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Category: Romans 1

Romans 1:2 – The Promised Gospel

Posted on June 14, 2017 by Will

which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,

Truth to Learn

The good news of Christ was promised to us in the Old Testament.

Behind the Words

The words “promised beforehand” are translated from the Greek proepangellomai. This is made up of pro, meaning “before, in time or place” and epangellomai, which is itself a compound word made up of epi, used as an intensifier and angellomai, meaning “to announce.” Hence, epangellomai means “to make a public proclamation or promise.” With the prefix pro added, this word means to announce or promise ahead of time.

Meaning Explained

Paul says in today’s verse that it was promised beforehand, but what is the “it” he is talking about? Paul is referring to “the gospel of God” which he mentioned in the previous verse. In yesterday's study we learned that the word “gospel” means “good news,” but what, specifically, is the good news? In 1 Corinthians 15:1-5 Paul states very clearly what he means by the “gospel”

And, brothers, I make known to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, and in which you stand; by which you also are being kept safe, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you in the first place that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised the third day according to the Scriptures; and that He appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.

There are two key elements to this “good news.” The first is that Jesus Christ died for our sins. Though He is 100% God, He also became 100% man and lived a sinless life. He, therefore, did not need to die to pay for His own sins, since He hadn’t committed any. As a result, He could die a substitutionary death to pay for the sins of others. The proof of His death is the fact that He was buried.

The second key element of the gospel is that He rose again. Only God can give life, and only God can raise someone from the dead. The resurrection is the power behind the death. It is, in effect, the verification that his life was sinless and, therefore, worthy of paying for the sins of others. The proof of His resurrection is the fact that He was seen by Cephas (Peter) and by the other disciples.

Paul tells us that God promised this good news beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures. He is not introducing a new doctrine. He is about to present the doctrine of salvation by faith alone, which was clearly taught in the Old Testament, and he will demonstrate so in this letter.

Application

The real question for us is not so much, “Do you know the gospel?” as it is, “Do you believe the gospel?” To know the historical fact that Jesus was crucified some 2000 years ago is really inconsequential. To believe the gospel, to accept the fact that you are a sinner and need payment for your sins, which payment Jesus Christ gave for you when He was crucified, is life giving salvation. And not mere physical life, but spiritual life, for eternity!

Do you believe?

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 1:1 – Our Master’s Slave

Posted on June 13, 2017 by Will

Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God

Truth to Learn

All Christians need to recognize that they are God’s slaves.

Behind the Words

The Greek word translated “slave” is doulos, which means, “a slave, one who is in a permanent relation of servitude to another.”

The words “called an apostle” are translated from kletos apostolos. Kletos is an adjective meaning “one who is called, invited, or appointed.” The word apostolos means “one who has been sent with a message.” Hence, Paul is saying that he was specifically called out by God and sent with a message.

“Separated” is from aphoridzō, which is made up of apo, meaning “from” and horidzō, meaning “to define.” It means “to separate” or “to select to some office or work.” The Pharisees, the sect that Paul was part of before his conversion, got their name from this word. Paul is probably making a play on words here in the opening of this letter.

The word “gospel” is the Greek word euangelion, which is a compound word made up of eu, meaning “good” and a form of angellō, which means “to proclaim a message.” Hence, the word translated “gospel” really means “good news” or “a good message.”

Meaning Explained

Paul starts off his epistle (letter) in the manner which was customary for a teacher or person of authority, that is, by identifying who the epistle is from. Usually within the opening phrase, the writer and the intended audience were both identified. Paul deviates from this, however, by giving a thorough treatise on why he is the appropriate person to be sending this doctrinal letter. He doesn’t get to who this epistle is written to until verse seven.

You will notice that he uses his Greek name (Paul) rather than his Hebrew name (Saul). This is either because he wants to show that as a result of his conversion to Christianity he is a completely new creation (see 2 Corinthians 5:17), or because he is the recognized apostle to the Gentiles and he is writing to Christians in the Gentile world of Rome.

He, like other New Testament writers, refers to himself as a slave. We Christians all need to remember that we have been bought with a price and we are no longer our own, but we are the property of our Master. That’s easy to forget when we wander through this life seeking our own satisfaction, but we need to remember whose we are and constantly submit our will to His.

