A Forty-Day Study of Paul’s Letter to the Romans

Rick Jory

Description

Martin Luther called Romans “bread for the soul.” It’s the most complete complete picture of Christian theology given in the New Testament. The more we understand Romans, the more we understand Christianity and the better equipped we are to both live out our faith and share our faith.

In the introduction to his commentary on Romans, Martin Luther wrote, “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” (Martin Luther, Commentary on Romans, xiii).



Luther was right. Paul’s letter to the Romans should be the Christian’s daily bread for the soul. This book goes through Romans verse by verse—helping us to understand what Christianity is. The focus is on the difference between religion—humanity reaching for God—and Christianity—God reaching for humanity.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Biblical Commentary
• Philosophie et théologie
• Commentaries on the Bible
• Epistle to the Romans
• Christianity
• Sin
• Romans

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 10 juillet 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781973699729
• Langue: English

Extrait

About the Series: The following books comprise the “Forty-Day Study” Series:
A Forty-Day Study of THE BIBLICAL STORY: The Story of Ch rist.
Volume One: Preparing the Way
A Forty-Day Study of THE BIBLICAL STORY: The Story of Ch rist.
Volume Two: The Arrival of the Ch rist
A Forty-Day Study of JOHN’s GOSPEL: Who Exactly is J esus?
A Forty-Day Study of THE BOOK OF HEBREWS: The Superiority of Ch rist
A Forty-Day Study of PAUL’S LETTER TO THE ROMANS: What is a Chris tian?
A Forty-Day Study of SIN, SALVATION AND SANCTIFICATION: Our Journey in Ch rist
Separate from this series, but to be published soon: Lines of Evidence, How Recent Science Infers God’s Existence and The Resurrection of Jesus of Naza reth.
A FORTY- DAY STUDY OF PAUL’S LETTER TO THE ROMANS
 
What is a Christian?
 
 
 
Rick Jory
 
 
 
 
 
Copyright © 2023 Rick Jory.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.
 
 
WestBow Press
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ISBN: 978-1-9736-9970-5 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-9736-9971-2 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-9736-9972-9 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023910296
 
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 07/06/2023
 
 
 
 
Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
 
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
 
Scripture quotations marked (GNT) are from the Good News Translation in Today’s English Version- Second Edition Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.
 
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Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
 
Scriptures marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
 
Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
Contents
Author’s Introduction
Part I: Introduction
Chapter 1     “Religion” versus Christianity
PART II: Background on Paul’s Letter to the Romans
Chapter 2     The Letter’s Author
Chapter 3     The Letter’s Recipients
Chapter 4     The Letter’s Purpose
Chapter 5     The Letter’s Structure (Overview)
PART III: Sin, Salvation, and Sanctification
Chapter 6     Romans 1:1–15, Introduction
Chapter 7     Romans 1:16–17, Major Theme
Chapter 8     Romans 1:18–23, Sin Among the Pagans
Chapteer 9   Romans 1:24–32, God’s Wrath
Chapter 10   Romans 2:1–16, Sin Among the “Religious”
Chapter 11   Romans 2:17–3:8, Sin Among the Jews
Chapter 12   Romans 3:9–20, The Universality of Sin
Chapter 13   Romans 3:21–31, Righteousness through Faith
Chapter 14   Romans 4, Righteousness through Faith: The Example of Abraham
Chapter 15   Romans 5:1–11, Peace with our Creator
Chapter 16   Romans 5:12–21, Death through Adam, Life through Christ
Chapter 17   Romans 6:1–14, Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ
Chapter 18   Romans 6:15–23, Slaves to Righteousness
Chapter 19   Romans 7:1–6, Released from the Law
Chapter 20   Romans 7:7–24, The Law and Sin
Chapter 21   Romans 7:25–8:13, Life in the Spirit
Chapter 22   Romans 8:14–8:27, Life in the Family of God
Chapter 23   Romans 8:28–39, The Security of our Salvation
Part IV: Israel–Past, (Elected), Present (Rejected), and Future (Accepted)
Chapter 24   Romans 9:1–5, Paul’s Anguish over Israel
Chapter 25   Romans 9:6–33, God’s Sovereignty – Israel Elected
Chapter 26   Romans 10:1–13, Israel’s Present – The Rejection of the Messiah
Chapter 27   Romans 10:14–21, Gentiles Coming to Faith
Chapter 28   Romans 11:1–10, A Protected Remnant
Chapter 29   Romans 11:11–24, A Warning to the Church
Chapter 30   Romans 11:25–36, God’s Future Plans for Israel
Part V: Sanctification in Action
Chapter 31   Romans 12:1–8, Worship and Service
Chapter 32   Romans 12:9–21, Love
Chapter 33   Romans 13:1–7, Submission
Chapter 34   Romans 13:8–14, Fulfilling the Law
Chapter 35   Romans 14, The Weak and the Strong
Chapte 36   Romans 15, Unity among the Believers
Part VI: Conclusion
Chapter 37   Romans 16, Paul’s Greetings to those in Rome
Chapter 38   The “Romans Road to Salvation”
Chapter 39   Messages in Romans to the Believer
Chapter 40   Messages in Romans to the Non-believer
Supplement: The Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth
The Resurrection – Can We Trust the Biblical Record?
The Reliability of Our Information Concerning the Resurrection
The Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth
Appendix A Group Bible Study
Appendix B Biblical Timeline
To my loving wife , Maria Louise Jory
Soli Deo Gl oria
Author’s Introduction
If you could choose one book from the Bible having the greatest impact on the world, what book would it be?
Of course, there is not a right or wrong answer. But if this question were presented to a group of seminary professors and Bible scholars, they would probably point to Paul’s letter to the believers in Rome.
In thinking about world impact, they might share how Paul’s letter helped Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis go from pagan to saint. Aurelius Augustinus led a hedonistic lifestyle, joining with a group of young men who boasted of their sexual exploits and mischievous deeds. But things changed by the time Aurelius had reached the age of thirty-three. Struggling with himself, his behaviors, and his identity, he heard a voice repeating over and over, “Pick up and read. Pick up and read.” Surely this must have been the voice of God. So he turned to the Bible and found Romans 13:13–14. It was as if the words were written specifically for him: “Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.”
Later Aurelius Augustinus would write, “I neither wished nor needed to read further. At once, with the last words of this sentence, it was if a light of relief from all anxiety flooded into my heart. All the shadows of doubt were dispelled.” From then on, his life was transformed as he eventually became a theologian, a philosopher, and a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church. He was even made “Doctor Ecclesiae Universalis”—a title given to saints recognized as having made significant contributions to Catholic theology and doctrine. In the two-thousand-year history of Catholicism, only thirty-six individuals have been given this honor, and Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis was one of them.
Augustinus is better known to us as Saint Augustine. And it was two verses from Paul’s letter to the Romans that helped bring Saint Augustine from paganism to Christianity. His writings from the study of God’s word significantly changed and enriched Christendom—and continue to do so to this day.
Or the seminary professors might recall how Paul’s letter to the Romans impacted another man who also changed the church and the world—and did so, arguably, to an even greater extent than Saint Augustine. The professors would remember the story of a law student who was caught in a horrifying thunderstorm. Frightened and fearing for his life, the young man dropped to his knees and prayed fervently, promising to devote his lif to God if the lightning and tempest surrounding him would cease.
The thunderstorm did subside, and the young man kept his word. He left law school and became a Catholic monk.
But the man’s journey was a difficult one. He was obsessed with the question “How can I find favor with God?”
The more he learned about God, the more he became overburdened by intense guilt. He knew he was sinful and could never meet