Welcome back to Scripture Central. I'm Lynn Hilton Wilson here. Excited to talk with you today

about the second half of the book of Romans. This wonderful epistle of Paul is one of his greatest

treaties on grace and the need for a balance between grace and works. It's written, as we remember,

when Paul was in Corinth. It's probably during his third mission in the

winter times of the winter of 57 to 58 AD. And if you want to go back and look at some of the

historical background for this, it falls in the book of Acts, chapters 18 to 21. Just as a

reminder, the book of Romans has a few themes, the redemption through Christ, not the mosaic law, the plan of salvation

and the justification by faith. I mentioned last week that this is often referred to as a

diatribe, this argument between an opponent, and he gives a question and then he gives his answer,

and he gives an argument, and then he explains it, you know. But I feel more that his book is a development.

Yes, it's a question and answer.

Yes, it's a diatribe, but he develops this theory and he continues to build on it.

So you can't just take one or two verses out of context.

To me, the book of Romans is very difficult to understand if you just take a verse out of itself and try to state a theology by one verse.

Because the whole verse is part of a beautiful symphony of theology.

And he's developing things and you have to have the notes in reaction or else you misunderstand things.

It's like the old idea of looking at the elephant

by the tail or looking at the elephant by the trunk. You're getting the whole wrong image.

You've got to look at the Book of Romans in the whole way. Another thing that's difficult

about the Book of Romans is when we assume that the King James translation is recording what Paul

intended. The Book of Romans, I think, should be read

in many different translations. If we just look at the King James, we're getting a reformed

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