OUR FATHER SAVES THOSE WHO BELIEVE THAT HE RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD

The book of Romans chapter 10 verses 5 - 13 says this;

5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.” 6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) 7 or, “ ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Faith is different from works of the law as a means of producing righteousness because it does not undertake any portion of the salvation process. It neither builds steps up to heaven in self-generated righteousness nor does it build steps down to the hell to devise a way to pay for its own sins but rather, by sincerely believing in the privacy of one's heart, we obtain righteousness and then by confessing to that sincere belief as a testimony to the voluntarily accepted inner belief, salvation is obtained.

Belief is the only sincere mental assent that cannot be tampered with to either force it into a person or to force it out of a person.  One cannot, even when great pressure, force one's own self to believe something that they don't voluntarily come to terms with and accept as a belief.

Amen.

2

 OUR FATHER WHO PROVIDES RIGHTEOUSNESS AND NOT WE OF OURSELVES

Romans chapter 10 verses 1 - 4 says this;

1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

The Apostle Paul mentions the people from whom he came and he testifies to their zeal for God but notes that their zeal is misdirected because they did not understand that the law that they had been under was ultimately a prefiguration of the righteousness of Christ and that He was the fulfilment of the law.

To believe in Christ is then to appropriate His total fulfilment of the law to oneself.

Amen.

4

 OUR FATHER WHO LAY IN ZION A STONE ON WHICH MEN STUMBLE

Romans chapter 9 verses 30 - 33  says this;

30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. 33 As it is written:

“Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense,

And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

The apostle Paul, in this passage, discusses the paradox of the Gentiles, who had not been seeking righteousness, through faith in Christ, were ushered into righteousness while the Children of Israel were trying to achieve righteousness by the law but stumbled on the revelation of the Christ who was the fulfilment of the law and through whom righteousness was fulfilled.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHO CALLED A PEOPLE WHO WERE NOT HIS PEOPLE

The book of Romans chapter 9 verses 22 - 29   says this;

22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, 24 even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

25 As He says also in Hosea:`

“I will call them My people, who were not My people,

And her beloved, who was not beloved.”

26 “And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them,

‘You are not My people,’

There they shall be called sons of the living God.”

27 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel:

“Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea,

The remnant will be saved.

28 For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness,

Because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth.”

29 And as Isaiah said before:

“Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed,

We would have become like Sodom,

And we would have been made like Gomorrah.”

The Apostle Paul, by referencing scriptures from the old testament, demonstrates that the theology from the beginning was that faith was the fulcrum by which people were restored to righteousness and because this was the universal application, gentiles could be saved and some of the children of Israel could be excluded leaving only a remnant.

Amen.

4 

OUR FATHER WHO SHOWS MERCY

The book of Romans chapter 9 verses 14 - 21 continues with the Apostle Paul's exposition of the discretion that God reserves for Himself so that the path of  any man is not charted by his own will but rather by the will of God.

The example used here is the story of Pharaoh who was holding God's people in bondage and in his contention with Moses, had his heart hardened by God so that he refused to release the Israelites he was holding even though it was against his own interest.

14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! 15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” 16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” 18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.

19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” 20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?

The metaphor used by Paul to clarify the discretion of God to  do with His own property what He wished is that of a potter who can chose at any juncture to create an earthen vessel for one purpose of honor while being able to make the next one for a common purpose and Paul emphasizes that it is not appropriate for the lump of clay that the potter uses to object to the functions that the potter choses to use it for.

Amen.

12

OUR FATHER WHOSE PURPOSES ARE BY ELECTION

Romans chapter 9 verses 10 - 13 says this;

10 And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac 11 (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), 12 it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.” 

Paul indicates that the paths of the lives of the two sons of Isaac and Rebecca were an illustration of how being elected for the purposes of God  were not a function of personal actions but rather a predetermined outcome where even Jacob and Esau, who were twins, had the decision of their destiny decided before they had a chance to do any good or evil.

God's calling on the lives of men predates them to even before they were born. 

Amen.

2

OUR FATHER WHOSE WORD NEVER FAILS

In the book of Romans chapter 9 verse 6 - 9, the Apostle Paul makes clear that membership in the family of God by citizenship under the godly nation of Israel is not guaranteed by genetic descendancy from Abraham and he uses Abraham's son Ishmael's exclusion from the promise God made to Abraham and his offspring as an Illustration of this. 

6 It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. 9 For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”

Amen.

1

OUR FATHER WHO IS PRAISED OVER ALL

Romans chapter 9 verses 1 - 5 captures the Apostle Paul's personal dismay over the rejection of Christ by his own people and he lists the incredibly long and close association that his people have with the story of salvation.

