Romans 1:2-4 |
|
I. INTRODUCTION
A. The Search
Man's eternal soul is made in such a way that it knows no rest until it finds its rest in God. Socrates said, "O that someone would arise to show us God. " Socrates was simply articulating the hunger that is in every human heart for God. Pascal said in his Pens[ac]ees, "In every man there is a God-shaped vacuum. " There is no greater example of this hunger of God than the proliferation of religious systems throughout the history of mankind. The issue isn't whether man will worship, but what he will worship. Unfortunately, in the bent of his perverse nature, man inevitably rejects the true God and forms gods of his own making. But such gods provide no solution to man's sinful condition.
B. The Seduction
Man's sinfulness presents a basic problem. How can he escape from his condition? Man's world could be represented by a small box or cube that is closed on all sides. He exists in a time-space dimension outside the supernatural realm. God is outside man's world. Man speculates about what's on the outside and searches to know if there is really something outside his box. It is impossible for him to escape the box because by its very definition, the natural cannot enter into the supernatural. That which is confined to time and space cannot escape into eternity and infinity.
1. Man's longingC. The Solution
Because there is something within man that longs to comprehend what is outside the box, he invents deities that he thinks are there. That is the reason we have such a proliferation of religions in the world, not to mention the inexhaustive interest in space travel and extraterrestrial beings. They are an extension of man's desire to escape his box. Many religions say, "Be a good person and you'll discover God. Just be sure that you fulfill certain routines and rituals and you'll escape to meet God. "2. Man's lostness
Man's longing to transcend the box cannot be overcome because he is confined to the box by his very nature. No one, no matter what we are led to believe, can go into a phone booth, take off his clothes and come out Superman. (If you go into a phone booth and take off your clothes, you'll end up in jail!)
Christ is the only way man can ever hope to leave his box. Christianity acknowledges that man can't get out of his box but says the good news is that God has invaded the box from the outside. He has entered into man's world to tell him he can dwell with God forever. The good news of Christianity is that since man couldn't get out of his box, God came into the box. The natural cannot come into the supernatural, but the supernatural can condescend to the natural.
1. The descriptions of the good newsD. The Simplicity
The good news Paul speaks of in Romans 1:1 is the good news that God has burst through the box and desired to communicate with man. In a world filled with bad news, it is remarkable to know that God Himself has given us good news. That is especially true when you realize man is utterly unworthy of any good news. Yet in spite of that the apostle Paul reiterates again and again the good news that comes from God:2. The dimensions of the good news
a) 1 Timothy 1:11
Paul said, "According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. "b) Romans 15:29
Paul also said, "I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. "c) Acts 20:24
Paul said, "The ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. "d) Romans 10:15
Paul said, "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!"e) Ephesians 1:13
Paul also said, "In whom ye also trusted, after ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. "f) Romans 1:1
Paul said he was, "separated unto the gospel of God. "g) Romans 1:9
Paul followed his description of the gospel in verse 1 by saying, "God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son. "h) Romans 1:16
Paul firmly stated "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation. "
The apostle Paul used different terms to emphasize different aspects of the good news. He spoke in Romans 2:16 of "the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. " He used a possessive pronoun to explain that the gospel of Christ came into his possession by his faith in Christ and that it was his gospel to preach (cf. Rom. 16:25). The entire thrust of Paul's ministry was to preach the good news about Christ.3. The declaration of the good news
a) 1 Corinthians 2:2
Paul said, "I determined not to know any thing among you, except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. "b) 1 Corinthians 9:22-23
Paul also said, "I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel's sake. "
God has come into man's world to tell him what He Himself is like and to tell man how he can know God. Jesus Christ is the good news that invaded the box to reveal God to man.
Jesus Christ is the most incomparable personality of all human history. Believers and unbelievers alike have recognized Christ's greatness. The difference of course, for the unbeliever is not his recognition of Christ's greatness but whether he surrenders to Him as Lord.
a) Greater than the greatest philosophers
Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, and Aristotle for another 40 years. Jesus's public ministry lasted less than three years, yet the influence of His life far outweighs the combined 130 years of the three greatest philosophers of all antiquity.b) Greater than the greatest painters
Jesus never painted a picture, yet some of the inest paintings of Raphael, Michelangelo, Da Vinci and many other artists found in Him their inspiration.c) Greater than the greatest poets
Jesus wrote no poetry, but Dante, Milton, and scores of the world's greatest poets have been inspired by Him as by no other. Ralph Waldo Emerson said that the name of Jesus "is not so much written as ploughed into the history of this world" (The Collected Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, vol. 1 [Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard, 1971], p. 80).d) Greater than the greatest musicians
Jesus wrote no music and yet Haydn, Handel, Beethoven, Bach, Mendelssohn and a myriad others reached the highest perfection of melody in compositions about Him.
