Glory appears 15 times in Romans.

Romans 1:23 — the indictment against sinful men is that they have “exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images” (of lesser things).

Romans 2:7 — the believers in Christ are described as those who “by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality,” and to them God gives “eternal life.” The quest for “glory, honor, and immortality” would appear to be only fulfilled by coming to know the person of God. And the quest for those qualities must necessarily end a journey that will bring them before the face of God. There is no true honor, certainly no qualitative glory, and most certainly no immortality, apart from God.

Romans 2:10 — those who believe are described as those who will receive “glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.” The glory of God is what the Christian is seeking and it is that which they are destined to experience directly. The joy for the Gentile is that we are now included in the same hope of glory as the Jews were promised before Christ came.

Romans 3:7 — the glory of God’s justice and holiness is displayed in the judgment against national Israel for their sins and their departure from the LORD who had called them to be his own possession. Paul takes it to the personal level to show that God’s truth is confirmed even when he is condemned as a sinner. The question is “Why shouldn’t I just keep sinning, if this magnifies and extols the glory of God in his judgment against my sin? (That is addressed in Romans 6:1.) And some argued that God’s glory is magnified by his judgment of Paul’s personal sin. So, they asked, why is that a bad thing? And why should Paul be condemned when this is working for the greater glory of God (in his judgment against his sin)? These questions appear to have filtered down from spurious teachers who were bringing a great deal of confusion to the early church. Paul’s doctrine of grace was being used by some as a license to do anything they desired; some even saying that God would be glorified the more if they increased in their sin.

Romans 3:23 — sinning is defined as “falling short of the glory of God.” It would seem obvious that no human being could measure up to the perfect standard of the glory of God. But there may be here a recognition of our failure to live in subjection to the glory of God, under his authority, obedient to his commands, and morally like God is some respect. This failure to live under glory is our rebellion against God and coming short of his purposes.

Romans 4:20 — Abraham gives glory to God as he grows strong in his faith.

Romans 5:2 — so far from falling short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), Christians now rejoice in “hope of the glory of God.” What we once failed to achieve, now, through Jesus Christ and by faith in him, are now in possession of the hope of the glory of God. This would not be the glory of God as God, but the moral nature of his glory, that extols his nature and the displays his holiness. Believers don’t become glorious in the same fashion by which God is glorious in his nature and splendor. But we share in the nature and the splendor of the glory of God because we will become like him morally, and in the things that we do that bring him honor through our obedience to his Word and our love for him. We share in the divine nature morally, in our character and loves, but we do not put on his divinity, see 2 Peter 1:3-12. Faith in Christ is the means by which we obtain this experience of sharing in the glory of God and the hope of it.

Romans 6:4 — Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father. This was a display of the nature and purpose of God and his judgment of sin and his love for his elect people. It may seem strange to our ears that Christ was raised from the dead “by the glory of the Father,” but this is how Paul states it.

Romans 8:18 — Paul moves to the future glory that shall be received and experienced by those who are redeemed by the Cross of Jesus Christ. Though we have sufferings in this current moment, they are “not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us.”

Romans 8:21 — the redemption of all creation is an overflow of the glory that is given to the children of God. It is by the “freedom of the glory of the children of God” by which “creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption.” Our glory will redeem all of creation, even though it is a subsidiary glory, and not a glory that we possess in ourselves, but we receive from God.

Romans 9:4 — Israel holds “the adoptions, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises.” These all were in possession of the nation of Israel by the call of God to Israel to be his covenant people. These were fulfilled in Christ and expanded to all nations and peoples.

Romans 9:23 — the promise that God pours into his “vessels of mercy” — meaning both Jew and Gentile were to receive the mercies and grace of God by Jesus Christ. These were prepared beforehand, clearly spoken of in the Old Testament, and fulfilled by Jesus Christ and initiated to the Gentiles by the Apostle Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles.

Romans 11:36 — Paul summarizes the themes of Romans in a benediction that concludes, “to [God] be glory forever. Amen.”

Romans 15:7 — The welcome of Christ for Jewish and for Gentile believers alike, without distinction, was unfettered. Both could come into the glorious presence of God through faith in Christ. Paul applies this principle and brings it down to individual relationships, making it the central rule of respect and acceptance of others within the Church. “Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” The example of Christ in salvation, receiving both Jew and Gentile, is the principle and rule for the manner by which Christians are to welcome one another.There are to be no distinctions, or any other external difference caused by race or nationality, or other human differences. What is central is faith in Jesus Christ. That alone is what matters.

Romans 16:27 — the final prayer in Romans, “to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ. Amen.”