The Power of God

In the passage this week, Paul is giving another illustration to help us comprehend our freedom in Christ.  Paul wants us to fully understand what it means to no longer be held to a system of rules for our salvation, but to allow ourselves to live from the inside out.  Under the law there is judgment and condemnation.  But, if Christ lives in us, we produce the fruit from His Spirit. If He lives i...

God is expressing through Paul’s voice the declaration of freedom and victory that is found in Jesus Christ.  In our freedom from the old taskmaster of sin, we seek to be servants of our new Master of righteousness, where the production of obedience (the fruit of our life) leads to our holiness (sanctification).  Before, the production of service to sin led to ungodliness, which ultimately led to...

If we are saved by grace, should we keep on sinning? Absolutely not. Grace doesn’t excuse sin—it transforms us. As baptism symbolizes, through union with Christ in His death and resurrection, we have died to sin and risen to a new life. This passage reminds us that grace leads to freedom, not a license to sin; identity, not excuses; and power, not passivity. As believers, we are no longer slaves t...

Paul now explains how Jesus is a type of Adam to all mankind.  As the father of all mankind, Adam’s one act of sin led to and leads to the condemnation of all mankind, because all followed him in sin and death. Jesus, who is the sinless man who satisfies the cost of sin and conquers death, His one act of righteousness leads to the life of all who receive His free-gift of grace.  This is for all ma...

Paul now clearly moves to express the incomparable benefits of being credited with the Righteousness of God by introducing three words that all in Christ must know: Peace, Love and Reconciliation.  We are now in a state of peace with God, because He chose to love us.  For God’s love is proved by the undeserved and unprovoked move of the Cross.  He does this for us, who are His enemies, so that we...

Paul concludes his case that we are saved by Jesus Christ, by His grace (unmerited favor) as a gift (no payment) received through faith alone.  And since this is so, our salvation (life in Him) rests entirely upon God’s promise, not on our performance.  Our assurance of all that He has given, and of all that is yet to come rests solely upon Him. In this Promise of God, we have hope!  And this ‘God...

Now Paul takes the argument of salvation by God, received by faith alone all the way back to Abraham, the father of the Jews.  This ‘righteousness from/of God’ came to Abraham by faith, and not by the works that Abraham would do.  So, Abraham is not just the father of the Jews, but in God’s way of salvation that comes by faith, he is the father of us all.  God only saves unrighteous and ungodly pe...

Paul now begins his deep dive into the blessing of GRACE, which if understood correctly, locks-out all religious boasting.  It is grace (unmerited favor) that makes the argument for ‘all’ people being saved: ‘There is no difference.’  For if the rescue from the pit is a gift of declared righteousness from and of God, then all pre-qualifications are gone.  A gift can only be a gift if it involves n...

Considering one of the most succinct and comprehensive declaration of the Gospel (Romans 3:21-26) from the Apostle Paul, today we take some time to be reminded of what we are called to do. Go into the whole world and see that the Gospel is shared. Live it, teach it, take it everywhere you go. Let’s celebrate together as we hear from God’s Word and hear how His Church is growing around the world. T...

BUT NOW!  Having finished the most comprehensive description of how all mankind is lost to God because of our unrighteousness, Paul now gives us the evidence of hope for all.  Here we find the fulfilling description of that to which his thesis statement in 1:16 and 17 had pointed: The Righteousness of God, revealed.  This paragraph has been described by some as the most important single paragraph...

This is THE DAY that we were waiting for… in the pit.  For this is THE DAY of resurrection, which is life after the pit of death.  In truth, Jesus enters the pit of unrighteousness and satisfies the only way out… the cost of death endured by taking the wrath of God against unrighteousness.  And then, on Sunday, He came to physical life again in His glorified body.  He is Risen!  And when by faith...

Paul’s summation describing the condition of all mankind is finally delivered, that is, all of us are wholly and desperately lost in and under our sin and thus, we are all unrighteous before a Holy God.  There are no possible exceptions among all mankind… not one.  If you are willing to accept this bad news for you, then the Good News is available for you too.  This is the need for Palm Sunday, as...

Paul has shown that those who make-up their own gods are lost, and those who seek to live by their own moral conscience are lost, so now he explains that those who have the very Law of God and see themselves justified by keeping it, they too are lost.  The Jews were given the Law of God, but it was never intended to save them, but only to help them be aware of sin, that they might walk in holiness...

As Paul continues to craft the description of unrighteousness, he now moves from those who practice unrestrained sensuality, to those who believe themselves to be good on the basis of their own conscience.  As Image bearers, God has made us to be moral beings with a moral conscience, that is, our conscience.  It is like a ‘law’ that is written on our hearts, and it serves to excuse us at times and...

This is the first of the great ‘Therefore’ words in Romans, and it is a terrifying one. That is, God simply has to stop restraining our unrighteous behavior, and give us over to our own desires. Intentional suppression of the clear evidence of God results in our making-up of other gods, and with that, we redefine ‘good’ to fit our own broken preferences. Sexual immorality is a natural outflow of r...

With Paul’s introductory words presented, he now sets himself to establishing the most comprehensive presentation of The Gospel of God in all of Scripture.  Part I: All humanity is lost in our sin and that renders all of us fallen, and thus, unacceptable before a Holy God: The Jew and the Gentile alike.  His opening argument is to show that all people are witnesses to the power and divine nature o...

As Paul concludes his introduction to the church in Rome, he presents a summary of his entire letter: that the Gospel is the ‘power of God’ for the salvation of all mankind. For the Gospel reveals how we can stand before a Holy God, secure and assured of life eternal in the only way that brings all glory to God the Creator. And this standing comes as the gift of His righteousness that is gained on...

As Paul opens his letter to the church in Rome, he presents a powerful summary of his entire message: that the Gospel is the ‘power of God’ for the salvation of all mankind.  For the Gospel reveals how we can stand before a Holy God, secure and assured of life eternal that will bring glory to God the Creator. And this standing comes only as the gift of His righteousness that is gained by faith.  A...

We embark on a study of a book that has changed the lives of many responsible for shaping the Church of Jesus. Augustine, Martin Luther, John Wesley, and many others through history have been awakened to life by God through the words of Paul to the church in Rome.  Herein we will find the Gospel of God, which is the Power of God for everyone on earth who is willing to believe on Jesus for life ete...