An Overview of Romans

by David Gooding

The biblical authors used the literary conventions of their day to convey their message. These included structures and patterns less obvious to us in our modern age. David Gooding brought his expertise in ancient literature to the biblical text, and these study notes represent his thinking about the structure, patterns and thought-flow of Romans.

When speaking to groups of Bible students, he often said, ‘When it comes to Bible study, there is structure, pattern and thought-flow, and the greatest of these is thought-flow. Here are the thoughts of God expressed. Our job is to follow the thought-flow’. He taught that the most important thing to grasp in biblical interpretation is the way the author develops his message, and that discerning structure and patterns within the text should always be directed towards that end.

David Gooding developed these study notes over many years and distributed them at public and private talks. The study notes are not meant to be the last word on the book, and may not cover it entirely. The Myrtlefield Trust offers them to Bible students, preachers and teachers in order to stimulate further thinking about the book, so that its message may be better understood.

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Study Notes

An Overview of Romans

Section 1	Section 2	Section 3	Section 4
Rom 1:1–5:11	Rom 5:12–8:39	Rom 9:1–11:36	Rom 12:1–16:27
Wrath of God.	Wreckage of Adam’s sin.	Failure of Israel’s faith and service.	Appeal for our spiritual service.
Righteousness apart from the law.	Righteous requirement of the law fulfilled in us.	Christ is the end of the law for righteousness.	Love is the fulfilment of the law.
Christ died for us.	We died with Christ.	Jew/Gentile relations.	Jew/Gentile relations.
We shall be saved from the wrath of God.	Saved in hope.	All Israel shall be saved.	Now is our salvation nearer.
Hope of the glory of God.	Them he also glorified; creation . . . delivered.	Life from the dead.	The day is at hand; Satan bruised.
THE LOVE OF GOD (Rom 5:5–11).	THE LOVE OF GOD (Rom 8:35–39).	THE WISDOM OF GOD (Rom 11:33–36).	THE ONLY WISE GOD (Rom 16:27).

An Overview of Section One: Romans 1:1–5:11

1.	Rom 1:8–3:20	The justification of God’s wrath
2.	Rom 3:21–31	The claim that man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law
3.	Rom 4:1–17	The validation of that claim: an appeal to the precedent of Abraham’s experience
4.	Rom 4:18–25	The definition of what is meant by faith: the analogy between Abraham’s faith and ours
5.	Rom 5:1–11	The results and implications of justification by faith

A Comparison of Section One and Two

Rom 1:1–5:11	Rom 5:12–8:39
1. The diagnosis	1. The diagnosis
All personally guilty: ‘without excuse’; ‘every mouth silenced’.	Not altogether our fault: ‘through one man’s one act of disobedience, the many constituted sinners’.
2. The death of Christ	2. The death of Christ
Christ died for us, while we were still sinners, ungodly, enemies.	We died, were crucified with Christ, buried, raised with him. How shall we continue in sin?
3. The law in relation to righteousness and inheritance	3. The law in relation to sanctification
4. The implications of justification by faith	4. The implications of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
The Holy Spirit pours out the love of God in our heart to make real to us our hope of glory.	The Holy Spirit gives life, guides, leads, intercedes for us, in the furtherance of God’s purposes for our glorification, and so strengthens our hope.
WRATH OF GOD.	WRECKAGE OF ADAM’S SIN
Righteousness apart from the Law.	Righteous requirement of the Law fulfilled in us.
Christ died for us.	We died with Christ.
WE SHALL BE SAVED FROM THE WRATH OF GOD.	SAVED IN HOPE.
Hope of the glory of God.	Them also he glorified . . . creation delivered.
THE LOVE OF GOD (Rom 5:5–11).	THE LOVE OF GOD (Rom 8:35–39).

A Brief Synopsis of Romans 1:18–5:11

THE WRATH OF GOD Against all Unrighteousness

1.	Rom 1:20; 2:1; 3:19	Men without excuse.
2.	Rom 1:24, 26, 28	God’s wrath now: ‘God gave them up’.
3.	Rom 2:5, 16; 3:5	God’s wrath and the day of judgment.

Salvation Through THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD Through Faith in Christ Jesus

1.	Rom 3:24	Justified freely–by grace.
2.	Rom 3:24	Redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
3.	Rom 3:25	Christ Jesus, the propitiatory.
4.	Rom 3:25	Through faith, by his blood.
5.	Rom 3:26	Through God’s righteousness as the justifier.
6.	Rom 3:21	Apart from the law.
7.	Rom 3:31	Yet establishes the law.

