Paul has been very careful to make sure that his famous grace statement at the end of chapter 5 would not be misunderstood as promoting sin. Paul further combats this faulty logic head-on with another rhetorical question, “Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace?” To make the message stick, he uses a powerful, attention-getting metaphor - slavery. We’re either a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness.
Continuing in Romans 6, we discuss the concept of the mortification of sin. As Christians, we are now dead to sin and made alive again in Christ. We must be on guard against the flesh’s desires and recognize that sin is serious, deadly business. We cannot be comfortable living with it. We must root out and kill sin in our lives.
One of the dangers of preaching salvation by grace alone is that it can be interpreted as a license to do whatever one wishes. People who have claimed to be Christians have embraced and struggled with this faulty reasoning since the earliest days of the church. But we know this is twisted logic. We are made dead to sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ.
The individualistic nature of modern culture is reflected in a common evangelistic question : "If you were to die tonight and stand before the throne of God, why should he let you into his Kingdom?" While true, it is incomplete. We will stand before God's throne not only as individuals but also as represented by one of two men - the first or last Adam.
One of the most common elements in the love stories of Scripture is the fact that there is a strong attraction between the parties involved based on appearance and character. Yet Paul recounts another love story from Scripture in Romans 5. The common element of beauty is missing, which makes the love story very different. It is more like the prophet Hosea and his adulterous wife, Gomer. Paul now shows exactly how God has poured out His love in Christ.
Suffering is one of the most misunderstood phenomena in the Christian church. If we are saved and pardoned from sin, then should we not be delivered from all forms of suffering? Sometimes suffering is the result of our own sin and foolishness. But what about when we can detect no blatant rebellion? Is God making us suffer because we deserve it? No, suffering is an opportunity to glorify God and lean into each other.
The irrepressible heart of fallen man needs repeated and constant reminders about his sin-stricken condition. To highlight the ineffectiveness of works-righteousness, Paul returns to the life of Abraham to show how the great patriarch's justification was another manifestation of God's creative word. Just as God called worlds into existence by the power of His word, so God gave life to Abraham when He declared him righteous.
The irrepressible heart of fallen man needs repeated and constant reminders about his sin-stricken condition. To highlight the ineffectiveness of works-righteousness, Paul returns to the life of Abraham to show how the great patriarch's justification was another manifestation of God's creative word. Just as God called worlds into existence by the power of His word, so God gave life to Abraham when He declared him righteous.
Everyone is under the curse and punishment of sin and deserve God’s wrath. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves because, by the law, we are condemned. How then are we to be saved? Salvation is the amazing free gift of God, by His grace, to all those who by faith repent and believe in Jesus Christ and his sacrifice. His righteousness is credited to our account making us right with God. He is both just and the justifier of repentant, trusting sinners.
Paul has been arguing since chapter 1 of Romans, that the curse of sin affects all of us both Jew and Gentile. In chapter 3, Paul gets to the crux of his argument and that is this— it’s not just that some people are especially bad and in need of God’s saving grace. It’s that ALL of us are bad and in need of God’s grace. Everyone is under the power of sin and thus deserving of God's righteous wrath.
As we continue our study in the book of Romans, Paul is anticipating the objections from his readers. “If our stumbling reveals God’s glory, why struggle to keep the law and maintain holiness?” Paul reminds us that this approach is foolish. God is just in judging us for our sins and as we belong to Christ. Yes, we are saved by grace but we are also called to live holy and pleasing lives to God.
Does merely identifying as Christian mean that one is truly saved? The answer is a sad but resounding “no”! Jesus said some of the scariest words in Matthew 7:21-23. What this passage tells us is that being Christian isn’t just being one in name; there must be a true change of the heart and relationship with Him. There is no room for hypocrisy or pride, no-one is saved by merely outward adherence or by being born into salvation, but by a true change of the heart.
Mankind does not accept God's assessment of human sin and the imperative of divine judgment. This is not to say that men will not admit they are sinners. It is very easy to get a non-Christian to agree that they are a sinner, but it is almost impossible to get them to realize the gravity of their sin. "Big sins" like murder and rape deserve God’s wrath. But does it also fall on those guilty of such "lesser sins" as envy or arrogance?
The early chapters in Romans are clear and offensive to many people, but we must wrestle with them, as this is God's Word. Paul is not trying to tickle our ears here! He is telling everyone about the nature of sin and its consequences. He spends a lot of time talking about human depravity and God's righteous judgment, but this is a gift. Until we know we need the gospel, we will not cry out in repentance toward God and in faith in the Lord Jesus.
Over the centuries, theologians have called the two verses before us the thesis statement of Paul's letter to the Romans. While we can’t hold Paul to the writing formats of our own day, we can certainly appeal to the idea of a thesis statement and appreciate that most of what Paul writes in the chapters that follow, in one way or another, stem from these two short verses.
Paul wants the recipients of his letter to know of his personal desire to see them, the reason for his visit, and the overall thrust of Paul's gospel ministry. At the heart of Paul's agenda is his passion to preach the gospel to the nations. Without clarity on this mission, Paul and the church in Rome were liable to drift from their God-given purpose in life - to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Romans is one of the most powerful and influential books ever written. Paul’s letter to the Romans has been the written force behind some of the most significant conversions in church history. Studying this letter to the Romans produces great excitement and genuine trepidation—excitement because of the possibilities the life-changing themes that it brings, and trepidation at our ability to reasonably expound on the massiveness of these themes.