The Book of Romans

1. The Book of Romans Lesson One Exploring the Riches of Romans

2. Augustine – 386 AD Romans 13:13-14 “13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”

3. Augustine “No further would I read, nor had I any need; instantly, at the end of this sentence, a clear light flooded my heart and all the darkness of doubt vanished away.”

4. Martin Luther “I greatly longed to understand Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, and nothing stood in the way but that one expression, ‘the righteousness of God,’ because I took it to mean that righteousness whereby God is righteous and deals righteously in punishing the unrighteous … Night and day I pondered until … I grasped the truth that the righteousness of God is that righteousness whereby, through grace and sheer mercy, he justifies us by faith.

5. Martin Luther Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise. The whole of Scripture took on a new meaning, and whereas before ‘the righteousness of God’ had filled me with hate, now it became to me inexpressibly sweet in greater love. This passage of Paul became to me a gateway to heaven.”

6. John Wesley “… went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s Preface to the Epistle to the Romans … About a quarter before nine while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for my salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken my sins away, even mine; and saved me from the law of sin and death.”

7. Karl Barth Paul’s words had a powerful impact upon Barth, and his exposition, we are told by Dr. Karl Adam; fell “like a bombshell on the theologian’s playground.”

8. Martin Luther “This Epistle is the chief book of the New Testament, the purest gospel. It deserves not only to be known word for word by every Christian, but to be the subject of his meditation day by day, the daily bread of his soul … The more time one spends in it, the more precious it becomes and the better it appears.” He spoke of it as “a light and way into the whole Scriptures …”

9. John Calvin said of it “when any one understands this Epistle, he has a passage opened to him to the understanding of the whole Scriptures.” Coleridge pronounced Romans “the most profound work ever written!” Meyer considered it “the greatest and richest of all the apostolic works.”

10. Godet referred to it as “the cathedral of the Christian faith.” Gordon H. Clark recently wrote of Romans that it is “the most profound of all the epistles, and perhaps the most important book in the Bible …” Hamilton, in his recent commentary on Romans, calls it “the greatest book in the Bible.”

11. A Personal Challenge • First, pray that God would use this book in your life, in a powerful way. Expect God to speak to you, and pray that He will. • Second, set some specific goals for your own study. Determine when and how you will study Romans during the week. • Third, follow through with your study of the Book of Romans. I am convinced that those whose lives were transformed were those who worked hard at studying Romans. Don’t expect God to transform your life apart from your own thorough search of these Scriptures.

12. Proverbs 2:1-5 1 My son, if you accept My words and store up My commands within you, 2 turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, 3 and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, 4 and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, 5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

13. The Relationship Between Paul and the Church at Rome No one actually knows when the church of Rome was founded or by whom. We do know that at the time of Paul’s writing, there was a church in Rome made up of both Jews and Gentiles. “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being reported all over the world.” Romans 1:8

14. Paul had wanted to visit Rome and the saints there, but up to this point in time he had not been able to do so. Romans 1:8-10 8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.

15. Romans 1:11-15 11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles. 14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.

16. Romans 15:22-25 22 This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to see you, 24 I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there.

17. Romans 15:26-29 26 For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. 27 They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings. 28 So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this fruit, I will go to Spain and visit you on the way. 29 I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ.

18. Acts 18:1-2 1 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them.

19. Acts 28:14b-15 14b … And so we came to Rome. 15 The brothers there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these men Paul thanked God and was encouraged.

20. The Time and Place of the Writing of Romans Paul’s comments in Romans 1:8-15 and 15:22-29, when compared to the events of Acts 18:1-2 and 20:3, 6, 18, definitely point to a time late in 57 or early 58 A.D. The place of writing seems quite clearly to be Corinth.

