Augu IS, LUlU

Sin and Holiness

Study Text I u L l l L I l L 3 UI Romans 5: 1 through 6:22

1 FOCUS n ~ 7 n f - n n To consider the benefits of sal- C,- . ,, ,- , -- vation and rejoice in Christ's

'ovision.

Outline Blessings of Justification A. Peace with God B. Access to Grace I from Sin C. Hope of God's Glory D. Suffering Produces Good in

Central Truth Us 1 The redemptive work of Christ saves from sin and provides

E. Love Poured in Our Hearts benefits.

F. Saved from God's Wrath G. Reconciled to GO^ Key Verse: Romans 6:22 Life through Christ But now being made free from sin, and become servants to A. Sin and Death God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlast- B. Righteousness and Life ing life (KJV). " Freedom from Sin A. Dead to Sin But now that you have been set free from sin and have

B. Alive to Righteousness become slaves to God. the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life (NII').

Preparing to Teach Select questions, learning activi- ties, and items from the Adult Resource Packet (pages 47-51 1 that will help you fulfill your lesson objectives. Fill out the Planning the Session sheet (Adult Resource Packet, page 5). Prepare the transparencies "Blessings of Justification," "Reasons for Rejoicing," "Adam and Christ," and "Alive in Christ" (Adult Resource Packet, pages 47-50). Copy the work sheet "For Further Study 11" (Adult Resource Packet, page 51

Introducing the Study 3ne of a job applicant's considerations, along with the job, has to do with the benefits the company will be providing should the person get the job. Health and life insurance, vaca- tion days, sick days, personal days, and the retirement plan all affect the value of the job for the applicant.

When a person becomes a Christian, many benefits come with the life change. Christians receive benefits in this life and in retirement from earth-eternal life.

Learning Objectives In this study, we will explore the benefits of salvation. At the end of the study, students will be able to:

1. Identify the benefits that salvation brings to their lives. 2. Express gratitude for the life they receive through faith in

Christ. 3. Choose to live righteously for God.

New International Vclrion I Romans 5:l. Therefm being justified by

faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jmus Christ.

6, For when we were yet without strength, in due time Chriat died for the ungdly.

8. But God cammendeth his love toward uq, in that, while we were yet ~innerrc, Christ died fof us.

9. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrnth through him.

10. Far if, when we wcre enemies, we were recoaciled to God by the death of his Son, much m m , being recodclled, we sbnll be saved by his life.

11, And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom w t have now r~ceivtd the atonement,

17. (For if by one man's offence death r e ignd by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteous- ness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

18. Therefore as by the offefice of one judg- ment came upon all men to candcmnarion; even so by the righteousness of one rhe free gift came upon all men unto jmtifcation of life,

1 9. For as by one man's disobtdicnce many were m d t sinners, so by the okdience of one shall many be made righteous,

21. Thu as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness

%to eternal life by Jesus Chllst our Lord.

Romans 6:6, Knowing this, that our old man is cmcifiad with him, that the body of sin might be destrtjycd, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

I I. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves m be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Chriat our Lord.

12. Let not sin therefore reign id your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts tbmof,

13, Neither yield ye your members a$ instruments of unrighteausnm.ra unto sin: but yield yournelves unto God. as thwt that are alive from h e dead, and your mmbtrs as Instruments of righkusness unto God.

Scripture Setting

Romans 5: 1. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with Qd through our Lord Jcdus Christ,

6. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

8. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this; While we were still sinners, Christ d i d for us.

9. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be w e d from a d ' s wrath through him!

10. For if, when we wete God's enemies, we were raconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been mconciled, shall we be saved through his ER!

1 I . Not only is this so, but we also fejoice In God through our Lord Jesus Christ, thruugh whom we have now received reconcilia~on

17. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death nigdad throuah that one man, how much more will rhost who receive God's abundant pmvision of p c e and of the gift of rightwus- dess reign in life through tbe one man, J c q . 4 ~ ~ Chri$t.

18. Canstquently, just as the result of one trcspass was condemnation for all men, YO also the result of o#6 act of righteousness was jwti- Rcatian t b ~ t brings life for all men.

