PDF Test Answer Key

Lesson 1: Introduction to the Letter

(1) Why did Paul write the letter to the Roman believers?

To introduce himself and his theology of salvation to the Roman believers so that he could visit them and start a new mission work with their support.

(2) Why did Paul plan to go to Rome?

Paul wanted to use the church in Rome as a base for launching a missionary effort into Spain.

(3) What does the term Jesus Christ our Lord mean in the New Testament epistles?

It says that he is the historical man named Jesus, he is the Jewish Messiah, and he is God.

(4) How did the resurrection prove Jesus’ deity?

A person who is not God could not raise himself from the dead; nor would God have raised a person who falsely claimed to be God.

(5) Explain the term barbarian (Romans 1:14).

Barbarian meant "foreigner," referring to a person from a more primitive culture that had been less affected by Greek culture.

(6) Why do we have a debt to those who have not heard the gospel?

God has given to us the responsibility to share it with them.

(7) What is the central and most important truth in the book of Romans?

The person made righteous by faith will live.

(8) What does death mean in the book of Romans?

The judgment of God

(9) According to Romans, who is spared from God’s judgment?

Only those who are made righteous by faith.

Lesson 2: The Gentile Error

(1) By what means do people receive General Revelation?

By looking at God’s creation

(2) What do all people know about God even without Scripture?

People know that there is a God, that they should obey him, and that they have already disobeyed him.

(3) What is Special Revelation?

The truth revealed in the inspiration of the Bible and in the incarnation of Christ

(4) What is idolatry?

To serve and worship something God created

(5) Name two ways depravity affects people’s thinking.

It hinders people when they must make moral decisions.
It causes people to defend their sinful desires and actions.

Lesson 3: The Israelite Error

(1) What does apocalyptic scripture describe?

It describes a time when God will suddenly intervene in the world, punishing evil and helping his people.

(2) Why did the Jews expect to be favored?

They thought they were favored by God because they were Abraham's children.

(3) How is a person made righteous?

A person is made righteous by grace through faith.

(4) How does a person show that he has saving faith?

A person shows that he has saving faith by living faithfully.

(5) What did circumcision signify for a Jew, and what did it symbolize for a Christian?

Circumcision was a mark of identity for a Jew, proof that he was one of the people of God. For a Christian it symbolizes the work of the Holy Spirit when he changes the heart of the sinner to be able to love and obey God.

Lesson 4: Universal Conditions

(1) Explain Calvin’s concept of “common grace.”

He believed that God gives all people grace that enables them to do good things. He did not believe that common grace could bring a person to salvation.

(2) Explain Wesley’s concept of “the grace that comes before.”

God gives people the desire and ability to respond but does not irresistibly save them. God makes human choice possible. This is the first grace that comes to every person.

(3) In Romans 3:19, what does it mean for every mouth to “be stopped”?

It means that no one has an excuse or basis for justifying himself.

(4) What great benefit of the Jews is mentioned in Romans 3?

They were the ones to receive the scripture.

(5) How do forms of worship benefit us?

They are forms given to assist our faith. When we practice them in faith, we receive grace.

(6) What does Romans 3:10-18 show?

Nobody is righteous without having received God's righteousness.

(7) Who is under the law? (Romans 3:19-20)

A person who thinks he must keep the law to be accepted by God

Lesson 5: The Means and Meaning of Justification

(1) What does a person believe who has saving faith?

He believes he can do nothing to justify himself.
He believes that the sacrifice of Christ is sufficient for his forgiveness.
He believes that God forgives him on the condition of faith alone.

(2) What is the dilemma solved by the atonement?

For God to justify the sinner and yet be a righteous judge

(3) How did the atonement solve the dilemma?

God provided a sacrifice as the basis for forgiveness. He can forgive the one who believes, but the sacrifice shows that God considered sin serious.

(4) What does justification mean?

Justification means that the sinner who repents and believes is counted righteous as if he had not sinned.

(5) How does someone uphold the law as the standard of righteousness? (Romans 3:31)

By repenting of sin and living in obedience.

(6) What was God’s promise of grace to Abraham?

That through his descendants the favor of God would be offered to all people of the earth.

(7) What did David say about justification by faith?

He described it as acceptance by God that depends on forgiveness of sins.

(8) Who are the spiritual children of Abraham?

The people who have saving faith

(9) How do we know from Romans 5:15 that salvation is offered to everyone?

This verse says that just as the sin of Adam caused everyone to become sinners, the atonement of Christ offers grace to everyone.

Lesson 6: Freedom from Sin

(1) Why is it important to understand what sin is?

To understand repentance and victory, we must understand what sin is.

(2) What is the definition of willful sin?

When a person purposely and knowingly chooses to disobey God, that is willful sin.

(3) What wrong idea is Paul responding to in Romans 6?

Because of grace, believers do not need to live in obedience to God’s laws.

(4) What does it mean to be dead to sin?

To be dead to sin is to no longer be under sin’s power or control.

(5) What does it mean to be under grace?

To be under grace means to be depending on grace for God’s acceptance.

(6) What does it mean to be under the law?

To be under the law means to be depending on obedience to the law for God’s acceptance.

(7) Why is it impossible to serve both God and sin?

It is impossible to serve both God and sin because you are a slave to the one you obey. If you obey sin, sin is your master, which means that God is not your master.

(8) What does the term old self mean?

The old self is the self-centered life of sin that a person leaves when he is converted.

Lesson 7: The Convicted Sinner

(1) Name two reasons the ceremonial and civil laws of the Old Testament are still important.

They reveal God’s nature, which does not change.
They provide principles of morality to be applied in specific ways.

