Know: Know Paul’s history and background with the church at Rome.
Feel: Sense the great burden that Paul had for the salvation of both Jews and Gentiles by grace and faith alone, and sense his or her own desires to work for the lost.
Do: Share Paul’s missionary burden and methods to reach the world by brainstorming about methods to reach his or her immediate community.
Learning Outline:
Know: Paul’s Strategies to Reach Out to Spain With the Everlasting Gospel
How was Paul’s mission strategy seen as not just theoretical but also as very concrete and practical?
What are the missional “Spains” in our practical Christian witness?
Feel: Paul’s Burden for Mission and the Salvation of Both Jews and Gentiles (All Humanity)
How can I develop empathy for the unbelieving people in my life who might be the most receptive persons to my witness?
What, if any, are the racial, cultural, or national prejudices that affect my feelings toward the persons in my community or workplace?
Do: Live Out the Burdens That Paul Manifested for the Mission of Salvation for All Humanity.
What are some practical ways in which we can actually reach out in gospel witness through caring interaction?
Why should our goal be to reach all people with a gospel witness?
Summary: This lesson should inspire all to think more prayerfully and intentionally about our context for witnessing.
Learning Cycle
STEP 1—Motivate
Spotlight on Scripture: Romans 1:8
Key Concept for Spiritual Growth: Paul’s praise for, and appreciation of, the faith of the Roman Christians should inspire and motivate all professed Christians to strive to make spiritual things the top priorities in their lives and in their witness.
Opening Discussion: Challenge students to probe genuinely their understanding of Bible truth (especially concerning personal salvation and its practical implications). Then lead them to assess their current efforts and means to share the gospel in their context, just as Paul affirmed and shared his mission-driven plan to evangelize every corner of the then-known world.
Questions for Discussion:
What does Paul’s gospel mean, and how does it relate to other key Christian doctrines?
What spiritual gifts are manifest in our local church? How do these gifts further clarify the mission of the local church within our cultural context? How do the gifts also clarify the worldwide mission of the church, to fellow Christians and to non-Christians alike?
STEP 2—Explore
Bible Commentary
I. The Larger Context of Paul’s Mission Strategy
The history of Paul’s missionary journeys and the goals he sets for the future help clarify our understanding of the practical counsels and theological contents of Romans. A knowledge of Paul’s history is especially helpful in clarifying his teaching of personal salvation by faith alone in Christ. Keeping this larger context in mind, what follows is a brief overview of the four major themes of Romans, which are highlighted in this week’s lesson.
Activity: First, to appreciate the scope and goals of Paul’s missionary work better, imagine yourself in one of the ancient settings Paul journeyed to as a missionary. Use a Bible atlas, if one is handy, to spark your imagination. Then ask yourself: What sights, sounds, food, and peoples would predominate in this place? How does imagining this setting help you better understand the cultural challenges Paul faced as a missionary? And what insights gleaned from this exercise might we apply to the challenges of evangelism and witnessing facing us today?
II. The Context of Paul’s Ministry (Review Romans 16:1, 2; Acts 18:1–18; 20:2, 3; 28:17–31; and Romans 15:25, 22 with your class.)
The church at Corinth is established during Paul’s second missionary journey (a.d. 49–52). During his third missionary journey (a.d. 53–58), he visits Corinth and receives an offering for the suffering saints in Jerusalem. But before he leaves Corinth to go to Jerusalem, he writes the Epistle to the Romans (probably in a.d. 58), seeking to clarify his teaching on the gospel of grace, or salvation by faith alone in Christ.
Paul makes his explanations and clarifications in the aftermath of the debates over whether Gentiles need to become Jews (ritually and legally) before they could become Christians. Paul visited the churches in Galatia, where these issues (which emerged in Israel and Antioch) became divisive (as Paul attests to in his Epistle to the Galatians and in the debates recorded in Acts). Thus, it seems that Paul’s purpose in writing to the Romans is twofold: he writes in order to alert the Romans to his missionary goals and strategies, and he seeks to clarify what his gospel is—especially in relationship to Judaism, the Old Testament, and the conversion of the Gentiles.
Consider This: In light of the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament apostles, how does the gospel explain the theological and ethical teachings of the Old Testament law and prophets?
III. The Providences of God in Christian Ministry and Mission (Review Romans 15:25, 22 with your class.)
Paul intends to travel to Rome to minister to the Romans and lay the foundation for his mission to the Western Mediterranean basin (Spain). But before arriving in Rome, he must first deliver the collections for the needy people of God in Jerusalem. This visit is probably intended to knit the hearts of the Gentile and Jewish believers together in deeper unity. Not only would his visit attend to the physical needs of the Jews, but also it would serve as a balm for the wounds generated by the debates over the role of the law in salvation. But God’s “providences” delay Paul’s intention to travel to Rome, causing great grief for the apostle. Instead, he is taken captive and sent to Rome for trial.
Consider This: Naturally, the question in many minds must have been over what the providences of God were in all of Paul’s delay and suffering. How do we respond to that difficult question?
