God's grace and obedience to Him (part 6)

Romans 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? And this is how we die to sin, by baptism. Once we have understood that we are powerless without Him and that sin came into the world through Adam and all of us sin and the only person to save us is Jesus, it is logical for us to ask how to we live as Jesus lived and lives, and this is through a life of obedience to God, beginning with participating in his death, burial, and resurrection. Remember that we walk because we are obedient but not the other way around. Nothing we can do will bring us God's grace. It's a matter of the heart.

Roamns 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. We are buried with Him in baptism and we die to our former lives of sin (and I think of dying to sin as being like a seed that has to die for the sapling to sprout) and then we are raised like Christ rose on the 3^rd day by the power of God. This I think gets to the heart of what Paul means the “operation of God”. God acts on us to raise us as new creatures and our walk after that demonstrates the peace and reconciliation.

Romans 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: I love the idea of being planted, because it reminds me that God and Jesus sow seeds which sprout and grow in Him. And those seeds must die. Much like being buried, such as in baptism and then we rise.

Romans 6:6  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. Our outer covering of sin is destroyed and we come to walk in a way that is not sinful.

God's grace and obedience to Him (part 5)

Romans 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. What makes us righteous? Nothing we can do, as there is nothing we could do to prevent sin from entering the world, death could not be relinquished, and the law could not be prevented. And there is nothing we can do to bring righteousness on ourselves. Jesus brought it to us through His obedience to the Father. By becoming Christ, we begin the walk as He did. As it says in Colossians 3:10 when we put on the new man we are becoming like Christ and so we walk in obedience to God. Which means that we must put aside past practices that we thought were harmless or even those that are harmless but may take us away from God even slightly. Once we have died with Him and risen with Him our walk puts on the new man in full obedience to God.

Romans 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: No matter what law, Mosaic or whatever, is to demonstrate or bring out the sin (wrongdoing) of men which existed since Adam and Eve but were only defined or recognized as breaking a law when the law was established. This was for the purpose of demonstrating God's grace given to us through Christ. And realize once again that nothing we can do will save us, except the blood of Christ. We walk the way we walk in Christ because of obedience to the Father not the other way around. Otherwise it would be a work.

Romans 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Again just repeating the above statement. Sin dragged us down but God's grace and love are so strong that we are made righteous and free in Him.

Romans 6King James Version (KJV)

Romans 6:1  What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? Why did Paul write the above, He asks. Can we keep living a life sin and God continue to give us that much more grace. I.e, our choice of living, can it be living a life of sinning because God's grace is deeper than that?

Obedience to God and His love for us. (part 4)

Rromans 5:15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. As much as death was in the world, grace was also here through Jesus and in those He calls His children.

Romans 5:16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. And death came to the world not as sin came because of the law, nor did grace come because of the law but it came by justification and freely

Romans 5:17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) And we will receive His gift of grace and righteousness that come because of Jesus. Jesus is what gives us the righteousness to come into God's grace.

This ends the parenthetical comment by Paul on the strength that sin has even when not identified by law yet, but because of Christ we are justified by our faith and this is more powerful than sin and more powerful than the law and has always been more powerful. It's God's way of giving us His grace. When we follow Christ's walk, it is a walk of obedience as shown in the later verses.

Romans 5:18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of onethe free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. And this explains the parenthetical comment by saying that regardless of the law which came into the world to define sin, God's gift of grace justifies us all and protects us.

God's grace and obedience to Him (part 3)

Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Jesus' life which preached of God's grace and mercy was given to us by God for our salvation, so that we know it's only through his grace we are saved, His walk was our hands-on training manual. His death reconciles us. Notice that the reconciliation precedes the salvation. So we must accept that His blood reconciles us to God and the participation or following His teachings are our life line to being secure and safe in God. Not necessarily safe from troubles but then this world is not our home. Realize this is not a work, it is merely a walk by faith.

Romans 5:11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. Jesus exchanged Himself for us and because of this we are reconciled to God and in that we rejoice.

Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: Sin and death passed down to man from Adam because there is nothing new under the sun. We are no different from one another as we have all sinned, and all of us have that capacity and capabiliity to sin and we shall all die because death is also part of this nature.

Note that 5:13 through 5:17 are in parentheses. It means these 4 verses are an explanation or an aside to the above verses

Romans 5:13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Sin cannot be charged where there is no law, meaning where there is no knowledge or actually no contract in writing of wrongdoing and no instruction given to man by God even though sin exists in the world, and is the reason men die

Romans 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. Death still came to everyone, even those who were not considered sinners since there was no law to define sin. Death was the result of sin entering the world through Adam.

God's grace and obedience to Him (part 2)

Romans 5:7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die On rare occasions someone will die for a good man but most of the time this is not the case. (Like give a rich man money, one figures the one who is right and just doesn't need help and most of the time a good man (one who tries to do good acts) doesn't but sometimes does need help and so people will die (die being figurative for sacrificial intent). If fact it is rare that there are those who will give up anything for anyone.

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Yet, God being God, He sent and approved the action of Christ dying for us. Not just at the cross but on a daily basis. His physical death was just the culmination of His sacrifice, but His whole life was sacrificial.

Romans 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. And His love feast is poured out on us and fills us such that more than His death for us the powerless we are saved through His blood, His blood sacrfice saves us much much more than the blood sacrifices of the temple.

Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Jesus' life which preached of God's grace and mercy was given to us by God for our salvation, so that we know it's only through his grace we are saved, His walk was our hands-on training manual. His death reconciles us. Notice that the reconciliation precedes the salvation. So we must accept that His blood reconciles us to God and the participation or following His teachings are our life line to being secure and safe in God. Not necessarily safe from troubles but then this world is not our home. Realize this is not a work, it is merely a walk by faith.