Introduction to Paul’s Letter to the Romans Part 4: An Outline and Paraphrase of Romans by F. F. Bruce
An Outline of Paul’s Letter to the Romans by F. F. Bruce[1]
Prologue (1:1-15)
I. The Gospel According to Paul (1:16-11:36)
A. The Theme of the Gospel: The Righteousness of God Revealed (1:16-17)
B. Sin and Retribution: The Universal Need Diagnosed (1:18-3:20)
C. The Way of Righteousness: The Universal Need Met (3:21-5:21)
D. The Way of Holiness (6:1-8:39)
E. Human Unbelief and Divine Grace (9:1-11:36)
II. The Christian Way of Life (12:1-15:13)
A. The Living Sacrifice (12:1-2)
B. The Common Life of Christians (12:3-8)
C. The Law of Christ (12:9-11)
D. The Christian and the State (13:1-7)
E. Love and Duty (13:8-10)
F. Christian Life in Days of Crisis (13:11-14)
G. Christian Liberty and Christian Charity (14:1-15:6)
H. Christ and the Gentiles (15:7-13)
Epilogue (15:14-16:27)
[1] Bruce, Frederick Fyvie. The Epistle of Paul to the Romans: An Introduction and Commentary. 1st edition, Eerdmans Pub Co, 1963. 24
A Paraphrase of Paul’s Letter to the Romans by F. F. Bruce[1]
Prologue
Greetings from me, Paul, to the Christians in Rome. I thank God for all that I hear about your faith, and I remember to pray for you constantly. I have often longed to pay you a visit, and now at last I am to have an opportunity to do so. To preach the gospel in Rome is a long-standing ambition of mine.
I. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PAUL (1:16-11:36)
A. The Theme of the Gospel: The Righteousness of God Revealed (1:16-17)
I am in no way ashamed of the gospel: no indeed, it is the message which God uses effectively for the salvation of all who believe. This is the message which reveals God’s way of putting men and women right with himself by the exercise of faith, in accordance with the statement of Scripture: ‘It is the one who is righteous through faith that will live.’
B. Sin and Retribution: The Universal Need Diagnosed (1:18-3:20)
The need for such a message becomes clear as we contemplate the world of mankind. Not only do we see divine retribution working itself out among pagans, whose wrong way of life is the fruit of wrong ideas about God; we see the Jewish nation too, in spite of their knowing the law of God and enjoying so many other privileges, failing to keep the law they know. In fact all human beings, Jews and Gentiles alike, are morally bankrupt before God; no-one can hope to be pronounced righteous by God on the basis of any work or merit of his own.
C. The Way of Righteousness: The Universal Need Met (3:21-5:21)
If men and women are to be pronounced righteous by God, then, it must be by his grace. And God in his grace has made it possible for them to be put in the right with him, thanks to the redemptive work of Christ. On the ground of his sacrificial death, Christ is set before us as the one who makes full atonement for our sins; and we may, by faith, appropriate the benefits of his atoning work. Thus God maintains his own righteousness, and at the same time bestows righteousness on all believers in Jesus, regardless of whether they are Jews or Gentiles. The law of God is thus vindicated, and the sacred Scriptures are fulfilled.
If you consider Abraham, for example, you will find that this was the way in which he found acceptance with God: ‘Abraham believed God’, says the Scripture, ‘and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.’ (Nor is he an isolated case; the same principle can be seen at work in the testimony of David.) Mark this too: these words about Abraham were spoken while he was still uncircumcised, showing that this way of righteousness by faith is for Gentiles as well as for Jews. Abraham is thus the spiritual father of all believers, irrespective of their racial origin. And the statement that Abraham’s faith was reckoned to him as righteousness means that if we believe in God, whose saving power has been revealed in the death and resurrection of Christ, it will similarly be reckoned to us as righteousness.
So then, by faith we receive God’s gift of righteousness, and with that we receive also peace, joy and the hope of glory. Thus we can endure affliction cheerfully, for God himself is our joy. If his love, demonstrated in the sacrifice of Christ, has reconciled us to himself, much more will the risen life of Christ procure our final salvation on the day of judgment.
Once we formed part of an old solidarity of sin and death, when we lived ‘in Adam’ and shared the fruits of his disobedience. But now that old solidarity has been dissolved, to be replaced by the new solidarity of righteousness and life which is ours ‘in Christ’, the fruits of whose perfect obedience are shared by many. The law of Moses has nothing to do with this change of status; it was introduced simply so that human sinfulness might be brought into the open. But God’s grace has triumphed over human sinfulness and now reigns supreme.
D. The Way of Holiness (6:1-8:39)
Do I hear someone say, ‘Let our sinfulness increase, then, so that God’s grace may be glorified yet more’? Perish the thought! For ‘in Christ’ we have entered on a new life; we are dead so far as our old relation to sin is concerned. That, surely, was the meaning of our baptism. You may think of sin as a slave-owner, whose slaves we used to be. A slave is bound to obey his master’s orders, but when he dies, or passes into the ownership of another, his former master has no further authority over him. So sin no longer has any authority over you, for now you belong to God, who has liberated you from your former slavery. Sin was a harsh master who dealt out death as his wages; God, by contrast, bestows on his servants the free gift of eternal life in Christ.
