Skip to content Beginning Romans: The Power of the Gospel Oct 14 · 16 min ...more
Beginning Romans: The Power of the Gospel
October 14, 2025 · 16 min
Gain insights into Paul's intention behind writing Romans and the historical context of the Roman church.
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The Power and Necessity of the Gospel 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Thanks for joining me this morning. Well, I just finished a, bike ride, and it's a beautiful, beautiful fall morning, a little Christmas in the air, and, in fact,0:21 a little little chilly getting started. So felt good. Felt good. Alright. Today, we begin 1 of the most definitive works on the gospel. It's the book of Romans, and we're gonna look at0:33 chapter 1 today. Verse 16, for I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also Greek. So Paul wrote0:45 the book of Romans, in the winter of 57, 58 AD. He wrote it from Corinth. Now at the time, he had not yet visited Rome. He hoped to go there. In fact, we'll read that in0:57 this letter. The Roman church was comprised primarily of Gentiles. The start of the church probably from those who heard the apostles preaching may have gone back to Pentecost. They1:09 went and established the church. It had been there about, about a quarter of a century. Now Paul had longed to visit Rome and, was making plane plans to do so, but the,1:21 the the the certainty the uncertainty of the time, of the timing caused him to want to write this letter to explain the gospel and expound upon the doctrine of justification1:34 by faith alone. Alright. So here here's kind of the context what was happening. Nero was the emperor at the time. Although, the persecution of Christians had not yet1:45 begun, that actually started after the great fire in 64 AD, and, believers, Christians were used as the scapegoats. Meanwhile, the Jews who had been expelled under1:57 Claudius back in 49 AD were beginning to come back to to Rome. The religious climate in Rome, although, as it was throughout the empire, was thoroughly pagan,2:09 promoting values that stood in sharp contrast to biblical morality. So aware of the kind of the growing hostility and unsure whether or not he would2:21 reach Rome, Paul may have intended this letter as a definitive and systematic presentation of the gospel. The doctrine of man's justification before God so that the church could2:33 have a clear and enduring theological foundation, which we obviously benefit from today that he wrote the gospel.2:46 Testament. Even the apostle Peter, alright, acknowledged the difficulty of grasping all that Paul wrote. This is what he said in second Peter chapter 3. Consider that2:58 the long suffering of our Lord is salvation, and also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you as also in all his epistles in which are some things3:10 hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction as they do also the rest of the scriptures. Now the importance of this book3:22 of Romans cannot be overstated. In fact, it was Romans 1 17, for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as it is written, the just shall live by faith.3:33 That verse actually opened the understanding of the gospel to Martin Luther, who God then used to lead the Protestant Reformation. And and consider this, that Luther was3:45 a Bible professor. He was a monk who had dedicate his dedicated his life to the ministry, but all of that was motivated by a desire to earn a right standing before God. But3:57 instead of bringing peace and contentment, it only drew drove him further from God. And it wasn't until he came to the understanding of the gospel message in verse 17 here. For4:09 in it, the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as it is written, the just shall live by faith. Luther wrote of that moment. He said, quote, here I felt that I was4:21 altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates. Alright. With that rather lengthy but important background, let's begin Paul's letter4:33 to the Romans. Verse 1. Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God. Now Paul was separated to the gospel. Right? This is not semantics.4:45 This is significant. We're not called away from or out of the world. We're called to Christ, and we leave the world behind. It's not about being emptied of something. It's4:56 about being filled with something. Following Jesus is not just a list of don'ts. It is a to do list. And so it is we're replacing the fallen nature of man5:08 with the the nature of Jesus Christ, the the new man that we have because of the saving, effect, the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Verse 2, which5:20 he promised before through his prophets in the holy concerning his son, Jesus Christ, our lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh. Now the gospel was not plan b. Jesus was the fulfillment of the5:32 promises of God through the prophets. This is God's plan for man. Verse 4. And declared to be the son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. Now the5:44 gospel was declared or proved by the power of the Holy Spirit raising Jesus Christ from the dead. The cross put a period on sin. It is finished as5:56 Jesus stated, but it was the resurrection from the dead that declared to the world that Jesus Christ was the son of God. Through him, we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the6:08 faith among all nations for his name, among whom you also are called the called of Jesus Christ. To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints, grace to you and peace from God our6:19 father and the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his6:31 son, that without ceasing, I make mention of you always in my prayers. Now quick observation here. Paul was a man of prayer. I don't think these are just throwaway lines. In almost all of his letters, Paul speaks of6:43 praying for the recipients. And and I and I'm I know that he meant it. I believe he meant it. Any serious servant of God must understand the fundamental need for intercessory prayer. And so Paul prays for others, and we6:54 see him asking for intercessory prayer. And so Paul prays for others, and we see him asking for prayer for himself. Drop down to verse 15. So as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are7:06 in Rome also. See, Paul wanted to preach the word. He wanted to teach the word of God. That was his motivating factor. It's 1 of the reasons I I I love this morning time. I get up early because I I7:18 love to teach the word of God because it is the power to transform lives. And and that's what Paul says here. I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes7:30 for the Jew first and also for the Greek. So so why would he say I'm not ashamed of the gospel? Well, Rome was like Washington DC. It was like New York City. It was like Hollywood Hollywood, California all rolled into7:42 