Romans 5

Paul says that “Jesus opened the door to God’s grace” (Romans 5:2). What do you think he meant by that?

Paul says that “hard times . . . strengthen our patience” (Romans 5:3). He builds on that and says patience gives us more character, and strong character makes us more hopeful. If you had to make a case that Paul was speaking from personal experience, how would you do that?

Paul says, “One man sinned. Death came into our world, as a result” (Romans 5:12). Some Bible experts use statements like this to talk about something called original sin. As the theory goes, Adam’s first sin somehow affected everyone who came after him. It’s as though he somehow spiritually contaminated us all. We might think of it as a genetic disorder that has a 100 percent chance of getting passed on to our kids and grandkids. But instead of passing along physically, it seems to move in the realm of the spirit. Original sin is not a theological slam dunk. Not everyone buys into the idea. What do you think about it?

Paul says something that doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense to some people. “So sin was in the world long before the Jewish law showed up. But people weren’t held accountable for breaking the law because it didn’t exist yet” (Romans 5:13). Oh yeah? Tell it to Sodom and Gomorrah. The Bible says God destroyed those cities several hundred years before Moses delivered the Jewish law. Paul knew this. So what do you think he was talking about? Go ahead and guess. Bible scholars have to do it. Here are a few guesses to prime the pump.

• It makes no sense at all. And we probably shouldn’t try to make it make sense. How could it possibly be that “people weren’t held accountable” (Romans 5:13) yet “they did die, however” (Romans 5:14)?
• Sometimes preachers talk without thinking and writers write without thinking. Maybe this was one of those times.
• Paul was saying the law didn’t make any difference because when people sinned they died anyhow, eventually (Romans 5:14). The law didn’t save them from that.
• Paul’s big point is that sin and death ruled the world.

LIFE APPLICATION. Paul says, “We can even take pride in the troubles we’re experiencing” (Romans 5:3). He explains that hard times produce patience, which builds our character, which amps up the hopefulness inside of us. Really? If you’ve seen this happen to anyone, do tell us.

LIFE APPLICATION. Paul tries to set Jesus apart from most other people in the world. Paul says, “It’s rare to find someone who will put their life on the line to protect an innocent person. Maybe we can find someone willing to die for an exceptionally good person. But Christ died for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:7-8). Do you know people like that—people who know the good and the bad about you and love you anyhow? Who are these people and why do you think they love you in spite of what they know about you?

LIFE APPLICATION. Paul makes a fair number of engaging statements in this chapter. What’s the one that most got your attention, for better or worse?