Ideas and questions for group members and leaders for Romans 1

Romans 1 Questions (select verses)

Warm up in pairs: Paul said that he was hindered from going to Rome. Tell about a time that you wanted or needed to be somewhere but were hindered. How did it end up?

Romans 1:13-17

1. Who was the audience for Romans? The church at Rome, whom he had never visited. According to Dr. David Allen, chapters 1-8 was directed to Jewish believers, while 9-16 to Gentile believers.
2. Why do you think Paul was prevented from going to Rome? The circumstances of life and/or Satan.
3. What does “fruit” refer to? New believers and spiritual maturity among believers
4. Who are we under obligation to? Those in the circles of our life-family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc.
5. Should we be eager to “preach” the good news to others?  Yes. Does “preach” always mean stand behind a pulpit? We all have our own “pulpit.” Our pulpit can be anything from an office desk, workbench in the shop at work, our dining room table, etc.
6. What power does the gospel have? The salvation of anyone who chooses to believe.  Do we really believe the gospel has the power to change lost people? If we did, we would be sharing it with them regularly.
7. Why was Paul not ashamed? For the gospel or good news tells people how they can be made right with God.
8. How a person can be made right with God is an age-old question. There is something inside of everyone that longs to be made right with God. What wrong ideas has man had about how to be made right with God? For the Jews, it was keeping the law. For the Roman Catholic Church, it was works and doing penance. (Martin Luther discovered it was grace through faith and left the RCC.) Other wrong ideas over the years have been self-inflicted suffering, child sacrifice. Ask group members for other ideas.
9. Why are 1:16-17 keys verses to the book of Romans? Everything after this is an explanation of these two verses.
10. What Old Testament passage does Paul quote in 1:17? Habbukah 2:4. Where else did he quote that Scripture? Galatians 3:11.
11. Did Paul use many OT quotations in Romans? According to Dr. David Allen, 62% of his OT references are found in Romans.

Romans 1:18-25

1. What is the wrath of God revealed against? The ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. 
2. What is the wrath of God? That in God which stands opposed to man’s disobedience, obduracy (especially in resisting the gospel) and sin, and manifests itself in punishing the same. (From Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
3. Does the word “wrath” ever appear in any of the four gospels? One example is John 3:36: “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey (believe) the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (NASB)  
4. What has man done to the truth about God? Even though it was made evident within them and to them, they suppressed it.
5. What invisible attributes of God have been known since he created the world through what he made? His eternal power and divine nature.
6. What light does Psalm 19:1-6 shed on 1:20? Gives some details of his creation.
7. What was the result of man not honoring God as God or giving thanks to him? It was the beginning of a downward spiral. They became futile in their speculations and their foolish heart was darkened. They made and worshipped idols instead of God. Finally, God gave them over to their lusts which resulting in the dishonoring of their bodies.
8. Are there biblical examples of this? Yes. See II Kings 17:16-17 for what Israel did as they turned from God.