Gospel of God’s Grace- Romans 1:1-6

New Testament, Romans, Sermons

Romans 1:1-6; 1, 5

“…called…and set apart for the gospel” (Rom 1:1, NIV). “…we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith” (Rom 1:5, NIV).

(Note: This written sermon is for reading and personal study with questions and references at the end. It is necessarily “different” from the extemporaneously preached sermon, which is for listening.)

Do you have a gospel story to share ?What is the gospel? The answer to this question is often assumed, unclear, muddled or imprecise. Gospel (εὐαγγέλιον) means “good news” or “good tidings.” It is the proclamation of the grace of God and the coming of the kingdom of God for all people through Christ the Messiah. I first understood the gospel in 1980 through my mysterious mystical conversion. I realized for the first time that God forgave all my sins through Christ, despite myself. My life has never been the same for the last 34 years since that gracious and glorious day. I understood the gospel again in 2005 when I lost over $1,000,000 because of my greed, arrogance, desire to retire ASAP, and sheer stupidity. I regarded this as my “worst” sin, and I loathed myself for what I have done. But at this low point of my life Jer 31:3 came to my heart: “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” I understood again that the gospel or good news was entirely because of God’s unconditional love and grace, and NOT dependent on me in any way. I felt as though I was born again…again. But I expected my marriage to deteriorate because I hurt my wife. I fell into massive debt, having lost in a few months more than what she had painstakingly saved up for over 20 years of our marriage. I thought to myself, “If Christy leaves me or stops loving me, I really can’t blame her.” But she still loved me. This is good news. This is the gospel expressed through my wife. Her unchanging love and gospel expression touched and transformed my heart. Because of her love for me, she has me hook, line and sinker. Because of her gospel love, I’m probably crazier about her than she is about me, which is fine with me. The gospel is entirely what God did, and not dependent on me or my sins. Do you know the gospel? Will you share the gospel and your gospel story?

Theme: Gospel and grace; Jesus is the real deal. Acts 20:24 is Paul’s expression of his utmost singular passion, goal and aim in life. It is a most compelling statement that has the words “gospel” (good news) and “grace” and Jesus: “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace” (Acts 20:24, NIV). The Epistle of Romans was written around AD 57 and it is be the most complete summary of the gospel that Paul preached over the last 20 years of his Christian life. In Romans, Paul uses the word gospel virtually synonymously with Christ and grace. Thus, to Paul, Jesus is indeed the real deal.

Paul introduces himself to the Roman Christians by stating:

  1. His call, which is divine (Rom 1:1).
  2. His message, which is the gospel (Rom 1:2-4).
  3. His task, purpose, aim, or mission, which is to call people to the obedience of faith (or believing obedience) through the gospel (Rom 1:5-6).

What is the gospel? In The Message of RomansJohn Stott gives six fundamental trusts about the gospel, which Paul has been set apart for:

  1. The origin of the gospel is God (Rom 1:1).
  2. The attestation (preparation) of the gospel is Scripture (Rom 1:2).
  3. The substance (center) of the gospel is Jesus Christ (Rom 1:3-4, 9).
  4. The scope of the gospel is all the nations (Rom 1:5-7).
  5. The purpose of the gospel is the obedience of faith (Rom 1:5).
  6. The effect of the gospel is to be loved and called to belong to Christ (Rom 1:6-7).
  7. The goal (motivation) of the gospel is the honor of Christ’s name (Rom 1:5).

My hesitancy to preach on Romans. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached 366 sermons on Romans over 13 years from 1955 to 1968, and did not finish! It’s like preaching each Sun on Romans from today in 2014 until 2027! Yet Lloyd-Jones did not finish and only reached half way through Romans chap. 15. He preached about 1 chap. of Romans per year. (You can buy all 14 volumes of Lloyd Jones’ exposition of Romans.) For instance, he preached 5 sermons just on the very first verse!, 2 sermons on verse 2, 2 sermons on verses 3-4, 2 sermons on verses 3-5 and 2 sermons on verses 6-7, a total of 13 sermons on the first 7 verses! Here are the 5 sermons just on Rom 1:1:

  1. A Man Called Paul
  2. Analysis.
  3. Paul, a Servant of Jesus Christ.
  4. Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ.
  5. The Gospel of God.

