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Transformed by the Gospel"
A Study of the Book of Romans!
Week 2 - January 22nd, 2014!
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Good News about the New King!
Romans 1:1-7"
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1 “Paul, a slave of King Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for God’s good news, 2
which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the sacred writings - 3 the good
news about his son, who was descended from David’s seed in terms of flesh, 4 and who
was marked out powerfully as God’s son in terms of the spirit of holiness by the
resurrection of the dead: Jesus, the king, our Lord!!
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5 Through him we have received grace and apostleship to bring about believing
obedience among all the nations for the sake of his name. 6 That includes you, too, who
are called by Jesus the king.!
7 This letter comes to all in Rome who love God, all who are called to be his holy people.
Grace and peace to you from God our father, and King Jesus, the Lord.”!
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From: N. T. Wright. “The Kingdom New Testament.” iBooks, Romans 1:1-7!
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(continued from last week)!
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The Old Testament is a story about who?!
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See Luke 24:27!
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The Unfolding Mystery: Discovering Christ in the Old Testament by Edmund P. Clowney!
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! “God’s word is not authenticated by our belief, nor is its power dependent on
whether we agree with it. It is the most powerful, most true, most authentic, most
life-changing revelation to ever exist. In studying it, we are gazing at the very
words of God. We may not be able to see Jesus face to face now, but we can
learn about Him, what He said, and what His life, death, and resurrection means
for us today.!
! Paul is remind the Romans that this is not a new message. The Jews had a
role to play in bringing this message. God had a purpose and plan for the nation
of Israel. You cannot separate Jesus from Israel and Jews from God’s plan. The
Gentile believers needed to understand that ‘God’s good news’ was something
that had been ‘promised before through prophets and sacred writings.’” - The
Unfolding Mystery: Discovering Christ in the Old Testament by Edmund
Clowney, pg. 12-13 of 208, Kindle!
Copyright, Aaron Hill, 2014
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“. . . and who was marked out powerfully as God’s son, in terms of the
spirit of holiness by the resurrection of the dead: Jesus, the king, our
Lord! ”!
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How was Jesus ‘marked out powerfully as God’s son?’!
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He was ______________________ by God!
“When God the Holy Spirit raised the corpse of Jesus from the tomb, God was
announcing to the world the sonship of Jesus.” - Sproul, 21 of 501!
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See Acts 17:30-31"
! “29 . . .if we really are God’s offspring, we ought not to suppose that the
divinity is like gold or silver or stone, formed by human skill and ingenuity. 30
That was just ignorance; but the time for it has passed, and God has drawn a veil
over it. Now, instead, he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because
he has established a day on which he intends to call the world to account with full
and proper justice by a man whom he has appointed. God has given all people
his pledge of this by raising this man from the dead.” - Acts 17:29b-31, The
Kingdom New Testament!
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How can we know that Jesus is God’s son?"
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Key Truth: Paul is not making this declaration, He is telling us what God has already declared by
raising Jesus from the dead.!
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Romans 1:5-7
5 Through him we have received grace and apostleship to bring about believing
obedience among all the nations for the sake of his name. 6 That includes you, too, who
are called by Jesus the king.!
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7 This letter comes to all in Rome who love God, all who are called to be his holy people.
Grace and peace to you from God our father, and King Jesus, the Lord.”!
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“Through him we have received grace and apostleship . . .”!
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What is the source of Paul’s apostleship?"
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(review from vs. 1)!
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“Through him we have received grace”!
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- Paul uses a ___________ term here to include himself in the company of the other apostles!
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- Through Jesus, he and the other apostles were _________ and ______ out for a special task,!
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- But they were also given _____________ by Jesus for their task.!
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- The apostles would all _________ for Jesus and the Kingdom - that was a universal guarantee!
Copyright, Aaron Hill, 2014
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With a calling comes _______________,!
with a calling come guaranteed sacrifice and _________________,!
with suffering comes ______________.!
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In Romans 5:3-5 Paul writes,!
“3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation
brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven
character, hope; 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has
been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”!
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“Through him we have received grace and apostleship . . .
to bring about believing obedience among all the nations
for the sake of his name.”!
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Why have Paul and the other apostles been given grace and a special calling?"
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to bring about believing obedience among all the nations for the sake of his name.!
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“. . . to bring about believing obedience . . .”!
