Romans 5 offers a rich tapestry of theological thoughts, centering on the concepts of sin, grace, and redemption. As we journey through this chapter, Alan J. Huth revisits his personal Bible reading journals, sharing revelations on how suffering can lead to spiritual growth and a deeper relationship with God. This episode invites listeners to contemplate the transformative power of faith and the assurance of eternal life through Jesus.
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. Allen J. Huth shares a Bible passage with comments from over 35 years of his personal Bible reading journals and applies the Word of God to our daily lives.
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Today we are in Romans chapter 5 and we’ll listen to the recording from Faith Comes By Hearing of the 21 verses of Romans chapter 5. Romans 5
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Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Verse 2. Verse 3. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned, for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given. But sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for many.” and the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness, leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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Hallelujah. What a great chapter. I want to go back to my journal in 1994 as we start to look at Romans chapter 5. And I wrote in my journal, faith equals justification plus peace and grace, according to verses 1 and 2. Then I wrote, exalt in our tribulations, easy to say, hard to do. Then I continued, God demonstrates his love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Hallelujah, praise God, thank you Jesus, I wrote. Reconciled by his death. Saved by his life. Exalt in God. So that was a pretty exciting journal entry back in 1994. On the first half of Romans chapter 5, I continued, Sin has always been in the world. The law simply defined what it was. Sin passes through. Because of one transgression, it is inherited. We are born condemned. Forgiveness of that sin is from Jesus Christ. No other way out. And in 2001, I was reading Romans 5 on a Saturday. And Saturday, I was also reading, remember, through the Old Testament and New Testament. So I did write that I read a part of Psalms that day. But I didn’t write any notes on Romans 5, primarily probably because I read it. And then I went to my Gideon prayer meeting. So I did write some notes on my Old Testament reading of Psalms, but nothing on Romans 5. So we’ll move on to the next journal. In 2013, on Romans 5, I wrote, “…justified by faith we have peace with God.” How? Through Jesus Christ. We also access grace through Jesus Christ, according to verses 1 and 2. No other way. Thanks to grace, we can rejoice in sufferings, which produce endurance, character, and hope, according to verses 3 through 5. And I wrote Trinity. So I like to write in my journal Trinity sightings. So I write Trinity, God in verse 1, Jesus in verse 1, Holy Spirit in verse 5. And then I continued 5.8, great verse. We are saved by his blood from what? From the wrath of God, according to verse 9. And I continue to write, through Jesus, we are reconciled back to God. That’s verse 11. Sin came into the world through Adam, verse 12. Death came because of sin, verse 12. Sin brings condemnation, but grace brings justification, verse 16. And eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord, verse 21. It’s all through Jesus. No one else, no other way. Well, I wish I could master verse 3. It says, more than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. I must say that I’m not very good at this, rejoicing in my sufferings, though I know that that’s what the scripture tells me to do, that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. And yes, I think that’s been true in my life through sufferings, that I have developed character over my many years of being a Christian. But this part still seems to me it doesn’t get easier for me, that when something bad happens or something’s difficult, I have a hard time rejoicing, especially initially when these things happen in my life. But that’s a good reason to stay in the word, right? Because when we read a verse like this, it reminds us that when tough stuff comes, we’re supposed to hold on and rejoice and understand that God is still in control. He can work through things in our lives. And when he does that, it does produce endurance for the next time we suffer. It produces character and it produces hope because we’ve been through this before. So I thank the Lord for this kind of verse, though it’s been hard for me to master it in my own life. As we move on to Romans 8, it’s one of the power verses in the Bible. But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That is a hallelujah verse in my life and probably in yours. That while I was in my sin, Christ knew it and he still died for me. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. And verse 12 helps us all understand how sin came into the world. The verse says, therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned. This takes us back to that story in Genesis about Adam and Eve and that apple and the serpent. And we all remember that Eve was the one tempted by the serpent and she was the one that took the apple and therefore she was the one that sinned. But this passage does not say that sin came into the world through a woman, through Eve. It says it came into the world through one man, Adam. That might stir your thoughts today. But let’s not dwell on how sin came into the world. Let’s dwell on how we get forgiveness from sin. Let’s look to verse 17. For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. So sin and death came through one man, Adam, But grace and righteousness, the free gift of forgiveness, comes through the one man, Jesus Christ. Again, hallelujah. The conclusion of the matter is in the last verse of the chapter. So that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness, leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And that can take us all the way back to verse 1 in the chapter. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. So chapter 5 tells us how sin came into the world, how death came into the world to all men. But chapter 5 also tells us that through Jesus, through grace, faith, we can become justified and gain eternal life. Father, thank you for the reminders in this chapter, where sin comes from, where death comes from, but also where forgiveness comes from. We thank you that while we were yet sinners, you died for us. We also pray, Lord, that if we’re suffering right now for any reason, that you remind us to rejoice, even though that’s difficult, because you’re producing endurance, character, and hope through that suffering. And again, thanks for the reminder today that Jesus came with grace, love, and mercy for the forgiveness of our sins. And might we say a big hallelujah today, and thanks for that. In Jesus’ name, amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. We love to hear testimonies from our listeners about how AdBible is touching your life. We just heard from Ken recently. He said, I heard you in my church in January. It is now September. I’ve listened to AdBible daily. I get so much more out of the passage I’m reading thanks to your comments and applications. It is making a big difference in my walk with the Lord. We would love to hear from you. Visit our contact page at EzraProject.net and share your story with us. It encourages us and other listeners to engage in the Bible. We make very few financial appeals after our daily programs, yet from time to time it is necessary to do so. Today is one of those days, so please don’t shut me off. The Ezra Project started in 2002 with one mission, to connect God’s people to God’s Word. Back then, and still today, I believe the number one need in the Christian church is to come back to God’s Word. I’m not a preacher. I don’t have a pulpit to encourage Christians to engage in their Bibles or a church to support this radio program. But with your help, we can continue to proclaim God’s Word to you and thousands of others. Ours is a unique approach. We don’t preach the Word or even teach the Word. We share the powerful impact of God’s Word in a normal life over 50 years of daily Bible reading. I started reading my Bible at 15 years old and have virtually read my Bible every day since. In AddBible, I share my personal Bible reading journal starting in 1983 and continuing to this day. I share from my heart how the Bible has intersected my life and how it can intersect yours. We need less preaching about the Bible and more personal engagement in the Bible. We need to know the Bible is still applicable to a 21st century life. That’s our mission at the Ezra Project. If you agree that the greatest need among Christians is to get back into the Bible and apply it to our daily lives, I invite you to visit our website, EzraProject.net, and donate today. You can do it online or by mail. Our mailing address is there on our website. We have so much more to share on this program. Your partnership will allow us to do so. Thanks for considering a financial donation today. I know you’re going to like it and want to share it with others.
