Paul condemns this ideology and hermeneutic at the beginning of chapter 5.  The reality is, that legalism does not appease God.

In this episode, we examine the contents of the gospel message in evangelism from the perspective of J.I. Packer in his book: Evangelism & the Sovereignty of God.

Slavery to sin is a slavery unlike any other. It is a bondage that is rivaled by no other form in any other time. It is a taskmaster that is more heinous, ruthless, relentless, conniving, deceiving, and destructive than any other that has ever or will ever exist. Sin demands more, and takes more than any slave on Earth has ever given.

Here is a man who is vigorous in the pursuit of his religion. He is zealous in chasing after God. Those who know with full assurance that they are going to heaven continually press forward and toward it.

This introductory episode describes the primary purpose of Christ's first advent: to save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).

He was losing his composition due to the heaviness of his heart and the afflictions he was facing. And here we see a man who has a great burden, one beyond his ability to bear. And this is indeed not a foreign feeling for some of us. The feelings of being helpless, stuck, defeated, or brought low and without the ability or opportunity to climb out of this hole of despair.

The work of Christ is something that, frankly, boggles the mind; if indeed, one ponders upon it with sincerity. Grasp with me for a moment the unthinkable nature of what our Savior did for his elect. The very God who set all things as they are, with perfect purpose and power, designed to save his people.

In Exodus 17, Moses recorded a time when the freemen of Israel put God to the test. The Israelites’ thirst grew, causing an uptick in their persuasion that death by dehydration may befall them. Under intense pressure from the thirsty people, Moses sought God’s help. The Lord responded to Moses’ prayers by commanding him to use his staff to strike the rock.

In the first chapter of John’s Gospel, he writes that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (v. 14). We stand in awe when we read this (or we ought to), because we are told that the eternal Son of God took on human flesh, and chose to live in the midst of his people.