captivity into Babylon. And once they’ve experienced that, (9:28) they realize that it’s God punishing them and putting them in this situation. They come to (9:34) that realization, don’t they? And so it takes the Babylon experience to help them come to the (9:42) belief in God.

So then God gets them out of Babylon and back into Jerusalem and into the (9:51) promised land where they established the temple worship and so on. And so what do we see at this (10:01) point? They have a strong belief in God, and they try to keep it that way, period. (10:12) We know that they still had a problem on Josiah’s day, didn’t they? Thanks for Josiah.

(10:23) What does Josiah do? He goes in, once he gets into the kingdom, (10:31) kingship, he takes his prophets, his teachers, his rabbis to go into the temple and cleanse it out. (10:41) And what do they find in the temple? Huh? They find the law, but they find other things. What (10:49) are they getting rid of? Yeah, it’s evidence that they are still wavering back and forth, (10:58) aren’t they, in Josiah’s day.

And so then Josiah, once they find the law, which we believe is (11:06) Deuteronomy, once they find it, they start reading it and they realize that they are still under the (11:14) curse of God. Why? They had not been observing the Feast of the Passover. And they were supposed to (11:26) observe the Feast of the Passover, of all the things that they were supposed to be doing.

(11:31) That’s the one thing that they were not doing. And so he realizes that he’s still under the curse of (11:36) God. So that’s before the Babylonian captivity.

So when the Israelites come back and start their (11:47) worship in the temple, we see Nehemiah and Ezra. Nehemiah and Ezra are (12:05) forwards of the faith, and so they make sure that they stay faithful to God. And so in Jesus' day, (12:13) what are they afraid of? Blasphemy.

They’re afraid they’re going to kill Jesus because (12:27) they believe that he is establishing a different God. And that comes from their staunch position (12:39) of only wanting to worship God. So God got them to that point.

Why am I bringing it up? (12:47) It’s because the Jews that are occupying the church in Rome come out of that. What is Paul (12:56) wanting to do? We talked about that last week. What is Paul wanting to do? He’s got a church (13:05) full of Gentiles.

He’s got a church full of Jews. And they’re going to butt heads. (13:13) They’re really going to butt heads about worshiping God, because they’re going to be (13:19) bringing, the Gentiles are going to be bringing their concept of God.

The Jews are going to be (13:24) bringing their concept of God. But what does Paul want them to do? Paul wants them to worship God (13:34) through Jesus, and not through the Gentile worship, and not through the Jewish worship. He (13:40) wants them to give up their concepts and become one.

He wants them to believe in Jesus. He wants (13:51) them to accept Jesus as their high priest. And he wants them, because Jesus is going to do what? (14:03) What do we know about Jesus? He says, when he’s talking to his own disciples, (14:10) who do you say that I am? The response is, some believe that thou art (14:18) Moses, or one of the prophets, come back alive.

And so Jesus then says, what do you think? (14:27) What does Peter say? I am the son of the living God. Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. (14:35) And Jesus then replies and says what? Upon this I will build my church.

(14:49) And so we see that Jesus is establishing a new faith. He’s going to establish a new faith, (15:00) not the church that the Gentiles were worshiping in the temple, and not the church that the Gentiles (15:08) are. But he’s going to build his faith, and it’s not going to be exclusive, is it? In a way it’s (15:16) going to be exclusive.

But it’s not going to be Gentiles only, and it’s not going to be Jewish (15:23) only. It’s going to be all who accept me as the Christ and are baptized shall be saved. And (15:32) they’ll be in his church, and he will be the high priest, and he will be the one who represents us (15:40) before God, presents us before God.

And he’s going to be able to, because of his priesthood, (15:46) be able to present us before God without stop, without blemish. That’s what he wants (15:52) the Roman church to understand. That’s what he wants us to understand.

(15:59) We’re in his church. He is the high priest, and he is representing us and presenting us before God. (16:08) And because of his sacrifice, the true sacrifice, because of his sacrifice which God accepts, (16:18) and we know that God is accepting it, and so then he is able to present us before God with his (16:25) sacrifice, and we’re getting into his church through baptism.

Because what does Jesus tell (16:34) his disciples to do? What did he say in particular? Make disciples of me, yes, of Jesus. (16:54) So, in order to be a member of his church, we have to be his disciples. And how do we become (17:01) his disciples? Believe that he is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and that we will be (17:13) baptized for the remission of our sins.

Paul’s going to point that out in Romans, the sixth (17:17) chapter in there. Know ye not that as many as you were baptized, you were baptized into his death? (17:29) So we’re in a brand new situation. So Paul wants the Roman church to come to a unity.

The unity is (17:40) Jesus, and in his church, not following after an idol, not following after the law of Moses, (17:50) but in his church. And so we’re in Jesus' church. There’s no other ifs, ands, and buts about that.

