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  • Benjamin Wilcox
    • Jul 31, 2023
    • 27 min read

Romans 1-6

Watch the video presentation on YouTube at: Romans 1-6 Video


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INTRODUCTION

Hello fellow teachers and welcome to Teaching with Power, this is Ben Wilcox, and my goal is to help you to either teach or study the scriptures with more relevancy and power. This week marks a significant shift in our study of the New Testament this year. We’re going to begin our study of what are called the Pauline Epistles or a series of letters that Paul wrote to congregations of early saints living in various cities throughout the Roman Empire. So for example, 1 and 2 Corinthians are letters written by Paul to the members of the Church in the Greek city of Corinth. Ephesians to the members in Ephesus. Thessalonians to the members in Thessalonica. And so on. And then there are a few epistles that were directed to specific individuals such as Timothy and Philemon. Now it’s important to know that the epistles of Paul are not arranged in chronological order, or in order of importance, or alphabetical—they’re basically arranged by length. They start with the longest, Romans, and end with the shortest, Philemon. The Book of Hebrews, which is a larger book, is placed after Philemon because there is some debate as to whether it was actually written by Paul or not. But this week, we’ll be taking a look at the first 6 chapters of Romans, Paul’s letter addressed to the Saints living in Rome. So if you’re ready, grab your scriptures and your marking pencils, it’s time to dig deep.


NOTE

Now I’d like to give you a little heads up here, I’m not going to lie to you, the epistles of Paul are a bit harder to understand than most books of scripture, and Romans is one of the hardest of the epistles. So it’s a bit of a baptism by fire here. Paul can be a little wordy at times, bless his heart, and dives really deep into certain points and then comes back to previous ones and he can be hard to follow. This is college level doctrinal study. But that being said, I’ll make you a promise. That if you’re willing to put forth the effort to dig into them, to really study and ponder them, they will reward you greatly. Paul’s teachings are profound. They’re fascinating. They’re beyond the basics. And those that have ears to hear, will be edified and strengthened in their faith. In fact, my favorite verse of all scripture is found in the book of Romans, but we’ll cover that in the next video. The fact of the matter is that to really understand Romans or most of Paul’s epistles you almost have to do it verse by verse which is just not realistic when you’re teaching a Sunday school class or even your family. You can’t cover it all. So your task as a teacher is going to be to simplify the message and to zero in on the themes and sections that you feel are most relevant to your audience and the principles you feel most prompted by the Spirit to focus on. And I promise to do my best to try and help you to see those themes and give you some ideas on how to present them effectively. Finally, something else that might help you to understand some of Paul’s more challenging passages is to consult a different translation of the Bible as well as using the King James Version. The translations I prefer are the RSV and the NIV which are both available online. And I promise you there is nothing wrong or heretical about consulting different bible translations. However, I still recommend that you teach from the King James Version since that is what your students will all have access to. Plus, I believe that no other translation matches the King James in the beauty of its language or the rhythm of its prose.


Now those of you who studied the New Testament with me four years ago may notice that my lesson this time for these chapters is quite a bit different. And that illustrates the power and the beauty of the scriptures. They can teach us different things at different times in our lives. This time around, I saw a very different message here in Romans. So if what I share here doesn’t resonate with you as much, perhaps you could check out my previous video from 2019 for an alternate take. In that video, I focus much more on the doctrines of grace, faith and works and how those principles work together. There is some of that message here, but I’ve decided to take this lesson in a slightly different direction.


ICEBREAKER

When I teach the Epistle lessons, I usually try to come up with a hook. A theme, an idea, a pattern. And that hook allows you to hang the rest of the lesson on it. And that hook helps to unify the various messages that you find within the chapters, And for this lesson the hook or Icebreaker is “Good News, Bad News” and so I start with a joke.


And it goes like this:


The Pope is sitting in his office when one of his Cardinals comes running in frantically and says, “Your Holiness, I’ve got some good news and some bad news, which would you like to hear first?” The pope thinks for a second and responds with, “Well, why don’t you tell me the good news first”. The cardinal says “Ok, we just got a phone call from Jesus informing us that he has returned to the earth to begin his reign of peace and glory for 1,000 years”. To which the Pope jumps up excitedly and exclaims, “That’s wonderful, how on earth could there be any bad news.” And the cardinal looks at him a little sheepishly and says, “Well, He’s calling from Salt Lake”. No offense to our Catholic friends out there. I suppose you could easily tell that joke in the reverse as well.


