Romans 1 to 3 - Introduction to Romans

Romans is the premiere doctrinal book in the Bible
Romans is foundational to an understanding of salvation
as such all Christians, especially evangelists, should study Romans

Romans was written some 8-10 years after the edict to expell the Jews from Rome, and about 25 years after the day of Pentecost
the church was predominently gentile, but evidently had a good grasp of the Old Testament Scriptures
Romans is a carefully worded argument and is best understood when read as a whole and not as individual chapters

1:16,17 The Theme

the theme of Romans is the Gospel of salvation by faith
Habakkuk 2:4 is quoted 3 times in the New Testament
the righteous - Romans 1:17
will live - Galatians 3:11
by faith - Hebrews 10:38

1:18-32 The Condemnation of the Gentile

all men are without excuse
all the families of man "knew God" at one time since all descended from Adam. All had equal access to the truth, but some chose not to give thanks to God or glorify Him and did not "think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God."
note that those who are disobedient to their parents are in the list of terrible sinners

2:1-16 The Condemnation of the Moralist

condemnation of the man who has a high view of his own morality
judged because they are guilty in the exact points at which they look down on others
storing up wrath against themselves

2:17-3:8 The Condemnation of the Jew

the Jews had many advantages, such as being entrusted with the Old Testament Scriptures
likewise, we can say, "What advantage is there in growing up in a Christian home?"
and yet God was blasphemed because the Jews were not the people they should have been
could God be blasphemed because of the poor behaviour of us today?

3:9-20 The Condemnation of All Men

the summary of the verses that come before: all men are condemned!

3:21-3:31 The Answer: Righteousness through Faith

all are sinners, but all can receive salvation
salvation cannot be gained through observing the Old Testament Law
now, the Holy Spirit introduces something that would be radical for the Jews: salvation by faith for the circumcised and salvation by the same faith for the uncircumcised
in chapter 4, the Spirit will show that this concept is also found in the Old Testament

Romans 4 - Abraham's Example of Righteousness

in the first 3 chapters we saw that all men are under God's condemnation
in the previous chapter, the Holy Spirit introduces an idea that would be radical to the Jews
the uncircumcised gentiles could be saved by having the same faith as circumcised Jews!
it is through faith that righteousness can be obtained

Romans 4:1-3 Abraham's Righteousness

Romans is a well presented argument and the Spirit will now show from the life of Abraham that this is not a new concept
Abraham was one of the greatest men in the Old Testament and was practically revered by the Jews
if anyone could obtain righteousness through works, it would be Abraham
but Romans 4:3 quotes Genesis 15:6 to show that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness

Romans 4:4-8 Righteousness cannot be by Works

wages are what we earn and we have a right to them
when my boss hands me my paycheck, he does not tell me "Here is a gift"
if we could work for our salvation, we would have the right to be saved!

Romans 4:9-12 Faith apart from Circumcision

here comes a bombshell that modern gentiles simply cannot appreciate
Abraham was not circumcised and then declared to be righteous
he was declared to be righteous and then years later was circumcised
(note that the order of a Biblical narrative can often be crucial. Consider order when studying the Bible)
the Jews had confused the sign of the faith that they were supposed to have with the instrument of salvation
today some Christians confuse the sign of faith (baptism) with the means of salvation (faith)

Romans 4:13-15 Faith apart from Law

here comes another bombshell, especially to Jews who thought the Law was the way to salvation
Abraham was declared righteous before the Law was given
Abraham lived about 2000BC and the Law was given about 1500BC, a 500 year difference!

Romans 4:16-25 The Example of Abraham's Faith

Abraham was in his mid-eighties, and yet he believed that God would give him a child
he was fully persuaded that God has the power to do what He has promised
this is what faith is all about
living by faith could mean living with pain or adversity, knowing that God can make the situation right, but knowing that God has a reason for allowing us to go through trouble
ultimately, living by faith means trusting Jesus Christ for salvation
it means giving up on our own works and trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross
it means believing that Jesus Christ is the salvation Yahweh has provided, for that is what the name "Jesus" means - "Yahweh is Salvation"

Romans 8:1-25 - Christian Living - Part 1

Romans 8:1-4

Romans chapter 8 starts with the word "Therefore"
whenever we see the word "therefore", we must find out what its there for!
in chapter 6, he tells us that we are under grace, rather than Law
in chapter 7, he tells us that the Law is not evil, but neither does it have the power to save
and so starting chapter 8, he once again picks up the theme of grace

Romans 8:5-8 - Those controlled by the Flesh

do you want to know about the mind that is controlled by the flesh?
just read Romans chapter 1
there we have an example of the mind that is hostile to God

