“Closure brings Peace and healing……”

Luke 22:42″Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

Isaiah 53:5 (NIV) ⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

April 7, 2012 “Day 46 of Lent” Intercessory Prayer

This has been a beautiful journey these past 46 days… I feel like I’ve brought closure to a lot of situations in my life on this 40+ day journey…. As we embark upon bringing this Lenten season to a close on tomorrow, we will be praying and discussion “CLOSURE” on today.. When we define the word closure in the personal realm of our lives, some of us need closure on relationships, a passing of a love one, unsolved mysteries, murders and deaths… Some of us still stand and seek justice for people that had not say in their rights being violated… Sometimes bringing an individual to justice bring closure to a dyeing situation… “Closure is very important to go on!”

Whatever your case may be, please know that Jesus paid the ultimate price for us all… Jesus went to Calvary to save a wretch like you and me… That’s love and that’s as ultimate closure as it gets in my life….

“clo·sure”
1. the act of closing; the state of being closed.
2. a bringing to an end; conclusion.
3. something that closes or shuts.
4. an architectural screen or parapet, especially one standing free between
columns or piers.
5. Phonetics . an occlusion of the vocal tract as an articulatory feature of a
particular speech sound. Compare constriction.
6. Parliamentary Procedure. a cloture.
7. Surveying . completion of a closed traverse in such a way that the point of
origin and the endpoint coincide within an acceptably small margin of error.
Compare error of closure.
8. Mathematics
a. the property of being closed with respect to a particular operation.
b. the intersection of all closed sets that contain a given set.
9. Psychology
a.the tendency to see an entire figure even though the picture of it is
incomplete,based primarily on the viewer’s past experience.
b. a sense of psychological certainty or completeness: a need for closure.
10. Obsolete . something that encloses or shuts in; enclosure.

Bible Verses about Closure:

Romans 1:1-32 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, …

John 3:1-36 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. …

Matthew 4:4 ESV / 4 helpful votes

But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Psalm 19:7 ESV / 4 helpful votes

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;

James 1:1-27 ESV / 3 helpful votes

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. …

2 Timothy 3:16 ESV / 3 helpful votes

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

John 3:16 ESV / 3 helpful votes

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Luke 21:33 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Matthew 24:35 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Revelation 22:18-19 ESV / 2 helpful votes

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

John 5:39 ESV / 2 helpful votes

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,

Mark 13:31 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Matthew 5:18 ESV / 2 helpful votes

For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

2 Kings 1:1-18 ESV / 2 helpful votes

After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel. Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness.” But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Now therefore thus says the Lord, You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” So Elijah went. The messengers returned to the king, and he said to them, “Why have you returned?” …

2 Samuel 1:1-27 ESV / 2 helpful votes

After the death of Saul, when David had returned from striking down the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag. And on the third day, behold, a man came from Saul’s camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. And when he came to David, he fell to the ground and paid homage. David said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” And David said to him, “How did it go? Tell me.” And he answered, “The people fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.” Then David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” …

1 John 2:1-29 ESV / 1 helpful vote

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: …

2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV / 1 helpful vote

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

2 Thessalonians 1:1-12 ESV / 1 helpful vote

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— …

Colossians 1:1-29 ESV / 1 helpful vote

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, …

Romans 7:1-25 ESV / 1 helpful vote

Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. …

1 Thessalonians 2:4 “But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.”

Romans 1:1-32 (NIV)

Romans 1

¹ Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— ² the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures ³ regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, ⁴ and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. ⁵Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. ⁶ And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. ⁷ To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul’s Longing to Visit Rome ⁸ First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. ⁹ God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you ¹⁰ in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you. ¹¹ I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— ¹² that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. ¹³ I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

¹⁴ I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. ¹⁵ That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. ¹⁷ For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

God’s Wrath Against Sinful Humanity

¹⁸ The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹ since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. ²⁵ They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

²⁶ Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷ In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

²⁸ Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; ³¹ they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. ³² Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Man’s Ruin: Romans 1:1-32

by Donald Grey Barnhouse

Eerdmans | 1952

Overview

“[W]hy have I chosen to direct your attention to that epistle of Paul’s which was sent originally to the Roman church? It is because the epistle to the Romans has the most complete diagnosis of the plague of man’s sin, and the most glorious setting forth of the simple remedy of justification by faith apart from the works of the law.” Thus begins Part One of Barnhouse’s massive commentary on Romans. Entitled Man’s Ruin, Part One covers Romans 1:1–32. With the deft eye of a master exegete, Barnhouse preaches on a number of issues in messages which include “The Trinity,” “The Communion of the Saints,” “God’s Righteousness” and 24 others.

Through a discussion of mankind’s fallenness may be difficult for many to stomach, Barnhouse’s meditation on man’s separation from God is a necessary component to any study of Romans. As Barnhouse expresses himself, “It is not pleasant to set forth these truths in the ears of men who do not wish to hear the truth, but it is in faithfulness to God that we thus speak.”