Jesus has affected human society like no other human being. The incomparable Christ is the good news. And what makes it such good news is that man is so undeserving. That we don't deserve the good news makes it all the more true that God is gracious.
It is thrilling to read Romans 1:1-7 and see the infinite mind of God, who in a few words condenses the essence of the unfathomable gospel, covering everything from the incarnation of Christ to living the Christian life.
1. The gospelREVIEW
Only 297 words are required to sum up in English, all of God's moral law in the Ten Commandments. God distilled it even more when He said, "Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it, thou shalt love thy neighbor thy thyself" (Matt. 22:38-40).2. The Lord's prayer
The definitive teaching on prayer is the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13, which is only sixty-five long. Man doesn't have that capacity for essential brevity. There was a governmental study to regulate the price of cabbage that ran over 26,000 words!
II. THE PREACHER OF THE GOOD NEWS (v. 1)
A. Paul--A Servant of Jesus Christ
B. Paul--An Apostle of Jesus Christ
C. Paul--Set Apart by Jesus Christ
LESSON
III. THE PROMISE OF THE GOOD NEWS (v. 2)
"Which [the gospel] he had promised before by his prophets in the holy Scriptures. "
D. The Continuity of the Gospel
Paul begins his discussion of the gospel in verse 2 by saying, "Which he [God] had promised before by his prophets. " He is saying that the good news is not something new. It is not out of continuity with the rest of Scripture. It isn't simply a novel idea or a change in God's strategy. It was promised long ago.
1. The accusations against PaulE. The Consistency of the Gospel
Some were saying that the gospel was some revolutionary new message that was in no way connected to traditional Judaism. The apostle Paul himself was accused of being anti-Jewish. A sect known as the Judaizers condemned Paul and his message because they said he spoke against Moses, the law of God, and the temple. They accused him of taking Gentiles into the inner temple, where they were forbidden to go (Acts 21:27-29). So Paul--wanting to set the record straight--said the good news of God was nothing new, for it was was indicated in the promises of the prophets who wrote in holy Scripture. There are at least 330 prophecies in the Old Testament that were fulfilled in Christ's first coming. The Old Testament laid the foundation for the coming of the New Testament gospel.2. The accusations against Jesus
Jesus faced the same accusations Paul did. He too was not in agreement with contemporary Jewish theology of His day (Matt. 15:1-3). He denied the Pharisees' so-called devotion because of its hypocrisy. Many in His day were saying, "Is what Jesus saying new truth? Is He really speaking for God? He doesn't say what the Pharisees say. He in fact, says the opposite of what we're taught. "a) Matthew 5:21-22
Jesus said, "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old, Thou shalt not kill and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of judgment; But I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of judgement. " When Jesus said, "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old," he was saying, "Your tradition teaches you, but I say unto you. . . " He then gave completely different instructions. The "ye have heard that it was said" statements were not part of the Old Testament, but a perversion of Scripture by the Pharisees' tradition.b) Matthew 5:17
Jesus said, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. " Jesus was not condemning Old Testament law, simply the tradition that had been built up around it. The religious leaders had so perverted the law of God that Jesus had to declare, "I say unto you that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven" (v. 20).
The Old Testament is completely consistent with the New. The good news is old, not new. Some Jewish people say, "I can't become a Christian because I'm Jewish and that would be denying my heritage. " If you are Jewish and you haven't become a Christian, the truth is you have denied your heritage because you have denied the New Covenant of which the Hebrew Scriptures speak (Jer. 31:27- 40, Ezek. 36:26-38). When Christ preached the good news of the Kingdom, people wondered if he was a revolutionary. But he was simply exposing their heretical theology that destroyed the continuity between the Old and New Covenants.
1. The mannerF. The Character of the Gospel
Hebrews 1:1-2 says, "God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds. " The writer is saying that God spoke by the prophets in the Old Testament and by His Son in the New.2. The means
First Peter 1:10-11 says, "Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you, searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ who was in them did signify, when he testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. " The prophets themselves realized their writings were incomplete. The New Covenant clarified the gospel of Christ.
