And then what happened? This is the reality for all of us. We all have a "then what happened?" No matter your situation or circumstances...Regardless of your current concerns or worries...In spite of your anxiety and uncertainty, there is always a "then what happened?".Who Is Your King?As of today (11/05/2020) we still do not know who the President…

You have a responsibility and obligation to vote...if you are a Christian. Our Founding Fathers believed that American patriotism was directly tied to personal faith in Christ. If you're a Christian, then you're a patriot. In fact, according to our Founders, you can't be a true patriot if you're not also a Christian. God has shed His grace on Ameri…

Do you see what I see? Do you hear what I hear? I know you're thinking of Christmas and the song of the same title but I have a different intent here. Can you see and recognize what is happening in your country? Do you understand what God is doing? Are you even aware that God is the One who is doing it?Not Always As It AppearsThings are not always …

Do not be afraid. Pretty straight-forward statement. The phrase is used 365 times throughout the Bible. Coincidence? I don't think so. Three hundred and sixty-five times God tells us - commands us - not to be afraid. And yet, today - especially today (2020) - I see so many people living in fear.Nothing To Fear But Fear ItselfPaul's admonishment and…

God is for you! Is that not the best statement in the world? He is not against you; He is for you. God is on your side. He is your Creator and wants nothing more than to be your Father. The question is not His love you; but your love for Him.Those Who Love GodNot only has the Father gone to great lengths to bring you back into the Family - not even…

When there are no words, God can still hear your heart. Romans 8:26-29 teaches us that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us even when we can't find the words.No Words NecessaryIn the same way that our hope sustains and pulls us toward obedience in the midst of present sufferings, the Holy Spirit aids us in our weakness. What weakness? The weakness of …

No description is necessary.Pray for our nation.By Dr. David Turpen

Glorification! The full redemption of your whole person. This is your promise. This is your hope.Three Phases of SalvationThe first phase of your salvation - justification - is the application of Christ's blood your heavenly account. This pays the penalty you owe for your sin. By faith - believing God and what He has said about His Son - your debt …

Being led by the Holy Spirit is simply being obedient to God's law. No more. No less. It's very simple. But far too many people get hung up on the false teaching that "being led by the Spirit" is some mystical, ethereal experience. Let me be clear...it is not.Being Led Is Not...Too often people teach or understand being led by the Spirit as a very …

The necessity of sanctification is often misunderstood or outright ignored by many Christians. Sanctification is indeed necessary as a phase and condition for complete salvation. In fact, without it, your faith will diminish and perhaps disappear altogether. Are you saying a Christian can lose or forfeit their salvation? Nope, I'm not saying that..…

Flesh vs. spirit. It's a constant tug-of-war going within you. Your old yet-to-be-redeemed flesh pulls one direction. Your already-redeemed-waiting-for-a-new-body spirit pulls the opposite. This is the Christian life.Flesh vs. SpiritIn Romans 5:5-13, Paul sets the record straight explaining how the unredeemed are unable and incapable of submitting …

There is an agenda. An agenda to destroy the United States of America from within. Abraham Lincoln, in an 1838 speech at the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois said: “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we lose our freedoms it will be because we have destroyed ourselves from within.” Truer words have rarely been spoken.The…

No condemnation! If Romans is the Himalayas, then chapter eight is its Mount Everest. Deliverance from bondage is freedom in Christ. The key is understanding exactly what we have been freed from. Only then will things begin to make sense and give you true independence.No Condemnation!Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Chris…

Symptoms! It's the symptoms that you see. Just like a tree. You can see the trunk, the limbs, the leaves and the fruit. But these are not the problem. Nor are they the cause of the problem. What we can see is the result of the problem which is the result of the cause. Symptoms!Symptoms Are Affected By MotivationWhat's my motivation!? The familiar c…

The inner conflict of every Christian is the tension between your already-redeemed spirit and your not-yet-redeemed body. Yes, it's that simple. Unfortunately, too many Christians don't understand this dynamic of their changed state. Even more unfortunate is the reality that most Christians are never told upfront that this tension is going to exist…

