On this page, we cover the bigger picture of the chapter. Easier to read Bible translations that are less formal (literal), but easier to read versions to get the broader picture & context.
For sections within the chapter, please click on the breakdown below.
BREAKDOWN OF LINKS TO PERICOPES (considering ebible, listeners' commentary & Serendipity)
Reminder: Pray to God to set your heart right as you engage His word. The text you are about to study was not written to you but is written for you. So, before applying, we must ask the following questions:
What did it mean to the original reader or original audience?
READ THE SCRIPTURE (Multiple times & translations, and notice the words that stand out)
Biblegateway (NIV, CSB, NLT) (My choice of all-round site. It is a greatapp, better on computers or on a smartphone)
Biblia.com (New Century Version) (Great on a computer, especially if you have a Logos account)
Summarize the main story: Describe the events and context of the chapter in your own words.
STUDY RESOURCES(This takes some work. These resources are in the section study of the chapter. The research and commentaries there will take you deeper into the words, phrases, and context.
Going Deeper: Go to the "Pericope" for a more specific and in-depth Bible study.
Repeat the above links
Here are the 2 best general questions to ask about this chapter.
God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
We are ... What do we learn about people in this passage?
APPLICATION(God wants us all to arrive at action, life-changing faith)
ESV (English Standard Version) Good translation with some helpful resources.
Biblegateway (CSB, NLT, The Message, ERV, CEV) has some application resources.
#God #People #Time #Place #Obedient faith #Sin #Key Idea
Dead to Sin, Alive to God
1What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sinthat grace may abound?2By no means!How can we who died to sin still live in it?3Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized intoChrist Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were buried therefore withhim by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
5For if we have been united withhim in a death likehis, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection likehis. 6We know that our old selfa was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7For one who has died has been set freebfrom sin. 8Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10For the deathhe died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12Let notsin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
We are ... What do we learn about people in this passage?
I will ... What has the Holy Spirit revealed to us in this passage? How can I apply it to my life this week?
You can ... Who do you know who needs to hear this? Feel free to share with others by social media links at the bottom of this.
Slaves to Righteousness
15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!16Don’t you know that when you offeryourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.18You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
19I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations.Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21What benefit did you reapat that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in bChrist Jesus our Lord.
God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
We are ... What do we learn about people in this passage?
I will ... What has the Holy Spirit revealed to us in this passage? How can I apply it to my life this week?
You can ... Who do you know who needs to hear this? Feel free to share with others by social media links at the bottom of this.
On the evening of October 25, 2017, Kenneth White had finished up another day in construction and was riding home in a work van. About 80 miles north of Detroit, the driver was cruising down I-75 while White rode in the front passenger seat. As the van passed beneath an overpass, a six-pound rock smashed through the windshield, hitting White in the face and chest. A gaggle of five teen-agers sped away from the overpass and Kenneth White, a father of four, died before an ambulance could arrive. As police investigated, they found 20 rocks scattered below the overpass, one weighing 20 pounds.
The bunch was quickly found and arrested. Four pled guilty and were sentenced as juveniles, but the fifth, Kyle Anger, was 17 years old and the one who tossed the rock. Charged as an adult with second-degree murder, he pleaded guilty in exchange for sentencing under lesser guidelines. Judge Joseph Farah explained his sentence in court: “There was nothing unintentional about this. The intention was to throw the rocks down and hit the cars.” He noted that the teens had thrown items off overpasses several times before, including rocks, auto parts, a couch and a grocery cart. The rocks were loaded into a car trunk and brought to the scene of the crime. So, Judge Farah sentenced the killer to 39 months to 20 years in the state penitentiary. Then he rejected the plea deals of the other four so they could be sentenced as adults instead of juveniles. Crimes unpunished earlier escalated to murder and mayhem. The survivors’ lives will never return to normal.
“I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness” (Romans 6:19 NIV).
One of the problems with evil behavior is its effect within our own souls. As we tolerate and then accommodate sin, we cultivate it until it twists our own humanity. Once unthinkable, the vicious becomes inevitable as cruelty and selfishness increases within us. Unchecked, malicious impulses grow and spread until we convince ourselves that evil is good and good is evil. The result is unimaginable catastrophe in our own lives and the lives of many, many others. It is impossible to guess the ultimate consequences of our deeds and it’s fruitless then to declare that all the mayhem was unintentional.
By the grace of God, good behavior will work in precisely the same way. As we imagine works of righteousness, we cultivate goodness within us until it shapes our own humanity. First in small ways, then in ever-increasing kindness our compassion and selflessness results in dozens of graces scattered in our wake. Confirmed in our knowledge of good behavior, we bring light and blessing and joy in our own lives and in the lives of many, many others. It is impossible to guess the ultimate consequences of our gracious actions and the gratitude to God that can result from our obedience. If we practice goodness, day by day in small and large ways, we’ll get better and better at it. And our own souls will get better and better, too, to nobody’s regret! If practice makes perfect, it only makes sense to practice what we want to perfect!
