Humanity’s Need for the Gospel
Lesson 1 Notes: Romans 1:1-17
“For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” (Romans 1:17)
What helps you navigate life when competing voices surround you? Our circumstances, often challenging, can lead us either to swerve into compromise or to solidify our commitment to what matters most. We face emotions kindled by life’s adversities. Our own sin and missteps can cause shame and sorrow. How do we proceed compelled by faith rather than crippled by fear? We live in a world that is antagonistic toward Jesus Christ and those who believe in Him. Drawing unwanted attention or facing condemnation from others seems treacherous. What helps us fix our eyes on heaven’s priorities? Steadfast faith in Jesus and the power of the gospel lead believers to know they have nothing to lose in standing for Christ.
The apostle Paul lived a turbulent life in troubled times, yet he unashamedly proclaimed Christ wherever he went. Despite persistent persecution and peril, he boldly shared the gospel. Believers today experience the same call Paul did—to go and make disciples in a hostile world. As a forgiven sinner who had pursued, persecuted, and participated in killing Christians, Paul understood the opposition Christ’s followers face. Perhaps his past fervor urgently fueled his God-given mission to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Paul recognized the futility of misplaced allegiance and the necessity of God’s grace in salvation. He boldly preached the gospel of Christ, asking God to ignite faith in both Jews and Greeks (Gentiles) all over the world. God’s gracious gift of salvation in Christ should not be selfishly hoarded but urgently shared. God reveals His saving power for all people through the gospel.
Paul’s Calling – Romans 1:1-7
Paul opened his letter to the Romans by stating his name and that of his recipients, a common practice in his day. Letters in the Roman world often began with a simple one-word greeting.1 However, the gospel so consumed Paul’s heart and mind that his greeting continued for seven verses rather than one short word.
Paul introduced himself with three phrases, first identifying himself as “a servant of Christ Jesus.” Paul placed himself on level ground with the Roman believers. All who believe in Jesus belong to Him and willingly serve Him.2 Next, Paul stated his calling as an apostle—meaning sent one, emissary, or messenger. He wrote with God’s authority, expressing God’s own words to people who believe in Him. Finally, Paul noted that in calling him, God had set him apart “for the gospel of God.”
A devout Pharisee before he met Christ, Paul strictly observed God’s law and viewed Christ’s followers as heretics. He exhibited narrow self-righteousness and murderous cruelty toward believers.3 When Paul met Christ, God separated Paul to Himself and called him to be a steward of His gospel. As he humbly and joyfully embraced both Jews and Gentiles, Paul always marveled at how God had graciously redirected and propelled his life.
Paul introduces his readers to the gospel message by defining the gospel. “Gospel” means “good news.” Paul’s letter to Rome’s believers centers on the good news of Jesus Christ. Jesus’s saving work on the cross on behalf of all humanity, His resurrection that gives us new life, and His promise of the eternal kingdom to come are central to Paul’s message and the life of every believer.
From God (1:2) – The Christian gospel may have seemed new to Paul’s original audience, but the incredible good news of salvation through the work of Jesus Christ was not a novelty. God promised this good news “through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures.”4 God’s prior revelations during the Old Testament period pointed to God’s gift of His Son.
The prophets recorded God’s announcements of the gospel. When Paul referred to the Holy Scriptures, he spoke of the Old Testament. We cannot find the totality of God’s good news in experiences, impressions, or any other subjective way. God has given us His own words in writing to study and understand.
The gospel is God’s gospel. God announced and accomplished the gospel. He sent His apostles to preach and He blesses the gospel message wherever it is proclaimed. Through the telling and retelling of the good news of Christ, God rescues people from sin and brings them to faith in Him. Because God cares deeply about His Word and for His people, we can be confident He will bless our teaching of the gospel.
From Jesus (1:3-4) – God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, stands at the center of this amazing good news. The eternal and unique Son of God the Father,5 Jesus is also the promised human son, David’s descendant. Paul contrasted Jesus’s two natures—His human nature and His eternal, divine nature. Paul used each word with precision and significance: In only 28 Greek words, Paul provided an entire Christology—the doctrine of Christ.
Paul used the Greek word sarx to write of Jesus’s earthly life. This Greek term describes not simply the body but the whole person. Because Jesus is entirely without sin, the word sarx refers to Jesus’s full and perfect humanity.6 Jesus’s physical descent from King David more than proves His fulfillment of Old Testament promises and proclaims Jesus’s true humanity.
