WHAT IS PAUL'S GOSPEL?
Romans 1:1–17 — Paul Tells Us Before He Begins His Argument
Suppose someone stopped Paul and asked:
“WHAT IS THIS GOSPEL YOU KEEP PREACHING?”
We don't have to guess how he might answer.
Open Romans.
Before Paul begins explaining sin, justification, faith, Abraham, the Law, Israel, or Christian living, he tells us what his whole life is about.
He introduces himself as:
“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God.”
— Romans 1:1
There it is in his very first sentence.
THE GOSPEL OF GOD.
But keep reading.
Because Paul immediately begins telling us what that gospel is.
This Gospel Didn't Suddenly Appear
Paul says the gospel:
“he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures.”
— Romans 1:2
That's worth stopping over.
The gospel wasn't something God invented after Israel failed.
Jesus wasn't God's emergency plan.
Paul says the gospel he preaches had been:
PROMISED BEFOREHAND.
The story Paul is about to tell grows out of the story already being told in the Scriptures.
That is one reason Romans will repeatedly take us back to the Old Testament.
Abraham.
David.
Moses.
The Law.
The prophets.
Israel.
Paul isn't leaving that story behind.
He believes its promises are reaching their fulfillment in Jesus.
And that brings him immediately to the center of the gospel.
The Gospel Is About a Person
What did God promise beforehand?
Paul says the gospel is:
“regarding his Son.”
— Romans 1:3
That's wonderfully simple.
Before the gospel is a system of doctrine, a list of commands, or even an explanation of how we are saved:
THE GOSPEL IS ABOUT JESUS.
Paul then describes Him in two striking ways.
Jesus:
“as to his earthly life was a descendant of David.”
— Romans 1:3
That matters.
David had been promised a king.
The Messiah was to come from David's line.
Paul is telling us that Jesus belongs to that story.
But Jesus was not merely another descendant of David.
Paul continues:
“and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead.”
— Romans 1:4
Paul is not saying Jesus first became God's Son when He rose from the dead.
He has already called Him “his Son” in the previous verse.
The resurrection publicly marks Him out in power.
The crucified Jesus lives.
Death did not defeat Him.
JESUS IS LORD.
And that's exactly what Paul calls Him:
“Jesus Christ our Lord.”
— Romans 1:4
We're only four verses into Romans, and already Paul's gospel has taken us from the Old Testament promises to David to Jesus to the resurrection.
Maybe we shouldn't hurry through the greeting.
Then Paul Says Something Interesting About Faith
Paul says that through Christ:
“we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name's sake.”
— Romans 1:5
Depending upon the translation you're reading, you may see:
“the obedience of faith.”
That's an interesting expression.
Especially in Romans.
Because Romans has sometimes been reduced to:
FAITH VERSUS OBEDIENCE.
But Paul doesn't begin that way.
He speaks of:
THE OBEDIENCE OF FAITH.
What exactly does he mean?
We don't need to settle everything about that expression yet.
We're only in verse 5!
But let's put a marker beside it.
Because something fascinating happens when we reach the end of Romans.
Paul describes the gospel as now being made known to the nations:
“so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith.”
— Romans 16:26
There it is again.
Near the beginning of Romans.
And near the end.
THE OBEDIENCE OF FAITH.
That should at least warn us against defining Paul's “faith” too quickly.
Let's allow Paul to show us what he means as we continue reading.
And Who Is This Gospel For?
Look again at verse 5.
Paul's mission is to:
“all the Gentiles.”
Or, as the word can also be translated:
all the nations.
Then Paul turns directly to his readers:
“And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.”
— Romans 1:6
Remember the Christians receiving this letter.
Jewish believers.
Gentile believers.
People from different backgrounds meeting in the same city.
Already Paul is introducing something that will run through the letter.
God's gospel is reaching:
THE NATIONS.
Paul Really Wanted to Meet These People
Now Paul becomes very personal.
