Romans 1:7

Romans 1:7

Welcome to the study of the Bible, the greatest and most important book in the world. We are continuing the Bible study in Romans 1:7 which is still in the introduction to the book of Romans. The first 17 verses are generally considered to be the introduction to the book, and we are in verse 7. Rom. 1:7 says, "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." Paul reminded the believers in Rome that they were called to be saints. He used the same phrase about himself in verse 1 when he said that he was called to be an apostle. In some ways we are all called to the same things. For example, we are all called to be saints but in other ways we each have our specific calling, such as Paul having the specific calling to be an apostle.

We are all called to be saints. The word “saint” comes from the word "holy". When the Bible says that you are called to be a saint, it means that you are called to be holy. Holiness is a very practical word. It refers to being separate from sin and separate from evil. When God touches your heart and touches your life, one of the things that He is calling you to is holiness. You begin heading towards total and complete holiness because you will end up in heaven. You are destined for heaven now where everything is holy, so your goal in this life is to be as holy as you can be. Remember holiness is a very practical thing. It refers to what you do, and what you say, and what you think. It is not a self-righteous attitude.

One of your primary goals in life should be to be holy, that is, to avoid temptation and to do what is right. If you want to know what God has called you to do, that is it. Simply avoid what is wrong, and do what is right. That is the will of God for you. Then you will honor God, and then you will be used of God, and then you will walk with God and fulfill the will of God for you, because you were called by God to be a saint, to be a holy person. Jesus said, "Don’t worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow shall give thought for itself. Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof."

Paul reminded them that they were called to be saints, and then the next word that he wrote was the word grace. He said, "grace and peace to you." How else could a person avoid temptation and do what is right except by grace? How else could a person have a calling that will result in him or her being in the holiness of heaven one day, except by grace. "Grace" is one of the key words here in the book of Romans. Paul will use it 22 times in the book. This is the second time that he has used the word "grace" so far. He used it in verse 5 when he said that; "we have received grace and apostleship." Now he uses it again in verse 7 when he expresses his hope for the believers in Rome that they would be blessed with "grace", because he said "grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ."

Verse 5 says that we have already received grace, and then verse 7 says that we need even more grace. Grace is the giving of God, and that involves salvation. If you have salvation, it is because God gave it to you by His grace. Grace also involves God’s enabling. If you accomplish something, if you avoid temptation and do what is right, it is by the grace of God. It is not because of you or your strength; it is by the grace of God. Without the grace of God, you could do nothing and you would be nothing. If the forces of evil came against you without God’s help, you would be crushed. You are totally dependent upon the grace of God, not what you deserve, but what He can give freely through Christ. If you are wise, you will rely upon, hope for, and seek more of the grace of God. Paul was wise, and therefore he hoped that these believers in Rome would receive more of the grace of God.

But not only grace, he also hoped they would receive more peace. He said, "Grace unto you, and peace..." We are all going to have our troubles and sorrows. It is a part of life. Jesus said to the disciples, "In the world you shall have tribulation." But He also said, "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." It has already been decided that we are going to have troubles. Things are going to go wrong. Sometimes things are not going to work out the way that we wish they would. If we are hoping for a situation where sorrows will not happen and troubles will not happen, we are making a big mistake because things won’t be like that until we get to heaven. But what we can have is peace. We can have the peace of God that passes understanding. Jesus said to the disciples, "My peace I give unto. Not as the world gives, give I unto you." If you are a believer, you can have that kind of peace, if you pray about everything. The amount of peace that you have will be evidence of how much you are trusting in your circumstances or trusting in God. Paul also wrote to the Philippians and said in Phil. 4:6-7, "Worry about nothing: but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

It is made very clear for us what is the source and the origin of the grace and peace: "Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." God is called our Father. What is a father? The source of life and daily provision. The source of wisdom with which to teach and to guide His children. The source of love and a strong but tender hand. Of course, "Father" is a title of respect and of honor. Anyone who is a good father should be honored and respected, but the best father of all is God. He will not fail at His responsibilities. He knows how to provide for us, and two of the most important things that we can receive from Him are grace and peace.

It is very noticeable how that God the Father is mentioned in the same breath as the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a common occurrence in the New Testament, and is one of the many evidences that Jesus is presented as God the Son, divinity in every way.

Romans 1:8 says, "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world." Paul said earlier in Romans Chapter 1 that he was separated unto the gospel of God. The thing that he lived for was to see the gospel spread, and of course he could not do it all by himself. Every believer has a part to play in the spread of the gospel. No matter how great the gift of some evangelists may be; they can only do so much. The gospel will only be spread the way that it was meant to be, when every believer is a witness in the city where they live.

Certain information about the believers in Rome became spread around the world, and they became noted for a certain characteristic. They were not noted for how great and grand were their cathedrals. They were not noted for how much money they gave. And they were not noted for how big was their group or for how great were their numbers. They were known for something that is much more important: they were known because of their faith. Those who know you, if they were to list the thing that makes you stand out as a person, would they say, "There is a person of faith."

