Romans 15:7-13 Paul closes off his discussion about differing opinions in the church by returning to the idea of acceptance that he introduced at the beginning of chapter 14. Does Paul mean we are to merely tolerate others with differing opinions, or does he mean something much more profound? What often actually lies at the heart of what we think are doctrinal differences between ourselves and others? What does communion or the Lord's Supper have to do with this passage? What is the particular sin that Paul is concerned could hinder the Corinthians' taking of the Lord's Supper? What two groups did Christ intend to benefit when He became a servant of the circumcision? What is significant about the particular passages from the Old Testament which Paul chooses to prove his point? What is significant about the order in which he quotes them? Why is Christ referred to as the "Root of Jesse?" What is the hope of the Gentiles? (62 min)

Keywords Unity, Communion, Acceptance, Gentiles, Jews, Weak, Strong

Romans 11:16-17 How can it be that if Israel has failed that Paul can expect that at some time in the future it will once again be included among God's people? This a question Paul now sets out to answer. But it is important to remember that in these verses he is addressing himself to Gentiles particularly, because he has something very important to say to Gentile believers. What does he mean by referring to Gentiles as being of a "wild olive?" Who are the ones with whom those of us who are grafted in are partaking? What is it we are partaking of? What warning does Paul give to the Gentiles regarding how they view Israel? Why is this warning necessary? Why were the "natural branches" broken off? How is it significant that Paul's use of the pronoun "you" when referring to Gentiles is always in the second person singular rather than plural? How do we know that, as severe as Paul's warning is, it does not teach that an individual believer can lose his or her salvation? How does the history of the Gentile church validate Paul's warning about being broken off? (53 min)

Keywords Jews, Gentiles, Security

Romans 11:11-15 Understanding now that, except for a small remnant, Israel as a whole has refused the Gospel and been hardened, another question arises. Has Israel's stumbling over the Stumbling Stone been a total falling from which there will never be a recovery? It is this question Paul addresses in the verses in this lesson. Paul's emphatic response is negative, but what is the basis for his confidence that they have not permanently fallen? Why does Paul speak of the Gentles experiencing salvation due to Israel's transgression? What does Paul expect the Gentiles' salvation to do to the Jews? How is Paul using the idea of jealousy here? What two aspects of Israel's stumbling does Paul mention? What is the impact of these two aspects? Why does Paul make a point that he is addressing himself to Gentiles in these verses? What is the rejection and acceptance that he speaks of here? What is the "life from the dead" that he refers to? What is the wonderful future that we can expect for Israel, and why does it matter to Gentile believers? (54 min)

Keywords Jealously, Jews, Gentiles, Reconciliation, Remnant

Romans 10:18-21 Picking up where we left off three weeks ago, we find Paul answering the question of why it is that the Jews have not believed the Gospel. Have they never heard? Have they not understood? To each of these questions Paul answers emphatically that those were not the problem. When God says that he will provoke the Jews to jealousy, is this some random judgment of God, or is there some precedent why He has chosen this particular course? How does Paul know that the Jews have heard the gospel? Why does Paul use the verse from Psalm 19 the way he does? Had the Gospel really been preached in all the world, as Paul claims? How do we know, according to Paul, that the Gospel was not too difficult for the Jews to understand? If the Jews had heard and had understood the word of faith, what explanation does Paul give for their not believing? What does this tell us about the grace of God? (57 min.)

Keywords Gospel, Faith, Jews, Gentiles

Romans 10:11-13 In this lesson we are wrapping up our study of verses 5-13, in which Paul sets out how the righteousness of faith differs from the righteousness of the Law. How do we know that Paul is not intending to make a strong distinction between the faith of the heart and the confession of the mouth? When Moses speaks of the mouth and the heart, what is his point? How do we know that Paul does not intend us to see the acquiring of righteousness as distinct from salvation, or confession as distinct from believing? What is the underlying foundation to the assertion that whoever believes will be saved?. In what way is there no distinction between Jew and Greek (Gentile)? On what basis does Paul claim there is no such distinction? How did the Jews view the difference between themselves and the Gentiles? If the objective universal lordship of Jesus is the basis of Paul's argument about Jews and Gentiles, what else can we infer from it? (57 min.)

