About the Author
John Melton
I am just another follower of Christ who is doing his best to be faithful and obedient to God’s will laid out in Scripture. I have not been to seminary, nor have I had any formal training. I have been mentored by a number of my church elders over the years, teaching me how to read and study the Word of God. I have taught Sunday school lessons and have led multiple Bible studies. This is my first writing, which was adapted from my personal notes as I studied the Book of Romans with some other men in our church. I do not claim to have any special knowledge or revelation from God, for to do so would be blasphemy! I simply want to read God’s Word and grow in my faithfulness and understanding. I hope that this study will help you to do the same!
My family and I faithfully attend Sunrise Community Church in Jacksonville, FL where we are regularly involved in serving the saints as our Lord has commanded. Sunrise identifies with the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) denomination. For more information, you can visit the websites for both the EFCA and Sunrise Community Church by clicking the buttons below.
Statement of Faith
God reveals Himself to us, through human authors, in both the New and Old Testaments of the Bible. The Bible is the inspired Word of God and is without error in the original writings. It communicates the complete revelation of God’s will for salvation, authority, judgment, and the future. Therefore, it is supremely important that Christ’s followers read and study the Bible to know what God has said. I do firmly believe that all who commit to reading the Bible, approaching it with a proper attitude of humility, and pray for God to give them understanding will in fact receive it!
There are four foundational truths that are taught by the Bible that become evident as one reads. Simplified they are:
God: God is holy, perfect, and creator of all things. God sets forth the moral law and demonstrates the standards that all people are held to. (See Romans 1:20, 9:18-23, 11:33-36)
Man: All people are created to bring God glory, yet all have transgressed God’s moral law. We are fallen and sinful human beings, and we are unable to redeem ourselves before God. God is just to punish us for our disobedience. (See Romans 1:18, 21-23, 3:9-12, 23, 10:3)
Jesus: All people need a perfect, sinless Savior to die for them, once for all who God has elected, offered as a holy sacrifice, so that we may be redeemed from our sin. God’s Son Jesus Christ is this sacrifice. Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to God the Father after His crucifixion, confirming His deity and perfection. (See Romans 3:21-26, 5:12-21, 6:23, 8:1-2, 33-34, 10:4)
Respond: For anyone to be saved from God’s just wrath, God must stir in their heart, and they must act, in repentance (turning away) from their sin, confess, “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in His resurrection. (See Romans 6:1-2, 12-14, 15, 10:8b-11)