Biblical Theme Map

Romans develops a small number of major themes across its sixteen chapters. Mapping where each theme appears helps keep terminology consistent across a curriculum that will be taught and translated lesson by lesson rather than as one continuous document.

Theme progression

1. Universal need (1:18-3:20) — every person, Jew and Gentile alike, stands guilty before God. Key terms: sin (পাপ), universal accountability.
2. Justification by faith (3:21-4:25) — righteousness credited through faith, grounded in Abraham. Key terms: righteousness (অচুম্বা চৎনবিরাক), justification (অচুম্বা ওইহনবা), grace (মথৌ তাদনা পীবা তেংবাং), faith (থাজবা).
3. New life in Christ (5:1-8:39) — peace with God, union with Christ, life in the Spirit, adoption, assurance. Key terms: peace (ইনগবা), sanctification (অসেংবা ওইহনবা), adoption (মচা ওইনা লৌবা), Abba (আব্বা).
4. Israel and the nations (9:1-11:36) — God’s faithfulness to his promises, the place of Israel and the Gentiles. Key terms: election (তেংবাং মপুগী খনবা), covenant (ৱারেপ্পা), unity of Jew and Gentile.
5. Transformed living (12:1-15:13) — practical outworking of the gospel in the church and society. Key terms: church (কলিসিয়া), spiritual gifts (থাওয়াইগী খুদোল), kingdom of God (তেংবাং মপুগী লৈপাক).
6. Closing and mission (15:14-16:27) — Paul’s mission to the nations and personal greetings. Key terms: mission (পাউ সন্দোকপগী থৌদাং), fellowship (লোইনবা).

Use in this curriculum

Each lesson in the Manipuri curriculum should be tagged with which theme-block it falls under, so terminology introduced in an earlier block (e.g. “justification” in block 2) is reinforced rather than re-explained from scratch when it recurs in a later block (e.g. block 3’s “assurance of salvation”). Because grace and salvation both require active defense against Vaishnava bhakti’s own well-developed devotional vocabulary, block 2’s teaching should carry extra explanatory weight before block 3’s assurance language is introduced.