| 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. |
Now stand. The believer must stand strong
in this grace and not be moved by religion that says he must work for this
grace. |
| 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; |
When we suffer, we often wonder whether or not we
have peace with God. One’s sufferings should never cause us to doubt our
salvation.
The suffering Paul refers to is primarily persecution for being a
Christian. |
| 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. |
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| 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. |
Suffering leads to perseverance, then character,
then hope, then knowing God’s love for us. |
| 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. |
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| 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. |
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| 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. |
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| 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! |
How much more. Paul uses this phrase quite
often from this point on. Five times. This phrase is a comparison phrase. |
| 10 For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! |
Great comparison! Paul is showing how great God
was to us as sinners, so how much better shall He be to us as saints. |
| 11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. |
Now received reconciliation. Catholicism,
Orthodox and some Protestants make believers afraid of going to hell or
being punished in purgatory. Reconciliation is not something we wait for and
hope for, but it is something we can NOW have.
Reconciliation—to cause to cease hostility or opposition. To make
compatible. |
| 12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned-- |
death came to all men. Spiritual
death not physical death. Enoch and Elijah escaped physical death but even
they experienced spiritual death. |
| 13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. |
not taken into account. Through the law
charges may be filed so it may be "on record". Before the law of
Moses, sins were not on record. |
| 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. |
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| 15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! |
Overflow. Jesus provision is more than
necessary. Everyone died through Adam. Unfortunately not everyone will be
made alive in Jesus, but the provision is made for everyone to be made
alive. |
| 16 Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. |
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| 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. |
reign in life. The ultimate result of
salvation is that we might "reign in life". Dominion was the gift
God gave Adam. Adam’s dominion was limited to the animal creation; now our
dominion in Christ is expanded to the celestial beings and demonic
creatures.
Two things necessary to reign as kings:
- Receive God’s abundant provision of grace.
- Receive the gift of righteousness.
Grace—God’s free blessings
Righteousness—the rights to the blessings. "Bill of rights"
could be called the "Bill of righteousness". Some approach God’s
blessings strictly on a mercy basis, but the best approach to receiving God
blessings is through a legal basis. God's grace is now your right! |
| 18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. |
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| 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. |
will be made righteous. Many still confess
they are old sinners saved by grace. This is a wrong confession for you
cannot be both a sinner and righteous. You are one or the other. |
| 20 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, |
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| 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. |
grace might reign through righteousness. The
way we will be able to exorcise dominion is through "grace" and
"righteousness." Mistake people make is to feel unworthy to
exercise dominion. |
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