Book of Romans Study
Lesson # 2
By Rev. James May
Romans 1:3-1:7
Romans 1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
Romans 1:2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)
Romans 1:3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh:
Last week we began our study of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans by saying that this book is often called “The Constitution of Christianity”. The very foundation of this constitution is found not in the will of “We the People”, but in the “Will of Almighty God”. It is God alone who established the Law, who gave that Law to men to show us how we had failed in that Law, and that the only penalty for breaking that Law is death. The Law had no mercy and had only one requirement if broken, and that was full payment for the penalty of sin.
It was by the Mercy and Grace of God alone, that a plan was set into motion and God sent his only Son, Jesus Christ, to fulfill the requirements of the Law on our behalf, and then by confessing our sin and proclaiming Jesus Christ is Lord, we have now a set of rights and promises as Christians.
Like every other constitution, the way of salvation and the plan of God for his people not only gives rights and privileges, but it pronounces and spells out rules and regulations by which every citizen must live. Since God is no respecter of persons, and all that he does puts every man and woman on a level playing field, then we all, every Christian who is Born Again into the family of God, are bound by the laws of God as put forth in the New Testament. Though we are not under the Law of the Old Testament once we accept Christ as Savior, unlike those who are lost in sin who are under that original Law and its penalty of death, we are under a new law called the “Law of Grace”.
We will be doing a considerable amount of study on all of this as we go through Romans so I won’t spend a lot of time here right now, but as we look at verse three we are reminded of the very source of our salvation. It has come only through the Grace of God through Jesus Christ, whose coming was prophesied many times in the Old Testament and then fulfilled when Jesus was born in Nazareth as the son of the Virgin Mary, and raised by both Mary and Joseph, making him of the lineage of David just as God had foretold.
Let none of us think that anything that God has given has come to us as an accident of nature, or as a series of coincidences. It was all planned long before Adam fell in the Garden of Eden, and God’s plan has been executed with precision beyond measure, and we are told that all this to come will happen the same way. Not one Jot (dotting of an I, or the smallest punctuation mark used in any language that appears above a letter in a word) and not one tittle (crossing of a t, or, in the Greek language, the very smallest of words that can be used) shall fail until all is fulfilled.
Romans 1:4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
As the prophets had prophesied concerning the coming of Jesus, who would be the Christ, or the Messiah, he did not begin to be the Son of God when he born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus was, is and is to come, eternal God. He only took on the form of humanity and had a human nature for one purpose; to become the sacrifice that was needed for our sin, and to make a way for the resurrection from the dead for every soul that would believe in him.
The Holy Ghost is the One who brings us into a place of holiness before God. He teaches us about Christ, leads us to Christ, bears testimony in our hearts concerning Christ and the resurrection, and then, in the time of the resurrection, it is the Holy Spirit which will quicken our dead bodies to come forth with the power of the life of God in us. As he did for Jesus; so shall the Holy Ghost do for us!
Romans 1:5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
Through both the Lord Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Ghost, we have been given gifts that will equip us for whatever service God has assigned us to do for His kingdom. Our God is the God of all Grace, and the source of all Truth, and by him alone we are given what Paul calls, “Grace and Apostleship”.
"Grace and Apostleship" means that we have been given these gifts and are honored to receive them as a favor from the Lord and the anointing of the Holy Ghost. Since Paul, and all of us, have been given such great and precious gifts from the Lord, then it is necessary that we take those gifts, obey the teachings of Christ, walk by faith, and work in the ministry that we have been given. To fail to do so is unthinkable! How could we receive God’s grace and gifts and just allow them to be dormant in us? What an affront to the price that Jesus paid and the Grace that he has shown!
We must be about our Father’s business, and so, as an Apostle, Paul knew that his business for the Lord was to write these words and to go to the Romans to help establish the church and teach the Word of God, bringing glory and honor to the Lord from whom all good gifts come! Not only was Paul’s message for the Romans, but for every nation and every church, and every Christian in the earth. His message is timeless, reaching unto the last generation of men that will be born. God’s Word never changes and it is a Living Word unto all men.
Romans 1:6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:
Again, the call of God, the gifts and anointing of the Holy Ghost are for all of us. As they were for those of the Romans who were called of Christ, so are they for you and me.
The Romans were the greatest nation on earth at that time, and Paul considered it a great honor to be sent by God to be an Apostle to establish churches in Rome and to preach the gospel among the nation that ruled the world of his day. Others of the Apostles, like Peter, James and Matthew had also been given Grace and a calling, just as Paul had, but their calling was chiefly among the Jews while Paul was sent to the Gentiles.
Where once the Roman people were caught in the great darkness of sin, without hope; now they would be given the Light of the Gospel, and that great people and nation could begin to be transformed into a people of God just as any other nation.
The Romans had conquered many nations, making slaves and servants of those who were conquered, but Paul looked upon the Romans themselves as slaves to sin, bound in chains of darkness, needing deliverance from the bondage in their own lives. They were no more free than the people they conquered; and in fact were more bound than many that they enslaved because of the darkness of sin that held them in a prison without hope.
Now, through Christ, the Romans too, could be called the Family of God. They could inherit the promises that God made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They could grafted, or adopted, into the Holy Nation of the Lord Jesus Christ and become the Children of God just as much, or perhaps even more so, than the Jews themselves.
Romans 1:7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 7 ends the salutation of Paul’s Letter to the Romans. It is important to note that the Word of the Lord, written under the anointing and direction of the Holy Ghost, was not addressed to the Emperor of the Roman Empire; nor was it addressed to the great Roman Senate. It was also not addressed to every citizen of Rome.
It was addressed only to those who were Born Again saints of God who were then living in Rome. Those saints, whether they were rich or poor, bond or free, male or female, young or old, Jew or Gentile, were all included in Paul’s letter.
