2. Romans

3. Background to the Epistle to the Romans:
When did Paul write it?
~56AD Either shortly preceding or following the Second Epistle to the Corinthians.
Where did Paul write it from?
Corinth Rom. 15:25-28, Paul mentions the gift of the Macedonians to the saints in Jerusalem, with whom he was wintering. Acts 20:2-3

4. Background to the Epistle to the Romans:
Who did Paul write it to?
The Saints in Rome: Rom 1:7. The Roman Church was composed of numerous house churches. Rom 16:3-15. These churches contained a mix of Jews and Gentiles.
Paul’s Epistle would not be dissimilar to a letter being written to the Saints in Salem, OR.

5. Background to the Epistle to the Romans:
Why did Paul write it?
Because he wanted to come see them on his way to Spain. Rom 15:24
To help establish the Church in Rome, and encourage it. Rom 1:11
But most of all, to declare the Gospel of God, to which Paul was called as an Apostle. Rom 1:1

6. Background to the Epistle to the Romans
What is it about?
The central theme of the Epistle is the “Gospel of God”.
The Gospel of God:
Man’s fallen condition.
God’s righteousness revealed by justification through faith.
Christ’s representative work.
New life through transformation.

7. Outline of the Epistle to the Romans
I. Introduction and Theme 1:1-17
II. The Whole World Guilty before God. 1:18-3:20
III. Justification by Faith in Christ 3:21-5:21
IV. Sanctification through Union with Christ 6:1-8:39
V. The Problem of Jewish Unbelief 9:1-11:36
VI. Christian Life and Service 12:1-15:13
VII. Conclusion and Greetings 15:14-16:27
Modified from the Scofield Reference Bible

8. Key Terms to be aware of:
Righteousness: To be in the right in relation to God
Justification: To be declared righteous
Sin: The indwelling inclination toward evil which resides in all of Adam’s descendants
Sins: Acts committed as the outworking of sin
Foreknowledge: Prior intimate experiential knowledge
Law: a ruling principle
There are many different law’s mention in Romans. Sometimes speaking of the Mosaic Law, but there is also the law of sin, law of the Spirit of life, law of the mind, law of God, law of Christ, etc… The easiest way to understand these is to remember that a law is a ruling principle, much like the ruling principle of gravity. No one “makes” things fall to the earth, they just do because gravity rules over them.

9. Key Passages & Transitions Romans 1-8
The good stuff. Let’s open up the text and take a look at specific things we’ll run into as we read through Romans.

10. Into: The Gospel of God and of Christ
Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 1:1 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” 1:16-17
Paul’s subject is the Gospel of God. It contains the gospel of Christ. Gospel = “good news” The gospel of Christ is but a piece of the ‘good news’ of God that Paul has to tell. Gospel of Christ is the power of God to salvation, God’s righteousness is revealed in it, and the manner of our new live as characterized by faith.

11. The Nature of Man:
Three types of Men are examined with narrowing focus.
Men in General
The Man who ‘judges’ or attempts to apply moral discernment
The Jew
Three Witnesses for God are presented, one to each type of Man.
Creation to Man in general
Conscience to the ‘discerning Man’
The Law to the Jew
Paul begins the main portion of the letter with a treatise on the nature and condition of mankind. As seen in the 3 types of men, and witnesses given to them.

12. Man in General Addressed:
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 1:18 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 1:20
The most general case. Man, or possibly the heathen/pagan Man. God has revealed Himself through His creation to every person who has ever been born.

13. The Moralist, or ‘judging Man’:
Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; 2:1-2a For not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; … who show the work of the law written in their hearts their conscience also bearing witness… 2:13,15a
A more specific type of man. God has provided a conscience to all men, yet to the moralist it has special significance. Those who are strongly influenced by moral criteria are given undeniable evidence of God through the intuitive understanding of right and wrong.

14. The Jew:
Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, 2:17 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly… but he is a Jew who is one inwardly…in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God. 2:28-29 excerpted
The Jew: The most specific group. Also given the most specific piece of evidence of God’s existence and authority. The Law prescribed the behavior required by God. Yet it highlighted man’s inability to meet God’s standard for righteousness.

15. Conclusion regarding Man:
Paul’s conclusion regarding the nature of Man:
There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God… There is none who does good, no, not one… Whose mouth is full of cursing…Their feet are swift to shed blood;…There is no fear of God before their eyes. 3:10-18 excerpted
Conclusion regarding Man:
Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 3:20
BTW this is the state and nature of Man in his supposed “Free Will”. How many of us “Free” people chose God? Man’s will is a state of shackled rebellion and sin against God! Paul leaves no room for doubt as to the character and nature of Man. Man is not inherently good, nor is capable of coming to God.

