Romans Bible Study Lessons

The epistle to the Romans, one of the apostle Paul’s greatest works, is placed first among his thirteen epistles in the New Testament. While the four Gospels present the words and works of Jesus Christ, Romans explores the significance of His sacrificial death. Using a question-and-answer format, Paul offers us the most systematic presentation of doctrine in the Bible.

But Romans is much more than a book of theology; it is also a book of practical exhortation. The good news of Jesus Christ is more than facts to be believed; it is also a life to be lived—a life of righteousness befitting the person “justified freely by [God’s] grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (3:24).

Romans is the preeminent book in the Bible on the crucial topics of grace and faith, but it is also a book about joyful obedience. Paul begins his letter talking about the necessity of obedience (“Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations,” 1:5) and he ends it in a similar way (“ … according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith,” 16:26). Between those two points Paul explains how we obey God only by the power of divine grace through faith.

The title Pros Romaious, “To the Romans,” has been associated with the epistle almost from the beginning.

Theme: People everywhere can enjoy peace and fellowship with God through faith in Jesus Christ, who gives them the desire and the strength to gladly obey the Lord.

Author: The apostle Paul.

Date: Most scholars believe Paul wrote Romans around A.D. 57.

Structure: The first section (chapters 1–8) expresses what has been called “the gospel according to Paul,” meaning that the only way to fellowship with God is by grace through faith in the risen Jesus Christ. The second section (chapters 9–11) expounds Paul’s expectation that the Jews, who have largely refused this teaching, will one day accept it. The final section (chapter 12–16) describes how people saved by grace through faith in Christ should live and behave.

Charles F. Stanley, The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles, 2005), Ro.