1. Original adoption into sonship
2. Carried God's glory first
3. Carried the covenants
4. Carried the law
5. Supported the temple worship
6. Carried the promises
7. Came from the patriarchs
8. Were the lineage of the Messiah who was God over all.

1 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, 4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.

Amen.

2

OUR FATHER FROM WHOSE LOVE WE CANNOT BE SEPARATED

The book of Romans chapter 8 verses 31 - 39, concludes the chapter with the apostle Paul expounding how awesome it is to be among Godˋs elect.  Paul asks that if God is for us, who could possibly successfully be against us? Who could possibly bring a valid charge against those who God has chosen for Himself for it is Him who justifies and who can possibly condemn those whom God has undertaken so costly a sacrifice to save us and furthermore, He who was sacrificed, sits at the right had of God and intercedes for us. 

What God has done for those He has chosen to make His own is beyong imagination and demonstrates how deep the love that God has for us actually is and that there is nothing in existance that can separate us from the love of God.

Paul then rhetorically proclaims that in view of this stupendous gift that God has given us, is there any contrary circumstance that we should be unwilling to undergo for the sake of Him who saved us?. 

Paul points out the prophecy that decribes the people of God being slaughtered all day long and being marked for slaughter and he indicates that this fate is an honor in light of what God has in store for those whom He has foreknown and predestined and called and justified and glorified.

There is nothing, even life nor death, nor angles nor principalities nor powers nor present things nor things in the future that can separate us from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ who has made us more than conquerors like himself.

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:

“For Your sake we are killed all day long;

We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen

1

OUR FATHER WHO WORKS ALL THINGS TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THOSE WHO LOVE HIM AND ARE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSES

Romans 8 verses 26 - 30 says this; 

26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans that God worked circumstances (both good and bad) for the benefit of those who loved God and were called to fulfill the purposes God set for them to do and having explained this, he lists where in the progression of spiritual milestones this calling was.

1. Foreknowledge - God knows in advance of the advent of time, whom He wants as His confidants
2. Predestination - God then sets a purposeful destiny where those people are made to be like His Son Jesus
3. Calling - When each person enters into time, God then places a call on each person that is a prerequisite of that eternal destiny
4. Justification  - Then God justifies each person by the faith they have towards the provision of salvation that was made through the Lord Jesus.
5. Glorification - Then each person is  lifted up to the great eternal calling that they were predestined to occupy

Amen.

4

 OUR FATHER WHOSE CHILDREN ENTER INTO GLORIOUS LIBERTY

The book of Romans chapter 8 verse 18 - 25 says this; 

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 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? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

Amen.

4

 OUR FATHER TO WHOM WE CRY ˋABBA, FATHERˋ

In the book of Roman chapter 8 verses 12 - 17, the Apostle Paul continues explaining the transition that a believer undergoes from being a creature of the flesh to a being of the spirit.

Whereas the directives and actions of the flesh lead to death, the directives and actions of the spirit lead to life. The Spirit of God will guide us to put to death the deeds of the flesh and everyone who is led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God because after having believed and having been freed from bondage of sin and having begun to walk by the the Spirit of God, we received the Spirit of adoption that translates us into the sons of God who related to God as their father in the way a young child relates to their loving father.

12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

This translation into sons of God is witnessed to our spirits by the Spirit of God and we can then live fully as heirs with Christ (who is the first born among many sons) where our lives are rendered to God such that we would suffer for him and after suffering, be glorified with Him.

Amen.

2

 OUR FATHER WHOSE SPIRIT RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD

The book of Roman chapter 8 verses 1 - 11 says this;

1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Amen.

12

 OUR FATHER WHOSE SON DELIVERED US FROM CONDEMNATION

The Apostle Paul, in the book of Romans chapter 7 verses 13 - 25 explains that in each of us is a duality whereby our mind serves the law God but our flesh serves the law of sin.

Paul shows us that when a believer finds that they are sinning when they intend to do good, it is not they who are sinning but rather the sin that dwells in us is expressing its contrary nature. This contrary nature compels us to do that we do not wish to do and to fail to do that which we ought to do.

This frission is so distressing that Paul cries out, ˋWretched man that I am - who will deliver me from this body of deathˋ.

He answers his own question by simply stating that it is thanks to God through Jesus Christ that he has any hope because he himself serves the Lord but the flesh serves the law of sin.

13 Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

Amen.

