The Gospel of God - Part 2 (Romans 1:1-7)
INTRODUCTION:
Last week we began a new study in the book of Romans and we looked at the first four verses of chapter one. Paul’s introduction to this letter that he wrote to the Christians in Rome is found in the first seven verses, so we got through a little more than half of his introduction last week.
In verse one Paul introduced himself to the church in Rome, he was unknown in the church there, he had never visited them, in fact, no apostle had visited or started the church in Rome. It is believed that the church was started by some who came to faith in Christ on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit came and rested on the disciples of Jesus and they all began to speak in different languages and Peter preached to the crowd that gathered and about 3000 came to faith in Christ that day. Some who heard Peter in Jerusalem that day and put their faith in Jesus Christ were from Rome and returned and through their witness the church was started in Rome.
Paul introduced himself to the church in Rome as a bond-slave of Christ Jesus, as a called apostle by Christ, and as one set apart for the Gospel of God. Then he introduced us to the promise and the Person of the Gospel of God, the Gospel was promised in the Old Testament and it was fulfilled in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of David, the Son of God.
This morning I want to look at the rest of Paul’s introduction in verses 5-7 and look at the particulars of the Gospel of God as laid out for us by Paul.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles to Romans 1:1-7, I am going to read the whole introduction to you again because we ended in the middle of a sentence last Sunday. By reading the whole introduction we pick up the immediate context. Please stand if you are able in honor of the reading of God’s Word and follow along as I read.
Romans 1:1-7,
“Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 1:1–7, NASB95)[1]
THE PROVISION OF THE GOSPEL (Romans 1:5a)
In the end of verse four Paul had just finished proclaiming that Jesus Christ our Lord, God’s Son is the Person of the Gospel of God. He continues in verse five to say that through Jesus Christ our Lord we have received grace and apostleship. Paul mentions two important provisions of the Gospel of God that are received through Jesus Christ. The first is grace through which it is possible to come to faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, and the second is what we are called to do in Christ, in Paul’s case he was called to the office of an apostle.
This is Paul’s first mention of the need of grace for salvation, and I believe that is the grace of which he is specifically speaking but included in that may be the grace of apostleship as well, because as a called apostle, Paul also saw this as a provision of God’s grace.
What exactly is grace? My dad used to define grace as God’s unmerited favor with no strings attached. In other words, God’s grace is God giving us something that we don’t deserve so it can only come from Him and He does not attach things to it that we must do to receive it. Grace is undeserved, unearned favor, in which the sinner cannot and does not contribute anything of worth. Remember what Paul said to the church in Ephesus in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9, NASB95)[2] Grace is an act of loving mercy by God in which He provides salvation as an undeserved, unearned gift to those who put their faith in God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Salvation is totally an act of God’s grace, man has nothing of worth to offer, there is nothing man can do to merit God’s favor. Salvation is totally a gift of God’s grace. Baptism will not save you, being confirmed will not save you, partaking of the Lord’s Supper will not save you, church membership or faithful church attendance will not save you, keeping the ten commandments will not save you, being a morally good person will not save you no matter how upright, respectable, or generous you are, serving other people or even serving God will not save you. Salvation is not obtained by simply believing that there is a God or that Jesus Christ is His Son. James tells us that even the demons believe that and shudder (James 2:19). Salvation is only an act of God’s grace when a person repenting of sin, that is agreeing with God that you are a sinner and totally helpless to save yourself, and you receive the forgiveness offered by God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ’s death, believing that He died for you, paid the penalty required for your sin, was buried, and rose with power from the dead and lives forevermore, that and only that will provide you with salvation, it is totally and only the gift of God’s grace. This is the first provision of the Gospel of God.
Another provision of the Gospel is God calling believers into His service, which for Paul was apostleship. But it is possible since Paul writes that through the Lord Jesus Christ, we have received grace and apostleship that he is speaking of this in its very simplest and most basic form. This office of apostle was strictly for the 13 men that Jesus had specifically called to be Apostles, but elsewhere in Scripture there are others that are called apostles, simply meaning they were sent out to be witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ. We will see in the end of Romans that Paul mentions to unknown leaders in the early church, their names are Andronicus and Junias, and Paul refers to them as outstanding among the apostles (Romans 16:7). Luke calls Barnabas an apostle in Acts 14:14. Paul calls Epaphroditus an apostle in Philippians 2:25, the NASB translates it messenger, but in Greek it is apostle. Paul also mentions some unnamed men in 2 Corinthians 8:23 that he calls apostles of the churches, again the NASB translates it messengers, but in Greek it is apostles. All of these men listed here were godly men, but they did not hold the office of apostle as did Paul and the Twelve. They were apostles in the sense that all those who belong to God through faith in Jesus Christ are sent by God into the world as His messengers and witnesses. I believe that it is in this unofficial sense that Paul says one of the provisions of the Gospel through the Lord Jesus Christ is that He sends us as His messengers to share the Good News of salvation by grace through the Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone who puts their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation and is saved by God’s grace is also called to apostleship, to be a messenger of the Good News. Paul told the church in Ephesus “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9, NASB95)[3] Then Paul went on to explain in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10, NASB95)[4] God does not just save us by His grace, but He commissions us each to serve Him, to walk in the good works that He prepared beforehand. This is a result of salvation, not the means of salvation. Are you walking in the good works that God has called you to walk in?
