Romans 1:16 - The Power of God for Salvation

Romans 1:16 - 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.

Message: "Not ashamed of the One who saved my soul, Not ashamed of the one who made me whole."

Time: Written sometime in AD 57-58, probably from Corinth, at the end of Paul's third missionary journey.

What the Lord is Saying:

I love how Paul further clarifies his message and his passion for the things of God.  In verse 15, he mentioned that he was "eager" to preach the gospel. In verse 8, he expressed his thanks to the church in Roma for proclaiming their faith. In verse 9, he serves God in the gospel. Verse 12 speaks of the fact that encouragement is found in each others faith. In verse 1 he already stated that he was set apart for the gospel.

Already in his opening of this letter to the church in Rome he has communicated repeatedly the significance of the Gospel in his life. And yet, now in verse 16, he feels like it is further important to clarify once again that he is not ashamed of the Gospel. It would seem, based upon what he has already said, that verse 16 isn't even necessary. He has said he is "set apart," "serves God," "eager," "thankful to others," "Encouragement found in others." All of these passions and desires and priorities in him and his life concerning the gospel. And yet he still feels compelled to say he is "not ashamed."

It is almost like he wants to cover every base. And this idea of not being ashamed seems to be so key to present. It really is penetrating to me because I can be a person who is often very interested in what people think of me. I want to be the fun guy that people like. I want to do things that people admire. And yet I know I live in a world where the gospel and God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit and the words of Christ and message of the Gospel is not being held in high form. Yes, we hold it up high within the confines of our churches and within our small Christian groups, but as we live in the world, associate with the world, and ofter intertwine ourselves with the things of the world we can be trained by the ideals of the world. Very often, the gospel of God stands in opposition the father of lies and the world he is creating and proclaiming.

And while I may sing in church or in a Christian concert that I am "not ashamed" my words in the public life sometimes are not as quick in their proclamation.

But this is not just a one verse message in the Bible.

Psalm 40:9 - "I have proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness in the great congregation; Behold, I will not restrain my life, O Lord, you know."

Psalm 40:10, "I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your loving-kindness and Your truth from the great congregation."

Psalm 71:15, "My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness, of Your salvation all day long." 

Psalm 71:16, "I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord God; I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone."

Psalm 119:46, "I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings, and shall not be ashamed."

Jesus speaks in Mark 8:38, "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."  And repeated in Luke 9:26, "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when He comes in His glory, and of the Father and of the holy angels."

I Corinthians 2:2, "For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified."

2 Timothy 1:8, "Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord, or of me His prisoner; but join with in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God."

2 Timothy 1:12, "For this reason I suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day."

1 Peter 4:15-16, "By no means let any of you suffer as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if as a Christian (you suffer), let him not feel ashamed, but in that name let him glorify God." 

The gospel is quite simply good news. "Have you any good news for me today?"

There are 73 verses in the NT that speak of the Gospel and how it is to be proclaimed, lived, suffered for, a part of our life.

What is the Gospel. God came to earth as a man. Born as a virgin. Called Emmanuel ("God with us."). Jesus lived a life without sin. Jesus crucified. The substitute for our sin. Died. Raised or resurrected to a new glorified life. His life, death, and resurrection happened. In Christ I can be new.

The Lord Jesus bore our sin. 

I Corinthians 15:1-11

• Christ died for our sins
• He was buried
• He was raised on the third day
• He appeared to Cephas, then then 12
• He appeared to more than 500
• He appeared to James, then the apostles
• He appeared to me, Paul

I Corinthians 1:17-25

• The gospel is to be preached
• Not in cleverness of speech so it is not void
• It is to those who are perishing
• It saves those who believe
• Preach Christ crucified
• The Power of God

Thus far, though, I have only looked at the first part of the verse. Yes, Paul says he is not ashamed of the Gospel of God. But, there is a reason he is not ashamed, because it is the power of God for salvation. The gospel has saved him.

The gospel of God is not the power of man. If man makes the gospel a set of rules that must be followed or a set of steps then it is no longer the power of God, but instead some sort of man-God package. But, Paul is so clear in that the gospel is the Power of God.

Promise: It is God's power and His power alone that saves us.

Romans 1:13-15 - Paul's Gospel Obligation

Romans 1:13-15 - 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.


Message: Eager to preach, eager to share

Time: Written sometime in AD 57-58, probably from Corinth, at the end of Paul's third missionary journey.

What the Lord is Saying:

Paul wants to assure the people living in Rome that he has wanted to come visit them, but has not been able to make that visit happen. And what he desires is to "obtain some fruit" among them. Fruit is a product of our spiritual growth in Christ. In verse 12, Paul remarks that he desires to be encouraged by the Christians living in Rome. So, into verse 13, his desire is to witness the fruit that has occurred from these people's lives. It is one thing to hear about what God is doing in the live's of His people, but quite another to actually witness what is being done.

