Romans Study Notes

1:1 Paul literally called himself a slave. The Greek word doulos is translated in most Bibles as servant or "bond servant." A slave was owned, was bought for a price, received no wages, and could not quit. A servant could quit, got paid, and was a free person. Jesus Himself took the form of a slave (Php. 2:7), and Paul reminded Christians that "ye are not your own . . . For ye are bought with a price" (1 Cor. 6:19b-20). Paul was an apostle by the call of God (Acts 9). "Gospel" is an old English word meaning God's good news. Paul had been assigned by God to proclaim and teach this good news about Jesus.

1:2 The good news is the fulfillment of the OT prophecies, and the OT is not correctly understood apart from the NT.

1:3 Jesus is God's Son in a different sense than are Christians, who are called "sons" due to spiritual new birth (John 3) and adoption into God's family (Rom. 8:15). Jesus is God's Son first by being the eternal Son and Second Person of the Trinity (Isa. 9:6; Gal. 4:4), and second by being the virgin-born incarnate Son, conceived as the Spirit came to Mary (Luke 1:35). Jesus was also the messianic Son who came in the family line of David (2 Sam. 7:12-16; Ps. 2:6-7; 89:26-29,36). Flesh here means the real human nature of Jesus.

1:4 Jesus in His humiliation was despised and rejected (Isa. 53:2) and had the form of a slave (Php. 2:7). He spoke as the Son of the Father (John 5:19-23), but He was persecuted because He "said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God" (John 5:18). At the cross, His sonship was called into question (Matt. 27:39-43), but the spirit of holiness (another title for the Holy Spirit) raised Jesus from the dead. This event set Him apart as God's unique Son exalted over death and Satan, and invested with all power (Matt. 28:18).

1:5 The obedience to the faith (cp. 10:16; 15:18) is best understood as the faith that issues in obedience. Paul's ministry sought to bring all the nations to obey Jesus and His Father.

1:6 Christians belong to Jesus by calling—a sovereign summons that results in salvation as people respond in faith. By this language Paul reminded the Roman believers that God took the initiative in saving them.

1:7 Called to be saints (Gk hagioi) does not mean this is something Christians might become in the future. Neither does it signify an honorary title or an unusually holy person. Rather, all Christians are saints by the sovereign call of God. They have been set apart just as the nation of Israel was set apart (Lev. 11:44; 19:2). A Christian is a person who has the forgiveness of sins and is sanctified by faith in Jesus (Acts 26:18) and therefore is a "saint" (1 Cor. 1:2).

1:8 It was common in ancient letters to begin with a prayer. Paul adopted the form, but his prayers were never just formal. As there is joy among the angels at the conversion of one sinner (Luke 15:10), Paul rejoiced over the fact there were house churches in the capital city of the Roman Empire. He was thankful for the spread of the faith.

1:9-10 Paul continually prayed for the Roman Christians in his spirit. Though too often perceived as otherwise, prayer is just as necessary as teaching or preaching in Christian ministry. Paul had wanted to come to Rome, but God was in control of all his circumstances. The believer must seek God's will in his activities (James 4:13-17).

1:11-12 The spiritual gift mentioned here was not one of the special gifts in 1 Cor. 12–14 which were given by God (1 Cor. 12:11) but the gifts that Christians gave to one another. Paul was certain that the Roman Christians would minister to him since every part of the body of Christ has useful functions in relation to other parts (1 Cor. 12:12-27).

1:13 How is it that the most important city in the world had not yet had a visit from an apostle? Why especially had the "apostle to the Gentiles" not come? Paul often planned to come, but these plans had not come to fruition. In the mysterious providence of God it all worked out for the best. Paul's delay in fulfilling his trip to Rome caused him to write this wonderful letter. He eventually went to Rome as a prisoner (Acts 25:10–28:14-16), spending two years in the city preaching the gospel without hindrance (Acts 28:31). God works out events in ways we could never imagine (Rom. 8:28).

1:14 Paul's conversion placed a special commission and obligation on him (Acts 9:15; 13:47; 1 Cor. 9:16; Gal. 2:8-9). The revelations granted to him gave him greater responsibility. His training and Roman citizenship equipped him to reach all varieties of people, including Barbarians—those who do not speak Greek.

1:16 Why might someone be ashamed of the gospel? On the surface, the gospel seems like a very strange message. It is about a Jewish carpenter and teacher who was put to death on a cross by Pontius Pilate, Roman governor of Judaea in a.d. 26–36. The message says that this man Jesus was raised from the dead and is now Lord—the kurios. This title was used of God in the Greek Bible and was applied to the emperor by some Romans. Paul himself wrote that this message seemed foolish to Gentiles (1 Cor. 1:23) and was a stumbling block to Jews. Crucifixion was shameful. A crucified Messiah was a contradiction in terms to the Jews. A crucified Jew seemed like foolishness to the Romans, who despised Jews in general. Paul had no confidence in his rhetorical skills to overcome the human objections to the message, but he knew the power of the Spirit to change the lives of people as they heard the good news about Jesus' death and resurrection. People are saved by faith, but faith is not the cause of salvation. The cause of salvation is the grace of God, the will of God, and the Spirit's power working through the message.

1:17 God's righteousness was the core of Paul's message. Luther came to better understand God's grace as he studied this verse in the original Greek rather than in the Latin translation. It forever changed his view of God. God's righteousness can be understood in several ways. First, God always does what is right and can be said to have righteousness as one of His attributes (Deut. 32:4; Ps. 119:142). Second, since God always does what is right, His actions or activities are sometimes identified as His righteousness (Isa. 45:8; 46:13; 51:5-6,8; 56:1). Third, God's righteousness is as a gift from Him to us, justifying us in His sight. "Justification" is a courtroom term signifying that a judge declares a person to be "right" or just. Augustine wrote "the righteousness of God is that righteousness which He imparts in order to make men righteous" (Spirit and the Letter, chap. 16). In the gospel, God reveals His righteousness (His nature, His activity, and His gift of right status) by faith. In the course of this letter, Paul will explain how God is able to declare sinners to be righteous because of Jesus' work on the cross. From faith to faith emphasizes that the entire process of being declared righteous comes to us from start to finish by faith.

1:18 All people need the gospel because they are under God's wrath, which stems from His holy revulsion to sin. Mankind originally knew God and fellowshipped with Him (Gen. 3:8a). The history of the world reveals a subsequent regression and loss of moral knowledge. Since the garden of Eden, people have been unrighteous, and they have suppressed the truth.

1:19 God as Creator has disclosed Himself in creation. "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork" (Ps. 19:1; cp. Acts 14:15-17). People also have an innate capacity for God as well as a moral conscience. God is at work to show Himself in the world, yet the world is in rebellion against Him.

1:20 Mankind's problem is not that he doesn't know the truth. The history of the human race discloses a determined effort to oppose the will of God. People are without excuse for their idolatry and practical atheism.

1:21 Because of human willfulness, people's knowledge of God became clouded and their thinking became darkened. Without contact with God, the center of man loses contact with reality, misses the purpose of his existence, and becomes ungrateful. People are supposed to glorify Him as God, but instead find all sorts of created objects to worship. Part of the wrath of God is revealed in humanity's loss of intelligent musing.

1:22 A classic example of human foolishness is in Isa. 44:9-20.

1:23 Many people think that religion developed along an evolutionary model. In this view, humanity originally held animistic beliefs and then progressed to polytheism, to tribal deities, and then to a single creator God. From there we progressed to a vague philosophical monotheism in the Enlightenment, and finally we are now embracing atheism in the age of science. But this is not true to the early history of religion. The Bible says humanity started with knowledge of the one true God and then declined into polytheism as humans were separated from God and fractured from one another. Paul warned that loss of knowledge of the true God resulted in the worship of an image of a mortal man. Even in the modern age we have seen dictators worshipped as gods, and the Bible says this sin will be repeated climactically in the end times (2 Thess. 2:3-12; Rev. 13:1-18).

1:24-25 Because they rejected the truths of God revealed in creation, God punished the Greco-Roman world by giving them what they craved. A similar scenario played out in the life of King Ahab of Israel, who continually rebelled against God (1 Kings 16:29-33). As a judgment, God permitted a lying prophetic spirit to deceive Ahab to his doom (1 Kings 22:22-23). The ancients were enmeshed in polytheistic idolatry, and in their devotions to their false gods they practiced all sorts of immorality. The loss of the knowledge of God leads to an exchange of truth for a lie, and judgment is the result (Ps. 81:12; Acts 7:42).

1:26-27 Lesbians and homosexuals often argue that this verse only prohibits sexual abuse of children, or else they say that natural sexual relations are not violated when men and women who are born with a tendency for homosexual desires (as they claim) practice homosexuality. But Paul clearly said lesbianism is against nature, and the Bible elsewhere strictly prohibits all homosexuality (e.g., Lev. 18:22). The Creator intended male and female to be joined in marriage (Gen. 2:24). As an example of the sort of sexual perversion Paul would have been aware of in his day, the emperor Nero castrated a boy named Sporus and married him. Those who exhibit such vile affections are justly punished.

1:28-32 In verse 24 God is described as delivering society to impurity, in verse 26 to degrading passions, and in verse 28 to a reprobate mind. The mind becomes (Gk) adokimos ("disqualified"), an untrustworthy guide in moral choices because people have rejected knowledge of God. Verses 29-31 contain a list of vices similar to ancient vice lists. Pagan moralists often lamented the loss of virtue in their societies. Paul's list of sins was no darker than what other writers of that time reported. All sin is serious. Lesbianism and homosexuality may seem particularly objectionable, but any of the 21 sins listed (cp. Gal. 5:19-21) cut people off from the life of God and bring spiritual death. When society applauds them that do these sins, it has lost its moral compass. Ancient philosophers warned about the social effects of popular plays. Murder and immorality were so common on stage that people no longer reacted when they occurred in daily life. Modern entertainments have a similar effect on minds and the values that guide behavior.

2:1 Some interpreters think Paul was speaking about Gentile moralists in verses 1-16, and then Jews beginning at verse 17. The majority of scholars, however, see the Jew as the subject throughout chapter 2. Judgment and condemnation follow sin as night follows day. Not all people commit the same sins, but all show by their judging and criticism that they do not live up to the moral law they know. No one is excused.

2:2 The coming judgment will be based on God's truth, which no amount of human opinion or protest can alter.

2:3 Human systems of justice often break down. Stalin killed more than 20 million people and yet died in his own bed at age 74. Yet death offered him no escape from God's justice. All humans, great and small, will be raised to stand before God's judgment (14:10; Rev. 20:11-15). The wise course is to settle your case with God before then (Matt. 5:25-26).

2:5 Like water pooling up behind a dam, individuals and societies accumulate a debt of wrath as they continue to reject God's grace.

2:6-10 Cranfield (Romans, I:151) outlines 10 different interpretations of this controversial passage. The most likely one is that deeds are the outcome of a person's faith. Christians are declared righteous by faith. At the moment of that declaration, the person is joined to Christ and regenerated by the Holy Spirit, becoming a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) created for good works (Eph. 2:10). As Paul wrote, what matters is "faith which worketh by love" (Gal. 5:6). Thus the person of faith who seeks glory and honour and immortality and continues to do good demonstrates that he is truly regenerate and thus is assured of eternal life. The person who obeys unrighteousness and disobeys truth, however, demonstrates his unregenerate heart.

2:11 God's judgment is not tainted with favoritism.

2:12 This verse introduces the Mosaic law into the discussion of the coming judgment. The law will be considered throughout the remainder of Romans. The Jews saw the Mosaic law as key in the difference between Jews and Gentiles; Paul taught that the law does not save a person but only reveals sin as people fall short of the law's requirements. Thus in the judgment, the possession of the law will be a basis of condemnation.

2:13 Deuteronomy 6:4 calls Israel to "hear" the declaration of God's identity, but Deut. 6:5 follows up by saying that merely listening is not enough. One must love God with the whole heart, which entails obedience. And yet no one will be justified by obeying the law, for no one obeys the law perfectly (3:20,23; Gal. 2:16; James 2:8-11). The only incorrupt doer of the law was Jesus, the righteous One.

2:14-15 All humans by nature have an inner law as a component of being created in God's image (Gen. 1:26). Kant, the philosopher, spoke of "the starry heavens above and the moral law within." This moral law will accuse or excuse daily moral choices, but ultimately demonstrates that all people fall short of God's holiness.

2:16 God knows every secret, and Jesus will be the final judge (John 5:22-30; Acts 17:31). The coming judgment will be according to truth, proportional to the rejection of revelation received, according to deeds done, without partiality, and in response to the gospel.

