Welcome to the First week of our new series entitled "The Mission." This is a journey through the book of Romans.

For more on the book of Romans, visit:

Bible Study: Romans.
My personal working commentary on Romans: Click Here.

A Little About Romans:

Romans has long been seen as the single greatest systematic theology of the Gospel. Many scholars believe the book of Romans can unlock the rest of the Bible when we understand why Jesus came, what His salvation does, and how we respond. Many great Christians in history, such as Augustine, Martin Luther, and John Wesley, cite Romans as the key to their salvation. Another prominent Christian named Chrysostom had the book of Romans read to him every day. A thinking person can't read Romans and come away not understanding God's great love for us. Paul writes Romans as an introduction to the people of God in Rome. He is also writing to help them realize they have a solid unifying foundation: their shared hope in the Gospel. Under Emperor Claudia, the Jewish people had been banished from Rome. Now that they are returning, there appears to be strife and division among the Jews and Gentiles. Paul spends the first part of Romans reminding the reader that we all need God's forgiveness. Then, he spends the last portion talking about how we walk in that forgiveness and freedom every day.

10 Interesting Facts about the Book of Romans:

Romans is Paul’s longest letter.
At roughly 7,100 Greek words, Romans is the longest surviving letter written by Paul and his most extensive explanation of the gospel.
Paul had never visited the Roman church when he wrote it.
Unlike churches such as Corinth or Philippi, Paul did not plant the church in Rome. He was writing to believers many of whom he had never personally met (Romans 1:10–13).
Romans was probably written from Corinth around AD 57.
Paul was nearing the end of his third missionary journey and preparing to take an offering to Jerusalem (Romans 15:25–26).
Phoebe was probably the person who delivered Romans to Rome.
Romans 16:1–2 introduces Phoebe, a respected believer from Cenchreae. Many scholars believe she carried Paul's letter to Rome—and may therefore have been the first person asked to explain parts of it to the Roman believers.
The Roman church probably met in several houses rather than one building.
Romans 16 mentions different clusters of believers, including a church meeting in the home of Priscilla and Aquila(Romans 16:5). Romans was likely read among a network of house churches throughout the city.
A major issue behind Romans was tension between Jewish and Gentile Christians.
Emperor Claudius had expelled many Jews from Rome around AD 49. After his death, Jewish believers began returning. This likely created questions about the Law, circumcision, food, holy days, Israel, and what it meant for Jews and Gentiles to become one people in Christ.
Romans contains roughly 60 direct quotations from the Old Testament.
Paul repeatedly reaches back into Genesis, Psalms, Isaiah, Deuteronomy, Hosea, and other books to show that the gospel isn't God's backup plan—it is part of the story God had been telling all along.
Paul summarizes the message of Romans very early in the book.
Romans 1:16–17 functions almost like the thesis statement:
the gospel is God's power for salvation, received by faith, revealing the righteousness of God. The rest of Romans essentially unfolds what those claims mean.
Romans ends with an unexpectedly personal chapter.
After some of the deepest theology in the New Testament, Romans 16 mentions more than two dozen people by name. Paul talks about coworkers, friends, women and men who served the church, people who suffered with him, and people he deeply loved. Romans isn't merely a theological textbook—it is theology designed to create a new kind of community.

Paul probably did not physically write most of the letter himself.
A man named Tertius served as Paul's secretary, or amanuensis. He actually identifies himself in Romans 16:22:

“I, Tertius, the one writing down this letter, greet you in the Lord.”

Today's Text:

(Romans 1:1-17) This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. ²God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. ³The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, ⁴and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. ⁵Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.

⁶And you are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ. ⁷I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

⁸Let me say first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world. ⁹God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I serve with all my heart by spreading the Good News about his Son.

¹⁰One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. ¹¹For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. ¹²When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.

¹³I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles. ¹⁴For I have a great sense of obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world, to the educated and uneducated alike. ¹⁵So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News.

¹⁶For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. ¹⁷This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

Commentary.

Verses 1-7. Paul's Greeting.

