Promises, Privileges, Prospects of a Christian (radio)

In this part of the sermon: This section focuses on the first part of Romans 8:32, detailing God the Father's unique action in not sparing His own Son. Martin defines 'spared not' by contrasting it with…

Paul's statement in 2 Corinthians 13:2, 'if I come again, I will not spare,' is used to define 'spare' as withholding deserved chastisement, illustrating the Father's action towards His Son.

Well, in this context, it means to withhold a measure of the chastisement due to a disobedient child or the punishment due to a guilty criminal. This word spare is the word that Paul used in 2 Corinthians 13 when dealing as a spiritual father with the Corinthians. He wrote to them and used this word in 2 Corinthians 13 verse 2b, that if I come again, I will not spare. In other words, he says, if I come and I find that you've not dealt with the things that you ought to deal with as a loving, wise, but principled Father, I've spoken to you with words, I will come with a spiritual rod of correcti...

8:30 - 9:39 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: This section focuses on the first part of Romans 8:32, detailing God the Father's unique action in not sparing His own Son. Martin defines 'spared not' by contrasting it with…

The examples of God not sparing the angels who sinned (2 Peter 2:4) and the generation in Noah's day (2 Peter 2:5) are used to further define 'spared not' as bringing full, deserved punishment.

When innocent angels become guilty, criminal, rebellious angels, they deserve the punishment of God. He did not spare them. He brought that punishment upon them and the Scriptures tell us that they are kept in chains awaiting the judgment of the last day. In verse 5 it is said that He spared not the generation in Noah's day.

9:40 - 10:05 Read in full sermon

The point: Use your God-given head to think the way God thinks and the way He's revealed His thought in Scripture, to avoid being an unstable Christian.

The analogy of a student solving advanced calculus and then being able to do simple addition is used to explain Paul's logical argument from the greater to the lesser.

And we do this all the time. If you're sitting in the class and there's a student who's solved a complex problem in advanced calculus, and then you had a little simple addition to do in order to know how much you owed someone in a blown that you made, you would say, surely, if he can solve that problem in advanced calculus, he can do simple addition. You're arguing from the greater to the lesser. Now that's exactly what Paul is doing here.

15:09 - 15:36 Read in full sermon

The point: If you consider yourself a visceral, emotional person, shore up the holes in your understanding by God's grace to become a mature Christian by thinking logically.

The desire for a new Cadillac is used as a negative example to contrast the true meaning of 'all things' with the false promises of the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel.

He that spared not His Son, He did the greatest thing. How shall He not with Him freely give us all things? And the all things are not the new Cadillac that you happen to see and say, boy, I'd like that. And God says He spared not His Son.

17:44 - 18:02 Read in full sermon