Brian Maloy

Yeah, on there. Did you record in there already? Okay, cool. Okay, let’s read Romans 5. We’re going to read, um, 1 through 11. And then the quarterly skips to 18, but I’ll read the, you know, the in between.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person, though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves his own love for us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How much more then, since we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath? For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life? And not only that, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.

All right, quarterly skips, but we’ll read 12. Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people because all sinned. In fact, sin was in the world before the law, but sin is not charged to a person’s account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin in the likeness of Adam’s transgression. He is a type of the coming one. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if by one man’s trespass the many died, how much more have the grace of God and gift which comes through the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflowed to the many?

18. 18. So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is justification, leading to life for everyone. For just as through one man’s disobedience many were made sinners… Also, through one man’s obedience, many will be made righteous. The law came to multiply the trespass, but where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more, so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Man, so this is a neat moment. Romans is really good all the way through, but I like this part of Romans because it’s a pivot. It’s moving from the first 4 chapters. I don’t remember where I read this. Somewhere I read this. Paul spent 4 chapters focusing on why humanity needed the righteousness or justification only found in Jesus. So he’s built the case for 4 chapters. But now… Verse 1, he says, “Therefore,” and it’s not just a “therefore” for the previous statement. It’s really a “therefore” from the last 4 chapters. And he’s turning this to us and he’s saying, because of the humanity’s need for justification, now we’re going to talk about how we’re reconciled before God. So it’s neat. It’s going from… making the case of why we should be justified before the Lord, to now what a restored relationship actually looks like.

Which is very cool because one of my favorite classes of seminary, and I know I probably said this for each class I was in when I was in it because that’s me, but I really loved practical theology and context. It was such a cool class because so many classes were like the heavy systematic theology and you’re like wrestling. I mean, the book was like, thank goodness it was an e-book, but I saw paper books and they were like 5 inches thick and tiny words and they were just, it was heavy. I mean, it took 3 classes to get through systematic theology because they couldn’t fit it in one or two anymore. Great, but heavy. Where you get to practical theology and you’re like, okay, now this is kind of like, what do I do with it? Like, I just learned all these things. How do I now live these things out? So, I like it because chapter 5 is going that direction. It’s the how do I now live this thing now that you’ve explained to me why I should. So,

The first question, and this one may be more personal than people want to answer, so it may be one you answer in your heart, but we’ll see. It says, where have you seen reconciliation in action lately? Or with whom have you sought reconciliation? That’s the super personal part you may not want. But have you seen much reconciliation lately? I don’t know. I think that is a missing part of our world now. Even amongst high school kids, adults, little people, not short people, like children. Sorry, that could have been interpreted wrong. I realized as it came out. Sometimes you just have to correct yourself. There was a pair last year in school.

They were working on a project together, and they both seemed like they were good friends. They’d been good friends for a long time. And then randomly one day, they both came to me totally separately, and they’re like, “I can’t work with her on this project anymore.” And I was like, “What happened? Is she not pulling her weight?” She’s like, “No, I don’t want to be around her anymore.” And I have no idea what rift happened. I don’t want to know. I really try and stay out of the high school world. Drama. The less I know about who’s dating who or who talked to someone else’s boyfriend from 7th grade and now, you know, senior girl is mad at that even though you haven’t talked to that boy in any way. The less I know, the happier I usually am. Oh, I can pray for them without knowing details. God knows.

But they, they still like… they, they were always together, like not just in class. I always saw them. You know, they were in the same friend group. And they do not speak anymore. I have no earthly idea. But that’s become like culturally so acceptable of it’s just like, “Oh, we had a disagreement. I obviously should cut you off.” And it’s weird. Like, I don’t… I don’t like it. Even people I don’t necessarily care for. I don’t really like that feeling. It’s unnatural and it feels angsty.

We had some good friends when I was in high school. And if I recall… I was probably like a sophomore or junior. But we’d been friends with them for years. Like they lived down in the Central West End in this really cool old, you know, house that was very eclectic. She was an artist. She did all the glass art, fancy things. He was a professor. Like they were quirky. And I liked them because they were quirky. And at some point they realized we had different theological and political leanings than they did. And it was just silence. And to this day, I don’t know how many years that’s been. I can’t do that much math right now. 25-ish years? It still makes me sad. I still go to Forest Park because they lived on one of those streets kind of by Barnes. I still be like, “I miss them. I liked them. I don’t care if we had different beliefs. I liked them. Because we hiked together. We did all kinds of fun stuff.” They were just… fun and quirky.

