ROMANS
1:1-32 - ‘I am not ashamed of the
Gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith’
(16). Do you think it was easy for Paul to maintain such commitment to
Christ, such confidence in Christ? What kind of world did he live in? – A
world of ‘ungodliness and wickedness’ (18-31). Many times, Paul could
have given up in despair – ‘There is too much ungodliness and wickedness
all around me. How can I go on?’ When you feel like giving up, when
everything seems to be so difficult, remember Paul. Remember his longing
to ‘impart some spiritual gift’, his desire to ‘reap some harvest’ his
eagerness to ‘preach the gospel’ (12-15). Let us say, with Paul, ‘God
forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ’
(Galatians 6:14). Let us be ‘set apart for the gospel of God’ (1).
2:1-29
- None of us can ‘escape the judgment of God’. None of us can ‘presume
upon the riches of His kindness’(3-4). We dare not come to God like the
Pharisee, ‘God, I thank Thee that I am not like other men…’. We can
only come to Him with the prayer of the tax collector, ‘God, be merciful
to me a sinner!’ (Luke 18:11-13). We must not pretend that we are
‘righteous’. We must confess that we are ‘sinners’ (Luke 5:32). Sinners,
lost, dead – We must hear this ‘bad news if we are to come to a true
appreciation of the Good News: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners (1 Timothy 1:15), ‘The Son of man came to seek and save the
lost’ (Luke 19:10), ‘God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with
Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you
have been saved’ (Ephesians 2:4-5).
3:1-31 – We are sinners –
every single one of us. There are no exceptions – ‘all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God’. When we see ourselves as we really are –
sinners – , we come to see that there is no way for us to earn God’s
love. We will never deserve to be loved by God. His love is always ‘a
gift’ – ‘the redemption which is in Christ Jesus’ (23-24). Through
‘faith’ we look away from ourselves to Christ. We rejoice that ‘His
blood’ was shed for us. We receive from Him the forgiveness of our sins.
This is the love of God. This is His gift. He gave His Son to be our
Saviour. He gives salvation to all who trust the Saviour. ‘By grace you
have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the
gift of God’ (Ephesians 2:8). No ‘boasting’ (27) – Rejoice in your
Saviour!
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