The word righteousness is used in at least three ways in the New Testament.  It is used to denote right living (1 John 2:29; 3:7).  It is used to denote God’s character (Romans 3:25).  Finally, it is used to denote the justification that God imputes (Romans 9:30-33).  This is the righteousness I am concerned with […]

The majority of Jews rejected the gospel preached by Paul.  One of their main objections was that if his message was right, it would leave the majority of Jews outside of a relationship with God.  This, according to them, would make God unfaithful to His chosen people.  The problem with their objection was that they […]

For nearly 40 years, ABC aired a show called the Wide World of Sports.  It always began with Jim McKay referring to “the thrill of victory…and the agony of defeat…”   Defeat can, indeed, be agonizing, while victory is almost always thrilling. The good news for Christians is that while life has a way of putting […]

What a blessing it is to be a child of God.  John tells us that it is a demonstration of how much we are loved by God (1 John 3:1).  Being a child of God is not only a blessing right now, seeing that we enjoy all of the privileges of being in fellowship with […]

At the end of Romans 7, Paul gave us a hint at what (or better yet, who) the solution to sin is.  After lamenting his dire condition under the law of Moses (Romans 7:24), he proclaimed, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”  Now, in Romans 8, Paul elaborates on why he made […]

This last section of Romans 7 (vers. 14-25) is greatly misunderstood by most who study it.  Interpreted properly, it fits nicely into the overall context, as well as Paul’s primary emphasis in this epistle. Throughout Romans, Paul is teaching us that we are justified by faith rather than by works.  In this context, we must […]

We have seen in this short study of Romans that freedom from the old law was essential for salvation.  Paul knew that some would conclude that he was teaching that the law was sinful, but such was not the case at all.  Yes, the law was insufficient in providing salvation, but this was more about […]

As we have progressed through the book of Romans, we have found that, as Christians, we have been justified by faith by the grace of God and through our obedience to the gospel of Christ.  As a result, we have been set free from sin.  There is something else that we are set free from […]

While a home in heaven and the enjoyment of eternal life are the ultimate blessings that come from being justified by faith, the immediate benefit is freedom from Satan and sin.  In the sixth chapter of Romans, Paul says a lot about our freedom in Christ. Romans 6:17-18 (ESV) 17  But thanks be to God, […]

In our last blog, Paul taught us that grace is greater than sin.  What that means is that it does not matter what sin we commit, how bad it is, or how long we have been committing it, the grace of God is powerful enough to defeat it.  We must, of course, repent of our […]