# Romans 01 📖: Not Ashamed of the Gospel [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Romans Overview]] | [[Acts 28]] | [[Romans 02]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) ## Salutation Principle: When you've never met someone, take the first step to build a healthy relationship. [[#Verse 01.]] From Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God. [[Galatians 01|Galatians 1:10]] [[1 Corinthians 01|1 Corinthians 1:1]] [[2 Corinthians 01|2 Corinthians 1:1]] [[#Verse 02.]] This gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, [[Titus 01|Titus 1:2]] [[Luke 01|Luke 1:70]] [[#Verse 03.]] concerning his Son who was a descendant of David with reference to the flesh, [[Matthew 01|Matthew 1:1]] [[Galatians 04|Galatians 4:4]] [[#Verse 04.]] who was appointed the Son-of-God-in-power according to the Holy Spirit by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. [[Acts 13|Acts 13:33]] [[2 Corinthians 13|2 Corinthians 13:4]] [[Ephesians 01|Ephesians 1:19-20]] [[Philippians 03|Philippians 3:10]] [[#Verse 05.]] Through him we have received grace and our apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles on behalf of his name. [[Acts 01|Acts 1:25]] [[Acts 16|Acts 16:26]] [[1 Peter 01|1 Peter 1:2]] [[Acts 09|Acts 9:15]] [[#Verse 06.]] You also are among them, called to belong to Jesus Christ. [[Revelation 17|Revelation 17:14]] [[#Verse 07.]] To all those loved by God in Rome, called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! [[1 Corinthians 01|1 Corinthians 1:3]] [[#Verse 08.]] First of all, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world. [[1 Corinthians 01]] [[Ephesians 01|Ephesians 1:15]] [[Philippians 01|Philippians 1:3]] [[Colossians 01|Colossians 1:3-4]] [[#Verse 09.]] For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of his Son, is my witness that I continually remember you. [[Philippians 01|Philippians 1:8]] [[1 Thessalonians 02|1 Thessalonians 2:5]] [[Acts 24|Acts 24:14]] [[2 Timothy 01|2 Timothy 1:3]] ## The Righteous Will Live By Faith **Principle**: Live with the foundation of your life as trust in God's Goodness. [[#Verse 10.]] and I always ask in my prayers, if perhaps now at last I may succeed in visiting you according to the will of God. [[#Verse 11.]] For I long to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, [[#Verse 12.]] that is, that we may be mutually comforted by one another’s faith, both yours and mine. [[2 Peter 01|2 Peter 1:1]] [[#Verse 13.]] I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I often intended to come to you (and was prevented until now), so that I may have some fruit even among you, just as I already have among the rest of the Gentiles. [[Acts 19|Acts 19:21]] [[1 Thessalonians 02|1 Thessalonians 2:18]] [[Philippians 04|Philippians 4:17]] [[#Verse 14.]] I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. [[1 Corinthians 09|1 Corinthians 9:16]] [[Acts 28|Acts 28:2]] [[#Verse 15.]] Thus I am eager also to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome. ### The Power of the Gospel **Principle**: Boldness in the power of God is the engine of evangelism. [[#Verse 16.]] For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. [[Psalm 40|Psalm 40:9-10]] [[Mark 08|Mark 8:38]] [[1 Corinthians 01|1 Corinthians 1:18]] [[Acts 03|Acts 3:26]] [[John 07|John 7:35]] [[#Verse 17.]] For the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel from faith to faith, just as it is written, “The righteous by faith will live.” [[Habakkuk 02#Verse 04.|Habakkuk 2:4]] [[2 Corinthians 05|2 Corinthians 5:21]] [[Philippians 03|Philippians 03:09]] [[Galatians 03|Galatians 03:11]] [[Hebrews 10|Hebrews 10:38]] ## The Condemnation of the Unrighteous **Principle**: No one has an excuse to say they have never known of God. [[#Verse 18.]] For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness, [[Ephesians 05#Verse 06.|Ephesians 05:06]] [[Colossians 03#Verse 06.|Colossians 3:6]] [[2 Thessalonians 02#Verse 10.|2 Thessalonians 2:10]] [[#Verse 19.]] because what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. [[Acts 14#15|Acts 14:15-17]] [[John 01#Verse 09.|John 01:09]] [[#Verse 20.]] For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse. [[Psalm 19#|Psalm 19:1-6]] [[Jeremiah 05#Verse 21.|Jeremiah 05:21-22]] [[#Verse 21.]] For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened. [[2 Kings 17|2 Kings 17:15]] [[Jeremiah 02|Jeremiah 02:05]] [[Ephesians 04|Ephesians 04:17-18]] [[#Verse 22.]] Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools [[Jeremiah 10|Jeremiah 10:14]] [[2 Corinthians 01|2 Corinthians 1:20]] [[#Verse 23.]] and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles. [[Psalm 106|Psalm 106:20]] [[Jeremiah 02|Jeremiah 2:11]] [[Deuteronomy 04|Deuteronomy 04:16-18]] [[Acts 17|Acts 17:29]] [[1 Timothy 01|1 Timothy 1:17]] [[#Verse 24.]] Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity, to dishonor their bodies among themselves. [[Ephesians 04|Ephesians 04:19]] [[1 Thessalonians 04|1 Thessalonians 04:04]] [[1 Corinthians 06|1 Corinthians 06:18]] [[Leviticus 18|Leviticus 18:22]] [[#Verse 25.]] They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. [[Isaiah 28|Isaiah 28:15]] [[Jeremiah 10|Jeremiah 10:14]] [[Amos 02|Amos 02:04]] [[2 Thessalonians 02|2 Thessalonians 02:11]] [[1 Thessalonians 01|1 Thessalonians 01:09]] [[Isaiah 44|Isaiah 44:20]] ### From Idolatry to Depravity **Principle**: The result of life without God. [[#Verse 26.]] For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged the natural sexual relations for unnatural ones, [[Colossians 03|Colossians 03:05]] [[1 Thessalonians 04|1 Thessalonians 04:05]] [[#Verse 27.]] and likewise the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed in their passions for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. [[Leviticus 18|Leviticus 18:22]] [[Leviticus 20|Leviticus 20:13]] [[#Verse 28.]] And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done. [[Jeremiah 06|Jeremiah 06:30]] [[#Verse 29.]] They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips, [[#Verse 30.]] slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, [[#Verse 31.]] senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless, ruthless. [[#Verse 32.]] Although they fully know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but also approve of those who practice them. [[Luke 11|Luke 11:48]] [[Acts 08|Acts 08:11]] [[1 Corinthians 13|1 Corinthians 13:06]] [[2 Thessalonians 02|2 Thessalonians 02: 12]] ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. vs1-7: It was typical of letter writing at the time to begin with who the letter was from and a quick hello from them. That is what is happening here. What is unique is that Paul does not usually spend this much time doing this. Since Paul has not been to Rome yet, this is his longest greeting in the New Testament. vs16-17: Can be seen as the thesis statement for the entire book of Romans. ###### Verse 01. - Paul- This is the same Paul who wrote so many other letters in the New Testament. Many scholars believe this was the first address he made to a Gentile audience. Since he wants this letter to go ahead of him by one of his fellow workers, Phoebe, he is writing it down for them to read. - Slave of Christ Jesus- some translations say "servant." However, slave fits the context better. Paul says he is completely under Christ's submission. - Slave and apostle- Paul walks the line of humility and honor by saying that he is a slave to Christ, yet in a position of authority in the church. - Good News- Paul will spend the majority of this letter unpacking what the Good News is to us. The Good News is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. ###### Verse 02. - Holy Scripture- Paul is referring to the Old Testament. ###### Verse 03. - King David's Family Line- Jesus came and fulfilled all the prophecies of the Old Testament. Paul's statement here refers to all that had to be fulfilled for Jesus to be the promised Messiah. ###### Verse 04. - He was shown to be the Son of God- The Resurrection of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit did not _****make****_ Jesus God. It proved that He already was. - Our Lord- This title was reserved only for the Emperor. Every time we see it in Romans and elsewhere in the New Testament, it is technically an act of treason. It says the true King is not the emperor, but Jesus. ###### Verse 05. - Privilege and authority- Paul sees his ability to share the Gospel as a privilege. When we read the rest of the New Testament and see how much he suffered to do so, that's an amazing statement. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. - How often I pray for you- Paul begins by reminding us all that one of the most important gifts we can give one another is to intercede for each other. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. - Bring you some spiritual gift- Paul is not referring to 1 Corinthians 12, where he is hoping to drop off a bunch of spiritual gifts. He is saying he hopes to be a blessing to them in their spiritual growth. This shows that he has focused motives. He is there to help them grow and be a blessing spiritually. ###### Verse 11. ###### Verse 12. - Encouraging each other- this is the hope Paul brings with him. He wants to encourage them and receive encouragement from them. ###### Verse 13. - Prevented until now- Many times, he wanted to go to Rome, but there were opportunities to share the Gospel elsewhere. We have to be careful not to see the inability of our plans to come to pass as the devil getting in the way. Sometimes, God is working in other ways. ###### Verse 14. - Sense of