There was no class or citizenship distinction between them because in the church there is no hierarchy. Though we have different gifts and different position, and perhaps carry different levels of ability or authority in the government of the church, there are none in the church whom God considers greater than any other.
Like we said before, God’s kingdom is the great equalizer where we all are equal in the eyes of God. Where do you think the idea of “all men being created equal” comes from? It certainly doesn’t come from the mind and heart of sinful man, for we would quickly allow pride and arrogance to create a class society and often make slaves, or at least give less consideration and thought to those whom we considered less privileged and valuable than we think we are. Only in God is there equality! When we forget God, equality and fairness to all men goes out the window.
These Romans were now the beloved sons and daughters of God, not because of their Roman citizenship, or their education or class. Their place of freedom in their own society meant nothing. The only thing that made them special above their fellowmen is that they now had the Love of God within them and were Children of God because of God’s own sovereign will and grace.
The Romans, like us, were not born as saints. We were closer to being devils than saints. But when Jesus called our name, and we answered that call, we are now called saints by the Grace of God.
Paul’s great hopes for the Romans are written as he says, “Grace to you, and peace”, meaning peace with God through Christ, peace within themselves through God’s grace, peace among themselves as fellow Christians, and of course the hope that they would live in peace among all men until God would call them hope to that place of eternal peace in Heaven.
Remember always that they were no longer just citizens of Rome but that now they had a higher citizenship. This world was not their home for they now had citizenship in Heaven as children of God. The now had a Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ was now their elder Brother. They were heirs and joint heirs with Christ of the Peace of God that only God could give.
Thus Paul ends the salutation of his letter. He begins by acknowledging their membership in the Family of God as saints of the Lord. He establishes his own right and authority under God to be called an Apostle in their midst and therefore to go to them and expect their cooperation when he establishes the church and teaches the doctrine of Christ in their midst.
All of this is written in preparation for the words to come throughout the rest of the letter, and to prepare the Roman Christians for his visit that Paul hopes will be very soon.
Romans 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
Paul is thankful not only for the fact that there saints of God in Rome who are truly of the Household of God, but that those saints were radically saved and active in their spreading of the gospel. They didn’t just receive Christ and then keep to themselves or do nothing to win souls. They were active, and their work in the ministry was known throughout the Roman Empire.
No doubt many Christians had passed through the city of Rome because it was the very center of all commerce, industry and politics for the known world. Each one that passed through learned of the work of the saint in Rome and began to spread the word of the works that they had done.
They were fulfilling the command of Jesus to go into the whole world and preach the gospel to every creature, only they were beginning at the uttermost parts of the world of that time. In only a few years, the message of the gospel had spread all over the empire and for this Paul was so very grateful.
It’s always a wonderful thing to see God’s people getting involved in ministry. Even here in our own church, it is good to see people doing a work for the Lord. It’s only as we all work together as a team, each one of us adding our calling and our anointing to the work, that our church is able to be a force for reaching out and touching our community. Not all are pastors; not all are evangelists, and not all are teachers; but when we all join together, God can use us to create a mighty work for him.
I pray that the faithfulness of the workers here in our church will become so strong that it will be known throughout the world as a church that loves Jesus and our fellowman. But that will only happen as we all put our shoulder to the wheel. The “saints at Rome” means more than one was doing a great work. They were all involved, not just a few!
Romans 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;
Romans 1:10 Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.
Paul was most sincere in his care for the church and for the saints of God. Though he had never met them, he loved them and cared for them. He was ever in prayer for the church, knowing that it was under constant threat and had to withstand the onslaught of Satan’s forces that tries to destroy it.
So should we ever be in prayer for one another, and for every church, not just our own. Paul tells that we should pray without ceasing, always making intercession for one another. We all need one another!
I’m sure Paul didn’t spend hours a day praying for the saints at Rome, but he spent every waking hour in an attitude of prayer as he went about his business as an Apostle. Praying without ceasing simply means that we should ever be an attitude of prayer, always meditating upon the Word and the will of God, and always have our spiritual eyes open to see what God would have to say to us through everything around us.
Paul’s greatest desire at this point of his ministry, and the very reason for writing this letter, was to try and set the groundwork for his soon coming trip to Rome. He desired greatly to go to Rome and preach the gospel and set the church in order as God directed. That’s what Paul lived for – to see the church grow and the saints to prosper in the Lord.
Romans 1:11 For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;
Romans 1:12 That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.
Paul desired greatly to get to Rome, not to see the sights, or to rub shoulders with the elite of the empire, but to be a blessing and to allow God to use him to bless the saints. Paul’s focus was on God’s people and God’s work and nothing else mattered to him. Though I’m sure he had the same curiosity as all men to see Rome, that wasn’t his focus!
Paul’s goal in going was to somehow allow God to use him in giving spiritual gifts to the saints. It all had to be a work of the Holy Ghost! Only by the grace of God could this missionary journey be successful and accomplish anything for God.
The real purpose in all of what Paul hoped to accomplish was to get the saints at Rome established in Jesus and make them strong as a body of Christ. Paul wanted the church to be strong and full of the power of the Holy Ghost!
That’s all that any Apostle could hope for, or any pastor! My greatest hope is that somehow, through the anointing and the ministry that God has set before us, that all of you will be blessed beyond measure, filled with the power and the fire of the Holy Ghost; that you can walk in faith and become a strong witness for Christ. If I could just impart to you a small portion of the Word of God and let the Holy Ghost use that seed to change you into the image of Christ, then my work will be done!
What Paul prayed for, hoped for and worked toward, was having the church as a unified force for the preaching of the gospel. Unity among the saints of God in the church is a powerful force for good. Without unity nothing much is ever accomplished. Let us all strive toward creating and keeping unity in the church.
