Grandma6

We move "headships" the moment we believe and accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. We become dead to the power of sin and we know when we die on this earth, we will be raised to new life with God forever in eternity.

By God's right. God choose to create Adam first and therefore, he represents all humankind. The same with Christ. It is by God's design. Jesus choose to willingly and sacrifically give up His life for us and leave His heavenly home which gives Him every right. If Jesus isn't our "head", His death for us has no effect on us. We stay dead and suffer the wrath of God for all eternity. We must believe in Him, who He is and what He did for us in order to be saved for all eternity.

I think verse 13 is referring to everyone who ever lived from Adam to Moses. They didn't have the written law yet, but they knew right from wrong and therefore sinned. Verse 20 says that we have the law to show us how sinful we are. Praise God for His abundant grace which covers all sin as this world keeps getting more evil as time goes on. And yes, there was sin without the law.

Anyone who is in a leadership role from our fathers/mothers to the presidents/rulers of the nations. We have to live by their rules even though we don't agree with them. Leaders in the church have great influence over their congregations based on their denominations and their own personal beliefs.

To be reconciled is to be restored to friendship. Our relationship with God was broken so we need reconciliation to Him. This reconciliation gives me free access into His presence and peace with God. Even though we are guaranteed salvation, we still have a flesh and continue to sin. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, our character is being refined daily. We are not yet what we should be. Sanctification/transformation takes a lifetime. Praise God, Jesus continuously intercedes for us.

If He hadn't died for the ungodly, then I would have no hope of salvation. None of us could ever attain to being good enough. GOD is perfect and holy and we can never measure up no matter how much we try. I love that He died for me at my worst. It gives me assurance that I can't get any worse than that and loose my salvation. No matter how many times I fall and fail, I know GOD will and already has forgiven me. It's any amazing truth that I constantly have to cling to and not listen to the biggest liar.

We rejoice in our suffering because it produces perseverance, character and hope. All three are important because if we don't develop endurance, we can't be victorious in our trials/tests. If we don't keep our eyes on the prize/Jesus/eternity, we won't be able to endure. That's our hope. And our character needs to be strengthened through our trials or we will keep failing. We keep going around that same mountain until our character has been tried over and over again.

Hi I'm Pat from Illinois. This is my first joyful heart bible study. I'm looking forward to going deeper in my walk with Jesus and studying with my BFF Mary.

For Abraham, he was justified (declared, became righteous ) because of his faith in God. The same is for us too. For me, it means when God looks at me, He sees me in right standing with Himself. I picture myself in Christ and when the Father looks at me, He sees Christ. It has nothing to do with me (not based on what I do or don't do); all based on Christ.