NLT STUDY SERIES ROMANS
Know the TruthBy Douglas J. Moo Sean A. HarrisonTyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Copyright © 2009 Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4143-2198-1Contents
Series Foreword.................................................................................A5Introduction to the Romans Study................................................................A9How to Use This Study...........................................................................A11Introductory Session The Power of God (Rom 1:16-17).............................................A13WEEK 1 Good News and Bad (Introduction; Rom 1:1-32)...........................................A15WEEK 2 God's Righteous Judgment and All People's Guilt (Rom 2:1-3:20).........................A23WEEK 3 Being Made Right with God by Faith in Jesus Christ (Rom 3:21-4:25).....................A31WEEK 4 Dead to Sin, Alive to God (Rom 5:1-6:14)...............................................A39WEEK 5 Freedom from Sin's Power and the Law's Judgment (Rom 6:15-7:25)........................A47WEEK 6 Eternal Life and Fellowship with God in the Spirit (Rom 8:1-39)........................A55WEEK 7 God's Chosen People (Rom 9:1-29).......................................................A65WEEK 8 Christ as the Climax of Salvation History (Rom 9:30-10:21).............................A73WEEK 9 Israel's Present and Future (Rom 11:1-36)..............................................A81WEEK 10 The Transformed Life (Rom 12:1-13:14)...................................................A89WEEK 11 Scruples and Freedoms (Rom 14:1-15:13)..................................................A97WEEK 12 Paul's Plans, Greetings, and Doxology (Rom 15:14-16:27).................................A105The Letter to the ROMANS from the NLT Study Bible...............................................1888Introduction to the New Living Translation......................................................B1Bible Translation Team..........................................................................B5NLT Study Bible Contributors....................................................................B7
Chapter One
WEEK
ONE Good News and Bad
INTRODUCTION; ROMANS 1:1-32
OUTLINE
DAY 1 ... Romans Introduction DAY 2 ... Romans 1:1-7 DAY 3 ... Romans 1:8-17 DAY 4 ... Romans 1:18-23 DAY 5 ... Romans 1:24-32
Group Session
DAY 1 * Romans Introduction
READING: ROMANS INTRODUCTION, pp. 1888-1892
Begin with prayer, asking God to give you insight, understanding, and an open heart to listen to and follow his word.
STUDY
Read the "Setting" (p. 1888). Why do you think it was important for Paul to address the division between Jewish and Gentile Christians?
Read the "Summary" (pp. 1889-1890). What is the unifying theme of the letter? How does Paul develop this theme throughout the letter?
Read "Paul's Purpose in Writing" (pp. 1890-1891). What were Paul's purposes in writing Romans?
FURTHER STUDY (Optional)
Read the "Interpretation" section (pp. 1891-1892). Do the two schools of thought concerning Romans conflict or harmonize? Is one or the other of them right? Neither? Both? Please explain.
REFLECTION
What questions does the Romans introduction answer for you? What questions does it raise?
What do you think God is saying to you through your study of the Romans introduction?
PRAYER
Talk to God about what you have read, any questions or concerns you might have, and what you think he might be saying to you today. You can write your prayer here if you wish.
DAY 2 * Romans 1:1-7
READING: ROMANS 1:1-7
Begin with prayer, asking God to give you insight, understanding, and an open heart to listen to and follow his word.
STUDY
What did Paul mean in saying that he was "a slave of Christ Jesus" (1:1)? When and how was Paul "chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News"? Why are these claims important for his letter to the Romans?
Why is it significant that God's Son was "born into King David's family line" (1:3-4)? How did Jesus' resurrection show him "to be the Son of God"?
How do people receive grace and peace from God (1:7)? How does this grace and peace change their lives and experiences?
FURTHER STUDY (Optional)
The Greek word for "called" (kletos), according to the word study dictionary in the NLT Study Bible, means "an invitation to someone to accept responsibilities for a particular task or a new relationship. God calls/invites the believer to relationship with him or to a particular role in his Kingdom." Also read Matt 22:14; Rom 8:28; 11:29; 1 Cor 1:2, 26; Eph 1:18; 4:1; 2 Thes 1:11; 2 Tim 1:9; 2 Pet 1:10; Jude 1:1. How do these passages impact your understanding of what it means to be called to belong to Jesus Christ?
REFLECTION
As described in Rom 1:1-7, what has God done for you?
What do you think God is saying to you personally through Rom 1:1-7?
PRAYER
Talk to God about what you have read, any questions or concerns you might have, and what you think he might be saying to you today. You can write your prayer here if you wish.
DAY 3 * Romans 1:8-17
READING: ROMANS 1:8-17
Begin with prayer, asking God to give you insight, understanding, and an open heart to listen to and follow his word.
