Romans 1
1. Paul, a bond–servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle and set–apart for the Gospel of God.
We are set–apart to something or from something. Paul was set–apart as someone who has a fence around his life. This shows that he was set–apart from other things for the work of the Gospel –anything else was off limits
See Acts 13:1 – 3, Galatians 1:15.
2. Which was promised long ago through the prophets in the Old Testament.
Paul was set apart from the other apostles because he was given the job of bringing the Gospel to the Gentiles. Anyone who reads the Old Testament would see that God promised that the Gentiles would be saved.
I will multiply your Seed as the stars of heaven and will give to your Seed all these lands. And in your Seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. Genesis 26:4
3. The Old Testament showed that God's Son came to be born in the line of David by His human ancestry.
The Jews knew that the Messiah would come through David. Jesse was David's father. See Mark 10:47.
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. Isaiah 11:1
And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand like a banner for the people; to Him shall the Gentiles seek: and His rest shall be glorious. Isaiah 11:10
4. Jesus Christ our Lord was shown to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead through the Holy Spirit.
You may say with your mouth that Jesus is the Son of God, but do you say in your heart that God really raised Him from the dead, and that God can raise you up from the dead things in your life?
You say that you believe there is a God? That is good, but so do all the demons and they are shaking in fear. James 2:19
5 – 6
Through Him I have been having been given grace (and the calling of an apostle) to bring all nations to obedience of faith for His name's sake. You also are some of these who have been set–apart by Jesus Christ.
Paul never missed a chance to explain that he was given the job of bringing the Gospel to the non–Jewish world. Maybe Paul wanted the Roman Christians to know that he was not bringing a mixture of Judaism to them?
7. To all of you in Rome, loved by God and called to be men and women who are set apart, grace and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
We see that Paul did not write to a church in Rome, but to all the Christians in Rome. Some people tried to say that Peter started the church in Rome, but Paul made it very clear that he would not work in a city where someone else had started a ministry.
I make it my ambition to preach the Gospel, not where Christ has already been named, so that I do not build on someone else’s foundation. Romans 15:20
8. The first thing I wanted tell you is how I thank God, through Jesus, for all of you. I have heard that your faith is being talked about all over the world.
Rome was like Sodom and Gomorrah, the people would be surprised by what they saw as a strange way of life in the Christians.
9. With God as my witness (whom I serve with my spirit in the Gospel of His son) . I promise you that you are always in my prayers.
It seems that Paul had Rome on his mind for a long time. He knew that it was the headquarters of the world in those days, and what better place to bring the Gospel?
10. I am asking Him that He will make it possible for me to come and see you.
We can see that the Lord answered his prayer.
The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about Me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome. Acts 23:11
11 – 13
So that I can bring you some spiritual gift which will make you even stronger. But this is what I mean: that I may also be encouraged by you as each one of us encourages each other's faith. I would like you to know my, brothers, that I have wanted to come to Rome for a long time, but “something” has always stopped me. I would like to see some fruit among you as I have in other Gentile cities.
Even though Paul had a lot of friends in Rome, he was not going there for a friendly visit. He wanted this visit to do something in their spirits and his.
And he who waters will himself be watered. Proverbs 11:25
14 – 15
I am under orders from Christ. I owe something to all men, whether they are Greeks or ignorant people, or whether they are wise or foolish. That is why, as far as I am able, I want to bring the Gospel to you who live in Rome also.
He [Paul] is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel. Acts 9:15
16. I am not ashamed of the Gospel. It is the power of God working to save everyone who believes it, for the Jew first, but also for the Greek.
Paule knew that the Gospel had completely changed his life and can do it for for anyone who will let go of the world and trust God (and nothing else) to save them.
17. The Gospel is God's plan for making men right in His sight. It starts and continues by faith. As Habakkuk said, “The righteous will live from faith.”
God could not forgive our sins if they were not paid for as His Law demands. It would not be fair for a judge to let a criminal go free if his penalty was not paid. Jesus paid the penalty for the evil things we have done and God will see us as clear before Him if we trust Christ and believe that this is true.