Keywords Lordship, Confession, Faith, Righteousness, Salvation, Jews, Gentiles

Romans 9:1-5 In this lesson we begin our study of Romans 9-11. People view these chapters from a variety of perspectives, and some simply avoid studying them because of the difficulties they present. What are some of the questions we are confronted with in these chapters? Are these three chapters an appendix to Paul's main thrust in Romans, or do they contain matters that directly relate to that emphasis? Is Paul concerned here chiefly with issues pertaining to individual salvation, or does he have something else in view? How can one be careful, when interpreting specific verses or points in these chapters, to ensure that he or she is finding the right interpretation? What two groups of people does Paul concern himself with in these chapters? As Paul opens his discussion in 9:1-5, why is he so insistent that he is telling the truth? Paul speaks of his "great sorrow" and his "unceasing grief." What is he so sorrowful about? To what extreme can Paul imagine going in order to alleviate his sorrow? What does scripture say about such a suggestion? How can Paul's remarks in this passage be likened to looking on the ruins of a great civilization? (69 min)

Keywords Israel, Jews, Predestined, Adoption

Romans 3:1-8 Backed into a corner by Paul's arguments concerning the Law and Circumcision, Paul's imaginary challenger attempts to show that Paul's message leads to unacceptable conclusions about God. By this point in Paul's "diatribe,” who might Paul actually be envisioning as his opponent? What are the four questions presented against Paul's Gospel? What are the four things about God that Paul is accused of undermining? Does Paul believe that there is any real advantage to being Jewish? How are we today sometimes guilty of the same errors that Paul exposes in the thinking of his Jewish opponent? How does Paul successfully defend the character of God while maintaining his position regarding the Law and Circumcision? (58 min)

Keywords Jews, Law, Circumcision, Righteousness, Faithfulness, Justice

Romans 2:25-29 After getting our bearings once again in the flow of Paul's case, we consider in this lesson his response to the Jew's reliance on circumcision. What was the purpose of circumcision? What value did Paul see in circumcision for the Jew who kept the Law? What value did it have for the one who transgressed the Law? What are the two "hypothetical" characters Paul sets before us in this passage? What essentially happens for the uncircumcised person who keeps the Law of Moses? What becomes the relationship of the uncircumcised keeper of the law with the circumcised transgressor? What are the four distinct ways that scripture speaks of someone being the descendant of Abraham or the "seed" of Abraham? How is the fourth way both a new and old way of looking at things? What is Paul saying, and not saying, when he speaks of being a Jew as an internal thing? What implications does Paul's dismissal of circumcision as effective for redemption have upon us today? (58 min)

Keywords Jews, Law, Circumcision, Gentiles

Romans 2:17-24 Paul continues to tighten his net around even the most convinced moralists, in this case the Jews. What does it mean to be a Jew? Is Paul speaking as an anti-Semite or as one who has discounted the significance of being Jewish? What are the two supports the Jew believes keep him in right standing with God? What are the five privileges Paul attributes to being a Jew? Additionally, what are the four prerogatives that the Jew possessed? In his imagined dialog with a Jewish moralist, what would have likely been the response of his imagined Jew to the things Paul listed in verses seventeen through twenty? How does Paul "lower the boom" on the Jewish moralist? What is the result among non-Jews to the disobedience of the Jew to the Law. How can this passage, clearly written with Jews in mind, apply to us today? (59 min)

Keywords Jews, Law, Moralists

Romans 1:16, 17 In this lesson Rick discusses why Paul is not ashamed of the Gospel. It is the power of God to salvation. What does Paul mean by "salvation" in this passage? Who are the beneficiaries of this remarkable power? What is it that makes the Gospel powerful? Why was verse seventeen such a troublesome verse to Martin Luther? What did Paul mean by the "righteousness of God?" How is that righteousness revealed in the Gospel? What does Paul mean by the phrase "from faith to faith?" What is the significance of Paul's quotation from the prophet Habakuk? (62 min)

Keywords Righteousness, Salvation, Faith, Jews, Gentiles