12 Those were written during Paul’s rst Roman imprisonment Second Timothy, Paul’s “dying letter,” was written during his second imprisonment 13 There is one minor exception to this order, because Galatians is slightly shorter than Ephesians We not know if this descending order of length had any bearing on the original formation of the canonical listing, whenever that took place 14 Philip Scha , History of the Christian Church, 1:740-41 11Romans: God’s Salvation for Sinners Romans is Paul’s masterpiece, a key that unlocks the door to vast treasures of Scripture People who have read and studied this epistle cannot nd words su cient to describe its worth “The most profound book in existence” (Coleridge) “Cathedral of the Christian faith” (Godet) “The chief part of the New Testament and the very purest Gospel” (Luther) “A thorough study of this epistle is really a theological education in itself” (Griffith Thomas) The uniqueness of Romans is not for its telling a di erent gospel or new teaching, but for its spelling out the ABC’s of the gospel of salvation in Christ, in clear, full scope, so that there can be no question concerning any important aspect of that gospel Romans tells, for example, how sinful man can be restored to fellowship with his Creator, the holy God It was of divine design that, by interpreting the truths already spoken by Jesus, one epistle should be written especially to explain such truths to people Paul was the man chosen to be the writer, and Romans was the epistle Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit this longest of the epistles has been placed by the people of God rst in the order of New Testament epistles I PREPARATION FOR STUDY In order to appreciate the important place that Romans occupies in Scripture, it is necessary to understand something of fallen man’s utter lack of righteousness as revealed throughout human history A review of the moral history of the race as set forth in the books of the Bible up to the book of Romans shows that man is, and always has been, an utter failure as regards righteousness When Adam was tempted in the Garden of Eden he proved himself a failure, and all of Adam’s descendants have done the same “All have sinned” (Rom 3:23) “There is none righteous, not even one” (3:10) From Adam to Abraham God patiently dealt with the sons of man, wooing them to His compassionate heart, giving them opportunity after opportunity to choose Him and His way, and so to nd His favor But the human race as a whole rejected Him, and the result was utter failure — failure so great that God “gave them over” and allowed them to go their own wicked ways (Rom 1:24, 26, 28) Then God tested the nation of Israel, the Jews This is the story of Genesis 12 to the end of Malachi Everything was given Israel ... was the man chosen to be the writer, and Romans was the epistle Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit this longest of the epistles has been placed by the people of God rst in the order of New Testament. .. (Coleridge) “Cathedral of the Christian faith” (Godet) ? ?The chief part of the New Testament and the very purest Gospel” (Luther) “A thorough study of this epistle is really a theological education... history of the race as set forth in the books of the Bible up to the book of Romans shows that man is, and always has been, an utter failure as regards righteousness When Adam was tempted in the