Romans: Chapter 1

Paul’s Exhortation to Believers

1:1

Paul identifies himself as an apostle; one who is sent with delegated authority and has seen the risen Jesus Christ. He also identifies himself as a ‘bondservant’. A bondservant was an indentured servant who voluntarily chose to be a permanent servant/slave of the family household. It was a lifelong commitment that could not be changed. As we choose to be ‘servants of Christ’ it is also a lifetime choice to be His servant forever. Paul was ‘separated to the gospel of Christ’ This meant his primary reason for everything he did was to further the gospel of Christ. In fact, his very existence on earth was to bring the gospel to all the unsaved. That is true lifelong commitment to Jesus!

1:2-3

The gospel of Christ was foretold, or prophesied, through the prophets of the scriptures. These scriptures were the Old Testament writings. God’s only son, Jesus Christ was the foretold Messiah (Savior) who was born of human flesh ~ incarnate ~ and was of the seed and line of King David.

1:4

The proof of Jesus’ Deity was the fulfillment of the prophecy stating He would be resurrected from the dead. Jesus fulfilled all prophesies concerning His birth, life, death and resurrection. This is how we can be certain God’s Word is absolutely true. (Prophesies regarding Jesus that have not yet been fulfilled will be fulfilled at His Second Coming.)

1:5-6

Through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for our sins, we receive His Grace through the Holy Spirit so we may become His disciples. Our obedience to God’s Word proves our Faith, which is a witness of the gospel to others we come in contact with. Not certain you are a Believer? Check your obedience to God’s Word for assurance. We are called by God to be followers of Jesus. Our ‘calling’, which means we were chosen by God, came before we were even born.

1:7

This letter is to all those who are ‘beloved of God’ chosen to be his saints ~ Believers! Only true Believers are called ‘beloved of God’. Thus this letter is also for us! God’s Grace is given to us, we respond with obedience and Faith, and then we receive the Peace from God, our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Notice that Grace always comes before Peace. Obedience must come as a result of His Grace so that we may have God’s Peace.

1:8

Paul gives his reasons for writing this letter. He thanks God, through Jesus Christ, for all the Roman Believers; that their Faith is so powerful that it is spoken of throughout the known world! Is your Faith so evident that it is known throughout your community?

1:9

God Himself is the Witness that Paul serves with his spirit in the gospel of Jesus Christ; always praying without ceasing for all of the Believers. Paul is so conformed to the image of Christ, that he unceasingly prays in his very spirit for all Believers. Paul is committed in his spirit to the Holy Spirit, living within him, that his very life is consistently following God’s Will. This does not mean that Paul was not a sinner; but that his very spirit consistently strove to obey God’s Will for his life. How about you, are you consistently striving to follow the Holy Spirit for your life?

1:10

Paul prays that he may find some way, within the Will of God, to come to Rome to minister to the Believers. Notice how he ties Belief and prayer together, yet strives to conform to the Will of God. We absolutely must learn to do the same.

1:11-12

Paul desires fervently to see the Believers and impart, or give or share, some spiritual gift with them so they may become more firmly grounded in the Truth of the gospel. Paul wants to encourage them, and be encouraged himself by their mutual faith in Christ. Believers are excited to share what God is doing in their lives with one another. We encourage and strengthen one another by this sharing of God’s work in our lives. It is crucial to meet together and share God’s Word and His work with each other. We all need encouragement! That is just one of the important reasons you are sharing together here in this Bible study!

1:13

Paul wants to emphasize that he had planned to come to them in Rome, but has been hindered. He wants to see the results of their Faith ~ which is the ‘spiritual Fruit’ ~ in their lives and community. He assures them that other Gentiles are also Faithful and have yielded Godly results. These Godly results he refers to as ‘fruit’.