The thing that I want us all to take away from today’s verse is the fact that even the great Apostle Paul recognizes and makes a specific point of the fact that he is not the master but the servant. Our sin nature, along with the lustful “pride of life” stimulated so strongly by worldly advertisements, is constantly trying to make self the master, not the slave.

Application

Anyone who has accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior not only receives salvation but, at the same time, gives Lordship to Jesus Christ. In other words, when we were saved from our sins, we became the permanent property of our Lord, and we should not be seeking our own desires and will but His. His will is that we obey Him and submit to Him.

Are you a submitted slave today?

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans – Introduction

Posted on June 12, 2017 by Will

Who Wrote This Letter?

Through the centuries since the time of its writing there has been little dispute that this letter was written by the Apostle Paul. Though there have been some who claimed he was not the writer, their arguments are taken seriously by very few. As far back as the late first century, Clement of Rome (mentioned in Philippians 4:3) quotes from this letter, giving credit to Paul as its author.

When Was This Letter Written?

Concerning the time of writing of this letter there is also reasonable certainty. Based on Romans 1:11-15, we know that Paul had never been to Rome before writing this letter. Also, based on Romans 15:23-28, we know that he was about to take a trip to Jerusalem with a gift from the churches in Achaia and Macedonia. After delivering this gift he was planning on going to Spain and stopping by Rome on the way there. From Acts 20:6 and Acts 20:16 we find that this trip occurred between Passover and Pentecost. So, the writing of this letter occurred in the spring, just before Paul’s trip to Jerusalem, most likely between AD 56 and AD 58.

From Where Was This Letter Written?

In Acts 20:2-4 we know that four of the people who were about to accompany Paul on his trip were Timothy, Sosipater, Gaius, and Erastus, who were all with him at the time of the writing of this letter. In 1Corinthians 1:14 we find that Erastus was a member of the church at Corinth. From other sources we can ascertain that all four of these men were residents of Corinth (either temporary or long-term). Also, in Romans 16:1 we are introduced to Phoebe, generally believed to be the person who delivered this letter to the Romans. She was a deaconess of the church in Cenchrea, the eastern port city of Corinth. From all these facts, it is reasonable to assume that Paul was in Corinth when he wrote this letter.

Why Was This Letter Written?

Paul had a message (the Gospel message) which he had been called to deliver to the entire world and was determined to include the capital city of Rome in his ministry. It was important that he go to Rome because it was the center of the world’s life. The church in Rome was composed of both Jews and Gentiles, though we have no idea who started the church. It is possible that some of the “visitors from Rome” (Acts 2:10) who heard the gospel preached on the day of Pentecost came back to Rome and started the church there.

Paul’s ambition was to preach where no one else had been (Romans 15:20), and he had no hesitation in going on to Rome to do so. He tells is that he had wanted to go to Rome for some time (Acts 19:21) and had often made plans to do so (Romans 1:13) but thus far he had been prevented from going there (Romans 15:22). Now he had plans to go to Jerusalem, and after taking the gifts from the churches in Achaia and Macedonia there (Romans 15:26), he planned to go to Rome and then on to Spain (Romans 15:24, Romans 15:28). Meanwhile, he sends this letter so that the Christians in Rome might know the full truth about his gospel (Romans 1:15; Romans 2:16). He had already written extensively concerning the issues raised by the legalizers as set forth in the letters to Corinth and to Galatia. So now, in a calmer mood and more at length, he presents his treatise on the Righteousness demanded by God (Romans 1:17) for both Gentiles (Romans 1:18-32) and Jews (Romans 2:1-3:20) which can only be obtained by faith in Christ and His atoning death (Romans 3:21-5:21). This is Paul’s gospel and the remainder of this letter (chapters six through sixteen) deals with the particulars growing out of this doctrine of grace.

Outline of Romans

Romans 1:1-17 — Introduction.

Romans 1:18-3:20 – The entire sin-sick world is guilty before God. No one is righteous before God.

Romans 3:21-5:11 — Justification and righteousness are achieved by faith and faith alone.

Romans 5:12-8:13 — Dying with Christ, the resurrected life of Christ, walking in the Spirit, and the provision for inherited sin.

Romans 8:14-39 — The full blessing of the Gospel message.

Romans 9:1-11:36 — God has not abolished the covenant promises to Israel.

Romans 12:1-15:33 — Christian life and service.

Romans 16:1-27 — Greetings and blessings.

In God's service, for His glory,