16. Quotation regarding the nature of man:
"For myself, I see in the Word, and I recognize in myself, the total ruin of man.  I see that the cross [of Christ] is the end of all the means that God had employed for gaining the heart of man, and therefore proves that the thing was impossible.  [By demonstrated design] God has exhausted all His resources, and man has shown that he was wicked, without remedy, and the cross of Christ condemns man." 
John Nelson Darby

17. God’s Righteous Plan: Justification by Faith
But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, … through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe… being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus… that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 3:21-26 excerpted
The very same quality of righteousness that God Himself possesses is declared on those who believe!

18. The Example of a Righteous Man:
For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” 4:3 Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. 4:23-25

19. The results of our justification:
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, … and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 5:1-2 excerpted For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. 5:10-11
Results: Peace with God, hope in the Glory of God! John 17:22-23 Reconciliation with God = the restoring of the relationship.

20. The Two Representatives of the Human Race:
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned- 5:12 Therefore, as through one man’s offence judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous. 5:18-19
There are two Representatives for the Human Race. We are all either positionally ‘In Adam’ as we were at birth; or we are ‘In Christ’ through faith in His Name. In Adam we are separated from God and slaves to our sin. In Christ grace reigns in our life in place of sin.

21. Union with the Risen Christ:
Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised form the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 6:3-4 For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 6:7-8
We are united with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. Positionally we have died to sin, and now life In Christ and now walk in new life. God counts Christ to have died in my place. When God sees me, He sees the death required as the penalty for sin having already been paid. We have a new type of life! This life is our life in Christ Risen. A life in a ‘new nature’ incapable of sin, and flawless.

22. New Life in Christ & Freedom from the Law:
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 6:12-13 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. 7:6
We are no longer to keep or follow the Law. Its commandments have no power in our lives, we have died with Christ to the power of the Law. We are rather to present ourselves as servants to God, and walk in the power of the Spirit.

23. Romans 7: Paul’s Experience
While in Christ we are dead to sin; sin still lives in our bodies and can be revived. 7:9 Hence the believer can still struggle with sin.
In our own strength there is an ongoing battle between our minds desiring to do good, and the power of sin in our members. 7:18-19
The power of sin is stronger than our minds. We cannot control sin through our good intentions. 7:23
Though we may lose the battle with sin, we are not defined by it. 7:17,20
Christ will deliver us from the inward battle. 7:25
There is now no condemnation, and the power of the Spirit has set us free from the power of sin and death. 8:1-2

24. Romans 8: Truths through the Spirit
A life pleasing to God MUST be lived in the Spirit. 8:6-7
All believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit from conversion, and He will never leave us. 8:9,14
We are guaranteed the resurrection by the Holy Spirit indwelling us. 8:11
All believers are joint-heirs with Christ. 8:16,17
Creation itself will be delivered from the curse of sin into the care and enjoyment of the believer. 8:21
The Spirit intercedes before the throne on our behalf. 8:27
All things work together for good for those in Christ. 8:28
Following Paul’s personal account he speaks on too many subjects for me to display the verses, or we’ll be reading the whole of Chapter 8. Instead, I’ve brought out here some of the most significant truths presented.

25. The election of the believer:
For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. 8:29-30 Foreknowledge: Prior intimate experiential knowledge
All those ‘foreknown’ are justified and glorified. This is not teaching universalism (that all are saved), nor are we denying the omniscience of God, because we understand that God’s foreknowledge here is based on His choice to experience relationship with individuals. God does not experience relationship with the lost. See Heb 5:8 for parallel with Christ ‘learning’ obedience. He always was obedient, but he had not experienced by walking through it.

26. The security of the believer:
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, not things present not things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 8:38-39 This concludes the major doctrinal portion of the Epistle to the Romans. Next week we pick up with the example of the Nation of Israel.
The security of the believer is the natural byproduct of God’s election. Since God did the saving, I can’t do the unsaving. Note also that life and death are included here in this text. Is there anything you can do that is not done either during your life or afterward? No other being can do it either, since no ‘created thing’ can separate us from God.

27. Romans 1-8 in Summary: Paul presents salvation through faith.
Man clearly needs saving as seen in his behavior.
God is righteous in freely justifying man on the basis of faith.
God has granted reconciliation through Christ.
Death came through Adam, and Life through Christ Jesus.
We are identified with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection; and now share in His new life.
Paul’s personal experience confirms his message.
The Holy Spirit seals all believers and guarantee’s all of God’s promises.
God has elected all who believe. Because of this election it is impossible for a believer to ever be separated from God.

28. Reading Hints and Tips:
Don’t try and read too fast. If you need to, read a section twice (or three times).
If something doesn’t make sense, read the previous few verses again. Paul is highly organized in his thinking and things usually connect with their surrounding verses.
3) At least once in your life read the whole of Romans in a sitting. Even if you are a slow reader it shouldn’t take more than an hour.

29. To be concluded…