2:17-20 Jew was the name given to people who returned to Judaea from exile, but later it was extended to cover all Hebrew people (Israelites) wherever they lived. Paul listed eight grounds on which Jews rested their sense of moral superiority over the Gentiles; three times he cited the law as a grounds. The Jews believed that God had granted them special privileges and given them a mission to bring light to the Gentiles (Isa. 42:6-7). True enough. Yet Jesus taught, "unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more" (Luke 12:48). Furthermore, Jesus warned the religious leaders, "ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity" (Matt. 23:28). Mere possession of the law does not win divine favor.

2:21-23 Following Jesus' example, Paul exposed Jewish hypocrisy. He did so with a series of five rhetorical questions that indicted his people for lacking essential righteousness. Paul did not mean that every Jew committed all these sins but that all transgress the law and lack the righteousness to enter God's presence. Jesus taught that even the thought of adultery violates the law (Matt. 5:27-28). Paul knew from his own experience that his heart was full of covetousness (Rom. 7:7-10). The history of the Jewish nation was full of unrighteous acts. Stephen asked, "Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted?" (Acts 7:52). The religious leaders of the nation were instrumental in putting Jesus to death, Stephen was stoned by the Sanhedrin, and James the Just (half-brother of Jesus) was killed in the temple area.

2:24 Paul cited Isa. 52:5 as support that Jewish sin resulted in God's name being dishonored among the pagan nations when the Jews were defeated and exiled. To pagan perception, Jehovah had seemed powerless since He did not protect His people.

2:25-29 Circumcision was a sign and seal of a covenant that God made with Israel (Exod. 12:44-49). The rite went back to Abraham and the covenant God made with him (Gen. 17:9-14). Circumcision became a badge of Jewish identity and, it was thought, a guarantee of salvation. Some later rabbis even taught that Abraham sat at the entrance to Gehenna ("hell") and would not permit any uncircumcised Jew to enter there. By implication, the way you lived made no difference. In a similar way, some Christian groups have believed that the rite of baptism saves, and so baptism was delayed until the end of life to make sure all sins were "washed." But Paul declared that circumcision (and by extension, baptism) without obedience is empty. Furthermore, Abraham was a man of faith who was accepted by God long before he was circumcised (Gen. 15:1-20). The true Jew is one who has a spiritual circumcision . . . of the heart.

3:1 It might seem from chapter 2 that being a Jew and being circumcised conferred no advantage, but Paul listed many Jewish advantages in 9:4-5. In our day it is advantageous to have Christian parents, to attend a church, to be baptized, to attend a Christian school, and to read the Bible—but none of these advantages can save us.

3:2 It is a great privilege to be Jewish. They heard God speak the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:1-20) directly to them. Then through a long series of prophets, God's words came to them. No other people on earth had this privilege.

3:3 Even if some of the Jewish people did not believe, the faithfulness of God to His covenant will bring His promises to fulfillment. Paul referred particularly to the promises centered in the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

3:4 After he was confronted by the prophet Nathan for his sins surrounding the Bath-sheba incident, David confessed that God is justified in His judgments (Ps. 51:4). God must be true, for it would be against His infinitely perfect nature to be otherwise.

3:5-8 Paul addressed several implications to which critics mistakenly thought his teachings would lead. For example, if God is shown to be in the right by man's sin and error, then God is honored by our shortcomings. How then can God punish us when we have helped display His righteousness? But Paul answered that as a matter of principle God's judgment of sin is always righteous. People who think otherwise deserve damnation, for their true focus is not on glorifying God but on giving free reign to their sinful desires.

3:9 All the world is under sin, and yet sin is considered an archaic topic in our secular society. It is not hard to guess why. Vice is something done against oneself; crime is something done against society or an individual; but sin is against God. Since modern culture is essentially atheistic, "sin" has become a meaningless term.

3:10-18 In these verses Paul linked seven OT passages to demonstrate that all of mankind is under sin's dominion. Since Adam and Eve's fall, people have hidden from God, but God sent His Son "to seek and to save" the lost (Luke 19:10). All have gone astray (Isa. 1:2-4; 53:6), and in God's sight none are right. Paul cited Bible passages that show the extent of corruption. As Jesus taught, "from within, out of the heart" (Mark 7:21) come all sorts of evil. Man is quick to shed blood. During the last century over 39 million people lost their lives in wars. And by conservative estimates, human governments killed an additional 125 million people—led by Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Hitler, and others. The root problem is that humans are often practical atheists even when they profess belief in God. They choose against God's will and show no fear for it.

3:19 Someone may argue that the seven passages cited above are addressed not to Jews but to pagan nations. But everything in the Hebrew Bible is first addressed to the Jews for their instruction so they can learn about sin's power. All people from every nation and ethnicity are sinners, and God will judge all the world. In God's court, everyone is speechless.

3:20 No one can earn justification by obedience to the law's requirements. The law was never intended to be a means of salvation. A primary purpose of the law was to reveal sin in its full scope, thus pointing to man's need for the gift of righteousness.

3:21-26 The phrase but now marks a decisive shift in Paul's argument. According to one interpreter, verses 21-26 are the "centre and heart of the whole of Romans 1.16b–15:13" (Cranfield, Romans, I:199). This paragraph (one long sentence in the Greek original) is a wonderful compression of theology. It contains three ways of describing Jesus' work on the cross and the benefits that come from the gospel: justification, redemption, and propitiation. Each term pictures the gospel by appealing to a different realm of ancient life. "Justification" is a term from the courts. Sinners stand condemned in God's court, and yet He freely declares "not guilty" anyone who places his faith in Christ. "Redemption" is a term borrowed from the slave market. All people are slaves to sin by their fallen nature, but Christians are purchased by God and freed to new life in Christ. "Propitiation" is a term borrowed from temple rites, where the sacrificial animal figuratively comes under God's wrath as it is killed. Jesus received God's wrath on the cross. By our faith in Christ, God's wrath is counted satisfied and we are no longer under wrath. God's righteousness was thus manifested and given in the event of the cross. Sinners gain pardon not through their adherence to the law, but through faith in the One who fulfilled all righteousness on our behalf. The law and the prophets refers to the OT, and the entire OT is correctly understood as a witness to Jesus and His work.

3:22 Jesus is the object of faith and the means of obtaining the gift of the righteousness of God. The gift is for both Jews and Gentiles who believe.

3:23 All have missed the mark that God intended for the human race and have lost the glory of the original creation (Ps. 8:5). Believing the good news starts the process of the restoration of glory (Rom. 8:30; 2 Cor. 3:18).

3:24 Justified means that Christians are declared to be righteous (5:1,9; 8:30; 1 Cor. 1:30; 6:11). The Judge deems believers innocent because of Jesus' work on the cross. Freely means that God grants justification not due to any merit in Christians but solely by His grace, the undeserved love and mercy of God. Redemption is a commercial term that refers to purchasing freedom for slaves or military prisoners. The purchase price for our freedom was the blood of Christ Jesus (see Mark 10:45; 1 Pet. 1:18-19).

3:25 Propitiation is a term borrowed from the sacrificial system and the temple. The Greek word hilasterion was used for the cover of the ark of the covenant, the "mercyseat" (Heb. 9:5). On the Day of Atonement, the high priest would sprinkle blood over the ark to atone for the nation. By this rite sins were deemed expiated; people became reconciled to God and God's wrath was averted. But human sins could not literally be atoned for by the death of animals. "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins" (Heb. 10:4). Thus Jesus came to accomplish what no priest slaying an animal could ever hope to accomplish: full satisfaction of God's requirements for atonement. God the Father "made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Cor. 5:21). This involves a double imputation. Our sins were imputed to Jesus on the cross, and His righteousness was imputed to us. Justification is not a legal fiction; Christians are made righteous by the imputation of God's own righteousness in His Son.

3:26 The present time of the cross and preaching of the good news vindicated God.

3:27-28 No one can boast in his works. No one can boast even in his faith. Faith is not the cause of justification but the means of justification. The cause of salvation is grace and mercy.

3:29-30 There is only one God and only one way to be justified by Him, no matter your ethnic and national identity: by faith. The phrase shall justify does not mean that justification occurs at a future time (at the last judgment) and is therefore not a present reality for the believer. Rather, it points to the fact that God counts each of us justified as we come to faith. Thus God "shall justify" your neighbor tomorrow if he comes to faith.

3:31 Does the gospel destroy the law? To answer this question, Paul considered the case of Abraham in the following chapter.

4:1-25 Abraham was the father of the Hebrew nation (Gen. 12:1-3). Jews commonly believed that Abraham kept the whole law before it was given on mount Sinai (Gen. 26:5), so he had something to brag about. Paul refuted this, showing that Abraham was justified by faith and had no grounds to boast.

4:3 Tradition must give way to the clear statements of the scripture. Genesis 15:6 is the text that Paul cited.

4:4-5 Reward and grace are as different as works and faith. Paul described God as having a set of books of the kind an accountant has. God imputed or credited righteousness to Abraham's account because of his faith. To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly is a shocking expression. The Reformation focused on this passage. God saves the ungodly, sinners, and His enemies (5:5,8,10). Though Jews took Abraham to be a paragon of virtue, Paul declared that he was just a sinner saved by grace—just as any Christian is.

4:6-8 David, Israel's greatest king, sang about the blessedness that God gave him in the forgiveness of his deliberate sins. David understood that, in God's accounting ledger, his sins were wiped out and righteousness was inscribed in their place. Paul's quotation of Ps. 32:1-2 explains Gen. 15:6. Paul similarly linked justification and the forgiveness of sin in his synagogue sermon recorded in Acts 13:38-39.

4:9-10 It might seem that God's blessedness was only for the circumcised since Psalm 32 was written by a Jew for the Jewish people. Paul returned to his key text in Gen. 15:6 and showed that the crediting of righteousness to Abraham took place when he was uncircumcised, so God's blessing is also for Gentiles who believe.

4:11 Circumcision was a sign and a seal. It marked out a man as part of the nation of Israel. It was also to be a seal of the righteousness a man had received by faith. The timing of Abraham's circumcision enabled him to be the spiritual father and model for justification by faith to both circumcised Jews and uncircumcised Gentiles.

4:12 Abraham was the physical father of the Hebrew nation, but his greatest legacy was his example of faith, which Jews and Gentiles alike can emulate.

4:13 The law demanded obedience and performance. If the law was violated, wrath resulted. The law was not a system of grace. God's promise was one of grace; it came to Abraham and his seed (Gal. 3:16-18) through the righteousness that comes by faith.

4:14-15 If the inheritance of the promise came by legal obedience, then the way of faith is void. Furthermore, no one would inherit the promise since no one could keep the law.

4:16-17 God's promise is by faith, so that it may be guaranteed to both Jews and Gentiles who believe. If it were by law, no such guarantee would be possible. To make it certain, therefore, the promise was by grace. Abraham was also promised to be the father of many nations. Abraham believed in the God who gives life to the dead and created everything from nothing.

4:18 It seemed humanly impossible for Abraham to become the father of many nations when he was old, but he placed his hope in God's promise.

4:19-20 Abraham had a realistic evaluation of his prospects for fatherhood. Yet Abraham did not doubt God's promise, and God strengthened his faith.

4:23-24 Everything in Scripture is for our benefit. The experiences of Abraham are as relevant to us as they were to him, for we serve the same Creator God who can do the humanly impossible. We are credited as righteous before God in the same manner as Abraham: by faith.

4:25 Jesus was delivered up for our offences as promised in Isa. 52:13–53:12. Who delivered up Jesus? Was it Judas? Pilate? The Jewish Sanhedrin? Satan? Certainly all these were causal agents in the crucifixion of Christ, but ultimately it was the sovereign God who brought it to pass in order to fulfill His plan of redemption (Acts 4:27-28). The Father delivered Jesus up for our sins, and raised Him so that His righteous Servant would justify many people (Isa. 53:11).

5:1 Commentators differ over whether chapter 5 belongs thematically to the first major section of Romans or to the Christian life section, chapters 6 through 8. It has connections to both. Paul in 5:1-11 uses "we" and "us" as he explains the benefits that those who are justified possess. Justification is just one of many ways of speaking about salvation. In this division, Paul showed how justification involves reconciliation. Justification speaks to our sound legal status before God while reconciliation describes our repaired relationship to God in more personal terms. We were at war with God, relationally alienated from Him, but He reconciled us by His Son (v. 10). Our peace is an objective, settled fact because Jesus has accomplished it once and for all.

5:2 Access to God's grace is the privilege of all believers. We have the freedom to enter His presence at all times. His golden scepter is always extended (cp. Esther 4:11–5:2).

5:3-4 Believers can rejoice in tough circumstances and tribulations because we know that through such things the Father is disciplining us for greater holiness (Heb. 12:10).

5:5 The Christian's hope is certain because God's love is assured by the Spirit's ministry within the core of our being.

