Romans: Lesson 4 of 12

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Lesson 4

Trapped by God’s Holiness (Romans 5:12-7:25)

Lesson Theme: We are unable to live a righteous life in our flesh

Lesson Objective: To understand the tension between the obligation to live a righteous life and the inability to do so in our sinful nature.

Question: What should our response be to what we’ve learned so far: that God has given us His righteousness?

Answer: To live a life of righteousness

Read Deuteronomy 30:15-20

LIFE=Obedience

DEATH=Disobedience

Read Romans 5:12-18

After Paul points out that all men are condemned, he goes back and rebuilds the doctrines of life and death from the beginning… and he does it through the life of two men – Adam and Jesus

I. The Impact of Two Men

A. Our inheritance from Adam - Death

Adam’s Disobedience was one sin

We are all children of Adam, so we have inherited his sin nature – and as a result, have inherited death.

1. One sin led to many transgressions

a. Imposed by force of nature

b. No choice in the matter

c. We all receive a Sin Nature because of his disobedience

2. Many Transgressions led to Judgment for all

3. Judgment for all results in Condemnation for all

4. Condemnation for all means Death for all

Adam’s Life=Disobedience=Death

B. Our gift from Jesus - Life Eternal

Christ’s Obedience was one righteous act

1. One righteous act led to a Gift available to all

a. The gift is freely offered, not imposed by force

b. It is our choice to receive or reject that gift

c. We receive a Spirit Nature because of his obedience

2. Those who accept the gift are granted Grace

1. Grace from the wrath of God

3. Grace results in Justification to those who believe(Romans 5:18)

Question: What is justification?

Answer: Justification is a declaration of innocence in a court of law

4. Justification means Life Eternal

Jesus’s Life = Obedience=Life

Romans 5:19

One Man’s Disobedience – Death

One Man’s Obedience – Life Eternal

Both of these principles (Sin Nature and Spirit Nature) are now active and working in our lives at the same time and will continue to do so until we receive our glorified bodies.

Think of it this way:

Sin Nature = Death

Spirit Nature = Life

II. Promises and Warnings

A. A Beautiful Promise - God’s grace is sufficient (Romans 5:20-21)

No matter how great our transgression, the Grace of God is sufficient – the greater the transgression, the greater the grace.

B. A Stern Warning - God’s grace is no excuse to sin (Romans 6:1-11)

The warning is expressed in the form of a rhetorical question…

Question: “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?”

Answer: “By no means”

Paul gives us 3 reasons why God’s grace is no excuse to sin…

1. We are dead to sin (Romans 6:2)

2. We are baptized into Christ(Romans 6:3-5)

a. Buried with him in death

b. Raised to walk in newness of life

3. We are crucified with Christ (Romans 6:6-11)

a. Like him in his death – old self has died

b. Like him in his resurrection – freed from sin and death

C. An Urgent Plea (Romans 6:12-22)

The plea is also expressed in the form of a rhetorical question…

Question: “Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?”

Answer: “By no means”

Question: What determines whether the Sin Nature or Spirit nature will have mastery in our lives?

Answer: The one we submit ourselves to for obedience.

1. Do not be mastered by sin

a. Do not present your bodies to sin

OR… do not present your bodies to the flesh to satisfy its desires

The consequence of being a slave to sin is death

2. Be mastered by Righteousness

a. Present your bodies to God

The consequence of being a slave to righteousness is life

This requires total devotion to God

Plea Restated: Don’t be a slave to sin, be a slave to righteousness.

Romans 6:23 summarizes this entire section on life and death…

However, we are still living with two natures – the Sin Nature and the Spirit Nature.

The sin nature requires us to be wicked.

The spirit nature requires us to be Holy like God.

Both wish to be our master.

The problem is that we choose to live as if both are our master.

Question: In what way do we choose to live as if both the sin nature and the spirit nature are our master?

Answer: By choosing to submit ourselves to the constraints of the law.

Read Romans 7:1-6

The biggest mistake that we make as Christians is to make the Christian lifestyle a religious substitute for the law.

Christianity is not a list of dos and don’ts

Christianity is a relationship with a God who empowers us to live according to his spirit

When we try to live according to a set of legalistic rules, we fall into the trap of God’s Holiness

We have to understand the purpose of the law

Read Romans 7:7-14

IV. The purpose of the Law

A. To teach me the ways of righteousness

B. To enslave me in my own sinfulness

C. To bring me to a realization that I am hopelessly lost

We are not under law; we are under grace

Jeremiah 31:31-34

· When the law says do not steal, we are drawn to covet what our neighbor has

o Grace says that we love our neighbor and would never take from him what belongs to him

· When the law says do not lie, we find every reason why we need to bend the truth

o Grace says that the truth will set us free

· When the law says do not murder, I ask for exceptions such as self defense, capital punishment, and war

o Grace says pray for your enemy and be reconciled

· When the law says an eye for an eye, we demand our right to retribution

o Grace says turn the other cheek

· When the law condemns me as a lawbreaker because I fail, I feel hopeless

o Grace says “I forgive you”

Read Romans 7:15-24

V. The Demand of Two Masters

A. We are slaves to God in our hearts and minds

1. We desire to do right (Romans 7:18-19)

2. We delight in the laws of God (Romans 7:22 )

B. We are still slaves to sin in our bodies

1. We cannot carry out our desire to do good (Romans 7:18)

2. We do what we do not wish to do (Romans 7:19)

3. Our flesh is waging war against our minds (Romans 7:23)

The Law of Two Masters: When I desire to do good, evil is with me

Romans 7:21

Conclusion: WE ARE WRETCHED

Romans 7:24

WE ARE TRAPPED BY GOD’S HOLINESS

Question: Who can help us?

Romans 7:25

Fret Not! God has given us the key to the trap door.

What is that key? Life in the Spirit

Romans: Lesson 3 of 12

Lesson 3

The Key to the Trap of God’s Wrath: God’s Righteousness (Romans 3:21-5:11)

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Lesson Theme: We can have a righteousness that comes from God

Lesson Objective: To understand the righteousness that God has given us through Jesus Christ.

Reminder from last week:

· Those who did not have the law had no excuse

· Those under law could not be justified by the law.

Man’s Righteousness Can Never Satisfy God’s Wrath! (Isaiah 64:6)

We are trapped by God’s wrath

This is the most dismal picture of humanity possible, but it is followed by the most uplifting and promising verses in all of scripture:

Read Romans 3:21-26

BUT NOW!

A RIGHTEOUSNESS FROM GOD

HAS BEEN MANIFESTED APART FROM THE LAW (BUT)

THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS BEAR WITNESS TO IT

Two Very Important Statements:

God’s Righteousness is the Key to God’s Wrath

God’s wrath can only be satisfied through God’s Righteousness

Question: What is righteousness?

Answer: Righteousness is the state of being without guilt

I. The Source of Righteousness is:

Romans 3:22 says it all!

A. From God

Another way to say “From God”: By Grace (Romans 3:23-24)

Romans 4:1-5

B. Through Faith (Romans 4:13-16)

C. To ALL who believe (Romans 4:17-18)

Believe in what? The work that Jesus did on the cross.

Romans 4:23-24

Righteousness is given

By Grace

Through Faith

For all who Believe

Question: What exactly is this work of righteousness?

II. The Work of God’s Righteousness is:

A. Sacrifice of Atonement (Romans 3:24-25)

Jesus was a guilt/sin offering

Hebrews 9:6-7, 11-12; Hebrews 10:5-10

Three important requirements for the sacrifice of atonement

1. The atoning sacrifice must be unblemished

2. The atoning sacrifice must be costly/precious (provisions were made for the poor)

3. The atoning sacrifice must be of blood (must be a blood sacrifice)_

Jesus satisfied all of these requirements with his death.

· Jesus was unblemished and without sin

· Jesus was God’s only Begotten Son – how much more costly and precious could that be

· Jesus shed his blood

See 1 Peter 1:18-19

B. Demonstration of both Love and Justice

God’s Love

Romans 5:6-8

Who would die for a righteous man? Very few

Who would die for a good man? Maybe someone

Who would die for a sinner? Jesus

Now we have two diametrically opposed concepts: The Love of God and the Justice of God

In order for the Love of God and the Wrath of God to balance, there must be a demonstration of God’s Justice

God’s Justice

Romans 3:25-26; Isaiah 53:4-12

When Jesus died on the cross, he not only was an unblemished in offering for our unintentional and unknown sins, he paid the full penalty associated with every high-handed and rebellious sin we ever committed or ever will commit. Jesus literally suffered hell for us. (See Matthew 27:45-46; Luke 22:44; Ephesians 4:8-10)

