Sunday Morning Service

Romans 1:1-17 (Click scripture reference for audio access)

"Grace Changing Everything!"  •  2.26.12  •  Sunday Morning Service, Calvary Christian Fellowship

Intro.

- There is virtually no argument among those who teach the Bible when it comes to the discussion of which is the greatest of the epistles. Romans is the Mount Everest of the epistles.

˚  "Romans deserves not only to be known word for word by every Christian, but to be the subject of his meditation day by day, the daily bread of his soul; for it can never be too much or too well studied and the more time one spends on it, the more precious it becomes."         Martin Luther

- What makes Romans so significant is that it's pure theology from the beginning to the end. It is not written to correct, but to set a course and to leave a complete statement regarding salvation.

- This first section leaves us immediately with that impression, showing us the power of the gospel, seen prominently in 4 ways.  The gospel

I. Changes Men (v.1)

II. Concerns Christ (v.2-7)

III. Consideration Toward People (v.8-15)

IV. Contains The Power Of God (v.16,17)

Text

I. Changes Men (v.1)

•  Romans 1:1 : "Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God" :  The Romans received this book as a scroll. Because of the length of the scroll, the first information unveiled would regard the author.

- Paul had been a Pharisee, zealous for the law and a voting member of the Sanhedrin. He was trained by Gamaliel, Israel's greatest teacher and was likely his greatest pupil.

- When Jesus met Paul on the road to Damascus, everything changed, most notably, Paul's attitude toward the Lord, but also his attitude regarding himself and all that he had achieved.

- The first line of this epistle speaks to Paul's opinion of himself. He is first and foremost, before he is anything else, a bondservant or a slave of Jesus Christ.

- The gospel had changed Paul. He had been the master of his destiny until he met Jesus. Paul went from being the Master, to being the slave, Jesus being His Lord!

- It is believed that over half of the two million people that lived in Rome at the time of Paul's writing were slaves, meaning that most of the church would have been comprised of slaves.

- Paul's word to them would have been especially poignant, as their true allegiance would belong to Jesus Christ, even though they served human masters!

- The word "bondservant" would also speak to the concept found in the Old Testament.

- In Exodus 21, God gave Moses instructions regarding the life of slaves. God did not condone slavery, but as it was a reality of life, often through bankruptcy, God's law regulated it.

- A slave was to serve a maximum of six years and was to be freed in the seventh year. That is however unless they willingly asked to remain in order to serve their beloved master.

- Exodus 21:6 describes an ear piercing signifying total allegiance to the loved master. Paul may be referring to that passage, having loved the Lord, he now willingly gave his life.

- Do you view yourself through that lens? Is He Your Master? Paul proudly declares it so! There is no greater place of dignity in this world than being the Lord's slave!

- Having described his attitude, Paul speaks to his authority. Paul was "called an apostle."

- The word "called" refers to an invitation, from his Master Jesus, to be one that was sent. An Apostle was an official delegate who had been given information and then sent out to deliver it.

- The words he spoke on behalf of the one sending carried the weight of authority, and would have been received as if given by the Master Himself!

- Paul was not an apostle by his own doing. Quite the opposite, Paul was invited by Jesus Himself when he was on his way to work against the Lord! We've seen his attitude and authority.

- Note now his assignment: He was separated to the gospel of God. There may be a bit of a play on words here. To be a Pharisee was to be one who was separated.

- That had come to mean one who was separate from anyone who was not as holy. Now, Paul was truly and rightly separated, a true Pharisee sent by God to the world!

- His assignment was the gospel, the good announcement of the ultimate victory of God!

- A boundary line was placed on the Apostle's life by God. He was exclusively to be a minister of the gospel of God. He was God's servant, God's sent one and God's special emissary.

- This is all Paul's way of establishing that the work and the word that he is about to unveil to them was from the Lord through him.

- In all of this, one cannot help but celebrate that God changes lives in amazing ways! Paul had been a persecutor. Now, he was a prophet! The gospel still changes men and women!

II. Concerns Christ (v.2-7)

•  Romans 1:2-4 : "which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead."  :  The gospel did not originate with Paul or the Apostles. It did not originate with Jesus in His teaching.

- Rather, Jesus was the culmination of all that God had promised in the Old Testament! The Old Testament revealed the puzzle pieces and Jesus provided the picture!

- Jesus is the Creator of Genesis 1:1, the bloody sacrifice that spared Adam and Eve and that God honored in Abel's sacrifice. Jesus is Adam and Eve's promised victor over the Devil.

- Jesus is the lamb that Abram promised Isaac, the fulfillment of the law of Moses, the Sabbath, the Tabernacle and the Bronze Serpent.

