Romans 1:1 - "Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 2 - which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 - concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 - and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. 5 - Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 6- among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;"
 
 

A. "Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ"

1. Paul was no longer a servant of sin, but a servant (slave) of Jesus Christ.

2. Christians enter into voluntary servitude to Jesus. Jesus purchased us with his blood (1 Peter 1:18-19)

B. "Called to be an apostle"

1. Literally means a "called apostle."

a. An apostle was one chosen for a special purpose. Jesus chose certain men, i.e. the twelve, to meet certain qualifications. See Acts chapter 1.

2. There were enemies of Paul who attacked his authenticity as an apostle. He made it plain that he was chosen for his apostleship by Christ himself.

3. See Galatians 1:1

4. Paul was specially chosen and commissioned by the Lord, by means of appearing to him, "as one out of due time." See 1 Corinthians 15:8. See also Acts 9:15.

C. "Separated to the gospel of God"

1. Paul had been separated from the religion of his fathers, his family, and his friends. When he became a Christian he was cut off from his old lifestyle.

2. It was a also positive. He had been separated, set apart, to the gospel of God. The gospel was the glad tiding of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. See 1 Corinthians 15:1-8.

3. The gospel of God entailed some things. (Roy Deaver) (1)

a. Obedience to the gospel

b. Willingness to teach the gospel

c. Willingness to contend for the truth of the gospel

d. Willingness to be governed by the gospel.

D. "which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 - concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord"

1. Jewish Christians would understand Paul’s thrust here. Christ was the logical extension and conclusion of the Old Testament Scriptures. See Romans 10:4.

2. The Old Testament Scriptures were inspired of God. See 2 Peter 1:19-21 and 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

3. These Scriptures testified of the coming Messiah. See John 5:39.

E. "who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh"

1. The Old Testament stated that the Messiah would be born of the house of David. See 2 Samuel 7:12-13 and Psalm 132:11. See also Matthew 1:1.

2. This would prove to those who knew the Law of Moses that Jesus met the fleshly qualifications that would be necessary for Messiahship.

F. "and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead."

1. "By his genealogy he was proved to be the seed of David; but the final proof that he was the Son of God was his resurrection from the dead" (2)

a. The power of God was shown in the resurrection. See Ephesians 1:18-20.

2. The resurrection of the dead was the great vindication of the preaching of the Apostles concerning Jesus’ Messiahship. Without it, their preaching would be useless. See 1 Corinthians 15:14

3. The "Spirit of Holiness" undoubtedly refers to the Holy Spirit. Paul refers to the Holy Spirit raising up Jesus in Romans 8:11

G. "Through Him we have received grace and apostleship"

1. Paul understood that he was saved by grace. "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me" (1 Corinthians 15:10).

2. Paul is probably referring to two things, the grace by which he was saved and the fact that he was placed into the apostleship, even though he was not one of the original apostles.

H. "for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name"

1. Paul links obedience inseparably to faith. Paul would have been shocked by those today who will declare that there is no relationship between obeying God and salvation by faith.

2. Paul joins obedience and faith in Romans 1:6 and Romans 16:26.

I. "among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ"

1. As Paul and the other apostles were called by the Lord, all Christians are called by Jesus through the gospel. See 2 Thessalonians 2:14.

A. "To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints"

1. It is significant that Paul does not address on congregation in Rome. It is likely that there were a number of congregations of God’s people in the Imperial city. See Romans 16:5.

2. The Christians were "beloved of God."

a. This is a term of endearment. God loves His people in a very special way. See also 2 Corinthians 6:18; Romans 8:15

3. "Called to be saints"

a. Saint comes from the Greek work hagios, which literally mean "blameless, consecrated, a holy one." The New Testament makes no distinction between all Christians. We are all saints.

B. "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

1. There has been much written about how this is a twin greeting to both Gentile and Jew.

2. Grace was a salutation that was often used among Gentiles.

3. The term peace was used among the Jews. See Luke 10:5.

a. Nygren believes that this salutation goes beyond "an inner state of and undisturbed soul" to the "sharing of a spiritual reality." (3)

b. It is undoubtedly seen in Jesus promise to give his disciples peace that the world cannot give. See John 14:27.

c. It is the "peace of God which passes all understanding." See Philippians 4:7

 

A. "First, I thank God..... that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world."

1. The faith shown here would be their practice of Christianity. They had a great zeal for serving the Lord.

a. They had a need for a strong faith. They were in the center of the Roman Empire. Pagan worship, along with the Roman state religion, was strong. There would be an ongoing pressure to give in and deny the faith.

b. It was also the central position of Rome that would enable their zeal for the Lord to be known through the Roman world. Travelers would carry back work of their faith. This word had been taken back to Paul.

