Paul H

Q1. (Romans 7:5) Paul uses the word "flesh" (or NIV "sinful nature") many times in chapters 7 and 8. In your own words, what does Paul mean by "flesh" in these verses? He means our inherent propensity to sin.

Q5. (Romans 6:18-22) In Paul's analogy in these verses, is there a place of independent freedom apart from "slavery" to sin or to Christ? No is the very simple answer to this! We are in one camp or the other. Why do we long for this kind of independent freedom? Everyone likes to think that they are in charge, that they are masters of their own destiny. Of course, that is a myth. If we believe that we are independently free, then we deceive ourselves and in fact are a slave to sin. Why do we hesitate to firmly take sides and make our allegiance clear to all? I think that this stems from our natural desire to want to be loved by everyone and in most cases to conform to everyone around us. So we become like a chameleon and change the way we act and are depending on who is around us. The Bible makes it absolutely clear that it does not matter what the World thinks of us, and in fact Jesus warns that the World will hate us. What matters is our relationship with God So we don't need to be loved by everyone, we don't need to conform. We need to live as a slave to Christ. This was a huge lesson for me to learn, and I am still learning, but the burden which is lifted when you finally accept this in full is enormous.

Q4. (Romans 6:17b) How does good doctrine affect the way we live? As this study demonstrates very clearly, the Bible can be a very difficult book to understand at times and many of its meanings are lost on just a read through. We have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit to help to guide us, but without teaching, which has to involve some kind of doctrine at some level, I would miss out on a huge amount of what there is in the Bible. Take what I am doing at this very moment for example. Without this study course, and others which I have done with Pastor Ralph, I would have missed huge pieces of what was being said, in this case by Paul. This study has really focused my attention on my attitude to sin. What sin is, what it does, how it is overcome, and that itself has changed the way I conduct my life and changed my attitude to my sin. Without the teaching I am getting on this course, that wouldn't have happened certainly not now and possibly never. So good doctrine nurtures us and helps us grow. Why should we honor good doctrine? I think that I have already answered this above! If we shouldn't look down on doctrine itself, what kind of teaching should we be avoiding? This is the difficult issue, and this is one where we need the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Clearly if teaching is contrary to what we read in the Bible and to what Jesus taught, then it should be avoided. However, I think that sometimes bad doctrine can be very subtle and difficult to discern. That is where we need the guidance of the Holy Spirit within us and, in particular as young Christians, the guidance of a more experienced Christian.

Q3. (Romans 6:15-18). What does obedience have to do with slavery? To be a slave to someone means making yourself totally obedient to that person, obedient without question and so that you are totally dependent on that person for the order of your life. What Paul is saying is that we can either be in that position in relation to sin or in relation to God. In what way does doing acts of righteousness demonstrate your slavery to God? When we become Christians, we die to sin and are raised again in newness o life in Christ. If we have properly died to sin then we cannot go on living in sin and must therefore live in righteousness. By living in righteousness, we are being obedient to God. Acts of righteousness are an outward manifestation of this inward obedience. It is unfortunate that the concept of slavery has such a negative connotation when trying to understand what Paul is saying about being a slave to righteousness and to God. I have never met anyone who aspires to be a slave, but maybe the concept of slavery has changed since the times of Paul, when actually there were a very large number of people who were slaves. In any event, being a slave to God is a critical, and life changing part of the Christian path. In what ways does doing bad things demonstrate a slavery to sin? Basically, the opposite of the answer above, except that it seems that slavery to sin is our default mode! How is such a slavery or bondage broken? By becoming a Christian, dying with Christ and rising again as a new man, wholeheartedly and unreservedly obedient to Christ. What part does obedience have in breaking this bondage? The only way to break the bondage is to become a slave to God. That involves following a new master (God) and switching our obedience from an obedience to sin to an obedience to God. In what areas is God speaking to you about a fresh obedience in your life? I think that this is a lifelong thing. There will always be areas where I fall short of a total and complete obedience to God. At the moment there are 2 particular areas in my life where God is telling me that I am still hanging on to parts of my old self and therefore haven't given everything up to Him. Through prayer and with the Spirits guidance, I am overcoming my own resistance in these areas and through Christ will triumph.

