Paul and His Letter to the Romans: Part One (Romans 1-5)

This lecture treats Romans 1–4 as a single symphony, showing how the gospel of Jesus unveils the righteousness of God and fulfills the covenant promises to Abraham.

Paul presents himself as a slave of King Jesus and proclaims the gospel, the risen Son of God and Messiah, rooted in Israel's scriptures for all nations.

Paul outlines his planned visit to Rome, prays for their faith, and proclaims the gospel as God's power for salvation to the Jew first and to the Greek.

Explore how God's wrath is revealed against ungodliness, as creation reveals his power, people fail to honor him, exchange truth for lies, and face judgment based on deeds and conscience.

Paul outlines God's impartial judgment, reveals the secrets of the heart, and explains how the gospel unveils history, linking the present age to the age to come.

Paul challenges reliance on the law and circumcision, showing true Jew by heart and spirit, not flesh, and warns such hypocrisy harms God's name among the nations.

Examine how the Jews' advantage with God's oracles highlights faithfulness versus unfaithfulness, and show that the law reveals sin and that no one is in the right before God.

Explore how Paul shows Jews and Gentiles are under sin, how the law reveals sin, and how the righteousness of God remains faithful through the gospel of Jesus the Messiah.

Explore how Romans 3:21–4:25 demonstrates God's faithfulness to the Abrahamic covenant. Show how the Messiah's faithfulness includes Gentiles and Jews in the renewed covenant and forgiveness of sins.

Examine Romans 3:21–31 with Professor N. T. Wright, revealing God’s covenant justice through Jesus’s faithfulness for all who have faith, apart from works.

Romans 3:21–26 shows God's covenant justice unveiled in the present through Jesus' faithfulness, enabling justification by faith for all who believe and exposing the gospel now.

Explore how Romans 3:21-26 presents covenant renewal through the death of Jesus, linking redemption, justification, and the new exodus, with gentiles included in the gracious covenant.

Paul argues that justification comes by faith apart from the works of the law, uniting Jews and gentiles into one family through the Messiah.

Explore Abraham’s faith counted as righteousness, not works or the law, and how covenant justice through faith makes him father of all believers, applying to us who believe in Jesus.

Explore Romans 4 through Genesis 15, showing Abraham's faith as the basis of the covenant, welcoming both Jews and Gentiles, with sins forgiven as the core of the new family.

Paul presents Romans 5–8 as a forward-looking arc from justification to glorification, linking reconciliation and peace with God to a new humanity empowered by the Spirit.

Experience right standing by faith and peace with God through Christ, and receive grace that sustains you through suffering, produces patience, forms character, and fuels hope through the Holy Spirit.

Explore how Paul presents Romans 5:1-11 as a rosebud opening to reveal assurance, peace with God, and the Holy Spirit.

Paul traces the Adam-to-Messiah arc, showing how sin’s reign yields grace that reigns in life for all who are justified by faith within the kingdom of God.

Explores the gospel of God in Romans 1–4, explaining its Isaiah roots, the diatribe style, covenant faithfulness, and how Abraham’s faith justifies the Gentiles.

Examines Genesis 15:6 and the covenantal concept of righteousness, tracing rabbinic and early Christian readings and Paul's claim that justification comes in Christ through the Spirit.