Romans 1: 8-16

(Romans 1: 8-16)

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;  Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.  For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;  That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.  Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.  I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.  So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

 

Paul explains the Gospel in two main sections. The first paragraph is about giving thanks and prayer to the members of the Roman church and revealing Paul's desire to visit Rome. He had never visited the Roman Church, but he wrote to the saints as if he had left from work, because he hoped and prayed for such things. Such thanksgiving and prayer naturally lead to Paul's mission of spreading the gospel.

 

The second paragraph is a full-blown commentary on the righteousness of God in the Gospel. 『I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; Both to the wise, and to the unwise. Such expressions refer to those who were dominated by the Greek culture at the time. It can be said to be four classes, but in reality it can be compressed into two classes. That is, the Greeks can be seen as wise, and the savage can be seen as unwise, who have not accepted the Greek civilization. What Paul said was that he should preach the gospel to them as a debtor to them all.

 

Paul tried to go to Rome several times. However, the road was blocked several times. The purpose of Paul's visit to Rome was not simply to travel, but to give them some spiritual gift to strengthen them. Some spiritual gift was a gift that Paul already possessed and was specifically intended to teach clearly about the gospel. The Roman Church was a mixed church composed of Gentile and Jewish Christians, and the conflict between the two groups was inevitable. After hearing the news, what Paul was trying to say was the gospel by Jesus Christ. The Gospel that Paul preached is that Jews or Gentiles can become God's people by faith. Therefore, Paul said, "I want to preach the Gospel to you in Rome."

 

The gospel Paul intends to present is the power of God to give salvation to all believers. The righteousness of God is revealed in the Gospel, leading from faith to faith. So, only the righteous live by faith. God's righteousness means that God acknowledges the righteousness of Christ as that of the saints. Therefore, because of that righteousness, the saints are justified, and this is done only through faith in Jesus Christ.

 

That was what Paul wanted to convey to the church members in Rome, that is, the gospel he wanted to convey to the church. Faith is faith united with Jesus Christ. If it is not the belief that I simply believe in Jesus, but the faith that is united with Jesus Christ, then I am still trapped in the law. In Galatians 3:23 it says, "But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 』