Sermon Tone Analysis

Romans 1:1-7

ALMIGHTY God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that we might perfectly love Thee, and worthily magnify Thy holy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Hughes, R. Kent.

The Pastor's Book: A Comprehensive and Practical Guide to Pastoral Ministry (p.

268).

Crossway.

Kindle Edition.

PRAY

S.T.A.R.T.

Solemnly praise and recognize the greatness of our God and Savior connected to the Biblical text being preached

Touch upon the subject of corporate sin and confess any shortcomings the body has committed related to the Biblical text to be preached

Ask God to help the body/local church to hear and apply the truths of the Biblical text to be preached

Review and remind the audience of the key related passages to the Biblical text being preached

Transition to the opening of the sermon and the Biblical text to be preached

BACKGROUND

written by Paul

the people in Rome

from Corinth

between A.D. 54-58 / [55-56]

D. G. Miller finds three general groups in the church at Rome: the legalists, who thought that righteousness was a human achievement; the libertines, who abandoned the law even as a guide for the response of faith; and the spiritualists, whose pride destroyed the true sense of community and made them indifferent to the demands of civic order

Paul’s purpose was to set forth in a systematic fashion the doctrine of justification by faith and its implications for Christian living.

The gospel had to be kept free from legalism; equally important was that it did not fall into the opposite error of antinomianism

antinomianism?

A general name for the view that Christians are by grace set free from the need of observing any moral law

WEIGHT OF ROMANS

Augustine of Hippo

Martin Luther

John & Charles Wesley

Karl Barth

John Piper - Message on - The Author of the Greatest Letter Ever Written

For almost 18 years of preaching here at Bethlehem, I have waited and waited for the time when it would seem most fitting to preach through Paul’s letter to the have considered it again and again, and backed off from the task — like a mountain climber gazing up into the clouds around the peak of Mount Everest and then turning to lower heights.

It has felt very daunting.

“For almost 18 years of preaching… I have considered it again and again, and backed off from the task — like a mountain climber gazing up into the clouds around the peak of Mount Everest and then turning to lower heights.

It has felt very daunting.”

Samuel Coleridge - Table Talk, 232

“I think that the Epistle to the Romans is the most profound work in existence.”

John Knox - The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol 9, 355

“Unquestionably the most important theological work ever written.”

John Piper - Message on - The Author of the Greatest Letter Ever Written

“For almost 18 years of preaching… I have considered it again and again, and backed off from the task — like a mountain climber gazing up into the clouds around the peak of Mount Everest and then turning to lower heights.

It has felt very daunting.”

But Romans is not for great minds only.

The humble believer also finds inspiration and direction in these pages.

Romans is not an easy book.

But it has always yielded rich dividends to anyone who has taken the time to study it seriously, and it does so still

Who am I?

These first seven verses are one complicated sentence in Greek (Paul often uses such long, complicated sentences

But Romans is not for great minds only.

The humble believer also finds inspiration and direction in these pages.

Romans is not an easy book.

But it has always yielded rich dividends to anyone who has taken the time to study it seriously, and it does so still

This is easily the longest and most theologically complex of all the Pauline openings.

Who am I to preach and teach this book?

Contains

Two major themes dominate this section.

First, Paul stresses his apostolic authority and mission.

Second, Paul sketches in briefly but pregnantly the gospel that he preaches.

Who is Paul?

Paul = paulus = little

TEXT

a servant of Christ Jesus

doulos = slave

bought / owned

used in similar fashion in Gal.

1:10; Phil.

1:1; Tit.

1:1; Jas.

1:1; 2 Pet.

1:1; Jude 1

Slave of a dead man!?

complete and utter devotion

Abraham =

Moses =

Prophets = ;

Christ / God = equal?

The focus of the term, though, is not on possessing a privileged office but on service to a greater authority

doctrine of deity of Jesus

servant = slave = most high God

Christ Jesus = title

By using the word δοῦλος before mentioning his apostleship Paul emphasizes that the authority he exercises is a derived authority.

He is a humble servant of Christ, whose will he endeavors to fulfill.

Abraham =

Moses =

Prophets = ;

Christ / God = equal?

doctrine of deity of Jesus

called to be an apostle

Called = summoned

not self appointed

not chosen by men

calling = types

call sinners to repentance

invitation / commandment

Rom 8.30

internal or effectual call

beyond the ears to the heart and soul

regeneration = spirit / word

Rom 1.6

vocational calling

what are your gifts and callings?

what you do with your days?