Q2. (Romans 6:13) In what ways do you "offer the members of your body" to either sin or God multiple times in a day? Why is it that we can sin unconsciously? How can we begin to offer our members deliberately to God? What changes will it take in our daily life to do this? Throughout every single day, we are continually taking decisions, some conscious, some less conscious about what we do, what we say, what we think, how we act etc. Decisions on any of these can at any point lead to us committing a sin or acting righteously. However, I think that what Paul is driving at in verses 13 and 14 is more a state of existence, a state of being rather than individual decisions and events, although within that overall state of being, these individual decisions are important and will reflect our underlying state. We have been buried with Christ, and have risen again to a new life in Him, with Christ as our head. As such, our entire being, our entire existence, which necessarily involves our whole bodies and minds, should be centred on Christ. He must be in everything we do from the minute we wake up to the minute we go to sleep and in that way, I believe that we are offering the members of our body to Christ and not to sin. The individual actions and events will, undoubtedly with lapses fall into line behind this commitment. There is a book called "The Practice of the Presence of God" written by Brother Lawrence in 17th century France. Through his life, Brother Lawrence developed a close relationship with God such that God was always a part of what he was doing, and he conversed with God not just at specific prayer times or in church, but constantly in every situation he found himself in. Having God beside you constantly puts a lot of pressure on you (even Brother Lawrence confessed that it was not easy) but I think it brings us into the state which Paul is suggesting we should be in in these verses; constantly offering ourselves to God.

Q1. (Romans 6:12) What does obedience have to do with the "reign" of sin? We have been freed from the slavery of sin by being united with Christ in His death and resurrection into a new life. However, that does not mean that sin is no longer there. It is, and we can still choose to obey it and to give into it. As we do that, the old man that died with Christ, comes back and we come once again under the reign of sin by choosing to obey it. This is what Paul is warning us against in verse 12.

Q5. (Romans 6:11) What does it mean to "reckon, consider, count" in verse 11? Does this actually mean that we are convincing ourselves of something that isn't really true? What will be the effect in our lives if we actually do consider it to be true that we died with Christ's death with regard to sin? It means that if we believe that Christ died and was buried once for all for sin, and if we believe that we have been united with Christ, in the way that Paul has been discussing throughout this passage, then it is an inevitable conclusion that we are as a result "dead to sin and alive to God in Jesus Christ". Really just a mathematical calculation like 2 + 2 = 4! The implication of this for our lives is revolutionary. It means that we are no longer inevitably caught up in the cycle of sin, whatever Satan may try to tell us otherwise, and we really are dead to sin and alive in God.

Q4. (Romans 6:6-7) In what way has our "body of sin," our "flesh," our old nature been made powerless because of our crucifixion with Christ? In what way have we been freed from slavery? What difference does this understanding make in our struggles against temptation? Our joining with Christ in His crucifixion has caused our old self, our natural body of sin to lose its power over us. This results in us no longer being a slave to sin. We are free from our compulsion to sin.

Q3. (Romans 6:1-7) Is Paul referring to a figurative "death" to sin, or to a kind of historical, actual death? Whose death is he talking about? How does this death become our own? To what degree is this just theological mumbo-jumbo or does it have some basis in reality? I think that Paul is talking about a real historical death, namely the death of Jesus on the cross with which, when we became Christians, we became connected. Christ died for our sins, and therefore when we become connected with Christ's death, we necessarily die to our own sin. There is nothing figurative about this. Christ died for our sin in a very real and physical sense. When we become Christians, we are joined in that death (obviously not in a physical sense; we don't physically die, but in a spiritual sense) and that is not a figurative joining in death it is a real spiritual joining. In doing that, we die to our sins, I would say in both a physical and in a spiritual way. In other words, the combination of the real physical death of Jesus and our spiritual joining in that death produces in us both a physical and spiritual death to our old selves and to sin. Better still, just as Christ was actually raised from the dead in a real physical sense ("death no longer has dominion over Him") so we are raised in both a physical and spiritual sense from our death to sin to "walk in newness of life". Wow, the more I get into this the more I realize what a wonderful revelation this passage is... but so complicated!!

