Tag: Morning Musings

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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Morning Musing: Romans 5:2

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“We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

In the last generation, thanks to a number of different cultural trends, it became common to think of Christianity as providing a kind of fire insurance. Many preachers adopted what is often caricatured today as a “turn or burn” approach to their preaching, putting incredible rhetorical pressure on their congregations to follow Jesus in order to escape the horrors of Hell. Most of this thinking followed from an impoverished understanding of a much older sermon by Jonathan Edwards. Because of this, salvation began to be thought of as a mostly past tense affair. As long as you had been saved, how you lived going forward was up to you. But Paul spoke of salvation as something much greater than that. Let’s talk about salvation as something that encompasses past, present, and future.

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Morning Musing: Romans 5:1

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“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

When was the last time you were at odds with someone you loved? If you are married, when was the last time you and your spouse were not on good terms with each other? That’s a miserable feeling. Even if you’re not in the wrong, living with a relational divide is no fun at all. You long for things to be right again. The longer the divide persists, you start to find yourself looking to other places to get the emotional and relational needs that were satisfied by the relationship when it was working. You just want peace again. Here, as we begin the next major part of Paul’s exploration of the Gospel, he tells us how we can have peace with God. You don’t want to miss this.

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