Full Text for Romans- Volume 9 - Working Outline of Romans (Video)

No. 9. >> You just called Romans the Gospel according to Paul. What is the Gospel message found in this epistle? Could you summarize it for us? And would you be willing to provide us with a working outline of the epistle? Perhaps an outline would help us to trace Paul's main thoughts in Romans. >>PROFESSOR DAVID I. M. LEWIS: Nick, thank you for that question. Because your question brings to mind what the Gospel actually is. What its content is. This allows me to introduce the subject of the new it perspective on the Apostle Paul. We may talk about this in more detail later on. But the new perspective is a perspective on Paul and his writings and his teachings among scholars today that is actually very negative of the traditional Lutheran reading of Paul. And one thing the new perspective guys would say is that we Lutherans have said the Gospel is a system of salvation. That we've kind of reduced the Gospel to simply being the system of salvation. That if you believe in Jesus, you're saved. If you don't believe in Jesus, you're condemned. And of course that part is true. The new perspective guys would challenge us however to say that the Gospel is actually a lot broader than that. And so the Gospel for Paul is more than simply people who believe in Jesus are saved. And the new perspective here I think can help us as Lutherans be a little broader and a little fuller in our discussion of what the Gospel is. Because I believe that the Gospel for Paul would be the same thing that the Gospel was when Jesus first preached it in his ministry. If we look at Mark 1 Verses 14 and 15, we see Jesus begin his ministry in galley after his temptation and after the arrest of John. And when Jesus preaches, he preaches the time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. The kingdom of God is here. Repent and believe the Gospel. Repent and believe the good news. And the good news for Jesus is that the kingdom of God is here. That the kingdom of God is being initiated. And it's being initiated by Jesus Christ. And so this is what the Gospel is in Matthew, Mark and Luke. God's kingdom. And that is God's rule. His reign. His activity is being realized within this fallen world. And it's taking place in the person and the work of Jesus Christ. And so notice that that's a lot more than simply this is a way that people get saved. Because God's rule will also include, unfortunately for those who reject Jesus, judgment. Now, this is what we Lutherans might call Gospel in the wide sense of its use. The good news Jews proclaimed is that God's kingdom, his reign, is being ushered in in the person and work of Jesus. And this is what Paul would have believed, as well. So it's interesting that when Paul refers to the Gospel in Romans Chapter 1, if we look at Verse 9, Paul calls the Gospel the Gospel of his Son. In other words, for Paul, the Gospel is the Gospel of God's Son Jesus. And what that means is the Gospel is about God's Son Jesus. And it's about what God has done through his Son Jesus. Again probably by instituting his rule in the midst of this fallen, evil world, through Jesus Christ and what he has done. And so I believe that Paul would agree that God has intervened in human affairs. And he has acted in a decisive way through his son Jesus and what Jesus did. And this would include all of Jesus -- all that Jesus did. His teaching. His ministry. His miracles. But then very importantly for Paul and also for the Gospel writers, finally Jesus' passion, his suffering, his death and his resurrection. I think Paul would agree that God has acted decisively. He has intervened in human affairs. And this is the way that God has done it. He has sent his Son. His Son has taught, has ministered, has suffered, has died, has been crucified and has risen again. And so the Gospel for Paul is a Gospel that is about Jesus Christ. And so Paul in his opening references that Jesus is God's Son. And that this has been proven through the power of the resurrection. Paul looked to the resurrection specifically and sees this as evidence that Jesus was, indeed, the Son of God. For God did not let his Son stay dead but he has been vindicated. He has risen from the dead. And this is a sign that Jesus is the Son of God. However, later Paul will say that --in Romans 3 that God has set Jesus forth as a means for atonement as a propitiation offering. So that we would be justified and redeemed through faith in Jesus' blood. So notice Paul does not see Jesus' identity as being separate from the act of salvation itself. Because God presented his Son as a means of propitiation that those who believe in Jesus would be redeemed, would be justified. Later in Romans 4 Verse 25, Paul would say of Jesus that he was delivered over for our transgression but was raised for our justification. So again Paul sees as most significant in Jesus' life his death and his resurrection. And the significance is for us salvation. Later in Chapter 5 Paul will compare and contrast Adam with Jesus. And in this he will note that through Jesus' obedience, life has come to all men through faith. So just as sin and death came through Adam's disobedience, through Jesus' obedience, life and salvation have come to all men. And throughout his letter in Romans 3:24 and 5:15, Paul will refer to this salvation as ***duraton, which is the Greek word for a gift. So looking at the letter overall you might say that yes, Paul is very aware of the fact that the kingdom of God has come in through Jesus Christ. And that