Q2. (Romans 6:3-4) In Paul's reference to baptism in 6:3-4, what does "buried" (6:4a) correspond to in the act of baptism? What does "Christ was raised from the dead" (6:4b) correspond to in baptism? On the basis that, in referring to baptism, Paul is clearly talking about a baptism by total immersion, we are buried with Christ when the body goes under and is completely enveloped by the water. When the body is raised up above the surface of the water we are raised from the dead with Christ to live a new life in Christ and with Christ as our head.

Q1. (Romans 6:3-5) In what sense does baptism bring about our union with Christ? In baptism we die with Christ and are raised again with Him. This is not meant in some symbolic sense but in a real, albeit spiritual sense. In the act of baptism, we die with Christ at a specific point in time (on the Cross). We are then raised up with him, again, at a specific point in time (His resurrection)and in this we become united with the risen Christ as our head. In what sense does baptism symbolize our union with Christ? I don't think that it is mainly intended to be symbolic. Rather, it is real, in a spiritual sense, that in baptism we die and are raised again with Christ. What happens, physically, at a baptism by total immersion is, of course, a good physical analogy of what is happening on a spiritual level. We are lowered into the water, analogous to a burial at death, and are then raised up out of the water as if coming up from burial and death. In that sense, the physical act of baptism by total immersion is a symbol of what is really happening. However, it is the reality of what is going on which is important and that is why, personally, I don't think that it matters whether baptism is by total immersion or in some other form.

Q4. (Romans 6:2-5) According to this passage, at what point do we move from being under the headship of Adam to the headship of Christ? When we die with Jesus, and therefore die to our old selves to be raised from this death to a new life in Christ. This point is symbolized by the positive statement made at baptism, but is much more than just the physical act of being baptized, it is a real acceptance of Jesus as our head. Is there anything we must do to bring about this change in headship? As said above, accept Jesus as our head, as the centre of our lives and our existence, and to make a public statement of this through baptism. What are the implications of us having died with Christ? We die to sin and to our old selves and are raised again in Christ.

Q3. (Romans 5:15-19) By what right does Adam represent all humankind? By the right of God to judge and condemn all of humankind as an all powerful, all knowing but gracious God. By what right does Christ become head of all who become his disciples? By the infinite grace of God, He gave Jesus to become our head or representative not to save us from the condemnation, given after the trespass of Adam, of death, which clearly remains with us, but to save us from the eternal wrath of God and from eternal damnation if we become His disciples If Christ is not our "representative" or "head," how can his death for sins be effective for us? It can't. He has to be our head, or as far as we are concerned, His death would be in vain.

Q2. (Romans 5:13, 20) What is Paul saying in these verses? Can there be sin without law? In what sense does the "trespass increase" (5:20) when the law is present? When Adam sinned, he transgressed a direct command of God namely the command in Genesis 2:17 "...of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die" When Adam ate of the tree, he transgressed God's commandment and thereafter was condemned to an eventual death (something which he had not known before). More than that though, in transgressing this command, Adam acted as a representative of the whole of humanity who came to follow him, including me, and effectively condemned all of humanity to die (something which, with a few possible exceptions in the Old Testament, has happened to every human who has ever been born since that time). However, after Adam had eaten of this tree, there were no other laws. There was sin, but no direct commands from God. Man continued to die as a result of Adam's action. Man also continued to sin (witness the state of the World immediately prior to the flood) but Paul tells us that God did not hold man to account for that sin during the period between Adam and the time at which God gave His commandments to Moses. When God gave His law to mankind through Moses then thereafter, man began to be held to account for sins committed in breach of that law because thereafter, by sinning, man was breaching a direct command given by God.

Q1. What kinds of circumstances in modern life can you think of where a single person acts for an entire group? In what ways are members of the group tied to this person? A political leader such as a president of a country, or a business leader such as the CEO of a company is a good analogy, although typically, unless the leader is a dictator, the president or CEO doesn't act entirely alone, but working together with other elected politicians in the case of a president or other board members in the case of a CEO. The head of a family is another example, although again, in most families, decisions tend to be taken after consultation between family members. In each case though, there are circumstances in which the ultimate head - be it the President or CEO or the head of the family - makes the final decision and at that point acts on behalf of the whole group (nation, employees or family members). When such a decision is taken then some part of the future of the individual members of that group is tied to the results of the heads decision, good or bad.

