Summary: This is an extended outline of our study in Romans

ROMANS EXTENDED OUTLINE

I. Receive the gift of God’s righteousness (justification) by faith 1-5

A. Everyone desperately needs Christ’s righteousness 1:18-3:20

1. The self-centered hedonist is guilty 1:18-32

a) Man suppresses the truth in unacceptable behavior.

b) God allows sin to run its devastating course.

2. The moralist is guilty 2:1-16

3. The religious legalist is guilty 2:17-3:8

4. Everyone is guilty 3:9-3:20

B. Anyone can acquire Christ’s righteousness through faith 3:21-4:25

1. God’s way to righteousness explained (the exchanged life) 3:21-31

a) Manifested apart from law

b) Witnessed by the Law and the prophets

c) Through trust (faith) in Christ

d) For ALL who would trust (believe) in Christ

e) Acquired as a gift granted because of God’s grace

f) Granted by God on the basis of the redemption in Christ Jesus

g) Granted because Jesus satisfied all the demands of a holy God

h) Eliminates opportunity for pride on the part of man

i) Applies to everyone who trusts (believes)

j) Establishes the standard or rule of law

2. God’s way to righteousness illustrated through Abraham 4:1-25

a) Abraham was justified by faith not works 1-8

b) Abraham was justified before circumcision or the law 9-16

c) Abraham exercised genuine trust 17-22

(1) He trusted in the God of resurrection and life

(2) He trusted God’s promise in the face of impossibility

(3) God empowered (strengthened) him because of his faith

(a) His empowerment glorified God

(b) His faith empowered his life

(4) God justified him by faith

d) God justifies all who trust like Abraham 23-25

II. Apply the gift of God’s righteousness by understanding 6-8

A. New peace with God 5:1

B. New hope of a glorious transformation 5:2

C. New appreciation for life’s struggles that motivate greater Christlikeness 5:3-8

D. New guarantee of escape from the coming wrath 5:9

E. New assurance of complete salvation 5:10

F. New excitement concerning our new reconciliation with God 5:11

G. New heritage and connection to Christ’s righteous life 5:12-21

H. New identity with the death and resurrection of Christ 6:1-14

1. Reason the implications of your new life

2. Realize your identification with Christ’s death & resurrection

3. Reckon yourselves dead to sin and alive to God

4. Refuse to let sin rule in your members

5. Resist presenting your member to sin

6. Render yourselves and your members to God

I. New Master 6:15-23

J. New relationship to the law 7:1-13

K. New struggle with the old identity 7:14-25

L. New life of victory by the ministry of the Holy Spirit 8:1-30

1. He eliminates condemnation 8:1

2. He establishes new life in our spiritual growth 8:2-10

3. He ensures complete salvation 8:11

4. He eradicates obligation to the flesh 8:12-13

5. He echoes our sonship and elucidates our future inheritance 8:14-17

6. He encourages us in present suffering 8:18-25

7. He edits our prayers 8:26-30

8. Conclusion to God’s mercies on our behalf 8:28-31

III. Israel and the path to righteousness 9-11

A. The Passion of Paul for Israel expressed 9:1-5

B. The Problem of Israel’s lost condition exposed 9:6-10:4

1. God’s word hasn’t failed 9:1

2. Every person or group has not been chosen by God 9:2-13

a) Isaac was chosen, Ishmael was not

b) Jacob was chosen, Esau was not

3. God shows mercy to whomever he chooses to show mercy 9:13-18

4. God has the right to call whoever he desires 9:19-29

5. Jews are lost because they failed to believe 9:30-10:4

C. The Path and process of Salvation for all Explained 10:5-21

1. The Path 10:5-13

a) Choice #1 – Live the law perfectly 10:5

b) Choice #2 – Trust completely and confess candidly 10:6-13

2. The Process 10:13-21

Sending of preachers of the good news so that people would hear and believe.

Preaching of the Word of truth due to having been sent to preach the word of truth

Hearing of the word of Christ due to preaching of the truth

Believing in Christ due to hearing the word of truth

Calling on Christ due to believing the word of truth.

D. The Prognosis concerning Israel Elucidated 11:1-33

Israel will finally understand and find salvation by faith in Jesus.

God has a future plan. They will be grafted back into the find on the basis of faith.

