Study session scripture: Romans 3:27-31

Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

Study session topics:

• Righteousness by faith for Jews and gentiles

• The salvation offered by God leaves no room for human pride

• Salvation, from beginning to end, is apart from works

• We cannot claim any credit for any part of our salvation

• Boasting is the most easily identifiable outworking of pride, the first and greatest of all sins

• Satan's pride led him to rebel against God (Isaiah 14:12-15)

• Eve's pride in desiring to be like God, knowing good and evil, led her to take the fruit of the forbidden tree (Genesis 3:1-7)

• Pride is the greatest of all sins because it attempts to place us on the throne that belongs to God--It moves us away from worship of God and toward worship of self

• Pride lies at the root of all sins--We think we know better than God, and therefore our sinful way is better than God's righteous way

• Pride affects us all to one degree or another - western culture, particularly American culture, is very susceptible to pride.

• God, in His wisdom, made a path to salvation that excludes our pride by taking all the work and effort (and thus, all the credit and all the glory) upon Himself

• Justification before God comes by faith, not by our own efforts

• Salvation is a free gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9) (Romans 11:6)

• What is faith? What does faith look like?

• 3 elements of faith: knowledge, belief, and commitment (Romans 10:13-14)

• Knowledge--One must know the truth about God and ourselves to have effective faith

• Belief--Being moved in the heart, accepting the truth as the truth

• Commitment: putting one's complete trust in the object of one's faith

• Since God is God of all, both Jew and Gentile, there is only one way to gain salvation--by faith

• Paul affirms the Shema (Hebrew for "hear") (Deuteronomy 6:4)--"Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one," rebuking Gentile polytheism while also chiding the Jewish sense of superiority over being God's chosen people -Paul once again drives home to both audiences that it is not rote ritualistic obedience that saves, but faith

• Paul concludes this section by affirming that even though obedience to the Law cannot save, this does not mean we throw the Law away

• Faith does not mean we can do as we please regardless of the morality of our actions--indeed, true faith inspires us to uphold God's morality

Study session audio:

Study session scripture: Romans 3:21-26

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Study session topics:

• The saving righteousness of God

• "But now," a huge turning point in Paul's presentation of the Gospel message

• Paul has exhaustively argued since stating his thesis for the letter that sin is a pernicious, persistent, and pressing problem that affects everyone without exception

• No one is righteous, Jew or Gentile

• The unrighteous will suffer wrath and fury when they are inevitably judged by God

• Now Paul begins to discuss the ultimate solution to sin

• Paul describes a new covenant that God has recently established through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ

• Apart from the Law -Without distinction between Jew and Gentile

• Received by faith as a gift, rather than by human efforts at obedience

• Upholds God's justice and wrath against sin (orge) while allowing Him to justify, or declare righteous, the one who trusts in Jesus

• Jesus as propitiation

• Propitiation: to appease or turn aside wrath, an atoning sacrifice to a deity

• Many people are uncomfortable with the idea of God's wrath needing to be satisfied

• God's wrath is not a fit of pique, but principled opposition to something that goes against His very nature

• God's wrath is well established in the Scriptures

• Paul uses severe terms to describe the unrighteousness of all men, and the Scriptures he references include wrathful responses to man's wickedness

• Propitiation in the Christian sense is distinct from other religions in that it is not man who appeases God, but God appeases Himself by providing sacrifices for sins

• Propitiation and reconciliation are two sides of the same coin

• God's provision of Christ's sacrifice shows His righteousness and justice, so that no one can accuse Him of being unjust in His forbearance toward sin

Study session audio:

Study session scripture: Romans 3:9-20

What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

Study session topics:

• The unrighteousness of all people

• Paul just said the Jews have much benefit in every way, and now he says they are ultimately no better off than the gentiles

• The benefits Paul previously described are things that help one see more clearly their need for salvation, but they themselves cannot save

• The law

• Circumcision

• Paul now pulls together a bunch of scripture passages to show that God's consistent message, both to His people and ultimately to the whole world, is that all are under sin

• Sinful condition (v. 10-12)

• Sinful speech (v. 13-14)

• Sinful action (v. 15-17)

• Summary statement: no fear of God (v. 18)

• The Law itself cannot save us, rather it shows us how wicked we are

Study session audio: