Understanding the Process of Salvation in Romans (Part 12 - Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?)

Start this lesson series here: 
Understanding the Process of Salvation in Romans (Part 1)

Understanding the Process of Salvation in Romans (Part 12 - Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?)

2Cor.6:11-13  O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged.  (12)  Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels.  (13)  Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged.

In the passage above, Paul is urging the Corinthians to be more open and receptive to his message. He expresses his affection and fatherhood towards them, desiring to bless and educate them, but points out that their hearts are closed and restricting them from fully receiving his teachings. Paul emphasizes that the restriction is not from his side but from their own hearts and attitude, and he encourages them to open up and respond to the love and openness he has shown, so that he can speak to them without limitations and have them receive the truth he could provide.

We have come to a point in Romans where this same open heartedness and faith is necessary to fully benefit from what Paul is going to teach us. We are about to step up in spirit. We are about to go into deeper spiritual truth. We are going to start receiving information that requires our obedience and our commitment if we are to advance in our Christian walk and in our faith. Is your heart enlarged? Make sure that in no way are you restricted in your reception of the inspired truth that Paul is about to give.

Abounding grace

We have spent time in Romans 1 to 5 concerning justification, the first part of salvation, and utterly saturated in God’s grace. If it were not for God’s grace, and the work of Christ done through grace, we as believers, would have no chance to be recipients of salvation. All the way through Romans 1 to 5, Paul has mentioned the grace of God in the gospel of His Son and our absolute dependency upon it. As a reminder, here are the verses concerning ‘grace’ in Romans 5,

Understanding the Process of Salvation in Romans (Part 11 - Functional Salvation (Christ in you))

Start this lesson series here: 
Understanding the Process of Salvation in Romans (Part 1)

Understanding the Process of Salvation in Romans (Part 11 - Functional Salvation (Christ in you))

The primary topic of Romans 1 to 5 is justification, or as I also describe it by saying, “Just as if I never sinned”. Justification is a positional salvation, meaning that we do not experience this salvation in this natural realm or at this time. We are justified, imputed with the righteousness of Christ, and fully and permanently saved by God’s decree and by the cross work of Christ from a heavenly perspective, but justification does nothing to our flesh! Though our souls are eternally saved when we believe in Christ, our flesh and our lives here on earth do not change or get affected one iota. Another way we can understand this salvation is that we are placed in Christ, as confirmed by a myriad of verses, with the following being a sample of the many,

1 Cor 1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord,

1 Cor 1:30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God —and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— 

Col 2:10 ...and you are complete in Him [Christ], who is the head of all principality and power.

Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

In contrast to positional (heavenly) salvation and being in Christ, Romans 6 to 8 deals with sanctification which is a conditional, or functional salvation. This means that after justification, our salvation continues to develop or grow and eventually starts to affect or influence our natural condition, functioning within us towards the outside and manifesting outwardly into the world. Through justification we are placed IN CHRIST, but sanctification is more appropriately understood as CHRIST IN US; His life being formed within us through the power of the written Word of God, influencing our thoughts, reasoning, speech, actions, and behaviours, to the degree that we give ourselves over in obedience to it. Here are a few confirming verses,

Understanding the Process of Salvation in Romans (Part 10 - Salvation doesn’t stop at the cross, but includes resurrection too)

Start this lesson series here: 
Understanding the Process of Salvation in Romans (Part 1)

Understanding the Process of Salvation in Romans (Part 10 - Salvation doesn’t stop at the cross, but includes resurrection too)

Romans 6 to 8 is a keynote part of our Christian doctrine. Paul has fully transitioned from lessons in justification through Romans 1 to 5 and is now focused on sanctification. Justification is shelved and is settled. Those who believe in Jesus Christ: in his cross work through the gospel of grace, are saved from God's wrath and hell. Their heavenward salvation is final and sure, because it is not based on the life of the believer, but on the righteousness of Christ and God's heavenly decree to save those who believe in His Son. This is positional salvation because it is not up to the believer. It is God's decree and Christ's work. The believer is placed in Christ and sealed unto the day of salvation, Eph.1:13.