21. F.F. Bruce wrote, “The copy which was taken to Rome was certainly treasured in the church of that city, and survived the persecution of AD 64. About AD 96 Clement, ‘foreign secretary’ of the Roman church, shows himself well acquainted with the Epistle to the Romans; he echoes its language time and again in the letter which he sent in that year on behalf of the Roman church to the church in Corinth. The way in which he echoes its language suggests that he knew it by heart; it could well be that the Epistle was read regularly at meetings of the Roman church from the time of its reception onwards … From the beginning of the second century Paul’s letters circulated as a collection—the corpus Paulinum—and not singly.”

22. Tracing the Righteousness of God Through the Book of Romans The predominant theme of the Book of Romans is the righteousness of God. Romans 1:1-15 Romans 1:16-17 First, the gospel is the “power of God for the salvation” of both Jews and Gentiles. Second, the gospel reveals the righteousness of God.

23. The Righteousness of GodRevealing the UnrighteousnessOf Man Romans 1:18 – 3:20 Paul’s purpose in this section is not only to demonstrate man’s sin, and thus his need for a righteousness that is of God, but to show us that man’s sin actually demonstrates God’s righteousness. This is precisely what Paul concludes in chapter 3: “But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say?” (Romans 3:5a).

24. Two Major Thrusts Self-indulgent Sinners – Chapter One - those on and through whom the wrath of God is presently being revealed Self-righteous Sinners – Chapter Two - those whose judgment is viewed as future

25. God’s righteousness is demonstrated by His judgment of sinners, sinners of either kind—the self-indulgent or the self-righteous. God’s righteousness is seen not only in the fact that He judges sinners, but also in that He judges them impartially. The righteousness of God requires His wrath to be expressed toward unrighteousness.

26. The Jews prided themselves in their privileged position and in their possession of the Law, but they failed to practice it. Paul shows that possession of the Law (symbolized by circumcision) was of no value unless the Law was also practiced. There is even greater condemnation for those who have the greater revelation of the Law and yet fail to meet its demands.

27. God’s Righteousness God’s righteousness is revealed by the way that He judges unrighteousness. God condemns sinners without partiality. He has no “favorites” whose sin He overlooks. He judges men impartially and righteously in that He judges men on the basis of the revelation given to them.

28. First Question: If the possession of the Law did not make the Jew better than anyone else, “What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision?” Paul’s answer was that while being a Jew did not make one righteous, it did give one the great privilege of being entrusted with God’s Word.

29. Second Question: Does man’s unbelief, man’s unfaithfulness to God, reflect on God’s faithfulness to man? If the revelation of God in nature and in the Law has not made any man righteous, but has only proven man to be unrighteous, what does this say about God? Has God failed? Man’s failure has demonstrated the righteousness of God.

30. Third Question: Can God be righteous when He has created men who are sinners, and when He has provided a revelation which only seems to produce unrighteousness rather than righteousness? Has God’s purpose of revealing His own righteousness by demonstrating man’s unrighteousness backfired, so that God is made to look evil? Paul merely states that the condemnation of such people is just.

31. Paul concludes… …that Jews are no better than Gentiles and that both are unrighteous, guilty before God. He draws together a series of quotations from the Old Testament which describe man’s fallen, sinful condition, a condition which is universal and which is true of Jew and Gentile alike. The Law was given to those under the Law, not to make them superior to those who did not have the Law, nor to make them righteous, but to demonstrate their unrighteousness. The Law reveals man’s need of righteousness; it does not provide men with righteousness. The Law is not the solution.

32. The Law is to salvation what an x-ray is to a cure.

33. How, then, is man ever to obtain righteousness? The Law reveals man’s problem: He is unrighteous, under the wrath of a righteous God. Man’s unrighteousness demonstrates God’s righteousness.

34. The Righteousness of God in Saving Unrighteous Men If God was shown by Paul to be righteous by His response to the unrighteousness (sin) of men in judgment (1:18–3:20), He is now shown to be righteous by His response to man’s sin in providing salvation (3:21–5:21). The righteousness God has provided is that which Jesus Christ accomplished, a righteousness based upon His person and His work.