5:6-8 We can be sure of God's love since He did so much for us when we were ungodly, we were still sinners, and we were His enemies (v. 10). Jesus died for that kind of person. The word translated "for" is the Greek preposition huper used in substitution contexts. Jesus died in our place. God freely chooses to love us and by doing so confers worth on us through our faith in Him.

5:10-11 If by the death of Christ we were reconciled to God, how much surer must the good news of salvation be now that He has risen and lives forevermore!

5:12-21 In this section, Paul brought his major discussion of justification by faith to a close with a complex, compressed, and controversial analogy. He showed that grace in justification reaches and affects us in Christ much more than sin and death have affected us in Adam.

5:12 Wherefore gives this verse a loose connection with the previous section. Sin and death are almost personified here (cp. v. 21, "sin hath reigned unto death"). As (Gk hosper) introduces a long and complex Greek sentence. The main comparisons are clear, but some of the details lead interpreters to different opinions. Paul was thinking of how both the first Adam (Gen. 1–3) and the last Adam (Jesus Christ) have a universal significance for humanity. Interpreters are divided over the phrase all have sinned. The two major interpretations are (1) all people commit sin and therefore die, and (2) somehow all humans sinned "in Adam." The second view is more likely and entails either that Adam was the federal head of the race and acted on behalf of us all, or that Adam was the seminal head of the race and we were somehow "in him."

5:13-14 These verses support the second interpretive option for verse 12 (see note there). Sin "reigned" (v. 21) over humanity before the giving of the law even though none had sinned in the way Adam sinned. Adam's sin was a personal, deliberate act that plunged the human race into physical and spiritual death. All humans, including newborn infants and young children who are incapable of judging right and wrong and thus are not deliberate sinners, are under death's domain. All people now are born spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1-3). Adam's sin had this broad effect because he was a type (Gk tupos) or prefiguration of Jesus, the One that was to come, and represented all of humanity just as Jesus would do on the cross.

5:15-16 The works of Adam and Jesus have similar scope but drastically different effect. One offence plunged humanity into ruin, but God gave the gift that issued in justification in spite of our many sins. What was gained through Jesus is far greater than that which was lost through Adam.

5:17 Death took the entire human race into its kingdom. The author of Hebrews portrayed this vividly when he wrote about what Jesus accomplished on the cross: "through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Heb. 2:14-15). Believers, who with the rest of humanity were once slaves in the kingdom of darkness (Col. 1:13), were brought into Christ's kingdom as sons to reign with Him.

5:19 The word shall does not refer to the last judgment, as if our salvation were pending until that time. Rather, it pictures the fact that believers are made righteous when they come to faith. Since Paul knew many people were yet to come to faith when he wrote, it was fitting to use future tense.

5:20-21 As in Gal. 3:19, Paul described the law as a subordinate player in the drama of redemption. The law was never an end unto itself. Rather, one of its functions was to multiply the offence by bringing the knowledge of sin. By this the need for grace is highlighted, allowing God to bestow it even more.

6:1-23 Can a justified person live the same way as he did before justification? This was a major question in the debates of the Reformation. If as sin abounded, grace super-abounded, why not commit more sin to receive more grace? Some false teachers in church history have actually argued that you can experience more grace by committing more sin. This chapter explains why this is not possible.

Ancient Byzantine baptistry at Avdat, Israel, showing the importance given baptism by the early church (Rom. 6:3-4).

6:1-2 Paul rejected the invalid inference with the strong expression God forbid. Phillips aptly translated it, "What a ghastly thought!" Paul argued that believers are dead to sin. He did not mean that our sin nature was eliminated at the cross or at the moment of our conversion or baptism. Instead, as he said elsewhere, God "delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son" (Col. 1:13). Having experienced such a transfer, dare we go on living in sin?

6:3 Paul defended his claim that believers are dead to sin. As R. Mounce put it, "Christ's death for sin becomes our death to sin" (Romans, 149).

6:5 Though believers have not yet experienced resurrection, we are assured this future reality by the fact that Christ, in whose death we share, has been raised from the dead.

6:6 Our old man is everything that we were before we became Christians. By contrast, the new man is what we are once we become Christians (Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 3:9-10). The new man is not perfect. We still sin because we have indwelling sin in our mortal bodies (Rom. 7:13-25), but we are in the process of renewal (Eph. 4; Col. 3). Thus we have the answer to the question about whether a Christian can still live in sin. We cannot live as we once did because the "old man" is crucified with Christ. In Christ the believer is a "new creature" (2 Cor. 5:17).

6:7 Sin (personified) has no claim over a dead person and can claim no loyalty from him.

6:8-9 It was because of our sin that death fixed its grip on Jesus, but He arose to live forever. Death hath no more dominion over the believer, for we are dead with Christ who no longer dies.

6:10 Jesus went through an irreversible transformation in His death and resurrection. Believers also undergo an irreversible transformation: we die to the "old man" (v. 6) at conversion and thereafter live as new creatures (2 Cor. 5:17). Like Jesus, the believer liveth unto God.

6:11 This is the first command in the book of Romans.

6:12-13 The believer, as a member of the new kingdom, must not offer any help to the old king (Satan, sin, death) and his kingdom. We are still slaves, but now we have a new Master. Note that Paul continued the personification of sin as a king (complete with a kingdom and subjects) who seeks to extend his rule. There is a spiritual war between these two kingdoms. We must give ourselves as instruments to be used in this warfare on the side of the rightful King. Aiding and abetting the enemy is treason.

6:14 Sin personified has been in view since 5:20-21. Sin is no longer the believer's ruler. Sin gained its power by using the law, but the Christian is under the rule of grace.

6:15-23 In another extended analogy, Paul asserted that people have a choice about which master they will serve.

6:16 Whoever you serve and obey, you come under his power. Sin pays a wage to his subjects, and it is death (cp. v. 23). Obedience to God brings righteousness and the gift of eternal life.

6:18-19 Slavery and redemption are common biblical metaphors for spiritual death and salvation. The Hebrews were once in bondage (literal and spiritual) in Egypt. God broke the bondage so they could come out from Egypt and worship Him (Exod. 7:16; 12:29-42). Similarly, the Roman Christians were once in spiritual bondage to false gods, but God liberated them so they could be servants of righteousness.

6:20-23 As servants of God, believers produce fruit (see John 15:1-8). This is the work of holiness or sanctification in their lives, and the final product is everlasting life. Lest the figure be misunderstood as a payment for merits earned, eternal life is a gift of God through Christ. One master (sin) pays an earned wage of death; the other master (God) pays in unearned grace, resulting in eternal life (John 17:3).

7:1-6 Roman Christians knew about Roman civil law, and many of them (especially those of a Jewish or proselyte background) knew the Mosaic law. Of course neither law could hold sway over a dead person. Having died with Christ, the believer is not under Mosaic law (6:14). Just as a widow is free to remarry, believers have died to the "old man" (6:2-6) and are free to marry another and bear fruit unto God. The death of Christ is the means by which we died to the Mosaic law (Gal. 3:13-14; Col. 2:14). As new creations, believers serve as slaves (Gk douleuein) with a new power from the Spirit, not as old men (6:6) laboring vainly under the letter of the law.

7:7-8 The law itself is not evil or sinful, but one of its functions is to reveal sin. Paul spoke as if sin were an unknown quantity apart from the law. Sin, seizing an opportunity, uses the law to motivate the flesh (fallen nature) to action. Once again Paul personified sin almost as Satan himself.

7:9-10 The phrase I was alive . . . once has been variously interpreted as a reference to (1) Paul before he came to know the law as a young Jewish boy, (2) Paul before his conversion and the conviction brought by the Holy Spirit, (3) Paul speaking as Adam in the garden of Eden before the command came, or (4) any Hebrew before the giving of the Mosaic law at mount Sinai. The basic point in each of these interpretations is the same: God's intent in the law was life, but sin deceived man by the law and brought death.

7:11-12 Though the law makes sin known and is used by sin to produce death, it is nevertheless holy, and just, and good, reflecting God's perfect holiness.

7:13 Although sin used something good to bring human death, God used the law to accomplish His purpose to clarify and to overcome sin.

7:14-25 This section is probably the most difficult and controversial passage in the letter to the Romans. For the most part the Eastern Church has interpreted it as referring to an unregenerate person (e.g., Paul before his conversion). The Western Church has followed Augustine, Luther, and Calvin in thinking it refers to a regenerate person (Paul after his conversion). One mediating position interprets the subject as an OT believer who loves the law (Ps. 1; 119) but struggles to perform it. Living before Christ and Pentecost, this person does not have the permanent and empowering gift of the Holy Spirit, as do new covenant believers. Another view holds that the subject is almost converted to Christ and is now under conviction of sin by the law.

The view that the subject is a regenerate person is sometimes modified: (1) The subject is saved but has not had "baptism" in the Pentecostal sense or a second work of grace (as held in some types of Wesleyan theology). (2) The subject is an immature believer, not yet equipped for warfare with his fleshly desires. (3) The subject is a believer trying to become sanctified by legalism.

The view in these notes is that the subject is a regenerated believer. Paul here described the new man in relation to the law of God. (The new man will be considered in relation to the Holy Spirit in the next section.) In verse 14 the new man is said to be carnal. In verse 18 in my flesh means the whole fallen nature that needs the resurrection body (Php. 3:21). In verse 24 the wretched man cries out to be rescued from (Gk ek) the body of this death. As a believer in Christ, Paul longed to be delivered out of the fallen human body which still has indwelling sin.

7:14 Paul was carnal (a metaphorical reference to spiritual fallenness) and thus found himself conflicted with the spiritual law of God.

7:15-17 Paul agreed with the law and its goodness, but sin was an alien power that has residence within him and caused him to do things he hated.

7:18-19 Even after conversion, there is no part of a person that is sinless, no place without sin's presence, and the believer is unable to keep the whole law. The only good in a believer is the presence of the Holy Spirit.

7:20-23 In his inward man, in his deepest recesses, the believer delights in God's law, but he finds this alien power living within, waging war with him and taking him prisoner.

7:24-25 Many modern commentators and translators try to reorder these verses, but the order makes sense if the interpretation outlined above is followed. In verse 24 the subject cries out for deliverance from the fallen human condition. A cry of thanksgiving is then offered to God because the subject knows that Jesus will deliver him from his body. The believer recognizes that in his mind he wants to serve God's law since it is holy, just, good, and spiritual, but at the same time his fallen nature is in the service of this alien power—sin.

8:1-39 Romans 8 has been called the most wonderful chapter in the Bible. It begins with "no condemnation" (v. 1) and ends with no separation from God (v. 39). Whereas 7:14-25 describes the new man in relation to the law, chapter 8 describes the new man in relation to the Holy Spirit and His work in and through the new man.

8:1 There is no condemnation for the believer because he is not under the law (6:14); he has been released from the law (7:6).

8:2-3 The believer's freedom comes from Jesus' incarnation and His sacrifice for sin and by the Holy Spirit's operation in providing life. The Second Person of the Trinity, the Son, took on humanity. He did not cease to be God but took on a real human nature (without sin) and became the perfect offering. He fulfilled the law's demands in His life and in His death and broke sin's power in the flesh on the cross.

8:4 Through the Spirit, Christians can now live a new way of love, which fulfills the law (13:10).

8:5-6 Paul described the two kinds of people: the old man and the new—two different kinds of existence or two "mind-sets," and two different outcomes.

8:7-8 Unregenerate people are hostile to God and unable to submit to God's law because they lack God's Spirit, which makes submission possible.

8:9-11 Christians are in a new realm, for the Spirit indwells them. The Spirit's presence is the mark of Christ's ownership. The Christian's physical body will still die because of sin's effects (unless the Lord returns before death; 1 Cor. 15:50-57). The pledge and promise of the Spirit is that He will raise us as He did Jesus. Now the Spirit provides life and righteousness.

8:12-13 Freedom brings an obligation. The Christian is activated by the Holy Spirit to decisively subdue the flesh and its activities and live.

8:14 The leading of the Spirit of God is His providential sanctification (Ps. 23:3). It is common to all sons, it is constant, and it will bring the believer to glory (Rom. 8:17). The leading of the Spirit is not mystical direction or ecstasy. It is the Spirit's empowerment for mortification of fleshly desires (v. 13).

8:15-16 The Holy Spirit is not an agent of bondage but the means of our adoption into God's family. By the Spirit we have a consciousness that God is our Father. It is the mark of a Christian to cry out to his Father in prayer. The Spirit also gives us assurance of our status and therefore of our salvation.

8:17 We are joined to Christ in suffering but also in our future blessing and destiny. As He is in glory (1 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 1:3; 2:7,9-10) so we will be glorified with Him.

8:18 Paul also said, "our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Cor. 4:17).

8:19-21 The created order of this earth was cursed at the fall (Gen. 3:17-19), and it will be restored in the regeneration. When we receive our freedom, the entire world will be changed (Isa. 2:2-4; 11:6-9; Rev. 21–22).

