Romans 8

Chapter 8 is one of my very favorites in all of Acts and the epistles. There is so much to be gained from a close reading of it. If we live so that we follow the Spirit, we experience a regeneration, we become a new person; we are reborn. When that happens, we are no longer under condemnation because the atonement cleanses us on a continual basis. This brings a great sense of freedom. That's why Paul says that the "Spirit is life because of righteousness." And not only life more abundantly here, but eternal life.

Verses 14-18 clearly state that we are children of God. As we allow the Spirit to guide our lives, the Holy Ghost testifies to us that we are his sons and daughters. And though we suffer in this life in many ways, (and the Roman Christians will eventually suffer in unbelievable ways), Paul tells us that the suffering in this life cannot be "compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us."

Sometimes we do not always know with the certainty that we would like. But this is a gospel of faith. And Paul tells us that when we follow the Spirit, it is easier to wait patiently for that knowledge. And here is something that is very profound and deeply moving if you think about it. The Spirit will help us bear "our infirmities," helps us to pray for the right things. Sometimes there just aren't any words to express what we feel. Words won't come. We may feel incapable of even knowing what to say. It is then that the Spirit prays for us, expressing for us the feelings of our hearts in ways that words cannot express. That shows me how deeply our Father in Heaven cares us about us, how much he cares about what we feel and experience.

And finally, the message to the Romans saints, who in years to come will suffer in unimaginable ways under the hands of the Roman government, and the message is also a beautiful one to all of us, there is nothing that can separate us from Christ's love. He says even if they or we are led to the slaughter like sheep, which the Romans Christians were, they will come off conquerors. Sheep are the only animals that submit peacefully to their slaughter. They do not protest in anyway. This is what the Christians did then, it is what Paul did when he was put to death, it is what Joseph Smith did. And it is what the Savior did. We, fortunately, do not face that kind of opposition. But the world opposes us in spiritually violent ways. It seeks to destroy us spiritually which is a far greater death. To all who suffer, Paul reminds us that there is nothing,"neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, not things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 7

This is a very a confusing chapter to read and I think that is the reason that you find the entire JST translation of the chapter in the appendix of the Bible. And the JST makes it so much easier to understand.

First Paul says that the Law of Moses is like a deceased husband. The wife is no longer bound to him when he is dead. In the King James version, Paul exclaims that he is a wretched man, battling the flesh and sin, struggling to overcome weaknesses. It reminds me of Nephi in 2 Nephi 4 saying "O wretched man that I am." But at the same time righteous Nephi says "I know in whom I have trusted." Paul and Nephi are obviously alike in this. They are great and righteous men who still who were able to conquer their personal weaknesses and enemies. The good thing about the JST is, is makes it clear that Paul was a carnal person when he lived under the Law of Moses, that the law did him no good. But the coming of Christ changed him. If he had lived righteously under the law, that was good. But even though he was under the law, he was still in sin. The King James version of this chapter presents a different Paul, one the contradicts the rest of Acts and his epistles. I’m grateful that rather than presenting Paul as a person still steeped in sin, the JST shows him to be someone who has overcome all because of the gospel.



The lesson for me is there are laws in the world that if I follow them, that is good. But they will not change me as a person in the same manner that the gospel can. The laws of the world do not help me to conquer my weaknesses, overcome temptation, and emerge a new man through the Savior. But through the Savior, I can overcome all things

Romans 6

Chapter 6 is a beautiful chapter that contrasts the freedom that comes from living righteously to the deadly consequences of sin. Paul first explains how our baptism is in similitude to the death and resurrection of Christ. We are buried in the water as he was buried in the tomb. And as he came forth a perfect resurrected being, we come forth a new person, cleansed and free from sin. And just as death has no more control of the Savior's existence, sin will no more have control over us. We are free from it. People who have struggled with weakness and addiction, when it is overcome, experience a wonderful sense of freedom and control in their life. Rather than feeling to dead to life, they feel more alive, more energetic, and see life through a new set of eyes. In verses 12 and 13, Paul says to not "let sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof....but yield yourselves unto God as those are alive from the dead." He asks who we are the servants of, sin or righteousness? The wages of sin is death, spiritual death or alienation from God for sure, but dead to the good things in life as well. The wages of righteousness brings freedom and God's gift of eternal life. Then Paul says, we will see fruit or rewards in holiness. We will be emancipated, freed, through the life-giving powers of the Atonement.

Two other important things are implied in this chapter. One is the importance of complete immersion when we are baptized. Sprinkling is hardly symbolic of the Savior's burial. We must be immersed. The other thing is that Paul says we will be in the likeness of his resurrection. When the resurrected Savior appeared to the apostles and others in a room, he said, "Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have." His resurrection is what ours will be. Not just the chance to live after our death, but to have a perfect eternal body.

Romans 5

Chapter 5 can fill every person with hope and comfort. It explains that regardless of the sin, the Savior's atonement brings peace and freedom. Because of Adam's transgression, sin and death entered the world. We can't escape either one and we cannot escape the terrible price we would have to pay for our sins after this life were it not for the Savior. But we should be so grateful that there is justice, that there is a price that has to be paid for sin. There are some people in this life who do terrible, unspeakable things. There will come a time when they will realize fully the extent of what they have done and what it has done to the lives of others and they will have to suffer and pay the full price for what they have done. This life would be so pointless if these kinds of people never paid that price. But if justice is going to exist, it has to exist for everyone.

