Study session scripture: Romans 6:15-23

What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Study session topics:

• The Triumph of Grace over the Power of Sin, Continued

• "What then?" Paul anticipates a further objection based on a misunderstanding of his last statement in 6:14

• The antinomian again asserts that sin does not matter because "we are no longer under law but under grace"

• Paul's emphasis is that "sin will have no dominion over [us]," that freedom from the power of sin enables us to fight against sin in our lives

• Paul's new illustration: Slavery

• Echoes Christ's words in John 8:31-36

• Slave--doulos -Same word Paul used as the first descriptor of himself in Romans 1:1

• Not describing chattel slavery, but voluntary slavery

• Importantly, Paul only describes 2 options: slavery to sin, or slavery to God

• Paul acknowledges in v. 19 that this is an imperfect illustration, but it is helpful to illustrate 2 truths:

  • God does not look upon us as profitable commodities that He needs, but as weak, frail, destitute beggars whom He graciously welcomes into His house

  • We cannot entrust ourselves to be cared for by God and think that we will somehow rule the roost

• 3 Important Contrasts between Slavery to Sin and Slavery to God

  • Increasing corruption vs. increasing righteousness (v. 19)

  • Romans 1:18-32: Choosing sin over God leads to being given over to a worsening state before God

  • Increasing sanctification comes as a necessary consequence of saying "no" to sin and saying "yes" to God more and more

• Shame vs. joy (v. 20-21)

• From a Godly perspective--which we share as slaves to God--all sin is shameful

• The world gets this backwards and will often try to shame us for obeying God

• There is great joy in living with a clean conscience

• Death vs. eternal life (v. 23)

• We all, consciously or not, seek eternal life (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

• As God is the source and sustainer of all life, separation from Him means death, but being joined to Him inevitably leads to eternal life

Study session audio:

Study session scripture: Romans 6:1-14

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Study session topics:

• The triumph of grace over the power of sin

• “What shall we say, then?" -Paul is rhetorically asking what the logical conclusion of God's triumphant grace is (5:20-21)

• Antinomian objection: if sin is overtaken by grace, then sin doesn't matter, so sin away

• Paul's position: God's grace transforms the Christian into a person who actively fights against sin in their life

• Paul's case against antinomianism

• The Christian has died to sin--What does this mean?

• The Christian is no longer responsive to sin

• This is mistaken both because Christians do still sin and because it ignores Paul's exhortation (6:12-13)

• The Christian should die to sin

• This does take Paul's exhortation into account, but it ignores the verb tense of died-this refers to something that has already happened

• The Christian has died to sin's guilt

• While this is accurate, it doesn't answer why we can no longer live in sin

• The Christian has been freed from the dominion of sin over their life

• This view makes sense of Paul's exhortation while answering why we do not continue in sin -Paul bolsters his argument against antinomianism by returning to his discussion of unity with Christ from Chapter 5

• The vine and the branches -branches of a grape vine will bear grapes (Luke 6:43-44) -we who are nourished and strengthened by Christ's power will bear fruit in keeping with repentance

• The foundation and the house -building our house on the rock is contingent on hearing Christ's words and doing them (Matthew 7:24)

• The head and the body -a body whose limbs rebel against the brain's control is in poor health

• Marriage -habitually and willfully doing things to which your spouse is fundamentally opposed will harm your marriage

• Paul adds a new image of unity with Christ--baptism -immersion in water unites us with Christ's death -coming up from the water unites us with Christ's resurrection

• Paul goes as far as to say that our old self was crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20)

• Paul now answers a critical question: if we are not to continue in sin, how can we triumph over it? By knowing what God has done for us when he joined us to Christ

• The word know is used multiple times in this passage, and each know is followed by implications for those who have been united to Christ

• v. 3: we are buried with Christ by baptism so that we can participate in His resurrection and new life

• v. 6: our old self dying with Christ frees us from enslavement to sin

• v. 9: as Christ has died, and now lives a new life to God, so we should consider ourselves dead to the power of sin

Study session audio:

Study session scripture: Romans 5:12-21

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Study session topics:

• Hope in Christ's triumph over Adam's sin

• Paul now seeks to encourage his audience in assurance of their salvation by contrasting the two most important events in history

• Brief recap of last week--We can be assured of our salvation because:

  • God has made peace with us through Christ's atoning work

  • Through that same work, we now stand in a new relationship with God

  • We have a sure and certain hope that we will see God

  • Our salvation enables us to endure suffering in this life without despair

  • Christ came to die for us when we were His enemies

  • If God has justified us, He will surely glorify us

• Paul now explains that, even beyond justification, salvation unites us to Jesus Christ as our covenantal head

• "Therefore" -Paul's main idea here is that we can remain under Adam as our covenant head, or we can take Christ as our new covenant head -"death spread to all men because all sinned"--What does this mean?

