2018 STUDY OF ROMANS
AN OVERVIEW OF:
ROMANS
In Romans 1:16-17) we learn that the Gospel message leads us to salvation and a right relationship with God.
In Romans 1:18-3:20) Paul explains why we all need the Gospel message. In that area of Romans we learn that it was evident that the Gentiles were sinners, but Paul explains how the Law condemns the Jews as sinners also.
In Romans 3:21-22) Paul returns to the message he began in Chapter 1, verses 14-17. He begins by telling us that the righteousness he introduced in Chapter 1 comes to us “apart from the law,” being received by as a gift by placing our faith in the Lord Jesus.
In Romans 4:3-5, 16, 21-24) we learn that Abraham was declared right with God because he believed what God told him, not because his conduct was exemplary.
In vs. 16) we learn that God works salvation in those who believe Him, so that His grace can kick in. It now depends on His faithfulness; not ours. It’s the only way our salvation can be guaranteed.
When God told Abraham that his faith was credited to him as righteousness He was recording it in Scripture for our benefit, so we would know that our faith is also credited to us as righteousness.
In Romans 5:1, 6) we learn that God saved us through faith because we were powerless to save ourselves.
In Romans 5:19-20) we learn that when Adam sinned I became a sinner simply because I was born into Adam/the human family; when Jesus obeyed His Father I became righteous simply because I was born again into God’s family.
We also learn that the Law exposed sin, causing it to increase; but where sin increased grace increased more.
In Romans 6:1-3) we learn that we Christians don’t sin because God’s grace will cover it; rather, we understand that we have been immersed into Christ, into His death. We’ve died to sin.
In Romans 6:10-14) we learn that the Law doesn’t free us from sin’s mastery; rather, it increases sin’s mastery over us (see the following verses).
In Romans 7:7-8, 21) we learn that sin takes advantage of the Law by working evil desires in us, and enslaves us further through the Law. Because of our fallen nature, LAW STRENGTHENS SIN IN OUR LIVES!
In Romans 8:2-3, 29-30) we learn Jesus gives us a Spiritual Law that frees us from the old Law. He condemned sin in our flesh; He deprived sin of its power over all who come to Jesus through saving faith.
In Romans 8:29-30) we learn that God is at work in our lives restoring what sin stole from us! He is restoring us to the image of God that we were created in, but was marred through sin.
In Romans 9:7-8) we learn that God’s children are those who come to Him through faith; i.e., those who believe His promise to us.
In Romans 9:22-23) we learn that we used to be objects of God’s wrath, but now we are objects of His mercy.
In Romans 10:4, 10, 17) we learn that Christ ended God’s dealing with man through the Law and began God’s dealing with man through faith. Faith in God brings us into a right relationship with Him, and we discover that faith through His Word.
In Romans 11:5-6) we learn that we are saved by God’s grace. That means that our conduct has nothing to do with our salvation. We become Christians in spite of our conduct, not because of it. Concerning vs. 6: “The general position here laid down is of vital importance: That there are but twopossible sources of salvation–men’s works, and God’s grace; and that these are so essentially distinct and opposite, that salvation cannot be of any combination or mixture of both, but must be wholly either of the one or of the other” [JFB].
We are saved by God’s grace. That means that our conduct has nothing to do with our salvation. We become Christians in spite of our conduct, not because of it.
In Romans 11:30-32) we learn that God has shown us that we are all sinners. Now He can show mercy on everyone, Jew or Gentile, who comes to Him through faith.
In Romans 12:1-2) we learn that now that we are Christians our appropriate response to God’s grace is to live for Him. The greatest worship we can offer to God is to willingly obey His teachings.
In Romans 13:1, 7-8) we learn that living for God includes obeying the laws of our nation, our state, our community. We should give to all what we owe them, to God, to our country, to one another. Love is the one debt that must remain “outstanding.” We should love each other continually.
In Romans 14:1-2, 4, 10, 13) we learn that we must not judge others in the area of disputable matters. If the Scriptures don’t condemn it then we must not condemn it. We might think it wise to abstain from certain things that other Christians feel free to do. We are to accept one another in these areas. Instead of judging God’s children in areas that the Scriptures aren’t clear on, we should make certain that we aren’t placing stumbling blocks in front of other Christians.
In Romans 15:1-3) we learn that Paul continues to build on what he taught in Chapter 14. We are to live our lives in a way where we are helping those who are weaker in the faith; we should not place stumbling blocks in their paths. Christ was the prime example of placing the needs of the weaker ones, that is, all of us, ahead of His own needs.
In Romans 16:19-20) we learn that we should hang in there! We win in the end!
Romans 1:16-17) [NIV] I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
17) For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
NOTE: Paul wanted to go to Rome because he wasn’t ashamed of the Gospel, and that Gospel is the only message on earth that can bring people to salvation. It also reveals to us how we can live in a right relationship with God.
STATEMENT: The Gospel message leads us to salvation and a right relationship with God.
Romans 1:18) The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
STATEMENT: Paul now begins his explanation why we all need the Gospel message.
