Sermon and Worship Resources

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1. Adam, the Law, and the Curse of the Covenant

Romans 5:12-21

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Paul presents another new-covenant blessing: Christians are part of the new humanity created by Christ, the last Adam. Sin and death, instigated by the old-covenant law, began with the fall of the first Adam. This is the curse of the covenant. But Christ has undone the consequences of Adam’s sin by obeying God and thereby creating the new humanity. Understanding the Text Romans 5:12–21...

2. Ethics and Eschatology

Romans 13:8-14

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Ethics and eschatology go hand in hand. Because the age to come has dawned, Christians participate in the new covenant; but because the present age continues, Christians must love others and not cater to the flesh. Indeed, the dawning of the age to come in Christ empowers believers to love others in the present age. The Old Testament law could not accomplish this. Understanding the Text...

3. Exile for National Israel, Restoration for Spiritual Israel

Romans 11:1-10

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Paul juxtaposes two types of Israel: national Israel (11:7–10) versus spiritual Israel (11:1–6). The former remains in exile and under the covenant curses, but the latter as the remnant is enjoying the long-awaited restoration of Israel as well as the covenant blessings. Understanding the Text Romans 11 moves from Paul’s day to a day in the future when national Israel will convert to J...

4. Freedom from the Law through Christ, Enslavement to the Law through Adam

Romans 7:7-25, Romans 7:1-6

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Paul focuses on the Mosaic law’s relationship to new dominion in Christ. A stark contrast emerges: freedom from the law because of union with Christ versus enslavement to the law because of union with Adam. This relationship is paradoxical: union with Christ and with Adam both pertain to the Christian (7:13–25 will expound on this). Understanding the Text Romans 6:23 pronounces that th...

5. God and Government

Romans 13:1-7

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Paul declares that government is a divine institution, and so Christians should submit to its authority. He provides two reasons why believers should do so: fear of punishment for wrongdoing, and obedience for conscience’s sake. The specific form that this submission should take is paying taxes. Thus, obeying the authorities is another expression of being a living sacrifice to God. Unde...

6. God’s Saving Righteousness and the Restoration of Israel

Romans 3:21-31

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Paul anticipates here in verses 21–26 Martin Luther's famous question, “How can I, a sinner, stand before a holy God?” The apostle's answer is that at the cross of Jesus Christ, the judging righteousness of God (his holiness) is reconciled to God's saving righteousness (his mercy) such that God is at once both just and the justifier of him whose faith is in Jesus. Understanding the Text...

7. Israel and the Present Curses and the Past Blessings of the Covenant

Romans 9:1-29

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Chapters 9–11, which correspond to the curses component of the covenant (chaps. 5–8 enunciate the blessings), answer the question “Have God’s promises to Israel failed?” Paul answers, “No!” In 9:1–5 he broaches the problem of Israel’s unbelief. Israel previously enjoyed the blessings of the covenant but is now under its curses for rejecting the Messiah. Understanding the Text In order ...

8. New Dominion as a Blessing of the New Covenant: Dead to Sin

Romans 6:1-14

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: In chapter 6 Paul presents another blessing: new dominion. The first Adam forfeited his dominion over the earth. But Christ, the last Adam, inaugurated a new age and new covenant, restoring the lost dominion. Believers enter that new dominion by uniting with Christ’s death and resurrection: they become dead to sin and alive to God. Understanding the Text While Romans 3:21–5:21 develope...

9. Paul, Phoebe, Patronage, and Spain

Romans 16:1-27

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Phoebe, Paul’s patron, will deliver Paul’s covenant letter and have it read to the Roman Christians. Phoebe’s authority as patron and deaconess will reinforce the reading’s solemnity. The Roman Christians should respond to Paul’s letter by providing hospitality for Phoebe and joining their resources with hers to launch Paul’s mission to Spain. Understanding the Text Romans 16:1–2 conti...

10. Paul Reinterprets the Story of Israel

Romans 2:17-29

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Paul reverses the role that the law played as the stipulation of the old covenant. He argues that the very attempt to obey the law is keeping Israel in bondage. This is because obsession with the Torah derailed Jews from accepting Jesus as the Messiah and from seeing that the law was fulfilled in him and finished at the cross. Understanding the Text Romans 2:17–24, together with 2:25–2...

11. Paul the Apostle of the New Covenant to the Gentiles

Romans 15:14-22

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Here Paul presents himself as the apostle of the new covenant to the Gentiles. Two ideas therefore inform this text. First, Romans 15:14–16:27 corresponds to the document clause of the covenant format. Second, Paul is the eschatological apostle to the Gentiles who offers them membership in the new covenant through faith in Christ. Understanding the Text Many commentators rightly argue ...

12. The Christian’s New Dominion: Dedicated to Righteousness

Romans 6:15-23

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: The familiar contrast that runs from 5:12 through 6:14 continues in 6:15–23: the law of Moses cannot rescue from sin, which leads to death, but the grace of God in Christ engenders righteousness, which leads to eternal life. The new component of this contrast in 6:15–23 is Paul’s usage of the metaphor of slavery. Understanding the Text Romans 6:15–23 continues Paul’s enumeration, begun...

13. The Divine Plan of Salvation

Romans 11:33-36

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Paul offers a hymn of praise to God for his plan of salvation. Understanding the Text Romans 11:33–36 is a hymn of praise to God’s plan of salvation; it consists of three strophes: 1. Three characteristics of God’s plan: riches, wisdom, knowledge (11:33) 2. Three rhetorical questions about God’s plan (11:34–35) a. Who has known the mind of the Lord? (11:34a) b. Who has been the Lor...