At a particular point in history,7 the second person of the Trinity became fully human without ever ceasing to be fully God.8 From eternity past to eternity future, God the Son was, is, and always will be fully and equally God.9
Resurrection Power (1:4) – Jesus “was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead.” The verb “appointed” corresponds to Jesus’s deity: Jesus was appointed the Son of God by the testimony of the resurrection. Recognizing the striking revelation of God’s power demonstrated in Jesus’s resurrection helps us understand these words.10 The words “Spirit of holiness” likely identify the Holy Spirit as the agent of the resurrection. Jesus’s resurrection, accomplished by the Spirit, demonstrates God’s power and offers undeniable proof of Christ’s deity. Some hold that “through the Spirit of holiness” could be translated “as to his spirit,” referring to Christ’s divine nature, which exists alongside His human nature.
Another view of this passage focuses on the words “in power” (or “with power” in some translations). In this view, Paul is saying Jesus’s resurrection unmistakably declared Him to be the powerful Son of God. Through the resurrection, God undeniably declares Jesus’s unique person, deity, and power. Paul’s precise purpose in this section culminates as he declares “Jesus Christ our Lord.”
As Christ’s servant, Paul extended God’s peace to both Jews and Greeks.11 He preached the gospel in Rome to those who did not know God as well as those who loved God. Paul remained steadfastly committed to champion the gospel of Christ to all.
To Gentiles (1:5-6) – God called Paul to invite all Gentiles to faith in and obedience to Christ. While obedience cannot create or replace faith, saving faith in Christ produces obedience that pleases God. The Christian faith centers on Jesus Christ—almighty Lord and Prince of Peace—who is worthy of all praise and worship. God invites all people to rightly turn from rebellion and worship Him.
The good news of the gospel requires a committed response. For this reason, Paul stressed his role as an apostle. God had commissioned him as Christ’s ambassador. Paul pled for people to be reconciled to God, turn from sin, believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, and follow Him as Lord.12 God calls believers to follow Paul’s example.
When we fail to recognize God’s good news as a command to obey, we minimize sin and make discipleship optional. This denies God’s glory and deludes some—who are perishing without Christ—into thinking all is well.
To Believers in Rome (1:7) – At last, Paul named his letter’s recipients. He wrote to “all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people.” Paul had not yet visited, but he knew God’s deep love and extensive call to His people in Rome.
Paul had previously met some Roman believers,13 but he had no part in founding the Roman church. Perhaps the Roman church began during the days when Paul still persecuted believers.14 Some visitors from Rome were present in Jerusalem at Pentecost.15 Perhaps some among the three thousand people who turned to Christ on that day established Rome’s first church upon returning home. The church in Rome has existed from Christianity’s very earliest days.
Terrible brutality existed alongside the beauty, intellect, and power of ancient Rome. Slavery, infanticide, and dehumanizing sexual sin permeated the culture. Yet, in this city where evil reigned, a fellowship arose of people who rejected Roman values, worshipped Christ, and lived differently. Christlike holiness marked their new lives of faith. They shared one another’s burdens as they loved and cared compassionately for the downtrodden. God had planted His new humanity atop the deteriorating carcass of deeply entrenched sin! Paul extended to Rome’s believers what he had received and we need every day—grace and peace.
Paul’s Concern – Romans 1:8-15
In a typically pastoral way, Paul added a more personal word to the Roman Christians. He expressed his thanks to God and assured them of his prayers. Paul’s desire to visit ignited his eagerness to preach the gospel to them.
Paul thanked God for the believers in Rome. Their changed lives created a God-honoring reputation around the world. News of their widely known faith and transformed lives reached secular sources. The Roman church demonstrated such love for God that others noticed. Paul always remembered these precious believers in prayer, repeatedly asking God to open the way to visit them.
Paul longed to visit so he and the Roman believers might be mutually encouraged. He fervently prayed many times to visit this church, desiring a harvest among them like he had experienced among other Gentiles. Yet time after time and for reasons Paul did not explain, God prevented Paul from traveling to Rome. When Paul eventually reached Rome, he came as a prisoner. Even then, Paul remained unshakably convicted of God’s continued work in his circumstances.16
Paul was firmly convinced of his obligation to take the good news of Jesus Christ and His atoning death to the entire world. God intended the gospel message even for the most civilized people but also for those outside the Roman empire who did not speak Greek or Latin. Paul made the gospel available for the educated and for those without formal education. Paul’s obligation to the Greeks and non-Greeks came from understanding that when God saved him, he received a gift that did not belong to him alone. Have you realized the gospel is not simply your personal possession? Like Paul, we are obligated to share the gift of God’s good news about Jesus.
