Sharon Reformed Presbyterian Church · Sermon study sheet

The Foundation of Grace

Bryan Schneider · September 12, 2026

Romans 1-5

sharonrpc.org/sermons/the-foundation-of-grace

Main points

God's committed love is the foundation of the good news; we do not earn it by becoming good enough.
The gospel concerns Jesus Christ, God's Son and our Lord, promised beforehand in the Scriptures.
This good news is for Jews and Gentiles: everyone who believes receives salvation through Christ.
Jews and Gentiles alike are under sin; no one can claim a righteous standing on their own.
God declares sinners righteous freely by grace through Christ's redemption and blood, received by faith.
Abraham believed God's promise, and God counted it to him for righteousness; salvation is a gift rather than a debt God owes us.
Believers can glory in suffering because it produces perseverance, character, and hope, with God's love poured into their hearts by the Holy Spirit.
Adam brought death and condemnation; Jesus gives life and righteousness. Christians fight sin because they know God's love in Christ.

Read Romans 1:1-7. How does being beloved of God and called to be holy shape the way we hear the gospel?
What is lost when we describe the gospel without explaining who Jesus is and what he has done?
Read Romans 1:16-17 and Psalm 117. How does the good news challenge the boundaries we put around the people we expect God to save?
How do Romans 2 and 3 challenge both religious self-confidence and the attempt to earn God's love by being good enough?
Read Romans 3:21-26. How does Christ's death show both God's justice and his grace toward sinners?
Read Romans 4:1-5, 16, 23-25. What is the difference between receiving God's promise by faith and treating salvation as wages?
Read Romans 5:1-11. How can peace with God and the Spirit's assurance of his love sustain someone who is suffering?
Read Romans 5:12-21. What comes through Adam, and what comes through Jesus? How does belonging to Christ change your reason for fighting sin?

Gospel: Good news: God's saving message concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Grace: God's freely given favor toward sinners, which we receive rather than earn.
Justification: God's act of declaring sinners righteous for Christ's sake, received through faith rather than achieved by keeping the law.
Faith: Trusting God's promise and resting in Jesus and his saving work instead of our own goodness.
Redemption: Being bought back from bondage. The sermon describes Jesus redeeming his people with his own blood.
Propitiation: Christ's sacrifice that satisfies God's righteous judgment against sin, so that forgiveness does not ignore God's justice.
Imputation: Counting or reckoning righteousness to someone, as Paul describes God's acceptance of Abraham through faith.
Reconciliation: Being brought from enmity into peace with God through Jesus Christ.