Where We've Been Through the First Twelve Chapters of Romans
A review of Romans 1-12.
Twelve chapters down, four to go!
Romans 12 began what’s sometimes called the “practical section” of the book. Paul reminded Christians that we are supposed to be “living sacrifices” to God, which extends into our daily lives.
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)
Paul hasn’t stepped away from the theme of the gospel. What he has done, beginning in Romans 12, is show what a life lived according to the gospel looks like.
Outline of Romans 1-12.
Here’s a brief outline of where we’ve been in the first twelve 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).
Romans 6
We shouldn’t sin that God’s grace may abound because we have been set free from sin and died to it (Romans 6:1-14).
We shouldn’t sin to take advantage of grace because we serve a new Master now (Romans 6:15-23).
Romans 7
The necessity of being set free and delivered from the Law through the body of Christ Jesus (Romans 7:1-6).
The relationship between the Law and sin, and while the Law was good - it could not set a person free from sin (Romans 7:7-25).
Romans 8
The Christian’s new life in Christ means no longer living according to the ways of the flesh but according to the way of the Spirit - which includes suffering with Christ (Romans 8:1-17).
The future glory of the Christian far outweighs the suffering in this life, and God concerns Himself with His people’s suffering and continues to love them through their suffering (Romans 8:18-39).
Romans 9
Paul is deeply grieved by Israel’s rejection of Christ and the gospel despite receiving many benefits and blessings from God (Romans 9:1-5).
A misconception among many of the Jewish people was that they were “God’s nation” simply because they were physical Jews. Paul reminds them that this is not the case - and that God’s decision on this matter is just and consistent with the Scriptures (Romans 9:6-29).
Many Jews failed to attain righteousness because they did not pursue it by faith but by works of the law (Romans 9:30-33).
Romans 10
Paul’s desire and prayer to God for the nation of Israel is that they may be saved (Romans 10:1).
But they are not saved because they tried to establish their own righteousness rather than submit to God’s righteousness in the gospel (Romans 10:2-17).
Their stubborn refusal to obey the gospel was foretold by the prophets (Romans 10:18-21).
Romans 11
God has not rejected His people - which refers to the remnant of the faithful, not the entire physical nation of Israel (Romans 11:1-10).
Paul warns the Gentile Christians not to be arrogant toward the Jewish people - whom God still desired to save (Romans 11:11-24).
God’s mercy is freely offered to everyone who will turn to Him through His Son (Romans 11:25-32).
Who can fathom the depths of God’s wisdom and ways? (Romans 11:33-36).
Romans 12
Christians are to be living sacrifices for God, transformed by Him and not molded by this world (Romans 12:1-2).
Christians must not think too highly of the gifts God has given them, but they also must use the gifts God has graciously given them (Romans 12:3-8).
What genuine love looks like among Christians (Romans 12:9-16).
How Christians ought to treat those who persecute and mistreat them (Romans 12:17-21).
Some thoughts about Romans 1-12.
Paul spends a lot of time getting Christians to think about how they live their lives and how they treat others in Romans 12.
The gospel calls Christians to be living sacrifices for God, regardless of how we might be treated by the world, or even by our own brethren.
As we move into Romans 13, Paul will address what it means to be a living sacrifice for God when interacting with our government. It’s a much-needed message still today.
