(Romans) Small Man to the Sacred Family in Village of Iron 5

PEACE WITH THE GREAT SPIRIT

1This good standing we have brings peace with the Great Spirit. This peace comes from trusting in Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One and what he has done for us. 2Our trust in him opens the way into Creator’s great kindness and is now the solid ground on which we stand. Now our boasting is in him, as we look forward to being the kind of people the Great Spirit created us to be, a people filled with his beauty and shining-greatness.

3-4But we must also find joy in our sufferings on his behalf. For we know that when the trail gets rough, we must walk with firm steps to reach the end. As we walk firmly in his footprints, we gain the strength of spirit that we need to stay true to the path. 5This gives us the hope we need to reach the end of the trail with honor. All of this is because of Creator’s great love that has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who is his gift to us from above.

SET FREE FROM BROKEN WAYS

6When the time was right, while we were still weak human beings following our bad hearts and broken ways, the Chosen One died for us. 7It is not easy to find someone who is willing to die for a good person, even though we might find someone with the courage to die for a very good person. 8But here is the way the Maker of Life proves how deep his love is for us: even when we were still following our bad hearts and broken ways, the Chosen One gave his life for us. 9The lifeblood that he poured out puts our lives back into harmony and promises us good standing with the Great Spirit. What he has done sets us free from the storm of great anger caused by our bad hearts and broken ways.

10So, if the lifeblood poured out by the Chosen One has put us in good standing with the Great Spirit, then how much more will his life of beauty and harmony, which has defeated death, now set us free to walk in his ways!

11But taking this a step further, we can now boast with glad hearts about what the Great Spirit has done through our Honored Chief Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One! He is the one who has restored us back into friendship with the Great Spirit!

FROM RED CLAY TO CREATOR SETS FREE

12Here is another way to see what I am saying. Red Clay (Adam) was the first human being to fail to live the life he was created for. His broken ways brought death to all who followed in his footsteps, for death comes from following bad hearts and broken ways. 13These broken ways were already at work in the world, even before our tribal law was given. But where there is no law, no one can be guilty of breaking it.

14Even so, death still came to all who lived from Red Clay (Adam) to Drawn from the Water (Moses), who gave us the law. Yes, death ruled over all who walked in broken ways, even over the ones who did not fail in the same way Red Clay (Adam) failed. But, as we will see, Red Clay (Adam) was in many ways like the one who would come later, the Chosen One.

15But not in all ways, for the false step of Red Clay (Adam) cannot be compared with the gift of Creator’s great kindness shown to us in the Chosen One. If one man’s failure brought death to human beings, then how much more will Creator’s great kindness, gifted to us through the goodwill of one man—Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One—overflow to all with new life!

16Here is another way to see it. Red Clay’s (Adam’s) one failure was repeated over and over again, bringing guilt and shame to all who followed in his footsteps. But the gift of Creator’s great kindness overcame those many failures and gave human beings a path to good standing with him once again.

17If death overcame all human beings because of the wrongdoing of one man, then how much greater will it be for the ones who receive this gift of good standing and overflowing kindness? I will tell you! Through Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One, they will guide others with the wisdom and honor of a chief as they walk this road of life!

18And if the false steps of one man led to guilt and shame for all human beings, then another man’s true and firm steps will bring life and good standing to all human beings. 19Again, if one man who followed his bad heart passed it on to many others, then one man who walks with a good and upright heart will pass on that good heart to many others.

THE LIFE OF THE WORLD TO COME

20Our tribal law stepped in to show us how bad our broken ways had become, and this only made our broken ways grow worse. But the worse our broken ways grew, even stronger grew the gift of Creator’s great kindness. 21Our broken ways ruled over us leading to death. But the gift of Creator’s great kindness that gives us good standing with him now rules over us. This leads to the life of the world to come that never fades away, full of beauty and harmony. This is his gift to us because of what our Honored Chief Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One has done.