Author: Ben Bourland

Romans 5:12-13 (ESV)
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.

I love it when there is the word “therefore” after poignant passages in the Bible because great insight follows. Here in Romans 5:12, Paul connects us back to the preceding verses, especially Romans 5:1–11. He has just finished explaining the benefits of being justified by faith: peace with God, access to grace, hope in suffering, and reconciliation through Christ. So when he says “therefore,” he’s moving us into a deeper theological explanation of how sin and death entered the world and why the Passion of Jesus is so necessary. It’s a pivot from the benefits of salvation to the reason salvation is needed in the first place.

Paul explains that sin entered the world through one man, Adam, and death came as a result of sin. This death then spread to all people. Here the English translation is that death spread to all men because all have sinned. However, I think there is different way of reading this. “Because of Adam, everyone is born into sin (being that our nature is to sin), and because of that, without rescue, we will all experience spiritual death.” What is important to grasp is that due to Adam’s sin, it became part of his nature and is why sin was passed down to every human being (except Christ of course). That nature is present from the moment of conception, making it impossible for people to live in a way that pleases God.

Paul clarifies that sin existed before the law was given (i.e., before Moses), but it wasn’t counted in the same way because there was no formal law written down to break. I like how John MacArthur says it, “Though all men were regarded as sinners, because there was no explicit list of commands, there was no strict accounting of their specific points of violation.”

Tomorrow…there is another wonderful “BUT” coming.

APPLICATION

I recognize that my struggle with sin isn’t just a personal issue—it’s part of a larger human condition that began with Adam. I see that death, both physical and spiritual, is the consequence of sin. Even when I don’t have a clear rule to break, I still fall short, which shows how deeply rooted sin is in my human nature (this body I call “the carcass I live in here on earth”). This passage reminds me that I need grace not because I’ve broken a specific law, but because I’m part of a humanity that has inherited sin and its consequences. As I look forward to what comes tomorrow, it humbles me and makes me grateful for the gift of reconciliation through Jesus, Who offers life where death once ruled.

Romans 5:10-11 (ESV)
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Paul makes a powerful argument: If God reconciled me to Himself while I was His enemy, how much more will He save me now that I’m His child—through the resurrected life of Jesus! And not only am I saved, but I also rejoice in God Himself, because through Jesus, I’ve received reconciliation, a restored relationship with the Creator God.

I am reminded of Jesus’ teaching on “the vine and branches” in John 15:5.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

Jesus uses the analogy of a vine and branches to describe the essential relationship between Himself and His followers. He is the source of life, nourishment, and growth—the vine. We as believers are the branches, entirely dependent on Him to bear fruit.

To “abide” in Christ means to remain in close, continual fellowship with Him—through trust, obedience, prayer, and the Word. Fruitfulness is not the result of human effort alone, but of staying connected to Jesus.

The phrase “apart from me you can do nothing” is a sobering reminder that our spiritual awareness and effectiveness are impossible without Him. It’s not that people can’t do anything—but they can’t do anything of eternal value, true spiritual significance, or permanent change of heart, without abiding in King Jesus.

APPLICATION

Now that I’ve been reconciled to God through Jesus’ death, I can be absolutely confident that I’m secure in His life. Jesus didn’t just die for me—He lives FOR me. His resurrection means my salvation is alive and active, not just a past event.

I will live with confidence. If God loved me at my worst, I don’t need to fear losing His love now. I only fear disappointing Him. I will rejoice in God Himself…Not just in His gifts, but in who He is—my Father, my Savior, my source of life. I will walk in reconciliation. I’m no longer an enemy of God. I’m His beloved child. That changes how I see myself and how I relate to others. I will trust in Jesus’ life. His resurrection power is at work in me today, giving me strength, peace, and purpose.

Romans 5:6-8 (ESV)
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

I am a weak vessel. I feel this everyday as I strive to be more like my Savior. If it were up to me to EARN my way to heaven, I would miserably fail! In fact, by the time I became aware of what the purity of God demands in His presence, I had already failed and sinned; reaping the wrath of God I so justly deserve.

This is not popular —- The world tells us that we are inherently good and that if we just focused on ourselves and respect who we are, we would be so much better off. This is simply not true…through Adam, we have been born into a sinful body and existence we cannot escape. BUT then, at just the right time for Jesus to enter the world, He came and lived a perfect life, taught us what our position is relative to the Father, and then sacrificially gave Himself as a ransom for us! He didn’t die for the good Ben Bourland, He died for the wretched, sinful, and weak Ben Bourland. The Ben Bourland and I am.

BUT NOW, because of that ransom that has been paid for me by Jesus, I stand in God’s amazing grace. God, because of His Son, has literally transformed my heart into one who out of a desperate love and gratitude, lives to honor, glorify, and praise God for all that He has completed. That love God displayed in sending His Son and God the Son enduring the cross for my Salvation, is not comprehendible. I only live Justified, because He lives…not only lives, but lives IN me.