19. Fat just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also though the obedlsnse of the one man the many will be mude righteaus.

2 1. so that, just as sin rei3ne.d In death, so dlso grace might reign through righteousness to bring cternd life through Jesuil Chrisl our Lord. Romans ti:6. For we know that ow old self

was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, t h ~ we should no longer be slaves to sin.

I 1. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to Oad in Cbrist J t s u ~

12. Therefore do not let sin reign in your m a d body so hat you olxy its evjl deai~s.

13. Do not oBer the pms of your body to sin, as insrmments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as insmrmeilts of righteousness.

August 15, 2010

1,skrdn e f h M u t h In the d ~rst three chapters of

the Book of Romans, the apostle Paul made the case that all people have sinned, The only remedy for sin is to put one's faith in Jesus Christ and His &mptive work. Such Gth results in justiiication or being d t c W by God to be in right standing with Him (3%). In chapter 5, Paul wrote h u t some of the benefits that come as a result of kmg jusrified by faith.

the rranspar%acy ' ' B l d U g S of JustZMtian.'' Use ic so d i s c l m ~ ~ o f m b

The first of these e l i t s is peace with God (Romans 5:l). Peace with Ga l means we are no longer alienated or sepmted from Him b u s e of our sin-

&&: '%w catl lmowIng we pace with Gal help us

da lWhf& lh@dgu l l t and mdemnadon?" When such feel- hgs come, we can stand on the tmh that Cfod has declared us right itl Hls sight, And we illsa how that although God will convict us if we sin, He d o d t condemn us. As we respond to the convicting work of the Spirit and confess our sins, we know the Lord is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us, to =store us to right relationship with Him (see 1 John 1:9).

Paul pointed out that peace with God is a result of the grace made available through Christ

(Romans 5: 1,2). We live in God's 1 grace by faith. It is not based on our woath; we could never cam God's grace. It is based on the work of Christ on our behalf.

The peace we have with God is cause to rejoice "in hope of the glory of God "(Romans 32, m). As Christians, we have the assur- auce ihat we will share God's glory with Christ when He comes.

Another benefit of salvation is that our suBerings work for us, not against us (Romans 5:3,4). One of life's greatest tests is to try to make sense of our sufferings. As believers, we know our sufferings are never without purpost, During Wngq we are watched over cat- fully by our Heavenly Father. We are not on our own to do the best we an. The press- of our test- i n g ~ produce mature godly charac- ter in us. Just as diamonds come from coal that has ken u a k heat and p s u r e for a long Mod of the , we too need "heat, presswe, and time" to make us more like Christ, Our sufferings afe never useless because of God's grace on our behalf,

Knowing God is at work in our hearts h s the hope we have in Him. This hope is fur- ther made real to us because of

78 Adult Teucher Gujde Commentary 8 Application

the love of Cfod we experience as part of the h i t of the Spirit who dwells within us (Romans 5:45). Life can get very fottess- ful at times, so ternembering the Father's low for u;9 can give us the spirinmal we need.

Paul wanted believers to be ~ s l c tain W dvation was the work of God, Pcoplc are powerlm to save thsmlm, but in God's per- fec t~gCmtwfOT~ (Romans 56). G d ' s love was dearly demonsr#ed in W t 4 s dying for sinners (verses 7,8).

Christ's death made it possible for people to be at peach with God. Tbis means that those who are justified by faith in Christ'a atoning mx&e are also saved from God's wrath (versa 9,101.

Incdbly, Christ died for us while we were His enemim. If we were mmdkd to God by His death, how much more can we cxp6ct Hh to btrng to complt- don the wmk of salvation in our livcs s h He f alive? The wrlter to the kbmvs stated that Christ '"is able h o to save them to the u m o s t that come wto God by him, &g he wet livetb to makc inkmssim fm thorn" (Hebrews 7:25, ruv), Christ gives us every- thing we ncod to live as p p l e who h v e been reconciled bo Uod,

Ask: "How am C h h W to I pond ta the recondllftion ~d has provided for thm

thmugh Christ?"

