Christ in the Scriptures

Love conquered a multitude of sin!

Jesus’s gift to us is Holy Spirit. It was for our good that He died and rose again so that we could have a guide and teacher in Him. Christ within is the hope of man.

But here’s something that helps us stay in step with the Spirit. It’s in Galatians 5:22: “We know that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” These are indicators on our spiritual dashboards. So whenever we sense them, we know we are walking in the Spirit. Whenever we lack them, we know we are out of step with the Spirit. Keep in step with the Spirit. Max Lucado

Christ in the Scriptures

Paul explains that Jesus Christ is the Second Adam whose righteousness and substitutionary death have provided justification for all who place their faith in Him. By reading Romans we can see how the apostle breaks down a truckload of theological truth into bite-sized installments by using a question-and-answer format.

In other words, Romans presents a Jesus who offers His righteousness as a gracious gift to sinful people like us because He bore God’s condemnation and wrath for our depraved nature. Paul makes it quite clear that the Savior’s life, death, and resurrection are the basis for our redemption, justification, reconciliation, salvation, and glorification. What is more, Paul contends that the Spirit of Jesus can motivate us to live responsible, Christlike lives. That’s what the second half of Romans is all about.

The book of Romans dates to the end of Paul’s third missionary journey; he most likely wrote this letter from the Greek city of Corinth in the mid-50s ad. Gaius, whom Paul mentions is his host, is likely the same Gaius mentioned as a resident of Corinth in another of Paul’s letters.

Paul had not met the Christians at Rome, but the circumstances he mentions in the letter provide clues about his reasons for writing. Paul wanted to take the gospel to Spain, and he thought that Rome might make a good launching point for a westward mission—much like Antioch had been his home base in the east. In addition, Paul deeply desired to promote unity between believers in Jesus who were Jewish and those who were not Jewish (called “Gentiles” or “Greeks”). The Roman church probably was a mix of Jews and Gentiles. Paul wanted to communicate to these Christians that the gospel includes everyone. NKJ Bible.

Paul wrote Romans toward the end of his third missionary journey (mid-50s ad), probably from Corinth. Though he does not explicitly mention his purpose for writing this letter, he describes his circumstances: He plans to deliver financial relief to the believers in Jerusalem to promote unity.

Paul’s expertise in Jewish law and thorough understanding of Greek and Roman culture made him ideally suited to proclaim the gospel among the Gentiles (non-Jews). Born a Roman citizen, Paul grew up in Tarsus, one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire (located in the southeastern region of modern-day Turkey). In Tarsus, he was exposed to Graeco-Roman customs, religions, and philosophies, and he apparently became fluent in Greek. Paul’s quotations of thinkers like Aratus, Menander, and Epimenides are evidence of his knowledge of Greek philosophy. Faithlife Bible.