Through one man, Adam, we all sinned, but through Christ we are all made alive. Hallelujah!
Romans 5: Peace with God Through Faith
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person---though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die---
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Death in Adam, Life in Christ
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned---
13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.
14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.
16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.
17 For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.
19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.
20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 6: Dead to Sin, Alive to God
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?
2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
7 For one who has died has been set free from sin.
8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.
10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.
11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.
13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
Slaves to Righteousness
15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!
16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,
18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Things to think about…
1. Paul makes very certain that his readers know that they are justified by faith, Rom 5:1 – and not by a denomination or other theological bias, or the number of years we have served the Lord, or even our level of sanctification – just our faith, which is a gift from God. I find great encouragement in this truth. Even a child can understand this and be right with God.
2. Suffering ultimately leads to hope, which does not put us to shame or disappoint, Rom 5:3-5. Suffering without a purpose is debilitating, but suffering for the cause of Christ produces a godly desire to be with Him if combined with faith. You realise what this is saying don’t you? If this is not your desire, the Lord who loves you will fix in you that which is lacking. He wants us to conform to His image and not remain with our fallen sinful image. Suffering is often used to bring us to that understanding. This is the process of sanctification.
3. “While we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son” Rom 5:10. I find this an incredibly humbling truth. Only the God of grace could do such a thing. Now that we are reconciled to God, the challenge is, how do we now show Christ’s love to our enemies? The answer lies within recognising that when we were enemies of Christ, someone showed Christ’s love to us. We should go and do the same.
4. Paul says “death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam”, Rom 5:14. We may not sin like Adam by eating from a tree where the fruit was forbidden, but make no mistake the poison from the tree is expressed through many paths. All of which lead to death. This is a universal reality for all of humanity. The law of Moses confirmed that which was already a reality on the earth for 2500 years by the time Moses arrived.
5. If there are ever verses in scripture that satisfy universalists that say everyone will eventually be saved it would be Rom 5:18, 19. Note that it says “many will be made righteous”, not all. I praise God for verses like this because it keeps the Calvinists in check. Their turn is coming of course in Romans 9.
6. When I run baptism classes I do so by running a study on Rom 6:1-14. Baptism symbolises death to self but life in Christ. If death to self is not on display, then baptism has no significance – it is a sham. This is what Paul means by saying he dies daily, 1Cor 15:31.
7. We are all slaves of something/someone – either of sin, Rom 6:20 or of God, vs 22. As slaves of God we have been bought and are owned by Him. The amazing thing is that this slave Owner gives His slaves eternal life, Rom 6:22, 23. One day hopefully we see this as the only slavery seen in this world. Let’s follow our slave master to glory by doing as He didand set captives free by sharing the gospel.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Prayer Points
1. Baptism service on Sunday 5th Jan
2. Conversions and more visitors this time of year.
3. Prayer for Israel and Ukraine.
4. Pray for the work we have going on with site development and TMR and the ways forward whether with our friends at the Drive-in or elsewhere.
5. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise the Lord for Carols and Christmas services. Had around 100 people. Biggest Carols in many years. Most were from the community and had never been to CBC.
2. PlayPatch finished. Most we have had this year, 7 families came – mums and dads
3. More baptisms in the new year.
4. Café, music, sound and technical team every week
5. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Baptism service 5th Jan.
2. Working bee at Church 18th Jan
3. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
4. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for January...
Q. 28. What effect did Adam’s sin have on all mankind?
A. All mankind are born in a state of sin and misery.
