WEBVTT 00:00:01.939 --> 00:00:04.759 Welcome to Life Group. We invite you to join 00:00:04.759 --> 00:00:07.400 us in this verse -by -verse study through the 00:00:07.400 --> 00:00:11.220 Word of God. In the first four chapters of Romans, 00:00:11.519 --> 00:00:14.900 Paul convinced us that the only way of salvation 00:00:14.900 --> 00:00:20.440 is to be justified by grace through faith. Now, 00:00:20.440 --> 00:00:23.539 in chapter 5, he begins to tell us about some 00:00:23.539 --> 00:00:27.120 of the practical benefits, explaining how it's 00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:30.280 more than just an interesting idea or concept. 00:00:31.339 --> 00:00:35.759 Let's begin in Romans 5, verse 1. Therefore, 00:00:35.939 --> 00:00:39.479 since we have been made right in God's sight 00:00:39.479 --> 00:00:44.780 by faith, we have peace with God because of what 00:00:44.780 --> 00:00:50.420 Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Since 00:00:50.420 --> 00:00:53.939 we have been made right with God, and other translations 00:00:53.939 --> 00:00:58.380 say, since we have been justified by faith. You 00:00:58.380 --> 00:01:01.719 see, the... Understanding of the word justified 00:01:01.719 --> 00:01:06.840 or being made right, it's a legal term. So we 00:01:06.840 --> 00:01:09.799 could put it this way. By God's legal decree, 00:01:10.299 --> 00:01:16.000 our guilty sentence has been expunged. Now, when 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:19.359 a guilty sentence is expunged, it's erased and 00:01:19.359 --> 00:01:23.780 removed completely. And that's what happens when 00:01:23.780 --> 00:01:26.980 we've been justified. It's just as if we have 00:01:26.980 --> 00:01:32.379 never sinned. when we put our faith in Christ. 00:01:33.400 --> 00:01:36.340 This verse tells us one of those benefits that 00:01:36.340 --> 00:01:38.780 I was talking about. Benefit number one, we could 00:01:38.780 --> 00:01:43.760 say is that we have peace with God. I want you 00:01:43.760 --> 00:01:46.420 to think about what it is to have peace with 00:01:46.420 --> 00:01:50.000 another person. When we're at peace with someone, 00:01:50.219 --> 00:01:54.879 there's nothing in the way to hinder our relationship. 00:01:56.040 --> 00:01:59.510 So now we have peace with God. There's Nothing 00:01:59.510 --> 00:02:03.790 in the way. Our sin is no longer separating us 00:02:03.790 --> 00:02:10.669 from our holy God. Verse 2. Because of our faith, 00:02:10.889 --> 00:02:16.830 Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved 00:02:16.830 --> 00:02:21.050 privilege where we now stand. And we confidently 00:02:21.050 --> 00:02:26.569 and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory. 00:02:28.460 --> 00:02:30.879 Here's benefit number two, we could call it. 00:02:30.900 --> 00:02:35.460 We now stand, when we're in Christ, we stand 00:02:35.460 --> 00:02:40.419 in a place of undeserved privilege. We stand 00:02:40.419 --> 00:02:46.740 in the place of grace. What is grace? Grace is 00:02:46.740 --> 00:02:51.879 God's acts of kindness and favor. And we need 00:02:51.879 --> 00:02:55.159 to understand that God's acts of kindness and 00:02:55.159 --> 00:03:00.740 favor not only made our salvation possible, it 00:03:00.740 --> 00:03:05.199 is where we have the opportunity to live. We 00:03:05.199 --> 00:03:09.280 have the opportunity to live our lives in the 00:03:09.280 --> 00:03:13.039 presence and in the experience of God's acts 00:03:13.039 --> 00:03:18.719 of kindness and favor towards us. We stand now 00:03:18.719 --> 00:03:23.729 in the place. of grace. Standing in grace means 00:03:23.729 --> 00:03:27.050 that you don't have to prove that you're worthy 00:03:27.050 --> 00:03:31.870 of God's love. It means that God is actually 00:03:31.870 --> 00:03:36.430 your friend. Standing in grace means that the 00:03:36.430 --> 00:03:41.550 door of access to God is permanently opened to 00:03:41.550 --> 00:03:45.710 you. It means that you are free from any kind 00:03:45.710 --> 00:03:53.909 of score sheet. In Jesus. And standing in grace 00:03:53.909 --> 00:03:56.629 means that you can spend more time praising God 00:03:56.629 --> 00:04:01.889 instead of condemning or hating yourself. You 00:04:01.889 --> 00:04:07.169 can live in God's favor. Standing in God's grace 00:04:07.169 --> 00:04:11.870 means that his promises are yes and amen for 00:04:11.870 --> 00:04:17.350 you. So our response to having peace with God. 00:04:18.379 --> 00:04:21.839 and having the opportunity to live in the continual 00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:25.199 flow of his acts of kindness and favor towards 00:04:25.199 --> 00:04:30.379 us, our response should naturally be joy and 00:04:30.379 --> 00:04:36.420 rejoicing. Verse 3. We can rejoice too when we 00:04:36.420 --> 00:04:39.379 run into problems and trials, for we know that 00:04:39.379 --> 00:04:42.220 they help us develop endurance, and endurance 00:04:42.220 --> 00:04:45.750 develops strength of character. and character 00:04:45.750 --> 00:04:48.389 strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 00:04:48.949 --> 00:04:51.389 And this hope will not lead to disappointment, 00:04:51.529 --> 00:04:54.910 for we know how dearly God loves us, because 00:04:54.910 --> 00:04:57.829 He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts 00:04:57.829 --> 00:05:01.889 with His love. So when we are confidently standing 00:05:01.889 --> 00:05:05.230 in the place of grace, we do not lose our joy 00:05:05.230 --> 00:05:09.310 when we encounter troubles. We endure, we keep 00:05:09.310 --> 00:05:13.329 standing, and we... Develop a character of standing. 00:05:13.490 --> 00:05:16.250 Each time we stand, we develop a character of 00:05:16.250 --> 00:05:19.730 standing. It's actually who you become, who you 00:05:19.730 --> 00:05:25.069 are. We develop hope. Hope is often looked at 00:05:25.069 --> 00:05:28.629 as a confident expectation, a hope in salvation 00:05:28.629 --> 00:05:32.230 and rescue and our deliverance and our breakthrough 00:05:32.230 --> 00:05:35.910 when we encounter troubles. So you will never 00:05:35.910 --> 00:05:38.370 be disappointed when you hold on to a confident 00:05:38.370 --> 00:05:41.949 expectation of seeing the goodness, kindness, 00:05:42.069 --> 00:05:45.709 and favor of God. And when you stand in faith 00:05:45.709 --> 00:05:51.769 without wavering. His goodness is always pursuing 00:05:51.769 --> 00:05:54.610 you and running after you. The Bible communicates 00:05:54.610 --> 00:05:58.589 this in Psalms 23, 6. David writes, Surely your 00:05:58.589 --> 00:06:01.889 goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all 00:06:01.889 --> 00:06:04.910 the days of my life, and I will live in the house 00:06:04.910 --> 00:06:07.850 of the Lord forever. So when we have that mental 00:06:07.850 --> 00:06:11.730 image of God's goodness is coming after us, is 00:06:11.730 --> 00:06:14.310 running after us, that gives us hope. It gives 00:06:14.310 --> 00:06:17.350 us encouragement when we face trouble that we 00:06:17.350 --> 00:06:22.470 can stand in. Because God loves us, he has taken 00:06:22.470 --> 00:06:25.649 up residence in us by the power of the Holy Spirit 00:06:25.649 --> 00:06:29.670 being in us. He empowers us to endure. So therefore, 00:06:29.889 --> 00:06:33.629 when we face trouble, we're not alone. We realize 00:06:33.629 --> 00:06:37.050 we're not standing by ourselves in our own power. 00:06:37.689 --> 00:06:41.269 But God has empowered us to stand, to endure 00:06:41.269 --> 00:06:44.850 trouble. And when we constantly acknowledge this 00:06:44.850 --> 00:06:48.290 fact, when we acknowledge him being with us, 00:06:48.449 --> 00:06:51.490 we can become a person who stands in confident 00:06:51.490 --> 00:06:57.009 hope, in faith, and in love. Verse 6. When we 00:06:57.009 --> 00:06:59.990 were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the 00:06:59.990 --> 00:07:04.199 right time and died for us sinners. It's important 00:07:04.199 --> 00:07:06.740 to realize that Jesus came into the world at 00:07:06.740 --> 00:07:10.540 just the right time. The world was prepared spiritually, 00:07:10.980 --> 00:07:16.180 economically, linguistically, politically, philosophically, 00:07:16.319 --> 00:07:19.220 and even geographically for the coming of Jesus 00:07:19.220 --> 00:07:22.180 and the spreading of the gospel. That particular 00:07:22.180 --> 00:07:25.920 culture allowed the gospel and allowed his coming 00:07:25.920 --> 00:07:28.759 to be of the most impact that it possibly could 00:07:28.759 --> 00:07:33.589 over any other time in history. it would have 