Bible Study: June 11, 2025

Okay, so tonight we're going to continue... last week, well, last week you'll remember we did an introduction to the Book of Romans. And just as a reminder, the Book of Romans was probably the third letter or epistle that Paul wrote. First one being probably Galatians, and then 1st and 2nd Corinthians, and then Romans. We went through some of the backgrounds so that we understood the context and the timing of what he wrote. He had never been to Rome, but Rome was a new church that was forming of Gentiles and Jews. And in this book, he does lay some foundational premises of the basic doctrines of the Bible. Because we got into Romans 1 last week. We talked about Paul himself, a bond servant. That's an actual slave of God. That's the freedom slave. When we are slaves to God and not slaves to Satan in this world and our own ideas and selves, that's where true freedom comes in. We talked about the gospel being separated from the world to do the work of God. And then we got to verse 5, went down to verse 7, and we talked about grace. And last week we did have quite a few conversations and comments about grace and the apostleship that is mentioned there in verse 5 as well. So I thought as we begin the Bible study, since grace is such a big issue, that we would... Well, not an issue, but a big concept in the Bible. And Paul talks about grace or the Greek word charis, charis, more times in Roman than any other book in the Bible. Acts, he speaks about it, or in Acts, is mentioned a lot too in Corinthians. But Romans is the place where that Greek word charis shows up the most. So as we go through the book of Romans, and we look at many of these foundational principles of truth and faith and our belief in God and what he wants us to become, grace is large. And so this week I went back and looked at grace, but only looked at it from the Bible. Looked at it from the Bible. I did look at Strongs and Corns and everything. But I think we should spend a few minutes talking about that, not to come up with an ironclad definition. But I think as I went through it and looked at it, and I hope maybe you come to the same conclusion, grace is much bigger than we maybe have thought it. You know, sometimes we know the world minimizes it, right? To the world, grace is just unmerited forgiveness, unmerited pardon. We sin, God forgives, and it's all up to him. We know in the church it's not that we must repent. We must continue to walk in his way. And that, and we, like Paul, said last week, divine favor. That's a very good way to put it. Grace, you know, as we come into the church, we may have to redefine in our minds what grace or chorise is. I almost wish that in the Bible when they're translating it, rather than using the word grace, they would have just used the Greek word. Because it is a different word that is so hard to explain in English. Just like agape, right? They use love. I think, why didn't you just use agape? It's not loved, and to confuse it with that. And really, when you look through the Bible, you have to look at the way the word is used and let the Bible define it. Just like we let the Bible define, and Jesus Christ define what agape is, so we have to look at chorise as well.

I've got a few things I'm going to put up on the screen here tonight. To guide us through that a little bit, first one, I'm just going to look at some introductory scriptures here on grace. We take it just right from the Bible. Last week, I heard that on the smartphones and on laptops, this isn't coming through well. I tried to make the font on this a lot larger this week. I hope that you're being able to read this at a lot less on a page than I did in the past. I can make this even larger in the future or whatever else. But I thought we would start with Romans 1 and look at verses 5 and 6, but look at it from another translation. When we look at it in the New King James, all the words are there and all the concepts are there. But when we get into some of the way the phrasing is, we may not understand fully what it is.

I thought the Phillips translation did a pretty good job of capturing the essence of what Romans 1, verses 5 and 6 says. It says, He is our Lord, Jesus Christ, from whom we received grace. They actually used the word commission, as someone pointed out last week, from whom we received grace and our commission in His name to forward obedience to the faith in all nations. Meaning, God gave us the grace, He gave us the tools, we live under His grace, and He gave us a commission. Take the message out and preach it to all the world. We live it, but we need to also be people who are spreading the gospel around the world, just as they did in the New Testament church.

So, Jesus Christ, grace comes from Jesus Christ. He is our Lord, Jesus Christ, from whom we received grace and our commission in His name to forward obedience to the faith in all nations. And of this great number, Paul says, you at Rome are also called. That, of course, applies to us, too. We receive our grace from God. We have a commission to do the same thing that God commissioned them to do.

Now, we look at John 1, verse 14. Go back to the beginning where it's talking about Jesus Christ. And there it is of Jesus Christ. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full, full of grace and truth. Jesus Christ was full of grace and truth.

We know we're supposed to become like Him. So, part of our commission in life, and when we commit to God, when we're baptized and when we have genuinely repented and turned from our old way of life to the life that He has called us to, our mission as we yield to Him is to become full of grace and truth as well. And we learn that over time. It doesn't happen if baptism is a whole life experience. You know, Jesus Christ didn't need forgiveness. He never sinned. So, while forgiveness is a part of grace, certainly Jesus Christ, who was full of grace, didn't need that. So, grace is a lot more than just forgiveness of our sins. And in Luke 2, and verse 52, we read about Jesus Christ, who grew up as a child and into teens and into young adulthood and then into His ministries. And Jesus increased. He increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. And that word, favor, in Luke 2, 52, is the Greek word, keris. So, as He grew, He was already perfect. He never sinned, but He increased in wisdom. As He grew, as He grew older, as He experienced life, as He experienced the joys of life, the tribulations of life, the pains of life, He increased in wisdom, He increased in stature, and He increased in favor with God and man.

And that is an important concept because as we become more spiritually mature, as we progress from first coming into church, and then as we're there for five years and ten years and twenty years and forty years and fifty years, we should be increasing in favor with God as He sees us and He gives us grace to live. Well, all the blessings He gives us. We can't just say grace. It's the Holy Spirit. It's the mind of God that's in us, the gift of repentance, the gift of grace that we live under as He molds us and as He guides us through life and with man. Because as we're developing the fruits of the Spirit, you know it says in Galatians 5, 23, 24 in that area after it lists the Spirit, none of these, none of these are against the laws of man. In fact, people love people and appreciate people very much who do display those fruits of the Spirit. So we, you know, we are to grow in grace. It's not a static one-time thing. It's something that progresses in us as we follow God and yield to Him. And then finally, finally, in 2 Peter 3, 18, He tells us the same concept, but grow, grow. It's an ever-changing, ever-increasing thing in us, grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So as we look at this concept of carise and what it is, we see that it's not something that's just given at the time of baptism. It is something that is with us our whole lives. God gives us a gift completely from Him.