Anyway, I say that. It ought not be that way, but we live in a world that very quickly just puts up walls of like, “No, I’m out. I’m not interested in reconciliation.” So I like that question. Because what we see in Romans 5 is a God who doesn’t just say, “Hey, it’s okay.” I mean, everyone’s done this, right? Like where someone, you’ve upset someone or they’ve upset you. And then you have a talk and they’re like, “I’m fine. It’s okay.” And you don’t, you know where I’m going with this. Like, and you don’t, it’s not really fine and you’re not really okay. But you’re okay kind of dropping it and then skirting them in the hallways forever. Does that feel familiar? No? No one’s had that happen to them? I have.

I love Romans 5 because we see a God who doesn’t just say, “Hey, it’s okay. We’re fine. We’re good.” But instead is like, “No, no, not only is it fine and we’re good, let’s restore the relationship.” And I think that’s really cool because it’s completely countercultural to the world we live in. Our world doesn’t do that. People don’t reconcile broken things. They tend to just write it off and say, “Well, it was no good.”

So let’s go ahead and reread 1 through 5. I really, like, if I had to pick one section that I wanted to spend the most time on, it’s 1 through 5. I love a few verses of this, so we’ll come back to it a few times. So let’s read 1 through 5.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace. By which we stand and we boast in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance. Endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Man, I love that section so much. Um, think about that word. It talks at the very beginning. It makes the comment about because we’ve been justified by faith. So justification has happened. I didn’t say this before. Like when we look at some of these, Paul writes like from like the legal point of view and justified me like the debt has been paid. You’re now clear. Like but then we move past that to this idea of of the restoration. So he’s using legal terms to help them understand like you have been legally set right with God because of Jesus. Now, because of that, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

So that idea of peace, what does peace really mean? When it says that we have now been given peace, what is Paul trying to say? Or what’s peace to you? What’s the most peaceful you can imagine? I know I’m very nature-y. So seeing the Beerman’s pictures from Canada, eh? I love how much they say “eh” in Canada. There’s nothing more. Have you ever heard Canadians say “eh”? It’s so unironic. I do it ironically all the time, and I’m like, “Eh?” And they really say it. Anyway, sorry.

But Canada, being out in the woods, to me, I’m out of the city. I’m out of the noise. I don’t have somewhere I have to be right now. And I can just breathe… to me, is very peaceful. I’m trying to think. The California trip this summer was not peaceful. It was beautiful. But we knew we probably wouldn’t go back. So you kind of had to hit all the cool things. I mean, there were peaceful moments. Don’t get me wrong. Swimming in the hotel pool before bed, very peaceful. Sitting on the beach while the kids scream. Well, not peaceful. The waves were peaceful. But we knew the likelihood of going back probably is low, so you’ve got to hit all the stuff you can.

But we go to Colorado decently often. We camp in the Ozarks all the time. Going down something as simple as Han State Park, it’s one of our favorite places because there’s like, 30 campsites. It’s always quiet. You’re nestled in this little valley. There’s a creek the kids can play in. And you can just breathe. And if you decide later you don’t want to cook, Farmington and St. Jan are like 15 minutes away. So it’s just that to us is like peace. Because you can just breathe. There’s time. But peace is different for everybody. Some people it’s a place. Some people it’s a state of mind. Some people it’s… having a to-do list, like all the ducks in a row, everything’s crossed off, like I’m caught up. But peace, does peace in this world feel a little bit elusive at times?

Like it’s just, it’s kind of, this is totally lost on kids today. One kid got this the other day. When someone says “chasing your white whale,” what is that, like what’s that from? Yeah, one kid knew that. I was like, they were like, “What’s Moby Dick?” They’re like, “That sounds really inappropriate, Mr. Molloy.” And I’m like… I was like, no, it’s a book written by Herman Melville. Even if you haven’t read the book, I thought they would get the reference. Because the whole idea of chasing your white whale is that you’re chasing that elusive, like, you can’t quite catch it idea. I mean, only one kid was like, “Is that from Moby Dick?” And I’m like, “Yes.” The rest just thought I was being inappropriate, which is always fun. Yeah.