D. Satisfaction of God’s Wrath (Romans 5:9)

The first big “Therefore” in Romans - Romans 5:1

· Because we are without excuse

· Because we cannot obtain righteousness by our works

· Because we cannot obtain righteousness through the law

· God provided his righteousness through Jesus Christ

· THEREFORE… The Results of Righteousness are as follows

III. The Result of God’s Righteousness is:

A. Peace with God (Romans 5:1)

1. We have been reconciled to God – we are literally at peace, not at war

2. We also have God’s peace bestowed upon us

Peace requires a lifestyle of faith

B. Hope for the future (Romans 5:2)

Hope requires a lifestyle of faith

D. Joy in suffering (Romans 5:3-5; Philippians 4:4 )

It is because of God’s righteousness that we can have joy in suffering because:

1. Suffering produces endurance

2. Suffering produces character

3. Suffering produces hope

See Romans 8:16-18

Suffering identifies us with Christ

Suffering requires a lifestyle of faith

We may be trapped by God’s wrath, but because of his great love for us, he has given us the key to unlock that trap. The key is God’s Righteousness, which comes through the work of his Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross.

Romans: Lesson 2 of 12

Lesson 2

Trapped by God’s Wrath (Romans 1:18-3:20)

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Lesson Theme: We are _all condemned because of our unrighteousness

Lesson Objective: To recognize the futility of human effort towards obtaining righteousness

Religion is man’s attempt to achieve peace with his concept of God (or gods) through his own efforts to

1. Appease God

2. Atone for his own sinfulness

Essentially, Religion is man’s attempt to reconcile with the God of his understanding.

What does the Bible say about God’s Wrath?

Ezekiel 7:8-9; Psalm 89:29-33; Isaiah 13:11; Jeremiah 9:25; Amos 2:6; Isaiah 66:15-16

I. God will pour his wrath on the unrighteous (Romans 1:18)

Question: What is God’s wrath?

Answer: God’s wrath is the permanent attitude of a holy and just God when confronted by sin and evil

Question: What is the Basis of God’s Wrath?

A. God has revealed himself (Romans 1:19-20)

1. Man has no excuse for not acknowledging God

2. Rational reasons from nature for believing in God

a. Cosmological Argument (Cause and Effect)

b. Teleological Argument (Design)

c. Moral Argument (God’s Moral Law written on our hearts)

To make oneself right with God, you first have to acknowledge who he is and that we have an obligation to complete submission to him.

B. Man has chosen to reject God’s revelation

1. They refuse to give God glory or thanks (Romans 1:21)

2. They exchanged God’s glory for glory of man-made objects (Romans 1:22-23)

Question: What is the Result of God’s Wrath?

C. God allows man to destroy himself

1. God Gave Them Over to sinful sexual desires (Romans 1:24-26)

Question: Why did God do this?

Answer: Because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshipped created things rather than the creator

Sexual promiscuity is the first sign that God is pouring out his wrath on you.

2. God Gave Them Over to sexual perversions (Romans 1:26-27)

Question: In this case, what is the consequence of their sinfulness?

Answer: They receive the due penalty of their sinfulness in their body.

3. God Gave them Over to perverse thinking (Romans 1:28-31)

There is a point when those in deep sexual sin and perversion know they are wrong, but then they reach a point where even their mind becomes twisted and they no longer can distinguish between right and wrong.

Question: Why would God allow people to spiral out of control like this?

Answer: Because sometimes people need to be completely broken and self-destruct before they can submit to God.

Question: What can we conclude from all of this? (see Romans 1:32)

Conclusion: Mankind knows to do right, but chooses to do wrong

What about the Jews? (Look at Romans 2:1)

1 Corinthians 5:9-13

Sometimes we are too quick to judge the world and too slow to judge ourselves… instead, we should be quick to judge our own sinfulness and slow to judge the world. Our job is not to judge the world, but to point them to Christ.

II. God’s will pour his wrath on the Jews (Romans 2:1-5)

Question: Why would God pour his wrath on those who work to follow his law?

A. God has established his righteous law

1. God rewards good works (Romans 2:6-7)

2. God punishes evil works (Romans 2:8-11)

Question: So what is the basis for determining what is “good” and what is “evil”?

Answer: The law

3. God judges those who sin under the law (Romans 2:12)

4. God justifies those who uphold the law (Romans 2:13)

Romans 2:14-15

Question: If we all just keep the law, then what’s the problem?

B. We are ALL lawbreakers (Romans 2:21-22)

God’s law requires complete and unflawed obedience. The Mosaic law provided sacrifices to atone for unknown sins and for sins that were originally unknown but became known later, but there are no provisions in the law for blatant rebellion against God… there was no sacrifice for high-handed sins such as what David did with Bathsheba and Uriah.

