Intro to Romans
Romans • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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A quick intro:
We will not be doing an overly exhaustive study of Romans. We will probably be overwhelmed as is, as this is a theological powerhouse.
Today, we will introducing the book, mostly as we go through the first part of chapter 1.
But for some quick set up info as we get into this
When was it written?
Most put it around 57 AD
We know from Ch.1:13 that Paul has yet to go to Rome.
We also know that Paul, in his 3rd missionary journey, would eventually end up there in Rome, however, not in the way he intended
In Acts 23:11, after paul is arrested in Jerusalem, it says:
11 But on the night immediately following, the Lord stood at his side and said, “Take courage; for as you have solemnly witnessed to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also.”
Paul knew he would eventually be there.
The impact and importance of the book of Romans:
Romans teaches us the most important aspects of grace… No matter what you do, no matter what you have done, you can neither earn God’s favor, nor can you lose it. Paul makes the powerful statement in Romans 8:38-39
38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
This even means us, as christians,
that there is no ministry you can do to get the Lord to love you more or have more favor.
There is nothing you can do, no sin or act that you can do to lose his favor or love. It is the ultimate between His sovereignty and love. It is truly His grace!!
1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,
3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh,
4 who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,
5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake,
6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;
7 to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 1 (NASB95)
1a Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus,
Paul introduces himself
He isn’t introducing himself as a servant FOR Jesus, or a servant that HELPS Jesus. Paul is a servant OF Jesus!!
When Paul writes this, he writes it as one who belongs to Jesus. Which means, everything that Paul has, everything that Paul does, everything that Paul is a part of, belong to Jesus Christ.
Bond-Servant
This idea comes from Exodus 21:2-6
2 “If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment.
3 “If he comes alone, he shall go out alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall go out with him.
4 “If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall go out alone.
5 “But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,’
6 then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.
A bond slave is one who freely chooses to be a slave, because he realized the goodness of his master
Paul realized the goodness of his master, the Lord, and freely bound himself to the Lord
1b called as an apostle,
Paul recognizes his calling, which is different than his identity and belonging.
Paul chose to be a bond servant, but he was called as an apostle.
Apostle simply means “One who is sent”
We see Paul’s calling in Acts 13:2-3
2 While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
3 Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
Paul and Barnabas were ones who were sent, and Paul remembers that call in his life
This wasn’t something Paul asked for, its not anything he sought, its not a position he applied for, but rather, he was called to it
1c set apart for the gospel of God,
He was set apart for the gospel
Paul’s identity was in Christ, his calling was to be an apostle, and his purpose was the gospel, or, the good news.
This is Paul’s purpose in this letter to the Romans, the gospel of God.
This letter becomes a theological powerhouse centered around the gospel of God:
Paul would say throughout this letter about the gospel:
Romans 1:9 (NASB95)
9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son…
Romans 1:15 (NASB95)
15 … I am eager to preach the gospel to you …
Romans 15:16 (NASB95)
16 …ministering as a priest the gospel of God…
Romans 15:20 (NASB95)
20 … I aspired to preach the gospel …
Paul’s life was centered around the gospel of Jesus Christ. This wasn’t just an idea for Paul to preach and see people simply believe, but that their lives would be radically changed and transformed by the gospel.
This wasn’t a social club for Paul to be a part of, this was life. So much so, Paul will declare in Romans 1:16
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Paul believed in the power of the gospel, that it means so much more than simply a prayer at the alter call.
This is why this book is so powerful and revered by so many. It is precisely because of the power of the gospel that this letter to the Romans has transformed so many lives.
In fact, Martin Luther says this of the book of Romans:
I had greatly longed to understand Paul’s letter to the Romans, and nothing stood in the way but that one expression, ‘the righteousness of God’, because I took it to mean that righteousness whereby God is righteous and acts righteously in punishing the unrighteous.…
Night and day I pondered until … I grasped the truth that the righteousness of God is that righteousness whereby, through grace and sheer mercy, he justifies us by faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise.
The whole of scripture took on a new meaning, and whereas before “the righteousness of God” had filled me with hate, now it became to me inexpressibly sweet in greater love. This passage of Paul became to me a gateway into heaven.
In May of 1738, a failed minister and missionary went unwillingly to small Bible study where someone read aloud from Martin Luther’s commentary on Romans. As the failed missionary said later:
“While he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for my salvation, and an assurance was given me that he had taken my sins away, even mine.”
That very night, John Wesley was saved in London.
This is what Paul was set apart for, to see lives transformed by the wonderful, powerful work of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
So Paul continues on…
2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,
The fact is, the gospel is not contrary to the old testament nor the prophets.
