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Romans 1-4 (video) ehpc.org.au/romans

Our growth groups took a week’s break from exploring through the book of Romans and we hope it was a good week to connect with each other and keep building relationships in our church community. So before we launch back into Romans together, it’s a good time to retrace things a little and understand where we’ve come from. Have a look at the diagram on the following page.

Using the diagram over the page, discuss what you’ve covered so far in Paul’s letter to the church in Rome.

In the flow of Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, has there been any ‘standout’ moments for you?

At the start of this series we invited everyone to watch a video which explains who Paul is, why he wrote this letter and the main threads of the letter that are revealed in the first four chapters of Romans. In case you missed it, here’s that video again

The Book of Romans

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Romans 5-16 (video) ehpc.org.au/romans

To start off this week’s growth group, have a watch of the first 5 minutes of this video which unpacks for us what is going on in chapters 5-8 of Romans. Don’t worry, we won’t miss out! We will watch the rest of the video at another time.

Before we begin our first study in this next section of Romans, (note: we won’t be looking at Romans 5:1-11 though Matt Fong preached on it) did the video alert you to anything that you’d like to learn more about?

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Bible Talk DiscussionWhat insights, principles, or observations from this weekend’s message did you fi nd most helpful, eye-opening or troubling? Explain.

Read this passage (from the ESV bible) as a group and feel free to mark and highlight anything as you go along.

12 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— 13 for sin indeed was in

the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.

14 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.

15 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. 16 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 justifi cation.

17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man,

Romans 5:12-21

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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.

18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of

righteousness leads to justifi cation and life for all men. 19 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. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass,

but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in

death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through

Jesus Christ our Lord.

You’ll fi nd some defi nitions on page 10 that you might fi nd helpful as you discuss Romans 5:12-21 together.

Growth Group DiscussionWe’ve spent the last few studies pouring over the fi ne details of humanity’s sin and rebellion and of our redemption brought by Jesus on the cross. Paul now puts away the microscope and zooms out to the bird’s-eye view of history. And we will fi nd that it’s dominated by two lords – Adam and Jesus. There have been some great leaders, kings, villains and heroes, who have changed the course of history. But they pale in comparison to the infl uence that these two lords have had. So take a step back and take in the grand view of history and how it all affects us today.

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1. Can you think of a key moment in history that directly affects you today?

Paul begins this passage in 5:12 with the words of a comparison ‘just as’. You’ll notice that he takes a long detour before returning to his main comparison in 5:18 where the ‘just as’ is accompanied with a ‘so also’ to complete the comparison. His intention is clear, though. He means to compare and contrast Adam and Christ.

2. You might like to work in pairs or threes for this exercise. Below, you’ll see icons representing Adam and Christ. Below each of them, note down all the comparisons and contrasts between the two from the passage. Compare also the associated powers of sin, death, grace and life.

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3. The passage mentions that Adam is a ‘type’ of the one to come (Christ). That means that Adam anticipates what Christ is coming to do in some way.

a. Looking over the table, where are the similarities and where are the differences?

b. In what ways is Christ superior to Adam? Hint: look for the words ‘much more’.

4. Sin seems to spread like a disease through all of humanity. When you look at the world, do you see evidence of this?

As we take the bird’s-eye view of history, the Jews might wonder what difference the law made. After all, the giving of the law at Mount Sinai was a high point in Israel’s history.

5. Looking at 5:13-14, could you blame the law for the problem of sin in the world? How about in 5:20?

6. Do you think death and life here are only referring to physical death/life?

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Paul has previously focussed on how individuals can be declared right before God. But here Paul seems to take a corporate perspective. You are either under Adam or under Christ. And depending on who you belong to, it either means living under the sentence of death or the assurance of eternal life.

This idea of two realms, headed by Adam and by Christ, continues throughout the next few chapters of Romans. Take a look at the diagram opposite to get an overview of the way ahead

7. What do we learn about the corporate nature of sin and salvation? How do you feel about that concept?

8. The power of Christ’s righteous act is able to completely overcome the effects of Adam’s sin. He breaks the reign of death that has ruled since the beginning of time. What difference does it make to live under the reign of life instead of the reign of death?

PrayerWe’ve seen how history is ruled by two lords who both have a powerful reign. Adam, through the power of sin and death; and Christ, through the power of grace and life. Praise God for the king we have in Jesus, who obliterates the powers of sin and death. Pray for those who might be sick of suffering at the moment. Pray for those who continue to live under the reign of Adam that they will grasp the life on offer under the reign of Christ.

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Definitions Transgression (v14): an act that goes against God’s law or rule. Even Adam could be considered to have transgressed over the commandment given him by God.

Trespass (v15): a sin or offence, entering a forbidden area.

Condemnation (v16): a punishment against the guilty - in this case, physical and spiritual death.

Justification (v16): a state of being declared right before God.

Righteousness (v21): Moral goodness – in this case, referring to Christ’s death on the cross.

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