An Introduction to the Book of Romans

 

Welcome to this study on the Book of Romans! It’s a formidable task to begin a study of Paul’s great letter to the Romans, and exciting too. I felt those emotions as I studied it many years ago, and I still feel them. There are very good reasons for these feelings. For one thing, Romans has probably been the object of more intense study by more highly intelligent and motivated individuals than any document in human history. The Epistle to the Romans has been called “the Fort Knox of Bible doctrine.” Seventy-five percent of Bible teachers today said if they could teach from just one book, it would be this one.

No reasonable person would dispute that the book of Romans is one of the most powerful and influential books ever written. The Epistle of Paul to the Romans has been the written force behind some of the most significant conversions of church history. St Augustine, the most brilliant theologian of the early centuries, came to conviction of sin and salvation after reading some verses from the thirteenth chapter. Martin Luther recovered the doctrine of salvation by faith from his study of Romans 1:17 and went on to lead the Protestant Reformation. While listening to the reading of Luther’s preface to the book of Romans, John Wesley felt his heart “strangely warmed” in conversion and became the catalyst of the great evangelical revival of the eighteenth century. John Bunyan was so inspired as he studied the great themes of Romans in the Bedford jail that he wrote the immortal Pilgrim’s Progress.

Paul’s Epistle to the Romans is still transforming people’s lives today! Imagine! You and I can read and study the same inspired letter the brought life and power to Augustine, Luther and Wesley! And the same Holy Spirit who taught them can teach us! You and I can experience revival in our hearts, homes, and churches if the message of this letter grips us as it has gripped men and women of faith in centuries past.

All roads lead to Rome. Thus, Paul would no doubt conclude if all roads lead to Rome, all roads must also lead from Rome. If I can get to Rome, he must have thought, and share the gospel, it will spread rapidly and reach the entire world. At this point in time, Rome’s ship of state was sailing along quite nicely, but below-deck, having lost her moral bearing, the empire was already beginning to sink. Aware of this, Paul desired to go to the Imperial City not only to launch the gospel from Rome, but to bless the people in Rome. Although his plan was strategically brilliant, he was unable to get there. But instead of feeling defeated by what he couldn’t do, Paul grabbed parchment and pen, and did what he could do. Unable to go to Rome, Paul instead penned a letter to the Romans and, because he had never been to Rome, he was able to concentrate solely on life-changing, impacting, revolutionary theology. You see, in his other epistles, Paul addressed the problems and personalities unique to the cities to which he wrote. Not so with the Book of Romans. Paul did what he could do, and I’m so glad, because, just as all roads lead to Rome, truly, the road to revival leads through the Book of Romans.

There is no doubt about the power of the book of Romans. The study of it produces genuine excitement and genuine trepidation – excitement because of the possibilities the life-changing themes of Romans bring to us, and trepidation at reasonably expounding their massiveness. I would invite each reader to offer the following prayer as we begin the study of this great book:

Father, I know that a humble spirit is indispensible to learning. And I pray that as I now consider the themes of Romans – so great, so history-changing, and sometimes so familiar – that through the study of them You will give me a spirit of humility, that I will be constantly leaning even from the familiar. I pray that the power that was exhibited in the lives of Augustine, Luther, Wesley, and so many others – that power which comes from understanding the fundamental doctrines of the faith and appropriating them in  life – will be seen in me. Give me a continued spirit of humility. May I continue in prayer throughout this study. May Your blessing rest upon my life. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

Reflection Questions:

As we go on this journey through the Book of Romans together there are a few questions I would like you to ponder: Is this the first time for you to study this letter to the Romans? If so, I will have a few questions at the end of each session which I highly recommend that you journal on them to get the most out of each session. If you have any questions on the topic feel free to use this blog to ask me or write them down and ask your pastor.

If you have studied Romans before, what would you like to get out of this study this time? As you go through, ask yourself these few questions: What is Paul’s worldview at the time he wrote this letter? How does he come up with this new discipline we call, in retrospect, “Christian theology”, while being around all the different pagan gods? What are his basic beliefs and how does that affect his mindset, motivations, deeds and words. What is his normal practice and how did that change on the road to Damascus? How did his education influence his letters? In other words try as best as you can to put yourself into his shoes.

Above all pray that the Lord opens your mind and heart to the message He wants you to see. Talk to Him and converse with Him, He loves it when we do and put the lessons you learn to work into your life. I know God will bless you abundantly because that’s who He is!

 

*The material for these studies is from Jon Courson’s Commentary by Thomas Nelson Inc., R. Kent Hughes Preaching the Word series by Crossway, and Warren W. Wiersbe’s Commentary by Chariot Victor Publishing,  and  from James Montgomery Boice’s Expositional Commentary published by Baker Books, and from The Message of Romans, John R. W. Stott published by Inter Varsity Press, unless otherwise noted.