THE PROCLAMATION AND PURPOSE OF THE GOSPEL (Romans 1:5b-6)
Paul writes that this grace leading to salvation and the good works that we have been called to walk in is “… to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake,” (Romans 1:5b, NASB95)[5] Here in the end of verse five we have the proclamation and the purpose of the Gospel of God. Our salvation by grace is to lead us to be a witness for Christ to bring others into the obedience of faith. Our faith is seen by our good works, a person who claims faith in Jesus Christ but lives in total disobedience to the Word of God is not saved and is living a lie. Faith that does not show itself in obedient living according to God’s Word is worthless, is dead. Our Scripture reading this morning from James 2 spoke of faith and works, the two go hand in hand. James says that faith without works is dead. We are not saved by our works in any way as I already said, no matter how good those works may be, rather we are saved to good works as already noted in Ephesians 2:8-10. As far as our earthly life is concerned that is the purpose of salvation. We have a message to proclaim to people to call them to the obedience of faith and we do this with our words and our good works. Paul uses this phrase “obedience of faith” as a synonym for salvation. Obedience to the Word of God is the practical outworking of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. For our faith to be genuine and to be seen before men it must be obedient faith. Jesus when He gave the great commission before leaving earth to ascend back into heaven said to His disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19–20, NASB95)[6] To bring men, women, boys and girls to faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to all that Christ commanded us in His Word, that is fulfilling the Great Commission.
This is seen in its fullest sense when we can like Paul declare that we are a bond-slave of Christ Jesus, it is at that point that we have recognized that Jesus Christ is not only our Savior but also the sovereign Lord and Master of our lives. For some people this might happen right at salvation, but for others I believe it happens as they mature in their relationship with Christ, but the evidence of this is obedience to God’s Word. Where are you on that path to be a bond-slave of Jesus Christ?
Paul was called to be the apostle to the Gentiles, God had uniquely gifted him to proclaim the Gospel of God to the Gentiles, this did not mean that he never witnessed to Jews, Paul was a Jew and he had a heart for the Jewish people. Whenever he entered a city on his missionary journeys he would always go first to the Jewish synagogue and he would seek to call Jews and Gentiles alike to the obedience of faith. Like Paul, each and every one of us who has put our faith in Jesus Christ for salvation has been called to proclaim Jesus Christ to all men, Jew or Gentile, in the hope of bringing them to the obedience of faith.
After speaking of the proclamation of the Gospel of God, Paul gives us the purpose of the Gospel of God. He writes in verses 5-6, “through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;” (Romans 1:5–6, NASB95)[7] Do you see the purpose, it might not be what you thought was the purpose of the Gospel of God. It is true that God so loved us that He sent His Son into the world to save us and that according to the apostle Peter does not want any person to perish, but to come to Him in repentance, but the main purpose of the Gospel of God does not focus on man, but focuses on God, the Gospel Paul says is “for His name’s sake.” The main purpose of the Gospel is to display God’s glory. Everything that Paul has mentioned up to this point in this introduction including the privileges that we will be looking at in a few minutes are given for the purpose of glorifying God. God’s glory is the focus of the whole history of redemption, and we will continue to give Him glory through all eternity for what He accomplished in redeeming mankind. Read the songs of praise in the book of Revelation again and see how God’s glory is proclaimed and praised. When a person puts his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, believing that Christ’s death paid the penalty for sin, that Christ was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day, that person is saved, but more importantly is that God is glorified, because salvation is a gift that is entirely a product of God’s sovereign will and power.
Paul includes those in the church in Rome among those who have been called to the obedience of faith in Christ Jesus. They also are the called of Jesus Christ and because of their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation they have glorified God, but they were not only called to salvation but also to service, to obedience of faith to proclaim the Gospel of God and bring others to Jesus Christ in faith and obedience to the glory of God. Just as the believers in Rome, we who have put our faith in Jesus Christ live and exist for God’s glory, our salvation brings Him glory and when we are obedient to His Word proclaiming His Gospel we bring Him glory. Someday in eternity future we will sing the praises of His glory in heaven.
