Romans by Dennis McCallum (1997)

God made certain truths about Him evident within us. In other words, when we look inside ourselves, we see evidence that we were created by an infinite, personal God. Our own beliefs and actions show that this is true. To say that people are significant, free, moral beings implies that they were created with a spiritual nature. It is impossible to argue for morality, human dignity, or freedom under any worldview aside from theism.

The problem of evil in the world requires an answer. Biblical theism differs from other worldviews in that it offers both acknowledgement of evil and assurance of future justice. The Biblical view is that evil was chosen by personal beings who had the free will to make that choice but now stand under the judgment of God as a result. In His love, however, God chose to offer a way for every person to be justified before Him despite sin and evil.\r\n

Paul describes how we are born under the federal headship of Adam. Thanks to this one man's decision, we are born with a sin nature and are separate from God. Yet, thanks to the righteousness of another man, Jesus Christ, we can die to our old, sin nature and gain a new identity in Christ. By accepting Christ's sacrifice for ourselves, we can be made free and grow in our relationship with God under our new identity.

Who are we once we become believers in Christ? We gain a new identity. We are who God says we are, and we can approach God confidently based on this new identity in Christ. We explore how to live in our new identity, and the effects of taking our identity from things other than God.

Once we accept the gospel, what does it look like to live out our new identity in Christ? We have a choice of whether or not we will continue to enslave ourselves to our flesh, or become obedient to God and seek righteousness. We cannot make ourselves righteous, nor can we we sit by without taking any action. Paul describes what the correct process of actively presenting ourselves to God looks like.

When we accept Christ's death on the cross to count for ourselves, we die to our flesh and are released from the Law. Now we have a new identity, and can choose to walk according to the Spirit. What does that look like? Paul breaks down the differences in a Christian's life when they choose to live according to the flesh versus according to the Spirit.

Not only does spiritual growth occur through the building up of the new spiritual person within, it requires the breaking down of the outer man as well. God uses outward circumstances to chip away at our outer man so that the spirit of God within us can come through more and more. On our part, this requires active cooperation and the rejection of illegitimate pain reducers. The only context in which spiritual growth is possible is an eternal value system. We must focus on our position in Christ and the security that comes from our identity in him.

What are God's plans for humanity and the means to His ends? God communicates throughout the Old and New Testaments that righteousness before God is bestowed on those who have faith, not those who devote themselves to rules or works. All are called to specifically put their faith in the culmination of God's law, Jesus Christ. God shifts His work to spread this message beyond the Israelites, specifically to non-Jewish people; but will come back and fulfill His promises to the Jewish people.\r\n

When people put their faith in Christ, they are united not just with him, but also with other believers. The identity and function of the Body of Christ is well-defined in scripture. We explore how this plays out in believers' lives and how to become more deeply involved in and experience true fellowship. Includes a reference: Case Study on the Church in China, 1949 to present.\r\n

The concept of love is the summary of the intent of the entire Biblical Law and Prophets. Love is found in personal relationships with others, beginning with God. The key to understanding and experiencing love is to understand and experience God. These theological ideas are explored in the first of three lessons from Romans 13. Includes quotes from "What Americans Believe" by George Barna and "True Spirituality" by Francis Schaeffer.\r\n

Interpersonal conflict is common but destructive. God offers great help as we seek to resolve conflict, which starts with us establishing a relationship with Him. Security from this relationship allows us to start from the constructive stance of considering how we can handle the conflict in a way that brings God glory.

In the last of three lessons on love relationships in Romans 13, believers are called to always forgive others when in conflict, sometimes lovingly reprove if necessary, negotiate, and most importantly, leave room for God to act.

While there are moral absolutes (things that are definitively outside of God's will), there are also gray areas within the realm of the freedom we have in Christ. These are matters of conscience: individual moral imperatives that may be directly from God or may occur as a result of confusion. We must show sensitivity to others' moral imperatives and sacrificially love them by denying self for the sake of their conscience. We should never judge them or force our views on them, creating arbitrary absolutes that have no basis in Scripture. Testimony by Melody Furno included.