Q4. (Romans 5:9-11) What does "reconciliation" mean? It means the exchange of a hostile relationship for a friendly one. Before we were enemies of God and as such would ultimately be subject to His wrath. Now we are reconciled to Him through Jesus. Why is reconciliation with God necessary? Without it we would ultimately be subject to God's wrath, which based on a read of some of the Old Testament, is not a great position to be in. We understand our having been saved by Jesus' death (5:10a, past tense). In what sense are we being saved (5:10b, present tense) by his life? What is Jesus doing for us in the present? He is interceding with God for us, and through the power of the Holy Spirit sent for and dwelling in us, is sanctifying us and making us more Christ like as we live in Him. The way that this works is covered really well in Pastor Ralph's study on the Epistles of John (Lesson 4 in particular) which I can thoroughly recommend.

Q3. (Romans 5:6, 8) Why is it so important to embrace the truth that "Christ died for the ungodly" (5:6), that "Christ died for sinners" (5:8)? He died for us when we were lost in sin and without any hope. He died for us when we were His enemies. Having made that sacrifice He will now not abandon us. As Paul says in 5:9 " Much more surely, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God" and again in verse 10 " For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life" According to 5:8, did Christ die for us at our best or at our worst? While we were sinners, so at our worst. How does this give us assurance against the devil's lies about us being too bad to forgive? He made the ultimate sacrifice to offer us the chance of salvation when we were at out worst. He will never withdraw that salvation having once made that sacrifice. As Paul says, we have been made righteous through His blood and through that we will be saved. Of course, we have to accept his free gift of salvation, but if we accept it, and continue in its acceptance, we will be saved.

Q2. (Romans 5:2-5) According to this passage why should we rejoice in our sufferings and tribulations? Because sufferings produce endurance or perseverance, endurance produces character and character produces hope. One by one, what is the importance to our lives of: perseverance, tried character, and hope? Perseverance or patience (KJV) in spite of whatever is going on around us is crucial if we are to follow Gods path. Very often, especially in my case, and especially when we are suffering in some way, we want something to happen and we want it to happen yesterday! This is not always God's way. However by having the patience and endurance to wait for God to work, we learn by experience that God will answer and that all things work together for good for those who believe in God. This experience of God's provision time and time again, learned through perseverance, gives us the tried character, which in turn brings us closer to God. In effect, the more we trust Him, the more it becomes in our character to trust Him and the closer we get to Him. Which in turn gives us the hope or, I think more accurately, the certainty, of where we are going. This in turn gives us the perseverence, knowing the long term goal, to undergo any sufferings

Q1. (Romans 5:1-2) According to verses 1-2, faith is a key to salvation. For Abraham (4:3), what was the relationship between faith and justification? Abraham was reckoned as righteous by God not because of anything he had done, but because he believed God (Genesis 15:6 which is quoted by Paul in Romans 4:3) For us (5:1-2), what is the relationship between faith and justification? In Romans Chapter 4 Paul tells us that the words "it was reckoned to him" when referring to Abraham "were written not for his [Abraham's] sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification." Therefore, like Abraham, we are justified, not as a result of anything we are or do, but through our faith in the risen Christ and in his Father who sent him. In your own words, just what does it mean to be justified? It means to be completely acquitted so as to be, like Abraham, reckoned as righteous by God. This is something which we could never have achieved on our own or through our own efforts. It is with this confidence that we can stand or kneel before God now without any fear of condemnation or retribution. We bring nothing of our own to Him, but through our faith, our belief, we are saved. This is Good News

Q4. Read Matthew 8:5-13; 21:33-44; 22:2-13; 24:14; and 28:19. What do they have in common? They all point to the fact that the Good News of Jesus is for everyone, whatever their background, wherever they are from and whatever their religion. The wise men were from foreign lands and were probably not Jewish, the centurion in Matthew 8 was also from a foreign land and was certainly not a Jew, but the Good news of Jesus is for everyone and it is up to each person to choose to accept or reject it. What relation does the visit of the wise men have to Matthew's theme of bringing the Gospel to the Gentiles? The wise men probably were Gentiles and yet they were guided to and believed the good news of Jesus. How should we be applying this mandate in our own lives? Go forth into all the world and preach the Gospel or "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" as Jesus commands His disciples in Matthew 28.

