Get out of Jail Free Card

Repent, dear brothers and sisters, doesn't just mean saying I'm sorry. And repent doesn't just mean I'm asking for forgiveness, but repent also means I'm not gonna do it again. Come on. Many of us have come on. Y'all know where I'm about to go. Many of us have had people to apologize, say, I'm sorry, say, my bad, but then what? They do it again. Then they come back, they come crying, and they sit there and say, my bad. And then what? They do it again. Now you are at a point to where you don't believe or trust anything they say. Why? Because every time they say it, they what? They do it again. [00:22:01] (48 seconds)  #TrueRepentance

And as I thought about the get out of jail free card and as I thought about the book of Romans, it made me realize that watch this. When you have a relationship with Christ, come on, it gives you the opportunity to get out of jail, get out of situations for free. Come on. Because to get out of the jail free card in monopoly, sit there and says, watch this. You don't have to pay the price. Come on. And dear brothers and sisters, Christ has already paid the price for the sins that you have committed. So he's sitting there saying, when you have a relationship with me, come on. You can get out of jail free because, watch this, I've already paid the price. [00:07:23] (47 seconds)  #GraceGetsYouFree

And Paul is calling them out, dear brothers and sisters, and sitting there saying, hey. Don't be judging people when you're doing the exact same thing. And, brothers and sisters, we have to keep in mind that god is calling us to be careful to not to be doing the exact same thing. Because think about this for a second, brothers and sisters, that there are people who would condemn the actions listed that we talked about in chapter one, but who have no intention of getting right with god themselves. Come on. Paul is sitting there saying, you talking about the stuff that they're doing, but you have no intentions of getting your life together yourself. [00:10:46] (52 seconds)  #PracticeWhatYouPreach

And dear brothers and sisters, Paul is sitting there saying, you must truly not just apologize, but you must repent and turn from your ways. Come on. He is sitting there saying that you are taking advantage of the goodness of God, and it is the very goodness of God that, watch this, that should lead men to love him and to seek a relationship with him. Whoo. Paul sits there and says, you should want to change because god has been good. [00:22:49] (36 seconds)  #LetGodsGoodnessChangeYou

And this is important because, watch this, Paul has a reminder or notification to the people in the church. He is reminding the people in the church that god would judge the church just like god would judge the people in the world. Come on. So Paul is telling the church folks, watch this, to not get beside yourselves, to not get cocky, and to remember that we must keep our hearts pure in private as much as we display it in public. Come on. So Paul is sitting there saying, hey. Listen. [00:13:11] (41 seconds)  #PureInPrivate

Paul is sitting there saying, dear brothers and sisters, that the goodness of god, by his definition, should make you seek after him. His goodness by definition should make you chase after him. Because god has been good, Paul is sitting there saying, his goodness is giving you a get out of jail free card. And then lastly, we get out of jail free by seeking his glory by seeking his glory. It says this in verse number seven, eternal life to those who be who by patient continuous in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality. [00:27:10] (70 seconds)  #SeekGodForEternalLife

God kept you, and you should change. God delivered you, and you should change. God set you free, and you should be changed. Come on. And, dear brothers and sisters, we get out of jail by seeking his goodness. Come on. So Paul is sitting there saying that watch this. The hypocrite sees the goodness of god as a stamp of approval on his contact conduct, and thereby, he despises the blessings of god. Come on. So Paul is telling us, dear brothers and sisters, because god has been so good to us, we must allow that to be the momentum and the reason we seek to have a relationship with god. [00:25:14] (56 seconds)  #GraceIsNotALicense

Paul is sitting there saying, listen. You can stay out of trouble by seeking god, seeking goodness, and then also seeking to be in his presence, seeking god. And the book of Romans, dear brothers and sisters, teaches us so much that many of the first churches, when they started, they used the book of Romans to establish the ministry like never before. And dear brothers and sisters, as we continue to study down the book of Romans, please understand, it's about us continuing to put god first. It's about us, dear brothers and sisters, continuing to trust god. [00:33:36] (41 seconds)  #PutGodFirstAlways