John Piper preached 225 sermons on Romans, over 8 years from 1998 to 2006, which he entitled Romans: The Greatest Letter Ever Written. Sinclair Ferguson preached 77 sermons over 18 months.

“Gospel” (εὐαγγέλιον) is a typically Pauline word. 60 of the 76 times that it occurs in the NT are his. This word is particularly prominent in the introduction (Rom 1:1, 2, 9, 15) and conclusion (Rom 15:16, 19) of Romans–it’s epistolary “frame.” And this word has pride of place in Paul’s statement of the theme of Romans in Rom 1:16-17, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel…” Paul goes on to speak of the interplay of salvation, the interplay of Jew and Gentile (The New Perspective on Paul), and justification by faith (Luther and Calvin’s theme)–each of which has been advanced as the theme of Romans by various scholars.

The influence of Romans. Romans is historically known to be the book that led to the conversion of many famous Christians throughout history. St. Augustine, Martin Luther and John Wesley might be among the three most well known. This is what scholars, theologians and church leaders have said about Romans:

  • “(Romans) is the fullest and grandest statement of the gospel in the NT…a timeless manifesto of freedom through Jesus Christ.” John Stott, The Message of Romans, 1994.
  • “Romans is Paul’s summary of the gospel that he preaches. The theme of the letter is the gospel.” Douglas Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, 1996.
  • “The quintessence and perfection of saving doctrine.” Thomas Draxe, 17th century English Puritan.
  • Martin Luther wrote in his “Preface to the Epistle to the Romans” that Romans is”really the chief part of the NT, and …truly the purest gospel. It is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word for word, by heart, but also that he should occupy himself with it every day, as the daily bread of the soul.”
  • John Calvin declared that “if we have gained a true understanding of this Epistle, we havean open door to all the most profound treasures of Scripture.”

How Paul identifies himself. Paul’s three parallel designations in Rom 1:1 are to identify:

  1. his master: Christ.
  2. his office: apostle.
  3. his purpose: set apart for the gospel.

I. The origin of the gospel is God (Rom 1:1)

God is the most important word in this epistle. God’s good news to a lost world is “the gospel of God” (Rom 1:1c). Paul did not invent it; it was revealed and entrusted to him by God (Eph 3:3-12).

The word “God” occurs 153 times in Romans; an average of once every 46 words – this is more frequently than in any other NT book. In comparison, note the frequency of other words used in Romans: law (72), Christ (65), sin (48), Lord (43), and faith (40). Romans deals with many different themes, but as much as a book can be, it is a book about God.

II. The attestation of the gospel is Scripture (Rom 1:2)

The gospel was “promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures” (Rom 1:2). The gospel did not 1st appear in the NT to the apostles. Jesus himself was quite clear that the OT Scripture bore witness to him (Jn 5:39, 46; Lk 24:25-27, 44-46). The gospel of God has a double attestation (OT, NT) and both bear witness to Christ.

III. The substance of the gospel is Jesus Christ (Rom 1:3-4, 9)

“The gospel of God” (Rom 1:1) is “regarding his Son” (Rom 1:3, 9). Luther says that the Scripture must be understood in relation to Christ. Calvin writes similarly that “the whole gospel is contained in Christ.” Rom 1:3-4 have references, direct or indirect, to the birth, death, resurrection and reign of Christ. They also speak of his humanity (earthly life/human nature, descendant of David) and his deity (Spirit of holiness, Son of God). Who is Jesus? This duality/balance expresses:

  • both the humiliation and the exaltation,
  • the weakness and the power of God’s Son,
  • his human descent as the seed of David, and his divine power established by his resurrection as the Son of God,
  • both weak and powerful,
  • incarnate and exalted.

