Paul’s letter to the Romans has changed the course of history more than once. In a garden, Augustine heard “take up and read,” opened to Romans, and rose a new man. Centuries later, Martin Luther understood a single line—“the righteous shall live by faith”—and the Reformation was born. Later still, John Wesley’s heart was “strangely warmed” while hearing Luther’s preface to Romans. Yet Romans was never written as a theology textbook. It was a real letter to a real church in the capital of the empire, from an apostle who had never visited them and hoped they would help send him on to Spain. Before he arrived, he set out the gospel in full. The result is the clearest, most complete statement of the Christian message ever written. The theme is announced at the start: the gospel is the power of God for salvation, because in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith. Everything that follows unpacks that sentence. The Gospel of God is a teaching commentary for the serious reader and the small group alike. David Shepherd divides Romans into eighteen study units. Each unit gives a short orientation, a clear walk through the passage, and questions for reflection and discussion. The aim is not to survey every scholarly debate or bury you in footnotes. It is to help you understand what Paul is actually saying—and why it still matters. The letter moves in four great movements: • Romans 1–4 — the human condition, and justification by faith • Romans 5–8 — peace with God, freedom from sin, and a love nothing can separate us from • Romans 9–11 — God’s sovereign mercy to Israel and the nations • Romans 12–16 — the transformed life the gospel produces in the church and in the world Read the passage first. Keep your Bible open beside these pages. Work the questions alone or with others. Take it at your pace. Romans rewards slow reading. This book is written to walk you through the argument until two words land with their full weight: but now. A righteousness apart from the law. Freely given. Received by faith. Purchased at a cross where God proved Himself both just and the justifier. Ask God to do in you what this letter has done in so many before you—to show you the gospel so clearly that it sets you free.
