Sermon Tone Analysis

INTRODUCTION

1.As we begin a 12 week study of the book of Romans, let me invite you to open your Bible to the first chapter.

2.The letter to the Romans consists of 16 chapters, and tonight we're going to look at the first.

3.There has been no other book in history that has had an impact on a person's life like the letter to the Romans.

4.For example, in 386 A.D., Augustine was converted after reading Romans 13:13-14.

5.R.C.

Sproul shares his story in his book, Before the Face of God.

6.He writes, “Augustine, a young man living in the fourth century, was distinguished for his brilliant mind, but he lived a life of unbridled immorality and licentiousness and had given himself to the exposition of pagan philosophy.

But one day he heard some children playing.

As part of their game they repeated the refrain—tolle lege, tolle lege—literally, “Take up and read; take up and read.”

These words grabbed Augustine, and he walked to where he could find a manuscript.

The first that his eyes fell upon was of the New Testament.

The pages fell open randomly, to a portion of Romans: … not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.

Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature (Rom.

13:13–14).

Augustine was seized with a sense of conviction for his sin as the Holy Spirit used those words to cut into the young man’s heart.

This was the conversion experience of the man many regard as the greatest saint of the first thousand years of the church.”

7.Another man that was transformed by this letter was a man named Martin Luther.

8.Many of you know that in 1517 the Protestant Reformation was launched when Martin Luther finally understood the meaning of God's righteousness, and that “the just shall live by faith.”

9.Do you also know that the Wesleyan Revival that swept England came because of this letter to the Romans?

10.In 1738 John Wesley was saved after he heard the reading of the preface to Martin Luther's commentary on Romans.

11.He later wrote in his journal, “About a quarter before nine, I felt my heart strangely warmed.

I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given to me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the Law of sin and death.”

12.Wesley had originally went to America to convert the Indians but wrote in his diary, “Who shall convert me?”

13.That evening his question was answered.

14.John Calvin wrote in his commentary on Romans that “When anyone understands this Epistle, he has a passage opened to him to the understanding of the whole Scripture.”

15.If you'll notice, Romans appears in the NT as the first of Paul's letters even though it was not the first letter he wrote.

16.The first letter he wrote was Galatians in A.D. 49-50..

17.Romans wasn't written until A.D. 56.

18.The reason why Romans appears first is because of the importance of the work both in its theme and in its content.

19.No wonder Fredric Godet said of the letter to the Romans that it was “The cathedral of the Christian faith.”

20.Everything about the Christian faith is found in this book.

21.It speaks to the issues we face today morally for it speaks about adultery.

22.It speaks about homosexuality.

23.It speaks about perversion.

24.It speaks about killing and hating and lying and civil disobedience.

25.It speaks to us intellectually.

26.It tells us why man is so confused because he possesses a reprobate mind.

27.It speaks to us socially.

28.It tells us how we are to relate to one another.

29.It speaks to us psychologically.

30.It tells us where true freedom comes to deliver men from guilt.

31.It speaks to us spiritually for it answers our despair with a hope in the future.

32.It speaks to us internationally for it tells us the ultimate destiny of the earth and specially the plan for the nation Israel.

33.It speaks to us nationally for it tells us our responsibility to the government.

34.It speaks to us supernaturally for it defines for us the infinite power of God.

35.And it speaks to us theologically because it teaches us relationships between flesh and Spirit, law and grace.

36.But most of all, it brings God to us profoundly.

37.The letter to the Romans also answers many questions for us, like, what is the good news of God?

38.Is Jesus really God?

39.What proves He is God?

40.Why did He come?

41.What is a saint?

42.What is God like?

43.How can God send people to hell?

44.What will happen to people who have never heard the gospel?

45.Why do men reject God and Christ?

46.Why are there false religions and idols?

47.What is man's biggest sin?

48.Why is there sex perversion, hate, crime and those other things and why are they so rampant?

49.What is the standard by which God condemns people?

50.How can a person who has never head be held responsible?

51.Are Jews more responsible to believe than Gentiles?

52.Who is a true Jew?

53.Is it any advantage to be Jewish?

54.How good is man?

55.How bad is man?

56.Can anyone keep God's law?

57.How do we know we're sinners?

58.How are we justified and forgiven?

59.How is a Christian related to Abraham?

60.What is the importance of Christ's death?

61.What is the importance of His resurrection?

62.What is the importance of His present life?

63.For whom did Christ die?

64.Where can men find real peace and hope?

65.How are we related spiritually to Adam and how are we related spiritually to Christ?

66.What is grace?

67.And what does it do?

68.How does a person die spiritually to be reborn?

69.What is the Christian's relation to sin?

70.How important is obedience?

71.How are law and grace related to one another?

72.Why is it such a struggle to live the Christian life?

73.How many natures does a believer have?

74.Let's begin looking at chapter one.

75.It begins with an important name, “Paul.”

76.Paul is the author of the letter to the Romans.

LESSON

I.Authorship

Romans 1:1 says, “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.

As we look now at the author we see that this letter is the most remarkable production of the most remarkable man.

It is his heart.

It contains his theology, theoretical and practical, for which he lived and died.

It gives the clearest and fullest exposition of the doctrines of sin and grace and the best possible solution of the universal dominion of sin and death in the universal redemption by the second Adam.”

All throughout chapter one, at least the first 16 verses, we see that this letter was written by “Paul” as verse 1 says.

Notice the personal pronouns used beginning at verse 8.

Paul says, “First, I.”

He does that also in verse 9 where he says, “For God, whom I serve.”

Personal pronouns like this appear in vv.10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16.

Herman Hoyt writes, “Vocabulary, theological argument, logic, passion, movement, and the grand theme of the epistle point to none other than the greatest of the apostles.”