Romans 5

We must remember not to base our standing with God on our circumstances or behavior but how he views us.

[v. 1-3] Jesus is in perfect standing with God, for he is God. The father looks at Jesus instead of us and sees perfection. Because perfection is attributed to us we should be joyful, and in our joy, obey. Christ conquered death, the epitome of suffering, with the power of the Holy Spirit. With this in mind we should find hope and joy in the fact that our suffering is only temporary.

[v. 5] In addition, God has given us his love, the same tangible, powerful Spirit.

[v. 6-8] The next couple of verses all center around the idea that God desires us so much more than we desire him. And He loves us more than we could ever love another.

[v.9-11] If we are justified, we must be justified by his blood. There is no other way to be justified. Now if we are justified, we must be saved. Those who have been justified are saved and those who are not saved have not been justified. For the justification is the saving point. This goes back to what I said about verses 1-3. If we are justified before God, then there is nothing holding us back from his salvation. God sees us as approved, thus we are automatically accepted. His approval is our acception. And finally, in Christ, who is a part of the Trinity, worshiping Itself, we also exalt God and rejoice as the Trinity does in its communion.

[v.12-14] I feel these verses are talking about the relationship between sin and death. In the beginning, Adam didn't trust God, and his eternal communion with God was broken. Sin entered the world, and was marked by death. Death is the consequence of sin. Because all men die, all men are sinful. This is evident, because even before the law was given, men died. Although sin is not counted against Christians, they still encounter death, thus they are sinful.

[v. 15-21] This set of verses seems pretty self-explanatory. The main point is that through Adam, sin and death, were introduced to the world and through Christ, life in righteousness, is given to the world.