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by Bill Seng

“Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” ~Romans 5:18-19

What was the one trespass that brought condemnation to all people? What was the righteous act that brought life? The answer to these questions is part of the divine drama acted out from creation up to today.

The two men being described in this chapter are clearly Jesus and Adam. The one man who brought death was the first man: Adam. The one man who brought life was the Son of God: Jesus. Interestingly, the genealogy in Luke’s Gospel also shares the title Son of God with Adam, as Adam had no earthly parents. But Adam, as a child of God, was far different from God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

Adam, the one who brought death, failed at a point where Jesus triumphed. Early on in both narratives, that of Jesus and that of Adam, a villain intruded the scene to disrupt the relationship between God and man. This villain was Satan. It may not have been Adam that faltered first, but it was Adam’s sin that brought condemnation upon the world.

Recall, if you will, the temptation in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3. In their pure nature, the humans God created could not sin. The only command they had was not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and it appeared that they had every intention not to. But along came a serpent, which beckoned Eve, Adam’s wife, to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve ate and was enlightened. This is where Adam’s temptation came to pass. Eve, his wife, disobeyed the command of God. Not much is said about this part, except that Adam was not deceived by his wife. He knew full well the consequences for disobeying God, but he saw his wife and how she now possessed a new sort of insight.

In considering this failure to conquer temptation, I think of their descendant, Esau. Esau was the firstborn son of Isaac and by right was guaranteed the inheritance of his father. But one day, he exhausted himself to what he described as the point of death and needed sustenance. He begged his brother for a bowl of soup and his brother in return demanded the inheritance rights that his older brother possessed. And as it is masterfully put, in the Scriptures, Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of stew. Likewise, Adam, a son of God, sold his birthright for a piece of fruit. I could say much more about Adam, but at this point it would be speculation. Jesus, too, faced temptation.

After he was baptized and publically approved by his Father in heaven, he was led by the Holy Spirit out into the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). There was some unfinished business that needed to be dealt with. Adam’s failure to conquer temptation condemned mankind and Jesus was not going to live under the accusation that the LORD, “had put a hedge around him.” Satan is a crafty devil and would sway mankind his way if Jesus had not been tempted. For forty days, Jesus was tempted. Jesus, the Son of God, was battling for his birthright. As the Son of God, he saw the value in what he had. Satan, the serpent that he is, immediately resorted to the same trick that had felled so many in the past. “Turn these stones into bread and eat them, if you are the Son of God.”  Jesus stifled the devil with his response, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word the proceeds forth from God.”

Satan knew it was a childish temptation, after all, and so he turned up the heat and the altitude. “Leap from the highest point of the temple, and surely God will send his angels to save you.” Once again, Jesus responded, “Do not tempt the LORD your God.” This time Satan was a little confused, but apparently this Jesus knew what he was fighting for. He was fighting for his birthright. He was fighting for glory. He was fighting for a kingdom. But God wanted him to be proved before he could inherit his kingdom. So, Satan had an offer that he could not refuse.

“These are all of the kingdoms of the world. If you bow down and worship me, they are yours! (invoking artistic license in 3…2…1…) “I know who you are. You are the Son of God! And I know what you are here to do. Would it not be much easier if you just took what I had to offer you? The world would be yours. No suffering, no dying. You would own it all. Just bow down and worship ME.”

Jesus, certainly with a look in his eye that could burn through steel and most definitely wrecked the courage of Satan, answered, “Leave me Satan. For you are to worship God and him alone.” Satan left, temporarily, only to engage him in his final temptation: the cross. And Jesus was obedient unto death, securing his birthright.

Thinking back to Adam and Eve, Eve was condemned when she ate the fruit. Adam was tempted and failed. Could Adam have saved his wife? Could he have overcome his temptation and saved the world? He could have, but to him the price was too high. Jesus died for the sins of his bride and brought her life and was glorified by his Father. Adam sinned and killed his wife; had only he bore the cross and brought life to her he would have also preserved life for us.

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by Katie Erickson 

“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned — To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.
But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:12-21)

Last week I wrote about our hope - the hope of the glory of God, and the hope that we will have salvation. In this week’s passage, Paul expounds on what he wrote in Romans 5:1-11. Really, this section is the basis for what Paul was saying previously. Our hope of sharing God’s glory is certain because we are in Christ, who has guaranteed life for us through His sacrifice.

But why was Christ’s sacrifice important, or even necessary? For a more in depth look at why Christ’s resurrection was important, go check out this post by my fellow blogger Charlie Wolcott.