We are not good, but through Christ we are seen as clear before God in His eyes. This is the way God has chosen to change evil men into good men.
Martin Luther says that this Scripture is what showed him that he could not earn his way to heaven. See Habakkuk 2:4–5
18. The anger of God is shown from heaven against those who are against God and the evil of men who hide or hold down the truth by their wicked lives.
God created us in such a way that we know when we are doing wrong. Men have to push the truth away so that they can continue in evil. Those who are against God are also against their neighbor.
If you pay attention, you will see that the world is always hiding the truth so that they can do what they want to do.
19. It is not because they do not know the truth, because He has made it very plain to them.
People will say, "God knows my heart” but even a dog knows when he has done something wrong.
20. For since the beginning of the world the invisible things of God (His eternal power and nature) have been plain to see. They are understood by the things that He has made, so that they have no excuse.
Creation shows there must be God, just as we know that if there is a buidling then someone must have built it. Paul used
21. They have always known that there is a God, but they do not want to think of Him as God or to thank Him for what He has done. They become empty in their imaginations and their foolish hearts are going further into the dark.
Those who do not want to honor God think of themselves as a god.
The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9
22 – 23
They pretend to be wise, but they are fools. These fools exchange the glory of God for an image of a man or of an animal.
The men who came up with the idea that we came from monkeys also wrote books to prove that they were better than women and people of other races. Hitler used these ideas to support the evil things he was doing. The main idea behind evolution is to control others. These ideas are used to replace God and are covered up with foolish imaginations which sound very scientific.
Evil men create ugly images of what they worship. They want to make God look evil.
The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” Psalm 53:1
24. They gave up God, so God gave them up to follow the lusts of their hearts, and an unclean spirit. They do not honor their own bodies.
“Unclean” is the name of a demon spirit. God does not force people to follow Him. If they want evil He will step away from them and let them have what they want until they are full of it.
25. They would rather have a lie, than listen to the truth of God. They would rather worship and serve nature instead of the One who made nature and is blessed forever. Amen!
After they see that nature cannot help them solve their problems they are left with no hope.
“If there is no God then everything is permitted.” Dostoevsky
26 – 27
God handed them over to follow their lust. Even their women followed things that are not natural. The men left a normal relationship with women and burned with lust for other men. Men with men doing unnatural things and receiving the penalty for this way of life.
Today our world goes to a lot of trouble to make excuses for this kind of life. The people who are trapped in these things are not happy. God did not create the human body to be used this way, and the result is slavery to lust and disease. Only the Spirit of Christ can set people free from these demons. Leviticus 18:22
Seek Me and live. Amos 5:4
28. Because they did not want to know God any longer, God gave them over to a confused mind to do things which are not normal.
There is no use in trying to make sense of the things they do. They cannot think clearly and you can see the results in the decisions they make. They do not want to think about the idea that there is a God, and are not able to understand the things of God.
Those who are lost will have forever the horrible freedom that they have demanded. C. S. Lewis
29 – 32
They are full of wickedness, rottenness, greed, lying and arguments. They talk behind your back,
They lie to make trouble for people, they hate God, they insult people, they have the kind of pride that puts down others, they use high–sounding words, they think of new ways to do evil, and they laugh at the idea of listening to their parents.
They do not understand knowledge, they cannot be trusted, they do not know what natural love is, and they have no mercy.
But more than this, they are aware that God has said that all who do these things deserve to die, they not only continue to do these things but encourage others to defend their right to do these things.
Even some Christians will say that we need to defend the rights of these people. They say this because they think that it shows how open–minded they are. Romans Chapter 2 shows us that God does not accept this excuse.
It is hard to understand how a Christian can want someone to stay chained to a demonic, unclean way of life. The answer should be to reach out to them with the sincere love of Christ and the Gospel.
As people sinned more and more, God’s grace was still able to cover it. Romans 5:20