It was typical of letter writing at the time to begin with who the letter was from and a quick hello from them. That is what is happening here. What is unique is that Paul does not usually spend this much time doing this. Since Paul has not been to Rome yet, this is his longest greeting of all the New Testament letters.

Verse 1.

Paul- This is the same Paul who wrote so many other letters in the New Testament. Many scholars believe this would have been the first address he would have made to a gentile audience. Since he wants this letter to go ahead of him by one of his fellow workers, Pheobe, he is writing it down for them to read.
Slave of Christ Jesus- Some translations say "servant." However, slave fits the context better. Paul is saying that he is completely under the submission of Christ.
Slave and apostle- Paul walks the line of humility and honor by saying that he is a slave to Christ, yet in a position of authority in the church.
Good News- Paul will spend the majority of this letter unpacking what the Good News is to us. The Good News is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Verse 2.

Holy Scripture- Paul is referring to the Old Testament.

Verse 3.

King David's Family Line- Jesus came and fulfilled all the prophecies of the Old Testament. Paul's statement here refers to all that had to be fulfilled for Jesus to be the promised Messiah.

Verse 4.

He was shown to be the Son of God- The Resurrection of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit did not make Jesus God. It proved that He already was.
Our Lord- This title was reserved only for the Emperor. Every time we see it in Romans and elsewhere in the New Testament, it is technically an act of treason. It is saying that the true King is not the emperor, but Jesus.

Verse 5-7.

Privilege and authority- Paul sees his ability to share the Gospel as a privilege. When we read the rest of the New Testament and see how much he suffered to do so, that's an amazing statement.

Verses 8-15. To Whom Paul is Writing.

Verse 8-9.

How often I pray for you- Paul begins by reminding us all that one of the most important gifts we can give one another is to intercede for each other.

Verse 10-11.

Bring you some spiritual gift- Paul is not referring to 1 Corinthians 12, where he is hoping to drop off a bunch of spiritual gifts. He is saying he hopes to be a blessing to them in their spiritual growth. This shows that he has focused motives. He is there to help them grow and be a blessing spiritually.

Verse 12.

Encouraging each other- This is the hope Paul brings with him. He wants to be an encouragement and to receive encouragement from them.

Verse 13.

Prevented until now- Many times, he wanted to go to Rome, but there were opportunities to share the Gospel elsewhere. We have to be careful that we do not always see the inability for our plans to come to pass as the devil getting in the way. Sometimes, it is God doing a work in other ways.

Verse 14-15.

Sense of obligation and sense of eagerness- Paul says he feels both when it comes to sharing the Gospel. This should color our lives as well. We should feel a sense of obligation to share the goodness of God that has changed our lives, and an eagerness to watch someone's life transformed as ours has been.

Verse 16-17. We Should Never Be Ashamed.

Verses 16 and 17 can be seen as the thesis statement for the entire book of Romans.

Verse 16.

I am not ashamed- Paul is basically saying, "The Gospel brings me confidence." He does not see the gospel as anything to feel intimidated by. Rather, it is the hope of the world. We should never feel ashamed to share the hope of the Gospel. Imagine there was a disease destroying the world, and you had the antidote. Would you feel ashamed to share it? No. You would tell everyone you found.
Salvation- The term salvation is a legal term that refers to someone else paying the penalty in full for another's crime. Paul will refer to this over and over. This makes sense because Rome was the civil capital of the largest empire in the world at the time. They would have understood this phrase.

Verse 17.

The Good News tells us- The reason we are excited about the Gospel is because of what it reveals to us.
from start to finish by faith- This phrase has been the subject of many debates as to what it exactly means. To me, the most direct reading is the best reading. God makes a way, by His righteousness, to be with us from the beginning to the end. There is no time when God cuts us loose to figure it out for ourselves.
Scripture reference- Habakkuk 2:4

Bottom line. God is good, and His Good News is the hope of the world. We should never be ashamed but have great confidence in what God has done for all of us.

(1 Peter 1:3) It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with GREAT EXPECTATION.