The object of these outlines is to bring before the reader truth that is fast being let slip.
Introduction
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
By it we are born again (1 Peter 1:23).
By it our souls are fed and we grow thereby (1 Peter 2:2).
By it we are able to discern good and evil (1 John 4:6).
It is the standard by which all teaching must be judged. “Thy word is truth” (John 17:17).
Sin? What Is It?
Sin is lawlessness. This is the correct translation of 1 John 3:4.
Man’s proper place is subjection to the will of God, so sin is the act of an independent will.
“Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23). That is, faith brings us into the presence of God and we walk consciously there.
“The thought of foolishness is sin” (Prov. 24:9). That is, our thoughts tell what we are in nature (Mark 7:21).
“All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). That is a summing up of all that the Apostle had been saying previously. Sin is measured by the true nature of God, and that is why it says that all have “come short of the glory of God.”
“To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). That is the active principle of obedience in the new man. To obey it not is to give place to the old man (Eph. 4:22).
The Word of God speaks of “sin” the nature we have as children of Adam (Psa. 51:5). The fruit is the result. In Romans 6-8, we have deliverance from its power through the Spirit of life that is in Christ Jesus through faith.
Peace
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1).
The last verse of Romans 4 would show us that this is faith in what God has done in delivering Christ for our offenses and raising Him for our justification.
Ephesians 2:14 tells us, “He is our peace.” Colossians 1:20 tells us that He has made peace through the blood of His cross.
It is the fruit of simply believing that God has provided in Christ a perfect atonement for sin. The work was done at the cross, and His resurrection is the witness of God’s acceptance of the work His own Son has completed.
H. E. Hayhoe (Present Truth for Christians)