Why the Epistle to the Romans? A Discipling Curriculum

A Course of Action to Discipling:

It was through the epistle to the Romans that God sparked within the great Reformer a stand that would find 95 theses mounted upon the Wittenberg wall. Martin Luther’s dealings with Romans 1:17 awakened in him the beauty of the Gospel. No longer was the German monk terrified of God as Judge but, now, embraced Him as the mighty Savior Himself. Luther captured this experience when he wrote,

Though I live as a monk without reproach, I felt that I was a sinner before God with an extremely disturbed conscience. I could not believe that he was placated by my satisfaction. I did not love, yes, I hated the righteous God who punishes sinners, and secretly, if not blasphemously, certainly murmuring greatly, I was angry with God, and said, “As if, indeed, it is not enough, that miserable sinners, eternally lost through original sin, are crushed by every kind of calamity by the law of the decalogue, without having God add pain to pain by the gospel and also by the gospel threatening us with his righteousness and wrath!” Thus I raged with a fierce and troubled conscience. . . . At last, by the mercy of God, meditating day and night, I gave heed to the context of the words, namely, “In it the righteousness of God is revealed, as it is written, ‘He who through faith is righteous shall live.’” There I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by the gift of God, namely by faith. And this is the meaning: the righteousness of God is revealed by the gospel, namely, the passive righteousness with which merciful God justifies us by faith, as it is written, “He who through faith is righteous shall live.” Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates.”[1]

We’re seeking this very same fruit. We, Covenant City Church, are striving—by the power of the Spirit through the biblical text itself—to disciple our people toward conformity to Christ (cf. Rom. 8:29; Col. 3:10). Meaning, we’re not leaving discipling up to wishful thinking—to the whim of ministry events (click here). Rather, we’ve sought out an intentional course-of-action that would get our people’s noses into the sacred text and their hearts aflame by the truths of the Gospel.

Why Romans?

What, then, are our motivating factors in choosing the epistle to the Romans as a foundational curriculum for our disciple-making process? Why toil through the year-long journey? Why march through all 16 chapters? Why burden our people with the technicalities of doctrine spewing from the pages of Paul’s address to the Romans? Listed below are some of the reasons as to why the book of Romans is our go-to-choice for discipling covenant members.

Source Material. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). The mechanism for spiritual transformation is essential, especially if it’s a God-ordained mechanism. Meaning, God has commanded that His Word be the vehicle used by His Spirit to awaken hearts to Himself (cf. Jn. 17:16-19). Therefore, it’s our goal, then, to get the text in front of our people and to have the Spirit illuminate their minds to the truths of the Gospel. Without such God ordained means, we’re shooting in the dark. We're trusting in God’s ways.

Inductive Method. Since the text is a vital component in the growth of a believer, we want to equip our people to be good readers—good readers of Scripture and good readers of a hostile world. In doing so, Romans becomes a training ground to help our people trace argumentations to their logical conclusion, to their biblical conclusion. We want to help them understand the nature of Scripture (click here), how to observe the text (click here), how to interpret the text (click here), and how to apply the text (click here). By doing so, we're equipping them, in a tangible way, to abide in the Word of God (cf. Jn. 15:1-11).

Biblical Theology. The inductive method also gives rise to grasping the larger narrative of Scripture—the meta-narrative of redemptive history. Why does biblical theology matter? It matters because it provides the narrative that formulates a worldview to make sense of reality. In answering the fundamental questions of life, (for example: what’s the purpose of life? Why do we exist? Where’s history going?) the epistle to Rome forces us to make sense of God’s plan. The reader is introduced to the nation of Israel, God’s covenant people (cf. Rom. 2:1-11; 25-29; 9:1-33; 10:1-13; 11:1-10; 25-36). The reader is forced to understand the significance of Abraham (cf. 4:1-25). The reader is inclined to grasp the magnitude of our first federal head, Adam (cf. 5:12-21). The epistle to Rome forces the believer to connect the storyline of Scripture with their own personal faith journey.

Paul’s Magnum Opus. The epistle to the Rome is known to be Paul’s theological mangnum opus. This is great for us on many different levels, but more specifically for the purposes of providing theological categories. Romans provides a biblical frame on how image bearers are to see and make sense of the world. It gives us a glimpse into the doctrines of total depravity (cf. 3:9-20; 23), original sin (cf. 5:12-21), justification by faith (cf. 3:21-31), work of the Holy Spirit (cf. 8:26-30), God’s sovereignty (cf. 9:6-29), and more. These aren’t merely propositional truths to study. They’re theological categories to think God’s thoughts after Him. The epistle to Rome provides the necessary theological categories to live out faithfully God's plan for the church.

The Heart of the Gospel. Paul’s letter to Rome, fundamentally, provides a clear, succinct look at God’s plan for redemption. It gives us this powerful remedy through the vehicle of faith (cf. 1:16-17). Believers and readers alike are privileged to encounter the living God through the sacred text and see for themselves the grandeur of God's grace in the heart of His Gospel. To see the outworking and centrality of faith in salvation is wonderful. Redemption is not work-based. It's a gift of God received by faith. Therefore, sola fide (by faith alone) is a historic orthodox doctrine. And we find it through the pages of Romans.

A Gospel-Centered Ethos. Not only does Romans articulate a concise Gospel presentation, but it also furnishes for the reader implications and applications of salvation (cf. 12-15). The Gospel isn’t merely an ethereal claim for philosophical contemplation. Rather, the Gospel finds boots-on-the-ground as believers seek to display God’s salvation through transformed lives. The believer is in constant pursuit of a renewed mind (cf. 12:2) and the Scriptures time and time again provide substance for that fabric of life.

Renewed Believers:

Disciple-making isn’t optional. It’s a mandate that’s been given to the church to work through in joyful obedience to Christ (cf. Matt. 28:18-20). Not only is making disciples mandatory, the means to which that’s to be accomplished has been given to us as well—His Word. Therefore, when Covenant City Church seeks to faithfully engage in these endeavors, she humbly submits herself to a methodology that would be consistent with God’s self-revelation—consistent with how God has promised to bless His people. All of this in order that the believer would be renewed in mind, thought, and affection so that God’s glory would be put on display for the world to see. To this end, we’ve intentionally sought to frame the epistle to the Romans as the bedrock for our discipling course-of-action in order that covenant members be positioned in a place to encounter the living God through the sacred text of Scripture by the power of His Holy Spirit. Soli Deo Gloria!

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***footnotes***

[1] Quoted from Matthew Barrett, The Reformation as Renewal: Retrieving the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2023), 389.

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McYoung Y. Yang (MDiv, SBTS; ThM, MBTS) is the husband to Debbie and a father to their four children. He's a Pastor of Preaching/Teaching at Covenant City Church in St. Paul, MN and the Executive Editor of Covenant City Church Content Team. Along with his ministerial duties, he's a homeschool dad. McYoung is continuing his doctoral studies at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO, and his ambition is to use his training as a means to serve the local church in living life through the Gospel lens.