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 of the Gospel: An Introduction to Romans 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, little Christmas in the air, and in fact,0:22 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 for the Greek. So Paul wrote the0:45 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 plain 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 of1:33 justification by faith alone. Alright. So here here's kind of the context of what was happening. Nero was the emperor at the time, although the persecution of Christians1:45 had not yet 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 expelled1:57 under 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 thoroughly2:09 pagan, promoting values that stood in sharp contrast to biblical morality. So aware of the kind of the growing hostility and unsure whether2:21 or not he would 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 that2:33 the church could have a clear and enduring theological foundation, which we obviously benefit from today that he wrote this letter. Romans remains 1 of the most theologically profound and2:44 challenging books in the New Testament. Even the apostle Peter, alright, acknowledged the difficulty of grasping all that Paul wrote. This is what he said in second Peter chapter2:56 3. Consider that 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 epistles3:08 in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction as they do also the rest of the scriptures.3:20 Now the importance of this book 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 shall3:32 live by faith. That verse actually opened the understanding of the gospel to Martin Luther, who God then used to lead the Protestant Reformation. And and3:44 consider this, that Luther was a Bible professor. He was a monk who had dedicated his dedicated his life to the ministry, but all of that was motivated by a desire to earn a right standing3:56 before God. But instead of bringing peace and contentment, it only drew it drove him further from God. And it wasn't until he came to the understanding of the gospel message in verse 174:07 here. For 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, here4:19 I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates. Alright. With that rather lengthy but important background, let's4:31 begin Paul's letter 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?4:43 This is not semantics. 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 of4:55 something. It's 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 the5:07 fallen nature of man with the the nature of Jesus Christ, the the new man that we have because of the saving, effect, the redemptive work of Jesus5:19 Christ. Verse 2, which he promised before through his prophets in the holy scriptures 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.5:30 Jesus was the fulfillment of the 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 the5:42 resurrection from the dead. Now the gospel was or proved by the power of the Holy Spirit raising Jesus Christ from the dead. The cross put a period on sin.5:54 It is finished as 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 and6:06 apostleship for obedience to the 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 you6:18 and peace from god our father and the lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my god through Jesus Christ for you all that your faith has spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I6:30 serve with my spirit in the gospel of his 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. In6:41 almost all of his letters, Paul speaks of 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 must6:53 understand the fundamental need 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 preach7:05 the gospel to you who are 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 up7:17 early because I I love to teach the word of God because it is the power to transform lives. And that's what Paul says here. I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God to7:28 salvation for everyone who believes 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 Hollywood7:40 Hollywood, California all rolled into 1. Additionally, it was known for its institutions of higher learning and its culture. It was a benchmark for sophistication and culture, and the7:52 disdain for the truth, the gospel by the world is not new. In first Corinthians 1 26, it says, for you see your calling, brother, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many8:03 noble are called, but God has 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 world8:15 and the things which are 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 not8:27 ashamed? Well, even 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'm8:39 not ashamed because he understood the power of the gospel, the explosive power. The the the word power there, dunamis, which is where we get dynamite, it is8:51 an inherent power. It's power within itself, not from the outside, but from inside. So the gospel transforms lives from the inside out. I mean, can anyone9:03 testify to the 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 poof9:15 and gone. There 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 am9:26 being saved. And then there's 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.9:38 Verse 17, for in it, the righteous 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 in9:50 Galatians 3 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 false10:02 teachers 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. This10:14 is clearly counter to scripture. 1 must believe. 1 must believe in your heart that god has raised him from the dead and confess with the mouth. That is from faith to faith. And10:26 this 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. Alright? Sin is universal. That is the nature of fallen man. Verse 18, for the wrath of god is revealed from heaven11:12 against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Because what may be known of god is manifested in them, for god has shown it to them.11:23 For 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,11:35 god 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.11:48 This is called the general 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 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 glory of the incorruptible12:59 God into an image made like corruptible man and13:15 gratitude toward god, became foolish or literally meaning insane as their hearts were darkened, worshiping, you know, images and animals. And it it13:27 it leads to what, verse 24 lays out through the end of the chapter. Therefore, god gave them up to uncleanness in the lust of their hearts to dishonor their13:39 bodies among themselves. And he goes down and list what we see today probably in in any newspaper article or on the news on any given day. That is the fallen nature of13:51 man. That's why we need the gospel. We need the redemptive message of the cross. Jesus died, was buried, and rose again to give us a new nature. And14:02 it's by faith we accept that, and we're transformed by that message into a new creation. Old things have passed away. Father, thank you for your14:14 word, and thank you for this clear presentation that Paul gives of the gospel and and the need that we have for it. Lord, we see this progression. We see it today in our own culture. We see it in14:26 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, your word, and that, lord, we would have grateful hearts. We would be14:37 grateful for your mercy and for your grace. And and, lord, we would embrace it. We would tell the world about it. And, lord, I pray that you would you14:49 would use us to be a part of being the salt and light, preserving this nation, turning this nation, our culture, back to do a u-turn on this path of destruction that they're on.15:01 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. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning. And until15:13 next time, keep standing15:18 study comes from the stand on the word bible reading plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you can read15:30 through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at f r c dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 The Power of the Gospel: An Introduction to Romans
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