TRANSITION

Now, today, in the Book of Romans, we’re going to take a look at some good news and some bad news. We find an example of both right here in Romans chapter 1.


THE GOOD NEWS

Now, does anybody know what the word “GOSPEL” means? And in Old English and Greek, it literally means “GOOD NEWS”. But the gospel isn’t just good news, it’s THE good news.


Now, can you find a verse in Romans 1 that shows us how Paul felt about the Good News of the Gospel?


And of course, the answer is vs. 16.

Which says: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.” Now that’s a powerful and inspiring statement. I would write that phrase in big letters up on the board. That’s a motto you can live by. A saying you could write in beautiful calligraphy and hang up on your wall. But there’s more to that verse.


What reason does Paul give for why he’s not ashamed of the gospel of Christ?

It’s because “it is the power of God unto salvation to the Jew first and also to the Greek” which is just another way of saying everybody. Jew and Gentile.


And one more question to take our understanding of this verse deeper. How does knowing this help us not to be ashamed of the gospel?


Part of why Paul is not ashamed of the gospel of Christ is because he knows that it will bring salvation and understanding and light into people’s lives just as it did for him. So why would he be hesitant or ashamed to share that gospel with others. You wouldn’t be ashamed to offer first aid to somebody that was injured. You wouldn’t be ashamed to give food to somebody that was hungry. You wouldn’t be ashamed to give somebody a warning of impending danger and you wouldn’t be ashamed to tell someone a great bit of good news. Likewise, there is no need to be ashamed to live or share the gospel because it is the power of God unto salvation.


Captain Moroni understood this when he wrote down his beliefs and waved them on the end of a pole for everyone to see. He wasn’t ashamed. Esther understood this when she decided to risk her life by approaching the king for the sake of her people. She wasn’t ashamed. Missionaries all over the world walk up to people and knock on doors and share the gospel with anybody who will listen. They’re not ashamed. Jesus understood this when he asked us to be the light of the world and not to put our candle under a bushel or to hide our light from others, he asked us not to be ashamed, just as he was never ashamed to stand up for what was right, to speak the truth, and to invite all to come unto him.


TRUTH

So the great truth of this verse: When I understand the power and the goodness and the salvation of the gospel, it gives me courage to live it myself and to share it with others.


QR CODE ACTIVITY

Now, as a teacher, I really want my students to leave my class that day feeling inspired by this truth. So I like to provide them with some examples of people who I feel truly understood that principle. One way to do that is with the Church’s wealth of inspiring videos or what we used to call “Mormon Messages”. Many of them carry that “I am not ashamed of the gospel” spirit to them. So here’s what you do. You can create a QR Code Video Gallery for your students. And, I have to be honest here, this wasn’t my idea, I saw this in a manual, but I like it a lot and it works remarkably well. There are a number of websites on the internet that allow you to create QR codes that will immediately direct individuals to a specific website if they point the cameras on their phones at them. So I print out a number of posters that display the QR codes and a “teaser” title beneath it and tape them all around the classroom. I then invite my students to walk around the gallery and pick a video or two that they are most interested in watching. I mean, almost everybody these days carries a cell phone. And even those that don’t could pair up with somebody that does. Give them 5-10 minutes to choose their videos to watch and then instruct them to come back to their seats. You can then invite them to share how the person in the video demonstrated that they were not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. If you’re interested in doing that activity, I’ll make the QR code posters available on Etsy. Also, I’ll provide links to each of those suggested videos in the video description below.










Now if you don’t want to do that particular activity, you could always just go through the videos and choose one that you would like to show the entire class. One of my favorites is the story of Joseph F. Smith returning home from his mission in Hawaii. It’s such a good one. Maybe you’re familiar with it. He’s camping with a group of other missionaries when an armed mob rides into the camp threatening to kill anyone who was a Mormon. All of the men scattered except for Joseph F. Smith, who stood his ground. One of the mobbers rode up to him, pointed a gun in his face and asked, “Are you a Mormon?” Can you imagine that for a minute. Someone is threatening to shoot you, murder you in cold blood for being a member of the church and you are literally staring down the barrel of a gun. What would you say? Joseph answered with a big smile and exclaimed, “Yesiree, dyed in the wool, true blue, through and through” Which was an early western way of saying. “Yep, you bet I’m a Mormon and proud of it”. To which the mobber responded by slowly putting his gun down and saying, “Well, aint you the pleasantest man I ever met! Shake, young fellow, I am glad to see a man that stands up for his convictions.” After which they rode off.


LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES

Who is someone you know that has an “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ” attitude?

How do they show it?

Have you have ever had a time when feel you showed that you were not ashamed of the gospel of Christ? What happened?


CONCLUSION

I hope that you’ve been inspired in some way by Paul or by one of these other stories we’ve looked at today. I invite you to look for opportunities this week to demonstrate that you are not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. Think of a situation that you might face this week and ponder what you will do when it comes. I promise that the Lord will help you and give you the strength you need to “not be ashamed”. The gospel is “good news”. No need to hold it back.


THE BAD NEWS

Now for the bad news. Here’s the “Bad News” lesson you could teach from chapter one. And it’s found in verses 18-32.

ICEBREAKER

For a simple icebreaker, a few silly YouTube videos. I would show the following three videos and ask my students what they all have in common. And I can’t show them here, but I will put links to them in the video description below. Lots of video links today.


Bad Start Video #1:

Bad Start Video #2:

Bad Start Video #3:


And they’re short. But if you watch them, you’ll see that they all show people having a bad start. In various races, they mess up at the beginning. They trip, they fall, they stumble. Therefore, how do you think their race is going to go? Are they more likely or less likely to have a good finish? Less likely. If you have a bad start, you can usually expect a bad finish.


Joseph Smith alluded to this principle when he said:


“If we start right, it is easy to go right all the time; but if we start wrong, we may go wrong, and it be a hard matter to get right.”

Joseph Smith Jr.

(Teachings, p.343)


TRANSITION

Romans chapter 1 illustrates the importance of starting right and the danger of starting wrong—doctrinally speaking. Verses 18-32 show us what can happen if you start from the wrong doctrinal foundation. If you don’t get this principle right, it can lead you down a very spiritually destructive path. That’s the bad news. Paul is going to show us that problem pattern.


So, what is that foundational principle that you’ve got to get right. What’s the gospel starting line? And therefore, the doctrine that the adversary is probably going to go after first. Because, from a diabolical perspective, if you can destroy a person’s understanding of this, the rest of the process of destroying your soul is so much easier. What is that doctrine? See if you can find it in verses 20-25.


20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.


What’s the doctrine? The Godhead. An understanding of God, his nature, his character. That’s the starting line principle that you’ve got to get right. Get that wrong, and you put yourself in to spiritually dangerous territory.

So it shouldn’t surprise us that Joseph Smith once said:


"It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God, and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another."[12]Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith p 345

He knew the importance of that foundational doctrine. But what has man done through the influence of the adversary?


:20 They don’t see God in the things that are made. His creations that are all around us. They reject the testimony of his creation, even though they are clearly seen

:21 They don’t glorify him as God. They’re not thankful for him.

And so what do they do? They . . .

:23 Change his glory into something else, something corruptible. So rather than recognizing that God made us in his image, in body and spirit, they reverse that and decide to create him in their image. They turn to idolatry. Gods that they create.

:25 Change the truth of God into a lie.


So case in point. What are some of the lies told about God’s character throughout the ages that have led people down the wrong path?


Well one, the lie that you can create your own God out of wood or stone. That was an especially effective tactic of the adversary in Old Testament times. Why is that a problem? You create your own God, then you get to create the rules that govern his worship. Which leads you (as it says in verse 25) to worship the creature more than the Creator. Funny how idolatry always seemed to be wrapped up in giving into the lusts of the natural man.


Or they created him into an unforgiving, vengeful, and angry God that you have to please or he’ll send you to hell to suffer for eternity.


Or on the other extreme, they created him into an extremely merciful God, to where all you have to do is profess a commitment to him with your lips and you’re saved regardless of anything else you do.


Or he’s an absentee God who simply created the world, set it spinning and now ignores its inhabitants and what happens here. Or he’s a God who has elected only certain people to salvation and others to damnation and there is nothing we can do about it.


Or there is no God at all, God is simply a construct of the human mind.


Think about this. What was one of the first doctrines to go in the Great Apostasy? The true nature of God, right? You see that in some of the creeds and pronouncements that come out of the early Christian church.


Therefore, What was the first doctrine restored in the Restoration? The Godhead. As Joseph looks up into heaven there in the sacred grove, what did he learn about the doctrine of the Godhead? He learned that the Father and the Son are separate beings, that they have bodies of flesh and bone. The first spoken word of the restoration is “Joseph”. In that one word is restored the doctrine that God knows us and cares about us and that he answers prayers. So many doctrines about the nature of God are restored in that one event.


Now, I don’t think it matters to Satan which misunderstanding you have, just as long as you misunderstand him. Because, once you have changed the truth of God into a lie, what so often comes next? What can that lead to? I think verses 28-32 express it most clearly. And yes, I realize that I’m skipping verses 26-27, not because I’m afraid of dealing with that topic, but because it’s such a charged issue in our current climate that I would worry that it would completely derail the momentum of the lesson. I believe there are other places in the scriptures where it would be better to have that discussion. But verse 28:


28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.


So what does a misunderstanding of the character of God lead to? In short, all manner of sin. And there’s a lot of different flavors of sin. Some misunderstandings lead more to one form of unrighteousness, and others to other forms, but that doesn’t really matter to the adversary just as long as he gets us. While some lead to immorality and hedonism, others lead to pride, intolerance, and hatred. These misunderstandings can greatly affect our perception of morality—our concept of right and wrong. And I believe that there is a lot of evidence of this happening in our world today. There is great confusion about morality. The lines between right or wrong are being blurred. Everything is relative. That which is vulgar, crass, violent, immoral are common and even celebrated. You see evidence of that in our movies, our music, our entertainment, our language, our dress, and our views on sex, marriage, or family. I believe all these problems stem, fundamentally, from not having a clear perception of the nature of God.


TRUTH

So our truth here: If I don’t have a good understanding of the nature of God, it can greatly affect my understanding of morality. Or more simply put: Bad doctrine leads to bad behavior.


What’s our solution to this problem then? For me, the key is verse 21. And yes, this is Paul’s negative description of that path. The path the eventually leads to a foolish and darkened heart. Which we don’t want. We want wise and enlightened hearts. So we just need to do the opposite of what they’re doing in that verse. So can you figure out what those steps might be?


First, I need to KNOW GOD. I seek to know his true attributes, and character, seek him in the scriptures and the words of the prophets, and in prayer.

I need to GLORIFY GOD. Worship him in prayer, in church meetings, in ordinances and covenants, in testimony.

I need to THANK GOD—recognize his hand in my life, count my blessings, and show gratitude for what he’s given me.

And I need to BE HUMBLE BEFORE GOD as opposed to vain. Recognize that God’s ways are not my ways, that his wisdom is greater than mine, and trust him to do as he instructs.


LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES

So right now, let’s fight back against Satan, let’s foil his evil plan by taking part in these solutions. Would anyone be willing to help protect us from the adversary by doing one of the following?

  1. Tell us how you have come to know God is real or something about his nature

  2. Glorify God by bearing your testimony of him

  3. Thank God for something he’s given you or done for you.

  4. Tell us something you do that helps you to be humble before God.

CONCLUSION

Now hopefully, we won’t fall for that trap, will we? As members of the restored Church of Jesus Christ, we have been blessed with a deep and doctrinally sound understanding of the true nature of the Godhead. Which helps us to remain steadfast on the path of righteousness and morality. Because we start from the correct prime perception. And if you start well, you’re much more likely to end well. So our job now is to maintain that understanding—to not be deceived by the opinions and pressures of the world. To not change the truth of God into a lie, and begin worshipping the creature over the Creator. Good doctrine leads to good behavior.


