Continue through Romans chapters 9-16 with insights from early Christian interpreters. Study Paul's teaching on Israel, practical Christian living, and the outworking of the gospel in everyday life.
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This free course continues David Bercot’s commentary on Romans by walking through chapters 9–16 with special attention to how Romans was understood before Augustine and Luther. The lessons follow Paul’s argument about God’s mercy to Jews and Gentiles, the place of Israel, the inclusion of the Gentiles, and the difference between righteousness sought through the Mosaic Law and righteousness through faith in Christ. The course also traces Paul’s shift from argument to exhortation:
living as a sacrifice, using gifts humbly in one body, loving without hypocrisy, refusing retaliation, submitting to governing authorities, and respecting the consciences of fellow believers. Later lessons cover unity between Jewish and Gentile Christians, Paul’s ministry and travel plans, his greetings to believers in Rome, and his closing warning against divisive teachers.
Throughout the course, Bercot interacts with early Christian writers such as Origen, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Ambrosiaster, Chrysostom, and others where the transcripts present their comments.
This lesson introduces Romans 9 as part of Paul’s larger argument about God’s mercy to Jews and Gentiles. It also discusses Paul’s grief for Israel, the meaning of anathema, and early Christian testimony to Christ’s divinity in Romans 9:5.
This lesson explains Paul’s statement that not all who are of Israel are truly Israel. It contrasts fleshly descent from Abraham with the children of promise who follow Christ by faith.
This lesson begins the discussion of Jacob and Esau as an argument about two peoples rather than isolated individual destinies. It presents Paul’s point that God could include Gentiles in His people before their spiritual birth, just as Jacob was chosen before birth.
This lesson continues the Jacob and Esau discussion by emphasizing fleshly Israel and spiritual Israel. It connects Paul’s argument in Romans with Old Testament prophecies about Gentiles coming to the God of Jacob and with Paul’s parallel use of Sarah and Hagar in Galatians.
This lesson explains Paul’s answer to the charge that God is unjust for showing mercy to the Gentiles. It applies the passage mainly to Jews and Gentiles while also discussing individual salvation, human response, obedience, and God’s greater role in salvation.
This lesson discusses Pharaoh’s hardening and argues that God’s patience and actions can soften some people while hardening others who despise His kindness. It also applies the pattern to unbelieving Jews who hardened their own hearts while other Jews came to faith.
This lesson treats the potter and clay passage as part of Paul’s dialogue with a Jewish opponent about God’s fairness. It reads the image alongside Jeremiah 18, emphasizing repentance, long-suffering, and human responsibility rather than arbitrary destruction.
This lesson brings Romans 9 to its conclusion by showing Paul’s focus on the calling of Jews and Gentiles, the remnant of Israel, and the stumbling of those who pursued righteousness through the law without faith in Christ. It also discusses Hosea, Isaiah, and the stone of stumbling.
This lesson opens Romans 10 by explaining Paul’s sorrow over Israel’s attempt to establish righteousness through the Mosaic Law after Christ had fulfilled it. It presents Christ as the end of the law both as its conclusion and as its intended goal.
This lesson contrasts the righteousness of the law with the righteousness of faith and explains Paul’s use of Moses, Joel, and Isaiah. It emphasizes that Jew and Gentile alike are saved through faith in Christ and that believing the gospel is inseparable from obeying it.
This lesson explains faith coming through hearing the Word of God and compares the responses of Jews and Gentiles. It also discusses Paul’s use of Moses and Isaiah, including the image of God stretching out His hands to a disobedient people and its Messianic application.
This lesson begins Romans 11 by showing that God has not cast off His people, because a believing Jewish remnant remains. It uses Paul himself and the 7,000 in Elijah’s day to explain a remnant chosen by grace rather than by the works of the Mosaic Law.
This lesson discusses the blinding of unbelieving Israel, the obtaining of righteousness by the chosen remnant, and the extension of reconciliation to the Gentiles. It also considers Paul’s hope that his ministry to the Gentiles might provoke some Jews to salvation.
This lesson explains Paul’s olive tree image, with Gentiles grafted into the root connected with Abraham and Jews able to be grafted back in through faith. It warns Gentile believers against boasting and stresses one people of God rather than separate trees or flocks.
This lesson marks Paul’s turn to the transformed life after his main argument about Jews, Gentiles, law, grace, and faith. It explains living sacrifices, nonconformity to the world, renewal of the mind, and cooperation with divine grace.
This lesson covers humility, sober thinking, and diverse gifts in the one body of Christ. It discusses prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, leadership, and mercy as gifts to be used faithfully rather than arrogantly.
This lesson presents Paul’s description of sincere love, abhorring evil, brotherly affection, zeal, patience, prayer, hospitality, humility, and unity. It emphasizes that these are commands for the transformed Christian life, not mere ideals.
