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Romans Commentary Chapters 1-8  /  Romans 5:1-5 the Fall of Man and the Hope of Salvation  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 6
Bercot points to multiple New Testament exhortations addressed to believers—“be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20), “be diligent to be found in peace” (2 Pet 3:14), and warnings that loving the world makes one “an enemy of God” (James 4; 1 John 2:15)—what concrete markers would tell a church that its members are drifting from peace with God even while still calling themselves “saved”?
Another way to ask: What clear signs would show that people in a church are drifting from peace with God even though they still call themselves “saved”?

Direct Answer The transcript points to concrete markers like returning to sin, growing friendship with the world, losing love for the Father, and failing to pursue being “found in peace…blameless”—even while maintaining a “saved” identity.

Support from Transcript:

  • Bercot’s baseline marker: “If we return to a life of sin, we relinquish the peace with God we obtained at our initial salvation.”
  • Origen’s description implies visible drift: turning back to sin “renews the former enmity with God” and “rebuilds the barrier of hostility.”
  • 2 Peter 3:14 is given as a Christian exhortation: “be diligent to be found in peace without defect and blameless in his sight.”
  • 2 Corinthians 5:20 is emphasized as written “not to the unsaved, but to the saved”: “be reconciled to God.”
  • James’s warning supplies a marker of drift: “friendship with the world is hostility toward God…makes himself an enemy of God.”
  • 1 John 2:15 provides another: “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in Him,” and Bercot concludes such a person is “no longer at peace with God.”
Discussion Follow-ups What signs of “friendship with the world” are easiest to excuse in church life because they look normal or successful?

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