Paul’s Epistle to the Romans
January 24, 2021
Opening Prayer
Psalm 119
Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord!
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,
who seek him with their whole heart,
3 who also do no wrong,
but walk in his ways!
4 You have commanded your precepts
to be kept diligently.
5 Oh that my ways may be steadfast
in keeping your statutes!
6 Then I shall not be put to shame,
having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart,
when I learn your righteous rules.
8 I will keep your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me!
An Introduction
Probably written around 55 A.D.
Author: Paul
What do we know about St. Paul?
Acts 7:54-60
Acts 8:1-3
Acts 9
Acts 12:24-28:30
Romans is one of Paul’s long letters. 1 & 2 Corinthians
are the others.
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Paul was a pastor/evangelist in Corinth for a
period of time. These letters deal with problems and needs of the congregation.
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Paul had not been to Rome when he wrote the
Epistle (aka Letter) to the Romans.
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It is his, in some ways, his greatest work.
Paul was not a writer. He was an orator. He dictated his
letters to a scribe. Tertius was the scribe for Romans (cf. Rom. 16:22).
What other letters came from Paul?
Key theme of Romans: Righteousness.
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He also wrote on righteousness in Galatians
a couple years prior to Romans.
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Galatians is more passionate because
it is written from a relationship.
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Romans is more of a carefully
crafted message to introduce himself to the Roman Christians. He hopes to come
to them to preach and teach, and to get aid from them in a missionary journey
further west (cf. Rom. 15:22-24).
What is righteousness?
Outline of the Letter
Introduction – 1:1-15
The Righteousness that Comes by Faith
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The power of God for salvation (1:16-17)
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Who is righteous? (1:18-3:20)
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How is God’s righteousness revealed? (3:21-4:25)
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How is God’s righteousness received? (ch. 5-8)
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What about Israel’s righteousness? (ch. 9-11)
Living in Righteousness
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Being living sacrifices. (12:1-2)
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Being the Body of Christ (12:3-8)
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Loving one another (12:9-21)
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Relating to authority (13:1-7)
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Loving your neighbor (13:8-10)
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Casting off evil and being clothed in Christ
(13:11-14)
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Caring about the weak in faith (14:1-15:13)
Conclusion
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Planning a new mission journey (15:14-33)
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Greetings (16:1-23)
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Doxology (16:25-27)
Homework
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Read Romans, or if you don’t have time to
read the whole book, read ch. 1.
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Take some time to skim through the passages from
Acts about Paul.
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Spend some time thinking about what you hope to
get out of this study. Pray asking God what he hopes you will get out of this
study.
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Have a conversation about something that you
learned, remembered, found important about Romans.
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If you felt that this was worth your time,
invite someone to join the study, or share a recording of the study via email
or social media. (An email will go out after it has been posted.)
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