So, too, as regards the old bond of legal obligation. Those who lived under the law were as much bound to it as a wife is bound to her husband. But as death breaks the marriage-bond, so the believer’s death-with-Christ has broken the bond that once bound him to the law, and has set him free to be united to Christ. The law stimulated the very sins it forbade; those who are united to Christ produce the fruits of righteousness and life.
I know what I am talking about when I say that the law stimulates the sins it forbids; it was the commandment ‘You shall not covet’ that first brought the sin of covetousness to my attention and tempted me to commit it.
It is not the law that is at fault; it is my corrupt nature that reacts in this way to the law. And that nature is still present, in league with indwelling sin and waging war against those elements in me that recognize the nobility of the law of God and desire to obey it. But my own strength is insufficient to win the victory over indwelling sin, or to prevent it from forcing me to do its bidding. I remain divided at heart and defeated in life until I gratefully appropriate the victory that is mine through Jesus Christ my Lord.
Those who are in Christ receive his Spirit, and the Spirit of Christ sets in operation a new principle – the principle of life – which counteracts the old principle of sin and death. And those whose life is directed by the Spirit are able to fulfil the requirements of God as the law never enabled them to do. The Spirit enables the new nature to triumph over the old; the Spirit keeps the new life in being and action here and now, as one day he will transform our mortal bodies into immortal ones. The Spirit, thus directing our lives, enables us to live as the freeborn children of God: it is he who prompts us spontaneously to call God ‘Father’. The day is coming when the sons and daughters of God, liberated from all that is mortal, will be manifested to the universe in the glory for which they were created; and on that day all creation will be liberated from its present frustration and share their glorious freedom.
For that day creation longs, and so do we, but amid our present restrictions we have the aid and intercession of the Spirit, and the assurance that he co-operates in all things for our good, since our good is God’s purpose. His purpose, which cannot fail, is to invest with glory all those whom he chose, predestined, called and justified. Let us therefore take courage. God is on our side; Christ is our almighty Saviour, and from his love no power in the universe, here or hereafter, can separate his people.
E. Human Unbelief and Divine Grace (9:1-11:36)
1. The problem of Israel’s unbelief (9:1-5)
In all this, however, I have one unceasing sorrow. My own kith and kin, the nation specially prepared for the coming of the Saviour, the nation into which he was born, have failed to accept him.
2. God’s sovereign choice (9:6-29)
This does not mean that God’s promises to Israel have been frustrated. Throughout the course of history he has set his choice on some and passed others by.
3. Human Responsibility (9:30-10:21)
And my kinsfolk have refused the way of righteousness through faith presented to them by God, preferring their own way of righteousness through law-keeping. The Gentiles have chosen God’s way, while Israel has refused it.
4. God’s Purpose for Israel (11:1-29)
Israel has refused it, I say, but not all Israel. As God had his faithful remnant in earlier days, so he has in our day a remnant chosen by his grace. And as then, so now the remnant is a promise of better things to come; Israel’s refusal of the gospel and consequent setting aside by God are only temporary. The Gentiles’ enjoyment of gospel blessings will stimulate my kinsfolk to jealousy; they will turn and embrace the gospel for themselves, and all Israel will rejoice in God’s salvation.
5. God’s Purpose for the World (11:30-36)
You see, God’s ultimate purpose for the human family is that all without distinction, Israel and the Gentiles together, should enjoy his blessings in Christ. How wonderfully and wisely God works his purpose out! To him be eternal glory!
II. THE CHRISTIAN WAY OF LIFE (12:1-15:13)
A. The Living Sacrifice (12:1-2)
In view of all that God has done for you in Christ, your lives should be lived out in his service.
B. The Common Life of Christians (12:3-8)
You are fellow-members of the body of Christ: see that you discharge your respective functions for the well-being of the whole body corporate.
C. The Law of Christ (12:9-21)
And in all your relations with others, show the forgiving mercy of Christ.
D. The Christian and the State (13:1-7)
Render all due obedience to the civil authorities. They in their way are servants of God.
E. Love and Duty (13:8-10)
Let your one continuing debt be the debt of love.
F. Christian Life in Days of Crisis (13:11-14)
And in the ominous times that impend, keep alert in spirit and live as Christians should.
G. Christian Liberty and Christian Charity (14:1-15:6)
Show great gentleness and consideration to your fellow-Christians. There are matters such as special days and certain kinds of food on which Christians do not all agree. Christian liberty is a fine thing, but it should not be asserted at the expense of Christian charity. Remember the example of Christ, how he always considered other people’s interests before his own.
H. Christ and the Gentiles (15:7-13)
I write to you as the apostle to the Gentiles. I attach the highest importance to this ministry of mine; it serves the divine purpose of blessing for all nations, a purpose disclosed in the ancient Scriptures.
Epilogue (15:14-16:27)
I have fulfilled this ministry from Jerusalem to Illyricum, and now I propose to take it up in Spain, and pay you a visit on my way there. First I must go to Jerusalem with a gift which the Gentile churches have contributed for the relief of their brethren there. Pray that all may go well in this respect. Give a warm welcome to Phoebe, the bearer of this letter. Give my greetings to all my friends who are with you. Beware of those who bring divisive teachings; preserve the fine reputation you enjoy throughout the churches. My friends here send you their greetings. The grace of Christ be with you, and all glory be to God.
[1] Bruce, Frederick Fyvie. The Epistle of Paul to the Romans: An Introduction and Commentary. 1st edition, Eerdmans Pub Co, 1963. 32
