Introduction:

For 15 centuries the Jews had followed the Mosaic Law, the Levitical priesthood, and all the practices associated with them. Now, Jesus has come to change all these things and institute new practices centered around Him. All these old things are no longer necessary, and the center of their faith should no longer be with old practices, but instead, be concentrated on the words of Jesus and His ministry. Giving up these long-established traditions is hard.

Paul is telling them that a new revolution has taken place and that an entirely new manner of life has been set

Scripture Reading: Romans 11:1-14

Introduction:

For centuries the people of Israel awaited their Messiah. But when He came, very few believed in Him. This situation has persisted to the point where Christianity is now considered a gentile religion. What happened to God’s promises and plans for Israel? Has God rejected His people?

In this chapter we get further insight about the rejection of Christ by Israel and the consequences. Only a remnant it appears would remain, being replaced by the Gentiles who accepted Jesus and followed His teachings. Paul preaches the riches of Christ to the Gentiles so

Scripture Reading: Romans 1:1-17

Introduction:

Paul’s introduction to this gospel begins with all the good news he wants to impute to the Romans. The good news about Jesus Christ, the promise, the provision, the purpose, and the privileges associated with the good news. How do we react to good news? Don’t we want to shout it to our friends, our loved ones, even to the world? It is just too hard to keep it to ourselves.

What motivates Paul to write this gospel? It is not only the good news that he has, but also the motivation that comes from

Scripture Reading: Romans 11:15-36

Introduction:

Paul’s final summation is that both Jews and Gentiles have to be objects of God’s mercy and love. All have sinned and are unworthy of His love and mercy. By rights, we should be objects of His wrath and abandonment. No matter what we do, we fall short. Our works are necessary, but they by themselves will never save us.

It is only through His grace and love that we can be a part of His soon coming kingdom. Most of Israel rejected Christ because He just wasn’t the leader that they were expecting. But

Scripture Reading: Romans 1:18-32

Introduction:

Man was created with a conscience that provides the ability to distinguish what is right and what is wrong according to the word of God. But man attempts to pervert God’s ways through many devices, such as the suppression of truth and the perversion of that same truth. God is patient to His people and waits for them to return to Him, but once God is totally rejected the wrath of God is revealed in these scriptures. Paul lists a number of the sins that are examples of what these rebellious people commit. This text

Scripture Reading: Romans 12:1-8

Introduction:

Having told us in the previous chapters what God will provide to us because of His mercy, love, and grace, what should be our proper response? We are all sinners, not having the right because of all our faults to be a part of His kingdom. It is a gift, not a reward for our position, status, works, membership, baptism, etc.

What does it mean to be a living sacrifice? Does that mean that we have to give up everything we have, everything we need, everything we hope for, to serve Him? We are

Scripture Reading: Romans 2:1-29

Introduction:

When we think of judgment, we often think about our Nations’ form of judicial laws and procedures which are at best flawed. There are just too many ways in which a criminal can either avoid or escape punishment and oftentimes the punishment doesn’t fit the crime. Compare this to the judgment of God in which the punishment has already been established; the Judge is a righteous judge, and there is no escaping from what we have done. Another difference is that we have an advocate in Christ, who knows our hearts and minds, and if

Scripture Reading: Romans 12:9-21

Introduction:

Sometimes we feel that as Christians we are truly on our own, especially if our faith has drawn us away from our own family and friends. We truly need fellowship with like believers to help us to survive in this world full of trials and tribulations. That fellowship comes from our local church organization.

However, that local church may not treat us any different than our job, our neighbors, our society. It should be a place that we can go to and feel at home, where we can share our troubles, where we

Scripture Reading: Romans 3:1-20

Introduction:

What do you believe would be the final verdict on our lives if we were left to determine where we stood? If it was based solely upon your quality of life and the level of obedience to God, how do you think that you would fare? In Romans 3:1-20 Paul talks about the advantage that the Jews had over other peoples, and yet how they all fell short. We have all sinned, both the Jews and the Greeks, and therefore we all fall short in many ways that would seem to make the outcome for

Scripture Reading: Romans 13:1-14

Introduction:

Civil authority today is oftentimes viewed as something oppressive and evil, not something that we should submit to and respect. Paul was a Roman citizen and used that citizenship for his benefit on a couple of occasions, causing fear in his jailers and avoiding trial by the Jewish leaders. In Romans 13 he speaks about civil authority as something God has ordained and controls, and therefore we should submit to it and show it proper respect.

But what if that authority is no longer based upon the principles of God, but instead upon evil and