The Book of Romans Commentary

By James Battell

The Book of Romans is not only a royal book that must be read, studied, and obeyed, but it is also a masterpiece that all professing and possessing Christians should spend the rest of their lives digesting and discussing with the saved and unsaved.

This almost 7-hour King James Bible study has been carefully transcribed and revised for serious students of Scripture to study in large groups or small groups, or alone with an open Bible.

Learn how to walk and live in the spirit; get victory over sin; be sure you are saved; love God and His word more, and be a better disciple and solider of the Lord, fully equipped to put on the whole armour of God, and having done so, stand.

James G. Battell is a Christian writer, radio broadcaster, video maker, and podcaster. He also runs an international Bible-believing ministry with his father.

• Language: English
• Publisher: James Battell
• Release date: Feb 2, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224818419

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 1

VERSES 1-7: "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called  to be  an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared  to be  the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called  to be  saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ."

Seven, in numerology, is very important and these seven verses open Paul’s masterpiece. Romans is a remarkable book. This epistle is so deep and so profound and spiritually so rich that most teachers won’t even touch it. But I, Lord willing, will approach it with reverence, with care, and humility.

In chapter 1 verse 1, Paul says he was a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ who was then called to be an apostle. Nobody called Paul to be an apostle, and nobody laid their hands on Paul in order for him to become an apostle. He was chosen directly from the Lord Jesus Christ in Acts chapter 9. He also says from chapter 1, verse 1, he was separated until the gospel of God, meaning he was now set apart to be a servant and an apostle. He wrote the book, literally, when it comes to how Christians should live and function. What this man forgot, we shall never know, meaning he learnt everything, he knew everything. He wasn’t sinless, but he was a remarkable man of God, and we can learn so much from the apostle Paul.

In verse 2, Paul mentions the Holy Scriptures, the Jewish Tanach. Paul was a Jew of the Jews. He knew the Old Testament inside out. And he knew that religion could not save him, and religion cannot save you. You must be born again.

In verse 3, he says Jesus was made of the seed of David. The Lord Jesus Christ has two natures: He is God, He is divine, He is eternal; and at the same time, He is also man. In 4 B.C., He was born, and as the Son of Man, He is in the line of King David. He is the Jewish Messiah.

In verse 4, he says the Son of God was declared with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. The most profound event in the history of mankind is the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, the Lord Jesus is mentioned in verse 1, as is God the Father, and in verse 4, the Holy Spirit is mentioned. Three in one, one in three, and the One in the middle died for me. That’s the Trinity, of course.

Okay, so moving on through the Epistle to the Romans, and during the last broadcast, we found God the Son in chapter 1, verse 1, and God the Father in chapter 1, verse 1. We also found God the Holy Spirit in chapter 1, verse 4. The Triune God created the universe and the Triune God resurrected the Lord Jesus Christ. John, chapter 2, the Lord Jesus resurrects Himself from the dead and in Galatians, chapter 1, God the Father resurrected the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. Here, in verse 4, the Holy Spirit is credited with the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. So each member of the Godhead resurrected the Lord Jesus Christ.

In verses 2 and 3, Paul says that the Old Testament Scriptures promised the coming of the Jewish Messiah. There are over 68 prophecies concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, written hundreds if not thousands of years before He was even born; 68 prophecies written about a King and His kingdom. The King, of course, is Jesus Christ. And the kingdom is the kingdom of God. Yes, 41 authors living on 3 continents over 1600 years apart wrote the Bible, but God inspired them to write the Holy Scriptures. They wrote what He told them to write. The Bible is divine in origin, not human. You can trust it totally and completely.

And we discovered from chapter 1, verse 3, how Jesus was made after the seed of David. God became man in the person of Jesus Christ. God, of course, is eternal; He is omnipresent; He is omnipotent; and He is omniscient. But He chose to enter into the human race and become a man and die for the sins of the world. In Hebrews chapter 2, verse 18, the word of God says the following: For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted. So the Lord Jesus Christ really does know what it’s like to live on this earth, to suffer on this earth and to die on this earth. Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ? If you don’t, you can know Him. Just call on His name, and He will reach out and He will grab you.

