Romans: Discovering the Foundation of Our Faith

Big Idea of the Series: This series is a four-week journey through the book of Romans.
This Pauline epistle encompasses a vast amount of foundational theological truths for
the Christian life. The series is bird’s-eye view from thirty-thousand feet, describing the
sinfulness of humanity, the atoning work of Christ, the transforming power of the Spirit,
and the new ethic for a Christian life.

Week 1
Text: Romans 1:18–32; 2:1–29; 3:1–20
Topic: Sin, Fallenness, Judgment
Big Idea of the Message: All humanity is corrupted by sin and is under God’s wrath.
Application Point: When we realize our own sinfulness, we realize our need for a
Savior.

Sermon Ideas and Talking Points:

1. In the late 300s AD, a North African young man was troubled by his struggle with
sin and the emptiness that various philosophies could not fill. It was in this
struggle that he read Romans 13:13–14, and his life was changed forever. That
man would go on to be one of the greatest church leaders and Western
philosophers in history. What brought about this transformation for St.
Augustine? The reading of the book of Romans (Walter A. Elwell and Robert W.
Yarbrough, “Romans,” Encountering the New Testament: A Historical and
Theological Survey, 3rd edition [Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing, 2013],
256–57).
2. Paul begins his Romans discourse diagnosing the issue with all of humanity. All
people are cut off from God because of sin and are subject to his judgment and
eternal punishment. He describes humanity as having an idea of God but says
that instead of worshipping the Creator of the universe, people worshipped the
created world (Romans 1:21–22). The idolatry of humanity warped their minds
and sexual practices (vv. 26–28).
 3. To talk about the good news of the gospel, you must first talk about the bad
news. Paul wants to stress the dark and tragic state that humanity is in (Romans
3:23). When sin entered the world (Genesis 3), it was total and affected every
aspect of being human. Sin has made us dead to the things of God, influencing
our thoughts, emotions, and actions. Sin eternally separates us from relationship
with God and makes us enemies with God and subject to his wrath.
4. M. Night Shyamalan’s 2004 movie, The Village, described the struggle to create
a “perfect” community in a fallen world (The Village, directed by M. Night
Shyamalan [Burbank, CA: Touchstone Pictures, 2004], DVD). The movie
described a puritanical-like village set during the eighteenth century. There are
clear moral boundaries, respect, no crime, and an Amish-like innocence to life.
However, we eventually learn that the village is not an eighteenth-century
community, but an isolated social experiment set in contemporary society. The
elders of this community each carry a story of how evil in the world has changed
their life. They eventually created this community as a society better than the one
that hurt them. For them sin/evil could be controlled and forgotten through
constructing a community not corrupted by the modern world. The younger
generation of the village did not know about the outside world, and that helped
maintain their “innocence”—or so they thought. Even though the village grew and
there was little doubt of its peaceful nature, one of their young men would try to
kill another man. Because of this character’s jealousy, an assault is committed in
what seems to be a “perfect” community. One can only imagine the shock for the
village. They thought they had rid themselves of the evils of society and created
a peaceful community, but in the end, the village never managed to escape evil
and violence. Where is sin located? In the human heart. James says that evil and
sin comes from our internal desires and thoughts (James 1:14). Sin is not
something that is out there in the fallen world, but something that is in me.
5. The idea of sin can become confusing today’s culture. Even in the church we can
label certain behaviors as sinful (murder, adultery, etc.), and other things as
merely flaws or personal struggles (pride, envy, etc.). However, one way to
describe sin is “missing the mark” (Reinhold Niebuhr, “Sin,” in The Handbook of
Christian Theology, ed. Marvin Halverson [New York: Meridian Books, 1958],
348). Think of a bullseye on a target. Your goal is to hit the bullseye when you
shoot at the target. It doesn’t matter if you miss the bullseye by a yard or a
millimeter; you still missed the mark. It doesn’t matter if your sin is a yard
(murder) or a millimeter (pride); you still have missed God’s bullseye of holiness.
God does not show favoritism when it comes to sin (Romans 2:11). All sin must
be judged!
6. Paul widens the sin net to include not only the pagan cultures but also the
religious culture. Paul wants to make sure sinfulness and God’s wrath isn’t
understood as just being for the “evil” pagans but also for the Jews who follow
God’s law. Even if they outwardly followed the rules, they still had sin in their
hearts. Once again, both still miss the mark. No one can stand blameless before
a holy God (Romans 3:10).