Product Details

Title: Man’s Ruin: Romans 1:1–32
Author: Donald Grey Barnhouse

Preface

When I first became pastor of the Philadelphia church where I still serve, I began my ministry by preaching on the epistle to the Romans. My first Sunday in that pulpit found me giving an exposition of the first verse of the epistle. The second Sunday I started with the second verse; and, as I did not finish by the time it was necessary to pronounce the benediction, I said, as I had when I had been teaching history in the university, “We will suspend our study at this point, and will begin from here in our next meeting together.”

For three and one half years I never took a text outside of the epistle to the Romans. I saw the church transformed; the audience filled the pews and then the galleries; and the work went on with great blessing. But just as important as the transformation of the church, there was the transformation of the preacher. The disciplined necessity of treating every verse in an entire epistle formed habits of study that organized the mind of the preacher for the whole of his task.

After more than twenty years, there came a renewed opportunity for a widespread radio ministry. I decided to begin expository studies in the epistle to the Romans. In this series, I have never used even a page of the notes which had served me twenty years before. And where I had then taken approximately 140 Sunday periods for the epistle, I soon discovered that it was going to take much more this time. In fact, it will be noted that the present volume contains twenty-seven studies on the first chapter of Romans alone.

This fact leads me to make an observation on the method of study which I am using. I believe that the only way to understand any given passage in the Word of God is to take the whole Bible and place the point of it, like an inverted pyramid on that passage, so that the weight of the entire Word rests upon a single verse, or, indeed, a single word. Thus I have not called this volume and the ones to follow a commentary, but rather expositions of the Word of God; expositions which take as their point of departure the book of Romans and range through the whole of the Bible in order to bring all of the correlated truth of the Word to bear on each line and word of the epistle. Thus, it will be discovered in later volumes that I have spent five or six chapters on a single word in order to bring the whole teaching of the Bible to bear on a particular doctrine which may be mentioned in Romans in no more than a single word or phrase.

It should be realized also that these studies have been prepared for immediate delivery, and that I was never more than eight or ten studies in advance of the actual moment of broadcast. And, even as I write this preface to the first of several …

Hope in Christ

We have a hymn that expresses the true Christian attitude toward these, as toward all who are in the bonds of deep sin:

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying,

Snatch them, in pity, from sin and the grave;

Weep o’er the erring ones, lift up the fallen,

Tell them of Jesus, the mighty to save.

Down in the human heart, crushed by the tempter,

Feelings lie buried that grace can restore,

Touched by a loving hand, wakened with kindness,

Chords that were broken will vibrate once more.

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying,

Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.

Rescue the perishing, duty demands it;

Strength for thy labors the Lord will provide;

Back to the narrow way, patiently win them,

Tell them of Jesus, the Saviour, who died.

For there is hope for them in the Lord Jesus Christ, and there is no hope for them anywhere else in this world. There is salvation from the penalty of sin and there is salvation from the power of sin. The Lord Jesus Christ is able to save and to keep, and He is able to give you love for the unlovely and zeal for the rescue of the lost. And if some people are inclined to ask, “Why hath God made me thus?” the answer is that God has merely made divine laws, and that the natural consequences of those laws are coming out in specimens of the human race. The physical is nothing more than an illustration of the spiritual. God made man to turn outward and upward toward the Creator. A man who lives in the right relationship with God is able to live in right relationship toward his one wife whom the Lord has given him. If the man turns away from God, he turns toward himself and his kind, and begins to worship the creature rather than the Creator.

The immediate result is that his physical loves are thrown out of their proper channel. He fails to live within the divine-human trinity of the husband, the wife and the Lord who are, in no small sense, one; he breaks down the barriers of sex and, as he has turned toward himself, he ultimately is reaping in his own body the rotten fruit of that inbreeding sin, and is in the midst of all perversion. Newell adds a sentence in his commentary, “And it is significant, that, as originally woman took the lead in sin, so here!” But he adds, “And if God has ‘made you to differ,’ thank Him only! It will not do to hold up your hands in self-righteous dismay, and say, ‘These verses do not in any particular describe me.’ For God will show you and me that this is exactly the race as we were born into it, and out of which the only rescue is being born again. All these things pertain to lost, fallen man.”

Love Manifested

The mere recital of the abyss of iniquity into which the human race has plunged is an amazing enlargement of the love of God. For it was into the race of fallen man that God condescended to come. Like every member of the human race, the Virgin Mary was born in sin and shapen in iniquity. She is in Heaven today not because of any stainlessness of her own but because Jesus Christ died. …

Posted by: Minister Evelyn Diane Thomas

cited that the illustration of the ebook Man’s Ruin: Romanas 1:1-32 is used for reference material to illustrate the word “closure” – http://www.logos.com/product/7908/mans-ruin-romans-1-1-32