Page 13 - Romans Student Textbook.doc

are an internal part of the structure of the letter itself. After each paragraph I have provided a one
sentence long summary of the paragraph. I have used bold print to show these summaries. It was after
translating the letter to the Romans and then writing the paragraph summaries that I developed the
outline that follows by asking one basic question: Which paragraphs does Paul connect to make a larger
point? They answer to that question points to the larger divisions in the letter and helps us see the big
picture of the message that Paul was communicating to the churches in Roman which in turn leads us to
the message that Paul as God’s chosen apostle is speaking to us today. The foundational assumption is
that there is an intimate, purposeful, and clear connection between the original message to the Romans
churches and how we should live out that message in our current ministry situations. The outline that
follows summarizes my understanding of the big picture of the letter to the Romans that must be kept in
mind as we seek to understand the meaning of the words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs that the
letter contain.

As we work our way through the book you will notice that I include a portion of the outline at
the being of each chapter as a quick reference as to where the passages being explained sit in
the context of the letter. The outline will be noted by the icon to the left. The portion covered
in the chapter will be what is indicated by being underlined in the outline.

Outline of Romans

Prelude: (Romans 1:1-17) Introduction to
People and Places.
Prayer for the recipients.
Theme of the Letter.

I. Know the Wonder of Your Salvation in Christ. (Foundation for the Instructions that follow.)
(1:18-11:39)

A. Salvation expounded and explained. (1:18-8:39)

1. The Context for Christ’s Redeeming Ministry. (1:18-4:24)

a) Man’s sin deserves God’s wrathful, impartial judgment. (1:18-2:16)
b) God’s law to Israel revealed sin but did not save from sin. (2:17-3:31)
c) Abraham as the example of faith in God’s promises. (4:1-24)

2. The Explanation of Christ’s Redeeming Ministry. (5:1-8:39)

a) The big picture of what Jesus has done. (5:1-12)
b) How Jesus compares to Adam. (5:13-21)
c) Questions about the relationship between sin and grace. (6:1-23)
d) Questions about the relationship between sin and law. (7:1-25)
e) How the Holy Spirit works with Christ in the word of salvation. (8:1-30)
f) A Concluding Doxological Homily. (8:31-39)

B. Salvation illustrated in Israel. (9:1-11:36)

1. Paul’s personal desire — the introduction to the example. (9:1-5)

2. God is still working to redeem a remnant of Israel. (9:6-33)

3. God’s offer of salvation to all people includes Israel even when they resist. (10:1-21)

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