More about Romans

Class three of Isaiah in the New Testament tackles Isaiah 1 and the significant Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 10-11. Get ready for a solid hour of intertextual Bible study taking you from 722 BCE to the Apostolic Era and all the way to final redemption. Download the orginal handout as a PDF below.

Endurance and Encouragement

What's the purpose and intention behind the Book of Romans? Is it eternal security, predestination, or God's soveriegn choice? Try "None of the Above." Romans 15 summarizes Paul's intention for writing the epistle and sets the record straight. Romans 16 introduces us to the original recipients of the epistle. This final installment from the 2015 Beth Immanuel class "Paul's Epistle to the Romans" features a completely unedited and poor-quality audio recording made on a cell-phone voice recorder. Enjoy!

Weak and Strong

People who keep the Sabbath and eat kosher are weak in faith, but the strong in faith treat every day alike and eat anything. That's the conventional interpretation of Romans 14. Take a second look at this passage from Paul's Epistle to the Romans and consider a Messianic Jewish intepretation that turns the conventional one upside down.

The Remnant

Has God rejected his people? Did Israel stumble and fall? Romans 10-11 offers us a crash course on Paul's theology regarding the election of Israel, the Messianic Jewish remnant, the inclusion of the Gentiles, and the final redemption. This Bible study fills in the missing pieces in Paul's arguments to make sense out of these difficult passages:

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns." (Isaiah 52:7)

The End of the Law

In Romans 10:4, Paul declares that "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." Does this verse mean what most people think that it means? Does Paul mean to contradict Yeshua's own statement that he did not come to cancel the Torah? Unravel the riddle of this difficult saying in the midst of Paul's continuing discussion about the election of Israel despite the Jewish rejection of Yeshua.

What Advantage? (Revisited)

If Gentile believers receive the a share in the kingdom and the world to come and also enjoy the blessings promised to Abraham, what advantage does a Jewish believer have? What's the point of being a Jew at all? Does the inclusion of the Gentiles negate Jewish identity and priority? These are the questions that the Apostle Paul takes up in the much-misunderstood and often-misinterpreted ninth chapter of the book of Romans.

More than Conquerors

Does God predestine some people for salvation and others for torment? Where does that leave free choice? In this teaching on Romans 8, we look beyond the weary argument about predestination and free will to try to understand the words of the Apostle Paul from within the context of the argument he is making. Take a closer look at the meaning of resurrection and the hope in which we were saved.

Download the original class notes as a pdf in the link below.

The Spirit and the Flesh

What is the significance of the resurrection of Yeshua? In Romans 8, Paul enters into the deep mysticism of resurrection theology. The resurrection of Yeshua is prelude to the restoration of heaven and earth which will transform this present world into the world to come. Those in Messiah are swept up in that future transformation through His Spirit even now, and by that transformation, we have a hope for the future to come and victory in Messiah today.

Listen to this teaching and download the original accompanying handout as a PDF in the link below.

What Is Salvation?

The New Testament talks about being "saved," and in fact, our Master's name is connected to the concept of salvation. But "salvation" in its Jewish and biblical context is somewhat different from its use in Protestant Christianity. Find out how in this teaching from our Wednesday night Plugged In service with guest speaker Aaron Eby.

Under the Law

What does it mean to be "under the law"? Conventional teaching understands Paul's use of the terminology, "under the law," to mean legalism. This teaching from Romans 6 takes a completely different perspective.