The Gospel of God

Paul's Letter to the Romans is the Gospel of God; it is the first Christian Theology. Chapters 1-11 contain the apostle's soteriological exposition of faith and hope that unlocks the entire Word of God. Romans has been called "the most profound work in existence" and "the cathedral of the Christian faith." His letter is official, personal, spiritual, and theological-the principal and most excellent part of the New Testament. Paul's exposition swings back and forth from Bad News to Good News. There is the Bad News that every person of Adam's race is unrighteous, corrupt, condemned, deserving of God's wrath. Yet, there is Good News that the righteous will live by faith in Christ and have a victorious life through the Holy Spirit. The apostle powerfully explains how we can conform our life to Christ. My primary objective in this commentary on the first eleven chapters of Romans is to explain and illustrate Paul's magnificent unfolding of soteriology-the doctrines of salvation, especially the imputed righteousness from God through Jesus Christ and His imparted righteousness by the Holy Spirit in the life of born-again believers. There is a fourfold exposition of righteousness in Paul's letter:1. Righteousness Imparted in the Law, 1:1-3:202. Righteousness Imputed through Christ, 3:21-8:213. Righteousness Ingrafted by God, 9:1-11:364. Righteousness Impregnated in the Believer, 12:1-16:2 Romans tells us how to be right-right with God, right with self, right in the world, and right with others. Great seas of ink have been spilled in the attempt to interpret chapters nine, through eleven of Romans in view of God's sovereignty and human responsibility. The apostle Paul found the ultimate solution to Jewish unbelief in the sovereign plan of God revealed in the Old Testament, within which there are no loose threads in the final woven tapestry of His plans and purposes. This commentary is the product of historical-grammatical-theological exegesis of the text for sermon preparations over a three-year period as well as from my teaching of the course "Romans Exegesis" at Regent College of the Caribbean. It is scholarly and practical with many illustrations from Bible. I written this commentary as a theologian and pastor-teacher, following the literary techniques of the apostle Paul. I have interpreted Paul's letter from my Biblical Theist and Progressive Dispensational presuppositions, while recognizing other interpretations. My views on God's sovereignty and foreknowledge do not align with Classic Theism or Open Theism; they align with the resurgence of Biblical Theology. I believe that the reader will find this commentary on soteriology to be a refreshing and rewarding study.