This lesson explains Paul’s command not to repay evil for evil in light of Jesus’ teaching on nonretaliation and love for enemies. It treats vengeance as belonging to God and describes overcoming evil with good as a command of the New Covenant.
This lesson begins Romans 13 by explaining submission to governing authorities as part of faithful Christian living. It discusses why God instituted governments, the problem of anarchy, and how Christians are to respond even when rulers are evil.
This lesson continues the discussion of Romans 13 with questions about public office, taxes, honor, war taxes, and commands that conflict with God’s commands. It presents early Christian reasoning that Christians obey Caesar in what does not offend God but must obey Christ above all.
This lesson explains Paul’s command to owe nothing except the continuing debt of love. It connects love of neighbor with the moral content of the law and with Jesus’ teaching that love fulfills the law and extends even to enemies.
This lesson calls Christians to wake from spiritual lethargy because salvation is nearer than when they first believed. It contrasts the works of darkness with putting on the Lord Jesus Christ and concludes Paul’s great argument through Romans 13.
This lesson introduces Romans 14 by addressing Jewish and Gentile believers with different convictions about food. Paul permits continued dietary scruples under certain conditions while commanding believers not to despise or judge one another.
This lesson grounds Paul’s warning against judging a brother in the coming judgment seat of Christ. It distinguishes correction from condemnation and warns against placing a stumbling block before another believer.
This lesson explains Paul’s statement that nothing is unclean in itself within the context of foods, not moral evil. It urges believers to pursue peace, edification, and care for weak consciences while also noting that Romans 14 should not be used to impose scruples on others.
This lesson begins Romans 15 by calling the strong to bear the weaknesses of the weak and seek their neighbor’s edification. It uses Christ’s example, the value of the Old Testament Scriptures, and the need for unity to urge believers to receive one another.
This lesson returns to prophecies about Gentile salvation and the unity of Jewish and Gentile believers. It explains Christ as a minister to the circumcision and traces Paul’s use of Old Testament passages showing Gentiles glorifying, rejoicing, praising, and trusting in God.
This lesson explains Paul’s frankness as part of his God-given ministry to the Gentiles. It presents Paul as offering the Gentiles to God through the gospel, rejoicing only in what Christ worked through him, and preaching where Christ had not been named.
This lesson covers Paul’s desire to visit Rome on his way to Spain and his prior obligation to deliver alms to the needy saints in Jerusalem. It emphasizes his missionary calling, concern for the poor, and prayer for peace amid opposition and internal tensions.
This lesson begins Paul’s greetings and highlights his commendation of Phoebe along with his gratitude for Priscilla and Aquila. It shows Paul’s appreciation for women who served and for coworkers who offered hospitality, assistance, and risked themselves for his sake.
This lesson continues Paul’s greetings, discussing the order of Priscilla and Aquila’s names, the church in their house, Andronicus and Junius or Junia, and the holy kiss. It presents the holy kiss as a practice that expressed unity across social distinctions in the church.
This lesson explains Paul’s warning to mark and avoid those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to apostolic teaching. It connects divisiveness with serious sin, warns against flattering deceivers, and ends with hope that God will bruise Satan under believers’ feet.
This final lesson covers greetings from Paul’s fellow workers, including Timothy, Tertius, Gaius, and others, and discusses the closing doxology. It emphasizes the obedience of faith, the revealed mystery of the gospel, and glory to the only wise God through Jesus Christ.
How Romans was understood before Augustine and Luther
This is the second half of David Bercot's verse-by-verse audio commentary on the Book of Romans, covering chapters 9 through 16. The complete printed volume (Historic Faith Commentary Series on Romans, Scroll Publishing, 2024, 448 pp. hardcover, ISBN 9780924722356) covers all 16 chapters.
Romans 9–16 contains some of the most contested passages in the New Testament — chapters that have been used to support divergent doctrines of predestination, election, government, the church and Israel, the role of the Mosaic Law in the Christian life, and Christian conduct toward enemies and authorities. Bercot walks verse by verse through this material, listening to how Christians of the first four centuries — many of whom knew the apostles personally or lived in Paul's own culture — actually heard these passages.
You will hear the same explanations they would have heard. As you will see, those early Christians understood Romans quite differently than do most Christians today, because they lived prior to the two major reinterpretations of Romans: that of Augustine and that of Luther. After hearing the early Christian understanding, you can decide whether the entire church got Romans wrong from the beginning — or if Christians today are misreading this important book.
Listening to this course alongside Romans Commentary, Chapters 1–8 gives you the complete commentary in audio form.
What readers and reviewers have said about Romans Commentary, Chapters 9–16. These are short, attributed quotes from public reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, the publisher's site, and independent book reviewers.
Enables the reader to share the same experience that a Christian living in the first four centuries would have experienced when hearing Romans explained on a given Sunday.
— Editorial description, Scroll Publishing
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