The Holy Spirit poured out on the early Christians resulted in the creation of a redeemed community anointed with the spirit of prophecy to bear witness concerning Jesus. Our teaches surveys Acts 2:16-21; Revelation 19:10, John 16:7-15 and 15:26-27 in order to establish this basic point, namely, that we, as the church have been called to be the Spirit-anointed prophetic witnesses of Jesus.

The story they told is about Jesus, the One Whose ministry they witnessed for some 3 - 3 ½  years, as He went about Galilee teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the “good news” of the kingdom of God, and healing every manner of sickness and disease among the people, which included casting out demons, who understood that He was in fact executing judgment on them “before the time” (Matthew 4:23-25; 9:35). The disciples also witnessed His death and resurrection from the dead, as well as His ascension to heaven, together with the promise that He would come again in glory to complete the mission. They were witnesses of and to these things, which became the central parts of the story they told.

Jesus and His disciples understood this story as the “gospel”, which was for them the fulfillment of the proclamation of redemption found in Isaiah 40-66. Jesus and His followers saw Him to be the “Servant of the Lord” spoken about throughout Isaiah 40-66, and the “Anointed One” from the house of David Who would bring redemption to God’s exiled people. Since the exile occurred as a result of Israel’s sin and breaking of the covenant, redemption from exile had to be something more than just physical return from Babylon. It of necessity must include redemption from the sin that had brought such disaster upon the people of God. As Messiah Jesus comes “to save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21), which in the ears of a first-century Jew would signify the complete end of the exile and nullification of the curse of the covenant that had come upon the people because of their disobedience.

Our teacher then expounds upon two passages from Isaiah. First, Isaiah 52:7, in which the prophet proclaims to Zion the good news that “Our God reigns”. Jesus went a step further, proclaiming the good news that “the reign of God has drawn near”. It was the end of the rule of Satan and the beginning of God’s redemptive blessings for a people that have suffered much because of their sins. Second, Isaiah 61:1-3, which looks forward to the coming of a certain personage who is anointed with the Spirit of the Lord to proclaim good news to the afflicted and humble of the land, to proclaim release to captives and prisoners, the regaining of sight to the blind, to heal the broken-hearted and proclaim the time of God’s favor, to give comfort to those who mourn in Zion, giving to them beauty (a victory wreath) for ashes, the oil of joy/gladness for mourning, and the garment of praise in place of the spirit of heaviness/fainting, a great reversal of fortunes, and all with a view to them becoming oaks of righteousness, planted by the Lord, that He may be glorified. While Isaiah foretold of this, Jesus told His hearers “this day is this Scripture fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:18-19).

Our teacher reminds us that in Jesus’ ministry and that of the early church there was a real in-breaking of the kingdom of God in the power of the Holy Spirit, resulting in deliverance from the rule of Satan (see Matthew 12:28-29). God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and power, to do good and heal those oppressed of the devil (Acts 10:38). The power of the Spirit comes on the church to do the same.

Jesus came to set free captives and to heal broken-hearted people. His basic call to each of us is to repent and enter into the redemptive blessings of the kingdom of God. Psalm 34:18 provides a most encouraging promise to those who want to turn to God and admit their own brokenness: “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit”. Our teacher bids us to turn to God with true repentance and to call on Jesus for salvation. The promise remains: “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8), and “Whoever will call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).

Going implies “sending”, which is absolutely fundamental to our labor in the gospel (Matthew 9:35-38; Romans 10:14-17; Acts 13:1-4). When God sends He provides an “open door” to do the work (1 Corinthians:8-9; Colossians 4:2-4; Revelation 3:7-8).

Baptizing points to an initiation-conversion process in which we lead people into a true conversion that involves both repentance and faith, with baptism functioning as the public witness that this initiation-conversion process has come to definitive culmination, so that one is now incorporated into Christ and (not insignificantly) the Body of Christ, to live in the redemptive reality of the New Covenant.

Teaching is the means by which we bring converts into mature discipleship. This is not just about rote catechism. This involves rather learning “the Way” that pleases God, to walk worthy of the calling with which we are called.

