| Scripture | Kevin's comments | Mark's comments | Kevin's rebuttal |
| Romans 5:18 Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. | God forgives our sins because of the Second Adam, Jesus Christ. | ||
| {1} What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? | What should be the effect of a justification by free grace? If our sins are freely forgiven, is there a need to avoid sin and obey God's Law, or should we just go ahead and keep sinning? | ||
| {2} Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? | Yes, we should avoid sin. | ||
| {3} Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? | |||
| {4} Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. | Just as we participate in the death of Christ, which paid the penalty for our sins, we also participate in His resurrection, and new life. | ||
| {5} For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, | We should live resurrection lives. | ||
| {6} knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. | Our participation in the death of Christ means the death of the Adamic "old man." God's desire is that we not be slaves of sin, not that we continue to sin and be forgiven all the time. | ||
| {7} For he who has died has been freed from sin. | These verses serve to emphasize the point that our lives should be changed. | ||
| {8} Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, | |||
| {9} knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. | |||
| {10} For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. | |||
| {11} Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. | We should not be slaves to sin, but should live in Christ. | ||
| {12} Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. | We should obey God's Law. | ||
| {13} And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. | Our allegiance should be to God and His Law. | ||
| {14} For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. | I'll do a separate page on "under law." | ||
| {15} What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! | But the point is clear: we should obey God's Law. | ||
| {16} Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? | Our allegiance should be to God and His Law. | ||
| {17} But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. | If we are true Christians, we obeyed the Gospel. | ||
| {18} And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. | Now our allegiance is to God and His Law. | ||
| {19} I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. | We formerly gave our allegiance to lust and sin. But now our allegiance is to God and His Law. | ||
| {20} For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. | When we were controlled by sin, we were not controlled by God's Law. | ||
| {21} What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. | Having given our allegiance to God, we are now ashamed of our former conduct. We thought we were gaining the world, but that was a lie. We were not gaining life. | ||
| {22} But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. | Having given our allegiance to God, we are no longer slaves to sin, and our holy lives lead to eternal life. | ||
| {23} For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. | True life is the gift of God. |