I’ll conclude with something Elder Boyd K. Packer once said:


“True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. “The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior. … That is why we stress so forcefully the study of the doctrines of the gospel” Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. (“Little Children,” Ensign, Nov. 1986, 17)


NOTE

Well. Look how much time has passed and we’ve only covered the first chapter. That’s going to be a typical challenge as teach the Epistles of Paul. There’s a lot to them. They’re meaty. But I feel that those two points we’ve made in that first chapter are key this week. But now, we’re going to cover the remaining 5 chapters as one lesson where I’ll try to help you to see the big picture of Paul’s message to the Romans. Now granted, this is going to be a huge oversimplification of these chapters, but that’s ok, you’re just trying to help your students get a sense of the message, especially with the time that you have as a teacher. Sometimes when you try to go verse by verse you can lose the forest the for the trees. So we’ll paint with broad brushstrokes here.




ICEBREAKER

As an icebreaker to this portion of the lesson, you try the following activity. It’s a “What’s Wrong with This Picture” handout. Invite your students to circle in the second picture all the things that are wrong or different from the first picture. And here is the solution.


TRANSITION

Sometimes, as members of the Church, we may find ourselves getting caught up in doing the same kind of thing on a personal or spiritual level. Meaning, we look at ourselves with a “What’s Wrong” kind of attitude. Ever found yourself doing this kind of thing? Comparing yourself to Christ, or to others and only looking for or pointing out the places where you fall short? We know what we’re supposed to do, and we know what perfection looks like. We see it in Christ. But all we see in ourselves is where we fail. And we need to do that at times. We do need to strive to improve, and receive correction. However, this mentality can be taken too far. If all we do is focus on what we lack, where we falter, it can be very easy to become discouraged. It can even get to the point where we despair, or we become very unhappy people. And that is not the intent of the gospel. Remember, it’s good news! Paul is going to help us to resist that attitude in Romans chapters 2-6. These are great chapters for any member of the Church who feels plagued by what we sometimes refer to as toxic perfectionism or the constant worry that we don’t measure up. Or this feeling that we can earn our way into heaven through our good works.


MORE BAD NEWS

So to continue with our Good News, Bad News theme, Paul has some more bad news for us. And we’ll find it in Romans 2:1, 3:9-10 and 3:23. What’s the common message of those verses?


And the message is we’re all sinners. We’re all inexcusable. We’re all under sin. We all fall short of the glory of God. That’s the bad news. That’s the discouraging news. Especially for those who truly desire to be like Christ. No matter how hard they try, they always still seem to end up lacking in some way.


ROMANS 2 SUMMARY

So let’s quickly summarize the big picture message so far of these first three chapters of Romans. Do you remember how chapter 1 ended—that giant list of sins people are committing because they don’t know God. Well, perhaps Paul is worried that the members are looking around and saying, “Yeah, look at all those problems other people have. Those wicked people out there. Glad I’m not like that.” Well the major gist of chapter 2 is, “Be careful, members of the Church, don’t be too judgmental here”. Are you perfect in these things? Probably not. Are you being hypocritical? Possibly. Case in point. Verses 21-23.


21 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?

22 Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?

23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?


So, don’t be hypocritical. Don’t just look at all the problems everyone else has, look at your own. And if you do that . . . chapter 3 . . . you’ll realize that we are all sinners.


So in short:

Romans 1-Many sin because they don’t understand God.

Romans 2-But don’t be too judgmental or hypocritical, because . . .

Romans 3-We are ALL sinners.


Well that’s kind of a downer, huh? But then there is a shift at the end of Romans 3. Now Paul is going to give them the good news.


THE GOOD NEWS

Yes we are all sinners. BUT, what’s the good news? How would you summarize the message of Romans 3:24-26?


24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.


The good news is that we are justified by the grace of Jesus Christ. He made it possible for us to receive a remission of our sins. He is the justifier of “him which believeth in Jesus.” We can be forgiven. Even though we are all sinners, we can be saved by his grace.


AN EXAMPLE

Now Romans chapter 4 is going to serve as an illustration of that principle. Paul is going to use an Old Testament prophet to exemplify this idea. Can you find who that example is?


It’s Abraham. Abraham is going to be our example. And what’s the similarity between his story and ours? Well, Abraham was asked to have faith in a promise that seemed hard and impossible to believe. He was promised that he would become a father of many nations even though both he and Sara were getting very, very old. That promise just seemed too good to be true, impossible. Well, that’s like us! We too may find it very difficult to believe that WE can be justified by God’s grace. That seems too good to be true. Especially for those who struggle to forgive themselves, who feel like they will never measure up, who can find guilt under every rock, who (though they may not realize it) are trying to work or “worthy” themselves into heaven.


