“A Greeting, A Calling, and A Theme”
By Pastor Rich Paradis
Romans 1:1-17
As
we begin what many refer to as “Paul’s greatest letter”, we must again remind
ourselves of the basics of this letter. It is a letter of introduction both
personally and theologically to Paul, the apostle, who is now at Corinth. The
timing is approximately 57-58 A.D., only about 30 years after the death and
resurrection of our Savior. Many throughout history have interfaced with this
letter and have been deeply moved by its contents, including Augustine, Luther,
John Bunyan, and John Wesley. Even as we consider this introduction, we will be
seeing the heart of the content of this letter and its writer. Let’s take a
look at some introductory remarks and how they will set the pace for the entire
letter.
a.
We
don’t have to even wait for one word before we are introduced to information
that is helpful to us understanding the book of Romans. That word is the letter’s
author, Paul. His life’s mindset and priorities will be laid out right away.
How does Paul describe himself?
i.
He
is a bond-servant: Not by a forced position, but by his own choice and mindset.
ii.
He
is an apostle: One sent with orders. Not
by human calling here, but by a calling from God.
iii.
He
is set apart to the gospel: This word “set apart” is interesting. It is the
same root word that we get our word “Pharisee”. While the character of the
Pharisees was questionable, the purpose was not. It was to separate themselves
to something and from something else. And to what gospel? Another or a
different gospel? (Gal.1:6-7) Not at all. The text gives us good insight into
exactly what gospel Paul is talking about. The gospel Paul is talking about is:
1.
The
gospel promised by God through the Old Testament prophets.
2.
The
gospel that considers the human lineage of Jesus. (a probably reference to the
virgin birth, through a descendant of David) This term “according to the flesh”
helps us to resist the connection to David to be nothing more than a royal
lineage, etc.
3.
The
gospel that declares Jesus as the Son of God with power by His resurrection and
declared by the Holy Spirit.
4.
The
gospel by which we receive grace and our calling to declare the message to all.
5.
The
gospel by which we are considered both “called” and “saints”.
6.
The
gospel of the Father, concerning the Son, and declared by the Spirit. (The
Triune Godhead is behind the true gospel!)
II.
Thanksgiving
and Purpose of a Future Trip Romans 1:8-12
a.
In
verse 8 we have a “thank you” from Paul to God for the Christians in the
churches of Rome. Paul is not only thankful for them, but he also makes mention
of the fact that it their faith that he is thankful for. When thinking of
churches and what you are thankful for, I wonder if it is their faithfulness
that you think of. Or is it their programming, budget, or even pastors that you
are expressing gratitude for? Paul is grateful for their faithfulness and tells
them that their faith is being proclaimed throughout the world. By whom? By him
and by others!
b.
In
verses 9-10 we have Paul mentioning the fact that as he preaches his way around
the ancient world he never ceases to make regular mention of these believers in
his prayers. What is he asking? Among other things, he is requesting that God
allow him to at some point visit with these believers. Remember that Paul had
his heart set on going to Spain, but he would sure love to get by to these
folks and have a time of fellowship with them.
c.
Why?
Verses 11-12 tell us the answer. He would like to get by there so that he might
offer some of his God gifted abilities towards them that they might even be
more established in their faith. But lest we believe that the Roman believers
are the only ones getting benefit from a visit from Paul, he notes that in
addition to him encouraging them he would be encouraged by them as well. Their
giftedness, Roman believers and Paul, would have a mutual benefit as they
shared with one another in fellowship and edification. That truth can be
celebrated today as believers share their gifts with one another.
III.
Paul
and His Calling Romans 1:13-15
a.
It
is tempting to tie verse 13 to the previous verses in that we have more
evidence to the fact that Paul had wanted to visit with the Roman churches, but
had been prevented by ministry duties. But I think the correct tie-in is with
these verses now before us in that they connect to Paul refers to as an
“obligation” in the next verse.
b.
Paul
feels an obligation to preach as verse 14 unfolds. Who is he under obligation
to? Everyone! The language used here is to illustrate the breadth of the
obligation. It’s from here to there, from top to bottom, and any other
illustration you can think of that covers everyone.
c.
Verse
15 would seem a bit strange in that he has spoken of reaching out with the
gospel to the lost world in the previous verses. Why would he desire to come and
preach the gospel to folks that are already saved? Because there is never a
time when hearing the gospel doesn’t help and in addition there is the fact
that by preaching the gospel to these saved folks he is also equipping them to
share the gospel with lost people within their sphere of influence in Rome.
IV.
The
Theme of the Letter Romans 1:16-17
a.
Now
we come to the theme verses of the book of Romans. With verses 13-15 in mind,
let’s consider these theme verses and the insights that we can gather from
them.
b.
We
begin in verse 16 with an interesting statement. Paul says that he is “not
ashamed” of the gospel. One would have a hard time with why Paul would say such
a thing if there had never been a possibility that Paul or anyone else would
have ever had reason to be ashamed of this message. To consider the statement,
one must consider the culture that this letter would be read in. The Roman
world was a world of great power and a culture that appreciated and even
admired power. So let’s again look to the text for the reasons that Paul was
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:
i.
Because
it (the gospel) is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to
the Jew first and to the Greek – Here is that connection to “power”. Again, the
Roman world was a world of power. But even with its power through sword and
violence, there were things that even they could not achieve.
1.
They
could not take care of eternity. Salvation was something that the Roman Empire
could not produce or secure from anyone else.
2.
They
could not change the order of deliverance of the message of salvation – No
matter how powerful the Roman Empire was, it could not replace the Jews as
“God’s people”. The Jews were to be first on God’s list, not because of any
merit of their own, but because God had chosen them.
ii.
Because
in it (the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed in the lives of those
that have been saved – Verse 17 reveals this truth to us. The true gospel has
an effect on the believer. The righteousness of God is on display in the lives
of all believers “from faith to faith”. What a great picture of two of the
aspects of our salvation. It is “from faith”, that is justification “to faith”
which is sanctification. These two aspects of our salvation will take us
through our life here on Earth at which point we will experience the 3rd
aspect of our salvation, glorification. So we are “saved” from the penalty of
sin in justification, we are saved from the “power” of sin in sanctification
and from the “presence” of sin in glorification.
c.
As
we close verse 17 we see a quote from Habakkuk. That phrase is the answer to
question of “why”. We often experience things that there seems to be no answer
for. And our response to those things is “why”. Why does this seeming atrocity
or even great thing occur? We can spend a lifetime trying to figure that out
without success or we can go on to the next question. That question is “in
light of that thing what should my response be?” The answer is that “the
righteous man shall live by faith”. Here is the thought from verse 17: In light
of the gospel and my salvation, which I don’t deserve, what should my response
be? Answer: A life of faith that is prompted by the righteousness of the One
who bestowed that incredible gift to me.
V.
An
Application For All Of Us
a.
The
true gospel does not have us as its originator or resource.
b.
The
true gospel will bestow wonderful benefits on its recipients. (a call, a new
designation of saint)
c.
The
true gospel will charge us to witness to a lost and dying world.
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