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Chapter 1

The Gospel of God

Rom. 1:1-17
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.
(Rom 1:16)

D
o you read the newspaper or watch the evening news
on TV regularly? If so, I’m sure you’ve noticed that
most of the news that you read or hear is depressing.
It seems that there’s nothing but bad news. War in the
Middle East, disease in Asia, crime in America, genocide in Africa.
Every day we’re bombarded with bad news. That just seems to be
the way it is in our world. Why all the bad news?

1. Bad news sells.

2. We live in a fallen world. Bad news is the norm.

It was the same in Paul’s day, too. No, there were no newspapers,
radios, or televisions, but news still got around and it was generally
bad news. But, Paul had some news to share and for once, it was
good news… in fact it was the best possible news! This news is
exactly what people need — then and now.

The Message

“promised beforehand” This wasn’t a totally new message. The

Gospel was foreshadowed and prophesied from the beginning of
time. It’s been in the works for generations. But, also notice that it
wasn’t just predicted but promised. This is the good news that God
(who never breaks a promise) delivers to His people.
Romans In Focus
All throughout the Old Testament, we see glimpses of God’s
promise of Good News.
“concerning his Son” Jesus
is the center of the Gospel
message. It’s all about
Him, the One who was both
human and divine.
“according to the flesh”, He
was a man, a descendant
of David, but that’s not the
end of the story.
“declared with power to
be the Son of God.“ His
resurrection showed that
He is not only a man, but
the Son of God. This is a
non-negotiable point of the
Gospel, as C.S. Lewis so
aptly explains in his book,
Mere Christianity:
“A man who was merely
a man and said the sort of
things Jesus said would not
be a great moral teacher. He
would either be a lunatic—
on a level with the man
who says he is a poached
egg—or else he would be
the Devil of Hell. You must
make your choice. Either this
man was, and is, the Son of
God: or else a madman or
something worse.”
Something to Think About:
When John the Baptist intro-
duced Jesus as “the lamb of God
who takes away the sins of the
world,” the Jews could hardly
miss the meaning. From the
beginning, God has progressively
laid out the idea of sacrificial
atonement for sin.
1. The first sacrifice - the skins to
cover Adam & Eve (Gen. 3:21)
The very first sin caused the very
first animal sacrifice.
2. The concept of Substitution -
the ram for Isaac (Gen. 22:13)
God provided a ram to be
sacrificed in the place of Isaac.
3. Personally applied - Passover
(Ex. 12) We are responsible to
appropriate the sacrifice, by
faith.
4. Levitical System — the
sacrifices were put into law. God
spells it out: sin demands death.
5. Jesus, the Lamb of God. The
ultimate sin offering has arrived.
“God has provided for Himself
a lamb!”
 Chapter 1

The Messenger

“a servant” (vs. 1) The word that Paul uses here is ‘doulos’

literally, a slave or bondservant. A bondservant was one who sells
himself into slavery to another, often in payment of a debt. During
the colonial days, European peasants would sell themselves as
‘indentured servants’ and agree to work for a colonist for several
years in payment for their passage to America. Paul considered
himself to be a slave of Christ. He had forfeited his own rights,
wishes, and ambitions to do the will of Christ.
“set apart” (vs. 1) God had a purpose for Paul. He was set apart,
he had a calling.
“obligated” (vs. 14) ‘owed a debt’ Not only did Paul have a sense
of obligation to God, he also felt that he owed a debt to those who
needed to hear the Gospel. People were dying and he had their cure.
He owed it to them to do all that he could to see that they received
it.
Greek and Non-Greek (barbarian) Paul’s message was for all men,
a cross-cultural message.
“eager to preach” (vs. 15) Although, he felt under obligation,
Paul didn’t consider his task a burden. He was eager to preach the
Gospel.

The Content 1:16-17

Paul says He’s “not ashamed of the Gospel”

“the power of God” (vs. 16) People in Rome understood power.

The Roman empire basically ruled the entire world. Politically,
there is no greater power. So why be ashamed of power? Caesar
sure wasn’t… Hitler, Stalin didn’t apologize when they wielded their
power.
The Gospel IS power. Do we really get it? Not just a powerful
message, but power, itself. Man’s power: controls people and gets
things done. The Gospel does much more: It changes lives… it’s
Romans In Focus

resurrection power!
“for salvation” That’s what the Good News is all about. We
think of salvation as a one time thing… conversion. But, Paul
thinks of salvation a little differently. Ultimately, he’s looking
forward to the restoration of all things… that’s the goal of the
Gospel.
“first for the Jew, then the Gentile.” This is God’s original plan
for evangelism. The Jewish nation should have been the center
from which the Good News would go forth.

“righteousness from God” (vs. 16) Not our own righteousness.

We don’t have the ability to be righteous, at all. In fact Isaiah
once said that “all of our righteousness is like filthy rags.”
(IS 64:6) No, if we rely on whatever righteousness that we
can muster up, we won’t get far. But, Paul makes it clear that
it’s the righteousness that comes to us directly from God.

Legally: When Christ comes into our lives, we are declared righteous.
Practically: we’re also given the power to live righteously
 Chapter 1

So What? (Application points)

1. Do we really understand the power of the Gospel? It’s not our

Bible knowledge or powers of persuasion that come into play. When
we witness, we’re actually unleasing God’s power. How would that
way of thinking effect your attitude toward witnessing?

2. Are we ashamed to witness? If the Gospel message truely is

“the power of God”, what are the implications for how we share it?

3. Are we eager to share the Good News? God could have

chosen any method at all to bring people into His family, but He
chose to use US. We have the great privelidge of actually being a
partner with God in the great enterprise of saving souls! Are you
engaged? Are you eager to be a part?