Today I would like to dig into the book of Romans a little. There is little argument over whether or not Paul is the author of Romans; if the first verse isn’t identification enough, then the style and content is undeniably the work of the most prolific writer of the New Testament. As you can assume by the title, Paul wrote this letter to the church in Rome. Paul had been planning to visit the missionary outpost in Rome for some time, but was unavoidably detained by other matters. He writes to let them know he, nor the rest of the fellowship, has forgotten about them, and to make ready for his visit. However, the communication is not merely a letter, but a thesis on the theology behind church doctrine. Directed not only to the church in ancient Rome, but to all Christians past, present, and future.
The Roman church was populated with Jewish and Gentile converts, who joined the church during Pentecost. While they believed the same message, there was much animosity between the two groups. Here is what it boiled down to: the Jews believed the Gentiles to be unworthy of salvation; while the Gentiles believed the Jews to be overly preoccupied with rules, festivals, etc. The purpose of the letter was to present the gospel to a church that had not, as of yet, been under the guidance of an apostle, but reared by laymen. Paul also wanted to explain that both Jew and Gentile had a part in the plan of salvation. The theme of Romans is clear: Paul is explaining in rudimentary terms, where even babes in the faith can understand; the basic gospel. He not only presents justification by faith, but the entire “Righteousness of God.” Which also includes ideas such as guilt, sanctification, and security.
Paul’s timing could not have been better in regards to this letter and his upcoming visit to Rome. Let me explain the circumstances in which this fledgling missionary branch of the early church was having to develop. It is one thing to be converted, proclaim ones faith, but to nourish it and expect it to grow, where there is precious little food, is quite another thing all together.
Travel with me back to Rome for a minute. Keep in mind, Paul was a Roman citizen and knew the urgency of his communication. He wrote this letter probably while in the home of a friend in Corinth, around the year A.D. 57. The Roman Empire was less than half century from reaching its peak. The city of Rome was a dazzling marvel to behold. The city, situated on seven hills, its size had grown immensely, spilling over the walls of the original city and stretching for miles. Lavish temples to various gods, whitewashed buildings of government, towering columns and archways, aqueducts bringing water to the city (many of the wealthier residents even had running water), awesome arenas and theaters, and roadways (most of them paved) reaching some of Rome’s most remote provinces. It was the center, the hub, of the civilized world. Many claimed Rome was the crowning achievement of mankind; others dubbed it the sewer of the universe. For opposite its spectacular achievements were social injustices that rival the workings of inner cities today.
In power was the infamous Emperor Nero. Best remembered by the false account of him playing his violin while Rome burned around him. He had recently assumed control, after his predecessor was poisoned by his own wife. The church, still in its infancy, was viewed as some upstart cult, a sect of Judaism. For the most part they co-existed without incident, however, they were still looked at with suspicion and reservation, especially by government officials. These uncertainties came to fruition when in A.D. 64, fire engulfed the city of Rome. Nero, needing a scapegoat to pin blame on, mainly in order to direct attention away from the implications he had something to do with the inferno; blamed the Christians. It is recorded he “illuminated his gardens with the bodies of burning Christians.”
Maybe Paul knew of the impending tribulations to be suffered by the Roman Christians, or merely used his head, as common sense would lead “that a young church in the capital city of lust and secularism is bound to have problems, and if they were going to be persecuted in Rome, what would stop the government from oppressing the Christians throughout the empire. Paul wanted not only the church in Rome, but the entire Christian population, to be well grounded in the gospel, in order to strengthen their faith for the trying times ahead. For withing thirteen years of writing this letter, Paul would be executed, Christians burned by Nero, and the temple in Jerusalem destroyed. Yes, the church would have survived, but how great the setback. With Paul’s detailing explicitly the plan of salvation, along with a hearty dose of the Holy Spirit, the early church did not even break stride when faced with adversity.
Let’s go back to the theme of Romans. Rom. 1:16, 17(read) What is Paul establishing as the basis for Christian belief and doctrine. In verse 16, Paul says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel...” The gospel. The word gospel is a purely New Testament term. It is not used once in the Old Testament, although it is frequently alluded to by many authors. The origins of the word “gospel” are found in the Greek word “euaggelion,” meaning “good news” or “good message.” It is more commonly known from the Old English word “godspel,” or “good story.” This is first part of the message Paul has for the Roman church, the detailing of the gospel. That God has provided salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Paul wanted to set down in writing, the exact precepts of the gospel of Jesus Christ, to ensure no discrepancies, no rumors, no confusion of the truth would occur. So what is the gospel Paul was speaking of? Read on in verse 16; “it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”
Here we find the gospel as an instrument, created by God through which salvation can be granted. We often hear the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John referred to as the four gospels. Which infers the gospel is merely a recording of the life of Christ. However, the gospel is not a book, but the message which Christ brought to humanity both through His teachings and the example of His life. Furthermore, the gospel message was transferred to the apostles and missionaries of the early church to take into the world as a means of “salvation and redemption.” It is both the message of forgiveness and the necessity for a relationship with God, and the means through which sins are forgiven and we are reconciled to God. We must note the clear antithesis between the law and the gospel. The distinction between the two is important because, as Luther indicates, it contains the substance of all Christian doctrine. "By the law," says he, "nothing else is meant than God’s word and command, directing what to do and what to leave undone, and requiring of us obedience of works. But the gospel is such doctrine of the word of God that neither requires our works nor commands us to do anything, but announces the offered grace of the forgiveness of sin and eternal salvation. Here we do nothing, but only receive what is offered through the word." The gospel, then, is the message of God, the teaching of Christianity, the redemption in and by Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, offered to all mankind. And as the gospel is bound up in the life of Christ, His biography and the record of His works, and the proclamation of what He has to offer. "The gospel is the gratuitous promise of the remission of sins for Christ’s sake."
