Course 5: Romans; Part I

Slowing down to explore just a few verses, we are challenged with Paul’s calling to preach the Good News. Like Paul, God is sending us out to share this life-saving news with the world around us. The entire letter to the Romans will support and further what is said in these central verses. In the sessions to come, we will be given a healthy understanding of so many Christian doctrines without moving from the Gospel focus. We will be continually challenged to apply what we are learning to our lives.

We’re not and bad as we could be, but we’re as bad off as we could ever be. Without Jesus Christ, all of us are helpless in our sin. Nearly two and a half chapters of Romans are devoted to helping us understand how badly humankind needs Christ. For irreligious people, those who believe in their own goodness, and even for God’s chosen people, they all fall short of perfection in God’s eyes. From this bitter realization, we are in the right place to hear the hopeful words “but now” in Romans 3:21. These two words mark a turning point in the letter, even in history itself. But now, Jesus has revealed that we are “made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ.” He made the way for us to achieve the impossible, to be in right standing with God.

God is just. His perfect justice was carried out in Christ’s death on the cross on behalf of everyone who believes. We are declared to be in right-standing with God by faith in Jesus Christ. Our sins are not just overlooked, they are paid for by the blood of Christ. Being in right-standing with God does not mean we are perfect. It means the wages for all of our sins (past, present, and future) have been paid. This payment is a given as a free gift, the ultimate expression of God’s love.

In the midst of our hopeless situation, God sent His Son to die on our behalf. He bore the wrath for our sins. God leveraged sin for His glory through Christ’s death and resurrection. Romans 5:20 says through Christ’s sacrifice, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant as people sinned. Now as believers, forgiven and free from the penalty of sin, we have peace with God. We are no longer under Adam’s condemnation. Our identity is rooted in Christ. Because we are now reconciled to God, we have unrestricted access to Him. He is with us, His Spirit lives in us. We now have the hope of life with God forever.

In Christ, we are freed from our slavery to sin. When Israel was freed from slavery in Egypt, they had a hard time accepting their freedom. Despite all God had done on their behalf, they grumbled and rebelled. We too struggle to live in the reality of our new found freedom. Some of us may try to earn something from God rather than accepting the gift of His grace. Others may sin more and more instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to grow and lead them towards God’s purposes. Now we don’t have to stumble into legalism or lawlessness. In Christ, we are free to grow up as God’s children.

Life in the Spirit is now possible. As believers, justified and declared righteous in Christ, we can choose to surrender to the Holy Spirit. This is the part of God’s free gift we call sanctification. We will still struggle with the presence of sin, but we are not enslaved to its power anymore. We are new creations learning to live like Christ. Through knowing, considering, and surrendering we are “rooted and built up in Him” as it says in Colossians 2:6-7.