Romans 1:1-7

Paul begins this letter as he does most of his letters.  First, he introduces himself as the writer of the letter.

·        He relates his self-concept, that he is the bondservant of Jesus Christ.  Ministry is not borne of great ability but of total submission to one Master, Jesus Christ.

·        He relates his God-calling, that he has been called an apostle, separated to the gospel of God.  This ministry is empowered by grace from Jesus Christ and has the goal of bringing people from all nations to obedience to the faith in Jesus Christ.

Second, Paul identifies those to whom the letter is being sent.  They are a part of the all nations, being primarily Gentiles who are the called of Jesus Christ.  They are the Christians in Rome, beloved of God, called saints.

This church apparently had its start on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) when people from many nations were in Jerusalem.  Having heard the gospel, many believed in Christ, and then returned to their homes to live their new lives.  Paul knew only a few of the people in this church.  But he knew that God loved them and that they had a calling to be holy, set apart for God.  We often think of saints as heroic Christians from the ages; in fact all believers have this same calling.  Keep this in mind as you read this letter: the vocation of these people is to be holy ones, and the ability for this is in the grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (v7).

The third way Paul begins his letter is to weave into the salutation important truths related to the letter.  His mention of the gospel of God (v1) leads us to the following thoughts.

·        The gospel is good news.  That is what the word means.

·        The gospel if good news from God.  News from the emperor was orten framed by this term “good news.”  But this “good news” is from the Creator, the Eternal God.

·        The gospel is good news promised before through the prophets in the Holy Scriptures.  From the very entrance of sin into the world in Gen. 3 God had promised Someone from the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15) from the family of Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3) in the line of David (2 Sam. 7:12-17) to be a Savior form sin.  The sacrificial system (Lev. 4), including the Passover (Exodus 12) and the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16) anticipated this One.  The prophets prophesied His coming with amazing detail (Psalm 22; Isa. 53; Micah 5:2; etc.).

·        The gospel is good news concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.  1 Cor. 15:1-8 tells us the gospel is about the death, burial and resurrection of Christ: what He did.  This passage tells us it is about the person of Christ: who He is!  Jesus is the God-Man.  According to the flesh He was born the Son of David.  According to the Spirit He was declared to be the Son of God by His powerful resurrection from the dead.

The good news is that God, Who desires all men to be saved, has provided the payment for man’s debt in His Only Son, the Man Christ Jesus (1 Timn. 2:3-5).  This is what Paul preached and what he is writing about in this letter.  Let us rejoice in the fact that God became a man so that the bad news of sin might become the good news of the gospel!