The Roman Letter

By Odom Hawkins

The apostle Peter said that Paul had written some things hard to be understood in all his epistles. We can't know how many epistles Paul wrote nor can we know if Peter read them all. But of the ones we have; the Roman letter fits Peter's words precisely. Many passages in Romans are hard to understand. This book is designed to help students better understand the hard passages in Romans.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Odom Hawkins
• Release date: Mar 19, 2013
• ISBN: 9780985617424

Book preview

The Roman letter

By Odom Hawkins

Published by Odom Hawkins at Smashwords

Copyright 2011 Odom Hawkins

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

ISBN : 978-0-9856174-2-4

Table of Contents

Foreward

Introduction to the Roman letter

Some of the false ideas Paul adressed in the Roman Letter

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Facts

Questions

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

FOREWARD

The providence of God is a mystery our finite minds cannot grasp; neither can our limited vocabulary sufficiently verbalize. We can only say that providence is a wonderful working of God toward His children. A prime example of His providence transpired in the life of this penman. Bogged down in a job that placed me in an impasse between faith and compromise, God’s providence provided me with the opportunity to minister the Word to the Macedonia Church of Christ. While preaching there I have also listened to the teaching of one of God’s trusted servants, Odom Hawkins.

Two years of fellowship and study with Brother Hawkins have proven to be a marvelous experience. His insight into the proper exegesis of Scriptures by interpreting the New Testament in light of the first century Christian’s understanding makes the principles therein inherently applicable today. Brother Hawkins also provides clear explanations of Paul’s letter to the church at Rome of which Peter wrote, In which are some things hard to be understood (2 Peter 3:16).

It is to this feast of good things that this humble workman commends to you this Study Guide to the Book of Romans. My prayer is that it will enlighten your Bible studies, increase your understanding of the Roman letter and also be of help in your presentations of God’s Word as you labor in God’s vineyard and strive to help others on their journey toward eternity.

Dan Tomlinson

INTRODUCTION TO THE ROMAN LETTER

Do we believe the Bible reveals what God requires of us in order to become one of the saved? Yes! Do we believe God’s Word can guide our relationship with the people of the world? Certainly! Do we believe that we can determine how to worship God acceptably by reading the Word? Absolutely! Do we believe the Bible informs us how we should live among brothers and sisters in the church? Yes we do! The things stressed in this composition are in no way meant to be a deterrent to the understanding of the basic fundamentals of God’s love, grace and mercy. Neither are they meant to diminish the importance of one’s obedience to the gospel; but will focus on inspired Scripture concerning the false ideas that were promoted by the Jews of the first century who desired to continue under the Law of Moses (Gal 4:21). The Bible gives us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 1:3). However the things written in this document are not designed to persuade people to become Christians or to teach them how they should live. The focus of this writing is to help Bible students of today understand what Paul wrote to the church at Rome in the same way the members of the church at Rome understood his letter in the first century.

In order to understand Paul’s letter to the church at Rome in the same way the church at Rome understood it in the first century; it will be necessary to keep in mind some facts about the Holy Spirit and the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit that were present in the first century churches. When things pertaining to the Holy Spirit or the spiritual gifts are discussed: Try to visualize yourself as being in a congregation in the first century and being able to view people performing the miracles that Jesus said would follow those who believed (Mark 16:17, 18). We can also visualize men preaching by inspiration, without the aid of a New Testament and performing miracles to confirm the Word. Paul gave a list of spiritual gifts that were in the church at Corinth (1 Cor. 12:1-11). Philip is an example of an inspired preacher; who was not an apostle. He preached in Samaria and confirmed the Word with miracles (Acts 8:4-12). There were multitudes of other men, who were not apostles that went about preaching by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:4; 11:19-21). God set those people with spiritual gifts in the church (1 Cor. 12:28) to guide the infant church in every aspect of the Christian faith. They needed the Spirit’s guidance in their beliefs and practices before That which is perfect (written revelation) came (1 Cor. 13:10). When those with the spiritual gifts came into an assembly; they would participate in teaching the doctrine of Christ and guiding the worship service. The church at Corinth had people with inspired psalms, inspired doctrine, inspired languages, inspired revelations, inspired preaching, and inspired interpretation of languages in the assembly when they all came together in one place (1 Cor. 14:23-26). Inspired prayers were also in the first century assemblies (Rom. 8:26; Acts 4:23-31; 1 Cor. 14:15; Jude 1:20). The church at Rome was acquainted with all the miraculous gifts that Jesus gave when He ascended (Eph. 4:8-16). When Paul referred to the miraculous gifts in his letter to the church at Rome; they understood what he wrote in light