Paul Study 1 - Introduction To Paul

The Teaching of Paul: A Series of Fifteen Studies
Paul Study 1 – Introduction to Paul

taken from
Bible Studies for Enquirers and New Believers
by Vivienne Stacey
Introduction
Paul's letter to the Romans is the most important of his letters because it includes a
theological summary of the good news from God. William Tyndale, a sixteenth century
Bible translator, said about it that it shone "a light on the whole Bible". A little later, John
Calvin, the Swiss theologian, called it "an open door to the understanding of all the
treasures of Scripture". Martin Luther called it "the chief book of the New Testament". J.B.
Phillips in our own century called it "the gospel according to Paul".
Many people's lives have been changed through reading and studying Romans. In North
Africa in 386 A.D. Augustine was converted as the Holy Spirit convicted him when he
studied Romans13:13-14. In Germany in 1513 A.D. Martin Luther's life was changed
through reading Romans 1:17. Luther's Preface to Romans was instrumental in John
Wesley's conversion to Christ in England in 1738; and in Japan in 1914, Tai’sei Michihata
came to know Christ personally through a spiritual understanding of Romans 8:32. Besides
these famous people, God through his Holy Spirit, has illumined the message of Romans to
countless little known people of many lands and they have come to know God in a
personal way through Jesus Christ.
The title, “To the Romans”, is found in Aleph ABC, the oldest Greek manuscript for the
letter. We do not know if Paul gave it any title at all. Later manuscripts added The Epistle
of Paul to the Romans. However, titles are not part of the inspired scripture itself. The
epistle is put first in the manuscripts because it is the most important of all Paul's epistles.
Its theme is the righteousness of God. Romans contains Paul's reinterpretation of the Old
Testament in a unified, constructive and positive way. Paul sees clearly that the Jewish
interpretation of the Law is mistaken. The Rabbinic interpretation makes the Law a way of
salvation. The unity of the letter may be summed up in its concern for the righteousness of
God. By using this formula Paul achieves the most direct confrontation of his new
understanding of the Old Testament with that which he earlier maintained as a Pharisee. It
helps to read the letter in its first century setting of conflict between the tradition of the
elders and the early church's interpretation of the Old Testament, and to relate it to Paul's
own experience of reorientation from synagogue to church, from zeal for the tradition of
the elders to faith in Jesus Christ the Messiah.
Before we start our study of this letter we need to note a few things about the writer
himself. Many biographies have been written about Saul, a native of Tarsus, (now a city in
Turkey), who became Paul the Apostle after his dramatic conversion on the main road near
Damascus. He was traveling from Jerusalem to Damascus with instructions from the
religious authorities in Jerusalem to arrest the followers of Jesus Christ. Suddenly Jesus
Bible Studies for Enquirers and New Believers. © Copyright 1994 by Vivienne Stacey. Used with permission.
revealed himself to him and he became his follower. Although he had never seen Jesus in
the flesh he was recognized as an apostle. The account of Paul's missionary journeys can
be found in the book which precedes Romans – the Acts of the Apostles, sometimes called
the Acts of the Holy Spirit. It is the record of the establishment of the early church. Now
we turn to the text of the letter to the Romans to see what Paul says about himself and
also to study his teaching.
Paul's letter to the believers in Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, was sent by the
hand of Phoebe, a deaconess of the church at Cenchreae, the port for Corinth (Romans
16:1). Paul wrote it in contemporary Greek. The key verses of the letter are Romans 1:16-
17. These should be learned by heart. The key word is righteousness.
Chapters 1-5 deal with God's righteousness in relation to JUSTIFICATION

Chapters 6-8 deal with God's righteousness in relation to SANCTIFICATION
Chapters 9-11 deal with God's righteousness in relation to ELECTION
Chapters 12-16 deal with God's righteousness in relation to CONDUCT
It would be good to read the whole letter through at one time. That is how we normally
read letters. Romans 1:1-17 is the introduction to the letter. Write the answers to these
questions on Romans 1:1-17:
1. What three things does Paul write about himself? (Romans 1:1)
2. What three things does Paul write about the gospel? (Romans 1:2-3)
3. What three things does Paul write about the believers in Rome? (Romans 1:6-7)
Bible Studies for Enquirers and New Believers. © Copyright 1994 by Vivienne Stacey. Used with permission.

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The Teaching of Paul: A Series of Fifteen Studies

Paul Study 1 – Introduction to Paul

Chapters 1-5 deal with God's righteousness in relation to JUSTIFICATION

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