Author's Note: All previous volumes of this series are available here. The first 56 volumes are compiled in the book "Bible Study For Those Who Don't Read The Bible." "Part Two," featuring volumes 57-113, was published in December 2022.

Thanks for joining our study. If you are a fan of St. Paul, raise your hand. I am an adoring fan of his interpretive insights and his smooth-as-silk poetic prose. After last week’s Vol. 331: What St. Paul Says About Death, I was inspired to review the book of Romans for its “best” and most meaningful verses.

The book of Romans, Paul’s longest letter, also called an epistle, was addressed to the church in Rome, which he planned to visit. Scholars agree that Paul wrote this significant letter in Corinth during his third missionary journey around AD 57. Corinth is in Greece but, at the time, was governed as a Roman colony. (Note: I used “AD” 57, not “CE,” in line with my Vol. 297 rant on biblical dating.)

Loyal readers may recall that in January I wrote Vol. 303: The Best of St. Paul. Today’s Best of Romans offers more space to discuss the most powerful and influential verses in this literary and theological masterpiece. Paul’s epistle has shaped Christ-centered faith for generations past and will no doubt continue to do so for those to come.

Given that Romans has so many “bests,” if yours did not make the cut, note that this is a “quick Bible study.” The selected verses appear in the order they appear, starting with:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile” (Romans 1:16).

This powerful verse near the beginning of Paul’s epistle is widely regarded as the theme of Romans. One could consider “not ashamed” the operative phrase, since those who believed in the teachings of a crucified Messiah were often ridiculed and persecuted. However, Paul’s letter theologically explains why those who ridiculed and persecuted Christ’s........

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