Chapter three is the most troublesome part of the letter for many people, especially the first half. John’s declarations are bold, even harsh, and leave no room for mistakes. “Everyone who sins has neither seen him nor known him” (1 John 3:6). “Everyone who does not practice righteousness…is not of God” (1 John 3:10). However, […]
Chapter five begins the second half of the first major section of Romans. Having shown our need for God’s righteousness (chapters 1-2) and that it is accessible only through faith (chapters 3-4), Paul used the next four chapters to explain further what takes place in us when we are saved. The first major change is
Chapter four serves two purposes in Paul’s explanation of salvation as God’s gift of righteousness that comes only through faith. First, by quoting from two passages from the Hebrew Scriptures, he ensured that his Jewish readers could not escape the knowledge that this truth had in their grasp the whole time. Second, by using two
