Rabbi Schneider - Stand Up and Stand Out
I'm going to pick up now a new territory as we go to verse 3. Paul begins to define the source of this good news. The source of this good message that Paul has is about God's Son. Paul says, "The messages concerning his son, who was born of a descendant of David, according to the flesh". In other words, Paul said, "The good news that I have for you is not just about the God in the sky, up in heaven somewhere, but it's about the God who came to earth in flesh and blood, as a physical descendant of David". He continues on. "He was declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead".
So we've got two things going on here. Number one, God clothing Himself in humanity. But secondly, that this one that came to earth, living as a human being, just as you and I was more than simply human being because He was crowned by being raised from the dead. And in so doing, God was testifying to humanity that through this one that came in the flesh, through the line of David living as a human being, as a Jew, through this one, if we would put our faith in Him and follow Him, He would lead us into the realm of heaven and God's throne.
So listen, once again, putting it all together, verse 3 and 4. Paul said, "I have come and I have been sent to share with you the good news, the gospel concerning his son", I'm in verse three, "who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh". You know, we still have a significant part of the church that has no appreciation for the Hebrew roots of their faith, for the Jewish roots of their faith. But Paul, when he begins the greatest theological treatise in the book of Romans and the entire Word of God, he begins his explanation of God's good news by explaining that God came to earth through the descendants of David as a Jew. "Concerning his son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who has declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness", and then he goes on to say, "Yeshua HaMashiach" or "Jesus Christ our Lord".
Let's take this verse apart in a few segments. Number one, I want you to understand, beloved, just to consider with me for a second, the importance of the resurrection. Again, I said on last week's broadcast it grieves me so bad I am surrounded by people in Colorado, who are very many of them liberal-minded. And for many here, nature has become their God. But the good news of Messiah Jesus that Paul brought us wasn't some new-age religion where nature is God and everybody is a good person, and all paths lead to the same place, and as long as you try to be a good person, you're going to go to heaven.
And if you say, many think, that Jesus is the only way, you then become a hater and a bigot. But beloved, I want you to reject that mindset. Because some of you that are listening to me right now, you have been conformed to that mindset. In other words, because you feel that coming from the world on you, because you feel the world telling you that if you claim that Jesus is the only way you're a bigot, you find yourself on the outside, you find yourself as one that's not accepted, because many of you feel that coming from the world, you've compromised and you're no longer willing to stand in, believe in and declare that Jesus is the way that God has made, and He's the only way that God made. But Paul is telling us here that the Lord proved that Yeshua was the way that He made, and indeed the only way he made because Yeshua was raised from the dead.
So Paul, listen, says once again, this message that he preached was about the Son of God, who was raised with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord. Paul said later in the book of Romans... This is so important because I know that some of you that are listening to me right now need a deeper circumcision of your heart so that you'll stand as a solid and true Christian. What's a Christian? A Christian is a follower of the Christ, a follower of the Mashiach, Yeshua, the Messiah, the Anointed One. The word "Christ" just means anointed. It's the Greek word from Mashiach.
So a Christian is someone that simply following the Christ or the Anointed One. But some of us are calling ourselves Christians but we're not really Christians because we're not following the Anointed One. Because the Anointed One claim that He came to earth to create a way for a man to come to heaven, and anybody that doesn't enter in to the way to heaven, that He made in His own body by being crucified and then raised to the Father, from the dead, anybody that doesn't enter through that way, Jesus said, is a thief and a robber and is going to be cast out. But some of you did not believe that message even though you're calling yourself a Christian.
You believe, "Well, you know what? My neighbor and my in-law and my family member, the people that I work with, they don't believe like I believe". But you know what? Who am I to judge them? Who am I to say they're not going to heaven. You know who you are? You're a chosen one that's been given this word and this message to declare to the world that there's no name under heaven by which men can be saved, but the name of Yeshua HaMashiach. And that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus said, "I am the way the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but through me".
You've heard me speaking this a lot in this series. But Beloved, Paul gave his life for this message that I'm proclaiming to you. So stop being wobbly in your faith. Stop shrinking from declaring the truth because you find yourself unpopular. We're going to be unpopular. Jesus said, "If were of the world, the world would love you". He said everyone that desires to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. There is a price to pay for following Yeshua. Paul here is claiming, listen, "This Jesus that I'm preaching, God proved that He was the fulfillment of the ancient scriptures, that He is the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies that God gave us through the prophets, and that He is the only way that the Lord has made for men to be saved".
And it was proved, Paul said, to humanity when God raised Him from the dead. And this concept of Yeshua being raised from the dead, we're going to find out later it's rooted in history. It's not just something that is a great theological concept. It's not a myth. In fact, Peter said, the gospel message is not a cleverly devised myth or fable. Peter says, "I was with King Jesus on the mountain when he was transfigured before me into a spirit of light. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, 'This is my beloved Son, listen to Him.'" Peter said this isn't a fable. The resurrection of Yeshua that Paul is declaring here, that Paul became a martyr for, that Paul was imprisoned for, it was proved when God raised Yeshua from the dead.
You need and I need to stake our life on this fact. Beloved, being a solid, sold out Christian is going to become more and more difficult in our world. Listen to what I'm saying. Why is the message that Rabbi Schneider is speaking right now important to me. Because my dear beloved friend, in the days that we're living and in the days ahead, it's going to become more and more unpopular to declare that Jesus is the way that God has made to heaven, and there is no other way. And so Paul is saying this. Jesus, God raised Him from the dead by the spirit of holiness to prove that He is Lord.
You see, Paul, later in his writings went on to say that when Jesus was raised from the dead, He didn't do it in an isolated way. In other words, it wasn't something that was secret. He appeared to Mary after He was raised from the dead, to the apostles, He appeared to Paul. And then Paul said He appeared to over 500 people in the book of Corinthians at one time during the time that Paul was writing. So Paul said there's all these witnesses on the earth whom the risen Jesus literally appeared to. It's historical fact. And Paul said, "When God raised Jesus from the dead", listen, please, God did it, look with me, please, in verse number 4, "according to the Spirit of holiness".
We don't hear a lot about holiness today. We hear about how God wants to bless us, right? We want to feel good in the worship music. We want, you know, God to make all our needs met. We want God to bless us, to give us everything we want. But how often do we hear about the holiness of God? And church, beloved ones, how you and I are called to holiness. It doesn't say that the spirit of feel good now raised Jesus from the dead. Although when we're complete in Jesus, we do feel good now. But Paul said, "No, Jesus was raised from the dead," in verse 4, "according to the Spirit of holiness". To be holy means to be set apart. Unique. You and I have been called to follow Jesus in the spirit of holiness.
Again, what does holiness mean? It means to be unique. It means to be cut out from the rest. We're to look different. We're to talk different. We're to be different. I mean, look at me, look at these peyos that I grew. Think of me now in the forest of Colorado. When I go into town to get food, do you think there's many Jews that I'm running into in the grocery store? Absolutely, not. Here on my walking around in the grocery store with my peyos, with my yarmulke, sometimes with my Israel t-shirt on, beloved I stick out. You know, like a sore thumb I stick out. But you know what? I know that some people look at me like I'm strange. Like, who is this?
Some even look at me because they have anti-Semitic feelings towards me. But you know what? I believe that I'm called out to be an apostle, a shaliach, a sent-out one, a messenger of Jesus in the earth. And that I have to be different, I have to be unique, I have to be set apart to be in a place that I could convey the unique message of the Kingdom. Because the message of the kingdoms is the unique message on the earth. I had to be set apart to convey the unique message that God's given me to convey. And the same is true for you. God has called you and I to be His witnesses. Jesus said, just like He said to Paul, "I'm sending you".
Isn't that what the Lord said to Paul? God said to Paul, "I'm sending you to the Gentiles". But you know what, my beloved friend? You know what? God said to you, I'm talking to you, through Jesus, "As the Father sent me," Jesus said, "so also now I send you". And so we are in the earth to develop our relationship with God, to grow in grace, to fall deeper in love with Messiah Jesus, to enter more and more into His fullness, to know Him in a deeper and deeper way. That's why we're here on Earth, number one. But the second reason we're here on Earth is to be His witnesses. And so we can't separate loving Him and desiring Him from doing His work.
So I want you to get that today. I want to encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and to try to be a more creative, empowered witness to your friends, your doctors, your neighbors, your family, anywhere that you can, knowing that it's going to cost you at times and knowing that you have a holy calling, just like Jesus was raised from the dead by the spirit of holiness. That there's a holy call on you. And because there's a holy call on you, that makes you different. And I want to encourage you to embrace that, to be different even though it will cost you something. So let's continue on. "Jesus," Paul says, "was raised from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord", verse 5, "Through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith amongst all the Gentiles for His name".
I only want to concentrate on one phrase in this verse. And that is, is that Paul understood his calling as having to do with... Get this terminology Paul used. "To bring about the obedience of faith". Think about this now. Obedience of faith. Since the great reformer Martin Luther, we've all heard the doctrine of justification by grace through faith. That we're saved by faith. Someone asked Jesus, "What should I do to do the works of God"? And Yeshua said, "Believe in Him whom God has sent". That's how you do the works of God. Through faith. But understand true faith produces obedience. It changes our lifestyle. It changes our choices. It changes our actions and our habits. This is why James said, "I will show you my faith by my works". And so Paul said, "I'm bringing a message that's designed to bring about the obedience of faith".
Beloved, I want you to understand there's a burden upon our lives to obey. We always have to be examining our heart, examining our motives, examining our thoughts. Are we living for God? David said, "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you". And David said, "Search me and cleanse me. And if there be any impure way in me, God, cleanse me and renew the joy of my salvation". So I want to encourage you, beloved, that we're called to holiness. The obedience of faith is what we're called to. Not just to believe, and then listen to a worship song and feel good, but to believe in a way that it breaks us and changes us so that we're remade and transformed into the likeness of Yeshua Himself. And what this means is every day we wake up and there's a responsibility, a burden on us.
"God, I need to please you today. I need to get in alignment with you today. I need to order my day and my steps after you. I need you to subject the books that I read to you, the way that I talk to people and treat people unto you, the thoughts that I give my mind to unto you, the attitude I'm holding my heart unto you". It's a constant cooperation between you and the Holy Spirit. And this takes tremendous work. That's why the Scriptures tell us that we need to work out our salvation in fear and trembling. So beloved ones, Paul said, "Follow me as I follow Yeshua". And so I speak over you today, beloved one, may the words of God penetrate us deeply. May we be changed and transformed into the image of Jesus as we accept His call on our life.