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Preaching the Living WORD through the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4:2 - |
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Paul’s Salutation To The Romans (Rom 1:2-7) Pastor I.
PAUL’S THEME (1-4) A. The Gospel of God Is The Theme of Romans (1) 1.
Paul was “set apart” to preach
and defend the “gospel of God.” This gospel was given to Paul by direct
revelation (Gal 1:11-12). 2.
Therefore, because it was not
man’s gospel but God’s, Paul would preach and defend this gospel at all costs
to every church that was established, especially the church in B. The Gospel Was Promised In The Scriptures (2) 1.
God’s gospel was not something
novel but had been divinely “promised beforehand” (proepaggello - announce or promise before). 2.
The gospel was given through
the agency (dia) of God’s prophets
to God’s people. 3.
As God’s spokesmen, prophets
proclaimed the divine truth of the gospel as well as recorded it by
inspiration through the Holy Spirit (2Pe 1:20-21; 2Ti 3:16-17) into “holy
scripture.” The litmus test for God’s prophet was 100% accuracy (Deu 18:22). C. The Gospel Reveals the Person and Work Of Christ (3-4) 1.
Son of David a)
The gospel revolves around the
person and work of God’s Son. Christ is said to be a descendant of David
which was a main criteria for being the Messiah (2Sa 7:12-16 cp. Luk
1:31-33). b)
The Messiah took on “flesh” in
his Incarnation so that he could be the substitutionary atonement for sin
(Isa 53:5-6; Heb 2:9, 17). 2.
Son of God a)
The “son of God” is a title
that means Christ is the eternal son of God, i.e. the second person of the
Godhead (Jn 19:7 cp. Jn 5:18; Jn 10:30-33; 36-38; Heb 1:8). b)
Christ’s deity was publicly
proven and “declared” (horizo - mark a
boundary; distinguish) when he was resurrected from the dead. c)
The Holy Spirit (“Spirit of
holiness”) is credited with the resurrection of Christ along with the other
members of the Godhead (Father - Rom 10:9; Son - Jn 10:17-18; Spirit - Rom
8:11). The Holy Spirit empowered the Messiah’s ministry (Isa 61:1; Acts 1:2). 3.
The Person and Work of Christ
declared in the Scriptures a)
The Gospel (1Co 15:3-4). b)
The Death of Christ (Isa
53:5-9; Ps 22:1, 14-18) c)
The Resurrection of Christ (Ps
16:10-11 cp. Acts 13:32-35; Isa 53:10-12) d)
The Church’s Foundation (Mt
16:16-18 cp. Mt 26:63 cp. Jn 20:31). II. PAUL’S MINISTRY (5) A. Apostleship Through Christ 1.
It was through Christ that Paul
received the grace of salvation as well as apostleship. The office of apostle
(fr apostolos - messenger or sent one)
includes the spiritual gift of apostleship (Eph 4:8, 11). 2.
Paul received his apostleship
through Christ (Gal 1:1) which included the spiritual gift of signs and
wonders (Heb 2:4; Acts 15:12). 3.
Furthermore, apostleship, like
the prophets, guarantees the infallibility of declaring God’s truth. B. Ministry To The Gentiles 1.
Paul’s ministry was to the
Gentiles (Acts 22:21), such as the Romans, while Peter’s ministry was to the
Jews (Gal 2:9). 2.
Paul did minister to the Jews (Acts
18:6) and write about them (Rom 2:17-3:8; Rom 9, 10, 11), but he was
specifically called to the Gentiles to articulate salvation, which had been
granted to them (Rom 1:16; Acts 11:18). 3.
The Gentiles were being brought
to “obedience of faith” in the sense that they were obedient to the gospel by
believing it (Jn 6:29; Rom 16:26; 1Jo 3:23). In addition, true saving faith
always leads to obedience to the Lordship of Christ (Rom 16:19; Jam 2:17-20),
i.e. the Lord Jesus Christ. III. PAUL’S RECIPIENTS (6-7) A. Church in 1.
In normal fashion, Paul
identifies the church in 2.
He also identifies that they
are among the Gentiles in which he is ministering. 3.
Paul also encourages the church
in B. Position in Christ: 1.
“Called of Jesus Christ” a)
Believers are “called” (kletoi - called ones cp. “church” ekklesia
- called out ones) and sovereignly drawn to Christ by God (Rom 8:30; 1Co
1:23-24; Jude 1; Rev 17:14). 2.
“Beloved of God” a)
Believers are loved by God not
because of their own merits, but because of our position in Christ (Rom
8:35-39; Eph 5:1; 1Th 1:4; 1Jo 3:1; Jude 1). 3.
“Called as saints” a)
“Saints” (hagioi) means holy and set apart ones, which takes place at the
moment of faith in Christ (Rom 12:13; 1Co 1:2; Eph 1:1). C. Grace Through Christ 1.
Paul gives his typical greeting
which focuses on “grace” (charis -
kindness, favor) as undeserved favor through Christ (Rom 3:24; Eph 1:6;
Eph 2:8-9). 2.
Those who have received grace also
have received reconciliation and peace with God (Rom 5:1). 3.
In addition, “grace” is the
normal Greek greeting and “peace” is the normal Jewish greeting. 4.
This grace and peace not only
come from God the Father, but also from God the Son. IV. PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS A. The Theme Of The Bible Is Christ 1.
The Scriptures testify about
Christ (Jn 5:39). 2.
The Scriptures teach and are
written about Christ (Luk 24:27; Luk 24:44). 3.
The Law contains the shadow of
Christ (Heb 10:1 cp. 4.
The O.T. portrays many "types"
of Christ (Rom 5:14; Heb 11:19) B. The Deity of Christ is 1.
At the Council of Nicea in a.d. 325, the church, in opposition
to the Arian heresy, declared that Jesus is begotten, not made, and that His
divine nature is of the same essence (homo ousios) with the Father. This
affirmation declared that the Second Person of the Trinity is one in essence
with God the Father. That is, the “being” of Christ is the being of God. He
is not merely similar to Deity, but He is Deity. (ETCF) |
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