Dear Christ Community,

We will begin a 4 week sermon series this Sunday entitled The Redemptive Story in Romans. The redemptive story is broken up into the four categories of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration which together serve as the overarching backbone of the Gospel narrative. These categories grant Scriptural cohesion and a means of how to think in terms of the Gospel for greater understanding and application. This is a major concern in the modern Church according to Michael Horton who writes:

“The gospel is unintelligible to most people today, especially in the West, because their own particular stories are remote from the story of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation (or restoration) that is narrated in the Bible. Our focus is introspective and narrow, confided to our own immediate knowledge, experience, and intuition. Trying desperately to get others, including God, to make us happy, we cannot seem to catch a glimpse of the real story that gives us a meaningful role.”

The purpose of this series is to familiarize our church with these categories in order to better learn how to think in light of the Gospel. The sermons will focus on passages in Romans in order for us to see an example of how they are used in the Bible. The calls to worship will come from the Torah, the assurances of pardon from Hebrews, and the benedictions from the Psalms in order to reflect these categories and their use in other parts of the Bible.

We will begin with Creation as it is applied in Romans 1:18-25 (Call to Worship: Genesis 1:26-31; Assurance of Pardon: Hebrews 1:1-4; Benediction: Psalm 8). The Biblical story begins with Creation in Genesis 1-2 which serves to establish God as the Creator as the main character and humanity as the created ones as the sub-characters. Paul picks up on this idea in Romans 1 as he declares that Creation has clearly revealed the Creator who must be dealt with on His terms and not according to the limited and sinful understanding of the created ones. However, it is the rebellious desire of us all to usurp the Creator and gain control of God though we are but finite creatures turning all of Creation upside down. Thus, Creation serves to remind us of our humble beginnings, and the necessary order of Creator and created ones given the attributes of each.

On the second Sunday, we will look at the Fall (or Rebellion) from the perspective of Romans 3:9-20 (Call to Worship: Genesis 3:16-21; Assurance of Pardon: Hebrews 2:14-18; Benediction: Psalm 32:1-2). Paul strings together a number of Old Testament passages to make the point that our depravity is radical and profound extending throughout the whole of our being. This is not merely a passive process but an all-too active one in separation from and rebellion against our Creator. The overwhelming bad news is that given this condition we can do absolutely nothing to be redeemed or reconciled to God.

This painful truth of the Fall does not have the final say which leads to the glorious good news of Redemption in week three from Romans 5:1-11 (Call to Worship: Leviticus 16:20-22; Assurance of Pardon: Hebrews 10:11-18; Benediction: Psalm 51:7-12). Paul declares the amazing grace of God in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Though we could do nothing to save ourselves, our Creator God has provided the fullness of our redemption in Christ alone by His grace alone through our confession of sin and acceptance of our Savior through faith alone. However, the story doesn’t end here leaving us as redeemed strangers in a strange land.

In week four, we will look forward to final Restoration in Romans 8:18-25 (Call to Worship: Deuteronomy 32:1-9; Assurance of Pardon: Hebrews 13:11-14; Benediction: Psalm 23). Paul brings the story full circle as he writes of Creation longing for the resolution of the story in which all things will be made new beginning with the glorification of the sons and daughters of God. This new Creation will be even better than the beginning as there will be no opportunity to rebel against our Creator and everything will give God the praise and glory that is due Him.

I would encourage you to read the passages provided in advance of the sermon so as to be able to more fully appreciate the worship service and its focus. I would also encourage parents to use this as an opportunity to equip your children in these categories and help them understand them within the biblical framework.

In Christ,

Cameron