1.	Rom 5:1	Peace with God.
2.	Rom 5:2	Standing in grace.
3.	Rom 5:2	Hope of the glory of God.
4.	Rom 5:3	Exultation in tribulation.
5.	Rom 5:5	God’s love poured out in our hearts.
6.	Rom 5:9	Salvation from the wrath.
7.	Rom 5:11	Joy and exultation in God.

Some Facts Regarding Romans 3:25

1. The Old Testament ark was a chest that contained the tables of the law.
2. The so-called 'mercy-seat' was not a seat. It was a lid, or, cover upon which the atoning blood was sprinkled.

3. The word for this cover, or, lid, was:

   • in Hebrew: kapporeth.
   • in Greek: epithema hilasterion.

4. The word in Romans 3:25 used to describe Christ is hilasterion.

Case-law and Biblical Precedent in Chapter Four

Rom 4:1–8	1. The experience of Abraham according to Genesis 15:6: faith is reckoned for righteousness as an act of God’s grace.
	2. The experience of David according to Psalm 32:1–2: iniquities forgiven: righteousness reckoned apart from works; sin not reckoned.
Rom 4:9–12	The relation of the institution of circumcision to justification.
Rom 4:13–16	The relation of the law to the promises.
	The analogy between:
Rom 4:17–22	1. Abraham’s faith
Rom 4:23–25	2. Our faith.

A Brief Synopsis of Romans 5:12–8:29

THE DISOBEDIENCE OF ADAM and its Results for all in Adam

1.	Death, dying, dead, mortal, etc (´42).
2.	Dominion of sin, (Rom 5:21; 6:12); of death (Rom 5:17); of law (Rom 7:1).
3.	Bondage and slavery to sin (Rom 6:17); to uncleanness (Rom 6:19); to law (Rom 7:1); to the law of sin and death (Rom 7:23; 8:2); to corruption (Rom 8:21).

Salvation Through THE OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST and its Effects for all in Christ

1.	Rom 5:19	By his obedience we are constituted righteous.
2.	Rom 6:6, 4	Crucified, buried, raised with him.
3.	Rom 7:4	‘Joined to another’.
4.	Rom 8:1	‘In Christ Jesus’.

1.		Life:
	Rom 5:17 Rom 6:4 Rom 6:11	- reigning in. - newness of. - to God.
2.		Freedom:
	Rom 6:22 Rom 6:14; 7:2, 5–6 Rom 8:2 Rom 8:21	- from sin. - from law. - from law of sin and death. - from corruption.
3.	Rom 8:14, 16–17	Sons and heirs of God through the Holy Spirit.
4.	Rom 8:24–25	Hope.
5.	Rom 8:17, 21, 29–30	Glory.
6.	Rom 8:31–39	Confidence in the love of god.

The Logic of Romans 5:12 and 5:18

The Difference

1. 'And so' (Rom 5:12) = 'as a result' – It expresses a consequence.

2. 'Even so' or 'so also' (Rom 5:18) = 'in the same way' – It denotes a comparison.

An Example

1. Mr Smith got drunk at a party and, driving home, put his foot on the accelerator instead of on the brake And so = and as a result crashed into a tree and killed himself.

2. 'Even so' or 'so also' = in the same way Mr Jones got drunk at a business lunch, signed a bad contract and as a result bankrupted himself.

The Comparison

The comparison begins in Rom 5:12. . .

'Therefore just as
through one man sin entered the world
and through sin death,
and as a consequence
death spread to all men because all have sinned . . .'

and it is broken off in Rom 5:13–17 by a parenthesis;

The comparison resumes in Rom 5:18 :

So then just as
through one trespass
(the result was)
condemnation . . . upon all men;

even so, in the same way,
through the one act of righteousness
(the result is)
justification of life for all men.

The Argument of Romans 9

1. The grievous state of the majority of Paul's kinsmen-according-to-the-flesh in Paul's day (Rom 9:1–3).

2. The majesty and effectiveness of the unique role given by god's sovereign choice to Israel, the nation physically descended from Abraham (Rom 9:4–5).

   • The adoption as sons (cf. Deut 32:19–20).
   • The glory: i.e. the presence of God.
   • The covenants (Gen 15:17; Exod 24:7–8; Jer 31:31–34).
   • The giving of the Law.
   • The service of God.
   • The promises.
   • The fathers.
   • The nation through which the Messiah should come physically; who is simultaneously 'over all, God blessed for ever. Amen' (Rom 9:5).