Here, Paul takes a concept that his readers were familiar with and compares and contrasts it so they understand Jesus Christ better. The people in the church in Rome, whom Paul was writing to, understood that Adam was the first human being created. Because Adam (and Eve) sinned, the entire world has to suffer the consequences of sin and evil and living in a fallen world. Adam was just one man, but he brought sin into the lives of every person who has ever lived or will ever live. Sin is a universal problem, and it’s with us from birth.

 Paul explains this further using a literary device called a chiasm (pronounced KEY-as-m) in verse 12: “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.” For more on a chiasm, check out this blog post. It’s essentially like steps where you go up one side and down the other, and the steps on each side parallel each other. The short chiasm here is like this:

This proves Paul’s post of how sin and death came into the world. Adam sinned, death came as a result of sin, which spread to all people because all people sinned.

But, just like the one man of Adam brought sin into the world, the one man of Jesus Christ redeemed the whole world from that sin! The death of one perfect human being, who was also God, was enough to pay the penalty for every sin of every person who has ever lived. Jesus Christ was that person! He lived a perfect, sinless life on this earth, He died a horrible death to defeat death itself, and He was raised back to life to live forever. This is what Paul is saying in verse 18: “Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.”

The person Adam is known as the “first Adam,” and Christ is known as the “last Adam” because he essentially un-did what Adam did. Even better than that, though, is that Christ’s sacrifice doesn’t just cancel out Adam’s sin, but it goes way beyond that! Verse 17 says, “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!” Yes, we do still have to deal with sin while we’re in this world. Sin is still here, but as Paul wrote just before this, if we have faith then we have the assurance of perfect reconciliation and salvation from our sins!

So what is the point of all this? Paul’s conclusion of this section is in verse 21: “So that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Before Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death, sin and death reigned; now we have grace and righteousness, and the certain hope of eternal life through faith in Him. That’s what it’s all about!

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by Charlie Wolcott

Many of us still have Easter Sunday fresh on our minds. Many of us heard a message about the death and resurrection of Jesus and the good news, which we today call the Gospel. But many of us do not know what the Gospel is, and sadly, there are a number of pastors and preachers who either do not know it or just do not preach it. I do not know what message you received this past Sunday, but I want to make sure we know what the very thing that makes Christianity different from every other religion or belief system: the Gospel.

Now the Gospel has often been simplified so even a child can understand it. Here I will describe it in two ways. I grew up on the mission field working with my parents behind the scenes for family-based ministry teams to Juarez, Mexico. The primary Gospel presentation we gave is called the Wordless Book. Using small, felt pocket-books, we could explain the Gospel to an illiterate child or an adult with ease. The Wordless Book contains five pages, each a different color: Gold (Yellow), Black, Red, White, Green. Some versions add Blue in there. Each color represents a different part of the Gospel. Gold represents Heaven and man’s perfect bond/relationship with God. This is the condition that Adam had before he sinned, and what Christians will have after all things come to an end. But then the Black page comes, which is sin. Sin is what separates us from God and creates a barrier between us and God. Sin cannot be in the presence of God without being totally destroyed because of his holiness. But the story does not end there. The Red page describes the death and resurrection of Christ, which many of us heard about this past weekend. The White page describes how when we lean on and trust in Jesus, his blood washes us white as snow. He gives us a clean heart, a new nature. And the Green page is growth in Christ, the process of being made more and more into the image of Christ.

That is the Wordless Book. Each of these pages has a set of Scripture verses that go with it, mostly from Romans. Now there is another presentation I have used when I was a leader with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship when I was in college. This one is called the Big Story. The Big Story used four circles that represent four major events of world history: Creation, Sin, Redemption, and Restoration.

To summarize quickly, Creation is how God created the world: perfect, peaceful, without problems. Sin is when mankind wrecked that perfect world with their rebellion against God. Redemption is Jesus coming to the earth, dying for our sin, and then rising from the dead. And Restoration is the process we go through as Christians to be made into the image we were originally intended to have.

Each of these presentations gives a very brief summary of what the Gospel is, boiled down to a five-minute presentation. However, there is one problem with these models. Many people’s knowledge of the Gospel is limited to these quick summaries. Their understanding of Christianity is limited to this brief synopsis. In the link to the Wordless Book summary, you will notice how the suggested pattern is to lead someone into the “Sinner’s Prayer” in the middle of the presentation. Here is where I have an issue. Remember, I grew up using these materials and it hasn’t been until the last couple years that I realized there is something seriously lacking in Christianity, not just in how we understand it, but how we live it, and how we share it.

