5 Steps – How To Live Forever

OUTLINE – 5 steps for understanding how to live forever!

Source: Northrup, B. E. (1997). True evangelism

CHAPTER ONE

THE FIRST STEP OF THE SOULWINNER: Exposing Man’s Total Lack of Righteousness Before God (Rom. 1:15–3:20)

A. An Introductory Preview of Paul’s presentation of the Gospel

B. A Brief Survey of Paul’s Presentation of the Gospel

1. Mankind’s twofold opportunity to know God rejected

2. God’s remarkable provision of His own righteousness to the unrighteous

3. Man’s utter inability to participate in the saving of himself by works

4. The Savior’s work on the cross in bearing the penalty for our sins

5. The Divine transaction of transferring our sins to Christ and His righteousness to us

C. Paul’s explanation of a major achievement of the gospel

1. The gospel should produce a twofold means of revealing God’s righteousness to the world (Rom.1:16–17)

2. The gospel is a means of revealing the righteousness of God

3. The life of the justified believer also should be a means of revealing the righteousness God (1:17b)

DID YOU KNOW THAT GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD …

4. God’s wrath revealed against all unrighteousness (1:15–32)

a. The theme of the gospel: God’s righteousness (1:16)

b. Its revelation by the gospel’s requirements (1:17a)

c. Its ultimate revelation through lives of believers (1:17c)

d. The Real nature of the Gospel which Paul Preached

A WORD TO THE JEWISH EVANGELIST

5. The way that God’s revelation of Himself to mankind through natural revelation unveils what God is like.

a. Man already is condemned by his rejection of natural revelation (1:18–20)

b. Mankind’s departure from natural revelation (1:21–23)

c. God’s resignation of the sinful race to its own way (1:24–32).

D. The Plight of the Self-righteous Jew (2:1–3:8)

1. God’s judgment of the self-righteous with the reprobate (2:1–29)

a. The self-righteous condemned with the reprobate (2:1).

b. God’s judgment is according to truth and works on the basis of the gospel (2:2–16)

c. The folly of Israel in depending upon the law for righteousness (2:17–20)

d. Israel’s utter failure to practice what they preached (2:21–29).

2. God demonstrates that all mankind is under condemnation and lacks righteousness before Him (3:1–20).

a. Israel’s complaint of lack of advantage in being placed on a level with the lost Gentile (3:1–4).

b. The rejection of Israel’s attempt to justify their unrighteousness (3:5–8)

c. The placing of both Jew and Gentile equally under sin (3:9–19).

d. The conclusion that the entire race is guilty before God (3:20).

CHAPTER TWO

THE SECOND STEP OF THE SOUL WINNER: Revealing God’s amazing gift of His own righteousness (3:21–26)

A. Righteousness from God provided through faith in Christ (3:21–24).

1. The source of that righteousness is from God Himself

2 This righteousness is not based upon keeping the Mosaic law

3. The character of that righteousness which is acceptable to God

4. The God given witnesses concerning this true righteousness (3:21c)

5. The true basis for receiving this righteousness from God (3:22).

a. That righteousness is received from God Himself alone

b. That righteousness is received by faith in Jesus Christ alone

6. The extent of Hia provision of righteousness (3:22–23).

a. It is for all who believe because there is no distinction

b. Because of mankind’s fall in Adam’s sin (3:23)

7. The manner of receiving God’s righteousness (3:24)

a. “Being justified freely …”

b. Being justified freely by grace through His redemption

8. God’s method of providing this true righteousness which mankind so solely has needed since the fall of the race in the garden Eden

a. By justification based upon Christ’s death (3:24c-25a)

b. By propitiation through faith in His blood (3:25a)

B. This provision of His own righteousness is God’s means of making His forgiveness available to mankind, past and present (3:25–26).

