... to be continued. Romans 5.

Have you ever been watching a television show, only to realize at some point that there isn't enough time left for the plot to resolve, and this episode is going to end with the words, "... to be continued"? How do you react? Inevitably when the next episode does air, it begins with words like, "previously on ...", or "last week...", or "the story so far."

The story so far...
We certainly haven't followed the traditional road through Romans, and I think that's a good thing. I hope that you'll take a moment to look at the posts for Romans 1-4 if you haven't already done so. Let me backtrack just a bit and paint a very broad picture of what Paul has written.

In verses 1:16,17, Paul provides us with the heart of what he means by the gospel -- the good news. As he announces it, this good news reveals the righteousness of God, and describes the powerful means God provides salvation for any who believe. Much of what follows will amplify and expand on those ideas. Here's a definition of salvation I've found useful: salvation is deliverance or rescue from danger or death to a former state of safety, especially from the consequences of a broken relationship with God. In the NT, sometimes the word salvation refers to the action or event, and sometimes it refers to the state of being.

Paul proceeds to describe the universal condition and need of mankind, and then how God meets that need, how He provides salvation. The transition between the description of the need and the provision for solution takes place in v.3:19-26.

But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed – namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God publicly displayed him at his death as the mercy seat accessible through faith. This was to demonstrate his righteousness, because God in his forbearance had passed over the sins previously committed. This was also to demonstrate his righteousness in the present time, so that he would be just and the justifier of the one who lives because of Jesus’ faithfulness.

Note that both thoughts concerning the gospel that Paul stated in verses 1:16,17 are contained in this section: God's righteousness, and the power to save -- "the just and the justifier" as Steve quoted last week. Note also that the need of mankind is stated, followed by God's provision to meet that need: "For there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

In chapter 4, Paul has shows that just as the condition of unrighteousness is true of all of humanity, so too, is God's solution. He uses the Biblical account of Abraham to do that, and in the process nails down this thought: Abraham's faith was credited as righteousness. This faith wasn't without action, just as ours should have action. As Robb said, we're called to obedience that comes from faith.

This gets us to today's reading, which contains two large thoughts. The first is contained in verses 5:1-11, in which Paul tells about the blessings we receive as a result of our being made right in God's eyes by the actions of Jesus -- peace, joy, hope, and love. And now...

Today's episode.
Paul's second large thought (v.5:12-21) is a summation of the history of God's creation, humanity, into just two points of significance: Adam's fall and Jesus' life and death. Both are about the same thing: obedient response to our Creator. In Adam's case, we don't need to concern ourselves with all his life, just the point where he was disobedient, because after that it doesn't matter. In Jesus' case, we do need to see all of His life, all the way to death on a cross, which was His last act of obedience. And He did it -- He was fully obedient to the Father's will.

That's pretty much all I wanted to say. Meditate on Paul's thinking about Adam and Christ. Meditate on your own about the significance of Adam and Christ, as Paul surely did in formulating his way to tell the good news. Celebrate the fact that as dismal as sin is, that as great a contaminating failure as it has been, how much greater is the recovery through God's grace. "Where sin has been multiplied, grace has been showered, so that as sin was king in the land of death, grace might reign in justice for an eternity of Life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (v.5:21 translation by Andy Gaus)

As Ernie said last week, there are people who still don't know this gospel story. People you know. People you can tell.

... to be continued.