Is the law sin? No! Absolutely not! After twice confronting an antinomian (i.e. against law) view of grace, Paul a third time asks a question.The first question was: Do we go on living the sinful lifestyle we had prior to our conversion? No. In fact, you can't because that "old man" has already died and been buried. He doesn't even exist anymore.Th…

Being "free from the law" has everything to do with understanding what actually died. When you were crucified and buried, what died? Your "old man" died...your old nature. Now, you've been resurrected, born again, and regenerated. You're a new creation in Christ. You are God's workmanship. You have a new nature.Law Has No Jurisdiction Over the Dead…

This is really the wrong question. Paul's point in Romans 6:15-23 shows that you are a slave. The question really is: Whose slave are you? "Who's your daddy?" - a modern idiom - implies you haven't yet determined whom you will serve. Through your conversion, as Paul points out, you have already made that decision.Free To Sin?Too many people believe…

Romans 6:14 is a verse that historically has been misapplied, misinterpreted, and misunderstood. The Christian life - the successful Christian life - is all about having a right understanding of this verse.You are free OF law's penalty but you are not free FROM law's obedience._________________________________Study Romans from the Beginning By Clic…

New Life! That's what it's all about. Not the "hokey-pokey," not "being happy," and not "keeping up with the Jones." Your new life is about counting yourself dead to sin...but living to God!Resurrected To New Life Is RealVerse 11 of Romans chapter six is the first imperative - the first command - that Paul gives in this letter. However, it is diffe…

Your "old self" is dead and buried! Your "new self" is alive and well. The question is, are you aware and actually living this way? And yes, you can live this way even under quarantine. Old Self New SelfPaul is addressing three questions about the role of law in relationship to living under grace. If we are living under God's grace, what is the pur…

In times like these, where does your hope come from? Is your faith the center of your attention? Do you see and understand what is happening and why or are you caught up in the panic? The answers to these questions are at the root of why we dig into Scripture.By Faith and Not By SightWhat you believe and why you believe has everything to do with yo…

Do you know when you were united to Christ? Your personal union with Christ is required for your salvation. Without it, you will not be found "in Him."In Romans 6:3-4 Paul expressly identifies baptism (i.e. water immersion) as the point in time when you are "united with Christ." Water baptism exemplifies the very real and actual death, burial, and …

By Dr. David Turpen

By Dr. David Turpen

By Dr. David Turpen

By Dr. David Turpen

By Dr. David Turpen

By Dr. David Turpen

There is a widespread belief in Christianity that once a person becomes saved, they remained saved no matter what. Not only can you be certain of your salvation (as the teaching goes), you have God's guarantee that you can never lose it. The question is, does this "once saved always saved" teaching agree with the biblical view of assurance? Once a …

Doctrine matters! Well, of course it does! What you believe and why you believe it effects and influences every aspect of your life. To pretend otherwise is to, well, pretend otherwise. The passage of Romans we just studied (i.e. Romans 1-5) and the passage we're about to begin (i.e. ch. 6-8) teach and solidify several truths.Among these truths are…

Christ is greater than Adam. This is the primary point being made in Romans 5:12-21. Whatever consequences Adam's sin brought on every man, the cross of Christ has negated for every man. No matter what consequences Adam's sin could have brought on every man, the cross of Christ has canceled for every man.Christ is GreaterChrist is greater than Adam…

The entire point of Romans 5:12-21 is that the gift of grace is greater than any or all of the effects of Adam's sin. To miss this is to miss everything else explained in the passage.Giving CreditThis episode begins by addressing an email that I received pointing out my negligence in giving proper credit to those authors, instructors, and influence…

Romans 5:12Death is experienced by all men because of Adam's sin. This is the reality of our existence as fallen people in a fallen world. This section of Romans 5, specifically verses 12-14, establish several critical points. One man is responsible for human beings having to experience physical death. Just as through one man sin entered the world,…

Original grace* or original sin? Which one are we born with? This question - and its answer - is the root of many of the differences between denominations. And Romans 5:12-21 is the passage of Scripture most often used to defend the teaching of original sin. But what if that common understanding is wrong? How does that effect our understanding of g…

Four key questions will help clarify the overall meaning of Romans 5:12-21.*Q1: What is the purpose of the passage relative to the immediate context of chapter 5 and the rest of Romans as a whole?Q2: Does this passage teach the doctrine of original sin?Q3: What is the scope of the words many and all as they are used in this passage?Q4: Does this pa…

What's the point? Jesus is the point!If we fail to remember this, we are doomed to misinterpretations and misunderstandings of Scripture. Jesus - His cross, His blood, His love - is the point. Why does this matter? Because if forgotten, we tend to pull passages out of their context. Our upcoming passage in Romans 5:12-21 is a perfect example.Contex…

Without a doubt, you can be 100% certain that you are saved. Regardless of any - and in fact, regardless of every - circumstance you ever encounter in this life, you can have absolute assurance of your salvation. Sound impossible? Not when you understand the basis of your assurance.While We Were Yet SinnersIn Romans 5:1-11, Paul is contrasting two …

Go with what you know! This is a phrase that I use on a regular basis. Interestingly enough, Paul basically says the same thing in Romans 5:1. Justification by faith - for the one who has faith - is a present reality. It is not a distant wish or a figment of your imagination. Right now, you truly are justified and you truly are saved, by faith.Peac…

Assurance - being 100% confident that you are saved - is based squarely on your understanding of justification by grace through faith. The single greatest reason I am spending time going through the Book of Romans is to help you have just such an assurance.Therefore...Romans 5:1 begins with these words: Therefore, having been justified by faith, we…

Faith like Abraham. That's what we are to have. Faith like Abraham. This is the point of Romans 4:17b-25. If Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness and we can have that same justification, what kind of faith do we need? Paul's answer is to just duplicate the faith of Abraham.Standing On the Promises of GodAbraham's circumstances - bei…

Not by law. The salvation of sinners is not by works (4:1-8), not by circumcision (4:9-12), nor is it by law (4:13-17). It is by faith and therefore consistent with grace. In this section of Romans Paul continues his contrast between the law-system and the grace-system as ways of salvation.Not By LawAbraham is called the "Father of Israel" because …

The sign of the covenant relationship between God and the Hebrews has zero impact on salvation. In Romans 4:1-8, Paul states that salvation is by faith apart from works. Verses 9-12 he teaches that it is apart from circumcision (i.e. the sign of the covenant) as well. And as we'll see later, in verses 13-17, Paul says salvation is by faith apart fr…

"God, who justifies the wicked..." What an amazing phrase...justifying the wicked. How does that even happen? How can it even happen? God is the One who declares that all judges should always condemn and never acquit (justify) the wicked. In fact, God Himself declares, "I will not justify the wicked" (Exodus 23:7, KJV).Romans 1:8 - which we have al…

Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). It was not his works of law that resulted in his salvation. As is the case today, salvation always is, always has been, and always will be, by grace through faith. Therefore,Paul goes back to the beginning of "our" faith to the call of Abraham, and presents him as the illustration…

So, does "being under grace" mean that we no longer have to abide by the law? Are Christians - as a result of their faith - exempt from keeping the law of God? Is it necessary for Christians to still be obedient to the commandments we find the Bible?The answer is yes, we do still have to keep the law. In fact, our faith doesn't nullify the law at a…

Are there conditions for receiving God's grace and salvation? Yes! And understanding that (a) there are conditions and (b) what those conditions are will make all the difference. How do you answer the question: What must I do to be saved? Your response could make an eternal difference.According to the RedeemerIn our last episode we discussed the di…

There is a difference in the ways we deal with God. God has "performed" three primary works: Creation, Providence, and Redemption. In these works God has three primary roles: Creator, Ruler, and Redeemer. Every person ever conceived deals with God in at least two of the three ways. Each one of us deals with God as Creator. Each one of us deals with…

Romans 3:28 - What does Paul mean by "works of law"? How does the Bible define "works"? Are there conditions to salvation? Are we saved by "faith alone" and nothing else? What about repentance or confession or baptism? Is everything a person does counted as a "work" or "work of law"?These and other questions answered in this weeks episode of our co…

No bragging! There is no bragging or boasting about your faith. More specifically, there can be no bragging about your being justified by faith. Why? Because your justification is not based on anything you did. Nor is it based on anything you can do. The truth is, whatever you attempt to do to "gain" or "earn" your salvation will fall woefully shor…