“The Church Constitution Bible Study Series: The Epistle of Romans: “The People, the Preaching and the Power of the Gospel””

Introduction

Paul wrote his letter to the church at Rome while he was in Corinth (or perhaps the nearby seaport of Cenchrea) toward the end of his third missionary journey. We know from the opening paragraphs of his letter that he was very desirous of going to Rome and spending some time with the Christians there. He wrote that he longed to see them so that they might be “mutually encouraged by each other’s faith” (1:12). He also was “eager to preach” the gospel to those who lived in the capital city (1:15). But Paul had another agenda in mind as well. Toward the close of the letter, he wrote about his plan to visit them on his way to Spain (15:28). In addition to enjoying their company, he hoped they would assist him on his journey. As he looked forward to evangelizing Spain, he trusted that Rome would be for him in the west what Antioch had been in the east.

From previous experience Paul knew that his enemies were skilled in twisting his message. Galatians is proof of that. So important were his plans for taking the gospel to the far reaches of the western empire that he could not afford to have his message jeopardized in the very place that he intended to use as a base of operations. So he wrote a rather full and complete presentation of the message he had been preaching. The result is the Book of Romans—a magnificent presentation of the gospel, the good news that God has provided a righteousness based not on what we can do for ourselves but on what God has already done for us in sending his Son as a sacrifice for sin. Paul’s purpose was to set forth in a systematic fashion the doctrine of justification by faith and its implications for Christian living. The gospel had to be kept free from legalism; equally important was that it did not fall into the opposite error of antinomianism.

It is not our intention in this section to treat every topic touched on by the apostle. Nor is it our plan to provide the reader with a condensed biblical theology of Romans. The topics to be discussed have been selected based on the emphasis Paul gave to each as he wrote to the church in Rome. The sequence has been determined by the order in which the apostle himself treated each subject as he wrote about how people are set right with God and what that implies about a whole series of issues related to faith and conduct. Each of the topics plays an important role in Paul’s overall understanding of God’s redemptive self-revelation. Each is discussed primarily in terms of the context in which it is first found.13 For textual matters related to the various themes and an understanding of their historical contexts, the reader will want to consult the commentary itself at the appropriate places.[1]

Message and Purpose

Romans is the constitution of the church. Its major message is the righteousness of God. Paul wanted the Romans to understand this great truth both theologically and practically—what it means and how it is to be lived out. He began by teaching that all human beings have failed to meet God’s standards of righteousness. They have been turned over to the passive wrath of God—yet, instead of destroying them instantly, God made provision for redemption. The apostle continues by teaching that God, recognizing we had a problem we could not fix, freely provided a way we could be made righteous. Faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross and his resurrection results in his righteousness being applied to our accounts in payment for our sins. But this great transaction was only the beginning, because now we can have a relationship with Jesus Christ because we have a new identity. That doesn’t mean we sin no longer. Even though Christians are saved, we still struggle with our flesh, as Paul related very honestly about himself. Romans also tells us what God is going to do about his people Israel. Though they rejected him, God still has a plan for them. The book ends with a celebration of the faith we have in Christ and the power it gives us for victorious living as his kingdom representatives, individually and in community.

Bible Lesson

The gospel is the good news of salvation. It is first mentioned in Matthew 4:23: “Jesus went about—preaching the gospel.” It is last mentioned in Revelation 14:6. Power in the gospel to save, keep, heal, and satisfy is ours for simply believing.

A. The People and the Gospel—vv. 1–7

1. The Servant—v. 1. Paul was called to be an apostle for the preaching of the gospel—Acts 9:1–6.

2. The Scriptures—v. 2. God promised the gospel through the prophets—Luke 24:44; Heb. 1:1.

3. The Son—vv. 3–6

a) Incarnation—v. 3 The Word became flesh—John 1:14; Phil. 2:5–8. — Jesus was the fulfillment of the entire Old Testament: Law (history), Poetry, and Prophetic. Matthew 5:17

“There Will be the Season where what you said will be what you said”

b) Infallible—v. 4. The perfect Son of God—Col. 2:9. In Him dwells the power of God.

4. The saints—v. 7. To all the saints at Rome, grace and peace. Note: “called to be saints.” See 1 Peter 5:10, the call of God.

B. The Preaching of the Gospel—vv. 8–15

1. Pleasure—v. 8. Paul was pleased with the renowned faith of the Roman Christians. This dedication spreads to others—Rom. 16:19.

2. Prayer—vv. 9–10. Paul prayed for their needs and for an opportunity to visit them. Note Jesus’ prayer for the church—John 17:20.

3. Plea—vv. 11–12. He wanted to impart spiritual blessings, to establish and encourage them in the Lord. Cf. Matt. 5:48. He wants them to be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. Ideally, we encourage the one who ministers to us while he ministers to and encourages us. The Christian life is one of giving in every direction, always seeking to encourage and enrich others.

“Encouragement is a joint effort: you be encouraged and encourage someone”

4. Preaching—v. 15. Paul was ready to preach the gospel. Cf. Jer. 20:9. We are obligated to share the preach the gospel. We do not have a choice. The cost of not sharing the gospel is too high. If you see your neighbor’s house on fire, do you shrug and say, “Glad that’s not my home”? You feel an obligation to act, because something valuable is at stake, and doing nothing is too costly.

“Encouragement is a joint effort: you be encouraged and encourage someone”

What is this Gospel We Preach?

