Study session scripture: Romans 8:15-25

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Study session topics:

• Children of God (vv. 15-17)

• Here Paul fully lays out how profound our new standing with God is

• Paul briefly touched on it in 5:1-5 -Peace with God--we are no longer God's enemies

• This grace in which we stand--we have a new standing before God

• We are not merely slaves or servants of God (though we are those things as well)

• "Adoption"--this word choice is important

• Only Paul uses this word in the New Testament, and it doesn't appear in the Old Testament at all

• How close to God are we as sons? The Holy Spirit allows us to call Him "Abba! Father!"--the same term of address Christ used in Mark 14:36 -Paul says the Holy Spirit bears witness with us that we are children of God--how does the Spirit bear witness?

• Evidence of the Spirit's presence within us--the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)

• The Spirit produces in us a willingness to suffer for Christ

• Persecution--we will be mistreated by the world for our allegiance to God (Matthew 5:11-12, John 15:18-20)

• Purification--God will give us difficult circumstances to further sanctify us (Hebrews 12:7-11)

• As part of the full rights of sonship that adoption entails, Paul declares us to be heirs of God with Christ

• What does it mean to be an heir of God?

• Our final future state--glorified in heaven

• Our present circumstances--God lavishes His love and blessings on us

• In both cases, the true inheritance is God Himself

• Hope of future glory

• Paul transitions to this topic by declaring that our suffering in this life is insignificant compared to the indescribable glory we will one day experience -Paul restates this idea in II Corinthians 4:16-17

• Paul is speaking from experience

• Paul broadens the principle of suffering giving way to glory and applies it to all of creation, specifically non-rational creation

• The picture Paul paints of the cosmos is distinct from the way an atheist would describe it--Paul talks about a universe that has a purpose, has lost that purpose, and looks forward to the restoration of that purpose

• The imagery and words Paul uses point to the fall in Genesis 3 and the frustration of the teacher in Ecclesiastes

• At the same time, creation desires to be set free of the fall and be made new, as God promised He would (Isaiah 11:6-9)

• At the end of the passage , Paul again narrows his focus to his audience to address the dissonance we feel and our hope for its resolution

• The "first fruits of the Spirit" does not refer to the fruit of the Spirit, but rather the first portion of the Christian's inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14) -Earlier Paul treats our adoption as something that has already occurred--here he speaks of it as something yet to happen

• We have become part of God's family, but we do not yet have full rights and inheritance because we are not yet who we ought to be

• Paul finishes this point by reminding us that these glorious things are still to come, and we anticipate them in hope that "does not put us to shame" (5:5)

Study session audio:

S4 E21: Romans 8:15-25

Study session scripture: Romans 8:1-14

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Study session topics:

• Assurance of Hope

• Freedom from condemnation by the law (vv. 1-4)

• v. 1: a thesis and a summary -"therefore"--the biggest one yet

• No condemnation

• Points back to the first few chapters, summed up in 3:9-11 -"in Christ Jesus"

• Points back to Paul's discussion of being united to Christ in Ch. 5, continued in v. 2

• Here we see all 3 persons of the Trinity active in salvation

• God the Father: Sends His Son to Earth and condemns sin in the flesh through Christ's death, thus justifying the Christian

• God the Son: Becomes like us, dies as the perfect sacrifice, and breaks the power of sin through His death

• God the Holy Spirit: Joins us to Christ in His death and resurrection, and gives us power to live a holy life

• In this passage we begin to see how our freedom from condemnation leads to a holy life -Holiness is the goal of justification

• Holiness consists of fulfilling the law's just demands

• Holiness is the work of the Holy Spirit

• Holiness is mandatory

• We see Christ illustrate how freedom from condemnation works in John 8:1-11

• Deliverance from our sinful natures (vv. 5-14)

• In vv. 5-8 Paul contrasts the unsaved person and the Christian

• The unsaved person is characterized in 4 ways:

• His thinking: his mind is set on fleshly things

• His state: spiritually dead

• His religion: anti-God

• His present condition: unable to please God

• The Christian is characterized in 2 ways:

• His thinking: set on what the Spirit desires

• His state: spiritually alive and at peace

• In vv. 9-11 Paul encourages his audience to examine themselves to assure them that they are included in God's new covenant

• The Christian's past (v. 9) -The Christian's present (v. 10)

• The Christian's future (v.11) -vv. 12-14 describe the process of sanctification as a moral imperative

• If you live like a non-Christian, you will die like a non-Christian--because you are not a Christian -If you live like a Christian--as only a true Christian can--you will live forever

Study session audio:

S4 E20: Romans 8:1-14

Study session scripture: Romans 7:13-25

Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

Study session topics:

• The Law and sin, continued

  • v. 13 summarizes vv. 7-12

  • The law does not bring death

  • The law reveals sin as sin

  • Sin takes provocation from the law

  • The law, operated on by sin, brings us to the end of ourselves

• What is the state of the man in vv. 14-25?

