Short Lessons from Romans

Understanding who wrote a book of the Bible and why can really help you understand the book itself. In our first week looking at Paul's Epistle to the Romans, I talk about Paul's history up to this point and what was happening in his life and in Rome that prompted him to write. This is from an online, interactive Bible study at Common Sense Bible Study on Thursday, July 13, 2023. We will be working our way through the entire book on Thursday nights. Participation is free (unless we start getting a bunch of trolls), but you have to be a member. You can join at https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com. From Jay Carper at https://www.AmericanTorah.com.

In Romans 1:1 Paul said that he was commissioned to preach the Gospel of God, but what exactly is the "Gospel"? Don't just assume you know what it means. Verse 2 points us in the right direction: It was promised beforehand through the Prophets of the Old Testament. I apologize for some of the background noise. That wasn't there during our Bible study session, so I don't know what caused it. This is an excerpt from the weekly Bible study at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) with Jay Carper from American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com). This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal. Follow me on Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@AmericanTorah Send me a friend request on The Torah Network: https://www.thetorahnetwork.com/jaycarper Follow me on Twitter: https://jaycarper.com/twitter Add me as a contact on MeWe at https://mewe.com/i/jaycarper Follow me on Gab at https://gab.com/carper Connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/americantorah/

I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. Romans 1:14 ESV The world is chaos and our assignment is to bring spiritual order by restoring people to their Creator. When God gives you a task, he necessarily gives you the authority required to carry out that task. Always keep in mind that such authority is never inherent in the person and that it is always given for the benefit of the Kingdom of God and its citizens. From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com). This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal. Follow me on Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@AmericanTorah Send me a friend request on The Torah Network: https://www.thetorahnetwork.com/jaycarper Follow me on Twitter: https://jaycarper.com/twitter Add me as a contact on MeWe at https://mewe.com/i/jaycarper Follow me on Gab at https://gab.com/carper Connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/americantorah/

Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Romans 1:22-23 ESV If there is a single, ultimate Creator of the universe, then he logically must be infinitely powerful, infinitely wise. He would be terrifying beyond our imagination with standards higher than we could ever reach...so we set our sights lower. We ignore the Creator and worship creatures because they don't demand anything too big. We can make them weak and flawed, just like us, and then pat ourselves on the back for how great we are. This is an excerpt from the weekly, members-only Bible study at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com). From Jay Carper at American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com). This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal. Follow me on Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@AmericanTorah Send me a friend request on The Torah Network: https://www.thetorahnetwork.com/jaycarper Follow me on Twitter: https://jaycarper.com/twitter Add me as a contact on MeWe at https://mewe.com/i/jaycarper Follow me on Gab at https://gab.com/carper Connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/americantorah/

We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Romans 2:2-3 ESV What exactly is the "judgment of God" in this passage? From the weekly online Bible study at Common Sense Bible Study- (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com). This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal. Follow me on Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@AmericanTorah Send me a friend request on The Torah Network: https://www.thetorahnetwork.com/jaycarper Follow me on Twitter: https://jaycarper.com/twitter Add me as a contact on MeWe at https://mewe.com/i/jaycarper Follow me on Gab at https://gab.com/carper Connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/americantorah/

For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. Romans 2:12 ESV Paul and John said that the Law defines sin, so how is it possible for people who have never known the Law to be guilty of sin? Actually, all people know enough of the Law to be guilty of breaking it. The Law is in our DNA and all people know most of it without ever having to be told. From Jay Carper (https://www.AmericanTorah.com) and the Common Sense Bible Study crew (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com). This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal. Follow me on Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@AmericanTorah Send me a friend request on The Torah Network: https://www.thetorahnetwork.com/jaycarper Follow me on Twitter: https://jaycarper.com/twitter Add me as a contact on MeWe at https://mewe.com/i/jaycarper Follow me on Gab at https://gab.com/carper Connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/americantorah/

For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. Romans 2:25 ESV For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. Galatians 5:6 ESV We know that Paul was not completely opposed to circumcision because he said so and he circumcised Timothy himself. So how can we reconcile these seemingly conflicting statements? The answer is in the statements themselves: faith and obedience. This is an excerpt fromt he weekly Bible Study at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) with Jay Carper from American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com). This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal. Follow me on Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@AmericanTorah Send me a friend request on The Torah Network: https://www.thetorahnetwork.com/jaycarper Follow me on Twitter: https://jaycarper.com/twitter Add me as a contact on MeWe at https://mewe.com/i/jaycarper Follow me on Gab at https://gab.com/carper Connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/americantorah/

What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.” Romans 3:3-4 ESV It doesn't matter what the Jews have done nor what antisemites say about them. If God didn't keep his promises to Israel, to the physical descendants of Jacob, what kind of God would he be? How could we trust him to keep any of his promises? Or not to change the rules whenever he felt like it? The only hope of forgiveness for sins to escape eternal damnation lies in God's character as a promise keeper. From Jay Carper and the Common Sense Bible Study crew at https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com. This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal. Follow me on Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@AmericanTorah Send me a friend request on The Torah Network: https://www.thetorahnetwork.com/jaycarper Follow me on Twitter: https://jaycarper.com/twitter Add me as a contact on MeWe at https://jaycarper.com/mewe Follow me on Gab at https://gab.com/carper Connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/americantorah/

Paul's Epistle to the Romans is ground zero for the Calvinism vs Arminianism debate. Does God choose who will believe? Or does he choose those who believe? Does it even matter in any tangible way? This is an excerpt from an online study of Romans at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com). From Jay Carper at American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com). This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal. Follow me on Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@AmericanTorah Send me a friend request on The Torah Network: https://www.thetorahnetwork.com/jaycarper Follow me on Twitter: https://jaycarper.com/twitter Add me as a contact on MeWe at https://jaycarper.com/mewe Follow me on Gab at https://gab.com/carper Connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/americantorah/

No, you can't earn your salvation, and you can't make him save you. Your eternal fate is solely at God's discretion. He adopts us as sons or he doesn't. However, God has told us that he will save or condemn us based on our faith in him and also that we can be disinherited for rejecting him. There is no contradiction in this with anything in Romans. It is not a "salvation by works" or "salvation by merit" soteriology. God the when, if, and how of your salvation, no matter what you do or believe. There is a lot of truth in both Calvinism and Arminianism, but just like every other -ism, neither is complete, because they both try to fit God into a brain-sized box. From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com). This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal. Follow me on Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@AmericanTorah Send me a friend request on The Torah Network: https://www.thetorahnetwork.com/jaycarper Follow me on Twitter: https://jaycarper.com/twitter Add me as a contact on MeWe at https://jaycarper.com/mewe Follow me on Gab at https://gab.com/carper Connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/americantorah/