300 Sermon Illustrations from Charles Spurgeon The Gospel Must Be Our Compass (Psalm 119:92; Proverbs 4:13)

In the southern seas an American vessel was attacked by a wounded whale. The huge monster ran out for the length of a mile from the ship, turned around, and with the whole force of its acquired speed struck the ship and made it leak at every timber, so as to begin to go down. The sailors got out all their boats, filled them as quickly as they could with the necessaries of life, and began to pull away from the ship. Just then two strong men might be seen leaping into the water. They swam to the vessel, leaped on board, disappeared for a moment, and then came up, bringing something in their hands. Just as they sprang into the sea, down went the vessel, and they were carried around in the vortex, but they were observed to be both of them swimming, not as if struggling to get away, but as if looking for something, which at last they both seized and carried to the boats.

What was this treasure? What article could be so valued as to lead them to risk their lives? It was the ship’s compass, which had been left behind—without which they could not have found their way out of those lonely southern seas into the high road of commerce.

That compass was life to them, and the gospel of the living God is the same to us. You and I must venture all for the gospel; this infallible word of God must be guarded to the death. Men may tell us what they please, and say what they will, but we will risk everything sooner than give up those eternal principles by which we have been saved. The Lord give all of us his abundant grace that we may take fast hold of divine instruction.

1. Gospel of Good News—v. 15. Paul was ready to preach the gospel. Cf. Jer. 20:9. We are obligated to share the preach the gospel. We do not have a choice. The cost of not sharing the gospel is too high. If you see your neighbor’s house on fire, do you shrug and say, “Glad that’s not my home”? You feel an obligation to act, because something valuable is at stake, and doing nothing is too costly.

euangelizo: to communicate good news concerning something (in the NT a particular reference to the gospel message about Jesus)—‘to tell the good news, to announce the gospel.’ ἀρξάμενος ἀπὸ τῆς γραφῆς ταύτης εὐηγγελίσατο αὐτῷ τὸν Ἰησοῦν ‘starting from this very passage of Scripture, he told him the good news about Jesus’ Ac 8:35; ἀπεστάλην λαλῆσαι πρὸς σὲ καὶ εὐαγγελίσασθαι σοι ταῦτα ‘I have been sent to speak to you and tell you this good news’ Lk 1:19. In Lk 1:19, however, the reference is to the birth of John the Baptist.

Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 357). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, pp. 411–412). New York: United Bible Societies.

2. Gospel of power—v. 16. It is the basis for salvation and transformation—Heb. 4:12; for all who believe—Rom. 10:13; first for the Jew, then for the Gentile (Whosoever!).

epaisynchnomai: to experience a painful feeling or sense of loss of status because of some particular event or activity, be ashamed.

dynamis: the potentiality to exert force in performing some function—‘power.’ ἀλλὰ λήμψεσθε δύναμιν ἐπελθόντος τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος ἐφ̓ υ’μᾶς ‘but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you’ Ac 1:8.

soteria: to rescue from danger and to restore to a former state of safety and well being—‘to deliver, to rescue, to make safe, deliverance. (deliverance, preservation, wholeness, restoration, healing).

Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 240). New York: United Bible Societies.

Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 679). New York: United Bible Societies.

Paul knows how to keep first things first in v. 16. That should convict us. Though we say we believe the gospel, in truth many of us are ashamed of it? Why? Because we really don’t believe what Paul believed, that the gospel is the power of God for salvation. This salvation is not merely for deliverance from hell but also for the deliverance of believers from the temporal wrath of God against sin. If we’re ashamed to share the gospel, its because we do not understand the power embedded in it. But how can you be ashamed of something with so much firepower? If your believe that the gospel has power not only to save sinners but also to give victory to saints, you won’t be ashamed of it.

“You can limit the power of the gospel when you spend more time on the act of sin rather than his forgiveness of sin.”

3. Gospel of pardon—v. 17. (See also Hab. 2:4.) “The man who finds life will find it through trusting God”—LB. We are saved by faith—Eph. 2:8–9.

diakaiosyne: to cause someone to be in a proper or right relation with someone else—‘to put right with, to cause to be in a right relationship with.’ Some scholars, however, interpret δικαιόω, δικαίωσις, and δικαιοσύνη in the following contexts as meaning ‘forensic righteousness,’ that it to say, the act of being declared righteous on the basis of Christ’s atoning ministry, but it would seem more probable that Paul uses these expressions in the context of the covenant relation rather than in the context of legal procedures.

Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 451). New York: United Bible Societies.

The word righteousness mean “to be right.” Not “better than others,” or “good enough,” but right, as in, right with God. Our problem is that we mentally dumb down God, reducing him to our level so that our sin doesn’t seem so bad. The gospel, though, makes God’s righteousness the standard. So it doesn’t matter how nice of a sinner you are, you are still a sinner. The gospel, however, doesn’t just reveal the standard. It also gives us a provision: The righteous will live by faith. If we appeal to our relative goodness, we’ll always fall short. But if we appeal to God by faith, then the gospel has already saved us. Think of it this way. If I can’t afford a house, but a generous tycoon puts up his bankroll for me, does it matter that I have $20 in a sock drawer for a rainy day? NO! My finances are irrelevant. He bought the house for me. I am dependent on his resources, and he can afford it. That’s what the gospel is like: God has resources available for every believer who lives by faith. The act of faith in the finished work of Christ justifies us, and it is the lifestyle of faith that sanctifies and transforms us.

After we experience the power of the gospel, we should share it. We are commanded as Christians to go into all the world and preach the gospel—Mark 16:15. If we are ashamed of our gospel, we will hide it from those who are lost—2 Cor. 4:3. Paul was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ—v. 16. Note the results of being ashamed of Jesus—Mark 8:38.[1]

[1] Pentz, C. M. (1980). Expository Outlines from Romans (pp. 4–5). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

[1] Mounce, R. H. (1995). Romans (Vol. 27, pp. 30–32). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.