Every sacrificial lamb in the Old Testament spoke of the ultimate sacrifice--Jesus Christ. The Old Covenant spoke of the time when the Messiah would come, yet when the most incredible event of all history came to pass, the Jewish people killed the Messiah and denied He had any correlation with the Hebrew Scriptures. That is why Paul said the good news of Jesus Christ is exactly what was promised in the Old Testament.
The phrase "by the prophets in the holy Scriptures" in verse 2 refers to all the writers of Scripture. The Old Testament was commonly called "the law and the prophets. " The Jewish people divided the Old Testament into those two general categories, although some would also single out "the writings. " But basically the phrase, "the prophets" would encompass everything but the law. The law was written by Moses and he is called a prophet (Deut. 18:15). The term can encompass all of the writers of the Old Testament. The gospel was promised throughout holy Scripture.
1. It is not of human origin
The reason Paul spoke of Scripture in this way was to emphasize its origin. They are holy and therefore not authored by men. They are set apart, divine, unique, righteous, and godly. People often ask me why we should believe the Bible is inspired. One good reason is that God says it is.2. It is of divine origin
a) John 5:39
Jesus said, "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me. "b) Luke 24:25-27
In speaking to the men on the road to Emmaus Jesus said, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them, in all the Scriptures, the things concerning himself. "c) Hebrews 10:7
Jesus said, "In the volume of the book it is written of me. " The Old Testament is filled with the promise of the good news. Whether you go from Genesis to Malachi, or anywhere in between, you will find the revelation of Jesus Christ.
I Find My Lord in the Book. I find my Lord in the Bible. Where ever I chance to look He is the theme of the Bible The center and heart of the book; He is the Rose of Sharon, He is the Lily fair, Where ever I open my Bible The Lord of the book is there. He, at the Book's beginning, Gave to the earth its form, He is the Ark of shelter Bearing the brunt of the storm, The Burning Bush of the desert, The budding of Aaron's rod. Where ever I look in the Bible I see the Son of God. The Ram upon Mt. Moriah, The Ladder from earth to sky, The Scarlet Cord in the window, And the serpent lifted high, The smitten rock in the desert, The Shepherd with staff and crook, The face of my Lord I discover Where ever I open the Book. He is the Seed of the Woman, The Savior Virgin-born; He is the Son of David, Whom men rejected with scorn, His garments of grace and of beauty, The stately Aaron deck, Yet He is a priest forever, For He is Melchizedek. Lord of eternal glory Whom John, the Apostle saw; Light of the golden city, Lamb without spot or flaw, Bridegroom coming at midnight, For whom the Virgins look. Where ever I open my Bible, I find my Lord in the Book.
a) Romans 7:12
Paul said, "The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. " God's truth is pureb) 2 Peter 1:20-21
Peter said, "No prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not at any time by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. "
IV. THE PERSON OF THE GOOD NEWS (vv. 3-4)
"Concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. "
a. His NameB. His Sonship
Roman 1:2 is actually a parenthetical statement introducing the thrust of Paul's explanation of the gospel in verses 3-4. It is the gospel of God concerning His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.1. Jesus
The name Jesus means "Savior. " Matthew 1:21 says, "She [Mary] shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins. "2. Christ
The title Christ means "anointed one. " Jesus the Christ has been anointed by God as a King and Priest.3. Lord
The designation Lord means "sovereign ruler. "
a) Romans 9:5
Paul said, "As concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever. "b) Philippians 2:6
Paul said that Christ, "Being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. "c) Colossians 2:9
Paul said, "In him [Christ] dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. "
1. His eternal rankV. The Historicity of Jesus
There is no question that Jesus Christ is God. He is Lord, yet He is also referred to as the Son of God. Many have asked how can He be both God and the Son of God.2. His incarnate role
We must first determine what sense Jesus is the Son of God. The term Son was used by Paul and the other New Testament writers to speak of Christ at His incarnation. Jesus became a Son in taking on the role of the Son of God at His incarnation. Over the years, theologians have debated about whether Christ has been the Son of God in eternity. Christ is and always has been the second member of the Trinity, but only became a Son in His incarnation.
When you think of the word son you think of the submission, obedience, and honor shown to one's father. That is the sense in which Jesus is a Son. Nowhere in Scripture does it say that Jesus has eternally been the Son. He is called "the angel of Jehovah" in the Old Testament when He came to earth to function as an angelic being. However, that doesn't mean He functioned eternally as an angel. Likewise, just because He took the role of a Son in His incarnation doesn't mean He had been eternally functioning as a Son to the Father. The term Son then, refers only to Christ's incarnation.
