In the Book of Romans, Paul tells us how to be saved, how to be delivered from our sins, thus becoming eligible to receive eternal life in our mortal body when the Lord returns.

Let us look now at the Apostle Paul's explanation of the Divine redemption as it is presented in the first half of the Book of Romans. We will consider Paul's presentation in four parts:

* Chapters Three through Five: the removal of condemnation.

* Chapter Six: the gift of the opportunity to attain life.

* Chapter Seven: the presence of sin in our flesh.

* Chapter Eight: how to attain the resurrection to life.

In Chapters Three through Five of the Book of Romans the Apostle Paul tells us of the provision God has made for the removal of the condemnation that rests on every human being.

God has given His Son as a sin-bearer, as One who has made it possible for the Divine condemnation, which came upon mankind because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve, to be lifted from us. When we put our faith in the atoning (reconciling) authority of the blood of Christ, God removes all condemnation from us. We now are guiltless in the eyes of God.

This is the first step toward the goal of being made a new creation in Christ, a creation that does not, when it is finished, bring upon itself the judgment of God by what it is and does.

It is vain for any human being, after God has presented to him the slain Lamb, Jesus Christ, to seek to be made righteous in God's sight by obeying the Law of Moses (or the principles of any other religion or moral code), or by obeying his conscience. God has given to the world His only Son as the sin-bearer, and God does not want us to attempt to circumvent His plan of salvation by attempting to make ourselves acceptable to Him by a plan of our own.

He who believes in the justifying blood of Christ has been forgiven his past sin and disobedience to God's will. He is viewed as having fulfilled the righteousness that is gained by perfect obedience to the Law of Moses, that which Jesus Christ did on his behalf.

This is de jure salvation—salvation by means of God's legal provision for us. Through it we receive the authority to be children of God by virtue of God's free gift of righteousness imputed (ascribed) to us. No actual deliverance from our sins has occurred but the important step of freedom from condemnation, from guilt, has taken place.

We have been delivered from the guilt of sin but not from the sin itself.

One could deduce, from Paul's statements in Chapters Three through Five of the Book of Romans, that it no longer is necessary that we live a righteous life. We could assume that since God has decided to hold us guiltless on the basis of the substitutionary death of Jesus, and since Jesus lived a perfect life under the Law of Moses and His righteousness has been imputed to us who believe, it is not critically important how we behave.

To be continued.