(18:00) So Paul wants them to recognize that, and that’s where he’s going to be going. (18:07) So when we get into this, I’m going to pick up with Romans, the first chapter, starting with what, (18:17) verse 18? And then we’ll read what I skipped over. But the question that I ask mainly is, (18:30) because God is going, and Paul’s going to point out what makes God angry.

And so my question is, (18:38) what makes God happy? What pleases God? Romans, the eleventh chapter, verse six. (18:45) What pleases God? He just got through talking about Enoch, and what about Enoch do we understand? (18:55) What does the Hebrew letter point out to us about Enoch? (18:59) Believing that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. (19:06) Exactly.

That’s what pleases God, because the scripture says, Enoch pleased God. And then he (19:14) goes on and tells us about how Enoch pleased God. He pleased God because he believed that he was, (19:22) and that he’s a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.

And so this is where we’re going to be (19:29) going. Paul wants us to recognize that God is angry if we don’t. He’s angry if we don’t believe (19:42) that he is, and that he’s a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.

So he’s going to point that (19:48) out. The wrath of God, verse 18, reading from the New International Version, the wrath of God is (19:56) being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people who suppress (20:03) the truth by their wickedness. Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has (20:14) made it plain to them.

For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities, his eternal (20:23) power, and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that (20:31) people are without excuse. So what makes him angry? Not believing in him. What makes him angry? (20:46) To live a life apart from God.

What makes him angry? To not follow his (20:55) nature, his makeup. We are made after the image and likeness of God, aren’t we? (21:03) So what is the image and likeness of God? (21:10) This is one of the points that we need to understand when we’re studying the scriptures. (21:15) We need to appeal to the rest of the Bible.

We need to understand that the Gospel of John, (21:27) the Epistles of John, are very important because it’s in that that we find out that God (21:35) is love. And so when we read Paul’s writings, what does he tell us about what love is? He tells us (21:48) that love is the fulfillment of the law. So the nature of God is love.

We’re made in the image (21:58) and likeness of God. So we need to be demonstrating and illustrating his nature and his likeness. (22:05) And when we don’t, then we’re rejecting God.

So he wants us to be (22:14) owning up and living the nature and likeness of God. We’re made after him. And so he’s pointing (22:23) out to us that when we do not live the way God lives, we are angering him and we’re becoming (22:33) as adulterer because we’re going to be going after a different God.

And God makes it known (22:43) that he’s a jealous God. God makes it known that when we go a-whoring, and he calls it a-whoring, (22:54) what is a-whoring? Leaving him for someone else. What is jealousy? The fear of being (23:04) rejected or replaced.

And so he calls our wickedness being a whore, and he calls us being (23:16) adulterers. So he doesn’t want us to be adulterers. So it’s one of those factors that we have.

(23:25) So then Paul goes on and talks about it. (23:29) Although they knew God, they neither glorified him as a God nor gave thanks to him, (23:38) but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. (23:43) Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God (23:53) for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

And there’s (24:00) what they did. They exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a (24:13) mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. What made them do that? That’s the (24:21) question.

And I mentioned that we need to be reading the Book of Romans completely through at (24:32) least once a week while we’re studying it, if not more, to become very familiar with the letter (24:40) itself. So Paul wants us to recognize the fact that there’s a nature within us (24:50) and that nature is to reject God, to rebel against him. And Paul says there’s within us the nature (25:03) of sinning.

So when I asked last week, and I’ll ask you again, what made Eve go ahead and eat of (25:18) the tree of knowledge of good and evil? What made her do that? She had to make a very conscious (25:26) decision. Just because Satan was standing there tempting her doesn’t give her the excuse to (25:37) reject God and his teaching. She knew she wasn’t supposed to eat of the tree of knowledge of good (25:43) and evil because God told her not to.

She knew that. Whether God told her not to or whether Adam (25:50) told her not to, who knows? Because it doesn’t really say that God spoke to Eve and told her, (25:59) but we know that God told Adam, don’t eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, (26:05) for in the day that you do, don’t even touch it, you shall know right from wrong. (26:11) So she knew that, and we know she knew that because of her conversation with Satan, don’t we? (26:19) Because she told Satan, we’re not supposed to eat of that tree of knowledge of good and evil.

That (26:23) was her part of the conversation. What made her do it? No, the temptation is not what caused her to (26:34) eat of it. She decided to eat of it.

She decided when it came, consider your own selves now. (26:48) I don’t know what area you send in. I could care less what area you send in.

My question is, (26:55) why? What made you do it? You made the decision. What made you do it? (27:10) And Paul says, it’s sin. Sin made you do that.

