“Romans: An Introduction”
Romans • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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7 To all who are in Rome, loved by God, called as saints. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
In our time together this morning I would like to address four topics by way of introduction: The INFLUENCE of the Letter, some CHALLENGES to old traditions, Paul’s PURPOSES in writing, and finally, a brief OVERVIEW of Romans.
I. The INFLUENCE of the Letter
I. The INFLUENCE of the Letter
It would be impossible for me to convey the tremendous impact this letter, penned by the Paul during his three month stay at Corinth, before his final trip to Jerusalem, has had on Christianity!
Christians throughout the ages have been deeply influenced by this letter referred to by Stott and others, as a kind of Christian manifesto of freedom through Jesus Christ!
It has been called the fullest, plainest and grandest statement of the gospel in the New Testament.
It is not surprising that the church in every generation has acknowledged the importance of Romans, not least at the time of the Reformation. Martin Luther called it ‘really the chief part of the New Testament, and … truly the purest gospel’.
He continued: ‘It is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word for word, by heart, but also that he should occupy himself with it every day, as the daily bread of the soul.’
The same appreciation was expressed by the British Reformer William Tyndale, the father of English Bible translators, in his prologue to Romans, described it as ‘the principal and most excellent part of the New Testament, and most pure Euangelion, that is to say, glad tidings … and also a light and a way in unto the whole Scripture’.
He went on to urge his readers to learn it by heart. For, he assured them, ‘the more it is studied, the easier it is; the more it is chewed, the pleasanter it is’.
It’s not just the giants of Church history who have been impacted. As F. F. Bruce writes, “very ordinary men and women” have been affected by it too.
II. New CHALLENGES to Old Traditions
II. New CHALLENGES to Old Traditions
Because of the deep impact of the letter on the Reformers (in Church history), it has long been taken for granted that the chief emphasis in Romans is on God’s justification of sinners by grace, in Christ, through faith!
For example, John Calvin wrote in his introductory essay on ‘The Theme of the Epistle of Paul to the Romans’ that ‘the main subject of the whole Epistle … is that we are justified by faith’.
This was the prevailing position when I first studied Romans in Bible College in 1982 (I got a B- for the class) where we were instructed that the theme was found in (1:16-17)!
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.
While in Seminary (in 2007), I wrote a thirty-one page paper on Romans 3:21-27, in which I argued that Justification through Faith was indeed the theme of Romans (and BTW, I got an A).
HOWEVER, in the last thirty years, the assumption that Paul’s main preoccupation was with justification has been rightly challenged!
Not because justification is a part of Romans, but because that’s not the whole story!
An equal concern of Paul according to Krister Stendahl (1963), was to defend, “…the rights of Gentile converts to be full and genuine heirs to the promises of God to Israel,” specifically that Gentiles “…could come to Christ directly and not through the law.” Romans is, “about God’s plan for the world and about how Paul’s mission to the Gentiles fits into that plan.”
John Stott - “Paul was indeed deeply exercised, as the apostle to the Gentiles, about the place of the law in salvation and about the unity of Jews and Gentiles in the one body of Christ. But he was also evidently concerned to expound and defend the gospel of justification by grace alone through faith alone. In fact, the two concerns, far from being incompatible, are inextricably interwoven. Only loyalty to the gospel can secure unity in the church.”
“The redefinition and reconstitution of the people of God, as comprising Jewish and Gentile believers on equal terms, is a critical theme which pervades the letter.”
IV. Paul’s PURPOSES in WRITING
IV. Paul’s PURPOSES in WRITING
Again, John Stott tells us, “All New Testament documents were written from within a particular situation. And this situation concerned partly the circumstances in which the author found himself, partly of his intended readers, and usually a combination of both. […] Paul nowhere spells out his reasons in detail.”
While this last statement might be contested in part, from reading the letter as a whole, there are at least FOUR purposes in this letter: PERSONAL, THEOLOGICAL, FINANCIAL/MISSIONAL, and PRACTICAL!
A. PRACTICAL
A. PRACTICAL
Paul announces his desire to visit the churches in Rome! - (1:9-11; 15:22-24a, 28)
B. THEOLOGICAL
B. THEOLOGICAL
15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
15 Nevertheless, I have written to remind you more boldly on some points because of the grace given me by God
16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, serving as a priest of the gospel of God. God’s purpose is that the Gentiles may be an acceptable offering, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
The Letter to the Romans has been called, “The Christian’s Constitution” and “The Gospel According to Paul!”
