Lesson 1 – Romans Chapter 1:1-4
The Book of Romans in my opinion, is perhaps the flagship of the apostle Paul’s writings. When I meet a new believer I will usually advise them in reading the bible, to start in the book of Romans or the gospel of John.
II Tim. 3:16
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Romans is written by the apostle Paul, around A.D. 58, and he probably wrote the book while he was on his third missionary trip to Corinth, which was at the time, a popular but wicked seaport.
Up to this point, the city of Rome did not have the benefit of any teaching or preaching by any of the Apostles. Paul wanted to go to Rome, but that didn’t happen until later when Paul went there as a prisoner. We will see that Paul had a love the Roman church, and he prayed for them often.
The Book of Romans will teach us what is true, make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It will also correct us when we are going down the wrong path and teach us to do what is right.
Romans speaks morally… about adultery, fornication, homosexuality, hating, murder, lying, and civil disobedience. We will learn about saving faith, grace, mercy and God’s righteous judgment.
We will find out that every one of us is guilty of sin, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, and that Jesus is the solution to our sin problem.
Rom. 5:1
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”
Rom. 5:8
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Rom. 5:10
“For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”
Yes, before we were ever saved, we were considered as God’s enemy… that’s a scary thought.
• We will learn that it is the Law of God that will convict of sin,
Rom. 7:7
“Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.”
• Then in chapter 8, which some bible teachers say that chapter 8 is perhaps one of the chief chapters in the New Testament. Paul starts out by making one of the greatest declarations ever…
Rom. 8:1
“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.”
Satan hates that verse.
• We will discover that those who make Jesus Christ Lord of their life, are children of God, and that we can call Him, Father or Daddy
• Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love
Rom. 8:38-39
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
• We will study how God is still not done with Israel.
Rom. 10:1
“Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved.”
Rom. 11:1
“I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin.”
• We will see how a person can be saved…
Rom. 10:9-10
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.”
• God’s word will show us how to live… even help us in our thinking.
Rom. 12:2
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
• Respect for Authority…
Rom. 13:1
“Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.”
• Be all things to all people…
Rom. 14:1-2
“Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. For instance, one person believes it’s all right to eat anything. But another believer with a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables.”
• Living to please others…
Rom. 15:5
“May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus.”
• Learning about Paul’s mission and purpose…
Rom. 15:16
“I am a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles. I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit.”
Rom. 1:1
“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God.”
Paul who was once known as Saul, had a reputation among the young Christian Church, as being a terrorist to all the believers in Jesus Christ. As we start out in this first chapter, we will get a pretty good picture into Paul’s character.
After Saul’s conversion and baptism… it says
Act 9:20-21
“And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is indeed the Son of God!” All who heard him were amazed. “Isn’t this the same man who caused such devastation among Jesus’ followers in Jerusalem?” they asked. “And didn’t he come here to arrest them and take them in chains to the leading priests?” (NLT)
Now about 22 years later, Paul is calling himself a “bondservant,” he’s come a long way from the man he used to be.
This should cause us to reflect on who we were before we belonged to Jesus Christ. Like the song says, “that saved a wretch like me.” We all have a past, and by giving our life to Christ we have become brand new, a new creation… born again as they say.
There is no “sin” so great that Jesus can’t forgive… except the sin of rejecting God’s offer of salvation through His Holy Spirit.
One definition of a bondservant or bondslave is; one who gives himself up to another’s will, those whose service is used by Christ in extending and advancing His cause among men. Back in Paul’s day, a slave was someone owned by another person to do with as they wanted.
There were an estimated 60 million slaves in the Roman Empire; and a slave was looked at as a piece of property, not a person. The people of Rome were quite familiar with what it meant to be a slave. A bondslave, on the other hand, was a person who was freed by their master and decided to stay on as a slave… under his own free will.
For Paul it was an honor to serve Christ, and he wasn’t being boastful about serving, even though there is a certain dignity God imparts on those who belong to Him… by His grace.
Paul didn’t see himself as better than others.
I Tim. 1:15
“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.”
Looking at Paul’s attitude here, I think it’s safe to say that Paul was a humble man, he knew his past, and now he was changed man because of God’s grace and mercy.
Paul was “called to be an apostle”
I Cor. 15:8
“Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw Him (meaning Jesus). For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church. But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his grace on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.”
The funny thing here is, Paul never applied for the position of apostle… Jesus chose him.
Acts 9:15
“But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.”
Being called by God is something we should take seriously.
Jude 1:1
“This letter is from Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James. I am writing to all who have been called by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus Christ.”
When a person is aware of that call, and surrenders to it, he or she starts living out God’s purpose for their life. The first thing to remember is, we are all called to His salvation. After salvation, we are further called to grow in Christian virtue and serve God by good works. Before we are saved, our good works meant nothing to God, in fact He sees our good as filthy rags (Isa. 64:6). Remember, we’re not saved by good works, we are only saved through Jesus Christ.
II Pet. 1:10
“So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away.”
Do what things?
Strive for moral excellence, grow in knowledge, have self-control, patient endurance, godliness, brotherly affection, love for everyone.
• What kind of things can a believer do to be worthy of his or her calling?
In following the call of God, we need to stay in His Word and pray… every day. When we are faithful to the call of obedience, God can call us to more specific areas to serve.
Luke 16:10
“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.” (NLT)
Once you start serving the Lord, no matter what that might be… you will find great joy in doing so, and over time, you will never be truly satisfied unless you’re serving God in some way.
“Separated unto the gospel of God”
Being separated means: to appoint, or set apart for some purpose. Because Paul was called and sent by God as an apostle, his whole life was set apart in service to the Lord.
People who have been called by God to some kind of service won’t be very effective, unless they are separated unto God.
A good example of this would be the Pharisees… they were not set apart by God’s standards, but they set themselves apart according to the standards of their own traditions.
We can go to church, call ourselves Christian, get involved in all kinds of ministries, give money to the church, and do all kinds of things… but if we haven’t made Jesus Lord of our life, we’re just deceiving ourselves.
Matt. 23:2-3
“The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach.”
The Pharisees were set apart unto themselves, not to God. They fooled themselves into thinking they were righteous.
Being set apart to God doesn’t come naturally for us, our very own flesh wars against us, so we have to work hard toward it. It helps if every once in a while, examine ourselves, make sure we’re on track… number one: stay in God’s word.
Rom. 1:2-4
“Which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”
(NLT) “God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Bringing the Good News wasn’t something Paul dreamed up, it was prophesized about in the Old Testament.
II Sam. 7:12-13 (Speaking of David, then about Jesus)
“For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make His kingdom strong. He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for My name. And I will secure His royal throne forever.”
By Paul making references to the Old Testament, this could come as a good teaching tool for him when speaking to the Jews. By some counts, there are over 300 messianic prophecies in the Old Testament.
A lot of the Jews were not very good at remembering what the scriptures taught.
Luke 24:25, 27,32 (On the road to Emmaus)
“Then Jesus said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!”
“And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, Jesus expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”
“And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”
By Paul using scripture from the Old Testament, this would jog the memories of many of the Jews.
“The seed of David,… declared to be the Son of God”
Here we have a good picture of Jesus, that He is 100% man and 100% God.
“According to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”
Another way to say it is, “according to the nature and work of the Holy Spirit.”
John MacArthur: “It was the Holy Spirit working in Christ who accomplished Jesus’ resurrection and every other miracle performed by Him or associated with Him. In the incarnation, Jesus Christ was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and in the resurrection He was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of holiness.”