IV. The Definition of a Saint (Review Romans 1:7 with your class.)
A definition of a “saint” is “any of certain persons of exceptional holiness of life.” The word exceptional might suggest that saints are endowed with a special gift of holiness that renders them spiritually superior to the average believer. But how does the Bible define the word saint?
The word saint, as used by Paul in Romans 1:7, derives from the Greek hagios, meaning that which is separated or dedicated for a specific calling or purpose. Hagios is used specifically to refer to members of the first Christian communities in order to denote those who are pure, righteous, and holy. Paul speaks “to all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 1:7, NKJV). Here, Paul’s use of the word saint addresses the church at large instead of a few select or exceptional individuals. Modern translations of the verse help to clarify further our understanding of this inclusiveness and all whom it encompasses. What the King James Version translates as “saints,” the New International Version renders as “[God’s] holy people” (NIV), or as “those . . . who have been called, who have been set apart for him” (CJB) and as the ones “whom God loves and has called to be [H]is holy people” (NCV). What is evident in each of these translations is that the saints are chosen by God and set aside as holy for His special purpose.
Very clearly, then, a “saint” is any believer in Christ and His gospel who has accepted the merits of His salvific death, a death that embraces all believers, whether male or female, Jew or Gentile.
Consider This: How might the definition of “saint” be updated to move beyond the traditional understanding of the word, burdened as it may be, at times, by notions of spiritual exclusivity and elitism?
V. Who Were the Believers That Made Up the Church at Rome? (Review Romans 1:8 with the class.)
The church at Rome was composed of Jews and Gentiles, held in high esteem “throughout the whole world” (NKJV). In his subsequent mention of the Jewish and the Greek believers, Paul seems to suggest that all believers should be united in the gospel and its proclamation to all, “for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16).
Consider This: Reflect upon the larger missional, practical, and theological context in which the message of Romans unfolds. In light of this context, how then can believers in your Sabbath School class reach a more perfect theological and practical unity, one that would be the best venue for proclaiming the three angels’ messages?
STEP 3—Apply
Just for Teachers: In light of the historical backgrounds regarding Martin Luther in the sixteenth century and the apostle Paul and his fellow Christians in the first century of the Christian Era, it would seem justifiable to reflect carefully on what each of these eras has in common. We especially need to think about how the cultural contexts and moral challenges of each era have been, or can be, “redeemed” by Paul’s gospel.
Application Questions:
What other cultural contexts in Western history can you think of in which the revival of the biblical understanding of salvation by faith through grace alone has had a redeeming effect on a particular culture?
How might the gospel’s offer of salvation (including its highlighting of salvation for all sinners—no matter their ethnic, social, or educational background) help to alleviate racial strife and economic inequality in our culture?
How could Paul’s gospel and ethics relate to the very secularized modern cultures of the so-called West?
Why is it that there seems to be a greater openness to the biblical gospel among less-industrialized cultures across the world?
STEP 4—Create
Just for Teachers: Ask class members to reflect on different ways they can personally, in light of their own religious-cultural context, be more effective in approaching people with a gospel witness. How might their moral and ethical witness (perhaps just being kind, courteous, and thoughtful) create an atmosphere in which a discussion of the gospel blessings can be made more appealing to these people in their recreational settings, workplaces, or social/service clubs?
Activities:
Brainstorm with your class about an individual or a uniquely collective, organized outreach in your community.
Assess the skills and gifts that your class members possesses that could enhance such a witness.
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Key Text: Romans 1:8
The Student Will:
Learning Outline:
Summary: This lesson should inspire all to think more prayerfully and intentionally about our context for witnessing.
Learning Cycle
STEP 1—Motivate
Spotlight on Scripture: Romans 1:8
Key Concept for Spiritual Growth: Paul’s praise for, and appreciation of, the faith of the Roman Christians should inspire and motivate all professed Christians to strive to make spiritual things the top priorities in their lives and in their witness.
Opening Discussion: Challenge students to probe genuinely their understanding of Bible truth (especially concerning personal salvation and its practical implications). Then lead them to assess their current efforts and means to share the gospel in their context, just as Paul affirmed and shared his mission-driven plan to evangelize every corner of the then-known world.
Questions for Discussion:
STEP 2—Explore
Bible Commentary
I. The Larger Context of Paul’s Mission Strategy
The history of Paul’s missionary journeys and the goals he sets for the future help clarify our understanding of the practical counsels and theological contents of Romans. A knowledge of Paul’s history is especially helpful in clarifying his teaching of personal salvation by faith alone in Christ. Keeping this larger context in mind, what follows is a brief overview of the four major themes of Romans, which are highlighted in this week’s lesson.
Activity: First, to appreciate the scope and goals of Paul’s missionary work better, imagine yourself in one of the ancient settings Paul journeyed to as a missionary. Use a Bible atlas, if one is handy, to spark your imagination. Then ask yourself: What sights, sounds, food, and peoples would predominate in this place? How does imagining this setting help you better understand the cultural challenges Paul faced as a missionary? And what insights gleaned from this exercise might we apply to the challenges of evangelism and witnessing facing us today?
