There is “now no condemnation” of anyone “in Christ Jesus.” This happy condition exists because the “law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death.” In Romans, the Apostle Paul links our salvation to the inheritance of Christ and the coming redemption of our bodies and creation itself.
Continue readingGospel
The Spirit of Christ
In Romans, Paul presents the “Gospel” in detail. It is the “power of God for salvation.” God provides salvation through the “faith of Jesus Christ” for everyone who responds to the message with faith. Death passed from Adam to all men, whether “within the law” or “apart from the law” because “all sinned and lack the glory of God.” However, now, “apart from the law,” the “righteousness of God” is being revealed for “all men who believe, for there is no distinction.”
Continue readingOne Message for All
The Gospel proclaimed by Jesus is NOT about reforming society or fixing governments. His message summons all men to repent and join an entirely new social order and political reality, namely, the Kingdom of God, and his message contradicts the political ideologies of the present “evil age.” Responding positively to his invitation is vital considering the approaching end of the existing world order and its disappearance from the Earth.
Continue readingThrough His Faithfulness
Having demonstrated that all men violate God’s revealed will, Paul concludes that no one is acquitted before Him “from the works of the Law.” Instead, men and women are justified “through the faith” or faithfulness OF Jesus – They are reconciled with their Creator because of the gracious act of Jesus on their behalf. Since all men deserve condemnation and death, all they can do is respond with repentance and faith to what God has done for them.
Continue readingThen Comes the End!
In the New Testament, the return of Jesus at the “end of the age” is portrayed as a singular event of great finality. His “arrival” or ‘Parousia’ will be accompanied by celestial and terrestrial upheaval, the appearance of the New Creation, the resurrection of the righteous dead, the judgment and punishment of the ungodly, the “gathering of his elect,” and the cessation of Death itself. Decay and mortality will be replaced by immortality, and nothing will ever be the same again!
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Disciples Global Network 