Faith is important because it is essential to salvation. If you don’t have faith, then you are not saved. "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." Without faith, it is impossible to believe God. There are three things that abide: faith, hope, and love. The greatest of the three is love, but the first is faith. You cannot even begin to serve God, if you do not have faith. No wonder that Paul was so thankful to God for the faith that the Roman Christians possessed.

In Romans 1:9-10 Paul said, "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: making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you." Another one of the inspiring characteristics of the soul and passion of the apostle Paul is revealed to us in verse 9. The amount that he prayed for these believers even though he had never been with them. Paul worked tirelessly to spread the gospel, but it is evident by his prayer life how much he depended upon God, and not his own efforts.

In Romans 1:10-12 Paul said, "Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end you may be established; That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me." Paul was an evangelist; that is, he presented the gospel. He was a missionary; that is, he was on a mission to spread the gospel. And Paul was also a teacher; he was a teacher of sound doctrine. The book of Romans is a tremendous example of his understanding and his ability to teach. One of the benefits of hearing good Biblical teaching is that the listeners can then be better prepared to serve God. If we are going to serve God, we must serve with the gifts that we possess; and we will better understand what our spiritual gifts are, if we properly understand the scriptures. Paul wanted to be with the believers in Rome so that he could teach them and thereby impart to them some spiritual gift.

He also wanted to be with them as he said in verse 12 so that he might "be comforted together by the mutual faith" of himself and the Roman Christians. Humans influence other humans. This social factor of life is one of the ways in which God has made us. You influence others either for bad or for good. Everyone is responsible for how they influence others, and will be judged for it one day. One of your goals should always be to be a good influence yourself, and to avoid being negatively influenced by others around you. Faith is spread from one person to another by this factor. If you want to have more faith, then spend more time with people who have faith. That was evidently something that even Paul did to help keep his own faith strong.

In Romans 1:13 Paul said, "Now I would not have you ignorant, brothers, that often it was my purpose to come to you, but I was prevented up to now, that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles." Paul would have visited the Romans earlier than he did, but he was hindered in his desire to do so. Sometimes we want to do something for God, but it just does not work out. That is just another one of the proofs that unless it is the will of God, it just won’t happen, at least not when we first wish that it would. But in spite of that truth Paul did not give up. It shows the kind of determination that he had. When things did not work out, he was able to accept it, but still try again later.

In Romans 1:14 Paul said, "I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise and to the unwise." As far as Paul was concerned all humans were equal, and if they are equal, they are equally in need of the gospel and equally deserving of the gospel. In verse 5 Paul said that obedience to the faith was for all nations. Now he is saying the same thing again while emphasizing his own responsibility in the matter. He said that he was a debtor to the Greeks and the Barbarians. The Greeks represented the civilized and the educated, and the Barbarians were everyone else in the world who were not a part of the Greek and Roman society. Paul said that he was a debtor. He felt that because he knew the truth, he had a responsibility to share the truth with others. He had a debt to pay. Once he received the truth about Christ, at the same time he received a responsibility to give the truth to others who had not yet received it.

In Romans 1:15 Paul said, "For as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also." Paul said, "For as much as in me.." He was talking about doing his absolute best. Have you ever done your very best in something? A Christian should always do his very best at what he does. A believer in God and a follower of God should always have as a goal to do his very best, because everything that you do you should be doing for God’s glory. Anything that is less than your best is a sin. "Whatsoever you do in word or deed do as unto the Lord and not unto men."

Paul also said in verse 15 that he was "ready" to preach the gospel. All Christians should be ready to give out the gospel. One reason that we sometimes miss opportunities to share the gospel of the Lord Jesus is because we are not ready. We become too overburdened with the thoughts and activities of this life, and lose that edge of readiness to give out the gospel. But Paul was ready, and Peter said to the believers in First Peter 3:15, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear."

In Romans 1:16 Paul said why he was ready to speak the good news of the gospel of Jesus. Paul said, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes: to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." One reason that some Christians do not speak out about the gospel when opportunities come their way is because they are ashamed. They will be even more ashamed when they stand before God and realize what they could have done had they only spoke up once in a while when opportunities came their way in life. Paul said that he was not ashamed and he proved it by what he said to people.

The reason that Paul was not ashamed of the gospel is because he said in verse 16, "for it is the power of God unto salvation." The most important thing that can happen to any human is to have their soul saved, so that they will end up in heaven for all eternity. And anyone who was ever saved got saved because they heard the gospel. The gospel is an extremely powerful spiritual force. It is the power of God. The next time that you tell the gospel; one or more souls may be saved, not because of you but because the gospel is the power of God.

This is the second time that we have seen the word "power" used in the first chapter of Romans. Again it comes from the Greek word “dunamis”, from which we get our word dynamite. It was initially used in verse 4 talking about the raising of Jesus from the dead. And now the power of God is mentioned in reference to the saving of human souls. It takes the power of God to save a person, because we are so sinful and so far away from God, and so unable to reach Him on our own. You can be saved because the power of God can save you, and because this great salvation is for everyone that believes. The question of the day is, Do you have this salvation that is found in Jesus Christ?

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