Introduction to the book of Romans
When I was a student at Bob Jones University (BJU), I worked on campus. Many students did back then. During my sophomore (2nd) year, I was privileged to work at the school’s museum and gallery. BJU has the second-largest collection of sacred art outside the Vatican.
In their collection, they have a painting by British artist Edward Matthew Ward:
Towering nearly 9 feet high and 8 feet wide, the oil canvas painted in 1868 depicts:
A robed monk bent over a massive chained Bible.
From a high open window behind him sunlight streams in over his shoulder, falling upon the Bible and illuminating the page open before him, where his hand rests on the text.
In the background, an hourglass (empty on top) has apparently long since run its course.
On the monk’s face is a thoughtful expression of fawning apprehension.
The Bible would seem to be open to the Book of Romans, for the painting is entitled, “Martin Luther Discovering Justification by Faith.”
Luther begins his Preface / introduction to the Book of Romans this way:
This Epistle is really the chief part of the New Testament and the very purest Gospel, and is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word for word, by heart, but occupy himself with it every day, as the daily bread of the soul. It can never be read or pondered too much, and the more it is dealt with the more precious it becomes, and the better it tastes.
That sentiment expresses the perspective and priority of a man long-imprisoned who has discovered the key to release from his bondage. But it also stated the reason why a believer should study this book.
Whether the Christian occupies himself with some portion of truth from Romans “every day,” there can be no doubt that the Book of Romans–Paul’s theological magnum opus, breathed out by the Spirit of God through the pen of Paul–was the dynamite of the Reformation.
And it has been a major doctrinal sourcebook for everything from children’s catechisms to church creeds to systematic theologies ever since. I have no doubt that God will use our times of study in this book to impact our church in unsearchable ways.
No wonder John Calvin describes Romans this way: “When anyone understands this Epistle, he has a passage opened to him to the understanding of the whole Scripture.”
It is no accident that his own theological magnum opus, Institutes of the Christian Religion, contains more references by far to Romans than to any other book of the Bible. The Scripture index features 10 columns for Romans alone–nearly 600 references.
Additionally, Romans has also been the fountainhead of salvation texts for converts to Christianity.
We are familiar with the “Romans Road” method of evangelism.
For example: Rom 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Rom 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rom 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Rom 10:9 “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Luther himself described the effect of Romans 1:16-17 on him in these words: “Now I felt as though I had been reborn altogether and had entered Paradise. . . . This passage from Paul became to me the very gate of Paradise.”
Twelve centuries before Luther (and 3 centuries after Paul penned Romans), Augustine was converted by the words of Romans 13:13-14, “No further would I read; nor needed I: for instantly at the end of this sentence, by a light as it were infused into my heart, all the darkness of doubt vanished away.”
The 18th century legend John Wesley recounts in his own journal that he “went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans, “ when “while he was describing the change in which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation: and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2).
The impact of Romans historically on the Christian church–both individually and corporately–is impossible to overstate.
Background of Romans
The church in Rome was not started by Paul. In fact he had not even visited the church when he wrote Romans (1:10-13).
Neither was the church in Rome founded by Peter. Paul says in 15:20 that he will not build on someone else’s foundation. So he would not have written this letter or planned the kind of visit he describes in 1:8-15 to a church that was founded by Peter. But also Peter could not have been at Rome early enough to have founded the church there.
It was apparently started by converts from the Pentecost (Acts 2:10), assisted by converts from other churches (Rom 16 indicates Paul’s personal acquaintance with many people there). These Jewish Christians in Rome left Rome when the Emperor Claudius expelled them from about AD 49-54. As a result, the church in Rome would have consisted of mostly Gentile Christians. When Jewish Christian returned to Rome and the church there, the Gentile Christians were more influential and likely looked down on Jewish Christians. When Paul wrote this letter to the church in Rome, it would have evnetually consisted of both Jews and Gentiles. He would directly address the Gentiles (1:13; 11:13) and the Jews (chs 2-3, 9).
Paul penned Romans from Corinth (Acts 20:3) around AD 56.
