Walking Thru The Bible

ROMANS

Introduction

AUTHOR and DATE

The book of Romans was written by the apostle Paul at Corinth during the three month stay in Greece which is mentioned in Acts 20:3. This was in the winter of 57-58 AD. It was at the close of the third missionary journey and on the eve of Paul's departure to Jerusalem with the offering of money for the poor saints (Romans 15:22-27). Within a few days after writing this letter, Paul began that journey wherein it was testified to him in every city that he passed through that bonds and imprisonment awaited him in Jerusalem.

THE RECIPIENTS

Paul had long desired to visit Rome. He wanted to preach the Gospel at this seat of earthly power and government. We do not know who established the church in the imperial city of the Caesars but it would seem probable be that some of the "strangers of Rome" who were present at Pentecost (Acts 2:10) started the church there upon their return home. It is likely that the constant influx of strangers from all parts of the empire carried many converts to the capitol city.

Long before any apostle visited Italy, the church was established in Puteoli and in Rome (Acts 28:14, 15). There were some Jews in the church of Rome, but the majority of the disciples were of Gentile origin (Romans 1:5-7; 11:13-25; 14:1; 15:15,16).

THE OCCASION

The occasion for Paul writing this letter was the departure of Phoebe from Corinth to Rome. As the New Testament was not complete and no apostle had ever visited Rome, doubtless many members of the church there had an imperfect comprehension of many great principles of Christian doctrine. It was needful that the relations of Jews and Gentile and of the law and the gospel be set forth with all clearness.

Paul, doubtless, also wanted to inform the people of his desire to visit Rome when the opportunity presented itself (Romans 1:10-13; 15:24). Paul wanted to answer any misrepresentations and slanders which may have been circulated there by him enemies. Legalistic Judaizers were probably attempting to deceive the people as they had recently done in Galatia and earlier in Antioch, and a clear exposition of justification by faith wa needed by this church which was located in such a strategic position (Romans 16:17-19).

PURPOSE of the BOOK

This letter was written primarily to instruct the Christians in Rome, but also for the benefit of all the churches. The great theme of the book is set forth in Romans 1:16 " the gospel is the power of God unto Salvation to every one that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."

This great truth is taught in the first eleven chapters of Romans. Paul shows that salvation is not by the works of the Law, but through the Gospel accepted by faith. He tells us that man does not merit salvation, but is saved by the grace of God on the basis of the sacrifice which Jesus made. The book of Romans is one of the most profound ever written. It has been called the gospel in miniature.

ROMANS in A NUTSHELL

Key Verses: 1:16, 17

The Person of the Gospel	Christ

The Power of the God	Gospel

The Purpose of the Gospel	"Unto Salvation"

The People to whom sent	To everyone

The Plan of Acceptance	To everyone that believeth

CONTRASTS in ROMANS

Gospel vs. Law	Salvation vs Condemnation

Power vs. Legal weakness	Everyone vs. Jewish exclusiveness

God vs. Human imperfection	Believers vs. Legal workers

A BIRDS-EYE View of ROMANS

Introduction and fundamental thesis	1:1 - 17

I.	DOCTRINAL	1:17 - 11:21

A.	Necessity of the Gospel (Universal need of salvation)	1:18 - 3:30

1.	Condition of the unrighteous heathen world	1:19 - 32

2.	Condition of the self-righteous Jewish world	2:1-3:18

3.	The condition for all "For all have sinned."	3:9-20

B.	God's method of Rescue-- Justification by Faith (the Gospel)

and not by the Law (of Moses) --	3:21 - 5:21

1.	Righteousness obtained through faith in Christ	3:21-31

2.	The evidence of the Old Testament	4:1-25

3.	The results of justification by faith	5:1-11

4.	Adam and Christ-- and the results of their two acts	5:12-21

C.	Victory over Sin in the Disciples's life --	6:1 - 8:39

1.	The Christian to have victory over sin because of his

union with Christ in death and resurrection	through baptism	6:1-23

2.	The Christian is not under the Law	7:1-6

3.	Victorious living does not come through the Law	7:7-25

4.	Victory through the law of the Spirit of Life	8:1-13

5.	The result of "life after the Spirit"	8:14-39

D.	The Vindication of God's choice-- Rejection of Israel	Ch. 9 - 11

1.	Israel's Past -- God's mercy	Ch. 9

2.	Israel's Present --	Ch. 10

3.	Israel's Future --	Ch. 11

II.	PRACTICAL	12:1 - 15:13

A.	The Christian life in relation to self and God --	12:1-2

B.	The Christian life in relation to brethren --	12:3-16

C.	The Christian life in relation to others --(esp. persecutors)	12:17-21

D.	The Christian life in relation to earthly government --	13:1-14

E.	The Christian life in relation to doubtful matters

and weaker brethren--	14:1 - 15:3

F.	Joy, peace and hope for all--both Jew and Gentile--in Christ	15:4-13

Conclusion and personal greetings

A.	Paul's desire for spiritual blessing for recipients--	15:14-33

B.	Personal greetings and parting exhortations --	16:1-27

Not Ashamed Of The Gospel

Romans 1:16

Introduction:

1.	One of the most familiar passages in Romans is 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."

I.	As we look into the life of Paul after his conversion and his writings in the New Testament, and particularly the letter to the Romans, we see that there wasn't ANY PART of the gospel that he was ashamed of. For example:

A.	He was not ashamed of the FACTS of the gospel.

1.	I Cor. 11:1; Acts 13:28-30; Acts 17:16; Acts 26:23;

I Cor. 15:1-4;

2.	You and I need not be ashamed of the gospel today.

B.	Paul was not ashamed to preach that there is but ONE GOSPEL.

1.	Eph. 4:5 "one faith"; Eph. 4:4-6 "one body" Romans 8:24. Gal. 1:8-9 the curse of preaching any other.

2.	Acts 13:10 Paul was not ashamed to rebuke those who perverted it.

3.	We should boldly preach and stand for the "one faith"

C.	Paul was not ashamed of the COMMANDS of the gospel.

1.	He preached the "whole" gospel, Acts 20:27. He was not ashamed to preach that men must hear the word, Rom. 10:17; believe in Jesus, Acts 16:31; repent of their sins, Acts 17:30; confess their faith in Jesus, Rom. 10:9-10; and preach that baptism is essential for salvation, Rom. 6:5.

2.	Don't be ashamed of the commands of the gospel.

II.	In the next part of the verse Paul tells WHY he was not ashamed. "FOR it is the power of God unto salvation."

The GOSPEL is God's POWER to save the souls of men.

A.	It is God's CONVINCING POWER. Romans 10:17; 2 Cor. 5:7; John 20:30-31. It brings men to faith.

B.	It is God's CONVICTING POWER. John 16:7-8; Acts 2:37; It brings men to repentance.

C.	It is God's CONVERTING POWER. Psalms 19:7; Rom 1:16 and 8:2; James 1:25; 1 Thess. 2:13. It teaches men how to get into Christ, Gal. 3;27

D.	It is God's CONFIRMING POWER. In I John 5:13 John said he wrote that they may know they had eternal life.

Conclusion: Don't be ashamed, the Gospel is God's power unto salvation for all of us today.