3. The rejection of the Messiah by the majority of Paul's contemporary Israelites does not mean that God's word and purpose for Israel have come to nothing (Rom 9:6).

   • Isaiah prophesied that when God judged Israel, he would nevertheless leave a remnant (Rom 9:27–29).
   • There is such a remnant now (Rom 11:1–6).
   • The gifts and calling of God regarding Israel are without repentance i.e. God has not, and will not, change his mind (Rom 11:29).
   • Therefore one day all Israel shall be saved (Rom 11:26).

4. The fact that not all Abraham's physical descendants are chosen by God to carry Israel's unique witness to God, is illustrated by: (Rom 9:7–13)

   • The case of Isaac, not Ishmael (Rom 9:7–9).
     • Ishmael was born out of Abraham's own initiative and attempt to fulfil God's promise by his own power.
     • Isaac was born by God's own miraculous power in fulfilment of his promise.
   • The case of Jacob and Esau (Rom 9:10–13).
     • The qualification of Jacob (Israel, Israelites), not Esau (Edomites), as the nation to carry the unique witness to God, was not based on his works, good or bad.
     • If God chose only sinlessly perfect people to be his witnesses, he would never have any.

5. God's mercy on and perseverance with Israel in spite of her sins, and his hardening of Pharaoh, are not unjust nor arbitrary (Rom 9:14–22)

   • The case of Pharaoh
     • God foreknew that he would harden Pharaoh's heart (Exod 3:19; 7:3).
     • But only at Exodus 9:12 is it said that the Lord hardened his heart.
     • Pharaoh had demanded evidence. He was given abundant evidence. But when he rejected that evidence, God 'made him stand' as a vessel of wrath.
   • The case of Israel
     • Israel's frequent apostasies show her to be 'of the same lump' as Pharaoh.
     • None has a claim on God's mercy.
     • God's mercy on Israel arose out of his sovereign choice: 'I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy' (Exod 33:19).
     • But it was not indiscriminate:
       • At Sinai some were slain (Exod 32:27–28, 35); some were pardoned (Exod 33–34). Why?
       • At Kadesh-Barnea (Num 14) a whole generation were sentenced to die in the desert. Only Joshua, Caleb, and those under twenty when they left Egypt were spared. Why?
       • Later God repudiated the ten tribes of Israel and said 'They are not My people' (Hosea 1:9), but spared Judah. Why?

6. Israel's restoration must be totally by God's grace and mercy (Rom 9:23–33).

   • On the same terms as the Gentiles (Rom 9:24).
   • Many Gentiles in Paul's day were justified by grace, through faith, and thus became vessels of mercy and glory (Rom 9:23, 30).
   • But Paul's Jewish contemporaries mostly refused to become vessels of mercy and insisted on trying to earn salvation by works.

The Argument of Romans 10

The Reasons Why So Many of Paul\'s Fellow-Jews Were Not Saved

1. It wasn't that Paul had not prayed for them: he had (Rom 10:1).
2. It wasn't that they were irreligious: they had a zeal for God (Rom 10:2).
3. It was that, being ignorant of the true function of the law, they would not submit to God's way of justifying sinners, but insisted on their own way (Rom 10:3–5).
4. It was not that justification by faith is difficult to achieve. It is easy: the word is . . . in your mouth and heart (Rom 10:6–11).
5. It was not that God has favourites: whoever calls shall be saved (Rom 10:12–13).

6. For people to call on the name of the Lord, four conditions have to be met (Rom 10:14–15):

   • They have to believe in him.
   • For that to happen, they have to hear him.
   • For that to happen, there has to be a preacher.
   • For that to happen, the preacher has to be sent.

7. It wasn't that these conditions were not fulfilled. The trouble was that they would not obey the gospel (Rom 10:16).

8. It wasn't that they couldn't believe unless God first gave them the faith to believe with. Faith comes by hearing . . . the word of Christ (Rom 10:16–17).
9. It wasn't that they were so dead in trespasses and sins that they couldn't hear the word of Christ. They did hear (Rom 10:18).
10. It wasn't that Israel did not realise what was happening and what 'being saved' meant. Gentiles were getting saved in front of their very eyes, as the Old Testament had prophesied they would (Rom 10:19–20).
11. It wasn't that God had not elected them, and so they could not be saved. All day long God stood with outstretched arms pleading with them to come. But they refused him, contradicted him, and rebelled against him (Rom 10:21).

