Week 35: The Letter to Rome (Part 1)

Opening Question

What comes to mind when you hear the word “justified”? Do you think of a legal courtroom, a personal feeling, a theological concept, or something else? How does the way you instinctively understand the word shape the way you read Paul?

Review of the Week’s Readings

Core Discussion Questions

1. The Context of Romans (Acts 20:1-6)

Paul wrote Romans from Corinth, about to carry the collection to Jerusalem, planning to visit Rome and then press on to Spain.

• How does knowing the historical context of a letter change the way you read it? What difference does it make that Romans is not an abstract theology textbook but a letter written by a man under pressure at a specific moment?
• The collection delegation included representatives from multiple churches. What does this collaborative model suggest about how the church should handle financial matters?
• Paul changed his route because of a plot against him. How have you seen God redirect your plans through obstacles or dangers?

2. The Gospel and God’s Wrath (Romans 1)

Paul declares the gospel to be “the power of God for salvation” and then immediately reveals God’s wrath against those who suppress the truth.

• Why does Paul put gospel and wrath side by side? Can you have one without the other?
• Paul describes a downward spiral: exchanging God’s glory for images leads to moral degradation and a “debased mind.” Where do you see this pattern in contemporary culture?
• Paul says creation reveals enough about God to leave humanity “without excuse.” How do you respond to the claim that God’s existence is visible in the natural world?

3. The Impartial Judge (Romans 2)

Paul turns the spotlight from the Gentile world to the Jewish world, showing that possession of the law does not exempt anyone from judgment.

• Paul says, “In passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.” How does this principle apply to the way Christians engage in cultural criticism today?
• “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” In what ways does the behavior of professing Christians today bring reproach on God’s name?
• Paul says true circumcision is “of the heart, by the Spirit.” What is the relationship between external religious practice and internal spiritual reality in your own life?

4. Justified Freely by Grace (Romans 3)

The pivotal chapter: all have sinned and fall short; all are justified freely by grace through faith in Christ.

• “There is no one righteous, not even one.” How does this universal diagnosis challenge the common assumption that most people are “basically good”?
• Paul uses three metaphors for salvation: acquittal (law court), redemption (slave market), and atonement (temple sacrifice). Which metaphor resonates most with you, and why?
• Paul says justification by faith “upholds” the law rather than overthrowing it. How does grace fulfill the law’s deepest intention?

5. Abraham’s Faith (Romans 4)

Paul demonstrates that Abraham was justified by faith before he was circumcised, making him the father of all who believe – Jew and Gentile alike.

• Why was it so important for Paul to anchor his argument in Abraham? What is at stake if Abraham’s justification was by works rather than faith?
• Paul says God “justifies the ungodly” – a statement that would have shocked his Jewish readers. How does the scandal of this claim shape your understanding of grace?
• Abraham believed in the God who gives life to the dead. Where in your life right now are you being asked to believe in God’s power despite seemingly impossible circumstances?

Deeper Dive

Compare Paul’s treatment of Abraham in Romans 4 with James’s treatment in James 2:20-24.

• Paul says Abraham was justified by faith, not works (Romans 4:2-3). James says Abraham was justified by works when he offered Isaac (James 2:21-22). Is this a contradiction?
• Consider what each author means by “justify.” Paul is asking: On what basis does God declare a person righteous? James is asking: What is the evidence that a person’s faith is genuine?
• How do Paul and James complement rather than contradict each other? What happens when you read one without the other?

Application

Romans 1-4 moves from diagnosis (universal sin) to remedy (justification by faith). Paul’s argument is designed not merely to inform but to transform.

• Spend time this week memorizing Romans 3:23-24. Let the universality of the diagnosis (“all have sinned”) and the universality of the remedy (“justified freely by his grace”) sink into your understanding of yourself and others.
• Identify one area where you have been trying to “earn” God’s approval through performance, religious activity, or moral superiority. How does the gospel of free justification speak to that specific area?
• Paul says Abraham did not weaken in faith when he “considered his own body.” Identify one seemingly impossible situation in your life and spend time this week deliberately trusting the God who “gives life to the dead.”

Memory Verse

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed – a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” – Romans 1:16-17

Alternative:

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” – Romans 3:23-24

Closing Prayer

Righteous God, this week we have stood before the mirror of your word and seen ourselves clearly: sinners, all of us, falling short of your glory, unable to justify ourselves by any work of the law. And yet – “but now” – you have revealed a righteousness that comes by faith, a gift that cannot be earned, a verdict that cannot be overturned. You justified Abraham when he was still uncircumcised. You justify the ungodly who trust in your Son. You presented Christ as the mercy seat where your wrath and your love meet. We are astonished by this grace. We are humbled by this verdict. We are set free by this gospel. Forgive us for every attempt to supplement your grace with our own merit. Forgive us for every moment we have looked down on others from the pedestal of our own imagined righteousness. Like Abraham, may we believe you – fully persuaded that you are able to do what you have promised. And may our faith, like his, be credited as righteousness. Through Jesus Christ, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. Amen.