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The Gospel is:!
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1) not the Romans Road or merely an _____________________ of how to be saved.!
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2) a message, a truth, it is something that God has ____________ through His Son Jesus.!
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3) a ___________ through which we should see everything. !
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4) not simply the ________________ point for salvation.!
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5) the __________ truth at the ______________ of all reality.!
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5) God’s good news impacts __________________.!
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The Gospel in two words:!
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1) Belief comes _____________ obedience!
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2) Obedience without belief is _________________ effort, it is pointless. It is filthy rags.!
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3) Belief without obedience is ______________. It is lip service.!
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Obedience on it’s own:!
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1) You cannot ______________ salvation by being good.!
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2) Nothing you do _______________ your salvation or God’s love for you.!
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3) Obedience should come as a ______________ of our faith.!
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Copyright, Aaron Hill, 2014
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Faith leads to obedience:!
1. W
! hen we believe in Christ, his death, and resurrection and what that accomplished for us - then
we are compelled to action.!
2. The love that grows in our hearts, the gratitude that develops as a result of God’s mercy and
grace leads us to repentance and then leads us to want to be like this perfect man.!
3. We want to be obedient not because we are supposed to, but because we love the one to
whom we now belong.!
4. We obey because we love Jesus and want to be like him.!
5. It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can be obedient, which comes through
belief and faith.!
6. Rote good deeds and obedience accomplishes nothing and only brings upon us a heavy yoke, a
huge burden that we cannot lift. It will crush us.!
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Faith comes first, then we are moved to obedience. Not the other way around.!
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“. . . among all the nations for the sake of his name.”!
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Who is this Gospel for?"
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The Gospel is for all the nations!
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“for the sake of Jesus’ name”!
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- Not for our own ____________!
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- We do it to bring _________________ to Jesus’ name.!
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Verse 6"
“That includes you, too, who are called by Jesus the king.”!
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1) This calling is to us as well.!
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2) We too are called, by Jesus the King, to go and take this message to the nations.!
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3) Just like Paul is a slave to Jesus, we too are slaves to Jesus.!
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4) Because we belong to Him, we are obligated to fulfill the mission that He has called us to.!
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Copyright, Aaron Hill, 2014
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Verse 7"
“This letter comes to all in Rome who love God, all who are called to
be his holy people.”!
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Three key phrases here:"
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1) to all in Rome!
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2) who are loved by God!
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- “beloved of God” or “loved by God.”!
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- They are a part of God’s new covenant community.!
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- “the people who God’s love” - then it could mean everyone in Rome.!
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- “the people who love God in Rome” - then it clashes with the next phrase.!
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- The key is that God now considers these believers to be part of his beloved.!
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3) called to be saints (his holy people).!
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- Some translations use the word saint here.!
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- Saint mean “sanctified one”!
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- In the Catholic Church you have to perform three miracles to be considered a saint.!
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- This is not a standard found anywhere in Scripture.!
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- The term saint is applied to everyone who has been “set apart.”!
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If you have placed your faith in Christ and have been justified then you belong to God’s new covenant
community. You are sanctified now, and one day we will be perfect like Christ. For now, we have
experienced a change in our standing with God.!
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We are not perfect because we are saved. There is no magic change that prevents us from sinning
anymore. We still struggle with sin, Paul will talk about this later. Instead we are justified.!
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What does it mean to be justified?"
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- Justifying something is not changing the statement itself.!
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- It is changing how the person is related to the statement.!
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- Means - “to show something to be reasonable, just or right.”!
- You are not making something right. You are proving that it is right.!
- Changing how you relate to the statement, not changing the statement.!
Two examples (being an excellent guitar player, my resume):"
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- How can I justify that I am an excellent guitar player?!
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- What did I accomplish?!
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- What proof do I have of my former employment? What references?!
- What changed?!
If you are saved, you are God’s beloved. You are loved by God. That is a status change. You didn’t
become someone who God can love. You didn’t change into a different person, instead your
relationship to God has changed. You are justified now, because when God looks at you He sees the
righteousness of Jesus.!
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We are saints not because we are good, but because we are loved by God. God is not going to love
you anymore in 30 years or 300 billion years than He does now, if you are saved.!
Copyright, Aaron Hill, 2014
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Your standing before God, once you are justified by Christ, cannot change. You didn’t earn it and you
can’t disqualify yourself.!