8:22-23 Paul described the groaning of creation, the groaning of believers, and the groaning of the Holy Spirit (v. 26). Travail gives birth to a new creation. Christians have only the firstfruits—the pledge of more to come in our salvation. We groan because of our fallen nature. Our new resurrection bodies will conform us to Jesus' glorified body.

8:24-25 Our salvation is secure, but it is as yet unseen and thus a matter of hope.

8:26-27 In our weakness we have the help of the Spirit. Jesus is our intercessor in heaven (Heb. 7:25), and the Spirit is our intercessor on earth within our hearts. We are limited and ignorant, but the Spirit uses unspoken groanings to communicate our needs. This is not "speaking in tongues" (Gk glossolalia). It is instead wordless. Our heavenly Father knows what is happening in our lives and within the deep recesses of our personalities (1 Sam. 16:7; Prov. 15:11; Jer. 17:10). The Spirit's requests are always in agreement with the will of God and are always answered.

8:28 Who are those who love God? Paul defined them as those who are called according to his purpose. The "called" are all Christians (v v. 29-30). The promise of this verse is that God orders everything for believers so that all of life's experiences work together for our ultimate good. Not everything is good in and of itself, but God uses everything for our good (v v. 35-36). Jesus taught us that God's sovereign care for and guidance of creation covers even the death of a sparrow and the hairs of our head (Luke 12:6-7,22-34).

8:29-30 God has a plan that spans from eternity past to eternity future. Those he did foreknow refers to those whom God set His electing love upon in eternity past. Predestinate means that God planned from eternity that those He foreknew would become like Christ through spiritual rebirth. Called is the "effectual" call in which God opens our heart so we can hear His voice (cp. Acts 16:14). "Calling" in Paul's writing never means just an invitation. It is a sovereign summons that draws the sinner from death to life. Justified is God's act of declaration that we are "right" in His sight because Jesus paid our penalty and we received His righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21). Glorified is the final stage of our salvation. Notice that our future glorification is so certain that it is spoken of in the past tense.

8:31 If God be for us expresses not a hypothetical scenario, but a sure reality: God really is for us. This well summarizes the gospel, and serves as a concise summary of 3:21–8:30 (Cranfield, Romans, 1:434). OT believers had the same assurance: "I will fear no evil: for thou art with me" (Ps. 23:4; cp. Ps. 27:1). "This I know; for God is for me" (Ps. 56:9). Those arrayed against us seem numerous sometimes—the world, the flesh, Satan, secularists, false religions, our enemies—but God loves us and is sovereign. Jehovah is our Shepherd, Maker of heaven and earth!

8:32 In contrast to Abraham who was permitted to spare his only son, God did not spare his own Son. If God did the greater (gave His Son), He will certainly do the lesser and give us all that is necessary for life and godliness.

8:33 Our accusers are numerous, but God the Judge has already pronounced the final verdict.

8:35-36 God's people have always faced persecutions and hardships.

8:37 We conquer not by our ability but because God loved us.

8:38-39 Paul's "grand persuasion" (Gk pepeismai) is in the perfect tense, which indicates a past action that has ongoing impact. Having been persuaded (by God), he stood firm in the belief that nothing could separate him from the love of God. Jesus conquered death and Satan on the cross, ensuring that nothing can change God's love or purpose for us. We "are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Pet. 1:5).

9–11 Many interpreters have been puzzled by this section. Anti-Jewish interpreters argue that God is finished with the Jews (9:1-29), while others view these chapters as a digression from Paul's exposition of the gospel. But K. H. Rengstorff recognized otherwise in 1949: "During the years of its sufferings, the Confessing Church learnt that Romans 9–11 held the key to the understanding of the NT."

These chapters help answer tough questions about how Jesus could be the Jewish Messiah and yet suffer rejection by the majority of Israel. Was the glory of the Davidic Messiah not supposed to excel the glory of David himself? The Jews expected that when the Messiah came, Israel would be delivered from Gentile oppression and given priority over the nations. Since these things had not happened, many assumed either that Jesus was not the promised Messiah or that God had broken His promises to Israel. Furthermore, if Jesus really was the Messiah and yet God had not delivered Israel, how could anyone trust Him to keep His gospel promises? So the trustworthiness of God seemed to be on the line.

Paul overturned these doubts by answering from three perspectives: (1) from the viewpoint of divine sovereignty (chap. 9), (2) from human responsibility (chap. 10), and (3) from God's final purpose (chap. 11).

9:1-3 Far from being a traitor to the Jews, Paul insisted that he anguished over Jewish unbelief and would willingly forsake his own salvation if it could save his physical kinsmen.

9:4-5 Paul began in 3:1-2 to list Jewish national benefits. Now he returns to list their privileges, the greatest of which is the incarnation of God in Jewish flesh.

9:6 It is a basic misunderstanding of the OT promises to think that all who were in the nation of Israel were guaranteed to receive God's spiritual blessings. Paul provided examples in the following verses.

9:7 Abraham had children by Hagar and Keturah, but the promised line was through Sarah's son Isaac.

9:8-9 Ishmael was a physical son of Abraham, but Isaac was the physical son with the spiritual promise.

9:10-11 The case is clearer with Rebecca because she had twins. God's choice of the younger twin before their birth showed His gracious election and indicated again that God's blessings are His to hand out and that they were not an automatic birthright of all ethnic Jews; see note at verse 6.

9:12-13 The divine purpose was revealed from the beginning of the Hebrew nation when God chose one twin over the other. The prophet Malachi traced God's differing treatment of two nations to this divine choice (Mal. 1:1-5). Both nations were punished for their sins, but only one received grace. Jacob have I loved means God chose or elected his descendants (the nation of Israel), whereas Esau have I hated means that God rejected the nation that stemmed from him (Edom; see note at Mal. 1:3-5).

9:14-15 It is difficult to grasp the fact that God does not need to treat all sinners the same in order to be just. Jesus taught the same truth in the parable of the vineyard workers (Matt. 20:1-15: "Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?"). In His first sermon in Nazareth, Jesus pointed out that God gave grace to a widow in Sidon and healed only Naaman the Syrian when there were many needy people in Israel (Luke 4:24-27). His comments enraged the audience, but careful consideration reveals that a just God is perfectly free to make such choices. If you gave money to one beggar but not to another, or if you forgave one debtor but not another, would you be unjust? Of course not. You chose to be gracious to one where you could have justly chosen to be gracious to none. God does not owe mercy to anyone. Paul quoted Exod. 33:19 to this effect.

9:16 Salvation does not depend on human will or effort but on God's mercy. The situation is not that people want to be saved but cannot be (2 Tim. 2:25-26), or that they are running after God but cannot find Him. Apart from God's drawing them, none are seeking the one true God—not a single one (Rom. 3:11-12).

9:17 God raised up Pharaoh as ruler of Egypt and used him as a foil to reveal His name (Jehovah) and His power so the one true God would be known. Pharaoh believed himself to be the epitome of Ra the sun god. He hardened his heart and rejected God's revelation (Exod. 7:3; 8:15).

9:18 God hardened Pharaoh in his stubbornness as he progressively rejected the plagues that revealed "the finger of God" (Exod. 8:19). Exodus points out that Pharaoh hardened his heart many times before God punished him by hardening him (see notes at Exod. 4:21-23; 8:15; 9:12).

9:19 The Judge of the earth is always just; man cannot judge God.

9:20-22 Adam (man) is from the (Hb) adama (ground) (Gen. 2:7). In pronouncing punishment for Adam and Eve's sin, God said, "For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Gen. 3:19). The image of the village potter is common in the OT (Isa. 41:25; 45:9; Jer. 18:1-12) and is used to illustrate different lessons. Here the clay represents fallen humanity. Like a potter, God works this material into shapes that fulfill His desires (Isa. 64:6-9). Some pots He chooses to be for honour; others He patiently endures until He displays His justified wrath against sin.

9:23-24 God has providentially set His redeeming love on both Jews and Gentiles.

9:25-26 Drawing from Hosea's marriage, Paul compared Gentile salvation to mercy bestowed on an undeserving adulterous wife (see the book of Hosea).

9:27-29 God will save a remnant of Israel that He "calls." Unless God had been gracious, the whole nation would have been justly wiped out like ancient Sodom and Gomorrah.

9:30-10:21 Chapter and verse divisions in the Bible are modern inventions made for the convenience of readers. Chapters 9–11 are one unit of thought, and they must be understood together to get a complete picture of Paul's argument.

9:30-33 Gentiles, who were not seeking righteousness, were granted it by grace through faith. They did not work for it or earn it. But Israel missed it by seeking righteousness through the law and by their works. They stumbled over the Messiah and did not believe in Him (Isa. 8:14; 28:16). Jesus Himself warned Israel that they missed the "stone" (Matt. 21:42-44; see Ps. 118:22-23).

10:1 Paul saw no contradiction between election and prayer. Only a sovereign God, who has rights to move unilaterally in the affairs of humanity, can answer prayer. Among unbelievers we do not know beforehand who is elect and will come to faith upon hearing the gospel, but we can know that God our Saviour "will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:4). Paul therefore prayed for Jews to be saved, and we must be diligent to share the good news of Jesus with everyone. It is never proper to give up on someone as "non-elect."

10:2-3 Both zeal and accurate knowledge are necessary if one is truly to know God and serve Him. In his zeal as a non-Christian Pharisee, Paul persecuted the church (Acts 22:3-5). Likewise, zeal among unbelieving Jews led to Jesus' unjust execution. In spiritual blindness they not only missed God's way of righteousness, they opposed it.

10:4 Christ is the end of the law in being both its fulfillment and its termination. Any system of salvation based on performance is excluded.

10:5-8 Paul quoted Moses on both sides of the issue. In Lev. 18:5 (cp. Gal. 3:12) obedience to the law brings life, but in fact no one can keep the law and gain righteousness. Faith-based righteousness is from Christ. He died for us and was raised from the dead. Moses pointed out that God's revelation was accessible, and Paul quoted his words to show that Christ is accessible.

10:9-10 Lord is a confession of faith; it is the translation of the Greek word kurios. This is the regular way of translating the Hebrew name for God (Jehovah) in the Greek OT (the LXX). Jesus is not only the Messiah (Gk Christ = Hb Messiah), but He is also Jehovah. Not only do we believe that the man Jesus was raised . . . from the dead, but we also believe that He shares the same nature with God. This is the start of the understanding of Christ's two natures, as articulated at the Council of Chalcedon (a.d. 451). Jesus is fully human and fully God. Christians by definition believe and confess this truth.

10:11-13 Paul cited biblical support for the universal offer of salvation. Salvation is for both Jew and Greek (i.e., Gentiles) since the same Lord (Gk kurios, v. 12) is rich in mercy unto all. The promise is for all who call on the name of the Lord (kurios). Jesus is Lord—that is, Jehovah ("Lord" in Joel 2:32).

10:14-15 In the absence of any one of these listed factors, no one can call on the name of the Lord.

10:16-21 Paul quoted several OT passages to show that the conditions described in verses 14-15 had been met for Israel. The gospel message was proclaimed throughout the Roman Empire. The Jews listened and simply did not believe. The Gentiles heard too, and many embraced it. Paul's citations show that the Gentile conversion was predicted in the OT. Ultimately, all peoples are a disobedient and gainsaying people. Israel was singled out in this way due to their consistent rejection of God's message and messengers (see Acts 7:51-60).

11:1-4 Paul continued explaining that the unbelief of Israel is no argument against the gospel. Israel's blindness is not total, and God is still working with the nation. In the days of Samuel, the nation rejected God as their king and chose a human king. Yet God continued to work with His people: "The Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people" (1 Sam. 12:22). In Paul's time, they had rejected Jesus as King Messiah and their leaders insisted, "We have no king but Caesar" (John 19:15), but God was not finished with them. Paul himself was evidence that God was saving some Jews. God's election of the nation (which he foreknew, v. 2; cp. 8:29) is immutable. Even in times of national apostasy, God saves a remnant.

11:5-6 Grace is by definition unmerited favor.

11:7-10 The Jewish nation missed salvation because they sought for it by works. The elect portion was given mercy, but the majority was hardened in unbelief; OT citations are given to show that God has judged His people.

11:11 Like a runner in a race, the Jewish nation had stumbled, but they had not totally fallen. Their stumbling had a purpose—to bring salvation to the Gentiles. This will eventually provoke the Jews to envy (Acts 13:45-51). Throughout the book of Acts, Paul went to preach in the synagogues first, but then would turn to the Gentiles following Jewish rejection (cp. Acts 9:19-20; 28:26-29).

11:12,15-16 If Jewish unbelief brought riches to the Gentiles, their future faith in Jesus as Messiah will enrich the world tremendously (cp. Isa. 2:2-4).

