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General questions to start the discussion:
- For those who read chapter 1:
- What were your impressions of the reading? What particular message stood out?
- How did chapter 1 make you feel? What inspired you the most? What bothered you the most?
- For those unfamiliar with Romans:
- Is there anything you would like to share, even if it’s not directly related to the readings?
- To you, what is the meaning of life?
- To you, who is Jesus?
- What does God want you to do?
- What do you want God to do in your life?
Open-ended questions for those not familiar with Romans:
- Some say the "gospel" (which literally means "good news") is the primary theme of Romans. To you, what is the gospel?
- If the gospel is from God, what good news does He have for you?
- What does it mean to "share the gospel?"
- If you are a Christian, what happened to you when you first believed the gospel message?
- If you are not a Christian, how does it make you feel when someone shares the gospel with you?
- Many believe that "justification through faith" is a major aspect of the gospel. What does that mean?
- When you hear the phrase, "the righteousness of God," what goes through your mind?
- Scholar John Stott describes three ways of viewing God's righteousness:
- A divine attribute of God: He is intrinsically righteous.
- The activity of God: His actions are righteous.
- The gift of righteousness that God bestows on believers.
- What do you think the gift of righteousness is?
- Who was the apostle Paul (also called Saul)? What was he like before becoming a Christian? What was his conversion like? What was his calling as a Christian? (for answers, read Acts 7:58-8:3, Acts 9:1-22, Galatians 1:11-24, Ephesians 3:1-8, Philippians 3:4-8
- What did Paul think about the Roman Christians and what did he hope for them? vv. 7-10
- How could verses 11 and 12 be applied to this group?
- Douglas Moo, John Stott, and many other commentators view verses 16-17 as the theme or thesis statement of Romans -- the theme being the gospel. What do you think verses 16-17 are saying?
- Paul mentions the word “gospel” (from Greek euangelion, which means "good news") and the pronoun “it” (referring to the gospel) in verses 1, 9, 15, 16 and 17. How does he describe the gospel in these passages?
- Write your own concise definition of the gospel, based on Romans 1, as well as other Scripture that you're aware of.
- Based on your definition of the gospel, ask yourself:
- If this is the first time I've understood the gospel, how should I respond to it?
- If I'm a Christian, what happened when I first believed the gospel?
- How does the Gospel affect a Christian's life after conversion?
- What is meant by the “righteousness of God?”
- The NIV offers a different take on verses 16-17. "16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness of God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.'”
- How does the NIV influence the meaning of the word “righteousness” in verse 17?
- Scholar Douglas Moo points out that in the original Greek, justify, righteous and righteousness all share the common root: dikai-
- Dikaioo: justify
- Dikaiosyne: righteousness
- Dikaios: righteous
Questions concerning Romans 1:18-32
Open-ended questions for those not familiar with Romans:
Open-ended questions for those not familiar with Romans:
- Do you think the apostle Paul is correct in Romans 1:19-20, that God is revealed in the natural world? Why or why not?
- Verses 22-24 seems to indicate that idol worship (worshiping images, false gods or things) is the sin that spawns other sins. Why is that?
- What kinds of idols do humans worship today?
- In verses 18-32, a long list of sins is mentioned. In fact, it's the longest continuous list of sins in the New Testament. Why do you think Paul emphasizes all this sin?
- Do you think God is justified in his wrath against sinful humanity? Why or why not?
- If you see a sin in the list that applies to you, do you think the Romans epistle will show a way for you to escape God's wrath? (I'll give you the answer: Yes! Read ahead to Romans 3:19-25) What is this rescue from our sin?
Questions for those familiar with Romans:
- Who is the wrath of God revealed against?
- Why are they the objects of God’s wrath?
- God's wrath is described in the present tense in these verses. How is it being revealed to the described people?
- What truth are these people suppressing?
- How did they respond to this general revelation?
- In verses 24, 26 and 28 it says “God gave them up to….” What does that mean and why did God give them up?
- Timothy Keller writes, “But in verse 24, we discover how God’s wrath is being revealed in the present. God’s judgment on godlessness and wickedness is to give us what we want. He ‘gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts.’”
- How does this dirty laundry list of sins make you feel?
- Back in verses 16 and 17, Paul writes that salvation and righteousness are given to us through faith. Why does Paul abruptly switch from that positive message to all this negativity about God’s wrath against the sins of humanity?
- If the Gospel is such good news, then why in Romans 1:18-3:20 does Paul dwell on such really bad stuff like human sin and God's wrath?
- Is Paul's primary purpose of the long "sin list" to shame the Roman church (and us) into better behavior? If yes, why? If no, then what is Paul's purpose? (hint: read Romans 3:19-25)
- How are modern human beings similar or different than those Paul describes in vv. 18-32?
RESOURCES:
- Lots of commentaries are available. See Amazon.
- Timothy Keller: Romans 1-7 For You; (great for beginners)
- John R.W. Stott: The Message of Romans; (intermediate level)
- Douglas Moo: The Epistle to the Romans; (scholar level)
- F.F. Bruce: The Letter of Paul to the Romans; intermediate/scholar level)
- Audio/video (free):
- www.biblicaltraining.org , Romans, taught by Douglas Moo. (great video lecture series!)
- www.allsouls.org , John Stott sermons on Romans
- www.monergism.com , Martyn Lloyd-Jones sermons on Romans
- www.monergism.com , Tom Browning, Lessons on Romans (if you like Texas talk)
ROMANS CHAPTER ONE (English Standard Version):Greeting
1 Paul, a servant[fn] of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David[fn] according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Longing to Go to Rome
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— 12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,[fn] that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians,[fn] both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
The Righteous Shall Live by Faith
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith,[fn] as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”[fn]
God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,[fn] in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
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