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Romans Introduction

The Message of the Book

Romans has been called the most definitive book of Theology in the New Testament. However, it is much more than that. In this book, Paul treats the key elements of God’s revelation to man: The Gospel, Truth, Righteousness, Faith, Grace, and Justification. These are not simply religious terms for defining by theologians and debates between opposing segments of the Christian world. They are the vital elements of our relationship with the Creator, and therefore, the very keys to any hope we have beyond this present life.

For this reason, I would bid you take seriously this study. It is not a class for simply discussing another religious approach or for swapping our ideas on the interpretation of obscure passages. We are here trying to separate ourselves from the vapid world of Christian dialog and involve our very souls in God’s eternal purposes revealed here in His Word. 

The Gospel, which Paul refers to repeatedly in the first chapter, encompasses the whole story of redemption through Jesus Christ the Son of God. It is this story Paul says he is not ashamed of and is compelled to preach to all creatures, for all are included in its promises on the basis of their faith.

Faith, in Paul’s mind, is the overriding power in the life of a Christian. It is that which moves him to accept without question what God had done for him in Christ, and therefore, to behave in a totally different way, consistent with the life of Jesus Christ. This is something quite other than saying Faith leads to obedience. Because we are in Christ by Faith, we live an entirely different life which, by its very nature, is obedient to God’s will.

Therefore, it is never our obedience which justifies us, but our Faith. This is not because the Faith is meritorious, but because it causes us to accept from God (by His grace) what no attitude or action on our part could achieve. It is not Faith causing us to obey, which would make us have Faith in God the lawgiver, but Faith in God who gave us a Savior, and to whom we therefore give honor, and glory and thanksgiving. Not Faith in God’s law, which we obey, but Faith in God’s saving power, which gives us what obedience to no law could achieve.

Paul begins by condemning those who refuse to accept the Truth of God, and substitute what he calls “a lie”. The Truth here referred to means the whole Will of God. Paul is saying that God is the creator of all things, and therefore the creator of Truth. That we submit to His will is to follow Truth. To substitute our will and our desires is to follow a lie, for we are not the creators of Truth, and the opposite of Truth is a lie.

As he expands the vision of the Gospel throughout the book, and parallels it to the Truth, it becomes evident that the ultimate Truth is the story of God’s grace in sending us a Savior. That is the Truth we must not only believe, but dedicate our lives to, if we are to reap the benefits of His marvelous salvation. 

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