Week 2
Text: Romans 3:21–31; 4:1–25; 5:1–11
Topic: Justification, Atonement, Salvation, Forgiveness, Faith
Big Idea of the Message: All of humanity is shown grace and given salvation through
the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
Application Point: Jesus paid the price for our sin, and we should therefore live our
lives forever changed by this act of love.

Sermon Ideas and Talking Points:

1. In a monastery in the late 1400s AD, a German monk sits paralyzed. He is

pondering the holiness of God and the sinfulness of his own heart. How could he,
a sinner, stand before a holy God? He has confessed all the sins he might have
committed. He has prayed. Given to the church. He has worked hard to please
God and be accepted by him. But when will he know if his hard work to earn
salvation has paid off? He didn’t know … and that terrified him. Then one day this
monk read Romans 1:17, “The righteous will live by faith.” Martin Luther was
forever changed from reading that verse. He realized that salvation came through
the grace of God and by placing faith in the work of Christ alone. Luther
challenged the theology and practices of the medieval church and led a
revolution that changed the course of history (Walter A. Elwell and Robert W.
Yarbrough, “Romans,” Encountering the New Testament, 257).
2. Paul has described the dark and dire state that humanity is in. Corrupted by sin
and enemies of God, people will be judged for their sin. So how does a holy, just
God deal with sin without destroying all of humanity? By sending his Son to take
the penalty of sin.
3. Paul uses a legal description (justification) to describe what Jesus has done on
the cross (Romans 3:24). Through the crucifixion, Christ has paid the penalty for
all humanity’s sin. Christ took on the wrath that was for a fallen humanity, and as
a result, those who place their faith in Christ are “justified” before God.
“Justification is a declarative act. It is not something wrought in man, but
something declared over him” (Henry Thiessen, Lectures in Systematic
Theology, [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans], 275). Theologians describe Christ’s
sacrifice as penal substitutionary atonement. Penal, because a penalty must be
paid for sin. Substitutionary, because Christ is the substitute sacrifice in our
place. Atonement, a sacrifice that pays for sin (Millard J. Erickson, The Concise
Dictionary of Christian Theology, [Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing], 18). A
person is declared “not guilty” (justified) and has right standing with God
(righteous).
4. The talk of sin, wrath, atonement, and justification can be difficult for
contemporary audiences. The crucifixion of Jesus is difficult because it is so
violent and brutal. Why couldn’t God just forgive a sinful humanity out of love,
without the death of Jesus occurring? The answer is that God is just. We live in a
culture that is very sensitive to the idea of justice for those who have been
wronged. One example is #popjustice, “which illuminates the promise and
potential of popular culture strategies to advance social change.” Popular culture
has been “like an injection of hi-octane fuel into the engine of public discourse
 about institutional racism, gender identity, immigration, pay equity, and other
issues of social justice. … In a hyper-connected world where practically anyone,
anywhere, can join in the conversation, pop culture is changing and influencing
public opinion at a rate never seen before”
(https://www.unboundphilanthropy.org/announcing-popjustice-report-series).
Social justice has gone from the world of academic political activists to the
everyday vocabulary of social media. But justice is only needed if something
morally wrong has been done. God is good, morally upright, holy, and right in his
character. For God to uphold what is good, pure, and right, he must condemn
sin. The condemnation of sin is a just thing. But God paid for the condemnation
of sin himself (through the Son). Why would God do that? Because he loves his
creation (Romans 5:8).
5. Those who place their faith in the atoning work of Jesus are justified before God
and have right relationship with him. God is taking care of the relationship that
was broken in the fall of humankind (Genesis 3). All of this work of salvation is
done by grace through faith.
6. In ancient times, just like today, people believed they could merit salvation and
acceptance by God from doing good works. Contemporary audiences believe
that they are going to heaven because they are good people or help charities or
the like (Robert Velarde, “Don’t All Good People Go to Heaven?”, Focus on the
Family, https://www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/becoming-a-christian/is-christ-
the-only-way/dont-all-good-people-go-to-heaven). But Abraham and David (4:6–
9) both “admitted their wrongdoing and had faith in God as their only hope for
deliverance” (Walter A. Elwell and Robert W. Yarbrough, “Romans,”
Encountering the New Testament, 257). It is only through faith in God that
righteousness and acceptance can happen. For pagans and Jews in Paul’s times
it didn’t matter how many laws you kept or what nice things you did; none of it
would ever bring salvation from sin.
7. What’s wrong with earning salvation? It would at least make people act nice
sometimes, right? In the movie The Silence of the Lambs, Agent Starling and
Hannibal Lecter tell each other information about themselves. Starling is hoping
that she will get needed information from the serial killer about a murder
investigation she is on. They use the phrase quid pro quo as they give each other
information. This phrase means “something given or received for something else”
(Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed., s.v. “quid pro quo,”
https://www.merriam-webster.com/). When we earn our salvation by doing good
works, we attempt to create a quid pro quo God. We do something nice and we
feel God is obligated to do something in return. When you earn salvation by
doing good works, you try to place God in your debt. God is no longer seen as
the holy God he is who deserves praise but as a commodity to be hustled. But
God is a debtor to no one. Paul has already stated that we are condemned and
corrupted by sin. There is no way of performing your way to salvation with God
(Romans 3:10). So the idea of working out a deal (this for that) with God is off the
table. The God of the Bible is holy, good, and just. He doesn’t compromise with
sin; if he did he would no longer be holy or just and would be a different God
altogether. Those who strive to earn their salvation place their trust (faith) in the
 works they perform, instead of the finished work Christ provided. Faith in works is
no different than faith in idols.
8. Salvation by grace through faith makes every person an equal before God. It is
no longer those who can do good works and those who can’t, but those who
place their faith in Jesus and those who have not. Salvation is now a free gift to
all, given by a loving God.