00:07:33.589 --> 00:07:36.670 not seen as much impact as it did if he didn't 00:07:36.670 --> 00:07:38.850 come at just the right time. And that's what 00:07:38.850 --> 00:07:42.949 Paul is communicating here. Verse 7, Now most 00:07:42.949 --> 00:07:45.470 people would not be willing to die for an upright 00:07:45.470 --> 00:07:48.490 person, though someone might perhaps be willing 00:07:48.490 --> 00:07:51.870 to die for a person who is especially good. But 00:07:51.870 --> 00:07:55.089 God showed his great love for us by sending Christ 00:07:55.089 --> 00:07:59.399 to die for us while we were still sinners. So 00:07:59.399 --> 00:08:02.480 Paul presents the idea of Christ's substitutionary 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:05.660 sacrifice with the word propitiation in Romans 00:08:05.660 --> 00:08:10.100 chapter 3, as we've seen before. But here, he 00:08:10.100 --> 00:08:12.800 continues that thought by saying Christ died 00:08:12.800 --> 00:08:17.120 for us while we were still sinners. That Greek 00:08:17.120 --> 00:08:20.720 word translated for is the word huper, which 00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:24.540 means for the sake of, on behalf of, and instead 00:08:24.540 --> 00:08:29.149 of. Communicating the idea that Jesus died in 00:08:29.149 --> 00:08:33.529 our place for us. And in that way, God's love 00:08:33.529 --> 00:08:36.549 is far beyond the greatest love humans are even 00:08:36.549 --> 00:08:40.629 capable of. You know, a good man might die for 00:08:40.629 --> 00:08:44.190 the right kind of person, someone that they deem 00:08:44.190 --> 00:08:49.250 as especially good. But Jesus, he died for those 00:08:49.250 --> 00:08:53.889 who were neither righteous nor good. Verse 9. 00:08:54.970 --> 00:08:57.730 And since we have been made right in God's sight 00:08:57.730 --> 00:09:00.950 by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save 00:09:00.950 --> 00:09:04.909 us from God's condemnation. For since our friendship 00:09:04.909 --> 00:09:08.049 with God was restored by the death of His Son 00:09:08.049 --> 00:09:11.090 while we were still His enemies, we will certainly 00:09:11.090 --> 00:09:15.610 be saved through the life of His Son. So now 00:09:15.610 --> 00:09:18.309 we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship 00:09:18.309 --> 00:09:21.889 with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made 00:09:21.889 --> 00:09:27.159 us friends of God. You see, our natural response 00:09:27.159 --> 00:09:29.899 to understanding what Jesus has done for us should 00:09:29.899 --> 00:09:36.340 be rejoicing. That word rejoicing literally translated 00:09:36.340 --> 00:09:40.340 means to hold your head up high. We're not supposed 00:09:40.340 --> 00:09:43.840 to be hanging our heads in shame or defeat from 00:09:43.840 --> 00:09:47.080 the condemnation of sin. There's no condemnation. 00:09:47.710 --> 00:09:51.950 for us in Christ, we should be bragging. Rejoicing 00:09:51.950 --> 00:09:54.929 conveys the idea of us always bragging about 00:09:54.929 --> 00:09:58.610 the goodness of God, what God has done for us, 00:09:58.730 --> 00:10:02.769 what he does every single day, and what he has 00:10:02.769 --> 00:10:06.850 done for us on the cross, right? And we should 00:10:06.850 --> 00:10:09.730 live with this. We should stand in this with 00:10:09.730 --> 00:10:12.429 this God -given confidence, or you could even 00:10:12.429 --> 00:10:15.789 say swagger, right? You live with that intentional 00:10:16.710 --> 00:10:19.190 acknowledgement of who he is and what he's done 00:10:19.190 --> 00:10:22.690 for you causes you to rejoice and live with your 00:10:22.690 --> 00:10:26.950 head held high. And this brings us three more 00:10:26.950 --> 00:10:29.429 benefits, right? We see this in the passage. 00:10:29.529 --> 00:10:32.450 Benefit three would be that we have been made 00:10:32.450 --> 00:10:35.730 right with him. God has made us right with himself, 00:10:36.009 --> 00:10:39.350 has restored us. And benefit four would be that 00:10:39.350 --> 00:10:42.779 we have been relieved of all condemnation. There's 00:10:42.779 --> 00:10:45.620 no condemnation for the believer, right? And 00:10:45.620 --> 00:10:48.899 then benefit five is that it says that we are 00:10:48.899 --> 00:10:53.299 friends with God. We're not just servants, but 00:10:53.299 --> 00:10:55.919 he has called us friends. We are friends with 00:10:55.919 --> 00:10:58.700 him, and we share that relationship with God. 00:10:59.360 --> 00:11:05.379 Verse 12. When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. 