Why is this teaching dimension so necessary? First because it is the pattern followed by the early church (Acts 2:42) and causes us to become “rooted” in Christ, so that having received Him as Lord we may also be built up in and walk in Him (Colossians 2:6-7). On another level it is necessary because we must “guard the gates’ from wolves and false teachers who will not spare the flock. This has much to do with them being not only false teachers, but lovers of self, and lovers of money. Several texts are cited to show how much this danger lurks all about us (Acts 20:28-32; 1 Timothy 4:1-6; 6:5-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-4:5; Jude 3-4).

With respect to the work of the Spirit, we look at several passages throughout the Gospel of John. Jesus made clear that with His glorification the Spirit would be given to those who believe in Him (in the Gospel of John this is never nominal faith, but always signifies true followers of Jesus), with the result being that “out of their innermost being would flow rivers of living waters” (John 7:37-39). The Spirit comes to be “with us” and “in us”, a promise of personal and collective indwelling of the Spirit (14:17).  Jesus tells the disciples that it is actually to their advantage that He goes back to the Father, because He then would give the Spirit, Who comes to do a mighty work: 1) of conviction in the world (16:7-12), 2) of revelation in the Church (16:13-15), and 3) of bearing witness to Jesus through the disciples (15:26-27).

This study challenges those who are sincere believers: 1) to examine themselves by the measure of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus (Matthew 16:24-27; Mark 8:34-38; Luke 9:23-26); 2) to commit themselves to the fulfillment of the Great Commission in accordance with the gifts bestowed upon them by God (Romans 12:1-8; 1 Peter 4:7-11); 3) to seek for a fresh endowment of the Spirit in accordance with Jesus’ promise in John 7:37-39).

Dr. Hartmann opens by elaborating on the idea that a nation’s sin over time “piles up” and becomes ripe for judgment. Amos in each judgment speech follows a four-part pattern:

1) The opening messenger formula: “thus says the Lord”

2) A general indictment of sin and general announcement of judgment. The general indictment of sin appears in the repeated formula “for three transgressions of … X … and for four”, the general announcement of punishment in the words “I will not revoke it” (My wrath, the punishment due to this given nation). This “3-4 pattern” is God’s way of saying “you are guilty of many crimes, and have now filled up the measure of your sins; this is “the last straw”.

3) A specific indictment of sin, introduced by the word “because”, followed by the specific crime that had tipped the scales of Divine justice in the direction of judgment decree that would not be revoked

4) A specific announcement of punishment, introduces by the phrase “I will send fire upon …” followed by the naming of capital cities, kings, and the palaces of that given nation.

The first 6 judgment speeches indict various neighboring Gentile nations (Syria, Philistia, Phoenicia, Edom, Ammon, Moab) for various transgressions that had piled up over time, with the one listed being that which finally tipped the scales and brings God’s judgment. The transgressions listed include things like war crimes, slave trade, and general human indecency.

The 7th judgment speech is directed against Judah, which had forsaken the Law of the Lord and broken the covenant through idolatry and various other transgressions against God’s commandments.

The 8th judgment speech is directed against Israel (the Northern Kingdom), which was found guilty of idolatry, immorality, and institutionalized injustice.

With this in view, Dr. Hartmann invites us to look at what can be done when a nation has gone so awry that it has brought God’s judgment on itself. Scripture uses the metaphor of ancient siege warfare to suggest that the only hope lies in certain persons “standing in the breach” before God, asking to turn from His wrath and to have mercy on such an undeserving people. We here look especially at Psalm 106:19-23, which is a Biblical commentary on the events of Exodus 32, when unfaithful Israel brought God’s wrath on itself through idolatry and Moses turned back at least some of the judgment through his faithful intercession on their behalf.

This study challenges all who hear to think deeply about at least two things:

1) How Amos’ preaching applies to our contemporary situation

2) What “standing in the breach” would actually entail in this time and place

In this invigorating study, Dr. Hartmann first lays out three prevailing views of Romans 7:7-25:

1) The view that this text describes the believer’s ongoing struggle with indwelling sin, which is the predominating view among modern evangelicals. One wonders how this might be called simply a “struggle”, since what is described here seems to issue in a constant cycle of defeat.

