Introduction to
Romans
Grace and Peace
1 Paul,
a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel
of God 2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,
3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David
according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power
according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. 5
Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among
all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;
7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and
peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1.
Everyone is probably familiar with the phrase “all
roads lead to Rome,” interestingly it’s a colloquialism that arose from a
reality.
a.
During the first century, all roads did in fact
lead to Rome!
b.
That was by design, and it indicated that Rome
was the center of the known world, if not geographically, then in every other
aspect.
c.
Rome was center of power for the Roman Empire,
center of politics, finance, education, culture,
d.
To visit Rome was witness all of the splendor,
pomp and circumstance that the world had to offer.
e.
To introduce yourself as hailing from Rome
brought instant recognition and honor.
2.
Rome represented the finest that the world had
to offer. However, Rome also had a problem: She has lost her moral
bearing, and she was rotting from within.
a.
Immorality, corruption, political patronage, it
was as if a malignant cancer was silently eating away at the core of the
Empire, eventually proving to be fatal, as Rome collapsed not through defeat,
but from within.
b.
But there was one bright spot in Rome, one
flickering flame: The gospel message of Jesus Christ had taken root in
the city.
c.
In the midst of a dying culture men and women
were coming to Christ, the church was growing and shining like a light in the
darkness.
3.
And it was towards this church of believers, and
this city, that Paul set his sights on, sometime around 57-58 AD
The Church
4.
We don’t know precisely who established the
church at Rome, many theologians believe that Jews who had made the pilgrimage
to Jerusalem were present at Pentecost, and returned to Rome with the gospel.
a.
(Referring
to the event recorded in Acts 2, approx. 32 A.D. Peter preached his first
sermon, and over 3000 saved)
b.
What we do know is that when Paul wrote this
letter, some 25 years later, the reputation of the church was known far and
wide.
c.
No statistics on size, but some historians
estimate that approx 20% of Rome’s population were Christians!
d.
And the Apostle Paul wanted very much visit the
church there –
I
often planned to come to you... Rom 1:13
having
a great desire these many years to come to you… Rom 15:23
5.
It was Paul’s calling not only to plant churches,
but also to visit and encourage them.
a.
I can also imagine that Paul would have thought
“Rome is the center of the world, if I can get there, I can spread the gospel
through the entire world! But he wasn't able to travel there just yet.
b.
On his third missionary venture, he was
wintering in Corinth, on his way to Jerusalem to deliver a gift that had been
collected for the saints, then he hoped to travel to Rome, then on to Spain.
c.
He did eventually get to Rome, but not in the
way that he planned. Paul was arrested on trumped up charges in
Jerusalem, held for several years, then finally appealed his case to Caesar,
and he was brought to Rome as a prisoner.
d.
Nonetheless, Paul knew it would be many months
before he could get to Rome, so did the next best thing: He wrote them a
letter.
6.
I believe God was at work in the events
surrounding Paul's strange journey (Paul noted this in Romans 8:28 “all things
work together for good for those who love God”)
a.
See, in all of his other letters, Paul wrote to
churches that he was familiar with, churches he had personally planted, and he
used those letters to address specific concerns and issues that had been
brought to his attention
b.
Some of these letters are now contained in the
NT as epistles, from which we're able to learn incredible doctrinal truths
relating to those same issues today!
7.
But Paul had never been to Rome, he wasn't
intimately familiar with their walk, so when he wrote this letter,
a.
it seems he wanted to make sure he included as
much life-changing theology as he could:
"I want to make sure these
folks are on solid footing..."
b.
Perhaps why this book is without a doubt the
most doctrinally rich book in the New Testament.
8.
Which is why it’s been said that if you only had
one book of the bible from which to live by, Paul’s letter to the Romans would
suffice!
a.
It has been called the “Cathedral” of the
Christian faith, the cornerstone of the bible, Paul’s masterpiece, his “opus.”
“It is the most remarkable production of the most
remarkable man. It is his heart. It contains the theology, theoretical and
practical, for which he lived and died. It gives the clearest and fullest
exposition of the doctrines of sin and grace, and the best possible solution of
the universal dominion of sin and death in the universal redemption by the
second Adam.
– Phillip Schaff
– Phillip Schaff
9.
This book has changed the lives of more people
than perhaps any other book of the bible:
10. 4th
century Antioch, commonly referred to as “the cradle of Christianity,” a man
named John Chrysostom was widely known as the most gifted orator the church had
ever known.
a.
So eloquent were his sermons, the congregation
would often break out into massive applause over and over while he spoke.
b.
He was so embarrassed by the applause, that he
once taught a sermon on why people shouldn’t applause during a sermon, to which
the congregation responded with a massive standing ovation!
c.
John Chrysostom was prompted by the Lord to
become a minister after reading the book of Romans, and for the rest of his
life he read it through each week!
11. He
was followed by Augustine of Hippo, who as a young man lived an immoral and
debaucherous life.
a.
One day while sitting in the yard of a friend,
weighed down by his sin and guilt, he overheard a group of children singing
well-known ditty of that time “Pick it up and read it through…” and so he did.
b.
