In this final chapter of The Book of Romans (aka Paul’s Letter to The Romans), Pastor Barry delves into the subject of Relationships: the Who, the Why and The Importance. During his ministry, Paul had met lots of people and established many valuable friendships. This book lists a good few and elucidates how they came to be and the results developing from them. Pastor Barry also investigates the background and details that are not obvious from a simple reading of the text.

Geographical diversity is a feature that is brought out (maps show the range of Paul’s travels and communications)

Pastor Barry shows that 33 people are focussed on, with several others getting a mention, not by name, but by rôle in life, for example. The sermon describes people, their characteristics, responsibilities, duties, generosities, …

Their rôle in the spread of the Gospel, by the expansion of the Church, is also expanded upon.

As a bonus, there is a final section about “The Chain of Gold” – a sequence of events that our Heavenly Father orchestrated to further the enlightenment of many millions of people in the modern era. This linked 7 men: EK, DLM; FBM; JWC; BS; MH; BG. Each of the first six was responsible in one way or another for the path taken by the man following in the chain, leading up to the huge influence of the last one.

The post Romans 16 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

It is inevitable that, within the church, there will be practices considered permissible by some but not by others, particularly (using the examples given by Paul) in relation to dietary laws and the observance of specific days. He urges those who are “stronger” in their faith – those who understand the freedom they have in Christ – to welcome and not despise those who are “weaker” and hold more scrupulous views. Similarly, those with stricter convictions should not pass judgment on those who exercise their liberty.

Paul underscores the principle that each believer is ultimately accountable to the Lord. Whether one eats or abstains, whether one regards a certain day as special or considers all days alike, the underlying motivation should be to honour the Lord. For Christians, life and death are both oriented towards Christ.

The Apostle strongly cautions against judging or belittling fellow believers over such disputable matters. He asserts that all will stand before the ‘Bema’ judgment seat of Christ, and therefore, instead of placing stumbling blocks in each other’s way, believers should strive to live in a manner that promotes peace and mutual edification, whilst ‘working out their own salvation with fear and trembling!’.

Paul emphasises that while all food is inherently clean, it becomes wrong for someone to eat if it causes another believer to stumble in their conscience. He concludes by stating that everything that does not come from faith is sin, thereby highlighting the importance of acting in accordance with one’s sincerely held beliefs and showing consideration for the sensitivities of others within the church.

Oswald Chambers comments: “Always keep your life measured by the standards of Jesus. Bow your neck to His yoke alone, and to no other yoke whatever; and be careful to see that you never bind a yoke on others that is not placed by Jesus Christ. It takes God a long time to get us out of the way of thinking that unless everyone sees as we do, they must be wrong. That is never God’s view. There is only one liberty, the liberty of Jesus at work in our conscience enabling us to do what is right. Don’t get impatient, remember how God dealt with you — with patience and with gentleness; but never water down the truth of God. Let it have its way and never apologize for it. Jesus said, “Go…and make disciples” not — make converts to your opinions.      – Oswald Chambers

In essence, Romans chapter 14 is a plea for tolerance, mutual respect, and the prioritisation of unity and love over personal preferences in matters of conscience within the church.

May you be blessed and encouraged by this teaching.

The post Romans Ch14 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

In essence, Paul instructs believers to maintain a posture of submission to governing authorities, asserting that all legitimate authority is ordained by God. Consequently, to resist such authority is to oppose the ordinance of God, potentially incurring the punitive measures administered by those in power, who are appointed by God for the maintenance of order and the chastisement of evildoers. Conversely, those who conduct themselves lawfully have no legitimate cause for apprehension.

But what do we do when those authorities are themselves corrupt? How does Paul’s teaching apply to a democracy, where the government officials are elected by the people – in effect they are our employees!

Where should Christians stand in regard to capital punishment? Why were there no prisons in ancient Israel? Should a Christian pay taxes to a corrupt government who then use that money to propagate that which is clearly against the moral and ethical teaching of Scripture?

This is a complex subject!

Paul concludes by reminding us that we must love our neighbour, the fulfilment of this commandment inherently satisfies the requirements of the law. We are also to forsake ‘deeds of darkness’ and to conduct ourselves with propriety, eschewing evil. Instead, we are to ‘put on the Lord Jesus Christ’ and not give any occasion to the flesh to fulfil the desire thereof.