00:11:06.360 --> 00:11:11.940 Adam's sin brought death. So death spread to 00:11:11.940 --> 00:11:17.179 everyone, for everyone sinned. Yes, people sinned 00:11:17.179 --> 00:11:21.019 even before the law was given. But it was not 00:11:21.019 --> 00:11:25.019 counted as sin, because there was not yet any 00:11:25.019 --> 00:11:30.779 law to break. Still, everyone died, from the 00:11:30.779 --> 00:11:34.490 time of Adam to the time of Moses. even those 00:11:34.490 --> 00:11:38.190 who did not disobey an explicit commandment of 00:11:38.190 --> 00:11:45.990 God, as Adam did. Now, Adam is a symbol. God's 00:11:45.990 --> 00:11:50.389 Word tells us that Adam is symbolic of humanity. 00:11:50.750 --> 00:11:55.490 As the first human, Adam is considered the federal 00:11:55.490 --> 00:12:00.110 head, the leader, the representative of humanity. 00:12:01.230 --> 00:12:06.450 And through his actions, he is the one who legally 00:12:06.450 --> 00:12:10.929 defined and established our connection to God, 00:12:11.090 --> 00:12:16.450 who's our creator. Now, through his actions, 00:12:17.070 --> 00:12:20.629 Adam is responsible for the fall of the human 00:12:20.629 --> 00:12:25.009 race. Death was introduced into the world when 00:12:25.009 --> 00:12:29.889 Adam sinned, and death has reigned on earth ever 00:12:29.889 --> 00:12:35.240 since. In the garden, God told Adam if he ate 00:12:35.240 --> 00:12:37.700 of the fruit of that tree, he would surely die, 00:12:37.919 --> 00:12:40.740 and that's when death entered the world, and 00:12:40.740 --> 00:12:45.519 it was through Adam's actions. Now, this may 00:12:45.519 --> 00:12:50.379 seem unfair to our individualistic ears, but 00:12:50.379 --> 00:12:55.759 Paul clearly teaches that we all sinned in Adam. 00:12:56.879 --> 00:13:00.059 Adam is the common father of every person on 00:13:00.059 --> 00:13:04.080 earth. Every human who has ever lived was in 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:09.039 Adam's genetic makeup. Therefore, all mankind 00:13:09.039 --> 00:13:15.879 actually sinned in Adam. Adam's rebellion, his 00:13:15.879 --> 00:13:21.179 sin, established an unreparable separation, a 00:13:21.179 --> 00:13:26.720 schism, a rip between mankind. and a holy God. 00:13:28.519 --> 00:13:32.440 Picking back up with verse 14. Now, Adam is a 00:13:32.440 --> 00:13:37.440 symbol, a representation of Christ who is yet 00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:40.620 to come. But there's a great difference between 00:13:40.620 --> 00:13:46.000 Adam's sin and God's gracious gift. For the sin 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:49.340 of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. 00:13:50.190 --> 00:13:53.809 But even greater is God's wonderful grace and 00:13:53.809 --> 00:13:57.669 his gift of forgiveness to many through this 00:13:57.669 --> 00:14:04.049 other man, Jesus Christ. The verse tells us that 00:14:04.049 --> 00:14:07.850 there's a difference between Adam's offense and 00:14:07.850 --> 00:14:12.370 Jesus' gift. The free gift of Jesus is not like 00:14:12.370 --> 00:14:16.649 the offense of Adam. As a matter of fact, they're 00:14:16.649 --> 00:14:19.750 not identical in their result or in their application. 00:14:20.850 --> 00:14:25.370 You see, without you and I making a personal 00:14:25.370 --> 00:14:31.009 choice, every person after Adam received the 00:14:31.009 --> 00:14:35.450 curse of Adam's offense, which is death. However, 00:14:35.769 --> 00:14:40.970 Jesus' gift requires a personal choice or a personal 00:14:40.970 --> 00:14:46.620 decision. for a person to receive that gift. 00:14:47.580 --> 00:14:52.860 Verse 16. And the result of God's gracious gift 00:14:52.860 --> 00:14:56.580 is very different from the result of that one 00:14:56.580 --> 00:15:01.220 man's sin. For Adam's sin led to condemnation, 00:15:01.220 --> 00:15:05.519 but God's free gift leads to our being made right 00:15:05.519 --> 00:15:11.000 with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 00:15:12.559 --> 00:15:15.740 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death 00:15:15.740 --> 00:15:20.120 to rule over many. But even greater is God's 00:15:20.120 --> 00:15:22.419 wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, 00:15:22.700 --> 00:15:27.320 for all who receive it will live in triumph over 00:15:27.320 --> 00:15:31.740 sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. 