Romans 5-6

• Peace with God is a fruit of our faith. It is our faith in Christ Jesus that God's wrath has been 'nullified' (5:1)
• What "character" is Paul referring to? (v4) Why does character lead to hope? Is it God's character (thinking back to Genesis - Man is created in God's image ... )
  
• We are referred to as weak (v6) - cannot do anything for ourselves, and it is Christ who has saved us.
  
• Dying for someone righteous is already something that is very hard to achieve (v7). God's love for us is far greater! While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (v8). Who would possibly die for someone who deserves to die? Only Jesus does it.
  
• Verse 10: (1) Death of Christ brings reconciliation with God; and (2) Resurrection of Christ brings us life (after reconciliation).
  
• Verse 13: Sin was in the world before law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. What is law? Was the first law God's command to Adam not to eat the fruit? Does that mean Sin/Satan existed after God declared the world to be perfect but before he commanded Adam not to eat the fruit? Sin only existed after the command of God.
  
• Although our sins are different to Adam, we were all sinners (v14).
• A comparison between Adam, being the one man that caused sin and punishment, and Jesus, the righteous one that brought salvation and justification. (v15-21)
  

• Baptism: union with Christ, death to sin, and resurrect to a new life (6:3-5). Water is like a burial.
• Unifying with Christ is a decision to end your old sinful life. Compares it with Jesus's crucifixion, our sinful life should be severely nailed to an end! (v6)
• Our freedom from our sin is like Christ's resurrection (v7)
• If death no longer have control over Christ (v9), our sins, after our unification with Christ, should no longer have control over us (v11)
• We are freed from our sinful nature, and are made righteous. (v15-23) So do not do things that are still sinful.