Week 9

Monday, February 24

Romans 1

                                                                                                

Commentary

Paul opens this letter with an emphasis on the gospel and the nations. Paul cares about the gospel, and about encouraging the Roman church with the gospel, because all of us are sinners in desperate need of grace. The gospel came first to the Jewish people, but the gospel is good news to all people and the only way we can be forgiven of our sin. Paul makes the case that all of us, left to our devices, will run as far away from God as we can, using homosexuality as an example. In our culture today, people take sexuality far outside of its God-intended place between one man and one woman in a loving, faithful marriage. We must be careful to take our moral  cues from God and not our sinful selves.

When we shy away from telling people of their sin and of God’s invitation to be forgiven, we are not being loving! A loving parent tells the child that the stove is hot. God has told us that homosexuality is sinful and leads us to hell and we should tell that to others in turn. Verse 32 is a stern warning to us – don’t wink at the sins of your loved ones ignoring or outright applauding their sin is just as wrong as the sin itself. Paul gives us a great example in this letter: don’t be ashamed of the gospel, be glad and bold and passionate about it! God loves us so much that despite our sin, he sent his Son to take the punishment we deserve. How could we shy away from telling others of this incredible love if we’ve experienced it ourselves?

 

 

 

Application/Discussion

1. Paul says he is not ashamed of the gospel because it is how God saves people. Have you been tempted to be ashamed of, or at least not open about, the gospel before? Why were you tempted to feel this way? How does the saving power of the gospel motivate us to share it boldly and lovingly with the lost people around us?

2. Paul says that God condemns homosexuality because it is against the design that God baked into creation. If homosexuality is “unnatural,” then what is the “natural” expression of sexuality that God desires for us? Why do you think God designed us this way, and why would alternate sexual expressions be prohibited? How can we model sexual purity and share the truth with our same-sex attracted neighbors?

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for sending Jesus to save us despite our sinfulness and for using us to spread his gospel.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in taking sin seriously and lovingly sharing the gospel with those around you.

3. Pray for the salvation of someone you know who struggles with sexual sin and needs to come to Jesus.

 

Going Deeper

The Family Bible Reading blog post below is a great resource to explore the homosexuality issue more. I’m also glad to talk anytime! Email me at sam@cornerstonebaptist.org.

·      https://familybiblereading.blogspot.com/2025/02/does-bible-really-condemn-homosexuality.html

Tuesday, February 25

Romans 2

 

Commentary

This chapter is a much-needed counterbalance to chapter 1. Paul staunchly condemns lost people who boldly sin in the first chapter, but in the second he reminds his Christian readers that they are just as prone to sin. When God withholds or delays his judgement of sin, he does so to lead the sinners to repent. This life is just a stop on the way to eternity, after this comes heaven and hell. God could send us straight to hell the very first time we sin, but he gives us this life so that we have the opportunity to turn from our sins and go to him for forgiveness. We are all sinners and we all need forgiveness.

Whether we have known God’s law or not, we are still responsible and accountable for our sin. God has made us with an innate understanding of right and wrong. Our sinful nature hampers this inner sense of right and wrong, but it is still there. Cultures broadly agree on major points of morality – murder is illegal almost everywhere and almost everyone would condemn someone like Hitler. The moral voice of our conscience and the evidence of divine design throughout the created world means that we have no excuse to live in sin and ignore the true God. We all need God’s help and that help comes through the work of Christ on the cross and the work of the Holy Spirit in convicting us of our sin and leading us to God. Never forget where God has brought you from and what you really deserve, and never forget God’s great love to overcome that. We are called to show that same love to others and bring them the gospel.

 

Application/Discussion

1. A common objection to the gospel is that Christians are often hypocritical or arrogant. This behavior certainly happens and it’s exactly what Paul is condemning in this chapter. Have you seen Christians displaying these behaviors? How does our passage today direct us away from that and to being humble, godly examples?

2. What does Paul mean when he says circumcision, the sign of being part of God’s covenant people in the Old Testament, is a matter of the heart rather than the letter of the law, meaning external obedience to the Bible’s commands?

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for Jesus being the perfect example of godliness and for taking our place on the cross.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in loving God with reverence and obedience and loving others with gentleness and humility.

3. Pray for your church’s pastors, teachers, and leaders to teach and live out the gospel faithfully and draw others into further love of and obedience to God.

 

Going Deeper

C. S. Lewis’ classic book Mere Christianity brilliantly lays out how our inner sense of morality points us to God. You can learn more about the moral argument at the sites below:

·      https://www.namb.net/apologetics/resource/the-moral-argument-for-gods-existence/

·      https://www.biblicaltraining.org/learn/foundations/essentials-apologetics-th202/moral-argument-for-god-th202-07

 

Wednesday, February 26

Romans 3

 

Commentary

Paul continues the argument he was making in chapter 2 – we are all deeply sinful and accountable to God for that sin. There is not one of us who meets God’s standards of moral perfection. God is perfectly good and supremely holy and this means he cannot tolerate sin. A good judge punishes crime when he knows the defendant is guilty. God is the best Judge and he knows all of our sin. He has given us his Word, particularly the moral law of the Old Testament that Paul is talking about here, to expose our sin and help us see our need for God’s forgiveness. We cannot and will not obey God’s law perfectly, so without Christ to be our saving sacrifice, the only thing the law can do is show us just how far we are from God’s perfect goodness.

