Romans 1:7

ROMANS 1:7

Romans 1:7, “To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

All Christians are beloved of God. Rome was the capital of the roman empire and the center of the world in its day.

It does not matter what denomination a Christian is from what background, culture or country or what race they are, they are beloved of God. It is a wonderful thing to be beloved of God. Why does God love his children so? Because God is love.

Called to be saints. Called to be holy ones. In the previous verses the Bible talked about being called. God does the calling. All Christians are saints.

Romans 1:7, “To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Grace and peace come from God. We all need the grace of God. Without the grace of God we would all be in hell. Human beings are so sinful that all we can do is rely upon the grace of God. It is grace through faith and not of works that saves.

Grace is mentioned first, then peace, because once you are saved, by the grace of God, then you have peace with God.

John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

Jesus made peace by the blood of his cross having reconciled all things unto himself. Without Christ, a person is lost in sin and therefore does not have peace in their heart.

It is important to have the peace of God in your life to know that you are not in danger of God’s wrath. The peace of God helps a person to be strong amidst the trials of life and helps them to have rest from troubles.

If you keep your sins confessed to Jesus then you can have peace in your mind because your conscience is clear.

There are many important ways to have peace in the conscience, in the heart, amid your circumstances in life both in the small day to day things and in the trials of life. Peace comes from God. Grace and peace to you.

Romans 1:8, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.”

Paul was thankful that other Christians had a testimony. And not a testimony but one spoken of throughout the whole world. You never know who you will reach with your testimony maybe you will reach the whole world; it is all up to God.

It is good to be thankful for the faith of other Christians. We don’t want to be like the people of the world and be competitive in the wrong way with each other; we want love and unity. Be thankful for the faith of other Christians.

Romans 1:9, “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;”

Paul prayed a lot for other Christians. There is always a lot to pray about especially for other people. The more you pray for other people the more you will love them. Prayer is important. Jesus said ye have not because ye ask not. The truth is we should pray about everything we can. God answers prayer. God loves us, guides us, protects us, provides for us, heals us, and if we pray to him he will do it all the more.

Romans 1:10, “Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.”

By the will of God is an important phrase. We should always pray that things are by the will of God and the decisions we make should always be by the will of God. You basically have two choices in life, to follow your own will or to learn to follow God’s will. Following man’s will is foolish. Man is sinful and ignorant. God is Holy and all knowing. The more you pray according to the will of God, the more God will help you to follow God’s will. To follow God’s will you must do so by living by faith.

Paul wanted to visit the Christians in Rome if God would allow him. And God did allow him. We should have a desire to appreciate other Christians. It’s God love that we can fellowship with other believers.

Romans 1:11, “For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established.”

Paul wanted to help the other believers’ faith. We all have a part in helping other Christians’ faith when we fellowship with them. Iron sharpeneth iron.

If you study the way most human beings relate to each other, it is very sinful. Unsaved people in general desire for other people to participate in their sinful lifestyles. They also tend to be unforgiving when they are offended. Christians are not this way. Christians are loving and forgiving. How opposite Christians are from the people of the world.

Paul is an example of how other Christians should be. He loved the church. He cared for their faith. He wanted them to be established.

Romans 1:12, “That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.”

It is amazing what faith can do. The faith of Christians comforts each other. Your faith can comfort other Christians and their faith can comfort you. Paul needed comfort. He suffered, he was beaten, imprisoned, opposed in the gospel. And you will need comfort too as you suffer in this life for Jesus.

Fellowship with other believers and comfort each other through your faith. The word comfort here comes from the Greek word parakaleto. The holy spirit is called our comforter. It is the Greek Word Paraklatos. Human beings need comfort when they suffer and the Holy Spirit is the Comforter.

There are a lot of things a person can suffer in life but God can comfort you. Having and knowing that your sins are forgiven through Jesus Christ can be a great comfort. If you have never been forgiven of your sins then repent and confess them to Jesus today and he will save you from your sins.

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