Romans 5:12

Romans 5:12 says, 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:  We know that when God created the world that He pronounced it good.  Adam and Eve walked and talked with God freely but were given a choice of whether or not to obey God.  Paul states that thorough one man, Adam, sin entered into the world, but we cannot blame Adam for our sins.  Through each individual since Adam, sin enters into our relationship to God.  I do not stand guilty before God for the sins of Adam, but for my own sins.  Verse thirteen adds, (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.  Sin existed in the world from the time of Adam, even before the giving of the Law of God.  Sin has to do with our relationship to God.  Adam was called to obey God, and was told what would happen if he didn't.  We today, when we are born into this world, are born to obey God, and as soon as we know what He wants of us and disobey we earn death.  We cannot blame our separation from God on anything but our own sin.  Verse fourteen continues, Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. This is a continuation of the idea stated in verse thirteen. Death reigned from Adam to Moses, because disobedience to the will of God brought death into the world.  If Adam, or anyone since, had lived in total obedience to God, then Christ's death would not have been necessary.  No one else since Adam and Eve have walked with God as they did in a perfect place to live, but our sins are still our own.  We still have a choice, and still choose sin.  Verse fifteen concludes, But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.  Paul tells us that by the sin of one man many are dead.  The tree of life was removed because of the sin of Adam, but everlasting life was restored by the grace of God through one Man, Jesus Christ. It is up to each individual to accept or reject that gift.  If we do accept it, we like Adam and Eve can walk freely with God as we then have the Holy Spirit living in us.  This is not an option, but an accomplished fact.

Romans 5:6

Romans 5:6 says, For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  I believe here Paul tells us once again why Jesus had to die on the cross.  We are without strength to save ourselves, as the nation of Israel and the rest of the world had proven over and over. When the time was right for God, He sent Jesus to die for our sins.  We must never question God's plans or His timing.  We might wonder why God waited so long to send the Messiah, but we must be satisfied with His timing. What we really need to understand is that Jesus died for the ungodly.  This also included those who were called God's people, because no one was or is capable of saving themself.  Verse seven adds, For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. Paul stated that most people would not die for a righteous man, one who was unjustly condemned, according to Matthew Henry.  We most likely will never be called on to place our life on the line for another, but there are some people we would be willing to die for to save them in this worldly life.  There are some who would even be willing to die for a good person that the world might not even recognize as being important. Matthew Henry says this a person who is useful to the world.  I believe this would be someone we know or place a great value on.  I believe Paul was moving from the righteous, those who attempted to do God's will, to the good, those who attempted to have a right relationship with others.  What I believe we can know Paul was saying is that most of us would not willingly die for either a righteous or a good person.  I don't believe he was talking about people who have jobs that sometimes require them to place their lives on the line for others, though this would still apply.  I believe he was talking about the average person in an average situation.  Verse eight continues, But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Christ did not die for anyone who was not guilty.  We were still sinners when He died for us.  We cannot become good and righteous in the eyes of God by our own merit.  Verse nine states, Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.   Paul tells us that when we are justified by Christ, we are saved from the wrath of God.  God will never take sin lightly, and neither should we. Christ sets us free from that earned wrath of God. Verse ten adds, For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.  We were reconciled by the death of Christ and saved by His life.  Christ paid the penalty for our sins by His death and gives us life by His resurrection. There is no other way to salvation.  Verse eleven continues, And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.  Paul calls on us to have joy through Christ, no matter what may be happening to us in the world .  We need to capture that joy every day.  We are to be a rejoicing people because we are forever atoned through Christ.

