The Book of Romans – Introduction
📖 Romans: Deep Gospel, Deep Impact
Part One: Introduction
Introduction to Our Study
Read: Romans 10:13-15
When we think of Paul’s letters, we often imagine him writing to churches he planted himself. But the book of Romans is different. Paul didn’t start the church in Rome. It was established by other early Christians. Paul intended to visit the churches in Rome, so he writes to these churches in order to introduce himself. But, he has more than that in mind. His planned visit was a part of a bigger plan Paul had to take the Gospel to the country of Spain, which for him represented taking the Gospel to the farthest corners of the world. Paul was hoping the churches in Rome would assist him in achieving that goal. So, he writes to them to introduce himself, telling them more about his plans and mission, and giving them a sense of what he intended to teach.
But Paul had another reason for writing.
The Roman churches were fractured.
Divisions had set in.
The unity of Christ’s body was under pressure.
And Paul knew that nothing short of a fresh encounter with the Gospel—the deep, rich, powerful Gospel—could heal them. Paul believed that by going back to the basics of their own faith, they would find that the Gospel provided everything needed to help them restore unity to their congregations.
🌍 Setting the Stage: Division and Return
The earliest Christians in Rome were Jewish followers of Jesus. For years, they formed the backbone of the Roman church. But in A.D. 49, the Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from the city. That was about 20 percent of the city, shifting the cultural and religious landscape in dramatic ways. This caused enormous problems economically and socially. For the church it meant that the Gentile minority was suddenly the majority. Suddenly, the church leadership shifted. Gentile believers had to step up—and they did.
When the edict was lifted five years later, under Emperor Nero, Jewish believers returned to find a church that looked and felt very different. New customs. New leadership. New assumptions.
For five years, the Church in Rome was entirely a Gentile led mission. When the Jewish believers returned, they found their churches radically changed. The newcomers were now running the show and this caused a lot of hard feelings.
The older, Jewish believers felt like their church had been high-jacked, and that the newcomers had changed way too much. Among the older believers, there was a sense that things should go back to the way things were.
This created some deep wounds in the church.
- Some Jewish believers felt displaced in their own spiritual home.
- Some Gentile believers assumed the future belonged to them alone.
In this fragile moment, Paul writes the book of Romans—not just to teach doctrine, but to re-center them around the Gospel.
In Christ, he argues, there is more that unites them than divides them.
🛤️ The Deep Gospel Paul Preaches
Paul’s message is not simply, “Believe in Jesus and go to heaven.”
It’s bigger. Deeper. More dangerous.
Drawing from the biblical story—from Abraham to Moses to the prophets—Paul shows that God’s plan was never simply to rescue individuals, but to heal the world through the Messiah.
- Michael Gorman highlights that Paul’s vision of salvation is participation in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus—being transformed into a community that mirrors the cross-shaped love of Christ.
- N.T. Wright reminds us that Romans retells the covenant story—God’s faithfulness to Israel, fulfilled and expanded through the faithful obedience of Jesus.
- Mark Nanos helps us see that Paul speaks as a loyal Jew, not rejecting his heritage, but showing how Jesus is the long-awaited fulfillment of Israel’s hope.
The cross creates a new humanity.
Not by erasing differences, but by making unity in Christ the foundation that matters most.
Outline of the Key Ideas.
The Biblical Story Has Always Been About God Seeking Us.
Deuteronomy 30:11-4
As we read from Deuteronomy, the Biblical message is not that we should go looking for God and try figuring out who or what God is, so that we might possibly find Him. The Biblical message is that God has come looking for us and that he has made himself accessible and available to the human race. God has drawn near.
The tragedy of the Biblical story is that the human race has rebelled against God and has ruptured the relationship we had with God. But the distance from God that the human race now experiences is not due to God pulling away from us. No. God has and is reaching out, so that all may know him.
Paul gives us an example in Romans 1:18-20
“But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”
We try to bend and reshape God to fit into our own ideas and desires, warping ourselves in the process. Paul writes in Romans 1:21-23
“Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.”
Though we were created to live in relationship to God, and despite the fact that the human heart is restless until it finds its rest in God, the human race rejected the one thing it needed most: God’s companionship. Paul will go on to talk about this in detail over the next two chapters.
All People Are Guilty of This – Even Those Who Should Know Better
Paul writes in Romans 3:9-12
“Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin. As the Scriptures say,
“No one is righteous—
not even one.
No one is truly wise;
no one is seeking God.
All have turned away;
all have become useless.
No one does good,
not a single one.”
Paul reminds the Christians in Rome that sin is the universal condition of all of humankind, Jew and Gentile alike. God did not choose the Jewish people because they were spiritually superior to Gentiles. God chose them as an act of grace.
And God gave the Law to the Jews, not so that they could save themselves by being good, but so that they could see the written plan of what God intended them and all of humankind to be; holy.
But, the fact that Jews are also sinners and had rebelled against the God they were supposed to love, does not mean that God rejected the Jewish people, simply because Jesus died at the hands of some of their leaders. Some Gentile Christians, then and now, believed that God had turned his back on the Jewish people because of their role in Jesus’ death. But, in crucifying Jesus, they were simply acting out the condition found in every human heart. Here, we must also point out that not every Jew rejected Jesus, and, it was actually Gentile Romans who carried out the execration. The point is, this is exactly what we would expect sinful humanity to do in response to God’s Son making himself known to them. Sin is the Bible’s shorthand word for all that is wrong with planet earth and with the human race. And sin is so pervasive that not one person can say that he or she is simply innocent before God.
Unless God had done something radical to save the human race, every last one of us would have been lost and the fate of planet earth would have been very bleak.
