Romans Intro

Welcome

Author

Apostle Paul wrote the book

Romans 1:1 ESV

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

Letter was written to the Christian Churches in Rome

Dates

Wrote while on his 3rd missionary journey

Most likely written in Corinth and given to Phoebe who took it to Rome

Romans 16:1–2 ESV

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.

Paul hadn’t been to Rome yet, but was gonna take an offering to Jerusalem and then stop by Rome on the way to Spain

Of course he would finally make it to Rome and would eventually die there

Theme

Paul’s focus is on the gospel and its meaning rather than on the Romans and their needs.

Douglas J. Moo

But the essence of Paul’s letter to the Romans is that there is good news that is truly good.

John F. MacArthur

The underlying emphasis of the book of Romans is that salvation produces total transformation.

John F. MacArthur

Romans is ultimately a book about God: how he acted to bring salvation, how his justice is preserved, how his purposes are worked out in history, how he can be served by his people.19

Douglas J. Moo

Purpose

Romans provides the fullest expression of Paul’s Theology

He didn’t intend it to be a complete summary

There is no doctrine of Christ, the church, or end times

He addresses issues of concern to the church

One main issue is the tension between Jews and Gentiles

Rome began as a Jewish church

Probably Jews went home after Pentecost and started a church

Peter did not start the church in Rome. That is a Catholic fallacy

Gentiles started to become Christians

Jews were expelled from Rome over Christ

Acts 18:2 ESV

And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them,

The church developed without Jews for a long time

Eventually Jews began to filter back into the church

The tension was over law abiding Jews and Gentiles who free from the restrictions of the Mosaic laws

Keywords

Gospel 12x’s

Romans 1:16 ESV

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.

Grace 26x’s

Romans 3:23–24 ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Faith 39x’s

Romans 1:17 ESV

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man would stake his life on it a thousand times

Wrath 12x’s

Romans 1:18 ESV

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

Key Verse:

Romans 1:16–17 ESV

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.”