IV. The scope of the gospel is all nations (Rom 1:5-7)

Paul says that the gospel he received is “to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith” (Rom 1:5). Paul regards his calling as “grace and apostleship” (Rom 1:5), which means “the undeserved privilege of being an apostle,” for Paul always regarded his apostleship to God’s gracious decision and appointment (Rom 12:3, 15:15; 1 Cor 15:10; Gal 1:15, 2:9; Eph 3:1, 7-8). Paul discloses and defines the scope of the gospel as “all the Gentiles” (NIV) or “all the nations” (ESV). Though Paul was a patriotic Jew, he was called to be the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15, 22:21, 26:17; Rom 11:13, 15:16; Gal 1:16, 2:2; Eph 3:8). To serve the gospel, we too have to be liberated from all pride of race, nation, tribe, caste and class, and acknowledge that God’s gospel is for everybody, without exception and without distinction. This is a major theme of Romans.

V. The purpose of the gospel is the obedience of faith (Rom 1:5)

Faith and obedience. Faith is not obedience. Obedience is not faith. But faith and obedience always go together. Though they are not synonymous, faith and obedience mutually interpret each other, for obedience always involves faith, and faith always involves obedience. They should not be equated, compartmentalized, or made into separate stages of Christian experience, as though faith comes first followed by obedience. Paul called men and women to a fiath that was always inseparable from obedience — for the Savior in whom we believe is nothing less than our Lord (Rom 1:4b, 7b) — and to an obedience that could never be divorced from faith — for we can obey Jesus as Lord only when we have given ourselves to him in faith.

Different English translations. Paul states from the outset (and at the end of Romans) that obedience and faith are linked together (Rom 1:5; 16:26). Check out Romans 1:5 in five common English translations:

  • “the obedience that comes from faith” (NIV)
  • “the obedience of faith” (ESV, NASB, HCSB, RSV)
  • “believe and obey” (NLT)
  • “obedient trust” (The Message)
  • “believing obedience” (N.T. Wright’s The Kingdom New Testament: A Contemporary Translation)

Why are there so many different translations? It is because scholars debate the exact relationship of these two words “obedience” (ὑπακοή) and “faith” (πίστις). Many think that Paul presents faith as the basis or motivating force for obedience: the obedience that springs (comes) from faith as in the NIV, that obedience is the fruit of faith. The other major option is to take “faith” as a definition of “obedience”: the obedience which is faith. The support for this is the numerous times where obedience and faith occur in parallel statements (Rom 1:8 and Rom 16:19; Rom 10:16a and Rom 10:16b; Rom 11:23 and Rom 11:30-31), as well as those instances where Paul speaks of “obeying” the gospel (Rom 10:16; 2 Thess 1:8; 3:14). It may be best to regard a both/and view, rather than an either/or, or to regard one option over the other. Either way, Paul saw his task as calling men and women to submission to the lordship of Christ (Rom 1:4b, 7b). This obedience to Christ as Lord is always closely related to faith, both as an initial, decisive step of faith and as a continuing “faith” relationship with Christ. Obedience is the response which the gospel demands (Rom 1:5,16:26).

The obedience of faith, not the obedience of law. Though Paul insists most strongly that salvation or justification is “through faith alone,” yet he apparently writes that it is not by faith alone, but by “the obedience of faith” (Rom 1:5, ESV). What does this mean? Although faith and obedience do always belong together, they are not synonymous. To use the illustration of Abraham (Heb 11:8), it is the obedience of faith, not the obedience of law. The proper response to the gospel is faith, indeed faith alone. Yet a true and living faith in Jesus includes within itself an element of submission (cf. Rom 10:3), because it’s object is “the/our Lord” (Rom 1:4, 7), and it leads invariably into a lifetime of obedience. The response to the gospel Paul looked for was a total unreserved commitment to Jesus Christ (Rom 1:6), which he called “the obedience of faith” (Rom 1:5).

VI. The effect of the gospel is to be loved and called to belong to Christ  (Rom 1:6)

Those who suffer suffer most from a sense that they are not loved. But one who knows the love of God and the grace of Jesus and the friendship of the Holy Spirit KNOW (not necessarily feel) with absolute unwavering certainty that they are loved by God (Rom 1:6).

VII. The goal of the gospel is the honor of Christ’s name (Rom 1:5)

“For his name’s sake” (Rom 1:5, NIV) or “for the sake of his name” (Rom 1:5, ESV) is the climax of Rom 1:5. We should be jealous for the honor of Jesus’ name—troubled when it remains unknown, hurt when it is ignored, indignant when it is blasphemed, and all the time anxious and determined that it shall be given the honor and glory which are due to it. “The highest of all missionary motives is neither obedience to the Great Commission (important as that is), nor love for sinners who are alienated and perishing (strong as that incentive is, especially when we contemplate the wrath of God [Rom 1:18]), but rather zeal — burning and passionate zeal — for the glory of Jesus Christ.” (p53.)