But here is where the goodness of the Gospel comes in. For the next seven chapters Paul will talk about the plan God has set in motion to redeem humankind and to save planet earth. The center piece, the linchpin, can be summed up this way:
Good News for the World
Paul writers in Romans 5:1-6
“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.”
Through the Cross of Calvary, Jesus has done for us what we could not have done for ourselves. He did all that was necessary to save us, to redeem us, to place us back into a right relationship to himself and to each other, and he not only made it possible for us to get into heaven, but made it possible for heaven to get into us through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Paul reminds the Christians at Rome of what they already knew. They have been given the best news the world has ever received. They know it and they have experienced it personally, both Gentile and Jewish Christian alike. And it is that message of salvation that unites them in love and in mission to the world. Such unity should be immune to other forces trying to tear them apart.
Besides, he tells them, the same message which has changed their lives has now been entrusted to them. They are now responsible for taking this message to the world. How can they find time to argue about such petty issues when there is a world waiting out there for someone to tell them the good news of Jesus?
Unify and Get Back to Work
The Church does not have the luxury to indulge in unnecessary infighting. There is a lost world to reach with the good news of the Gospel. Paul writes in
Romans 10:13-15:
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”
Let’s unpack this by taking this passage in reverse, to see how the Gospel works.
Step One: Verse 15 says that God sends his servants. That would be people like you and me.
Step Two: Verse 14 – What do these servants do? They tell the message. They share the good news about Jesus.
Step Three: Verse 14 – When God’s servants share the message, people hear about Jesus. But people can’t hear if they are not told. And the servants cannot tell the message if they do not go in response to being sent by God.
Step Four: Verse 13 – When people hear the message, they then believe the message. Now this, of course, doesn’t mean every person will accept Jesus. But the anticipated response is that many will. But people cannot believe a message they have not been told. And the message cannot be told if a messenger does not go.
Step Five: Verse 13 – When hearers believe they call upon the Lord and are saved. But they cannot call upon the Lord, if they do not believe in Him. And they cannot believe in someone they have not been told about. And they cannot hear about him unless someone is willing to share with them, by first going to them.
This is a fool proof plan. It is iron-clad. It is a nearly perfect plan. In fact, it has only one weakness. The only place where it can possibly break down is with the first step. Everything else about the plan God has promised to make happen. The only place the plan can breakdown is if God’s people, his messengers, refuse to go.
Paul message to the Roman churches is this: You do not have the time nor the luxury of sitting around fighting over little differences. There is a whole world waiting on you to get busy sharing the Gospel. Now, there is so much more to Romans than this, but we will stop here for now.
💬 Why Romans Matters Now
Paul’s letter still speaks today because the church is still tempted to divide over background, tradition, preference, and pride.
Romans calls us back to the basics:
- God has come looking for us.
- The human race is broken and rebellious—but God has acted in mercy.
- Through Jesus, all people—Jew and Gentile, old and young, broken and proud—are invited into a new family.
- And this family is now sent into the world as God’s agents of renewal.
Paul’s chain of logic in Romans 10 still rings out:
“How can they call on one they have not believed in?
How can they believe without hearing?
How can they hear without someone preaching?
And how can they preach unless they are sent?”
We are not called to sit around arguing about what divides us.
We are called to get moving—because there is a world waiting to hear the good news.
✍️ A Word to Begin
In this study, we are going to walk slowly and carefully through Romans.
We will ask questions. We will wrestle with hard ideas.
We will let Paul’s radical vision confront and change us.
Because the Gospel is not a shallow message.
It is the deep well we were meant to drink from.
And when we do, we will find that God has not only saved us—but called us into something bigger than we ever imagined.
🔍 Understanding the Text and Its Context
- Why do you think Paul chose to write such a detailed letter to a church he didn’t plant?
What does that say about his priorities and his relationship with the broader Christian movement? - How did the historical backdrop of Claudius’s expulsion of Jews impact the dynamics in the Roman church?
Can you think of similar tensions in churches today—where cultural, generational, or leadership shifts cause friction? - What does Paul’s decision to confront division by re-centering on the Gospel tell us about the role of doctrine in healing community conflict?
Why might that be more effective than simply urging unity for unity’s sake?
🔥 Reflecting on the Deep Gospel
- Paul presents the Gospel as far more than a private ticket to heaven. How does his larger vision of salvation—as God’s plan to redeem all creation—change the way you think about being a Christian?
- N.T. Wright, Michael Gorman, and Mark Nanos each highlight different dimensions of Paul’s theology. Which insight challenged or resonated most with you, and why?
- How does the idea that God is seeking us (rather than waiting for us to find Him) change how we view evangelism, prayer, or personal faith?
👥 Applying to Community Life
- What modern-day issues are causing division in the church (local or global)?
How might a renewed focus on the Gospel help us move beyond them? - Paul says both Jews and Gentiles are guilty of sin—and both are recipients of grace. How can that truth help us move past spiritual pride, judgment, or exclusion in today’s church?
- Why is it so easy to get distracted by religious preferences, traditions, or turf wars?
What practical steps can a congregation take to stay mission-focused like Paul is urging?
✝️ Responding to the Call
- Walk through Paul’s five-step logic in Romans 10:13–15. Where do you most clearly see yourself in that chain right now: being sent, proclaiming, hearing, believing, or calling?
- Paul says the Gospel plan has only one potential weak point: if God’s people refuse to go. What might be keeping you—or your church—from “going”?
- Paul ends with the phrase: “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news.” Who are some people in your life who had “beautiful feet”—who helped bring the Gospel to you?
🛐 Personal Reflection
- What part of this introduction to Romans is stirring your heart most deeply right now?
Is it conviction, encouragement, a calling, or maybe clarity? - What is one way you could live out the message of Romans 10:13–15 this week?
(Think of a person to talk to, a group to serve, or a prayer to begin.)