Heritage Baptist Church of Frankfort IL

Paul addresses the strong -people with consciences that are free-. They recognize that they have a freedom in Christ that gives them a boldness to do whatever they see fit. However, Paul now adds a consideration for the strong. They need to consider how their actions build up or hurt others. In love they are to consider the best things that will help others. It is not right to hurt the conscience of those that are weak -people who have conscience that view something as wrong-. The strong are not to push weak believers into do something that goes against their conscience.

God's judgment is fair because he does not see sinners differently. It does not matter if someone is religious or pagan, God still will judge both for sin.

The Jew had many privileges. They had the Word of God and had the place to worship God. They taught others and the nations. Despite all that they had, they still did all the things that they forbid others to do. They were greater sinners than the nations that knew not God. They had knowledge and still sinned.

To this point in Romans Paul had been proving that even religious, moral people are sinners. Paul took this individuals and backed them into a corner. In this section the religious attempt to argue with God that they are okay with God. They try to work around their sinfulness.

The passage is the close section of the first part of Romans where Paul displays the universality of sin. With words like -all- and -none- no one escape the verdict that that they are sinners. From a human standpoint there is no escaping God's judgment.

The first three chapters emphasis the truth that all mankind are sinners. There is no escaping this truth. All of the sudden this section provides a dramatic change. Good news is presented in contrast to sin and no hope. The good news is that a person can have a right standing -justification- from Jesus Christ. This salvation is obtained not by works but by faith.

Pictures help you understand more clearly. Salvation may have some aspects that are hard to be understood. Paul gives three pictures for individuals to realize what salvation includes for those who come in faith to Jesus Christ.

The blood of Jesus is a distasteful theme for many churches and denominations. It is offensive to them. However, the Scripture lifts up the importance and need of a blood sacrifice for salvation. To get rid of the necessity of the blood is to take away what the possibility of salvation.

The Justice of God meets in the cross of Christ. God proves Himself to be just and the one who justifies through Christ's death. The two facts are seemingly opposed to one another, yet God in His power is able to accomplish a just salvation.