In fact, the power of the gospel is only found when it is seen through the context of the entirety of scripture. If you separate the gospel from what the old testament and prophets say, you actually don’t have anything.
When people start talking about a Jesus that is outside the framework of the entirety of scripture, then all you have is a good man, a teacher, a social justice warrior, a man with lots of ideas, but no power nor authority.
Paul speaks of a gospel that displays God’s power and declares his faithfulness.
Jesus says in John 5:39
39 “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;
This is the flip side, that the scriptures don’t give eternal life… Jesus does. And these scriptures testify about Jesus. .
The law cannot bring life, it can only bring death. That is what Paul will explain 2 Corinthians 3:5-6
5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,
6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh,
Jesus is a fulfillment of this promise to David.
This is the promise found in 2 Samuel 7:12
12 “When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom.
In fact, Ethan the Ezrahite records this promise in Psalm 89:20-37
20 “I have found David My servant; With My holy oil I have anointed him,
21 With whom My hand will be established; My arm also will strengthen him.
22 “The enemy will not deceive him, Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
23 “But I shall crush his adversaries before him, And strike those who hate him.
24 “My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him, And in My name his horn will be exalted.
25 “I shall also set his hand on the sea And his right hand on the rivers.
26 “He will cry to Me, ‘You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.’
27 “I also shall make him My firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth.
28 “My lovingkindness I will keep for him forever, And My covenant shall be confirmed to him.
29 “So I will establish his descendants forever And his throne as the days of heaven.
30 “If his sons forsake My law And do not walk in My judgments,
31 If they violate My statutes And do not keep My commandments,
32 Then I will punish their transgression with the rod And their iniquity with stripes.
33 “But I will not break off My lovingkindness from him, Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness.
34 “My covenant I will not violate, Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips.
35 “Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David.
36 “His descendants shall endure forever And his throne as the sun before Me.
37 “It shall be established forever like the moon, And the witness in the sky is faithful.” Selah.
This is God’s faithfulness!!!
Paul knew that this gospel message has been proclaimed for a long time, and no matter how long ago it was, God is still faithful!!
4a who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead,
John says in his gosepl in John 20:31
31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
Jesus is the Son of God, the One who is promised.
What was the ultimate proof?
His resurrection declared powerfully that He is the Son of God.
We read in 1 Corinthians 15:42-43,
1 Corinthians 15:42–43 (NASB95)
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body;
43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;
Then Paul continues in 1 Corinthians 15:53-57
53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;
57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
4b according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,
Holy, which means to be set apart.
This holiness is what God commands of his people in Leviticus 19:2
2 “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
We are to be set apart, we are to be different.
Paul says this is according to the Spirit of Holiness, which is Jesus Christ
What makes us holy, what makes us different? It is Jesus Christ. We read in 1 Thessalonians 5:23
1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NASB95)
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely…
Then we have Peter who says in 1 Peter 1:2
2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
We will learn much about sanctification and how this happens through this letter and the other ones that come. But the important thing is that it is the work of the Spirit that sanctifies us through our faith in Jesus Christ.
5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake,
Grace!! We are going to learn a lot about grace here in Romans.
Grace is receiving something we don’t deserve.
I want you to notice what Paul is saying here. He takes his apostleship, his calling, and ties it in with grace.
We sing amazing grace and are always in awe of how God could save a wretch like me, but He not only calls you to be saved, but to be used and called by God into this glorious life.
Paul knew this grace very well. He even says in 1 Corinthians 15:9
9 For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
He was one who persecuted the churches, and he felt more disqualified to be used by God than anybody. But here in Romans, he recognizes that this apostleship was God’s grace working in his life.
What this tells us is that God uses us too, no matter how much we were against Him, no matter how much we resisted, no matter what we did. This calling we have in our lives is of God’s grace, not our own doing. This is why Paul can say in 2 Corinthians 11:5
5 For I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles.
Grace, until the bringing about of obedience of the faith among all the gentiles for His name sake.
6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;
You may have heard it said, that all roads lead to Rome.
That would also mean that all roads lead from Rome as well.
We know that to the Jews, Jerusalem was the hub to spread the gospel to the Jewish nation.
Rome would become the symbol of the gospel going to the gentiles.
This is why Paul can make this statement to those in Rome. We know that there were many Jews that were a part of the church in Rome as well as Gentiles, but their call was still the same… to spread the gospel throughout the Roman empire, to share it with the whole world.
This gospel is meant for all tribes, nations and tongues. And guess what, God has called us, his people, whether Jew or Gentile, to carry out this message. Whether it is in Rome, in Jerusalem, or any road that leads you away from those places. You are the called!!!
7a to all who are beloved of God in Rome,
This is Paul’s first time addressing those in Rome specifically and he calls them “beloved.”