Romans 8:9-11 - Those controlled by the Spirit

this contrasts the previous 4 verses
in this passage we see that we have the Spirit indwelling us
but we also have the indwelling of Christ (John 14:20) and the indwelling of the Father (John 14:23)

Romans 8:12-17 - The Result

Paul, through the Holy Spirit has discoursed on the mind controlled by the flesh and the mind controlled by the Spirit
now he will discuss what the practical outcome should be
since our minds are controlled by the Spirit, we should live righteously
if we live sinful lives, we make ourselves slaves to fear
fear of being caught, fear of God's punishment
even the fear of death, for we might start to wonder if we really are saved

8:18-25 - Suffering and Arguments from Creation

v18 - consider Paul making this statement! - read 2 Cor 11:23-33
also in 2 Cor Paul calls these "light and momentary afflictions"
we suffer for many reasons. These reasons include personal and corporate sin, to draw us nearer, to give us the ability to comfort others, etc
we don't always know the reasons for our suffering - Job didn't
but our suffering will produce in us the refined qualities the Lord wants
the believer will only suffer those things that our loving heavenly Father deems necessary

Summary

because of grace there is no condemnation for us
we contrasted the mind set on the flesh with the mind set on the Spirit
and we saw the practical outcome of the mind set on the Spirit - righteousness
we saw that God is using suffering to produce something glorious within us

Romans 8:26-39 - Christian Living - Part 2

Romans 8:26,27

not only do we groan inwardly as we wait for our adoption, but the Spirit of God helps us with His groanings
at many times, we are at a loss as to how we should pray
many people will claim that this passage is a reference to tongues
I would like to suggest 3 reasons why it is not a reference to tongues
1. here, it is the Spirit that is communicating. With tongues, it is the individual who was speaking under the influence of the Spirit
2. here, words cannot express what is being communicated. The groanings cannot be uttered in any language. Charismatics will claim that they are speaking real, but unknown languages.
3. here, the experience is presented as normal for all Christians. With tongues, even when they were present in the church (and I do not believe that to be the case today), they were only for those people who had been given the gift of tongues, and not for all Christians.

Romans 8:28-30

I don't necessarily like the things that are good for me, but I know they are good for me
sickness might give us an understanding and sympathy with those who experience pain
lack of a promotion might give us the opportunity to live on a budget and learn fiscal responsibility
and nothing happens to me apart from my Father's permissive will

now we come to the somewhat thorny doctrine of predestination
but is it really a throny issue? I don't believe it is
you see, predestination and election are separate doctrines
and while the balance between election and free-will is a thorny issue, predestination is not
predestination simply means to have some destiny planned out ahead of time, and does not need to refer to salvation
and in this passage, Christians are predestined to be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus

all those who are predestined are called, and all those who are called....
and here we see another proof for the doctrine of Eternal Security - that a true Christian can never lose his or her salvation
- yes, we are kept in the Father's hand
- we are kept in the Lord Jesus's hand
- we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, sealing us and as an earnest
- we have eternal life as a present possession
- we know that He is able to keep us from falling
- we know that He who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion
- and here we see that all who are predestined are called, etc.
there is something else interesting about this passage
we are said to be glorified, and this is in the past tense
God is so sure that he will bring about our final salvation, that he declares us to be glorified as if it had already happened. This idea is also important in Bible prophecy - the prophetic past tense

Romans 8:31-34

being a Christian doesn't mean we live a life without problems
but in the end, we know we are on the winning side

now if you are questioning whether all things will really work for the good
and if you are questioning why God is allowing these things to happen in your life
and if you are wondering, with all that is happening, does God really love me?
here is your answer (verse 32)

Romans 8:35-39

this passage asks the question, "who shall separate us from the love of Jesus Christ?" and proceeds to answer the question
no one! Nobody can separate us from this love!
read 38, 39. Everything imaginable is covered here
again we see the precious truth of Eternal Security
we can state with absolute certainty that we know we will one day be in Heaven
our goal here on earth is not to try to save ourselves, our goal is not to try to hold on to our salvation
but our goal is to live worthy of our calling

perhaps we can return to the topic of preaching the Gospel
I enjoyed finding verses that could be used for the preaching of the gospel
here are a few verses from Romans 8 that could be used for preaching the Gospel

v26 - reminding the confused that if they want to receive salvation, the Spirit will help them with their prayer
v27 - reminding the unbeliever that this is for the believer. Also speaking about what God's will is
v28 - asking the question, "do you love God?"
v29 - challenging the unbeliever, would you really be happy if you were conformed to the image of the Son?
v30 - opens up a discussion of justification
v31 - could be used to speak to those who are fearful of the costs of being a Christian
v32 - God gave up the very best he had - do you dare say "thats not good enough... I want to add my works to what Christ has done"?
v33 - speaking to those who are conscious of their guilt - that they can truly be forgiven

