Rooted in the Gospel: Romans
Why am I reading this now? The word “gospel” means, “the good news”. More specifically, the letter to the Romans explains that the gospel is the good news that we can have peace with God and power for living through Jesus Christ. Yet before we can receive the good news, we must understand that there is bad news as well. The bad news is that we cannot please God because we all have broken God’s law to love and serve ourselves. Thankfully, God’s good news is greater than our bad news.
Some people shy away from the book of Romans because they think it is too complex, yet the Apostle Paul wrote this letter to a very young Church that he had never even yet visited. He wrote it to them so that they would be familiar with the foundational teachings of Christ and understand the basics of their relationship with him. If you run into any hard to understand parts, just skip over them for now and focus on the main ideas. I pray that the gospel taught in the book of Romans will lay a foundation of grace in your life so that you can live in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Questions while you read
1:16-3:20: How are all people alike no matter their ethnic or religious background? Why is this bad news? 3:21-26: Use a dictionary or have a Christian friend explain all of the difficult words in these verses. How is Jesus’ death good news? 5:1-21: How is the good news greater than the bad news? 6:1-7:6: How does the work of Christ free us from our slavery to sin? 8:1-39: The Lord gives His Spirit to us when we become his children. How does the Spirit give us power to live in Christ?
Additional Resources
Rooted Sermon #1 on Romans 1-4 (text) Rooted Sermon #2 on Romans 6 (text) Rooted Sermon #3 on Romans 7-8 (text) Rooted Sermon #4 on Romans 9-11 (text) Rooted Sermon #5 on Romans 12:1-3 (text)