However, God did not leave us to drown in our guilt and shame. He sent Christ to live out his perfect goodness as fully God yet fully man and take the reproach we deserve on the cross. Now, through the forgiveness and cleansing that Jesus provides, we are freed from our bondage to sin and are freed to obey God. We obey God out of love and thankfulness, not to earn our salvation. We could never earn it and Christ has already earned it for us. What an incredible gift, and its free for the taking for anyone who wants it. Live out thankfulness for this gift of salvation and be God’s means of offering that gift to others. There’s nothing better we can do in our lives than this.

 

Application/Discussion

1. Do you feel more tempted to work for your salvation, or to live however you want because Jesus already purchased your salvation? Have you truly turned to Christ for salvation, are you confident that if you died, you would go to heaven? How does this passage point you to Christ and encourage you to greater faithfulness?

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for Jesus paying the price for our sins and for the privilege we have to share the news of this free gift to others.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in resisting temptation and making evangelism a top priority in your life.

3. Pray for your church to be on mission to reach your community for Christ and for your pastors to lead and teach the church wisely.

 

Going Deeper

As we go through Romans, we will see many great verses about the gospel and many encouragements to share the gospel with others. One great evangelism tool to keep in the back of your mind is the “Romans Road,” a set of verses from Romans that explain the gospel briefly but thoroughly. You can read more about it here:

·      https://www.gotquestions.org/Romans-road-salvation.html.

 

Thursday, February 27

Romans 4

 

Commentary

This chapter is vital to understanding salvation and the Old Testament. It’s easy to mistakenly believe that the Old Testament presents a salvation by works, especially since the New Testament so frequently condemns trying to find salvation through the law now that Christ has come. Paul explains in this chapter that salvation has always been a matter of looking beyond ourselves to God and putting our complete trust in him. Paul lifts up Abraham, the father of the nation of Israel, as a prime example of this principle. Abraham believed God and he was counted as righteous (right/blameless in God’s sight). He wasn’t counted righteous because he obeyed God’s command for circumcision, God gave that command to Abraham later, nor was he righteous from the Mosaic law, which wasn’t even around yet. Abraham turned from his sin and his own ways and put his complete trust in God’s ways and God’s promises. We are Abraham’s children, part of God’s people, if we similarly put our faith in God. God has done the work, Jesus has already bought our salvation, all we have to do is put our trust in him.

 

Application/Discussion

1. If you’re familiar with the life of Abraham, he had a lot of moments of doubt, sinful decisions, and lapsed judgement. If Abraham’s salvation was dependent on him, he would’ve been doomed. How do the mistakes and sins of people like Abraham, who God saved and repeatedly commended for their faith, show us that salvation is based on Christ rather than ourselves?

2. Why do we sometimes hesitate to ask God for forgiveness when we sin? How does this passage encourage us to immediately confess our sin and keep pressing on in faith?

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for the confidence we can have that Jesus had paid the price for our sins and that our salvation is secured by him.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in persevering in godly living and trusting that Jesus’ death is all we need to pay for our sins.

3. Pray for the salvation of two lost people you know by name.

 

Going Deeper

If you’d like to learn more about the life of Abraham, see these great sermon series:

·      https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/series/venturing-in-faith/

·      https://christcovenant.org/sermons/a-great-nation-a-great-name-a-great-god/

·      https://albertmohler.com/category/exposition/genesis-powerline/

Friday, February 28

Romans 5

 

Commentary

This eloquent chapter is one the best concise explanations of the gospel and the storyline of the Bible you can find. Paul calls us back to creation and the garden of Eden. Adam and Eve ignored God’s command, listened to the serpent, and ate the forbidden fruit. Through Adam, the first man, sin entered the world and everyone has been affected by it. We are all sinners, we all face sickness and loss and sorrow, and we will all eventually die. Without God intervening to save us, we would be completely doomed. But the good news is that Jesus came as a new Adam, a new start for humanity and the beginning of the new creation that God will finalize after the day of judgement. Jesus obeyed God perfectly when Adam failed. Adam’s fall infected the human race with sin. Jesus’ perfect obedience and atoning death completely transforms believers into new creations. Where the law shined a beacon on our sin and condemned us, Jesus shines a beacon on the bloody cross and empty tomb and forgives everyone who comes to him. With Jesus as our Savior and God as our Protector, we can endure all the hardships of this life with joy and hope, knowing that our heavenly home is secure and that we’re guaranteed to see it.

 

Application/Discussion

1. Do you have peace with God – have you come to him for the forgiveness of your sins and to make him the Lord of your life, and do you feel at peace with your salvation being secure in him? If you’re not, pray to God and ask for him to make clear whether you have been saved.

2. Notice that Paul talks about Adam as if he was a real person and the events of Genesis 1-3 really happened. In what ways are we tempted to distrust or downplay certain claims of the Bible in our culture? Why should we trust the claims of the Bible over modern scientific findings or other religions? If you’re struggling with these issues, pray for God’s help, read your Bible, and reach out to your pastors.

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for Jesus’ work on the cross and for the mercy he shows to us.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in pointing others to Christ and taking God’s Word seriously, even when it’s hard to without facing scorn or conflict from others.

3. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in growing in your love of, reading of, and confidence in the Bible.  

 

Going Deeper

Have you ever wondered why Adam is blamed for his sin here when Eve ate the fruit first? Genesis 3:6 says that Adam was with Eve and although the text doesn’t specify how long Adam had been there, he was certainly there long enough to keep Eve from eating the fruit. Instead, he used her like a guinea pig! Adam completely failed at his responsibility to obey God, to lead and protect his wife, and to rule over creation as God’s royal ambassador (including the serpent that he never told to shut up!). Eve was guilty as well, but Adam’s was the greater sin.

 

Saturday, March 1

Romans 6

 

Commentary

In this chapter, Paul digs into resisting sin as a Christian. In salvation, we die to our sin and are made new by Christ. We are still sinners and in a sinful and temptation-filled world, so we won’t be perfect, but we should be making every effort to resist sin and we should come to God for forgiveness right away when we sin. Paul uses the metaphor of slavery to explain our relationship to sin. If we do not know Christ, then we are enslaved to sin. We cannot please God, we cannot save ourselves, and we cannot find a lasting peace and escape from sin. When we come to know Jesus, we are freed from slavery to sin, but we are made slaves in turn to righteousness. Now, thanks to Jesus, we can please God and resist sin. That is the freedom we have as Christians, not a freedom to do whatever we want without consequences, but freedom to finally please and find our rest in God.

Our salvation now enables us to obey and please God, and our salvation is for our glorification of God through our obedience. In others words, God saved you so that you could serve him. We should not take God’s salvation for granted and use it as an excuse to sin. If you are considering this, you should examine your heart to see if you are saved in the first place. As Paul has already told us, God’s kindness is meant to lead us to repentance, not further sin (2:4)! If you’ve come to know Christ, then you have been freed from sin. Use your freedom for the glory of God!

 

 

 

Application/Discussion

1. Are there particular sins that pop up again and again in your life? What does the Bible says about these particular sins, and how can you resist these temptations? If you’re struggling and feel like you can’t make any progress, reach out to your pastors for biblical encouragement. God has tasked them with helping the people of your church pursue godliness, utilize their passion, education, and calling to strengthen your walk with the Lord.

2. Have you thought about salvation as a kind of death and resurrection to a new life before? Have you thought about salvation as being a slave to righteousness before? How does these metaphors help you see that you can and should resist temptation with God’s help?

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for giving us his Son and his salvation.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in resisting sin, especially habitual sin.

3. Pray for the lost in your country and for God to strengthen the churches and believers around them to reach out with the gospel.

 

Going Deeper

If you’re struggling with habitual sin, thoughtfully read through the articles below and reach out to a pastor from your church

·      www.desiringgod.org/articles/thirteen-practical-steps-to-kill-sin

·      https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/anthem-strategies-for-fighting-lust

Sunday, March 2

Romans 7

 

Commentary

Paul continues explaining salvation in this chapter. Those who know Christ are freed from the law, meaning that we are free from trying to earn our salvation by perfectly obeying the law. As Paul’s already discussed, the law cannot save us, it only highlights the extent of our sinfulness. As Robert Yarborough explained, “The implication Paul points out is that believers, formerly wed to sin and death by the verdict of the law, are freed by Christ’s death to ‘belong to one another,’ namely, to the one raised from the dead [Christ]… And this implication has a purpose: ‘to bear fruit for God’… [salvation is] a rehabilitation for God’s glorification by God’s sovereign release of believers from condemned bondage to what Paul will later term the ‘freedom of the glory of the children of God’ (8:21).’”[1]

As much as we desire to obey God, we cannot consistently obey and glorify God without his help. Paul illustrates this with a tongue-twisting but remarkably relatable lament in verses 13-25. The text is not completely clear about whether Paul is reflecting on his time before Christ or his life now. I lean towards thinking Paul is talking about his life as a Christian, especially because he says his inward being delights in God’s law. Either way, Paul’s point is clear: it’s hard to resist sin, we certainly need saving from our death-bound bodies, and Jesus is the one who can save us.

 

Application/Discussion

1. In what ways do you struggle with sin as a Christian and in what ways do you find it easier to obey God?

2. How does Paul’s lament of his sinfulness help you see that you are not alone in resisting sin and your struggles are common for believers?

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God that Jesus indeed will save us from this sin-stained world and make all things new.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in working for things of eternal meaning and to live faithfully.

3. Pray for two lost people in your family.

 

Going Deeper

Here’s a great interview with John Piper about Romans 7:

·      https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/does-romans-7-describe-a-christian

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[1] Robert Yarborough, “Romans,” in ESV Expository Commentary: Romans-Galatians, 21-208 (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020), 107.