David Henneke's Podcast

It is one thing for a Believer to understand that their identification with Jesus Christ means that they have died to sin (6:2), it is another thing for the Believer to count or to reckon that to be true (6:11), it is something else for the Believer to deal with the sin nature that remains. This is the internal conflict in the area of sanctification that every Believer must deal with. In verses 1-6, we see the relationship between the believer and the law and in verses 7-13, we see the relationship between the law and sinFOUR FACTS ABOUT THE LAW:(1) The Law Reveals Sin  (vs. 7)   (2) The Law Arouses Sin (vs. 8-9)(3) The Law Reveals the Fact of Condemnation and Death (vs. 10-11)(4) The Law Shows the Sinfulness of Sin (vs. 12–13) 

The Christian life is not one of independence and rebellion. We have died to the law so that we might be married to “Him who was raised from the dead”. We have been delivered from the law so that we might faithfully submit to our Savior and wholeheartedly serve our Lord.

Paul begins this section in almost the same way as the beginning of the Chapter. He wants to make sure there is no misunderstanding of the nature of grace. It is true that we have been forgiven by the Grace of God. It’s also true that the forgiveness we have received does not give us the right to do anything we want. Rather, our forgiveness provides us with the opportunity to live the way God wants us to live.

In Chapters 1-5, Paul’s focus was on justification. This next section of the letter (Chapters 6–8) deals with sanctification. Chapter 6 explains that believers are free from sin’s controlChapter 7 discusses the continuing struggle believers have with sinChapter 8 describes how believers can have victory over sin This morning we will be looking at the first 11 verses, it begins with a QUESTION (vs. 1), then there is an ANSWER (vs. 2, followed by an EXPLANATION (vs. 3-11).

The passage before us is one of the greatest theological sections of the Bible. In these 10 verses, Paul summarizes the theology of the preceding chapters about the sinfulness of man and the provision of Salvation thru our Savior, Jesus Christ.  There is a positive progression that takes place here. The passage begins in the abyss with man’s ruin, it then ascends through the rescue of redemption and culminates with the reign of grace for those who believe. 

In this text, we see the character of God’s love. This passage discusses God’s unbelievable love and in doing so it reveals the great depth of our justification. For those who have submitted and surrendered their life to the Savior, their reconciliation has already been secured, we receive it the moment we believed in Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore we exalt and we rejoice in how God HAS richly blessed us because every blessing we have comes from Christ. 

In Romans 5:1-11 we have the most detailed theological discussion of both how we are justified and what it means to be justified. In verses 1-5 we will see what is the result or benefit of our justification. In verses 6-11 we will see how God accomplishes justification

Throughout Chapter 4, Paul has given several reasons why our Justification is by faith & faith alone.  He wraps up his illustration about Abraham by stating that Abraham was justified because of his FAITH in God, not because of anything else. The heart of this entire passage, in fact of the whole chapter, is that in response to Abraham’s faith, God graciously credited it to him as righteousness. On his own, Abraham (like us) was totally unable to meet God’s standard of perfect righteousness, but the good news of salvation, or “the gospel of God” as Paul says in 1:1, is that God will take the faith (that He Himself has enabled a person to possess)  and He will count that faith as divine righteousness.

Are you broken? Are you discouraged? Do you cry out that you just can’t take it anymore? What will you do with your suffering? Will you turn to Jesus and His Bride or will you run from Him and the Church?

Given the reality of sin, the law can only enforce the penalty of God’s wrath; it cannot deliver us from it.  deliverance can come only in the form of forgiveness; forgiveness is possible only as a free gift of grace; and grace can be received only through faith in God’s promise. Grace and Faith are naturally comparable. Faith is the key that fits the lock that opens up the treasure of the grace of God’s Salvation.

Abraham is “the father of all who believe”. Every Christian has the privilege of calling Abraham “our father” and of inheriting the salvation promised through him. Jews have the privilege of being children of Abraham in two senses. First, all are descended from him physically. This is an involuntary circumstance marked by circumcision. No promise of eternal salvation is attached to this relationship. Second, any individual Jew may choose to “follow in the steps of the faith” of Abraham by responding to God in faith. Everything that God had given the Jew (the Law, circumcision, sacrifices, feasts and festivals) better informed their faith but none of these things removed their need to personally respond in faith. The faith that Jews and Gentiles should imitate is the faith that Abraham had before he was circumcised.

Most people think that God will accept them just as long as they do the “best they can”.  For many, they believe they can secure God’s approval by being good, by being respectable and honorable, by being an upright citizen, or by occasionally helping others who are less fortunate.  The tragic reality is that this thinking is simply not true. In Chapter 3, Paul says that God declares people righteous [justification] on the principle of faith instead of works. In Romans 4:1-8, he Illustrates this Biblical Truth using Abraham and David as his example. 

In this section of Romans, Paul explains HOW sinners can be saved. The theological term for this salvation is justification by faith. Make no mistake, this is the theological essence of Evangelical Christianity. the theological essence of evangelical Christianity. In John 3:16 we see the gospel declared in a single verse. Here we see the gospel defined in a two-paragraph summary.

Every single aspect of this world has been infected and affected by sin. Paul goes to great detail, in this first portion of his letter, to make it known that we are all guilty before God. Therefore, we are all in desperate need of divine intervention in our lives. In this next section of Scripture (vs.13-20) Paul takes a look at the conduct on the natural man. He starts with an emphasis on human speech, and he paints a disgusting picture, proceeding from throat to tongue to lips to mouth. Just as the words of the natural man are deceitful, the actions of the natural man are destructive.

The Law, The Sabbath, and the Festivals were all given to point us to Jesus. The Law, The Sabbath, and the Festivals are a “shadow”, but in Christ, we have the “substance”. Why pursue the shadows when we have the reality of Jesus Christ right before us?

In Chapter 1, Paul gave his attention primarily to the sinfulness of the Gentiles. In Chapter 2 (beginning in vs 17) he turned his attention to the sinfulness that is present among the Jews. The conclusion that follows in Chapter 3, verse 9 is: for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin. To validate his accusation that everybody is “under sin” in verses 10–18 Paul quotes from 6 Old Testament passages. In doing so he gives a series of specific charges. These charges can be broken into two major categories: (1) concerning the CHARACTER of the Natural Man (10–12) and (2) concerning the CONDUCT of the Natural Man (13–17).THIS WEEK we will look at the charges concerning CHARACTER.

Thru these 8 verses, by asking and answering three questions, Paul has further clarified the universal need of Salvation for everyone: (1)  What advantage is it to be a Jew? Every advantage, especially possessing the Word of God. (2)  Will unbelief cancel God’s faithfulness? Absolutely not—it establishes it. (3)  If our sin demonstrates His righteousness, how can He judge us? God’s justice is the demonstration of His perfect love. The cross was where God carried out His perfect justice upon His Son. The cross WAS where God displayed His perfect Love for mankind. The cross is the perfect demonstration of God’s love & justiceEVERYONE IS IN DESPERATE SPIRITUAL NEED OF THE GRACE OF GOD. We will see this even more in chapter 3:9-20.