God’s Gift to Believers
Righteousness means rightness or being upright in all things. Paul’s letter to the Roman believers explains God’s righteousness and humanity’s lack of righteousness. Only God is holy, pure, and utterly perfect; He knows no sin. Every human lacks true and perfect righteousness.1 While we may gain a measure of security by finding someone whose behavior seems worse than our own, righteousness cannot be measured by imperfect human standards. Righteousness must be measured by God’s holy and perfect standard—by which we all stand condemned and without hope.
God understands our weakness and does not leave us hopelessly enslaved by sin. He extends compassion and offers His grand solution to our utter unrighteousness. God sent His Son to provide us His own true and perfect righteousness. When we believe Jesus bore the punishment our sin deserves, God freely gives us His righteousness, apart from any contribution on our part. This is the only way to be right with God. This transaction is called “justification” because we are counted as “just,” or back in proper relationship, with God. Jesus “was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”2
To overestimate ourselves and reject the righteousness God offers through His Son leaves us with only our sin-stained attempts to be good enough. Ignoring the sin that infects our motives and actions means missing what God requires. We desperately need Jesus’s perfect righteousness—God’s ultimate gift. Without turning to Christ, the peace we long for eludes us. The ineffective game of comparing ourselves with others we deem worse leaves us filled with uncertainty and doubt.
Belief in Christ clothes God’s children in His righteousness. This amazing transfer of Christ’s perfection to us takes place by God’s doing, not our own. We contribute nothing, yet through faith in Christ we receive what we cannot earn. Though we remain sinners, God sees us through the lens of His perfect Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. We enjoy peace with God because we belong to Him. God counts believers as righteous, equipping them in their ongoing battle with sin on earth. God’s righteousness transformed Paul’s life. Constantly amazed by God’s grace, Paul made sharing that wonder his life mission. Do you?
Paul’s Confidence – Romans 1:16-17
Paul spoke confidently about how people can become right with God. All humans are born morally and spiritually against God, infected by rebellion, and deserving of God’s judgment. In our own strength, we cannot make ourselves right with God. But God has already accomplished precisely what we need. He provides righteousness through His Son, Jesus Christ. This is truly good news!
No Need for Shame – Paul’s eagerness and excitement about God’s good news came to life as he announced he was not ashamed of the gospel. Why might Paul have thought that something so gloriously good could be considered shameful? The good news of Jesus Christ may have seemed disgraceful, foolish, or even confusing to some. After all, Jesus died a humiliating death on a Roman cross. His early followers consisted of Jewish peasants, slaves, and commoners. Paul, however, remained steadfast and fully convinced of the gospel’s power. Paul believed with all his heart that the gospel’s saving and transforming power is the greatest news of all.
The Power of God for Salvation – The gospel is the very power by which God accomplishes salvation in everyone who believes. Many do not understand the gospel’s divine work. Unbelievers often mock the gospel message. Nevertheless, wherever the gospel is preached, God’s Spirit breathes salvation into rebellious hearts. Through the good news of Jesus’s life, atoning death, and resurrection, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, God transforms people who believe in Him. By God’s power alone, He saves people from slavery to sin, setting them free to know, love, and obey God. Paul was not ashamed of the gospel because the good news about Jesus demonstrates God’s mighty hand at work. God does not simply tell us about salvation; God Himself provides salvation through the gospel.
For Everyone – The gospel is for everyone who believes. Paul explained God’s systematic disclosure of His gospel—first for the Jews and then the Greeks. Chronologically, the Hebrew nation occupied an advantageous place in God’s dealings with humanity. As God’s chosen people, they received amazing privileges, the greatest being that God’s promised Messiah came from their nation and the line of Judah.17 During this time, Gentiles lived apart from God, worshipping other gods and living without the hope of the Messiah.
Paul did not set Jews above Gentiles or Gentiles above Jews. Paul expressed this point: the gospel is for Gentiles and Jews alike. Scripture resoundingly supports this truth. The gospel is for everyone who will believe. John wrote that whoever believes in Jesus will have eternal life.18 At Pentecost, Peter quoted the prophet Joel when he declared, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”19 Indeed, the final chapter of the final book of the Bible invites the thirsty to come and those who wish to “take the free gift of the water of life.”20
In our natural human state, we live corrupted by sin and in rebellion toward God. Against the backdrop of human unrighteousness, the gospel reveals God’s righteousness. Paul spoke to the Romans about a new hope—righteousness revealed in the gospel.
God’s Gift of His Own Righteousness – The only way to be saved from God’s wrath is to receive righteousness from God’s own nature, alien to sin-corrupted humanity. Those who receive salvation in Christ through faith receive the right standing with God that they could never earn. The heart of the good news is God’s gift of righteousness. Unless God willingly gives this righteousness, the mere existence of His perfect righteousness would not be good news at all. On the contrary, the truth about God’s perfection would only increase our sense of condemnation.
