weeks. If you think we’ve lost our way, you’ll be happy to know that we’re returning to our verse-by-verse study of Romans in June. I see at least three purposes behind this series.

• To equip believers. I’m excited for the opportunity to teach some theology, chew on some church history and get back to the basics of how we got our Bible in the first place. It’s time to contend for our faith and not be shaken by all the counterfeit stuff like DaVinci and the Gospel of Judas that is appearing today. The words of Jude 3-4 speak right to our situation: “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.” There is no reason to be afraid. We have truth on our side. Let’s be like the Bereans who “examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11).

• To engage our culture. I want to be very clear here. I am not endorsing or recommending that you read this book or that you go and see the movie. That’s a choice you will have to make on your own. In fact, after I finished the book I mentioned in a sermon that I didn’t think any Christian should read the book because it borders on blasphemy. I’ve moderated a bit since then. What I am saying, whether or not you read it or watch it, is that we need to be informed so that we can intelligently interact with people in our society. That means we need to understand when our culture gets it right and when it gets things wrong.

We should follow the model of Paul when he spoke to the Athenians in Acts 17. He was “greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols” (verse 16) but he also “reasoned” with the people (verse 17), affirmed the fact that in every way they were “very religious” (verse 22) and in verse 23 states, “Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.” After giving a theology lesson, he quoted some of their own authors in order to engage them, which is what we’re doing in this series. In the midst of doing all this, he did not equivocate on the message in verse 30: “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.”

• To evangelize the lost. Let’s see this as an unprecedented opportunity to share the gospel. The trailer for the upcoming movie ends with these words: “Seek the truth.” We have the truth so let’s make sure we point people to the one who is the Truth. We need to be prepared by making sure we’re equipped and that we’re ready to engage in evangelism. 1 Peter 3:15: “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” Make sure your walk with Christ is good before you talk about the good news. Give reasons for what you believe but make sure you do it respectfully. Let’s take advantage of the prevailing spiritual curiosity in our culture and leverage this phenomenon for spiritual fruit.

Let me make three other preliminary