1. What does Paul say about himself in his introduction?
2. What does Paul say about Jesus Christ in his introduction?
3. From vv. 8-10, what and how has Paul been praying?
4. What does Paul say about "the gospel" in vv. 16-17?
5. From v. 20 why, according to Paul, are people without excuse?
6. In v. 21, what do we learn will happen to our thinking and to our hearts if we ignore God?
7. It is clear in v. 25 that we either worship the Creator or ___________ ?
8. Notice three times that people "exchange" (v. 23, 25, 26) and that three times God "gave them over" (v. 24, 26, 28). In other words, when we ignore God and refuse to follow him, we are "given over" to the consequences of our actions. If that is true, is God punishing us? If you can, explain this a little bit.
9. The final verse (v. 32) adds that people who refuse to obey God and and give themselves to "created" things not only sin but also do what? Why is this so serious?
As we begin our study in Romans, we should keep something in mind: Let's not treat Romans 1 separate from Romans 2, and Romans 3, and Romans 4, etc.
Despite our plan to read one chapter per day, Paul was not writing his letter to be read one chapter per day (in fact, his original letter didn't even have chapter divisions!).
While we anticipate the rest of this book, we should keep in mind some of the incredible promises we will come to later:
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" -Romans 8:1
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 8:38-39
There are plenty more promises like this that we will discover; but for now, we should make clear: the good news of Jesus is so good because, the picture of our fallen humanity, is so bleak and so desperate.
While each of us resisted God, refused his offer of grace, decided to worship other "gods" and to operate selfishly ... still God had grace for us. And, only in him, we find redemption and the forgiveness of sin.
So, we let the heaviness and seriousness of Romans 1 set in today; but, as we will see, this is not the final word. This is the backdrop for - and introduction to - God's incredible love and matchless grace.