Oh, yeah. She was saying that Friday was Dolly Parton Day because it was 9 25. Oh, that’s why it was Dolly Day. Someone told me, somebody was like, “Oh, like it’s Dolly Day.” I’m like, this is not the anniversary of her birth or death. Like, 9 25. That’s so much funnier. That’s true. That’s true. So some of the younger teachers came in and said, “Hey, it’s Dolly Day.” And she goes, “Yeah, because it’s 9 to 5.” And they’re like, “What?” They’d never heard the song? They didn’t know the song or the movie. Oh, right from the movie. That’s right. Yeah. I still thought that was like a peak, like everyone knows that Dolly song. But I guess when you’re older. They didn’t know the song or the movie. And she’s like, “You haven’t seen the movie.” Wow. It is kind of a classic. Wow. That’s crazy.

Man, but it is funny how those things happen. It is funny how that happens. So this idea of peace being elusive is important because when we read verse one, it’s very clear. Therefore, since we’ve been justified, our faith has found us righteous before God. Because of that, we have peace with God. Peace with my kids or my wife or my students or my classes or coworkers, those are all great things. But the only peace that’s really going to give me actual rest is peace with God. Because in the end, I know that’s who I answer to.

You know, if I mess up, like, I don’t know, and I screw up everybody’s grades at school and I fix them, the kids forget after a couple of days. They don’t care. You know, if I yell at one of my kids because they’re beating on their brother, they get over it once they’ve calmed down and they apologize to their brother and all is well and good. But not having peace with God, we will never feel at rest because we know something is not right. And that’s a gift that we see. It’s a promise right in this first line. But I think what’s so cool is how it continues on. I really, really, really love. I mean, verse two is great, but three and four is where I think this thing just pops. So let’s reread three and four. I guess we have to read two to make sense.

We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Verse three, my favorite. And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions. Because we know that affliction produces endurance. And endurance produces proven character. And proven character produces hope. And this hope will not disappoint us. Because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

The part that just got me yesterday… or Friday. I was prepping for this Friday. I had parent-teacher conferences, and on Thursday night, you’re slammed the whole time. Friday, they make you sit there from 8 to 11, or 8 to 11:30. Nobody comes. I mean, I had one person from 9 to 10:15, and they had like 3 sprinkled in. I mean, it was just agonizing. But nevertheless, I got to prep for Sunday school. That part, verse 3, is amazing.

I love, love, love when Paul has these little short lines, and it’s probably because I’m a to-do list person, so it’s fun. But we boast in our afflictions because we know that affliction produces endurance, and endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. And it’s really beautiful because we see this little trajectory building out. So the question I have for you is, What do you think he means by afflictions? I actually have multiple questions, but that’s the first one. What do you think he means by afflictions? Yeah. Yeah. I think is an affliction.

Yeah. I mean, and I think you’re right. It doesn’t have to be massively catastrophic. It can be something as simple as just annoying setbacks. I mean, that still is an affliction in the sense of I feel like I are frustrated or fearful or any of the above. Affliction in a lot of ways is a good catch-all word to imply a lot. So that way it’s relatable to anybody. Anybody can say they have afflictions. We might giggle when someone says their affliction is that my mom, I’m talking about high schoolers, my mom wouldn’t pay me back for me getting my nails done. That is not an affliction.

I literally had a conference with a dad, one of the 4 who came Friday. And he was laughing because his daughter’s quirky and she’s great in marketing, works hard. She’s just like, she’s a fiery redhead. She is the epitome of fiery redhead. And her dad owns a flooring, like wood floors, and they make that stuff. And he said it was really funny because, oh, how did it come up? Something to literally that effect of like, she texted him. Dad, you never paid me back for when I got my nails done the other day. And he was like, “You never paid me back for private school by getting perfect grades either, but here we are.” And I was just like, “Go, Mr. Kenley. That was well done.” But it’s, man, it’s funny. When we think about this idea of affliction, we know that there’s the ridiculous.

And even in our own lives, we can feel like in that moment, this is an affliction and I’m frustrated. And then afterwards, we kind of laugh about it because we’re like, “Well, that wasn’t really that big of a deal after all.” We even do that to ourselves. But affliction is great because it reminds us that we all endure difficult things, whether big or small. So we start there and Paul says, not only that, but we boast in our afflictions. So, When’s the last time you boasted in your affliction? Don’t everyone talk at once? I can’t hear you when you all talk at once. I actually really can’t when people all talk at once. My hearing aid doesn’t do that. And if you work in a high school, everyone talks at once.