We read in 1 John 4:10
10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Then we read in 1 John 4:19
19 We love, because He first loved us.
Church, before we were called to a ministry, before we were called to a work, before any of these things, we were loved. Don’t forget that, don’t lose sight of who you are… Beloved
7b called as saints:
Not everyone is called to be an apostle, not everyone is called to b an evangelist, not everyone is called to be a teacher, or a pastor, or an elder or deacon… but we were called to be saints.
The word for saint is the same root word as holy, the word “hagios”
This just simply means to be set apart
We were called to a life that is set apart from this world, set apart to live for Jesus, as Paul would explain in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
14 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;
15 and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
This is what we were called to, living for Him who died.
But keep in mind what we saw in v.5, that this calling is one that Paul views as grace. There is nothing better that us as believers and christians can do but to say no to this world and our flesh and walk in the grace, truth and love of Jesus Christ. You all are saints.
7c Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Not “Works and anxiety” or “labor and stress”, but Grace and peace.
Even as we are called as saints, it is not to be anything but grace and peace.
Our works and chores for the Lord should never be what defines us, but rather be an outpouring of His grace and peace in our lives
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.
“Thank my God”
Paul has an attitude of thankfulness for those in Rome. It is a reminder of the attitude Paul would preach throughout his letters.
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
“For you all”
Paul, instead of being anxious, chose to be thankful. Why??
“Because your faith…”
John says in his 3rd letter, in 3 John 1:4
4 I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.
It is always joyous when those we love and have poured into are walking in faith and truth. In reality, these things become evidence not of the ministry or work we have done, but that the Lord is working in them. What a wonderful thing for Paul to be able to express and know.
“Being proclaimed throughout the whole world”
Their faith isn’t of any small consequence. Being in Rome, the epicenter of the gentile world, their faith was being displayed. And by their faithfulness, they were witnesses to the whole world
9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you,
10 always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you.
Paul wanted to go to Rome, but was not allowed to by the Lord. He realized only by the will of God he would succeed. And as we know, it was God’s will for him to go there, but according to His plans, not Paul’s
11 For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established;
12 that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.
Paul wanted to impart his spiritual gift to them. Why? To build them up.
Paul explains this in greater detail in 1 Corinthians 12:4-7
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.
6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.
7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
Paul wants to see them established
This is the proper use of the gifts, to establish others, to build them up, to see the body working together for the Kingdom of God.
Paul wants to encourage them and be encouraged as well.
Our gifts, when coupled with faith, are so powerful, it is encouraging. We should strive to use our gifts in this way, to build up the body and encourage.
13 I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.
Being prevented
This can be a sermon of its own
Wanting to do something for the Lord, (in Paul’s case, obtaining fruit among them), but the Lord does not allow.
Truly Paul is able to draw from this experience when he writes Romans 8:28
28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
At times, God may have a purpose for you, but the timing is off. So things don’t work out the way you want and it becomes frustrating. But we need to realize, the Lord will cause ALL things to work for your good, even if that means preventing you for a time. A tough pill to swallow at times, but necessary.
Example: I wanted to go to MS right away, but the Lord prevented me from going. Then, when the time was right, He allowed me to go, not by my means, but according to His
14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.
15 So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”
Eager to preach the Gospel to YOU!!!
Is Paul saying “You must be saved by the Gospel according to Paul”???? No, of course not, but…
The older I get, the more I read His word, the more I realize, I’m just as much in need of the gospel now as I was before I knew the Lord. Why??
Because it is the power of God for salvation!!
For everyone who believes, not for everyone who potentially believes, not for the lost, but those who believe.
Look at v.17, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith
Jon Courson explains it like this:
Here’s where many of us are vulnerable to error. We know salvation is from faith because we begin by simply embracing the Good News of the gospel but then we go from faith to works. We think we have to mobilize, organize, and agonize over our spirituality.
“No, “ says Paul. “It’s from faith to faith.” The just shall live by faith. Faith is not only the starting point of your salvation—it’s the staying power of your Christian walk.
This is why we need the gospel, to remind us that it is not our works, but it is faith
We will discuss this more in Ch. 7, but we need to walk by faith, for in it the righteous one lives
Therefore, Paul is “Not Ashamed”.
There was a point in which Paul was afraid of running in vain. In Galatians 2:1-5
1 Then after an interval of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also.
2 It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain.
3 But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.
4 But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage.
5 But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.
But Paul was reaffirmed, that the gospel he preached was not in vain. He knew without any doubt that the gospel he preached was not one that compelled others to legalism or works, but to the true gospel in of itself, one that says “...The righteous man shall live by faith.”
And this is true today. We don’t need to be ashamed of this gospel, because it is the power of salvation to those who believe.
