Romans – Hope

After you have entered into life in Christ, returning to the life of flesh will only result in condemnation. Even though our bodies are dead, our spirits will remain alive, and the body will arise on the last day. We have become heirs to God, provided that we suffer with Him. Flesh is subject to…

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Romans – The Spirit versus the Flesh

If we are in Christ, then we cannot be subject to condemnation, since Christ’s death had taken on all that we could be condemned for. To say otherwise would mean that Christ’s death was not effective. Jesus took on the likeness of sinful flesh, that is, the appearance of Christ’s flesh was that of the…

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Romans – Grace versus Sin

Grace is just another name for the Holy Spirit. When we live under grace, our lives are transformed by Him, and we must not be idle, but rather keep embracing Him and bringing grace into our lives. Paul laments the fact that he is still in the flesh, sold into slavery to sin. As such,…

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Romans – Sin and the Law

Paul says that Christians can expect to triumph over sin, but that it remains possible that some may still sin, but some may incorrectly interpret this that Christians will never sin, or never be tempted to sin, or conversely, that no one can ever triumph over sin. Paul is joined by I John in this…

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Romans- Grace and Sin

Paul tells us that the Christian ought no longer to be slave to sin, which is a very powerful statement indeed. Since Jesus died one for all and died to sin once for all, we, too are to be like Christ and put to death the sinful parts of ourselves, and not a wasting death,…

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Romans – Faith and Works

Chapter 6 of Romans starts a new section in Romans, dealing with the necessity of using our faith to be conformed to the Lord’s will. We must thus strive for holiness, apart from which no man will see God. We must increase in love to establish ourselves unblameable before God and make holiness perfect in…

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Romans – Jesus and Adam

Sin entered the world through Adam, and we know this because all men sin. Our flawed nature is a consequence of that sin. Sin existed before the law, and although sin is not counted where there is no Law, that does not mean that we do not have any guilt for that sin. Indeed, the…

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Romans – Faith, Hope, and Love

Paul continues explaining that we are justified by faith, or as the council of Trent describes, by God’s grace. Not only do we need God’s grace, but without it, we cannot even grope after God, and that we must use our free will to accept or reject that grace. This grace puts us at peace…

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Romans – Faith

Paul shows us that Abraham was not justified by his works, since his faith was not earned, but rather reckoned to him, and since we are not reckoned what we are owed, this could not have been something that was owed to Abraham. Moreover, the sacrificial system is not really a way to earn any…

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Romans – Holiness and the Law

Paul tells us that there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile, apart from the Law. This is a recurring theme in Romans. All have sinned, and all require Christ’s salvation. God gives us this redemption as a gift, and we are justified through faith, apart from works under the Law. This cannot be used…

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