John K. Jenkins Sr - A Walk Through Romans, Chapter 6

Thank you for joining us tonight. I’m so happy to be with you! Let me celebrate the fact that we have, let’s see here, 18 different states and six countries internationally joining us. We are doing something tonight that we’ve never done before, and I am thrilled and excited about it. I am actually teaching Bible study live tonight from my hotel room in Orlando, Florida. Isn’t that amazing? I’m so glad to have our technicians and production team here, both Mikee and Braxton, who flew down this morning to set up the equipment in my little hotel room. We 've never done this before, so I want to give a shout-out to our production team for their equipment, know-how, skills, and knowledge that enable me to bring you Bible study from Orlando, Florida. I’m thrilled about that! Thank you for joining us wherever you are; I’m excited about it!

All over the world, we are truly First Baptist Church of Glenarden International. We have 18 states represented! Let’s see, we have so many states here. People are checking in, so please put your state in the chat if you haven’t already. We’ve got Mississippi, New York, Michigan, Florida, New Jersey, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Ohio, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Indiana, California, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Arkansas. Wow! A big shout-out to the states from around our country and six international locations: India, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, England, Jamaica, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I think I’m saying that right! Here are a couple more: Canada and Sweden. Thank you all for joining us! I’m just humbled, grateful, and thankful that you all choose to join us for our Bible study tonight.

This won’t be a long night; I have just a few verses to cover with you. This is a short chapter, with only 23 verses. I’m grateful that we get to go through chapter 6. For those of you who are joining us for the first time, we’re studying the book of Romans, one chapter a week. By the way, next week we won’t have bible study. I’m supposed to remind you all that every Tuesday leading up to the fourth Sunday is our baptism night, so we won 't have bible study on that night. We 'll pick back up on the 29th of November.

Alright, let’s join in prayer. Let’s take a moment to pray before we dive into Romans chapter 6. Father, thank you for your loving kindness to us and your tender mercies that you extend to us. You have been a gracious God, and I’m so thankful for your loving kindness and tender mercies. Bless our time tonight in Romans chapter 6. Illuminate the truth of Romans 6 in our hearts. Help us to hear your truth and your word. Help it to make sense to us so that we can apply it to our lives, I pray. And, Father, I pray for anyone who might be unsaved, backslidden, unsure, unchurched, or uncommitted to a local church. Let your truth prevail, and may your name receive all the glory and honor. Please put a shield of protection around this hotel room as we present tonight, and also around the homes of those who are receiving it — the cars, workplaces, and wherever they might be, in their kitchens, bedrooms, and wherever people might be. Just put a hedge of protection around them, Lord, so they can hear the truth of your word and how it applies to their lives. In Jesus' name, amen.

Okay, so yes, we’re in the book of Romans. Again, if you’re joining us for the first time, the Apostle Paul writes to the church in Rome. What we know about the church in Rome, for a brief recap, is that it was probably written in the late 50s timeframe, when he was in Corinth. He wrote to a church that consisted of both Jews and Gentiles, addressing many theological issues to bring clarity. He particularly wants to make it clear to the Jews that Gentiles can be saved and that Gentiles don’t have to obey all the practices that Jews used to follow to participate in the Jewish religion. He 's trying to plead that case to make them aware that you don’t try to make a Gentile abide by all the things the Jews did to honor the law. That 's what he spends so much time discussing.

Last week, as we come to chapter 6, I need to go back a little to talk about chapter 5. Paul argues in closing chapter 5 that where there is sin, God gives grace to abound. Where you are tempted by sin, where sin is, grace abounds. God brings grace, and you know what that means? It means that where we have temptations and where sin is abounding, God…