I am not against the “Sinner’s Prayer” by itself, but how we have grown dependent upon it for “being saved.” Today, many American Christians (and I would say European Christians too) understand “being saved” as nothing more than affirming a few doctrinal statements, repeating a prayer, and then thinking that is all that it takes to be saved. But when one examines their lives, there is often no difference between “pre-salvation” and “post-salvation.” They still live just like they used to. They may occasionally give God a second thought but ultimately, they just treat salvation like a vaccine. They treat it like a “get out of hell free card.” Is this salvation?

No, it is not. Jesus said you must be born again to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This is something we cannot do. It takes a supernatural, re-creating work of the Holy Spirit. Paul tells us as Christians we are a new Creation. The “Christian” was something that had not existed before. God had not created anything new since day 6 of Creation until 2000 years ago, when Christ’s ministry took its effect. We have a new nature. Our old nature is going to pass away. We won’t have our old tendencies, our old desires, or our old longings, all of which are geared towards serving self. Can a selfish person think of others? Yes, they can, but they do so to serve themselves, either doing so in front of a camera, or simply to make them feel good. But the new nature is going to be geared towards Christ. Our every thought, every longing, is going to be pointed towards pleasing Christ. And when we fail, when we sin, the Holy Spirit will convict us and discipline us. If we do not receive this discipline, we are not saved, because we would be illegitimate children.

Many times, people wondering if they have been saved will reference back to where one time they had said a prayer, but there is no evidence that they were ever saved to begin with. I’ve talked with several atheists on the Internet forums, and one thing I found very interesting: a number of them claim to be ex-Christians, including ardent defenders of the faith. Yet so few of them know the slightest thing about Christianity. John tells us that those who depart from the faith were never among us to begin with. Jesus said not all who were from us were among us. Jesus gave a parable of tares among wheat, wolves in sheep’s clothing. He also gave us the Parable of the Sower, which a friend of mine re-wrote in an extremely unique way: the Parable of the Slasher Film. Of the four soils, three take root, but only one survives. I recommend looking at this “alternative parable.” It will change how you look at this portion of Scripture.

Are you saved? Are you born again? Looking back to the time when you said the “Sinner’s Prayer,” you might be able to pinpoint a time, but Paul tells us to examine ourselves to see if we are indeed saved. Where is the evidence? Do you show fruit which bears the nature of God? Or does your fruit bear the nature of self and sin? Do you believe the Gospel? Are you depending upon the Lordship of Jesus Christ to sustain you continually? Are you being made closer into the image of Christ? I am not asking for perfection. I’m asking for direction. I know I do not meet the standard because I know what it is. But am I getting closer to that standard overall? I must examine myself to make sure I am; and I must not attempt to change the standard to meet where I am. I must change to the standard. There is no bell curve to get into heaven.

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by Steve Risner

This is the last of a three part series I've written concerning some of my favorite arguments for the existence of God. Some claim there is no evidence God exists. This, of course, is nonsense, especially when we consider such statements almost always mean there is no physical or naturalistic evidence for a non-physical, supernatural God. I encourage you to read my post on the creation or cosmological argument and on the design or teleological argument as well as this one. As a believer, I hope they encourage you in your faith to know it's not blind or going against logic or reason. In all honestly, believing in the God of the Bible is the only logical belief one can have if being consistent is of any importance. So today we're looking at argument number 3: the moral argument. Most often, this is the argument that is the most controversial of the three. This is generally because atheists have no basis for morality and they hate being reminded of that. So walk with me…

The Bible tells us in Micah 6:8, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” God has also given us the Ten Commandments. And Jesus summed up all the moral law when asked which was the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:37-40, “Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” This is the entire moral law in short form. This is the basis for Christian morality. But God also tells us in Romans 2 that God has imprinted this in the heart of every person. You can read more on there here.

