Lesson 24
THE GOOD NEWS
Implications of the Gospel
TEACHING AIM: To understand that Paul not only took the good news of Jesus as a
missionary to many places in the Roman world, but also wrote to these churches
explaining more fully the gospel and its implications for life.
WHY STUDY THIS LESSON? The implications of the gospel for life are that God has
been gracious toward sinners and provides forgiveness and right standing with Him.
DESIRED OUTCOME/PRACTICE: That adults understand and apply to their lives
the essence of the message Paul and other apostles proclaimed: that through Jesus’ life,
death, and resurrection, the basis is secured for forgiveness and peace with God (Eph.
2:8-9).
Background Passage: Romans 5
Focal Passage: Romans 5:1-11
 More than a starting line
 Romans and the gospel
 Present and future confidence
Memory Verses: Romans 5:1-2 1 Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 We have also obtained
access through Him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope
of the glory of God.
PREPARING TO TEACH
After you have read and reflected on Romans 5, read the Venture Up Travelogue, and
respond to the Travelogue questions. Pose this question to yourself: What is the best news
I have ever received from another person or institution? List possibilities, then select
one. Write by your selection some ways this good news has impacted your life.
Reread Romans 5:1-11. This passage not only defines the good news of the gospel but
also identifies ways the lives of believers are changed. These changes not only take place
at the moment of salvation but throughout the believer’s lifetime on earth and into
eternity.
As you develop your teaching plan personalized for your group, consider whether the
above question or some other would be best for introducing this lesson.
Copy the following verses from the Book of Romans onto individual slips of paper:
3:23, 6:23, 8:28, 10:9, and 12:1.
Reflect on this statement from the Travelogue (p. 110): We never move past the gospel;
we only move further and further into it. Consider ways to invite adults to identify
implications of this for their lives today. Write it on a tear sheet or the marker board
before the session begins.
Review the five words and phrases listed and explained in the Travelogue section,
Romans and the Gospel (pp. 112-115): (1) Declared righteous, (2) Faith, (3) Peace, (4)
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, and (5) Access. Determine from these suggestions and
your understanding of the needs of group members how to make these concepts and their
importance come alive to the students.
Consider times of struggle or suffering in your life through which God has strengthened
your confidence in Him. Consider giving a testimony on this point or enlisting in advance
an adult to give a one-minute testimony of an occasion of experiencing this confidence
during a time of trial.
Prepare for each adult an index card with the words of Ephesians 2:8-9.
Pray for each member of your group, especially those who may be struggling in their
faith. Ask God to speak through you to challenge adults to keep the good news of the
gospel always before them as they seek to become more like Him.
TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
MORE THAN A STARTING LINE
As group members arrive distribute slips of paper with the well-known verses from the
Book of Romans to the first to arrive. Explain to these adults that you will call on them
later in the session to read the verse on their slip.
Ask: What is the best news you have ever received from another person or institution?
Record responses that may include acceptance into college, birth of a child or grandchild,
cure from a disease, marriage proposal/acceptance, and many others. Then ask: How did
this piece of good news impact your life? Call on volunteers to respond.
Point out that while the incidents identified by group members represent good news that
changed their lives, the greatest news originated when God sent His Son to earth to make
a way for sinners to become righteous in His eyes. Emphasize that in the Book of
Romans, the apostle Paul described and defined the good news of the gospel. He also
spoke to believers, helping them to understand how this good news would change their
lives for eternity. Comment that the Travelogue and many theologians have declared the
Book of Romans, the greatest theological document ever written. Call on persons who
received slips of paper as they entered to read aloud their verse from Romans. Discuss the
significance of each verse to the gospel.
Display the tear sheet or call attention to the marker board with this statement from the
Travelogue (p. 110): We never move past the gospel; we only move further and further
into it. Call on volunteers to identify what this statement means to them. If not
mentioned, emphasize the gospel is not just significant when a person trusts Christ for
salvation but it must become the driving force of life as the person continually grows to
become more like Him.
Point out the term “glorious exchange” used in the Travelogue (p. 109) describing the
reality that Jesus took all of our sins on Himself. In return, He gave us His righteousness
and we became right with God for eternity.
Call on two or three volunteers to describe how they became Christians, their age at the
time, and what they understood about Jesus when they professed their faith in Him. Then
call on two or three other volunteers to describe specific truths they now know about
Jesus as they have grown spiritually that they did not understand at conversion.
