ROMANS LESSON TWO

Romans 1:1-7 Paul and the Good News:

Charles E. Whisnant, Pastor/Teacher (August 31, 2009)

Why people love doing bad things more than right? Multiple killings in Brunswick, Georgia

Newspaper: Up to 7 dead in mobile home; 2 critically injured August 20 2009

• The news is filled with BAD NEWS. On a daily basis we read of the sad state of mankind. We are getting worse and worse in America and around the world. What is happening on a massive scale is only the multiplication of what is happening on an individual basis. BAD NEWS.

• Has America become numb to tragedy? Recent mass shootings have left 43 dead and many asking why?

• PITTSBURGH - Does the name Byran Uyesugi ring a bell? Odds are not. What about Robert A. Hawkins? Or Mark Barton? Terry Ratzmann? Robert Stewart?

• Each entered the national consciousness when he picked up a gun and ended multiple lives. Uyesugi, 1999, Hawaii office building, seven dead. Hawkins, 2007, Nebraska shopping mall, nine dead. Barton, Ratzmann and Stewart — 24 dead among them in 1999 (Atlanta brokerage offices), 2005 (Wisconsin church service) and last week (North Carolina rehab center).

• Each has been largely forgotten as the parade of multiple killings in America melts into an indistinguishable blur. We bemoan, we mourn, we move on. ANALYSIS

• By Ted Anthony

Sun., April 5, 2009Men and women are in the clutch of a horrifying power, and that power clutches them deep inside their own being and it pulls them to self destruction. That power is SIN, and SIN makes for BAD NEWS.

FOUR MAJOR AREAS THAT SIN PRODUCES BAD NEWS FOR THE HUMAN RACE.

1A SELF-CENTEREDNESS: Acquired Self-centered Syndrome

• Acquired Self-centered Syndrome (ASS) is not a new "disorder" it's been plaguing humanity ever since Eve bit into the forbidden fruit. Eve ate the fruit because, well, she wanted to be like God. In a "pride goeth before the fall moment" Lucifer boasted, "I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High" (Isaiah 14:14). God promptly booted him out of heaven on his hinny. Adam followed Eve's lead and ate of the forbidden fruit. They both received a rude awakening. The First Couple was driven from their garden retreat forthwith.

• It’s bad news in human existence that every one of us is bent on fulfilling our own selfish desires at any rate.

• Satan was the first angel who had this self-centeredness syndrome

Society has lost its moral compass and our children have paid a big price. Divorce is rampant, even in the Church. The excuse Christians give is, "God wants me to be happy." Wrong. God wants kids to be happy! He wants adults to be responsible. And in the case of Christians, His desire is for them to be obedient.

We live in a world where people are demanding their rights. “What are you going to do for me now”. And if they don’t get their wish, they rebel, get angry and SIN and cause harm to anyone who is not willing to give it to them.

The ultimate goal of people today is to achieve self-satisfaction. Because of this selfishness for gain, fame, dominates, popularity, money, physical fulfillment.

WE SHOULD LOVE PEOPLE AND USE THINGS INSTEAD OF USING PEOPLE AND LOVING THINGS.

So what is the result of self-centeredness?

1. Unable to really love.
2. Unwilling to give.
3. Thus forfeits joy.
4. Loneliness.
5. Despair
6. Unable to sustain a meaningful relationship
   

2A GUILT. On the wrong side of the law

Why do we have guilt?

• Because God has designed man to feel something when he sins. Other wise man could never prevent himself from going to Hell.

• Because guilt tells us we are on the wrong road, and something has to change.

The result of guilt

• Anxiety, fear, sleeplessness, lives with psyological problems, ulcers, many illnesses.

• Which results in drunkenness, and bad behavior.

• People are frightened to death over guilt.

• They try to cover it with a covering of sod.

• Money, possession, alcohol, drugs, sex, travel, horoscope

People will blame their guilt on:

• Society, some old outdated Biblical tradition being imposed upon them, on God, on Christians, on the church, on parents, on childhood days.

3A NO FEELING OF SIGNIFICANCE. Meaninglessness

• “Is this what life is all about?” Better would it be if I had never been born.

• Where there is no fulfillment all the basic questions are, Is this all there is? Why am I alive?

What is truth? How do I find out what is truth?

And mankind is fed a steady line of lies by the liar Satan, who runs the world’s system. And the devil’s lies never answer the question of meaning. So he never gets the answer. The news is always bad. “Life ever goes on, I just forget why.”

4A THE FEELING OF HOPELESSNESS. Despondency & Depression occurs,

• The law of diminishing returns. When all is said and done, life has no where to go. There is nothing here in this life and nothing after this life. ALL IS BAD NEWS.

• Resulting in going deeper in the dilemma caused by being pushed by the lies of the devil who keeps pumping lies through the system we live.

Is there any good news anywhere? For goodness sake?

• Yes? The good news about sin is that it can be dealt with.

1. Self-centeredness can be dealt with.

1. Guilt and anxiety can come to an end

1. Meaning of life can be dealt with.

1. Life after death can be good news

• I submit to you today there is good news! Romans 1:1 Paul says there is good news, and that is the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, The good news of salvation, The good news of the grace of God.

1. Sin can be forgiven
2. Guilt can be removed
3. Life will have meaning
4. The future has a reality