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Romans 6 - Beware of Cheap Grace! Jesus Not Only Died for You, But Wants to Live Through You!

Romans 6 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary 6 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. In chapter 6, Paul moves from teaching how we are justified by faith in Christ and have received his righteousness, which we could never achieve on our own. Put in another way...
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Romans 5 - Are You Standing in God's Grace?

Romans 5 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary Peace and Hope 5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God." There is so much "meat" in all of these verses of Romans 5, it hard to summarize. So I will to focus on just these first two verses. Anytime Paul uses the term " therefore" , he is saying, " In light of all I have just taught here are the practical applications to life ". Paul reviews the important concept he taught that we are justified by faith and not by works, which he spent all of chapter 4 explaining. Importantly as a result of being justified by faith, " we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. " We often experience a lack of peace, better known as anxiety, when the circumstances of our lives turn for the worse. A similar word f...
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Romans 4 - Abraham, The Father of Faith!

Romans 4 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary Abraham Justified by Faith 4 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. 6 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 7 “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.8  Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.” We often call Abraham, “ The   Father of Faith”.  Abraham came to faith at age 75, when God called him to a distant land. He left his f...
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Romans 3 - Alien Righteousness

Romans 3 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary Righteousness Through Faith 21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in[h] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. These are some of the most important verses written by Paul in all of scripture. Paul has shown why no person could hope to be made right with G...
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Romans 2 - The Bad News Makes the Good News Even Better!

Romans 2 - NIV   Enduring Word Commentary 5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 God “will repay each person according to what they have done.”[a] 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favoritism. Paul's letter to the Romans has definite rhyme and reason to it. In chapters 1 -3, Paul is laying the groundwork for the chapters thereafter. Paul's focus in this chapter is that everyone is guilty as judged by the Law. Therefore, when ...
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Romans 1 - Not Ashamed!

Romans 1 - NIV   Enduring Word Commentary Today we begin our journey through Paul's letter to the Romans. As you may remember, Paul's ultimate goal was to make it to Rome and share the gospel with the Romans. Rome is also where he ended up preaching for 2 years in a rented house, which is the last we hear of him in Acts 28. Tradition and some of his letters (i.e. 1 Timothy) suggest he eventually traveled to Spain to preach the gospel there. He returned to Rome later, where he was persecuted under Emperor Nero. Tradition has it that Paul was beheaded under Nero's rule in 68 A.D. Paul's letter to the Romans has played a huge role in the lives of many famous saints in the church including Augustine, Martin Luther, John Wesley, and John Calvin. The latter three are the most important figures in the Protestant Reformation, starting with Martin Luther in 1518.  Luther was an Augustinian monk, who was tortured by his feelings of inadequacy before a holy and righteous God. It w...
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Acts 28 - If you were on trial for being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you?

Acts 28 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary 23 They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus. 24 Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. 25 They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet: 26 “‘Go to this people and say,  “You will be ever hearing but never understanding;  you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”  27 For this people’s heart has become calloused;  they hardly hear with their ears,  and they have closed their eyes.  Otherwise they might see with their eyes,  hear with their ears,  understand with their hearts  and turn, and I would he...
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