A Rock of Foundation and Stumbling

The key theme of this letter is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith" (Rom 1:16-17).

The salvation of souls, the sanctified life, the new man, are all results of the primary theme: the Gospel of Christ. If one makes the results the primary context, we will develop slightly different, even enormously different, conclusions throughout this letter.

Rom 1- The DEPRAVITY of fallen man
Rom 2- The CERTAINTY of God's judgment
Rom 3a- The CALAMITY of sinful man's condition
Rom 3b- The BEAUTY of God's grace in salvation
Rom 4- The REALITY of righteousness imputed by faith
Rom 5a- The CENTRALITY of justification through the cross
Rom 6- The PROPENSITY of the redeemed to willfully sin
Rom 7a- The TENDENCY to counteract sin with legalism
Rom 7b- The EMNITY between flesh and spirit
Rom 8- The VICTORY & SECURITY found in Christ alone.

And having gone through that entire explanation of the Gospel of Christ, laid upon the foundation of the righteousness of God revealed by faith to faith, & manifested in the salvation of souls, we come to Romans 9 to answer the issue of the Israelite: "If the Gospel of Christ came though the Jews, why are so many Jews unsaved?" To this Paul defends the Gospel & the righteous character of God:

Rom 9:6-14, God's Purpose According to Election
Rom 9:15-18, God's Perogative According to His Sovereignty
Rom 9:19-29, God's Power According to His grace & glory