The Gospel as God's Power

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Salutation

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The first thing that we notice is the way that Paul refers to himself.

1. "A servant to Jesus Christ". To Paul this was an honor that he gloried in.
2. "Called to be an Apostle." Here he establishes his authority for the letter and its contents. Paul believed that he was as called as was the other twelve Disciples. He believed that he had come face to face with the risen Lord there on the road to Damascus.
3. "Set apart for the Gospel of God." Paul was a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. He believed that he had been "set apart" from his birth to serve God. He was one of only a few people to have served God in both dispensations.

Having thus mentioned the Gospel, he then gives an account of it.

1. It was promised, thru the Holy Scriptures, by the Prophets.
2. It was about God's Son. Paul, like Matthew, was careful to show how Jesus fulfilled all that was prophesied of the Messiah in the Old Testament.

Having thus mentioned God's Son, he then gives an account of Him.

1. He was descended from David. This was on his "human" side. He was born of the Virgin Mary who was a descendant of David.
2. He was designated the "Son of God". This was his divine nature. The proof of this was the witness of the Father in word and action plus the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

Having thus mentioned Christ, he then gives us an account of the gifts of God that are ours thru Him.

1. Grace or "unmerited favor". a. Faith to believe. b. Salvation and Hope. d. Strength for the day and to witness.
2. Apostleship. We are apostles in that we are people who represent the sender. Paul was very proud of being an Apostle for Jesus Christ.

Having thus mentioned the word Apostle, he now gives their duties.

1. They are to "bring about the obedience of faith". Paul calls this "the Christian profession". Any act of faith is being obedient to the will of God. Faith hangs around our neck like a yoke.
2. They are to do this for the sake of His name among all the nations. It is for His sake, no ours, that we are to witness, always examining the motivation and purpose of that witness.

Then Paul said that these duties were for all believers including the Romans. The Jews had been active in all the areas that Paul had established churches. Their purpose was to undermine the calling of the Gentile, so Paul made a point right at the beginning of this letter to establish his authorization from God to preach Christ to the Gentiles.

Then Paul established to whom he was writing, "To all in Rome who are called to be Saints." Saints, in their profession of Christ only. "Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." This was not only something that Paul wished for these people but it was a reassurance that it was theirs in Christ Jesus. It had the authority of a blessing. It combined the old and the new salutations. i.e. Peace, the old, Grace, the new, both were unmerited favors of God, and notice who is the Author of these favors, God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, God, Father and Creator and Jesus, Savior and Mediator.

Personal Concern

Notice, first of all, that Paul approaches God thru Jesus Christ. Prior to Christ, the Jews approached God thru the Priests, but now, with the death of Christ and the renting of the veil of the Temple, all believers have access to God, a privilege we severely neglect.

Then Paul thanked God for the Christians at Rome. Why? Because of their witness. Their faith was proclaimed through out all the world. Where Paul went he heard good things about the Christians at Rome. Rome was a city "set on a hill" everybody took notice of what happened there. Paul assured them that he always mentioned them in his prayers. We tend to pray in generalities, it is good to specific in the things that we ask for. We are most concerned for those that we pray the most for. God was a witness of Paul's constant concern for these believers.

Then he tells them that he serves God "with his spirit". What does it mean to serve God with your spirit? It means to serve inwardly with your heart, in truth and sincerity as opposed to serving outwardly like a hypocrite. Notice what he prays for. He prays that they might have strength for all the temptations and persecutions that they had to face. He also prayed that he might be allowed to go to Rome to be with them and give them "spiritual gifts" for Paul was filled with the spirit of truth and knew the will of God and could impart wisdom and theology to their witness. This would strengthen their faith and increase their courage.

Paul was also aware that it would not be a one-way street. He to would be strengthened and encouraged by their faith. There is much comfort in the mutual bond of believers. Each one strengthens the other, each one learns from the other. Paul has wanted to go to Rome for some time but he had been prevented, perhaps by the Holy Spirit. You recall that Paul also wanted to go to Asia Minor but he was prevented by the Holy Spirit and sent to Macedonia. Paul felt that he needed to go to Rome to witness of the saving Grace of Jesus Christ that perhaps some might be saved, for as he put it, he was "obligated" to go the Greek and the Barbarian, the wise and the foolish. I wonder which he thought they were?

The Righteous of God

"For", Paul says, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel". We must know something about the pride of the Jews to appreciate fully this statement. They had been God's chosen people for thousands of years. God had worked miracles thru them. Their God had destroyed nations armies, separated waters, brought down mountains and was seen in creation. No wonder they were a proud people. For Paul, who was a proud Jew, to say that he was not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, was a huge step toward humility. Why? The Gospel that he proclaimed was about a man who was born in a stable, worked as a carpenter, was raised in Nazareth, condemned by his peers and hung on a cross. On the surface, there does not seem to be a great deal to be proud of, and certainly a lot on might be ashamed of, but Paul assured all that he was not ashamed of Christ or of the Gospel that he proclaimed.