11:16-24 The olive tree was a symbol of the nation of Israel. It was used in this section by Paul as an illustration or allegory of God's dealings with Jews and Gentiles. The patriarchs are represented by the root of the tree. The Gentiles are a wild graft. Pruned off branches are the unbelieving Jews. Salvation is by faith, and the Gentiles need to be humble about their position. Spiritual pride has no place in salvation by grace. God is able to restore the Jewish people to the place of faith. Salvation is always a miracle. It is no harder for God to save a Jew than a Gentile.

11:25-27 A mystery (see note at Mark 4:11) has been revealed by God: (1) A partial hardening has come to Israel; (2) this will continue until a full number of the Gentiles come in; and (3) then all Israel shall be saved. "Israel" is the name for the Jewish people. It is used 70 times in the NT of Jews, Hebrews, or Israelites. It is not used as a title for the church. Galatians 6:16 is not an exception; it refers to saved or godly Jews as "the Israel of God." Here in verse 26, "all Israel" means there will be a conversion of the Hebrew nation. It does not mean that every single Jew living will be saved. Salvation is defined in verses 26-27 as the new covenant that the Messiah will inaugurate.

11:28-32 Without repentance means that Israel's vocation and gifts are irrevocable, so their future salvation is certain. God in His mercy gives grace to the disobedient: both to Gentiles and Jews. Concluded is literally "shut up." All were so imprisoned in their unbelief that there was no way to escape except by God's mercy.

11:33-36 Paul concluded his line of reasoning that Israel's current unbelief is no argument against the truth of the gospel. He was moved to exclamations of wonder at God's wisdom, power, and plan. Who could have foreseen what God was working out? Paul cited various OT texts to express God's incomprehensible purposes. God is to be honored because He is the Alpha and the Omega—the Creator, the sustainer and ruler, and the goal of all things (cp. Cranfield, Romans, 2:591).

12:1-2 Paul commonly made statements about what God has done for us before outlining our proper response—doctrine (chaps. 1–11), then duty (chaps. 12–15). Our service entails dedication of the total person to living for God's honor. Christians are to be different from non-Christian society. We should experience a progressive transformation of life by the renewing of our mind. The mind is changed by prayer, by reading and reflection on God's Word, by worship, and by meditation on God's acts as the Holy Spirit works in us.

12:3-8 As part of a renewed mind, the Christian is to think wisely about himself and what his function is to be in the body of Christ (the church; see 1 Cor. 12:12-28). Measure of faith may mean a person should measure himself by the gospel. Others see it as different apportionments of faith. Either way, Paul exhorts Christians to be humble and to use what God has given for the good of the body. Based on Rom. 12:3; 1 Cor. 12:8-10; Eph. 4:11; 1 Pet. 4:10, Christians are given gifts to use for the good of others.

The NT lists at least 17 kinds of gifts. Christians are defined not just by their personal faith but also by their inclusion in local faith fellowships that are expressions of the body of Christ (see 1 Cor. 12:12-31). Only some of the gifts are explained in this present passage. Prophecy in the NT churches was direct revelation from God before the canon was completed. This gift was to be used and measured in concert with the objective body of Christian truths. Ministry (Gk diakonia) is the origin of the word "deacon." A deacon here is not a member of a board of directors but a servant. It describes not a title or office but a gift of service. Pastors should have this gift. Teaching is an essential gift. Parents teach children, older believers teach younger believers, vocational pastor-teachers are the primary instructors in a church, and elders should be able to teach also. All believers can teach to some level, but those who have a special facility for teaching are responsible to develop and utilize it. Exhortation is the gift of motivating and encouraging. This gift is similar to the Holy Spirit's function. Giving is to be done with generosity. All can give, but capacities differ. Some delight to give out of very small means (Mark 12:41-44); others give a "reverse tithe"—they give 90 percent and live on 10 percent. Ruling is a gift of vision and direction that is effective but should not be overbearing. Mercy is helping the sick, the poor, and the sorrowful. This gift is to be exercised with cheerfulness. Practical assistance to needy members was a main emphasis of the early churches. This same emphasis should characterize churches today.

12:9-16 Transformed thinking (v. 2) is explained in a series of short exhortations. Paul has expounded divine love in this letter; now he shifts to the disciple's "faith which worketh by love" (Gal. 5:6). Christians are one family, and they should honour one another with affection and brotherly love. They should let the Spirit kindle and motivate their service, rejoice in the hope of Jesus' return, share what they have, and share the joys and sorrows of the church family. In the afflictions and persecutions of life, members of the body are to support one another in prayer. Pride is a great sin and humility is a great virtue. One shouldn't think too much of oneself. "God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble" (1 Pet. 5:5).

12:17-21 Christians often suffer hatred and persecution from society (1 Pet. 1:6; 2:11-12; 3:14-17; 4:12-16; 5:9). The normal response is to retaliate, but Christians are called to serve and minister God's grace to a lost and hostile world. Jesus is our model. As much as possible, we are to live peaceably with all men. God is the sovereign who can convert even a Saul who persecuted the church. God is the judge and the administrator of wrath. Our role is to display God's grace and love in our lives. God in Jesus conquered evil on the cross. We are not to let evil conquer us.

13:1-7 The relation of the church to the state is a matter of perennial controversy. Israel struggled under various world empires and in NT times was under the yoke of Rome. How should God's people relate to ungodly governments? Jesus addressed this matter: "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's" (Matt. 22:21). Government is an institution ordained by God for man's benefit, but it can be corrupted and twisted out of its proper function. Paul in these few short verses did not address some of the questions that we might ask him, but clearly he wanted Roman Christians to be good citizens. However, that same government put our Lord to death (John 19:10-11) and killed both Peter and Paul. This same government is in view again in Revelation 13. Thus the Christian must take care to discern possible cases where obedience to the government entails disobedience to God (Acts 5:29).

13:1 God is sovereign over human affairs. Unwarranted rebellion against government is rebellion against God (v. 2).

13:2-4 The Jewish nation rebelled against Rome in two costly wars, bringing damnation upon themselves at a cost of more than one million lives. Government is ordained by God to reward good and punish evil, providing peace and order for those whom it serves. The sword alludes to capital punishment. A government that rewards evil and punishes good will not long survive, for evil is innately destructive. "He that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once" (Prov. 28:18).

13:5-7 Since the civil government is ordained by God and gives us certain benefits, we are to be subject to it. Early Christians refused to worship emperor or state, but they showed their respect by praying for the authorities (1 Tim. 2:1-2).

13:8-10 The Christian is to pay all his obligations, but there is one debt we can never repay. This is the debt of agape love. Some have misinterpreted this verse as prohibiting all monetary debt, including having a mortgage on a house or buying a car on an installment plan. It may be wise never to go into monetary debt (cp. "the borrower is servant to the lender," Prov. 22:7), but this verse has little to do with modern methods of finance. It is about fulfilling obligations of all kinds. We can never stop "loving" (agape love) as long as we live. Love fulfills the law because we fulfill the first four commands by loving the Lord and the rest of the law as we love our neighbour.

13:11-14 Christians live between the ages. The old age is passing, and the new is dawning. We long for the new age to fully come, and we recognize that our salvation will soon be completed. We have been "delivered . . . from the power of darkness" (Col. 1:13) and from the night of sin into a new realm of light. We need to wake up from spiritual lethargy. Paul used the image of taking off the old clothes of sinful behavior and putting on the Lord Jesus Christ as our way of life. This passage is famous for bringing Augustine of Hippo to salvation (Confessions, 8:12.22).

14:1-15:13 Christians in Rome had different opinions on certain practices since they came from various backgrounds. If they came from paganism, they may have viewed as tainted the foods and drinks sold in the markets (cp. 1 Cor. 8:1-13; 10:23-33). If they came from certain cults, they could even be vegetarians. Similarly, today people who convert to Christianity from Islam, Judaism, and Hinduism have a history of dietary practices and observation of special days. Food or calendar issues may therefore have special importance to them as matters of conscience. In this passage, most interpreters think the issue came from those who sought to observe (or even enforce) the ceremonial part of OT law. Theologians have called these issues "matters of indifference" (Gk adiaphora) since differences of opinion are allowed, but it is easy to see how some believers feel otherwise. The church must strive for tolerance and understanding on such matters, emphasizing the unity of believers, the expression of love for others, and the purity of the gospel message.

14:1 The weak believer is overly conscientious about matters not regulated by Christian revelation. Paul commanded believers to welcome weak Christians but not to get into arguments about doubtful issues.

14:2 Most Jews were not vegetarians, but see Dan. 1:8-12.

14:3-4 Mutual toleration is a Christian virtue. God accepts each believer, along with issues stemming from his background and maturity level, and is able to sanctify him. Though we may be used of God to help inform a weak believer, we must never judge God's servant.

14:5 The observing of special days is complicated. Luther believed Sunday was not the sabbath but a new day of worship, whereas Calvin believed the sabbath was changed to Sunday. Some Christian groups believe in Friday/Saturday sabbath observance. In thinking through this issue, we should consider the implications of Christ's Sunday-morning resurrection and the new covenant.

14:6 Our religious practices are to be done out of conviction before God. How we live and die must come from the conviction that we belong to the Lord.

14:7-9 We are not our own. Christ died and rose to be Lord of all. Luther said paradoxically, "A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant, subject to all." In any case, most of all, we are the Lord's.

14:10-12 Many interpreters distinguish the judgment seat (Gk beyma) of Christ from the great white throne judgment in Rev. 20:11-15. The former is where believers will be rewarded or suffer loss of rewards (1 Cor. 3:13) based on their deeds and their stewardship of God-given responsibilities. The latter is where unbelievers will be raised for judgment. Believers take part in the first resurrection, and there is no condemnation for them (Rom. 8:1; Rev. 20:4-6). All people will bow before God and give an account of their lives. Christians might think that because they are exempt from the final condemnation they can live any way they want, but Christ the Lord will evaluate His servants.

14:13 Our goal must be to help all believers grow into spiritual maturity and not to hinder their progress.

14:14 Paul's background as a Pharisee trained him to emphasize the distinction between clean and unclean (Lev. 20:25), but Jesus persuaded him that this distinction was no longer valid. Amazingly, Paul adopted a new stance, but he also recognized that some believers, especially those from a Jewish background, had not made this transition. Mature believers should not recklessly push "weak" believers (v. 1) into such a transition.

14:15 A strong Christian must live in love and not violate the conscience of a weak believer. The conscience is the moral faculty of the mind. It can be educated by God through the Holy Spirit, but we must never encourage anyone to go against his conscience. We can cause a person's spiritual ruin by teaching them to ignore or violate their conscience.

14:16-17 Christian liberty will get a bad name if love does not govern it. Food is never to be a major concern in our lives, but we are to promote righteousness, and peace, and joy in the churches.

14:18-19 Our actions should serve Christ and help other Christians grow and flourish.

14:20-21 Objectively, everything is pure ("every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving," 1 Tim. 4:4). Yet some immature believers might stumble over meat or wine.

14:22-23 A Christian's sense of freedom in these matters should not translate into public behavior if another believer finds the freedom scandalous. For instance, a Muslim convert who never ate pork or drank wine might stumble if he saw a Christian doing either of these things.

15:1-2 Why should the strong "give in" to the conscience of the weak? The way of love demands it. The strong believer does not forsake his conscience by abstaining from certain of his freedoms, but the weaker believer would have to violate his in order to accommodate the liberties of the strong.

15:3 The strong Christian is to follow the example of his Lord, who pleased not himself but bore the insults and hostility that people had against God.

15:4 Far from being irrelevant to Christian faith, the OT writings are for our learning (2 Tim. 3:16). Not everything in them is applicable to new covenant discipleship, but everything points to Jesus (Luke 24:27).

15:5-6 Paul's prayer is that God will bring these house churches of Rome to the place of harmony, love, and unity that will enable them to best honor God.

15:7-8 People from Jewish and Gentile backgrounds struggled with accepting one another. Jesus as Christ was born a Jew and ministered to Israel (Matt. 15:24) to fulfill OT promises and prophecies. His primary purpose was for Israel, but He also had a design for the nations (Gentiles).

15:9-12 A series of citations from the OT demonstrates God's plans. Quotes from the Law, History, Psalms, and Prophets refer to Gentile reception and praise of God. In Ps. 18:49 the Messiah stands among converted Gentiles and offers their praise, along with His own, to the Father. In Deut. 32:43 Moses summons the Gentiles to join Israel in joyful praise to God. Psalm 117 is the shortest psalm, and it calls for universal praise from the nations. In Isa. 11:10 the Davidic King, the Messiah, is described as the hope not just of Israel but of all the nations.

