20/08/2026
PREVIOUSLY IN ROMANS
This Sunday we return to Paul’s letter to the Romans. Like siblings, we can’t really have favourites when it comes to books of the Bible—but it’s fair to say Romans is a high achiever. John Stott called it “the fullest, plainest, and grandest statement of the gospel in the New Testament.”
We’re picking it up at chapter 12, where Paul turns to the practical implications of being saved by God's grace. So here’s a quick “Previously in Romans.”
Romans begins with a grand statement of the gospel: that Jesus, having died and been raised from death, is Lord and Christ. And Paul says that this gospel message is not something to be ashamed of, rather it is powerful to save all who believe, Jew and Gentile. (See Romans 1:1–17)
After this introduction, Paul backtracks and outlines the root problem all human beings face. We are all, religious and irreligious alike, rebels and subject to the wrath of God. This shows up in many ways: in our failure to acknowledge and worship God, in our disobedience to his law, in our treatment of others, in our pride as we judge and look down on others. All are included in this bleak assessment of the human condition. Our best efforts wont save us. (This is Romans 1:18–3:20).
But the wonderful news is that God has graciously provided redemption—a way for people to be declared “in the right” (justified) with God through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus. This is given as a free and generous gift, not earned but received by faith. That God’s people belong to him “by grace through faith” is not a new idea, but is as old as Abraham and means we can have peace and reconciliation with God and assurance of salvation. Just majestical! (Romans 3:21–5:11).
In Romans 5–8 Paul clarifies how what God has done in Jesus, and now works in us by the Holy Spirit, actually delivers the rescue from sin, the freedom, the change and transformation, and the assurance that the Old Testament law, though good, could not.
Chapters 9–11 then tackle head on the awkward question of what it means, if Christ welcomes all people (Jew and Gentile) by grace through faith, for the people of Israel who have (presently) rejected Christ. Paul weeps for such presently cut off kinsfolk and rejects any sense of Gentile-arrogance. Paul insists they retain their special place in God’s heart and is optimistic that they may yet be saved through the gospel. For though he knows not how or when, God may be trusted to be merciful and to fulfil every one of his promises.
That’s where we’re at.
Romans 12 starts with a big ‘therefore’. In view of all that ‘I urge you to’ ...
How should we live in view of God's mercy? What practical difference does grace make, as we make our way in the world and live together in the church.
That’s where we now turn.
