Romans Introduction

I. Preliminary QuestionsA. Who Wrote It1. The Apostle PaulB. When Was It Written2. Winter A.D. 57-58C. Who Was it Written To3. The church in RomeD. Why Was It Written1. To prepare the Roman believers for his visit2. To change his base of operations to Rome3. To provide the church with a firm theological grounding4. To resolve Jew/Gentile tension5. To vindicate God’s righteousness6. To preserve the gospel before he died7. To insulate the Romans from false teachersE. What is the Primary Theme1. The righteousness of God has been revealed and that people can enterinto this righteousness through the gospel (1:16-17)F. What is Unique About It1. How man could obtain God’s righteousness2. The most theological of all of Paul’s letters3. The most theological treatment of the gospel4. It discusses a broad range of subjects5. It is the most formal of Paul’s letters6. It is the longest of all of Paul’s letters7. It draws extensively from Old Testament citations8. To a church he had not founded or even visited at the time of writing9. Has had a tremendous influence on prominent Christians in historyG. Presuppositions1. God is the Holy One, the Creator, the Sustainer, and the sovereignRuler of the universe.H. Romans and Systematic Theology1. Bibliology – The Doctrine of the Scriptures2. Theology Proper – The Doctrine of God3. Christology – The Doctrine of the Son4. Pneumatology – The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit5. Satanology – The Doctrine of Satan6. Anthropology – The Doctrine of Man7. Soteriology – The Doctrine of Salvation8. Hamartiology – The Doctrine of Sin9. Israelology – The Doctrine of Israel10. Ecclesiology – The Doctrine of the Church11. Eschatology – The Doctrine of the Last DaysII. Outline1. Justification: Past tense of salvation (Chapters 1-8)2. Sanctification: Present tense of salvation (Chapters 1-8)3. Glorification: Future tense of salvation (Chapters 1-8)4. God’s relationship to Israel (Chapters 9-11)5. Application (Chapters 12-16