Q3. (Matthew 2:11b) Why was it appropriate for the Magi bring gifts to the Christ-child? How does the extravagance of their gifts reflect their heart attitude? They were coming to pay homage to the King of Kings, the Messiah. It would have been, and indeed still is traditional to bring gifts when visiting royalty, so how much more so when coming to pay homage to the King of Kings. The nature of the gifts clearly reflects their heart felt belief that here was the Messiah. What kinds of gifts are appropriate for us to bring? The best we have of everything.

Q2. (Matthew 2:11a) What do we learn from seeing the Magi prostrating themselves before the child Jesus? They were aware that they had found the Messiah, the King of the Jews. What was the significance of this for them? They were offering their obeisance as was fitting before this royalty How can we emulate this kind of worship? We should reverently and humbly offer our praise and worship to Him as Lord of our lives and indeed of everything.

Q1. (Matthew 2:1-2; Numbers 24:17) What is the significance of the Star of Bethlehem that the Magi saw?Why do you think the Magi came to find the Christ-child when they saw the star? In what way was does prophecy prefigure this event? I can see how the prophesy of Balaam in Numbers 24 is a prophesy of the Mesiaah referring to Jesus as the star out of Jacob and the scepter rising out of Israel, and in fact Jesus is referred to as the morning star in Revelation. However, I have thought and thought about this and just don't see that the prophesy in Numbers is a prophesy of the star which led the wise men to seek Jesus and in fact Matthew doesn't refer to this prophesy, when you would have expected him to if he had it in mind. To me, the significance of the star is that it was a supernatural sign given by God to the 3 wise men, much like the pillar of cloud and fire given to the Israelites in the wilderness. I think that they had probably witnessed the appearance of some new star likely 2 years previously, in their own land and had seen it as a portent of the birth of the king of the Jews. It is interesting to me that it took 2 years for them to travel to Jerusalem, and maybe they had to carry out a lot of research to lead them to this conclusion. What is clear is that either they didn't at the point that they set off for Jerusalem know that the star pointed to the birth of the Messiah, or they weren't aware of the prophesy quoted by Matthew which clearly prophesies that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. In any event, when they got to Jerusalem, the star appears again and guides them from Jerusalem not only to Bethlehem but to the very house where Jesus was. This I believe to be supernatural guidance sent by God

Q5. (Luke 2:17-20) Great joy, praise, curiosity, amazement, telling others, thoughtful meditation. Which of these responses to the Good News are present in your life? In what manner do they show themselves? If some are missing, why? What can you do to recover these responses? For me, all of these responses are always there somewhere, but sometimes (too often actually) get lost or buried in my day to day life and in my daily cares and worries. The way to rediscover these responses is through prayer, meditation and worship. Just focus on the glory that is God and these responses will resurface. Quite often, I find that starting simply focusing on the words used in the Eucharist, "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again!" is enough to focus my mind on the glory of God and the responses described in the question are then all natural responses to the glorious truth.

Q4. (Luke 2:11) What are the three titles of Jesus given by the angels? What does each mean? First; a Savior meaning a savior who will save all people from enemies and from their sins Second the Christ meaning the long awaited and prophesied Messiah; and finally, the Lord which means that this savior is divine and of one being with God the Father or to the shepherds, with Yahweh. What does this tell us about Jesus' true identity? It tells us that he is the true Messiah, but that He is not simply a man sent by God but that He is God, in other words God made man. In addition it tells us that, contrary to what was at the time of the shepherds common Jewish belief, this Messiah had not come simply to save Israel from its enemies but had come to save all people from not only their enemies but also from their sins. This must have been, and remains, a startling revelation, and good news indeed!