~2 min read
The Plan of Salvation from the book of Romans (Questions)
- 1:18-23. All men know that God is Almighty Creator, yet they suppress the truth.
Where do beliefs come from? Where do yours come from? Do you know what you believe about God and Christ and salvation? Is one belief as good as another? How serious is it if your belief is wrong? What happens to the truth when it is suppressed, does it go away?
- 2:12-16. All men have God’s standard written on their conscience.
What is the conscience? What is its purpose? Why is it so significant that God’s law is written there? Does God intend that the conscience have a relation to the gospel?
- 3:10-18. No one is righteous in God’s sight, no not even one.
In terms of how God sees our sin, why aren’t we able to diagnose our own case? What happens when we attempt to do so? Does attempting to diagnose our own case always lead to a false cure?
- 3:19-20. No one will be saved by law-keeping; the law reveals sin.
If the law is meant to function as a mirror to show us our sin, and not a ‘ladder’ to climb to heaven—then how should we use the law in conjunction with the gospel?
- 3:23. All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory; our works cannot save us.
If mankind through sin has lost the knowledge of God and His glory, how does that distort the way we think about God? What has God done to restore the knowledge of Himself (His glory) to us?
- 5:12. Sin entered the race through one man; and death because of sin.
According to Romans chapter 5, how does Christ’s act of obedience reverse the reign of sin and death?
- 5:8. Christ died for the helpless and the ungodly.
Why is ‘self-help’ religion false religion? Describe the sinner’s helplessness prior to salvation.
- 6:23. Death and damnation is what our sin deserves, but God gives eternal life in Christ as a free gift to sinners who believe the gospel and repent of their sin.
Sin pays the “wages” of death and damnation, but saving grace is a free gift. What was the cost to God to make grace a free gift to sinners?
- 10:1-4. All men, including religious men resist God’s standard of righteousness. The righteousness which God accepts is found only in Christ.
Our natural ‘religious’ reasoning assumes that God rewards our efforts and accepts a standard of righteousness that we are capable of. Why is this a false way of thinking? Why is His standard absolute righteousness (not ‘grading on a curve’)? How do we subject ourselves to the righteousness of God?
- 10:9-10. With the heart man believes in the risen Christ resulting in a ‘God-approved’ righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses that Jesus is Lord, resulting in salvation.
Faith in Christ alone for salvation means forsaking all else as a source of trust for heaven. What is the connection between the heart believing and the mouth confessing? Why are both mentioned?