Condemned or Justified?
Opening Prayer
Almighty Lord, You are God: high, lifted up, majestic. Yours is the kingdom, the power, the glory … forever.
Read Romans 5:12-21
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Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
“No condemnation now I dread; Jesus, and all in him, is mine! Alive in him, my living head, and clothed in righteousness divine, bold I approach the eternal throne” (Charles Wesley). Turn these words of the hymn into a prayer of praise and thanksgiving for what God has done for you in Christ.
Think Further
Few things arouse more enthusiasm than a sporting event. Wearing team colors, following matches and claiming victories as their own, modern individuals have intense feelings of solidarity with their team. Solidarity was more commonly understood by the ancients than it is today. Paul highlights our solidarity with Adam (best translated “humankind”). When humanity disobeyed God’s command, death was the direct consequence (Gen. 3), not immediate physical death, but spiritual death, being cast out from God’s presence. Through Adam, sin, judgment, condemnation and death entered the world and all humanity wears the results.
But Paul announces a greater solidarity, which overrides condemnation and death. In solidarity with Jesus Christ, many may receive his overflowing, generous gift of justification, righteousness and eternal life. The contrast between the disobedience of Adam and the obedience of Christ’s life and death is stark. God’s grace is overflowing. Those who were once slaves to sin have become kings, through Jesus Christ. Solidarity with Christ must be applied in life and expressed in relationships, not just enjoyed as theoretical truth. God’s people include all ages, nationalities and social classes. Do your relationships reflect that inclusiveness?
From its early days, the church has struggled with the implications of what Augustine, Bishop of Hippo (354-430 AD) called “original sin.” How does Paul’s argument here apply to babies, children or the intellectually disabled? Is it a matter of individual response or corporate solidarity? Many scholars today are silent. No solution seems totally satisfactory. Is it time for the church to explore this?
Apply
Make a point of encouraging or praying for a parent or children’s worker you know who is nurturing little ones towards faith in Jesus.
Closing prayer
Good Lord, I’m amazed at Paul’s enthusiasm for the Gospel message. Re-energize me with a fresh touch of the Holy Spirit so that my faith will be contagious.
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