Page 103 - Romans Student Textbook.doc

Commendation of a faithful servant. (16:1-2) Greetings to partners in ministry. (16:3-16) A final warning.

(16:17-20)

Greetings from ministry partners. (16:21-24)

A Concluding Doxological Blessing. (16:25-27)

The Doxological Conclusions

16.4 Chapter 15 - Knowing and Showing the Wonder of Christ’s Salvation — Chapter 16 - The
Doxological Conclusions

Introduction

In the introduction to this course, we began with a discussion of the relationship between
three big theological words: exegesis, hermeneutics, and homiletics. We did this because
this course was purposefully designed to help you understand and develop a set of skills in
doing the first of those enterprises — that is, exegesis. We showed that exegesis deals with the message
that is written in the Scriptures and seeks to answer the question, “What is the message?”

Hermeneutics attempts to decipher or interpret what is there and seeks to answer the question, “What
does it mean?” Homiletics seeks to bridge the gap between the world of the Bible and the contemporary
world in which we live and explain the significance of the text for living as it attempts to answer the
question, “How does it matter?”

As we read through Paul’s letter to the Romans, we find that there are places where he draws conclusions
that erupt into expressions of wonder and praise. They punctuate the letter and add variety even as they
draw attention to significant theological ideas that he has been teaching. They are creative ways that he
bolstered his message. I believe that when taken all together they provide an effective summary of the
theological thrust of this letter and help us entrench God’s truth about the wonder of our salvation in
Jesus Christ deep into our hearts. Therefore, in this final lesson in this course we are going to examine
these doxological conclusions as a way of returning to the big picture of what we have been taught in
Paul’s letter to the Roman churches.

I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ which powerfully grants salvation and righteousness before
God to all those who trust in Him.

Romans 1:16-17 (ESV)

16For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who
believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17For in it the righteousness of God is
revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

The first such doxological conclusion I would draw your attention to comes at the end of Paul’s
introduction to the letter. With it Paul expressed his attitude toward the gospel of Jesus Christ, his
understanding of the Jews and the Gentiles, and his confidence in the relationship between righteousness
before God and faith. In the first fifteen verses, as he introduced himself and his ministry to the Roman
churches, he touched on each of those subjects briefly, but it is in this short expression of praise that Paul
showed them how he believed those things worked together to enable him to carry on a ministry that was
focused on the display of God’s power and glory through the proclamation of the gospel to those to
whom God sent him. Here is what he said:

102