THE GOSPEL OF
CHRIST
SPREADING THE SOUL-SAVING MESSAGE OF JESUs
(Chapter 5)
Introduction by narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. Spreading the soul-saving message of Jesus. And now, Timothy Sparks and Ben Bailey.
Timothy Sparks:
“Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (
Ben Bailey:
And I’m Ben Bailey. Welcome to today’s broadcast. Thank
you so much for joining us. This broadcast is being brought to you by individual
members and congregations of the churches of Christ. The
In Romans 5, we’re now going to see where Paul talks about the results of obedient faith. What does obedient faith do for the child of God? What is the purpose of faith? How does faith work in our lives?
Timothy Sparks:
Paul not only tells us that we are justified by faith, but
also says that as a result of being justified by faith, we have peace with God
through Jesus Christ. What do we really mean when we say that we “have peace”?
The theme of peace runs throughout Scripture. This peace is what we received
when we are faithful to God. As early as Genesis 49:10, we learn that “the scepter
shall not depart from Judah, nor the lawgiver from between his feet, until
Ben Bailey:
That “something”
was sin—the great peace breaker.
Jesus Christ is the peace maker. Sin
is what destroyed the peace that once existed between God and humans. Our sins
separate us from a loving God. Isaiah wrote: Behold, the Lord’s and is not
shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But
your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will
not hear” (59:1-2). Habakkuk 1:12-13 informs us that God is of “pure eyes and cannot
look upon wickedness.” Sin, therefore, is the great peace breaker. Jesus, on
the other hand, is the One Who is able to make peace for us. As we think about
sin, we need to remember the message of Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God.” Thus, all of us, at one time or another, have been
at variance with God. We have broken that peace bond through our own sins. Yet
God is willing to bring us back. This is where the Gospel and the theme of the
Book of Romans (1:16-17) both come into play. That theme tells us that the
Gospel is God’s power to save. It is His way of renewing that relationship of
peace. One of the great blessings that we receive by faith—through faithful, obedient
trust—is that of peace. In Romans 5:2-3, we’re also going to learn that we have
access to God through Jesus Christ. So we have peace, but we also have access.
When, through our sin, we broke the peace with God, it caused us not to have a
way to access the Father. God has always
wanted to have a relationship with His children. As far back as Genesis 2, we
learn that. But sin—the peace breaker—entered in. The serpent deceived Eve, and
as a result, sin broke the peaceful bond between humans and their God.
Death—both physical and spiritual—was the result. Jesus restores our access to
God. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the
Father except by me” (Jn. 14:6). If you want peace in your life, and if you
want to have access to God once more, you can do that only through Jesus. “There
is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts
4:12). Another blessing that is expressed in Romans 5 (vss. 4-5) is the idea of
hope. In this context, we see a different
usage of the word “hope.” We sometimes talk about hope, and we will say something
like, “Well I ‘hope’ it rains tomorrow.” Yet, that’s not really what the Bible
is talking about in Romans 5.
Timothy Sparks:
No, it’s not. Paul wrote: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Rom. 5:1-2). We have to “stand in grace.” This sounds like 1 Peter 5:12—“the true grace of God in which you stand.” But then we also “rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Romans 8 gives us a very specific picture of hope. In Romans 8:24, Paul wrote: “For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?” So hope is really “desire plus expectation”—a desire/expectation to go to Heaven. This type of hope is seen in our being willing to conform our will to God’s will in order to have our desires line up with God’s desires. We desire to go to Heaven, and we expect that God will be true to His promise. We see from Romans 4:20-21 that Abraham “did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.” That’s hope. Hope does not cause us to be ashamed, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts as we also learn from Romans 5. Hope is what helps us to keep on keeping on, and to endure this life when times are hard and when things seem like they may not ever get better. Yet, if we possess the type of hope of which the Scriptures speak, then we are able to rejoice in such hope. Paul had this type of hope. Think about the Book of Philippians. Paul is sitting in a prison cell. What is it that he tells Christians (who are not in prison, but are free) to do? You’d think that a missionary who’s in prison would be kind of “down and out,” perhaps even despairing. But Paul uses an unlikely opportunity to tell Christians, “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice” (Phil. 4:4). Paul understood (long before the poet ever wrote) that “Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage.” This is what hope can inspire within us. We can look past this life, and look into the life that God promises (and provides) in eternity for those who are willing to be faithful to Him. We can rejoice in that hope.