The phrase "who was made" in verse 3 is from the Greek verb ginomai, and could be translated "who became. " It is a statement of transition from one state to another. Jesus did not come into existence when He was born. He has always existed. In the incarnation, He simply took the role of a Son. That is why the text doesn't say He was made or created at His incarnation. He "was made of the seed of David according to the flesh" (v. 13). He made the transition from His lofty position with God to the humiliating position of dwelling with sinful man as a man Himself in the role of the Son.
1. Hebrew 1:5
The writer of Hebrews here quoted Psalm 2:7: "Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. " That verse explains there was a day in which the Second Person of the Trinity assumed the role of a Son. The rest of the verse says, "I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son. " Both of those verbs are in the future tense denoting that there will be a time when God will act as a Father and the Second Person of the Trinity will be in the role of a Son.2. 2 Samuel 7:14
God said this to David about the Messiah: "I will be his father, and he shall be my son. " The Old Testament declares that God will one day have a Son. Jesus was always God and has eternally existed, but He also took on the incarnational title of Son.
d) Philippians 2:6-8
Paul said that Christ, "being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and, being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. " There was not a father-son relationship among the Trinity in eternity but complete equality. At the incarnation, Christ took on the role or function of a servant.e) John 17:4
Jesus said, "I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. " That cannot refer to Christ's work in sustaining creation, because He will never cease from that (Heb. 1:3). What work did He finish? The work of the cross and His role as the Son.f) John 1:1
John said, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. " Verse 14 says, "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. " Verse 1 describes His exalted, eternal state and verse 14 his humbled, human status as the Son.a) Jesus became a man
c. His Birth
The phrase "of the seed of David according to the flesh" refers to the virgin birth of Christ. His mother Mary was in the line of David, as was Joseph. He had to be born into the family of David to be the true Messiah. This phrase talks about Jesus Christ--God in the flesh--coming to earth as a man.
The good news is that God became a man. He was born into a family, like every man. He was flesh and blood, as is every man. He was born of a virgin but nonetheless born. This is the time He became a Son. Luke 2:11 says, "Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. " He became a Son.b) Jesus sympathizes with us
Many might say, "What's the difference in Christ's being a Son eternally or becoming one at His incarnation?" The main reason is in the interest of biblical accuracy. Also, to see Christ as becoming a Son is to see the majesty of His condescension. He was not eternally subservient to God but eternally equal to God. The marvelous reality of His incarnation was that He stepped down from His majesty to become a Son. But why?
One of the reasons Jesus left His place in heaven was to experience humanness and become our sympathetic high priest (Heb. 4:14-15). Jesus became a man in order to die for men. He was our substitute, bearing the brunt of God's wrath.c) Jesus was born of the house of David Jesus had to be a man to sympathize with us but He wasn't just any man.
Verse 3 says He was "of the seed of David. " Jesus was born into the right family thus falling in line with God's plan to rule and redeem the world. If He hadn't been the son of David, He couldn't have been the Messiah because the Old Testament predicted the Messiah would come from David's lineage (2 Sam. 7:12-13; Ps. 89:3-4, 24; Isa. 11:1-5; Jer. 23:5-6; 33:14-16; Ezek. 34:23-24; 37:24).
Verses 27, 32-33, 69 of Luke 1 all speak of Christ as being the Son of David. God became a man to sympathize with man and bear the sins of man. Christ is the right man because He is descended from the throne of David and has the right to rule, reign, and redeem the creation.
Many people doubt whether Jesus ever really existed. But there are historians, even outside the Bible, who make mention of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Roman historian, Tacitus, writing around A. D. 114, tells us that the founder of the Christian religion, Jesus Christ, was put to death by Pontius Pilate in the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius (Annals 15. 44).
2. Verified by Pliny the YoungerVI. His Resurrection
Pliny the Younger wrote a letter to the Emperor Trajan on the subject of Christ and Christians (Letters 10. 96-97).3. Verified by Josephus
Josephus, the Jewish historian, writing in A. D. 90, about the time John wrote Revelation, has a short biographical note on Jesus who is called Christ: "Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call Him a man, for He was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as received the truth with pleasure. He drew over to Him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was Christ. And when Pilate at the suggestion of the principle men among us had condemned Him to the cross, those that loved Him at the first did not forsake Him for He appeared to them alive again the third day as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning Him. And the tribe of Christians so named from Him are not extinct at this day" (Antiquities 18. 63).4. Verified by The Talmud
The Talmud refers to Jesus of Nazareth (Sanhedrin 43a, Abodah Zerah 16b-17a).
