A Study of the Book of Romans
Lesson #1
Introducing
the Letter to the Romans
Romans 1:1-12
The letter to the church at Rome was
written by Paul during his third missionary journey while he was at Corinth probably about
57-59 A.D.
It
is a powerful letter, it is not to overstate the case to say, that God used this book to
cause the conversion of many of the significant figures in church history. This little letter has literally altered
the course of human history.
For example, in the 4th century, St.
Perhaps some here tonight owe there
salvation decision to someone sharing what is sometimes called “the Romans Road.”
1. Every human is a sinner.
(Romans 3:23)
2. God’s penalty for sin is death.
(Romans 6:23)
3. In His great love, God has made
(Romans 5:8)
4. Each person must put his trust in God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
(Romans 10:9-10, 13)
In the original Greek in which this was
written the first seven verses are all one long sentence. Tonight in our introduction to
the letter to the Romans we will attempt to cover only those first seven verses.
“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of
God (2) which He promised before through His prophets in the
Holy Scriptures, (3) concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, (4) and declared to be the Son of God
with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. (5) Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name,
(6) among whom you also are the called
of Jesus Christ;
Three major
divisions
Chapters 1-8 - doctrinal
Chapters 9-11 - national (concerns Israel)
Chapters 12-16 - practical
Who is the
Messenger? (1:1)
“Paul, a servant of Jesus
Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.”
When you think of where Paul had come from,
it is remarkable that he is there at all. Indeed, he was a very unique and remark-able
man. We know that he was a citizen of Tarsus, a Greek city in Cilicia (Acts 21:39). Tarsus
has a rich and old history. As a matter of fact many believe that it has a better claim
than Damascus to being the oldest city of the world. By the time of Paul it had become a
center of intellectual achievement. In Tarsus there was a major University. And no doubt
Paul was educated in Greek thinking in Tarsus. We also know that Paul was a Roman citizen.
This was a high privilege that was rare among Hebrews. Paul was also educated under one of
the finest and most respected Jewish Rabbis in Jerusalem - Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). So we can
see that Paul was a privileged and educated man. From the Scripture we also know that he
was the son of a Pharisee and would become a Pharisee himself (Acts 23:6).
But I want you to see first of all that
It is said that someone followed Mother
Teresa around Calcutta watching her minister to the sick and poor people, many of whom
were in a leprous condition. The person was repulsed and said, "I
wouldn't do this for a million dollars!" Mother Teresa replied, "Neither
would I, but I would do it for Jesus for nothing."
Secondly he described
his ministry - “called
to be an apostle.” This was his ministry. The word (apostolos)
means "sent one." “Apostle” is one of most misunderstood words in the
Christian vocabulary. Paul defines what it means to
be an apostle in his letter to the Galatians “Paul, an apostle, (not of
men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the
dead; But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after
man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of
Jesus Christ.”
(Gal. 1:1, 11-12).
To be an apostle one
has to be a witness to the resurrection
of Jesus Christ (1 Cor 9:1, 15:8-9) and to have been chosen by the Lord Himself to this office
(Acts 9:15). This then who eliminate all modern day claimants to the office of “apostle.”
Third, he described
his mission - “separated unto the gospel
of God.” Formerly as a Pharisee he was set apart from many things but the
result was that he was self-righteousness, narrow and cruel. Now he is set apart unto
something and as a result he is humble, positive, and joyful. This was Paul's ministry. It was a ministry
to which he had been called. And each of us has a ministry as well. Ours may not be the
same as Paul's, but we are just as responsible to fulfill our ministry as he was to
fulfill his.
This “gospel”
is more fully explained in verse sixteen where Paul says, “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. (17) For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith
to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by
faith.”