So we need to understand where Paul’s coming from (27:21) because where there is no law, there is no sin. So, what makes us go against what we’re supposed (27:35) not supposed to do? It’s sin that dwells within us. So Paul, I believe in the seventh chapter (27:45) or eighth chapter, he talks about how that he has this warfare within himself, doesn’t he? (27:53) He talks about how that he does what he’s not supposed to do and doesn’t do what he wants to do.

(27:59) What is it that causes him to do that? He says it’s sin. Sin is what causes us to do that. (28:11) So, sin is what we have to understand.

What makes me make that decision? I don’t sin. (28:28) Paul says, when you do it, it’s sin. And so, we know that in the eighth chapter, (28:36) there is now therefore no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus because God or Jesus (28:42) condemned sin in the flesh.

So, somehow or other, we’re going to be dealing with sin (28:52) and making that decision where it doesn’t, we don’t have that battle anymore. (29:01) But, for although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, (29:11) but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they (29:19) claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for (29:25) images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

Why? Why did they (29:35) do that? They decided to do that because they rejected God. They rejected God. What does God (29:48) want us to do? He wants us to love.

He wants us to know peace. Galatians, the fifth chapter. (30:03) Let’s take a look at Galatians, the fifth chapter, where it talks about the warfare of (30:10) the differences between the flesh and the spirit.

He’s reflecting upon us, (30:27) the sin and flesh must be hand in hand, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, (30:34) and the pride of life. So, he talks about the fruit of the flesh and fruit of the spirit. (30:45) Let’s pick up with verse 19.

When we reject God, we’re going to accept this type of lifestyle. (30:57) And this is what Paul is going to be pointing out to us in Romans, the first chapter. (31:02) How do we know that you’re not a God-fearing individual? It’s by your lifestyle and your (31:11) behavior.

They’re all manifesting whether or not you believe in God or not. And Paul’s going to ask, (31:18) what is the fruit of you living this way? What did you gain? Where did you come from? (31:27) So, the acts of the flesh, verse 19, are obvious. Sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, (31:36) idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, (31:45) dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like.

Those are the things (31:53) that a person is going to acquire or allow himself to experience when he doesn’t want to know God, (32:02) and he wants to live contrary to the will of God. This is what you’re going to experience. (32:10) So, when we look at the world, we see evidence of the fact that they are rejecting God, (32:17) because these all are apparent.

But Paul goes on and he says, what will you gain (32:24) if you continue to live after the Spirit, when you continue to accept God and allow yourself to live (32:33) the way God wants you to live? So, the fruit of the Spirit is this. This is what you will, (32:41) this is what you are denying yourself if you reject God. This is what you’re going to deny (32:47) yourself of.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, (32:58) faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Those are going to be what you will see in a (33:06) God-fearing individual. And that is the life, and that is what a person really wants from his life.

(33:15) Isn’t it? And so, why would you want to reject God? Why would you want to reject God and know (33:24) all this other stuff? They’re ugly, and they bring about all kinds of punishment, (33:35) ugliness, lifestyle, where if you obey and live the way God wants you to live, you’re going to enjoy (33:43) exactly what you want to enjoy. Love, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (33:51) gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Those who belong to Christ (33:58) have crucified the flesh and its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep (34:08) in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking, and envying each other.

(34:17) Any questions or observations? This is what Paul is going to be talking about in Romans, the first (34:23) chapter. Let’s go back to Romans. So he points out, although they, verse 21, re-abbreviated, (34:42) although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, (34:46) but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

And this is the lifestyle (34:54) that they started adapting and adopting to when they reject God and His likeness and image. He (35:05) wants us to be God-like. He wants us to live up to our likeness, because we are made in the image (35:13) and likeness of God, and this is the way we’re going to receive the benefits that God wants us to live.

(35:24) So, although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, (35:30) but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be (35:35) wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like (35:42) immortal human beings and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore, God gave them over (35:51) in the simple desires of their hearts, so He’s letting them go.

If that’s the way you want to (35:59) live, live. If that’s not the way I want you to live, but He’s letting them do it because they’re (36:09) making that decision. I don’t want God to be my God, because where do we hear that phrase? (36:17) I don’t want the president to be my president.

I don’t want God to be my God. I want a different (36:26) God. I want a God that lives up to my and lets me do what I want to do.

In other words, so because (36:36) of this, verse 26, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Verse 24, rather. Let’s reread that.

(36:47) Therefore, God gave them over in the simple desires of their hearts to sexual impurity. (36:53) For the degrading of the bodies with one another, they exchanged the truth about God for a lie (37:00) and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator, who is forever praised. Amen.

(37:07) So this is the reward of them rejecting God. I want to live the way I want to live. (37:16) I want to do what I want to do.

Lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. (37:24) And so He’s letting them go that way. It’s their decision.

It’s all men’s decision. So if this is (37:33) the way you want to live, go ahead and live it. But you’re not getting God’s blessing.

