Morality is not a cookbook that one can follow in a step-by-step fashion.

This is a potent reply to people who often ask, 'why cannot I be good, without Christ,' or without even a sense of a constant, steadfast, personal ethical system. When ministering to others, frequently one is asked: 'but can't I just follow the golden rule?' Although there is some truth to the importance of simply doing unto others as one would have done to one's self, more is needed when deeper ethical questions emerge. Furthermore, Paul would contend that simply following the law, Mosaic or otherwise, is not taking advantage of Christ's full gift to humanity. There is no driving, internal emotional drive to follow the law without the acceptance of grace and the sense that what one does on earth is thanks for Christ in heaven, for Christ's sacrifice.

Paul's primary theme in Romans 5 is...
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