Romans 5
Bible Passage: Romans 5
Since Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, death entered the world.
In fact, the Bible tells us that death is the consequence of sin.
For the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23)
So, the real reason for death is sin. God defines sin as disobedience to His words.
“For by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners…” (Rom 5:19)
Adam disobeyed God’s commandment and, as a result, was cursed:
In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return. (Gen 3:19)
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. (Rom 5:12)
The first man, Adam, disobeyed God’s Words and brought sin and death to all mankind. Although God seemed to be cruel when He cursed Adam and Eve, He still did not give up on mankind. In His great wisdom and love, God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to die on the cross. Christ was without sin, yet gave up His own life to taste death and punishment on our behalf, and thus, became the propitiation for our sins. He is the last Adam, who, contrary to the first Adam, was obedient to God and thereby saved mankind from eternal death.
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (Phil 2:8)
Today, we need to ask ourselves how much we obey God.
Our answer is very important, for just as Jesus’ obedience to the will of God had the greatest impact imaginable on mankind, our obedience/ disobedience to God today will also impact the people around us and generations to come.
So, have we obeyed God and accepted Him as our Lord and Saviour? Have we obeyed God’s commission to witness for Him to our family, our friends and the people in this world? Have we obeyed God’s Word in our speech and conduct?
How much do we obey God?
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biblereadingcompanion
Love & Respect asks a very important question. I am not sure what my answer is right now but it sure is something for me to think at the start of this week leading to the Spiritual Meeting…..
For me, the key verse that stood out for me is Romans 5:11 –
“And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.”
Yesterday we were very blessed to have Pr Yen joing us for our Door to Door (D2D) Evangelism activity. We learned a lot on how to do the work of preaching door to door better. And through the on the job lessons and encouragement, we potentially have some follow up cases.
But how is it linked to verse 11?
Pr Yen mentioned that the work of evangelism must be done with joy. We should feel happy going out to preach the gospel. AND I can say that its a common experience for all of us who are active in D2D.
Read verse 11 again.
Is your joy contagious? If not, there may be a spiritual reason.
The problem a lot of us have is that we believe mentally about the 2nd coming of Jesus in His glory BUT we do not embrace it with our heart and mind. It remains a mind principle and not a heart faith.
An academic understanding of things does not bring us any sense of joy. Only a deeply held belief in your heart can do that. Reading and understanding all the love sonnets of Shakespeare does not bring the joy that can be compared to the true love between a husband and wife.
So the questions remains: Is your joy contagious?
The preceding question should be… do you rejoice in God through Jesus, through whom we have now received reconciliation?
Yesterday’s Baptism sacrament, where we had 14 new members added to the fold of the Lord, reminded me of the joy that we should have because of the salvation bloof Jesus. But sometimes I wonder if we forget or are numb to this joy?
If we truly feel joyful… if the promises of God are treasures of our heart…. then nothing can quench our faith.
If we really know and fully believe all the promises of God in Christ, the thought of His glory, His kingdom, and His peace…. we would burst out in spontaneous songs and praises. And we would never sweat over the challenges that life brings.
When we realize what we have, joy abounds.
Not only does it abound, it overflows. Just as complaining and discourageent spread rapidly to the people exposed to them, so does joy.
There is a need for us to spread this joy. And the only way is if we start telling those without this joy about this joy.
The main question was how much do we obey God?
Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.” ~ Matt 28:19-20
Have you heard the call and have the right response to the joy you have received?
PS
NKJV and the chinese bible have a slight difference in their layout for Romans 5:12-18.
In the NKJV Romans 5:13-17 is in bracket, suggesting that Romans 5:12 and 18 are to be read continuously:
Romans 5:12, 18 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. Therefore as through one man’s offense judgement came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification.
For you and me, judgement came not by our action. David said that he had sin even when he was still in the womb (Psalm 51:5)
God is just. For you and me, redemption and justification also come not by our action.
Romans 5:13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
When was the first law given? During Moses’ time? Earlier, during Adam’s time in the Garden of Eden: “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Gen 2:17)
Before Adam ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, man does not die, panda does not die too, although sin was in the world.