The Great THEREFORE

Have you ever asked:

• How can I know I am saved?
• I thought I was saved, but I fell back into a sin I thought I had conquered.
• I turned to Christ and it was wonderful, but now I've lost my desire to read His word, and it's hard to pray.
• I was doing well, but then someone sinned against me and I've turned angry and depressed. Did I lose my salvation?
• I accepted Jesus as a child, and was baptized. But in my teen years, I rebelled. Am I still saved? Was I ever saved?
• I know that according to the Bible, I'm saved. But I don't feel like it. What's wrong?

Some Christians are especially prone to doubting. We want to turn to God's word to deal with these things without minimizing them. Today is the beginning of a series.

Romans 8:1: Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Several factors make this a standout chapter of the Bible, and they are the reasons we are going to spend our time plumbing its depths.

• This chapter defines what it means to be a Christian in many ways.
• Arguably this is the most thorough chapter on the security of salvation.
• For that reason, it is arguably the most valuable chapter for helping you to have assurance of your salvation.
• This chapter is spectacularly rich on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.
• The comforts unveiled in Romans 8 answer some of the most important questions you could have about your relationship with God.

The time and place of the writing of Romans are well established. It was written in the spring of 58, during the three months Paul spent at Corinth on his third missionary journey. Paul wanted to minister in Rome, and then to go to Spain. Paul wrote this letter to the church in Rome to strengthen the church and to set the stage for his later plans.

Romans is the longest of Paul's letters, a little over 7000 words in the original language. Our goal today is to focus your attention on the riches of salvation in Jesus Christ, and to help you zero in on this super-valuable chapter. After some greetings and brief introduction (1:1-15) we come to the theme of the book.

1. The Power Of God For Salvation (1:16-17)
2. Condemnation (1:18-3:20)
3. Justification (3:21-5:21)
4. Sanctification (6:1-8:39)