Purpose of writing: 1. Announce his plan to visit Rome after his return to Jerusalem 2. To prepare the Christian community there for his coming (15:22-33), and therefore 3 To present a detailed statement of the gospel message he proclaimed, including a defense of God’s character and plan for saving people (1:14-17ff)
Discovering the Theme of Romans
If we are to discover the theme of this book we need to look at the clues that would lead us to the book’s theme. This involves repeated readings of the book, and over the process, we would see the picture emerging.
A. Keywords
The first clue includes words that keep occurring. Especially if similar words occur throughout the book, that would be an important clue to what the theme is about. That is exactly what we have in the book of Romans.
There are words that share a common root in the Greek (the “dika” root translated “right” or “just”).
Moo: “No set of words is more important for a correct understanding of Paul’s message to the Romans than those that share this root.”
So what are the words that come from this Greek root word?
Righteousness (32x in 29 vv.)
Righteous (9x in 9 vv.)
Justified (11x in 10 vv.)
Justification (3x in 3 vv.)
Just (7x in 7 vv.)
Justify (3:30); justifier (3:26); set free (6:7); righteous decree (1:32)
66 occurrence of words with this root in 58 vv. All in the first 10 chapters except for one in 14:17.
It seems, then, that this is what Paul keeps talking about–not the Gospel only, but the nature of what is contained in it and that in turn comes to characterize those who partake of it–something about righteousness. This word ought to appear in the theme.
That leads us as investigators to ask the next question: What is righteousness?
B. Righteousness Explained
The best way to understand what this word means is to illustrate it. We will look at two illustrations in the OT:
Lev 19:35-36 “You shall do no wrong (KJV: unrighteousness) in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. 36 You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” When a business person puts a label on his package saying that the item weighs 1kg, it must be 1kg. When he puts the product on the scale that says 500g, it must be 500g. In other words, when a business person meets this honest obligation to his customers, he is righteous towards his customers. If he uses dishonest scales, he is unrighteous towards his customers.
Job 31:6 “Let me be weighed in a just balance, and let God know my integrity!” (marriage: v. 9-11; relationship to servants: v. 13, 14; poor people: v. 16, 19, 21; material things: v. 24, 25; enemies: v. 29; sins: v. 30). Conclusion: “So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes” (Job 32:1).
Righteousness involves an obliging relationship between two parties. When the supermarket meets its obligation to its customers, it is righteous. When a husband meets his obligation to his wife, he is righteous.
But when it comes to us meeting our obligations to God, nobody is righteous. In fact, Isa 64:6 says, “ But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” And Paul in Rom 3:10 says, “None is righteous, no, not one.”
On the other hand, God is righteous because He has perfectly met all His obligations to us. And if we want to be with God in heaven, we need to be as righteous as God is righteous.
So the question is: how will we obtain that righteousness?
That was Luther’s question. He understood that he was unrighteous, but did not know how to obtain the righteousness of God. Which leads us to another question, what is the “righteousness of God” that is repeatedly mentioned in this book? We will answer that question when we arrive at 1:16-17. And that is where we will develop the theme of the book.
C. The Righteousness of God Explained
This was what Luther wanted to know also when he said: “I greatly longed to understand Paul’s Epistle to the Romans and nothing stood in the way but that one expression: “the justice of God.”
Occurrence of This Phrase
None in the OT
Romans 1:17; 3:5, 21, 22; 10:3 (twice); “His righteousness (3:25, 26)
Elsewhere: 2 Cor 5:21; James 1:20; 2 Pet 1:1
2. Possible Meanings
a. Righteousness which is God’s (His inherent Divine attribute)
Luther: I greatly longed to understand Paul’s Epistle to the Romans and nothing stood in the way but that one expression: “ the justice of God,” because I took it to mean that justice whereby God is just and deals justly in punishing the unjust. My situation was that, although an impeccable monk, I stood before God as a sinner troubled in conscience, and I had no confidence that my merit would
assuage him. Therefore I did not love a just and angry God, but rather hated and murmured against him. Yet I clung to the dear Paul and had a great yearning to know what he meant (Ibid).
But 3:22 says that the righteousness of God can be ours “through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. This righteousness is something God can give to people who put their faith in Him.
b. Righteousness which is from God (a status or standing)
God is the source of this righteousness. This is the position that Luther eventually came to when he said, “By the righteousness of God we must not understand the righteousness by which He is righteous in Himself but the righteousness by which we are made righteous by God. . . Therefore blessed Augustine writes . . . “It is called the righteousness of God because by imparting it He makes righteous people.”
This meaning is also strengthened by what Paul says in Phil 3:9 “and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.”
c. God’s Righteousness Being Displayed in Salvation
One commentator puts it this way: “Especially significant are the many places in the Psalms and Isaiah where God’s “righteousness” refers to his salvific intervention on behalf of his people . . . If Paul is using this “biblical” meaning of the word, then his point here would be that the gospel manifests “the saving action of God.” When we look at 3:25-26, we see this aspect laid out by Paul: “whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
There is a strong possibility that options 2 and 3 are the meanings of what Paul is referring to in referring to the “righteousness of God.” Option 2 is that the Good News reveals what God provides: righteousness. Option 3 is that the Good News reveals not only what God provides (Option 2), but also what He is when He does so.
Theme of Romans: The Good News of how the Righteousness of God Justifies Unrighteous Individuals Through Faith Alone
Outline
I. Righteousness Obtained (Rom. 1-11): How God’s Righteousness is Obtained
Why use the word “obtained” rather than “attained”? Because to attain something means you work for it. You achieve something by your own effort. But to obtain something means that something is given to you apart from your own effort. When it comes to saving faith, you can never work for it. The only way you get salvation is when God gives it to you.
In this first section of Romans, Paul is going to explain God’s righteousness in providing for our righteousness. Paul is making arguments in Romans and it is important that we trace the arguments he is making.
A. Opening Introduction (1:1-17)
After his greeting (1:1-7)
Paul mentions his gratitude for them (1:8-15)
It is worth nothing that Paul wants to “preach the gospel” (v. 15) to them not because they are not saved, but because they are. That can only mean that to Paul, “the gospel” is not merely a simple evangelistic message coupled with an invitation to unbelievers, but a profound body of truth capable of feeding and edifying saints as well, including how the gospel works (theologically) and what its ramifications are (practically).
Theme passage for the book of Roman (1:16-17)
“Salvation” = deliverance (from what? See 1:18; 5:9-10)
“believe/faith”--Noun and verb appear around 60x in Romans
“Righteous(ness)/just(ification)”--various forms appear around 60x in Romans
B. The Need for God’s Righteousness (1:18-3:20): Condemnation for Unrighteousness
1. The Gentile Are Unrighteous (1:18-32)
Why is mankind condemned? (1:18) Ungodliness, unrighteousness, suppression of truth (1:18); dishonoring God, unthankfulness (1:21)
This is one of the definitive biblical explanations of why God is just in condemning all men: a knowing suppression of truth (1:18) in the universal testimony of creation (1:19-20), a nascent knowledge of God (1:21a) that refuses to glorify God for what He is (1:21b), exchanging truth for error, light for darkness, glory for corruption, Creator for creature (1:22-23) Sin begets sin in a downward spiral (1:24ff). Man is without excuse. He can never say, “I wanted to know God, but He never revealed Himself to me. He never made Himself known to me. The universal presence of religion is not a sign that man is seeking after God. According to Romans 1, it is a result of man’s turning from God.
2. The Jews Are Unrighteous (2:1-3:8)
3. All Are Unrighteous (3:9-20)
How many are condemned? (3:10-12)
Once again, the pervasiveness of human religion is not disproof of this universal diagnosis, but verification of it. Man is religious by nature and creation, and his frenetic religiosity testifies to his relentless search for any substitute for the true God.
The Law is the great Equalizer of mankind placing everyone on the same level–condemned (3:19-20). The Law is not the road to God, but a roadblock; it shows that there is no way to God by that road.
