Does the Biblical illustration of the potter and the clay prove that God’s sovereignty cancels out human free will?Does God create some humans for salvation and others for damnation?What are we to make of this word picture when we read passages like Romans 9?You may be surprised to learn that every

Itʼs been said that no other single book of the Bible is so responsible for transforming the lives of men than Paul’s letter to the Romans. We canʼt really know if thatʼs true but we can say that Romans has been responsible for transforming the lives of certain men God used mightily through the cent

The apostle Paul wanted to go to Rome. It wasnʼt the Coliseum that interested him; it was the church. Not a building, but the people – whom he had never even met! (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

In biblical terms we would say that God has given all men everywhere for all time a witness of Himself in creation as the Creator. The next three verses in Romans chapter one (18-20) talk about that witness. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

We are going to see what happens when, instead of receiving the witness of God, mankind rejects it and God lets us go our own way. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

Since God is infinitely holy, God’s standard of righteousness is absolute perfection. It matters little in heaven whether one man is better in some ways than another because all still fall short of perfection. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

Donʼt forget that the point of these opening chapters of Romans is to establish the universal problem that all have fallen short of the glory of God, including the Jews. There is no one, Jew or Gentile, who is righteous. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

This next section of Romans, verses one through eight of chapter three, reminds me of a role play. We might call it an apologetics role play. Paul asks anticipated real-world questions then answers them. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

God looks down from Heaven upon the righteousness of men. Even if your righteousness was like that of Mt. Everest, reaching high above that of your fellow men, and you were one of the few standing on the summit of good works, you would still be level with the rest of the human race. (Pastor Gene Pe

The Jews were proud that they had Godʼs law. It made them feel special. It should, however, have made them feel guilty! The “law” wasnʼt a get-out-of-jail free card. It wasnʼt a talisman or a goodluck charm. The Jews, and Paul included himself saying “we,” were “under” it, they were subject to its s

“Faith” and “believe” are used fifteen times in Romans chapter four. It is the Bible’s great chapter on salvation by grace through believing alone, apart from your behavior. It is, in many ways, the Bible’s great chapter. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

If salvation were by works of righteousness, you could never be saved. You commit individual acts of sin. You inherit a sin nature. Sin is imputed to you. Bottom line: You canʼt work your way to Heaven. How do you get there? (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

“To gush,” “to run greedily out,” “to spill.” Itʼs the word the KJV translates “shed abroad” and the NKJV translates “poured out” in Romans 5:5. J.B. Phillips translates it, “Already we have the love of God flooding through our hearts by the Holy Spirit given to us.” (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

The importance of Adam being a real person is clearly seen in Romans five. You are regarded by God and treated by God based on the actions of another person who acted on your behalf. When your representative acted, God says that you acted. He says that you were “in” that person. (Pastor Gene Pensie

There are three terms you should be somewhat familiar with as you read and study the Bible: justification, sanctification, and glorification. They describe the various stages of salvation from the moment you accept Jesus Christ until you see Him face-to-face. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

Romans six is Paul the apostleʼs ʻthe more you knowʼ campaign. He keeps using the words know or knowing. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

God gives you life and freedom but you can be so affected by years of living in sin, responding sinfully by yielding your body to the world and the devil, that it’s hard to walk as a ‘normal’ person the way God intended. You can and theses verses tell you how. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

Does emphasizing grace over rules, rites, rituals and regulations really open the door to all manner of sinful behavior? Thatʼs our subject as we close out Romans six. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

In this text, we need to decide when was Paul describing. What time in his life was he referring to? Was this his current and on-going experience? Or was he referring back to his experience before he was saved? In other words, is this a struggle I will have as a Christian? (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

The Apostle Paul is going to talk about how Godʼs Law was a spiritual diagnostic to reveal the human heart. If youʼve ever had an x-ray youʼve probably seen the report from the radiologist. After describing what the x-ray shows he or she summarizes the findings. Verse five reads like a summary of th

The apostle Paul, well-read and well-traveled, would have been familiar with this practice of the body of death as a literal torture carried out upon persons. That being the case, we can see that he used it as an illustration in verse twenty-four. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

Life, Leading, Love. Those three powerful ʻLʼ words provide a map of where we are headed as we navigate Romans chapter eight. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

Our text in Romans 8 tells us that we can “set [our] minds” (v5). Where we set them dictates our route as we journey homeward toward the mansions Jesus is finishing construction on for each of us in the heavenly city, New Jerusalem. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

Christian, on the other hand, was a name given to believers by nonbelievers. They listened to what believers were saying, then watched their lives, and concluded they were like Christ. To me that indicates that Jesus was doing something in them and through them. The emphasis is on Him, not me. (Pas