The Book of Romans - Lesson 1 - Introduction

1. THE WRITING OF ROMANS
1. Written by Paul (Romans 1:1; Romans 11:13; cp. Acts 9:15)
2. Written to the Church at Rome (Romans 1:7-8)
3. Written From Corinth (Romans 16:13; cp. 1 Corinthians 1:14; 2 Timothy 4:20)
4. Written as Paul Headed for Jerusalem (Romans 15:25-26; Acts 20:1-3, 22)
5. Written Down by Tertius (Romans 16:22)
6. Written in Anticipation of a Coming Visit (Romans 1:9-13; Romans 15:22-24)
7. Theme: To Present Salvation and Righteousness Through the Gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16-17)
2. FREQUENTLY OCCURRING WORDS
1. More Often Than Any Book in the Bible
1. Law (see Romans 4:15; Romans 7:7, 12) 78 times
2. Grace (see Romans 3:24) 24 times
3. Faith (see Romans 1:17; Romans 5:1; Romans 10:17) 39 times
4. Justification (see Romans 4:25) only Biblical references: 3 times
5. Justified (see Romans 3:20, 24, 28) 10 times
6. Gospel (see Romans 1:1, 16) 13 times
7. Christ (see Romans 1:16; Romans 5:8) 67 times
2. More Often Than Any New Testament Book
1. Sin (see Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23) 44 times
2. Righteousness (see Romans 3:25) 39 times
3. Dead (see Romans 6:7-11) 25 times   (NOTE: References to Jew and Gentile are second only to Acts in the New Testament)
3. OUTLINE OF THE BOOK
1. Condemnation (Romans 1-3) - mankind is proven to be under sin as first the Gentiles are condemned (chapter 1), then the Jews (chapter 2), and finally all men are shown to have the same condemnation (chapter 3).
2. Justification (Romans 4-5) - yet man is not left without hope; justification is offered by faith (chapter 4) through Jesus Christ (chapter 5).
3. Sanctification (Romans 6-8) - but salvation is more than justification; the believer is now shown how to live a life that is dead to sin (chapter 6) and the law (chapter 7), yet alive to Christ (chapter 8).
4. Dispensation (Romans 9-11) - what about Israel? Israel has not been forgotten: her election (chapter 9), rejection (chapter 10), and future reception (chapter 11) are explained and verified.
5. Exhortation (Romans 12-14) - now practical training is given to the believers. They are to fulfill their responsibility to God (chapter 12), to the world (chapter 13), and to their Christian brethren (chapter 14).
6. Application (Romans 15-16) - Paul closes the book with a personal reference to his ministry (chapter 15) and individual salutations (chapter 16).

MEMORY VERSE:  Romans 1:16

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.