In essence, Romans chapter 13 outlines the Christian’s duty regarding civil obedience, financial responsibility, neighbourly love as the epitome of legal compliance, and a manner of living that reflects the imminence of their faith.

May you be challenged and encouraged by this study.

The post Romans Ch13 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

In chapter 12, Paul urges believers to offer their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is our logic, and reasonable spiritual act of worship. He then emphasises the importance of not conforming (or constantly being confiormed) to the patterns of this world but insted we should be continually transformed by the renewing of our minds, so we can discern God’s will and walk pleasing to Him.

He then urges unity and diversity within the body of Christ, using the analogy of a human body with many members. Each believer has been given unique gifts that should be used humbly and in service to others.

The concluding practical exhortations are focused on how to live in community of beleivers, including:

• Genuine love and abhorrence of evil.
• Devotion and honor towards one another.
• Zeal and serving the Lord.
• Joy in hope, patience in affliction, and perseverance in prayer.
• Sharing with those in need and practicing hospitality.
• Blessing persecutors and living in harmony with everyone.
• Avoiding revenge and overcoming evil with good.

In essence, Romans 12 is a blueprint for Christian living, emphasising transformation, unity, service, and love in action.

May you be encouraged and strengthened in His Word through this study.

The post Romans Ch12 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

Paul’s assertion that Israel’s current spiritual blindness is temporary, and a future restoration assured, is not merely his opinion, but is firmly rooted in Old Testament prophecies. The sheer volume of scripture dedicated to Israel’s disobedience, dispersion, regathering, and restoration underscores its centrality to God’s redemptive plan.

May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.

The post Romans 11 28-36 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

Not only does the Apostle Paul state that Israel’s national spiritual blindness will be removed, but he tells us when it will happen, and the circumstances that will lead to it.

This topic is key to understanding scripture and the times we are living in.

May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.

The post Romans 11:26-27 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

That’s the question Paul asks in Romans chapter 11.

His emphatic answer should put an end to the debate, yet sadly, antisemitism has been as rife in the Christian church through the centuries as it has in the world.

Here, Paul not only makes his case from scripture, but warns against those who would just dismiss Israel.

Yes, ‘national Israel’ have been blinded, but that blindness is only temporary. Once God had gathered in all the Gentiles who will accept His call and the free-gift of Salvation through Jesus, Israel’s blindness will be removed and ‘so all Israel will be saved’ – both the believing remnant who formed the early church, and the unbelieving Jews who were blinded for their rejection of their Messiah.

May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.

The post Romans 11:1-25 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

To put it another way, the Word of God causes us to hear, to perceive, to understand. It gives us an understanding of who God is, of what He’s done, of His faithfulness to the saints of old. By so-doing it produces faith. The more we read and study God’s Word, the more our faith grows.

But what is faith? It is not a blind leap in the dark. Dr George Eldon Ladd said:

“Faith does not mean a leap in the dark, an irrational credulity, a believing against evidences and against reason. It means believing in the light of historical facts consistent with the evidences, on the basis of witnesses”    

In this study pastor Barry looks at a number of examples to show us we really can trust God’s Word. We can have a faith that is certain and unshakable.

May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.

The post Romans 10:18-21 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

In these verses Paul begins to lay out the fact that Israel had every opportunity to respond in obedience to the Word of God, but instead they ‘would not’, and so their ‘house was left unto them desolate’. (see Matt 23:37-39)

Paul drives home the simple fact, using Abraham and Moses as his witnesses, that righteousness does not come through our works – however well intentioned – but by God grace alone. The Law was given to reveal to us God’s perfect standard, and to show that we can never attain to that standard. But Christ came and fulfilled the Law, offering to exchange our sin for His righteousness, so that we can be declared ‘not guilty’ before a Holy God.

As has been said; He paid a debt He didn’t owe because we owed a price we couldn’t pay.

We conclude by considering just how important the Word of God is to our faith.

May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.

The post Romans 10:1-17 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

In Matthew 23:37-39 Jesus outlines Israel’s past, present & future.

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings…

This tells us the purpose of all history: that God might gather His children together. (Jerusalem is a synecdoche for all of Israel).  The image of the mother bird gathering and covering her brood is a familiar one. Moses used it in his farewell sermon (Deut. 32:11). It is a picture of love, tender care, and a willingness to die to protect others. Jesus did die for the sins of the world, including the nation of Israel: but “His own received Him not” (John 1:11).