We don't do anything to earn it. It is a gift from Him that comes in that He gives us, but it is to grow in us, and that growth is dependent on us living under that grace. So let me, with those introductory scriptures, let me pull up these definitions of grace. Let me get out of share for just a minute because I see some people waiting to join. Okay, let me pull this back up. Let's just look at the definitions here. I'm going to start with the dictionary, right? The English dictionary, Maryam. And here's what they say. It's very interesting what they say about grace.

I expected what I went to Maryam was there's, and I looked at the current dictionary, and I looked at the one from back in 1828 as well to see how did the definition of grace in America change over the years, and it's very similar. It says it's an unmerited divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification. Now those are biblical words, right? When we are baptized, the old is done away, and we are new creations in God. So there's a renewing of the mind Paul talks about in Romans 12.1, a transformation of the mind. Sanctification is the setting apart, what Paul's already talked about. We are set apart. We are set apart from the world because God, for some reason, looked down and said, you know, I select you. I select you to give you a calling and an invitation to become part of his family, to be called children of God, to participate in this tremendous opportunity that God has given us to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ and become like him and have a future that the vast majority of the world has no idea even exists but will one day. So it's unmerited divine assistance. That's the grace of God. Without it, we can't do it, but it is something we have to use. It's a virtue, it says, coming from God, and it's a state of sanctification. Kind of repeats what 1a is there. A state of sanctification. We live under grace. We live under a state of being set apart by God, and he gives us all the tools. Everything that we know we can talk about Holy Spirit, we can talk about the gift of repentance, we can talk about the knowledge of God, we can talk about the truth that he gives us, everything that he gives us so that we can become like him and come out of the world and leave our past lives behind. A state of sanctification of joy through divine assistance. Now, that's different than what the world's churches teach, so it kind of surprised me, but it's interesting that Webster's has that definition. When I looked at the Strong's Concordance, it's very similar. They've got three parts, in essence. One is grace, that which affords, and it's true. When we live under grace, it affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness, and grace of speech.

Our speech, you will see a verse as we define grace from the Bible, our speech should be gracious and respectful in those ways. We have all those things that we can do. Then the second part there is goodwill. Loving kindness, and there's that word favor, which I think is a good word. Sometimes when we think of favor, we think of everything as just good and pleasant and joyful. Being in God's favor isn't always easy, isn't always just, if we look at it from a purely human perspective, positive. Sometimes there's negative things in our lives. It's not always just goodwill. Sometimes there is persecution, and there is tribulation, and that part is part of the grace that we live under. But anywhere here it says, goodwill, loving kindness, and favor of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of Christian virtues.

You know, the Holy Spirit does that. His mind in us writes his laws, principles, ways in our hearts as we read the Bible and we learn more about it. All those things become us as we are led into truth and we begin to see those things and practice those things in our lives. But it's under his grace, his watchful eye, as he's always watching, because we are a special people, he says, just like he took ancient Israel out of Egypt and watched over them all those 40 years in the wilderness, providing for them, teaching them, showing them who he is, trying to get them to, in their hearts, follow him. Of course, they didn't have God's Holy Spirit, which we do, but he showed his favor on them by what he did, just like he did with us, and he shows that to us through everything that goes on in our life. And the third part that Strong says is what is due to grace? It says the spiritual condition of one governed by the power of divine grace.

And then they talk about graciousness. You know, we should be gracious people, it says. Graciousness says gratifying of manner or act, abstract, literal, spiritual, especially the divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in the life, including gratitude.

So, you know, it parallels those two things. And as you look in the Bible, and as you see, Grace talked about, you see this huge concept that is more than just God's favor. It includes that. It is more than forgiveness. It is more, but it is really God working with us in every aspect of our lives, because when he calls us, he has a purpose in mind, and that is to mold us into who he wants us to be, and that is to be like Jesus Christ, full of grace and full of truth. And we spend the rest of our physical lives as we follow God, allowing him to do that, and living, living under that, living as that part of that special people with his watchful eyes on us as he works with us. So with that in mind, let me pull up a third one, and let's let the Bible, let's let the Bible define Carice. Let's let the Bible define Carice here. I'm going to turn to the Bible, because I didn't write the scriptures down here, but you know you have those. And again, if you want these notes, just send me an email later. I know some asked if they could have it ahead of time. I mean, I prepared this through the week, but it really isn't until Wednesdays that I put, how am I going to present this on the Bible study? So they're not ready until Wednesdays, you know, as they're put together. But if you want these later, just email, and I'll be happy to send those to you. But Ephesians 2, we see all these concepts about Carice in here. Ephesians 2 verses 8 and 9 says, For by grace, for by grace you have been saved through faith.

Faith is another one of those things as a gift from God, something that we grow in faith over the years. God gives it to us, but it grows, and our trust in Him grows just like our grace, just like our knowledge, just like the wisdom. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. And then he goes on to verse 9, Not of works, lest anyone should boast. It includes works, but we cannot earn grace. Grace, if we're living under it, the works will come, but they will come not so that we obtain grace, but because we have obtained grace and faith, and we show that by the works that we do. It is favor. You know, we read that about Jesus Christ as He was full of grace, and as He grew up, He grew in favor with men and God as He lived that way of life. And we see that even of the New Testament Church in Acts 2, in verse 47, as they have come out of Jerusalem, and they are living together in Jerusalem as part of the believers community that formed at that time. In verse 44 of Acts 2, it says, All who believed were together, and they had all things in common. They sold their possessions and goods and divided them among all as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity Verse 47, praising God and having favor—that's the word cariese—and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. So God did give them favor. As they came out of the world, as they began to follow Jesus Christ, He gave them favor. People looked at them, and they were impressed, if I can use that word, of how they saw the people living together, the unity that was there, the commitment they had to their beliefs, their God, and to each other to serve each other in the way they did. So God does give us favor, and certainly in this life, and most of us, I would say every one of us, have experienced God's favor. We have bosses who have appreciated our work. We have been able to live in this world and enjoy many of the fine things of life that God has provided for us. There's a time coming when it won't be so pleasant because of what our beliefs are, but our beliefs today, in the countries, at least, that are represented here tonight, the four or five countries we have with us, is God has given us favor during this time. It does have to do with forgiveness. Without Jesus Christ, there is no forgiveness of sin. If we look at Acts, or not Acts, Romans 3, in verses 23 to 26, we see that clearly. These are not the only verses in the Bible. I just gave you a few of them here. If you want to add to this list as you go through the Bible, you can find many, many more verses that would speak to these things. But in Romans 3 and verse 23, it says, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace.

