-27 The Grace of Our Lord Be With You   Throughout our study of Paul’s letter to the Romans, we’ve consistently reminded ourselves of the “big picture” formed by this God-breathed revelation. It is a revelation of magnificent scope, framed by two bookends:   …we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith… (Rom 1:5)   Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen. (Rom 16:25-27) At the heart of the letter is this question: Are you willing to “present” your body “as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship”? Will you refuse to be “conformed to this world,” choosing instead to be “transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect”? (Rom 12:1-2) The Spirit of God has led Paul to systematically reason throughout his letter that the gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” (Rom 1:16-17) In Romans 16, we’re provided a brief glimpse of real-life men and women who had been declared “righteous” by their gracious heavenly Father and had subsequently dedicated themselves to living by faith.    [print attached Lesson 24 for a complete lesson plan]

*** GOD-SHAPED ***  ** Obedience of Faith ** * A Textual Study of the Letter of Paul to the Romans *  2nd and 3rd Qt 2014  Lesson 1 (April 6)  Romans 1:1-15  (To Bring About the Obedience of Faith)  Lesson 2 (April 13)  Romans 1:16-17  (I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel)  Lesson 3 (April 27)  Romans 1:18-32  (The Wrath of Cod is Revealed)  Lesson 4 (May 4)  Romans 2:1-11  (You Have No Excuse, O Man)  Lesson 5 (May 11)  Romans 2:11-29  (God Shows No Partiality)  Lesson 6 (May 18)  Romans 3:1-20  (Then What Advantage Has the Jew)  Lesson 7 (May 25)  Romans 3:21-31  (Justified by His Grace as a Gift)  Lesson 8 (June 1)  Romans 4:1-25  (Abraham, Who is the Father of Us All)  Lesson 9 (June 8)  Romans 5:1-11  (Peace with God Through Jesus Christ)  Lesson 10 (June 15) Romans 5:12-21  (The Free Gift is Not Like the Trespass)  Lesson 11 (June 22)  Romans 6:1-23  (Dead to Sin and Alive to God in Christ)  Lesson 12 (June 29)  Romans 7:1-25  (The New Way of the Spirit)  Lesson 13 (July 13)  Romans 8:1-17  (Led by the Spirit of Life)  Lesson 14 (July 20)  Romans 8:18-39  (The Glory that is to be Revealed to Us)  Lesson 15 (July 27)  Romans 9:1-33  (Is There Injustice on God's Part)  Lesson 16 (August 3)  Romans 10:1-21  (No Distinction Between Jew and Greek)