- Jesus is the Lamb that would cover the sin of the nation on the Day of Atonement.

- Jesus is David's son who would be called His Lord! Jesus is Isaiah's suffering servant and Daniel's rock mountain that would overcome the Kingdoms of the World!

- All of these shadows and pictures, not to mention the specific prophecies, announced the work of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, incarnate in the lineage of King David!

- This speaks to Christ's humanity. When Jesus came, He came to be fully man and had a claim to the throne of Israel because of His human descendancy from David through Joseph's line!

- His humanity was perfectly in line with royalty, but it was His resurrection that declared His deity, being the Son of God! What does that mean? Did Jesus become the Son of God?

- The word "declared" originates in the Greek word for "horizon." Unlike other designations, the horizon line never moves. It is the line set between earth and heaven and is determined.

- One could say euphemistically that the resurrection settles once and for all that Jesus was exactly who He said that He was, the Son of God!

- God the Father announced that Christ would be the fulfillment of His promises. Jesus fulfilled His Father's will and the Spirit of God, the Spirit of holiness breathed resurrection life into Christ!

- Jesus has now introduced the reality of resurrection, not just His, but ours!

•  Romans 1:5,6  :  "Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;"  : Through Christ. By His work! This is a grace to believe and to act. Any grace that you have has been received has been given by Christ, administered by the Holy Spirit.

- The church, every believer through the ages past and those to come, can say definitively that they are the recipients of God's grace, through the Holy Spirit.

- He has touched you and granted to you that you receive grace to believe and grace to live. For the Apostles, they were granted their authority to call all to the obedience to the faith.

- The faith refers to that which is present biblically, namely and chiefly, the belief in Jesus Christ, which saves from sin and sanctifies us for service.

- The Apostles were to carry this out to all nations on His behalf and these Romans, were among those who had been called of Jesus Christ from the nations.

- You are among that Gentile throng that God has invited to come to Christ!

•  Romans 1:7 : "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 finishes his greeting with a word about the effect of the gospel message.

- These had become the beloved of God. You are God's beloved. God truly loves you in Christ!

- You are appointed the position of saints, or holy ones! Right now, because of Jesus, each of you who believes is a saint in God's eyes!

- Jesus is enough in a person's life to confirm that they are holy, because He is holy! As such, they and we, are recipients of God's grace and His peace.

Grace is favor from God, unearned and unlimited. Peace is a settled position. May these be yours from God! May these be conferred upon you as you read and ingest this letter.

III. Consideration Toward People (v.8-15)

•  Romans 1:8-12 : "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established— that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me."  : Paul had not yet visited the church in Rome but will mention several by name at the end of the letter, some who had come to Jesus at Pentecost. Priscilla and Aquila are in that group.

- Rome was likely filled with several house churches, but their faith was mighty.

- Their faith, the Christian faith, was spoken of or proclaimed throughout the world! It was rapidly spreading and this brought great pleasure to the heart of Paul.

- Notice Paul's part in that enterprise. He was not there, but he served the Lord in his spirit, with all of his heart, in the ministry of prayer for them! What a testimony!

- They were known to Paul in some way, maybe intimately, but his heart turned toward them.

- Nobody else was able to witness Paul praying, but the Lord was His witness and that prayer increasingly caused his heart to yearn for them, to be be with them. Be careful what you pray for!

- Paul's wanted to come to them, in order that they might benefit from him and that he might benefit from them. Paul to establish or stabilize them in the gospel and to be encouraged by them.

- Their zeal and their excitement for the gospel would bring joy to Paul's heart.

- Paul wanted to serve them. He didn't know what he would add to them, but he would add something that would make them stronger. The gospel had moved Paul to want their best!

•  Romans 1:13-15 : "Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles. I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also."  : For all of this love, why was it that Paul had not visited before? Paul anticipates this question with his answer.

- He had sought to go to them often. It had been in his plan, but God had a different road for him to travel. He had been hindered, meaning that he had tried.

- Paul had tried to go to Bithynia and the Holy Spirit stopped him. It seems that the Holy Spirit also stopped Paul from going to Rome! Why did Paul want to go to Rome?

- His heart was to have some fruit from them, literally a share in the harvest among them!

- Scripturally, fruit can refer to repentance, obedience or Christ-likeness, as in the fruit of the Spirit, all of which are essentially changes in attitude.

- The other major fruit consideration is that of souls added to the Kingdom!

- Paul wanted this not for his own status with God. He did not want this simply because of his loyalty to the Christians in Rome. He did this because he owed it to all men everywhere!

- Paul understood that he had a duty to fulfill, a loving and wonderful obligation. "Obligation to Him who died produces obligation to those for whom He died."

