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The Gospel and the Gospel Proclaimer V1 - 17
1:1 From Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.
As in Philippians and Titus Paul addresses himself as the "bond slave of Christ" and brings home to them that he is an 'apostle' called by God. He adds in this letter "separated unto the Gospel. Here we have the first thing that he says concerning the Gospel proclaimer he is separated to God and separated from the world. P. Barrington says 'Without separation you can have influence without power, movement without achievement, you may try and not trust, serve but not succeed, war but not win'
1:2 This gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures,
The Gospel was not suddenly thought up by God but was carefully planned before sin entered the heart of man, before the foundation of the world (1 Pet. 1: 18 - 20)
1:3-4 concerning his Son who was a descendant of David with reference to the flesh, who was appointed the Son-of-God-in-power according to the Holy Spirit by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Gospel is Jesus Christ. In these verses alone we see that He is declared to be, the Son of God, Son of Man, Saviour, Anointed One, God manifest in the flesh. This was confirmed when He rose from the dead.
1:5-6 Through him we have received grace and our apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles on behalf of his name. You also are among them, called to belong to Jesus Christ.
It is not by anything that Paul had done but by God's grace alone that he was an apostle. The second thing he says about the Gospel Proclaimer is obedience to the call to take the Gospel message wherever God tells him to.
It is to be done for His name sake alone and for no other motive. All are embraced in this call.
1:7 To all those loved by God in Rome, called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
After these introductory verses in which he introduces us to the theme and purpose of his letter he gives the salutation. The letter was primarily written to the Christians living in Rome, who at this time would have been a mixture of Jew and Gentile, mainly Jews but the increase in Gentile believers was so great that the Jews would soon be outnumbered.
1:8-9 First of all, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world. For God, whom I serve in my spirit by preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness that I continually remember you
The faith of these believers had reached the ears of the then known world. Although Paul had never been to Rome he had met many Christians from there and had worked with Aquila and Priscilla (see Rom. 16) The next thing on the Gospel proclaimer is that his whole spirit has to be put into the Gospel Message and he ceaselessly prays for the results.
1:10-12 and I always ask in my prayers, if perhaps now at last I may succeed in visiting you according to the will of God. For I long to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, that is, that we may be mutually comforted by one another's faith, both yours and mine.
Paul had a desire to go to Rome, but only if God so willed. His purpose being that he might see them and impart that which would strengthen, encourage and establish them in the faith, also that they may do the same for him.
1:13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I often intended to come to you (and was prevented until now), so that I may have some fruit even among you, just as I already have among the rest of the Gentiles.
He assures them that he had often planned to visit but had been hindered. His purpose for going to Rome was that he might bring souls to Christ from among the Gentiles even as he had in other places.
1:14-15 I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. Thus I am eager also to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome.
The Gospel Proclaimer is a debtor i.e. he has an obligation and duty to give the Gospel Message to the whosoever because he has been saved, been enlightened to the truth and received a knowledge of God. Therefore, Paul will take the Gospel Message to the heart of the Roman empire even if it cost him his life - and it did, he was beheaded.
1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
The Gospel Proclaimer is that he is not ashamed of it. For it is the all powerful, effectual word of God that brings the soul to salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord.
1:17 For the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel from faith to faith, just as it is written, "The righteous by faith will live."
Through the preaching of it the righteousness of God is revealed to all who hear i.e. His personal righteousness and the righteousness with which He justifies sinners on the ground of faith (F.F. Bruce). It commences by faith and ends in faith.
What Sin is
Adam Clarke said "The apostle has now finished his preface, and comes to the grand subject of the epistle; namely, to show the absolute need of the Gospel of Christ, because of the universal corruption of mankind; which was so great as to incense (anger) the justice of God, and call aloud for the punishment of the world."
1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness,
What God thinks of sin He has clearly made known when He gave His Son as a sacrifice for it upon the cross. The wrath of God was poured out upon the Lord Jesus Christ as He paid the penalty for sin. What is Sin ? Basically it is "ungodliness and unrighteousness" that is wickedness and everything contrary to the Law of God this leads to a suppressing (squashing) and distorting of the truth of God.
1:19 because what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
God has made Himself known to everyone through their inner consciousness (Rom. 2:14-15).
1:20 For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes -- his eternal power and divine nature -- have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse.
He has also revealed His invisible attributes (nature) and eternal power and Divinity through the things that He created. This He has done so that all can plainly understand and therefore no excuse can be made.
1:21-22 For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools
When God was known and recognised by man he choose not to acknowledge or give Him His rightful place in their lives. Instead man gave himself over to useless and godless thoughts and so their minds were blinded with the darkness of sin. Considering themselves to be wiser than their creator they made themselves to be fools. A. Barnes. "The apostle here is showing that it was right to condemn people for their sins. To do this it was needful to show them that they had the knowledge of God, and the means of knowing what was right; and that the true source of their sins and idolatries was a corrupt and evil heart."
1:23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.
The Results of Sin
1:24 Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity, to dishonour their bodies among themselves.
Because of man's choice to sinfully rebel against God, who never enforces Himself because He gave man a free will, He gave them over, or ceased to restrain them to fulfil the evil impure and immoral desires of their sinful hearts. Three times Paul uses the phrase "gave them up" (24, 26,28). He wants to make it clear that God had no part in the downfall and sin of man.
Because of sin man did not want to retain the image of God in which he was made (Gen. 1:26-27). Therefore, he endeavoured to completely obliterate Him from every part of their life. Instead he made for himself statues of the things that God had created out every conceivable material to hand and bowed down to worship these.
1:25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
They wilfully choose to change the glory of the immortal God into corruptible images\idols of himself and created things such as; man, sun, moon, stars and animals etc. Preferring to believe the lie and bow down and worship the creation instead of the Creator, who is to be praised and exalted forever.
1:26-27 For this reason God gave them over to dishonourable passions. For their women exchanged the natural sexual relations for unnatural ones, and likewise the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed in their passions for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
In these verses we have a catalogue of every conceivable act of sin that has and is committed because of Sin. Here he clearly states the sins of sexual immorality. brought the penalty of sexually transmitted diseases.
1:28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done.
Because they did not see fit to acknowledge God or consider Him worth knowing God gave the over to their corrupted minds so that they do these things.
1:29-31 They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless, ruthless.
He continues his list of sins going from those committed with the body to those committed by the heart i.e. greed, malice, envy, deceit, slanderers, haters of God, arrogance, disobedient.
We can clearly see that these are entirely opposite to the nature of God and in opposition to Him. They are all marked by the absence and the main attribute of God, that is Love. How can it be any other when man has endeavoured to completely obliterate the image of God from every part of his life ?
1:32 Although they fully know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but also approve of those who practice them.
Although those who practise such things are fully aware that the penalty for sin is death yet they not only continue to them but approve and encourage others in them.
The purpose of Paul included this portion in the opening chapter of his letter is to show the exceeding sinfulness of man (Rom. 3:23) and that he deserves the penalty of sin (Rom. 6:23). It is not to send us into the depths of despair and hopelessness but to bring home to our hearts the exceeding grace, love and mercy of God in provided a Saviour.