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Romans 1:8-13
“8 Let me say first that I thank my God for all of you, through Jesus the king, because all
the world has heard the news of your faith. 9 God is my witness - the God I worship in
my spirit in the good news of his son—that I never stop remembering you 10 in my
prayers. I ask God again and again that somehow at last I may now be able, in his good
purposes, to come to you. 11 I’m longing to see you! I want to share with you some
spiritual blessing to give you strength; 12 that is, I want to encourage you, and be
encouraged by you, in the faith you and I share. 13 I don’t want you to be unaware, my
dear family, that I’ve often made plans to come to you; it’s just that up to now something
has always gotten in the way. I want to bear some fruit among you, as I have been doing
among the other nations.”!
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From: N. T. Wright. “The Kingdom New Testament.” - Romans 1:8-13!
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“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being
proclaimed throughout the whole world. 9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the
preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention
of you, 10 always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God
I may succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you so that I may impart some
spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; 12 that is, that I may be encouraged
together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.
13 I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you
(and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even
as among the rest of the Gentiles.”!
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New American Standard Bible, Romans 1:8-13!
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Verse 8"
“I thank my God for all of you, through Jesus the king because all the
world has heard the news of your faith.”!
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“I thank my God for all of you . . .”!
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Thanks = eucharisto = eucharist!
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eu = _______________!
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charizomai > charis = _____________ or ______________!
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“A profound spirit of thanksgiving lay at the heart of the Supper in the primitive
Christian church, thanksgiving for what God had wrought in the work of Jesus
Christ.” - Sproul, Romans (St. Andrew’s Commentary), pg. 26 of 510!
Paul’s thankfulness is ____________ and is _______________ to the work of Christ.!
Copyright, Aaron Hill, 2014
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“because all the world has heard the news of your faith.”!
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“all the world”!
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1) common in Scripture to use these all-__________________________ terms for the world!
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2) Paul literally uses the word “___________________”!
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3) Paul is speaking hyperbolically!
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4) The whole world at the time was the _______________ _________________!
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5) Paul’s point is that they are in the capital of the world itself.!
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6) Their faith was having an impact on the church. It was ____________________ them.!
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Example:"
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Brooklyn Tabernacle & Redeemer Presbyterian in New York City.!
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Verse 9"
“God is my witness - the God I worship in my spirit in the good news of
his son—that I never stop remembering you in my prayers.”!
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Why is Paul swearing or making a vow? Aren’t we not supposed to make vows?"
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Matthew 5:34-37 - “let your ‘yes’ by ‘yes,’ and your ‘no,’ ‘no.’!
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James 5:12 - “do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath . . .
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lest you fall into judgement.”!
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When do we exchange vows?"
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What does making a vow do?"
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1) Shows a depth of passion!
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2) Testifies to the seriousness of the situation!
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3) Reinforces the importance of responsibilities!
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4) Makes a guarantee!
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Paul is trying to convey to the believers in Rome how serious his desire to visit them is and how
thankful he is for them. Paul traveled all over the known world trying to plant churches, working for
years to lead people to Christ, disciple them, and then train them. And yet, here there were home
churches in Rome that nobody had planted. All they needed was direction and encouragement.!
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Copyright, Aaron Hill, 2014
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Verse 10-13"
“I ask God again and again that somehow at last I may now be able, in
his good purposes, to come to you. 11 I’m longing to see you! I want to
share with you some spiritual blessing to give you strength; 12 that is, I
want to encourage you, and be encouraged by you, in the faith you
and I share. 13 I don’t want you to be unaware, my dear family, that
I’ve often made plans to come to you; it’s just that up to now something
has always gotten in the way. I want to bear some fruit among you, as I
have been doing among the other nations.”!
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Paul wants to come visit the believers in Rome to:!
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“impart some spiritual gift” - blessing them spiritually (He wants to build them up in the spirit)!
He wants to encourage them and strengthen them!
He wants them to encourage him through their shared faith!
“to bear fruit among them,” as he has been doing elsewhere!
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But, things have gotten in the way"
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“He had no idea when he wrote those words that the manner in which he would
finally make it to Rome would be in chains as a prisoner of the Roman
government.” - Sproul, pg. 26 of 510!
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Copyright, Aaron Hill, 2014