Where We've Been Through the First Five Chapters of Romans
A review of Romans 1-5.
I’ve enjoyed our study of Romans, and Lord willing, I look forward to continuing to study this book together!
Let’s look back over Romans 1-5 and remember what we have studied so far.
Remember the Theme of Romans.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17)
Every time we review a chapter of Romans, I remind us of God’s theme in this book. These two verses are truly the theme and foundation of Romans.
Outline of Romans 1-5.
Here’s a brief rundown of where we’ve been in the first five chapters of Romans.
Romans 1
Paul’s greeting to the church in Rome (Romans 1:1-7).
Paul’s desire to see the church in Rome face-to-face (Romans 1:8-15).
The gospel of Christ is the theme (Romans 1:16-17).
God's wrath and righteous Judgment upon the Gentile’s sin (Romans 1:18-32).
Romans 2
God's righteous, impartial Judgment will be according to everyone’s deeds (Romans 2:1-16).
The Jews’ knowledge of the law and circumcision would grant them no special treatment at the Judgment, for they, too, had sinned (Romans 2:17-29).
Romans 3
God is the faithful Judge, so His justice can be trusted (Romans 3:1-8).
All have sinned, so all stand guilty before the Judge (Romans 3:9-20).
The guilty ones can be justified by Christ Jesus, demonstrating God's righteousness (Romans 3:21-26).
Justification through Christ eliminates any boasting in self on the part of the justified ones (Romans 3:27-31).
Romans 4
Abraham and David were justified by faith (Romans 4:1-8).
Abraham is the father of the faithful to the Jew and the Gentile (Romans 4:9-12).
The promise to Abraham is through the righteousness of faith, not through the law (Romans 4:13-25)
Romans 5
We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and it’s through His death for us that God demonstrates His love for us (Romans 5:1-11).
While death reigned through the abounding of sin, life reigned through the abounding of God’s grace through His Son, and His grace far exceeds sin (Romans 5:12-21).
Some thoughts about Romans 1-5.
I’ll be honest with you - there’s some rather difficult passage in Romans 5. I hope I interpreted them correctly, but it’s possible I got some things wrong. So I hope you always study God’s Word for yourself and don’t take my word for it - because I can be wrong.
I try my best to interpret God’s Word faithfully, but I’m human and sometimes make mistakes.
I do believe the emphasis of Romans 5 is showing the blessing the justified have in Jesus Christ and how what He has done overwhelmingly surpasses the problem we have with sin.
There’s nowhere else to turn - and there’s no one else we need to go to - because Jesus Christ is the solution for our sin problem.
And thank God for that!