It is a weird statement for Paul to say. Not only do we know what affliction leads to, but we boast in our affliction. So I had a thought. Let’s see. Here we go. Well, before I get the thought, why does Paul say we should boast in our affliction? Or rather, why don’t we boast in our afflictions? What do we tend to do when we’re afflicted, whatever that affliction may be? What do we tend to do most? Woe is. Like the victim mindset is really strong in 2026. Everybody wants to be a victim. And even if you aren’t playing the victim card, you get more attention when it’s something like, “Woe is me,” than saying something really good happened. Something really good happens and half of your friends are like, “No thanks.” Or “Nothing good ever happens to me.” But something sad happens and everyone’s kind of like, “Oh.” So I know people who play up the negative because they get more attention for it. We all know someone like that.

Boasting in our affliction is weird. Boasting in our affliction is just weird. The rundown of those words is affliction produces endurance. Endurance produces character. And character produces hope. So I wondered… What’s the alternative? If I fail to see my affliction in the light, I would say that little rundown of arrows to affliction, to endurance, to character, to hope, is very much seeing our affliction in light of the cross. It’s seeing the brokenness and the frustration and the setbacks in light of the kingdom of God. It produces hope. But if I’m not seeing those things in light of the kingdom and the cross… What might the opposite be from affliction to endurance to character to hope? Any guesses? Any thoughts? What does it look like on the other side?

I think it’s kind of that saying, either make you better or make you fitter. That’s a great saying. Don’t see your affliction as building something good in you, and you’re just trying to get fitter. Yeah. I like that. It’s the getting better or getting better. I forgot about that phrase. That’s a great way of putting this because it’s two paths. It’s like Robert Frost, another reference loss on high school. Two paths diverged in the wood, and I took the one less traveled. The one more traveled is the one that is the woe is me. It is the like, “Oh, I can’t believe it. This is frustrating, and I hate it, and I’m mad about it,” and it leads to bitterness and despair.

I made a fake one, the trajectory trajectory. This is the one we see very often in the world, and I feel like I could personally identify with it, so it’s easier to make. Affliction without belief in the cross tends to produce resentment. Resentment erodes our character, and the erosion of our character leads to despair or cynicism. Think about the world we live in now. I don’t want to super talk about it because it bums me out, but it’s a world that hope is not the word that I would say is like ringing true from the streets. It’s a world that everything is so doom and gloom. Everything is like, “Oh, the market will definitely crash, or that thing is definitely falling down, or that’s never getting built.” I mean, it’s just, ugh.

<I’ve gotten to where now, whenever the news alerts pop up on my phone, I just swipe them off, because I’m like, I don’t even want to read the headline anymore. You bummed me out. You do not deserve my attention. That said… That is very, that the opposite of what scripture says, I think, is the path the world takes. But it’s a path that does not view affliction in light of the kingdom of God and the cross. It’s one that sees affliction without belief. It sees affliction without any glimmer of truth. So, of course, it produces resentment. You know, something bad happens and that bitterness and resentment starts to build up and everyone knows the bitter train is a very quick train. It does not take long to get ourselves into a mood. And then as we get into that bitter resentment, it slowly unravels the character that did trust in the Father or the character that wants to believe in the end good things happen or it’ll all work out, like any of the nice global platitudes that we will say. And then it genuinely leads to despair or total cynicism. Nobody wants despair, I don’t think. I mean, maybe some sadists, but I don’t know anyone who that’s their end goal is despair. I think most people would say, no, I want to live in a world where there’s always hope. I don’t know anyone who says I want to live in a world full of despair. I hope I’m right. But it’s a very easy train if we don’t see our affliction in light of Jesus, if we don’t see our affliction in light of the kingdom of God.

