Back to: BE Right: Romans
HOW PAUL CONNECTS TO HIS ROMAN READERS
HE PRESENTED HIS CREDENTIALS (1:1-7)
He was a servant of Jesus Christ (1a)
- The word ‘servant’ is also translated ‘bond-servant’ or ‘slave’.
- His Jewish readers would understand the concept of ‘bond-servant’ as explained in Exodus 21
- His Gentile readers would be able to relate due to the large percentage of slaves (voluntary/involuntary) who lived & worked in Rome – and throughout the Roman Empire – at the time
He was an Apostle (1b)
- Note the extensive use of the word ‘called’ in this passage.
- One of the requirements for an Apostle was the experience of seeing the risen Christ (Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus)
He was a preacher of the gospel (1c-4)
He was a missionary to the Gentiles (5-7)
HE EXPRESSED HIS CONCERN (1:8-15)
- He was thankful for them (8)
- He prayed for them (9-10)
- He loved them (11-12)
- He was in debt to them (13-14)
- He was eager to visit them (15)
ON PRAYER & SEEKING GOD’S WILL (v9-10)
“One of the burdens of Paul’s prayer was that God would permit him to visit Rome and minister to the churches there… He hoped he would be able to travel from Jerusalem to Rome, and then on to Spain, and he was hoping for a prosperous journey. Actually, Paul had a very perilous journey, and he arrived in Rome a prisoner as well as a preacher. In Jerusalem he was arrested in the temple, falsely accused by the Jewish authorities, and eventually sent to Rome as the emperor’s prisoner to be tried before Caesar. When Paul wrote this letter, he had no idea that he would go through imprisonment and even shipwreck before arriving in Rome.”
Wiersbe
HE AFFIRMED HIS CONFIDENCE (1:16-17)
Paul was not ashamed of the gospel. He had confidence in his message, and he gave us several reasons that explain why he was not ashamed.
- The ORIGIN of the gospel: It is the gospel of Christ (16a)
- The OPERATION of the gospel: It is the power of God (16b)
- The OUTCOME of the gospel: It is the power of God unto salvation (16c)
- The OUTREACH of the gospel: “…to everyone that believeth”(16d-17)
THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD
Romans 1:17 NIV For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
KEY VERSE TO ROMANS
Romans 1:17 is the key verse of the letter. In it Paul announces the theme: “the righteousness of God.” The word righteousness is used in one way or another over sixty times in this letter (righteous, just, and justified). God’s righteousness is revealed in the gospel; for in the death of Christ, God revealed His righteousness by punishing sin; and in the resurrection of Christ, He revealed His righteousness by making salvation available to the believing sinner. The problem “How can a holy God ever forgive sinners and still be holy?” is answered in the gospel. Through the death and resurrection of Christ, God is seen to be both “just, and the justifier” (Rom. 3:26).
Wiersbe
Habakkuk 2:2-4 NIV Then the LORD replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. [3] For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. [4] “See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness—
RIGHTEOUS/JUST
dikē | dikaios | dikaiosunē | dikaioō
Strong’s Number
G1343
Original Word
δικαιοσύνη
Transliterated Word
dikaiosunē
Phonetic Spelling
dik-ah-yos-oo’-nay
Parts of Speech
Noun Feminine
Strong’s Definition
From G1342; equity (of character or act); specifically (Christian) justification: – righteousness.
Thayer’s Definition
- in a broad sense: state of him who is as he ought to be, righteousness, the condition acceptable to God
- the doctrine concerning the way in which man may attain a state approved of God.
- integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking feeling, and acting
- in a narrower sense, justice or the virtue which gives each his due
Usage by Word
righteousness (85), right (1)
Usage by Book
Matthew, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, Revelation
Being Transformed:
3 Great Christian Thinkers Impacted by the Book of Romans
AUGUSTINE (of Hippo)
It has been said that all of Western theology is a footnote to the work of Augustine. This is because no other writer, with the exception of the biblical authors, has had more influence on Christendom. Thomas Aquinas quoted Augustine heavily when he composed his Summa Theologica. When Martin Luther and John Calvin were accused of teaching new doctrine, they pointed to Augustine as an example of one who had taught the things they were teaching. [ Read this Article ]
Ligonier.org
MARTIN LUTHER (The Reformation)
source: https://www.ligonier.org/posts/justification-faith-alone-martin-luther-and-romans-117
JOHN WESLEY (Wesleyan Revival/Methodist Church)
“In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, 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 salvation; and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”
John Wesley’s Journal, May 24, 1738
When you sum it all up, the book of Romans is saying to us, “Be right!” Be right with God, with yourself, and with others. The righteousness of God received by faith makes it possible for us to live right lives. Rome needed this message, and we need it today: Be right!
Weirsbe