B. "For God is my witness"

1. Paul invokes the name of God in a serious oath. Oaths were never outlawed, just the misuse of frivolous ones.

2. Jesus and James both have in mind this type of oath. See Matthew 5:33-37 and James 5:12.

3. This can be readily seen by the fact that.

a. Jesus allowed himself to be placed under an oath. See Matthew 26:63-64.

b. The fact that Paul used an oath

c. The fact that the heavenly Father swore by himself. See Hebrews 6:16-17.

C. "I make mention of you always in my prayers"

1. Paul was always praying for them. This was a great tribute to Paul’s prayer life.

2. This shows a great tenderness and love on the part of the great apostle. In spite of having never met them personally he was still vitally concerned with their spiritual progress.

D. "For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift"

1. The imparting of spiritual gifts were given by the laying on of the apostles hands. This was the only way in which the miraculous spirits (i.e. speaking in tongues, healing the sick, raising the dead, etc) were ever given. See Acts 8:14ff.

a. If there were any spiritual gifts in the Roman churches (See Romans 12:6) it is likely that they were brought there by Christians who had be given them by apostles while in other areas.

2. It seems likely from this passage that an apostle had not visited them as late as A.D. 58. This is in spite of the Roman Catholic tradition that Peter organized the church and was the "first Pope" of Rome. This whole notion seems strange in the light of Romans.

a. If Peter were Bishop of Rome, why was there still a need for certain spiritual gifts?

b. Why didn’t Paul address the apostle in his letter to the Romans. There is not a single, passing mention of Peter’s presence at the Roman capitol.

E. "that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me."

1. The imparting of the spiritual gift would aid Paul as well. He would be built up by sharing in their faith. It is always a joy to share in the faith of other Christians.

2. Paul was making it clear that they had something to offer to him. This must have cheered the Roman Christian. Paul was never haughty or solicitous in his attitude toward other brethren. He always sought to treat other brethren courteously and with respect and honor.

3. "To confer upon them some spiritual gift would certainly be a comfort to them, and to see their increase of faith and usefulness would be a comfort to him." (4)

F. "Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you"

1. It was Paul’s desire to go to Rome to preach. The baptism of the Holy Spirit, which the apostles received, did not mean that they had no free will. Paul desired to go to Rome much earlier than he actually did. Paul does not go into detail as to why he was hindered in his desire.

2. Christians sometime have their prayers answered in ways that are different than they expect. Paul had his desire fulfilled. He was able to go to Rome to preach and teach. But there is no doubt that he had expected to go as a free man at liberty in the imperial city. Instead, he went as a prisoner appealing to Caesar. He still had his desire, to preach the gospel in Rome.
 
 

A. "I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise"

1. Paul felt a keen debt because he understood that he had been saved by the grace of God. He was not deserving of salvation. He had been an enemy of the cross.

a. See 1 Timothy 1:12-16

2. How did he feel that debt. Because he was saved in felt a burden to save as many sinners as possible.

3. "The older translations read, ‘I am debtor,’ but this English word ‘debtor’ now has the connotation of ‘owing money to’ and this is hardly the idea here. What Paul is expressing is his feeling of obligation to preach the Gospel to as many men as he could get to." (5)

B. "So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also"

1. He was not just ready to preach the gospel in Rome, he was eager to preach it.

C. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ"

1. "For I am not ashamed" - He was proud to preach the gospel, even though he had suffered, and would suffer, great persecution for the cause of Christ. See 2 Timothy 1:8, 12. In fact, Paul believed that the shame would have been if he had not preached the gospel. See 1 Corinthians 9:16.