I want you to read these next verses with that in mind. Don’t just think about Abraham here. Think about from the perspective of the person that is feeling that way, that’s struggling with the idea of God’s grace as too hard or impossible. Look for the phrases that describe what Paul wants them to do with this “impossible promise”. Verses 18-24.


18 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.

19 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 Sarah's womb:

20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.


Did you catch that last thought there? The lesson Abraham learned through his experience was not just for his benefit, but for ours. Paul’s inviting us to liken the scripture to ourselves. “It was not written for his sake alone . . .BUT FOR US ALSO”. So what are the phrases that apply to us? What did you find? How should WE approach God’s “impossible promise” that we can be saved by his grace? Beautiful phrases:


We can “against hope, believe in hope”

We can “be not weak in faith”

We can “stagger not at the promise of God”

We can “be strong in faith”

We can “be fully persuaded that, what [God] promises, he is able also to perform”


That’s the message for us! Believe in his goodness. Nobody is going to earn their way into heaven. It doesn’t work that way. Nobody is going to (this is one way to put it) “worthy” themselves into heaven. Do you understand what I mean by that? There are wonderful, faithful, committed members of the Church out there who, bless their hearts, are trying to “worthy” themselves into heaven. And they get discouraged because they fall short. But God looks down at them lovingly and says, “You can’t ‘worthy’ yourself into my kingdom. Nobody can. You can only ‘forgiveness’ your way here. You can only “grace” your way into my kingdom. That’s the only way you will ever arrive here. And I know that’s hard to believe sometimes, but please, against hope, believe in hope. Stagger not at my promise. Be fully persuaded that I can do this for you.


ROMANS 5

And if we will do that, if we believe in that promise, if we can be strong in faith in that promise, what will be the results? Romans chapter 5. We’re going to feel some things. We won’t be plagued by guilt, shame, discouragement or despair. We’ll feel different emotions. The emotions that our Father in Heaven wants for his children and especially the disciples of his Beloved Son. Let’s see if you can fill in our chart here. I’ll give you the first letter of the word I’m looking for, you fill in the rest. When we fully grasp the beauty of Christ’s grace we will feel what:


5:1 P________ Peace. Therefore being justified by faith, we have PEACE with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

5:2 H________ Hope. By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

5:3-4 P________ Patience. This one’s a little more involved. Patience in what? Patience in our tribulations. Because life won’t be easy. We’re going to struggle. We’re going to face hard things. But understanding and trusting in the grace of Christ can make those tribulations easier to bear. We’ll realize that our trials bring us patience, and experience, and hope. There’s a natural progression and connection between those principles. And leading into verse 5, that hope maketh us not ashamed. We can link that idea back to Romans 1:16. What made it possible for Paul to say that he was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ? Where does that “not ashamedness” come from? His hope in Christ’s grace.

Because . . .next word. . .the BLANK of God is shed abroad in our hearts.

5:5 L _________ Love. The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts.

And then one more word from verse 11

5:11 J___. Joy. 11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. (Interesting side note about that last verse—that’s the only time the word “atonement” is used in the entire New Testament. Interesting huh?)


TRUTH

SO . . .when I truly trust in the power of the atonement and the grace it offers me, my life will be filled with peace, hope, patience, love, and joy.


LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES

How has the atonement of Jesus Christ and the promise of his grace brought you one of these feelings?


For me, peace. Peace is what I most feel. To know that God can look past my weaknesses and shortcomings, and that I can be forgiven for my sins, big and little through Jesus Christ brings me peace.


And, to go one step further. Just HOW wonderful is Jesus Christ’s atonement and grace and forgiveness. How amazing is it? Verses 6-8.


6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.


That’s how amazing Christ’s sacrifice for us was. I mean, would you be willing to die for a very righteous person? Maybe. How about just an average good person. Not as likely. But how many of us would be willing to give our lives for a bad person. A criminal. An enemy. Jesus was that type of person. He died for us while we were yet sinners. I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me. Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me. Oh it is wonderful, that he should care for me enough to die for me. Oh it is wonderful, wonderful to me.


