Doctrine of Salvation
“DOCTRINE OF SALVATION”
Romans speaks to Christians today just as powerfully as it spoke to believers of the first century. It speaks to moral, intellectual, social and spiritual issues. But most important of all, it lays the theological foundation for the Christian faith that Holy God has made it possible through Christ for sinner to be made right before Him.
The theme of Romans is “The Righteousness of God”. In this letter, Paul tells how to be right with God, ourselves and others. Paul also explains how one day God will make creation right and even solve “The Jewish Problem” and bring peace on earth. Since Romans is a book of logic, it is a book of “Therefores”. We have the “Therefore” of condemnation in 3:20, justification in 5:1, no condemnation in 8:1 and dedication in 12:10. In presenting his case, Paul has proven that the whole world is guilty before God and that no one can be saved by religious deeds such as keeping the law. He has explained that God’s way of salvation has always been by grace through faith (Eph 2:8-9) and he has used Abraham as his illustration. If a reader of the letter stopped at this point, he would know that he needed to and could be saved. But there is much more the sinner needs to know about justification by faith. Is he sure that it will last? How is it possible for God to save a sinner through Jesus’ death on the cross? In chapter 5, Paul explains two basic truths: The blessings of our justification (5:1-11) and the basics for our justification (5:12-21) Justification is the judicial act of God whereby he declares the believers righteous upon the basis of the imputed righteousness of Christ that is bestowed not in our good works byt through faith in the redeemer’s shed blood. So once a sinner repented and believed sincerely in Christ Jesus, he is free from guilt and free from any penalty of sins. He is declared not guilty just as if he never sinned. At Romans 5:12, Paul made a transition from discussing “sins” to
Romans speaks to Christians today just as powerfully as it spoke to believers of the first century. It speaks to moral, intellectual, social and spiritual issues. But most important of all, it lays the theological foundation for the Christian faith that Holy God has made it possible through Christ for sinner to be made right before Him.
The theme of Romans is “The Righteousness of God”. In this letter, Paul tells how to be right with God, ourselves and others. Paul also explains how one day God will make creation right and even solve “The Jewish Problem” and bring peace on earth. Since Romans is a book of logic, it is a book of “Therefores”. We have the “Therefore” of condemnation in 3:20, justification in 5:1, no condemnation in 8:1 and dedication in 12:10. In presenting his case, Paul has proven that the whole world is guilty before God and that no one can be saved by religious deeds such as keeping the law. He has explained that God’s way of salvation has always been by grace through faith (Eph 2:8-9) and he has used Abraham as his illustration. If a reader of the letter stopped at this point, he would know that he needed to and could be saved. But there is much more the sinner needs to know about justification by faith. Is he sure that it will last? How is it possible for God to save a sinner through Jesus’ death on the cross? In chapter 5, Paul explains two basic truths: The blessings of our justification (5:1-11) and the basics for our justification (5:12-21) Justification is the judicial act of God whereby he declares the believers righteous upon the basis of the imputed righteousness of Christ that is bestowed not in our good works byt through faith in the redeemer’s shed blood. So once a sinner repented and believed sincerely in Christ Jesus, he is free from guilt and free from any penalty of sins. He is declared not guilty just as if he never sinned. At Romans 5:12, Paul made a transition from discussing “sins” to