I think there are two dimensions to the paying the price of our sins. One is consequences and one is justice. When we sin, we cannot escape the consequences of our wrong choices and how those choices affect our lives and the lives of others. The atonement does not remove the consequences of our choices. In this life, we must learn from our mistakes and if the consequences of our mistakes were removed, we would never learn. Justice says that after this life, a price must be paid for our sins. We must suffer for them. With the atonement, the Savior paid that price for us. We will not have to suffer guilt and shame or endure any suffering. He was merciful and did that so we would not have to. How ever extensive the sins, the affect of his grace goes beyond that. Instead of death being a terrible thing with terrible suffering to follow, it will be sweet.

To appreciate what the Savior has done, we have to understand the fall. We have to understand the nature of our existence and our helplessness to do anything about our own fallen state without Him. I am so grateful for him, grateful to know what he has done, but grateful too to know that there is a higher purpose in life. That my life has a purpose and a reason for being.

Verses 3-5 also give me comfort. Tribulation brings us patience. Then patience brings us experience (which is why we are here). Experience brings hope and hope opens the door for the love of God to fill our hearts through the Holy Ghost. I should do better at realizing how important it is to live my life so that the Holy Ghost can not only do that for me, but fulfill all of the other wonderful promises that come with his companionship.

Romans 4

Romans 4
One of the difficult things with this chapter, and all of Romans for that matter, is the style of language and the way it was translated. I find it to be confusing and difficult. The contrast Paul is making is between being justified (pronounced clean and worthy for salvation, to be acceptable to God) by the Law of Moses and circumcision, or being justified by righteousness and the condition of the heart. The Jews in Rome are evidently still making the argument that it was by the law that Abraham was justified, because he was circumcised (the sign and covenant that a man was dedicated to God). Paul is saying that it is by the grace of Christ that those who have faith and works are justified. We look at faith and works as two sides of the same coin, but neither of those can bring about justification without the grace of Christ. All three are part of the same equation. Look at the JST of verse 16.

Verse 15 says that where there is no law, there is no transgression. Nephi's words are, where there is no law, there is no punishment. There is always a transgression because a law has been broken. Even though everyone has the Light of Christ and knows right from wrong, in some cases, the Savior's atonement removes the punishment because sin is not imputed to the person. Adam and Eve transgressed one law to keep another law. One law was transgressed, eating the fruit, but it was not a sin. There were consequences of the transgressed law, they were cast out of the Garden of Eden, but those consequences did not affect their salvation.

Romans 3

these first 18 or so verses, I think Paul is telling us that no matter how many good works we accumulate, we can never earn a place in heaven without the Savior's help (grace). If we could live a perfect life and never do anything wrong, then maybe we wouldn't need Christ's atonement. But like he says in verse 23, every single person has sinned and fallen short. We were not born sinners. But the fall of Adam placed in a fallen, mortal world where sin rules because of Satan. And we being mortal, sin. There is not one of us who has not sinned in the past and not one of us who will not sin the future. That's the whole points of the Book of Mormon. It's about a fallen people who must be redeemed by a Savior. We cannot resurrect ourselves and we cannot remove our own sin.

So then someone could ask, "If we're going to sin anyway, why bother keeping the commandments?" I think we keep the commandments so that we can become more God-like in nature. As we refine our thoughts, our speech and our actions, we become more kind, more thoughtful, more loving, more able to embrace truth and true principles, and we become more able to help bless those around us. As we make the effort to live this way, the Holy Ghost sanctifies us, cleanses us, and we begin to better understand our divine worth. Then we're better able to understand the divine worth of every person around us and see and understand them the way God sees and understands them. If God's work is totally dedicated to saving and exalting us, then our work should be to lift others in a similar manner. If it is the most fulfilling and rewarding way for God to live , it is undoubtedly the most fulfilling way we can live too.

Romans 2

One of the good things about Romans is it clarifies the role of our works in our salvation and the role of grace. Many evangelicals, believe that all it takes is the confession of Christ as the Savior and you go to heaven. That's why they feel that even a murderer can confess on his death bed and be saved, but a good person who doesn't confess Christ is going to hell. Romans will contradict this. Twenty percent of Romans is about grace, but thirty percent is about works. In this chapter Paul shows that a person who is good, who has never heard the gospel, is in a better position than one who has the gospel but doesn't live it.

In the first 16 verses of this chapter, Paul teaches that all will be judged according to gospel standards because everyone has, as Moroni says, the light of Christ and knows right from wrong. What Paul says the Lord is concerned about is the condition of the heart. Isaiah says that the Lord looks not on the outward appearance but on the heart. Our inner intentions are more important than our outer motions. If our heart isn't right, our works will do us no good. The Lord wants us to do the right things for the right reasons. Verses 6- 7 sums it up: "[God] will render to every man according to his deeds. To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life."

We can't get to heaven based on words alone. Billy Graham, the great evangelical preachers, once said there is a difference between cheap grace and cheap conversion and genuine repentance.