Bible Reading Plan | Devotion for the week of June 20, 2021

Weekly reading: Romans 1-5; Psalm 29-30

Passages referenced: Romans 1:16-17; 3:23-24

Romans was a book that, for me, was hard to understand. I kept reading it over and over again; it just did not make sense. Now I look back and see that the church I went to at the time did not teach much on grace, more on the law. After reading a book on Romans and growing in my understanding of grace, I was set free.

Now I’d like to share just a few things about this marvelous book of Romans and our reading of chapters 1-5 this week:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17)

These two verses show us the main theme of the book. It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Both Jew and Gentile. It is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. The righteous person shall live by faith.

From verses 1:18 to the end of chapter 2, God condemns the unsaved person, the good person, and the Jew.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:23-24)

In chapter 3, God condemns the whole world. Verse 23 sums up the first three chapters by saying we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And verse 24 then tells us Jesus Christ has redeemed us through grace which is a gift from God.

Chapter 4 tells us that when we decided to believe God about His son Jesus, God counted us as righteous. Another way of saying it is that we are saved by faith alone.

Chapter 5 goes on to say we have peace with God through faith. We are no longer enemies of God. We have received this through faith only by the grace of God and not by anything we have done or will do.

My thoughts above are just a short summary of the first five chapters of Romans. So I recommend you study it very slowly to learn more about God’s grace. This book is probably the greatest book on grace in the Bible. Every time I go through this book, I get more out of it. I hope it does the same for you. – Norm Earlywine

• Check out The Bible Project’s overview videos of the book of Romans. Part One covers chapters 1-4 and Part Two covers chapters 5-16. It is an excellent source for background information and context that walks through the book’s sections and themes. It can be really helpful for those who appreciate some visuals while learning.

• Do you have questions about this week’s Bible reading? We’d love to help! Rather than relying on the first thing you find on the internet, email us at biblequestions@warsaw.cc. We are more than happy to answer that nagging question you have, provide you with some clarity, or point you in the right direction for further study.