Ben Bailey:
It is true that the “hope” expressed in Scripture is “desire combined with expectation.” One of the best definitions I’ve heard of hope is “assured anticipation.” We’re longingly waiting, but we’re also assured that what we’re waiting for is going to happen. This type of hope in a Christian’s life is really what keeps him or her anchored. Hebrews 6:19 says, “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul.” When we face troubling times and numerous problems in our lives, what is it that grounds us in the faith? It is the hope that one day we will go to Heaven. Paul told Titus that we are “living in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began” (Tit. 1:2). There’s the promise, and the assurance, that one day, we will live with God. It is the anticipation of that which keeps us going throughout our life. In 1 John 2:25, John expresses the great assurance that we should have: “This is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.” God has given us hope. He has made sure that we understand His will, and that we can have hope of an eternal home with Him through Jesus. When a loved one dies, what gives you hope? Isn’t it that they were a faithful child of God? When you endure a sickness or illness, and when life doesn’t seem to be treating you fairly, what is it that keeps you going as a Christian? Isn’t it the hope that you one day you will live with God in Heaven? So we have peace. We have access. We have hope. But we also have the love of God in our lives. Probably one of the greatest illustrations of God’s love is found in Romans 5:6-8.
Timothy Sparks:
Romans 5:6-8 provides us with an awesome demonstration of God’s love. “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Think about that—“When we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” Remember that phrase from Romans 5:6 “Christ died for the ungodly.” Then notice Romans 5:8 “In due time Christ died for us.” Christ died for the ungodly. Christ died for us. We are the ungodly. Christ (the holy, the righteous, the just One) died for us (the unjust, the unholy, and the unrighteous). Christ died for you. Christ died for me. This is the awesome demonstration of God’s love. Some people “might” die for a righteous person. Someone might even die for a good person. But nobody dies for the ungodly—except Christ! He died for the drunkard on the street. Would you die for somebody who’s lying in a gutter, drunk? Would you be willing to die for somebody like that? Christ did. And Christ died for you and me, too. No matter what we have done, we can be delivered from our sins. But we must do something. We have to come to the Scriptures to see what God says is our part in accepting the good news, the glad tidings, the Gospel. For example, we must believe in Jesus as the Son of God (Jn. 8:24). We must repent. In Luke 13:3,5, Jesus said, “Unless you repent, you’ll all likewise perish.” It takes a genuine change of mind—a change that will result in a changed life. But if we are willing to change, God is willing to save. We also must be willing to confess Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. Baptism is also an important part of God’s plan for salvation. Paul tells us that it’s the point at which we come into Christ. He wrote in Galatians 3:27, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Once we become Christians, we can live a life of joy and peace. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God. In Romans 8:18, Paul said, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed to us.” Paul’s point is that we should be able to rejoice in tribulations, troubles, and persecutions.” God’s love, and His saving power, are able to help us, so that we can rejoice in both good times and bad times. This doesn’t necessarily mean that we’ll walk around with a perpetual smile on our face. But it does mean that we can experience the joy of knowing that we are saved because we know that we are faithful and living according to the will and Word of God. What great things God has in store for us if we will only come to Him, trust Him, and take Him at His word!
