In the Word Wednesday, BSF Lesson 1

Here as promised, I wanted to spend some time jotting out notes from lecture, midway through each week (while its all still fresh upon my mind and heart.)
This is not new news to perhaps all of you, but each time we hear the Word taught, the Lord unveils new things for us to know. I certainly find this the case each week!

This lecture on Romans was broken down into the following simple outline:
1.Romans and a Biblical Worldview
2. Background of Romans
3. Overview of Romans

As introduction, Nancy (lecturer) first touched on the fact that everyone of us has a worldview (all ideas, truths, and information are sifted through a worldview - works as a sieve.)
Relativism is the most popular of these worldviews - this mindset says that there is no absolute truth/all truth is relative.

*She mentioned that Christians will unconsciously adopt a non-christian worldview if we do not embrace the Truth. A Biblical worldview will answer the questions of:
-How we got here
-What happened to us
-How we can be helped

Romans has been said to be a summary of the entire Bible (I have also heard that the Psalms can be described that way as well -?)
Concerning the validity of the Bible - see 1 Peter 1:20-21 ~ no prophecy came about through the will of man. . .
1 Peter 3:16 ~ All Scripture is God-breathed.
This can be proven also by the fact that salvation comes about through the Word.
*Principle - The Bible is true, every word, for all people, for all time.

Because the Bible is true, every aspect of our lives must be governed by it.
It is not God's fault that we cannot comprehend the Scriptures. We bring our messed up mindsets to the table when we read His word; no wonder we are confused. Sometimes we bring a prideful attitude to our time in the Word. Some people approach the Bible as if it was a collection of pleasant little stories with morals, others approach it as scholars or historians. But the only one way to approach the Word is to see it as the Truth, inspired by God, every last bit.

Romans is seen as the foundation of the Christian faith - it helps to define who we are as Christians.


Paul was:
Born in Tarsus (a city in that day full of culture)
well-educated, a Roman citizen, a tentmaker (this one was new to me), part of the pharasaic sect.

*Pharasees believed that perfection could be achieved through keeping the law. The law bound them however, because of all the extraneous rules that they took the liberty to add.

Paul was a zealot in persucuting the Christians - it is even believed that he was present at Stephen's stoning.
We know how the Lord changed him - striking him down blind and then restoring him and giving him new eyes.


Paul dictated the letter of Romans because he desired the people to understand the Word. He desired the unity of the Jews and the Gentiles. (I forgot to mention that he himself was a Jew - He had a heart especially for them, his people). He also needed support for his journeys ahead.


Here's an overview of Romans:
The Roman Letter has one central arguement (Ch. 1:18 - 15:13)

There are 5 sections to Romans -

Ch. 1:1-17 ~ Prologue
Ch. 1:18-3:20 ~ Problem (man's need of the Gospel)
Ch. 3:21-8:39 ~ Provision of the Gospel
Ch. 9-11 ~ Promises of the Gospel
Ch. 12-16 ~ Practical demands of the Gospel


Blessings :)