Romans 5:1

Romans 5:1 says, Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:  When we are justified by our faith, we have peace with God.  If we find ourselves questioning God, or seemingly at war with His will for our lives, we need to return to our faith.  Faith in God keeps us secure, not only in this life, but in life everlasting.  When we truly grasp this concept, we will never falter.  Verse two adds, By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  Paul stated that through faith in Christ, we have access to into God's grace, and in that grace is where we should stand. God does not call us into a limited standing in His grace, but into a full fellowship by His grace.  As Paul states, we should rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.  We as followers of Christ should be a rejoicing people. We have an everlasting relationship with God, so nothing should keep us from rejoicing in that relationship. Verse three continues, And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;  Paul had just stated that we are to rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, and now he states that we are to rejoice in tribulation as well.  Many would claim that as followers of Christ that He only wants happiness and success for us, but Paul knew the truth that tribulations could come from our following Christ.  The question is never if tribulations will come, but how we will react when they do.  We can either rejoice in Christ during any tribulation that comes our way, or we can falter in our faith and question or even blame God for our problems.  We must also remember that these tribulations come from our faith in God and not from our own following after the way of the world instead of obeying God.  Verse four states, And patience, experience; and experience, hope:  Paul is telling us that we learn by the experience that patience brings, and this brings us hope. When we patiently wait on the will of God to be made manifest to us, we learn that we can always rely on Him. Verse five adds, And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.  Paul continues by saying that we are not to be ashamed of hope in Christ, because the Holy Spirit sheds the love of God in our hearts.  We can never be effective followers of Christ if we are in any way or at any time ashamed of the gospel, because the Holy Spirit is with us at all times filling our hearts with the love of God.

Romans 4:18

Romans 4:18 says, Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. Abraham, or Abram as he was known when he was called, had no reason to believe that God would use him in such a spectacular way.  He could only hope through faith.  He had to believe in the reality of God's promise and act on it.  Our only hope today is to believe through faith in the reality of the promise of God that we are saved through faith in Christ and to act on it.  There should never be a wavering of our faith.  When we accept Christ as our Savior and follow Him, we don't need to wake up every morning wondering if we are truly saved that day.  Just as Abraham through his faith belonged to God forever, so do we. Abraham was not perfect when God called him, nor did he become perfect. Verse nineteen adds, And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb:  Abraham could have looked at the facts and decided that there was no way that God could carry out his promise.  We can either believe in the power of God or the facts that the world presents to us.  The world tells us that we are foolish or delusional to believe that we can be saved by putting our faith in Christ, who died over two thousand years ago.  We either accept God's word as truth and come to Him through faith, or we look at the world and say that salvation makes no sense and cannot be true. Verse twenty continues, He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; Abraham did not stagger at the promise of God, and neither should we.  We need to look to the power of God and not the negativity of the world.  Sometimes, if we look at a situation strictly from the facts the world presents, we may want to question our faith, but we must never waiver in our faith in God.  Verse twenty-one states, And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.  Abraham believed that God could perform what He promised, and we so should we.  Verse twenty-two adds, And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.  Abraham's belief, his faith in God, was what brought him into a right relationship with God, and not his following of any ritual, and the same is true for us today. Verse twenty-three continues, Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;  This is why we today have hope.  The promise of God was not to Abraham alone, but to all who believe.  Verse twenty-four states, But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;  God's promises are for all who believe He raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.  There is nothing added to this requirement. Through faith in God alone and His atonement through Christ can we find salvation.  Verse twenty-five adds.  Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.   Christ died for all people for all time, and through His death and resurrection alone can we find hope.

Romans 4:13

Romans 4:13 says, For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. This is a continuation of the discussion of faith verses the Law.  Paul spent a lot of time discussing this issue, because the Jews were claiming justification by the Law and the necessity of others to follow the Law, and the rituals that they applied to it, in order to be considered a part of God's family.  We need to understand this concept today, so that nothing is added to the requirement for salvation.  We are saved through faith in Christ alone, and none is more saved than another.  Verse fourteen adds, For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:  I believe Paul was stating the basic truth of salvation, for all those who came before Christ and all those who have and will come since, and that is if there is any other way to salvation than through faith in Christ, then His sacrifice on the cross is made void.  We have to firmly claim and proclaim this truth today. Through the promise of Christ alone do we have salvation.  Those who came before Christ looked to the promise in faith, and those who have come since look back on the fulfillment of that promise.  Christ died for the sins of all people for all time.  It is up to each individual how they respond to that sacrifice.  Verse fifteen continues, Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. The law establishes the fact that we are sinners but can do nothing to save us.  We can only earn punishment by the law, since to fail in one point is the same as failing in all.  There are no degrees of sin or minor sins with God, and the law of God makes us aware of those sins.  Verse sixteen states, Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all.  Here I believe Paul was pointing out the superiority of the grace of God over the law of God.  Grace is received simply by faith in God, not by our own efforts to become good enough to be God's people.  Grace is for all people, and not just for those born into a particular family or nation.  Still today, the Jews feel that they are the only people of God, but this verse tells us that all who come to God by faith in His grace are the descendants of Abraham.  We are a part of that great nation that God promised Abraham that he would be the father of.  Verse seventeen adds, (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.  This verse continues to speak of Abraham as the father of many nations, through the quickening power of God.  Once we accept Christ as our Savior, we are made alive for evermore in our relationship to God.  This is never earned but is always a free gift from God.

