Good evening, and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the book of Romans.  Tonight is study #4 in Romans 3,  and we are continuing to read Romans 3:1-2:

What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.

We are trying to learn a little bit more about this last statement in verse 2.  The Jews were committed the oracles of God.  They were put into their trust.  There are two ways of looking at this.  First, it has to be the corporate body that is in view,  the physical nation of Israel, as well the New Testament churches, which were the outward visible churches.  They are in view as those that had an advantage because God had entrusted to them the oracles of God.  And we looked at this word “committed” in a few Scriptures that carried that idea, although it is a word that is often translated as “believed.”  But here, it carries the idea of  being entrusted with the oracles of God.

And the fact that they were put in trust with the oracles of God is the main reason that God judged them, as we saw in 1Corinthians 4:1-2:

Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

This is the trusting.  God was entrusting His Word to the churches and to Israel of old, and it was a requirement that they be found faithful stewards of that Word.  And it was not just maintaining the Bible, but maintaining faithfulness to the mysteries of the Word, “the mysteries of God.”

In our last study, we went to Matthew 13, and we saw that Jesus answered the disciples question about why He spoke in parables, and these disciples represented the true elect children of God.  Jesus said in Matthew 13:11:

He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

The “them” would refer to the professed Christian, and that explains why God makes statements such as what we read in Proverbs 28:5:

Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek JEHOVAH understand all things.

Why do evil men not understand judgment?  Because it is not given to them.  It is given to the elect to know the mysteries of the kingdom, but to them it is not given.  The same thing applies to Ecclesiastes 8:5:

Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment.

Why is that?  It is because the “wise man” is someone who has become wise through being born again, and, therefore, they possess a new spirit and new heart.  It is given to them, the elect, to know both time and judgment, and the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven., especially as God had sealed up so many of these mysteries in His Word until the time of the end.  Then Daniel 12 implies that at the time of the end there would be an unsealing of the Word.  And that is the next place we could go to, in Daniel 12:9-10:

And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.

There are two types of people, one that understand, and one that does not understand.  Again, this explains Jesus’ words in Matthew 13:11: “…Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.”    This refers to the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven and those things that were sealed up until the time of the end.  And when God unsealed them, they must be spiritually discerned.  You need a living soul (spirit), and you need the Spirit of God within you to guide you into truth in order to properly discern the teaching of the Word of God, the Bible. 

So this is what makes God’s elect faithful stewards of His mysteries.  It is why God’s elect have continued throughout the Great Tribulation and into this time of Judgment Day to teach and hold onto faithful doctrines that the Lord opened up at the time of the end when so many other people have gone back from them.  They think we are stubborn, but the reality is that it is simply that we have been entrusted with these teachings, and we are stewards of these mysteries of God.  And God causes us to be faithful stewards as He moves within us to will and to do according to His good pleasure, and we cannot go back from them because these are the words of eternal life.  God will not allow us to go back, no matter how often an individual might want to get away from these things.  If he is one the Lord has truly saved, he will not be able to do so; maybe he can for a day or a little period of time, but the Word of God will bring him back to the Word, and he must be faithful to that Word.  That is the character of the heart that has been given to each one of the people of God.

Here in Romans 3, once again, we read, “…unto them were committed the oracles of God.”  And yet, they could not remain faithful.  They had the Word.  It was entrusted to them, as we saw the word “committed” in 1Thessalonians 2:4 was translated as “put in trust.”  They were put in trust with the oracles of God, and when you are put in trust with the oracles of God, you must show yourself faithful.  You must be a faithful steward of its mysteries, which was impossible for the corporate church to do.  They cannot because they look only at the surface of the Bible.  When the Bible says, “…believe on the Lord Jesus,” they immediately rush to “believe” and accept Christ, or make a decision for Christ.  And yet, that is a false doctrine and another gospel because it becomes a work that they do.  They have ruined their stewardship on that point alone.  They have tread upon God’s Word, and they have set up an idol. 

God had previously “winked” at some of these things because He had a timetable to work out, and the church age had to take place, although He was fully aware of the “high places” they were establishing in their confessions, creeds, and doctrinal positions.  And we read in Revelation 2 that God gave place for them to repent and turn from these things and to show themselves to be faithful stewards of His mysteries.  Of course they were not faithful.  They did not have the ability to be faithful to the Word of God, as only God’s elect can do.  If you remember, when we looked at the word “advantage,” we read the same Greek word in Luke 12:47-48:

And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

See where it says, “…and to whom men have committed much…”  This word translated as “committed” is a different word than we have been looking at, but it is the same idea.  God committed much to those who were in the churches.  They were given and entrusted the oracles of God.  And it says, “…and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.”  This is the idea behind the parable of the talents, is it not?  The lord of his servants entrusted talents to them.  Let us take a look at that, in Matthew 25:14-21:

For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant…

What is required of the stewards of the mysteries of God?  It is that they be found faithful.  Here, this servant had multiplied the talents.  He was given five, and he gained five more.  And we can understand this to be a picture of God’s people that are given the Spirit of God, and they come to the Word, and they understand even more truths.  The same thing is true of the next servant who had two talents.  He also gained two.  Then it says in Matthew 25:23-25:

His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.

That is, it is as if he is saying, “Here, Lord, I dared not enter into spiritualizing the Word of God.  When I did my studies in the Scripture, I presented it as it is on the surface, the plain, moral teachings that you have given us.”  You see, God gives the talents that they be multiplied by finding the buried treasure, the silver, the gold, and the precious jewels of the truth of the Word of God that is hidden beneath the surface meaning of the Scriptures.  You need to get out “pick ax and shovel” and dig, and you need to compare spiritual with spiritual, and then you come to the truth taught by the Holy Spirit, and you have properly multiplied your talents. 

But to just casually and lazily work the surface of the Bible, and give back what is only apparent and obvious to others is what the pastors of the churches have done with their hermeneutic of taking the Bible literally and plainly, but not searching the Scriptures as God would have them to do, and they have failed in their servitude as a minister of the Word of God. 

Let us see what the Lord says to this servant, and this would be what God would say to those people in the churches and congregations.  It says in Matthew 25:26-30:

His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Take the talent from him.  The little that had been  given to him has been taken from him, and we see this all over the place.  It is the judgment of God when you lose sight of the degree of truth that was given to you.  The Reformed churches were entrusted with a certain degree of truth, and those individuals (many of which were Family Radio listeners) had heard the truth as God opened up His Word at the time of the end, and He entrusted them with these wonderful, glorious, and gracious teachings of the Word, as the mysteries were being revealed.  And yet, they have gone back from these things, and they have gone back to former doctrines.  And they have even returned to the churches, which is against the doctrine that the Lord had opened up, so God has taken from them understanding of things like the biblical calendar, the understanding of time and judgment, and this right doctrine, and that right doctrine, and so forth.  They are going backward, and they have returned to an area where the Lord had said was now the location of Satan. (“Get thee behind me, Satan.”)  The people of God move forward, and not backward.