Lesson 2 - Romans Chapter 1:5-13 | Deer Creek Canyon Bible Church

Rom. 1:5-7
“Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also
are the called of Jesus Christ; To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the book of Romans, grace will appear 20 times.

Where would any of us be without God’s grace?

Grace: is unmerited (we don’t work for it, we can’t buy it), it’s God’s unearned favor, in which a believer does not and cannot contribute anything of value. Grace is one of the key attributes of God. It is by God’s grace that salvation is there for those who believe by faith.

Eph. 2:8-9
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast”

One of the first times we see the concept of grace in the bible is in Gen. 6:8 “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”

It’s interesting to know that Jesus is never quoted using the word “grace” (charis), but His teachings are full of the unmerited favor of God. The parable of the Prodigal son is the most obvious example. Grace teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this world today.

Titus 2:11-14
“For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.”

Think about it…
Without God’s grace there would be no salvation… and everything that accompanies salvation… wisdom, righteousness, devotion to God, being freed from the power of sin (totally cleansed from every sin), and a desire to doing good works for God.

Without God’s grace we would be forever without God, eternally separated from Him and condemned… to an eternity of facing God’s
judgment.

So, when we thank God for His grace and mercy… realize what that truly means!

Thanking God for His grace is good… the danger lies in, we do it so often, that we can take the full meaning of grace for granted. When we do thank God for His grace, let’s try to focus in on it, and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal His true grace to us. It’s worth meditating on.

“Apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name”

By God’s grace He appointed to us the apostles, who would deliver the Good News to the Jews and Gentiles. Telling everyone what God has
done for them.

“Every person who belongs to God through faith in Christ is an apostle in a more general sense of being sent by Him into the world as His messenger and witness. In an unofficial sense, anyone who is sent on a spiritual mission, anyone who represents the Savior and brings His good news of salvation, is an apostle.” John Mac.

• What are some reasons that people give for not wanting to share the gospel?

“Among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;”

This is a message to everyone in Rome… especially the Gentiles. If a person wants to see if they are called of Jesus Christ… just ask Jesus to forgive your sins and see what happens next!

Rom. 1:7
“To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

“Beloved of God” – God’s word talks repeatedly about God’s love for His children.

Psalm 36:10
“Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You, And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.”

Psalm 103:4
“Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,”

Jonah 4:2b
“For I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.”

We could do a whole separate study on God’s love for us.

“Called to be saints”

Called: here in this context is a synonym for the terms “elect” and “predestined.”

We see this in Rom. 8:29-30
“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”

Being called is the carrying out of the plan of election…

There numerous places in the bible that speak of the plan of election.

Matt. 20:16
“So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.”

John 15:16
“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”

Rom 9:15 “For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.”

So if being called is the carrying out of the plan of election, we might ask, “Am I called of God, am I part of His elect?”

Rom. 8:9-10
“But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God.”

If you have made a decision from your heart to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you have the Holy Spirit of God living in you… making you His elect.

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

So far in Paul’s opening statements to the church in Rome, to people he’s never even met before… we‘ve seen parts of Paul’s character and
personality come out, especially in being a servant.

When it comes to serving God, people do it for all kinds of reasons. Some people will serve God in hopes of gaining salvation or maintaining their salvation. Some serve to try to gain position in a church. Some serve God because their parents or grandparents always did, and then it became just a habit. Some serve God to gain influence, power, money, or dominance over people.

None of these would describe Paul’s motives. This might be, in part, that Paul had experienced many things as a Pharisee. Paul had power and influence and many other benefits that came with his position.

As we have seen, Paul was a changed man, he was nothing like his former life… Jesus had transformed his way of thinking. Now he just
wanted to serve God for God’s purposes, not his own.

Eph. 5:8
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.”

Hopefully we can testify that we are changed, that we are not the same after Jesus came into our life.

II Cor. 4:5
“For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake.”

Paul was truly a changed man… living only for God.

Gal. 2:20
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Yes, we live on physically, but once we turn our life over to God, He lives in us by the Holy Spirit, who is God… when this happens a change takes place. If there is no change, then I question if that person’s heart was really in it.

Rom. 1:8
“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.”

