Romans 16

Greetings!
Paul ends his powerful and thorough masterpiece with greetings to many friends and co-workers in the Lord.
Personal Greetings
16     I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea. 2 I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help [...]

Romans 15

Greetings!
15     We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen [...]

Romans 14

Greetings!

The Weak and the Strong
14     Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 2 One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who [...]

Romans 13

Greetings!
Submission to the Authorities
13     Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment [...]

Romans 12

Greetings!
Living Sacrifices
12     Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be [...]

Romans 11

Greetings!
 

The Remnant of Israel
11     I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God [...]

Romans 10

Greetings!
10     Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their [...]

Romans 9

Greetings!
God’s Sovereign Choice
9     I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my [...]

Romans 8

Greetings!
Life Through the Spirit
8     Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

Not that’s good news.  Meditate on that for a moment.  No condemnation!  Freedom from the law [...]

Romans 7

Greetings!
An Illustration From Marriage
7     Do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to men who know the law—that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? 2 For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, [...]

Romans 6

Greetings!
Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ
6     What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into [...]

Romans 5

Greetings!
Peace and Joy
5     Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.

Note that this says, “peace with God,” not the peace of God.  We can have peace because [...]

Romans 4

Greetings!
 

Abraham Justified by Faith
4     What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

That is a [...]

Romans 3

Greetings! 
Paul continues laying out his case for why we all are sinners in need of a Savior.

God’s Faithfulness
3     What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? 2 Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.

The New Testament [...]

Romans 2

Greetings!
Paul emphasizes a point that Jesus made as well, namely that we shouldn’t be hypocritical.  We are instructed to make judgments but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do so in humility or without acknowledging our own sinfulness.  Paul had hammered several serious sins in chapter 1, such as homosexuality, but his list also included greed, [...]

Romans 1

Greetings!
I encourage you to read this chapter very closely.  I refer to often as it has such relevance to our culture and to contemporary issues.
Paul packs a lot into his opening. 

He was specifically called to be an apostle (one who saw Jesus and carried his message). 
He is Jesus’ servant. 
He is sharing the Gospel foretold in [...]

Romans overview

Greetings!
Today we begin a study of Romans, perhaps my favorite book of the Bible (it is a toss-up with Philippians). 
The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Romans roughly 25 years after the death, resurrection and ascension into Heaven of Jesus.  His authorship is virtually undisputed.  Even liberal scholars agree that he wrote it.
This wasn’t a [...]