(2) What does it mean to be dead to the law?

To be dead to the law means that we do not need to fulfill it as a means of justification, because we are justified by grace.

(3) What are two uses of the term in the flesh?

To be in human, mortal form
To be controlled by a fallen, sinful nature

(4) How does the law make sin worse?

When the sinner knows he is guilty, his continued sin (disobedience to God’s law) becomes conscious rebellion.

(5) Why is the law useful for evangelism?

A person sees his need of salvation when he realizes that he is condemned by God’s law.

Lesson 8: Life in the Spirit

(1) Why was it impossible for the law to be a means of salvation?

The unbeliever was not able to keep the law.

(2) What does it mean that a believer is no longer in the flesh?

He is not under its control and has power to resist temptation.

(3) How does the law direct the life of a Christian?

By showing how God wants us to live.

(4) What is the witness of the Spirit?

God’s Spirit confirms to us that we are in a loving, obedient relationship with God and witnesses to us that we are saved.

(5) What is final salvation?

The ultimate, complete restoration of creation.

(6) Denial of the doctrine of bodily resurrection leads to what two opposite extremes?

Extreme suppression of physical desires as if they are evil
Careless indulgence of physical desires as if they are harmless

(7) What is the security of the believer?

The security of the believer is the promise that God will never fail to provide him the strength to persevere in his faith and no other power can take him away from God.

Lesson 9: God’s Selection

(1) How do we know that God wants us to understand his justice?

God has explained his policies of salvation, explaining why they are just.

(2) Why is it important for us to see that God is just?

It would not be possible for us to truly worship God unless we see that he is just.

(3) What is a biblical view of God’s sovereignty?

God has chosen to allow people to make real choices with consequences.
God responds to the choices people make.
God is powerful and wise enough to accomplish his ultimate plan in spite of what any person does.

(4) What is the main point of Romans 9?

God has chosen the way of salvation, and nobody can be saved any other way.

(5) What were the spiritual privileges of Israel?

They first had God as Father.
They first saw the glory of God revealed.
They had
- The covenants as terms of his blessing.
- The law.
- The forms of worship.
- The promises of ultimate salvation.
The patriarchs were Jews.
Jesus was born as a Jew.

(6) What are five connections between Christianity and Judaism?

Christians and followers of Judaism worship the same God and have received clear revelation from God.
Judaism provided the theological and philosophical foundation of Christianity.
Christians and followers of Judaism accept the Old Testament as scripture, but followers of Judaism do not accept the New Testament.
Jesus, the founder of Christianity, was a Jew and affirmed the religion of his people.
The heart of Judaism was the Messianic hope. The first Christians were Jews who believed that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah.

(7) What does Romans 9 say about God’s choice of Jacob?

When God chose Jacob instead of Esau, he was not choosing which one he would save. He chose the one he would use to fulfill the plan of salvation.

(8) Why can we rejoice in God’s sovereignty?

We can rejoice in God’s sovereignty because he is always wise, good, loving, and just in everything he does.

Lesson 10: The Urgent Message

(1) What is the main point of Romans 10?

Righteousness must be found by faith, and the necessity of faith makes the gospel message urgently important.

(2) How did the Jews try to justify themselves?

By establishing a perfect record of personal righteousness.

(3) How do we know that people who lived before Christ came were not saved by works?

Paul states clearly that those who tried to establish their own righteousness by works were misguided and lost.

(4) What does it mean that salvation is in our hearts and mouths?

We receive it by faith (in our hearts) and confession (with our mouths).

(5) Why is the missionary’s message urgent?

Since people are saved by faith, they need to hear the message so they can believe.

(6) Explain the illustration of tree branches in Romans 11.

Israel was like branches broken off from God’s tree, and Gentiles were branches added in. The Jews were broken off because of their unbelief. Anyone who has been brought in will also be broken off if he does not continue in faith. Those already broken off can be restored.

(7) List three kinds of promises in the Old Testament.

Promises of salvation
Promises of God’s care for his people
Promises to Israel as a nation

Lesson 11: Ministry and Relationships

(1) Explain the illustration of a living sacrifice.

Like a sacrifice that is to be killed, we are given up totally; but instead of dying, we live for God. The commitment must be maintained. The illustration of a living sacrifice emphasizes the totality of our offering.

(2) What must happen to us so we can be totally devoted to God?

We must be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

(3) Why should we be humble?

Everything we have has been given to us by God.

(4) Explain the terms weaker brother and stronger brother.

The weak brother is one who feels guilty for an action that is not really forbidden by God. A strong brother is one who can do an action without guilt because he knows the action is not really disobedience to God.

(5) Who were the Judaizers?

The Judaizers were Jews who claimed to be Christians but thought that Christians must fulfill the requirements of Judaism.

Lesson 12: A Vision for Missions

(1) Explain how three great cultures prepared the world for the spread of the gospel in the first century.

The student should list some details found in this lesson about the Greek, Roman, and Jewish cultures.

(2) How did the apostle show that God always planned for the gospel to go to the Gentiles?

The prophets had predicted that

Gentiles would become worshippers of God.
The Messiah will rule over the Gentiles.
Gentiles will trust in the Messiah.

(3) Why was the offering for the church in Jerusalem so important?

By sending the offering, the Gentiles were acknowledging their debt to the Jews, because Jewish Christians brought them the gospel. By receiving the offering, the Jews acknowledged that the Gentiles were in the same church.

(4) How did Paul arrive in Rome?

Paul arrived in Rome as a prisoner after he was arrested in Jerusalem by Jewish rulers, taken by the Roman governor, and sent to Rome for trial.