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Lesson 4 – The Greatest Gift (Romans 5:6-11,18-21)

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

PRAISES & PRAYER NEEDS

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For Starters…

When have you received a gift that was almost too good to be true?

My Response: Britbox subscription!

Ask someone to read “The Bible Meets Life”

Gift giving and gift getting can be tricky, if not outright difficult. As a parent, we search for the perfect gift for our children. They unwrap it and in just a few short minutes we discover they enjoy playing with the box more than the toy! Do you remember your favorite gift you received as a child? For me, it was a pair of ice skates. It meant I graduated from standing to the side, sliding on the ice in my boots, pretending to be in the game. Now I was able to play with the older kids on the frozen neighborhood pond. In my mind’s eye, I can still see the Polaroid® picture of me holding those skates in front of the Christmas tree. What about the best gift you ever gave to someone? Do you remember the look on their face and the joy in your heart when they unwrapped it? Scripture says that all of heaven rejoices when a person receives the greatest gift that God has ever given. Let’s explore the GOAT of all gifts, the one that changes everything.

THE MAIN POINT TODAY (PUT ON BOARD): We can receive no greater gift than a relationship with God.

Let’s take a look at Romans Chapter 5:

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Romans 5:6-8

6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.

7 For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die.

8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

CONNECTION TO THE POINT: God’s love is seen in the fact that Christ died for us
The book of Romans was written by the apostle Paul to the believers in Rome he was planning to visit. The driving force of the letter was to instruct them how to get right with God. Before he could tell them how to get right with God, though, he had to convince them they were not right with Him. With divinely inspired precision and court savvy logic, in the first four chapters, Paul effectively presented the case that all humans are not right with God. In chapter 5, he transitioned from the wages of our sin to the revelation of how God makes His people right with Him.
Jesus died at the right time:

Postal Service: The Romans had the most advanced system of sharing documents throughout their empire. An edict delivered from Rome could reach the entire kingdom in as little as a week
Religious toleration: Rome didn’t require conquered territories to adhere to Roman religious beliefs. As long a people behaved, they were free to believe and teach what they wanted. It was the perfect time for a new message to be heard and spread
Domination: Rome dominated the entire known world, so a new teaching could reach the entire known world
Highways: Rome created the most advanced roadway system in history
Reading and writing: The Roman alphabet was the most universal and widely read throughout the world

To put it simply, the time was right for Jesus’s arrival with the most important news ever.

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Questions

What kinds of people were on God’s gift list?

What comes to mind when you think about God’s love for you?

What is the significance of God showing his love to us while we were still sinners?

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Romans 5:9-11

9 How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath.

10 For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.

11 And not only that, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.

CONNECTION TO THE POINT: The death of Jesus makes reconciliation with God possible for us.

2. Salvation from God’s wrath isn’t a one-time event; it’s on-going and has three tenses.

- Past tense means what we have been saved from. All have fallen short of God’s standard (Rom. 3:23). The sinner is saved from that which made him or her guilty.

- Present tense means we are daily being saved. Paul instructs the believer to work out his salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12).

- Future tense means the believer in Christ is saved from God’s future wrath against sin. The believer won’t experience this destruction because he or she will be fully restored.

3. This salvation, justification, and righteous standing with God has been accomplished in such a way that it’s not possible for humans to boast about how good they are. The only thing we can boast of is the life, death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Questions

What are the effects of receiving God’s greatest gift?

Why did God’s wrath need to be satisfied?

What’s the connection between reconciliation and salvation?

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Romans 5:18-21

18 So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is justification leading to life for everyone.

19 For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

20 The law came along to multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more

21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

CONNECTION TO THE POINT: Jesus’ actions bring us justification, righteousness, and eternal life.
Paul landed this argument of condemnation and justification by comparing the actions and results of two men. They’re not named in this passage, but we know them as the first man, and the last man: Adam and Jesus. First, Adam’s act was a trespass which carries the idea of the deliberate crossing over of an established boundary. It was an act of rebellion, defiance, and disobedience. It wasn’t an accident, not an “I’m sorry officer, I didn’t know I was speeding” excuse. Adam knew the command and deliberately chose to ignore it to do his own thing. The consequence for his act was condemnation for everyone. Adam wasn’t on an island. He was the fountainhead for all humanity. Therefore, “through one man’s disobedience” (v. 19) means all have inherited that sinful nature. The result of one man’s trespass is death for all.
The more we’re aware of our sin, the more we realize we need grace. The more sin we see, the more we see the need for grace. When we see the totality of the law, we understand our need for the totality of grace. Paul highlighted an amazing thing about grace: No matter how great the sin, God’s grace is greater.

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Questions

How would you compare the “gift” of Adam with the gift of Christ?

How does an awareness of sin result in a greater awareness of the need for grace?

How would you describe the purpose of the law?

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Your thoughts and questions?

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NEXT WEEK

Lesson 5: The Greatest Command

Our obedience to God is seen in our love for Him and others

Mark 12:28-34

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Thank you for being here!

Please invite a friend next week!!!