No other religious person, no other deity, went through what He went through. He was a King. He came down from Heaven to earth. And He paid for all of our sins on the cross. We saw it in verse 4. The Son of God was declared with power by the resurrection from the dead. He is God and He is man.

So, we are still in the first seven verses of the Epistle to the Romans. Like I said from the beginning of this broadcast, this book is very deep and very profound. And we have discovered so much during the first two broadcasts of this new series of recordings, looking at the Epistle to the Romans.

In verse 5, he says, we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name. Peter, John, and Andrew, and James, no doubt, are in his mind. Paul was a very humble man. Chapter 1, verse 1, he says he was a servant. But for the Name’s sake, of the Lord Jesus, they have received the office of an apostle. Not only did the apostles write the New Testament, but they did many, many miracles. Peter and Paul resurrected dead people. They cast out devils from unsaved people. They were eyewitnesses to the majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, Paul was saved post the crucifixion, but he saw the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. And 2 Corinthians 12 tells us that he was taken up to the third Heaven. That is where the Lord God of the Bible resides.

In verse 6, he says, Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ. These people are Christians. They are followers. They are disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man.

In verse 7, he says, "To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints". Once you are born again, you are automatically made a saint, by God, by the new birth. No church can make you a saint; only God can make you a saint. And these saints in Rome are beloved of God. With the Roman empire pretty much governing most of the world at this point in the history of mankind, Paul knew that if he could make it to Rome, not only would more people be saved as a result of his preaching, but through his preaching he could reach out to the rest of the world and see millions of people saved by the preaching of the cross. But, as of writing this epistle, he has still to make it to Rome. That’s his goal. Rome, as I say, was the capital of the entire world when he wrote this epistle. If he can make it there, he can make it anywhere for the Lord Jesus Christ and His glory and for His name’s sake.

So, moving on through the Epistle to the Romans. And during the last few broadcasts, I showed you how much material was found in the first 7 verses. And seven and also eight are very important numbers when it comes to the subject of numerology.

But let’s start this broadcast in verse 8: First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

This has got to be one of the most profound statements in the Scriptures. He has written to the Romans from verse 7, and he says their faith is spoken of throughout the entire world. Can you imagine that? When you get saved, there should be a change within you. Not only will you know it, but people around you will see it.

But these people go one step further than that. Their faith is known abroad and Paul quite rightly is commending them for such a faith.

Also of interest to me, Paul says I thank my God. This is very Pauline. In his epistles, he will normally say the Lord Jesus Christ is our Saviour. But here, and in other parts of the New Testament, he does say my God. And also, you will find in this epistle my gospel. Paul was a Jew of the Jews, and here the Jewish apostle is writing to the Gentiles. There were some Jews at Rome at this stage, I believe, but by and large, he is speaking to Gentile people and he has still retained some of that Jewishness. My God, my Saviour, my gospel.

VERSES 9-10: For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.

That was his plan, like I say. He wanted to make it to Rome and once he made it to Rome, he knew that the word of God would go out to all of the earth and mankind would be forever changed.

VERSES 11-12: For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

Can you appreciate what you’ve just heard here? Paul has been saved for x amount of years. He is going to write half of the New Testament. He has been to the third Heaven and back, and yet he is saying that these people in Rome have something that he wants to share with. They have a common faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But much more than that, he wants to visit them, fellowship with them, and impart some spiritual gift to them. This group of Bible-believing Christians must have been very precious and very special and very rare in the eyes of the apostle Paul. And like I say, his goal now is to get to Rome. It’s not going to be easy, because the Roman emperors at the time of him writing this epistle and their secret police were very much against Christianity. Why? Because they were monotheist. They were no threat to the state. But they would not worship false pagan gods. They would not worship their idols, their images. So Paul has to make it to Rome. But it’s not going to be easy.

