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The book of Romans was written by the Apostle Paul about 25 years after Jesus was crucified. Paul was in Corinth when he wrote this fifth of seven letters, and scholars consider his “epistle to the Romans” his opus or the crown jewel of his theological teaching. I’ve long wanted to teach this amazing work and I have had a number of requests to share my perspective on it. So let’s get started.

Romans is considered the “go to” book for Christian doctrine and orthodoxy. It contains weighty theological terms such as justification, righteousness, salvation, predestination, election, and salvation. Despite our best efforts, most readings of this book end up as “misreadings.” Without experience or tools in the original languages, we tend to rely upon the voices and opinions of popular teachers and not necessarily those skilled in biblical exposition. The biggest challenge to understanding Paul’s clear doctrine and gospel, is viewing his teaching away from the light pollution of two thousand years of church history. Does it really matter what Calvin, Owen, Spurgeon, Sproul, Piper, McArther or the Gospel Coalition have concluded about it, if in the end Paul’s gospel has been adapted to evangelicalism? My endeavor is to set all of that aside and begin with a clean sheet, a humble spirit, and a skilled mind, and go to where Paul tried to take Rome

This book is not a contest for theological prowess. It is not a weapon to produce blunt force trauma to Arminians. It has chapters and verses that are difficult and not to be under or over interpreted. I will use a putty knife to pry off the barnacles from church history and then use a scalpel to precisely arrange Paul’s themes as closely as I can to his intended audience (namely fundamental Jews, early Christians, and the multicultural populations living in Rome). From there we can apply these conclusions to our modern, sprawling fundamental and evangelical landscape. While this series will take many weeks, it will not take many years. This work was never intended to be wound so tight that an entire career is spent on it.

What I have discovered and hope to share is that the modern evangelical Gospel is too small and narrow and has led to fundamentalism. The doctrines of justification, sanctification, substitutionary atonement, reprobation, election are all real and vital to a healthy life of faith, but have been so hyper-theologized that now we must deconstruct them if we are to experience the freedom they promise. In the same spirit of Paul, we all have a theology, but none of us have it completely right, for none of us know God as we ought, and the faith we have is as Paul says: “between yourself and God” (14:22).

So in our introduction today, let’s review Paul’s introduction. I will take broad strokes where needed and only double click on areas that need clarification. This was, after all, a letter. It was read and understood in very short order and so it should be for us as well. While much can and has been said about every verse, this exposition will follow Paul’s themes and trajectory so that we can compare it to our own experience and begin healing our theology and faith, and begin liberating from the overreach of fundamentalism.

Paul’s goal was to help both the religious and irreligious to understand the “Gospel (or message) of God” (v.1). That’s my goal too. Ask five Christians what the Gospel is, and you’ll get six answers. The “Good News” which is what the Greek word “eúaggéllion” means has been conflated with conversion to the Christian religion. Paul, just like Jesus’s gospel, provides no recipe nor design for an alternative religion. That is the first layer of barnacles to be removed. The church (gathering, assembly) in Rome is comprised of Jews and non Jews who are striving to follow Christ in the most advanced civilization of their time. To confuse the church in Rome with a modern denominational Christian church makes interpreting this letter difficult or impossible. The Key for us is to realize Paul’s gospel has no possible consideration of church history, it pays no homage to the Reformation, nor was Christianity an institutionalized alternative religion. Think about this. Therefore we must avoid the tendency to eisegete (read into) the text our modern ecclesiology. And as you study, you’ll discover that is what most scholars do.

“To everyone in Rome, beloved by God and called to be dedicated…” (v.7)

Secondly, the Greek translation (rendered above) must not be shadowed by the doctrine of limited atonement, the text makes no such claim. Paul is writing to a church of mostly believers, but his audience is “all comers“ as evidenced in (v.13) “among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles” and (v.14) “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians.” Paul makes no distinction on who is beloved by God and called and neither should we. We are not here to please church fathers, or align with our favorite doctrines. The religious mind must widen. A good interpreter doesn’t write into a wide text their own narrow perspective. We must derive the biblical perspective from the text and this text says “all those in Rome is beloved and called “(v.7). Paul will later deconstruct the tribal alliances of the religious mind, so it’s best rip this band-aid off right now. The take home application is that Paul’s gospel continues to be for all of us…everyone (pãsin-each, all, everyone, whole…). In same way this Roman church was comprised of different religions from which Paul sought to free people, so this message does today among our pantheon of deities.

Paul’s letter to the Romans had the mission to get everyone out of religion, not put us into one.

Lastly, as part of his introduction, Paul explains in verses 8-15 how he longed to go to Rome and visit this church, which scholars agree was not establish by himself. He’s coming as an outsider seeking to “impart a spiritual gift and strengthen them.” (v.11). He will later build upon this spiritual aspect of our humanity in comparison to our natural proclivities. The thrust of his introduction is he is “eager to preach the gospel to you also…” (v.15). 

To conclude this introduction, let’s sit with this contextually. Imagine a community of Jewish and Gentile eyewitnesses to Jesus who find themselves in Rome and gather together. Then a former Jewish pharisee, who persecuted the early church, writes them as a letter with the goal of sharing really good news and offering a new way to live in freedom. There is no church history. The theology of the day is all over the map (as it is today). What will this man say? How would it have been received? How would this group understand it? What changes to their belief and practice would this group need to consider?

Contextually, we are not that different than this early community. Our theology is all over the place. Our doctrines are competitive and divisive. Our churches and leaders have social and economic power and are extremely resistant to change. How will we receive these words? How will “all comers” understand it?

What changes to our belief and practice do we need to consider? While modern evangelicalism uses the letter to Romans to indoctrinate the religious and condemn or convert the sinner, Paul had no such agenda. I believe if Paul’s gospel were heard today, it would end institutional religion, not empower it.

May the Good News find each of us in our place of need and lead us into a place of healing and liberation.