Questions for Reading:
1. What do you make of Paul’s language of “boasting” (v.2-3)?
2. After hearing Paul say,“when sin increased, grace abounded all the more (5:20),” the imaginary interlocutor asks, “Shall we sin, then, so grace will increase (6:1)?” Is that a reasonable question at this stage in the letter?
Questions for Reflection:
1. How do the various themes of the letter deployed so far cohere? What is the relationship between “justification,” “access,” and “reconciliation”?
2. Have you ever felt that the grace of God has reached you “at just the right time (5:6)”? Ponder that experience. Could a similar one lie behind Paul’s enthusiasm in this chapter?
3. In an era when we think of the development of humanity in terms of evolution, of what use is the Adam-Christ typology?