Book of Romans Quiz: Sin, Salvation and Justification

1. Paul introduces himself at the start of Romans with several self-descriptions. He says he was set apart for the gospel and received grace to call people to 'the obedience of faith.' To whom is the letter specifically addressed?

1. To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people
2. To all the saints scattered throughout the Roman Empire
3. To the Jewish believers in Rome who were struggling with the Gentile converts
4. To the leaders of the seven churches in Rome

2. Romans 1:16 contains Paul's thesis statement for the entire letter. What does he say about the gospel?

1. The gospel is the mystery of God hidden for ages but now disclosed to the saints
2. The gospel is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile
3. The gospel is the righteousness of God revealed from heaven against all ungodliness
4. The gospel is the wisdom of God that surpasses all human understanding

3. Romans 1:17 quotes Habakkuk 2:4 to establish the central principle of the letter. What does Paul say in this verse?

1. 'For in the gospel the justice of God is shown — condemning sin and acquitting the righteous'
2. 'God's righteousness is not earned but received — it comes from him alone'
3. 'The glory of God is revealed to those who seek him in faith and not by the works of the law'
4. 'The righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith: as it is written, The righteous shall live by faith'

4. In Romans 1:18-32, Paul describes God's wrath against Gentile sin. What does he say humans did with the knowledge of God that was available to them through creation?

1. They claimed to have no knowledge of God and therefore cannot be held accountable
2. They sought God through philosophy but ultimately failed to find him
3. They suppressed the truth by their wickedness — though they knew God, they neither glorified him nor gave thanks to him, but worshipped idols
4. They worshipped God partially but mixed true worship with false religion

5. Romans 1:24, 26 and 28 repeat a sobering phrase three times about God's response to persistent sin. What does Paul say God 'gave them over' to?

1. God gave them over to blindness so they could no longer recognise right from wrong
2. God gave them over to Satan to be tempted and tested until they repented
3. God gave them over to the consequences of their choices: sexual impurity, shameful lusts, and a depraved mind
4. God gave them over to their enemies so that they would return to him in desperation

6. In Romans 2, Paul turns to address those who judge others — likely pointing at Jewish readers who condemned Gentile sin while practising the same things. What is his core argument?

1. God alone is qualified to judge and all human judgement is presumption
2. No one can judge another because all are equally sinful
3. The Jew will be judged more strictly than the Gentile because they have received the law
4. You are inexcusable — when you judge others while doing the same things, you condemn yourself

7. Romans 2:14-15 makes a significant claim about Gentiles who don't have the law. What does Paul argue?

1. God will judge them by a completely different standard from those who had the law
2. They are entirely without moral knowledge and therefore cannot be held accountable
3. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts — their consciences also bearing witness
4. They will be judged less severely because they did not have the advantage of the written law

8. Paul argues in Romans 2 that real circumcision is not physical but something else. What does he say true circumcision is?

1. A spiritual rebirth that transforms the inner person
2. A willing obedience to the whole law from the heart
3. Circumcision of the heart — by the Spirit, not the written code
4. Faith that counts as righteousness before God

9. In Romans 3:9-18, Paul stacks up Old Testament quotes to prove that all humanity — Jew and Gentile — is under sin. Which of these famous phrases appears in this catena of Scripture?

1. 'Their throats are open graves; their tongues practise deceit; the poison of vipers is on their lips'
2. 'There is no fear of God before their eyes'
3. 'There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God'
4. All of the above appear in Romans 3:9-18

10. Romans 3:23 is one of the most quoted verses in the New Testament. What does it say?

1. 'For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God'
2. 'Sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people'
3. 'The whole world is accountable to God, for all have sinned and are under condemnation'
4. 'There is none righteous — all have turned away and together become corrupt'

11. Romans 3:25 introduces the word 'propitiation' (or 'sacrifice of atonement'). What does this mean in context?

1. God demonstrated his love by suffering alongside humanity in the person of Jesus
2. God publicly displayed Jesus as the one who absorbs his wrath — satisfying divine justice so that sinners can be forgiven
3. Jesus became a substitute sacrifice so that God would look away from sin and overlook it
4. The cross was a ransom paid to Satan to release humanity from bondage to sin

12. Paul uses Abraham as his key example of justification by faith in Romans 4. Why is Abraham's example particularly powerful?

1. Because Abraham lived before Moses and the law and therefore could only have been justified by faith
2. Because Abraham was both a Jew and an ancestor of many Gentile nations
3. Because Abraham was credited as righteous before he was circumcised — while he was still uncircumcised
4. Because Abraham's faith was the greatest ever displayed — God declared him righteous because of it

13. Romans 4:17-21 describes the quality of Abraham's faith when God promised him a son. How does Paul characterise it?

1. Abraham believed because he had already seen God do the impossible in delivering him from Ur and from Egypt
2. Abraham did not fully understand what God was promising but obeyed anyway and was rewarded for his obedience
3. Abraham trusted God even though he knew the promise was humanly impossible, facing the facts about his own body and Sarah's without wavering
4. Abraham's faith was strengthened by the visions God gave him and the covenant God made by passing through the pieces

14. Romans 5:1 announces the first great benefit of justification by faith. What does Paul say?

1. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ
2. We have been declared righteous and given access to the throne of grace at all times
3. We have been made perfect in God's sight and no accusation can be laid against us
4. We have been rescued from the coming wrath and welcomed into God's eternal family

15. Romans 5:3-4 presents a surprising chain of benefits. Paul says we also 'glory in our sufferings.' What progression does he describe?

1. Suffering produces endurance; endurance produces character; character produces hope
2. Suffering produces humility; humility produces trust; trust produces eternal life
3. Suffering produces prayer; prayer produces faith; faith produces peace
4. Suffering produces wisdom; wisdom produces patience; patience produces righteousness

16. Romans 5:8 contains one of Paul's most powerful statements about the nature of God's love. What does it say?

1. 'But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us'
2. 'God is love — and whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them'
3. 'God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish'
4. 'Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord'

17. Romans 5:12-21 introduces the Adam-Christ typology. What is Paul's central comparison?

1. As Adam brought sin into the world through disobedience, so Christ brings righteousness through obedience; as death spread through Adam, so life spreads through Christ
2. As Adam failed to resist temptation in a garden, Jesus succeeded in resisting temptation in the wilderness
3. As Adam named the animals and tended the garden, Christ will name the nations and tend the new creation
4. As Adam was created without sin, Christ was born without sin; both were given authority over creation

18. Romans 5:20 contains a statement about the relationship between sin, law and grace that Paul knew would be misread. What does he say?

1. 'The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more'
2. 'The law was given so that sin would be exposed; and where sin is exposed, grace covers it completely'
3. 'The purpose of the law was to show sin's true nature so that grace would be seen as truly necessary'
4. 'Where the law succeeded in condemning, grace succeeded in redeeming — law is the shadow, grace is the reality'

19. Romans 4:4-5 establishes a key principle about the difference between wages and gift. What does Paul say?

1. 'A gift that is earned is no longer a gift; righteousness cannot be earned and therefore it must be received by faith alone'
2. 'God does not reward effort but faith — the one who strives is still a debtor but the one who believes is credited as righteous'
3. 'Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness'
4. Those who work earn wages — but righteousness is not a wage, it is a gift from God alone

20. Paul says in Romans 3:27-28 that boasting is excluded by the law of faith. What reason does he give for this exclusion?

1. Faith produces humility, not pride, so the justified person naturally stops boasting
2. For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law
3. God alone is worthy of glory — any human boasting is sinful pride before God
4. No one has performed enough works to boast — even the most righteous fall short