So, continuing on through the Epistle to the Romans. And, if you haven’t already appreciated, chapter 1 is filled with good material. There is so much substance in the Book of the Romans, but chapter 1 is amazing.

Let’s start this broadcast from verse 13: Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.

This early community must have been basking in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is desperate to get to Rome, like I say. He wants to fellowship with them. He wants to worship with them. He wants to be with them. Their testimonies were magnificent. But verse 13 makes it very clear that he wasn’t able to get there. He wanted to travel there on many occasions. But it wasn’t always possible. Why not? Because the devil was always against the apostle Paul. If you are saved, if you have an active life-changing ministry, the devil is always going to be on your back. The apostle Paul was the greatest man that ever lived, and yet he could not shake Satan off his back. He had to live every single day like it was his last day and the Lord gave him the grace to do so.

Look at verse 14: I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.

Please turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 9. If you come across a piece of Scripture which isn’t always clear, you need to go to another piece of Scripture and compare Scripture with Scripture. That’s one of the cardinal rules of hermeneutics. Look at 1 Corinthians, chapter 9. Let’s start in verse 19: "For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some."

Please go back to Romans chapter 1. What we have just seen is in 1 Corinthians 9 further expounds what we just discovered in Romans chapter 1, verse 14. He was a servant to the Jews and also to the Gentiles. Chapter 1, verse 1: Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ meaning he was all things to all people that he might save some. In today’s world, we would call Paul a people’s person, and he did it to perfection. Also, from verse 14, Greeks would be Gentiles, as would barbarians to some extent. Some people are going to be wise, and some people are going to be unwise. But, until you are saved, you are outside of the kingdom of God.

So, moving on through the Epistle to the Romans, and in the last broadcast I showed you how the apostle Paul lowered himself to fit in with every type of person. We found from verse 14 how he was a debtor both to the Greeks, the educated people of his day, and also to the barbarians, the uneducated people, the illiterate people, the lower of the lower-class people. He was all things to all people, including the Jews. He says in the later chapters of Romans how he wished he was accursed for the sake of his people that they might be saved. This man had a huge heart. What this man forgot we will never know. Like I say, he wrote the book and he set the example as to how all Bible-believing Christians should live. He was a one-off man.

But we don’t worship the apostle Paul. We worship the triune God. Our faith is in the triune God, not Paul, not Peter, not James, not John. Not even in the Bible. We are saved by our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. But in order to grow in grace and be an effective Bible-believing Christian, we have to read the Bible, we have to believe the Bible, and we have to apply the Bible and what it clearly states to every aspect of our lives.

So let’s start today’s broadcast in verse 15: So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.

At this point in the ministry of the apostle Paul, he had travelled around most of the Roman Empire. He wrote the Epistle to the Romans around 56 A.D. And you can feel the anticipation building up. He has got to get to Rome. These people are so unique. They have an excellent testimony. Unlike the Corinthians that were carnal, unlike the Galatians that were legalistic, these people were the best of the best, and he has got to get to Rome.

Please look at verse 16: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Yet another profound statement. Two points from verse 16 which really stand out: number 1, the apostle Paul was not ashamed of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and number 2, he says the power of the gospel was available to everyone that believeth, to the Jew and also to the Greek. Meaning, quite simply, that if the Jew believed on Jesus he/she would be saved, and if the Greek believed on the Lord Jesus, he/she would be saved as well. The Lord Jesus Christ died for the sins of the whole world, without exception. But, only those that believe on Him are going to be saved.

So, we are still in the first chapter of the Book of the Romans. And I showed you all from verse 16 last time how the apostle Paul at this late stage of his life was not ashamed of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He wasn’t perfect, he wasn’t sinless. But at this stage, he had grown to become a mature, well-grounded, Bible-believing Christian. Timothy, on the other hand, half the age of the apostle Paul, was ashamed. Therefore, if you are a Bible-believing Christian and you’re not yet confident enough to proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, don’t worry. It will come all in good time. Paul had decades to perfect his walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Also, I want to