Preliminary Outline of Romans Granted while the wonderful book of Romans is the most complete, systematic, and sometimes deep treatment of the one salvation {one baptism} of the Bible; Galatians is a miniature of the book of Romans, like the larger Romans of 16 chapters, Galatians of 6 chapters has a major theme of the One Baptism, or the One Salvation. I. One Baptism is the One Salvation of the Bible. 1. The exclusive nature of Ephesians 4:4-6 on all the major subjects, alias doctrines of the Bible, demands that the One Baptism is the One salvation. 2. Salvation is sometimes hard to understand, and except for our incomplete personal experience we have only the Bible under the leadership of the Holy Spirit for understanding; and if you have already re-read II Peter 3:15,16, as mentioned in an earlier footnote, as introductory to Paul writing Scriptures hard to understand, Peter writes of in 3:15a that “the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation”. Comparatively speaking, while the word “salvation” is big, deep, and full of meaning in the Bible, the word itself is infrequently mentioned. 3. With One Baptism as the main theme, that automatically makes Romans 6, which some Bibles label as “dead to sin and alive to God”, the central thought chapter of the 16 chapters of Romans, and Romans 6:4 the gist verse. “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4) II. Don’t be overly awed at the 16 chapters of Romans, for at the top level it can be broken down into a 7 point outline. 1. (Romans 1:1-8) Initial and personal greetings from Paul as in everyone of his letters. 2. (Romans 1:16-4:25) “Every mouth stopped” and convinced like all the rest of the world, Jews and Gentiles, that they are sinners that “have come short of the glory of God”. Being short of the glory of God itelf is sin, and God originally created man and woman in the glorified image of God. 3. Faith Counted for Righteousness (Romans 5:1 - 6:23) 4. What God does for us in Salvation (Romans 7) 5. What God does in Us (Romans 8). 5. The Status of the nation of Israel in the sight of God, and the new spiritual Israel of the new birth (Romans 8,9,10) 6. Natural applications to life and in life for those of the gospel of the kingdom of the one baptism (11-15:13). 7. Salutations (Romans 15:14-16:27). III. Depending on how serious you are to master the content of Romans under the guidance of the Spirit and comparing Scripture with Scripture for good hermeneutics, the science of Bible interpretation, you should first read and study the miniature of Romans in Galatians. It being only 6 chapters long will be easier. Outline of Galatians NOTE: The following outline of Galatians comes from a chapter of volume 3 of the LEARN CHRIST commentaries, “Believe and Be Baptized”. You can download free--“freely we have received, freely we give”--this chapter PDF entitled “Galatians, Gospel of One Baptism”; or you can also download free, like all of the LCC commentaries, the whole volume on the “Life and 14 Letters of the Apostle Paul”. 1. Introduction. a. Ephesians 4:4-6 with examples from the other first 10 books from Paul of the development of the ONEs like one body in I Corinthians, one spirit in II Corinthians and on through 4:4-6 and the books of Paul. b. The one salvation and one baptism of Galatians 2:20 with a comparison to Romans 6:4. ““I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) 2. Galatians in the other books of the New Testament. a. Region of Galatia in Acts 16:6 and Timothy as resident in 16:1-3. b. Second missionary journey of Paul with the sequencing of churches before and after Galatia in Acts 18:23. c. Churches of Galatia and then Corinth (I Corinthians 16:1) given orders to collect money for the saints in Jerusalem. d. Crescens for Galatia (II Timothy 4:9-21). e. Galatia among the pilgrims of the dispersion from I Peter 1:1. 3. I and II Peter as commentaries on Galatians. NOTE : A top outline of I and II Peter would go like this-- I. Respect for the Living Word of God, the Scriptures, as shown by applications in the world, government, toward supervisors, husbands, and the good life: I Peter 1-3:12. II. Sufferings, Christ and believers, in proper perspective: I Peter 3:13-4:19. III. Holy Conduct and Godliness for elders, youth, and Silvanus: I Peter 5. IV. Life and Godliness with escape from the world’s corruption, with the resources from God for which, in II Peter 1. V. Destructive Doctrines and False Teachers, the Scoffers and their Scoffings: II Peter 2. VI. A five point summary of the Message of II and I Peter: II Peter 3:1-13. VII. Paul, the OT, Scriptures, and things hard to understand that some twist to their own destruction: II Peter 3:14-18. Outline of Galatians continued and completed 4. The One Baptism of “Believe and Be Baptized” of Galatians 2:20. 5. Freedom of Choice in Galatians. 6. Applications and Implications of the One Baptism of Galatians 6. |