Reading this week: Getting ready for the Spirit
Monday: Romans 5:1-11, Rejoicing!
Paul wants us to get excited about our justification. Which of the big three – peace, hope, love – are you celebrating today? How have you experienced the “on behalf of us” nature of Jesus death and life?
Tuesday: Romans 5:12-21, Adam and Christ
In this passage Paul compares the headship of Adam with that of Christ. What evidence of the Federal Headship of Adam have you seen? How did you escape Adam’s headship? How are you assured that Jesus’ obedience has been credited to you?
Wednesday: Romans 6:1-14, Baptism and dying to sin
How does your baptism reflect your connection to Jesus’ death? to Jesus’ resurrection? What specific sin is struggling to be our master (see 6:14)? How has the image of offering and sacrifice helped you master that sin?
Thursday: Romans 6:15-23, A slave gets his wages
Grace means not only that I don’t have to earn my salvation, but also that I don’t get what I have earned – death. How do these “wages of sin” (see 6:23) show up in your life? What have been the benefits in your life of being a slave to God?
Friday: Romans 7:1-6, A tough lesson from marriage
Paul isn’t anti-marriage, but he is realistic about what happens when a spouse dies. A wife is free of the bonds of marriage when her husband dies (but see 1 Corinthians 7:39). In a similar way, my death to sin has freed me from its power. How has this new freedom been reflected in your life? How ready are you for the “new way of the Spirit”?
Saturday: Romans 7:7-25, Paul’s story is my story
This is Paul’s “wretched man” autobiography. How does this story differ from his testimony in Acts 26? How is Paul able to be both victorious Apostle and the one who does “what I do not want to do”? How do you celebrate your rescue from the “body of death”?