Romans 1

 

There was once a Roman Catholic monk named Martin Luther. Luther had tried to get right with God through rituals, penance, and good deeds, but his heart was empty. But he had been studying the Book of Romans. Luther saw justification by faith, the theme of the Book of Romans, and he was born again. From this, the Protestant Reformation began and swept Europe.

 

Who Wrote the Book of Romans?

 

“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God” (Romans 1:1).

Besides being a Jew, Paul was a Roman citizen. He was part of the most strict religious sect in Judaism, the Pharisees. This man had a pedigree a mile long. But God cut him down to size. (Read Acts 9:1-22.)

Paul knew that he was what he was by the grace of God. He calls himself "a servant of Christ Jesus.” This Greek word, doulos, actually means “bond slave.” (Read Deuteronomy 15:12,16-17.) A bond slave would receive a hole in his ear to indicate that he chose to remain with his master. When the apostle Paul said, "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus" (Galatians 6:17b), he meant he had become a willing bond slave of Christ.

 

Christ Is the Hero of Romans

 

Paul’s Epistle to the Romans is a book about the Lord Jesus Christ, which is the foundation of faith. Christianity is Christ.

“…Which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 1:2-3a). What the apostle Paul tells us in the book of Romans, he learned in the Old Testament—because The Old Testament is about Jesus.

“…Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3). Christ came, because He was promised, of the house and lineage of David. Jesus Christ is the royal heir to Israel's throne in his humanity. Then the next verse says He is “declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4). Jesus was not a divine man, nor was He a human god. He was the God‑Man.

How do we know Jesus was not just another religious teacher? Or a wild‑eyed fanatic? Because He walked out of the tomb. (See Romans 1:4.) We serve a mighty Savior who has conquered death, Hell, sin, and the grave. And He did this by the spirit of Holiness. That is what the Book of Romans is about.

 

The Gospel of Grace Is the Theme of Romans

 

In Romans 1:1, Paul tells us the source of the Gospel: “the gospel of God.” Paul did not think it up. He said, “For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:12). A false gospel will lead to a synthetic salvation, which will lead to a very real Hell. Paul was not trying to be politically correct. The Gospel of grace is the Gospel of God.

This is not a Gospel that alludes to Christ or just mentions Him. Jesus is the Gospel of grace. The word gospel means “good news”! It is good news concerning the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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.

If you do not have assurance of your salvation, you have still not learned about grace. These are the truths you can learn from the book of Romans.


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