The Bible OverBrew - Bible in a YearSample

Week 41. Day 1. Romans 1:1-3:20.

Introduction to Romans

Paul’s letter to the Romans is the closest thing he ever wrote to a systematic theology, and is a letter that has been treasured by Christians through the centuries. For Martin Luther, it opened his eyes to the glorious doctrine of justification by faith, and In so doing, kick started the Reformation. Romans is a deep and complex letter, but even though some parts may be hard, the overall shape of the letter is very straightforward (as shown by the headings below) and tells the simple beautiful story of humanity’s problem, God’s solution, and then how to live in light of it.

Key terms: just / justified / justification / righteous / righteousness.

All of these English words translate the same family of Greek words. They are words that relate to someone’s moral standing. God is righteous, which simply means he always does what is right. When the words “Just” and “righteous” are used of humanity, they mean to be acceptable in God’s sight. To be justified is to be declared acceptable to God. The glorious truth of Romans is that we are justified not by any good works that we do, but by simply trusting in Jesus, i.e. justification by faith alone. More than that, God’s righteousness (his ‘always-doing-what-is-right-ness’) involves him saving his people!

Romans 1:1-3:20

Rom 1:1-17 Introduction: The Gospel

1:1-15 What do we learn about the gospel? About Paul’s ministry?

1:16-17 - theme of the letter. Can you try to put this in your own words?

Rom 1:18-3:20 The problem: God’s righteous wrath against sinners

1:18-32 What is the main point here?

Chapter 2 is tricky, but the overall point is clear. Paul has said in Ch 1 that God’s wrath is poured out on humanity’s unrighteousness. In Ch 2 he speaks to two possible ‘objections’: groups who might think that the verdict of ch1 does not apply to them. How would you characterise the two groups?

• 2:1-11
• 2:12-3:8

3:9-20 Conclusion. What is the main point Paul has made so far?

NOTE: Days 1-5 of each week contain the scripture reading for that week. Day 6 has just the 'key chapters'. If you want a briefer version of this plan that still takes you through the whole Bible, you could just read the key chapters featured on day 6. Day 7 has the podcast video where we discuss the week's reading.