That's crease. Justified, our sins washed away when we repent and when we come to God and are baptized, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood through faith to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance or patience, God had passed over the sins that were previously committed to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. So the forgiveness, certainly, you know, we know that that's part of the grace of God. Our sins are forgiven. Paul says that again in Ephesians 1 verse 7, very clearly, in Ephesians 1 verse 7, it says, in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace. According to the riches of His grace. So we have some things here. Does grace impart gifts to us? Not the same gifts to every person? No, but those gifts that God gives so that His work gets done. And we're reminded of Ephesians 4, 16 that every single person in the church has a reason for being there. God gives us all gifts, whatever they are, to encourage each other, to help each other, to buoy each other up, to preach the gospel, to get the message out to the world, to get the message to our loved ones, to do whatever it is that God gives us the gifts to do. Romans 12 verse 6, it says, having been gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us. So through His grace, through His grace, He gives us the gifts. He gives us everything we need to accomplish the commission that He has given us individually and collectively to do. He gives us the gifts to build the temples, the individual and collective temples that God is building in us. Having been gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, then He says, well, let's use them. He gives us those gifts. Ask God, how do I use them? Teach me what my gifts are. Teach me what you want me to do. How can I serve other people? There's not just one or two or three things that get done in life. There's a whole bunch of things that happen. As you read through the scriptures, you can see how people work together and the gifts that we can do. There are all sorts of a number of things where we can edify each other, build each other up, or just call each other when some are shut in and just don't have any contact with anyone else. It just makes them glorify God and feel part of the body when someone will just email, text, or call and talk for a while. He gives us the gifts.

Whatever ones He wants to give each of us, He gives it to them and He says, use them. He gives. He freely gives, but we have the responsibility to use them. If we just lay dormant and just do nothing, what are we telling God? What are we doing?

Give the gifts that God has given us. As long as we're right there in chapter 12, kind of an inset, He gives grace. He says, and you know these verses, He gives grace to the humble. If we are arrogant, if we are determined that our way is the best and we're going to do that and not God's way, He's not going to give us grace in all that means. Romans 12 verse 3 says, For I say, through the grace given to me, Paul says, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. And then he goes on in that, you know, to talk about the grace that we're given and the gifts that we're given. I don't think I have to turn to James 4 verse 6 and verse Peter 5 where it just simply says, you know, God gives grace to the humble. That's where He gives grace. We want His grace. We need to be humble people. Just as Jesus Christ showed through that first part of Passover, the foot washing, that must be us. And always asking God, you know, through His Spirit to make us aware of any pride or arrogance that's in us, to be humble because really everything we are, everything we ever will be, our entire futures are dependent on God. We have no reason ever to pat ourselves on the back, but always to give the glory to God and in all our ways acknowledge Him, as it says in Proverbs 3, verses 5 and 6. Grace saves us. Grace saves us. If we look at Ephesians 2 again, Ephesians 2 verses 5 and 8. I'll read verse 4 where the sentence begin. It says Ephesians 2 verse 4, But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. Because of God's love for us we have been saved. We have been called out of this world. We have been given the opportunity to eternal life and not condemned to a life of death.

Verse 8 says basically the same thing. It says, For by grace you have been saved through faith.

We believe. We believe in God. We believe and we trust in Him. All His promises are absolutely sure. Because we trust in Him, we separate ourselves from the world more and more as our lives go on and trust in Him more and more and realize our reliance and dependence is on Him. Verse 7 says grace is kindness. There's this kindness that comes when we have grace. Jesus Christ, there were times when He, with the Pharisees, would let them know exactly what He thought, which is part of the boldness of warning, boldness of preaching the gospel, and all the things that we should be doing in the world today, and be warned the world. Even people in our fellowship turn back to God. Here's what the Bible says. We need to be living by every word of it and learning to do it, as I say, diligently, carefully, and exactly.

But kindness. Ephesians 2, verse 7. In the ages to come, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. So the exceeding riches of His grace, we can see and will be shown in His kindness toward us. And not one of us can say God hasn't been kind and patient and all those elements to us. Merciful, loving, you know, the whole nine yards. Any one of us, He could have thrown away at any point in time, but we can be very grateful to Him that in kindness and His grace, you know, He's given us the opportunity to serve Him.

Colossians 4, 6. You know, it talks about the graciousness of speech. Colossians 4, verse 6.

Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. Patient, kind, not condescending, trying to understand, asking God to help understand that they could understand what His truth is.

Okay, number nine there. 1 Corinthians 3. You know, again, God calls us and we have to be taught everything. We, you know, we come into the church. When God opens our minds, we begin to see the Bible. The Bible is the tool that He gives us. It's a textbook. It teaches us His way.

So we read it. We read it again. We go through detailed studies like we're doing here five years from now, if we're around. Certainly when Jesus Christ, you know, is teaching us, He'll be in the Bible. We'll be like in awe of the things in the Bible we still didn't understand because there's so much in here that we see. But even in building the temples and understanding the spiritual temples that God is building us in us now, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3 verse 10, he says, according to the grace of God, which was given to me as a wise master builder, I've laid the foundation and another builds on it.

But let each one of you take heed how He builds on it. So God gave Him the direction. It's through His grace, of course, through the Holy Spirit. It's through God's watchful eye, full of grace and truth.

Here's what you do. Here's what I want done. As we truly see God and what His will is, He'll show the way as He did to Paul. Here's the lay of the foundation, but you need to be building on it as well. And Paul will talk about it's an individual temples that we build and collective temples. We all have a responsibility in each one of them to be building those things.

And God will give us that. He will teach us. He will lead us if we let Him and get our ideas and our thoughts and our opinions out of the way and look to Him and genuinely, genuinely follow Him.

And Romans 15 talks about the boldness. We remember after the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit was first given to the disciples that were gathered there that day, they went out with boldness. They spoke truth in a way they hadn't spoken it before. God gave them that courage.