1:14

Paul considers himself ‘in debt’ to Greeks and those who are not Greeks, (‘Barbarians’ was a term applied to those who were not Greek), and to those who are considered wise ~Believers~ and those who are not wise – unbelievers. We become ‘wise’ when we become a Believer. To refuse to believe is foolish and those who reject Christ are unwise. Paul believed himself in debt to Christ for his own salvation and knew his calling was to spread the Truth of the gospel to all Gentiles! Wow! How much do we accept our ‘debt to Christ’ to share the gospel with everyone we come in contact with. Remember, Jesus has told every Believer that he/she MUST spread the gospel to all the world! Without Christ, all of us would be condemned to hell. We have a great ‘debt’ to Christ. What on earth are you doing for Heaven’s sake!?

1:15-16

So whatever Paul can give, he is ready to give his all to share the gospel Truth with all the Roman Believers. He is telling them he is committed to sacrifice everything he has and is, for their benefit. Eventually, he would give his very life for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul, who was probably the most brilliant scholar of his time, was proud to share the Truth of the gospel. He tells them the gospel is the Power of God to Salvation for everyone who Believes. Jesus did not come to make bad men good; He came to give dead men life. We are dead in our sins; we are walking dead people until we respond to God’s invitation of Grace and choose to seek forgiveness, confess our sins, repent, and turn away from those sins, and accept Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for our sins. My sins put Jesus on the cross. Do we accept the responsibility for our own sin failures? Paul goes on to state that salvation was for the Jew first then for the Greeks (Gentiles). Jesus was a Jew; all the apostles were Jews, and the first Believers were all Jews. Thus Paul notes that the Jews were to be the first Believers, then we Gentiles. We know that many Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah; just as many Gentiles rejected Jesus. Even today, we see both Jews and Gentiles refusing to believe He is who He says He is; God’s only son, our Savior, (Messiah) and Lord.

1:17

God’s righteousness is revealed in the gospel of salvation. Jesus’ vicarious death on the cross for our sin means that God is just in punishing sin, and can also be the justifier of those who are True Believers. Our Faith is NOT just a one-time thing, if it is Real; we grow and learn from Faith to Faith! We progress from one aspect of living our Faith, to continued growth in Faith in becoming more like Christ. The Just shall live by Faith! (See Habakkuk 2:4)

1:18

God’s righteousness is also revealed in His Wrath against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Why? Because He has provided salvation for men, and men have responded by suppressing the Truth in unrighteousness. When we reject our salvation we suppress His Truth and actually choose unrighteousness. What fool would give up Eternal Rewards for worldly desires that he knows he will lose? Look around in our culture and you will see the majority who foolishly reject Eternal Life and Eternal Rewards for worldly trash; or as Paul says, dung.

1:19-20

Paul clearly tells us that All Mankind Is Guilty because the Truth of God is known within them. All men know within their consciousness that God exists. God created us to know Him instinctively, and He has clearly shown the Truth of His existence to us. From the very creation of the World, God has shown His invisible attributes; they are clearly seen. God’s goodness to us is everywhere. He provides for us, cares for us, heals us, loves us, etc. All His Agape Love is poured out for us. His very creation of the Heavens and Earth clearly shows His careful design. Our very bodies are designed to be healthy, reproductive, able to repair themselves, etc. We now know that our DNA can reproduce itself for growth and healing. He has given us, within our design, the ability to actually create a new life with Him; what a privilege! God’s Eternal Power and Godhead are clearly visible to all of us; so we are all without excuse.

1:21

Because even though mankind knows God, men chose not to glorify Him as God, nor was man thankful for all God has given him. Instead of glorifying God and being thankful, men became foolish in their minds and their hearts became darkened. Men take credit for their abilities, talents, accomplishments, foolishly thinking they did it by themselves. Men fail to admit that their abilities, talents, material wealth, everything comes from God. I did it myself, I am so great, talented, smart, etc. I, I, I, we are so foolish to think we can do, or be, anything without God. The result of this idiotic thinking is the darkening of our hearts. Now, we are really in trouble. Have you ever heard someone claim to be a ‘self-made’ man? How foolish!

