Questions

Scriptural Reflection
Romans 3:21–31

Paul has convincingly proved that all, Jews and Gentiles alike, have sinned and that the Law serves to make us aware of our unrighteousness. He will now clearly describe both the righteousness of God and justification by faith. This justification is the only way, that we, sinners, can satisfy His righteousness.

1. V. 21: In introducing “justification by faith”, Paul emphasizes two things in this opening verse.  What are they?  Do they not sound contradictory?  Why or why not?

2. Vv. 22-23: In asserting that the righteousness of God comes through faith in Jesus Christ, Paul gives us a further dimension about what sin is — i.e. it is falling short of the glory of God.  What does it mean to fall short of the glory of God?  Is it a definition of sin or simply a reality of sin or both?  Why?

3. Vv. 24-25a: Paul explains “justification by faith” and highlights the following:

a. It is free. How would you define something which is free?

b. It is the result of grace. How would you define grace?

c. It is a result of the redemptive work of Christ.

1. The sacrifice for the redemption is  presented by God. Why is it significant that God presented this sacrifice?
2. Christ is the sacrifice of the redemption. How does a sacrifice “atone” for something in the OT (See Lev. 16, and especially vv. 29-34)?
3. Our faith is in (or by) His blood:  Why is His blood so important in atonement? (See Lev. 17:11)

4. Vv. 25b-26: Apart from explaining how we can be justified, Paul also seeks to vindicate God as being just:

a. What is meant by God’s forbearance of sins committed beforehand (see Acts 17:30 as well)?

b. How does justification by faith in Christ demonstrate His justice or righteousness?

5. Vv. 27-28:  How does justification by faith exclude all possibilities of boasting? (See Eph. 2:8-10 also.)

6. How different is the Biblical salvation through faith from other religions that you know of or formerly believed in?

7. Included among Paul’s target audiences are the Jews and Jewish Christians who are still zealous for the law. Paul  presents  “justification apart from the law” (3:21) as “justification by faith”.

How can “justification apart from the law”  in fact “uphold the law”? (i.e., how has such a justification already been made known by the Law and the Prophets (3:21)?)

8. What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Scriptural Reflection
Romans 4:1–12

In answering the point he raises earlier in 3:21 (that this righteousness apart from the law is testified by the Law itself), Paul now cites Abraham (Gen. 15) and the Psalms as his proof:

Vv. 1-3:
1. Why do the Jews consider Abraham the most important of all among their forefathers?

2. Why do the Jews put so much emphasis on being Abraham’s descendants? (See Lk. 3:8, Jn. 8:33)

3. Paul quotes Genesis 15:6 to prove how Abraham was justified.

a. Go back to the incident in Genesis 15, and explain in your own words how 15:6 supports Paul’s argument of justification by faith and not by works.

b. What does being “credited it to him” as righteousness mean?

Vv. 4-8:
4. What does Paul call such a free credit in v. 4?

5. What kind of people does God justify according to Paul?

6. How do Psalm 32:1-2 and Psalm 103:10 prove Paul’s point?

Vv. 9-12:
As if he were hearing this Jewish audience object that whatever he quoted could only apply to the Jews and not to the Gentiles, Paul uses the all-important rite of circumcision to prove his point:

7. When did God command Abraham to circumcise his male descendants?  (If you do not quite know, scan the two chapters after God had credited him with righteousness.)

8. What function, according to Paul, did circumcision serve? (Rom. 4:11)

9. How similar, then, is baptism to circumcision?

10. What might the reaction be of those Jews or Jewish Christians upon reading this passage in which Paul calls Abraham both the father of the Jews and of the Gentiles?

11. Paul urges the Jews “to walk in the footsteps” of their father Abraham.  What is he referring to?

12. What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Scriptural Reflection
Romans 4:13–25

1. How important is circumcision to the Jews, including Jewish Christians in Paul’s time? (See Acts 21:17-22.)

Vv. 13-16:  The Promise    

2. What is God’s original promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3?  How does this explain Paul’s assertion that the promise is “that he (presumably Abraham) would be heir of the world.” (4:13)

3. While Paul is obviously making a very strong case here, but to the Jews who are bent on justification by work (meaning the observance of the law), how would they refute Paul’s argument in v. 14?