1. Additionally, it was known for its institutions of higher learning and its culture. It was a benchmark for sophistication and culture, and the disdain for the truth, the7:54 gospel by the world is not new. In first Corinthians 1 26, it says, for you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called, but God has8:05 chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise. And God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty. And the base things of the world and the things which are8:17 despised, God has chosen. And the things which are not to bring to nothing the things that are are that no flesh may glory in his presence. So why was he not ashamed? Well, even8:29 though people look down on the word of God, they look down on the gospel, they look down on it as as being weak because you have to lean on God. Paul said, I'm not ashamed because he8:40 understood the power of the gospel, the explosive power. The the the word power there, dunamis, which is where we get dynamite, it is an inherent power.8:52 It's power within itself, not from the outside, but from inside. So the gospel transforms lives from the inside out. I mean, can anyone testify to the9:04 power of the gospel? I tell you what, I can. I've seen it. I've experienced it. It is it it is the it's an extensive power. Okay? It's not poof and gone. There9:16 are 3 aspects of salvation that are contained here in Paul's reference. There's past salvation, redemption, I I have been saved. The present salvation, the sanctification, I am being saved. And then there's9:28 the future salvation that is the glorification, I shall be saved. I have been saved. I am being saved, and I shall be saved. It is it is all encompassing. Verse 17,9:39 for in it, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as it is written, the just shall live by faith. Now that comes from Habakkuk 2 4. We've seen that before in Galatians 39:51 11. We'll also see it in Hebrews, 10 38. The call to salvation is universal, but only those who believe are saved. There are false teachers10:02 promoting the teaching of universalism that everyone will go to heaven because of the redemptive work of Christ on the cross. That's not true. This is10:14 clearly counter to scripture. 1 must believe. 1 must believe in your heart that god has raised him from the dead and confessed with the mouth. That is from faith to faith. And this10:26 is the heart of the gospel. We are saved from faith unto faith. It is not faith unto works or works unto faith. Our justification from sin is based upon faith alone,10:38 and that is the test of biblical orthodoxy. Now in the second half of the chapter, Paul makes abundantly clear why the gospel is needed. It is the progression of man not toward perfection as10:50 as the world likes to say. I mean, we have all these things. If you just change the environment, man will be better. We're progressing to a higher level. I mean, look at the knowledge, how we're using knowledge. We're11:00 using it to destroy the world. We're not moving toward perfection. We're moving toward perversion. Right? Sin is universal. That is the nature of fallen man. Verse 18, for the wrath of god is revealed from heaven against11:12 all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Because what may be known of god is manifest in them, for god has shown it to them. For11:24 since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and godhead so that they are without excuse. You see, god11:36 is revealed in creation. When we look around us, we can see God if we'll look. Alright? That's a part I think why the Satan wants us distracted with so many things. This11:48 is called the general revelation. Revelation. Alright? We see it in in creation itself. God is so evident in creation that Paul writes that men men are without excuse and not12:00 turning to God, being drawn to him by the magnificence of his creation. So how much more so today are we that have the special revelation of God12:12 through Jesus Christ and the word of God without excuse? Now here's this progression that we see that Paul lays out in the second half of the chapter. It begins with a suppression, a deliberate12:24 effort to bury the truth of God in unrighteousness. But Paul goes on to detail this progression. It is is stepping stones to destruction. Alright? That's why people don't like Romans. The world12:36 doesn't like Romans. We've had the public officials be dismissive of the book of Romans in particular because of this chapter and what it details. Because although they knew12:47 God, they did not glorify him as God nor were thankful but became futile in their thoughts and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools and changed the glory12:59 of13:11 glorify God, which is the purpose of man, did not have gratitude toward God, became foolish or literally meaning insane as their hearts were darkened,13:23 worshiping, you know, images and animals. And it it it leads to what, verse 24 lays out through the end of the chapter. Therefore, God gave them up to13:35 uncleanness in the lust of their hearts to dishonor their bodies among themselves. And he goes down and list what we see today probably in in any newspaper article or on the13:46 news on any given day. That is the fallen nature of man. That's why we need the gospel. We need the redemptive message of the cross. Jesus13:58 died, was buried, and rose again to give us a new nature, and it's by faith we accept that, and we're transformed by that message into a new creation.14:10 Old things have passed away. Father, thank you for your word, and thank you for this clear presentation that Paul gives of the gospel and in the need that we have for it. Lord,14:22 we see this progression. We see it today in our own culture. We see it in our own lives. And so, father, I pray first off that we would not deny the truth. We would embrace the truth, the revealed truth, your14:34 word, and that, lord, we would have grateful hearts. We would be grateful for your mercy and for your grace. And and, lord, we would embrace it. We would tell the world about it.14:46 And, lord, I pray that you would, you would use us to be a part of being the salt and light, preserving this nation, turning this nation, our culture back to14:58 do a u-turn on this path of destruction that they're on. So father, encourage us through your word. We thank you for it. May the holy spirit continue to lead us on this journey. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.15:10 Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning. And until next time, keep standing on the word.15:17 Today's study comes from the stand on the word bible reading plan available for free at frc dot org slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you15:29 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 The Power and Necessity of the Gospel
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