PAUL'S EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS
13 Lessons

Dr. Ian A. Fair

LESSON 1

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF ROMANS

  • Our purpose in this lesson is to introduce The Epistle to The Romans.
  • We will ask “What kind of Letter is this? What can we learn today from it?”
  • We will examine its major purpose and theological message.

 

Bibliography

  • First, some good books to use!
    • Karl P. Donfried, The Romans Debate, Hendrickson, 1977, 1991 (recommended for serious Romans students) ü
    • Joseph A. Fitzmyer, Romans, Anchor Bible Commentary, 1993 (recommended for serious Romans students) ü
    • James D. G. Dunn, Romans, Word Biblical Commentary, 2 vols., 1988 (excellent commentary)
    • Paul Achtemeier, Romans, Interpretation, 1985 (written for teachers and preachers)
    • C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans, T. & T. Clark, 1975
    • Jack Cottrell, Romans, College Press, 2 vols., 1996
    • Leon Morris, The Epistle to the Romans, IVP, 1998
    • F. F. Bruce, Romans, Tyndale, 1985 (recommended for Bible class teachers) ü

The Author, Authenticity, and Date

  • Very few question the Pauline authorship and authenticity of Romans.
  • Some question the ending of Romans, Rom 15:22-16:27, but few follow them.
  • Date approximately AD 58, Rom 16:18-20

The Occasion

  • Paul has completed his ministry in Palestine, Asia, and Eastern Europe and is looking for new mission fields – Rom 15:17-20, 22-29; Rom 1:8-15.
  • Paul is outlining his apostolic and missionary credentials.
  • He describes the Gospel he has always preached and plans to preach in Rome and Spain.

The Kind of Letter

  • There are different kinds of letters one can write:
    • Apologetic letters – Galatians
    • Pastoral letters – Corinthians, and Thessalonians
    • Homilies – Hebrews
    • Apocalyptic – Revelation
    • Personal – Philemon
  • Romans is an Formal Ambassadorial letter which is epideictic in nature
    • In a formal ambassadorial letter one sets out ones credentials.
    • In an epideictic letter one sets out common views that one shares with the recipients and in general with others.

The Readers or Recipients

  • The church in Rome was not a Pauline plant, and could have existed as early as the conversions reflected in Acts 2.  Note especially Acts 2:11 “visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes.”

  •  There does not appear to be a central church in Rome as in Corinth and Thessalonica – Salutation does not mention a church (Rom 1:1-7); there were several house churches in Rom 16

  •  The church in Rome was obviously an ethnically mixed group, mostly Jew and Gentile converts

  •  There would have been some tension between the Jews and Gentiles, Jewish expulsions from Rome under Nero, and their periodic return

  •  Some Jews would have been upset over Paul’s supposed rejection of the Law, others not; some Gentile converts to Judaism and then to Christianity would have been upset by this!

  •   There must have been some tensions between the various groups or house churches – Rom 14, 15.

The Message

  • The basic theological message of Romans was that God is a righteous God who treats everyone the same, both Jews and Gentiles, showing no partiality (Rom 1:17; 3:21, 22).
  • Demonstrating that God is a righteous God who treats everyone the same, god declares both Jew and Gentile righteous on the same grounds and by the same method – righteousness comes by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, for everyone, no distinction or partiality!
  • Because of God’s gracious righteousness, there is an appropriate response, presenting ones life as a living sacrifice to God and not being conformed to the world (Rom12:1-2).

The Structure in 11 Lessons

  • Introduction – Lesson 1
  • The Good News Paul Preached – Lesson 2
  • The Sinful Course Of Human Nature – Lesson 3
  • God’s Righteousness – Lesson 4
  • God’s Faithfulness – Lesson 5
  • The Results of Justification – Lesson 6
  • Ethical Response to God; the Fulfillment of Torah – Lesson 7
  • The Glory of Being In Christ – Lesson 8
  • Has God Been Faithless To Israel? – Lesson 9
  • How Shall We Respond To God’s Grace – Lesson 10
  • Christian Relationships – Lesson 11
  • Paul’s Future Plans and Conclusion – Lesson 12
  • Major Lessons From Romans – Lesson 13

  •  God is a righteous God who shows no partiality (Rom 1:16, 17; 3:22)

  •  The whole world (every person) is under the power of sin (Rom 3:9)

  •   All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and need God’s grace (Rom 3:23, 24)

  •  Righteousness is a gift from God, cannot be earned, and is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Rom 3:20-24).

  •  Christians die to the law and sin and are alive in Christ through being united with Christ in baptism (Rom 6:1-11)

  •  In human effort there is only frustration (Rom 7:24), but in Christ there is now no condemnation (Rom 8:1)

  • The whole godhead is working in behalf of Christians so no-one can separate them from the love of God in Christ (Rom 8:26-39).

  •  God has not rejected Israel, but Israel has rejected God by not accepting the Messiah and living by faith (Rom 9-11).

  •  There is an appropriate response to God’s grace – Surrendering ones life to God and not being conformed to the world.

  •  Christians must not judge one another, but welcome (accept) one another just as Christ has welcomed (accepted) them (Rom 14:1-15:13).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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