The apostle John said, "By this ye know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God; and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God; and this is that spirit of antichrist" (1 John 4:2-3). People who deny that God came in human flesh are of the antichrist. Jesus was a man of history.
Jesus Christ had to be more than a man; He also had to be God. If Jesus were only a man, even the best of men, He could not have saved man from his sin. If He were even the right man from the seed of David, but not God, He could not have withstood the punishment of God the Father at the cross and risen from the dead. He could not have overcome Satan and the world but would have been conquered as all men are conquered.
1. The declaration of His Sonship (v. 4a)Focusing on the Facts
"Declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. "a) The boundary
If there was ever any question that Jesus was the Son of God, His resurrection from the dead should have ended it. He had to be man to reach us, but He had to be God to lift us up. He became a Son by His Virgin birth and was affirmed a Son again at the resurrection. If someone said, "I am the Son of God," yet was a phony, God would not have raised him from the dead. The Lord would never play into the hands of a phony. Sine God raised Christ from the dead, it affirmed that what He said was true.
The key to understanding this verse is the word "declared. " It comes from the Greek word horiz[ma]o which means "boundary. " We get our English word horizon from it. It refers to the clear demarcation line between the earth and sky. Paul is saying some may have questioned in the minds of some about whether Jesus was the Son of God, but because of the resurrection, the line was drawn in absolute clarity: Jesus Christ is God in human flesh. As clearly as the horizon divides the earth from the sky, so the resurrection divides Jesus from the rest of humanity. When God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, He was irrefutably distinguished from all other human beings.b) The beauty
The good news is the God became a man and then came into man's box. Not only can He get back out of the box because of His deity, but He can also take men with Him. In the early part of this century, the United States Congress issued a special edition of the Bible of Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson had gone through and eliminated all references to the supernatural. All he wanted of Jesus in his Bible were some historical facts and moral teaching. The last statement in "The Jefferson Bible" reads, "There laid they Jesus: and rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulcher, and departed. " That is where the life of Christ ended for Thomas Jefferson. But that is not where the gospel ends! Thank God the Bible ends with the fact that He is risen and is coming back for His children. I marvel at the majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ--the good news of God.
1. Man's eternal soul is made in such a way that it knows no _________ until it finds its _________ in God.
2. True or False: The issue isn't whether man will worship, but only what he will worship.
3. Describe man's predicament inside his box.
4. What is man's only solution in escaping the box? What good news does Paul speak of Romans 1:1?
5. How can Paul say in any way that the gospel of Christ is his?
6. True or False: That we don't deserve the good news makes it all the more true that God is gracious.
7. What were Jesus and Paul accused of? Show from Scripture how the gospel has continuity with the Old Testament.
8. What does the phrase "by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures" refer to? What would the Jewish person have perceived from that statement?
9. Describe the origin of Scripture.
10. Explain the names and titles of the Son of God and describe their significance.
11. Discuss what the Sonship of Christ means. Explain how Jesus made the transition from His lofty position with God the Father to the position of dwelling with sinful man. Base your answer from Scripture.
12. What's the difference in Christ being a Son eternally or becoming one at His incarnation?
13. One of the reasons Jesus left His place in heaven was to experience _________________ and become our _______________ high priest.
14. What would have occurred at the cross if Jesus were only a man?
15. As clearly as the horizon divides the earth from the sky, so the ________________ divides Jesus from the rest of humanity.
Pondering the Principles
1. Both Jesus and Paul were accused of denying the law of God and preaching a new message that contradicted the Old Testament. But Jesus and Paul were simply contradicting the Jewish tradition that had obscured the Scripture. Look up the following passages and show how God has always promised the gospel of Christ: Luke 24:26-27; Acts 10:43, 26:6; Titus 1:2. Ask God to allow you to share this consistent message with someone else.
2. The central message of Christianity is Jesus Christ. From eternity He has been the Second Person of the Trinity. He assumed the role of a Son in His incarnation. Jesus became a man to experience our humanness and to sympathize with us as our high priest. Not only did Jesus experience human birth and life, but also death--on a cross. Do you believe Jesus Christ is who He says He is? Do you believe He had a miraculous virgin birth, sinless life, and died and rose for man's sin? If you have never made a commitment to Christ, admit your sinfulness to Him and ask Him to forgive you of your sin.
http://www.gty.org/Resources/Study+Guides/253_And-Now-for-the-Good-News
Comments