Week 3
Text: Romans 6:1–23; 8:1–16
Topic: Love, Forgiveness, Fellowship
Big Idea of the Message: Christians have been sanctified by God and are being
transformed by the Holy Spirit.
Application Point: We are not just saved but are also being transformed to reflect
Jesus to the world.

Sermon Ideas and Talking Points:

1. In 1738, an Englishman sat in a church pew hearing the minister read Luther’s
preface on the book of Romans. The reading changed this man’s life. He recalls,
“While he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith
in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone
for my salvation” (Walter A. Elwell and Robert W. Yarbrough, “Romans,”
Encountering the New Testament, 257). That man was John Wesley. Wesley
would go on to lead revivals all over England and the Americas, leading
thousands to Christ and preaching that God not only saves but transforms
human lives to make us more like Christ.
2. Those who place their faith in Christ are justified before God. Their sins are not
counted against them and they have a right relationship with God and are given
eternal life. Christian lingo would call this “being saved” or “born again.” But what
about the sin that remains in the life of a Christian? Sin didn’t just change our
relationship before God; it also corrupted us at our core. Sin is in our hearts
themselves, not just our actions. Paul explains that people should not use the
grace of God to continue in sin. Having described the justification of the believer,
Paul now moves to describing the sanctification of the believer. “God is
concerned not only with the believer’s status but also with his state, his actual
condition” (Everett F. Harrison, “Romans,” The Expositor’s Bible Commentary,
ed. Frank E. Gaebelein [Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1976], 67).
3. Theologians have described sanctification as “a separation to God, an imputation
of Christ as our holiness, purification from moral evil, and conformation to the
image of Christ” (Henry Thiessen, Lectures in Systematic Theology, 287).
Sanctification begins when we accept Christ, and God sets us apart as his
children. However, God continues to transform the believer from the inside out to
live and reflect Christ to the world.
4. One issue that Christians have had for centuries is the debate between grace
and morals/ethics in the life of the Christian. Paul’s question “Shall we go on
sinning so that grace may increase?” (Romans 6:1) can pose a significant
 challenge for churches as they disciple believers in the midst of a fallen world.
But Christians must avoid two extremes. Antinomianism is the belief that moral
law is of no use, since only faith is necessary for salvation. It doesn’t matter how
you live your life; if your faith is in Christ you are saved (Millard J. Erickson, The
Concise Dictionary of Christian Theology, 14). The other extreme is legalism. A
belief that one is truly saved by the moral works that are performed (Millard J.
Erickson, The Concise Dictionary of Christian Theology, 113). Paul discourages
both excesses.
5. Paul paints two illustrations with regards to sanctification: baptism and slavery.
Baptism shows how a Christian is united with Christ and has died to sin and risen
with Christ to new life (Romans 6:3). A person’s old life (ruled by the power of
sin) is dead. Paul also says that we are no longer slaves to sin. A slave is subject
to his master (v. 14). The master tells the slave where to go and what to do. Sin
was the master of a person before they came to Christ; however, Christians are
no longer slaves to sin but now to righteousness (v.18).
6. Sanctification is the lifelong growth of the believer with all the complexities and
messiness that entails. For contemporary Christianity, easy answers are the
norm. But sanctification is not easy. It relies on trust, community, and an ongoing
work of the Spirit. The Spirit renews and transforms believers from the inside out.
The same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead lives inside of every believer
(Romans 8:11). Sanctification is not “behavior management,” where one simply
changes a bad behavior. Sanctification is a transformation of a person at the
core. Instead of just changing behavior, God changes our thoughts, emotions,
and habits. By the power of the Spirit, believers “put to death” sin and
unrighteousness (vv. 12–13).
7. You can have chocolate in milk and yet not have a glass of chocolate milk. Let’s
compare a glass of milk to a person and the chocolate to the Spirit given to that
person when they receive Christ as their Savior. If you pour the chocolate in the
milk and let it set, the chocolate stays on the bottom. A person is given the
indwelling of the Spirit when they received Christ and are justified before God.
Now take that same milk with the chocolate at the bottom and stir it. The milk and
chocolate blend together and you have chocolate milk that tastes delicious. The
stirring is the believer allowing the Holy Spirit to change and transform the soul.
Through prayer, reading Scripture, confession of sin, and many spiritual
disciplines spiritual transformation occurs.

