INTRODUCTION TO ROMANS

Romans is the gospel according to Paul. Paul was a highly educated Pharisee. While he was vigorously persecuting Christians, he met the Risen Christ, who forgave him and called him to be an apostle to the Gentiles (Ac 9). God's original purpose in choosing Israel was to make them a kingdom of priests and a holy nation--God's missionaries to the whole world (Ex 19:5-6; Ge 12:3). But the Jews of Paul's day despised Gentiles; their laws forbade fraternizing with them. It is remarkable that God chose Paul, a Hebrew of Hebrews (Php 3:5), as a missionary to the Gentiles.

Rome was the center of the Gentile world. The Christians in Rome were a small minority, mostly immigrants trying to survive there. Paul was eager to visit them to encourage their faith and their missionary vision. He did not know whether or not he would be killed by hostile Jews before he got to Rome, so he wrote them the message on his heart. He wrote about the gospel, God's one universal answer to mankind's universal sin problem. God wants all men everywhere to repent, acknowledge him as Sovereign Lord, and live by faith in Jesus.

Paul wrote this letter from Corinth, toward the end of his third missionary journey. He was on his way to Jerusalem with an offering from the Gentile churches. He wanted Jewish Christians to accept God's mission, and Gentile Christians to have a sense of God's history.

The book of Romans may be divided as follows: (i) Introduction--1:1-17; (ii) Mankind's universal sin problem--1:18-3:20; (iii) God's one solution, the gospel--3:21-4:25; (iv) Real freedom in God's love--5-8; ( v) God's sovereignty in world mission--9-11; (vi) Life together--12-16.

1. The gospel of God (1-4)

Paul was a servant of Jesus Christ. He did not belong to himself; he belonged to Jesus--as do all Christians (7). He was set apart for the gospel of God. The gospel is Jesus. God promised in the Scriptures to send him, and God kept his promise. Jesus was fully human, and he is a king. He is God's son, David's descendant--the Messiah. God raised him from the dead. He alone is able to save us from Satan's grip, from the power of sin and death.

2. Grace and apostleship (5a)

God saves us so that we can do his work. His grace forgives useless sinners, and changes them into useful servants of God. God gives us his mission so that we can live for his glory, for the sake of his name.

3. The obedience that comes from faith (5b)

Paul was a disciple-maker in obedience to Jesus' command (Mt 28:19,20). He called people from the unbelieving world to believe and obey the gospel. If faith is real, obedience comes from it. It is the discipline of obedience that makes a disciple.

Application: Lord, help me to learn the obedience that comes from faith, and live for the sake of your name.
One Word: For the sake of his name