May 5, 2017
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Reading along with us in Romans? Here’s today’s reading:
Romans 5 (ESV)
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us… Continue Reading
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In Romans 1 through 5, Paul has been presenting the case for the gospel, the means by which God justifies us by our faith in Jesus Christ, not by our works (meaning anything we DO).
He reminds his Jewish readers that God credited righteousness to Abraham while he was yet uncircumcised, and before God gave the Law to Moses. It wasn’t works of the Law God credited to Abraham. It was his faith. He BELIEVED God. (Genesis 15:4-6; Romans 4:3; Romans 4:20-22)
Paul writes that where there is no Law to break, there can be no sin held against us (Romans 4:15). And where there IS Law, sin increases (Romans 5:20), because ALL become lawbreakers (Romans 3:19-20). So the question is, why was the Law given to the Jews? And why was the Law written on the hearts (the conscience) of everyone else (Romans 2:14-16)? So sin would increase? That doesn’t make sense, does it?
But wait: where sin increases, and God’s righteous judgment and wrath await us as fearful and trembling lawbreakers standing before a holy God, His GRACE abounds all the more when HE justifies us, declaring us righteous!! Because God has provided salvation for sinners in His Son Jesus Christ, declaring us righteous because we BELIEVE Him and not because of anything we have DONE (Romans 3:22; Romans 4:23-25), we have NO room to boast before God of our works (Romans 3:27-28), and certainly not in our own righteousness!! He receives all the glory!
“Now the Law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 5:20
If you break even one of God’s Laws, you are a transgressor of the Law.
You are a sinner. (Romans 3:23)
Sinners cannot justify themselves before a holy and righteous God.
Sinners cannot save themselves from God’s righteous judgment and wrath.
Sinners will be saved from God’s wrath only according to His mercy and grace.
And that mercy and grace came through His Son, Jesus Christ. (Romans 3:24)
Turn from your sin and look to the cross, where your salvation was won! (Romans 3:25)
Believe and receive the gift of grace and salvation found only in Jesus! (Romans 3:26)
Be reconciled to God!! (Romans 5:11)
Hallelujah! Thank you, God!
Vs 5God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
8but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
Thank you, Lord❤️
Yipee, it finally accepted my password on my home computer!!! Now I can post more regularly.
What a great book Romans is…..so some highlights from the first 5 chapters:
I love 1:12 where Paul talks about being mutually encouraged by each others faith. No matter our maturity there is always something to glean from each other. And then consider what the world misses when they don’t admit that they see God in creation: the gospel that can save them and then the downward spiral that comes with disobedience.
And just in case we as believers would look at the fallen world in judgement, Paul cautions us in chapter 2 about judging people for the very things we do, whether we do the same sinful things as them or we are just sinners ourselves, only God has the right to judge. All stand condemned by the law, even the gentiles who follow the law even though they don’t know it.
Chapter 3 continues this theme of all of us falling short of the glory of God. But thanks be to God He offers us righteousness that we could never attain by ourselves, a righteousness that comes from faith.
Do you want prove that that kind of righteousness is available? Paul uses the super-Jew Abraham as the test case. Even the righteousness he attained was by faith and not the law. Praise be to God for His gracious provision!!!
But what makes all this all possible? Enter Jesus, actually the second Adam, who is able to share His righteousness with us because we were all condemned by the first Adam. What an amazing plan of salvation that is able to address even the deepest of sin from the worst of sinners. Because even as sin increases, grace increases all the more….but what should that truth result in…that’s where Paul moves into Romans 6, which I will get to tomorrow….
I’m so happy to see you can post from home!!