15:13 Paul gave a second benediction (cp. v v. 5-6) for the churches with emphasis on hope in God produced by the Holy Spirit's work among them.

15:14-16 Paul was convinced that the Roman Christians were gifted by God for effective service and healthy church life. God does not build His church without seeing to these needs. Yet Paul also knew that God had uniquely called and equipped him as an apostle to the Gentiles. So what he wrote was sure to be useful in helping the Roman house churches grow to maturity. He served as a priest offering the Gentiles to God and wanted this offering to be holy, acceptable, and pleasing to God (12:1-2).

15:17-19 Paul wanted to boast in Christ to the Roman believers about how God had used him to spread the good news all the way from Jerusalem to the Roman province of Illyricum (modern Albania). God had approved of his ministry by authenticating signs and wonders and many conversions. The Roman believers would have been comforted by this testimony, for it illustrated the secure basis on which they had rested their hopes for salvation.

15:20-21 In 10 years, God had used Paul as a pioneer church planter in the eastern section of the Roman Empire. Paul felt his ministry was in keeping with OT messianic prophecy (Isa. 52:15). He was the planter; others would come water the soil, and God would give growth (1 Cor. 3:3-9).

15:22-24 God's work for Paul in the eastern half of the Roman Empire had kept him from going to Rome sooner, but now the work was completed and he planned to pass through Rome on a mission journey to the western part of the Roman Empire. Scholars are divided on whether Paul ever made it to Spain. The Bible does not record a Spanish mission for Paul.

15:25-29 Paul was on his way to Jerusalem to bring a gift from the Gentile churches for the poor of the Jewish church in that city. He planned to come to Rome next. Little did he know he would be taken to Rome in custody (Acts 25:11–28:14,30-31).

15:30-33 Paul made three specific prayer requests: (1) for deliverance from hostile forces, (2) that the gift from Gentile Christians would be welcomed by Jewish Christians, and (3) that he might come to Rome. All three were answered; see Acts 23:10; 21:17-20a; 25:11-12 respectively.

16:1-2 Phebe was the probable carrier of this letter to Rome. Paul commended her for her service.

16:3-4 Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:1-3,18,26; 2 Tim. 4:19) were Paul's coworkers. They had churches in their homes, they instructed Apollos, and they risked their own necks to save Paul.

16:7 Andronicus and Junia might have been "well-known to the apostles" or "outstanding among the apostles." The word "apostle" can be used in a nontechnical sense, referring to a "messenger" rather than a commissioned apostle such as Paul.

16:13 Rufus was possibly the same man whose father ("Simon a Cyrenian") helped carry Jesus' cross to Golgotha (Mark 15:21-22).

16:17-20 Satan and false teachers will always assail the church (Acts 20:28-29; 2 Cor. 11:13-15; Gal. 5:10-12; Php. 3:2,18-20; Col. 2:16-19). Paul warned believers at Rome to be alert and avoid false teachers. Illustrating both the familiar relation between divine sovereignty and human responsibility to choose, we must be diligent in the battle against darkness, but ultimate victory is assured.

16:22 Scholars debate the role of the scribe (in this case, Tertius) in ancient writings. Did they typically take dictation word for word, or was their composition taken down in shorthand or perhaps a summary manner and later expanded? Biblical teaching about divine inspiration of the biblical author commends the first suggestion (see note at Jer. 36:4).

16:25-27 By my gospel, Paul did not mean his preaching did not reflect God's direct revelation (see Gal. 1:11-12). He meant the gospel as he had faithfully preached it: a gospel of grace for all nations. In ages past this gospel was a mystery . . . kept secret as God directed history until "the fulness of the time was come" (Gal. 4:4). In Christ the "mystery" is revealed to the world.

Romans Cross-References

a 1:1 Acts 22:21; 1 Cor. 1:1; Gal. 1:1; 1 Tim. 1:11; 2:7; 2 Tim. 1:11

bActs 9:15; 13:2; Gal. 1:15

c 1:2 See Acts 26:6; Titus 1:2

dch. 3:21; 16:26; Gal. 3:8

e 1:3 Matt. 1:6,16; Luke 1:32; Acts 2:30; 2 Tim. 2:8

fJohn 1:14; Gal. 4:4

g 1:4 Acts 13:33

hHeb. 9:14

i 1:5 ch. 12:3; 15:15; 1 Cor. 15:10; Gal. 1:15; 2:9; Eph. 3:8

jch. 16:26; Acts 6:7

kActs 9:15

l 1:7 ch. 9:24; 1 Cor. 1:2; 1 Thess. 4:7

m1 Cor. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:3

n 1:8 1 Cor. 1:4; Php. 1:3; Col. 1:3-4; 1 Thess. 1:2; Phm. 4

och. 16:19; 1 Thess. 1:8

p 1:9 ch. 9:1; 2 Cor. 1:23; Php. 1:8; 1 Thess. 2:5

qActs 27:23; 2 Tim. 1:3

r1 Thess. 3:10

s 1:10 ch. 15:23,32; 1 Thess. 3:10

tJames 4:15

u 1:11 ch. 15:29

v 1:12 Titus 1:4; 2 Pet. 1:1

a 1:13 ch. 15:23

bSee Acts 16:7; 1 Thess. 2:18

cPhp. 4:17

d 1:14 1 Cor. 9:16

e 1:16 Ps. 40:9-10; Mark 8:38; 2 Tim. 1:8

f1 Cor. 1:18; 15:2

gch. 2:9; Luke 2:30-32; 24:47; Acts 3:26; 13:26,46

h 1:17 ch. 3:21

iHab. 2:4; John 3:36; Gal. 3:11; Php. 3:9; Heb. 10:38

j 1:18 Acts 17:30; Eph. 5:6; Col. 3:6

k 1:19 Acts 14:17

lJohn 1:9

m 1:20 Ps. 19:1, etc.; Acts 14:17; 17:27

n 1:21 2 Kings 17:15; Jer. 2:5; Eph. 4:17-18

o 1:22 Jer. 10:14

p 1:23 Deut. 4:16, etc.; Ps. 106:20; Isa. 40:18,26; Jer. 2:11; Ezek. 8:10; Acts 17:29

a 1:24 Ps. 81:12; Acts 7:42; Eph. 4:18-19; 2 Thess. 2:11-12

b1 Cor. 6:18; 1 Thess. 4:4; 1 Pet. 4:3

cLev. 18:22

d 1:25 1 Thess. 1:9; 1 John 5:20

eIsa 44:20; Jer. 10:14; 13:25; Amos 2:4

f 1:26 Lev. 18:22-23; Eph. 5:12; Jude 10

g 1:28 Eph. 5:4

h 1:32 ch. 2:2

ich. 6:21

jHos. 7:3; Ps. 50:18

k 2:1 ch. 1:20

l2 Sam. 12:5-7; Matt. 7:1-2; John 8:9

m 2:4 ch. 9:23; Eph. 1:7; 2:4,7

a 2:4 ch. 3:25

bExod. 34:6

cIsa. 30:18; 2 Pet. 3:9,15

d 2:5 Deut. 32:34; James 5:3

e 2:6 ch. 14:12; Job 34:11; Ps. 62:12; Prov. 24:12; Jer. 17:10; 32:19; Matt. 16:27; 1 Cor. 3:8; 2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 2:23; 20:12; 22:12

f 2:8 ch. 1:18; Job 24:13; 2 Thess. 1:8

g 2:9 Amos 3:2; Luke 12:47-48; 1 Pet. 4:17

h 2:10 1 Pet. 1:7

i 2:11 Deut. 10:17; 2 Chron. 19:7; Job 34:19; Acts 10:34; Gal. 2:6; Eph. 6:9; Col. 3:25; 1 Pet. 1:17

j 2:13 Matt. 7:21; James 1:22-23, 25; 1 John 3:7

k 2:16 ch. 3:6; Eccl. 12:14; Matt. 25:31; John 12:48; 1 Cor. 4:5; Rev. 20:12

lJohn 5:22; Acts 10:42; 17:31; 2 Tim. 4:1,8; 1 Pet. 4:5

mch. 16:25; 1 Tim. 1:11; 2 Tim. 2:8

n 2:17 ch. 9:6-7; Matt. 3:9; John 8:33;2 Cor. 11:22

och. 9:4; Mic. 3:11

pIsa. 45:25; 48:2; John 8:41

q 2:18 Deut. 4:8; Ps. 147:19-20

rPhp. 1:10

s 2:19 Matt. 15:14; 23:16-17,19,24; John 9:34,40-41

t 2:20 ch. 6:17; 2 Tim. 1:13; 3:5

u 2:21 Ps. 50:16, etc.; Matt. 23:3, etc.

a 2:22 Mal. 3:8

b 2:23 ver. 17

c 2:24 2 Sam. 12:14; Isa. 52:5; Ezek. 36:20,23

d 2:25 Gal. 5:3

e 2:26 Acts 10:34-35

f 2:27 Matt. 12:41-42

g 2:28 ch. 9:6-7; Matt. 3:9; John 8:39; Gal. 6:15; Rev. 2:9

h 2:29 1 Pet. 3:4

iCol. 2:11; Php. 3:3

jch. 7:6; 2 Cor. 3:6

k1 Cor. 4:5; 2 Cor. 10:18; 1 Thess. 2:4

l 3:2 ch. 2:18; 9:4; Deut. 4:7-8; Ps. 147:19-20

m 3:3 ch. 10:16; Heb. 4:2

nch. 9:6; 11:29; Num. 23:19; 2 Tim. 2:13

o 3:4 Job 40:8

pJohn 3:33

qPs. 62:9; 116:11

rPs. 51:4

s 3:5 ch. 6:19; Gal. 3:15

t 3:6 Gen. 18:25; Job 8:3; 34:17

u 3:8 ch. 5:20; 6:1,15

a 3:9 ver. 23; Gal. 3:22

b 3:10 Ps. 14:1-3; 53:1

c 3:13 Ps. 5:9; Jer. 5:16

dPs. 140:3

e 3:14 Ps. 10:7

f 3:15 Prov. 1:16; Isa. 59:7-8

g 3:18 Ps. 36:1

h 3:19 John 10:34; 15:25

ich. 1:20; 2:1; Job 5:16; Ps. 107:42; Ezek. 16:63

jver. 9,23; ch. 2:2

k 3:20 Ps. 143:2; Acts 13:39; Gal. 2:16; 3:11; Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5

lch. 7:7

m 3:21 ch. 1:17; Acts 15:11; Php. 3:9; Heb. 11:4, etc.

nJohn 5:46; Acts 26:22

och. 1:2; 1 Pet. 1:10

p 3:22 ch. 4 throughout

qch. 10:12; Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:11

r 3:23 ver. 9; ch. 11:32; Gal. 3:22

s 3:24 ch. 4:16; Eph. 2:8; Titus 3:5,7

tMatt. 20:28; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; 1 Tim. 2:6; Heb. 9:12; 1 Pet. 1:18-19

u 3:25 Lev. 16:15; 1 John 2:2; 4:10

vCol. 1:20

a 3:25 Acts 13:38-39; 1 Tim. 1:15

bActs 17:30; Heb. 9:15

c 3:27 ch. 2:17,23; 4:2; 1 Cor. 1:29,31; Eph. 2:9

d 3:28 ver. 20-22; ch. 8:3; Acts 13:38-39; Gal. 2:16

e 3:30 ch. 10:12-13; Gal. 3:8,20,28

f 4:1 Isa. 51:2; Matt. 3:9; John 8:33,39; 2 Cor. 11:22

g 4:2 ch. 3:20,27-28

h 4:3 Gen. 15:6; Gal. 3:6; James 2:23

i 4:4 ch. 11:6

j 4:5 Josh. 24:2

k 4:7 Ps. 32:1-2

l 4:11 Gen. 17:10

mver. 12,16; Luke 19:9; Gal. 3:7

a 4:13 Gen. 17:4, etc.; Gal. 3:29

b 4:14 Gal. 3:18

c 4:15 ch. 3:20; 5:13,20; 7:8,10-11; 1 Cor. 15:56; 2 Cor. 3:7,9; Gal. 3:10,19; 1 John 3:4

d 4:16 ch. 3:24

eGal. 3:22

fch. 9:8; Isa. 51:2

g 4:17 Gen. 17:5

hch. 8:11; Eph. 2:1,5

ich. 9:26; 1 Cor. 1:28; 1 Pet. 2:10

j 4:18 Gen. 15:5

k 4:19 Gen. 17:17; 18:11; Heb. 11:11-12

l 4:21 Ps. 115:3; Luke 1:37,45; Heb. 11:19

m 4:23 ch. 15:4; 1 Cor. 10:6,11

n 4:24 Acts 2:24; 13:30

o 4:25 ch. 3:25; 5:6; 8:32; Isa. 53:5-6; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 1:4; 1 Pet. 2:24; 3:18; Heb. 9:28