To sum these are the seven fundamental truths about the gospel:

  1. Its origin is God the Father.
  2. Its substance is Jesus Christ his Son.
  3. Its attestation is Old Testament Scripture.
  4. Its scope is all the nations.
  5. Its effect is to love those who are called by God.
  6. Its immediate purpose in proclaiming it is to bring people to the obedience of faith.
  7. Its ultimate goal is the greater glory of the name of Jesus Christ.

To simplify these truths by the use of six prepositions, we can say that the good news is the gospel:

  1. of God,
  2. about Chirst,
  3. according to Scripture,
  4. for the nations,
  5. to know love,
  6. unto the obedience of faith, and
  7. for the sake of the Name.

Do you know the gospel? Will you share the gospel?

Fill in the blanks:

In Rom 1:1-6, John Stott explains the gospel as follows:

  1. The origin of the gospel is ________ (Rom 1:1).
  2. The attestation or preparation of the gospel is ________________ (Rom 1:2).
  3. The substance or center of the gospel is ______________________ (Rom 1:3-4).
  4. The scope of the gospel is ____________________ (Rom 1:5-6).
  5. The purpose of the gospel is ________________________ (Rom 1:5).
  6. The effect of is _____________________________________ (Rom 1:6).
  7. The goal of the gospel is _______________________________ (Rom 1:5).

Questions:

  • What is the gospel? How would you explain compellingly what the gospel is?
  • What is striking about Paul’s description of himself as “slave” and “apostle” (Rom 1:1a)?
  1. What is the origin of the gospel (Rom 1:1b; Gal 1:11-12)? Why is this conviction important for authentic evangelism?
  2. What attests to or prepares for the gospel (Rom 1:2; Jn 5:39, 46; Lk 24:27, 44)?
  3. What is the substance or center of the gospel (Rom 1:3-4, 9; 3:21-26; 1 Cor 15:3-4)?
  4. What is the scope of the gospel (Rom 1:5-6)? What implications does this have for you? What is the role of “grace” (Rom 1:1:5; 12:3; 15:15; 1 Cor 15:10; Gal 1:15)?
  5. What is the purpose of the gospel (Rom 1:5; 16:26)? Can you differentiate between the obedience of faith and the obedience of law? Can you see the obedience of faith in your own life?
  6. What is the effect of the gospel (Rom 1:6-7)? Do you know that you are loved (Jer 31:3)?
  7. What is the goal of the gospel (Rom 1:5, 4b, 7b)? How does your experience of Christianity match up to this (1 Cor 10:31)?
  8. Extra: What do you know about the New Perspective on Paul?

References:

  1. Douglas Moo —The Epistle to the Romans (New International Commentary on the New Testament, 1996).
  2. Douglas Moo —Exegetical examination of Romans. This course was recorded during a D.Min. seminar at the Carolina Graduate School of Divinity in May 2012.
  3. John Stott —The Message of Romans (The Bible Speaks Today, 1994).
  4. Tim Keller —Romans 1-7 For You (The Good Book Company, 2014).
  5. Study Guide for Romans 1 by David Guzik.
  6. Bible study questions on all of Romans.
  7. Introduction to the New Perspective on Paul. Douglas Moo.

Romans 1:1-7: N. T. Wright. “The Kingdom New Testament: A Contemporary Translation.”

1 “Paul, a slave of King Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for God’s good news, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the sacred writings – 3 the good news about his son, who was descended from David’s seed in terms of flesh, 4 and who was marked out powerfully as God’s son in terms of the spirit of holiness by the resurrection of the dead: Jesus, the king, our Lord! 5 Through him we have received grace and apostleship to bring about believing obedience among all the nations for the sake of his name. 6 That includes you, too, who are called by Jesus the king. 7 This letter comes to all in Rome who love God, all who are called to be his holy people. Grace and peace to you from God our father, and King Jesus, the Lord.”

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