“The whole world,” meaning the whole Roman Empire… they knew about this faith of the Christians in Rome. Word was getting out, you’ve heard the term, “all roads led to Rome.” With all that would happen Rome, meaning commerce and community, people always talked, and the testimony of the Christian church was known.

When we are recognized as Christians, it’s important that our reputation is undamaged… because the world is always watching. Do people know of your faith?

Paul had heard about the church in Rome in his worldly travels.

Rom. 1:9
“For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers,”

Paul is basically saying that every time he thinks about these Christians, he’s praying for them… Paul had a very long prayer list. I’m sure that one of those prayers were for him to be able to come and visit them.

• Why is it important to pray for others? You never know how many people are praying for you.

II Thess. 3:1
“Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you.”

James 5:16b
“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

I think our group fully knows the effectiveness of prayer. It always amazes me how the God of the universe would even give me the time of day, but it just proves further how big our God really is… and how much He truly loves us.

Eph. 6:18
“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”

Every single time when we pray, we are immediately tapping into the spiritual side of eternity… and our God is ready and listening to our every request.

For the believer, having a mind-set of praying continually, makes for an amazing relationship with God, showing that we don’t use God like fire insurance, where He only hears from us when we’re in trouble. Have a prayerful mind-set.

Rom. 1:10-11
“Making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established—”

We know at this point that Paul would really like to be with his fellow brothers and sisters in Rome. What Paul is doing is, writing to them with this letter because he can’t be with them. Imagine if Paul went to Rome in his own strength to meet with the church and never wrote the book of Romans… this book is perhaps one of the most important books in the New Testament.

Fortunately for us, Paul was very tuned in to the Holy Spirit speaking to him.

Acts 16:6
“Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.”

Here we have an example of the Holy Spirit speaking, and Paul listening.

• How do you know when God is speaking to you?

It’s important that we conduct our lives according to God’s will, do things His way rather than our way, and lastly, do it in God’s time, not ours. How we do all that is a life-long learning experience.

“That I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established—”

Paul wasn’t talking about him being with them and bestowing some kind of spiritual gifts on them… only the Holy Spirit does that. In Paul’s heart, he wanted to be with them so they could all benefit from what he had to offer… his preaching, teaching, encouragement, praying for them, comforting them… basically all that the Body of Christ does.

Maybe think in terms, that Paul was the Body of Christ all wrapped up in a neat little package.

“So that you may be established—”

What Paul wanted for every person within the church family, was to be well grounded… become mature. It’s important for us to always be moving toward maturity in Christ.

Eph. 4:14-15
“That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head… Christ”

Rom. 1:12
“That is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.”

Paul’s humility comes out again. Paul is like the “rock Star” of the Christian church, and yet here, he’s saying that he would be encouraged by being with them.

A good lesson for us here is, that no matter how mature we might think we are in our faith, God can use even a brand-new believer to teach us something. Better yet, God can and does use little children to show us even the deep things of God.

I Peter 5:2-3
“Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example.”

Peter was addressing some elders here, but the same principle is found here… lead by example… Paul was always doing that, in fact, Paul said it would be good if we imitate him.

Phil. 3:17
“Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.”

Rom. 1:13
“Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles.”

“Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren”

This is Paul’s way of saying to them, “listen up, I’m about to tell you something that is important.” When Paul was about to talk about Jesus’ return he said this;

I Thess. 4:13
“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.”

By saying he didn’t want the people to be “ignorant” or “unaware,” Paul is saying, “I’m about to teach you a truth of God, so, if you’re a note taker, please write this down.”

“I often planned to come to you but was hindered until now”

If Paul had his own way, he would’ve been with them a long time ago… but things happen when you’re doing ministry.

“That I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles.”

When we get involved in working for the Lord, we don’t do it just to keep busy, we do it as unto the Lord, for the kingdom of God.

As we do good works unto the Lord, our hope is that have planted seeds at the very least, and that those seeds will grow and produce fruit.

Case in point, you tell someone about God’s salvation, and they end up giving their life to Christ, then that person grows in Christ and leads somebody else to Christ… we could definitely call that bearing fruit.

This was always Paul’s goal… this was Paul’s life.