Israel’s past is the underlying theme of Romans chapter 9.

and ye would not!  Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

As Chuck Missler says: The purpose of all history was that God might gather His children together. The tragedy of all history is that through disobedience and rejecting their Messiah, Israel ‘would not’, and consequently ‘her house has been left desolate’, with the Jews scattered around the world.

This sums up Israel’s present condition and is the underlying theme of Romans chapter 10.

For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Jesus left the nation with a promise: He would one day return, the nation would see Him and say, “Blessed be He that cometh in the name of the Lord!” This is a quotation from Psalm 118:26, that great messianic psalm that was quoted so many times in His last week of ministry. The crowds had used those very words (Matt. 21:9). This is a statement of the hope Israel has, and that Paul alludes to, that the Nation of Israel will be regathered and restored, albeit a remnant.

This future hope is the theme of Romans chapter 11.

May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.

The PowerPoint slides used in the study are available for free download.

The post Romans 10 – Introduction first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

How do we understand the fact that God can sovereignly chooses whom He will, and yet at the same time reconcile this with our own personal responsibility?

Paul tells us in this chapter that God has sovereignly chosen the Nation of Israel to be His instrument through whom He has revealed Himself to the world. In Deuteronomy we read: “The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations” (Deut 7:5-9).

As hard as is it for us to grasp, God’s choice is His, free of any obligation. If Gid did not elect, none would be saved. Salvation is of the LORD and His sovereign choice of Israel as His instrument, to whom He made unconditional promises, is not negated through through their disobedience.

Paul gives the example of Esau and Jacob. Jacob was chosen and Esau was hated.  Some may argue: “God is unjust if He chooses one and leaves another”. But the purpose of God goes beyond justice; for if God did only what was just, He would have to condemn all of us! The question is not ‘why was Esau rejected?’, but “why was Jacob chosen?”!

Paul states in regard to God’s sovereignty: “Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?” 

However, on account of Israel’s disobedience, God (in His foreknowledge) has made a way for the ‘whomsoever’, both Jews and Gentiles to come to Him.

May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.

The slides used in this study are available for free download.

The post Romans 9 6-33 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

We see how God has used the Nation of Israel to reveal Himself to the world, and intertwined in their ‘appointed times’ and Feast days we see evidence of God’s divine control of history. We also look at 10 belssings, alluded to by the Apostle Paul, unique to the Nation of Israel found in Roamns 9: vs 1-5.

Note: Additional slides detailing the four unconditional covenants God has made with Israel, along with a summary of the history of the Nation are also included for further study.

May you be blessed and encouraged by this study given by pastor Barry on 12th January 2025.

If you want to support this ministry you can donate here: https://www.calvaryportsmouth.co.uk/product/make-a-donation/

The post Romans 9 1-5 Pt2 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

It is a topic we cannot ignore! From Genesis 12 to Acts 2, the Nation of Israel is the major theme of the Bible; and we cannot escape the fact that Jesus was Jewish, as was all the early Christian church.

In chapters 9 to 11 of the book of Romans the apostle Paul asks the question, if God is so faithful and his promises sure, why have Israel as a nation been ‘cast off’? and what is to be the future for them? Have they really forfeited the blessings God promised them? Is it true that these blessings, (promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their biological descendants), now somehow fall on the church, as many in today’s church claim?

In this first part of our study on the opening five verses of Romans chapter 9, we look at some of the promises God made to Israel and consider the history of this nation, a nation unlike any other in the history of the world, and look at the staggering prophecies that foretold their future in advance.

May you be blessed and encouraged by this study given by pastor Barry on 5th January 2025.

If you want to support this ministry you can donante here: https://www.calvaryportsmouth.co.uk/product/make-a-donation/

The post Romans 9 1-5 Pt1 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

In this study we conclude Romans 8 – one of the most incredible chapters in the Bible!

What does it mean to be saved? How secure is our salvation? Is there anything that can separate us from the love of God?

May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.

The post Romans 8 18-39 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

In this study of Romans chapter 8:7-17 we continue looking at Paul’s teaching on how it is possible to live the Christian life, not by our own good intentions or will power (that will only end in failure and disappointment), but by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The slides used in this study are available for free download.

May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.

The post Romans Ch8 7-17 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

The Apostle Paul begins the chapter by stating that there is no possibility of condemnation for those who are in Christ, and ends the chapter by asserting that there is no possibility of separation from Him either!

