The Book of Romans

The theme of this book is justification of the believer by faith. Paul wrote to a church he had not met. From ch 1 – 11, he laid down the doctrines concerning our position in Christ and from ch 12 – 16, he gave practical advice. The key verse is found in Rom 1:17, “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."


This was a verse that propelled Martin Luther to bring about the Reformation movement. His eyes were opened to see that God’s righteousness did not condemn but rather justifies the sinner. He was freed from the idea that we need to do our very best before God will help us. Instead he saw God as one who freely justifies us by faith in Christ Jesus.

Justification has two aspects:

1. Believer having his sins removed (just as if he’d never sinned).

2. Believer in “right standing” before God (declared righteous in Christ).

A quick overview as you read this book:

The need for right standing is argued in Rom 1:18-3:21
What is right standing before God? (Rom 3:21-5:21)
How does this right standing affect me? (Rom 6 – 8)
If this right standing is so simple, why didn’t the Jews accept it? (Rom 9 – 11)
Practical rules for a person in right standing with God (Rom 12 – 16)

The book of Romans claarly spells out that none of us are in right standing before God (Rom 3:23) and that we need to put our faith in Christ, in order that He may impart His righteousness and Spirit in us. It is the Holy Spirit who would enable us to live a life that is pleasing before God. As we listen and yield to the Holy Spirit, we would produce fruits in keeping with repentance. This is what James was trying to get at, that we should show forth our faith with actions. Hence James’ treatise on justification by works does not contradict Paul’s eloquent argument on faith in Christ being the basis of our salvation.  If we say we're Christians, then we should show forth our faith by our love for God and our fellow men.