35. This righteousness is that which men receive as a free gift, as a gift of grace, and not as the result of human effort or Law-keeping. Since this righteousness is independent of man’s works, and since it is offered to both Jews and Gentiles alike, men have nothing to boast about when they are declared righteous. In saving men in this way, the righteousness of God is revealed, just as in His condemnation of men.

36. Abraham DavidCircumcision

37. Righteousness ….living according to the standards of God’s righteousness, as revealed in the Law, is the result of faith and not the result of works. Works are the RESULT of righteousness, not the cause.

38. The gospel… …has not really changed from the Old Testament to the New. This is why both Jews and Gentiles are saved in the same way, by the same gospel. This is why both Jews and Gentiles are saved by faith, apart from Law-keeping. The Law only condemns; it only shows how far short of God’s righteousness men fall.

39. Faith… …rests in the person and in the promises of God. Faith believes God and receives the forgiveness of sins and the gift of righteousness through Jesus Christ. The gospel which Paul preached, and which the Roman saints had received, offered the same righteousness (the righteousness of Christ) through the same means (faith), apart from works.

40. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins, to make us righteous, while we were still sinners. If God did this for us while we were still His enemies (the greater work), then surely He will now keep us and preserve us from His wrath now that we are forgiven and are His children (5:8-10).

41. “Greater than” In the final verses of chapter 5, man’s unrighteousness is taken back to its original source—the sin of Adam. Who is the greater of the two, Adam or Christ? Christ is the greater of the two, far greater. If this is so, then we can be assured that the results of Christ’s righteousness overcome and overshadow the results of Adam’s unrighteousness.

42. The Righteousness of God Is the Goal of Salvation Paul very clearly indicates not only what we have been saved FROM (Ephesians 2:1-3), but also what we have been saved FOR (Ephesians 2:10). While our efforts to produce good works can never save us, when God provided salvation, He provided us with a salvation that results in good works.

43. The Righteousness of God Is the Goal of Salvation In Romans 6-8 Paul takes up his argument at the point of salvation, showing that salvation requires righteousness, which is beyond our own capabilities, but that God has given us provision for righteous living.

44. Briefly… Romans 6 instructs us that righteousness is a requirement for the Christian. Romans chapter 7 teaches us that while righteousness is required, it is nevertheless humanly impossible, due to the weakness of our flesh and the power of sin. In Romans 8, Paul explores the divine provision for righteousness—the Holy Spirit, by whose power Christians can fulfill the righteousness which the Law commanded and which God still requires.

45. Chapter 6 begins with the question, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” If grace outruns sin, then why not continue in sin so that grace can increase in greater measure? Once we have been saved, our sins forgiven, and heaven has become a certain hope, why not continue to live as we once did?

46. A decision is called for by Paul, a decision to cease presenting our bodies as instruments for accomplishing sin and to present our bodies to God as instruments of righteousness. We are the slaves of that to which we give ourselves. We will either become slaves of righteousness or slaves of sin.

47. There IS a problem… Now, in Christ, we have the desire to do what is right, but no power to accomplish it. Sin still gets the best of us. We do what we hate (sin), and we cannot do what we love (righteousness). The Law is not the problem, for we agree with what the Law requires and forbids. The problem is with our flesh, which cannot overcome the greater power of sin. The righteousness for which we were saved, and which we are obligated to perform, WE are unable to achieve.

48. A Divine Solution God has provided His children, those whom He has saved, with the power of the Holy Spirit. Those who walk in the Spirit are able to overcome the power of sin and to practice that righteousness which God requires through the Law (see Romans 8:4).

49. Our righteousness will not be complete until we are in heaven.

50. The Holy Spirit… …is God’s provision for our present inadequacies, helping us in our time of weakness, interceding for us with God, even when we are not able to express our groanings with words.