ROMANS
CHAPTER 1
A Letter to the Romans – Gospel Greetings
Romans 1:1-7
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh
4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,
6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The letter of the Romans is a representation of the full Gospel. It provides a representation of the entire Scripture. Many consider Romans to be the most important letter ever written.
How can a converted Pharisee write such a letter? What is it about Romans that has had such a significant influence on the Church? Romans is a pure representation of the Gospel. Romans clearly represents the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Romans is not a book… it is a letter. Paul wanted to go to Rome, but had not made it yet… in advance of his travel to Rome, he wrote this letter. To address issues in the Church, Paul approached it by clearly laying out the truth of the Gospel:
Chapters 1-11 – Gospel Explained
Chapters 12-16 – Gospel Applied
God uses ordinary Christians to do amazing things.
Paul is motivated by three things:
1) A Gospel Centered Calling (v. 1)
Paul desires a fellowship with the Christians in Rome… Christians he hasn’t even met. He wants to properly introduce himself. He provides his credentials:
* A servant/slave to Jesus Christ. He does not belong to himself… he belongs to Jesus! He is completely owned by God. He is a devoted servant of Jesus Christ.
* An apostle. An ambassador to represent Jesus Christ. As a result, Paul’s writings had the full weight of Christ behind them. He had a purpose. He was set apart for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Paul wasn’t set apart for this purpose when Christ transformed him on the road to Damascus.
Galatians 1:15
15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace,
Paul knew that he was called to be an apostle before he was born!
2) A Gospel Saturated Message (v. 2-4).
Paul provides a summary of the Gospel. He provides the source and substance of the Gospel.
The source of the Gospel is GOD! This is not Paul’s gospel. It didn’t originate with the apostles. It originated with God Himself! Grace is not limited to the New Testament. It is found throughout Scripture… starting with Genesis 3. Throughout the Old Testament, a promise is made and foreshadowed.
Since it belongs to God, it is not ours to change! We need to accept the entirety of Scripture. We have no responsibility or authority to change the Gospel. God doesn’t need our creativity. The Gospel stands on its own. The Gospel of God is about Jesus Christ! No Jesus, No Gospel! Note that Paul doesn’t just identify the subject of the Gospel being God’s Son, he further clarifies that God’s Son is Jesus Christ our Lord!
2 Samuel 7:12-13
12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
Matthew 1:1-17
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram,
4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon,
5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse,
6 and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah,
7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph,
8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah,
9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah,
11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor,
14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud,
15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob,
16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.
Paul is saying that Jesus was appointed as Our Lord through his death and resurrection. He went from a lowly servant to The Eternal King! The Eternal Lord must be able to overcome death… JESUS DID!
Stop trusting in yourself… trust in our eternal Savior! This is the Good News that makes us who we are!
3) A Gospel Driven Mission (v. 5-7).
Paul’s mission was clear. To bring about the obedience of Faith… the activity of Faith, responding to the Gospel. The Gospel produces obedience. The Gospel transforms us. A Gospel separate from obedience doesn’t make sense. He does not perform this mission for his own sake… he does it for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ!
We should be compelled by Paul’s mission and focus. Is our life focused on the mission of sharing the Gospel and strengthening the faith of others? Is Christ the focus of our life (vs. ourselves)? Do we shine His light in everything we do?
Based on the sermon of Pastor Adam Polk on 10 September 2017.
CHAPTER 4
Sola Fide – Through Faith Alone
Romans 4:1-8 and Luke 18:35 – 43
Rev. Mark Dooley, Leonardtown Baptist Church
11. 19.2017
Abraham Justified by Faith
Romans 4:1 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: 7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; 8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar
Luke 18:35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” 42 And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” 43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
- BELIEF – The basis of justification by faith. VV. 1-3
- RIGHTEOUSNESS – The application of justification by faith. VV. 4-5
- FORGIVENESS – The tangible blessings of justification by faith. VV. 6-8
- Luke 18:38 Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me…….your faith has saved you
Ephesians 2:9 Salvation is “not from works, so that no one can boast.”
Genesis 15:6 Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness.
Ephesians 2:8 You are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is God’s gift.
CHAPTER 5
Romans 5:1-11
Rev. Mark Dooley
12.27.2015
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
Looking under God’s Christmas tree, THE CROSS. We find precious gifts under the tree.
- 1. JUSTIFICATION: God declaring us righteous in His sight. Just as if I had never sinned. We are justified in his sight. The blood that Jesus shed on the cross justified us. He accepts us on the condition that our faith is on the blood that Jesus shed for us on the cross
2. PEACE: Peace is through our maker, especially those who trust in our Maker. Do not trust in the peace that the world gives because that is not peace. Our focus should not be on this troubled world, our focus should be on our Maker, Jesus Christ. That will bring true peace.
3. ACCESS: Access to God by faith in his son Jesus.
4. HOPE:
5. TRIUMPH: Paul says he will glory in trouble because it provides a opportunity to trust God, to draw us to God and help us see that God will triumph and bring us through.
6. DELIVERANCE: We are saved (delivered) from God’s wrath.
7. RECONCILIATION: We are now reconciled with Christ, brought back to a relationship with Christ. We could never reconcile our debt to God, but Jesus Christ paid our entire debt, for everyone, out of a pure gift of love.
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
SOLA GRATIA – BY GRACE ALONE
Romans 9:6-29
Rev. Mark Dooley, Leonardtown Baptist Church
11.26.2017
Rom 9:6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. 9 For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad, in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls 12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” 14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. 19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.'” 26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.'” 27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, 28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” 29 And as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah.”
- You are saved by grace.
- You are kept by grace.
- You will die by grace.
- We contribute nothing, anything we try to contribute to it, we slap grace in the face.
- If God was fair, we would ALL bust hell wide open.
- We should be thankful today that God doesn’t act by fairness, but he operates by grace.
Verse 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
What does this mean? This means that God has to be your number one love. You must love the Lord, first and foremost, loving the Lord supremely over all.
Romans 8:29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
Praise God that He chooses to love us, to save us. God wants everyone to be saved.
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
1 Timothy 2:4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.