Category: Morning Musings

Morning Musing: Romans 6:1-2

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“What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? (CSB – Read the chapter)

When you write a lot of things, you occasionally find when you go to write something new that you’ve written it before. That happened a couple of weeks ago as I was starting to studying Romans 6 in preparation for writing about it as we continue our journey. More specifically, I discovered that I had written about these two verses before. I also found myself agreeing with what I said then. So, with some updates after six years, and for the first time ever in nearly eight years of writing this blog, here’s a repeat of an old post.

What should be the relationship of a follower of Jesus to sin? Obviously we shouldn’t do it, but let’s be honest: a simple “ought not” isn’t usually sufficient to keep us from it. We need to understand the why behind the ought before we’re going to wrap our hearts and minds around it to a sufficient degree that it begins to have the kind of power in our lives it needs to have. Here in beginning of Romans 6, after Paul has just been telling us about the power of grace in light of the power of sin, the apostle explores this very idea. His treatment may not be exhaustive, but it is powerful. Let’s start unpacking this today, and continue with Paul on the idea over the next several days.

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Morning Musing: Romans 5:20-21

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“The law came along to multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Every relationship has boundaries. Those boundaries exist whether we are aware of them or not. If we violate those boundaries ignorantly, we may not necessarily be intentionally at fault of anything, but we still have departed from the relationship. Knowing exactly where the boundaries are is helpful, but it also makes our transgressing them all the more problematic because now we know what we are doing. When God gave the Law He made the problem of sin even worse than it already was. But He also set the stage for even more powerfully making things right. Let’s explore this together as we finish off chapter five today.

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Morning Musing: Romans 5:18-19

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“So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is justification leading to life for everyone. For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Every major event of world history hinges on a single decision. We may not be able to pin down exactly when that decision was made, much less who made it, but there is always a point at which history gets set on a particular path. Paul here is talking about the two most important hinge points in human history. One resulted in everything’s being broken, the other opened the doors to their being set right again. Let’s talk about it.

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Morning Musing: Romans 5:9-11

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“How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. And not only that, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

The first step in wrapping our hearts and minds around the Gospel is accepting our need for salvation. That’s why Paul spends what we know of as the first two and a half chapters of the letter here making the case for the just condemnation of all people regardless of any distinctions (for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God). Because sin and judgment are without distinction, so is salvation. The salvation in Christ is for all those who put their faith in Him as Lord (for we are all Abraham’s children). But what does it mean that we are saved in Christ? Paul tells us some pretty incredible benefits here. Let’s marvel at this together.

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Morning Musing: Romans 5:6-8

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“For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves his own love for us  in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

When someone gives you a gift, you often feel a certain amount of loyalty to them. A very small gift yields a very small amount of loyalty, but a very large gift garners much more. To not give any kind of loyalty is to either not actually receive the gift, or else to walk a path of ingratitude which is generally a pretty terrible look. Well, in Christ, God gave us the ultimate gift. Let’s talk about what He gave, and what we should give in return.

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