ROMANS AND THE GOSPEL
Comment that for major events such as concerts, sporting events, and celebrity
appearances, it is not unusual to see selected persons wearing VIP tags. Ask: How do
some people receive tags declaring them VIPs? Call on volunteers for responses that may
include donating to a cause, knowing someone, or volunteering their time. What
privileges may be available to those having such tags? Responses may include entrance
to special areas for food and hospitality, special seating, and the opportunity to meet the
speaker or celebrity. Emphasize that the gospel enables all who choose salvation in Christ
to be viewed by God as far more precious than VIPs.
Call on a volunteer to read aloud Romans 5:1-2, this lesson’s memory verses. Draw
from the Travelogue and other sources to describe how Paul knew about the church at
Rome and what they needed to understand about the implications of the good news of the
gospel to their daily lives.
Overview and discuss from these two verses the five words and phrases that are
foundational to the gospel. Again draw from the Travelogue (pp. 112-115) to supplement
and explain each word or phrase.
1. Declared righteous—Call attention to Romans 3:23 read earlier that states that
that all people have sinned and can do nothing on their own to deserve a
relationship with God. However, only through Christ’s death, people can choose
salvation that declares them righteous in God’s eyes. Explain the legal dimension
of this phrase. Ask: What difference should it make in the life of a believer to
know God did for them what they could not do for themselves?
2. Faith—Emphasize Paul’s point that faith is the only way to be judged innocent—
“declared righteous”—before God. Comment that the exclusivity of this truth has
made it controversial among non-Christians and even some Christians. Accepting
it as truth requires us to acknowledge our sinful nature makes it impossible to
save ourselves. We are to do good works in Christ’s name as a reflection of His
gift of salvation. But we can never earn our salvation through good deeds. Ask:
How should believers be prepared to respond to those who understand people
must earn their way to heaven by their good deeds?
3. Peace—Draw from the Travelogue to explain the way sin puts us at war with
God. Emphasize that this peace is not the absence of conflict around us, but the
settled peace within us that results from being in right relationship with God.
Ask: How have you experienced God’s peace in your life?
4. Through our Lord Jesus Christ—Remark that peace with God is fully
unattainable on our own. It comes only through the ministry of Jesus Christ.
Explain the term “Lord” as applied to Jesus (Travelogue, p. 115). Ask: How
should our lives be different because Jesus is our Lord as well as our Savior?
5. Access—Comment that salvation includes access to God that leads to a growing
relationship with Him and more authentic relationships with people. Ask: How
have you drawn on the access to God that is yours as a believer?
Teaching Option
Use the material above to create five groups and give each an assignment to read Romans
5:1-2, the Travelogue material related to their assignment, and respond to the question.
Call on a spokesperson from each group to present a report. Discuss and supplement as
needed.
PRESENT AND FUTURE CONFIDENCE
Ask adults to read silently Romans 5:3-5. Ask: What kind of confidence can believers
experience even in the midst of afflictions? Lead adults to identify the character traits
believers may experience as they gain confidence through the challenges of life. List on
the marker board or a tear sheet. Call on a pre-enlisted adult to give a one-minute
testimony of an occasion of experiencing this confidence during a time of trial, or give
such a testimony yourself.
Read aloud Romans 5:6-11. Lecture briefly on these verses, focusing on these key
points:
 God didn’t just say He loved us. He proved it by Jesus’ death on the cross.
 In the midst of troubles, we must focus less on our circumstances and more on
what God has done for us. When we focus only on our circumstances, we are
missing the blessings God has for us as we deal with our afflictions.
 As believers grow in understanding the gospel, the proper response to God’s
salvation becomes a lifestyle of praise and gratitude.
Ask: What changes have you made in your life as you have grown in your
understanding of the gospel? How is your hope in Christ different from the world’s
definition of hope as something wished for? If not mentioned in responses, emphasize
that the biblical definition of hope includes certainty and assurance.
Conclusion
Distribute the index cards of Ephesians 2:8-9. Point out these verses are a succinct
statement of the implications of the gospel Paul made in Romans 5:1-11.
Comment that Paul consistently emphasized that believers have nothing to boast about
concerning their salvation. God did everything so we can live confidently and tell others
about the gift of eternal salvation that is available to them as well.
Suggest adults post the Ephesians verses in places where they will see them during the
week and remember to express gratitude to God for the good news of the gospel. Close
with a time of silent prayer, asking adults to thank the Lord for the gift of salvation.
Follow Through

Communicate via email, text, or other means. Remind adults to include gratitude
for their salvation prominently in their prayers. Urge them to begin now studying
the Travelogue and responding to the questions for next week’s lesson.
Emphasize the lesson is a follow-up to this lesson and paints a more specific
picture of what Christian living should look like.

Ask God to guide you in focusing on His Word and not your own as you prepare
to teach. Pray by name for each adult in the class.