Introduction

Romans was written by Paul (Saul of Tarsus) in the mid 50s AD. Paul’s purpose in writing a letter to Rome was to encourage them, impart some knowledge to them because they were not yet established, and preach the gospel to them (1:11-15). Since Romans was written to an unestablished people in order to proclaim the gospel and establish them as a local church, we can take Romans as the most basic epistle. The others were written to established local churches with purposes other than simply proclaiming the gospel. It is why many Christians use the Romans Road as their template for sharing the gospel with unchurched and non-Christian people in our day. As we work through Romans, we keep this purpose in mind—it is a letter to the unincorporated in order to incorporate them.

Chapter 1

v. 1-6

Paul introduces himself to this loose collection of believers and interested persons in Rome. He introduces himself as a bond-servant of Christ who is called to be an apostle—a word meaning missionary, one who is set apart to take the gospel of God to the nations. From the outset, Paul is clear about his intentions. He doesn’t begin by saying anything other than he has written in order to share the gospel. There is no show, no attractive lure—just the gospel.

Paul claims that God promised His gospel beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures. Since Rome is nearly all gentile, and Paul is teaching the Jewish scriptures, the Scriptures are meant for all nations. Further, we can see that the starting point for a proper gospel presentation is the Scriptures alone–no pomp and circumstance.

Paul explains that the Scriptures promise a Son of God who would be born a descendant of David according to the flesh. He desires to tell the people about this Son of God. He was declared God’s Son when He was raised from the dead by the Holy Spirit. “Son of God” is the Old Testament name given to Israel and her king.  At the moment of his resurrection, this Son assumes all power in Heaven and on Earth. His name is Jesus Christ. Paul is clear. His words are to the point. He is not manipulating emotions or begging people to accept such a truth. He certainly isn’t wrapping the gospel in personal health, wealth, prosperity, or technology. He is simply describing how the Scriptures have been fulfilled.

He claims that “we” (those involved in writing this letter, or possibly those who hold the apostolic office) received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake. Apostleship is something Paul received. He received by grace the gifts necessary to fill the apostolic office and to be a missionary. They are gifts given by the Holy Spirit. He received these gifts and his position in order to bring about obedience of faith among all the Gentiles. When Jesus instructed his disciples to go out and make disciples, Jesus defined that as teaching all nations to obey everything He commanded (cf. Matthew 28). Sharing the Gospel is about more than merely telling people that Christ died for them. That’s the starting point. The gospel leads the nations, all gentiles according to Paul, into the obedience of faith (not of law but faith). The goal of evangelism, then, is to see all people on the earth come to such an obedience without exception. We will learn more about this type of obedience as we work through Romans. What does it mean to have an obedience that is by faith rather than law? The goal of preaching Christ to the nations is not to get as many people as possible into Heaven. According to Paul, here, it is for Christ’s name’s sake. It is for the exaltation of Christ and glory of the Father. So if I ask why we practice evangelism, the answer is: to exalt Christ and glorify the Father.

In verse 6, Paul writes that those who receive his letter are also called of Christ among the apostles who are taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. Notice the past-tense in Paul’s language. He trusts that whoever receives and reads his evangelistic letter is already called of Christ to be among the people of Christ partaking in the mission of Christ. So, this is not a matter of persuasion for Paul. Those who have been called will hear and respond. God alone will be glorified.

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