The other point Paul was making in his writing was the “Righteousness of God.” Which is both an integral part of the gospel, but is also a doctrine to be understood separately. That our whole experience relies on faith and acceptance of the gospel message. Many attribute Jesus’ righteousness and sinless life to being the Son of God; however, they seem not to have allowed for other explanations. True, Jesus is the Son of God, but this was not the principle force behind Jesus’ life. Jesus was filled with the gospel. He took hold of the promises given by His Father to all mankind. That whosoever calls on the name of the Lord will be received with open arms. Jesus was the manifestation of this “power” referred to in verse 16. Jesus knew, and so do we, that the only means of salvation is through God, and that we must bind ourselves close to Him to be free of the fetters of sin. Yes, Jesus was the Son of God, but no, this did not give Him any special edge of the rest of mankind. He was born of flesh and blood, reared in a world dominated by the destroying effects of sin, yet He remained untarnished, not because of who His father is, but because He kept a close, personal, fully trusting relationship with His father. He exercised the faith that all humanity can have if we only believe. That faith was the only thing that enabled Jesus to live a spotless life, and even in this, it was still no extraordinary feat of His own. His faith did not obligate God to answer His prayers and requests. However, God is faithful and just to all, and has promised to grant us favor if we truly believe. We as humans so distant from that early church, riddled by sin, our guilt festering daily, also have the ability to live free as Jesus did. There is no accomplishment we can muster to earn the reward. The only thing required of us is love and acceptance of God’s salvation. When I was in school I heard teachers speaking of the some of the not so intellectually adept students, “it is harder to fail this class than to pass it. It would take more effort to completely flunk out then to barely scrape by with a passing grade.” Truly this concept applies to our salvation. It is harder to lose salvation than it is to be given it. Although we are tempted incessantly to stray from the narrow path, we still have a choice. And usually whatever the sin is we are tempted with requires more effort than to carry on the straight path. For we have to physically make ourselves stray. However, th plan of salvation, the gospel power of God, is extremely simple. God offers us freedom, true freedom, all we need do is say “yes Lord I accept the gift you wish to bestow upon me.” Some say, “yes but Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” My response is “so what’s the problem?” Yes you can look at it as a list of rules to hinder our right to be free, but look closely at the Ten Commandments. Turn to Exodus 20. The commandments were written on two tablets of stone, four on the first, the remaining six of the latter. Every thing is done for a reason. Boil it down: the first four “Love for God;” the remaining six “Love for fellow man.” Mk. 12:29-31 (read). Love the Lord and love your neighbor (who is our neighbor, everyone). These are the precepts Christ held dear and utilized daily to maintain a constant connection with the only one who is powerful enough to save us. These are the doctrines Paul is trying to stress to the early church. These ideologies which are needed now as much, if not more, than they were centuries past. He is telling us to break it all down. Stop pre-occupying ourselves with rules, and rituals, with pointing fingers at each other, speculating on the veracity of our brothers and sisters devotion to God. Disregard the frivolities of this temporary existence. Look down the road, claim the promise, the gift the Father has laid out before us like the most delectable banquet ever imagined. He is telling us we are that Roman church, that missionary outpost leagues away from our headquarters. On the brink of tribulation unimaginable. We are caught in the maelstrom of modern Rome’s carnal desires, tossed about, and left with no food to be seen. Yet we have a constant supply of manna if we believe God will sustain us. I hear “Amens” so either you agree with this or you already know it. So why are we letting petty inconsequentials dominate our minds. We shake our heads at those Jews and Gentiles, fighting amongst themselves, but are we as guilty? There is no one here who deserves redemption, yet we can have it because Jesus paid our way out of slavery. No one here who has earned salvation. Yet we insist on wagging our fingers at others, mumbling under our breath about what Susy so and so is doing or not doing. We grumble and complain about our leaders more than the Israelites complained about Moses, and they were walking through a desert with the Egyptian army on their heels. We sit in air conditioned buildings and still we try to humiliate and degrade those around us, because we feel our inferiority showing through in our every action. We must adhere to the basic gospel brought to us by Jesus and explicated by Paul. Breakdown the gospel and you have faith, and the primary element in faith is love. We must love, unconditionally. If we cannot love our fellow man and lend a hand when needed, then how can we love God, and if we cannot love God how can we put our faith in Him? All our neighbors. This is not just the homeless man on the street, the family who lost their home to a fire, or the guy who stops in out of money and hungry. This includes those people sitting around you. The Spirit was bestowed upon the apostles because they were unified, one in purpose, one in goal. We have an evangelistic campaign fast approaching. If we are not all together how effective can we be? The pastor and elders cannot do it alone, nor can the evangelist. So instead of the rest of us sitting back and complaining about how little is being accomplished, we need to stand up and volunteer. This message of Paul’s is not just for us, the gospel power of salvation is for everyone. We need to make sure everyone is offered the redemption, the salvation, the freedom freely offered by Jesus Christ.
Jesus lived sinlessly because He took hold of His father’s hand and was led down the path of righteousness. The early church grew and prospered, and survived great persecution because they were guided and shielded by that same power. Why let the ridiculous, petty novelties; the grumbling, the working against each other instead of with each other block us from receiving an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, sparking a revival in the land.
Grab hold of Jesus. He is the only one who has been in our shoes and come out spotless. Follow Him all the way and we cannot fail.
