This is the Tale of Two Adams: While one man brought the curse of death upon the human race, another man sacrificed and took that curse into himself. Pastor J.D. continues to teach in this message how we have chosen sin, like the first Adam, but we can choose life through the second man, Jesus Christ. When we do, we’ll understand why every son and daughter of Adam needs to hear how they, too, can be redeemed.

We all have a problem: We are living under the curse of sin and death, all because of the choice of one man: Adam. That’s pretty depressing, isn’t it? But there’s hope in the gospel. In today’s message, Pastor J.D. walks through Romans 5 and shows us how, even though we all made the same choice as Adam to sin, we can all make the choice today to accept salvation through another man—the second Adam, Jesus Christ.

We won’t always know how God is working in our suffering. That doesn’t sound very comforting, but we know from the Bible that we can trust in two things: first, the cross shows us that he hasn’t forgotten us and, two, the resurrection shows us that he always finishes what he has started. Pastor J.D. continues in this message from Romans to remind us how and why we can have joy in the midst of our suffering.

How is it possible to rejoice when we are suffering? You may think it’s not possible. But, Romans 5 shows us that the gospel changes everything, including how we look at suffering. In this message, Pastor J.D. teaches us how we can rejoice in the hope that God will keep all his promises … a hope rooted in the assurance that one day, even if nothing else in our lives works out, God will restore everything that is broken.

Do you have the kind of faith Abraham had? The Apostle Paul says that, even when he faltered, Abraham “did not waver in unbelief.” As Pastor J.D. continues to teach from Romans 4, he helps us understand that faith is not about never failing; it’s about placing your trust in the God who always keeps his promises. Faith is about admitting that you cannot save yourself, but that, in God’s grace, he has done it for you.

One of the most common questions about Christianity is, “How did people in the Old Testament get to heaven?” In today’s teaching, Pastor J.D. teaches us not only when and how Abram — the “father of our faith” — was saved, but also how our faith is the same as Abraham’s. Through his story, we see that the Christian life is started and sustained by faith that God will keep his promises and that he fulfilled his most important one in Jesus.

When we experience division in the church, the first question we should ask is, “What are we boasting in?” As he continues in Romans 3, Pastor J.D. shows us in this message the three things we tend to boast in and why they contribute to conflict. When we understand that, while God only accepts those who are repentant, he also accepts repentant people from every background and race, only then will we have unity in God’s family.

We often like the concept of diversity, as long as other people adapt to our customs and styles. But the gospel teaches us a different way. In this message, Pastor J.D. teaches from Romans 3, where we learn that, while there is only one way to salvation, God doesn’t accept us because of anything about us but because of what he’s done for us. This makes Christianity, as Tim Keller says, “the most inclusive exclusivity there is.”

If you’ve never known how to reply to someone who asks, “What’s the big deal about Jesus?” then this is the message for you. Pastor J.D. continues through the passage in Romans 3 that some scholars say is the most important in the Bible. Through its message, we learn what makes Christianity so different from every other religion and how accepting Jesus’ forgiveness changes the foundation of our lives.

Have you ever wondered how to respond when someone asks you why you think Jesus is the only way to salvation? In this message, Pastor J.D. walks through one of the most important passages in Romans, what Martin Luther called “the very central place … of the whole Bible.” In it, we find not only the answer to why Jesus saves but also a confidence that is found only through our justification.