But Paul, you know, who was trained by Jesus Christ as you read in the first chapter of Galatians, apart from the apostles, right? He was God led him through His Holy Spirit and the grace that was on him. In verse 15, in Romans 15, he says, nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points as reminding you because of the grace given to me by God.

He was sure of what the Bible said. He was sure of what it said, of what it needed to do. And he was very bold in saying, this is what the Bible says. Do it when you saw people going astray and follow it. And he didn't compromise. He didn't make excuses for the Bible. He just simply did it. And so our commission today also is to, you know, speak boldly of the truth to the world and even to the church because, you know, Isaiah 58, verse 1, it says, cry aloud, spare not, tell my people their sin and the house of Jacob their transgressions, right?

So it's my people, you and me, and the house of Jacob, America, Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, tell them their sin. So that's our part of our commission is to prove the grace God gives us, you know, we do that. And finally, I guess I have two more there. You know, also, yeah, these are all, you know, maybe you can look at these. I know I'm going through a lot here really quickly, but I want to give you just kind of like an overview of everything the Bible says about grace and what it gives us as it is here.

In verse 9 of 2 Corinthians 12. Hello. Yep, everyone, if you keep your mic off, everyone can hear better. So 2 Corinthians 12 verse 9, Paul writes, and he, speaking of Christ, he said to me, My grace, My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, most gladly, I will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. So even the strength and time of trial and needs and part of God's grace and the time that we live under, you know, does include those times of trials. And that is part of God's grace on us as well as He is molding us and bringing us to the fullness of Jesus Christ, right?

Full of grace and truth. And I just want to read the first five verses here of Romans 5. Then you're going to have to bear with me through one more slide as I tie this all together, because it's a whole life that God has called us to that we live under. In Romans 5, well, the first verse is He talks about our faith in Jesus Christ. And verse 3 says, And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces ...

okay, I should have read verse 2. Let me read verses 1, 2, and 3. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, perseverance, character, character, hope, and so on.

So even in grace, we have tribulation. And I'm not going to dwell on the last part there. You know, we can't lose the grace of God. Hebrews 12, 15 talks about bitterness, that some have trampled on grace through that. Hebrews 4, 16 talks about that as well. But we see the many things that are there. And just one more.

Bill, I'll get to you in a minute. I'm going to finish through this.

Because I want to tie another verse in Titus 2 into the training of God and the pia dia. Now, those of you who are in Orlando and Jacksonville, you heard me in over time talk about pia dia. And it is the training program that the ancient Greeks put their men of the young adults that they thought had a lot of potential.

And they gave them schooling in every single subject. Because they wanted them to become ideal members of the polis, of the city, of the state, right? So this was a way of maturing them. And they were the cream of the crop. And they put them through everything so that they would become the premier people in the community. God uses that same word pia dia to talk about the training program you and I are in today, as He is preparing us to be kings and priests in His kingdom.

So in Titus 2, He ties grace into the pia dia, that training program. So let me, oh yeah, actually put that verse there. For the grace of God, it says, that brings salvation has appeared to all men teaching. And that word teaching is pia duso, which is the verb form of pia dia, the training program. The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.

And so grace and pia dia, shouldn't be an end of that word there, are intertwined. Now pia dia, you know, that word training there, right from, right from um, um, Strongs, is to train up a child, discipline, instruct, learn, teach. It is the, it's, it's, it's what I talked about. Making, you know, bringing people into the fullness of becoming a spiritually mature adult. Just a few verses on where pia dia only shows up, I think six times in the Bible.

So one of them is Ephesians 6, 4, it says, fathers bring them up in the training, there's pia dia, and ammunition of the Lord. Show them and teach them the ways of God. 2 Timothy 3 16, all scripture is given by inspiration of God. We know that.

Bible is our textbook, it's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction. There's the word pia dia in righteousness. And then Hebrews 12 verses 5 to 11 is the other places where pia dia shows up. Wherever it talks about chastens and chastening and this discipline that is put on us, that comes through trials, tribulations, persecutions, to toughen us up, to focus us on God and to develop that trust and that absolute reliance on Him. You know, if you read through there, I'm not going to read through all six of those verses.

There it says, this is the most prominent in connecting pia dia with God's loving discipline, especially through trials and sufferings. So we see, you know, I read 2 Corinthians 12, 9. You can read Hebrews 4, 16. But the ultimate aim of pia dia is to conform us to the image of Christ.

And so we have the same thing that grace, God gives us grace, so that we become full of grace and truth. So it is an ongoing, active, and transformative force in our lives. So I kind of, I think, took a little longer in that than I thought I would, but I think as we go into Romans, as we look at these concepts, these principal foundational concepts that Paul is going to talk about, you know, that we're going to see about even in the next verses here of Romans, it's good to have an understanding of the wide range of what God has and let go of some of the things that we've been raised with and the concepts we may have learned in childhood or in our past associations, or even today where we might have, even as a church, watered down the concept of grace a little bit, because grace is an ongoing thing and we all have an ongoing responsibility to live in that grace, to live a life of repentance, and a life of ever turning to God, asking Him to show us our weaknesses and sins, and then repenting of those and turning with them, using turning from them, using the strength, using the spirit that He gives us to turn from our ways to His, to learn more of the Bible, and to develop those fruits He wants us to have.

So let me stop there, and I see Bill has a comment. Yes, Bill? Well, first of all, I like that viaD a little bit, very interesting. As far as I have some quick things to say, I think I mentioned to you last time, I have Stories of the Tomorrow's World in 1969, September, where Herbert Armstrong says, Does the word grace sound a little theological? That's absolutely true. He didn't develop on that.

The other thing I have is the Englishman's Greek, and what it is is like strong, but you have to look up haris. And it shows you every place haris is used in the King James, which is powerful. Another point I want to make is strong was not written by a Church of God person, a converted person. So they mix in a lot of junk sometimes.

If you look up haris in the Greek, you're always getting every place haris is used. Now, here's the one thing that I'm frustrated about. You listed the 12 different places with haris. Well, there's more than that. I just listed 12 of them. Please list 1 Peter 2, 19 and 20. Or if you want me to read them to you, I will, but they both use haris.