Romans 3:19-21) Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
20) Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
STATEMENT: It was evident that the Gentiles were sinners, but Paul explains how the Law condemns the Jews as sinners also.
Romans 3:21-22) But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
22) This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
STATEMENT: He now returns to the message he began in Chapter 1, verses 16-17.
Romans 4:3-5, 16, 21-24) What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
4) Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.
5) However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
STATEMENT: Abraham was declared right with God because he believed what God told him, not because his conduct was exemplary.
16) Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring-not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.
STATEMENT: God works salvation in those who believe Him, so that His grace can kick in. It now depends on His faithfulness; not ours. It’s the only way our salvation can be guaranteed.
21) being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.
22) This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”
23) The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone,
24) but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness-for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
STATEMENT: When God told Abraham that his faith was credited to him as righteousness He was recording it in Scripture for our benefit, so we would know that our faith is also credited to us as righteousness.
Romans 5:1, 6, 19-20) Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
6) You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
STATEMENT: God saved us through faith because we were powerless to save ourselves.
19) For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
20) The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,
STATEMENT: When Adam sinned I became a sinner simply because I was born into Adam/the human family; when Jesus obeyed His Father I became righteous simply because I was born again into God’s family.
STATEMENT: The Law exposed sin, causing it to increase; where sin increased grace increased more.
Romans 6:1-3, 10-11, 14) What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?
2) By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
3) Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
STATEMENT: We don’t sin more because God’s grace covers it; rather, we understand that we have been immersed into Christ, into His death. We have died to sin.
10) The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11) In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
14) For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
STATEMENT: The Law doesn’t free us from sin’s mastery; rather, it increases sin’s mastery over us (see the following verses).
Romans 7:7-8, 21) What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “Do not covet.”
8) But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead.
21) So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.
STATEMENT: Sin takes advantage of the Law by working evil desires in us, and enslaves us further through the very Law. Because of our fallen nature, LAW STRENGTHENS SIN IN OUR LIVES!
Romans 8:2-3, 29-30) because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
3) For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man,
[AMP] For God has done what the Law could not do, [its power] being weakened by the flesh [the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit]. Sending His own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, [God] condemned sin in the flesh [subdued, overcame, deprived it of its power over all who accept that sacrifice],
STATEMENT: Jesus gives us a Spiritual Law that frees us from the old Law. He condemned sin in our flesh; He deprived sin of its power over all who come to Jesus through saving faith.
29) For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
30) And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
STATEMENT: God is at work in our lives restoring what sin stole from us! He is restoring us to the image of God that we were created in, but was marred through sin.
Romans 9:7-8, 22-23) Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”
8) In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.
STATEMENT: God’s children are those who come to Him through faith; i.e., those who believe His promise to us.
22) What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath-prepared for destruction?
23) What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory-
STATEMENT: We used to be objects of God’s wrath, but now we are objects of His mercy.
Romans 10:4, 10, 17) Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
10) For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
17) Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
STATEMENT: Christ ended God’s dealing with man through the Law and began God’s dealing with man through faith. Faith in God brings us into a right relationship with Him, and we discover that faith through His Word.
Romans 11:5-6, 30-32) So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
6) (KJV) And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
Concerning this verse,
“The general position here laid down is of vital importance: That there are but two possible sources of salvation–men’s works, and God’s grace; and that these are so essentially distinct and opposite, that salvation cannot be of any combination or mixture of both, but must be wholly either of the one or of the other” [JFB].
STATEMENT: We are saved by God’s grace. That means that our conduct has nothing to do with our salvation. We become Christians in spite of our conduct, not because of it.
30) Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience,
31) so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you.
32) For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.
STATEMENT: God has shown us that we are all sinners. Now He can show mercy on everyone, Jew or Gentile, who comes to Him through faith.
Romans 12:1-2) Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship.
2) Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.
STATEMENT: Now that we are Christians our appropriate response to God’s grace is to live for Him. The greatest worship we can offer to God is to willingly obey His teachings.
Romans 13:1, 7-8) Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
7) Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
8) Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.
STATEMENT: Living for God includes obeying the laws of our nation, our state, our community. We should give to all what we owe them, to God, to our country, to one another. Love is the one debt that must remain “outstanding,” we should love each other continually.
Romans 14:1-2, 4, 10, 13) Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.
2) One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.
4) Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
10) You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.
13) Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.
STATEMENT: We must not judge others in the area of disputable matters. If the Scriptures don’t condemn it then we must not condemn it. We might think it wise to abstain from certain things that other Christians feel free to do. We are to accept one another in these areas. Instead of judging God’s children in areas that the Scriptures aren’t clear on, we should make certain that we aren’t placing stumbling blocks in front of other Christians.
Romans 15:1-3) We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.
2) Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
3) For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”
STATEMENT: Paul continues to build on what he taught in Chapter 14. We are to live our lives in a way where we are helping those who are weaker in the faith; we should not place stumbling blocks in their paths. Christ was the prime example of placing the needs of the weaker ones, that is, all of us, ahead of His own needs.
Romans 16:19-20) Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.
20) The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
STATEMENT: Hang in there! We win in the end!