Romans

Romans is the 45th book of the Bible and it is the first one that we come to that was written directly to Gentiles by the apostle to the Gentiles (Rom. 11:13). Without the book of Acts demonstrating God's transition away from Israel to Paul's special ministry among the Gentiles how strange it would be to go from the Gospel records right into an epistle to the Romans from an apostle with a Gentile name! 

The apostle Paul wrote this epistle around 60 A.D. from Corinth during his 3 month stay in Greece after his departure from Ephesus (Acts 20:1-3). It was not his first inspired epistle but it is placed first in order because it is the foundational book of doctrine for the Grace Age. In Romans we learn that we are crucified, buried, and risen with Christ. The mystery of the Body of Christ is alluded to but not explained (12:4-5). The end of Romans sets us up for the next great doctrinal book: Ephesians (in which we learn that we are ascended up and seated with Christ in heavenly places). 

I. Introduction (1:1-17) – why he is writing 

II. Condemnation (1:18-3:20) – FIRST the bad news 

III. Justification (3:21-5:21) – On basis of the blood of Christ thru FAITH ALONE 

IV. Identification (6-8) – one with Christ, the key to the Christian life, Spirit 

V. Dispensation (9-11) – Israel’s fall, not permanent, Gentiles blessed without Israel 

VI. Application (12-15) – conduct in relation to: God, church, enemies, gov, weaker brethren 

VII. Conclusion (16) – greetings, closing remarks 

Romans reveals great doctrines such as salvation, redemption, justification, imputation, propitiation, sanctification, identification, predestination, adoption, and glorification. All of this is and more is offered freely by the grace of God to all sinners everywhere on the basis of the perfect cross-work and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Every believer must be grounded in these doctrines. But most churches focus on the OT and Gospels because they have stories. 

The doctrine of this epistle answers the ancient question, "How can man be just with God?" (Job 9:2). The theme of Romans is stated in 1:16-17. Legalists hate the message of salvation by grace through faith plus nothing. Paul was not ashamed of the gospel Christ reveled to him (Gal. 1:11-12) even though he was slandered for preaching it (3:8). 

Romans systematically and logically explains how the righteous God can justify (declare righteous) unrighteous sinners by faith alone (Rom. 3:9-28). 

E.W. Bullinger wrote, "ROMANS comes first in order of the three great doctrinal epistles. And rightly so, for it contains the ABCs of the believer’s education. Until its lesson is learned, we know and can know nothing. The Holy Spirit has placed it first in Canonical order because it lies at the threshold of all "church" teaching, and if we wrong here we shall be wrong altogether... The great subject is the revelation of God’s wrath against sin, and of the ground upon which alone the sinner can stand in righteousness before Him. The fundamental text is "The just shall live by faith" (Rom 1:17), and it shows Jew and Gentile alike short of the standard of God's glory (Rom 3:23). All alike sinners, shut up under sin, and needing a Divine righteousness, the only difference being that to the Jew had been committed the oracles (utterances or revelations) of God… The prominent feature of the Epistle is the long doctrinal portion from Rom 1:16 to Rom 8:39. This shows that doctrine is the important part and dominates the whole. It reveals what God has done with "sins" and with "sin "; and how the saved sinner, taken out from the deepest degradation, is justified by faith, and united to Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection-life. It teaches him that though his "old Adam" nature continues with him till the end, in ever-present hostility to God, yet that for those in Christ there is no judgment and, consequently, no separation "from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord".

A.C. Gaebelein wrote, "No Christian can enjoy the Gospel and know true deliverance unless he knows the precious arguments of the first eight chapters of this epistle. It is the great need at the present time. So many professing Christians are ignorant of what redemption is and what it includes. Many have but a hazy view of justification and have little or no knowledge of a settled peace with God and lack the assurance of salvation. They are constantly striving to be something and to attain to something, which God in infinite grace has already supplied in the Gospel of His Son." 

Luther said, "It is the true masterpiece of the New Testament, and the very purest Gospel, which is well worth and deserving that a Christian man should not only learn it by heart, word for word, but also that he should daily deal with it as the daily bread of men's souls. For it can never be too much or too well read or studied; and the more it is handled the more precious it becomes, and the better it tastes."

Martin Luther sure liked Romans a lot better than James! Because he didn’t know how to rightly divide the word of truth he couldn’t handle the fact that Paul and James contradicted each other (Rom. 3:28; Jam. 2:24). He wrote, “Many sweat to reconcile St. Paul and St. James, but in vain. “Faith justifies” and “faith does not justify” contradict each other flatly. If anyone can harmonize them I will give him my Doctor’s Hood and let him call me a fool.” The explanation is that James likely wrote his epistle before Paul was even saved and he wrote to the scattered 12 tribes of Israel. The gospel of the kingdom requires works to prove faith; a man is justified by his own faith (his faith must be tried and perfected). Under the gospel of the grace of God we are justified by the faith of Christ (already tried and perfect) and therefore no works whatseover are required to be justified in this age (Rom. 4:5).