The Romans Road Less Traveled (Romans 1:1-6; 16-17)

The book of Romans is one of the most oft-cited books of the Bible. It’s got a great chorus. It’s the chorus of the song of salvation that completely upended Martin Luther’s world and launched the Protestant Reformation. But do we know the verses?

Our hope in this new sermon series, which we’re calling The Romans Road Less Traveled, is to learn the whole song of Romans.

We begin by addressing the assumptions we might make about Romans if all we know is the chorus. Romans is not necessarily Paul’s systematic theology, rather, it’s a letter to a church Paul hasn’t visited yet. Nor is Romans argumentative text. Paul’s writing to a church community feeling the pain of Jewish-Gentile relationships. Yes, these two groups are debating and arguing with one another, but Paul wants to heal those divisions, not escalate them.

What Romans is is a proclamation of what God has done for us. Instead of jumping to the part where you and I get to make a decision, Paul wants us to first consider God’s faithfulness to us in raising Jesus from the dead.