1 Peter 2, 19 and 20, those deceitful King James translators trying to say we don't have to keep the commandments. So they translated verse 19, haris is thank-worthy, and verse 20 as acceptable. But here's what it reads, and here's how it should read. 1 Peter 2, 19, For this is favor, if a man for conscience toward God endured grief, suffering wrongfully. How many of us? I've lost jobs because of the Sabbath, but I suffered wrongfully. But I believe that I grew in favor with God. By the way, you're supposed to grow in grace. You're going in favor. Not that ugly grace word. Then verse 20, For what glory is it when you be buffeted for your faults?

This is 1 Peter 2, verse 20. What glory is it when you be buffeted for your faults? You still take it patiently. But if when you do well and suffer for it, you take it patiently, this is favor with God. I'm going to be... I've convinced Gary Petty... I didn't have to work hard to convince Don Abort because he was preaching favor, and the pastor, the United pastor here locally, that favor is the meaning.

God favored all of mankind with his image. He favored all of mankind with Christ to die for us. Then he favors us with repentance. God has to call us to repentance. Then when we get baptized and we're even in the Spirit, we grow in favor, and then we're supposed to continue to grow in favor. And your one scripture you mentioned, can we fall? Yeah, it says you're falling from grace. You're falling from favor. How do you fall out of favor? David lost favor with God when he committed adultery with Bathsheba, but he had great favor because of his zeal and everything. So I appreciate you letting me put this forward.

And I, quite frankly, I'm not afraid to say grace is an ugly Catholic word that's deceived us. We don't use gay anymore. We won't say we have a lot of gay people in our church because we know it's a fake, bad translation now of the King James. We don't say the famous Sunday preacher Billy Graham, we don't say he's in hell to Sunday keepers. Yeah, Bill, I think we're saying exactly the same thing.

If you want to use favor, I think that I don't think grace is... I think we need to redefine in our minds what it is. I think, you know, Carrese, I say, I wish they would have just used carrese everywhere. 1 Peter 2, 19-20, that's part of grace that we live under, right? That that's kind of like we, when we suffer for doing good, God says that's commendable. That's grace. I like you said that, use harries everywhere.

I wish they would have done that because there is not an English word that that is good. I don't know if it's... I suppose Catholic Church did grace, but the Protestant churches really have messed up grace a lot, right? And so we just as Christians and God's people need to know when we see these words that, you know, what they mean. And it is helpful to see that it's not grace everywhere and not favor everywhere. It should be carrese everywhere and we would be crystal clear on that. So, but let's move on. Tim, how about there's one more thing in John. It says, grace for grace, and it really means favor on top of favor. You know, John...

Yeah, I know. John 1 16 and 17. Yeah, I wasn't trying to list every verse where grace is, but there's a concept there upon grace upon grace. It grows, right? So, yeah. Yeah, but it's favor on top of favor. Just like I said, it starts out with us being made in God's image. Yeah. Old mankind. Yeah, we're on the same page. We're arguing over semantics. Let's not do that. Tim, go ahead. Go ahead, Tim. In the grace booklet on page 10 says, grace is God's continual outpouring to us of knowledge, of glory, of wisdom, of anything you could imagine that is good from God. That is good from God. And everything God sends our way is good for us because he is looking to mold us into who he wants us to be. All things work together for good. It says in Romans 8, I think it is. So, okay.

Yeah, good evening. Yeah, I also like the divine influences on the heart. That's part of the definition in the Charis. It just shows how God works with us. You know, how he, like you said, he chases us, he disciplines us, he blesses us, he guides us, he directs us. I think it just, divine influences on the heart covers so many things and including all the scriptures you mentioned today. So, I just think it's awesome how, you know, we got a much broader definition of the word Charis, what it means. But I like divine influences on the heart because God is working with us, you know, in so many ways, right? Exactly. Now, if we listen to our consciences sometime, we know where to go. We just have to follow that. So, Mr. Shaby. Yes.

I think we should study the Grace booklet along with the review and enrollment.

Yeah, if everyone would read that Grace booklet, that would be great. You know, I think there's a lot of information in there. I wanted to give some... I've read it before. I didn't read it this week. I just wanted to go to the Bible and look at it and see what the Bible said about Grace to get a wider view of Charis. And Bill mentioned, you know, but if you go to Bible Gateway...

No, not Babel Gateway. If you go to Blue Letter Bible and you look up Charis, it'll list for you every single place in the New Testament that Charis is used, regardless of whether it's called Grace, commendable, favor, thank, or whatever. So, it's a very good study to be able to do that.

BlueLutterBible.com as well. Xavier, good evening. Hi, evening, everyone. It's a poem from all the verses we read with God's help that God's grace is the greatest expression of His love to our Lord Jesus Christ.

We read one part where it says we stand Him. And then also in Ephesians 5, verse 2, it means that we stand Him. So our whole relationship is based on God's love. And then the Grace is the greatest expression of it. You know, the one danger, if we were to translate everywhere in English where it says Charis, it would be like you would agape. Because even it says in one part where it says, even sinners love, those who love them, they use as agape.

Yeah, you're right. You're right. We have to be careful so that we don't, because it can become, a word can become something that becomes here. Yep. I think you're right. You have to look at what Christ said about agape to get His definition of agape. Same thing with Charis. You're right. If you look at other places, it can confuse you. It's looking at it and discerning where it's talking about the grace that comes from God versus the typical Greek use of that word, which requires some study and looking at the context in there as well. Good point. Because people pollute many things. Yep, they do. Bernice, hi.

Hello. I just wanted to let you know that in the Old Testament, the Hebrew they use is hen, which is K-H-E-N, which is also grace.

Right. But the Hebrew word is that, and it could mean multiple things too. Just to let you know, let you know it could mean inducing a response to favor, something of beauty, swift and elegantly, show favor and generosity, show favor at the end of the world, show favors in one's eye, a gift of favor or kindness from a person of highest statute status, was the word used as God's generous act of favor. So I just wanted to let you know that the Hebrew word for the Old Testament is hen, which is A-H-E-N. Yep.

And again, it's just you have to read the scripture to see how they're using the word. Correct. Correct.

Bill, is it short so we can get on with this?