2) The view that this text describes the effect that the Law has upon an unregenerate man. This is the view generally offered by the great preacher and expositor Martyn-Lloyd Jones in his sermons on Romans. In favor of this view is the observation that the man who in Romans 7:14 confesses that he is sold into slavery to sin (a perfect tense in Greek, denoting an abiding state of affairs) is not easily identified with those in Romans 6:1-14 who have died with Christ to the power of sin, and who in having died, are freed from sin (6:7, again a perfect tense in Greek, denoting an abiding state of affairs). It is difficult to see how one can be in both abiding state of affairs at the same time.

This view comes in different shapes and sizes. Some think it describes the Law’s effect on an unregenerate man, while others think of it as autobiographical, i.e. Paul’s description of his pre-Christian existence under the Law. The latter view breaks down in the light of Paul’s own testimony that he had been “blameless” with respect to the righteousness found in the Law (Philippians 3:6).

3) The “eschatological tension” view. James Dunn, in his commentary on Romans, offers what might be considered a more nuanced version of view #1. Dunn argues that Romans 6 and Romans 7 both describe different aspects of the believer’s present experience in “the period between the times”. Building on the notion of “the already and the not yet” that is found in NT eschatology, Dunn sees in Romans 7 the reality of “eschatological tension” experienced by the believer. This for Dunn means that the believer can be at the same time free from sin in Romans 6 (the already) and in bondage and conflict with sin in Romans 7 (the not yet).

If forced to choose between the three views, Dr. Hartmann would side with view # 2, but thinks that all three suffer from the same fundamental flaw of coming to the text with the wrong question, each being governed by the controlling question of determining whether Paul in Romans 7 is describing a Christian or non-Christian. Our teacher suggests that this was not foremost on Paul’s mind as he wrote, and thus involves asking a question that Paul is not even trying to answer.

Paul’s issue was that of clarifying his view of the Law and offering a defense of the Law’s goodness that would respond to the disparaging accusations brought against him in this regard by his Jewish and Jewish-Christian detractors. It also allowed Paul to address misunderstandings and/or mis-representations of his teaching that had perhaps circulated among some Gentile Christians. Our teacher suggests that this is a good model for understanding how Paul brings his fixed theological core to expression in relation to contingencies that arose in his churches and his mission as a whole. Dr. Hartmann suggests that Paul’s method is one of “confrontational theology”, which allows Paul to clarify (on his own terms) his teaching for his hearers and readers.

Dr. Hartmann follows with a brief survey of Romans 7: 1-6 and 7:7-12, demonstrating that Paul was intending to offer a defense of the Law, particularly in light of prior statements he has made about the Law in 5:20 and 6:14.

Our study closes with a brief look at Romans 8:1-4, with an argument made that the Law is now fulfilled in the Christian through walking in the Spirit. Matthew 22:36-40 shows what this fulfillment of the Law is all about in Jesus’ teaching on the two great commandments of the Law.

Time would not allow for a more thorough treatment of the exegesis of Romans 7:13-25. More to come….

Some of the key passages surveyed: 1 Corinthians 1:26-31; Luke 1:46-55; 1 Samuel 2:1-10.

From here we take a look at the story of Gideon in Judges 6-8, which serves as a living illustration of our main point. God allowed the army that went to battle with Gideon to be reduced to a very small, insignificant number (300 men), so that Israel would not boast that the victory had come through her own might or power. God works in such a way that “no flesh may boast in His presence”.

We close with consideration of Paul’s “boasting” in 2 Corinthians 10-13, where he at last states that if he glories in anything it is in his weaknesses, for then the power of Christ rests upon Him in a fullness that it does not if otherwise.

This sermon offers refreshment and encouragement to the hearts of those facing seemingly hopeless and impossible situations or who feel they have little strength or wisdom in themselves. God often does a work of great grace through such persons. But it usually requires that we be brought to a point of great extremity, so that our trust will be in the God Who raises the dead.