D. "for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes"

1. Here was the reason why he was proud to proclaim the gospel.

2. It was God’s power, or means, of salvation.

a. Power comes from a Greek word dunamis, which literally mean, "force (lit. or fig.); spec. miraculous power (usually by impl. a miracle itself):--ability, abundance, meaning, might (-ily, -y, -y deed), (worker of) miracle (-s), power, strength, violence, mighty (wonderful) work."

b. We can gather that the gospel is a great, powerful force that God uses for the salvation of sinners.

3. The gospel is the means by which God draws sinners to Him. In the gospel there are:

a. Facts to be believed

b. Commands to be obeyed. See Romans 10:16

c. Promises to be received. See Acts 2:38-39.

E. "for the Jew first and also for the Greek"

1. The gospel would be for all people. See Galatians 2:26-28.

2. That gospel would be first taken to the Jews. The gospel first was preached to the Jews on the day of Pentecost.

3. It would be about ten years later before the Gentiles would receive the truth. See Acts 10-11.

F. "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith;"

1. Through the gospel God’s means for making man righteous is revealed. "The righteousness of God" is God’s attribute of sinlessness. It is through the gospel that we are made sinless.

2. "From faith to faith" cannot mean a faith only system from beginning to end. It also is a poor translation to render it "faith from first to last", although it is valid to understand the gospel in that context when properly understand faith.

a. It seems to mean that it takes faith to accept what God has revealed and a continuing faith to live by it’s precepts.

G. "as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

1. This is far different from the justification my the Law of Moses (or any Law dependence for perfect keeping for that matter). The Jews among the Roman brethren had been used to the concept of justification by means of the Law of Moses. Paul deals with that and destroys it. See Romans 10:3.

2. See also Habbakkuk 2:4. See also Hebrews 10:38.

3. The concept here seems to be not a one time acknowledgment of faith, but a life of faithfulness or fidelity.
 
 

Paul is about to answer the question concerning why God will judge those who "obey not the gospel" (1 Thessalonians 1:7-9). It is not a mindless urge for revenge, but the displeasure of a sinless God toward rebellious man. Paul will prove that both Jews and Gentiles are without excuse. All have been give sufficient light to follow Jehovah. Both have witness, the Gentiles in natural revelation, the Jews in special revelation. Therefore, all mankind is without excuse!
 
 

The Gentiles Are Without Excuse For Their Sin
 
 

Romans 1:18 - "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 - because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 - For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,"
 
 

A. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men"

1. Paul is going to tell us why there is a need for the gospel. Mankind has departed from God’s way and has become wicked.

2. It is contrary to God’s eternal nature for Him to allow sin to go unpunished. All sin, whether directly against Him or not, is in reality rebellion against the Creator.

3. This wrath is not a mindless desire for vengeance, but is the expression of a sinless God’s displeasure against wicked and sinful man.

B. "who suppress the truth in unrighteousness"

1. Reese maintains that there are two possible interpretations to this phrase. (6)

2. The word "suppress" can two possible meanings.

a. It can mean to "hold fast or observe"

b. It can also mean "to hold down, keep back, restrain, hinder."

3. With this in mind Reese gives two possible explanations.

a. The Gentiles might retain some lingering truth, but do not carry it out in their lives.

b. The Gentiles are seeking to suppress the spread of the truth in society. In the general context of the passage, this seems to be the more satisfactory interpretation.

C. "because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them..."

1. God has left behind certain evidences, which the logical man can use as proof that an eternal being created both him and the universe. See Acts 14:16-17 and Psalm 19:1-3.

2. It is interesting that there had always been those who believed in the one true God scattered among the Gentiles throughout the centuries.

a. Melchizedek, Jethro, Job, Balaam.

b. The Greeks had Solon and Plato, who believed in one Supreme Creator.

c. Nebuchadnezzar and Darius declared publicly their believe in the one true Creator.

d. There were likely those in every generation and race who read the evidence from nature and trusted in the Living God.

D. " even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse"

1. They could see that there was a great Creator by looking at nature. They could tell that He had to be majestic indeed in order, that He was not merely a glorified man or beast.

a. The original Greek literally means here "divine nature" instead of "godhead." We can deduce that God’s nature is logical, loving, and caring from natural revelation.

2. The Gentiles are without excuse. They cannot plead ignorance.

3. This implies an important principle for today. All mankind is lost, not because they have rejected the gospel, but because they have sinned. There is adequate evidence to know that God exists and has made the world. Man has the responsibility to seek God.
 
