Romans CH 1

So who is Paul the Apostle ?

Some of Us may know him as Saul from Tarsus ( He was born on the southern coast of modern day Turkey

Some say He was born in the same Decade as Jesus and possibly died Between AD 62-64

He was known for His interpretation of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection

He was taught By Gamaliel who was known for being one of the best teachers of that time

And Paul was a Traveling Missionary for the early Church “ the early church being the church right after the death of Jesus

It is believed that he was Martyred Meaning he died for His belief and Teachings of the Gospel

So What is An Apostle ? ( it means one that is sent ) he was a messenger for the Gospel

Paul we will see in the first verse is a Bond servant, an apostle , and that He was separated to the Gospel of God

So lets start reading in Vs 1

Keep in Mind that Paul here is addressing the Roman Church , Which was a mix between Jews and Greeks

This Book is broken up

(1)The first 17 verses are the introduction

(2)Vs 18 of chapter 1 all the way to ch 3:20 is The Righteousness of God

(3) The gift of Righteousness CH 3:21-ch 5:21

(4) The Nature of Righteousness CH 6:1-8:39

(5) Righteousness In Gods treatment of Israel (9:1-11:36

(6) Righteousness in relationships 12:1-15:13

(7) Conclusion CH (15:14-16:27)

Romans 1:1 “1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God”

1st is says that he is a Bondservant of Jesus Christ ,

In other words he is a slave to Jesus , bound to Him, with no wage involved

He didn’t get paid to promote Jesus

Second it says called to be an apostle , again He’s a messenger for Jesus , an apostle on the other hand doesn’t need to be a preacher or a teacher, it can be ordinary people working ordinary Jobs

It’s what we do with what we know that makes us an apostle

and Third it says “Separated to the Gospel of God “

Acts 13:2 “2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.””

he is called to share the Gospel

Paul lays the foundation for declaring that he is obligated to preach to all people ( wether Jews or Gentiles ), we will see this later in this chapter and in others

vs 2

Romans 1:2 “2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,”

In this verse Paul is referring to the gospel as being something that Has always existed since the Old testament

Romans 1:3 “3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,”

The Gospel is nothing new

Paul On his road to Damascus in Acts 9:6 “6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.””

He did what the Lord asked Him to do , he was obedient , committed , and successful

he left everything He knew to pursue Jesus

It was obvious that Paul had more than just an emotional encounter with the Lord

He had an encounter with the Risen Lord that allowed Him to stay committed to His calling

Jesus was dwelling in Pauls Heart

He had a Spiritual Birth and was adopted into Gods Family

Romans 1:4 “4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”

Here in vs 4 we see that Paul is saying Jesus is one of us but still greater than anyone of us

He took on flesh , became a man , and yet still remains the Son of God

He rose from the Dead through the Power of God , and was exalted over death

Romans 1:5 “5 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name,”

Faith that Is obedience , Paul wanted to bring all Gentiles to obey Jesus and His father

we are to go out In faith which leads to Obedience,

faith and obedience are combined , they go Hand in Hand ,

Romans 1:6 “6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;”

Paul is talking about those of them that are believers

God stirred up the hearts and the people responded in faith

God is the one who Saves us

We as christians are called by Jesus

Romans 1:7 “7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

All christians are saints By God , it doesn’t actually mean we are going to be saints

We are saints Because of God ( all christians )

They / We as christians have been set apart through the forgiveness of sin and are sanctified by Faith in Jesus

The way Paul uses the word “Grace” and “peace” together signifies that he is addressing both the Jews and the greeks

On the other hand Paul put it together because without grace , you can never experience Peace

So these first 7 verses Paul is telling the Roman church who he is , he’s saying he’s not just some random dude writing them a letter . He’s telling them He’s a messenger burdened to tell the good news of the Lord Jesus christ . Jesus is the one who has called Him into duty, The son of God from the seed of David , the one who conquered death on the cross. He’s the one who has called Paul to be who he is . He’s addressing two groups of people, the jew and the greek. Te message of Jesus Christ is for all to experience.

Romans 1:8 “8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.”

So here Paul starts to get into His letter after His greeting

What is the first thing He does ? He prays

He Gives God all the Glory for the people that are being used in the Roman Church

He says thank you and recognizes that their faith Has been recognized throughout the world. The Roman church was known for their faith

He compliments them here in this verse

Romans 1:9 “9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers,”

Romans 1:10 “10 making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you.”

Paul is always Praying for the Roman christians in Spirit

He wanted to go to the roman church but only if it be the will of God

Here we also see that Paul was showing His love for these people, His friends the romans by praying for them

James 4:15 “15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”

Again like we see here The importance of Gods will to Paul . he was sensitive to the fact that He didn’t want to do anything if it wasn’t in the will of God

Romans 1:11–12 “11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established— 12 that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.”

Paul wanted to be useful if he were to go visit, he wanted to Help in the areas that he was Gifted

Like wise He wanted to Learn what he could from those who were also gifted in other areas

Paul saw the benefit of going to the Roman church on both sides

Paul Had planned to visit as you see here in the Next verse

Romans 1:13 “13 Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles.”

Paul had plans again but they didn’t come to fruition

His plans were not Gods plans and he recognized that

He recognized that Gods will was more important than what he wanted

Although It didn’t workout for Paul to go, it worked out , He was able to use His gifts but in different regions

He ended up writing all of Romans , and also went to prison where He was able to spend time preaching the Gospel

Romans 1:14 “14 I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise.”

Paul recognized again that he was obligated to preach to all walks of Life , even the barbarians which were from Spain and Asia minor

he was in debt to tell the Good news of Jesus

because we all belong to Jesus and the kingdom of God , we owe it to Him to serve Him

we are in debt to all men and to serve all men that do not know who Jesus is

Romans 1:15 “15 So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.”

Again Paul understands is purpose is for God and nothing less

HE says “I am ready” to preach the Gospel to you who are in Rome

He had a burden for these people and He wanted to Help in any way He could but at the same time recognized that God was in control .

Romans 1:16 “16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”

Paul was unashamed to preach the word

this is something id like to focus on

Why is it that on the surface we can be ashamed of the gospel ?

Because in all reality it is strange , maybe not to us believers but definitely to those who are not Believers

Think about it , you run around telling people that they are sinners and that some Guy named Jesus was Hung on a cross for their Sin

and that if you confess you are a sinner and believe in Him with your Heart you will be saved , You will go to heaven and you have eternal Life

To strangers that weird

The cause of salvation is through the Grace of God , the will of God and the power of God

Another important thing I would Like to point out here is that this verse is talking about race , not religion

so many times have i heard people compare this verse to all roads lead to heaven

that is not what this is talking about.,

Romans 1:17 “17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.””

the righteousness of God is the core of Pauls message

God always does what is right

It is part of Gods nature to be Just , He is the Judge

Gods righteousness is a gift from Him to us , we are justified in his sight through faith and through His death on the cross

we will See Just how Just God is later in this Letter

Id Like to touch on a couple things that stood out to me in this Passage

we saw that at the beginning of this that Paul gave credit where credit is due for who he is

He Prayed in the opening of His Letter to the Roman church

He made known to the Romans that He wanted to visit but ultimately God was in control of His Life

He knew that He had a gift that could be used to Help in the Roman church

He recognized that though he couldn’t come and be there in person physically that God could still use Him where ever he was

And finally He knew that he wasn’t ashamed of the gospel

He recognized that God called him to be a servant to More , the greeks, the jews, the barbarians , to the wise and to the unwise

How do we react when our desires do not fully play out the way we want? do we complain ? Do we step up and make the most out of what God Has for us ?

How can we be more like Paul in the sense that he went with the flow ?

Are we Obedient to what God has for us in our life ?

And Lastly, How can we Have faith Like Paul did? Faith to not be ashamed of the Gospel ?