So when Paul says, and not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions because we know that affliction, and he gives that rundown again. Affliction produces endurance. Endurance produces proven character. Proven character produces hope. And this hope will not disappoint us. He starts it telling us what we have to do. And it’s not something that people will look at us and think, wow, you’re bonkers. When we boast in our affliction, when we say, you know what? God can use this for good. I don’t understand it, but I know that God is good, and I will keep walking this path. People will, of course, look at us like, you’ve lost your money. And maybe we have. But we have a promise here in verse 5 that that hope will not disappoint us. So we might be crazy in terms of the world. We might be good. Because hopefully, not hopefully, absolute certainty, that hope will not disappoint us. And when we see our affliction, I’m sorry, we boast in our affliction, it slowly builds up endurance. I can look back in life, and I hope you guys can too, and you can see the different afflictions that you’ve gone through, the frustrations, the setbacks, and you can see like, wow, I trusted God more the next time something happened. Or maybe you look at life and you can look back and go, hmm, I trusted God less the next time something bad happened. That’s a really good barometer for like, am I seeing my affliction in light of the kingdom? Or am I seeing my affliction in light of my kingdom? It’s a hard reality, but it’s a good way to gauge which one are we walking in. Because in the end, boasting in the affliction and knowing God’s kingdom will endure and that hope will not disappoint, it changes us. It changes. It doesn’t mean the setbacks. There are so many things I would love to have not endured in life. But here we are. Of course, no one goes into it looking for affliction. Although there are some people, but most people do not. But man, it produces hope. Wait to reread 5. And this hope will not disappoint us because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. What a promise. So you go from 3, where we should boast in our afflictions. 4, this is what happens. And then 5, it won’t disappoint you because God’s love has been poured into your heart. The kingdom of God is continually being revealed to you through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

I don’t know about you, but people don’t really talk that way anymore. Even in church circles, they don’t talk that way anymore. What Paul is revealing for them, again, remember, chapter 5 is that pivot. Because it starts with therefore. First 4 chapters are all about the why you should be justified. Now it’s the, what does a justified and righteous life look like? What should be the lives that we’re living? And I want that life. I want peace with God. I want to understand how my affliction can produce endurance and character and hope. And that should be the thing I want to give to the rest of the world too. That should be the reason that we share the gospel, not just to keep people out of hell, which is also good and true, but also because they now can live a life where things are reframed. It’s not a hopeless life.

Despair pit. Remember, did anyone ever watch the, um, Princess Bride? Oh, we got, we got a couple, the pit of despair. Oh man, oh that’s right. Rose, can I? I forgot like the pit of despair. I mean like we, we live in a pit of despair but we don’t have to because we might have one foot in this world. Man, we’ve got a foot in the kingdom of God and the kingdom of God we know that the best is always yet to come for those who believe. That gives us hope.

So, there’s the question on 40. It says right there, how does peace with God affect your life today? I think this is a very practical theology question. How does peace with God affect us today? You know, because we have the Holy Spirit. Everybody talks about God and Jesus and they’re marvelous superpowers, but we have the Holy Spirit. We have the Holy Spirit. I mean, I get really excited when I reread that section in the Gospels when Jesus talks about the counselor who’s coming after, the helper who’s coming after, who’s even greater than I. And not that he’s still equally God, but he’s indwelling. I mean, it’s no longer human Jesus with me. It’s the Holy Spirit living in me is unfathomable. I mean, it’s incredible. Any other thoughts like how peace with God affects life today?

I thought about, I think it changes the air we breathe. That is a really big statement. But I genuinely think peace with God changes the air we breathe in the sense that the climate of our life, our relationships, our emotions, our spiritual health, all of those things are different because of peace with God. It changes, when I read scripture, when I pray with others, when I come to Bible studies, when I am driving in the car and singing songs, all of those things, it changes the air that I breathe. Because now, peace with God means that the war and the enmity and the strife between me and the Creator is gone. There might be strife around me in the world, but the peace with the one who has created all things and is in all things and is in the end the king is over and gone. I don’t have to live a life of self-protection or suspicion or fear because I’m right with the creator of the universe. I’ve been made right with him. And I think that practical implications for that, a stable, someone who genuinely understands God, their identity in Christ, and I don’t mean completely and thoroughly and theologically they could write an 800-page paper on it, but like someone who is grounded in their understanding of who they are in Christ, that changes everything in their life. It changes work. It changes relationships. It changes friendships. It changes setbacks and letdowns and awkward interactions in the hallway, like access to the Father. I think when we look at this idea of peace with God, I’m not afraid to approach the throne.