Isaiah 66:1-24 The Arrival of the End (Part Two)

* The material for these studies is from Barry G. Webb’s “The Message of Isaiah”  by InterVarsity Press; and from J. Alec Motyer’s “The Prophecy of Isaiah” Commentary by InterVarsity Press.

I will comfort you (vv. 12-17): Isaiah is almost ready now to bring his grand vision to a close by drawing out its full missionary implications. But first he has some comforting words for the faithful within Israel. For them the prospect of Jerusalem’s coming destruction by God was exceedingly painful. They could not view it with the equanimity of which others might be capable. Did the sentence passed on Israel mean that Jerusalem had no further place in God’s purposes?, and what of their own place in the new order of things?

His first word for them picks up and confirms all that has been said about the future city of God in preceding chapters. The New Jerusalem will be everything that the old failed to be – a city of peace, rich to overflowing with the blessing of God (v. 12a). And those who grieved over the passing of the old will be comforted in the new (vv. 12b-13). The faithful need not fear that they will be discarded with apostate Israel; the New Jerusalem will be the home of all God’s faithful people, the old as well as the new. His second word answers the disquiet they feel at the severity of the sentence passed on Israel. Is it not unreasonably harsh? The answer is that it is no more so than the judgment He will visit on all His enemies everywhere, Jew and Gentile alike (vv. 14-17). The judgment that begins with the House of God has its significance not simply in itself but in what it points to. It is a sign of the final universal judgment to come. It puts the whole world on notice! If the whole world has been put on notice, what of those who remain ignorant? How is the revelation to be published? How are the nations to be apprised of the judgment to come and the means of escape from it?

To the ends of the earth (vv. 18-24): This last, tremendous paragraph contains God’s entire program for the evangelization of the world. It is summarized in verse 18. In a word, God’s fundamental response to the evil actions and imaginations of His creatures is one of grace. His gathering, rescuing activity, once restricted to the dispersed of Israel, is to be extended to all people. He will come and gather people of all nations and tongues so that they may see His glory (v. 18). The goal of mission is the glory of God, that God might be known and honored for who He really is. How this goal is to be achieved is spelled out in what follows.

God will set a sign in the midst of the nations (v. 19). In context this can surely be nothing other than the wondrous birth of verses 7-8. It is the whole miraculous complex of events which occurred when Israel was judged and the church was born, and the “survivors” are the faithful remnant of verses 12-16. The final proof that God has not rejected them is that they have been chosen to spearhead His mission to the nations. The mention of grain offerings in verse 20 introduces the figure of a great harvest, and with it what must have been one of the most startling and controversial aspects of Isaiah’s missionary vision. It is the nations that are harvested, and the converts from all nations that are presented to the Lord as holy offerings. Converted Jew and Gentile become covenant brothers (v. 20), united in a new kind of priestly ministry in which both alike, in due course, share in the privileges and responsibilities of leadership (v. 21). What a stunning accurate portrayal this is of things to come!

Only one reflection remains, and it has to do with the origin and outcome of God’s mission, its beginning and its end. Verse 22 contains one final word of assurance to faithful Israelites, the true children of Abraham of the Old Testament period. The promise of an enduring name and many descendants will not fail; they will have their perfect fulfillment in the new heavens and the new earth, where the redeemed of the entire human race will offer unending worship to their Creator. But the final verse contains a chilling reminder that those same promises to Abraham implied judgment. They confronted man and women with the unavoidable responsibility to respond: to bless or curse, and be blessed or cursed themselves. The last verse does not detract in any way from the victory of the previous verse, but rather testifies to the completeness of it. God will not stoop to conversion by force. He will give us what we choose, and be glorified as much by His righteous judgment as by His saving grace.

At its most fundamental level, this closing paragraph brings us back to the basic truth that God is Creator, and therefore Ruler, of His world. The book of Isaiah, like the Bible itself, moves from the heavens and the earth (v. 1:2) to the new heavens and the new earth (V. 66:22). God’s mission is simply the outworking of the intentions He had at the beginning, expressed in the blessing He pronounced on the first pair and confirmed in the promises He made to Abraham. And Isaiah leaves us in no doubt that the key to it all is God’s perfect Servant, our Lord Jesus Christ. How eloquently and simply the apostle John put it! Isaiah, he says, “saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about Him” (John 12:41). In the second half of the book the new creation unfolds from His saving work like a bud bursting into bloom, and the last verse challenges us never to take it lightly, but to ponder (as we shall for all eternity) the greatness of our redemption and the terrible fate from which we have been saved! What can we do, but worship Him?

Isaiah 66:1-24 Reflection Questions:

How are the questions in the second paragraph answered in the gospels? Where?

Are we any closer to spreading the Word today, if so, how?

How are verses 66:12-17 a comfort to you? Journal on it.

What are you doing to help with the “great harvest”?

Do you plan to be blessed or cursed? Are you for God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit or against them? Spiritually, it’s a matter of life or death! If you don’t have a relationship with Jesus, get with a pastor to walk you through on what to do!