A huge question that often comes up is: Is there objective moral truth? This is a heavy question, and there are many answers to it. However, it really boils down to “yes” or “no.” You can read about absolute truth here and subjective truth here. The atheist most generally will have to answer, “No. There is no objective moral truth.” If they claim there is objective moral truth, they would need to find a naturalistic explanation for that objective moral truth. There isn't one, to my knowledge. From a Christian perspective, there is obviously a source of moral truth—God. If nothing greater than man determines what is right or wrong, then morality is subjective and can change at any moment. Morals are whatever you decide they are if you're an atheist. This is a common objection to objective moral truth from a higher Authority—that it's up to the individual and it's all relative. However, this is extremely illogical and no one really practices this. How can you condemn me for having a different moral standard, right? If I think lying is not immoral, you can't judge me for that. If I think stealing is not immoral, you can't be upset with me if I steal from you. What makes your morals better than mine? Tim Lambesis of heavy metal band As I Lay Dying gives us a very honest look at this reasoning. He gave up his faith in Christ and became an atheist. After doing so, he walked a very short path to a high degree of immorality, which included adultery and attempting to murder his wife. This is what he says:

“The first time I cheated on my wife, my interpretation of morality was now convenient for me. I felt less guilty if I decided, ‘Well, marriage isn’t a real thing, because Christianity isn’t real. God isn’t real. Therefore, marriage is just a stupid piece of paper with the government.’ I thought of myself as super-scholarly at the time. ‘My academic pursuit has led me to this.’ I was sincere to a certain degree, but we all hear what we want to hear to justify our actions.”

Atheists will attempt to say this isn't true and claim to agree there are objective morals we all have just because. But the truth is, for the atheist, there is no reason to care at all about morality. In fact, they can easily just blame religion for forcing things like morals on us. Since it's the result of religion, they have no need for it.

Another common argument from the atheist is that morality is determined by society. But this just isn't logical. First of all, if society decides pedophilia is not wrong, it's still wrong. Secondly, if this is true, there is no such thing as an immoral society. This means that Nazi Germany was not wrong for the systematic murder of millions of Jews, gypsies, Christians, homosexuals, and anyone else they decided was not worth having around. It means communist Russia was not immoral for mass killings. The list of awful things societies have done is pretty long. You can see, I hope, that this argument is illogical at best.

So what is the best explanation for a morality that exists outside of opinion? God. We all agree cold-blooded murder is wrong. We all agree that child molestation is wrong. We all agree stealing is wrong. Why? Because God imprinted those values on our hearts. We can go against those values and, after a while, we can even become hardened to the point of no longer feeling any remorse when we violate the moral code we have received from God. But this doesn't make it any less true. Whether you agree or not, beating a little old lady and taking her purse is wrong. Your opinion actually isn't relevant. With very little variance, we see societies all over the world who believe murder, stealing, lying, rape and a whole host of other things are immoral. Why? Again, God has written those things on all of our hearts. There are certainly exceptions to this, but, as previously stated, over time we can become hardened to our God-given conscience.

It's pretty clear that objective moral truth exists. I would be cautious in trusting anyone who disagrees with that. It seems equally clear the source of such truth must be God. I hope this blog post series is helpful in fortifying your faith as well as equipping you to handle the questions atheists may ask concerning your belief in God.

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by Logan Ames

As a child, I was a huge fan of the wrestler Hulk Hogan. My dad took my brother and I to live events, my friends and I got together to watch the big matches, and my parents even bought me a sleeveless t-shirt with the word “Hulkamania” on the front of it that I could rip off just like the “Hulkster” did. My friends even gave me the nickname “Hulk Logan." One of my childhood hero’s many popular lines was, “Whatcha gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild on you!” He might even throw in an occasional “brother” on the end of it. Either way, this line was used to show everyone that the Hulkster meant business! Whether you were prepared or not, Hulk Hogan was coming for you and it was time to decide how you were going to handle it.

Two weeks ago, I saw a movie in which virtually the same question was asked, but in a very different and more serious way. The current movie “Do You Believe?” asks the obvious title question to roughly a dozen main characters, but the questions don’t end there. The more important follow-up question to those who say “yes” to the first one is, “Then what are you going to do about it?” You see, while we are not required to DO anything to receive grace through faith, our faith must lead to change. It must have an effect on our actions, or as the brother of Jesus puts it, “Faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:26b).

The Apostle Paul spent the first few chapters in Romans convincing his readers that all mankind is wicked and in need of a savior, that Jesus is that Savior, and that we receive salvation and justification before God through the same faith that Abraham displayed when he believed God could do everything he promised, even when circumstances appeared to show otherwise. In Romans 5:1-11, he now begins to address what that faith looks like in the lives of those who believe.