  • Pelagian view: Each person sins of themselves, apart from connection to Adam, and their death is a consequence of their individual sins

  • Cavin's view: "all sinned" means all were corrupted by Adam's sin

  • Augustine's view: All generations were in Adam, so when he sinned, we all sinned

  • Federalist view: Adam stood as representative of all humanity, so because Adam, our representative, sinned, we are judged as also having sinned

• Three great contrasts between Adam and Jesus

• Natural vs. Supernatural -One sin vs. Many sins

• Death vs. The reign of life

• In v. 18, Paul finishes the thought he started in v. 12 and brings in the concept of union to Christ as opposed to union to Adam

• Two slippery passages

  • "the many" has a different meaning in relation to Adam than in relation to Christ, and should not be read as endorsing universalism

  • "the law came in to increase the trespass" does not mean God desired for there to be more sin, but that the law brings out the nature and magnitude of sin

• What is union with Christ? Four scriptural analogies:

• The vine and the branches (John 15:1-5)

• The foundation and the house built upon it (Matthew 7:24-25)

• The head and the members of the body (Ephesians 4:11-16) -Marriage (Ephesians 5:28-32)

Study session audio:

Study session scripture: Romans 5:1-11

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Study session topics:

• Assurance of hope

• The completeness of salvation

• Therefore" - there's that word again

• Paul just described the faith of Abraham, how it was counted as righteousness, and how the same will be true of those who share his faith

• Romans 5:1 is entirely past tense, it is already a done deal

• We have been justified by faith

• We have peace with God

• Our salvation doesn't mean we can have peace with God, or even that we will eventually obtain peace with God--it means we already have peace with God

• We stand in grace and look forward to the glory of God

• The grace in which we stand refers to the secure position we have before God, grounded in His unmerited, undeserved favor

• Rejoicing in hope of the glory of God refers to what will happen at the end of God's plan of salvation

• We rejoice no only in our eventual end, but also in our present circumstances

• Suffering -> endurance -> character -> hope that will be vindicated

• 4 types of suffering with Godly purpose

• Corrective suffering -Suffering for the glory of God

• Suffering as part of cosmic warfare

• Constructive suffering

• Why will our hope be vindicated? Because the Holy Spirit pours God's love into our hearts

• The saving power of God's supreme love

• Paul grounds the subjective experience of the love of God in the objective expression of divine love Christ exhibited in His death

• Paul contrasts God's love with man's love using the ultimate expression of love--willingness to die

• Since that expression of God's love justifies us in the present time, it will also save us from God's wrath on judgment day; and since it has turned us from enemies of God to reconciled children, His resurrection will save us at the last day

• The Christian indeed goes beyond simply avoiding wrath and actually rejoices in the God who would, apart from the work of Christ, be our enemy

Study session audio:

Study session scripture: Romans 4:13-25

For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.”

He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

Study session topics:

• The results of depending on following the law

• Faith is null

• The promise is void

• The law brings wrath

• The results of depending on faith

• The promise rests on grace

• The promise is guaranteed

• The promise is available to all

• What is the faith of Abraham? Paul describes what it looks like

• Centered on God as its object

• Thrives in broken circumstances

• Constantly grows stronger

• How do we grow our faith?

• Gives glory to god

• Paul ends this section by refocusing on the benefits of the Gospel of faith for his audience--as Abraham's faith was counted as righteousness, so will it be for the Christian who trusts in God as Abraham did

Study session audio:

Study session scripture: Romans 4:1-12

What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

Study session topics:

• Abraham as Father of Jews and Gentiles

• Paul bolsters his presentation of the Gospel message by arguing that this was always God's plan of salvation, going all the way back to Abraham

• Abraham is a perfect example to use

• Father of the Jewish people, first to be chosen by God

• Lived before the Law was given

• Paul argues that Abraham gained righteousness from God by faith as the Christian does (Gen. 15:6)

• Misconceptions about Abraham's justification

• God justified Abraham due to his own goodness and piety

• God counted Abraham as righteous due to his faith as a substitute for his works

