This six-week class has the potential to change your life and refresh your relationship with God and others. I say that because Romans is an incredible letter—the greatest letter of one of the most influential people in history, the apostle Paul.

I believe that everyone who takes this class will be encouraged, challenged, and inspired to go deeper into God’s Word.

About the Class

During the mid to late AD 50s, as Paul finished out his third missionary journey, he set his eyes toward Rome, where he would soon lose his life for the gospel. A seasoned church planter, minister, and apostle, Paul writes his longest and most theologically detailed letter.

Learn to study Romans as we unpack the rich meaning of this text and apply it to your life and discipleship journey today. Soar the heights of Paul’s theology to see the heights, ask challenging questions, and enjoy deep Bible study.

Access each class session right here inside this open-access portal. 

This class will help you:

• Understand the key themes and texts of Romans in a down-to-earth way
• Know the historical background of Paul’s life and the circumstances of his writing this important biblical text
• Learn theological terms like justification, glorification, law, gospel, allegiance, works, and faithfulness (and more)
• See Romans as a whole so you can better understand its parts
• Apply Paul’s message to the Romans to your life today

This was originally a part of the “Digging Deep” teaching ministry of Harpeth Teaching Ministry, a twelve-class, three-year program that trains and certifies leaders for staff, lay, and elder ministry. 

How to Get Ready

1. Spread the word about the class and invite a friend. Forward this page to them so they can learn more and take the course

2. The class text books to purchase:

1. What Saint Paul Really Said by N.T. Wright (read only through Chapter 8 for credit)

2. The Future of Justification by John Piper (read only through Chapter 10 for credit)

Please go ahead and order them, and when you read them, read Wright and then Piper (in that order)! Note: This material will be very challenging, but you can do it. Block out ample time to read early and often.

But before reading those books, your first priority is to read Romans enough to get a sense for the main point of the letter, which is point #3 here.

3. Theres an assignment before the first class session! Do the first two steps of a book study before you come to class. Block out 1.5 to 3 hours to do this ahead of the first class period.

Step 1. Prepare for Reading

Get a copy of Romans without headers or numbers that you can write on:

• a. Go to Biblegateway.com
• b. Select Romans 1 in the translation you’re used to
• c. Remove footnotes, verse numbers, and headings
• d. Paste Romans 1 into a document, chapter by chapter, and print
• e. Repeat this for each chapter of Romans until you have the whole letter in one document

Step 2. Identify Main Theme and Main Point

Get a notebook or a journal you can use throughout this project. Use it to identify the theme. It’s important to identify the primary theme because this helps you understand from a high level whats happening as we study the details.

• a. Read through the entire raw version of your chosen book in one sitting. Block out 1.5-2 hours to do this part.
• b. As you read, list potential book themes as you read. While you are reading, ask yourself and the Holy Spirit, What are some of the main emphases in this piece of literature?
• c. You may want to read the book multiple times until you can identify potential themes (another 1-1.5 hours)
• d. Identify what you think is the main theme of the book. You may need to read it again to identify from the themes you listed what is the primary theme, one that stretches the entire document.

4. Grab a friend or mentor and go through this class together.

5. Download the syllabus on the sidebar of this page.

Then jump in, starting with Class 1!

Want more? Are you interested in getting direct feedback from the instructor? Contact HIM Publications here and request feedback. If there’s enough interest, we are considering offering direct project feedback.