Study Desk

But the gift that God was kind enough to give was very different from Adam's sin. That one sin brought death to many others. Yet in an even greater way, Jesus Christ alone brought God's gift of kindness to many people.

There is a lot of difference between Adam's sin and God's gift. That one sin led to punishment. But God's gift made it possible for us to be acceptable to him, even though we have sinned many times.

Death ruled like a king because Adam had sinned. But that cannot compare with what Jesus Christ has done. God has been so kind to us, and he has accepted us because of Jesus. And so we will live and rule like kings.

Everyone was going to be punished because Adam sinned. But because of the good thing that Christ has done, God accepts us and gives us the gift of life.

Adam disobeyed God and caused many others to be sinners. But Jesus obeyed him and will make many people acceptable to God.

Sin ruled by means of death. But God's kindness now rules, and God has accepted us because of Jesus Christ our Lord. This means that we will have eternal life.

When Christ died, he died for sin once and for all. But now he is alive, and he lives only for God.

In the same way, you must think of yourselves as dead to the power of sin. But Christ Jesus has given life to you, and you live for God.

You used to be slaves of sin. But I thank God that with all your heart you obeyed the teaching you received from me.

I am using these everyday examples, because in some ways you are still weak. You used to let the different parts of your body be slaves of your evil thoughts. But now you must make every part of your body serve God, so that you will belong completely to him.

But what good did you receive from the things you did? All you have to show for them is your shame, and they lead to death.

Sin pays off with death. But God's gift is eternal life given by Jesus Christ our Lord.

For example, the Law says that a man's wife must remain his wife as long as he lives. But once her husband is dead, she is free

But the Law no longer rules over us. We are like dead people, and it cannot have any power over us. Now we can serve God in a new way by obeying his Spirit, and not in the old way by obeying the written Law.

Does this mean that the Law is sinful? Certainly not! But if it had not been for the Law, I would not have known what sin is really like. For example, I would not have known what it means to want something that belongs to someone else, unless the Law had told me not to do that.

It was sin that used this command as a way of making me have all kinds of desires. But without the Law, sin is dead.

Before I knew about the Law, I was alive. But as soon as I heard that command, sin came to life,

We know that the Law is spiritual. But I am merely a human, and I have been sold as a slave to sin.

But in every part of me I discover something fighting against my mind, and it makes me a prisoner of sin that controls everything I do.

The Law of Moses cannot do this, because our selfish desires make the Law weak. But God set you free when he sent his own Son to be like us sinners and to be a sacrifice for our sin. God used Christ's body to condemn sin.