This should fill the hearts of every belliever with unspeakable joy!

In this study, pastor Barry takes just the first 6 verses of the chapter to contemplate the reality and the effect the indwelling Holy Spirit should have on the life and walk of the believer.

May you be blessed and encouaged by this study.

This study was given on the 3rd Novembe 2024.

The post Romans Ch8 1-6 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

The Law leaves us defeated and like Paul we find we end up doing the things we know are wrong, and feeling powerless to do the things we know are right. Thus, the Law drives to cry out: “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Rom 7:24)

If that were the end is would be a sad conclusion! But it is not the end of the matter, for Paul declares that there can be deliverance, there can be freedom, there can be the reality of walking in victory of the demands and dictates of the flesh life – and it is though the Person and power of the indwelling Spirit of Christ!

May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.

The post Romans Ch7 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

What does it mean to be buried with Christ? How sould someone who has given their life to Christ now live?

Some have tried to argue that we should continue living in sin that God’s grace may abound. In Romans chatpter 6, the Apostle Paul addresses this and makes it clear that a Christian is, by very definition, someone who has been changed from the inside out and is no longer to be a slave to sin.

May you be blessed as pastor Arron teaches through this chapter.

For more teaching from pastor Aaron, go to: https://discipleschurch.co.uk/sermon-speaker/aaron-evans/

The post Romans Ch6 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

In chapter 5, the Apostle Paul continues his explanation of salvation through grace.

May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.

The post Romans Ch5 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

How can a just God justify sinful man? It doesn’t matter how good we may think we are, even our highest standard still falls short of the perfection of a holy God.

None of us could earn heaven by our efforts, no matter how hard we tried.

So how does God demonstrate His mercy and yet maintain His righteous justice?

The Apostle Paul takes us to two Old Testament examples, Abraham and David, to show that Salvation is not by works, nor by the keeping of the law, but by faith in His grace alone. But that faith will show itself to be genuine by the fruit it produces.

May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.

The post Romans Ch4 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

At a time in history when antisemitism is on the rise, when the world is largely united in its condemnation of Israel, this is an important question that every Christian should have a clear answer to! For the majority of the Bible is concerned with the call, establishment, preservation and future of the Jewish people.

May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.

The post Romans Ch3 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.

The post Romans Ch2 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

In this chapter Paul addresses the plight of the immoral / pagan man who has willfully rejected God, chosen to worship creation rather than the Creator, and reaped the consequences of wanting to do it ‘my way’!

May you be blessed and encouraged by this teaching.

The post Romans Ch 1 8-32 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

On their website, Libertly University in America state: “The great apostle Paul authored at least 13 New Testament epistles. If he were here today with us, and was asked which epistle was the most needed for this time in history, I believe he would say without hesitation, the book of Romans. And the reason? Well, 2000 years ago he warned that “in the latter times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons” (1 Tim. 4:1). So then, the only real cure for bad doctrine is biblical doctrine; thus, the most theological book ever written – the book of Romans!”

That is quite a statment, but one that will undoubtedly prove to be true as we begin a study through this incredible book.

John Calvin said: “if we understand this epistle we have a passage opened to us to the understanding of the whole of Scripture”.

Indeed, Romans unlocks, expounds and sheds Divine light on many of the key doctrines in Scripture. If all of the Bible were lost except Romans, scarcely any fundamental doctrine would be lacking. As he explained the gospel in Romans, Paul quoted from the Old Testament more often than in all his twelve other letters combined—showing how important the Old Testament is to understanding the gospel. No less than 57 quotes can be found.

Additional study notes from this session:

Author: Paul  this is not disputed.  – Paul was a Roman citizen (adopted by Sergius Paulus – governor of Cypress (hence for then on taking his family name).

• “Paul” = the least; the little one. Understood grace.
  • “I am the chief of sinners” 1 Tim 1:12-15
  • Significantly, the most devoutly religious man who ever lived!                   Phil 3:1ff
• So God has already saved one who is far worse than you or me!…

Addressee: The Saints in Rome (not a single church but the collective body of believers), various congregations, no doubt meeting from home to home.