4. And how does Paul (in v. 15) answer their likely refutation?

5. Logically, for this “promise” to be true, which is a surer guarantee — salvation by works (of law), or by grace (through faith)?

Vv. 17-25: The “credit” of righteousness explained:
Perhaps, Paul feels that the idea of being “credited with righteousness” is still a little confusing to the hearers, so he now expounds on this process as it applies to Abraham.

6. What was the major obstacle faced by Abraham at the time, in order this promise was to be fulfilled? (v. 19)

7. What kind of a God did Abraham have to trust in order for this obstacle to be overcome?  (v. 17)

8. Go back to Genesis 15:1-8 to appreciate the points raised by Paul that led to the crediting of righteousness to Abraham:

a.  Did Abraham not question God in Gen. 15:2? How then can Paul say that Abraham expressed his unwavering faith in God’s promise?

b.  After his questioning, how was his faith strengthened?

c.  How does Genesis 15:8 — his seeking of assurance of the promise of land — point to his strengthened faith in the promise of descendants?

9. How does the same process of “crediting of righteousness” work in our case?  How much surer is our righteousness because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ?

10. What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Scriptural Reflection
Romans 5:1–11

Now Paul has successfully encircled all into the universal “sinner circle”, and has demonstrated that law or no law, the only way to God’s righteousness is by grace through faith. Paul also shows that this is not a new idea, but it is a truth that has been testified to by the Law and Prophets. He then cites Abraham as the all-important example for such “justification by faith” (chapter 4).  This section now begins with “therefore”, signifying its results:

1. Do note that this small pericope begins with the verb “glory (καυχᾶσθαι)” in v. 2 and concludes with the same verb in v. 11. (The majority of English versions translate this word as “rejoice” with the emphasis on “joy”, a  nuance that is preferable  in this context.) Therefore, we who have been justified by faith should live a life marked by the habit of glorying in God, a confidence that carries a great joy through the reconciliatory work of Christ. Can you say that His joy is a reality of your life?  Why or why not?

2. Before talking about joy, the immediate result of this justification is “peace”.  Peace in the Bible has two aspects to it:  One being the wellness and wholeness within (the equivalent to the Hebrew shalom), and the other is the outward standing of having been reconciled to God, not being His enemies any more.

Both aspects, obviously, are the result of our justification:

a. Again, is “shalom” a reality in your life?  Why or why not?

b. How important to you is that outward peace, i.e. your having gained access to grace in which you stand (i.e. your peaceful standing with God)?

3. As you consider answering the earlier question about joy, what is the basis of our joy?  What is the basis of the joy that Paul describes?

4. While hope is the basis of our joy (even though I am not sure that it can be said for most of us), Paul insists that our joy extends from our hope even in sufferings.  What are the reasons given by Paul by which we can even rejoice in our sufferings?  Do they make sense to you?

5. In pointing out that our hope in sufferings will not disappoint us (or put us to shame), Paul reasons that it is because God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit given to us.  Why is it that God’s love so poured into our hearts can be the reason that we will not be put to shame?

6. Perhaps, sensing that such an assertion needs further clarification, Paul powerfully shows us how marvelous the love of God is when so poured into our hearts in vv. 6-8:

a. Do you agree with what he says about the righteous man and the good man?

b. In what way is God’s love far above human love?

7. Paul goes on to use two “how much more” phrases to help us understand the amazing, practical results of our justification in vv. 9-10.
He compares:

a. Being justified by Christ’s blood to being saved from God’s wrath.

b. Being reconciled with God as former enemies to being saved through Christ’s life.

How amazing is each of the above comparisons (italics, mine)?

8. Paul ends this pericope with returning to the theme of rejoicing as a result of our justification, and the rejoicing is “in God”.  How does the love of God, as described by Paul in vv. 6-8 cause you to be able to rejoice in God even in sufferings?

9. What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Scriptural Reflection
Romans 5:12–21

In order to understand this pericope, it is helpful to watch the literary tools that Paul employs which include:

-     The use of comparisons through “just as”, “so”, and “how much more”.

-     The use of repetitions, such as “reign” and “one man”.