Ben Bailey:
As we continue farther in Romans 5, we learn how that
through one man, sin enters into the world. But we also learn that through one
man, salvation enters the world as well. Adam is discussed as the one man whom
through sin entered the world. Adam didn’t keep his proper place in the home in
(Genesis 3). He wasn’t the head of the home as he should have been, and as a
result, sin entered into that arrangement. Fortunately, however, through Jesus
Christ, salvation also entered the world. Romans 5:10-21 shows us that we do
sin, and the great need we have in our life for salvation through Christ. Because
we all have sinned, we are all dead in God’s eyes. Sadly, some have misused Romans
5:12 and some of the other verses in this chapter to suggest that we are “born
in sin” (an idea known as “Adamic sin” or “original sin”). The idea is that
because through one man sin entered into the world, all of us are stained with
his sin from the moment of our birth. In other words, we actually “inherit”
Adam’s sin. This idea, which is very popular in our religious world, originated
with John Calvin. But does the Bible really
teach that we are “born sinners”? Does the Bible teach that when we’re born
into the world, we already have sin on our conscience as an inherited part of
our very being? No, it does not. Consider the teaching of Ezekiel 28:15-18. In
that context, Ezekiel is talking about the king of
Timothy Sparks:
Romans 5 teaches
that all are lost and all die because of the sin of Adam. If the Calvinistic
doctrine of total hereditary depravity is true, then notice from the context of
Romans 5 what would happen. If it is the case that all are dead in Adam, and (according
to the context of Romans 5) all are made alive in Christ, the everybody would be saved! But is
everyone going to be saved? No, only those who obey the Gospel will be saved. We
make a personal decision to sin. Total hereditary depravity is not taught in
the Bible, which teaches that we have a free will. Look at Leviticus 1:3 where
the people were told to bring a voluntary, freewill offering. God has given us
the ability to choose, and the ability to make our own decisions. But if we—with
our own voluntary free will—choose to sin, then we come under the condemnation
of “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We make that choice.
It’s not because God made us do it. Some people say, “The devil made me do it.”
No, the devil didn’t make you do it.
He may have dangled the temptation in front of you. But James 1:14-15 teaches,
‘But each man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.
Then the lust, when it hath conceived, beareth sin: and the sin, when it is
fullgrown, bringeth forth death.” It’s not God Who is causing us to sin. God
does not want us to sin. As a matter of fact, James: says “Let no man say when
he is tempted, I’m tempted of God (1:13). God cannot be tempted with sin, nor
does He tempt anyone. God does not set temptations before us. The devil does
that. But the devil still can’t make
you sin. You are the only one who
can cause you to reject God and sin. You
are the only one who can cause you to be lost. It’s arrogance and pride to refuse
to accept what Gods says in the Scriptures. We need to come to the Scriptures
and realize what God has really given us. He has given us the precious gift of
salvation. We can come to the knowledge of that truth through God’s Word, as
Jesus pointed out in John 17:17, “Sanctify them by the truth. Your word is
truth.” Remember James 1:21, “Receive with meekness the engrafted word, which
is able to save your souls.” That is the theme and thesis of Romans.—the Gospel
is God’s saving power.
Ben Bailey:
From Romans 5, we see five basic blessings that come by faith in the Gospel. We have peace in God through Jesus Christ. I can be at peace with God and with myself. I can have, as Philippians 4:7 says, “the peace that passes all understanding.” I have access to God. I also have hope—assured anticipation—that if I am faithful, God will keep His promises. I can ground myself daily in that hope. I also have the love of God in my life. God loved me so much that He gave His Son to save me. Even though I was unlovely and unappealing, Jesus died for me. Then there is the final gift—salvation. Through one man, sin entered in, but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, we have the gift of eternal life. Yes, wherever God’s grace is, sin is there, too. But God’s grace is there in greater abundance. We can have eternal life through Jesus Christ.
Do you have the blessings of God in your life? Do you have real peace?