there will be a judgment aspect of this kingdom upon those who have rejected Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, Paul sees a very close connection between God sending his Son and the whole issue of salvation. Because when Paul references Jesus and what he did, it's always in the context of those who believe in Jesus, being justified, being redeemed, being reconciled with God. Receiving the Holy Spirit. Being given a new life. So to go back to the issue of the new perspective, I think that they challenge us in a very positive way by making us Lutherans acknowledge that the Gospel is not merely a system by which we are saved. But it is greater than that. It is God breaking into human affairs in a very decisive way through his Son Jesus Christ and through his ministry, his death and his resurrection. And that this actually includes an aspect of judgment upon those who have rejected Jesus. Nevertheless, the new perspective seems to play down the issue of salvation. We may talk about this later on. But it's very key that when you look at what the Gospel is for Paul, it is the Gospel of God's Son. It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And what does that mean? It means that Jesus Christ has done certain things. And that because of those things, God gives salvation to those who believe in Jesus Christ. So you can certainly not divide or separate the Gospel from the good news of salvation that comes to us who believe. You also asked if I would provide you with an outline for the book of Romans. Well, I already mentioned my rhetorical analysis of the book of Romans. I see six basic parts. Romans 1:1 through Romans 1:17 would include the opening and the introduction where Paul concludes by giving us his theme in Romans 1:16 through 17. Paul gives us a narration of the events that are key to proving his argument. Namely, he narrates the universal condition of sin that we human beings have. That's in Romans 1:18 through 3:20. He gives us his proposition in Romans 3:21 through 31. And then the longest section of Romans would be the confirmation part where Paul argues his case in Romans 4 through Romans 11. Romans 12 Verse 1 through Romans 15 Verse 13 contains the exhortation section where Paul exhorts his readers how they should respond in light of the mercy that God has given them. And then Romans 15 Verse 14 through Chapter 16 would be the closing. Okay. There was a quick six-part outline to Romans. In this class, however, I'm going to have you use Martin ***Fransman's commentary on Romans. So as a simple working outline, you might reference the outline that Fransman suggests. This is on Pages 19 and 20 of his commentary. And basically Fransman sort of acknowledges the three-fold division of an epistle: Opening, body, closing. He sees the opening in Romans 1:1 through 15. He sees the closing in Romans 15 Verse 14 through 16:27. And then he divides the main body up into four basic sections. And I find you can organize Romans on these four basic sections. So he sees Romans 1:18 through Chapter 5 as showing that the Gospel creates a new status for man. And so there Paul argues the universal condition of sin. God's response by justifying those who believe in Jesus. And then he proves -- Paul in Chapter 4 proves his point that it is through faith that God gives salvation. And then in Chapter 5, he talks about the implications of this in the life of the Christian. Then Fransman the next big sections including Chapters 6 through 8. Where Fransman sees this as being about the Gospel creates a new life in man. And here Paul talks about a relationship to sin, to the law. And then he talks about life in the Spirit. And so here Paul talks about what the sanctified life is about, about our struggle with sin. And nevertheless the victory we have in having the Holy Spirit now. Then the third main section according to Fransman would be Chapters 9 through 11. And here Fransman says the idea is the Gospel creates a new Israel out of Jew and Gentile. This is the section where Paul talks about the unbelief of the Jews. And what that means for God is being faithful today and what that means about the people of God today now that Jesus Christ has come. And then finally, Fransman would identify a fourth main unit to be that exhortation section, Romans 12 Verse 1 through 15 Verse 13. I would like to suggest to you that you read Romans following this outline that Fransman has given. You might note that it basically more or less matches up with the outline that I've given you. But I think that it would help in organizing Romans to see the main body as organized into these four units that Fransman suggests and then reading those units as independent units. Just to let you know, there are about as many outlines of Romans as there are commentaries on Romans. It seems that every commentator has his own unique approach. And one of the great issues in organizing Romans is where to place Chapter 5. Some commentators will put Chapter 5 with Chapter 6. Some will see it with Chapter 4. I'm more of the opinion that Fransman has, that Chapter 5 is really talking about the implications of Chapter 4. We are justified through faith. That's how it was with Abraham. And then certain implications follow through from that. And that Paul discusses those in Chapter 5. And I see Chapter 6 Verse 1 as Paul bringing up a brand-new subject that he hopes to discuss in the chapters that follow. So I would suggest to you that you use the simple outline suggested by Martin Fransman in his commentary in the -- on the book of Romans.