1:22

Men think they are so wise, so smart; yet they become fools. Only God is truly wise; only the Holy Spirit gives us true wisdom; everything else is utter foolishness.

1:23

Because mankind was created with an inner knowledge and desire for God, men tried to fill that void by creating their own ‘god’. Men trade the glory of the perfect incorruptible loving God into idols made like corruptible men, birds, animals, insects. Right up to our present day, people try to fill the ‘God void’ with all kinds of materialistic junk! It is amazing that men would reject their very Creator and try to replace Him with some worthless idol or image. People who say they are atheists or agnostics are fools and liars, deceiving themselves. Why not use the correct Latin term for agnostic: ignoramus! We see people who reject God, yet believe in witchcraft, spirit guides, demons, and all sorts of horrific things and foolish ideas. We can see the scriptures being fulfilled, before our very eyes, in these fools who reject God; their hearts and minds become darkened and they become utter fools in their thinking.

1:24

So God says, ‘THEREFORE’ ~ whenever we see the word ‘therefore’, we need to analyze what it is ‘there for’. Because of, verses 21 to 23… gives us the reasons: refusal to acknowledge and honor and glorify the one True God. So God in effect says; ‘I will not force you to worship and obey me; have it your way’. So those who reject Him begin a downward spiral of degrading of themselves in uncleanness, lusts of their hearts, dishonoring their bodies among themselves. Notice they have chosen this degradation.

1:25

Unbelievers reject God and Truth and choose to accept the lies, as a result, they worship and serve creatures rather than their Creator. Even though men have turned from God and chosen evil and wickedness; God still is the Creator and Blessed forever. Wicked people do not affect God, He is in control. Even though it may appear the world has gone mad and chosen such evil and corruption that we are being destroyed, yet God is always in control. We must never forget that. We must always strive for goodness and Truth. Never, never give up.

1:26-27

This clearly gives us the reason why we see evil on the rise. Look around you in your own community, you will clearly see the evidence. God gave them up to vile passions. “Even women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.” This is a polite way of saying women engaged in unnatural sexual activities. “Men burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.” Homosexuality is evil. Could it be that sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS is the ‘penalty of their error’? What about their innermost value, their very souls? We were made in the image and likeness of God. When we destroy His image and likeness what have we become? All Godly attributes are destroyed. What a horrible existence these fools have made of, and for, themselves.

1:28

When the very knowledge of God is removed from our minds, we are given over, by God, to a debased mind, to do things that are horrible. Demons are waiting to take over our minds and influence, if not control, what we do, think and say. Those who reject God think they are living life ‘their way’ yet they do not realize they are being manipulated and controlled by demonic influences. Think of those who commit evil and promote evil; they are influenced by demons, and perhaps even demon controlled. Beware of such people.

1:29-31

Now those who reject God become “filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness, whisperers, back-biters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful;” Look carefully at this list, notice all these things bring great suffering and pain, and are ALL the result of rejection of God, and continued sin.

1:32

Yet they know the righteous judgment of God, that those who do such horrible things deserve death, now and forever; yet they continue to do these horrible actions, and have such awful attitudes of mind, and actually approve of others who do them. We now have organizations that promote these disgusting activities and want to brainwash our children in public schools to accept them as ‘normal’. They want to force these activities on all of us. May God have mercy on us if we do not do everything in our power to stop such wickedness. Pray and seek God’s wisdom and direction of what you can do to promote good and reveal evil for what it is. Please consider supporting Alliance Defending Freedom, or some other Godly Christian organization, that is actively fighting this evil in our society.

As you have completed this First Chapter, may God richly bless you with wise understanding and comprehension of what you are to do and how you are to pray for yourself and those you love. Seek to find ways of sharing these Truths with others, especially those you love and care for. Remember, refusing to believe, and obey, the Truth of God’s Word leads to sin and destruction. Be WISE, ask God what you can do to seek His righteousness and fight against evil.