Once again, Paul is making some powerful claims about our new life in Christ. Think about this (from the NLT): 6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were … Continue reading Romans 6. →

So many promises are given by Paul in this chapter of his letter. I'll camp out on this one, which is stated several times in different ways. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

So here is the most amazing thing Paul says of God ... 5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in the one who declares the ungodly righteous, his faith is credited as righteousness. Acts 4:5 ... He is the one who declares the ungodly, righteous.

Paul treads a narrow path through the relationships between the law, those who were under the law, and those who were not. These verses are at the heart of what Paul is getting at: 21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (although it is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed— 22 namely, … Continue reading Romans 3. →

This is probably the hardest chapter in Romans to understand and to reconcile to Paul's teachings in general, and to the message of the rest of the letter. I hold onto this chapter as "introductory" to the rest of the letter and will return to it as we get further into this letter to the … Continue reading Romans 2. →

Ahhhh, Paul's letter to the Romans. Peter wrote in his second letter of Paul's writings, "there are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures” (2 Peter 3:16). I hope we will keep in mind that while Paul's … Continue reading Romans 1. →