Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Romans

THE SOUL SET FREE:
Recounting Redemption in Romans
pdf (103 pages)
Dr. Paul Manuel—2005

Contents

Prologue

An Outline of the Book of Romans
    Introduction: Paul's ministry
    I. SIN: God is just in condemning sinners

      An Equal-Accessibility Deity

      God Right to Condemn Those Who Have Never Heard?

      Response Acceptable to God
    II. SALVATION: God is gracious in justifying sinners

      Four Stages in a Believer's Life
    III. SANCTIFICATION: God is powerful in sanctifying believers

      Important Theological Terms
    IV. SOVEREIGNTY: God is sovereign in accepting Jew and gentile

      Israel's Many Blessing

      God's Sovereignty in Election: Narrowing the Scope of the Promise
    V. SERVICE: God is worthy as the object of service.

      Assessing the Strength of Your Convictions

    Conclusion: Paul's ministry

    Appendix: The Roman Road—Signposts to Salvation

    Bibliography

    Endnotes

    Prologue

    Our conference president has asked me to devote the morning Bible studies to the book of Romans.1 His request came after we completed a similar study in our church, and he thought the material would be of interest to a wider Seventh Day Baptist audience. While I appreciate having the entire week for this assignment, it has required me to compress the original five-month study into a five-hour study. This means I had to decide between speed and selectivity, between talking very fast and just hitting the high points. I chose the latter. Feel free, however, to alert me, if I begin to accelerate and slide into the former.

    While I cannot go into detail, I will outline the book so that you can see the development in Paul's thought. There are five major sections—five topics—the apostle develops. To make them easy to remember, they are all single words that begin with the same letter: S. They are:
    • Sin
    • Salvation
    • Sanctification
    • Sovereignty
    • Service
    Five topics in five sessions—we had better get started. We will read selected verses in each section to get an overview of what Paul is saying. Then, if there is time, we will give extra attention to an issue Paul raises in the section for that day. I encourage you to read ahead and to familiarize yourself with the material we will consider next.

    Paul wrote his letter to the church in Rome while in Corinth on his way to Jerusalem during his third missionary journey. The date is probably 55/56. He intended to visit Rome, but was uncertain how conditions in Jerusalem might affect his plans.2 Not wanting to wait until those plans materialized, he pens these words of encouragement and instruction.

    The church may have begun through the work of converts traveling to Rome from other parts of the empire. If these believers were not the product of Paul's ministry, they at least knew about him. Nevertheless, as this church does not seem to have had the benefit of an apostolic founder—there is no evidence that Peter was ever in Rome—Paul writes a detailed doctrinal treatise covering five topics relevant to a relationship with God: sin, salvation, sanctification, sovereignty, and service. This will not be a detailed study. We will simply read the book,3 attempting to follow Paul's arguments as he explains the significance of these five topics.

    An Outline of the Book of Romans

    Introduction: Paul's ministry

      A. Paul is an apostle of the gospel Rom 1:1-7

      B. Paul is anxious to go to Rome Rom 1:8-17
    I. SIN: God is just in condemning sinners.

      A. He condemns the pagans Rom 1:18-32

      B. He condemns the proud Rom 2:1-16

      C. He condemns the legalists Rom 2:17-3:8

      D. He condemns the rest Rom 3:9-20
    II. SALVATION: God is gracious in saving (justifying) believers

      A. He offers justification in propitiation Rom 3:21-31

      B. He illustrates justification with Abraham Rom 4:1-25

      C. He bases justification on Messiah Rom 5:1-21
    III. SANCTIFICATION: God is powerful in sanctifying believers

      A. He sanctifies with a new relationship Rom 6:1-7:6

      B. He sanctifies despite an on-going conflict Rom 7:7-25

      C. He sanctifies through a supernatural helper Rom 8:1-27

      D. He sanctifies regardless of external interference Rom 8:28-39
    IV. SOVEREIGNTY: God is sovereign in accepting Jew and gentile

      A. He is sovereign to elect Israel Rom 9:1-33

      B. He is sovereign to pursue Israel Rom 10:1-21

      C. He is sovereign to restore Israel Rom 11:1-36
    V. SERVICE: God is worthy as the object of service

      A. He is served in relating to people Rom 12:1-21

      B. He is served in submitting to authority Rom 13:1-14

      C. He is served in deferring to others Rom 14:1-15:13

    Conclusion: Paul's ministry

      A. Paul is a priest of the gospel Rom 15:14-22

      B. Paul is anxious to go to Rome Rom 15:23-29

      C. Paul is asking for their support Rom 15:30-33

      D. Paul is aware of others' activity Rom 16:1-20

      E. Paul is appreciative of others' help Rom 16:21-24

    For a pdf including the entire study with Bibliography and Endnotes (103 pages) see here.

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    Relevant and civil comments are welcome. Whether there will be any response depends on whether Dr. Manuel notices them and has the time and inclination to respond or, if not, whether I feel competent to do so.
    Jim Skaggs