What we are going to get into now is in contrast to positional salvation. Sanctification is functional salvation because the believer has a responsibility, or as Paul puts it, a reasonable service to perform, Rom.12:1. Recall this verse,

Understanding the Process of Salvation in Romans (Part 9 - FINALLY!!! We're about to get into Romans 6 to 8)

Start this lesson series here: 
Understanding the Process of Salvation in Romans (Part 1)

Understanding the Process of Salvation in Romans (Part 9 - FINALLY!!! We're about to get into Romans 6 to 8)

It's taken a while to get here, but FINALLY!!! Are you ready for Romans 6 to 8? 
This is the part that gets into deeper spiritual truth, the part that many believers either neglect or are ignorant of.

I want to remind you that the primary purpose of this study is actually to expound on the content of Romans 6 to 8, which I'm now ready to do, but let me draw important attention to the fact that none of the information in chapters 6 to 8 would mean a thing if one skips over Romans 1 to 4. One cannot be saved without Romans 1-4. One cannot start to walk after the Spirit and bear the fruits of the Spirit if one ignores the gospel and disregards justification. So, if you have not read the first 8-parts of this study, I encourage you to start there. 

God bless.

I've not had much time lately to dedicate to writing due to an increase in workload and life scenarios, so it's taking longer than usual to get more posts out, but this post is to inform that I'm almost done with the next few sections of Romans 6, and I'll start to upload these lesson parts very soon....

Stay tuned.

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The next post (coming soon) will be called:

• Understanding the Process of Salvation in Romans (Part 10 - Salvation doesn’t stop at the cross, but includes resurrection too)

Enjoy!

Understanding the Process of Salvation in Romans (Part 8 - We shall reign in life through Jesus Christ)

Start this lesson series here: 
Understanding the Process of Salvation in Romans (Part 1)

Understanding the Process of Salvation in Romans (Part 8 - We shall reign in life through Jesus Christ)

Wow!!!! Part 7 was an incredible post! Paul, through inspiration, imparted to us some deep spiritual knowledge concerning two salvation experiences, and then topped it off with a few "much more" statements that lay out the blessings of God's grace and love for us through Christ. One thing remains constant though in this section of Romans, but ultimately through all Paul's epistles, and that is that EVERYTHING is in, and through, Christ. God has elevated Jesus Christ to his right hand. No other man has come close to, or could ever attain to, the righteousness of Christ, and this is gloriously seen in the way that God has resurrected him from death and raised him up, FAR, FAR above, seating him in the place of honour and highest glory, at the right hand of God, and has given him all things, and has placed all things under his feet, and has given him all power, and a name above every other, Eph.1:20-23.

Dear reader, I want you to take note at how extensively God has rewarded Jesus Christ. What caused God to honour Jesus as much as this? Is it because Jesus is God's Son? Many would think that God honoured Jesus because Jesus is God’s Son, but the honour is not because of title. No. The honour and glory that God bestowed upon Jesus is because of his faith, obedience and humility. See this scripture for confirmation:

Understanding the Process of Salvation in Romans (Part 7 - Much more then, being now justified)

Start this lesson series here: 
Understanding the Process of Salvation in Romans (Part 1)

Understanding the Process of Salvation in Romans (Part 7 - Much more then, being now justified)

If you have been following this study, you should be well aware that we have been looking at justification, which is the first step of the broader term called salvation. Romans 5 is a transitional chapter that moves us out of Romans 1 to 4, concerning justification, and into Romans 6 to 8, which leads us into the beginning of sanctification. 

Word statistics in the KJV helps to confirm this fact because it is interesting to note that if you search for all spelling variants of justification, there are 29 entries scattered about in Paul's epistles. Out of those 29, 25 of them are in Romans and Galatians, and 4 additional entries in the rest of his epistles. In Romans there are 17 matches where 15 are in Romans chapters 1 to 5 and 2 in Romans 8. There are 8 in Galatians, because Paul's letter to them is to do with correcting their wayward understanding of salvation: see Gal.3:2-3. The point I'm making is that the believer is educated in the foundational understanding of justification in Romans, and then corrected in its practice in Galatians. So, barring these two books, Paul never teaches directly about justification again, because a believer, even by the end of Romans 5, should have settled on the truth of justification and moved past this serving of 'milk', into 'meatier' truths in the curriculum of Paul's doctrine.

As mentioned in the closing statements of part 6, I'd like to expound on something important in Paul's closing statements concerning justification. Let's first read the passage and then I want to provide some interesting insights in these verses,

Rom 5:8  But God commendeth [entrusts, commits] his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  (9)  MUCH MORE then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be SAVED FROM WRATH through him.  (10)  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, MUCH MORE, being reconciled, we shall be SAVED BY HIS LIFE.  (11)  And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.