First, he writes about the peace that we have WITH God (v. 1). It’s not just peace on this earth or peace that passes all understanding, it’s peace between us and God. This means that because we have been justified through faith in the blood of Jesus, we have been reconciled to God and no longer need to fear his wrath. He then declares that we stand in grace and can “boast in the hope of the glory of God” (v. 2). We can’t boast in ourselves anymore because we’ve already come to recognize our failures and our collective need for the Savior. In vv. 3-5, Paul shows one of the main marks of the life of a believer. Followers of Christ have no reason to live to avoid suffering. According to the line that Paul draws, we can only learn perseverance through our “tribulations” (New King James Version), and perseverance then results in the building of character, which gives us hope for the future despite any new challenges we face.

After Paul has explained the reason why the believer has hope no matter what, he briefly explains in vv. 6-8 how God did not wait for us to get our act together to save us. We were still “powerless” in our sins, but God sent Christ to die for us even knowing the majority of the ones he came to save would reject him completely. That is unconditional love. God did this because, as we have explained in previous posts, he had to deal righteously with sin but still desired that we be reconciled to him. Rather than force us to bear the penalty that we deserve for our sins, God took it upon himself in the person of Jesus.

In the final section of the passage, Paul explains that our salvation and justification through the blood of Christ is not just about releasing us from God’s wrath as it relates to death. In vv. 9-11, he declares that it has a huge impact on our earthly lives as well. As he explains, God reconciled us to himself through Jesus’ death while we were still his enemies. So if we have now become his friends within that reconciled relationship, how much more are we saved through Jesus’ life! Even Jesus, who was a man, had to decide that he trusted the Father and what that was going to mean for his life. Matthew 26:39-42 shows that Jesus, being fully human, struggled with knowing that obeying his Father would lead to a torturous death, but he did it anyway and surrendered to the Father’s will. Hebrews 5:8 also tells us that Jesus “learned obedience from what he suffered." As we see that Jesus obeyed the Father no matter what that meant, that he submitted to death on a cross (Philippians 2:8), and that he overcame that death by rising from the grave, we have to think about what that means for our lives.

We don’t believe in Jesus simply because he died for us. If that were all that happened, we’d be following a dead man like every other religion in the world. We believe in Jesus because he rose again, as we celebrated this past Sunday, and now lives in us. He not only saved us from death, he also gave us life! And because he lived in this world and faced the temptations and challenges we face, he is our model for how to face our tribulations. Because he was obedient, we can also be obedient no matter the cost. We know that no matter what troubles we face in this world, God is in control and Jesus has already paved the way for us to live out our faith.

So, do you believe? That’s the first question. But it’s not really a head issue. It’s not about intellect. It’s a matter of your heart, your very core. If you truly believe, it must influence every area of your life. God is in control whether you believe it or not, and troubles are going to come in this world whether you follow God or not. But only you can answer whether you truly believe in God and his Son, Jesus Christ, and only you can decide what you are going to do about it.

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by Katie Erickson

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” (Romans 5:1-11)

As always, when we see a “therefore” in the Bible, we should ask ourselves what it is there for. In this case, Paul is building on his previous discussion about faith in chapter 4 (see here and here). Paul’s previous discussion has been about the law, sin, and justification. Because we have been justified through faith, Paul can now switch gears a bit to talk about the results of that justification.

We see in this passage three results of justification: peace with God (verse 1), access to God’s grace (verse 2), and the hope of the glory of God (verse 2). The peace of God is not just the absence of conflict, but it’s harmony with God regardless of the circumstances that arise in life. This peace is explained more in Isaiah 32:17-18. Also because of justification, we have access to God’s grace. More than that, we have continual access to God because we can live in his grace. Grace isn’t just a one-time gift, but a state of living. Finally, when we are justified, we can (and should) boast in the hope of the glory of God. This is the encouragement we have when we face times of suffering. That suffering shouldn’t detract from our hope, but rather strengthen it. The key is how do we respond - with perseverance, or by giving up?

The specific theme in this passage is hope: the hope of the glory of God (verse 2), the fact that hope does not put us to shame (verse 5), and the hope of being saved (verses 9-10). The world cannot give us hope, but if we are followers of Christ, we do have hope when we have been made with God because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ! We have hope because God was glorified through the death and resurrection of Jesus. This hope cannot put us to shame, because God is on our side and we are loved by Him. We also have the certain hope that we will be saved by Him.

This is the good news part - that we have hope! But why did it take Paul into the 5th chapter of his letter to get here? Well, any good gift is appreciated more if you realize how much you needed it. We had to realize and fully understand that we’re all sinners and we’re all in need of God’s grace, in order to fully appreciate this. We have to realize that we need God’s justification in order to appreciate the results of being justified.