Vv. 12-14:  The grave reality of sin

1. How did sin enter into the world?

2. How did death come about?

3. Did Moses and his law exist at the time?

4. Since the law was not present then, how was man’s sin reckoned?

5. How were the sins of those after Adam (but before Moses) reckoned?  (Paul makes it plain that those who sinned after Adam might not have committed his kind of sin, but nonetheless they were under the reign of death.)

6. How powerful is sin, as depicted?

7. As Paul describes sin as having been passed on from one person to another, what does it remind you of?  If I compare sin to a disease like SARS, would you agree? Which is more potent and deadlier?

Vv. 15-20: The greater reality of grace

8. Do you think Paul’s assertion in vv. 15-16 about the “how much more” of God’s grace is purely sentimental or does it have its reality?  Why or why not?

9. How would you describe the tyranny of death on any person?  How different is the picture painted by Paul for those who have received the gift of righteousness in v. 17?  What is its implication to you?

10. As much as we may not like the idea (and the fact) that we have been dragged into sin by one man, what about the idea (and the reality) that all could be made righteous by the act and obedience of one man, Jesus Christ? (See v. 18.)

11. What is meant by “where sin increased, grace increased all the more”?  Do Paul’s arguments above succeed in convincing you of this fact?

12. What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Scriptural Reflection
Romans 6:1–11

In praising the greatness of the grace in Christ Jesus, Paul makes a point in the last chapter that “where sin increased, grace increased all the more” (5:20). He understands that such a statement would (and likely has) invite criticism and abuse. So, he provides his defense in this chapter.

1. In emphatically answering, “No”, Paul asks a very passionate rhetorical question in v. 2: “We are those who have died to sin, how can we live in it any longer?”  In our justification by faith, we know we have made a commitment to renounce sin (which has separated us from God, brought upon us eternal death, and for which Christ has died). Have you considered yourself having died to sin at the same time?    
Why or why not?

[It appears that not all of his hearers have the same recognition, but they all have been baptized. This was common in Paul’s day for believers were baptized immediately upon conversion.]

2. Using the procedures likely being used for baptism in those days (immersion) where “water is present” (Acts 8:38-39), Paul makes his first point about the meaning of baptism.  Paul considers the “burying” in to the water as being buried with Christ into His death. 

a. What is meant by “the death He died, He died to sin once for all” in v. 10?

b. What has Christ’s death on the cross accomplished, as far as we are concerned?

c. In what way then have we been united with Him in His death and what are the implications according to vv. 6-7?

d. How does baptism portray this reality?

3. What has Christ’s resurrection from the death accomplished for us?

4. In what way have we been united with Him in His resurrection?

5. What are the implications of such a union with Christ in His resurrection?

6. How does baptism portray this reality?

7. Can one be united with Christ in His resurrection without first being united with Him in His death?

8. In v. 11, Paul admonishes us in a practical sense that we should “count” ourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.  What does the use of the word “count” mean to you?  How may you apply it in your life?

9. If you have yet to be baptized, what reason can you give for not so doing, as all of the early Christians did immediately upon their conversion?

10. What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?

Scriptural Reflection
Romans 6:12–23

Paul now exhorts us how to live as one dead to sin and alive in Christ:

1. Using the imagery of an instrument/weapon, “hópla" can have the general meaning “instruments” but Pauline usage suggests the more specific military meaning “weapons” (Moo, Romans, 384).  Paul, in v. 13, admonishes us not to offer any part of ourselves as a weapon of wickedness, but rather offer our every part as a weapon of righteousness.

a. If Paul means “instrument”, what does it say to you?

b. If Paul means “weapon”, what does it say to you?

c. As much as there might be a difference in nuance, what might be the common theme between the two?

d. What does “offer” mean in either case?

2. What is a slave?

3. Do you agree that “you are slaves of the one you obey”? (6:16)

4. Recount your life before your conversion. Does it resemble what Paul describes in v. 19?

5. Examine your life today:

a. Who then are you obeying these days?

b. Does it resemble what Paul describes in vv. 17-18?

6. How can you convince a non-believer that he or she is a slave to either sin or obedience (according to v. 16), but also that they do have a choice of who their master is?

7. How can vv. 20-23 help them to make a choice for Christ?

8. What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?