If you have ever thought in your life, “I want to go deeper,” then here is the opportunity for you! Welcome to the book of Romans. Every great revival in history has had its roots in the book of Romans. From Augustine in 386 AD, Martin Luther in 1513 AD, and John Welsey in 1738 AD, almost every devout follower of Jesus has grown deeper and stronger in their faith through the Book of Romans. John Calvin said, “When anyone understands this Epistle, he has a passage opened to him to the understanding of the whole Scripture.”
This past Sunday at Rolling Hills, we began this incredible journey through this life-impacting book of the Bible (if you missed the sermon on Romans 1, then you can find it here). The book of Romans was written to the church in Rome by the apostle Paul. Paul always wanted to go to Rome to encourage the church there. These Christ-followers were living out their faith in a very secular culture. Rome was the center of the world at that time. It was the center of the Roman Empire and its influence. It had incredible wealth and opulence (ex. The Great Colosseum), but also unparalleled godlessness and wickedness (ex. Roman orgies).
Paul wrote the book of Romans from Corinth, another pagan commercial city (famous for the Temple to Aphrodite and the city where the church met to whom Paul wrote 1 and 2 Corinthians), between 56-68 AD. Unlike the other Pauline epistles in the New Testament where Paul is addressing a specific issue in a church he had helped plant, in Romans Paul is simply presenting the whole doctrine and theology of the Christian life. Paul spends the first eleven chapters strengthening the disciples in the faith by diving deep into the Gospel, and then he moves, in Chapters 12-16, into how we live out our faith in our everyday life.
Every Sunday morning at Rolling Hills in this Masterclass series, we will walk through an amazing chapter of the book of Romans. Then, throughout the week, we will have time to dive deeper into our personal study and reflection as a part of our Daily Step. This will be amazing as we, as God’s people and His church today, all are focused on growing deeper together. As Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” We will be growing deeper together.
A special part of this study is our own Masterclass journals. These leather-bound journals are for every person to spend personal time with the Lord mining the truths and applications for our own lives. Journaling is an important part of spiritual growth and discipline. Learning to write down what God is teaching you in His Word helps us to remember what He is saying to us and encourages us to apply His Word. If you have never journaled before, then I strongly encourage you to start in this study. Can you imagine in 16 weeks, looking back at what all God has taught you? This is truly where revival comes as we apply God’s Word in our lives.
Along with all of this, we are challenging one another to memorize one verse of Scripture from each Chapter of Romans. For Romans 1, our verse to memorize is Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes first for the Jew and then for the Gentile.” How powerful! At the end of this series, you will know 16 life-impacting Scripture verses by heart. Memorizing Scripture is hiding God’s Word in your heart, and this is planting seeds that lead to spiritual growth and maturity.
Our world is in desperate need of Revival today. This is our time and our opportunity to go deeper and to become the men and women God created us to be. This is our time to join with the saints of old and discover the truths of God’s beautiful doctrine. This is our time to learn His Word and apply it to our lives with our brothers and sisters in Christ. This is our time to have revival start in our own hearts. Just as it has happened in history, as the fire of revival was lit in the hearts and lives of God’s people, it spread to their families, churches, communities, countries, and even to the entire world. Imagine revival starting in you and in us today. Come, Lord Jesus, and speak to each of us through the book of Romans!