Bible Studies

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The Letters
Romans 5:12-19 - Not Measuring Up
Key Verses: (MSG)

• 12: "You know the story of how Adam landed us in the dilemma we're in--first sin, then death, and no one exempt from either sin or death." - We are products of the Fall; mired in our sin and destined for death.
  
  
• 13: "That sin disturbed relations with God in everything and everyone, but the extent of the disturbance was not clear until God spelled it out in detail to Moses. So death, this huge abyss separating us from God, dominated the landscape from Adam to Moses." - The Law did not fix sin; it only pointed it out more clearly.
  
  
• 14: "Even those who didn't sin precisely as Adam did by disobeying a specific command of God still had to experience this termination of life, this separation from God. But Adam, who got us into this, also points ahead to the One who will get us out of it." - But we can't cry foul. "It wasn't my fault. Adam did it." Daily we choose to commit sins of our own design that separate us from God.
  
  
• 16: "There's no comparison between that death-dealing sin and this generous, life-giving gift. The verdict on that one sin was the death sentence; the verdict on the many sins that followed was this wonderful life sentence." - Adam chose to say no to God and death resulted. Jesus said yes, 'Let your will done,' and with that statement, eternal life became assured for all.
  
  
• 18: "Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life!" - We receive salvation, not through the elimination of sins for they still haunt us every day, but through a life justified by the faith and belief in God, in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Spirit.
  

Points to Contemplate:

• Is Sin weighing you down? Has it been hanging onto your heart for too a long time? Paul indicates that the sin of Adam is a dilemma we still face today - now that's a long time to be burdened by a sin. Is there anything you can do about all the baggage you are carrying? With this baggage are you destined for a life of continuous sin resulting in separation from God and death? Are you seeking ways to fix this problem? Do you wish you could check your baggage at the "Sin Convenience Center" and get rid of it once and far all?
  
  
• What of the Law? As you read the Bible, do the laws and rules of God help you with your problems with sin? Or have they made it worse? As you read the Ten Commandments do you become more frustrated because you can see how difficult it is to truly become holy? Have you given up? Is the focus on sin and temptation in this week's verses simply another Christianity list of do's and don'ts that you can never attain? Are you tired of not measuring up? Do you know anyone that does measure up to these guidelines? If not, then what is the purpose of the Law? Is it to simply show how sinful we are and how far we have to go?
  
  
• What is this promise of life? Who is this one person who "did it right?" How can Jesus' death bring life into your heart? If there is a promise of life, why is sin still a problem? Why do you still fall short? Do you see that where the Law does nothing more than point out your shortcomings, what Jesus did for you in choosing to follow God, even to a death on a cross, was to blot out the memory of your sins for all times? Do you believe in this miracle of miracles? Do you accept His love for you? Will you choose to follow Him into a life made holy by His love?
  

Promises of the Gospel:

In the end it is all about sin. No matter who we are, we walk through life damaged by the sinful actions we choose to take every day. Some call it the human condition. A condition created by the choice of one man. A condition of hopeless separation from the God we were created to be with. And there is nothing we can do about it. God tried helping us by providing rules and laws to live by. But all this did was to simply give us a measuring stick to show how far we were slipping away. The more rules we developed, the more sinful we became. God then simplified the rules and said just love me and one another - and, yet, we still slip away. There is no hope because we will never be able to fix our problem. But Jesus did fix it. He said 'yes' to God and suddenly, we are washed clean of the dirt and blood on our hands. We may still sin but all is forgiven and forgotten. We are made holy by our belief in Christ. With this holiness comes eternal life. It is a miracle worth writing home about.

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