Most of us understand that “gospel”
means literally “good
news.” However, we may not stop to appreciate just how good the “good
news” truly is! Apart from Christianity
all the religions of the world are not at all good news. In fact, they are bad news, very
bad news. The reason is that apart from Christianity all the religions of the world are works based religions. They tell you must
seek God by human efforts. A religion based on what you can do is comfortless because it
impossible to ever do enough to justify yourself in the sight of God. The good news of
Christianity is that God has already done everything necessary to bridge the gap created
by our sins. The good news is all about Jesus and what he has done for us. The entire book
of Romans is an explanation of how this gospel applies to every person.
What Is the
Message? (1:2-4)
Paul’s letter to
the church at Rome is about the nature of the gospel. The gospel of course is all about
Jesus. In verse two Paul says, “(Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy
scriptures,) (3) Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to
the flesh; (4) And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of
holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:”
Paul says that this gospel was promised in
the Old Testament by the prophets of God (v. 2). In fact, there are over 330 prophecies fulfilled by Christ coming.
Verses three and four command our attention because they spell
out who Jesus is. Paul presents the person of Jesus as being fully Human by telling us that he was both of
the “seed of
David” and fully Divine - God (theoanthropic) because he was also the “son of God.”
In Philippians 2:6-7 Paul explains further, “Who, being in the form of God, did not
consider it robbery to be equal with God, (7) but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in
the likeness of men.”
The key event that demonstrates who Jesus
really is: is “the
resurrection from the dead.” It
Jesus had remained dead, in the tomb, he would have been nothing more than a good moral
teacher, a nice man who came to a bad end. As Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15: 14-19;
“And if Christ is not
risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. (15) Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because
we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in
fact the dead do not rise. (16) For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not
risen. (17) And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! (18) Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. (19) If in this life only we have hope
in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”
Paul says that if Christ is still dead then
Christianity is just a big hoax. If Christ is still dead then we are the biggest fools in
the world. Because Jesus Christ rose from the dead, we know that His claims were true.
Because of His resurrection, we know that Jesus is who He said He was. But don’t be misled, the Resurrection
did not make Him the Son of God; it simply revealed who He was. Because Christ is risen
from the grave he has proven himself to be the all powerful Son of the Living God.
To
Whom Is the Message Intended? (1:5-7)
“Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to
the faith among all nations for His name, (6) among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;(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.”
Paul is not only bought and owned by Christ he is “called.”
Paul’s significance is not first and primarily where he was born or what he had done
but what had been done to him.
Paul says that we are “called
to be saints” or more literally
“called saints,”
The word “saint” is a good biblical term commonly applied
to all believers, not a category
reserved for a few super-Christians who work miracles. The word “saint”
comes from the Greek word hagios, which literally means "holy.” Don't be misled by the mistaken
idea that sainthood is something which can only be conferred upon certain dead people by
some ecclesiastical body. According to God's Word, all believers are already
saints. When you believe in Christ, you become a saint.
“There is a wonderful line
from the movie Hook. In that movie Robin
Williams plays a Peter Pan who grew up. In the process of growing up he lost the memory of
his real identity and of his adventures in Neverland. Now he is married with children. He
has become Peter Banning, a busy executive with more time for his cellular phone than for
his children. When he and his family return to England to visit Granny Wendy, something
horrible happens. Captain Hook secretly steals his children and takes them back to
Neverland in order to provoke a confrontation with Peter Pan. As Granny Wendy attempts to
explain to Peter Banning that he should fly away to Neverland and rescue his children, he
is confused. Fly away to Neverland? How could he do that? What is she talking about? Then
comes the line. She looks directly at him and whispers, "Peter, dear- don't you know
who you are?" What a fantastic line! It's the key to everything! What Peter really
needed was to know his real identity. You see, once you know who you really are then you
know how you should act.”
[J. David Hoke. “Paul, A Man With A Message.” Rom. 1:1-2 www. horizonsnet.org/sermons]
Ironically, sometimes Christians who are not living as they should seek to justify themselves by saying, “I don’t pretend to be a saint.” It doesn’t matter what you pretend to be – if you are a Christian, you are a saint.