Thursday, March 26, 2015
Chronological New Testament Study Day 68
Acts 20:1-3; Romans 1; Romans 2; Romans 3
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New International VersionToggle Dropdown
1 When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples
and, after encouraging them, said good-by and set out for Macedonia. 2 He
traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people,
and finally arrived in Greece, 3 where he stayed three months.
Because the Jews made a plot against him just as he was about to sail for
Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia.
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle
and set apart for the gospel of God-- 2 the gospel he promised
beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding
his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, 4 and
who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God
by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5Through
him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people
from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6 And
you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. 7 To
all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to
you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 8 First,
I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being
reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve with my whole
heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I
remember you10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at
last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you. 11 I
long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you
strong--12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by
each other's faith. 13 I do not want you to be unaware,
brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented
from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just
as I have had among the other Gentiles.14 I am obligated both to Greeks
and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is
why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome. 16 I
am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation
of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For
in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by
faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live
by faith." 18 The wrath of God is being revealed from
heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth
by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is
plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For
since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power
and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been
made, so that men are without excuse. 21 For although they
knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their
thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although
they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged
the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds
and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in
the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of
their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth of
God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the
Creator--who is forever praised. Amen. 26 Because of this, God
gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations
for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned
natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men
committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due
penalty for their perversion. 28 Furthermore, since they did
not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a
depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have
become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They
are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30slanderers,
God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil;
they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless,
heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God's righteous
decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to
do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on
someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning
yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2Now we
know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So
when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you
think you will escape God's judgment? 4 Or do you show
contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing
that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? 5 But because
of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath
against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will
be revealed. 6 God "will give to each person according to
what he has done." 7 To those who by persistence in doing
good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But
for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there
will be wrath and anger. 9 There will be trouble and distress
for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 but
glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for
the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favoritism. 12 All
who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin
under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not
those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who
obey the law who will be declared righteous. 14 (Indeed, when
Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law,
they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, 15 since
they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their
consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even
defending them.) 16 This will take place on the day when God
will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares. 17 Now
you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your
relationship to God; 18 if you know his will and approve of
what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19 if
you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are
in the dark, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of
infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth-- 21 you,
then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself ? You who preach against
stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that people should not
commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob
temples?23 You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by
breaking the law? 24 As it is written: "God's name is
blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you." 25 Circumcision
has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as
though you had not been circumcised. 26 If those who are not
circumcised keep the law's requirements, will they not be regarded as though
they were circumcised? 27 The one who is not circumcised
physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the
written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker. 28 A man is
not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and
physical. 29 No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and
circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written
code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.
1 What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what
value is there in circumcision? 2 Much in every way! First of
all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God. 3 What
if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's
faithfulness? 4 Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a
liar. As it is written: "So that you may be proved right when you speak
and prevail when you judge." 5 But if our unrighteousness
brings out God's righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is
unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) 6 Certainly
not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? 7 Someone
might argue, "If my falsehood enhances God's truthfulness and so increases
his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?" 8 Why
not say--as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that
we say--"Let us do evil that good may result"? Their condemnation is
deserved. 9 What shall we conclude then? Are we any better ?
Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are
all under sin. 10 As it is written: "There is no one
righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have
together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." 13 "Their
throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit." "The poison
of vipers is on their lips." 14 "Their mouths are
full of cursing and bitterness." 15 "Their feet are
swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and misery mark their ways, 17 and
the way of peace they do not know." 18"There is no fear
of God before their eyes." 19 Now we know that whatever
the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may
be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore
no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather,
through the law we become conscious of sin. 21 But now a
righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law
and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes
through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are
justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God
presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did
this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the
sins committed beforehand unpunished-- 26 he did it to
demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who
justifies those who have faith in Jesus. 27 Where, then, is
boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No,
but on that of faith. 28 For we maintain that a man is
justified by faith apart from observing the law. 29 Is God the
God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since
there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the
uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify
the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
Revelation 14
Revelation 14 (New International Version, ©2010)
Revelation 14
The Lamb and the 144,000
1 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. 5 No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.
The Three Angels
6 Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. 7 He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water."
8 A second angel followed and said, "'Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,'[a] which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries."
9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, 10 they, too, will drink the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name." 12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."
Harvesting the Earth and Trampling the Winepress
14 I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man[b] with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." 16 So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe." 19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath. 20 They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.
Revelation 14
The Lamb and the 144,000
1 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. 5 No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.
The Three Angels
6 Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. 7 He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water."
8 A second angel followed and said, "'Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,'[a] which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries."
9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, 10 they, too, will drink the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name." 12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."
Harvesting the Earth and Trampling the Winepress
14 I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man[b] with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." 16 So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe." 19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath. 20 They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.
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