Study Desk

There are things about him that people cannot see—his eternal power and all the things that make him God. But since the beginning of the world those things have been easy to understand by what God has made. So people have no excuse for the bad things they do.

God judges those who do wrong things, and we know that his judging is right.

He has been very kind and patient, waiting for you to change, but you think nothing of his kindness. Perhaps you do not understand that God is kind to you so you will change your hearts and lives.

But you are stubborn and refuse to change, so you are making your own punishment even greater on the day he shows his anger. On that day everyone will see God's right judgments.

But other people are selfish. They refuse to follow truth and, instead, follow evil. God will give them his punishment and anger.

You brag about having God's law, but you bring shame to God by breaking his law,

They can do this because a person is not a true Jew if he is only a Jew in his physical body; true circumcision is not only on the outside of the body.

Yes, of course, there is in every way. The most important thing is this: God trusted the Jews with his teachings.

and all need to be made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. They need to be made free from sin through Jesus Christ.

But people cannot do any work that will make them right with God. So they must trust in him, who makes even evil people right in his sight. Then God accepts their faith, and that makes them right with him.

So how did this happen? Did God accept Abraham before or after he was circumcised? It was before his circumcision.

Abraham and his descendants received the promise that they would get the whole world. He did not receive that promise through the law, but through being right with God by his faith.

Abraham was almost a hundred years old, much past the age for having children, and Sarah could not have children. Abraham thought about all this, but his faith in God did not become weak.

He never doubted that God would keep his promise, and he never stopped believing. He grew stronger in his faith and gave praise to God.

And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts. He gave us his love through the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us.

But God shows his great love for us in this way: Christ died for us while we were still sinners.

While we were God's enemies, he made us his friends through the death of his Son. Surely, now that we are his friends, he will save us through his Son's life.

Sin once used death to rule us, but God gave people more of his grace so that grace could rule by making people right with him. And this brings life forever through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Did you forget that all of us became part of Christ when we were baptized? We shared his death in our baptism.

When we were baptized, we were buried with Christ and shared his death. So, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the wonderful power of the Father, we also can live a new life.