• Paul as an unsaved man -Calls himself "sold under sin"

• Says "nothing good dwells in me"

• Wonders "who will deliver me from this body of death?

  • Problems with this view:

    • The way Paul describes himself here is different from how he describes his unsaved state elsewhere

    • Paul expresses delight in God's law, which is absent in unbelievers

    • Paul describes himself in the past tense in vv. 7-12, but here he describes himself in the present tense

• Paul as a "carnal Christian"

• The man in the passage speaks in despair, as if he has been defeated

  • This view holds that the passage talks about a Christian who lives in sin, and Ch. 8 is about a life of victory

  • Problems with this view:

  • This view suggests that there are 2 stages of Christian experience, where a person first accepts Christ as Savior, then later accepts Him as Lord

  • Paul does speak of his flesh, but there is a struggle that a so-called "carnal Christian" has given up on

• Paul as a man under conviction

  • This view claims that Paul is speaking neither as a regenerate man nor an unregenerate man

  • The strongest argument for this position is that Paul is speaking as a man who has come to the end of himself after being confronted by the law

  • Problems with this view:

  • It still doesn't account for the change from past to present tense

  • Paul knows who his redeemer is

Study session audio:

S4 E19: Romans 7:13-25

Study session scripture: Romans 7:7-12

What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

Study session topics:

• The Law and Sin

  • The Legalist's Objections

  • Objection 1: If the law can neither save nor sanctify, what is its value? Should it not be thrown out?

  • Objection 2: If our sin is aroused by the law, isn't the law sinful since it leads to evil?

  • Why these objections matter: Since the law came from God, who does not do or make anything evil

  • Paul will show in this passage that the law is good and holy, and that it does accomplish good things

• The law reveals sin as sin

• No one naturally thinks of themselves as wicked, but God's law reveals that fact to us

• Genesis 6:5 -Romans 3:10-12

• Even if we can see our wicked state with clear eyes, we cannot know what is "sin" without the law

• Paul touches on this earlier in 4:15 and 5:14

• Paul relates this truth to himself

• Philippians 3:2-6 -- Paul once thought very highly of himself and needed the law to see himself as a sinner

• The law provokes sin

• This sounds counterintuitive, but it draws out the realization of how bad sin is

• Sin, through the knowledge of the commandment, creates a surge of rebellion in our hearts

• The law brings out sinful desires we never knew existed

• Our sinful nature reveals itself (and its power over us) by taking provocation from the law

• The Law Brings Us to the End of Ourselves

• v. 9 in context talks about Paul's obliviousness to his own wickedness, becoming aware of that wickedness due to the law, and feeling hopeless -- dying -- due to his realization that he cannot keep the law

• This hopelessness in oneself is a good thing because it drives us to see our need for a savior

• Jesus used the law this way when talking to the rich young ruler (Mark 10:17-22)

• Paul summarizes this idea earlier in 3:19-20

Study session audio:

S4 E18: Romans 7:7-12

Study session scripture: Romans 7:1-6

Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.

Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.

Study session topics:

• The triumph of grace over the power of the law

• Law is binding only until death

• Ancient Greek wording omits "the" in v. 1

• Paul is talking about a broader concept of law than the Law of Moses

• Death ends all obligations and contracts

• Paul's illustration: marriage

• Paul ties the idea of marriage dissolving at death to the Christian's relationship to the dominion of the law vs. the dominion of Christ

• This illustration is not allegorical (i.e. the husband does not represent the law, or Adam, or our old nature)

• Though this is an imperfect illustration, it is useful for several reasons:

  • A woman who is married to a man is under the authority of that man

  • The subjection of a wife to a husband in marriage is for life

• In spite of the permanence of this relationship and the authority it confers, there is still the possibility of entering into another relationship

• The object of marriage is to bear fruit

• Flesh vs. spirit

• The word "flesh" here has a deeper theological meaning that Paul often uses in his letters in contrast with "spirit"

• Flesh (sarx) can refer to a physical human body (Luke 24:39, Gal. 2:20), the whole of mankind (Isaiah 40:6), or our fallen, sinful nature

• v. 5 uses the latter meaning

  • It can't be a physical body, since it speaks of flesh in the past tense

  • It can't be all humanity, since it is contrasting flesh with the new life according to the Spirit

• Interpreting the use of the word "flesh" correctly is critical, because misuse of the term has given rise to the modern view of the "carnal Christian"

• Scripture does speak about and to immature Christians, but it does not support the idea of them being in a separate category of persons from "spiritual" Christians

• Scripture treats the process of sanctification for the Christian not as something that is optional, but as an inevitability (I Cor. 6:9-11, Philippians 1:6, Hebrews 9:13-14)

• In Romans 7:6, Paul presents 2 categories: captivity to sin aroused by the law, and serving in the new way of the Spirit

Study session audio:

S4 E17: Romans 7:1-6

Study session scripture: Romans 6:15-23

What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Study session topics:

• The Triumph of Grace over the Power of Sin, Continued

• "What then?" Paul anticipates a further objection based on a misunderstanding of his last statement in 6:14

• The antinomian again asserts that sin does not matter because "we are no longer under law but under grace"

• Paul's emphasis is that "sin will have no dominion over [us]," that freedom from the power of sin enables us to fight against sin in our lives

• Paul's new illustration: Slavery

• Echoes Christ's words in John 8:31-36

• Slave--doulos -Same word Paul used as the first descriptor of himself in Romans 1:1

• Not describing chattel slavery, but voluntary slavery

• Importantly, Paul only describes 2 options: slavery to sin, or slavery to God

• Paul acknowledges in v. 19 that this is an imperfect illustration, but it is helpful to illustrate 2 truths:

  • God does not look upon us as profitable commodities that He needs, but as weak, frail, destitute beggars whom He graciously welcomes into His house

  • We cannot entrust ourselves to be cared for by God and think that we will somehow rule the roost

• 3 Important Contrasts between Slavery to Sin and Slavery to God

  • Increasing corruption vs. increasing righteousness (v. 19)

  • Romans 1:18-32: Choosing sin over God leads to being given over to a worsening state before God

  • Increasing sanctification comes as a necessary consequence of saying "no" to sin and saying "yes" to God more and more

• Shame vs. joy (v. 20-21)

• From a Godly perspective--which we share as slaves to God--all sin is shameful

• The world gets this backwards and will often try to shame us for obeying God

• There is great joy in living with a clean conscience

• Death vs. eternal life (v. 23)

• We all, consciously or not, seek eternal life (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

• As God is the source and sustainer of all life, separation from Him means death, but being joined to Him inevitably leads to eternal life

Study session audio:

S4 E16: Romans 6:15-23

Study session scripture: Romans 6:1-14

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Study session topics:

• The triumph of grace over the power of sin

• “What shall we say, then?" -Paul is rhetorically asking what the logical conclusion of God's triumphant grace is (5:20-21)

• Antinomian objection: if sin is overtaken by grace, then sin doesn't matter, so sin away

• Paul's position: God's grace transforms the Christian into a person who actively fights against sin in their life

• Paul's case against antinomianism

• The Christian has died to sin--What does this mean?

• The Christian is no longer responsive to sin

• This is mistaken both because Christians do still sin and because it ignores Paul's exhortation (6:12-13)

• The Christian should die to sin

• This does take Paul's exhortation into account, but it ignores the verb tense of died-this refers to something that has already happened

• The Christian has died to sin's guilt

• While this is accurate, it doesn't answer why we can no longer live in sin

• The Christian has been freed from the dominion of sin over their life

• This view makes sense of Paul's exhortation while answering why we do not continue in sin -Paul bolsters his argument against antinomianism by returning to his discussion of unity with Christ from Chapter 5

• The vine and the branches -branches of a grape vine will bear grapes (Luke 6:43-44) -we who are nourished and strengthened by Christ's power will bear fruit in keeping with repentance

• The foundation and the house -building our house on the rock is contingent on hearing Christ's words and doing them (Matthew 7:24)

• The head and the body -a body whose limbs rebel against the brain's control is in poor health

• Marriage -habitually and willfully doing things to which your spouse is fundamentally opposed will harm your marriage

• Paul adds a new image of unity with Christ--baptism -immersion in water unites us with Christ's death -coming up from the water unites us with Christ's resurrection

• Paul goes as far as to say that our old self was crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20)

• Paul now answers a critical question: if we are not to continue in sin, how can we triumph over it? By knowing what God has done for us when he joined us to Christ

• The word know is used multiple times in this passage, and each know is followed by implications for those who have been united to Christ

• v. 3: we are buried with Christ by baptism so that we can participate in His resurrection and new life

• v. 6: our old self dying with Christ frees us from enslavement to sin

• v. 9: as Christ has died, and now lives a new life to God, so we should consider ourselves dead to the power of sin

Study session audio:

S4 E15: Romans 6:1-14

Study session scripture: Romans 5:12-21

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. 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.

Study session topics:

• Hope in Christ's triumph over Adam's sin

• Paul now seeks to encourage his audience in assurance of their salvation by contrasting the two most important events in history

• Brief recap of last week--We can be assured of our salvation because:

  • God has made peace with us through Christ's atoning work

  • Through that same work, we now stand in a new relationship with God

  • We have a sure and certain hope that we will see God

  • Our salvation enables us to endure suffering in this life without despair

  • Christ came to die for us when we were His enemies

  • If God has justified us, He will surely glorify us

• Paul now explains that, even beyond justification, salvation unites us to Jesus Christ as our covenantal head

• "Therefore" -Paul's main idea here is that we can remain under Adam as our covenant head, or we can take Christ as our new covenant head -"death spread to all men because all sinned"--What does this mean?

  • Pelagian view: Each person sins of themselves, apart from connection to Adam, and their death is a consequence of their individual sins

  • Cavin's view: "all sinned" means all were corrupted by Adam's sin

  • Augustine's view: All generations were in Adam, so when he sinned, we all sinned

  • Federalist view: Adam stood as representative of all humanity, so because Adam, our representative, sinned, we are judged as also having sinned

• Three great contrasts between Adam and Jesus

• Natural vs. Supernatural -One sin vs. Many sins

• Death vs. The reign of life

• In v. 18, Paul finishes the thought he started in v. 12 and brings in the concept of union to Christ as opposed to union to Adam

• Two slippery passages

  • "the many" has a different meaning in relation to Adam than in relation to Christ, and should not be read as endorsing universalism

  • "the law came in to increase the trespass" does not mean God desired for there to be more sin, but that the law brings out the nature and magnitude of sin

• What is union with Christ? Four scriptural analogies:

• The vine and the branches (John 15:1-5)

• The foundation and the house built upon it (Matthew 7:24-25)

• The head and the members of the body (Ephesians 4:11-16) -Marriage (Ephesians 5:28-32)

Study session audio:

S4 E14: Romans 5:12-21

Study session scripture: Romans 5:1-11

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 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. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 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. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Study session topics:

• Assurance of hope

• The completeness of salvation

• Therefore" - there's that word again

• Paul just described the faith of Abraham, how it was counted as righteousness, and how the same will be true of those who share his faith

• Romans 5:1 is entirely past tense, it is already a done deal

• We have been justified by faith

• We have peace with God

• Our salvation doesn't mean we can have peace with God, or even that we will eventually obtain peace with God--it means we already have peace with God

• We stand in grace and look forward to the glory of God

• The grace in which we stand refers to the secure position we have before God, grounded in His unmerited, undeserved favor

• Rejoicing in hope of the glory of God refers to what will happen at the end of God's plan of salvation

• We rejoice no only in our eventual end, but also in our present circumstances

• Suffering -> endurance -> character -> hope that will be vindicated

• 4 types of suffering with Godly purpose

• Corrective suffering -Suffering for the glory of God

• Suffering as part of cosmic warfare

• Constructive suffering

• Why will our hope be vindicated? Because the Holy Spirit pours God's love into our hearts

• The saving power of God's supreme love

• Paul grounds the subjective experience of the love of God in the objective expression of divine love Christ exhibited in His death

• Paul contrasts God's love with man's love using the ultimate expression of love--willingness to die

• Since that expression of God's love justifies us in the present time, it will also save us from God's wrath on judgment day; and since it has turned us from enemies of God to reconciled children, His resurrection will save us at the last day

• The Christian indeed goes beyond simply avoiding wrath and actually rejoices in the God who would, apart from the work of Christ, be our enemy

Study session audio:

S4 E13: Romans 5:1-11

Study session scripture: Romans 4:13-25

For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.”

He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

Study session topics:

• The results of depending on following the law

• Faith is null

• The promise is void

• The law brings wrath

• The results of depending on faith

• The promise rests on grace

• The promise is guaranteed

• The promise is available to all

• What is the faith of Abraham? Paul describes what it looks like

• Centered on God as its object

• Thrives in broken circumstances

• Constantly grows stronger

• How do we grow our faith?

• Gives glory to god

• Paul ends this section by refocusing on the benefits of the Gospel of faith for his audience--as Abraham's faith was counted as righteousness, so will it be for the Christian who trusts in God as Abraham did

Study session audio:

S4 E12: Romans 13-25