Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson

  The Law and Sin 7  What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” [ b ]   8  But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead.   9  Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.   10  I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.   11  For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death.   12  So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.  13  Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that th

  Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ 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. Paul now addresses something very important.  It is not only important to the church in Paul's day, but ours as well.  Some in the early church were saying, " As long as sin leads to grace, why not sin more so grace can abound more."   Although this seems like an absurd argument it was being used to justify sin.  I have a feeling that Paul had a little stronger wording than "by no means".  He might have said, " You got to be kidding me.  Seriously!"   But we all know that just b

  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.   3  Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   4  perseverance, character; and character, hope.   5  And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. In chapter 5 we find another power packed and theologically rich chapter written by the Apostle Paul.  Martin Luther said this about this chapter,  In the whole Bible there is hardly another chapter which can equal this triumphant text.” Why did he find this chapter so powerful? First, Paul gives us two amazing benefits from being justified by faith.  Through faith we have peace with God.  This may seem like a pretty simple c

13  It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.   14  For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless,   15  because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression. In chapter 4, Paul's main goal is to connect the concept of righteousness and how it is obtained by faith not through the Law.  It is clear in the last two chapters that Paul's primary audience was his Jewish brothers and sisters.  But remember there were always Gentiles in the Jewish community who had converted to Judaism. There were three key covenants God had made with His people. The covenant with Abraham, the covenant with Moses and the covenant with David.  Paul addresses these covenants often in Romans.  Importantly he makes the case that Abraham was justified by faith because he believed in the promise before the La

  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. After Paul describes how all people (both Jews and Gentiles) have turned from God's grace to follow their own way, he begins a glorious transition to the

  God’s Righteous Judgment 2  You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.   2  Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.   3  So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?   4  Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? Paul is pointing out that when you judge someone else, you obviously believe in a standard of right and wrong.  But it also depends on what standard you use, how you determined it, and do you apply it evenly.  Oftentimes we are very strict as we apply the law to others, but loosen the standards for ourselves.   As we judge another person, we point to a standard outside of our self – and that st

  Paul’s Longing to Visit Rome 8  First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.   9  God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you   10  in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you. As we begin our walk through the book of Romans, written by the apostle Paul, you may or may not know that the letter to the Romans had an enormous influence on the great Reformer Martin Luther. In August of 1513, a monk lectured on the Book of Psalms to seminary students, but his inner life was nothing but turmoil. In his studies he came across   Psalm 31:1 :   In Thy righteousness deliver me . The passage confused Luther; how could God’s   righteousness   do anything but condemn him to hell as a righteous punishment for his sins? Luther kept thinking about   Romans 1:17 , which says,  the righteousness o