(37:39) Not at all. So verse 26, because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. (37:48) Even the women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.

In the same way, (37:54) the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. (38:02) Men committed shameful acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty (38:09) for their error. That explains, and Paul’s explained to us, what happened in Noah’s day, (38:18) because this is exactly what happened and was going on when God repented that He made man, (38:30) that He saved man through Noah.

But the people that were living in Noah’s day (38:38) had completely rejected God and was doing these very things, because that’s what they wanted to (38:45) do. They didn’t want to be in the image and likeness of God. And you stop and think about it.

(38:54) I think I mapped out the lifespan of the people, and I think that Adam lived almost within (39:07) 600 years of the Flood. I’m not real sure about that, because it’s been a long time since I…​ (39:15) Who could present God and say to them, you’re living wrong, better than God or Adam could? (39:24) They rejected it. They rejected the knowledge of God, and they didn’t want to live in the image (39:33) and likeness of God.

And so their thoughts were continually evil, according to the Genesis account (39:42) of Noah’s time. And so we see the same thing in Sodom and Gomorrah, don’t we, when Abraham (39:51) is dealing with Lot. Lot goes to Sodom and Gomorrah, and then it’s revealed that Sodom (39:58) and Gomorrah are living this type of life.

So God is going to destroy the cities. (40:07) So any questions or observations? Let’s go on. Because of this, verse 26, (40:17) God gave them over to shameful lusts.

Okay, verse 28. Furthermore, just as they did not (40:25) think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God…​ See, it’s their decision. This is the (40:32) results of their decision.

Their lifestyle was the result of their decision, rejecting God. (40:39) Since they did not want to…​ did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, (40:45) so God gave them over to a depraved mind so that they do what ought not to be done. (40:52) God didn’t make them do this.

He gave them over to it. It was their desire. It was their want.

(40:59) It was their wish to live this way. So God is giving them over. It’s not that He wanted them (41:07) to live this way, but He was tired of fighting them.

He wasn’t going to fight them. If this is (41:15) what you want, this is what you get. So God gave them over to a depraved mind so that they do (41:22) what ought not be done.

They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, (41:29) and this is the result of rejecting God and living the way you want to live. Less of the eyes, (41:36) less of the flesh, and pride of life. They’re filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, (41:42) greed, and depravity.

They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. Who wants (41:51) to live in a society that’s full of that? Who wants to live in Minnesota? Who wants to live (42:00) in New York? I know I don’t. I’m glad to be living here.

But that’s what’s going on in the world. (42:14) Who wants to live this way? So they’re filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, (42:21) depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice.

They are gossips, slanderers, (42:28) God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent ways of doing evil. (42:36) They despise their parents.

They have no understanding, no fidelity. Oh my goodness, (42:44) no fidelity? No love? No mercy? Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such (42:53) things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things, but also approve of those (43:02) who practice them. And that’s what I think of when I think about how the people in Minnesota (43:11) are reacting to the ICE agents and so on.

They’re approving of that type of thing. (43:19) They’re approving of that label. So that’s where we find ourselves in a world like that.

(43:26) And that’s what Paul wants us to recognize that is happening to us. That’s chapter one. (43:35) And our time really is up.

So let’s hold off chapter two for next week. I don’t know how I did (43:47) anyway. I got through what I wanted to get through.

(43:55) And so remember, at least read Romans through at least once a week so that you can have an overall (44:05) view, because I really believe that Paul is outlining what he wants us to understand, (44:11) the balance of his letter in the first three chapters, where he comes to the conclusion (44:17) that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And how did we all sin by rejecting (44:24) God and make God angry? As I pointed out last week, I believe it was, that God would come and walk (44:38) and visit with Adam and Eve. Get that impression anyway.

When Adam and Eve sinned, what happened? (44:50) They realized that they were naked and they clothed themselves. Then they heard (44:57) God walking in the garden. Was that just a one-time occasion? I don’t think so.

(45:05) I think God had a relationship with them just as if a person was a friend, (45:13) more than just an acquaintance, but a good friend and so on. (45:17) And then when he walks in the garden and finds out that they have beaten of the tree of knowledge (45:23) a good neighbor, which he asked them or told them not to do, how disappointed he was, (45:30) how angry he was, because they weren’t acknowledging him of having authority (45:40) in their lives. How would you like to be a parent of a daughter or a son who goes against (45:51) your wishes? Don’t smoke, don’t drink, you know, don’t fornicate, whatever we teach them.

(46:01) And they do it. How do you feel? How do you feel? How did God feel? He had emotions, didn’t he? (46:16) We know he had emotions because he says, I am a jealous God. And if that word jealous doesn’t (46:26) demonstrate or give us the concept of emotion, I don’t know what would.

(46:32) Thank you so much for your attention.