 

A. "because, although they knew God..."

1. It is wrong to say that man has "developed" monotheism. The fact is that the believe in the one true God was a condition of early man and that he devolved to a corrupt polytheism, not evolved to a higher religion.

a. Notice that God had not only sent nature. He also spoke to different individuals during the centuries outside of Judaism as priests or prophets. We know that this was the case with Melchizedek and Jethro. Why should there be any reason why this did not continue? God’s law changed with respect to the Jews, it continued as it had with the Gentiles. It continued to be a patriarchal system. Gentiles rejected God, God did not cast off without reason.

2. Paul reveals two reasons for the disintegration of Gentile society.

a. They did not glorify God in their worship - Once one closes his eyes to the true and living God and begins to walk after his own thoughts he begins to stray from the right and wholesome course.

b. They were not thankful - Gratitude seems such a little thing today but it really is not. It is stating that someone is essential to your continued well being and that you appreciate their actions. Ingratitude is self-willed. This is one reason why this began the downhill slide toward idolatry. When one is not grateful to the Creator of life he will natural invent explanations of life’s origin that will elevate man, not the one who made man.

B. "but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened."

1. We must not think that they happened overnight. It was the result of many generations. Men began to turn away from God slowly and came to walk more and more in darkness. Then more that one walks separate from the light that God has given the more foolish and silly they will become.

C. "Professing to be wise, they became fools"

1. They sought to walk by their own wisdom. They thought they were independent of God and smarter than God. God allowed them to walk by the own path and they show how foolish they really were.

2. This must surely be warning to today’s "wise" men. We have largely abandoned God to walk in our own wisdom. What has been the result? We have discarded a logical view of man’s origin (special creation) for one that is totally illogical (organic evolution). We have swapped the worship of a personal God who makes us responsible for our action for humanism which make’s man god and sill eastern religions which makes everything god.

3. See 1 Corinthians 3:19-20; Jeremiah 10:23.

4. "Mankind is regarded as having lost a truer perception of God once possessed, idolatry being a sign of culpable degradation of the human race - not, as some would have us now believe, a stage in man’s emergence from brutality. Scripture ever represents the human race as having fallen and become degraded: not as having risen gradually to any intelligent conceptions of God at all." (7)

D. "and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man; and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things."

1. Because man could not stand to have a God who was greater than him, and because he still had to yearning within him to worship, he turned to gods of his own choosing.

2. The list mentioned here seem to represent idolatry into two basic groups. The Greeks and Romans man a pantheon of God in human form. They were glorified men, showing man’s desire to be like God. The Egyptian’s worshipped a multitude of animals, thus attempting to bring God down on man’s level.
 
 

A. "Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness..."

1. When man turns his moral compass from God he turns to the only other compass he can, that of hedonism. When men seek to simply fulfill their desires apart from a relationship with his creator there is nothing that is too sickening or perverse to try.

2. "God gave them up" - This phrase may best understood when comparing God’s reaction to the Jews and their apostasy. God sent prophet after prophet to the Jews in an effort to keep a righteous remnant alive for the coming of the messiah. God did no such thing with the Gentiles. He allowed them to continue in sin and follow their lusts.

a. The Greek word here is paradidomi, which means, "hand over to the power of another." (8)

3. The consequences of God giving them up - They dishonored their own bodies with sins that violated God’s will. Paul will described the exact meaning of "dishonoring their own bodies."

4. All of the sin described is a result of mankind refusing to honor the one who created them.

B. "For this reason God gave them up to vile passions..."

1. The "vile passions" described here are lesbianism and homosexuality. Both of these practices are against nature, i.e. contrary to the normal practice that God had intended.

2. Notice what Paul has to say about these two sinful practices.

a. They are unnatural, or against nature.

b. Heterosexuality is the normal means of sexual activity. It has God’s blessings, in contract to all others which are immoral.

c. Homosexuality is shameful.

d. Those who engage in such acts are deserving of God’s full judgment on their sinful acts.

e. It most also be noted that here Paul describes the very homosexual act as being shameful. It is the burning desire (as opposed to the heterosexual desire) that leads to sin. Heterosexuality is never condemned in itself, just the abuse of it outside the marriage bond. Homosexuality is never cast in the same light. The very act, not just the abuse, is always condemned.

