Romans

Okay, I believe in God's promises, that Jesus paid for all my sins. God imputed my sins to Jesus and then imputed Jesus’ righteousness to me. Isn’t this too good to be true? You know what they say—when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is! 

Is a relationship with God a reward for our good works? Or is it a gift of grace? Maybe it's a mix—receiving this relationship is a gift, but you need to do good works to maintain it? 

On Paul’s first missionary journey, he established churches in the Galatia region, which is now the central part of Turkey. He clearly preached the good news of Jesus and emphasized that faith in Jesus alone is the way for us to have a relationship with the living God. 

Today, we begin a new section in the book of Romans. After Paul declared that he was not ashamed of the gospel—the A-to-Z of the Christian life (Rom. 1:16-17)— he asked the question “Why?” Why do we need the gospel—the “news of victory” about Jesus’ work?

Weekend Recharge

Weekend Recharge

Many people believe that deep down, most of us are inherently good—that given the chance, we’ll choose what’s right. If we stack up enough good deeds over a lifetime, doesn’t that earn us favor with God?

During Paul’s time, the Jews sometimes acted as if they had a monopoly on the spiritual market. In fact, the first church council recorded in Acts 15 discussed whether the Gentiles should be accepted into the church and if circumcision was necessary for them. The decision was made that the only requirement for joining the church was not based on nationality or religious ceremony but solely on faith in Jesus. Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone, is the path of salvation for everyone, Jew and Gentile alike.

All men and women, Jew and non-Jew, are separated from God, yet everyone is without excuse. We saw last time in Romans 2:12-16 that the moralist disagrees with this statement. The moralist is convinced that doing good deeds will earn them a right standing before God.