12

OUR FATHER WHO GAVE THE LAW THAT WE MIGHT KNOW OUR NEED FOR GRACE

In the book of Roman chapter 7 verses 7 -  12, the Apostle Paul asks of there is something corrupt with the law if sin was able to take advantage of it to produce the array of evils desires that the law maps out regarding our conduct.

Paulˋs answer is that the law is not corrupt but is instead a chart by which we are informed of our corrupt proclivities and reveals to us our true nature of rebellion against a standard that is set by God. The law, which is clearly a presciption to preserve life if it were possible to obey it, instead, prescribes death as we are deceived by sin and killed by it under the standard of the law. 

Sin stirrs up rebellion against the law within us and when we contravene the law, then sin condemns us ti death using the same the law for the ulitmate aim of sin is to compel  us to continually bear the fruit leading towards death.

Paul concludes that the law is holy and just and good because it provides us with benchmarks against which we can confirm our sinfulness and thus our need to be saved.

7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. 9 I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. 10 And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. 11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. 12 Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.

Amen

8

OUR FATHER TO WHOM WE BEAR FRUIT BY DYING TO THE FLESH AND BECOMING ALIVE IN CHRIST

Romans chapter 7 says this;

1 Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? 2 For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. 4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. 6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

In this passage, the Apostle Paul explains that just as a woman whose husband had died was free to marry again because she was no longer obligated to the law of her first marriage,  so are we, having died to the law through the death of the Lord Jesus, no longer obligated to fulfill the letter of the law but rather to live in the newness of the Spirit.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHOSE GIFT IS ETERNAL LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD

In the book of Romans chapter 6 verses 15 - 23, the Apostle Paul, having previously discussed the fact that a believer in faith is not under the law but under grace,  rhetorically asks if a believer was now free to sin because they were not under the law but under grace. 

Paul emphatically refutes that notion by explaining that we will become the slaves of whomever we present ourselves to obey. If we chose to obey the coersion of sin, we become a slave of sin and conversely, if we are obedient to the mandates of righteousness, we become slaves of righteousness.

When we were slaves to sin, our God who loved us was able to place a command in our hearts that we were able to obey and that obedience to the doctrine of salvation set us free from the dominion of sin and we, having obeyed the gospel which is the power of God unto salvation (Romans chapter 1 verse 16), took the first step in a life of obedience.

To continue in the life that is set free from sin and death, we must continually present ourselves to righteousness that leads us to holiness.

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.

 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen

4

 OUR FATHER TO WHOM WE PRESENT OURSELVES AS ONES RAISED FROM DEATH

Romans chapter 6 verses 12 - 14 says this;

12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as [nstruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Amen.

OUR FATHER TO WHOM CHRIST LIVES AND WE AS WELL IF WE ARE CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST

Romans chapter 5 verses 4 - 11 discusses the reality of sharing in the life of Christ if we have shared in the death of Christ. The Apostle Paul phasises that an effect of dying with Christ is that in death, the flesh is dead and we are able to live apart from the influence of sin on our lives. The flesh cannot forcefully excert  itˋs desires as it is dead and thus we are able to live in the victory over sin that Christ accomplied through His ressurection from death that he suffered on the cross. In this victory, we can live in God as Christ lives in God.

4 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen.

6

OUR FATHER WHO RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD BY HIS GLORY

Romans chapter 6 verses 1 - 4 says this;

 1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Amen

4

OUR FATHER WHOSE GRACE ABOUNDS

The book of Romans chapter 5 verses 18 - 21 says this;

18 Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment 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 of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen 

2

 OUR FATHER WHO GIVES THE GIFT OF GRACE

The Apostle Paul, continuing in Romans Chapter 5 verses 12 - 17, further explains the compounded benefits of being in the life of Christ through faith.

When Adam transgressed, being the first man, sin and death entered the world and affected all humans with the same malady of sinfulness. So sinfullness existed but was not definable because there was no law but even so, sin reigned from Adam till when Moses was given the law.  Even those who sinned in different ways than Adam did sinned but had no map for it until the coming of the law which demonstrated the scope of mankindˋs corruption.

The law was the mechanism of condemnation of the sinfulness of man in all its forms.

 12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— 13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. 16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. 17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)

Amen.

7

OUR FATHER WITH WHOM WE HAVE  PEACE THROUGH THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

The book of Romans chapter 5 verses 1 - 11 continues with the Apostle Paulˋs exposition of what happens to us believers as a result of being justified by faith;

1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Paul list the sequence of milestones we pass as we progress in the life of faith;

• We get peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ

•  We get access to Godˋs grace 

•  We rejoice in the hope of glory 

•  We are also able to rejoice in tribulations which produces:

•  Perseverance which produces;

•  Character which produces:

•  Hope which never fails but rather gives room for;

• The love of God to be poured in our hearts by the Holy Spirit             

Paul then points out that it is wonderful that all these benefits are accrued to us but all the more astonishing because it was while we still enemies of God that the Lord Jesus undertook to die for us.

6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

If we, through the death of Godˋs Son, were brough to the point of reconciliation to God thus saving us from wrath, how much more will the Life of Jesus save us unto God and beyond that as well, bring us to a joyful reunion of God.

Amen.

10

OUR FATHER WHO CALLS THOSE THINGS THAT DO NOT EXIST AS THOUGH THEY DID

Romans chapter 4 verses 13 - 25 says this;

13 For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, 15 because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.

The apostle Paul explains that Abraham and his descendants were given the inheritance of the world not by following the law but by having faith by believing that God was able to fulfill the promises He made even though situations they were facing appeared hopeless when viewed at face value.

Paul delves into the mechanics of this reality by stating that if the followers of the law inherited the world by doing so, then faith was nullified and as a result, the promises of God were nullified as well because it was believing those promises in faith that made inheriting them a reality.  The promises of God and the faith to believe them were a self-contained function that did not require the law to execute.

The establishment of the law and its adherence availed nothing like an inheritance because the law yielded wrath rather than promises due to the resulting transgressions of the law which is the automatic human response to the law because of our fallen nature. 

Faith is the condition that God chose to use to make the inheritance of God available to all human beings, both Abrahamˋs natural descendants and those from the gentiles who believed.

Abraham, in the face of the deadness of his own body and the deadness of Sarahˋs womb, steadfastly believed in Godˋs ability to perform His promise of an heir and a countless procession of decendants and in doing so, he gave glory to God. Resolute belief in Godˋs power to fulfill a promise and bringing glory to God as a result, is what makes faith be accounted to him for righteousness.

16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all 17 (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; 18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” 19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. 22 And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

23 Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. 

As Abrahamˋs faith in Godˋs promise resulted in righteousness being imputed to him, so too for us does our faith in the raising of the Lord Jesus from the dead having been sacrificed for our sins and raised up for us to be justified .

Jesusˋ ressurrection proved the worthiness and perfection of the sacrifice and we, who are in Christ, were raised up justified with Him.

Amen.

6

OUR FATHER WHO GIVES LIFE TO THE DEAD

In the book of Romans chapter 4 verses 13 - 25, the apostle Paul uses the example of Abrahamˋs life to elucidate how we are made righteous by faith and not by works.

13 For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, 15 because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.

16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all 17 (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; 18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” 19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. 22 And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

23 Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. 

Amen.

10

OUR FATHER WHO IS IMPARTIAL AND PROVIDES THE SAME OPPORTUNITY FOR THE SAME SALVATION THROUGH THE SAME FAITH TOALL MEN

For those who were trying to assert among the believers in Rome  that circumcision was a requirement of righteousness, the Apostle Paul, in the book of Romans chapter 4 verses 9 - 12, refuted their doctrines by demonstrating that Abraham was actually confered with righteousness through faith before he was circumcised. Paul explains that the circumcision that Abraham underwent was a seal of the righteousness that was granted to him by faith. It was a visible symbol of the cutting away of the flesh and its works leaving only faith as the mechanism of gaining righteousness.

9 Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. 10 How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. 11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, 12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.

Abraham, by his pre-circumcision faith, became the father of all those were uncircumcised who would believe and righteousness through faith was to be imputed to them. Abraham was also the biological father of those to whom the law came and they were of the circumcision but in their circumcision, still needed to receive righteousness by faith just as their father Abraham walked in faith prior to his circumcision. 

Amen

13

OUR FATHER WHO IMPUTES RIGHTEOUSNESS APART FROM WORKS

In the book of Romans chapter 4 verses 1 - 8, the Apostle Paul says this;

4 What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” 4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.

5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, 6 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:

7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered;  8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”

Paul, referencing Genesis chapter 15 verse 6 that says ˋAbram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.ˋ, clarifies the fact that Abraham did not gain justification by works because if he did, he would be able to take credit for some of the things that God was assembling towards the redemption of mankind.

All that Abraham did was believe God and that was credited to him for righteousness.  He did not have to do works of righteousness so that he could be paid the what was owned to him. Rather, he simply believed God and righteousness was given to Him by grace. He did not earn anything and yet was justified. 