Why wasn't Paul ashamed of this Gospel? "Because it was, and is, the power of God unto salvation." It shows the need, it shows the way, it provides the power and guarantees the result. This sounds very good, but who qualifies? "Everyone who believes." The Gospel is spiritual medicine, but like all medicine, it must be taken to do any good. "To everyone who believes", but Paul qualifies this, "to the Jew first and then the Gentile". Paul always followed the example of Christ. Christ took his ministry to the Jew first and when they would not receive Him, he went to the Gentile. Luke says that the Jew and the Gentile now stand on the same level. The Messiah proved to be a "light unto the Gentiles" as well as "the glory of His people".

Notice how Paul describes what this Gospel does. It "provokes" faith which "Provides righteousness. How important is this righteousness that faith provides? In verse 17, Paul says that "only the righteous shall live". There is no "fullness of life" in this world nor "eternal life" in the world to come, without it. So we see that it is very important, so how do we get it? Righteousness is a gift of God's Grace, through faith in Jesus Christ. We become aware of this by reading or hearing the Gospel, God's power unto salvation.

This completes the first part of the Book of Romans. It establishes the theme of the book and the foundation of Paul's ministry. Justification by faith, and that a gift of God, we must understand and accept this in order to grasp the remaining truths in this book.

God's Revelation

Paul had just concluded that salvation must come either by works or by faith and sense man failed to achieve it by works, it must then be concluded that there is but one way and that is by faith. That brings up the question, why is there a need of salvation? Paul says it is because man has sinned against God and incurred God's wrath. "For the wrath of God is revealed in heaven against all unrighteousness, all ungodliness and all wickedness." How then is God's wrath revealed to us? Through His word and through His acts. In the Old Testament, the Prophets revealed His wrath against the disobedience of Israel and we, by reading Israel's history, can see the judgments that they brought upon themselves by their sinfulness.

But suppose, being a Gentile, that I never read the Old Testament nor did I have a Prophet to tell me that I had sinned and that it had incurred God's wrath, would I still be guilty? Paul says that we are all "without excuse". He assures us that what can be known about God has been revealed to everyone. His power and deity, His very being has been revealed in creation. The complexity, the beauty, the reliability, all prove that there is a Creator with divine power. So no one can say that they did not know that God existed and if He exists, surly we must be subject to His power and obedient to His wishes less we be subject to His wrath.

The Response of the Gentiles

"Even though they knew that there was a God, they did not honor Him." Not only did they not honor Him but they dishonored Him. Notice how they did this. They made images of "earthly things" and worshipped them. This sin had a wide range of practices. Paul here condemns any object that becomes a part of our worship apart from God. Sometimes it's a minister, church building, a person, a statue, apiece of jewelry or even images of Jesus or Mary. Paul says that all of our devotion and worship must be centered on the Godhead.

Not only did they dishonor Him by worshipping images but they also failed to thank Him for the obvious gifts of His Grace. Matthew Henry says that being inappreciative of God's goodness toward us is the beginning of our sinful departure from Him.

So as the result of sin, the Gentiles became victims of God's wrath and it took the form of futile thinking and senseless minds and their hearts were hardened. They appeared to have a great deal of knowledge but very little intelligence. "Claiming to be wise, they became fools." Those whose evil minds designed the gods of stone, thought of themselves as wise, but in reality, they were of all men, foolish. Thus the world, by man's wisdom, could not know God. Paul experienced this first hand at Athens. He poured out the Gospel to these "people of wisdom" and they could not understand.

"Therefore, God gave them up to the lusts of their hearts." This is the first of three times that Paul will say, "therefore God gave them up." We must note here that God did not bring judgment upon these people, He simply withdrew His Grace. A parallel is given here to a patient who refuses to do what the doctor prescribes and, as the result, he dies. Certainly the doctor cannot be blamed, the blame lies fully on the patient. Man is the author of sin, and left to his own devices, will develop unbelievable wickedness. This, the Gentiles did. This brings us to God's judgment.

God's Judgment

Therefore because they worshipped idols, God gave them up. Notice what happened to them when God gave them up. They developed dishonorable passions (homosexuality), they became "base minded", the nerve was removed from their conscience. They became unable to feel any remorse or regret for their sin.

Paul lists the sins that they committed. Envy, Murder, strife, deceit, malignity, gossip, slander, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless and ruthless. This was the condition that Paul found the Gentiles. The frightening thing about this is that all of us, by nature, has the seed within us to spond all of these sins. We can see these sins in others but have trouble seeing them in ourselves. Paul says that they, the Gentiles, like us, knew that when they did these things, they deserved to die. Notice that they not only committed these sins but they also approved of others doing them.

Now knowing all of this, do you think that the Gentiles could have been justified by any works of their own?

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