There’s a sense of awe, but I’m not afraid to go to God and ask for forgiveness like David in Psalm 51. I know that I can approach the throne because I know he is a gracious and good God, and I am not counted as righteous because of my good works. I’m counted righteous because of Jesus and because I believe. And the last one, this goes back to this idea of endurance and suffering and affliction. Peace with God also changes our posture towards suffering. It doesn’t make suffering fun. We’re not weird. We are weird, but we’re not that kind of weird. But it changes our posture because we know the suffering is not the end game. The suffering doesn’t have the final word. The suffering in the end is not the end of all things. Jesus is. So that’s my favorite passage. Now we have to read my other least favorite passages. So I should never say that before the beginning of the day, but such is life. They’re still good. Any thoughts before I move on and read 6 through 11?

Before you get into that, that key doctrine there is salvation, and it says justification. I don’t think I ever connected, but you’re justified through salvation, right? You’re justified through Jesus to salvation. Yeah, yeah. I don’t remember. I think I wrote it down last week. There’s the Latin phrase. Yeah. Ordo salutis, which is like order of salvation. We’re called… We’re regenerated. We have faith. And then we’re justified because of our faith. And then we’re sanctified throughout life. And then we’re glorified in heaven. Which I’m sure there’s books upon books upon books we could dig into for those. Okay, let’s read 6 through 11. For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely… Will someone die for a just person? Though for a good person, perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath? For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of the Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life? And not only that, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.

So this is one of those passages where I think it’s excellent, but Paul is speaking in like logical turn of phrase to like kind of take ideas and flip them around to help us understand legally before God. Understand it this way, which is sometimes hard to understand. But what he’s doing is he’s helping them understand that before being justified through Jesus, we were helpless. We could not save ourselves. And he starts out with, he says, while we were helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. He did not die for the godly. He did not die for the righteous. He did not die for the one whose to-do list was really, really good and his bad list was just small. He died for the ungodly. And then Paul kind of goes on and says, you know, but rarely will someone die for a just person, though maybe for a good person someone might. But God proved his love that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. It’s a really, like, that’s a famous verse for a reason. Like, while we were still sinners, it gets used in, oh, we lost Glenda. All of a sudden the screen just changed. I know, now I’m double and delayed. It’s terrible. It’s okay. Maybe we should come back. This idea, though, of how Paul is unfolding this idea is so important because while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And verse 8 tells us that’s how God proves his love. And it was not because we were worthy. We are unworthy. It was not because we’re holy and good. We weren’t. But we were sinners, and Christ died for those sinners. That changes everything. When people will throw out that, like, oh, I’ve got to get stuff together before I can go to church. Like, I’m a mess. You’re like, no. Like, that should be a verse that comes to mind quick. No, God literally proved his love for us that he sent Jesus to die while we were still sinners. Like, we were not supposed to get our acts together and then be called. The gift of grace is a free gift to those who believe.

Um, so Paul, let’s see, where did it go? Oh, here we go. Paul uses the word reconciled. I think it’s in, yep, verse 10. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the faith of the Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. So Paul is trying to help us understand rather than like feeling like, well, you know, I’m just a little, I’m not nothing special. It’s like, no, no, like we are nothing special. We are just human beings. But if God was willing to save sinners and send his son to die, then why in the world would now that we’re made right with God, like he did that massive thing for us while we were sinners and broken. Now that we’ve been made right, why would he not do more to help grow us and change us into the likeness of Jesus? Um, but he says it in like, you know, more legal terms. Um, and that’s how verse 10 kind of unfolds. If he did this while we were enemies, then why would he not do more while we’re reconciled? If, if he saved us while we were enemies, why would he not want us to grow in the likeness of Jesus? Once we’ve been made right with him, like now we’re not, the relationship has been, has been reconciled. Now I want you to be restored.

It’s not unlike, I like this analogy. Um, you know, when we bought our house originally, it was a fixer-upper. Like, it was livable, but it was definitely a fixer-upper. It took 11 years, and we weren’t even quite all the way done with it yet. But the moment we bought the house, and I’ve seen people do this with way worse houses. Like, you know, you think like old downtown Kirkwood, like the one that’s kind of crumbling in itself, and someone’s like, no, no, that’s historic. We’re saving it. And they’ll go in, and the moment they buy that house, it has now been redeemed. It is not going, like it is… But the restoration takes a long time. I’ve watched them lift them off the old stone foundation and they reconfigure so it’s solid underneath. And then they start shoring it up and redoing the roof to keep it from watering. I mean, it’s amazing, but it takes time. A lot of time to restore something that has been destroyed but the moment they buy it it’s like no you have been redeemed like i’m not letting this like i’ve stopped the decay and we’re going to now start working and that’s what Paul I believe is trying to help them understand if if God redeemed us through Jesus and now we’ve been made right why would he stop that process why would he just redeem us and then be like all right do whatever you want it’s like no no of course like You’ve now been redeemed. Let’s now restore the situation. Reconciliation is beautiful. Which again, we talked about that before, being so rare in our world. Man, how much more beautiful it would be if Christians led the charge. We would finally look different than the world around us. So, oh gosh, there was a thought I had.