APPLICATION

The truths of this passage are overwhelming! Some of this is so overwhelming that it is hard to comprehend how I, a lowly sinner, can receive such a gift. It is this heart condition that drives me into God’s Word everyday seeking to know God’s character and attributes so that the life I live here on this earth is one that points to the Savior Who rescued me. It is this mindset that has me seeking every opportunity to build relationships with hurting people, share the love of God as well as what He has done for us, and finally taking every opening I can to share the Gospel of this God Who has created a way, a way that is outside of any capability we have, to have everlasting life in the presence of the One Who ransomed us from our depravity.

Romans 5:3-5 (ESV)
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Looking back to yesterday, Paul begins Romans 5 by declaring that justification by faith brings peace with God through Jesus Christ. Because of this, we as believers now stand in grace and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

So the flow is:

Faith → Justification → Peace with God

Access to Grace → Hope in God’s Glory

This sets the foundation for verses 3–5, which shift the focus from future hope to present pain.

Paul makes a bold and counterintuitive claim: I rejoice in our sufferings. Why? Because suffering is not meaningless—it initiates and continues my spiritual growth process (Sanctification):

Suffering → Endurance Trials teach me to persevere, to keep going even when it’s hard.

Endurance → Character Perseverance shapes who I am. It refines me, showing me Who God is, and finally proving and strengthening my faith.

Character → Hope A tested and proven character leads to a deeper, more confident hope in God.

Hope → No Shame This hope is secure—it won’t disappoint me—because it’s anchored in God’s love, poured into my heart by the Holy Spirit.

APPLICATION

This passage teaches that suffering is not a detour from spiritual growth—it’s part of the journey. It’s not something to merely endure, but something that God uses to shape me.

I Need to Rejoice in Trials: Not because they’re pleasant, but because they’re purposeful. God is doing something in me through each one of them.

Trust the Process: Endurance builds character, and character strengthens hope. I can’t rush it—I need to let God work; God’s timing is perfect.

Lean on the Holy Spirit: I’m not alone. God’s Holy Spirit (the Helper) is actively present in my heart.

Live with Hope: This hope isn’t wishful thinking—it’s a confident expectation rooted in God’s love and faithfulness.

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:2

Told you! One verse at a time. 🙂

This verse brings such comfort and at the same time directs our focus to exactly where it should be -> in hope of the glory of God.

I love the sentiment that Paul uses here in the term ‘Stand’. This refers to the permanent, secure position we as believers enjoy in God’s grace. The new creature in us strives to be more like God’s Son but in these fleshly bodies and on this sin cursed earth, we will falter…and when we do, we stand in this grace Paul talks about. Let that sink in for a moment. Once reconciled, always reconciled.

I want to address this “access”…this is something the OT Jews could never have fathomed. While it may be true that God showed Himself through awesome miracles and deliverance in the OT, this grace we have been given access to is something they never had. They needed to look to blood sacrifices to temporarily atone for their sin until that forbearance was completed in the shed blood of the perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ.

Finally, we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. This kind of hope is different than the normal English word “hope”. This New Testament word comes with no uncertainty; it speaks of something that is certain, but not yet realized. Our destiny as believers is to share in the very glory of God and that Hope will be realized because Jesus has secured it!

APPLICATION

These promises are everything! Without these clear and certain promises of The Word of God, we would have no basis for hope. Knowing I STAND in this place of Grace, forever embraced by God to an eternity with Him, I can rejoice while I am here on earth. As we will see tomorrow, that rejoicing does not take condition on my circumstances or situations.

Peace with God Through Faith
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1

Expect my speed to slow down over the next week or so because there is so much in every verse here in Chapter 5. These next 4 chapters are just packed full of goodness and theology about our faith in the Lord Jesus and what we reap through that faith.

Justification is a one time occurrence – At the moment of Salvation we are “Justified” and as we have learned in the preceding chapters, this by faith in Christ alone.

The title of this devotion is “Peace with God” because this is what Justification does. God has declared Himself to be at war with every human being because of humanity’s rebellion against Him and His laws. BUT, the first great result of justification is that the sinner’s war with God is ended forever. As we learned in church today, scripture refers to the end of this conflict as a person being reconciled to God.

APPLICATION

This peace with God is not some internal sense of calm and serenity, no, this peace is a real peace; an objective reality. Because of this, I have an eternal hope that is connected to this peace with God that goes beyond good relations with God…He sees me like He sees His own Son. In this peace, I have an inheritance that is unimaginable. Lord God, first, thank You for Your Word that you have given us that is Your voice, Your message, and Your truth. Resting on passages just like this one gives a level of gratefulness and hope in my future that is secured by the most powerful being in the entirety of what there is to know (Space, Cosmos, etc).

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. Romans 4:23-25

A little shorter QT today but no less impactful. Sometimes people struggle to see the gift of Easter. We get Good Friday, and we love that the Father raised Jesus from the dead…but the gravity of the implication sometimes escapes us. Here is something right here in Romans 4:25 you can hang your hat on. The Father resurrected Jesus from the dead to provide proof that He had ACCEPTED THE SACRIFICE of His Son and would be able to be just and yet justify the ungodly. Jesus is living proof of that promise and His resurrection directly impacted our ability to be Justified!