STUDY
Paul usually includes a thanksgiving and prayer for his readers near the beginning of his letters. In 1:8, about what does he give thanks for the Roman Christians? What does he pray for them?
How would Paul's visiting the Roman Christians encourage each of them (1:10-12)?
What did Paul hope to accomplish with his visit to the Romans (1:13-15)?
How does 1:16-17 fit into the flow of what Paul is saying in ch 1? When Paul says, "For I am not ashamed of this Good News," what in this context would bring him to say that?
FURTHER STUDY (Optional)
The Greek word for "gift" in 1:11 is charisma. The definition of this word in the back of the NLT Study Bible says, "This noun refers to a gift generously and freely given as an expression of the giver's favor. In the NT, it often refers to spiritual gifts given by God to believers for various purposes within the body of Christ." Also read Rom 12:6; 1 Cor 1:7; 7:7; 12:4, 28; 1 Tim 4:14; 2 Tim 1:6; 1 Pet 4:10. How could Paul give a charisma (spiritual gift) to the Roman Christians?
REFLECTION
If Paul were to visit you or your community, what spiritual gift or blessing would he bring to you? How can you receive that same gift or blessing from God now?
What do you think God is saying to you through your study of Rom 1:8-17?
PRAYER
Talk to God about what you have read, any questions or concerns you might have, and what you think he might be saying to you today. You can write your prayer here if you wish.
DAY 4 * Romans 1:18-23
READING: ROMANS 1:18-23
Begin with prayer, asking God to give you insight, understanding, and an open heart to listen to and follow his word.
STUDY
According to the study note on Rom 1:18-3:20, Paul "teaches about universal sinfulness" in this section. That sounds like bad news, so why is teaching about universal sinfulness a part of Paul's explanation of the Good News?
Why, according to 1:18-23, is God angry?
According to 1:19-21, what kinds of things do all people know about God? In what sense do all people "know" God (1:21)? In what sense do they not "know" God (1:20)?
In what sense does not worshiping God result in foolishness, according to 1:21-23?
FURTHER STUDY (Optional)
The word for "anger" (Greek orge) is defined in the back of the NLT Study Bible as follows: "This noun means a strong feeling of displeasure and antagonism, often the response to a standard being violated. This anger can range from an appropriate response of anger against injustice to sinful, selfish anger." Also read Mark 3:5; John 3:36; Rom 2:5, 8; Eph 2:3; 4:31; 5:6; Col 3:8; Rev 6:17; 16:19; 19:15.
What similarities and differences are there between God's anger and human anger?
Read the cross-references on 1:21-23 (Deut 4:15-19; 2 Kgs 17:15; Ps 106:20; Jer 10:14; 1 Cor 1:20; Eph 4:17-18). What do they show you about the connection between worship and wisdom? Between the non-worship of God and foolishness?
REFLECTION
To what extent does Rom 1:18-23 describe you?
What do you think God is saying to you through your study of 1:18-23?
PRAYER
Talk to God about what you have read, any questions or concerns you might have, and what you think he might be saying to you today. You can write your prayer here if you wish.
DAY 5 * Romans 1:24-32
READING: ROMANS 1:24-32
Begin with prayer, asking God to give you insight, understanding, and an open heart to listen to and follow his word.
STUDY
According to 1:24-32, what prompted God to abandon these people? What were the results of God's abandoning them?
Read through the list of vices in 1:28-31 and think about how some of these things are expressed in people's lives and in society today. Can you give examples from things you have seen or heard? Have you experienced any of these things in your own life?
FURTHER STUDY (Optional)
Read 1:24-27 and the study note on 1:26. What is Paul's point in discussing homosexual activity?
Paul says that certain people "suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved." Is this overly harsh? Do people deserve to suffer? What do you make of this?
REFLECTION
Are you in any danger of experiencing God's abandonment? Why or why not?
What response or action is Rom 1:24-32 calling you to right now?
PRAYER
Talk to God about what you have read, any questions or concerns you might have, and what you think he might be saying to you today. You can write your prayer here if you wish.
GROUP SESSION
READING: ROMANS 1:1-32
Read Rom 1:1-32 together as a group.
DISCUSSION
You can use the following questions to guide what you share in the discussion. Give each person at least one opportunity to share with the others.
What did you learn from Rom 1:1-32? What was one thing that stood out to you as you studied this passage? How did Rom 1:1-32 surprise you? Do you have questions about this passage or the study materials that haven't been answered? What does God seem to be saying to you through what you have studied?
TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION
You can choose from among these topics to generate a discussion among the members of your group, or you can write your thoughts about one or more of these topics if you're studying solo.
1. Having studied the introduction and first chapter of Romans, how would you summarize the Good News message?
2. Describe your own relationship with God: What is your story? What is your status with God? In what ways do you know him?
