Tag: Romans 1
Called to belong to Jesus!
Scripture reading for June 13: Romans 1
“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the Gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, Who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by His resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through Whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of His Name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, to all those who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 1:1-7
The opening paragraph of Paul’s letter to the Roman church is one sentence in English! From this introductory sentence, we can gain insight into Paul’s world view and his calling and the Gospel message that he was given to preach. Paul received this calling in a personal encounter with the risen Christ while on the road to Damascus with warrants to arrest followers of Christ. He was included as an apostle through this special vision and the evident call and anointing to preach the Gospel among all nations.
Paul got to Rome through God’s providence and direction. His path was laid out for us in the last chapters of Acts. Paul received much grace as he endured several years in prison after false accusations by the Jews. He appealed to Caesar and was transported by ship during the stormy winter season. His ship wrecked, but God spared him and nearly three hundred others on the ship. Paul personally knew of God’s grace and calling and his love. He preached this grace through the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Jew and Gentile, seeking those called by God to become saints–set apart for God’s will.
What aspects of Paul’s opening sentence have you personally experienced in your life? How would you describe your calling to become a saint, belonging to Jesus Christ? How would you describe Jesus Christ and the Gospel message? How does vision from God affect Paul’s world view and calling?
Prayer: Father God, thank You for personally calling each of Your children to belong to Jesus Christ. Thank You for Your great love demonstrated in the life and death of Your Son. Continue to unfold vision to me and each follower of Jesus Christ that empowers us and directs us to fulfil Your will. Amen.
God’s revelation to all men!
Scripture reading for June 14th: Romans 1
Key Scriptures for over-comers: Romans 1:18-20 “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–His eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”
Paul’s letter to the Romans is a revelation of the gospel message of righteousness that comes by faith in Jesus Christ. In these verses Paul clearly states that all men have had the opportunity to see and understand God’s eternal power and divine nature through God’s revelation though creation. Even though men have this revelation from God, Himself, they suppress this truth in unrighteousness. They purposely block out what God clearly has revealed. This willful suppression brings an ongoing revelation of God’s wrath upon them because sin brings death! This wrath is seen in God giving men over to their sinful desires. This willful exchange of truth for a lie leads to immorality with ever-increasing depravity.
Observations for over-comers: Over-comers realize that God has revealed Himself to all mankind through creation. They call people to account with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, revealing the only way to righteousness–through faith! “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” (Psalm 19:1-4)
Not ashamed of the Gospel!
Scripture reading for June 15th: Romans 1
Paul wrote a letter to the church at Rome from Corinth during his third missionary journey to help them understand the Gospel and to clear up some issues between Jewish believers and Gentile believers. He longed to visit them but had not yet done so.
“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God–the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding His Son, who as to His human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Him and for His Name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.”
Paul introduced himself to the church as a ‘servant of Christ Jesus’. God had called him and set him apart to preach the Gospel–the good news of Christ Jesus the Son of God. Jesus was a descendant of David–the Jewish king as foretold in the Scriptures through the prophets. However, Jesus was declared with power from God to be His Son by resurrection from the dead as Christ the Lord! Through God’s grace in Christ, Paul became an apostle and preacher to the Gentiles, as well as the Jews!
“I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes; first for the Jew and then for the Gentile! For in the Gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”” (Romans 1:16-17)