5. Paul and his good conscience

Jesus only saves SINNERS! Jesus saves anybody who recognizes they are a sinner and ask Jesus for salvation. I Corinthians 6:9-11 makes it very clear that Jesus saves fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, abusers of themselves with mankind, thieves, covetous people, drunkards, revilers and extortioners. Joshua 2 explains that Rabah the harlot was a true believer when she helped Israel destroy her city, but Joshua 6:22-23 reveals she saved her entire family from destruction. Matthew 4:23-25 reveals the type of people who listened to the sermon on the mount, but also there were there listening some who said they prophesied in the name of Jesus, they cast out devils in the name of Jesus, and in the name of Jesus did many wonderful works, but Jesus said he never knew them. Luke 23:39-43 states that Jesus even saved the thief on the cross, a man so worthless the Roman government put him to death! John 3, John 7:45-53 and John 19:38-39 declares that Jesus also saved religious, but lost people, such as Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple because he was afraid of the Jews. Jesus can save anybody, even you, if you are lost. Come to Jesus and confess your sins to him and him alone. He knows all about you and he can and will forgive you and freely give you eternal life.

Romans 12:2 calls Christians to be transformed by the renewal of their minds. In this Weekly Watch episode of Contending for the Word, Dave Jenkins considers how popular ideologies shape our thinking, how the fear of man can weaken our witness, and how Scripture teaches us to test claims of fresh revelation. Hebrews 13:8–9 grounds that discernment in the unchanging Christ, who gives us reason to stand firm and give thanks to God. For more from Contending for the Word, please visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/contending-for-the-word-podcast/

Betrayal. Arrest. Denial. Trials: Jewish, Roman, Galilean. Simon of Cyrene bears the cross.

Romans 3:10–12 (KJV): "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

This Bible study examines the pivotal moment in Acts 10 where God breaks down the barrier between Jews and Gentiles through Peter's vision of unclean animals. The central message emphasizes that God's cleansing work in the heart of a person, such as the Roman centurion Cornelius, superseding cultural and religious traditions of separation. By highlighting the parallel prayers of Peter and Cornelius, the text illustrates God's sovereign orchestration in using ordinary believers to proclaim the gospel to all nations. The tone is instructional and pastoral, urging listeners to view all people as reachable by grace rather than defined by their background. Ultimately, the sermon calls for a posture of humility and obedience, recognizing that the knowledge of the Lord is intended to fill the earth as the waters cover the sea.

A modernized slightly abridged version. In his classic exposition of Romans 5:10, "Men Naturally Are God's Enemies," Jonathan Edwards demonstrates that unredeemed human beings are not merely imperfect or morally flawed, but active, mortal enemies of their Creator in their minds, affections, wills, and daily conduct. Because fallen humanity has traded the true God for the idols of self and the world, people instinctively resent God's absolute holiness and strict authority, even when fear, upbringing, or self-interest masks that hostility beneath outward religious respect. Edwards explains that only God's restraining grace prevents human corruption from turning the earth into an immediate hell, and that God owes no mercy to those who persist in rebellion against Him. Ultimately, however, this sobering diagnosis serves to magnify the astonishing grace of the gospel: while we were still His enemies, God loved us enough to send His Son to die for our reconciliation—calling those who receive such undeserved mercy to marvel at Christ's love and extend genuine forgiveness to their own enemies.

In this exposition of Romans 1:28–32, Dave Jenkins explains what it means for God to give sinners over to a debased mind. Paul traces the effects of rejecting God through our thinking, our relationships, and the evil we are willing to approve. As the passage leads into Romans 2, it calls us to examine our own hearts and look to Jesus Christ for forgiveness and a renewed mind. For more from our Romans series please visit: https://servantsofgrace.org/category/sermons/romans-the-gospel-that-changes-everything/

This brief series aims to present the life and attitudes of the Apostle Paul, starting with Paul the man and his past and then the meaning of his dramatic conversion, not only for him but for us who are the beneficiaries of his ministry.