3. This sin was pervasive in ancient society. Barclay states that 13 of the first 14 Roman Emperors were homosexual. (9) It has been estimated, although probably impossible to confirm accurately, that up to ten percent of our population is either homosexuals or lesbians.

C. "receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due"

1. When one violates God’s natural laws, which homosexuality and lesbianism do, there are always consequences. The average homosexual man has a life expectancy of 43, as opposed to 73 for the general population. It is a violent way of life. It is a life of unhappiness. The average homosexual will seek man partners in the course of a year.

2. One of the primary reasons for the shorter life expectancy, of course, is the disease factor. Homosexuality, because of it’s promiscuous nature, breeds all kinds of disease which are spread. It is no wonder that Aids has spread so quickly among the homosexual community, due to the extreme promiscuity of many homosexuals.

3. There is no evidence that Aids is a direct judgment sent from God. But Paul is saying that their wicked conduct brings about natural consequences which are valid judgments from the Lord. Just as a drunk will eventually develop cirrhosis of the liver, so to does any sin that harms the body carry with it consequences.
 
 

A. "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge..."

1. Paul has already said that the present day idol worshipers have no excuse for the conduct. There is clear evidence for anyone to conclude that there is a God who created the world and that he cannot be the monstrosities that the ancients were used to worshipping.

2. Because they had no desire to keep the memory of a God who was above them and required obedience God allowed them to commit every sin imaginable.

3. A willful ignorance of God brings on a kind of "insanity" because it blinds the person to what is truly right and in their best interest. For example, those who engage in homosexuality cannot see the problem as being that of clearly destructive behavior but see the problem as whether or not one wears condoms.

B. "being filled with all unrighteousness..."

1. Paul proceeds to give a long list of sins which plagued the Gentiles because they departed from God and did not attempt to keep Him in their memory.

2. The rest of the list is pretty self-explanatory. All come when a person forgets God and turned away from the moral restraints that God has placed on our conduct. "...sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 - backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 - undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful."

3. A couple of these bear a little further detail.

a. "Evil-mindedness" comes from the person who gives his mind over to doing nothing but thinking and imagining thought that would indulge wicked passions. We find the first example of this in Genesis 6:5. It was symptomatic of the fact that wickedness was pervasive on the earth and God then proceeded to destroy the inhabitants of the world by a flood.

b. "Inventors of evil things" - When one has his mind in the gutter of sin it is natural for a person to think of new and unique twist on sinful and immoral behavior. For everything invented for good (i.e. the computer and the Internet) there will be someone who devise some illegal or immoral use of it.

c. "Disobedient to parents" - This is a natural result of individual turning their back against God. When one does not honor God the Father, how can they honor the father and mother who rear them.

C. "who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them."

1. The Gentiles knew of God and the consequences of departing from His way, but continued in their wicked behavior.

2. They knew that those who turned against God and engaged in sinful, immoral behavior deserved the judgment of God. These restraints did not prevent them from committing the wickednesses mentioned. Even in ancient times the things mentioned were understood and sinful behavior.

a. The "deserving of death" is often applied exclusively to homosexuality and lesbianism." This is a limitation of the passage. It refers to all the sins mentioned. Any person who continues unrepentant of these sins is deserving being cut off from God eternally. Praise God that He has sent His son so that we may have hope of forgiveness from our sins!

3. What was even worse, they sought to recruit others for the immoral behavior. This is true of all wicked persons. Misery indeed loves company. Sinful conduct is somehow considered moral natural is a group engages in it.

1. Roy C. Deaver, Romans, God's Plan For Man's Righteousness (Austin TX.: Biblical Notes Publications, 1992), 8-8.

2. R.L. Whiteside, Commentary on Romans (Denton, TX.: Privately published by Miss Inys Whiteside, 1945), 9.

3. Aders Nygren, Commentary on Romans (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1949), 58.

4. Whiteside, op sit, 13.

5. Gareth L. Reese, New Testament Epistles: Romans (Moberly,MO: Scripture Exposition Books, 1987) p 16.

6. Ibid, p. 25

7. J. Barmby, The Pulpit Commentary, Commentary on Romans (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdman's Publishing) 1978, p. 13.

8. Reese, op cit, p. 33.

9. William Barclay, Commentary on Romans (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House) p. 25.
 
 

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