Page 42, there’s a question. It says, how does Jesus’ death prove his love for humanity? How does Jesus’ death prove his love for us? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, to stand between us and the judgment we deserve is unbelievable. Like Paul says, people really do that for someone else today. It just doesn’t logically make sense in human terms, but yet that’s exactly what Jesus did. It’s exactly what God sent him to do. Would you not always think he could have died easily? He died such a horrible death. Horrible death, yes. I mean, to do that for him.

It’s such an interesting thing because you think about the way Jesus was crucified. Often, and I don’t remember exactly the stats, but I remember studying and reading that when people were crucified, oftentimes it took days before they died. Like it was purposefully, like, I mean, they were along the road, like meant to be tortured, like publicly for days. And he was there for a few hours. And I remember hearing someone teach about, like when Jesus is on the cross and And he looks up and he says to God, like, into you I commit my spirit. And then he says, it’s like. It’s when he says it is finished, but he said something right before it that I’m blanking on. He knew that at that moment God was pouring wrath. He didn’t need to have the physical death because he knew that God would pour all of the wrath of every human on him. And in that moment, it was just… I remember it being phrased, and I’m probably going to say this wrong. I hope it’s not theologically wrong. But the overwhelming load of the pain of sin crushed him.

That, you know, we hear it all the time, like our sin is what nailed him to the cross and our sin is why he died. But that him dying so quickly was because just the weight and pain of sin was just, it gave up his spirit. Like he knew, like it was overload. I mean, I can’t even, even my own kids do something that grieves my heart or there are days I drive home from school because you do hear one of the drama things that you didn’t want to hear and it just breaks your heart and you spend the whole drive home sad about it. I mean, it’s nothing compared to the weight of all of our sins being poured out on one person. But there’s probably no better way to say, how does Jesus’ death prove his love for us in that? I mean, he died for sinners. He didn’t die for the righteous. And man, the sinners are a mess. Okay, 10:06, yikes. We’ve got to read 18 through 21.

18 through 21. So this is a cool contrast, the way that Paul does this. You know, Paul’s trying to help us understand this idea of sin entering the world through one man and then redemption entering the world through one man. So then, as though one trespass, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is justification leading to life for everyone. For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. The law came along to multiply the trespass, but where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more. So that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

There was a verse we read on the in-between section. It was 14. And he actually says, like, nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses. Even over those who did not sin in the likeness of Adam’s transgression. He is a type of the coming one. So there’s this idea we’ve talked about in class before, typology. And the idea of typology is there’s different figures in scripture that point us to Jesus, that they are a type of. They are not Jesus, but they point to the work of, like Moses is a type in the idea of this typology. Adam is a type in the sense of they were the ones who this thing came through. And Jesus is the fulfillment of that pointing to. So when we read this last bit, this 18 through 21, we see that. So we all received condemnation because of the sin of Adam, because we were born into sin.

So, and this goes to 19, just as one man’s disobedience, many were made sinners, also through one man’s obedience, then many will be made righteous. We’re only made righteous because of the obedience of Jesus. And Paul’s, again, he’s giving that contrast to help them understand. But when you think about, like, think about things in the world that multiply quickly. Like illnesses, Sad things, bad news. What’s that? Rabbits. None of my children are sad about that. They love how many rabbits are in our yard. It’s concerning. I would add to that sin. Sin begets sin. And more sin begets more sin. Sin is a cancer. It spreads like wildfire. But… Just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Only Jesus can stop that train. Only Jesus can stop the sin train. It spirals. It’s like if you’ve ever seen a video of an avalanche. It doesn’t start out big. It typically is like a little bit of snow or rocks falls off of a precipice, and then as it builds and builds and builds, and before you know it, it’s like, Wow, like tiny towns are taken out in the Swiss Alps kind of thinking. I mean, it’s small, but sin is like that. It begets sin. It just gets out of control before we even know it. There’s a really good question, though. It says on 44, how do I know Jesus’ death was meant for me? How do I know that Jesus’ death was meant for me?

