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. God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, and 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. Through 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. And you are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ. I 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. Let 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. God 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. One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. I 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. For 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. So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News. For 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. This 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.”
Romans 1:1-17 NLT
Paul gave his life to the gospel of Jesus. Paul wrote this letter to the churches in Rome while he was in Corinth, towards the end of his third missionary journey (Acts 20:3; Rom 15:25). He had not yet been to Rome but hoped to visit the Roman Christians so they could help him bring the gospel to Spain (Rom 1:13; 15:24). Paul saw himself as a servant of Christ and was driven by a sense of obligation to preach the Good News of God’s forgiveness to the ends of the earth. This was his calling, and he was motivated by gratitude for God’s grace in His life. Years after he wrote this letter, he would wind up in Rome—as a prisoner. This did not hold him back, though; he continued to teach and write even while he was in chains.
This letter clearly presents the gospel: God declaring righteous those who trust in Him (v.17). This is not God acting differently than the Old Testament, but something revealed in the Law and Prophets. Paul will clearly make this argument in the book, and he is even quoting from Habakkuk 2:4. While many Christians know the formula “salvation by grace through faith,” they often live as if forgiveness must be earned. This book is a clear reminder of the only solution for sin, self-worth, and so many other human problems. Jesus is our Savior.
What motivates you to follow Christ? What is Christ’s calling in your life? Why is it important to understand that salvation is not earned but accepted and lived as a gift from God?
