Summary of Romans

I’m continuing to enjoy studying Romans.  This is day # 40 for me.  I can’t recommend this enough.  Just taking the time to read a portion of scripture over and over can teach you SO much.  Romans is an especially important book for witnessing and understanding the gospel and our identity in Christ, but this could totally apply to any book – or part of a book – of the Bible.  So, here is my summary of the book.  Several other study methods that I’ve found helpful this time around are:

*word studies – looking up the word in the dictionary (especially Webster’s 1828) & then in Strong’s Concordance (look if you use a different translation than the KJV, like I do, then look up the number that goes with the word that is used there, so you can get an idea how the Greek word is used and what it means).  Blueletterbible.org is great for this!

*marking in my Bible,

*and, of course, memorizing.

I’m still working on getting an outline that I’m happy with, but if I come up with one I’ll probably post it here.

Here’s my summary:

In the book of Romans, the apostle Paul writes to the church at Rome.  He greets them and tells of his longing to visit them.  Paul them explains that God is clearly visible to all men in the things He has made, but men still choose to disobey Him and therefore bring His wrath on themselves.  He goes on to say that this even includes the Jews, who have God’s law, because the outward signs of the law are not enough.  It is the circumcision of the heart by the Holy Spirit that counts.  God is utterly faithful and jut, but all men have sinned – and sin brings death.  There is a solution though: we can be justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  Paul, uses the example of Abraham to prove that just as Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness before he was circumcised (Genesis 15), we can also be justified by faith apart from works.  Because of this we – who have been justified by faith – now have peace, joy, and hope as a result of Christ’s sacrifice.  He explains that one man’s sin brought death into the world, but one man’s righteousness brought life.  having been baptized in Jesus we died with Him to sin, but are alive with Him to God.  There fore we should offer our bodies to God as “instruments of righteousness” instead of offering them to sin.  You are either a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness.  And it is far better, Paul argues, to be a slave to righteousness, because it leads to holiness and eternal life while sin brings shame.  Through Christ Jesus we have also died to the law, so we now serve through the Spirit.  The law was holy and showed us what sin was, but sin put us to death through the law.  The law is now fulfilled in us who live by the Spirit.  We have the Spirit of Christ who is also the Spirit of Sonship and is interceding for us.  We have our minds set on what the Spirit desires.  The whole creation, Paul says, is groaning and waiting with us, but God is working for our good and nothing can separate us from His love.  We are truly more than conquerors through Him!