This week is the last in our series on Romans. We’ve used a lot of mountaineering imagery throughout the series and it certainly feels like we’ve gone up and down a mountain! As we find ourselves back at the foot of the mountain, it’s worth pausing to reflect on what we’ve learned from the journey. Paul started the letter by making the spectacular claim that the Gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, regardless of their background or ethnicity. (1:6) Since then he’s shown us how the Gospel meets our need for righteousness before God (chapters 1-4), how it gives us new life and resurrection hope (chapters 5-8), how it makes sense of God’s plans through history (chapters 9-11) and how it revolutionises our daily life and relationships (chapters 12-15). Put together – as Andrew Ollerton puts it – he claims to show that the Gospel makes sense of life.
Have we found Paul’s case convincing? Now might be a good time to take stock of one thing we’ve learned about the Gospel in Romans and one way we want that to change us.
Ed