by simply believing in the Son of God, the believer is taken out of the line of death, and

put into line of life.

Learn Rom. 1: 16-18. Read John 3: 14-21. Collect the various sets of "God's good

news", e.g., "The gospel of the kingdom", "The gospel of the grace of God". Note any

Emphasize, as much as may be necessary, that the gospel begins with God as

concerning His Son, and is preached as a completed message to us.

We have been looking at a few of the subjects connected with God's great purpose in

man's salvation, and we shall find that the title of our lesson this month is very

comprehensive: we shall limit our study at the first to the Epistle to the Romans.

MAN'S FAILURE.--"When they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither

were thankful.....and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like

to corruptible man" (1: 21-23). This section of Romans (1: 19 - 2: 1) is a black page of

human history, it shows that although God, by means of the creation, on every hand

manifested "that which may be known of God", man turned his back on the Creator and

worshipped the creature (25); such was the state of the Gentile world when Paul wrote

this epistle. In chapter 2: 17-29 the apostle turns to the Jew, and shows that even though

the Jew had "the oracles of God" (3: 2), which taught them so much more fully than the

works of creation could, yet of them the apostle had to say, "the name of God is

blasphemed among the Gentiles through you" (2: 29). So then both Jew and Gentile have

failed. This brings us to the apostle's summary given in Rom. 3: 23.

This passage (3: 21 ­ 5: 11) sets aside the possibility of salvation for Gentile or for

Jew by his own efforts under law, and reveals the way of salvation to be by faith in the

finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Chapter 5: opens with the conclusion to which

this blessed truth leads, peace with God, access into grace, rejoicing in hope of the glory

of God based upon the fact of being justified.

THE BELIEVER'S HOPE.--What fallen man, whether Jew or Gentile, failed to reach

the believer may now look forward to. As an unsaved sinner he had "come short of the

glory of God", but as a justified believer he may "rejoice in hope of the glory of God". If

there is "no difference" with regard to their salvation ("for the same Lord over all is rich

unto all that call upon Him, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be

saved," 10: 12, 13), this brings us to the next quotation, "wherefore receive ye one