Week 4
Text: Romans 12:1–21; 13:1–14; 14:1–21
Topic: Love, Unity, Fellowship, Honor, Ethics
Big Idea of the Message: A Christian’s new life in Christ influences how they live and
treat others.
Application Point: As we are continuing to be transformed into the image of Jesus, we
will be people of love, unity, and respect.

Sermon Ideas and Talking Points:

1. Paul has laid the foundation of the fall of all of humanity, the salvation given to
people in Christ, and the new life and transforming power of the Holy Spirit in the
life of a believer. He then moves on to how Christians are to behave: what could
be called the ethics of justification and sanctification.
2. Paul admonishes believers to “offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,” and not to
“conform to the pattern of this world, but [to] be transformed by the renewing of
your mind” (Romans 12:1–2). The image of sacrifice relates to the Old Testament
practice of offering animal sacrifices as worship to God. Paul is saying that the
life of a believer is a living sacrifice; one that is set a part for God and is constant
worship to God. This happens by the renewing of the believer. Paul continues
chapter 12 by discussing the unity of believers in Christ (vv. 4–5) and showing
love to everyone, especially to those who persecute us (v. 14).
3. Paul opens Romans 13 by talking about the two things we’re told not to speak
about at the dinner table: religion and politics. Believers are to be good citizens
and respect the governing authorities of the community they live in (vv. 1–5).
Christians are justified and being changed to reflect the character of Christ; the
ethic that Christians are to have toward government is respect. Paul even
encourages believers to be sure to pay their taxes (vv. 6–7).
4. Putting on clothes can change the way a person feels and acts. A uniform not
only designates someone’s profession (police officers, doctors, etc.), but it also
changes how they carry themselves and how they act toward others. Many
times, the clothing people wear can embody aspects of their character: “Your
style and the clothes you choose reflect your mood, health, and overall
confidence. Scientists call this phenomenon ‘enclothed cognition’” (Jill Ferguson,
“How Clothing Choices Affect and Reflect Your Self-Image,” Huffington Post,
February 5, 2017, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/jill-l-ferguson/how-clothing-
choices-affect-and-reflect-your-self-image_b_9163992.html). Romans 13:14
says, “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think
about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.”
5. It seems like Christians can argue about anything. Paul realizes this in Romans
14. After discussing love and unity, he moves to “gray areas” that were dividing
believers in the first century. From whether meat should be eaten to whether
certain days should be considered more sacred than others (vv. 2–5), Christians
would judge and divide themselves on matters that, to Paul—and the gospel—
didn’t really matter. The foundation for Christian practice is love; if I am doing
something that I know will offend or cause another believer to waver in the faith,
then I am not walking in love (v. 15).
6. An example of a minor area that can divide Christians is alcohol. Scripture is very
clear that drunkenness is a sin (Galatians 5:21). However, Christians have gone
to extremes on both sides when it comes to alcohol. On the one hand, the
legalist has advocated teetotalism, while the libertine, on the other hand, has
advocated cavalier consumption. For Paul, our individual liberties to do
something that might be a “gray area” are always subjected to Christian unity and
love. I must be conscientious of the convictions (and weaknesses) of others. So,
if a believer partakes in alcohol, they should do it with wisdom and in
 consideration of those around them. If a Christian does not drink, they should not
judge those who do as being less spiritual.
7. What can fix a world corrupted by sin and evil? How can sinful humanity have a
relationship with a holy God? How can people be saved from the penalty of the
evil they have done in life? How can human beings truly change their thoughts,
habits, and hearts for the good? How can people who are different be unified?
Romans answers all of those questions with the ultimate Sunday school answer:
Jesus. Jesus is the answer to sin, salvation, human transformation, and unity.

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