Before beginning a study of the very difficult fifth chapter of Romans, let me say a word or two about Biblical study and understanding. The oft repeated and smug statement, "It means just what it says", must be eliminated from any serious Bible student's mind. Nothing means just what it says! It can only mean what you interpret it to mean. If you do not speak English, the English Bible is meaningless to you. If you do speak English, you have a range of meaning for each word, which is the result of your past experiences. The extent to which your history with the words is accurate, and the ability you have to apply that history to the words in question, determine the probability that you will draw the correct conclusion from the writer's words. Also involved is your knowledge of the history of the subject being discussed. Without a knowledge of history, one cannot adequately understand any statement, which depends for its validity on events in the past.
The above is not just an academic exercise for Bible scholars. It lies at the root of much misunderstanding of the Bible. Even a simple statement like, "Pass the salt", has to be interpreted. If you came into a room where some subject was being discussed, and you heard one speaker say, "It's too hot"!, you would be foolish indeed to respond until you found out whether he was referring to the food on the table, the temperature in the room, or the sensitivity of the subject being discussed. You need to know the history before you can respond, or have an intelligent understanding of what is being said. We often spend too much time in "discussion classes" swapping our ignorance, because no one has spent the time to study the background of the subject, nor has any history that would qualify them to draw a valid conclusion.
One of the outstanding characteristics of the Bible is its consistency. It is a continuous story. The hiatus of 400 years between the Old and New Testaments does not disconnect them. Everything in the New Testament flows from what has gone before. It is the continuing story of God's attempt to draw His creatures into a close and personal relationship with Him. To understand the New Testament, one must know where each part fits into the total picture of God's revelation of Himself, and His purposes, to man through the centuries.
Bible study is not like reading the Reader's Digest. One has not studied the Bible until he has connected the passage he is reading to the on-going history, and total picture of the entire Bible story. Only then, can he apply the things read to his life in its relationship to the Father. The Bible is not a collection of wise and beautiful lessons upon which a
general religion can be built. It is a personal message to each individual who reads it, and a guide to bring you into a close and personal relationship with your Creator. Generalized and organized religion, which makes the individual only a member of the group, is the bane of Christianity, and the death knell for commitment and discipleship.
With this in mind then, we begin a study of the fifth chapter of Romans, where a knowledge of the total history of man, in his relationship with God, is essential, if we are to have any understanding of this chapter, much less find it useful in enriching our lives in His service.