00:15:32.860 --> 00:15:37.179 Yes, Adam's one sin brings condemnation for everyone, 00:15:37.500 --> 00:15:41.830 but Christ's one act of righteousness brings 00:15:41.830 --> 00:15:46.470 a right relationship with God and new life for 00:15:46.470 --> 00:15:51.129 everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many 00:15:51.129 --> 00:15:55.169 became sinners. But because one other person 00:15:55.169 --> 00:16:01.710 obeyed God, many will be made righteous. We need 00:16:01.710 --> 00:16:04.529 to understand that both Adam and Jesus were completely 00:16:04.529 --> 00:16:09.309 sinless men from the beginning, and both of them 00:16:09.789 --> 00:16:13.950 did things that had consequences for all mankind. 00:16:15.450 --> 00:16:21.250 Adam's work or actions brought death, but Jesus' 00:16:21.509 --> 00:16:27.289 work and actions brings grace. We could put it 00:16:27.289 --> 00:16:31.429 this way. Both Adam and Jesus are kings, and 00:16:31.429 --> 00:16:36.289 each king instituted their reign or their kingdom. 00:16:37.149 --> 00:16:43.129 Now, under Adam, Sin and death reigns. But under 00:16:43.129 --> 00:16:50.269 Jesus, grace and life reigns. Everyone is identified 00:16:50.269 --> 00:16:57.610 as either in Adam or in Jesus. See, all of us 00:16:57.610 --> 00:17:03.990 are born in Adam or identified with Adam. But 00:17:03.990 --> 00:17:09.420 we have the opportunity to be born again. into 00:17:09.420 --> 00:17:16.420 identification with Jesus or in Christ. And since 00:17:16.420 --> 00:17:22.119 we all became sinners in Adam, we can all become 00:17:22.119 --> 00:17:29.900 righteous in Christ. In Christ, we move out from 00:17:29.900 --> 00:17:34.720 under Adam, and Jesus becomes our new federal 00:17:34.720 --> 00:17:39.789 head, our representative. Through his actions, 00:17:39.970 --> 00:17:45.390 his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus legally 00:17:45.390 --> 00:17:49.690 redefined and re -established our connection 00:17:49.690 --> 00:17:55.009 to God. Verse 20. God's law was given so that 00:17:55.009 --> 00:17:58.589 all people could see how sinful they were. But 00:17:58.589 --> 00:18:01.569 as people sinned more and more, God's wonderful 00:18:01.569 --> 00:18:06.089 grace became more abundant. You see, the law 00:18:06.089 --> 00:18:09.710 was too late to prevent sin and death, and it 00:18:09.710 --> 00:18:13.390 is too weak to save from sin and death. The law 00:18:13.390 --> 00:18:15.970 is good but lacks the power to bring salvation 00:18:15.970 --> 00:18:20.109 to humanity. But God's grace is more powerful 00:18:20.109 --> 00:18:23.390 than sin, and there is no sin that the blood 00:18:23.390 --> 00:18:26.869 of Jesus cannot cleanse. And this reminds us 00:18:26.869 --> 00:18:29.230 of a hymn that says, There is a fountain filled 00:18:29.230 --> 00:18:33.549 with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins. and sinners 00:18:33.549 --> 00:18:36.690 plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty 00:18:36.690 --> 00:18:42.369 stains. Picking up in verse 21, So just as sin 00:18:42.369 --> 00:18:44.990 ruled over all people and brought them to death, 00:18:45.230 --> 00:18:49.569 now God's wonderful grace rules instead, giving 00:18:49.569 --> 00:18:53.130 us right standing with God and resulting in eternal 00:18:53.130 --> 00:18:57.690 life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So benefit 00:18:57.690 --> 00:19:02.859 six is sin no longer rules over us. It used to 00:19:02.859 --> 00:19:06.059 be our master, but not anymore when we are in 00:19:06.059 --> 00:19:09.400 Christ. If we're in Christ, we're no longer a 00:19:09.400 --> 00:19:13.779 slave to sin. It has no power over us. We are 00:19:13.779 --> 00:19:18.240 under the rule of God's wonderful grace. Thank 00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:21.039 you for joining us for Life Group. Allow God's 00:19:21.039 --> 00:19:24.059 Word to build your faith and transform your life.