Sunday Morning Bible Study: Romans 1: The Gospel: God's Power to Save

The just shall live by faith.

How Paul's greatest letter opens with the message that changed the world.

Few books of the Bible have shaped Christian history as profoundly as Paul's Epistle to the Romans. Written from Corinth near the close of his third missionary journey (about A.D. 57), this letter was sent to believers in Rome whom Paul longed to visit but had not yet met.

Romans is Paul's fullest explanation of the gospel. Here he unfolds God's plan of salvation with remarkable clarity, showing how sinful men and women are made right with a holy God—not by works, but by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

God has often used this letter to transform lives. As a young professor of rhetoric, Augustine heard a child singing, "Take up and read." Opening the Scriptures, his eyes fell on Romans 13:13–14, and through those words Christ brought him to faith.

More than a thousand years later, Martin Luther wrestled with Romans until he discovered that "the righteous shall live by faith." That truth ignited the Protestant Reformation and restored the biblical doctrine of salvation by grace alone through faith alone.

It is fitting, then, that we begin our study where Paul begins—with the gospel itself.

Paul's Greeting (Romans 1:1–7)

Paul introduces himself not first as an apostle, but as a servant.

"Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God." (Romans 1:1)

Everything about Paul's life now revolves around Christ. Once separated as a Pharisee from sinners, he is now separated unto the gospel that saves sinners.

The gospel was not Paul's invention.

"...which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures." (Romans 1:2)

The good news begins in the Old Testament. God's promise to send the Messiah stretches from Genesis through the prophets and now finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

Paul then summarizes who Jesus is.

"...made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power... by the resurrection from the dead." (Romans 1:3–4)

Jesus is both fully human and fully divine. He is David's promised descendant and God's eternal Son. His resurrection publicly declared His victory over sin and death.

Paul's Desire to Visit Rome (Romans 1:8–15)

Paul thanks God for the believers in Rome because their faith has become known throughout the empire.

Although he has never visited them, he continually prays for them.

He longs to strengthen them spiritually, yet he also admits something beautiful:

"...that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me." (Romans 1:12)

Even the great Apostle expected to be encouraged by ordinary believers. Christian fellowship is never one-sided. We strengthen one another.

Paul also reminds them that he owes the gospel to everyone—Jews and Gentiles, Greeks and barbarians, wise and unlearned alike. Every believer shares that same obligation today.

The Theme of Romans (Romans 1:16–17)

These two verses stand at the heart of the entire letter.

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth..." (Romans 1:16)

Paul had seen ridicule, imprisonment, beatings, and rejection. Yet he was never ashamed of the gospel because it alone possesses God's power to save.

Notice what Paul does not say. The gospel is not merely advice. It is not moral improvement. It is not religious tradition.

It is God's saving power released through the proclamation of Jesus Christ.

The invitation is wonderfully broad:

"...to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." (Romans 1:16)

No one is excluded because of race, nationality, education, or past sins. Salvation comes to every person who believes.

Paul then explains why.

"For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith." (Romans 1:17)

This quotation from Habakkuk became the verse that transformed Luther's understanding of salvation. God's righteousness is not something we earn. It is God's gracious gift to those who trust in Christ.

Why the Gospel Is Necessary (Romans 1:18–32)

Before Paul explains salvation, he explains why every person needs it.

God's wrath is revealed against human sin because people suppress the truth about Him.

Creation itself testifies that God exists.

"For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen..." (Romans 1:20)

The created world points unmistakably to its Creator. Humanity's problem is not a lack of evidence but a refusal to honor God.

Paul describes a tragic downward spiral.

• People rejected God.

• They exchanged His truth for lies.

• They worshiped created things rather than the Creator.

• Their thinking became darkened.

• Their lives became increasingly enslaved to sin.

Three times Paul says,

"God gave them up..." (Romans 1:24, 26, 28)

This is one of the chapter's most sobering expressions. Persistent rebellion eventually results in God's allowing people to follow the path they have chosen.This is one of the most sobering judgments found in Scripture. God allows those who persistently reject Him to experience the consequences of the path they have chosen.

One example Paul gives is the rejection of God's design for human sexuality.

"For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections..." (Romans 1:26–27)

Paul explicitly describes sexual relations between persons of the same sex as contrary to God's created order. In our own generation these verses have become controversial, and in some places they have even been discouraged or avoided.

Yet they remain part of God's inspired Word. Faithful teachers of Scripture do not skip them, soften them, or explain them away. We must allow Paul to say exactly what God has given him to say. God is holy and will not allow His truth to be shaded by our generation

At the same time, Paul is not singling out one group of sinners while excusing everyone else. He immediately continues with a long list that includes covetousness, wickedness, envy, murder, deceit, gossip, slander, pride, disobedience to parents, unmercifulness, and many other sins.

His purpose is not to isolate one particular sin but to demonstrate that sin has corrupted every part of human life. Every one of us stands guilty before a holy God.

Paul concludes with a long catalogue of sins—not to single out one group of people, but to demonstrate that the entire human race stands guilty before a holy God.

That conclusion prepares us for the wonderful news that follows in the chapters ahead.

Lessons for Us

Romans begins not with human achievement but with God's grace.

It reminds us that the gospel is rooted in God's promises, centered on Jesus Christ, and offered freely to all who believe.

It teaches us that every person needs salvation because every person has sinned.

And it points us to the only hope that has changed hearts from Augustine to Luther to countless believers across the centuries—the righteousness of God received through faith in Jesus Christ.

As we continue through Romans, we will discover why this letter has become one of the greatest treasures of the Christian faith.

It explains not only how we are saved, but how those who have been justified by faith are called to live for the glory of God.

Next Sunday

Romans 2–3: The Whole World Guilty Before God. Why every person—religious or irreligious—needs the same Savior, and how God's righteousness is revealed through faith in Jesus Christ.

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And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.- John 1:14

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ONLY A SINNER

Naught have I gotten but what I received;

Grace hath bestowed it since I have believed;

Boasting excluded, pride I abase;

I’m only a sinner, saved by grace!

Refrain

Only a sinner, saved by grace!

Only a sinner, saved by grace!

This is my story, to God be the glory—

I’m only a sinner, saved by grace!

Once I was foolish, and sin ruled my heart,

Causing my footsteps from God to depart;

Jesus hath found me, happy my case;

I now am a sinner, saved by grace!

Refrain

Tears unavailing, no merit had I;

Mercy had saved me, or else I must die;

Sin had alarmed me fearing God’s face;

But now I’m a sinner saved by grace!

Refrain

Suffer a sinner whose heart overflows,

Loving his Savior to tell what he knows;

Once more to tell it would I embrace—

I’m only a sinner saved by grace!

Refrain

Words: James M. Gray, 1905.

This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 1 Timothy 1:15