This is an easier answer than most people will probably go to right away. Because we’re sinners. But if we don’t see our sin and we don’t really believe we have sin, I say this phrase all the time. It’s probably getting old by now, but I don’t care. When our sin is small, our Jesus is small. When we make little of our sin, I don’t really need a savior. But when I understand the depth and depravity and bigness of my sin, and I sit in front of it and I’m confronted with it, I realize I need a big Jesus. I do not need some small, weak platitude or verse on Facebook. I need the real Jesus of the Bible. I need a Jesus who can really redeem me from the bigness of my sin. And that question of like, how do I know Jesus’ death was meant for me? Well, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Well, if I don’t think I’m a sinner, I don’t really know that Christ died for me. But if I can grapple with and I might not be, we will never be happy about it. But when we can be aware of our sin and count it well, then we realize what Jesus has redeemed us from.

And I think, when I read this section, I’m confronted with this idea. Am I living under the curse? Or am I living under Christ’s redemption? Because Paul’s laying out 2 options. Like, through 1 man’s disobedience, many were made sinners. Many still live under the sin and brokenness of the curse. Or am I living under the cross? So also, through 1 man’s obedience, many will be made righteous. Which one am I living under?

Because there are many, many Christians who struggle, and they will still accidentally live under the curse and think that we, you know, I’m doing these things to make myself right for God. Versus, no, look, I have been made right with God. I will obey. Like, I will show him my love through my obedience.

So how do we know? How do we know if we’re living under the curse or if we’re living under the cross? I think we should go back. Actually, I will reread it. Like, we have to look at verse 3 through 4.

And not only that, but we boast in our afflictions because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. Does our affliction in our life lead us to hope? Or does our affliction in life lead us to despair? I don’t like asking that question because I know sometimes I’m both. I think we all probably are.

But if I want to know if I’m living under the curse or if I’m living under the cross… I think that’s pretty surefire way. If my affliction leads me to hope, I’m living under the cross. If my affliction leads me to despair and cynicism, I’m living under the curse. No one wants to live under the curse. No one wants Jesus’ death to be in vain.

So when we’re led to hope, we have to remember verse 5. Not only am I boasting my afflictions just so that way I’m living under the cross. It’s like, no, no, no. I’m moving toward hope. And verse 5 reminds me that hope will not disappoint because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

So when we despair, when we’re resentful, when we’re cynical, and when we’re prideful, our ego consumes us, and it just sucks us back. I mean, we’ve all studied, like, Civil War history through school. Slaves don’t want to go back to slavery. Slaves want to go towards freedom. They would risk their lives to go towards freedom. Even today, you hear about the trafficking of people around the world. I mean, slavery still exists. It’s just very hidden and underground in most places. They don’t go back to that.

I mean, I know Stockholm Syndrome exists, but no one who is entrapped in something doesn’t long for freedom. Like they long for freedom. So why do we let despair and resentment and ego and pride consume us and suck us back into servitude to sin? When we put it that way, it just seems so silly, right? But when we reframe the afflictions that will certainly come in life, we have a promise in chapter 5 that it leads us right towards hope.

And I, again, I think everyone wakes up in the morning wanting hope. I don’t think anybody wakes up looking for despair and brokenness. So any thoughts before we wrap up? I know that was, this was a bleak one. All right, let me pray for us and then we’ll wrap up on time.

Father God, thank you for today and thank you for your truth. It is hard sometimes to wrestle with these things because confronting our hearts with our own sin, our own brokenness, our own unbelief is uncomfortable. But God, it’s the thing that draws us near to you. Even wrestling with our sin is an affliction in its own way. Let that affliction draw us closer to you. Let us see our afflictions in light of the cross.

Help us to understand it differently. Let it be the air we breathe so that it leads us to hope. And let that hope pour out over and over again to those around us. Let us be people that point to you and speak of you because we have an overwhelming hope that does not disappoint because of your Holy Spirit. God, we’re so thankful, so grateful, and we love our class. We ask all this in your name. Amen. All right.