1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from[c] faith for his name’s sake. 6 And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. 7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.           

There are many individuals who desire to be president of the United States. Already there are people starting to make plans for the election on November 7, 2028. How does news information travel? In politics there is false information; how can you discern truth? The apostle Paul was not playing in any Super Bowl, nor running for president or any other elected office, however he does want his platform to be known. He didn’t have TV, radio, internet or newspapers. He had someone write down his words while he was in the Greek city of Corinth, probably about 57-58 AD while on his third missionary journey. His plan was to travel from Corinth to Jerusalem to drop off a sum of money he’d been raising from the churches he’d started. After that he was planning to travel from Jerusalem to Rome, to visit the church there. Finally, his ultimate goal was to sail from Rome to Spain. Since Paul had never been to Rome, one of his reasons for writing this letter was to introduce himself to the church there and pave the way for his eventual visit.           

God inspired this book, which allowed Paul to lay the foundation of faith and discuss truths about salvation, sin, elections, predestination, Israel and the church. God through Paul wanted them to know the foundations and bedrock of belief. Paul wanted them grounded in the word of God. He wanted to protect them from both legalists and libertines. He wanted to take the message which came from the Jews and received by the Gentiles to see each other as part of the larger family of believers.           

Because this is God’s inspired book, others have read this letter through the centuries and it has changed lives. This book brought playboy Augustine to faith in Christ, and Augustine went on to become one of the most prolific and influential Christian thinkers of his generation. This book of the Bible sparked the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther discovered the forgiveness of his sins in the message of Romans. The French Reformer John Calvin claimed that understanding Romans opens the door to understanding the rest of the Bible. The letter of Romans brought a young Anglican pastor named John Wesley into a life changing relationship with Christ. John Wesley and his brother Charles went on to lead a movement that would change England forever. Many revivals took place throughout the country.

We begin this week by looking at the man, the message, and the means God used to spread the message throughout the world.

Application:    Read and meditate on the scripturess recorded in Romans for the next weeks as we travel through this with Paul.

Prayer:  Lord, teach me throughout these upcoming teachings on Romans to know You better and to have a fuller understanding of what You have done for me.   

Dale