- He had been entrusted with something to dispense to men everywhere. In that way, he was a debtor, a man looking at other human beings who needed what he had!

- Whether he would speak to fellow Greek speakers or non-Greek speakers like the Barbaroi, the learned and the simple, the great and small heard from Paul about the gospel.

 - Every man, woman and child that Paul encountered, he sought to bring into gospel obedience. it was time for him to proclaim the gospel in the world's greatest city of that time.

- Rome was the metropolis of the ancient world and all who were there would need the same gospel! The gospel impresses it's importance upon you and changes your perspective of the world.

- They need the gospel, something that you hold in your hands. You are a debtor as well!

IV. Contains The Power Of God (v.16,17)

•  Romans 1:16 : "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.'" : Rome was home to every religion, the ultimate in pluralism and tolerance.

- The original Pantheon, built in 27 B.C. still stood at this time in the mid to late 50s A.D.

- The religions that Rome embraced were religions that were far different from Christianity, focused mostly on power and mysticism.

- It's not much different today, as every world religion is focused on the power of human beings to present themselves to their version of God through good works or through mystical achievement!

- In that society, Paul's gospel, being so radically other, might be cause for shame.

- Paul however, emphatically says, "Among the religions of the world honored in Rome, I am not ashamed of the gospel!" Paul puts this out front and center!

- "I have nothing to hide my face behind with regard to the gospel of Christ!" Let it be never said in this congregation that we are ashamed of Christ's gospel!

- In fact, in the world of ideas and religious notions, let us be ever more confident and bold in our proclamation of this gospel? Why? Because the gospel contains God's power!

- One can literally say that the gospel is the power that comes from God! That's the secret!

- The Romans worshipped power, but none of their religions could do anything to stem the tide of their immorality. The gospel is different. It has genuine transformative, dynamic power from God!

- Who is this power extended to? For everyone who believes! This is the unlimited limitation of the gospel. God's power flows to those who believe in Christ!

- We have gone through pains to concern ourselves over the issue of biblical belief, but for the sake of our souls and the sake of those that we share with, allow me to cover that again.

- To believe in Christ is to trust completely in the person and work of our Savior, rejecting any notion of any other righteousness, save His.

- We believe in His sinless life, vicarious atoning death, bodily resurrection and ascension to the Father, where Christ lives forever to make intercession for us, functioning as our High Priest.

- To believe in Christ is to shun known sin by repentance, to look to His Word for direction and to submit ourselves to His Holy Spirit for the performance of good works.

- Continuance in and conformity to the Word of God is the fruit of salvation, lending to confidence before God! Have you believed in Christ? It will show in how you live!

˚  "Faith means "being utterly sure that what Jesus said is true and staking all time and eternity on that assurance!"      William Barclay

- Do you have the power to shun sin? Do you have His power to continue in things of holiness? When you do sin, are you quick to come in confession and repentance? If so, you believe!

- This gospel came first to the Jews, a practice that we observed repeatedly in the book of Acts. The gospel is a continuation and fulfillment of the promises found in their scriptures!

- While it was for the Jew first, in terms of priority, it was not for the Jew exclusively! The gospel and the freedom to follow God was always God's intention.

•  Romans 1:17 :  "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith.'" :  God gives His power through the gospel. His power for what? For righteousness that comes from God!

- The word righteousness means this: That you being a sinner, are treated as though you had never sinned!

- The word "righteousness" or "justification" refers to the status of a man that God has applied His saving work toward. This is the standard that God accepts.

- The world may hold itself to another standard, but the sole standard that God looks to and receives is the one that He provides for His people who respond to Him in faith!

- Look at that statement: It's revealed, unveiled, from faith to faith. When you respond to God's invitation, your faith is put in Christ and His righteousness is accounted to you.

- The next day, you continue to trust that His promise is good and that continues for your entire life! When you die, you believe Christ has been in the process of saving you and will not save you!

- Now, you embrace by faith His full salvation as you enter in the gates of Heaven! Christianity never goes from faith to works, or from faith to something else. It is faith to faith!

- Paul quotes here from Habakkuk 2:4 where the statement comes from. Those who are righteous will live this way. Why? Because dependance on God's power is the key to eveything!

Conclusion

- The gospel is still changing lives. Men and women who are sleaze today can be saints tomorrow! The gospel is still about Jesus, the Incarnate, Resurrected One!

- The gospel causes you to be considerate of other believers and how you might add to their lives and share or partner in fruitful service together.

- All of this is possible because of the theme of Romans: God has given His saving, justifying power to those who have believed!

- When you act like that, it's God's powerful work acting through you to bring it all to pass!