THE PRIVILEGES OF THE GOSPEL (Romans 1:7)
Paul closes his introduction to this letter to the church in Rome by giving us three privileges of the Gospel of God. If Paul would have listed all the privileges of the Gospel his introduction would have been quite a bit longer. He limits himself to three privileges which are our being God’s beloved, our being God’s called ones, and our being God’s saints.
Paul begins by writing that all of his brothers and sisters in Christ in Rome are the beloved of God. Throughout Scripture God’s love for those who belong to Him is seen over and over. Repeatedly in the Psalms and the Prophets you read of God’s lovingkindness towards His people. In Ephesians 2:4-5, Paul wrote, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),” (Ephesians 2:4–5, NASB95)[8] The apostle John speaks of God’s love for His children often and declares in 1 John 3:1, “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are.” (1 John 3:1a, NASB95)[9]
If you have put your faith in Jesus Christ, then you have been made acceptable to God. You have been declared a child of God and you are loved for the sake of Jesus Christ, God’s Son. As we progress through this book, we will learn more of our being beloved by God and that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ.
Not only are we the beloved of God, but we are also the called of God. This is not speaking of God’s general call for mankind to repent and believe, but this is referring to the specific way that those who have responded to the invitation have been called by God to Himself in salvation. John MacArthur writes, “From our limited human viewpoint, it may seem that we first came to God through an act of our will, but we know from the Word that we could not have sought Him by faith unless He had already chosen us by a gracious act of His sovereign will.”[10]
The third privilege that Paul gives us is that those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation are God’s saints. The NASB says that believers are called as saints. The as is in italics because it is not there in the Greek but supplied by the translators. There is no word between called and saint in the original Greek. Because of this it might be better to see beloved, called, and saints as three distinct privileges of the Gospel of God. Saints is from the Greek word from which we get the word “holy.” It is a word that means “being set apart.” The idea is being set apart by God for His own purposes. The Old Testament had many things and people who were set apart for God, the Tabernacle and its furnishings, specifically the ark of the covenant and the holy of holies were set apart to God. The tribe of Levi was set apart for God’s priesthood and the work of the Tabernacle and later the Temple. Now many of these things do not exist, the only truly holy things on earth today are God’s people, those who God has set apart for Himself through Jesus Christ, we have become His saints or His holy ones. We are the new temple of God and the new priesthood of God. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.” (1 Corinthians 3:16–17, NASB95)[11] Peter declared in 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;” (1 Peter 2:9, NASB95)[12] As the church we are the new temple and the new priesthood of God, set apart for Him. When I say the church I am referring to the people of God and not a building.
Paul closes his introduction with a benediction, he writes, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 1:7b, NASB95)[13] Only the recipients of God’s grace in salvation can experience the peace with God and know the peace of God that transcends all understanding. The only people who can experience this grace and peace are those who are the beloved of God, those who are the called of God, and those who are the holy ones or saints of God. It is only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that we can call God our Father because we have been adopted into His family through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ who died for us and rose again.
CONCLUSION:
This morning Paul spoke of the grace of God that is available to sinners and it is the undeserved, unearned favor of God towards us to bring us salvation, to give us a right standing before God, this grace is available to us because the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross on our behalf, He shed His blood and died in our place, paying the penalty that we deserved to receive for our sin. His resurrection from the dead proved that God accepted His sacrifice for our sin. This is how God can offer us His grace. Paul uses the phrase obedience of faith as a synonym for salvation, teaching that we are saved apart from works for good works. This is best understood and manifested in our lives when we recognize and acknowledge Jesus Christ as not only our Savior, but also as our Lord and Master. When we do this our desire, our passion in life is to please Him and to do His will in all that we do and say, this is the truth of the obedience of faith, it is seen in our lives when we are obedient to the good works that God has prepared beforehand for us to walk in. Here is the amazing thing, these good works cannot be done by our own power, but only through the Holy Spirit living in us, He empowers us to walk in them and all this to the glory of God. My challenge to you this week is first to look at your walk with Christ, are you doing everything by the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God? Second, who is Jesus Christ to you? Is He just your Savior? Or do you recognize and acknowledge Him as your Lord? Ponder these questions this week.
[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[2]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[3]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[4]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[5]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[6]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[7]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[8]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[9]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[10]MacArthur, John F., The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Romans 1-8. Chicago, Ill. : The Moody Bible Institute, 1991
[11]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[12]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[13]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995