ROMANS 6

Now we don’t want to end there quite yet. We still have Romans chapter 6 which is going to provide us with an important balancing principle. Paul has just emphasized how wonderful, how glorious, how amazing the grace of God is. But now he’s worried that some may take that idea a little too far. Does he want people running around saying, “Hey, just believe in Christ, and you will be saved! You will be justified. All your sins will be forgiven!” What might be the danger in that?


I may begin to feel that what I do doesn’t matter at all. Perhaps I begin to excuse my sins. I begin to overemphasize the power of God’s grace. Or worse yet, maybe I even come to the conclusion found in verse 1. See if you can interpret this? What does this mean?


What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?


What’s the attitude there? It’s when we say, “Well, if grace is so wonderful, then go ahead and sin, so that we can have more grace. More sin=more grace! Excellent right?! And maybe people don’t exactly express it that way, but I have heard people reason that it’s better to go out and experience sin so that you can more fully experience the goodness of repentance and grace. Just going through that experience makes your relationship with God strong. Maybe a young person will hear somebody else talk about how at one point in their lives they lived a very rebellious lifestyle, but eventually repented and now they have this incredibly strong conviction of the gospel and relationship with God by going through that experience. And that young person may be tempted to think, “Maybe I need to go through something similar so that I can really understand the power of repentance and forgiveness.” And what does Paul say to that attitude. Verse 2, “God forbid.” No, that’s not the conclusion we want. And personally, I don’t agree with that theory at all. I think a person who has never sunk deeply into sin, or a worldly lifestyle can have just as strong a relationship with God as somebody who has sinned deeply and repented. Jump back to Romans 2:4-5 for another quick take on that thought:


4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;


So the goodness of God, or his grace, should lead to repentance, not to more sin. If we’re using the Atonement and God’s gracious and forgiving nature as an excuse to go out and sin, then that’s not good, that shows that our heart is hard, and we are treasuring up wrath instead of grace unless our heart changes.


No, the goodness of God, the grace offered through the atonement of Christ, should lead us to do something else. What should it lead to?


I want you to mark the following phrases in Romans 6 to help simplify its message for us.


Romans 6:4 Even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Romans 6:6 henceforth we should not serve sin.

Romans 6:13 but yield yourselves unto God.

Romans 6:18 ye became the servants of righteousness.

Romans 6:19 yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.


Do you get the message there? What should the message of God’s grace lead us to? Newness of life. More righteousness, not more sin. It should make us even greater servants of God. Even more committed to him.


Which will in turn result in what? Romans 6:22


22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.


It will lead us to everlasting life. We will return to heaven. We WILL make it!


FINAL SUMMARY

So to complete our oversimplified summary of Romans 1-6.


Romans 1-Many sin because they don’t understand God.

Romans 2-But don’t be too judgmental or hypocritical, because . . .

Romans 3-We are ALL sinners. BUT God offers us the promise of grace through the Atonement.

Romans 4-Believe in that promise just as Abraham believed in the promise made to him.

Romans 5-That understanding will bring you peace, hope, patience in tribulation, love, and joy.

Romans 6- Therefore, walk in newness of life and serve righteousness and you will have eternal life.


Now obviously that’s not going to be the end of Paul’s message. The Book of Romans continues. In fact, the rest of Romans is going to teach us how to walk in newness of life—what that looks like—how a “servant of righteousness” acts. But that will have to wait until next week.


CONCLUSION

So, those of you that seem to struggle with feelings of inadequacy and guilt and self-doubt in your discipleship. Did Paul just help you? I hope so. I know his message has helped me to have a healthier understanding of the balance between grace and works. On the one hand, we don’t want to get so focused on our sins and weaknesses that we become discouraged and forget to enjoy the peace and joy promised by God’s grace. And on the other hand, we don’t want to become so focused on the promise of grace that we begin to excuse sin and become complacent in our discipleship. It doesn’t have to be an either/or proposition. We can stop looking for what’s wrong in the picture of our lives and start rejoicing in the peace and joy offered by the grace of God and then walk in newness of life from then on, striving to be servants of righteousness. And then, like Abraham and Sarah, we can against hope, believe in hope, and all God promises us will come true. God’s grace is real. And I promise that it will come to all who desire it.




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