Tag Archives: Good Works

“THE BODY OF SIN” (ROMANS 6:6) — PART THREE

Jack Cottrell Posted on by

[Continued from Part Two] [QUESTION. What does Paul mean by the phrase “body of sin” in Romans 6:6? Is he referring to the physical body? And if so, in what sense is it a body “of sin”?] ANSWER. In Romans six the Apostle Paul presents us with some very good news about what happened to us when we were baptized into Christ. In that moment, he says, our sin-corrupted souls died with Christ and were raised up to walk in new spiritual life. One great benefit of this is that our physical bodies, which in this life are under the … Continue reading →

“THE BODY OF SIN” (ROMANS 6:6) — PART ONE

Jack Cottrell Posted on by

QUESTION. What does Paul mean by the phrase “body of sin” in Romans 6:6? Is he referring to the physical body? And if so, in what sense is it a body “of sin”? ANSWER. You have raised a question of crucial importance for our understanding of human nature as such, and especially for our understanding of the nature of salvation. In my answer I will draw from the entire section of Romans that includes chapters six through eight. When I wrote my commentary on Romans for College Press (2 volumes, 1996 & 1998; one volume condensed, 2005), I was surprised … Continue reading →

HAVE WE LEARNED TO THINK IN GRACE?

Jack Cottrell Posted on by

HAVE WE LEARNED TO THINK IN GRACE? AN AID FOR SELF-EXAMINATION Jack Cottrell – June 2016 In Romans 6:14-15, Paul says we Christians are “not under law, but under grace.” I.e., we are not under the law system as a way of salvation; we are under the grace system. We know that we are still obligated to obey God’s law commands, but we realize that we are not saved by achieving a certain level of obedience to those commands. Rather, we are saved by the grace of God, through our sincere trust in the redemptive works of Christ. As believers … Continue reading →

IS BAPTISM THE FIRST STEP OF OBEDIENCE?

Jack Cottrell Posted on by

IS BAPTISM THE FIRST STEP OF OBEDIENCE? (This is the second edition of an article by Jack Cottrell, first published in Christian Standard in April 10, 2005.) A church leader was recently asked to explain his convictions and practice concerning baptism. He replied, “I have always believed that when a person sincerely comes to trust Jesus Christ as leader, forgiver, and Savior, and repents, the first step of obedience is to be baptized into Christ. That is what I have always taught, believed, and practiced” (Christian Standard, 6/27/04, p. 6). What does it mean to think of baptism as “the … Continue reading →

Saved by Grace #10 — SAVED BY GRACE, FOR GOOD WORKS

Jack Cottrell Posted on by

I like to summarize salvation, using Eph. 2:8-10 and Col. 2:12, thus: we are saved BY GRACE, THROUGH FAITH, IN BAPTISM, FOR GOOD WORKS. Here we are examining the last phrase, “for good works” (Eph. 2:10). Good works are simply our everyday obedience to God’s law, i.e., being holy as God is holy, obeying our law code, living the Christian life, being good. How do works (being good) fit into the salvation picture? Outside Christianity, and even for many within it, the general view is that we are saved BY works. (Paul wrote Romans 1-5 to combat this view.) On … Continue reading →

A TRIBUTE TO SAM GONZALEZ

Jack Cottrell Posted on by

ABOUT MY FRIEND AND FELLOW-LABORER IN CHRIST, SAMUEL GONZALEZ (1949-2013) By JACK COTTRELL JULY 31, 2013 [The following is the tribute I was privileged to give at the memorial service for Sam Gonzalez, one of the founders of the Yucatan Peninsula Christian Mission, who died on May 31, 2013 at the age of 63.] In one of his newsletters, Brother Sam quoted Jeremiah 48:10: “A curse on him who is lax in doing the LORD’s work!” Then he said, “With this verse in mind we want to start the year making plans for serving the Lord to the most of … Continue reading →

Can Non-Christians Do Good Works?

Jack Cottrell Posted on by

Can Non-Christians Do Good Works? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, July 1, 2010 at 3:48pm QUESTION: It would seem that non-Christians can not do any truly good or meritorious acts without the grace of Christ. But does this mean that everything they do is sinful? Romans 14:23 says that whatever is not done in faith is sin. But what about the acts of self-sacrifice that non-regenerate people perform, such as the firefighters who gave their lives on 9/11, or parents who give of themselves for their children? Are all of those acts sinful since they are not done in … Continue reading →