"This letter is truly the most important piece in the New Testament. It is purest Gospel. It is well worth a Christian's while not only to memorize it word for word but also to occupy himself with it daily, as though it were the daily bread of the soul. It is impossible to read or to meditate on this letter too much or too well. The more one deals with it, the more precious it becomes and the better it tastes. Therefore I want to carry out my service and, with this preface, provide an introduction to the letter, insofar as God gives me the ability, so that every one can gain the fullest possible understanding of it. Up to now it has been darkened by glosses [explanatory notes and comments which accompany a text] and by many a useless comment, but it is in itself a bright light, almost bright enough to illumine the entire Scripture."
Luther's Preface to Romans
I haven't banged on about Romans for a while so why not:
‘We sometimes fall into the trap of thinking we are the worst people on the face of the earth and that nobody does as many wrong things as we do. But Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory (excellence) of God. Every man, woman, or child who was ever born, or ever will be, has a problem with sin. But the good news is that God has provided an answer to our dilemma’, writes Joyce Meyer.
When Saint Augustine found the answer in 386AD, ‘a clear light flooded [his] heart’. When Luther found the answer in 1515 the Reformation began. When Wesley understood the answer in 1738, his heart was ‘strangely warmed’, and the seeds of a revival began.
In each case, their lives were radically changed through understanding ‘the righteousness of God’. The moment anyone comes to understand this expression, it changes their life. It certainly changed mine.
Nicky Gumbel Bible in one Year, July 16th 2013
1. Read Romans
2. Read Romans as part of Bible in One Year (we're in Chapter 3)
3. Listen to these 11 sermons over the next 11 days or download them and take them on your 2 week summer break and make a point of listening to one a day with a notebook in hand.
4. Get a commentary and read a chapter a week for a year
5. Leon Morris, a NT scholar, says that Romans 3:21-26 is ...'possibly the most important paragraph ever written'... so why not try to memorise it.
6. Teach your church Romans (we are doing 'Romans in 3 Hours' in October and an eight part Saturday morning study next year)
7. If you want the full wallop you could listen to all 229 sermons called The Greatest Letter Ever Written which took 11 years to preach.
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