What a great night!! I truly enjoy getting to spend my Tuesday evenings with you ladies! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and wisdom with me.
We were in Romans Chapters 3 and 4 this past Tuesday. As I read and re-read Chapter 3 in preparation for our discussion, I kept getting stuck on Verses 19-20. God eventually opened that passage up to me so I wanted to spend a little time unpacking with you all on Tuesday night.
Rather than going through the full journey again, I thought I’d share how one of you ladies summarized this passage.
The law stirs up resistance where the Holy Spirit doesn’t live and [where this is no faith]; rebellion weakens the law; [The presence of faith, the Holy Spirit and] Fruit of Spirit makes me DESIRE to do the law.
Paul uses Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 to show that the law could not save our souls from death. Not even the Israelites (Jews) could be justified by the law, for like us, their flesh weakened the effect of God’s divine revelation through the law. The law itself was not weak. In fact it was perfect because it came from God! However, the sinful nature of man refused to yield to it’s power and pursue what it commanded.
Praise be to God that a righteous apart from the law was revealed in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Those who are in Christ have been justified, forever! Now, equipped with faith, the Holy Spirit and the grace of God, we are able to uphold the law.
This is the perfect set up for what is to come in Chapters 5 and 6. Since we have been justified and made right with God, we now have peace with God, life in Christ, and the power to conquer sin through the Holy Spirit.
Praying God will grant you knowledge and insight as you read the next two chapters!
HOMEWORK: Show up next Tuesday with an answer to one or more of these questions:
- What is faith?
- How would you describe faith to a non-believer?
- What is our role in faith?
- How is faith expressed in love?
- What does Paul mean when he says “the obedience of faith”?
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