Paul sent greetings to the church that met in the home of Aquila and Priscilla. Rom 16:5

28 people are named in the letter

• Many of the believers in Rome were Paul’s converts
• He was writing to believers
  • Not preaching for them to be converted
  • Teaching them what salvation is really all about

Written from Corinth

• Though he never mentions it, he wrote from Corinth.
  • Cenchrea being its eastern harbor. 16:1
• Written at the close of his third missionary journey on c. AD 57-58

Time of Writing:

In 1947 a Bedouin boy made one of the greatest archeological discoveries of all time in a cave at Qumran in southern Israel.

Much is said about the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls,…

They comprise some 800 documents

…dating from around 250 BC to 68 AD

Among the Scrolls are partial or complete copies of every book in the Hebrew Bible

except the book of Esther

But what is not so widely publicised is that fragments of a number of New Testament books were also discovered in cave 7… including the Book of Romans.

The caves at Qumran are famous for the hoard of Old Testament and other manuscripts that have been found there. But the thing which receives the least publicity (if any publicity at all) is the fact that the caves have also yielded fragments of New Testament books. This absence of publicity – this blanket denial of their identity – is not to be wondered at.

It was really most awkward. In fact, it still is very awkward for them, for it means that the fragments must have been written out – copied from even earlier exemplars – well before A.D. 68, which undermines everything that the critics have been claiming all these years.

The fact of the matter is this, that these manuscripts were deposited in the caves at Qumran by the year A.D. 68 at the very latest, when Qumran and the surrounding area was overrun by the Roman 10th legion, and according to the critics, the New Testament  had not been written by that time.  –  Dr Bill Cooper

This means that Romans – which we know was written by Paul – was written at a time the Christian church in the Roman world was not being persecuted, but was allowed to flourish and thrive!

Construction of the Colosseum began under the Roman emperor Vespasian between 70 and 72,

By that time, Romans, and indeed copies of the Book of Romans were already in circulation among the Christian church!

Theme:  The Grace of God Revealed:

• God’s righteousness,
• Our iniquity, and
• God’s remedy through Grace

There are many self-help books on the market today that all tell you to follow your heart!

The Bible tells us in Jeremiah 17:9 that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked

Self-help books simply give you a new set of rules to follow that all too quickly you break and fail to keep!

The Book of Romans focuses on the Gospel – which does not merely give us a set of rules to follow, it tells us that firstly we cannot keep (any) set of rules, but that Jesus alters the mainspring of our lives, changes our disposition and places withing us something that was never there before, the Person of God’s Holy Spirit and by His power we can live!

• Christ did not come to make bad men good;
  but to give dead men life!

The Impact of the Book

• “The most profound of all literature”

Romans became the cornerstone to the Reformation in Europe.

Martin Luther had tried relentlessly to get right with God… but failed. A wise old monk told him to read Habakkuk – a man who like Luther knew a thing or two about struggling!

In Habakkuk Luther read “The Just Shall Live by Faith”

• Habakkuk 2:4 has lead to a Trilogy of epistles by Paul in NT.
• The Just… (Who are they?)  Romans Rom 1:17
• …Shall live (How?)                 Galatians Gal 3:11
• …By Faith!                                Hebrews Heb 10:39

May you be blessed and encouraged by this study.

The post Romans Ch1 1-7 first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.

In his study notes on the Book of Romans Dr Chuck Missler boldly asserts that this is “The Definitive Gospel According to Paul—the most comprehensive book in the NT. Its impact on
History is unequaled”. Few could argue with this as we note the incredible depth of teaching the Apostle Paul gives us in these 16 chapters; and it was this book more than any other that sparked the Reformation in Europe, and the rediscovering of the wonderful truth that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone! Indeed, the theme of the book could be summarised as “the Grace of God revealed”.

The outline of the book can be seen as a exposition of Paul’s statement at the end of 1 Corinthians 13, ‘these three remain, faith, hope and love…’

• 1 – 8 Faith (Doctrinal)

–1-3 Sin: (the most complete diagnosis)

–4-5 Salvation (the most complete remedy)

–6-8 Sanctification (the most complete transformation)

• 9-11 Hope (Dispensational)

–9 Israel – Past

–10 Israel – Present

–11 Israel – Future

• 12-16 Love (Practical)

May this overview prompt you to undertake your own study of this divinely inspired book.
The PDF slides are from the PowerPoint presentation used during the teaching session.

You can listen to the audio on this web page, or save it for later listening.

The post Session 38 – The Book of Romans first appeared on Calvary Chapel Portsmouth.