3. For people like those who are described in Rom 1:18-32, is there any hope? Why or why not?
GROUP REFLECTION
What is God saying to us as a group through Rom 1:1-32?
ACTION
What are we going to do, individually or as a group, in response to what God is saying to us?
PRAYER
How should we pray for each other in response to God's message to us in this passage?
Take turns talking to God about this passage and about what he is saying.
NEXT: ROMANS 2:1-3:20 (God's Righteous Judgment and All People's Guilt)
PAUL'S LETTER TO THE ROMANS
Romans has been called the greatest theological document ever written. In this letter, the apostle Paul explains the Good News-the climactic revelation of God to the world through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul reflects on the human condition, on the meaning of our lives on earth, and on our hope for the world to come. He constantly moves us back to the fundamentals of God's truth revealed in Christ, and he teaches us to deal with the problems, failures, and disputes that characterize life in this world.
SETTING
We do not know who first brought the Good News to Rome. Perhaps Jews from Rome who were converted when God first poured out his Spirit on the day of Pentecost (see Acts 2:10) took the message back to their home city. Several "house churches" quickly grew up, made up primarily of converts from Judaism.
In AD 49, the Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome-including Jewish Christians (see Acts 18:2). Although Paul had never visited Rome (1:13), in his travels he met some of these Roman Christians, such as Priscilla and Aquila (16:3-4; cp. Acts 18:2).
Claudius's decree eventually lapsed, so by the time Paul wrote his letter to the Romans, many Jewish Christians had returned to Rome. However, in their absence the Gentile Christians had taken the lead in the Christian community in Rome. Therefore, when Paul wrote to the Roman Christians (probably about AD 57), the Roman Christian community was divided into two major factions. The Gentile Christians now comprised the majority group, and they were naturally less concerned about continuity with the OT or with the demands of the law of Moses than their Jewish brothers and sisters. They even looked down on the Jewish Christians (see 11:25). The minority Jewish Christians, for their part, reacted to the Gentile-Christian majority by insisting on adherence to certain aspects of the law of Moses. Paul wrote this letter to the Roman Christians to address this theological and social division, a schism that had at its heart the question of continuity and discontinuity between Jewish and Christian faith.
SUMMARY
In the introduction of the letter (1:1-17), Paul identifies himself and his readers (1:1-7), expresses thanks for the Roman Christians (1:8-15), and introduces the theme of the letter: the "Good News about Christ" (1:16-17).
Before elaborating on this Good News, Paul sets out the dark backdrop of universal human sinfulness that makes the Good News necessary. Both Gentiles (1:18-32) and Jews (2:1-3:8) have turned away from God's revelation of himself. All are "under the power of sin" and cannot be made right with God by anything they do (3:9-20).
Into this hopeless situation comes the Good News, which reveals a new "way to be made right" with God. God provided this new way by sending Jesus as a sacrifice for sin, and all human beings can gain the benefits of that sacrifice by faith (3:21-26). Paul highlights the centrality of faith and its nature in 3:27-4:25. He shows that faith excludes boasting and that it enables both Jews and Gentiles to have equal access to God's grace in Christ (3:27-31). He develops these same points through reference to Abraham (4:1-25).
In chs 5-8, Paul discusses the assurance or security of salvation. The assurance that believers will share God's glory (5:1-11) is based on the way in which Jesus Christ more than reversed the terrible effects of Adam's sin (5:1221). Neither sin (6:1-23) nor the law (7:1-25) can prevent God from accomplishing his purposes for the believer. The Holy Spirit liberates believers from death (8:1-17) and assures them that the sufferings of this life will not keep them from the glory to which God has destined them (8:18-39).
The Good News can only truly be "good news" if the message of Christ stands in continuity with God's promises in the OT. But the unbelief of so many Jews might show that God's promises to Israel are not being fulfilled (9:1-5). So, in chs 9-11, Paul demonstrates that God is being faithful to his promises. God had never promised salvation to all Jews, but only to a remnant (9:6-29). The Jews themselves are responsible for their predicament because they refuse to recognize the fulfillment of God's promises in Christ (9:30-10:21). Furthermore, God is faithfully preserving a remnant of Jewish believers (11:1-10), and God has still more to accomplish for his people Israel (11:11-36).
The Good News rescues people from the penalty of sin, and it also transforms a person's life. In 12:1-15:13, Paul turns his attention to the transforming power of the Good News. In keeping with God's mercies, this transformation demands a whole new way of thinking and living (12:1-2). The transformed life will be fleshed out in community harmony (12:38), manifestations of love (12:9-21; cp. 13:8-10), and submission to the government (13:1-7). The transformed life derives its power from the work God has already done, as well as from the work he has yet to do (13:11-14).
(Continues...)
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