Weekly Scriptures | Sermon Notes | Sermon Video

It’s the Romans rollercoaster. It happens throughout. One minute he seems to be saying one thing, the next something completely opposite. Up and down and up and down, some of the peaks so high you are all but certain, then the breakneck rush into the valley, only to be at the peak again before you can take a breath. Phrases like “the righteousness of God apart from the law” pepper Paul’s letter, but just when he knows your brain is settling in one direction, he drops a doctrinal truth bomb into your faith garden. “Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.”

There is such a heavy emphasis on righteousness, faith and grace in Paul’s writings, as well there should be, when you consider historically how poorly God’s people understood righteousness, handled faith, and how often they abused grace. It’s true even today. Yet, at the same time he is forced to temper his emphasis on righteousness in Christ through faith and his beautiful explanation of God’s grace, with occasional reminders that imparted righteousness still demands obedience, faith does not replace law, and grace cannot redefine sin.

The delicate balance necessitated by the large rollercoaster-like peaks and valleys in Romans requires Paul to accentuate that where sin rises, grace rises even higher, but that does not make it right to purposely indulge in sin, just to witness the power of grace in action. Sure, the penalties for your sins are covered, but you can’t sin sloppily, or even worse purposefully, with confidence that God’s grace will just smooth it over for you. You were delivered from the penalties for your transgressions, not from the law which defines them. The presence of the Holy Spirit in your life is not just a sign you’ve been forgiven, it’s evidence you’ve been empowered to obey God’s commands before there’s a need to be forgiven. The best way to wrap your mind around these deep revelations is to go back to the root. Search the Old Testament Scriptures; they testify of Christ. Yes, the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms were written concerning Christ. Let your mind be opened to understanding from that perspective and you just might truly comprehend the Scriptures.