Do you know from the Bible that you have a relationship with Jesus Christ and
God your Father? Do you have hope? Do you have something that keeps you going,
although the world may be crumbling around you? Do you have God’s love and the
gift of salvation in your life? If not, you can have all these things. The Bible
is a book that is easy to understand. If we will set aside all bias and prejudice,
and just come to the Word of God with an open mind, we can understand God’s
will. Paul said in Acts 17:11 that we should search the Scriptures daily to see
if what we’re being taught is really true. Are you right with God? God has set
forth a plan for man’s salvation. He has made a way. He has given us the gift.
By our obedient faith, we have to access that gift. You can have access by believing
in Jesus as your Lord. Jesus said in John 8:24, “Unless you believe that I am
He, you will perish in your sins.” You have to repent. You must make a change
your life—a change from living in sin to living a life that is in obedience to
God and His Word. You also have to confess Jesus as the Son of God. Jesus’
words in Matthew 10:32-33 express to us the necessity confessing Him before
men. “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him
I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before
men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” So we hear, believe, repent, and confess.
But baptism is also essential to salvation. Consider the example of the
Ethiopian nobleman in Acts 8. As he and Philip approached water, he said, “Here
is water; what hinders me from being baptized?” Philip’s response was, “If
[there’s the condition] you believe with all your heart, you may.” Because the
nobleman believed, he was immersed into Christ and went on his way rejoicing.
God could not have said it any clearer than He did in 1 Peter 3:21, “Baptism
does now also save us.” It is not baptism alone, but baptism combined with
hearing, believing, repenting, and confessing. Baptism is essential is salvation.
Think of Paul’s situation in Acts 22 as he recounted his own conversion. He
said that Ananias came to him and said, “Paul, why are you waiting? Arise, be
baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (vs. 16).
How does a person call on God’s name? How do we wash away our sins? By being
baptized into Jesus Christ.
Timothy Sparks:
In Colossians 1:20, we learn that Christ “made peace through the blood
of His cross.” It took His crucifixion, the shedding of His blood, to make
peace possible. This is a peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil. 4:7).
In order to have this peace, we must know the God of peace (Phil. 4:9). That can
only come through a knowledge of the scriptures. We learn from 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 that the love of God compels
us to have love for Him. The love of Christ compels us, impels us, propels us, activates,
motivates and stimulates us. As John says, “We love because He first loved us”
(1 Jn. 4:19). The only reason we love at all is because God first loved us. God
loves you. He wants you to be saved. You have that opportunity today. Why put
off your salvation? You can be saved. We encourage you to attend the
Narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST is brought to you by loving, caring members of the church of Christ. The McLish Avenue church of Christ in Ardmore, Oklahoma, oversees this evangelistic effort. For a free CD or DVD of today’s broadcast, please write to:
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1. Paul explains in Romans 5 that Christians have “peace.” How is that peace obtained?
2. The word “
3. What is the great peace breaker?
4. In this lesson, there was a discussion of two old Testament prophets who spoke about the effect of sin upon man’s relationship to God. Who were those two prophets, and what was their point? Support your answer with Scripture.
5. What is a good definition of “hope”?
6. For the Christian, what is one of the purposes of hope?
7. In 1 John 2:25, we read, “This is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.” What is the point of this passage?
8. Explain the correlation between John 3:16 and Romans 5:8.
9. What is repentance?
10. In Romans 8:18, Paul said, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed to us.” What was his point?
11. Explain the idea behind the concept of “original sin.” Is it correct? If not, why not?
12. How does Ezekiel 28:15-18 apply to the concept of inherited sin?
13. According to James 1:14-15, when do we sin?
14. What is the message we should learn about sin from James 1:13?
15. When James 1:21 speaks of “the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls,” what is under discussion?
16. Colossians 1:20 speaks of “peace.” According to that verse, what did it take to secure that peace?
17. According to 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, what has God done for us that should cause us to want to love Him?
18. What did Ananias tell Saul he had to do to get rid of his sins?
19. Today, what must we do to get rid of our sins?
20. According to Matthew 10:32-33, how important is Christ’s Sonship?
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST,