Romans

·       Summary (church, strengths and weaknesses, reference to Acts):

We do not read much about the Roman church in Acts but there are some references to members in Acts 18:1-2. The church in Rome was not unified and we see that there were several congregations meeting separately (16:5, 14, 15). It seems as though most of the church was gentile with a few returned Jews. Both the faith (1:8) and obedience (16:19) of the church were well known. Paul did not start the Roman church and has not been to them either at the time the letter is written (1:10). The church seems to be mature (14:1) but was struggling with pride and judgment (12:3.)

·       Main ideas, key words and repeated ideas:

The main idea of the letter to the Romans was to set straight their idea of the design and nature of the gospel. It is repeated that the gospel and what Jesus did is for everyone!

Paul stresses the new covenant and the fact that all who believe are saved by grace, Jew and Gentile alike. The key verse of Romans is ,” For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes – the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life” (1:16-17).

·       Character and nature of God:

I think the main message of God’s character can be summed up in Romans 2:11,” For God does not show favoritism.” There are also many other parts of God’s character that we see in Romans. Romans 2:2-4 shows God’s justice, kindness, tolerance and patience. We see in 3:26 that God is fair, righteous and just. In 9:22-23 God is shown to have anger, power, patience, glory and mercy. God is both kind and severe (11:22). He is full of wisdom and knowledge and His ways and decisions are much higher than ours (11:33). In 12:6 we see that God is generous and full of grace. He is also the ultimate source of hope, joy and peace (15:13).

·       Point of Passion:  Romans is applicable to education in many ways, specifically when we focus on equality. Romans clearly shows us that God loves all people and He extends his mercy to whoever calls on His name. Therefore it is vital that when teaching we are not prejudice and treat all people equally. However that is not what I want to focus on. In Romans 2:21 it says, “Well then, if you teach others, why don’t you teach yourself? – You tell others not to steal, but do you steal?” This just shows me again the importance of being humble and living a life of example. Why should anyone listen to what we have to say if there is no evidence of the truth in our lives?! Teachers need to teach from example and without judgment or pride.