1. Christ’s death was the basis for the justification of the repentant Old Testament sinner (3:25)

2. Christ’s death also is the basis for God’s justification of the New Testament believer (v. 3:26).

C. The rejection of man’s boasting concerning works achieving self-righteousness (3:27–28).

CHAPTER THREE

THE THIRD STEP OF THE SOUL WINNER: How a person receives this gift of God’s righteousness (3:27–4:25)

A. This gift is never received by good works but only by means of faith (3:27–4:8)

1. The rejection of man’s boasting of his works for salvation. (3:27)

2. The fact that justification before God is only by means of faith (3:28)

3. The inclusion of the Gentiles in God’s program of justification by means of faith alone (3:29–30)

4. Paul’s denial that salvation by faith alone would make the law to be void, asserting that this actually fulfills the law (3:31).

5. The principle of imputating of righteousness by faith apart from works illustrated (4:1–8)

a. By demonstrating how Abraham was counted righteous (4:15)

b. By explaining how David was forgiven his sin and was counted to be righteous (4:6–8)

B. Justification is never received by any ceremony which has been performed on him but only by means of his own faith (4:9–12)

1. Questioning the function of the ritual (4:9–10)

2. The timing of the ritual of Abraham’s circumcision: The ritual followed Abraham’s reception of God’s righteousness when he believed God’s promise (4:10b-11a)

3. In that sense Abraham is father of all believers. (4:11c-12)

C. Being counted righteous in God’s court is never received by keeping the law but only by faith (4:13–25)

1. In the same way that Abraham’s promise of heirship was not by law for it was before the law was given (4:13).

2. If law keeping made one an heir, then faith would be made void (4:14–15)

3. Thus the counting of God’s righteousness to the sinner is of faith and only as a free gift (4:16–23)

CHAPTER FOUR

THE SOUL-WINNER’S FOURTH STEP: Explaining how Christ has provided His own Righteousness to us (5:1–21)

THE POEM: EVANGELIST

A. Christ’s work on the cross, God’s altar, brings us grace and peace (5:1–5)

1. Our position: justified by faith. (5:1–5)

2. The provisions of our position when justified by faith (5:1b)

3. Our response to the love of God (5:2b-5)

B. Because of God’s love, Christ died in our own place, satisfying the wrath of God against us (5:6–8).

1. The basis for our justification: Christ’s death for the ungodly (5:6–8)

2. The deliverance from wrath that justification brings is through Christ (5:9).

C. The satisfaction of judgment brought by Christ’s death in our place saves us from the wrath of God (5:10a)

D. Christ’s present life assures us of reconciliation to God and of our ultimate salvation (5:10b-11)

E. Christ’s obedience delivers us from condemnation in Adam (5:12–21)

1. The plight of all mankind “in Adam” (5:12–14)

a. In Adam all mankind came to have the sin nature and face the death which it brings to every man (5:12)

b. In Adam all mankind participated in Adam’s act and sinned because we were Adam (5:12c)

F. Christ’s grace brings righteousness and eternal life to those who believe (5:20–21)

CHAPTER FIVE

THE SOUL WINNER’S CRUCIAL FIFTH STEP: Explaining God’s means of transferring our sins to Christ and His righteousness to us (6:1–10)

A. The prophetic background for the great transaction

B. Our obligation as believers to live above bondage to the sin nature (6:1–2)

C. The reason for that obligation: The transfer of our sins to Christ and of Christ’s death to us as believers through being baptized into Him (6:3–10)

1. Because we have been placed in Christ, we been crucified in Him (6:3)

2. Because we have been placed in Christ, we have been buried with Him (6:4a)

3. Because we have been placed in Christ, we have been resurrected from death with Him (6:4b).

D. Which baptism? What does this baptism accomplish?

E. Is it possible for water baptism alone to accomplish all (or any) of these things found in this passage? No!

1. Examining “the baptism that saves us” (I Pet. 3:20–21)

2. The introduction to the explanation of our new obligation to live as resurrected believers in the resurrected Christ (6:5–10)

Northrup, B. E. (1997). True evangelism : Paul’s presentation of the first five steps of the soul-winner in Romans .