I could go on, but I'm sure you get the idea
different verses will reach different people at different times
if we are preach the Gospel, we dare not limit ourselves to a few Gospel verse presented in varying order and linked together with strings of anecdotes
if you want to preach the Gospel, you must know you your Bible
if you want to teach the Word, you must know your Bible
and if you want to live the Christian life, you must know your Bible

Romans 9:1-29 - Israel's Past - Election

Romans chapters 1-8 deal with the salvation that is obtained by faith
Romans 9-11 deal with how that salvation relates to Israel
Romans 12-16 talk about how this salvation will work itself out in everyday practice

Romans 9:1-5 - Paul's Pain and Israel's Blessings

although Paul was the apostle to the gentiles, his heart always went out to his brother Israelites
Paul triply confirms the pain he feels for his nation
he even reminds us of Moses interceding on behalf of the Israelites in Exodus 32:32
the Israelites were given very great blessings
the fact that these blessings are stated in the present tense is a strong indication that God is not finished with Israel and He still has a purpose for them
Romans 9-11 must be understood dispensationally

Romans 9:6-13 - Old Testament examples of a Faithful Few

God's word has not failed. He still has a purpose for Israel
the true believers have never been a majority
they have always been a remnant, a faithful few
this was true in ancient Israel and it is true today
Abraham had 2 sons, but physical descent is unimportant, and only 1 son was chosen
likewise, Isaac had 2 sons but the line of blessing came through Jacob, not Esau

Romans 9:14-18 - Compassion is the Lord's to Give

Romans 9 seems to be talking about national election to earthly blessing rather than personal election to salvation
however, personal election does seem to be taught in the Bible
but we must never forget that "free will" is also taught (e.g. Matthew 23:37, and also the story of the rich young ruler that appears in the 3 synoptic gospels)

Romans 9:19-21 - The Rights of the Potter

God can blame us because He doesn't make us sin
today, we must be willing to accept what the Lord allows in our lives
there is no place for the continual questioning "Why?"

Romans 9:22-26 - Objects of Wrath or a Remnant of Faith?

some might get very concerned about these comments, but note that this emphasis is on the remnant who are saved rather than the objects of wrath
this remnant of faith includes Jews and gentiles
today the church forms a "holy nation" (1 Peter 2:9) under a true theocracy

Romans 9:27-29 - Only a Remnant Will Be Left

here we see more evidence of the remnant concept
and this is how the section ends - with the acknowledgement that only a remnant will be left
the discussion of Israel's past ends with a quotation proving that a small remnant of Israel being saved was always, even in the O.T., part of God's plan

Romans 16 - Paul's Final Comments

why should we read the boring passages of Scripture?
2 Timothy 3:16,17 tell us that ALL Scripture is useful
in Romans 16 we will examine a "boring" passage and see why it is useful to us today

Romans 16:1,2 The Question of Deacons

Phoebe is described as a "servant" which is the Greek word diakonon, and is the root word for our English word "deacon"
should we have female deacons?
many Greek words had a generalized meaning, and a more specialized technical meaning given by the Lord and used by the church
"angel" means messenger, "church" means a gathering, and "apostle" means a sent one
it is most likely that this verse is using "diakonon in a generalized way to mean "servant"
this passage also indicates that it is helpful for Christians to carry letters of introduction

Romans 16:3,4 The Example of Priscilla and Aquila

we first see them in Rome when the decree for the Jews to leave Rome was given, about 49 or 50 A.D.
then we find them in Corinth, and then in Ephesus
finally, here, we see them back in Rome at about 57 or 58 A.D.
they moved 3 times in about 8 years. As believers, we must be sensitive to the possibility that the Lord might want us to move from one place to another
also note that they were Jews, but all the churches of the gentiles were grateful to them. In Christ the barriers of race and prejudice are broken down

Was Paul Just a Woman Hater?

quite a number of women are mentioned in this passage
Phoebe, who had been a great help to Paul, Priscilla, who is mentioned before her husband, Mary who worked hard, Tryphena and Tryphosa, 2 other women who worked hard, Persis, whom Paul describes as his dear friend, the mother of Rufus, who treated Paul like he was her very own son, also mentioned is Julia
given his tender comments, can anyone believe that Paul was just an old woman hating bachelor?

Romans 16:7 Encouragement for Those with Unsaved Relatives

these men were Paul's relatives, and were saved before him
what must they have thought as Saul arrested Christians?
and yet God turned Saul into Paul, possibly the greatest Christian ever

Romans 16:23 Hospitality!

Gaius was known for his hospitality
it would be nice if we were known for our hospitality
hospitality is probably the best way to build up a church numerically and to foster unity and fellowship among the saints

This document was compiled from handouts given during a series of sermon on Romans by Shawn Abigail.