He picked up nearby scroll, and read the
following words:
Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry
and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on
the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its
lusts. Romans 13:13-14
c.
Augustine was stunned by the words that spoke
directly into his life; He went back to chapter one, read through the book
Roman’s, and was converted by the end of the book.
d.
He went on to be one of the great teachers /
writers / theologians of the middle ages.
12. One
thousand years later, a Catholic monk named Martin Luther was sitting at his
desk in Eislenben Germany, agonizing over the fact that despite his “pure”
lifestyle, his mind was plagued by immoral and impure thoughts!
a.
Then the words of the Apostle Paul came to his
mind:
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access
by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of
God. Romans 5:1-2
b.
Luther’s eyes were opened, his life was changed,
he was born again into the faith, prompting him to stand against the
religiosity and unbiblical practices of the Catholic church.
c.
Luther literally changed the world as he ushered
in what’s now known as the Great Reformation.
13. In
the 1700’s John Wesley left England for the new world of America to evangelize
the native American Indians. He failed miserably.
a.
Returning to England a broken man, in a state of
despair, he stumbled into a small church in London where the preacher was
teaching on the book of Romans.
b.
During that sermon, John Wesley was born again,
and went on to greatly impact his world, founding the Methodist church.
14. You
say “that’s a bunch of old dead guys…”
15. Back
in the 60’s a young pastor by the name of Chuck Smith wanted to remain in
Huntington Beach so he could surf, and he’d heard that he taught through a book
of the bible, it would give him sermon material for another year (at HB!).
a.
While preaching through the book of Romans, he
realized he could throw off the yoke of religion and the law, and his life and
his ministry was changed.
b.
He went on to pastor a small church called
Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, opening one of the largest evangelical movements
of our time, the “Jesus Movement.” (Pastor Greg Laurie was one of those Jesus
hippies!)
c.
Today there are more than 1000 Calvary Chapel’s,
and bible colleges all over the world.
16. 1994,
Raleigh NC, myself and four friends returned from a Promise Keeper event, where
one of the speakers, a CC pastor, encouraged us to go home, get a group of men
together, and start studying the bible.
a.
So we did. You want to know which book we
started with? Romans. It changed our lives.
b.
Every man in that study are to this day walking
strong with God, impacting their world.
17. This
is perhaps the longest introduction ever to a book of the bible, but I want
each one of you to understand before we get started:
a.
This book will change your life, and I’m excited
to and blessed to be able to experience with you, what I believe will be a
life-changing journey as we take up the book of Romans!
1 Paul,
18. “Paul”
was not Paul’s given name, at birth he was named “Saul,” named after the first
king of Israel.
a.
The name “Saul” carries the meaning “requested
one,” the man in demand!
b.
See as a Pharisee, Saul was “the man,” he gave
his credentials in his letter to the church at Philippi:
...circumcised
the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of
the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal,
persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law,
blameless. Phil 3:5-6
19. Paul
was a proud Pharisee who saw himself as righteous before God because of his
good works, and following the law.
a.
But after his encounter with Jesus Christ, he
was a broken man, he recognized how great of a sinner he really was. He
recognized that God had forgiven him, and so in response he changed his name to
Paul, which means “little.”
20. Some
believe Paul changed his name to gain accessibility in the gentile nations
(gentile is simple anyone who is not Jewish), having a Roman name instead of a
Hebrew name.
a.
Whether it was humility or accessibility that
drove Paul to change his name, one thing is true: After his conversion,
Saul was a different man!
Paul, a
bondservant of Jesus Christ,
21. The
word Paul uses here is doulos, which
means ‘bondservant.’
a.
See there are servants, and then there are
bondservants.
b.
A servant serves, and is paid for their service,
a bondservant is a life-long commitment.
c.
Exodus 21 describes it thus: If a person
becomes a slave, they can only serve for six years, then they have to be
granted their freedom.
d.
But if after six years the slave thought “I like
it here, I love my master, he takes good care of me, and I want to remain
here,”
e.
Then the master would drive a nail through the
servant's ear, place an earring in his ear, which signified that he was a
doulos, a life-long bondservant.
22. Paul
uses this term to indicate that he had made a conscious decision to surrender
his entire life to Jesus Christ.
a.
Some might say “I want to follow Jesus, but I’m not so sure about being a bondservant,
I want to have a life.”
b.
Let me counter that with this: It is a
wise choice to give your life fully to Christ, because the Lord Jesus Christ
takes care of His own!
c.
Just my own experience: The more of my
life that I give to Christ, the more blessed, fulfilled, purposeful, and
empowered my life becomes!
23. You
can never go wrong becoming a doulos for Christ!
Paul, a
bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle
24. The
word apostle simply means “one who is sent out.” In the biblical sense
there are two types of apostles:
a.
“A” Apostles are the men who were called by
Christ, discipled by Christ, sent out by Christ.
b.
Revelation 21 tells us that the walls that will
surround the new Jerusalem in Heaven will have twelve foundations, each one
with the name of one of the twelve Apostles.
25. There
are many other “a” apostles noted in the bible: Barnabus, Titus, Andronicus,
men that were sent out.
a.