II. The Context of Paul’s Ministry (Review Romans 16:1, 2; Acts 18:1–18; 20:2, 3; 28:17–31; and Romans 15:25, 22 with your class.)
The church at Corinth is established during Paul’s second missionary journey (a.d. 49–52). During his third missionary journey (a.d. 53–58), he visits Corinth and receives an offering for the suffering saints in Jerusalem. But before he leaves Corinth to go to Jerusalem, he writes the Epistle to the Romans (probably in a.d. 58), seeking to clarify his teaching on the gospel of grace, or salvation by faith alone in Christ.
Paul makes his explanations and clarifications in the aftermath of the debates over whether Gentiles need to become Jews (ritually and legally) before they could become Christians. Paul visited the churches in Galatia, where these issues (which emerged in Israel and Antioch) became divisive (as Paul attests to in his Epistle to the Galatians and in the debates recorded in Acts). Thus, it seems that Paul’s purpose in writing to the Romans is twofold: he writes in order to alert the Romans to his missionary goals and strategies, and he seeks to clarify what his gospel is—especially in relationship to Judaism, the Old Testament, and the conversion of the Gentiles.
Consider This: In light of the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament apostles, how does the gospel explain the theological and ethical teachings of the Old Testament law and prophets?
III. The Providences of God in Christian Ministry and Mission (Review Romans 15:25, 22 with your class.)
Paul intends to travel to Rome to minister to the Romans and lay the foundation for his mission to the Western Mediterranean basin (Spain). But before arriving in Rome, he must first deliver the collections for the needy people of God in Jerusalem. This visit is probably intended to knit the hearts of the Gentile and Jewish believers together in deeper unity. Not only would his visit attend to the physical needs of the Jews, but also it would serve as a balm for the wounds generated by the debates over the role of the law in salvation. But God’s “providences” delay Paul’s intention to travel to Rome, causing great grief for the apostle. Instead, he is taken captive and sent to Rome for trial.
Consider This: Naturally, the question in many minds must have been over what the providences of God were in all of Paul’s delay and suffering. How do we respond to that difficult question?
IV. The Definition of a Saint (Review Romans 1:7 with your class.)
A definition of a “saint” is “any of certain persons of exceptional holiness of life.” The word exceptional might suggest that saints are endowed with a special gift of holiness that renders them spiritually superior to the average believer. But how does the Bible define the word saint?
The word saint, as used by Paul in Romans 1:7, derives from the Greek hagios, meaning that which is separated or dedicated for a specific calling or purpose. Hagios is used specifically to refer to members of the first Christian communities in order to denote those who are pure, righteous, and holy. Paul speaks “to all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 1:7, NKJV). Here, Paul’s use of the word saint addresses the church at large instead of a few select or exceptional individuals. Modern translations of the verse help to clarify further our understanding of this inclusiveness and all whom it encompasses. What the King James Version translates as “saints,” the New International Version renders as “[God’s] holy people” (NIV), or as “those . . . who have been called, who have been set apart for him” (CJB) and as the ones “whom God loves and has called to be [H]is holy people” (NCV). What is evident in each of these translations is that the saints are chosen by God and set aside as holy for His special purpose.
Very clearly, then, a “saint” is any believer in Christ and His gospel who has accepted the merits of His salvific death, a death that embraces all believers, whether male or female, Jew or Gentile.
Consider This: How might the definition of “saint” be updated to move beyond the traditional understanding of the word, burdened as it may be, at times, by notions of spiritual exclusivity and elitism?
V. Who Were the Believers That Made Up the Church at Rome? (Review Romans 1:8 with the class.)
The church at Rome was composed of Jews and Gentiles, held in high esteem “throughout the whole world” (NKJV). In his subsequent mention of the Jewish and the Greek believers, Paul seems to suggest that all believers should be united in the gospel and its proclamation to all, “for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16).
Consider This: Reflect upon the larger missional, practical, and theological context in which the message of Romans unfolds. In light of this context, how then can believers in your Sabbath School class reach a more perfect theological and practical unity, one that would be the best venue for proclaiming the three angels’ messages?
STEP 3—Apply
Just for Teachers: In light of the historical backgrounds regarding Martin Luther in the sixteenth century and the apostle Paul and his fellow Christians in the first century of the Christian Era, it would seem justifiable to reflect carefully on what each of these eras has in common. We especially need to think about how the cultural contexts and moral challenges of each era have been, or can be, “redeemed” by Paul’s gospel.
Application Questions:
STEP 4—Create
Just for Teachers: Ask class members to reflect on different ways they can personally, in light of their own religious-cultural context, be more effective in approaching people with a gospel witness. How might their moral and ethical witness (perhaps just being kind, courteous, and thoughtful) create an atmosphere in which a discussion of the gospel blessings can be made more appealing to these people in their recreational settings, workplaces, or social/service clubs?
Activities: