Romans is not just another New Testament letter—it is Paul’s most careful explanation of the gospel and what it means for God to make sinful people truly holy. In this introductory episode, Krisan Marotta traces how Romans has changed lives throughout history and lays out the key themes that will guide our journey through the first eight chapters, with special attention to Romans 1:16–17.
In this week’s episode, we explore:
- Why so many thinkers—from Augustine and Luther to Wesley—describe Romans as the book that turned their lives, and even whole movements, upside down
- Paul’s situation as he writes from Corinth to a church he has never visited, preparing them for his visit and grounding them in a clear understanding of the gospel
- The claim that the very point of human existence is holiness—true moral perfection—and why Scripture insists that our hearts will be satisfied with nothing less
- How salvation is not merely “escaping hell” but being rescued from unholiness into the life of a kingdom where righteousness, not self-indulgence, defines what it means to be blessed
- What Paul means by “death” and “life” as qualities of existence, where sin leads inevitably to disintegration and holiness leads inevitably to flourishing
- Why holiness is not an entrance requirement we endure for another reward, but itself the great good our hearts were made for
- A careful look at saving faith as trusting God specifically to make us holy—what faith is, and what it is not (works, mere optimism, religious performance, or bare belief that God exists)
- The insistence that saving faith is itself a gift of grace, evidenced not by moral perfection but by a genuine grief over sin and a longing for righteousness
- Paul’s use of “flesh” as self-reliant pursuit of holiness and “Spirit” as dependence on God to do what we cannot do for ourselves
- Why our becoming holy is entirely God’s work from beginning to end, not a technique we master or a cooperative project we manage
- How Romans 1:16–17 functions as a key to the whole letter: the gospel as God’s power to save, justification as a gift granted on the basis of faith, and the promise that the one who is justified by faith will have life
After listening, you’ll come away with a clearer sense of what Romans is really about: a God who does for us what we could never do for ourselves, rescuing us from the ruin of sin and giving us the holiness and life our hearts were made to desire. You’ll be better prepared to read Romans not as an abstract theological treatise, but as a life-changing announcement that the righteous—those made right with God by faith—shall live.
The book of Romans will change your life. Many scholars have claimed that Romans is the most important letter you’ll ever read.
- Martin Luther called Romans “the chief part of the New Testament and the very purest Gospel.”
- John Calvin wrote in the preface to his commentary on Romans: “If we have gained a true understanding of this Epistle, we have an open door to all the most profound treasures of Scripture.”
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge called Romans “the most profound book in existence.”
- William Tyndale believed that every Christian should learn Romans by heart. He wrote: “The more Romans is studied, the easier it is; the more it is chewed, the pleasanter it is.”
Unlike other letters which are addressed to a particular situation or problem, the Apostle Paul’s purpose in The Epistle to the Romans was to systematically explain the gospel message. From the day this letter was received, it has changed history:
Romans was instrumental in Augustine’s conversion to Christian faith. After reading Romans, Augustine wrote in his journal: “No further would I read, nor had I any need; instantly at the end of this sentence, a clear light flooded my heart and all the darkness of doubt vanished away.”
Romans became the cornerstone of the Reformation. Martin Luther read chapters 1-3 and wrote: “This passage in Paul became to me a gateway to heaven.”
Not that I am in the company of Augustine and Luther, but Romans also changed my life. I never fully understood the gospel until I heard Romans 5-8 taught at a college retreat. I still have the notes I took that weekend.
My prayer is that this series on Romans will change you as it has so many others.
For more detail and explanation, please listen to the podcast.
Next: 02 Romans 1:18-32 God’s Wrath and the Pagan
Series: Romans: Justification by Faith
Study: Romans Resources
Season 2, Episode 1
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