Introduction to Romans

Here is the outline of our fist lecture on Romans. We covered standard introductory issues and outlined the book. In preparing these lectures on Romans I made extensive use of Douglass Moo, John Murray, Charles Hodge, John Calvin, and Martin Luther.


Sinners and Saints on Campus
10/15/09

Introduction to Romans


I. Introductory Issues
A. Author
1. Paul is the undisputed author – 1:1 – Marcion, the Muratorian fragment, and a steady stream of patristic writers beginning with Ignatius, Polycarp, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus all assume its Pauline authorship
2. The significance of Pauline authorship
a. the unmistakable emphasis in the book of Romans upon salvation by grace alone takes on new life when understood in light of Paul’s background
b. the systematic explanation of the gospel to the church at Rome, which represents the heart of the Gentile world, is fully consistent with the purpose of Paul’s ministry – Acts 26:17-18; 9:15; 22:21; Rom 11:13; 15:16; Gal 2:9; Eph 3:7; 1 Tim 2:7; 2 Tim 1:11
c. the extended treatment of Israel’s future
B. Date and provenance
1. Paul appears to have written this letter from Corinth – 16:1,23; Acts 20:2-6 (when correlated with the movements of Paul in Acts there are indications which establish the place and time of writing)
2. Location establishes approximate date of Spring 57 or 58 – Acts 20:2-6 (3rd missionary journey)
C. Audience: the church at Rome
1. Paul had never visited this church – 1:13
2. The Roman church was likely planted by diaspora Jews from Rome who were converted at Pentecost in Jerusalem
3. The persecution of the Roman church – Acts 18:2
a. Claudius, Emperor of Rome @ A.D. 41-54 ordered the Jews to leave Rome
b. Suetonius, an ancient Roman historian, explains that the Jews were kicked out of Rome, “because of their continual tumults instigated by Chrestus.” “Chrestus” is a common misspelling of “Christ.” Suestonius’ remark refers to violent debates within the Jewish community in Rome over the claims of Jesus to be Christ.
c. Jewish Christians were exiled until the reign of Nero
4. Composed of Jews and Gentiles
a. indications of a Jewish audience
1) Paul greets his “kinsmen” – 16:3,7,11
2) Paul addresses himself to Jews in 2:17
3) Associates his readers with Mosaic law: they are not “under the law (Rom 6:14-15), because they have “died to the law” (7:4), “I am speaking to those who know the law” (7:1)
4) Paul calls Abraham “our forefather” – 4:1
5) Much of the letter consists of things particularly interesting to Jewish Christians: sin of the Jews (2:1-3:8), inadequacy of Mosaic law (3:19-20,27-31; 4:12-15; 5:13-14,20; 6:14; 7:1-8:4; 9:30-10:8
b. Indications of Gentile audience
1) Paul includes his readers among the Gentiles to whom he has been called to minister – 1:5-6,13; 15:14-21
2) Paul directly addresses “you Gentiles” – 11:13-24
3) Paul’s plea for Jews and Gentiles to accept one another – 15:7
D. Purpose
1. Help for trip to Spain – 15:24
a. v24 – propempo – to help on the way with material support
b. a purpose was to introduce himself to the Roman Christians with a view to seeking their support for his mission to Spain
2. Present a systematic presentation of the gospel to the heart of the Gentile world
E. Outline
1. 1:1-17 – salutation
2. 1:18-3:20 – universal sway of sin and condemnation
3. 3:21-5:21 – the gospel as the righteousness of God by faith
4. 6:1-8:39 – justification leads to sanctification
5. 9:1-11:36 – Israel’s future
6. 12:1-15:13 – Christian living
7. 15:14-16:27 – conclusion
II. Theological and Practical Issues (why we should bother studying Romans)
A. Theological
1. The universal sway of sin and condemnation – 1-3
2. Justification by faith alone – 4-5
3. Sanctification – 6-8
4. The problem of Israel – 9-11
5. Sovereignty of God in election and reprobation – 9:10-13,16,18
B. Practical
1. Salvation calls to service – 12
2. How to live as a citizen of an evil empire – 13
3. Using personal liberty in a responsible way - 14

Romans Bible Study begins October 15, 2009 @ 11:30

I am happy to announce that we have finally pulled the pieces together in order to get this study off the ground. Sinners and Saints on Campus will be meeting on Thursday, October 15th, on the CSU Fullerton campus in SGSR 111 on the 1st floor in Pollack Library.

In our first study we will begin with an overview of the Book of Romans, addressing questions of authorship, audience, intent, and outline of the book.

If you ever just wanted to know what the Book of Romans was all about but never had anyone around who could walk you through it step by step, then you will definitely want to check out this study. We will take our time and walk through the book passage by passage, examining the content, theology, and application of each passage. Each weak I will provide outlines for those present, and then after the study I will post them up on the blogspot here in case you could not make it.

BTW look for Sinners and Saints on Campus as we are attempting to secure approval to solicit people to take part in our Bible study group on Titan Walk.

Thanks for stopping by Sinners and Saints on Campus, and I hope to see you next week!

Any questions ---drop me a line---I am dinosaur and don't text and don't facebook (sorry!).