Since we all stand condemned, what do we need? (next point: 3:21-22)
C. The Means of Obtaining God’s Righteousness (3:21-4:25): Justification
1. The Righteous God Righteously Justifies the Unrighteous (3:21-26)
“But now” announces the revelation of the remedy to condemnation.
3:21-26, 28 is one of the most theologically concise expressions of how the Gospel works.
2. The Means of Obtaining God’s Righteousness is by Faith Alone (3:27-31)
3. Abraham as an Illustration of Obtaining God’s Righteousness by Faith Alone (4:1-25)
Righteousness by imputation through faith in Christ is no new doctrine; Abraham and David were saved in exactly the same way.
D. The Glorious Results of Obtaining God’s Righteousness (5:1-8:39): Sanctification as the Glorious Transformation for Believers
Sin is a problem not only for the sinner but for the saint as well. The aim of this section is to outline the path of a new life (6:4) of holiness (6:19, 22)--i.e., sanctification
1. Peace with God through Christ (5:1-11)
2. No Longer in Adam but in Christ (5:12-21)
The words “sin and “death” dominate the passage–sin created the consequence of death which required the cure of righteousness to secure life.
3. Liberation from the Dominion of Sin (6:1-23)
The same words (sin and death) continue to dominate the discussion, but in a very different, post-conversion sense. Now we should no longer live in sin but unto righteousness because we died to sin along with Christ (6:1-2, 10-11).
4. Liberation from Law’s Binding Authority (7:1-25)
Paul returns to a consideration of the Law and makes the point that Law cannot save from sin.
“Law” is another dominant keyword throughout Romans (78x), but especially in ch. 7 (23x).
The issue is not whether this chapter is describing the experience of a saved person or lost person. The issue in this chapter is what the Law can and cannot do. It describes anyone who tries to deal with sin through law alone, and makes two points: (1) Law alone only aggravates our sin nature, and (2) the only escape is reliance on Christ (ch. 6) and dependence on the Spirit of God (ch. 8).
5. Liberation from Condemnation Because We are in Christ and in the Spirit (8:1-17)
6. Guaranteed Preservation unto Glorification (8:18-39)
E. The Vindication of God’s Righteousness (9:1-11:36): Election as God’s Fulfillment of His Righteous Obligation to the Jews
This section is about God’s dealing with the Jews. They have rejected God’s righteousness in order to establish their own righteousness (10:3). But God has not failed, because he has kept, is keeping, and will keep His promises to the Israelites.
If God’s purposes will unfailingly be realized for all those whom He has chosen, then how do we explain His purposes in relation to Israel? God gave them such tremendous privilege (9:1-4). Has God somehow failed in His purposes for them, since we know that many of them did not believe, and many are still in unbelief?
God’s purposes are being fulfilled with His chosen remnant (9:1-29).
Israel’s rejection of God’s saving righteousness (9:30-10:21).
God’s purposes and promises are being accomplished and will be
accomplished for both Gentiles and Jews (ch. 11).
II. Righteousness Practiced (Rom. 12-16): How God’s Righteousness is Practiced
A. In A Fundamental Response to God’s Mercies (12:1-2): Presentation of Self as a Living Sacrifice
Believers are called to a fundamentally distinctive, extra-ordinary, counter- cultural life and loyalty.
B. In Ensuing Significant Relationships (12:3-16:24): Relationships Marked by Love
1. Ministry to Members of Christ’s Body (12:3-8)
2. Responding to Those Inside and Outside Christ’s Body (12:9-21)
3. Submitting to Civil Government (13:1-14)
4. Responding to Disputable Matters (14:1-23)
5. Evangelizing the Nations (15:1-33)
6. Exemplifying Affection for the Brethren (16:1-27)
Conclusion
Our world says that nobody is perfect. The Bible says there is none righteous, no not one. But unless we have the righteousness of God, we will not be with God in heaven. The book of Romans is concerned to show us how we can obtain that righteousness. And what you will find is that it is really good news! We need that righteousness, and the good news is that we can have it!
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