Romans: Session 1 – The Gospel of God

Notes:

The Gospel Of God – Rom.1:1-17    See Session Slides Here

Romans is considered to be the greatest of Paul’s epistles. It has powerfully impacted many lives. E.g.

  • While Luther read Romans he was enlightened concerning the nature of salvation. This led to the Reformation.
  • John Wesley’s view of salvation was distorted until he listened to someone reading the preface to Luther’s commentary on Romans. He said, “I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ and Christ alone.”
  • Augustine, also, was converted by reading a few verses from this great epistle.
  • John Bunyan received much of his inspiration for Pilgrims Progress while reading Romans in the Bedford jail.
  • John Calvin said of this book, “Every Christian should feed upon it as the daily bread of his soul.”
  • Luther said, “This book is the chief book of the New Testament. It is the purest gospel. The more one spends in it, the more precious it becomes.”

Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, did not start the church at Rome. The gospel had already made its way there. So he was anxious to ensure that the church at the heart of the empire was firmly established in the true gospel. He tried to visit the city for that purpose several times but was hindered (Rom. 1:9-13; 15:22-24). So he did the next best thing, which was to write to the church at Rome and set out systematically the nature of the gospel (Rom. 1:14-17).

In v.15 Paul said that he was ready to preach the gospel. What is the gospel?

  • It is the gospel of God (Rom. 1:1). It is not of man, nor of the Church.
  • It is promised and rooted in the Old Testament (Rom. 1:2). Types, prophecies, etc. 1 Pet.1:10.

 It’s all about Jesus (Rom. 1:3-4). His Person: He has two natures. His human nature (v.3) had a beginning. He received this from Mary at birth. His divine nature (v.4) is eternal. His humanity was “made” and His deity “declared”. His work: Christ “through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish unto God,” on the cross for our sins (Heb. 9:14).

  •  It is to be preached; not discussed, argued or debated (Rom. 1:15).
  • It is an offensive gospel (Rom. 1:16). It offends the self-righteous.
  • It is good news (Rom. 1:16). It’s good…news!
  • It is the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16). God’s power works in our lives when we believe the true gospel.
  • It is offered to everyone (Rom.1:16). Everyone needs it, whether Jew or Gentile.
  • It reveals the righteousness of God (Rom.1:17). This is the theme of the epistle.
  •  It is received by faith and maintained by faith (Rom. 1:17). “…by faith from first to last” (NIV)



# Answers to this quiz are found in the notes above. Click on quiz to commence. Only correct spelling is recognised. A minimum 70%  correct is required to advance to the next session.