Teaching Tip 2: Dis the transparency "Re for Rejoicing." y3 L 4 InRomans5:l-11 P a u l ~ e d

CMstlans to rejoice. They can rejoice in the hope they have of shMng W s glory. They can alw rcjoirc in their wfFcr- hga, far even in their -hips and trials they can s6e OoB at work in their lives. Ultimately, thew reasons for rejoicing are made possible only because Osd has made reconciliation avail- able through the work of Christ, M y we never take h e paes we have with fSsd for granted, but may we rtjoice daily that Christ has made it possible for us to be friends with God,

Ask: "How can knowl about the blemings t3d d& ub etllengthtn us h our daiIy walk with the Lord?" Knowing of these ben&ts can make our faith in God smnger, inhast out hope, and renew our love for the Savior. Knowing how much Gdhaa doheforus, howcanwe give Him less than our dl?

Beginning in Romans 512, Pad M t with the issue of how sin and death came into the world. Sin enheted thG wid through Adam (vwse 12). Adam's sin lwuldng in death.meant t h ~ t the sins of 0th people would brhg death, for all peoplt dn,

Some p p l e ask if this moaus they W t e d Adam's sin, and if this inherited sin dwms them The question mism tbe p i n t af these verses h. All died

Commentary U Application August 15,2010 79

because dl have s h a d . Each one dies because of his or her own sins, not because of Adam's, Yet Adam's sin instituted a reign of death that meant no one could sin md escape tbe penalty (vtrsw 13,14).

Adam serves as a figure or type af Christ (Romans 514). A type in the Bible involves a comparison between people or

I events by which the type in some rtspea poin~s to the people or events that were to come.

We see a series of contrasts in verses 15-21. First, Adam's sin that afTwtad all people is conmtad to the gift of' God's grace through Jesus Christ (verse 15). A11 who sin will die unless they accept through God's grace the gift of life 0ffefe.d to all thruugh Christ. All h v c sinned, but God's grace though Jesus coven our many sins.

The next contrast is betwen condemnation (sentend to die) and justification (given the right to receive life). Conkmation is the oppsite of justification (vetses 16,18), Unsaved people live in a continual state d condemna- tion (see John 3:18), but when we choose ta &ve justification through Christ, there is no moE condemnation (see Romans 8: 1,2).

Death and life are a l ~ o con- trasted (verse 17). The inevitable result of sin is death. Through righteousness by W s gift of

Christ, death no longer reigns in believers; life does.

Another contrast is between sin and righteousness (verse 19). From Adam we receive a sinful nature. When we accept Christ, we are declared righteous because of His righteousness and are no longer considered sinners. We live righteously by obeying God's Word through the power of the Holy Spirit.

A final contrast is between sin and grace ( v k s 20,21). The Law makes people more aware of their sins by defining what dis- obedience to God is. But thanks be to God, His grace is greater than our sin. Grace mahes righ- teous living possible. Those who arc made righteous by faith in Christ receive eternal life.

Ask: '?hh what ways d u 9 s grace d e c t you In yo W , ,

daily Ilfe?" God's grace is not merely a one- time experience of divine favor. We continually need His mercy and forgiveness. God's grace exceeds our sin and failure, and by it, He will present us faultless before His throne, It is only because of God's grace that we can have the assurance of eternal salvation.

dam fmn Sin

Romam B:1-14

We move now from the justi- ficatioa of believers--our place in Christ-to the sanctification of the believer-ur growth in Christ. In chapter 5, Paul ended a discussion of God's gme by not- ing that where sin abounds, grace much more abounds. Paul went on to deflect the argument that if this is true, shouldn't people sin

Commentary & Application

even more so God's grace is even more evident (6: 1).

Paul explained why that idea was wrong. We died to sin, so we are not to live in it any lon- ger (verse 2). When we were baptized into Christ by immer- sion in water, we were baptized into His death. That outward act symboIizes the inward reality. Going down into the baptismal water stands for death to sin and burial with Christ. At that point, we have died to sin's power to contl.01 us (verse 3). Coming up out of the water symbolizes our resurrection with Christ (verse 4). From then orl we should walk in our new life in Christ. We are united with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection so we can live in obedience to Him, Our old man-fallen sinfuI

nature-was crucified with Christ and our sin was forgiven when we received Him (verses 5-71, We are no longer slaves to sin, because anyone who has died with Christ has been freed from sin.