It is interesting that in verses 3-4, Paul writes about suffering. You may be thinking, how does that tie in to hope? Read those verses again and it may become clearer: “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” When we go through tough times of suffering,, we mature in our faith through that. We learn to persevere through them, which builds our good character, which then gives us hope that it will all turn out ok. Suffering is rooted in God’s love for us, so we can be certain that even though it may be difficult to go through at the time, our suffering really does give us hope. We know God will do what He says He will because of His love for us (verses 5b-8) and because of His work for us in Christ (verses 9-10).

With yesterday being Resurrection Sunday (also known as Easter), this is a great time to be focusing on this part of the book of Romans! Without Christ’s resurrection, none of this would be possible. If Jesus Christ didn’t die as a sinless human being and take on the sins of the world, we would not have the opportunity to be made right with God simply by faith in Him. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is what it’s all about.

Is that true in your life? Do you see the results of being made right with God in your daily life? How important is the resurrection to you?

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by Ami Samuels

The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years because of their disobedience and lack of faith. They didn’t reach the land they had been promised because they didn’t receive the promise in faith. They spent that time aimlessly traveling in the wilderness, grumbling, complaining, and frustrated. It took forty years to make an eleven-day journey. I have had times in my life that I would consider a wilderness experience like this. I can honestly remember crying out to God to please teach me or show me what I needed to learn to exit that dry and deserted place as quickly as possible. I didn’t want to stay there any longer than I had to, and I certainly didn’t want to continue circling the same route in my life making the same mistakes and ending up in the exact same place.

Are you wandering, never able to rest in search of a mirage? Do you find yourself in the endless pursuit of perfection, pursuit of the world’s definition of success, or pursuit of money, possessions, or fame? Are you endlessly wandering through life never finding rest, never finding true peace, never joy-filled? Are you chasing the ways of this world only to find that these promises leave you tired, empty, and frustrated, until you start chasing the next “thing”?

The Israelites took so long to get to where they were going because they didn’t listen to God’s instructions. Moses told them what they were supposed to do, but they didn’t obey the directions they were given. They complained and whined even though they had seen God’s hand in their lives. They saw the plagues in Egypt, the Passover, the parting of the Red Sea for their escape, and yet they doubted that God could or would provide for their basic needs like food and water.

What good does the word of God do if it falls on deaf ears? We need to read the Scriptures, trust the Scriptures, understand Scripture, and apply it to our lives. What good are the words of the Bible if we do not choose to grow and learn from them? Either we believe the Bible or we don’t! Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Having faith in God is trusting his word, trusting him with the situations in our lives, and trusting him when we don’t know the plan. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” The Bible is full of examples of people who took a step of faith out of their comfort zone when they didn’t know where they were going and didn’t know the plan. In Hebrews chapter 11 it says “by faith” twenty–two times. By faith Noah built an ark, by faith Abraham obeyed and went even though he didn’t know where he was going, by faith Joseph spoke of the exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt, by faith Moses left Egypt, kept the Passover, crossed the Red Sea, by faith! All of these people and more are commended for their faith, because they lived by faith.

The Israelites started out living “by faith” but very quickly they began to doubt.

Do the promises of this world leave you empty, even after you have achieved them?

It reminds me of a time when I saved my money for a down payment on a car. I longed for that car, I planned and thought about myself driving that car. I had ideas of how I would keep it clean and care for it. After getting that car and having it for a few months, the newness wore off and the feeling of excitement expired. Isn’t that how it is with things of this world? We long for an object, a job, or retirement, but we find when we finally receive or achieve it we are left feeling hollow and unfulfilled.

God’s word is truth! God fulfills his promises. A peace-filled life is achieved by having a God-centered life, in a daily relationship with him through Bible study, prayer, and time spent quietly listening and focusing on what we have learned. As we study the Word we need to trust, believe, have faith, and obey.

Spend some time in prayer and ask God to reveal to you if you need to grow in one of these areas. Do you struggle with trust, belief, faith, or obedience? I know in my own spiritual journey, there is always room for growth.

If you feel like you are wandering or lost, seek out the answers or direction you long for in the Bible. If you would like to read more about the Israelites’ journey, this blog post was written based on passages from the book of Exodus.

This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration.  Any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will be deleted.  Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature, will be reported to the authorities.