APPLICATION

My King and Justifier of my soul lives as proof of the powerful promise of God! This reading through Romans 4 has landed on me in very new ways this time around. That my friends is the Living Word of God. In my previous times through this chapter of the Bible, I may not have been read to fully consume what the Lord wanted to reveal to me. I am so grateful to my Lord and Savior for speaking to me through this letter from Paul. I do not deserve His grace, love, and provision. It once again invigorates me to live even more deliberately for Him while I am here under the sun.

as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or  when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” Romans 4:17-22

This is a quote from Genesis 17:5. Here is some crazy awesome insight coming -> When Paul talks about giving live to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist, he is talking about justification again. God can declare believing sinners to be righteous even though they are not…by imputing His righteousness to them. Likewise, God made or declared Jesus to be “sin” and punished Him, even though He was not a sinner. Those whom He justifies, He will conform to the image of His Son (This again is a great way of stating these truths by the great John MacArthur).

Hope against hope is simply a reckoning of the human perspective that it seemed impossible to Abraham but he believed anyway. God promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation and this promise was given when Abraham was of great age (100 years old) and not only that, his wife Sarah was well beyond child bearing age as just 10 years younger than Abraham…meaning that Abraham believed what God had said even though it seemed impossible!

APPLICATION

Oh how I want the faith of Abraham! I can sometimes become weak…entertaining a doubt that erodes my confidence. BUT, through God’s power of sanctification, He has grown my faith in not only His presence but also in the promise He has given me that He is always working things out for His good, glory, and honor…when I believe that, then I also must believe that what God is doing is also for my good because I live IN His Son. When the pressures of life fall on me or the worldly culture and cursed earth sit present in front of me, I can rest in the faith that the Lord is in control. It does not mean He removes my suffering…not at all…in fact, it has been in that suffering that He grown my faith the most when I have leaned into Him for my strength that rests nestled in His promises. It is a freeing thing when you let go of the present and realize the good that God has planned beyond your suffering maybe something you don’t see in your lifetime.

The Promise Realized Through Faith
For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.
That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, Romans 4:13-16

As we’ve been reading, God’s promise to Abraham was not based on the law, but on the righteousness that comes through faith. What does this mean? It means that all who believe—by being united with Christ—become heirs of that promise.

I love how John MacArthur explains it:

“If only those who perfectly keep the law—an impossible standard—could receive the promise, then faith would be worthless and the promise meaningless. A promise that depends on an unattainable condition is no promise at all.”

Justification is through faith alone! BUT the power of justification is God’s great grace, not a person’s faith. The promise rests entirely on this Grace!

APPLICATION

I received justification by my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but the justification itself is a gift of grace from God bestowed through my belief. What is belief? It is not just knowing and agreeing that Jesus lived, died, and rose again…no, it is a belied AND trust in Jesus to be Lord of my life because it is now His. That belief is more of a continuous action demonstrated in how I live my life IN BELIEF IN JESUS. This is born out in fruit I produce out of my life…that fruit is an indicator and evidence of my Salvation. Saying some words as an insurance policy and then not living it out, is not a genuine belief in God.

What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, Romans 4:1-3

Today is the day our nation moves into a place that will be different moving forward. The absolute heartbreak and loss of Charlie Kirk will be remembered for many years to come as a turning point in the culture and civic discourse. It feels as though the country is split between those of faith, truth, morals, justice, and responsibility, and those who seek to destroy any perspective that does not meet their own. The Bible tells us about how bad it will get before Christ returns and even (right here in Romans 1) talks about the depravity that the Lord will turn people over to, who choose to reject Him. I pray for the return of our Savior and also pray that the Lord would use me to further His Kingdom until then.

Turning to today’s reading, I start chapter 4 of this wonderful book of the Bible. There isn’t a lot new here in the first few verse, but Paul does start to harken back to Abraham as support for what it means to embrace the gift of the gospel rather than feel like works alone can earn you a place in heaven. In Abraham’s example, it wasn’t Abraham’s works that moved God to place His Righteousness on Abraham, no, it was Abraham’s faith in God that moved the Lord in this way.

I love how Paul talks about the fact that the work that we do here on earth, when it is *not* birthed from faith, produces earnings right here on earth that do not translate into heavenly outcomes. So the boasting that one can do relative to the works they do here on earth, only benefit them here on earth. It is only when we place our trust, gratitude, and acknowledgment of God’s gift being the only reason we have a place in eternity, that our works based in that acknowledgment produce Heavenly fruit.

APPLICATION

Being obedient to God’s Word and understanding what He has done for me, is better than any sacrifice I can make. It is kind of the same thing as works being birthed by faith…sacrifice becomes pleasing to God when it is birthed from reliance, belief, and obedience to what God has called us to do. Don’t get me wrong; doing the secular work we do on earth is how God made us…Adam tended the garden. However, Adam tended the garden while he maintained a fellowship with God. My work is a mission field and my placement at work in this foreign land puts me in the garden God has chosen for me. My goal each day is to glorify and honor Him in all that I do, so that all that work is clothed in a heavenly state of mind, looking for every opportunity to increase the members of home my home country…Heaven.