IV. Think and Live righteously 12-15

A. Think and live God’s righteousness 12:1-2

1. Dedicate your bodies completely to God

2. Dedicate your soul to transformation by constant renewed thinking

a) Stop letting the world cram you into its way of doing things

b) Submit to continual soul transformation by continual thought renewal

B. Think and live right concerning the body of Christ 12:3-10

1. Realize the general design of the body 3-8

a) Many Members

b) One Body (Unity)

c) Distinct functions (Diversity)

d) Interconnected members (Mutuality)

2. Faithfully exercise your specific gifting for the sake of the body 6-8

3. Show genuine love for one another by… 12:9-12

a) Abhorring what is evil

b) Clinging to what is good

c) Loving one another with brotherly love as a family member

d) Outdoing one another in honor

e) Serving persistently -- Diligent not lazy (Pattern)

f) Serving passionately -- Boiling over by the power of the Spirit (Power)

g) Serving purposefully -- Slaving for the Lord (Purpose)

h) Rejoicing in hope

i) Enduring in tribulation

j) Persevering in prayer

k) Meeting needs by sharing resources

l) Meeting needs by showing hospitality (love)

4. Think and live right regarding difficult people and circumstances 12:13-21

a) Speak well, not ill 12:14

b) Identify with their circumstances

c) Apply the same standard you use for yourself

d) Don’t think yourself better but be willing to work with others.

e) Don’t be a know it all.

f) Never pay back evil for evil to anyone ever!

g) Give thought to what is good for others.

h) Live in peace by all means possible if at all possible.

i) Never avenge yourself

(1) Let God do His thing to them.

(2) Let us do good things for them.

j) Don’t be conquered by the evil but conquer the evil by doing the good

C. Think and live right regarding God-given authority 13:1-7

1. God ordains government

2. Government serves God’s purposes

a) Reinforce and reward good work by praise

b) Restrain evil work by punishment

3. Submit to God’s government

a) Submission pleases God

b) Submission protects from punishment (wrath)

c) Submission promotes peace (clear conscience)

4. Practical application

a) Pay

b) Obey

c) Pray

D. Think and live right regarding genuine love of your neighbors 13:8-9

1. Love is a continuous debt

2. Love is the fulfillment of the law

3. Love does no wrong to a neighbor

E. Think and live right regarding lifestyle in light of Christ’s return 13:10-14

1. Perceive the times

a) Its already past time to wake up

b) The culmination of our salvation is even closer

c) The day of the kingdom of light is near

2. Practice the truth

a) Put off the deeds of darkness - put on the armor of light

b) Behave properly as in the day not the night

(1) Avoid aimless pursuits -- carousing and drunkenness

(2) Shun shameless pursuits -- sexual immorality and sensuality

(3) Stop selfish pursuits -- dissension and jealousy

c) Put on Christ -- disregard the flesh

F. Think and live right regarding differences in service to God 14:1-15:12

1. Embrace each other in spite of differences 14:1-4

a) Change points

(1) Welcome each other

(2) The ones eating stop despising the ones abstaining

(3) The ones abstaining stop judging the ones eating

b) Think Points

(1) God already welcomed both the “strong” and the “weak”

(2) Who are we to reject or judge whom God welcomes?

(3) God is master not us

2. Focus on personal convictions and motives 14:5-12

a) Change point -- be fully convinced in your own mind 14:5

b) Think points

(1) Focus on the motivation 14:6

(2) Our lives should revolve around the Lord not ourselves 7-9

(3) Each person will give account to God as the ultimate Judge 10-12

3. Build each other up don’t break each other down 14:13-21

a) Change points

(1) Beware of causing the weak to stumble 13

(2) Don’t let the strength of your convictions be considered evil 16

(3) Don’t destroy or tear down the weaker brother over food 15,20

(4) Pursue peace and the building up of one another

b) Think points

(1) If one perceives something to be sinful it becomes sinful 14

(2) The good becomes sinful if it hurts others 14-15, 20

(3) The heart of the kingdom is not eating and drinking 17

(4) A focus on n the kingdom pleases both God and men 18

(5) It is good to abstain from things that cause others to stumble 21

4. Live by your own convictions 22-23

a) Change Point -- live by your own convictions

b) Think points

(1) Blessed is the one who lives by their good convictions 22b

(2) Violation of personal convictions brings condemnation 23a

(3) Whatever is done apart from faith (trust) is sin 23b

5. Focus on pleasing others not self 15:1-4

a) Change points 15:1-2

(1) The strong should bear the weaknesses of the weak 1

(2) Each person should work to please their neighbor 2

b) Think Points 3-4

(1) Christ set the example by not pleasing Himself and bearing sin 3

(2) Hope comes through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures 4

6. Prayer for family unity 15:5-6

7. Reinforcing unity 15:7-12

8. Benediction 15:13

V. Closing Personal Matters 15:13-16:27

A. Affirmed their spiritual progress (full of goodness) 15:14

1. Well taught “having been filled with all knowledge”

2. Enabled to teach “being able also to admonish one another”

B. Defended the writing of Romans 15:15-16

1. Wrote to remind them of essential truths

2. Wrote as a minister to the Gentiles

C. Confirmed his focus 15:17-22

1. Preach only concerning what Christ has done through him

2. Reach the unreached

D. Explained his failure to visit 22-23 (busy reaching the unreached)

E. Expressed his desire to see them 24

F. Clarified immediate plans to go to Jerusalem 25-27

G. Shared future plans to stop on the way to Spain 28-29

H. Requested prayer 30-32

1. Protection

2. Acceptance

I. Blessing - Benediction 33

J. Gratefully greeted the saints 16:1-23

K. Final Benediction 16:24-27