I'm sorry? Oh, no, I know. You've done Bernice. I was looking. Bill's got his hand up, so.

I'm finished. Okay. Thanks, Bernice.

Oh, yeah. I've been through this for 50 years. Joseph found Haris in the favor, I mean, Joseph found Haris, translated favor, in the eyes of Pharaoh.

Favor does not mean something that just comes from God. It means favor, as you even talked about earlier, Rick. Favor, obviously, we do the things that are pleasing in God's side, we're going to have God's favor. But anyway, I'm done. Yeah. But it's God's favor we're looking for, right? Yeah. So, okay. Okay. Let's go on in Romans 1 then. So, we can do a few more verses here while we're here together. So, we were...

Let's read through verse... Well, actually, do we need to read verse 5 and 6 again? I don't think we do. Let's go on to verse 7 in Romans 1 where Paul says... And we're going to get through... What time do we have? We're going to get through at least the introduction part until we get to where he talks about, you know, the sin of the Gentiles and excluding God from our thought process. But in verse 7 he says, "...to all who are in Rome, addressing those to whose writing letter to, beloved of God, called to be saints..." We talked about saints last week. Those would be the first few. Those are the ones who are following God and looking to follow Him, who His Holy Spirit is in. "...grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." First, I thank my God. I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. You can see where Paul is. He's just commending the people here. As the church has started there, it is a very unified church. They are Jews. They are Gentiles. They come from two walks of life. We have Jews, if you remember, who were coming back from having been exiled. Now they're back in Rome again. They've learned the way of God as they've been over in Corinth and other places. But they're back there, and they are working together. They are united by the truth and the excitement of that first love as they have been brought into the church. Paul says, you know, people are talking about you all over the world. Look what's going on in Rome. You know, sometimes in the past, here last year, as we've had the opportunity to travel around the world, we would say, wow, look what's going on in Myanmar. Look what's going on in Burundi. Look what's going on in Bangladesh. Look what's going on in Pakistan. Look what God is doing. Look at how he is calling people. They're unified, and they're suffering through things because they're dedicated to the truth. It's the same thing we see where God is working with people today in places there haven't been places before, and God is calling. It's the same thing that Paul is saying here. You know, we say the same things today. Look at what God is doing. Look how he's doing that. So he is, and you can feel his love for those people as he said that, even though he's never been there. He says in verse 9, For God is my witness, whom I serve with my Spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers. You know, and I believe that Paul meant that. I do believe every day he prayed for those people in Rome because he felt kinship with them. He was their shepherd, even though he had never met many of them personally, and he loved them. And we pray for each other.

I read an article not too long ago by someone out in the United Church of God who talked about how sometimes the word we can say, we pray for each other, and it's almost like saying, you know, how are you today? I'm fine. And when we say I'm praying for you, we should really be praying for them and not just giving a flip answer. I don't think Paul was giving a flip answer there when he says, without ceasing, I make attention mention of you always in my prayers.

He did. He loved those people, and he wanted them to thrive, and he was looking for God's guidance and direction on them. And then he says, making requests if by some means, now at last, I might find a way in the will of God to come to you. He wanted to see them, just like we would like to, you know. I mean, you know, it was wonderful to be able to be to go around the world and and meet people in Australia, like some of you who are on the line, Mary Ong and the people in Hong Kong that we've met every once in a while. You know, the Lucigan is on, is on, and other places in England and whatever. It is a wonderful thing. One day when we are all together, when God gathers us, however he gathers us, and wherever he gathers us to be able to be with one another, there will be a joy as we see each other. I know even as we're going to the feast in Daytona Beach, and I was looking at the attendance thing, I've seen some of your names, none of your names that are on the Bible study going to Daytona Beach, and I thought, ah man, it's going to be great to meet those people in person and to be able to see them. That's what Paul is saying here. I want to meet you. I love you. You're part of my family. I'm praying for you. But he goes, I want to see you, and if God will allow that to happen, if God will allow that to happen, you know, then he is ready to come to them. And then you can see in verses 12 and 13, you know, or 11 and 12, where he wants to bring them something. You know, when we're invited to dinner or something, often, you know, we'll, we, I'm not talking about Debbie and me, but I mean all of us, right? We might bring flowers to the hostess, or we might bring a bottle of wine, or we might bring dessert, or whatever it is, right? You want to bring something to show your appreciation. Paul wants to bring them something of spiritual value. That's where his heart is. If I can impart something to you of spiritual value, and I think in the heart of ministry is like, when we, when we speak, we should want to bring something to you that, that draws you closer to God, opens the truth of God more to you. And God provides that, if that's the word we really use in our heart. In verse 11, he says, I long to see you that I may impart, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift so that you may be established.

When he prayed for them, it wasn't just to heal diseases. If there was those, he did those things. Wasn't just praying for job situations, but that God would establish them in his truth. That they would be a united body that would stay together, that would find strength in God, of course, keep their eyes focused on him, keep their eyes focused on the Bible, strive, strive for the unity that he talked about later when he wrote to the Ephesians, and strive to implement the truth into all parts of our life, because that's what will bind us together. So he says, I want to bring you some spiritual gift. I want you to, I want you to feel the power of God. I want you to see that truth that's there, that isn't in the world, but is in his church and in his body. I want to see you. I think it's a beautiful verse that I may impart to you some spiritual gift so that you may be established. You know, Paul, just thinking about here, in 1 Corinthians 15, when he talks about, at the end of the resurrection chapter, he talks about, you know, the brethren he says, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Peter will use that word establish at the end of one of his epistles, too, that God may establish you. It's a beautiful concept, because we want God to establish us. Yeah, here it is in 1 Peter 5, 10. May the God of all grace, who called, may the God of all grace, there's the word grace, the caries again, may the God of all grace, who called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settled you. God settles us. Faith in him, anchored in him, anchored in his truth, we are established no matter what comes our way. So, 11, you know, he says, I want to bring that that you may be established. And in verse 12, he says, that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith, both of you and me. And that's a beautiful concept, too, because, you know, when Paul and the apostles and you and I, when we're together with people of like mind, it is encouraging to us. We come home from Sabbath services, and it is really a delightful experience. We feel stronger. We are in we're in love with God. We're in love with his way of life. We're in love with his people. It encourages us. And Paul says, you know, I'm coming to you and I want to encourage you, but you know, just being with you encourages me, because seeing people of like mind and seeing them live God's way is encouragement to us at all. And so when Paul, not Paul, but the author of Hebrews, you know, who may have been Paul, may not have been either, you know, says, don't don't forsake the assembling of yourselves together. Stir up. Stir up the love, right? Go with each other. Help each other, because you find that encouragement and you find that love and you find that inspiration to go on, even when times are tough, because being together with God's people is a special, special, special thing that you can't replace with Zoom for Sabbath services. I think Zoom for Bible Studies is a wonderful thing to be with all of you. You encourage me every every Wednesday when we get on here. Like I say, Sabbath is my favorite times. Wednesday nights are my second favorite time of the week, when we're together like this. And Paul is saying the same thing, the same thing here. Verse 13, I'm gonna look at my notes here and make sure I'm not looking over something I intended to talk about.

