Author Date UNIT 13 Romans Survey of New Testament Background Info Content Dr Jonathan Denton Letter of instruction and exhortation Sets forth Paul s understanding of the gospel Through a faith in Jesus the redeemed Jews and Gentiles form one people of God Romans in many ways is the highpoint of Christian theology the Apostle Paul His name appears in the from line in the letter itself The text reflects Pauline language concerns and structures Written near the end of Paul s third missionary journey mid to late 50s Location and Recipients Population of approximately 1 million people Location Paul traveled through Macedonia and Achaia on the way back to Jerusalem and he apparently stayed in Greece for about three months along the way It was during this stay that Paul wrote Romans Rome Mixture of cultures and religions Known for its immorality Christianity thrived quickly in Rome But because of debates between Jews and Jewish Christians Claudius expels the Jews from Rome in AD 49 Jews were allowed to return after Claudius death in AD 54 but he most likely relaxed the ban toward the end of his reign Recipient The church in Rome Neither founded by Paul nor under his jurisdiction He greets at least 26 people known to him Paul writes to the group of churches in Rome not an individual church The church was a mixture of Jews and Gentiles Occasion Phoebe s proposed visit to Rome Paul s own anticipated visit to Rome and desire that they help him with his proposed mission to Spain Tensions between Jewish and Gentile believers there When Jews returned the churches were now dominated by Gentile believers Jews felt Gentiles were not appreciative of Jewish heritage and Gentiles felt that Jews were restricting their freedom Purpose Paul addresses three things he sees very clearly He saw that Jews were continuing to reject Jesus and many Gentiles were getting saved He saw that Jerusalem was ceasing to be the center of Christianity and that Rome would be the hub of the Christian mission Paul saw that there were Gentiles in Spain and the rest of southern and western Europe also contained those who needed to hear about Jesus Paul writes Romans a lengthy discourse on the Gospel to the churches in Rome to prepare them to be the launching pad for reaching the rest of the world with the good news about Jesus Paul also desires the Church in Rome to be united and to avoid dissension and false teaching Literary Aspects Advice for Reading The Text Overview Don t get bogged down in the details Read the whole book first and then approach the details along with a commentary The main argument throughout the entire book is God might give Jews and Gentiles one heart and one mind to glorify God Unity is possible through God s righteousness given to both Jews and Gentiles based on faith in Jesus and effected through the gift of the Spirit Paul often writes his letters in two general parts A theological argument where he teaches us about God and his gospel often the majority of the letter A section on practical matters that is determined from the theological argument Romans is perhaps the clearest example of this structure Outline I A Clear Description of the Gospel a Chapters 1 3 The Depravity of Man b Chapters 3 5 Justification by Faith c Chapters 6 8 The Abiding Results of Salvation d Chapters 9 11 Israel Salvation and God s Sovereignty II Appeal to Pursue Life in the Spirit a Chapters 12 15 Christian Living in Light of Salvation b Chapters 15 16 Conclusion and Commendations The Thread The Gospel in Romans A Christian View of Sin o Those who have never heard about Jesus rightly fall under the condemnation of God for their sin Rom 1 16 20 o Those who grew up reading the Bible and around Christians are just as lost as people who have never heard about Jesus Rom 2 17 24 o So if religion condemns us and irreligion condemns us then we are all condemned Rom 3 23 A Christian View of Salvation o We are weak and cannot save ourselves because we are under the condemnation o Therefore God did for us what we could not do for ourselves Christ died for us to of God Rom 5 6 save us from our sins 5 7 8 o God became a human being in the person of Jesus to live as the perfect man and to die for the sins of the world so that he might take our sin and give us his righteousness as a gift 5 8 o God didn t do this because we deserved it We didn t We deserved condemnation He o We can only receive God s salvation by faith We can t earn it If we could earn it we did it because he loves us 5 8 wouldn t need it 5 8 11 A Christian View of Faith o Faith Requires three components o A Proper Object Rom 10 1 8 No amount of belief in the wrong thing will ever save you have never heard o A Knowledge of that Object 10 14 17 You cannot believe in something of which you o A Full Response to that Object 10 9 13 Knowing is not enough You must place your trust in Jesus that he has done everything required for you to be saved We call this repent and believe The Meaning of Romans We are all lost and far from God We are all sinners and cannot earn our way into salvation by good works We are not good God in His mercy sent his Son Christ to be our righteousness That righteousness is a gift and cannot be earned The gospel changes us and is a gospel that can reach every nation bringing all into one body the body of Christ People who are transformed by the gospel will then become loving people who reach the lost love our neighbors and build the church Note Three Important Passages that contains Three of the Most Important Theologies of the NT CSB John 1 14 Incarnation Ephesians 1 3 14 Triune purpose and glory of God Romans 3 21 26 Justification redemption and propitiation