If you openly defied and disobeyed God, your only hope was to throw yourself on God’s mercy (like David)

Psalm 51:1-12

Question: Why didn’t David just offer a guilt offering?

Answer: Because the guilt offering could not take away his sin.

C. The consequence of God’s people being lawbreakers

1. God is dishonored (Romans 2:23)

2. The world blasphemes God because of their sins (Romans 2:24 )

When we sin, we bring shame on God

III. God will pour his wrath on All Men

A. Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the curse of sin (Romans 3:9)

B. There are none who are righteous before God (Romans 3:10-18)

Paul went through this exercise in order to draw a very important conclusion about the law:

Romans 3:19-20

Conclusions:

· The Law cannot bring righteousness

· The Law can only reveal our unrighteousness

Romans 6:23a

We cannot merit salvation by our works

WE ARE TRAPPED BY GOD’S WRATH !

Fret not, we can be rescued from this trap!

Romans: Lesson 1 of 12

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Lesson 1: Background, Overview and Introduction

Romans 1:1-17, Romans 15:23-33

Introduction to Romans

Romans Summarized:

Because you were condemned in your unrighteousness, God showed mercy on you by sending his son, Jesus Christ, to make you righteous; therefore, live a righteous life in service to him. (Romans 12:1)

Central Theme of Romans: Righteousness

Central Verse in Romans: Romans 12:1

Date of Authorship: approximately 57AD while Paul was in Corinth

Pauline Recipe: Doctrine 1^st; Application 2^nd

Doctrine: Pre-Romans 12:1

Application: Post-Romans 12:1

Paul’s Spiritual Gift to the Romans (Romans 1:1-17, Romans 15:23-33)

Paul’s Life Verse Romans 1:16

Lesson Theme: The gospel is a great gift of which we should not be ashamed.

Lesson Objective: To obtain a proper understanding of the gospel

Paul wanted to visit the Romans to impart on them a spiritual gift (vs 11). Paul’s desires are laid out clearly in Romans 15:23-33. He prays to be able to return to Rome, but realizes that going to Jerusalem will be dangerous and he may be arrested. Absent the ability to go personally to Rome, he gives them this gift (via the book of Romans) – a proper understanding of the righteousness of God.

Romans is all about the gospel…

1. The gospel was promised through the prophets (Romans 3:21; Romans 16:25-26)

Why was it important that the gospel (as we understand it) was promised through the prophets?

Answer: Because the Jews held a prophetic view that the Messiah would be a conquering king to come enforce the law, not a suffering savior that fulfills the law.

2. The gospel declares the humanity and the Deity of Jesus (Romans 1:3-4; John 1:1; and 1:14)

Both the humanity of Jesus and the divinity of Jesus are critical to a proper understanding of the gospel.

Question: Why is Christ’s humanity so important? (1 Corinthans 15:22-23)

Answer: Only a man could pay the penalty for the sins committed by man.

Question: Why is Christ’s divinity so important? (Hebrews 4:15)

Answer: Only God could have lived a sinless life to qualify to pay that penalty.

Thus, Jesus is 100% man; and 100% God.

3. What IS the Gospel? (Romans 1:16-17)

A. Nothing to be ashamed of

1. Both Romans and Jews thought crucifixion was shameful

For Romans, crucifixion was outlawed.

For Jews, crucifixion was a curse. (Deuteronomy 21:22-23)

2. Romans citizens thought slavery was shameful

Roman citizens would never voluntarily consent to being a bondservant, but Paul described himself as a bond-servant (verse 1) – which is a jewish concept of voluntary slavery for life. (Deuteronomy 15:12-16)

Both Romans and Jews were proud. Romans because of their status; Jews because of their religion. Paul wanted the Romans to break free of their prideful mentality and humble themselves before God.

Question: Are you ashamed of the gospel? If so, why?

B. The power of God for Salvation

4-fold Aspects of Salvation (Romans 8:28-30)

1. Called

2. Justified

3. Sanctified

4. Glorified

C. A Righteousness from God

God’s Righteousness

i. Enables us to meet our “legal” obligations

ii. Depends upon his holiness, not ours

D. For Everyone who Believes

James 2:19

4. HOW does the gospel (i.e., salvation) come?

A. By Grace (vs 5)

Question: What is grace?

Answer: Grace is the unmerited favor of God to a sinner who has no hope

B. Through Faith_ (vs 17)

Question: What is faith? (Hebrews 11:1)

Answer: Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen

True belief (faith) results in repentance, acceptance, then obedience

Salvation by grace through faith is a central theme of Paul’s theology (Eph 2:8-9)