Why the book of Romans? Because it is foundational - we’ll never exhaust it, never outgrow it, never not need it. It begins with man’s degradation through Adam’s sin, and reveals God’s gracious provision of salvation through Christ’s sacrifice for sin!
If a man is ignorant of the truths in Romans, he will continue to be consumed with self - either self-accusing or self-excusing. But -- in Christ Jesus -- any man or woman, Jew or Gentile -- can be justified -- before God -- through believing -- and victoriously reign in life - by God’s grace!
If one wants to build tall, one must dig deep. Romans is the deep foundation upon which to build tall for the rest of our lives. It is incredibly rich with Truths about WHO we were as offspring of Adam, and WHO WE ARE NOW as chosen children of God -- foreknown, called, justified, glorified!
The Book of Romans is the believer's springboard to truly making a quantum leap in BELIEVING, enabling anyone bold enough to believe it to grow in GRACE as they ascend the same path that Abraham walked as he looked to the coming Christ!
ROMANS is not about information….it's about TRANSFORMATION!
It's not about religion….it's about RELATIONSHIP!
It's not centered on what WE do….it's centered on what GOD, through His Son, has already DONE for us, and IN US!
When the reformation leader, Martin Luther, had his eyes opened to the greatness of the revelation of Romans, he wrote: "This Epistle is in truth the most important document in the New Testament, the gospel in its purest expression. Not only is it well worth a Christian’s while to know it word for word by heart, but also to meditate on it day by day. It is the soul’s daily bread, and can never be read too often or studied too much. The more you probe into it the more precious it becomes and the better its flavor… in essence, it is a brilliant light, almost enough to illumine the whole Bible."
May you, the seeker of Truth, find these annotated notes of the doctrinal section of Romans spiritually illuminating...Light to live by.