Through His death on the cross, Jtsuh defeated sin. In His resurrection, He defeated death (verses 8- 10). Through Christ's death, sin's power over the lives of His followers has also been broken (verse 14).

Ask: "What are some prac- tical ways Christians can live out the truth that they are dead to sin but alive in Christ?"

Teaching Tip Q: Display - -

the transparency " ~ l i v ; in ,, ;,.:7;<--fi '. >: p J Christ. $3y*;$;<;:p?2;: ,> .: " .. '

,,,. ..?, >%:%:. <%<-, , :. :.

As Christians, we must reckon ourselves to be dead to sin but alive to Cfdd in Christ Jesus . (verse 11). Daily we need to

Commentary 8. Application

m resist obeying sinful impulses and desires, accepting the help of the Spirit to make godly choices. Our thinking is to be shaped by the spiritual realities of Scriptures, not by changeable human standards.

We must not let sin control our mortal bodies any longer (verse 12). We decide whether or not we will let sin iule us again. Through the Holy Spirit's power in us, we can choose not to let sin rule us,

We are to stop offering the parts of our body as tools of unrighteousness to sin (verse 13). To allow our bodies to be used as tools of sin is to flirt with spiritual loss,

When God commands us to stop one thing, He gives us ssme- thing far better in its place. We are to give ourselves to God and our bodies as tools of rigkteous- ness (verse 13). The way we live is to reflect the spiritual reality of what God has done for us,

Paul continued on to explain that all people are slaves either to sin and death or to righteous- ness and God (Romans 6: 15-22). He anticipated that some might claim that moving people from under the Law's control would result in unholy living, Such thinking reveals a lack of under- sranding of God's grace. Orace is not a license to sin. God's grace empowers people not to sin,

In New Testament times, a man sometimes offered to become someme's slave to secure a living far himself. Ths may be what Paul had in mind when he cau- tioned Christians nor to give them- selves over to sin (verse 16). The

August: 15, 2010

Christian life is to ke one of obedi- ence to the L Q ~ .

Before we were saved, we were slaves of sin. When we baame Chris&$, we died to sin's power over us and became slaves to God. Now we are free to glvc ourselves to righteous- ness as we had given ourselves to sin (verses 17-20).

Ask: 'Why is the decision to live for God lfterally a 'We or death' choice?" A sinful l i fe style produces the fruit of death (verse 2 1). Nothhg comes from emlavement to sin, The good comes when we become slaves to God, for we reap the h i t of holi- ness, and, in the end, everlasting life ( w e 22).

W e are truly blessed tbr~ugh our Lord Jesus Christ and the many btneflt~ ,. s c k g Him, What should our response to this be? Undying gratitude should

bc! at the top of the list. Give thanks every day to the Lord fur all He did to provide these blessings far us. We are also to give ourselves wholehwtdy to the Savior as His servants. We

need to allow tbc Holy Spirit to produce in us the life that Crod intends for us. V we do these things, we will not sin carelessly d we wilI not cheapen God's grace. We will give ourselves to God every day as holy instrumefi# for Him to use, A line from Isaac Watt's hymn "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" sums it up well, "hve so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my fife, my all."

- - - T he blessings of life In Christ manifefired in Chtistimns attract sinners ro Hitll.

Repare yourself to respond to others who m y ask you what it means to live as a Christian and what makes living as a Christiatl so different, "Be ready always to give an answer to wry man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekntss and fm" (1 Peter 3:15, XJV).

Monday Forgiveness, Psalm 32: 1 - 1 1

Tuesday Regencratlon, John 3:1-8

Wednesday Rightcousntss, Romans 14:s-17

Thursday Adoption, EphesIanr 1 :2-12

Q For Teaching Tip 6 in next wee&. study, see if your church has a hymnal that contains the old hymn ' W e Time to Be Holy," Borrow enough hymnals for each person in your class to have a copy, Lad or ask someone to lead the class in singing the hymn.

Friday Reconcllidtlbn. Colossians 1 :12-23

Saturday San&catibn. Hebrews 9:8-14

Commentary & Application