Faith in Romans - Chapter 8, Part 2: The Believer’s “Abba Father,” Present Suffering & Glory to Follow:
Volume 5, Number 19Our last study covered Romans 8:1 - 11, recapping the good news that there is no judgement against believers in Christ Jesus who formerly were sinners condemned to death. Today, we continue with Romans 8:12 that begins with the word “therefore,” which means “accordingly, consequently, those things being so,” introducing the statement “…. we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh,” Romans 8:12. Thus, since believers are no longer under condemnation, they no longer owe or have an obligation to live after the lusts of the sinful flesh in which they were born. But the next... Continue reading →
Faith in Romans - Chapter 8: No Condemnation/ Judgement on Believers in Christ Jesus who before were Sinners Condemned to Death:
Volume 5, Number 18The first verse of Romans chapter 8 sums up the previous 3 chapters: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,” Romans 8:1. (The King James Version [KJV] adds the phrase “who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” The New International Version [NIV] is correct in omitting this phrase as it does not appear in the original manuscripts. However, this phrase is in Romans 8:4 in both the KJV and the NIV.) The Greek word translated “condemnation” in Romans 8:1 is from the Greek “katak’rima” (G2631), a particular form found only 3... Continue reading →
Faith in Romans - Chapter 7: The Believer’s Relationship to the Law while being Born of Adam but Alive in the Body of Jesus Christ our Lord:
Volume 5, Number 17The word “faith” occurs 40 times in Romans and 27 of those are prior to Romans 5:2, about 68% of the total. It doesn’t appear in the rest of the 5th chapter, nor in the 6th, 7th or 8th chapters. Of course, there is a good reason for this. Romans 5:1 - 2 reads: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” These are blessed assurances for believers; we stand... Continue reading →
Faith in Romans - Chapter 6 - Part 2: Law vis a vis Grace; Yielding as Slaves to Sin and Death vis a vis To Righteousness:
Volume 5, Number 16Our previous study noted the word “God” in the phrase “God forbid” in the King James Version (KJV) in Romans 6:2 and Romans 6:15 is not in the original manuscripts, whereas the Greek actually translate into English as “let it not be.”* Thus, believers are warned: “let it not be” that we live any longer in sin since we are dead to sin having been baptized (identified with) the death of Jesus Christ, Romans 6:2 - 7. And, though we are not under law but under grace, “let it not be” that we sin, Romans 6:14 - 15.Law vis a... Continue reading →
Faith in Romans - Chapter 6 - Part 1: Since Believers are dead in Christ, should they continue in sin? - Let it not be; God’s Grace is not license to sin:
Volume 5, Number 15“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” Romans 6:1 - 2. These rhetorical questions are a linchpin that transitions from doctrine in previous chapters to practical application that follows. The last three verses of chapter 5 somewhat recap the doctrine: “For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover, the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:... Continue reading →
Faith in Romans - Chapter 5 - Part 4: Death by Adam - Eternal Life by Jesus Christ our Lord:
Volume 5, Number 14“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” Romans 5:12. There’s been a lot of death since Adam, in fact, everyone born after Adam has died (except Enoch and Elijah). One Internet site estimates that at the time of the worldwide flood, the earth’s population could have been 30 billion people, considering the fact people lived long healthy lives and taking into consideration the earth’s maximum sustainable food production, http://www.amunrud.com/noah/population.html. Of course, there’s no way of knowing for sure, but most likely... Continue reading →
Faith in Romans - Chapter 5 - Part 3 - From Being Enemies of God to Rejoicing in Christ’s Finished Work of Atonement and being Blessed with all Spiritual Blessings in Heavenly Places:
Volume 5, Number 13The last study wound up at Romans 5:6 - 8, observing that many believers don’t fully grasp the impact of these 3 verses. They teach that no one deserves Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death, so no one will ever be able to say they even remotely earned what He did for them on the cross. On the contrary, Christ died for us when we were sinners and totally alienated from God. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8. The Greek word translated “commendeth” means “to show, prove, establish,... Continue reading →
Faith in Romans - Chapter 5 - Part 2 - Grace & Death; God’s Grace Shown, Proved, Established, Exhibited To Us By His death:
Volume 5, Number 12In Romans, the Apostle Paul established that no one can be justified (stand righteous) before God by any kind of work/s, including adherence to the Law, religion or by any other means by quoting passages from the Old Testament (OT); “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Romans 3:10 - 12. He added: “For all have sinned and come short of the... Continue reading →
Faith in Romans - Chapter 5 - Part 1: Joy/Glory In Tribulations:
Volume 5, Number 11Note these key words in Romans, chapter 5:• “Grace” is found 6 times in the fifth chapter, which is the most often in any chapter in Romans. It’s found 25 times in Romans, the most often in any New Testament (NT) book and is translated from the Greek “charis” (G5385).• Two different Greek words are used to describe death. The Greek word “Thanatos” (G2288) is found 22 times in the book of Romans, the most often of any NT book and 6 are in the fifth chapter. (Interestingly, Thanatos was the personification of death in Greek mythology; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanatos.)• The other... Continue reading →
Faith in Romans - Abraham, Part 3 - The Father of all who Believe, whether Jew or Gentile:
Volume 5, Number 10God blessed Abraham greatly and he is referred to by name 74 times in the New Testament. (Jesus is named the most frequently, Paul 2nd, Peter 3rd, Moses 4th and Abraham 5th; five in Scripture being the number for grace.) This doesn’t mean Abraham was any better than any other human being because the Bible teaches that everyone has sinned and come short of God’s Glory, Romans 3:23; there is absolutely none righteous, no not one, Romans 3:10. He was a pagan idol worshiper named Abram, Joshua 24:2; Genesis 12:1; Acts 7:2 when God called him and changed his name... Continue reading →