p1 Cor. 15:17; 1 Pet. 1:21

q 5:1 ch. 3:28,30; Isa. 32:17; John 16:33

rEph. 2:14; Col. 1:20

s 5:2 John 10:9; 14:6; Eph. 2:18; 3:12; Heb. 10:19

t1 Cor. 15:1

uHeb. 3:6

v 5:3 Matt. 5:11-12; Acts 5:41; 2 Cor. 12:10; Php. 2:17; James 1:2,12; 1 Pet. 3:14

a 5:3 James 1:3

b 5:4 James 1:12

c 5:5 Php. 1:20

d2 Cor. 1:22; Gal. 4:6; Eph. 1:13-14

e 5:6 ver. 8; ch. 4:25

f 5:8 John 15:13; 1 Pet. 3:18; 1 John 3:16; 4:9-10

g 5:9 ch. 3:25; Eph. 2:13; Heb. 9:14; 1 John 1:7

hch. 1:18; 1 Thess. 1:10

i 5:10 ch. 8:32

j2 Cor. 5:18-19; Eph. 2:16; Col. 1:20-21

kJohn 5:26; 14:19; 2 Cor. 4:10-11

l 5:11 ch. 2:17; 3:29-30; Gal. 4:9

m 5:12 Gen. 3:6; 1 Cor. 15:21

nch. 6:23; Gen. 2:17; 1 Cor. 15:21

o 5:13 ch. 4:15; 1 John 3:4

p 5:14 1 Cor. 15:21-22,45

q 5:15 Isa. 53:11; Matt. 20:28; 26:28

r 5:18 John 12:32; Heb. 2:9

a 5:20 ch. 3:20; 4:15; 7:8; John 15:22; Gal. 3:19,23

bLuke 7:47; 1 Tim. 1:14

c 6:1 ver. 15; ch. 3:8

d 6:2 ver. 11; ch. 7:4; Gal. 2:19; 6:14

e 6:3 Col. 3:3; 1 Pet. 2:24

f1 Cor. 15:29

g 6:4 Col. 2:12

hch. 8:11; 1 Cor. 6:14; 2 Cor. 13:4

iJohn 2:11; 11:40

jGal. 6:15; Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 3:10

k 6:5 Php. 3:10-11

l 6:6 Gal. 2:20; 5:24; 6:14; Eph. 4:22; Col. 3:5,9

mCol. 2:11

n 6:7 1 Pet. 4:1

o 6:8 2 Tim. 2:11

p 6:9 Rev. 1:18

q 6:10 Heb. 9:27-28

rLuke 20:38

s 6:11 ver. 2

tGal. 2:19

u 6:12 Ps. 19:13; 119:133

a 6:13 ch. 7:5; Col. 3:5; James 4:1

bch. 12:1; 1 Pet. 2:24; 4:2

c 6:14 ch. 7:4,6; 8:2; Gal. 5:18

d 6:15 1 Cor. 9:21

e 6:16 Matt. 6:24; John 8:34; 2 Pet. 2:19

f 6:17 2 Tim. 1:13

g 6:18 John 8:32; 1 Cor. 7:22; Gal. 5:1; 1 Pet. 2:16

h 6:20 John 8:34

i 6:21 ch. 7:5

jch. 1:32

k 6:22 John 8:32

l 6:23 ch. 5:12; Gen. 2:17; James 1:15

mch. 2:7; 5:17,21; 1 Pet. 1:4

n 7:2 1 Cor. 7:39

o 7:3 Matt. 5:32

p 7:4 ch. 8:2; Gal. 2:19; 5:18; Eph. 2:15; Col. 2:14

qGal. 5:22

r 7:5 ch. 6:13

sch. 6:21; Gal. 5:19; James 1:15

t 7:6 ch. 2:29; 2 Cor. 3:6

a 7:7 ch. 3:20

bch. 13:9; Exod. 20:17; Deut. 5:21; Acts 20:33

c 7:8 ch. 4:15; 5:20

d1 Cor. 15:56

e 7:10 Lev. 18:5; Ezek. 20:11,13,21; 2 Cor. 3:7

f 7:12 Ps. 19:8; 119:38,137; 1 Tim. 1:8

g 7:14 1 Kings 21:20,25; 2 Kings 17:17

h 7:15 Gal. 5:17

i 7:18 Gen. 6:5; 8:21

j 7:22 Ps. 1:2

k2 Cor. 4:16; Eph. 3:16; Col. 3:9-10

l 7:23 Gal. 5:17

mch. 6:13,19

n 7:25 1 Cor. 15:57

a 8:1 ver. 4; Gal. 5:16,25

b 8:2 ch. 6:18,22; John 8:36; Gal. 2:19; 5:1

c1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:6

dch. 7:24-25

e 8:3 ch. 3:20; Acts 13:39; Heb. 7:18-19; 10:1-2,10,14

fGal. 3:13; 2 Cor. 5:21

g 8:4 ver. 1

h 8:5 John 3:6; 1 Cor. 2:14

iGal. 5:22,25

j 8:6 ver. 13; ch. 6:21; Gal. 6:8

k 8:7 James 4:4

l1 Cor. 2:14

m 8:9 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19

nJohn 3:34; Gal. 4:6; Php. 1:19; 1 Pet. 1:11

o 8:11 Acts 2:24

pch. 6:4-5; 1 Cor. 6:14; 2 Cor. 4:14; Eph. 2:5

q 8:12 ch. 6:7,14

r 8:13 ver. 6; Gal. 6:8

sEph. 4:22; Col. 3:5

t 8:14 Gal. 5:18

u 8:15 1 Cor. 2:12; Heb. 2:15

v2 Tim. 1:7; 1 John 4:18

wIsa. 56:5; Gal. 4:5-6

xMark 14:36

y 8:16 2 Cor. 1:22; 5:5; Eph. 1:13; 4:30

z 8:17 Acts 26:18; Gal. 4:7

aaActs 14:22; Php. 1:29; 2 Tim. 2:11-12

ab 8:18 2 Cor. 4:17; 1 Pet. 1:6-7; 4:13

ac 8:19 2 Pet. 3:13

a 8:19 1 John 3:2

b 8:20 ver. 22; Gen. 3:19

c 8:22 Jer. 12:11

d 8:23 2 Cor. 5:5; Eph. 1:14

e2 Cor. 5:2,4

fLuke 20:36

gLuke 21:28; Eph. 4:30

h 8:24 2 Cor. 5:7; Heb. 11:1

i 8:26 Matt. 20:22; James 4:3

jZech. 12:10; Eph. 6:18

k 8:27 1 Chron. 28:9; Ps. 7:9; Prov. 17:3; Jer. 11:20; 17:10; 20:12; Acts 1:24; 1 Thess. 2:4; Rev. 2:23

l1 John 5:14

m 8:28 ch. 9:11,23-24; 2 Tim. 1:9

n 8:29 ch. 11:2; See Exod. 33:12,17; Ps. 1:6; Jer. 1:5; Matt. 7:23; 2 Tim. 2:19; 1 Pet. 1:2

oEph. 1:5,11

pJohn 17:22; 2 Cor. 3:18; Php. 3:21; 1 John 3:2

qCol. 1:15,18; Heb. 1:6; Rev. 1:5; 8:30

r 8:30 ch. 1:6; 9:24; Eph. 4:4; Heb. 9:15; 1 Pet. 2:9

s1 Cor. 6:11

tJohn 17:22; Eph. 2:6

u 8:31 Num. 14:9; Ps. 118:6

v 8:32 ch. 5:6,10

wch. 4:25

x 8:33 Isa. 50:8-9; Rev. 12:10-11

y 8:34 Job 34:29

zMark 16:19; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:3; 8:1; 12:1; 1 Pet. 3:22

a 8:34 Heb. 7:25; 9:24; 1 John 2:1

b 8:36 Ps. 44:22; 1 Cor. 15:30-31; 2 Cor. 4:11

c 8:37 1 Cor. 15:57; 2 Cor. 2:14; 1 John 4:4; 5:4-5; Rev. 12:11

d 8:38 Eph. 1:21; 6:12; Col. 1:16; 2:15; 1 Pet. 3:22

e 9:1 ch. 1:9; 2 Cor. 1:23; 11:31; 12:19; Gal. 1:20; Php. 1:8; 1 Tim. 2:7

f 9:2 ch. 10:1

g 9:3 Exod. 32:32

h 9:4 Deut. 7:6

iExod. 4:22; Deut. 14:1; Jer. 31:9

j1 Sam. 4:21; 1 Kings 8:11; Ps. 63:2; 78:61

kActs 3:25; Heb. 8:8-10

lPs. 147:19

mHeb. 9:1

nch. 3:2; Acts 13:32; Eph. 2:12

o 9:5 ch. 11:28; Deut. 10:15

pch. 1:3; Luke 3:23

qJer. 23:6; John 1:1; Acts 20:28; Heb. 1:8; 1 John 5:20

r 9:6 ch. 3:8; Num. 23:19

sch. 2:28-29; 4:12,16; John 8:39; Gal. 6:16

t 9:7 Gal. 4:23

uGen. 21:12; Heb. 11:18

v 9:8 Gal. 4:28

w 9:9 Gen. 18:10,14

x 9:10 Gen. 25:21

y 9:11 ch. 4:17; 8:28

z 9:12 Gen. 25:23

aa 9:13 Mal. 1:2-3; See Deut. 21:15; Prov. 13:24; Matt. 10:37; Luke 14:26; John 12:25

a 9:14 Deut. 32:4; 2 Chron. 19:7; Job 8:3; 34:10; Ps. 92:15

b 9:15 Exod. 33:19

c 9:17 See Gal. 3:8,22

dExod. 9:16

e 9:19 2 Chron. 20:6; Job 9:12; 23:13; Dan. 4:35

f 9:20 Isa. 29:16; 45:9; 64:8

g 9:21 Prov. 16:4; Jer. 18:6

h2 Tim. 2:20

i 9:22 1 Thess. 5:9

j1 Pet. 2:8; Jude 4

k 9:23 ch. 2:4; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:27

lch. 8:28-30

m 9:24 ch. 3:29

n 9:25 Hos. 2:23; 1 Pet. 2:10

o 9:26 Hos. 1:10

p 9:27 Isa. 10:22-23

qch. 11:5

r 9:28 Isa. 28:22

s 9:29 Isa. 1:9; Lam. 3:22

tIsa. 13:19; Jer. 50:40

u 9:30 ch. 4:11; 10:20

a 9:30 ch. 1:17

b 9:31 ch. 10:2; 11:7

cGal. 5:4

d 9:32 Luke 2:34; 1 Cor. 1:23

e 9:33 Ps. 118:22; Isa. 8:14; 28:16; Matt. 21:42; 1 Pet. 2:6-8

fch. 10:11

g 10:2 Acts 21:20; 22:3; Gal. 1:14; 4:17; See ch. 9:31

h 10:3 ch. 1:17; 9:30

iPhp. 3:9

j 10:4 Matt. 5:17; Gal. 3:24

k 10:5 Lev. 18:5; Neh. 9:29; Ezek. 20:11,13,21; Gal. 3:12

l 10:6 Deut. 30:12-13

m 10:8 Deut. 30:14

n 10:9 Matt. 10:32; Luke 12:8; Acts 8:37

o 10:11 ch. 9:33; Isa. 28:16; 49:23; Jer. 17:7

p 10:12 ch. 3:22; Acts 15:9; Gal. 3:28

qch. 3:29; Acts 10:36; 1 Tim. 2:5

rEph. 1:7; 2:4,7

s 10:13 Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21

tActs 9:14

u 10:14 Titus 1:3

v 10:15 Isa. 52:7; Nah. 1:15

w 10:16 ch. 3:3; Heb. 4:2

xIsa. 53:1; John 12:38

a 10:18 Ps. 19:4; Matt. 24:14; 28:19; Mark 16:15; Col. 1:6,23

bSee 1 Kings 18:10; Matt. 4:8

c 10:19 ch. 11:11; Deut. 32:21

dTitus 3:3

e 10:20 ch. 9:30; Isa. 65:1

f 10:21 Isa. 65:2

g 11:1 1 Sam. 12:22; Jer. 31:37

h2 Cor. 11:22; Php. 3:5

i 11:2 ch. 8:29

j 11:3 1 Kings 19:10,14

k 11:4 1 Kings 19:18

l 11:5 ch. 9:27

m 11:6 ch. 4:4-5; Gal. 5:4; See Deut. 9:4-5

n 11:7 ch. 9:31; 10:3

o 11:8 Isa. 29:10

pDeut. 29:4; Isa. 6:9; Jer. 5:21; Ezek. 12:2; Matt. 13:14; John 12:40; Acts 28:26-27