From verse 14, we see that Paul acted out his faith out of obligation. Yes, he loved what he did. But, he didn't wait until he felt like being obedient to be obedient. He was commissioned and tasked to preach the gospel. Yes, we have duties and those duties can be delightful. (From Tabletalk, January 7, 2014)

Paul clearly wants to communicate that the Love of Christ and the preaching of the Word is to all people. There is no distinction. The Gospel is to be preached to all people. And I think the gospel is to continued to be preached. He desires to not only encourage these Christians in Rome, to be see their fruit, to pray with them, to thank them in Christ for their message, but he also wants to continue to preach the Gospel. The Gospel is something we just receive one time, but it is something we need to continue to hear preached.
Promise: The Gospel is open to all.

Romans 1:8-12 - Paul's Intent to Visit Rome

Romans 1:8-12:  ⁸ First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. ⁹ For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, ¹⁰ always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you. ¹¹ For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; ¹² that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.

Message: Paul encourages, is praying for and desires to visit Rome to share with them a message

Time: Written sometime in AD 57-58, probably from Corinth, at the end of Paul's third missionary journey.  
 
What the Lord is Saying: 

Paul begins with a thank you to these Christians living in Rome, for not just their faith, but for proclaiming their faith. And the fruit of that proclamation they are doing is affecting the entire world. 

And Paul is praying for them, despite probably not having seen most of them. By God's will, he hopes to succeed in visiting them, because he wants to share something with them. 

Other Key Thoughts:

Thankfulness - The first thing that Paul did in speaking to the church in Rome is offer thanks. How quick am I to offer thanks to God for everything in life? Often, the condition of my heart is wanting more and a desire to be better and improve. Those are good things, but they can often overshadow an attitude of thankfulness for all that God has done for me. But often I equate giving or providence with monetary blessing or even a healthy well-being. Yes, I am rich in these areas, but He has done so much for me, simply iin saving me. Help me Lord to not lose sight of this. Help me to not be so focused on self-improvement or self-betterment. Right now, I stare to much at my finances and constantly want more. There is such a danger then to not be grateful for all that we have and have been given. 

Faith proclaims - It is such a great thing that the first words about this church is thankfulness for how their faith is being proclaimed. They are not a church of yachting boats, but a church of fishing boats. Their first focus is on proclaiming the message of Jesus. I continue to see in my own life that proclaiming the Gospel, while something I believe in and like, is not something I live on my sleeve at all times. I look for appropriate times. I wait for people to speak to me about their faith. I wait for God to be brought up. I speak of God only at certain times. I am segmented in proclaiming the Lord. And yet, I think I am progressing in this. Right now, I don't speak words of eloquence. But, I'm asked to be faithful. I need to be loving towards those I work with at work. As a friend said, he has given me a ministry to those in my sphere of influence, whether it is my neighborhood or work associates.

Serve - Paul agrees with the service of the Gospel, echoing that he lives his life in the same manner. Service is sometimes translated worship in the NT. We are to serve God in a deep way, with our whole heart (affection), mind (inner thoughts), soul (devotion), strength (abilities) (Mark 12:30). Our service is not a part-time thing.  

Prayers - The word used for prayer in verse 10 is used 37 times in the New Testament. In the book of Acts (the early church) it is used 9 times. Preaching should be the result of prayer. 

Promise: There is encouragement in the Body of Christ

Romans 1:5-7 - The Church in Rome

Romans 1:5-7: ⁵ through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake, ⁶ among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; ⁷ to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Message: The Church in Rome

Time: Written sometime in AD 57-58, probably from Corinth, at the end of Paul's third missionary journey. 

What the Lord is Saying: I have taken over a week now just to study these key verses. I believe these are incredible verses because in them the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ are clearly spoken. 

Our calling is significant in these opening verses. Jesus has been declared throughout the Scriptures and his position as our Savior and Redeemer was accomplished on the cross and now we are the called ones. 

Verse 5
Our position as His apostles is clearly presented in verse 5, "we have received grace." Grace precedes our apostleship. Before the message can be carried forth, we must have received it. Grace is something we receive. We take it, collect it, accept it. Our acquisition of grace is active on our part. Jesus did it all. It cost God everything. It is a gift. We receive it. 

The "whom" in verse 5 comes from verse 4: Jesus. He was promised by the prophets. He was a descendant of David. The resurrection declared His Power and the culmination of His divinity. The Holy Spirit was there bringing Christ through the resurrection, which ultimately saved us all. 

By receiving grace, we then have a mission in life. Each of us is commissioned. We are not each apostles in the technical NT sense, but we are each charged as ambassadors of His Message.

We are ambassadors of the message of grace. The product of faith is obedience. Obedience does not precede faith. Grace is a change of heart. It is an acknowledgement that Jesus saves. I can't save myself. My works are filthy rags. Obedience is faith and obedience is what follows faith. Keeping Is commandments is the necessary fruit of our salvation. 

Grace occurs. Faith is expressed. Obedience follows. I am the Lord's ambassador. 

It is not that we are obedient to the faith, but obedience is caused by faith. 

And Paul's audience is the Gentiles. This is his mission. And He does it all for God's glory. He does it to praise His name. Everything in life points to Christ: 
(1) Grace is what Christ has done, 
(2) The message we deliver in life is about Him, 
(3) Our faith is in Him, 
(4) Our obedience is to Him (and flows from our faith),
(5) We are sent to the people He calls us to and 
(6) We do all of this For His Name, for His Glory.
(7) Jesus calls us. 

Verse 6
In Paul speaking to the church in Rome, those in the church are specified as the called. John 10:27 states, "My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me." When I think of the disciples. Jesus called them. They listened, responded and followed. But, their response didn't have an effect on Jesus calling them and yet, calling is significant because the language presents the idea that if Jesus calls a person they will follow. But does this mean they will then have faith. As I think about Him calling the disciples can we say that Judas didn't know Him? Is his turning away confirmation that He wasn't a child of God? Or was it that since He was called he was already saved? It is a tough conundrum.

Verse 5 speaks of the mission Paul had to the Gentiles. And now in verse 6 he states that those in the church at Rome, just like the Gentiles, are also the called of Jesus Christ. In essence the message of verse 5 is also about Jesus' calling.

The Greek word for calling is kletos which literally means the invited, like those that are invited to a banquet.

Verse 7
Beloved means we are loved by God. And this is in the present tense.The called are those who have heard the good news and responded to it by exercising saving faith. The called are virtually synonymous in this way with the elect. The ones who hear and respond and follow Him are the called.

So, perhaps in answer to my above question, it is those that are listening, that are making a response and follow Him--these are the ones that then hear the call and answer.

Saints are those that are set aside from the profane ways of the world to convey Christ. They are the holy ones of God. Every person in Christ by grace is a saint.

We are not called because we are saints or because we were so lovely, but we are saints because we are called. But, before any of this, we are beloved.  Beloved>Called>Saints. Is it not simply incredible the number of times the Gospel is presented in these opening verses. Even, just the simplicity of verse 7 and the remark that we are beloved of God.  And then we are called. And then Christ makes us saints (upon our faith in Him), so that we are then set apart for the purpose of glorifying God and proclaiming Him throughout our world.

"Grace to you and peace." Here Paul offers a simple prayer to those in Rome. This should be a daily prayer in our lives. In my life, it is so simple to pray these 5 words for my family and all those in my life.

Promise: God calls me His beloved. No higher designation for me in life.

Through Him

While reading through Romans 1:5 and studying it, the phrase "through whom we have received..." seems significant to look at for a moment. I continue to look to the Precept Austin Web pages for help my studies. It is an awesome site.

Jesus is our creator
John 1:3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.

Romans 11:36 "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen."

I Corinthians 8:6, "yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live."

Salvation is through Him
John 3:17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. [The only way to get to the Father is through Jesus.]

Ephesians 2:18, "For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit."

Acts 13:39 "and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses." [The Law can't make you free, only through Him.]

Romans 5:9 "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him."

I Peter 1:20-21 "For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God."

Romans 5:1, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." [Amazing. Faith in Jesus is the conduit for peace with God.]

Romans 5:21, "so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." [What a sequence, sin = death, grace yields righteousness yielding eternal life; why? by Jesus Christ.]

I Corinthians 15:57, "thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

The works of Jesus
Acts 2:22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— [The work which Jesus did came about because of what God did through Him.]

Acts 3:16 “And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all. [Faith in Jesus gives people strength; In this instance, it wasn't the man who needed the healing faith that produced the healing, it was the faith which Peter and John had in Jesus that healed the man.]

Colossians 2:15, "When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him."

Hebrews 7:25, "Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."

John 1:17, "For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ."

Acts 10:36, "The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)—"

Romans 1:4-5, "who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake."

Romans 2:16, "God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus." [What a clear picture of Jesus being God. The secrets of men is known by Jesus Christ."]

Jesus enables the works of man

Romans 8:37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Colossians 1:19-20, "yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.

I John 4:9, "By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him."

Colossians 3:17, "Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father."

Hebrews 13:15, "Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name."

Romans 1:8, "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world." [As we pray, we do it in the name of Jesus Christ.]

Forgiveness of sins through Him
Acts 10:43 “Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.” [Accessed through belief/faith.]

Acts 13:38 “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you." [Available to all.]