Is Romans the first of Paul's letters in the New Testament, and is it doctrinally elementary?
Yes. Romans is the first of Paul's letters in the New Testament, and it is doctrinally elementary. Paul's writings are progressive: the first letter is elementary, and later letters move into deeper concepts, including the prison epistles. This order reflects growth from elementary doctrine to deeper things.
Les teaches that Paul's writings are a progressive series, and he identifies Romans as the first of Paul's letters in the New Testament and doctrinally elementary. He says, "So Romans is elementary, of course it is." In the believer's growth, there comes a point where one leaves the elementaries and moves on into the deeper things. Later study moves into the deep concepts of the prison epistles. The context also connects Romans chapter 3 with the remedy for man's sin problem, following Genesis 3.