- Romans overview (video): Part 1, Part 2
- What is Romans?
- Romans contains letters from Paul to the churches of Rome.
- The church of Rome had existed for a long time and was made up of Jews and Gentiles. Emperor Claudius had banished the Jews from the church for 5 years. When the Jews returned there was a split between Gentiles and Jews in how they should follow Jesus and practice their faiths. Paul’s letters were an attempt to explain his faith and unite the Jews and the Gentiles into one faith worshiping Jesus. Paul hoped the Roman churches could become a staging ground to enable Paul to expand the church into Spain and beyond.
- Romans is structured as follows:
- Books 1-4: Revealing God’s Righteousness
- Books 5-8: Creating a New Humanity
- Books 9-11: Fulfilling God’s Promise to Israel
- Books 12-16: Unifying the Church
Romans 4
Your righteousness is not because of anything you can earn through good deeds. You are saved only because you’ve accepted Jesus Christ as you’re savior and God forgives your sin because of it.
This blessing is for both the Jews and gentiles. The old Jewish laws such as circumcision are no longer required to be saved.