Whereas Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tells us about the PERSON of Jesus Christ, Romans gives us the PRINCIPLES of Christianity!
C. FINANCIAL/MISSIONAL
C. FINANCIAL/MISSIONAL
Up to this point, Paul’s ministry had allowed him to preach the Gospel in the four provinces of Galatia, Asia, Macedonia, and Achaia.
19 by the power of miraculous signs and wonders, and by the power of God’s Spirit. As a result, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum.
“Illyrcum” is approximately modern Albania.
Paul’s ambition is found in the next verse:
20 My aim is to preach the gospel where Christ has not been named, so that I will not build on someone else’s foundation,
22 That is why I have been prevented many times from coming to you.
23 But now I no longer have any work to do in these regions, and I have strongly desired for many years to come to you
24 whenever I travel to Spain. For I hope to see you when I pass through and to be assisted by you for my journey there, once I have first enjoyed your company for a while.
N.T. Wright tell us Paul wanted “…to use Rome as a base of operations in the Western mediterranean, much as he used Antioch (originally) as a base in the East.”
D. PRACTICAL
D. PRACTICAL
5 Through him we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the Gentiles,
The theme of OBEDIENCE runs throughout Romans!
19 For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.
16 Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of that one you obey—either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness?
17 But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching to which you were handed over,
16 But not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our message?
18 For I would not dare say anything except what Christ has accomplished through me by word and deed for the obedience of the Gentiles,
19 The report of your obedience has reached everyone. Therefore I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise about what is good, and yet innocent about what is evil.
The BOOKEND is found in,
26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic Scriptures, according to the command of the eternal God to advance the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles—
V. A Brief OUTLINE of the Letter
V. A Brief OUTLINE of the Letter
There are many great outlines of Romans. One of the earliest (and simplest) outlines I was taught includes three sections: The DOCTRINAL Section - (1-8), The NATIONAL Section - (9-11), and The PRACTICAL Section (12-16).
An even better outline is from John Stott’s, “The Message of Romans”:
The Wrath of God - (1:18-3:20)
The Wrath of God - (1:18-3:20)
“The revelation of God’s righteousness in the gospel is necessary because of the revelation of his wrath against unrighteousness” (1:18).
The wrath of God—his pure and perfect antagonism to evil, is directed against all those who deliberately suppress what they know to be true and right, in order to go their own way.
The section culminates in the truth that, “All human beings are sinful, guilty and without excuse before God. The picture is one of unrelieved darkness.”
Not only are all under God’s wrath,
9 What then? Are we any better off? Not at all! For we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin,
10 as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one.
No one can be justified apart from the Gospel!
20 For no one will be justified in his sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.
The Grace of God - (3:21-8:39)
The Grace of God - (3:21-8:39)
The “But now…” of 3:21 is one of the great adversatives of the Bible! For into the universal darkness of human sin and guilt the light of the gospel has shone.”
In explaining the righteousness of God through the cross, Paul resorts to three key words ‘propitiation’, ‘redemption’ and ‘justification’.
26 God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.
Chapters 4-8 will beautifully and completely explain the work of salvation for both Jews and Gentiles!
The Plan of God - (9-11)
The Plan of God - (9-11)
In these three chapters, Paul addressed the underlying theological problems and tension between the Jewish Christian minority and the Gentile Christian majority!
How is it that the Jewish people as a whole had rejected their Messiah? How could their unbelief be reconciled with God’s covenant and promises? How also did the inclusion of the Gentiles fit in with God’s plan?
It is these questions that Paul addresses and he does so with a deep love and concern for the Jewish people!
He begins with his anguish over their alienation:
1 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience testifies to me through the Holy Spirit—
2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.
3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the benefit of my brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood.
His longing for their salvation:
1 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God concerning them is for their salvation.
His own continuing Jewishness:
1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? Absolutely not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.
Paul gives a powerful declaration that “…all Israel will be saved” (11:26), as well as the explanation.
He ends the section with the statement:
32 For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may have mercy on all.
FINALLY, we come to…
The Will of God - (12:1-15:13)
The Will of God - (12:1-15:13)
In an eloquent appeal, Paul declares,
1 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.
And in the next four chapters, Paul provides that most practical teaching of living out our faith in every area of life!
