Romans 1:1-6

Scripture Verse

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— ² the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures ³ regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, ⁴ and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. ⁵ Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. ⁶ And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

“The Obedience That Comes from Faith”

It is often the case in the New Testament epistles that the apostolic author highlights in his opening sentences many of the important themes he will be addressing throughout the epistle. The Apostle Paul, in what he has written in the opening sentences of his epistle to the Romans, is no exception.  In Romans 1:1-6, he highlights such important themes as God’s faithfulness in his promises, the good news of salvation made a reality in Christ, the humanity and divinity of Jesus, God’s power at work in Christ’s resurrection, and the grace of God offered to Jews and Gentiles alike. Surprisingly, perhaps, Paul also highlights obedience to God (i.e. good works) in these verses too.

I say “surprisingly” here, because I suspect many of us would associate any apostolic emphasis on good works more, for example, with the book of James rather than with the book of Romans.  Romans, after all, is commonly (and rightly) thought of as the pinnacle of Biblical teaching on “salvation by grace and through faith” – not so much on living the Christian life. The reality, as we see indicated in Paul’s opening words in Romans (especially in verse 5) and beyond (especially in chapter 12 and following), is otherwise.  Romans is about both – about both how we are saved by grace and through faith and how we are to live in obedience to God.  For Paul, it would be unthinkable to separate the two, because for him the one (works) flows naturally out of the other (salvation) through the power of the Spirit.  So, far from being merely a theological treatise on soteriology, Romans is an exhortation to embrace faith in Jesus Christ, and then to live out that faith in accordance with God’s will.  As one commentator puts it so well, “Faith is not intellectual assent to a series of propositions but surrender to the one who asks us to trust him.”

Prayer:

God our Heavenly Father, we thank you that we are saved by grace and through faith – and not of ourselves. Empower us through your Holy Spirit to live lives that reflect our gratitude for the salvation we have been given through Christ Jesus, your Son and our Lord. In his Name we pray. Amen.