The Gospel is Rooted in the Actions of Jesus
I. Walking SLOWLY through the TEXT. (Rom. 5:1-6:23)
A. Past ACTION – Present PEACE, JOY, and PURPOSE. (5:1-11)
1. JESUS is the one ACTING. (5:6-8)
B. A RESET that changes EVERYTHING. (5:12-21)
1. UNDOING what had been DONE. (5:19)
C. We DIED, and that’s GOOD. (6:1-11)
1. We are NOT who we WERE. (6:6-7,11)
D. We are BECOMING who we ARE. (6:12-23)
1. ORIENTING our lives around a new MASTER. (6:20-23)
Last week I regretted reading through Romans 4 too quickly. It made it hard to see the sights along the way. Today we are going to read through Romans 5 and 6, but slowly, stopping to take in the sights, letting God speak to us along the way.
1. Kid’s Question: When have you had good news to tell someone? What was it? How did they react?
2. Take a look through the text. What are we called to do? What has Jesus done? Also look at the tenses of the verbs. When has this action taken place?
3. Read 6:3-4. What does it mean that we died with Jesus? How can that be?
4. How would you describe what you do and what God does in your spiritual journey?Who carries the lion’s share of the work?
II. THINKING slowly through the IMPLICATIONS. (Ps. 119:18)
A. God’s TRUTH and lived EXPERIENCE. (7:15-24; 2 Cor. 4:17-18)
B. The CALL to PARTICIPATORY surrender. (6:12-14, 1 Tim. 4:7; Eph 4:22-24)
C. HOPE and GRACE fuel our ACTIONS… (5:2-3; 6:5,8; 1 Pet. 1:13)
D. …Producing an OBEDIENCE that comes from FAITH. (6:22; Rom. 1:5)
Truths that impact our lives need to sink deeply into the core of who we are. That doesn’t usually happen quickly. Often it’s something that we learn intuitively rather than be told directly. So we are going to take some time today to think through what this text means to us in hopes that it gets planted deep within our hearts.
5. Name some places where your lived experience seems to contradict God’s truth about you and reality. What can you do in those situations?
6. How might “participatory surrender” look in your life this week? What is one thing God might be calling you to do?
7. What steps can you take to focus your mind on the hope and grace that come from Jesus? What distracts you from that?
8. When have you seen “obedience that comes from faith” in your own life? How can you cultivate more of that?