Bereans of Trinity

Paul's comments at the end of chapter five about grace being abundantly greater than the increase of sin raises an important question in chapter six: What is the believer's relationship to sin? He puts the question quite starkly in verse one as to whether the believer should continue to sin in order that grace would increase. What are the two kinds of errors that Paul may be representing in this question? Why does Paul not bother to demonstrate that the question actually distorts what he said in chapter five? How does Paul's answer elevate the significance of the discussion? Does Paul suggest that it is impossible for the Christian to sin? How is the believer dead to sin? Why does Paul raise the issue of baptism? Is Paul speaking of water baptism here? How do we know? What are two important things to know about baptism in the New Testament church? How did Paul know that the Roman Christians knew that they had died to sin? For what purpose have we died to sin? (57 min)

In this lesson we back away a bit from our passage in order to make sure we can see the whole forest, rather than only the trees. What is a protasis and an apodisis? How is that important in understanding this passage? What are the three ways in which Paul illustrates the difference between Christ and Adam? Many people understand that Paul teaches that Adam is a "type" of Christ. However, two chief questions remain: How is Adam a type of Christ? And why is it important that Adam is a type of Christ? Who are the two all important characters in Paul's grand panoply of human history? Who is missing from Paul's grand story, and why is that significant? How do Paul's remarks about the coming of the Law tie in to His point about Adam as a type of Christ? (58 min)

In showing the exceeding greatness of Christ's death as the basis of the certainty of our hope, Paul continues his comparison of Christ's death to Adam's one act of transgression. First he introduces the concept of Adam as a type of Christ. What does this mean? Having introduced such an idea, Paul seems almost to back away from it in the following verses. Why? What are the three ways in which Christ's death is different from Adam's sin? Why is Paul contrasting Christ's act of atonement with Adam's transgression? What was the extent of the consequences of Adam's sin? What is the key word revealing the contrast between Adam and Christ? Who are "the many?” How should we understand the second use of "the many" in this verse? Why? Why does the idea of the atonement being intended for all who sinned, even those who will not believe, not degrade the glory of Christ's death? How would the view that the intent of the atonement was limited only to those who would ultimately be saved eviscerate Paul's very argument? How can the truth of the abundance of grace in Christ's atonement bring comfort to us? (42 min)

The passage we are beginning in this lesson is critically important to understanding the Christian faith, yet it can also be difficult to understand. We will take our time to be certain we understand it fully. What is a protasis and an apodosis? In this passage what is Paul's protasis? Where do we find the apodosis? What is Paul setting out to establish in this section? Why is sin not the chief theme of these verses? Why is what Paul says about sin so important to grasp? What is original sin? How did we become sinners? What did Paul mean by saying that sin is not imputed where there is no Law? How do we know that men were sinners between the time of Adam and Moses? (62 min)

Having shown how we can be assured of the certainty of our hope because we have the down payment of God's Spirit in us, Paul now gives another evidence of the certainty of our hope. That is the demonstration of God's love in the timing of the death of Christ. What does Paul mean when he speaks of the "right time" for Christ to die? Is he speaking historically or personally? What is the greatest extent or evidence of human love? How does God's love surpass that? What were you like when Christ died for you? What does Paul conclude is true in light of the timing of Christ's death? At the end of this passage Paul returns to the theme of exultation. What is a mark of the justified sinner? Why is it now possible for us to exult in God? What are some of the things about God in which we can exult? (55 min.)

Although Paul exults in the glorious reality of the justified believer's new position, he is a realist about the believer's life in this fallen world. This brings up the subject of tribulation. What does Paul have in mind here when he speaks of tribulation? What process happens in the life of the justified person as a consequence of tribulation? What is perseverance? How does proven character produce hope? What is the hope it produces? What is the role of the Holy Spirit in this process. Why is Paul so certain that this hope does not disappoint? What does God's love have to do with all of this? (49 min.)

Paul now moves us on from consideration of how a person is saved or justified through faith. There are many other things about our life after justification. Yet in moving on, of what must we not lose sight? What does Paul have in mind when he says we now have peace? What is the broader sense of this word? What does it mean that we now stand in grace? How is it that we have come to be in such a position? Can someone cease to stand in grace? What is Paul talking about when he speaks of the glory of God in which we hope? (52 min)

Having seen Abraham's faith, God credits that faith to Abraham as righteousness. What is the content of Abraham's faith and what is the locus of his faith? For whom did the Holy Spirit record these things about Abraham? What is the locus of our faith and the content of our faith? How is this the same and now is it different from Abraham? Who delivered up Christ, and why? What does Paul mean when he says that Christ was "raised because of our justification?" (56 min)

After learning earlier in Romans 4 that Abraham secured the promise of God by faith apart from works, apart from circumcision, and apart from the Law, we now see that he also did so by faith apart from sight. What did Paul mean when he said Abraham hoped against hope? What was necessary for Abraham to secure the promise God made? Why did Abraham contemplate the impossibility of his situation? What happened to Abraham's faith as he did so? What else did Abraham contemplate? How was Abraham's faith made strong? Did Abraham ever have doubts? What were the three results of Abraham's faith? Ultimately, what is Paul wanting us to consider in this passage? (48 min)

In these verses Paul begins to explain how it is that those who believe like Abraham believed are Abraham's descendants. What is the promise made to Abraham that he believed? What are the two categories that Paul presents for our consideration? What is the consequence of confusing these categories? What is it that the Law brings about? Why can it not bring about the inheritance of the promise? Why must the inheritance come by faith? What is it that is "in the presence of God?" What did Paul have in mind when he spoke of God giving life to the dead? Why is it important that God calls into being that which did not exist? (58 min)