Yeah, verse 13. Now, I don't want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you, but was hindered until now, that I might have some fruit among you, just as among the other Gentiles. So, you know, Paul's saying again, I want to come to you. I want to bring something to you. I want to produce something in you so that you, whatever God gives him or any minister to give you, might encourage and bring us closer to God and look to him more fully. In verse 14, you know, he says another kind of thing when you look at the just strict translation there. I'm a debtor, I'm a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise.

What Paul is saying there is that he was, his commission was to preach to everyone, not just the church. He was an apostle to the Gentiles. He went out into the various areas that we read about through all the letters that he wrote, and he talks about the times that he went into, the temple and preached, and times that the Jews would usher him out of town, beat him, stone him, do whatever they can, try to discredit him, whatever it took.

But his commission was to preach the gospel without partiality to Jews, to barbarians. And when you look at that, the Jews would look down on those two elements of society, right? But he goes, I'm a debtor. This is part of my responsibility. I am to preach to those people. We don't select who to preach to. The whole world needs to hear the message of God, and that's what he is saying there, both to the wise and to the unwise. Some who, you know, in our world today we might say, well, you know, the Muslims don't want to hear it.

The Hindus don't want to hear it. The Buddhists don't want to hear it. The atheists, I don't know if I said that, don't want to hear it. We preach the gospel anyway. We don't exclude. The gospel goes to the whole world. We have no idea it's God who calls, and who knows who he could, you know, who we might call. But we are a debtor responsible to preach the gospel, as Jesus Christ said, in all nations. Not just to a couple, but to in all nations, and to make disciples in all nations. And so the same commission that Paul had is the same commission God's church today has as well.

And both to the wise and to the unwise, later on in the chapter, you know, he'll talk about the wise and the unwise and how we move from being wise to unwise if we neglect God, or if we minimize him, or put him off in a corner, or think that, you know, we know more than him, and replace his will with our will, whatever that might be. You know, when we replace God, or when we minimize him, we lose them. We're supposed to grow in wisdom, and that comes from the fear of the Lord.

That's from having our eyes in the Bible. That's from looking to God and being led, you know, by his Holy Spirit. So he says, you know, I'm a debtor. I'm going to be there. I'm preaching to everyone, not just to those who God calls. My job is all of this. You know, I've got marked in my Bible here. 1 Corinthians 9, 16. 1 Corinthians 9, 16. There he says, there he says, If I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me. Yes, woe is me if I don't preach the gospel.

And that's the way, you know, God's church is today. Woe to us if we don't preach the gospel the way God wants it preached everywhere that he opens the door for us to preach in. Verse 15, so as much as in me, Paul says, I'm ready. I'm ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.

I'm ready to come there. I'm ready to be there whenever God allows me to be there. I will do that, for I am not ashamed, verse 16, of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes for the Jew first and also for the Greek. We'll talk more about that as we go on through the book of Romans, but I want to look at that word ashamed for a moment, because Paul says I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.

Some may not want to hear it, right? Many of the Gentiles didn't want to hear it. Many of the Jews didn't want to hear it, right? They were keeping the Sabbath. They were keeping the Holy Days. They just didn't want to hear the truth of Christ. We have some among us today who don't want to hear the strong message. I mean, Isaiah 30 talks about speech to us smooth things, but God says no. Warn them. Be aware of what's going on.

Keep your eyes on God. Keep your eyes on the Bible. Be aware of what's going on in the world and warn them. So he says don't be ashamed. Don't be ashamed of the gospel. Do what God has you to do. Jesus Christ used that word ashamed, too. We can't be people who are afraid and try to hide from the gospel and the truth that God has given us.

I don't mean it when you go out there and stir up people and whatever else like that, but to to preach the gospel boldly is what God has called us to do. In Luke 9, Luke 9 and verse 26, Jesus Christ in his words, he says, "...whoever is ashamed of me and my words of him, the Son of man will be ashamed when he comes in his own glory and in his fathers and of the holy angels." Don't be ashamed of the truth that God has called us into. Never be ashamed of the truth he's given. Never apologize for it. It is the truth, as Paul says. It is the power of God's salvation. It's the truth. The world may not want to hear it. Your next-door neighbor may not want to hear it. The world may not want to hear it. And certainly in times to come, they're not going to want to hear it. But we preach it anyway for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes that's you and me, to anyone who's listening to this, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. Don't be ashamed. And then in Mark 8, there's a number of ways that we could be ashamed of the gospel. And you might want to just think about that. How could we be ashamed? How would we ever possibly be ashamed of what God has given us to preach? But there are ways that we can show, and we just don't want to do that. First Psalm 38 of Mark 8, Christ's words again, whoever is ashamed of me and my words and this adulterous and sinful generation, and he says, I'll be ashamed of you. Do what I've given you to do. Preach the gospel the way it's done. And finally, in Hebrews 2, verse 11.

For both he who sanctifies, that's God who sets us apart. For both he who sanctifies, and those who are being sanctified, that's us, are all of one. At one with God, at one with Jesus Christ. Supposed to be at one with one another. For both he who sanctifies, and those who are being sanctified, are all of one, for which reason he's not ashamed. He's not ashamed of us to call us brethren, because we are to be at one with God. That means unity. Think like him, become like him, have the same goals as him, let him lead, and let him guide us. Let me just end there. We're at 815. I think we've gone a little bit over an hour during this. Then we'll start next week. We'll get into, in the next couple of chapters, Paul is going to talk about the Gentile world, and he's going to talk about the sins that they had, because the Jews would have looked down, as I mentioned last week, on the Gentiles and thought, wow, you guys are really, really sinners. We never did any of the things that you did.