Even today there are apostles, people who are
sent out to a city, a country, to proclaim the gospel and plant churches.
Paul, a
bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel
of God
26. As
a Pharisee, Saul had been separated out as a man fully devoted to the law,
keeping it and making sure everyone else did too!
a.
But now Paul has been separated out for another
calling - the gospel of God!
b.
Paul had grasped a life-changing truth: The good
news about God isn't "here is a book of rules, follow the..."
c.
The good news about God is that through Jesus
Christ we have been set free!
27. See
the word gospel is the Greek "euangelion,"
where we get the word “evangelist.” It means “good news.”
a.
This word was used when the Israelites were
released from slavery in Babylon, it meant,
"you can go home, you’re free. Good news!"
b.
Once Paul was set free, he never looked back!
28. Twenty-five
years before Paul penned this letter, he became a servant of the Lord Jesus
Christ on the road to Damascus,
a.
Paul said “Lord, what would you have me do?” and
he kept at it for the next twenty-five years!
b.
What was it that kept Paul so focused, so
driven, so determined to spread the gospel of God?
c.
I don’t believe it was because he had found a
new philosophy, or because he was a student of theology…
d.
I believe Paul stayed true to his calling
because he had an encounter with the risen Christ!
29. See,
becoming a student of theology and learning all you can about God and the bible
is great, but if that’s all you do you’re missing the heart of Christianity
altogether.
a.
The gospel of God about the risen Christ - He’s
alive, and His Spirit dwells within us!
b.
We can talk with him, fellowship with Him, we
are made alive by Him!
c.
And this is not a new thing, it was promised all
throughout history!
2 which
He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning
His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to
the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the
Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.
30. The
gospel is good news, but it’s not new news: Jesus fulfilled over 300
prophecies that were given about Him throughout the Old Testament.
31. Paul
is making it clear: The center of Christianity is not a philosophical or moral
system, it is a Person: Jesus Christ.
a.
Jesus has both a human origin (born of the seed
of David according to the flesh), and an eternal existence (declared to be the
Son of God).
b.
The evidence of Jesus’ humanity is His human
birth; the evidence of His deity is His resurrection from the dead
5
Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith
among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus
Christ;
32. It
is not through a philosophy or moral code that gives us standing before God; it
is only through our relationship with Christ that we receive grace and
apostleship.
a.
Grace: Through God’s mercy, Jesus paid the
price for our sin, given freely
b.
Apostleship - did you know that we are ALL have
an apostolic calling?
c.
No matter what you are called to, whether its to
be an missionary, or a carpenter, we have all been sent out into our world with
a mission: Tell people about Jesus!
33. See
wherever you are sent out to, whether it be a foreign country, a construction
site, an office, or the checkout line at Walmart,
a.
There are people that you will come into contact
with that need to hear the gospel!
b.
They might not come to church, but you have a
window into their lives!
34. So
don’t think that just because you're on staff in a church means that you don’t
have a ministry.
a.
You actually have a greater ministry
opportunity, because when you’re out there everyday in the workplace that God
has called you to, you come into contact with more people that need Christ than
our staff here at CCW (everyone here is saved!)
35. And
God has given you the greatest message that anyone could hear: That Jesus
died so they can live!
… for
obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also
are the called of Jesus Christ 7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called
to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ.
36. Obedience
/ Grace / Peace: When Greeks greeted each other, they would say “Charis”
which means “grace.”
a.
When Jews greeted each other, they would say
“Shalom” which means “peace.”
b.
Paul put these words together and greeted the
church “grace and peace,” and he always put them in the same order,
c.
Because you’ll never achieve obedience, and
experience peace until you understand grace!
37. If
you’re trying to be holy or righteous before God by your works, keeping the
law, being holy, you’ll find yourself always in contention.
a.
Because there’s a war going on; Your human
nature, which wants to sin, and the Spirit of God, which is holiness and wants
you to do right.
b.
Paul went into detail in chapter 7 (which we’ll
cover in more detail later):
I
have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I
inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is
another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a
slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who
will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The
answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom 7:21-24 (NLT)
38. See
the answer is not trying to be more obedient: Praying more, or reading
our bible more, it didn’t work for Martin Luther!
a.
The answer is a personal encounter with the
grace of God through Jesus Christ!
b.
To comprehend that no matter what sin I’ve committed,
I am FORGIVEN!
c.
To know that even if I’ve blown it, He is still
here with me!
d.
To believe that what my problems are, or how far
I’ve run, I can turn to my Lord and say “Here I am Lord, help me…” - and He
will answer!
39. And
the result? I WANT to pray more, because I recognize the power of prayer in my
life!
a.
I want to study my bible more, because I
recognize that it is the bread of life, strengthening me and growing me.
b.
Friends - we need to know this: It is only
by the grace of God - unmerited favor – through Jesus Christ, that we will
experience peace!
40. Peace
with God
a.
Because I am forgiven, I am no longer under the
penalty of the law! I no longer live under the threat of condemnation!
b.
and that gives me...
41. Peace
of God – that passes all understanding!
and the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Phil 4:7
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