Audio Series: Romans

What advantage is there to being Jewish? Paul lists lots of advantages, but exemption from judgment is not one of them.

This important study on the first three chapters of Romans makes sense of Paul's discussion about the Law, the Jewish people, the Nations, and how we all stand under God's judgment and in need of atonement and salvation. The discussion reverses several common assumptions about Romans 1-3 by clearly explaining the sequence of Paul's argument, the rhetorical devices he employs, and the specialized terminology he uses such as "under the law" and "the circumcision."

Click on the pdf file to follow along with the original notes.

Do you know “the law of sin and death”? It’s not the Torah, it’s not Murphy’s Law, and it’s not the law of gravity, but it’s an important underlying principle in the Biblical worldview. Romans 5 introduces sin, punishment, and justification through Paul’s theology of Adam’s sin and Messiah’s atonement. Download the pdf below to follow along with the discussion.

What does it mean to be "under the law"? Conventional teaching understands Paul's use of the terminology, "under the law," to mean legalism. This teaching from Romans 6 takes a completely different perspective.

What is the significance of the resurrection of Yeshua? In Romans 8, Paul enters into the deep mysticism of resurrection theology. The resurrection of Yeshua is prelude to the restoration of heaven and earth which will transform this present world into the world to come. Those in Messiah are swept up in that future transformation through His Spirit even now, and by that transformation, we have a hope for the future to come and victory in Messiah today.

Listen to this teaching and download the original accompanying handout as a PDF in the link below.
 

If Gentile believers receive the a share in the kingdom and the world to come and also enjoy the blessings promised to Abraham, what advantage does a Jewish believer have? What's the point of being a Jew at all? Does the inclusion of the Gentiles negate Jewish identity and priority? These are the questions that the Apostle Paul takes up in the much-misunderstood and often-misinterpreted ninth chapter of the book of Romans. 

What advantage has the Jew? What is the value of circumcsion? Much in every way. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the Torah, the worship, and the promises. (Romans 3:1; 9:4)

Download the PDF file below to read the original lesson handout.

In Romans 10:4, Paul declares that "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." Does this verse mean what most people think that it means? Does Paul mean to contradict Yeshua's own statement that he did not come to cancel the Torah? Unravel the riddle of this difficult saying in the midst of Paul's continuing discussion about the election of Israel despite the Jewish rejection of Yeshua.

In Romans 11, Paul speaks of the Gentile disciples as branches from a wild olive tree, grafted in to a cultivated tree, but the symbolism leaves room for ambiguity. Who is who in the metaphor, and where does the rest of Israel fit in to the picture? Who are the broken branches, who are the roots, and how do they all fit together? This teaching examines the famous "grafted-in" passage in the context of the broader discussion of Romans 9-11 and by comparing it with a similar Talmudic teaching.

What is "the measure of faith that God has assigned" (Romans 12:3)? What is the gift of "exhortation"? What are spiritual gifts and how do they function? Romans 12 depicts the body of Messiah in all its diversity, and calls upon us to commit ourselves to the body, offering ourselves as "living sacrifices" to the Almighty.

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. (Romans 12:4-5)

This teaching from Romans 12 is number 17 in the Romans class, originally recorded in 2014. Download the pdf of the handout and follow along.

People who keep the Sabbath and eat kosher are weak in faith, but the strong in faith treat every day alike and eat anything. That's the conventional interpretation of Romans 14. Take a second look at this passage from Paul's Epistle to the Romans and consider a Messianic Jewish intepretation that turns the conventional one upside down.