obligation and sense of eagerness- Paul says he feels both when it comes to sharing the Gospel. This should color our lives, too. We should feel obligated to share the goodness of God that has changed our lives, and eager to watch someone's life be transformed as ours has been. ###### Verse 15. ###### Verse 16. - I am not ashamed- Paul is basically saying, "The Gospel brings me confidence." He does not see the gospel as anything to feel intimidated by. Rather, it is the hope of the world. We should never feel ashamed to share the hope of the Gospel. Imagine there was a disease destroying the world, and you had the antidote. Would you feel ashamed to share it? No. You would tell everyone you found. - Salvation- The term salvation is a legal term that refers to someone else paying the penalty in full for another's crime. Paul refers to this repeatedly. This makes sense because Rome was the civil capital of the largest empire in the world at the time. They would have understood this phrase. ###### Verse 17. - The Good News tells us- the reason we are excited about the Gospel is because of what it reveals to us. - From start to finish by faith- this phrase has been the subject of many debates as to what it exactly means. To me, the most direct reading is the best reading. God makes a way, by His righteousness, to be with us from the beginning to the end. God never cuts us loose to figure it out on our own. - Scripture reference: [[Habakkuk 02|Habakkuk 2:4]] ###### Verse 18. - "Anger"- Other translations say wrath. This is the divine result of sin. This is not a temper tantrum or an emotional response. It is the result of sin, much like jumping off a building. If you jump off a building, gravity takes over. If you sin, justice will follow. - "Suppress the truth"- These are people who know the truth of God's existence but deny it. ###### Verse 19. - God has made His existence evident by making creation all around us and giving us the ability to see it as something more. Think about it: God did not have to make creation beautiful. Then, He didn't have to make creation something that we would notice. ###### Verse 20. ###### Verse 21. - "Give Him Thanks"- The context of this verse does not mean God was looking for praise as much as acknowledging He is the Creator of all. He does command honor and praise, but this means they recognize God made it all. - "Dark and confused"- The more we turn away from God, the more we have to find ways to cover up His existence. One way is how people will talk about the Universe. I heard someone recently say, "Just as the universe is for it." What does that even mean? "Hey stars! Can you gimmie?" ###### Verse 22. - "Utter fools"- This is proven from the last point. They become more and more absurd because it is the only way to not acknowledge God. ###### Verse 23. - "They worship idols"- Humans were made to worship. If we do not worship God, we will worship something else. When we turn our backs on God, our worship becomes increasingly bizarre. ###### Verse 24. - "They traded the truth of God for a lie."- When we turn our backs on God, we believe in something that is a lie. Our idea of what is good becomes skewed. This does not mean someone who believes in God cannot do good things. It means their purpose for God, and their ability to receive good from it, will always be ultimately skewed because the worldview is off. ###### Verse 25. ###### Verse 26. - "women turned against the natural way to have sex"- Paul begins with a controversial topic in his day, the same as ours. He begins with women because, in the culture of the time, women were considered to be more morally pure than men. Therefore, if they begin to do what is shameful, it shows the extent of the depravity. It also says men did as well. Over time, people have tried to say this only refers to the abuse of same sex relationships. However, this passage does not indicate that. The words used in this passage are in a general sense. Therefore, it is intended to cover ALL forms of homosexual activity. Even if someone tried to make that point, Paul is pointing to this as the result of turning their back on God and losing their God-given identity. This leans toward a fuller expression. ###### Verse 27. ###### Verse 28. - Paul continues the spiral, saying that a host of sins follow the downward pull of sin. They all involve placing something other than God as the moral center of our lives. ###### Verse 29. ###### Verse 30. ###### Verse 31. ###### Verse 32. - Paul concludes that these people know what they are doing is wrong, but they keep doing it. Therefore, Paul is not talking about those who sin in ignorance, but those who sin in willful disobedience. They even work to convince other people to do the same. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. Romans is the longest of Paul's letters and stands first among them in the New Testament, which arranges Paul's letters roughly by length. 2. Paul most likely wrote Romans from Corinth around AD 57, near the end of his third missionary journey (Acts 20:2-3; Romans 16:1, 23). 3. Paul had not yet visited Rome when he wrote this letter (1:10-13). 4. Paul calls himself a "slave" (Greek *doulos*) of Christ Jesus (1:1), a title of total belonging. 5. The church in Rome was probably not founded by an apostle. Visitors from Rome were present at Pentecost (Acts 2:10) and may have carried the gospel home. 6. Emperor Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome around AD 49 (Acts 18:2), which likely left the Roman church mostly Gentile for a time. 7. In 1:17 Paul quotes Habakkuk 2:4, a verse he also quotes in Galatians 3:11. 8. Martin Luther described his discovery of the meaning of 1:17 as being born again and entering paradise through open gates. 9. The word "gospel" (*euangelion*) was used in the Roman world for announcements such as an emperor's birth or a military victory. 10. The list of sins in 1:29-31 has more than twenty items, one of the longest such lists in the New Testament. ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the heart of the gospel: descended from David by human birth and declared the powerful Son of God by His resurrection (1:3-4). The good news Paul is not ashamed of is the message about Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). ## 🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application - 📌 The Gospel is Good News - 📌 All have enough evidence to believe in God. - 📌 The Gospel is about Jesus. #### Today, I can apply this chapter by: - ✅ Never be ashamed of the Gospel because it is good news to save people from eternal separation from God. - ✅ Realize everyone has the capacity to know God. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. Paul says he is not ashamed of the gospel because it is God's power for salvation (1:16). Where are you tempted to stay quiet about your faith, and why? 2. Paul says God's eternal power and divine nature are clearly seen in creation (1:20). Where do you see evidence of God in the world around you? 3. People exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped created things (1:25). What created things compete for first place in people's hearts today? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verses 16-17: The gospel is God's power for salvation, and in it His righteousness is revealed by faith. - 📖 verse 20: God's invisible attributes are clearly seen in creation, so people are without excuse. - 📖 verse 21: People knew God but did not glorify Him or give Him thanks, and their thinking became futile. - 📖 verse 25: People exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped the creation rather than the Creator. ## 🔗 Related Passages - 🔗 [[2 Samuel 07#Verse 12.|2 Samuel 7:12-16]] - God promises David an eternal throne through his descendant, fulfilled in Jesus, the Son of David (1:3). - 🔗 [[Habakkuk 02#Verse 04.|Habakkuk 2:4]] - The righteous will live by faith, the theme verse quoted in 1:17. - 🔗 [[Psalm 19#Verse 01.|Psalm 19:1-4]] - The heavens declare the glory of God to every nation. - 🔗 [[Jeremiah 02#Verse 11.|Jeremiah 2:11]] - Israel exchanged its glorious God for worthless idols. - 🔗 [[Acts 14#Verse 15.|Acts 14:15-17]] - God never left Himself without a witness in creation. - 🔗 [[Acts 17#Verse 24.|Acts 17:24-28]] - Paul tells the Athenians that God made the world so people would seek Him. - 🔗 [[1 Corinthians 01#Verse 18.|1 Corinthians 1:18]] - The message of the cross is the power of God to those being saved. - 🔗 [[Galatians 01#Verse 15.|Galatians 1:15-16]] - God called Paul by grace to preach Christ among the Gentiles. - 🔗 [[Ephesians 04#Verse 17.|Ephesians 4:17-19]] - Gentile minds darkened and hearts hardened, given over to impurity. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[Romans 1 - SOAP|God is Waving At You]] ## Interesting Additional Links and Resources * [Romans 1:18-32 (God's Wrath Revealed Against Ungodliness)](https://youtu.be/Gp9jWf9dOT0?si=_GXSSgVcfrZ4svNb) * [All Rise (Jack Hibbs)](https://youtu.be/gwjX9NdZrDM?si=pspe6nJ1nPrxbjWS) * [Romans 1:18-32 (Robert Breaker)](https://youtu.be/QvKJ8KV5Qt8?si=8DjyyN_XeANbDQJX) * [God's Wrath on Unrighteousness (Sproul)](https://youtu.be/5Dp0vMODzzo?si=K3ROfi_-afeqSEd5) * [The World Rejects God (Bible Study)](https://youtu.be/LlX3s5FjWdY?si=wSDgs1n1l6vw1R0a) * [Is God Mad? (Heitzig)](https://youtu.be/IbzEKjxe1Mk?si=PqL2kcRceVNYp4zx) * [Wrath of God (Baucham)](https://youtu.be/FUxW9BhOyWY?si=P00iUkTmKp_aV6gA) * [God's Anger and the Reason For It](https://youtu.be/R84WdgSpTIg?si=5X904qQXp_20RReY) ## 📂 Internal Notes [[SeriesOverview- The Mission (Romans)]] [[Series_TheMission_1-Romans_01_1-17]]