q 11:9 Ps. 69:22

r 11:10 Ps. 69:23

s 11:11 ch. 10:19; Acts 13:46; 18:6; 22:18,21; 28:24,28

t 11:13 ch. 15:16; Acts 9:15; 13:2; 22:21; Gal. 1:16; 2:2,7-9; Eph. 3:8; 1 Tim. 2:7; 2 Tim. 1:11

u 11:14 1 Cor. 7:16; 9:22; 1 Tim. 4:16; James 5:20

v 11:16 Lev. 23:10; Num. 15:18-21

w 11:17 Jer. 11:16

a 11:17 Acts 2:39; Eph. 2:12-13

b 11:18 1 Cor. 10:12

c 11:20 ch. 12:16

dProv. 28:14; Isa. 66:2; Php. 2:12

e 11:22 1 Cor. 15:2; Heb. 3:6,14

fJohn 15:2

g 11:23 2 Cor. 3:16

h 11:25 ch. 12:16

iver. 7; 2 Cor. 3:14

jLuke 21:24; Rev. 7:9

k 11:26 Isa. 59:20; See Ps. 14:7

l 11:27 Isa. 27:9; Jer. 31:31, etc.; Heb. 8:8; 10:16

m 11:28 Deut. 7:8; 9:5; 10:15

n 11:29 Num. 23:19

o 11:30 Eph. 2:2; Col. 3:7

p 11:32 ch. 3:9; Gal. 3:22

q 11:33 Ps. 36:6

rJob 11:7; Ps. 92:5

s 11:34 Job 15:8; Isa. 40:13; Jer. 23:18; 1 Cor. 2:16

tJob 36:22

u 11:35 Job 35:7; 41:11

v 11:36 1 Cor. 8:6; Col. 1:16

wGal. 1:5; 1 Tim. 1:17; 2 Tim. 4:18; Heb. 13:21; 1 Pet. 5:11; 2 Pet. 3:18; Jude 25; Rev. 1:6

x 12:1 2 Cor. 10:1

y1 Pet. 2:5

zch. 6:13,16,19; Ps. 50:13-14; 1 Cor. 6:13,20

aaHeb. 10:20

ab 12:2 1 Pet. 1:14; 1 John 2:15

acEph. 1:18; 4:23; Col. 1:21-22; 3:10

adEph. 5:10,17; 1 Thess. 4:3

ae 12:3 ch. 1:5; 15:15; 1 Cor. 3:10; 15:10; Gal. 2:9; Eph. 3:2,7-8

a 12:3 ch. 11:20; Prov. 25:27; Eccl. 7:16

b1 Cor. 12:7,11; Eph. 4:7

c 12:4 1 Cor. 12:12; Eph. 4:16

d 12:5 1 Cor. 10:17; 12:20,27; Eph. 1:23; 4:25

e 12:6 1 Cor. 12:4; 1 Pet. 4:10-11

fver. 3

gActs 11:27; 1 Cor. 12:10, 28; 13:2; 14:1,6,29,31

h 12:7 Acts 13:1; Eph. 4:11; Gal. 6:6; 1 Tim. 5:17

i 12:8 Acts 15:32; 1 Cor. 14:3

jMatt. 6:1-3

kActs 20:28; 1 Tim. 5:17; Heb. 13:7,24; 1 Pet. 5:2

l2 Cor. 9:7

m 12:9 1 Tim. 1:5; 1 Pet. 1:22

nPs. 34:14; 36:4; 97:10; Amos 5:15

o 12:10 Heb. 13:1; 1 Pet. 1:22; 2:17; 3:8; 2 Pet. 1:7

pPhp. 2:3; 1 Pet. 5:5

q 12:12 ch. 5:2; 15:13; Luke 10:20; Php. 3:1; 4:4; 1 Thess. 5:16; Heb. 3:6; 1 Pet. 4:13

rLuke 21:19; 1 Tim. 6:11; Heb. 10:36; 12:1; James 1:4; 5:7; 1 Pet. 2:19-20

sLuke 18:1; Acts 2:42; 12:5; Col. 4:2; Eph. 6:18; 1 Thess. 5:17

t 12:13 1 Cor. 16:1; 2 Cor. 9:1,12; Heb. 6:10; 13:16; 1 John 3:17

u1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:8; Heb. 13:2; 1 Pet. 4:9

v 12:14 Matt. 5:44; Luke 6:28; 23:34; Acts 7:60; 1 Cor. 4:12; 1 Pet. 2:23; 3:9

w 12:15 1 Cor. 12:26

x 12:16 ch. 15:5; 1 Cor. 1:10; Php. 2:2; 3:16; 1 Pet. 3:8

yPs. 131:1-2; Jer. 45:5

zch. 11:25; Prov. 3:7; 26:12; Isa. 5:21

aa 12:17 Prov. 20:22; Matt. 5:39; 1 Thess. 5:15; 1 Pet. 3:9

abch. 14:16; 2 Cor. 8:21

ac 12:18 ch. 14:19; Mark 9:50; Heb. 12:14

ad 12:19 ver. 17; Lev. 19:18; Prov. 24:29

aeDeut. 32:35; Heb. 10:30

af 12:20 Exod. 23:4-5; Prov. 25:21-22; Matt. 5:44

a 13:1 Titus 3:1; 1 Pet. 2:13

bProv. 8:15-16; Dan. 2:21; 4:32; John 19:11

c 13:2 Titus 3:1

d 13:3 1 Pet. 2:14; 3:13

e 13:5 Eccl. 8:2

f1 Pet. 2:19

g 13:7 Matt. 22:21; Mark 12:17; Luke 20:35

h 13:8 ver. 10; Gal. 5:14; Col. 3:14; 1 Tim. 1:5; James 2:8

i 13:9 Exod. 20:13, etc.; Deut. 5:17, etc.; Matt. 19:18

jLev. 19:18; Matt. 22:39; Mark 12:31; Gal. 5:14; James 2:8

k 13:10 ver. 8; Matt. 22:40

l 13:11 1 Cor. 15:34; Eph. 5:14; 1 Thess. 5:5-6

m 13:12 Eph. 5:11; Col. 3:8

nEph. 6:13; 1 Thess. 5:8

o 13:13 Php. 4:8; 1 Thess. 4:12; 1 Pet. 2:12

pProv. 23:20; Luke 21:34; 1 Pet. 4:3

q1 Cor. 6:9; Eph. 5:5

rJames 3:14

s 13:14 Gal. 3:27; Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10

tGal. 5:16; 1 Pet. 2:11

u 14:1 ch. 15:1,7; 1 Cor. 8:9,11; 9:22

a 14:2 ver. 14; 1 Cor. 10:25; 1 Tim. 4:4; Titus 1:15

b 14:3 Col. 2:16

c 14:4 James 4:12

d 14:5 Gal. 4:10; Col. 2:16

e 14:6 Gal. 4:10

f1 Cor. 10:31; 1 Tim. 4:3

g 14:7 1 Cor. 6:19-20; Gal. 2:20; 1 Thess. 5:10; 1 Pet. 4:2

h 14:9 2 Cor. 5:15

iActs 10:36

j 14:10 Matt. 25:31-32; Acts 10:42; 17:31; 2 Cor. 5:10; Jude 14:15

k 14:11 Isa. 45:23; Php. 2:10

l 14:12 Matt. 12:36; Gal. 6:5; 1 Pet. 4:5

m 14:13 1 Cor. 8:9,13; 10:32

n 14:14 ver. 2,20; Acts 10:15; 1 Cor. 10:25; 1 Tim. 4:4; Titus 1:15

o1 Cor. 8:7,10

p 14:15 1 Cor. 8:11

q 14:16 ch. 12:17

r 14:17 1 Cor. 8:8

a 14:18 2 Cor. 8:21

b 14:19 ch. 12:18; Ps. 34:14

cch. 15:2; 1 Cor. 14:12; 1 Thess. 5:11

d 14:20 ver. 15

ever. 14; Matt. 15:11; Acts 10:15; Titus 1:15

f1 Cor. 8:9-12

g 14:21 1 Cor. 8:13

h 14:22 1 John 3:21

i 14:23 Titus 1:15

j 15:1 Gal. 6:1

kch. 14:1

l 15:2 1 Cor. 9:19,22; 10:24,33; 13:5; Php. 2:4-5

mch. 14:19

n 15:3 Matt. 26:39; John 5:30; 6:38

oPs. 69:9

p 15:4 ch. 4:23-24; 1 Cor. 9:9-10; 10:11; 2 Tim. 3:16-17

q 15:5 ch. 12:16; 1 Cor. 1:10; Php. 3:16

r 15:6 Acts 4:24,32

s 15:7 ch. 14:1,3

tch. 5:2

u 15:8 Matt. 15:24; John 1:11; Acts 3:25-26; 13:46

vch. 3:3; 2 Cor. 1:20

w 15:9 ch. 9:23; John 10:16

xPs. 18:49

y 15:10 Deut. 32:43

z 15:11 Ps. 117:1

aa 15:12 Isa. 11:1,10; Rev. 5:5; 22:16

ab 15:13 ch. 12:12; 14:17

ac 15:14 2 Pet. 1:12; 1 John 2:21

a 15:14 1 Cor. 8:1,7,10

b 15:15 ch. 1:5; 12:3; Gal. 1:15; Eph. 3:7-8

c 15:16 ch. 11:13; Gal. 2:7-9; 1 Tim. 2:7; 2 Tim. 1:11; Php. 2:17

dIsa. 66:20

e 15:17 Heb. 5:1

f 15:18 Acts 21:19; Gal. 2:8

gch. 1:5; 16:26

h 15:19 Acts 19:11; 2 Cor. 12:12

i 15:20 2 Cor. 10:13,15-16

j 15:21 Isa. 52:15

k 15:22 ch. 1:13; 1 Thess. 2:17-18

l 15:23 ver. 32; ch. 1:11; Acts 19:21

m 15:24 Acts 15:3

n 15:25 Acts 19:21; 20:22; 24:17

o 15:26 1 Cor. 16:1-2; 2 Cor. 8:1; 9:2,12

p 15:27 ch. 11:17

q1 Cor. 9:11; Gal. 6:6

r 15:28 Php. 4:17

s 15:29 ch. 1:11

t 15:30 Php. 2:1

u2 Cor. 1:11; Col. 4:12

v 15:31 2 Thess. 3:2

w2 Cor. 8:4

x 15:32 ch. 1:10

yActs 18:21; 1 Cor. 4:19; James 4:15

z1 Cor. 16:18; 2 Cor. 7:13; 2 Tim. 1:16; Phm. 7,20

aa 15:33 ch. 16:20; 1 Cor. 14:33; 2 Cor. 13:11; Php. 4:9; 1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Thess. 3:16; Heb. 13:20

ab 16:1 Acts 18:18

a 16:2 Php. 2:29; 3 John 5-6

b 16:3 Acts 18:2,18,26; 2 Tim. 4:19

c 16:5 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Phm. 2

d1 Cor. 16:15

e 16:7 Gal. 1:22

f 16:13 2 John 1

g 16:16 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12; 1 Thess. 5:26; 1 Pet. 5:14

h 16:17 Acts 15:1,5,24; 1 Tim. 6:3

i1 Cor. 5:9,11; 2 Thess. 3:6,14; 2 Tim. 3:5; Titus 3:10; 2 John 10

j 16:18 Php. 3:19; 1 Tim. 6:5

kCol. 2:4; 2 Tim. 3:6; Titus 1:10; 2 Pet. 2:3

l 16:19 ch. 1:8

mMatt. 10:16; 1 Cor. 14:20

n 16:20 ch. 15:33

oGen. 3:15

pver. 24; 1 Cor. 16:23; 2 Cor. 13:14; Php. 4:23; 1 Thess. 5:28; 2 Thess. 3; Rev. 22:21

q 16:21 Acts 16:1; Col. 1:1; Php. 2:19; 1 Thess. 3:2; 1 Tim. 1:2; Heb. 13:23

rActs 13:1

sActs 17:5

tActs 20:4

u 16:23 1 Cor. 1:14

vActs 19:22; 2 Tim. 4:20

w 16:24 ver. 20; 1 Thess. 5:28

x 16:25 Eph. 3:20; 1 Thess. 3:13; 2 Thess. 2:17; 3:3; Jude 24

ych. 2:16

zEph. 1:9; 3:3-5; Col. 1:27

aa1 Cor. 2:7; Eph. 3:5,9; Col. 1:26

ab 16:26 Eph. 1:9; 2 Tim. 1:10; Titus 1:2-3; 1 Pet. 1:20

acch. 1:5; 15:18; Acts 6:7

ad 16:27 1 Tim. 1:17; 6:16; Jude 25

Romans

Circumstances of Writing

Message and Purpose

Contribution to the Bible

Timeline of Romans

Structure

Outline

Romans Study Notes

Romans Cross-References