Acts - Romans

Acts

Acts picks up where Luke’s Gospel leaves off, recording the early progress of the gospel as Jesus’ disciples took it from Jerusalem throughout Judea, Samaria, and the rest of the Mediterranean world. The story begins with Christ’s ascension and the events of Pentecost. As Gentiles begin responding to the gospel, the focus shifts to Paul and his missionary journeys. Acts forms a bridge between the four Gospels and the rest of the New Testament, showing how the apostles carried on Christ’s work and providing a historical background for Romans through Revelation. The Acts of the Apostles is the second of two New Testament books written by Luke. Like his Gospel, Acts was a letter to Luke’s friend Theophilus, written sometime in A.D. 62–64.

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.””

28 Chapters

Author: Luke

Written to Theophilus as a historical recording of the church age

The Reign of Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:1–2:47

The Reign of Christ the Lord over the Temple System (3:1–8:3)

The Reign of Christ the Lord over Outcasts and Enemies (Acts 8:4–9:31)

The Reign of Christ the Lord over All Nations (Acts 9:32–12:25)

The Reign of Christ the Lord Proclaimed to the Nations: Part 1 (Acts 13:1–16:5)

The Reign of Christ the Lord Proclaimed to the Nations: Part 2 (Acts 16:6–21:36)

The Reign of Christ the Lord Vindicated before the Rulers (Acts 21:37–28:31)

Romans

Romans is the longest and most systematically reasoned of Paul’s letters. Paul announces its theme in 1:16–17: the gospel is God’s power for salvation, because it shows us that the righteousness of God is through faith for all who believe. Paul explains the need for justification through faith because of sin (1:16–4:25). He then spells out the results of justification by faith in terms of both present experience and future hope (5:1–8:39). In the next three chapters, he expresses his sorrow that many of his fellow Israelites have not embraced the gospel, and he wrestles with the theological implications of this (chs. 9–11). He concludes by describing how the gospel should affect one’s everyday life (chs. 12–16). Paul wrote his letter to Rome in about A.D. 57.

16 chapters

Author: Paul

written to Rome around AD 57

Summarized Christian Theology

Romans 1:16–17 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.””

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 10:9–10 “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”