Romans: Part 1 - Ch. 1-2

A Beautiful Book

The time has come. We have moved on from the amazing book of Acts, and we will now be journeying through the letters to the Church that Paul has written while in prison. As we have gone through our timeline of the Bible this year, we rarely take a full month to focus on just one book. Of course, we just did so with the book of Acts, but when you look at this title, you may be thinking, ‘Are we about to do the same with Romans?’ You betcha. Now, why are we going to be taking a full month to focus on Romans? Is this really a book that requires this much attention? With only 16 chapters, is there that much to cover? Romans is really this important? Yes, yes, and more yeses. The book of Romans is one of if not the most famous of all of Paul’s writings. The gospel in this book is presented in such a powerful and clear way that seeing the beauty of Christ and His sacrifice is impossible to ignore. John Piper states it beautifully when he says, “This book is the place where the gospel of Christ shines most brightly and most thoroughly in all the Bible — the Book of Romans.” If you have read the book of Romans before, I think you understand where Piper is coming from. Even if you’ve just skimmed through it, I’m sure you’ve noticed a verse or two that has caught your attention and led you to understand the gospel even more. Regardless of where your knowledge may be with this book, I think every Christ-follower could benefit by dissecting one of the best books that lead us to the cross of Christ. With that being said, let’s dive in. 

This Is My Job

As we read chapter one, we can see Paul introducing himself to the Church at Rome and why he is so pleased to be in Rome in the first place. Despite being thrown in prison and being accused of multiple crimes, Paul is nonetheless ecstatic to bring the gospel to Rome, a place that most desperately needs to hear the good news. Paul notes in Romans 1:14-16, “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to the uncultured, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” The overall tone and language that Paul uses here in this opening chapter should grip at your heart. Again, this man is in prison and is being accused of crimes for his teachings on Christ, and what does he tell the Church? ‘I am under obligation’, ‘I am eager to preach the gospel’, ‘I am not ashamed of the gospel’. To be quite frank, Paul does not care what happens to him throughout his time in Rome as long as the gospel is preached. Paul isn’t going to Rome to teach the gospel only if people receive him with open arms; it is his job that he was sent by God to do. 

He must preach the gospel to the lost, and he is unashamed to do so. This is also why Paul concludes the first chapter by talking about God’s wrath on the unrighteous. Make no mistake about it, Paul is not teaching a prosperity type of gospel here, he is teaching the inerrant Word of God at face value. Paul flat out says in Romans 1:18-19, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.” The reason we should fear and honor God isn’t only because God loves us enough to send us His Son to die for us, but also becasue of His wrath that is set apart for the unconverted. Many like to teach only one side of this coin. Not Paul. Paul has made it unmistakably clear that Jesus loves His family enough to die for them to bring them into salvation, however, He also hates unrighteousness, and those who choose to ignore the gospel and continue living in this unrighteousness will deal with the wrath of God for eternity in Hell. 

God Isn’t Flawed, We Are

Furthermore, Paul continues this point into chapter two. I love how Paul opens up this chapter because it is such a punch in the mouth to how the prosperity gospel has been preached today. Look at what Paul says in Romans 2:3-4, “But do you suppose this, you foolish person who passes judgment on those who practice such things, and yet does them as well, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and restraint and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” I love this passage because it immediately gets rid of the idea that God is ‘too harsh’ when He talks about punishing the unrighteous. So many people think that God is a cruel and mean God because He is willing to throw people who we deem as kind and loving into Hell. However, what Paul says here is very eye-opening. Do we think too lightly of His kindness? Do we not know that God’s kindness leads us to repentance? God isn’t thinking too harshly of His punishment; you are thinking too lightly of His kindness. If God’s kindness towards you includes His Son dying the most brutal death possible in order to pay for your sins, and you don’t repent and believe in the gospel, you think way too lightly of the kindness of God. Lastly, Paul concludes chapter two by talking about how the modern-day Jew is judged by the Law, but the one who puts their faith in Christ is freed from the Law because Christ fulfilled it on our behalf. Again, the same principle can be applied here. If you think God is being too harsh because we need to follow all 613 laws from the Old Testament in order to live a perfect life to inherit salvation before Christ, it is we who view the price for salvation too lightly, not God. I hope that in just these two chapters alone, you are starting to see why the book of Romans is such a popular book and why we are again taking a whole month to digest it. Paul’s letter to the Romans is directed toward a lost people who need to know the gospel and yet have refuted it for many of the reasons the world uses today. That is why this book is so powerful to the unbeliever and so encouraging to the believing evangelist. I pray that as we go through this book, the Holy Spirit will bring you a new passion for the gospel and that it will come alive inside of you, just as it did for Paul. 

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Sources

[1] Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/

[2] “The Author of the Greatest Letter Ever Written.” Desiring God, 26 Apr. 1998, www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-author-of-the-greatest-letter-ever-written.