Then in chapter 2, which we should be able to get into a little bit next week, Paul points out the Jews are sinners as well. Do your sinners as well. Maybe you came out of the world and you were adulterers, whatever you were doing out there, but we have sin as well. In Romans 3, he brings everything together. Let's stop there. You might just think about how could we be ashamed? That word shows up in the Bible as God. How could we be ashamed of Him by the things that we do in our lives or as His church? Let me leave it there and then open it up for any kind of comments or questions. I see Mr. Murray.

Good morning in Australia. Good evening here.

Yes, it's about quarter after 10 a.m. in the morning here.

On Thursday morning. Thank you very much for it. That's a wonderful Bible study and I really appreciated your notes. That summary of the definitions of grace, where you mentioned it was for a gift and for favor and for forgiveness, imparting gifts, given to the humble, how it saves us and God's kindness and graciousness. I was thinking, as you also referred to Romans 3, I thought that was excellent, that we don't receive any of those things except by the incredible sacrifice of Jesus Christ, as you referred to there in Romans 3 verse 24, that we're justified or made righteous or considered righteous, of course, when we repent.

But not only just that, but we are made or considered righteous by God, freely by His grace or His favor or His kindness, His mercy. We have a difficulty in, of course, translating that hurries correctly, as you pointed out. But it's through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ, that's the key point I wanted to hone in on, that all of this is possible because of our Redeemer, our Savior, who paid the debt penalty for our sins by His own blood.

Very good. Yeah. That should never, we should always underscore that and never forget it, even if it's unsaid, we should never forget that. So very good. Hey, Bill, Rhett.

Can you hear me? Okay, I'm on a different computer than I. I didn't know what that was. My question is this. Since you're not the president anymore, will you still be doing the worldview messages and so on on YouTube? Yeah, we're gonna, when we get to Florida, we're supposed to be moving to Florida next week. They didn't want to do them anymore in the home office, so we're not doing those and creating problems. So we were told that, you know, when we get to Florida, get set up down there, yeah, we're gonna begin those again down there, and then they'll be on YouTube, wherever that is. So unless they tell us, say we can't. But as we left there, we can do that again. So that is the plan right now.

All right, good. Thank you. Bill, hello, Brenner.

Yeah, one of the things in my little four-page paper about Hari's that Gary Petty remarked about very well is the Scripture where it says, where sin did abound, and it should read, where sin did abound. I'll put Hari's in there. Where sin did abound, Hari's did more abound. Shall we sin more, that Hari's may abound more? God forbid. When you put favor in there, and that's what Gary said, it makes a lot of sense. When sin did abound, favor did much more abound. Shall we sin more, that favor may abound more? God forbid. Yep, that's later on in Romans. We'll get to that in a few chapters, so very good.

Tim!

Do you have a united hymnal with you?

Do I have a what?

United hymnal with you?

I have one at the house, but I don't have one up here where I am.

It says on page 169, the church's one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord.

She is his new creation by water and the Word. I didn't understand that.

By water and the Word? Well, the Word you understand, right?

And the water would be the Holy Spirit, right? And the water of baptism?

All those things that water symbolizes in the Bible?

Okay, good.

How about we go to Martin and Sonja?

We need your mic on, Martin.

Good evening, Mr. Chavie and everyone else. My question is, once you move back here to Florida, to access your Bible study, will we need the same password? Can we use the same password? It'll be the same thing, yeah. You won't see any difference. The first couple of weeks down there, you'll see a different background until we get the furniture.

But yeah, it'll be exactly the same as you're doing now. So, and I'll send the links and everything every week. So thank you very much.

Bill, yes, when worldwide was losing its mind, the people, the false people that were saying that where it says Jesus is the beginning of the creation of God, they began to say that Jesus was a created being. And the very plain simple truth for all of us is the beginning of the creation of God that Jesus was is the family. Because before that, like Melchizedek, without father, without mother. And so Jesus was the beginning of the family, and he was not...

That was the beginning of creation of God. God was creating family.

It was not that he was created. I don't know if that's what Tim had mentioned or meant or not. No, I don't think that's what Tim was referring to.

Hey, Brandon.

Hello, Mr. Shabrie. Hello, everyone. I'm sorry, I just had a quick question. When did you say that you all were going to be back here? Right now, the plan is we will be down there by the end of next week. So probably we're not having a Bible study next week, but I'm going to hold that open. If you don't get an email from me on Tuesday, that means that we don't have a Bible study. So we get delayed somehow by a couple days. I'll try to fit one in, but let's just say for ease, probably no Bible study next week, but there will be one on the 25th. Okay, wonderful. And then will we be seeing you in Jacksonville or will you be here? I don't know if we'll see you on the 21st, but we'll see you within the first couple weeks. After we get there, we're going to be gone for a couple of weeks with something that was pre-planned, but we'll get it all out later. Okay, wonderful. All right, we'll do it. Look forward to seeing you. Hey, Darlene.

Hi. Just really quick, there was at the beginning, before we started recording, there was a mention of an older Bible, and I didn't quite catch the name of it. Was it a Bible or a book? You mean the one that I was quoting? Romans 1, 5, and 6? Yes. Yes. It's the Phillips translation. Oh, okay. I've never heard of that one. Okay. Yeah, Bible Gateway has a whole bunch of translations on it. If you do that and put Phillips in there, you'll see exactly what I read. Thank you. Thank you for hosting an open discussion. Okay, well, thank all of you for being here. It is a joy to be with you each week. I hope you always feel free to ask questions. We're here just to understand what God wants us to do and to understand it. He'll bring us together.

Okay, if there's any questions. This is Joe. I just want to check to see if my mic was being heard or not, because I heard what I've been able to get to. Okay, I just want to check to make sure that it's working. Thank you. Good night. It's working. Yeah. Okay. Right. Well, let me say, there's nothing else. Let me say good night then. Good night.