Andrew Wommack - Romans: Pauls Masterpiece On Grace (Bible Commentary)

Copyright 2021 Andrew Wommack Ministries, Inc.

Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version. Scripture quotations marked AMPC are taken from the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition, Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved internationally. All emphasis within Scripture quotations is the authors own.

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I NTRODUCTION

The book of Romans is the Apostle Pauls scholarly explanation of the New Covenant, where he reveals how God deals with us through His mercy and grace instead of through our works of performance. Its what Scripture calls the Gospel!

We use the word Gospel to refer to anything related to Christianity. But when Paul used this word, he was describing the good news of everything Jesus did for us in His death and resurrection. It countered a lot of Old Testament ideas that many people hold even to this day. The Gospel had such a radical connotation that it seemed too good to be true. So, people were offended when this word had any association with God. To them, good news like this could never come from Him.

Paul constantly encountered this religious mindset. The people were so legalistic that they had a limit on how many steps you could take on a Sabbath Day! One group, the Essenes, had it in their writings that you couldnt have a bowel movement on a Sabbath. I mean, it was oppressive! These people had such strict religious practices that it makes you wonder how anyone could live under it. Then Paul comes along and says hes not ashamed of the nearly-too-good-to-be-true news that Jesus paid for everything and its not based on his performance. Im sure you can see how this boggled the religious minds of his day.

When Paul explained why he wasnt ashamed of the Gospel, he wrote that its because its the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16). This includes the forgiveness of sins but is not limited to only being forgiven. Its also talking about healing, deliverance, prosperity, joy, and peace! Paul said that the Gospel releases the power for everything you need. All you have to do is believe and receive. Theres no better place to understand these things than the book of Romans. Its one of my favorite books. I believe I can say that if Romans isnt one of your favorite books, then you do not have a revelation of the true Gospel. Romans is where you really get a solid foundation and begin to mature in these things.

In the summer of 1968, after I first got really turned onto the Lord, I was at a meeting where I heard a man say, If you could understand the first eight or nine chapters of the book of Romans, it would cause you to be a mature Christian. I remember that stuck out to me, and so I started seriously studying the book of Romans. I would venture to say it was at least ten or maybe fifteen years before I felt like I got a revelation of it. Up until that time, I had knowledge, but it just didnt really impart the truth that Paul was trying to get across. Im still learning. Im not saying that Ive got it all figured out yet, but this has become one of the most important things that God has spoken to me. I tell you, if it affects you the way that it has affected me, I believe this could be just totally life-transforming for you.

So, I pray that as you read the pages that follow, God will give you a supernatural understanding of the book of Romans. Youll find hundreds of my personal notes and commentary for nearly every verse, taken from my Life for Today and Living Commentary materials. These are the result of thousands of hours of study, as I have spent decades poring over these scriptures and meditating on the things God was revealing to me. Its a tremendous resource! Countless lives all around the world have been changed by these truths, so Im excited to be sharing them with you. You are going to be so blessed!

N OTE:

Romans: Pauls Masterpiece on Grace is a combination of Andrews Life for Today commentary, written between 1983 and 1990, and the newer Living Commentary, which Andrew regularly updates. The shaded portions of the pages are pulled from Living Commentary, and the non-shaded notes are the original Life for Today content. Additionally, if the references at the ends of some of the notes are not straightforward, its because this book is a merging of the old and new works. For a clearer picture of how this commentary on Romans relates to other biblical passages, we encourage you to explore Living Commentary, which contains more than 25,000 notes (as of 2021) and is available at www.awmi.net/LC.

L IVING C OMMENTARY ON R OMANS

Introduction to Romans

The book of Romans is the longest and the clearest exposition by the Apostle Paul on the Gospel. This book contains the doctrinal foundation for the Christian faith, and it is for this reason that it was arranged first in order among the New Testament epistles. The truths presented here must be understood before proceeding to other doctrinal matters. In this letter, Paul dealt with a larger number of doctrinal issues than in any other of his epistles. His treatment of the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith was so masterfully done that its divine inspiration cannot be questioned. The depth with which Paul treated these great subjects shows that this knowledge was truly given to him by the direct revelation of God (Galatians 1:12).

An understanding of the truths in Romans 3 transformed Martin Luthers personal life and ignited the fires of the Reformation that shook the world. Indeed, an understanding of the truths expressed in this book are essential not only to the salvation of every individual but also to the maturing and success of every Christian.

Authorship

Paul is undoubtedly the author of the letter to the Romans. The first verse of this epistle clearly states so (Romans 1:1). There is no dissenting opinion of this among the early writings of the church. The writer also sent greetings to Priscilla and Aquila (Romans 16:3, see note 2 at Acts 18:2), his helpers, and also to Timotheus, his workfellow (Romans 16:21). The book of Acts confirms these people worked closely with Paul.

The Recipients of Pauls Epistle Romans

Paul addressed this letter to all the Christians that were in Rome (Romans 1:7). There is no scriptural account of any apostolic mission taking the Gospel to Rome, so it may therefore be supposed that these Christians were converts from the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was given (Acts 2:10) and from the personal witness of believers as they traversed the empire.