Romans 4:6

Romans 4:6 says, Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Verse seven adds, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.  Paul once again refers to the scripture and one of the great men of the Jews, King David.  Paul reminded them that David had taught that righteousness was given to them by God without any works on their part. The Hebrews, or Jews, were chosen not because of their power and greatest to be God's people, but because of their weakness and insignificance in the eyes of the world.  When they did great things, it was not that they could be glorified, but so that God would be.  We need to understand that concept today.  We are not followers of Christ because of our own goodness and power, but we are His followers because of our own inabilities.  We are weak and insignificant and incapable of saving ourselves.  Verse eight continues, Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.  If we want something to be thankful for everyday, we need only to look to this truth.  As followers of Christ, we are blessed because God does not hold us accountable for our sins.  The sins are not done away with, but the penalty for them is.  Sin will always be sin, but by the salvation of Christ, those sins are put behind God, to be looked on no more.  Verse nine states, Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.  Paul again refers to Abraham, the father of the Jewish faith, asking if he was blessed by circumcision or by faith. Paul answered that it was by faith.  We today are not blessed by any earthly ritual, but by faith in Christ alone. We cannot justify ourselves by any religious ritual. Verse ten adds, How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.  Abraham was found faithful by God, not by His actions, but by his faith in God long before circumcision became a sign for the Hebrew nation.  Through faith today we are justified by God before any sign, such as baptism, has any meaning.  Verse eleven continues, And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:  Paul said to them and to us that circumcision was a sign of the righteousness of faith, that Abraham through his faith might be the father, not of all who were circumcised, but of all who believe.  We all are not called to be brothers and sisters of all who follow certain rituals, but of all who believe in Christ.  Verse twelve concludes, And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.  Here Paul was stating the good news for all who are not Jewish.  God chose to work through Abraham to call all people to Him, and not just the Hebrews.  God works through followers of Christ the same way today, not to just call certain people to Him, but to call all people.

Romans 4:1

Romans 4:1 says, What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?  The Jews considered themselves, and still consider themselves, the children of Abraham.  They claimed a special relationship with God simply by being born into the Jewish nation, so Paul asked them what Abraham found concerning the flesh. Verse two adds, For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.  Paul declares that if Abraham were justified by his works, he might glorify himself before men, but never before God.  Paul said he was a Hebrew of Hebrews.  If anyone could stand in Paul's day justified and glorifying before God by their works, it was Paul before he came to Christ through faith.  We can never stand justified before God by our own works, nor should we expect people to glorify us for them.  Verse three continues, For what saith the scripture?  Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.  When we teach about God, it must be consistent with what the scripture says, and we must take it in context.  We cannot search for a verse to support what we want to believe without considering what the whole passage says.  By picking a verse here and a verse there, we can justify many things, but we must always ask if this is consistent with the whole scripture.  Paul was asking the Jews of his day what the scripture said about the justification of Abraham, and the scripture said it was his belief in God that was counted for faith.  Verse four states, Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.   I believe Paul was saying to us that if we can work for our salvation then God owes it to us as His debt to us.  We would not be saved by God's grace, but by our own merit.  Verse five adds, But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.  I believe Paul was once again stating that redemption comes only through faith in salvation made available through Christ by the grace of God.  If we had to earn our salvation, how would we ever know how much work was required? Would those who worked more faithfully for God attain a greater salvation? Salvation by the grace of God means that all are equally and totally saved, no matter how much work they have done.  This does not mean that we are not to do God's work, but we are to do it for His glory and not for our justification.