• Paul also briefly brings in the example of David

• Direct ancestor of Jesus

• King whose throne was promised forever by God

• Man after God's own heart

• Paul argues that Psalm 32:1-2 is David professing salvation by faith

• Scripture here and in Gen. 15:6 uses bookkeeping terminology to describe the process of justification

• Paul folds his Gentile audience back in by universalizing the promise of justification by faith

• This promise is not bound to circumcision because it predates circumcision

• Circumcision as a sign and seal of righteousness by faith, not by the law

• Points back to Romans 2:28-29, circumcision is a matter of the heart

• How were the Old Testament saints saved before the life and death of Jesus?

• They believed the Gospel--they looked forward to it while we look back at it (Gal. 3:7-9, John 8:56)

• Abraham and the other OT saints anticipated a future savior who would rescue them from their sins

Study session audio:

Study session scripture: Romans 3:27-31

Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

Study session topics:

• Righteousness by faith for Jews and gentiles

• The salvation offered by God leaves no room for human pride

• Salvation, from beginning to end, is apart from works

• We cannot claim any credit for any part of our salvation

• Boasting is the most easily identifiable outworking of pride, the first and greatest of all sins

• Satan's pride led him to rebel against God (Isaiah 14:12-15)

• Eve's pride in desiring to be like God, knowing good and evil, led her to take the fruit of the forbidden tree (Genesis 3:1-7)

• Pride is the greatest of all sins because it attempts to place us on the throne that belongs to God--It moves us away from worship of God and toward worship of self

• Pride lies at the root of all sins--We think we know better than God, and therefore our sinful way is better than God's righteous way

• Pride affects us all to one degree or another - western culture, particularly American culture, is very susceptible to pride.

• God, in His wisdom, made a path to salvation that excludes our pride by taking all the work and effort (and thus, all the credit and all the glory) upon Himself

• Justification before God comes by faith, not by our own efforts

• Salvation is a free gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9) (Romans 11:6)

• What is faith? What does faith look like?

• 3 elements of faith: knowledge, belief, and commitment (Romans 10:13-14)

• Knowledge--One must know the truth about God and ourselves to have effective faith

• Belief--Being moved in the heart, accepting the truth as the truth

• Commitment: putting one's complete trust in the object of one's faith

• Since God is God of all, both Jew and Gentile, there is only one way to gain salvation--by faith

• Paul affirms the Shema (Hebrew for "hear") (Deuteronomy 6:4)--"Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one," rebuking Gentile polytheism while also chiding the Jewish sense of superiority over being God's chosen people -Paul once again drives home to both audiences that it is not rote ritualistic obedience that saves, but faith

• Paul concludes this section by affirming that even though obedience to the Law cannot save, this does not mean we throw the Law away

• Faith does not mean we can do as we please regardless of the morality of our actions--indeed, true faith inspires us to uphold God's morality

Study session audio:

Study session scripture: Romans 3:21-26

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Study session topics:

• The saving righteousness of God

• "But now," a huge turning point in Paul's presentation of the Gospel message

• Paul has exhaustively argued since stating his thesis for the letter that sin is a pernicious, persistent, and pressing problem that affects everyone without exception

• No one is righteous, Jew or Gentile

• The unrighteous will suffer wrath and fury when they are inevitably judged by God

• Now Paul begins to discuss the ultimate solution to sin

• Paul describes a new covenant that God has recently established through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ

• Apart from the Law -Without distinction between Jew and Gentile

• Received by faith as a gift, rather than by human efforts at obedience

• Upholds God's justice and wrath against sin (orge) while allowing Him to justify, or declare righteous, the one who trusts in Jesus

• Jesus as propitiation

• Propitiation: to appease or turn aside wrath, an atoning sacrifice to a deity

• Many people are uncomfortable with the idea of God's wrath needing to be satisfied

• God's wrath is not a fit of pique, but principled opposition to something that goes against His very nature

• God's wrath is well established in the Scriptures

• Paul uses severe terms to describe the unrighteousness of all men, and the Scriptures he references include wrathful responses to man's wickedness

• Propitiation in the Christian sense is distinct from other religions in that it is not man who appeases God, but God appeases Himself by providing sacrifices for sins

• Propitiation and reconciliation are two sides of the same coin

• God's provision of Christ's sacrifice shows His righteousness and justice, so that no one can accuse Him of being unjust in His forbearance toward sin

Study session audio: