If God is sovereign over salvation, what are we responsible for? In Romans 9:30-10:21, we see that salvation is found in Jesus, received through faith, and carried to others through the proclamation of the gospel. God alone saves, but that doesn’t make our response or our evangelism irrelevant. It frees us to trust Christ, take Christ to others, and walk with beautiful feet.
One of the most widely debated topics in Christian circles is the relationship between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. For many the idea of God’s sovereignty in salvation is viewed as either unfair or unimportant. In Romans 9:1–29, however, Paul elevates the beauty of God’s sovereignty as both the basis for active evangelism and the cause for adoration and praise. Rather than viewing this as a periphery issue, Paul uses it to underline confidence in God’s plan of salvation for his people.
In life there are always ebbs and flows of joy and sorrow. Consistently things present themselves to us that threaten us harm. Sadness, evil, disappointment, and our own frailty leave us feeling vulnerable. In Romans 8:31–39 the Apostle Paul lifts our souls to point to three anchor points of Christian assurance. The reality that God is for us, God defends us, and God loves us. These powerful summaries speak words of assurance that enable the believer to rejoice in peace no matter the storm or circumstance.
How do Christians keep waiting when life hurts and glory still feels a long way off? Romans 8:18-30 gives us three enormous reasons for hope: glory is coming, the Spirit is helping us in our weakness, and God’s saving purpose will not fail. Because what God purposes, God accomplishes, Christians can wait with hope and confidence even in the midst of hardship and suffering.
In Romans 7 the Apostle pointed out the frustrating of living an ‘I’ centered life. Trusting in oneself for spiritual growth is futile. While Romans 7 is fraught with failure, Romans 8 lifts our eyes to see there is hope in the Christian life. For God not only calls us to himself but through the Holy Spirit, his empowering presence, God provides all we need to live for him.
In Romans 6 believers are taught about their new identity in Jesus. Considering themselves ‘dead to sin’ but ‘alive to righteousness’ followers of Jesus are to offer themselves willingly to the Lord out of gratefulness. But even the best of intentions in regard to obedience can often be met with frustration. Often we want to serve God but find ourselves returning to old ways. How do we grow in obedience? What role does obedience to the law play in the process? Is there hope for growth while we still live in a broken world? Romans 7 speaks to this providing hope, direction, and pointing us to the power that enables us to grow in obedience.
One of the common errors people make concerning the Christian life is that it is a life of restraint and lack of freedom. In Romans 6:15–23, however, we see that the Christian life is actually a life of freedom to serve God with joy and delight. Rather than being bound and hindered, the Christian is presented as one who is free to live and flourish as God intends as they are now able, with God’s help, to live with freedom over sin’s power.
As God’s people we have been saved by him not to remain as we are, but to live lives that reflect a new reality. Being born again into God’s family results in a different, a new identity. But what does it look like to live now, in light of a new identity? How do we live with a new identity as we wrestle with our sin? To help us think about this, Romans 6:1–14 highlights our union, our connection, our unbreakable tie to Jesus which is the basis for how we think about ourselves now, and how that impacts the decisions we make.
Jonah is in the belly of a fish with nowhere left to run. His prayer shows us what we deserve from God and what we actually get; but also something more uncomfortable: it's possible to cry out to God for rescue while still holding back the very thing He's asking for.
When we don't like what God has to say, the temptation is to run. Jonah 1 shows us that running from God impacts more than just ourselves, but the God we run from is the same God who pursues us.
We all understand the effects of Adam’s failure. We see them every day in a world marked by sin and death. But Romans 5:12-21 shows us something even greater: Jesus Christ is the Better Adam whose perfect obedience, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection secure eternal life for His people. Discover how and why Christ’s work does not merely undo Adam's damage, but overwhelms it with grace.
When someone comes to trust in Jesus there is the great promise of forgiveness and eternal life. The benefits of being made right with God, however, are not things simply limited to the future, they begin right now. In Romans 5 we have a listing of multiple benefits to those who trust in Jesus. These benefits help us to live life now finding our confidence in God’s love for us.
Having a right standing with God is something to be deeply grateful for. Trusting in Jesus alone and receiving the gracious gift of forgiveness is indeed worth celebrating. As we celebrate, however, it is easy to think in the process that we have actually done something of merit that contributes to our position. In Romans 4, Paul writes to correct this line of thinking by reminding us that our position as God’s children is not a result of our good endeavours but like Abraham, comes through trusting God’s promises and plan.
It is always a relief to hear good news after hearing bad news. In Romans 1:18–3:20, Paul has outlined the bad news of our deserved judgment before a Holy God. There is no amount of good work that we can do to appease God’s judgment and we are in dire straits. In Romans 3:21–31 we finally arrive at the good news. God has done something about our problem. In this passage that we discovered the good news that we can be delivered from God’s wrath. This is through faith alone, grace alone, in Jesus alone. Great news for all who will accept this wonderful God’s gift.
Everyone stands before God with no excuse, the verdict is guilty. Only when we understand there’s nothing we can do to save ourselves, will we run to the One who can.
One of the most common descriptors people use of themselves or others is the nature of their religion. Of the major religions in the world, there are some similarities but also many differences when it comes to faith. While religion is normally assessed as being personal and a way one encounters the divine, in Romans 2:17–3:8, the Apostle Paul points out three significant short-comings regarding religion. Paul’s discussion comes in the context of humanity’s common shortcomings when it comes to a relationship with God.
The main thrust of the book of Romans is to provide Paul’s clear explanation of the ‘good news’ which he was proclaiming and hoping to continue to proclaim. In order to provide the good news of the gospel, however, he begins in the first three chapters by providing the ‘bad news’ of our sinfulness. In order to establish just how sweet the gospel is, Paul begins in Romans 1:18–32 by showing how bitter life is when we choose to live apart from God. This is all designed to lead us to see God’s mercy in Jesus and the sweet salvation he provides to all who will believe.
What is it that causes you to commit to something? Or to have deep convictions? For Paul, it’s nothing other than the good news of Jesus Christ!
When someone builds a structure the first and most important part of the process is the underlying basis, the foundation. In perhaps the most of Paul’s letters to the early Christians, the letter to the Romans, Paul lays the foundation of the Christian Faith. He reveals that the message is one of ‘Good news.’ This good news, or gospel, finds its origin in God, is revealed throughout history in God’s plan, and focuses on the person and work of Jesus Christ. In Romans 1:1–7, Paul provides the theological summary or foundation upon which this rich book is going to build.
