"That's not fair!" I think we’ve said or thought of these words before. God created us with an inherent sense of justice. But with our sinful nature, we develop an oversensitivity to fairness. Paul assumes readers question God's choice to save only some sinners. Paul addresses the question by pointing to God's justice and mercy. His actions are always right. His salvation is always merciful.

"Nothing can separate us from the love of God." Didn't God make promises to save Israel, and yet they rejected Jesus? How do we know God will keep His Word? Romans 9-11 addresses this question to increase our confidence in God's promises and plan for Israel. The gospel does not nullify God's promises to Israel. In fact, it confirms that God always keeps His Word. God's promised salvation is sure!

Jesus loves us. Though we learned this about God, we are often tempted to doubt God's love. "Why is He keeping good things from me?" "Why am I suffering so much?" "How could God love me after what I've done?" Life situations tempt us to doubt His love. Paul addresses these questions to restore our confidence in God's love. We are reminded that nothing - not even our doubts - can hinder God's love.

"Why am I facing this trial? The Bible says God is good, but what I'm going through is not good! I'm not sure how to talk to God about the things I'm feeling." What if we lose hope or reach the end of ourselves? Romans has some of the most assuring verses reminding us that our good, sovereign Father guarantees our eternal security. He is doing good in our lives no matter what evils we face.

*Sigh* "It's always something." Life is full of sighs and groans. Some of them are light and short, but some of them are heavy and long. In a world full of hurricanes and heartache, disaster and disease, sin and suffering, how do we endure? How do we keep hope? Romans 8:18-25 teaches us to let the groans turn our attention to glory. Through the groans of suffering, hope in the glory to come.

Who are you? Some say roles don't define us as much as what we do. But that leaves us hopeless, stuck with terms like "failure" and "sinner" as our identity! Thankfully, Romans 8 teaches that through salvation, God gives a new identity. He redefines us. We are no longer slaves of sin, but children of God. We no longer walk in the flesh but in the Spirit. We have God's Spirit - it's who we are.

"Sin shall not have dominion over you..." Yes, but how? Romans 6:14 is triumphant but leaves us wondering why we still feel ruled by sin and how we can overcome it. Paul clarifies in Romans 7 that we cannot conquer sin by keeping the law in our strength. To live for God, we sever our former ties to the law. In Romans 8, Paul explains what God has done to empower us to live in victory over sin.

In the struggle with sin, we can feel exhausted or defeated. You may be told to "try harder” only to fail again. We relate with Paul in Romans 7, "The good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice." It’s a believer’s relationship with the law. Living by the law in our strength, we will fail. Only Jesus can save and sanctify us, empowering us to live for Him.

No one likes being told what to do or forced to follow rules. We love our liberty and fight for freedom. When the Bible says, "You are not under law, but under grace," we get excited! We can conclude, "I'm free to live how I want!" However, Paul points out that the only way to live free of sin is to live for God. True freedom is not found in living how I want, but in freely choosing to obey God.

Is it actually possible to experience victory over sin? Sometimes we get so entrenched in a sin we wonder if we will ever make progress. Will we ever be free of it? Can we win? Paul's answer in Romans 6:12-14 is not only that we can have victory over it, but that we must! Having just described the truths that make us dead to sin and alive to God, he tells us how to live that way.

Listen to learn not only why it's so crucial to rid sin from our lives, but also how we can begin living this way. There's good news - it's all accomplished through the work of Christ!

The insecurities of life can leave us feeling tossed and troubled - even hopeless. Listen to learn how we can abound in confidence in our salvation in Christ. 

Our salvation has given us some glorious blessings. By keeping our eyes on those blessings, we can live with relentless joy through the Christian life. Listen to hear why we should rejoice in the unshakable gifts of salvation.

Life is full of obstacles, and they often get in the way of our faith. In Romans 4, Paul describes saving faith, we learn that faith takes God at His word over every obstacle. In this text, we look at the example of Abraham - who trusted the God "who gives life to the dead..." Paul encourages readers to trust - beyond all obstacles - that God justifies the sinner who has faith in the risen Savior.

Religions on earth teach that we must work for a better life, for salvation, etc. But God offers salvation to sinners as a free gift. It's free because Jesus paid it all. But salvation by faith isn't just an easy way to be saved, it is the only way to be saved. Having introduced the gospel - God's saving righteousness to all who believe - Paul explains that sinners are justified by faith alone.

Previously, we've been entrenched in the darkness of our sin and our distance from God's righteousness. Last week we were left with every mouth stopped and the whole world guilty before God. But in this week's text, Paul lifts our eyes to God's salvation. Come, see the glorious gospel! Let this awesome text render you speechless as you behold the saving righteousness of God by faith.

We are often sure of ourselves and blind to the error of our ways. In Romans, Paul portrays our desperate need for righteousness by describing our utter sinfulness. He brings the final charge, the indisputable evidence, and the dreaded verdict: we are all guilty before God. To be truly ready for the good news of God’s righteousness by faith, we must stop defending ourselves and admit our guilt.

"How do you know you are saved?" Whatever you say, the question reveals what gives you confidence in your salvation. The Apostle Paul recognizes that the Jews might be tempted to find false confidence in their identity as God's chosen people. He reminds them that confidence in religious performance only reveals how far their hearts are from God. Our hearts are prone to the same false confidence.

We’ve all been shocked by the sinful actions we see around us. And we are right to be shocked - even repulsed by sin. But when we pretend to be better than we are by judging others and efforts to outperform others, we only further condemn ourselves before God's righteousness. Instead, we must remember that salvation is by grace through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus for our sins.

It's disappointing when you are excited about something, and others are not. We all have things that excite us and things that we are apathetic to. Sadly, for many Christians, the gospel falls into the category of the latter. It's fair to say that every Christian is less amazed by the gospel than they should be. Growing our appreciation for the gospel is a lifelong - even an eternal endeavor.