Paul's Letter to the Romans

Bible Readings:Romans 4:1-12 page 798Matthew 8:5-13 page 686

Journey Through The Bible

The Letter to the Romans

“Faith Not Works”

Wednesday, 9 December 2015

• Paul's letter to the Romans pulls together all the most important teaching in the rest of the Bible.

• Romans is a summary of the whole revelation of God to man.

• This letter has played a fundamental role in the history of the Christian Church.


• In this letter we are confronted with the two most important truths of all time:

1. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (3:23)

2. “God demonstrates His Love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (5:8)

• This is the heart of the Gospel and the revelation of God.


• Paul wrote this letter around 57 AD.

• On the Day of Pentecost there were “ . . . visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,” (Acts 2:10, NKJV)

• These new believers took their new faith that Jesus was the Messiah back to the synagogues of Rome.

• This new faith caused many heated disputes.

• The fights were so bad they caused social tensions and public disorder.

• In AD 49 the Emperor Claudius evicted all Jews from Rome.


• The church in Rome quickly became a completely gentile (non - Jewish) church.

• Claudius died in 54 AD and the Jews gradually started drifting back into Rome.

• The Jewish believers were now in the minority.

• This was the situation in the Church in Rome when Paul wrote his letter to them in AD57.

• The big issue between Gentile and Jewish believers was the Law of Moses.

• Does the Law apply to those who believed in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour?


• Romans Chapters 1 - 3

• Proves you can not be saved by the Law

• Only by believing in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour can you be saved.

• The heart of the problem.

• All people are guilty of sin.

• If you are without the Law (a Gentile) you sin because you do what you know is wrong.

• If you are under the Law (a Jew) you sin because you don’t obey the Law.


• Why did God give the Law? What is the purpose of the Law?

• Paul says that God gave the Law so that people can know how to be right with Him.

• The problem is that no one can keep the Law perfectly.

• “As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one;” (Romans 3:10, NKJV)

• Trying to obey laws to make yourself righteous is what is called “works”.

• You do things, “work,” to make yourself right with God.


“Works” is man trying to reach up to the perfection of God.

This is the fundamental assumption of every religion except Christianity.

It is the all important dividing line between the Gospel and everything else.

Man

God


Religions of Works

• Islam• Confessing Allah• Pray 5 times a day toward Mecca • Alms giving • Fasting in Ramadan • Pilgrimage to Mecca

• Buddhism• Obey the six basic laws of Buddha to avoid

a worse karma in the next life. • Perform rituals to earn spiritual merit.

• Hinduism• Obtain a better reincarnation by doing

many different rituals of purification and self denial.

Man

God


• Christians can also fall into the trap of “works.”

• The root of all works is human pride, “I can do it by myself. I do not need to rely on anyone else.”

• The trap of “good works”.

• Doing lots of good deeds in the belief that God will accept them because of all the good they have done.

Man

God


• The great revelation of the gospel is that God has reached down to man.

• All man has to do is accept the free gift of salvation offered to him.

• “But now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.” (Romans 3:21–22, NLT)

Man

God


• No one can earn acceptance with God by what they do. Only by believing in what God has done for us we are accepted by Him.

• “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.” (Romans 5:1–2, NLT)

• This is the great revelation of the good news of Jesus, the gospel, “...we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.”


• God has compassion on us because of His love for us.

• “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8, NIV84)

• Paul proves that no matter what we do or how hard we try we can not rid ourselves of sin.

• “But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:22–23, NLT)


• Paul then asks a very important question. Does the Law still have any role to play in the life of a believer?

• The Law for a believer is not a means of salvation.

• We need the Law to reveal the things in our life that are displeasing to God.

• “Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.” (Romans 7:7, NLT)


• Having been saved by faith in Jesus, Paul wants to live a life that is pleasing to God. But this, he says from his own experience, is very hard.

• We know what we should do but so often we end up doing exactly the opposite.

• Now that we believe we want to please God, not so that we can be saved, but because His Spirit in us desires to please God.

• “I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.” (Romans 7:19, NLT)


• God’s reassurance: Even though we sin are not condemned!

• “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.” (Romans 8:1–2, NLT)

• As we listen to the Holy Spirit and obey His prompting we will avoid the sins that once trapped us.

• “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by Whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:14–15, ESV)


Our Ultimate Victory• “For I consider that the sufferings of

this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18, ESV)

• “And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as His adopted children, including the new bodies He has promised us.” (Romans 8:23, NLT)


• Reading Paul’s letter to the Romans is a challenge for many Christians.

• Reading this letter will reward you with a much deeper understanding of the Gospel and the the love of God.

• “It can never be read or pondered too much, and the more it is read the more precious it becomes, and the better it tastes.”


Paul's Letter to the Romans

Spiritual

Transcript of Paul's Letter to the Romans