He thanks God for them.
He tells them:
“your faith is being reported all over the world.”
— Romans 1:8
He prays for them.
He longs to see them.
And notice why.
Paul says:
“that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith.”
— Romans 1:12
I like that.
Paul is an apostle.
Yet he doesn't simply say:
“I need to come to Rome because you people need me to teach you.”
He expects:
MUTUAL ENCOURAGEMENT.
Their faith can encourage Paul too.
Then he explains that he has often planned to visit them but has been prevented from doing so.
As we saw in our introductory study, Paul had never been to Rome.
But he wanted to preach the gospel there.
Why?
Because Paul believed he had an obligation.
“I AM OBLIGATED”
Paul writes:
“I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish.”
— Romans 1:14
Then:
“That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.”
— Romans 1:15
Think about those words.
Obligated.
Eager.
Paul believes God has entrusted something to him that belongs not to one race, one culture, or one class of people.
The gospel is for:
Greeks and non-Greeks.
Wise and foolish.
Jew and Gentile.
And that brings Paul to one of the best-known statements in the entire letter.
“I AM NOT ASHAMED”
Paul says:
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel.”
— Romans 1:16
Why not?
Because:
“it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.”
Don't rush past:
EVERYONE.
Then notice what Paul says next:
“first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”
There they are again.
Jew.
Gentile.
We saw them in the background of the Roman churches.
Now we see them in Paul's statement of the gospel itself.
This gospel is God's saving power for:
EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES.
Paul is going to spend a considerable part of Romans explaining what that means.
Then Comes a Phrase We Need to Watch
Paul continues:
“For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed.”
— Romans 1:17
What does:
“THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD”
mean?
That's a big question.
Does Paul mean God's own righteousness?
God's righteous action in saving?
The right standing God gives to people?
His faithfulness to what He promised?
Christians have discussed those questions for centuries.
We don't need to settle all of them before reaching verse 18.
Here's a better idea.
LET'S WATCH WHAT PAUL DOES WITH IT.
He has introduced the expression.
Now let him explain himself.
That's one of the simplest habits of good Bible study.
When a writer introduces an important idea, don't immediately run somewhere else for a definition.
Keep reading.
“THE RIGHTEOUS WILL LIVE BY FAITH”
Paul finishes by quoting Scripture:
“The righteous will live by faith.”
— Romans 1:17
The quotation comes from Habakkuk 2:4.
There's that word again:
FAITH.
We have already encountered the “obedience of faith.”
Now the righteous live by faith.
And Paul isn't finished with faith.
Not even close.
Faith will become one of the great subjects of Romans.
But again, we're not going to decide what Paul means before he explains it.
We'll follow him.
Look How Much Paul Has Already Told Us
We're only seventeen verses into Romans.
But look at what is already on the table.
The gospel was promised beforehand.
It concerns God's Son.
Jesus is the descendant of David.
He was raised from the dead.
Jesus Christ is Lord.
Paul's mission reaches the nations.
He speaks of the obedience of faith.
The gospel is God's power for salvation.
It is for everyone who believes.
It reaches Jew and Gentile.
It reveals the righteousness of God.
And:
“The righteous will live by faith.”
Those aren't random ideas.
Paul has begun laying out the vocabulary of his letter.
Now he's ready to make his argument.
And the next thing he says may surprise us.
PAUL STARTS WITH THE BAD NEWS
Romans 1:16 says:
“The gospel... is the power of God that brings salvation.”
Salvation from what?
Why does everybody need it?
Paul is about to explain.
And he doesn't begin with Israel.
He doesn't begin with Moses.
He doesn't even begin with the Roman church.
He begins with:
HUMANITY.
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people...”
— Romans 1:18
Before Paul can show us how God makes people right—
he is going to show us:
WHAT WENT WRONG.
So that's where we'll go next.
What Happens When Humanity Rejects God?
TEXT B4 TRADITION
Read First. Conclude Later.
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