Paul again references the old testament this time in Psalm 32 verse 1 which says, ˋ Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.ˋ Here, Paul shows another example out of the book of the law that points to the un-merited receipt of righteousness by having oneˋs transgressions forgiven and having oneˋs sins covered apart from any personal attainment of the law.

Amen.

2

OUR FATHER WHO IS THE GOD OF JEW AND GENTILE 

Having established that the law has no power to save but rather an instrument to indicate to us that we are in need of salvation,  the Apostle Paul concludes Romans chapter 3 verses 21 - 31 with an exposition of the singular means of the provision of righteousness by faith to all who believe in Jesus Christ.

Paul states that all people have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and in this condition, any person who is to be saved will be freely justified by grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood which is gained through faith.

Said another way, all humans belong to the same set as fallen beings and the universal means by which any person may be saved because their sin is no longer atrributed to them is because by grace, they are redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus which was shed as a payment or ransom for those who, by believing, have the faith to appropriate the payment made to themselves.

In this work of justification, God is shown to be righteous because Jesus, who is the exact representation of God, remained sinnless throughout His life even unto death on a cross.

And this absolute faultlessness of Jesus is what made sacrifice of His blood efficacious in providing redemption for any of mankind who believed and placed their faith in Jesus.

21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. 29 Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, 30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

The apostle Paul then rhetorically asked if there was any credit that could be claimed by a mankind for righteousness through fulfilling any part of the law.

Paul answers his own question with  an unequivocal ˋNOˋ. He tells us that faith is the only mechanism by which righteousness is gained and therefore, no credit can be applied to any person for fulfilling any portion of their righteousness.

Because slavation for the Jews is by faith and salvation for the gentiles is by the same faith, God is the God of all mankind and has made the same provision of redemption for all of mankind.

Paul then asked if the law is nulified because of faith and to this he answered ˋNOˋ but he asserts that the law is established and meets its fulfilment through faith in Christ.

Amen

20

 OUR FATHER WHO SEARCH FOR THOSE WHO SEEK HIM

In Roman chapter 3 verses 10 - 20, the Apostle Paul presents Psalm 14 to establish the benchmark of the human condition where all humans, without exception, are in a state of corruption and have become unusable for their intended purpose.

9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.

1O As it is written:

“There i none righteous, no, not one;

11 There is none who understands;

There is none who seeks after God.

12 They have all turned aside;

They have together become unprofitable;

There is none who does good, no, not one.”

13 “Their throat is an open tomb;

With their tongues they have practiced deceit”;

“The poison of asps is under their lips”;

14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”

15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;

16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;

17 And the way of peace they have not known.”

18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 2O Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Paul strongly asserts that there cannot be justification by following the law because the law is mere a tool that provides a metric for our sinfulness by simply having knowledge of it and finding that we have no capacity to fulfill it.

Amen.

8

OUR FATHER WHOSE WORD OUTWEIGHS THE WORD OF ALL HUMANITY

In the book of Romans chapter 3 verses 1 -  8, Paul continues his analysis of the false  legalistic doctrines that are being introduced to the believers in Rome.

With all the controversy around the validity circumcision, Paul rhetorically asks if there was ever any value to the Jewish rite at all. He answers affirmatively by indicating that the word of God was entrusted to the Jewish people and part of this privilege carried the responsibility to embody the physical symbols of the underlying spiritual laws such as circumcision which, in being a physical separation of the body, represented the requirement of a spiritual separation from the things of the flesh.

Paul then asks if the Jews, having been privileged to carry the word of God, were unfaithful, would that not show that Godˋs Himself was unfaithful because He couldnˋt keep those were His people. Paulˋs answer was that all mankind, Jewish and otherwise, were subject to the same fall and the same corruption and were thus equally given to sinfulness and were equally liable for their conduct.

1 What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? 2 Much in every way! First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.

3 What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? 4 Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written:

“So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.”

5 But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) 6 Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? 7 Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?” 8 Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—“Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is just!

Paul wrote that one could then ask that if humanity was prone to sinfuless, is Godˋs judgement on us not unfair and unjust?

Paul responds to this by pointing out that if that were truly the case, God would not be able to judge the world but the fact that humans break the law is a reflection of their corrupt nature and not the unfairness of the law. The law merely makes evident what defects exist in mankind due to the fall and as such, mankind can be rightly judged under the law.

The application of the law to expose the fallen nature of mankind does indeed glorify God because it shows how holy and righteous He is but this does not mean that humans should continue to sin so as to glorify God. Humans, having been made in the image and likeness of God and having been shown by the law that they are corrupted, must be shown by God the pth of life by which they may return from corruption to restoration.

Amen.

16