Romans

Everyone Bible Study Guides

by N.T. Wright, Patty Pell (Primary Contributor)

With a scholar's mind and a pastor's heart, Tom Wright walks you through Romans in this guide designed especially with everyday readers in mind. Perfect for group use or daily personal reflection, this study uses the popular inductive method combined with Wright's thoughtful insights to bring contemporary application of Scripture to life. This guide by Tom Wright can be used on its own or alongside his New Testament for Everyone commentary on Romans. It is designed to help you understand Scripture in fresh ways under the guidance of one of the world's leading New Testament scholars. Thoughtful questions, prayer suggestions, and useful background and cultural information all guide you or a group more deeply into God's Word. Discover how you can participate more fully in God's kingdom.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Religion, Christianity, Faith, Nonfiction, Reference

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

N. T. Wright is the former Bishop of Durham in the Church of England (2003-2010) and one of the world's leading Bible scholars. He is now serving as the chair of New Testament and Early Christianity at the School of Divinity at the University of St. Andrews. He has been featured on ABC News, Dateline NBC, The Colbert Report, and Fresh Air, and he has taught New Testament studies at Cambridge, McGill, and Oxford universities. Wright is the award-winning author of Surprised by Hope, Simply Christian, The Last Word, The Challenge of Jesus, The Meaning of Jesus (coauthored with Marcus Borg), as well as the much heralded series Christian Origins and the Question of God.

He also publishes under Tom Wright.

Reviews

[Maggie Boyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

This guide is meant to be used with Paul for Everyone: Romans part 1 and 2. On its own the questions will be confusing and sometimes even seem nonsensical since Wright takes leaps in his logic that the reader will be hard put to follow without the other books. The questions were often looking for simple repetition of what was taught in Paul for Everyone: Romans and didn't really inspire conversation. I also felt they left little room to explore the issues which would be relevant to Christians today. All that said, I read five or six books on Romans and this set (Paul for Everyone: Romans Part One and Two, Romans 18 Studies for Individuals and Groups) was hands down the best.

[Spencer Williams · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wright's theology is one not of sin needing propitiation and atonement, but of disunity needing reunification. Several of his "discussion questions" are just pointed attempts to reframe a passage and explain why Romans isn't so much a book about our sin and Christ's atonement for it (as one might understand by reading the first 6 or so chapters and taking them to actually mean what they say), but is instead a book about how God just wants to be together with us and wants us all to be together with each other.

This is a shallow Unitarianism, not Biblical truth, and the way Wright tries to get the reader to his same conclusion is through pretty obvious linguistic gymnastics, constantly nudging that "you might *think* the passage means this, but it actually means this other thing!"

[Kenneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This little volume is a study guide for small groups who wish to do a study of Saint Paul's Letter to the Romans in the New Testament. My small group has been reading through Romans since early last March using this book to facilitate. The book walks you through in 18 chapters with a number of discussion questions designed to bring out what Paul is saying to the early Christians in Rome (mid-First Century A.D.) and what it means for us today. For what it's designed to do, it doesn't get better than this! Here in Overland Park, Kansas, USA we were priviliged last March to have the author, N.T. Wright, in town to give a lecture on St. Paul. Absolutely riveting! Wright is the retired bishop of Durham, England (in the Church of England) and is one of the world's foremost New Testament Scholars. He is currently on the faculty of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, UK.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

N.T. "Tom" Wright has been an important guide on my spiritual journey. While this book is best suited for Bible study groups, it helped me better understand Paul's letter to the Christian community in Rome. His probing questions gave me good challenges to think over, even when I was away from the book. And he fills in some church history that is both interesting and helpful.

[Georgette Suggs · Rating 2 out of 5]

not so sure about it. I spent more time trying to figure out the discussion questions and what they were looking for than I did actually thinking about what I thought about what I had read.

[Bryan Ullrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always appreciated N.T. Wright's perspectives on the Bible and have used many of his resources in preparing for Bible classes and sermons. This book is geared toward group discussion and though insightful as always, does tend to be a bit more academic than relatable. I reworded many of the questions and included some of my own to get more personal application out of the classes. Overall, it was a great tI have always appreciated N.T. Wright's perspectives on the Bible and have utilized many of his resources while preparing for Bible classes and sermons. This book is designed for group discussion and, while it is insightful as always, it tends to be a bit more academic than relatable. To make it more applicable to personal experiences, I reworded several questions and added some of my own. Overall, it served as a great tool for preparing group discussions, and I would recommend it.ool for group discussion prep and I would recommend it.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Romans Bible study guide works well by itself or as a companion to Romans for Everyone (a layman's commentary) by Wright. I used it along with the latter and highly recommend anything by Wright. This was a great study guide for our women's Bible study group, as each week features an introduction, discussion questions, and pertinent explanatory notes (taken from the commentary). At times some group members disliked some questions, but I found it a helpful way to engage with the text and study more thoroughly. I learned a lot and feel that I have a deeper understanding of the text, along with a greater awe for God's great plan for redeeming His whole creation.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

NT Wright wrote his thesis on Romans. He pulls a lot from OT that doesn't seem to be there at all. The questions are not always in order to the passage and are written by Patty Pell. I liked the application and thought questions at the end of most lessons. The opening story didn't always seem to follow the leading questions. Felt some important things were glossed over and others grasping at content not seemingly there.
Overall a study on Romans was good. I still prefer Swindoll. Interested in doing a study by Lucado or Keller or MacArthur on Romans and comparing the questions.

[Glendon Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in a day by myself, which is pretty clearly not the point of a book like this but whatever, I wanted to see what N.T. Wright's crash course on Romans might be and this is a pretty good one! While it's obviously catered to starting group discussions, Wright does a good job at outlining the major points Paul is trying to make, and how we might begin to apply those conversations into the modern age, keeping a careful eye out for where the church has misconstrued the text and where it might become easy to miss the point.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

This study guide is based on and includes occasional excerpts from N.T. Wright's Paul for Everyone: Romans, Parts 1 and 2. It makes much more sense when used in conjunction with those companion volumes, which is the way I used it, in a class setting. I would not recommend it as a standalone book.

[Matt Daq · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was nice to do a slow read of Roman’s and now through this study I have a better grasp of the main ideas from paul.

Wright opens each of the 18 chapter with a short story that helps explain what the main themes are all about.

[Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great study

This was an incredible study. I’d highly recommend reading the larger text from NT along with the study. You won’t regret it!

[Rick Dugan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful study guide that consists primarily of questions, which makes it more suitable for small group study than personal study. But if one has the discipline to think through and meditate on the questions suggested by Wright, this will be a fruitful guide through Romans. Depending on one's theological perspective on Paul, the guide could be considered weak on substitutionary atonement. However, Wright does an excellent job of bridging the theology or Romans with practical living. He helps us understand how the gospel is to impact the way we understand ourselves as the church and how we live in the world. Believers who study Romans together using this guide will be stronger for it.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did this study on my own over a period of a few weeks, to better understand the Book of Romans. Very good study that helped me understand the significance of what Paul is saying to the Jews and the Gentiles. He also provides details and history to help discern what Paul is explaining to us. Wright explains "righteousness" and Paul's use of it, for example. I recommend and will probably read the Hebrews study in the future.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every chapter has at least one "weird" question that no one really knows what to say about and I don't get much out of the stories introducing each section, but overall, this led to some great discussions with my small group.