Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:32 — 9.3MB)
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Email | RSS | More
If I could only study one section of the Bible, it would be Romans 5-8. Understanding these chapters changed my life forever.
In Romans 1-5, Paul argues for justification by faith: He argued that everyone has sinned; that no one — not the pagan, the moralist or the religious person — can keep the law. Because the law requires that we keep all of it perfectly with our whole heart all the time — a standard we all fall woefully short of.
The path to justification is trusting that God will make you holy because Jesus Christ paid the penalty for your sins on the cross. Paul concluded his argument by claiming that you now have a reason to boast because God has chosen you to be made complete, perfect and holy and that Jesus perfectly solved the problem of our sinfulness. God did not choose between two equal choices (wrath or mercy), but His mercy triumphed and prevailed over judgment.
Romans 6-11 function as the “Q&A after the lecture ” where Paul responds to questions intended to discredit the gospel.
In Romans 6:1-11, Paul tackles the first objection: Shall we sin that grace might increase? The spirit behind the question is: “So Paul, aren’t you saying that we should pursue sin that grace might increase? Your gospel implies we should seek to sin! Since no prophet of God would speak a message that implies we ought to continue in sin, you cannot be a prophet of God and your gospel message is wrong.”
Objection:
Our primary objective is to glorify God.
God is glorified when given the opportunity to demonstrate His grace.
Paul claims that forgiving our sins and justifying us is part of the gift of God’s grace.
The more sinfulness God has to forgive, the greater grace He can demonstrate.
Therefore, we should keep sinning, so that God can show His grace.
We know it can’t be true that God will benefit if we pursue evil , so Paul, your gospel is false.
Answer:
Absolutely not! Part of God’s grace is being set free from slavery to sin.
If we continue to pursue the very thing from which God set us free, we mock God’s gift.
It would not glorify God to imply that His gift doesn’t work.
The promise of the gospel is NOT that we will have victory over every daily battle of sin in our lives right now. The promise is that ultimately, one day, we will win the war. The victor in the final battle has already been declared and sin is going to lose, even if it wins the skirmish in the next five minutes. So when sin defeats me, it does not negate the truth that the power of sin in my life has been broken by the cross. It means that the power of sin being broken in my life has not yet been fully realized.
For more detail and explanation, please listen to the podcast.
