Page 37 - Romans Student Textbook.doc

comparison made of Adam and Jesus in their roles as the representative of all people. This was followed
in chapter 6 with questions about the relationship between sin and grace and in chapter 7 with a series of
questions about the relationship between sin and law. All of these things build to a crescendo that is
displayed as an explanation of the cooperative work of Jesus and the Holy Spirit in the work of salvation
from sin leads to a concluding doxological mediation on the wonder of God’s love as it was and is
displayed in His salvation of his marred creation.

There is some evidence of a chiastic structure to this section of the letter, but it is not one that seems to
point to the middle as the climax of the Paul’s explanation. That chiasmus looks like this.

Introduction: The Big Picture of what Jesus has done. (5:1-12)

Comparison: How Jesus’ compares to Adam. (5:13-12)
Questions: Relationship between sin and grace. (6:1-23)
Questions: Relationship between sin and law. (7:1-25)

Comparison: The work Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit in salvation. (8:1-30)

Conclusion: Doxological Mediation on the Love of God. (8:31-39)

I believe the chiasmus shows us a glimpse at how Paul organized thoughts in his mind with a firm
commitment to using both solid logical flow and artistic expression in the way that he
communicated as he taught and preached God’s Word.

The Big Picture of Jesus’ Redeeming Work

Because Christ died and rose again to show God’s love to this world, we can have peace with God when
we trust in Christ’s justifying work on our behalf. (Romans 5:1-12)

Paul tipped his hand as to what he was going to talk about in this part of his letter in the last three verses
of the previous chapter. There he wrote: “But the words ‘it was counted to him’ were not written for his
sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus
our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” 32These words beg the
question, “How did God do this?” and it is the answer to that question that filled the next four chapters of
this letter. To set the course he was going to take in answering this question, Paul began by giving the
broad outline of his answer to the question in the first half of Romans 5.

To point us back to the context he has set Paul began the first verse of Romans 5 with the word
“therefore.” He was saying, “Because this is your situation this is what God has done.”

He first touched on the consequences that being justified by faith in Jesus Christ has on those who trust in
Him. The first consequence mentioned is that Christ’s work brought peace to their relationship with God.
They no longer walk through life as his enemies, but rather they are now His redeemed children. The
second consequence is that they were given strength to endure difficult things that invade their lives and
a new perspective on what God is using those things to do in them. Both of these consequences then led
them to have a sure hope in the love of God that has been poured out on them in and through Jesus
Christ.

Why can they be so sure of these things? How did Christ make is possible for them to have such an
expectation? The answer to that question fills up the rest of this paragraph. In Romans 5:6-11 Paul

32 Romans 4:23-25, ESV.

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