The Argument of Romans 11

God's Strategies for the Eventual Salvation of All-Israel

1. God has not cast off his people, has he? No! (Rom 11:1–6). Evidence:

   • In Elijah's day God left himself a remnant to maintain Israel's witness to the true God.
   • In the same way now there is a remnant of Israel, chosen by God on the ground that they are prepared to accept salvation by grace and not by their own works.
   • God's judicial hardening of the rest of Israel is in accord with Old Testament prophecies (Isa 29:1; Deut 29:4; Ps 69:22–23).

2. Israel have not stumbled and fallen so as never to rise again, have they? No! (Rom 11:7–12)

   • In God's strategy, by Israel's fall, salvation has come to the Gentiles on purpose to provoke Israel to jealousy, and thus to repentance and restoration.
   • If their fall and loss has brought riches to the Gentiles, how much more shall their restoration bring!

3. Things that Gentile believers should remember (Rom 11:13–24).

   • Paul glorifies his mission to the Gentiles, not because Gentiles are superior to Jews, but in an attempt to provoke unbelieving Jews to envy, and thus to salvation (Rom 11:13–14).
   • For if the casting away of Israel has led to the reconciling of the world, their restoration will bring veritable life from the dead (Rom 11:15).
   • The present remnant of Jewish believers is the firstfruits of the eventual conversion of All-Israel. The firstfruits are holy: so will the full mass be (Rom 11:16).
   • The patriarchs were the root, and they were holy. So are the branches (excepting, of course, those that had to be cut off) (Rom 11:16).
   • Gentile Christians have no ground for boasting that some natural branches were broken off and Gentiles grafted in, because:
     • It is the patriarchal root that carries and nourishes the Gentile believers, and not the other way round (Rom 11:17–18).
     • Some Jewish branches were broken off because of unbelief: but the continuance of Gentile Christians in the olive tree is dependent on their continuing to believe (Rom 11:19–22).
     • If it has been possible to graft in wild branches (Gentile believers), it will certainly be possible for natural (Jewish branches), though now broken off, to be grafted back in again (Rom 11:23–24).

4. The mystery of Israel's present temporary hardening, and future salvation (Rom 11:25–32).

   • This temporary hardening will last only until 'the fullness of the Gentiles be come in' (Rom 11:25, cf. John 10:16).
   • All-Israel shall be saved at the coming of the deliverer (Rom 11:26).
   • Israel will then enter into the good of the new covenant (Rom 11:27).
   • At present Israel is hostile to the gospel and therefore to Christians; but they are to be loved for God's unchangeable electing grace that chose their forefathers (Rom 11:28–29).
   • The fairness and balance of God's strategies:
     • Gentiles: in the past, disobedient to God.
     • Yet now, through Israel's disobedience, they have received mercy (Rom 11:30).
   • So now Israelites:
     • They have now been guilty of the disobedience of unbelief.
     • But by the mercy shown to you, they also (being provoked by envy) may obtain mercy. Rom 11:31

5. What God has to do to get Gentiles and Jews saved (Rom 11:32):

   • No one can be brought to believe, in the full sense of that term, until they have been brought to realize that hitherto they have been unbelievers.
   • God has therefore shut up all to unbelief that he might have mercy on all.
   • It is hard enough for religious, but unsaved, Gentiles to realize and admit that they are guilty, sinners, and unbelievers. It is even harder for religious, but unsaved, Jews to realize, like Saul of Tarsus, that, in spite of their 'worship' of the one true God, they are, in the only sense that matters, unbelievers.
   • But God will wait until, under his disciplines, All-Israel comes to that realization, repents, and is saved.

6. Doxology to the wisdom and knowledge of God in devising ways of achieving the salvation of the maximum number of people (Rom 11:33–36).

A Brief Synopsis of Romans 12–16

The Yielded Body and the Renewed Mind

Romans 12

1. Ethics, a response to God’s mercies.
2. Rejection of conformity to world: transformation in accordance with God’s will.
3. The believer: his gift and duties.

Romans 13

4. The believer and the wrath of God: a. Individually: avenge not yourselves. b. Submit to state: the minister of wrath.
5. The believer and fulfilling the Law.
6. Living in the light of the coming day.

Romans 14–15

7. The weak and the strong:

   • The importance of the individual’s personal faith in direct accountability to the Lord.
   • The importance of unity between Gentile and Jew.

8. The God of endurance, of comfort, of hope, and of peace.

Romans 16

9. Greetings to individual believers.
10. THE FINAL VICTORY–the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.
11. FINAL DOXOLOGY . . . to the ONLY WISE GOD.

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