Romans 1
The Rapture is getting closer by the day. The Church's days on Earth are clearly numbered and whether we're taken up this year or not it's certainly not too soon to prepare. With that in mind we'll begin a study of Paul's Letter to the Romans, the Gospel according to Paul.

Romans 2:1- 3:20

Paul continues his view of the world’s spiritual condition. Remember, he’s not writing about believers here. His intent in this introductory survey is to show that everyone needs the Gospel, whether Jew or Gentile. But I’m going to treat some of this as if it applies to us as well,

Romans 3:21-4:25
But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Romans 5 and 6
Paul spent the better part of three chapters showing us man's desperate need for a savior. Any righteousness we can earn on our own is clearly inadequate to meet God's standards. We need to acquire a righteousness equal to His in order to dwell in His presence.

Romans 7:1 to 8:21
Having had a righteousness from God imputed to us by faith apart from the Law, we now have the choice to live a life of holiness. No longer enslaved to our sin nature, we can rise above any self-destructive behavior that has caused us, and those around us, sorrow in the past.

In our last installment we completed Law School, and saw the impossible position we've been placed in. Now we're ready for a close look at the unbelievable blessing we call Grace.

We turn now from a study of doctrine to one of prophecy. A prophecy involving both Jews and Gentiles that unlocks a secret hidden from the foundation of the world. From among both, God would create a new race of man, neither Jew nor Gentile, called the Church.

Our last study began with God's election of Israel as His chosen people. In Chapter 10 we'll see how they came to be rejected.

Romans 9 spoke of God's sovereign election of Israel as His chosen. In chapter 10 we saw how in the obsessive pursuit of a righteousness of their own, they rejected the righteousness that comes from God. But the rejection was clearly temporary, its duration dependent upon their response.

We began this series from the perspective that our time is short and we should make sure we're ordering what's left of it around the Lord's priorities for us. It won't be long before the life we've worked so hard to build for ourselves here will be left behind. All that will remain is the treasure we've stored up in Heaven.