Aug 17, 2025 = Paul spoke of sin and death reigning like a king (like Pharaoh) and enslaving all of humanity. Through Jesus, people are liberated from the reign of sin and death. This liberation is a gift; it is by God’s grace. It isn’t Torah observance that liberates people; it is God’s grace. In Christ, we live under the reign of grace. However, many in the “weak” group seemed to push back on this idea, suspecting it meant a sinful and lawless disregard for righteous living. However, Paul argued that living under grace means we are free to live according to God’s will. Are we willing to allow ourselves, and especially others, to live under the reign of grace? Or do we try to enslave one another with new laws, because we do not trust the sanctifying work of the Spirit?
Intro Questions
#God #People #Time #Place #Obedient faith #Sin #Key Idea
Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ
12Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—
13To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. 14Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as didAdam, who is a pattern of the one to come.
15But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more didGod’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of theone man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followedone sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followedmany trespasses and brought justification. 17For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receiveGod’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
18Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
20The law was brought in so thatthe trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
We are ... What do we learn about people in this passage?
I will ... What has the Holy Spirit revealed to us in this passage? How can I apply it to my life this week?
You can ... Who do you know who needs to hear this? Feel free to share with others by social media links at the bottom of this.
#God #People #Time #Place #Obedient faith #Sin #Key Idea
Peace and Hope
1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we ahave peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained accessby faithinto this grace in whichwe now stand. And we b boast in the hope of the glory ofGod. 3Not only so, but we c also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not put us to shame, becauseGod’s love has been poured out into our hearts throughthe Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we werestill sinners, Christ died for us.
9Since we have now been justified byhis blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved throughhis life! 11Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
We are ... What do we learn about people in this passage?
I will ... What has the Holy Spirit revealed to us in this passage? How can I apply it to my life this week?
You can ... Who do you know who needs to hear this? Feel free to share with others by social media links at the bottom of this.
Psalm
34:1 “I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my
lips.”NIV
Praise for God your Father
should be the easiest thing that flows from your heart and mouth.The pure recognition of you not only being
God’s creation, but also being the recipient of His love and grace through your
redemption in Christ Jesus should flood your heart with praise for Him.
Romans 5:8 say,
“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.”Your praise should not be
limited to when you receive something from God, but praise Him for the reality
that God Almighty even considers you.Your praise should not be limited to when you come out of hard times,
but just for the normal things in your life.Your praise should not be limited to when you get a raise or promotion,
but for the very job you have.Your
praise should not be limited to when God heals you, but for the very breath of
life itself.Praise should not be
limited to
Sunday morning, but to every
waking moment.Praise is the
inexpressible recognition of Who God is in your life, His immeasurable love for
you, His never exhausting patience with you, and His unfathomable capacity to
cover you with His grace.Your praise is
not dependent on how good times are, but how GOOD YOUR GOD IS!
Romans 5:6 says, “You see, at just
the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”The world’s affect on you is probably crowding God
out of your life when your praise becomes limited to the events of life itself
and not your life in communion with God.It is out of your intimacy with God that you begin to see and experience
God in every detail of your life.
Philippians 1:9‐11
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge
and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may
be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of
righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of
God.”NIV
Romans 11:33, 36
“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!How unsearchable are His judgments and
unfathomable His ways!For from Him and
through Him and to Him are all things.To Him be the glory forever! Amen.”NIV
==========
Expert Salvation
Like many cities, Grand Rapids, Michigan, has a recycling center where residents can drop off paper, plastic and metal products for reuse. Employees staff a processing line to sort things properly. Last spring, the line had to be stopped and evacuated because a metal sphere turned in for recycling was actually a six-pound cannonball from the Civil War. Those would typically have been used in small field pieces with a range of only about a mile—and they were replaced for Union use in 1862.
The six-pound cannonball was an antipersonnel charge fired into enemy infantry. The exploding ball would spray out 37 musket balls. So this cannonball had been quietly deteriorating and becoming more unstable for at least 158 years. The Michigan State Police bomb squad disposed of it before it could kill anybody. Folks aren’t always so lucky: Sam White died when he accidentally set off a cannonball in his driveway. From time to time, explosives surface even far from battlefields. In 2016, a pile of 16 Civil War cannonballs was uncovered by a storm on a South Carolina beach. Old explosives actually become more dangerous; the detonators deteriorate into unstable conditions that might not work at all—or might go off with the slightest disturbance. There is no do-it-yourself plan to make them safe; they must be expertly rendered.
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8 NIV).
Because we are forgetful, we lose track of the sin buried in our past. If it came to our minds, we would assume it lost beneath the sifted dust of time. And since its results were no longer seen by us, we would consider it effectively neutralized. In truth, it waits right where we left it, quietly nursing its fatal purpose. It is impossible for us to undo our history and unmake the terrible choices in our past. We are truly powerless in the face of our own decisions and their savage consequences. There is no do-it-yourself plan so that we might correct our actions and survive our past. Left to our own ingenuity and efforts, we are inflexibly self-condemned and doomed forever.
And yet there is hope for our survival in the expert rendering of sin’s lethal power by the sacrifice of Jesus. It is a simple thing to understand: I deserved to die for my sin but Jesus paid the penalty and suffered that death in my place. He didn’t do that because I’m such a great person; I was a contemptible piece of work that didn’t deserve so much as a sideways glance from Him. The reason He did that was that He chose to love an unlovable waste like me and release me from the catastrophe I had constructed by my terrible decisions. And what He did for me, He’ll do for you, if you’ll allow Him. When you realize you’re a “dead man walking,” the promise of expert salvation is really good news!
