Romans 1
Paul’s Greeting, Thesis, and Initial Arguments
In this chapter, Paul lays out his purpose for writing and begins laying a foundation for why the gospel of Jesus Christ is good news for everyone.
Paul’s Gospel Greeting
Vs. 1-3 - Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures—concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord
In keeping with the practice of the time, Paul introduces himself at the beginning of his letter. He is a servant and apostle of God, called to preach the gospel. This gospel, or good news, was promised in the Old Testament writings and became a reality through Jesus Christ. - Don Fleming
The salutation, which is the longest salutation in Paul’s epistles, identifies the writer, introduces the subject of the letter, and greets the original readers. This first sentence implicitly sets forth the most fundamental facts of Christianity. In particular, it shows that the main facts of the gospel fulfill Old Testament predictions.
The title "apostle" gives Paul’s gift and office in the church. He was Jesus Christ’s special appointee. This status gave him the right not only to preach the gospel but to found, to supervise, and even to discipline churches if necessary. The basis of his authority, the right to his office, was God’s calling. - Thomas Constable
Vs. 7 - To all who are in Rome, loved by God, called as saints.
Paul had never been to Rome, and he did not found the Roman church. This makes the Book of Romans different because most of Paul’s letters were to churches he founded. Paul was thankful for the good reputation of the church in Rome. Because of its location, this church had a special visibility and opportunity to glorify Jesus throughout the Empire. - David Guzik
Vs. 11 - For I want very much to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, that is, to be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.
Vs. 15 - So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
Paul wanted the Christians in Rome to know that he prayed for them and strongly desired to meet them. He believed that both he and the believers there could mutually benefit from shared ministry.
The Thesis of the Letter
Vs. 16-17 - For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,
Paul then gives a summary of the subject that he will expound in the following chapters. He wants his readers to have the same confidence in the gospel as he has, for the gospel is humankind’s only hope. - Don Fleming
Vs. 16 - first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.
As a people, the Jews have a leading place in God’s plans involving salvation for the rest of humanity. Because God purposed to use Israel as His primary instrument in bringing blessing to the world (Exodus 19:5-6), He gave the Jews first opportunity to receive His Son. This was true during Jesus’ earthly ministry and following His ascension. Paul also followed this pattern in his ministry. - Thomas Constable
It is evident in all of scripture, this letter to Rome without exception, that God’s plan of salvation for the world was designed to reach the nations through one specific nation. And Paul allocates a great deal of space in this letter to address this subject.
Vs. 17 - For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith,
What does "from faith to faith" (NASB) mean? The NIV interpretation is probably correct: "by faith from first to last." We might say that every aspect of God’s salvation comes to us only by faith. - Thomas Constable
Vs. 17 - just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.
Habakkuk 2:4 - But the righteous one will live by his faith.
Paul quotes the prophet Habakkuk to illustrate how men had always related to God - through trust. Robert L. Thomas notes that this simple prophetical phrase is the thesis of Paul’s entire letter:
The righteous - Romans 1:1-3:20
By faith - Romans 3:21- 4:25
Will live - Romans 5:1-16:26
Romans 1:18-3:20 - Why Do Men Need the Gospel?
Paul began his explanation of the gospel by demonstrating that there is a universal need for it. Every human being needs to trust in Jesus Christ because everyone lacks the righteousness that God requires before He will accept us. - Thomas Constable
Idolatry
Vs. 18 - For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth
Because God is holy, just and true, he has an attitude of wrath, or righteous anger, against all that is wrong. He is opposed to sin in all its forms, and therefore guilty sinners are under his judgment. - Don Fleming
The whole message of the Hebrew prophets was that there is a moral order in this world. The conclusion is clear--that moral order is the wrath of God at work. God made this world in such a way that we break his laws at our peril. Now if we were left solely at the mercy of that inexorable moral order, there could be nothing for us but death and destruction. The world is made in such a way that the soul that sins must die--if the moral order is to act alone. But into this dilemma of man there comes the love of God, and that love of God, by an act of unbelievable free grace, lifts man out of the consequences of sin and saves him from the wrath he should have incurred. - William Barclay
Vs. 19-20 - what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse.
Paul goes on to insist that men cannot plead ignorance of God. They could have seen what he is like from his world. It is always possible to tell something of a man from his handiwork; and it is possible to tell something about God from the world he made. - William Barclay
Paul argues that natural revelation should lead people to conclude that God exists. And the refusal to acknowledge His existence leads to replacing Him with some kind of idol. We are wired for worship. We will point our passions in some direction, if not toward the Creator, then towards something created.
In this passage, we are face to face with the fact that the essence of sin is to put self in the place of God. - William Barclay
Depravity
Vs. 24 - Therefore God delivered them over in the desires of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves.
Vs. 26 - For this reason God delivered them over to disgraceful passions.
Vs. 28 - And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a corrupt mind so that they do what is not right.
God’s wrath mentioned in Romans 1 is not an active outpouring of divine displeasure but the removal of restraint that allows sinners to reap the just fruits of their rebellion. - Mounce
God does not coerce worship. If we choose to reject His authority, He has designed the moral order so that idolatry naturally leads to depravity. The further we distance ourselves from Him, the less we reflect His image.
Barclay notes that Paul’s description of Roman depravity was corroborated by contemporary historians.
Romans 1:26-32 might seem the work of some almost hysterical moralist who was exaggerating the contemporary situation and painting it in colors of rhetorical hyperbole. It describes a situation of degeneracy of morals almost without parallel in human history. But Paul said nothing that the Greek and Roman writers of the age did not themselves say.
So far from exaggerating the picture Paul drew it with restraint--and it was there that he was eager to preach the gospel, and it was there that he was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. The world needed the power that would work salvation, and Paul knew that nowhere else than in Christ did that power exist. - William Barclay
