I have to say, I'm also doing some chapters in the gospels and in other of Paul's epistles. I'm working on a lot of stuff at once. So, I guess it will take me quite a while to finish Romans, but I think it's an excellent goal, since Romans is such an important letter.
Hey, welcome to the site. I like where you've started. If you're interested there's a group for people that want to commit to learning the whole book of Romans. I get why people want to fly to the top of the mountain at Chapter 8 but there's some good climbing in chapter's 1-7! http://learnscripture.net/groups/romans-learns/
I guess that could be helpful to remember what a particular book or chapter is about. For example I saw that were learning Zechariah (I think. One of the minor prophets anyway) and I admit I don't remember what that particular book is about. I try to learn passages a chapter at a time so when I feel like I need some time to think about a chapter of Romans I'll switch over and learn a Psalm or something else (I just did Isaiah 40).
Well if you want to make a commitment to it we are here to act as witnesses. Although, it certainly seems like you don't need that sort of accountability as motivation. Your consistency is remarkable and something I hope to be able to emulate.
I see. I wasn't expecting such a detailed response so thank you. So you use the site primarily as a tool to slow you down and read verses thoroughly so you can think on them with the secondary goal of retaining some of the verses? So you do not keep to the review schedule strictly but will review when you want to look closely at those verses again? Interesting. What's your motivation behind learning a verse from every book and chapter? Being relatively young myself (23) I look forward to a life time of studying the scriptures. Hence, I use a more methodical approach. Like you I would like to commit the whole new testament to memory. I've started with Romans as a foundation but I am still considering where I will go from there. Maybe something shorter like one of the Petrine epistles or James. Or I've been considering learning one of the gospels, probably Mark since it is the shortest but I've heard a few good sermons on John recently. As well, I hope to learn the Psalms which help give me greatly in my prayers and with worship. Of course I throw in other passages here and there, but I try to stay away from individual verses so I can keep things in a larger context.
Here's some encouragement from the preface to Martin Luther's commentary on Romans:
"This letter is truly the most important piece in the New Testament. It is purest Gospel. It is well worth a Christian's while not only to memorize it word for word but also to occupy himself with it daily, as though it were the daily bread of the soul. It is impossible to read or to meditate on this letter too much or too well. The more one deals with it, the more precious it becomes and the better it tastes." "We find in this letter, then, the richest possible teaching about what a Christian should know: the meaning of law, Gospel, sin, punishment, grace, faith, justice, Christ, God, good works, love, hope and the cross. We learn how we are to act toward everyone, toward the virtuous and sinful, toward the strong and the weak, friend and foe, and toward ourselves. Paul bases everything firmly on Scripture and proves his points with examples from his own experience and from the Prophets, so that nothing more could be desired. Therefore it seems that St. Paul, in writing this letter, wanted to compose a summary of the whole of Christian and evangelical teaching which would also be an introduction to the whole Old Testament. Without doubt, whoever takes this letter to heart possesses the light and power of the Old Testament. Therefore each and every Christian should make this letter the habitual and constant object of his study. God grant us his grace to do so. Amen."
I don't know how you remember where all the verses you learn belong! You learn so many but how do you keep track? Do you have a particular system for determining what verses you learn?
Sweet new member! Welcome ChristianGirl93. Good to have someone else for encouragement. Are you planning to start from the beginning? Have a time frame?
Maybe I can revive this group and get a few active members involved. I was inspired to memorise the Epistle to the Romans when hearing a quote from Calvin about it: "When anyone understands this Epistle, he has a passage opened to him to the understanding of the whole Scripture."