1. Romans: why it all matters

2. What we believe affects how we live our lives
What we believe about God affects who we worship, and how
What we believe about ourselves affects what we believe about God
What we believe about other people affects how we deal with them
What we believe about salvation affects how we evangelise
What we believe about Jesus affects how we celebrate His birth
What we believe about “saved by faith alone”, “God’s chosen people”, “now there is no condemnation” – it all matters!

3. “Jesus is Lord”: fact, faith, or free will?

4. Salvation needed; given; experienced
Paul begins Romans by telling us that we need salvation
He continues by telling us that the means to our salvation has been provided by God Himself, through Jesus
Then Paul tells us that we need to live in the assurance and confidence of the truth of our salvation
He sets it all out carefully because he knows that what we believe affects every aspect of our lives, and is the key to our life affecting the lives of those around us; it’s how we “shine like stars”.

5. So now there is no condemnation! Rom 8:1
Romans 8:1 – believe that you are saved, for eternity; justified by faith
The Law couldn’t do it, but Jesus has done it
You’ve made your life-and-death choice – live in the truth of it
You have received God’s Spirit as His adopted heirs
All creation groans; we share in Jesus’s suffering
But the suffering is an anticipation of the glory to come; we wait in eager hope
We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them

7. Nothing can separate us! Rom 8:31
If God is for us, who can be against us?
Overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us
“I am convinced” … we started by talking about belief, and the difference it makes to our lives
What we believe really, really matters
These are rhetorical questions (that means, don’t answer me now! Save it for Tuesday!):
Examine your beliefs: does what you DO in life reflect what we say we believe? Does what HAPPENS in life shake our faith, or strengthen it? If God’s in charge, why do we worry so much?