TL;DR: This summer I'll be preaching through selections from Paul's letter to the Romans using the Revised Common Lectionary, and I'll be sharing those sermons here on Substack as well. Before beginning, I want to suggest a different way of hearing Romans. For many Christians, Romans has been presented primarily as a warning about sin and judgment. But what if Romans is better understood as a promise? From no condemnation to adoption, from the Spirit's presence to the assurance that nothing can separate us from God's love, Romans 8 alone is filled with good news. My hope is that together we can rediscover Romans not as a threat, but as a promise.
Rethinking Romans
It’s a well-known movie trope.
Two characters stand facing one another.
One warns the other about what is coming. Maybe it’s revenge. Maybe justice. Maybe consequences long delayed.
The warning is brushed aside or mocked.
And then comes the line:
“That’s not a threat—it’s a promise.”
What makes the scene memorable is that it shifts the conversation.
We move from possibility to inevitability.
From warning to certainty.
And honestly, that’s often how Christians have approached Paul’s Epistle to the Romans.
Short of the book of Revelation, Paul’s Epistle to the Romans—or simply, Romans—has to be one of the “scariest” books of the Bible to read, or especially, to hear preached on a Sunday morning.1
Depending on the Christian context we come from—or perhaps no Christian background whatsoever!—we may carry stronger or weaker associations with this book of scripture.
In many conservative Christian contexts, Romans is often presented through what is called the “Romans Road”—a step-by-step evangelistic method using key verses from Romans to explain salvation.
The Romans Road often begins with Romans 3:23:
“All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.”
Then moves to Romans 6:23:
“The wages that sin pays are death, but God’s gift is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The fourth stop is Romans 10:9:
“Because if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and in your heart you have faith that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
And the Romans Road often concludes with Romans 5:1:
“Therefore, since we have been made righteous through his faithfulness, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
There are other variations as well.
Now, to be clear, I don’t think the Romans Road is entirely wrong.
But often, at least in my own experience, it can feel like mostly threat and very little promise.
Because of this, in more liberal or progressive Mainline contexts, Romans is sometimes avoided altogether—or at least approached cautiously—because it has become so associated with coercive or fear-based forms of evangelism that seem more concerned with securing decisions or winning arguments than sharing the love and grace of God made known in Jesus.
As a Christian, pastor, and preacher—and especially because of my experience with the Iowa Preacher’s Project—I’m increasingly convinced that the gospel is fundamentally about good news for us.
That is, after all, what the word gospel literally means.
To say it differently:
The gospel is about promise.
And Romans, I believe, is ultimately a promise—not a threat.
Take Romans chapter 8 alone.
In this one chapter we encounter at least eight promises:2
#1 No condemnation
“So now there isn’t any condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (v. 1).
#2 Nothing can separate us from the love of God
“Nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord” (v. 39).
#3 Freed from the power of death
“The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death” (v. 2).
#4 We are adopted children of God
“You didn’t receive a spirit of slavery to lead you back again into fear, but you received a Spirit that shows you are adopted as his children” (v. 15).
#5 We are led by the Spirit
“All who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons and daughters” (v. 14).
#6 Both the Spirit and Jesus are praying for us right now
“The Spirit comes to help our weakness” (v. 26). And also:
“Christ Jesus… is at God’s right side pleading for us” (v. 34).
#7 God is working all things for our good
“We know that God works all things together for good for the ones who love God” (v. 28).
#8 Nothing coming against us can ultimately win
“If God is for us, who is against us?” (v. 31).
That sounds a lot more like promise than threat.
And so, through the weeks I’ll be preaching in June and July, I’ll be spending time with the Revised Common Lectionary readings from Romans.
My hope is not simply to explain Romans, but to hear it again—not as a weapon or warning—but as good news.
A promise, not a threat.
Truth be told, I’m a little nervous trying to preach Romans!
The list was adapted from Grant Edwards, “Eight Promises from Romans 8.” https://www.grantedwardsauthor.com/eight-promises-from-romans-8/
As a pastor in my little tribe of Lutheran Christians (LCMS) I have always seen Romans as one of the most Gospel centered books, and while not as “easy” to preach than, say Galatians, is nonetheless the book of promise and forgiveness and grace and life and…..
Love this!
I don't know what it says about me that I love Romans (and Hebrews!) and Revelation. And I don't see condemnation - I see visions of love, beauty, and joy.