One day, a man affixed a document to the doors of a church. The document, quickly translated, spread rapidly. In a short time, it was an earthquake; the history of the church, the Western world, and the world in general was radically changed. The man was Luther, the document the 95 Theses, the theme how man can come to God. Luther had understood: man is justified only by faith and not by works. The Reformation began, Protestantism was born, and the world would never be the same again.
Luther draws part of the heart of this revelation from Romans, the book we finish tomorrow as part of our year-long Bible study. A fascinating epistle and a foundational work of Christian theology, Romans is essential to understanding the gospel. It explores how God worked through Christ to bring man to a knowledge of Himself, to a new relationship with Him, and to a transformation of his eternal and earthly status and life.
It covers the central themes of the gospel, such as justification by faith (dear to the Reformers), redemption, propitiation, glorification, and reconciliation. It explains the new covenant, the difference between the law (the old covenant) and grace, liberation from the grip of sin, God's plan for Israel, the new life and status of those who receive Christ by faith, and the life led by the Holy Spirit.
Martin Luther calls it 'the purest of the gospels'; and Romans, according to him 'deserves not only that every Christian know it word for word, know it by heart, but that he soak it up every day like the daily bread of the soul. One can never read it or meditate on it too much, and the more one devotes himself to it, the more precious it becomes, the more delicious it is.'
Romain sweeps away all the questions we may have by clearly answering God's plan for us and introducing us to who Jesus is.
This book has edified me and strengthened my faith.
Indeed, I think that every lover of Jesus should know this book by heart. So I'm going to work on it!
Yes!!!!!!!!!!Thank you Lord for your word, engrave it in our hearts.
I am truly blessed by this year-long Bible reading. The further we go, the more I enjoy it...
The Epistle to the Romans is an excellent book. It is true that the word of God “tastes good”. I was struck by several chapters and verses, especially chapter 7: where the apostle Paul shows how man is dominated by sin and how in Jesus we have victory over sin because the law of the Holy Spirit, which gives life THROUGH Jesus Christ, has freed us from the law of sin and death… it reminds me of what John the Baptist said about Jesus in John 1:29 “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”