Background: Letter written by Paul from Corinth to the Saints in Rome in 58 AD, to prepare them for his intended visit.
The Great Dilemma
READ Romans 3:9-12, 20, 23
How
can Paul say that there are “none righteous, no, not one”?
He is referring to mankind – not Christ.
All mortals have sinned and gone out of
the Way.
And all have come short of the glory of
God because of this.
Righteous = perfect as God is or full of
God’s glory/light/intelligence.
What
does it mean “by the deeds of the Law” no one is justified?
The standard of salvation is absolute –
we must be precisely as Jesus Christ is and nothing else, to be saved (see LoF
7:9).
“One sin and you can’t get in”.
Salvation is not really possible for us
in the Law – it is a theoretical possibility but not a practical one.
READ LoF 7:9 and D&C 1:31
What
is the solution to this “Great Dilemma”?
Christ’s grace through the atonement (see
Romans 4:16 JST).
We must have a Savior to rescue us from
the dilemma in which we find ourselves.
The Grace of Christ
READ Romans 3:24 (including JST)
What
is grace?
Blessings we don’t deserve (which differs
from “mercy”, which is not receiving what we do deserve: punishment and death).
Divine favor or goodwill or strength/blessing/light/energy.
It is unearned and undeserved (and
unfair, by definition).
READ Romans 3:28
What
does it mean that man is justified by faith without the deeds of the Law?
It means that without faith in Jesus
Christ, all of the white-knuckling or church meetings or good deeds won’t save
you – you can’t save yourself.
It means that the covenant with Christ is
all that matters regardless of or despite “all you can do” (see 2 Nephi 25:23).
READ Romans 5:1-2
What
is Paul teaching (again) here?
The principle of our reconciliation to
God through Christ – which means we are “justified” or declared innocent of all
“charges”.
But here we learn it is through Christ’s
grace and our faith in Him.
READ Romans 5:7-11
Paul
can reason that MAYBE one might pledge to die for a righteous or good person,
but why would He die for an evil person?
Because He loves us – even the sinner
(the lost sheep, coin and son – more to come in chapter 8).
He wants to give us the undeserved gift.
But he will give it to whom He will (i.e.
the prodigal son not the angry and entitled older son).
What
is Paul’s definition of an undeserving sinner or enemy of God?
All of us.
The natural man is an enemy to God (see
Mosiah 3:19).
The natural man takes in a large spectrum
– from carnal and devilish to honorable man of the earth but still unredeemed
and following his own way.
What
does Atonement mean?
At-one-ment = the bringing of two things
together to become one.
It is similar to reconciliation.
But a price must be paid for this union
or reunion.
The Role of Righteousness After
Entering the Covenant
READ Romans 6:1-7, 11
While
we are not saved by our righteousness, what IS the role of righteousness
(“works”) after we have entered the gospel covenant and been saved by grace?
We have no more disposition to do evil
but to do good continually (see Mosiah 5:2) – i.e. “be righteous” or at least
as righteous as we know how to be.
Because our hearts are changed and
because we love our Master and seek to follow Him and be obedient to Him, we
WANT to emulate Him and do our very best to keep the commandments.
So, righteousness is what naturally flows
from entering the gospel covenant in good faith and receiving a mighty change
of heart.
How
do we feel about sin, having been baptized by fire?
Our spirit now abhors it.
Sin has become the enemy.
However, our bodies are still susceptible
to sin through the effects of the Fall… setting up an epic battle (more to come
in Romans 7).
What
happened to the natural man when we were born of the Spirit by receiving the
baptism of fire and Holy Ghost?
It was “killed” – crucified with Christ.
It was changed – sanctified by the Holy
Spirit.
READ Romans 6:16-17
What
is Paul teaching us here about the Gospel Covenant we have entered?
Either we “abide in the covenant” (i.e.
keep the covenant) by “yielding” to the Spirit which entices us to align our
behavior with Christ’s (i.e. be obedient to His commandments – do His works).
Or we break our covenant by “yielding” to
the temptations of Satan and remove ourselves from the gospel covenant by
retrieving our broken hearts from His altar and willingly engaging in sin –
perhaps subtly at first but willingly nonetheless.
Although we are truly saved by grace, it
is completely up to us whether we will a) humble ourselves and offer the
appropriate sacrifice of our whole souls and broken hearts and then b) continue
to abide in that covenant, continually seeking to become more like our Lord by
emulating His works and obtaining His attributes. He stands at the door and knocks but we must
open to Him. It is about where are our
hearts – our deepest desires – leading us.
READ Romans 6:23
What
does it mean that the “wages of sin are death”?
If you sin, you deserve to die – it is
the wages or reward or result of sin – it is just or fair – you’ve earned death
through your sins.
This is why, when Christ submitted to
death, He was able to overturn death because His death was unjust due to the
fact that He never sinned! Death had no
right to hold Him – but it has every right to hold us.
READ Romans 7:14-21 (JST Appendix) and
24-27 (JST Appendix)
What
is Paul referring to when he says the “sin that dwelleth in me”?
His physical body, which is still under
the effects of the fall and is susceptible to sin.
What
is Paul struggling with here?
How can his “born-again” spirit control
his fallen mortal body (v18).
He struggles to do what his heart desires
to do because his body wants to do (and influences him to do) other things (v19
and 23).
What
is the answer to Paul’s “warring members” problem?
His true or deepest desire is to serve
the “law of God” (meaning to keep the commandments, both temporal and
spiritual) – with His whole soul (v27 JST).
His weaknesses are given to him that he
may be humble (see Ether 12:27 and 2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
For if he humbles himself before the Lord
and has faith, then the Lord will extend His grace and make those weaknesses
become a strength.
READ Romans 8:5-6 and 9-11
What
is the determining factor as to whether or not you are still “abiding in the
covenant” with Christ and what is the sign so that you can know your covenant
status with Him?
Factor: where is your mind and heart
(i.e. your desires) – are you spiritually minded or carnally minded?
Sign: do you have the Spirit of God in
you, quickening or sanctifying you? Do
the manifestations or fruits of the spirit happen to you on a regular basis?
READ Romans 8:14-17
Are
these verses referring to the fact that we are all God’s spirit children?
No – it says “as many as are led by the
Spirit of God” are the “sons of God”.
Everyone are spirit children but not
everyone is led by the Spirit of God.
Everyone are spirit children but few are
Sons of God.
What
does it mean, then, to be “adopted” as a son and heir of God?
To be proclaimed God’s son and heir by
His own voice (see Mosiah 5:15, Mosiah 26:5, D&C 88:75 and D&C 132:49).
How
do we suffer with Christ?
We also make a sacrifice = our whole
soul, our broken heart, our will, our sins.
We minister to everyone we can find, but
especially to our “enemies”, with the pure love of Christ – anonymously, if
possible.
We endure trials and afflictions with
faith.
We are hated by the world but remain true
to our Lord.
We struggle with the flesh to be obedient
and filled with light; and we continually repent so as to continue to have His
Spirit with us.
We continue to sacrifice all earthly
things until we are sealed up and “adopted” by Christ, our spiritual father.
How is godly character gained?
The development of a godly character
happens in stages, gradually.
We are forgiven in an instant, suddenly
(see Alma 36: 18-20.).
When forgiven we necessarily turn to a
new life, in which sharing the joy of forgiveness and the joy of redemption
through Christ is our abiding desire (see Alma 36: 24.). The mind changes in
proportion to the joy found in the new life (see Romans 8: 5-6.).
Such new people are no longer the sons of
men, but they become the sons of God (see Romans 8: 14-17.). They know the joy
of having the voice of the Father declare to them that they have been begotten
by the Father and are the sons of God (see Psalms 2: 7.).
Remaining mired in the flesh is evidence
a man has not been redeemed, not been succored by Christ, not accepted the
saving knowledge which He can impart, and has not risen up to receive
salvation. Atonement is not active in such lives.
The fullness of the atonement is the
fullness of knowledge, which comes by following Him and abiding the conditions.
No one can receive what He offers unless they conform to the conditions He has
established for redemption (see D&C 93: 27-28.).
READ Romans 8:35-39
Can
anything separate us from Christ’s love?
No.
It is why He has done what He has done
for us.
The love of God makes Christ one with the
Father – and having it within us is what can make us one with Him – it
literally connects us across “height and depth”, across any world or dimension we
find ourselves in or body we find ourselves occupying, across all time and
eternity, and cannot be prohibited or constrained by any spiritual entity or
power. Did you see Chris Nolan’s film, Interstellar? Perhaps, he was on to something…
What
is the only thing that can separate us from Christ’s love for us?
Our outright rejection of Him and His
sacrifice while standing in His presence.
It is us who walks away from Him; His
arms are always open to receive us until the night comes.
READ Romans 12:1-2
What
is Paul begging us to do?
Present ourselves as an acceptable
“living sacrifice” to God through offering a broken heart/whole soul and then
to lose our lives in service – to love others as He loves us and sacrifice
everything else, and by so doing become like Him.
And in return, receive the birth of the
Spirit/baptism by fire and be transformed and renewed from the inside (spirit)
out, that we might be sanctified through our obedience to His Ways and be
filled with light that we might enter His presence to become His son/daughter -
which is His will or “work and glory” = to bring to pass our immortality and
eternal life.
