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.