- Rom. 1-8 present God’s righteousness declared in the gospel, securing full deliverance for us.
- Rom. 9-l l present God’s righteousness displayed in His dispensational ways.
- Rom. 12-16 present God’s righteousness demonstrated practically in the lives of believers.
- “The gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). God coming down to meet man’s need.
- “The gospel of the glory of God” (2 Cor. 4:4; 2 Tim. 1:11). Christ accomplishing the will of God and being exalted at His right hand.
- | - | - | Seated |
- | - | Raised | Raised |
- | - | Quickened | Quickened |
- | Buried | Buried | - |
Dead | Dead | Dead | - |
Crucified | Crucified | - | - |
Galatians | Romans | Colossians | Ephesians |
- Deliverance from what I have done. This is taken up in Rom. 1 – 5:11. The term used in “sins”.
- Deliverance from what I am. This is taken up in Rom. 5:12 – 8:17. The term used is “sin”.
- Deliverance from where I am. This is taken up in Rom. 8:18-39. The term used is “the bondage of corruption”.
Justification. The verb “to justify” means: to declare a person righteous. A nice example of this is in Num. 23:21, where God declares that He has not seen any iniquity in His erring people. Likewise, the Christian has been justified, in that he has not lived righteously, but God reckons him perfectly righteous! The subject of justification is fully treated of in the book of Romans, primarily in the first eight chapters. Romans answers the question asked by Job many years ago: “How shall a man be just with God?”
Read more…In Romans we get primarily justification, where in Hebrews we get primarily sanctification. But then, there are many aspects of justification. Justification in Romans is how we are justified before God; justification in James is how we are justified before others. Justification is more than just being cleared of all charges (Rom. 3). We have been brought into a new position before God “in Christ” (Rom. 4) and given a righteous life (Rom. 5)! Several aspects of justification:
- Justified by his grace – grace is the source (Rom. 3:24)
- Justified by faith – means of its appropriation (Rom. 5:1) -- more accurately, "through faith"
- Justified by his blood – the foundation price (Rom. 5:9)
- Justification of life – given a righteous life (Rom. 5:18)
- Justified from sin – no duty to old master (Rom. 6:7)
- Justified by God – the one who reckons (Rom. 8:33)
- Justified in Christ – our righteous standing (Gal. 2:17)
- Justified by Works – manifest in our life (James 2:24)
“This letter is truly the most important piece in the New Testament. It is purest Gospel. It is well worth a Christian’s while not only to memorize it word for word but also to occupy himself with it daily, as though it were the daily bread of the soul. It is impossible to read or to meditate on this letter too much or too well.”
References:
- Kelly, William. Notes on the Epistle of Paul, the Apostle, to the Romans: with a New Translation. Nabu Press, 2010.
- Stanley, Charles. On the Epistle to the Romans. London, 1885.
- Hole, Frank B. Romans and Corinthians. Scripture Truth Publications, 1995.
- Darby, J. N. Synopsis of the Books of the Bible. G. Morrish, 1940.
- Anstey, B. Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans. Christian Truth Publishing.