What is the gospel or good news Paul describes in this expanded greeting?
It is that salvation is at hand, available to all who believe that God sent his Son to grant us grace, that we are forgiven for our sins through faith.
In verse 5 Paul uses the term 'believing obedience' to depict the goal of the grace and apostleship which Paul and others had received. What does 'believing obedience' look like in a Christian's life?
To live according to God's commands such as his commandments, above all loving all others and telling them the good news. This means eschewing efforts to earn our own salvation through works. It means living a life freed from the pursuit of self-interest since our eternal reward do not lie in this world.
Why would news about the faith of the Roman church have spread far and wide?
It could be that they persevered despite being severely prosecuted, for choosing to worship
Paul had not himself founded the church in Rome or visited there previously. But as Romans 16 will tell us he had friends and relatives there. Why else does Paul want to visit the Roman Christians so desperately?
V11 Paul wants to encourage them, to impart a spiritual gift. A gift of faith, in order to harvest v12
Caesar's messengers didn't go around the world saying, "Caesar is lord, so if you feel you need to have a Roman Empire kind experience, you might want to submit to him." Jesus' messengers (or apostles - literally meaning 'sent ones') didn't say something indecisive like that about Jesus either.
In this context, how has Paul already, in this first chapter, proclaimed a rather risky message that might have tempted or others to be 'ashamed of the good news'?
It is that salvation is available by a simple act of faith. Faith that Christ is Lord. This declaration means all other loyalties including those expected of citizens, are secondary.
How are we tempted to be ashamed of the good news in our own society?
Faith is seen as anachronistic, a refuge of the weak and intellectually inferior. We are weak and feeble in our attempts to learn and defend our faith, especially when faced with “giants” who mock and ridicule what they may not understand. Alienation and distrust of all authority rules the day - which is understandable and to be expected. That after all, is the very nature of sin as man seeks to make himself god.
The Greeks, who had ruled the world centuries before the Romans, divided the world into two: Greeks and the rest. They called the rest 'barbarians' probably because their languages sounded like meaningless mumblings. For a true Greek. the Romans counted as barbarians. But it is a different division of the world that occupies Paul for the rest of the letter. Jews divided the world into two as well: Jews and the rest. They referred to the rest sometimes as 'the Greeks", because as far as they were concerned, the rest of the world was Greek-speaking.
How does the good news address the divisions in Rome which Paul highlights in verses 14-17?
The good news makes clear that all are sinners, Jews and Gentiles alike, and salvation is available to both through the simple act of faith. There is no inherently superior group that is chosen for salvation. Paul also makes the point that he owes a debt to both Jews and Gentiles - surely the Holy Spirit is speaking through him and making an important point.
Does your church reflect the racial barriers common in your community or does it transcend them? Explain how and why.
It transcends them in the way we’ve reached out. I’ve joined groups that served the needs of foreign workers who are different ethnically and religiously. We welcome all to our services.
Verse 17 introduces the key word righteousness or justice, which has the same root. the biblical idea of God's justice is that he will put right all the wrongs of the world. He promised to do this in a covenant he made long ago to Abraham and his family, a promise ultimately realised in Abrahams' great descendant Jesus.
How does the good news about Jesus show God's justice?
God’s justice is perfect and will not be compromised, unlike human justice in the courts of this world. It means all sin will face retribution and without Christ’ sacrifice, we will all be condemned. Instead, we have salvation because He loves us despite our sin - all we need is faith.
God has been faithful in keeping his covenant. Now we are called to have faith ourselves in response, as Paul highlights in verse 17. In so doing we enjoy a salvation (v 16) that provides a rescue from the bonds of death. This means not that we'll all end up in a disembodies heaven, but that God will rescue the entire creation from corruption and decay - and that he will give all his people new bodies, like Jesus' risen body, to love gloriously within his new world.
In addition to providing a future hope, how does salvation also provide a rescue for us from a present reality?
The hope is for our physical future selves. The rescue from present reality is that we are spiritually reborn, and we can face this world with a new-found perspective of gratitude. We no longer despair and instead we understand the world better as we come to terms with sin and how it infects everything and everyone. We know now there is a cure.
P.S. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. Our present reality is that we have become more aware of the injustice that exists, that go unpunished because of the corrupting nature of sin and the decay it brings to everything it touches. For a while, many were led astray by the promise of liberalism, that man can create a better, more just world. End racism and discrimination. End misogyny and other prejudices. If these truths are self-evident, why is there still rampant injustice? Ultimately even the well meaning become corrupt because at the heart of it, it is about power.
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