Romans

So I have a friend who recommended I read and study Romans and I and II Corinthians. So far I've gone through Romans and thought I'd write down what notes I'd written on certain passages! I know there is a lot more I could write down, but these are the things that stood out to me.

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Romans 3:20
'For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.'

No matter what I do, I'll never be good enough. The Jews that were pretty much the picture of perfectness, even they couldn't work their way to the top. They followed every rule and still fell short.

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Romans 3:21-26
'But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.'

No one is exempt from His grace.
No matter how far you feel or how far gone they seem, God will still love you/them. If you think they don't deserve it, you need to remember, neither did you.

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Romans 6:1-14
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.'

Just because you are saved, that doesn't mean you can just do whatever. You know, then ask for His grace again and again. You aren't living a new life in Christ. Vs 6, when your old self dies, LEAVE IT DEAD. Live with a new life that brings Him glory. A life that'll show others His love.

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15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:15-23 (ESV)

Slaves of righteousness. Whatever you are a slave to, it'll show in how you live. If you are a slave to acceptance(as in, liked by other people), you will spend your time focusing on what other people think about you. You'll be upset if you think people don't like you, or that you feel like you don't belong. You won't be satisfied with the acceptance of Christ. Same with if you are a slave to an addiction, people will see that this is your 'master'.
If you are a slave to righteousness you will grow in the way you love, give, and in knowledge of God's Word. That, if you are truly following, will seep into every part of your life. It'll affect the people around you. It'll be obvious Who your 'Master' is.

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30 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. 1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Romans 9:30-10:4 (ESV)

The Gentiles, who weren't the followed every rule people(Like the Jews) attained their righteousness while the Jews who followed every rule and did every good work they could didn't. Why? Faith.
You know the saying "faith, trust, and pixi dust."? Yeah, well...drop the pixi dust and you see what the Gentiles had that the Jews couldn't understand. Faith and trust in Christ is all you need. Works are good, true, but not good enough to pay for your sins. The only work that was good enough for that was the Work done on the Cross.

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Well, there you have it. My main thoughts on the stuff I read in Romans.

~Teen Jesus Follower~