14. The Faithfulness of God and the Covenantal Curses on Israel

Romans 3:1-8

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: God’s faithfulness is actually demonstrated through the covenantal curses on Israel. Understanding the Text In Romans 2 Paul showed that Israel’s attempt to obey the law is, ironically, the reason that they are still in exile and under divine judgment. Romans 3:1–8 therefore anticipates, in diatribe fashion, three Jewish objections to that notion: (1) there is no advantage to having th...

15. The Gospel of God in Christ through Paul

Romans 1:1-17

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, was divinely chosen to preach the gospel of God in Christ, the end-time fulfillment of the twofold Old Testament promise of the restoration of Israel and the conversion of the Gentiles. Understanding the Text Romans 1:1–7 forms the first half of Paul’s introduction to Romans (1:8–15 is the second half). The introduction, or prescript, to ancient lette...

16. The Holy Spirit and the Blessings of the New Covenant

Romans 8:1-17

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Second Temple Judaism longed for the return of God’s Spirit, as evidenced in Joel 2:28–29. Paul’s use of the term “Spirit” in chapter 8 signifies that Joel’s prophecy has come true. The chapter is chock-full of covenantal blessings of the Spirit—given to Gentiles, no less, because they have accepted Jesus as the Christ. Understanding the Text Romans 8:1–17 discusses six new-covenant bl...

17. The Kindness and Sternness of God

Romans 11:11-24

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Israel’s rejection of Jesus as Messiah is the occasion for God to show mercy to the Gentiles. Their conversion, Paul hopes, will stir Jews to jealousy and thus to accept their Messiah. God is showing kindness to Gentiles but sternness to Jews who have not accepted the Messiah. In the future, however, God will show kindness to Israel but sternness to Gentiles who fall into unbelief. Unde...

18. The Mystery and Mercy of God

Romans 11:25-32

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Paul merges two grand themes: mystery and mercy. The mystery of God is that the end-time conversion of the Gentiles will occur before the restoration of Israel, the reverse order of the Old Testament prophecies. God’s mystery involves his showing mercy to both Gentiles and Jews in these last days. Understanding the Text Romans 11:25–32 is the grand conclusion to chapters 9–11, showing ...

19. The New-Covenant Blessings: Peace and Hope

Romans 5:1-11

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Romans 5:1–11 presents three new-covenant blessings: peace, hope, and love (love will be covered in the next unit). Understanding the Text Romans 5 has been much debated in terms of its context: does it belong with 1:18–4:25, or does it begin a new unit?1Most scholars today believe that although chapter 5 does connect back to 1:18–4:25 (since the topic of justification so pervasive the...

20. The New-Covenant Ethic of Love

Romans 12:9-21

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Paul, like Jesus, says that the new-covenant ethic is love. The thesis here is simple: love sincerely. Love should be shown toward God, fellow believers, and even nonbelievers who persecute Christians. Thus, Paul’s ethic continues the radical call by Jesus to his disciples to love one another. To love others is to sacrificially accept the new-covenant stipulation to love. Understanding ...

21. The Reversal of the Deuteronomic Curses and Blessings: Replacing Law with Faith

Romans 9:30--10:21

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: The key issue in this controversial text is the role of the law in light of the work of Christ. Paul reverses the Deuteronomic curses and blessings: non-Christian Jews experience the Deuteronomic curses because they attempt to be justified by the law, while believing Gentiles are justified because their faith is in Christ, so to them belong the Deuteronomic blessings. Understanding the ...

22. The Spirit and the Glory of the Age to Come and the New Covenant

Romans 8:28-39, Romans 8:18-27

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Paul showcases another blessing from the Spirit of the new covenant: glory. More particularly, the Spirit is a sign of the glory of the age to come and the new covenant. And yet, that glory occurs in the midst of this age and suffering. Understanding the Text 1. Suffering/glory (8:18) 2. Three groanings (8:19–27) a. Creation groans (hope for the revelation of the children of God) (8:...

23. The Story of Abraham versus the Story of Israel

Romans 4:1-25

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Unlike the Mosaic covenant, based on obeying the Torah, the Abrahamic covenant is based on faith. Abraham becomes Paul’s star witness that justification is by faith alone. Paul marshals five arguments to refute the commonly held view that Abraham was justified by his good works: theological (4:1–5), hermeneutical (4:6–8), historical (4:9–12), logical (4:13–17a), and experiential (4:17b–2...

24. The Story of Israel and the Story of Gentiles

Romans 1:18-32

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: There is plenty of condemnation to go around for Jews as well as Gentiles. In this passage the story of Israel is reflected in the story of Gentiles—sin and judgment for both. But this bad news is designed to drive both to the gospel, the ultimate restoration of the Jews and conversion of the Gentiles. Understanding the Text Romans 1:18–4:25 is the unit of Romans that corresponds to th...

25. The Story of Israel Now and Later

Romans 2:1-16

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C. Marvin Pate

Big Idea: Paul makes explicit the story of Israel. Obedience to God’s law was required for Israel to remain in covenantal relationship with God. But Israel repeatedly broke the law, and consequently divine judgment fell on Jews. Moreover, God’s judgment will fall on individual Jews on the final day of reckoning if they do not repent by accepting Jesus as the Messiah. Understanding the Text In pl...

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