God revealed His free gift in Christ so those who come to know Christ might stop fruitlessly striving and simply trust Him. We find rest when we believe that God gives Christ’s righteousness to all who trust in Him. Believers stand before God, not in their own self-righteousness—which is actually not righteous at all—but in the life-giving righteousness of Christ.
By Faith from First to Last – Paul lived many centuries before the Reformation led by Martin Luther. However, Paul seemed to anticipate the 16th-century battles over the role of faith in salvation. Paul emphasized the role of faith both in this initial statement of his thesis and in his fuller development regarding the gospel in Romans 3. Here in Romans 1, he speaks of “a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’”21 What is faith? Faith is not a human work but rather believing God and receiving His offer of Christ’s righteousness. Dead in our sins, we can only truly live—now and eternally—through faith in Christ. This is the gospel Paul proclaimed and to which God’s people cling. God reveals His saving power for all people through the gospel.
Take to Heart
Paul introduced himself as God’s called apostle—set apart and propelled by the powerful gospel of Christ. Paul’s life and ministry reflected his call to bring the gospel message to Gentiles but also to the Jews. Paul earnestly prayed for Roman believers and desired to meet with them in person.
Paul’s confidence stemmed from his unashamed belief in Jesus Christ and the power of the gospel. He preached the good news that Jesus is both fully God and fully man.22 He celebrated the righteousness God revealed and generously bestowed upon His faithful ones through Jesus’s shed blood on the cross. The content of the gospel, after all, points to Jesus—His person and His work. There is no good news without Jesus. Everything Christians believe, know, and hope for centers on the power of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, the Messiah, the unique Son of God.
God intends His gospel to permeate the entire world. Out of compassion, Jesus came for every sinner across the globe. Christians can easily forget or willingly ignore Jesus’s commission to go and make disciples of all nations.23 Even so, God’s gospel message should not remain a personal possession or lie in reserve for certain people. The whole world needs the powerful gospel—the good news of God’s grace to sinners, which He provides through the atoning death of His Son, Jesus Christ. Who in your personal sphere needs exposure to the powerful gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ? What next step will you take to introduce this person to Jesus?
Throughout time, the unbelieving world continually approaches God’s gospel with hostility, ridicule, and outright opposition. What mockery or disdain for God and His gospel message have you witnessed? People despised the gospel in Paul’s day, and the same response rings true today. In what ways might your life echo agreement with the world’s disdain for the gospel? Might you unintentionally or unknowingly despise or ignore the gospel? Do you experience fear or shame when you consider sharing the truth of the gospel of Christ? Paul acknowledged the gospel as “a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.”24 Yet, Paul met temptation’s lure to shame with refusal. He wrote, “I am not ashamed of the gospel.” Paul also encouraged Timothy not to be ashamed.25 Despite popular opinion, Paul compassionately and powerfully proclaimed the gospel’s life-giving power of salvation for all who believe. This same gospel holds undeniable power today. In what ways will you seek boldness like Paul and proclaim the gospel’s sweet power of salvation?
Paul lived set apart for the gospel. God’s gospel transforms believers. The gospel creates life within a believer at the very first moment of faith. The gospel ignites power deep within the believer’s soul, fueling the spiritual walk with Christ like food to one’s body. In what ways do you depend on Christ’s transforming power in your day-to-day life? How might you live like Paul, as one called and set apart for Christ and His gospel? If you do not know Jesus or the power of His gospel message, will you consider bowing before Him in prayer? Ask Him to reveal the power of His gospel to you personally. God’s gospel invitation extends to all. There is no higher calling than to believe in Christ and shine His light into this dark world.
1. Simple greetings: Acts 23:26
2. Belonging to Christ: John 8:35, 47; 14:24; 16:15
3. Paul’s persecution of believers: Acts 7:57–8:3; 9:1-2; Galatians 1:13-14, 23; Philippians 3:4-6
4. Gospel through the prophets: Isaiah 40:9; 52:7; 61:1
5. Jesus, God’s Son: John 1:14, 18
6. Jesus’s sinlessness: 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 1:19; 2:22; 1 John 3:5
7. Appointed time: Luke 2:1-2
8. Jesus’s divinity: John 1:14; Philippians 2:6-8
9. Jesus as God forever: John 1:1-3; Hebrews 1:1-3; 13:8
10. Power in Jesus’s resurrection: Acts 2:24, 32; 17:30-31
11. Jews and Greeks: Ephesians 2:11-22
12. Call to follow Christ: Acts 17:13-31; Romans 6:1-2; 10:3, 16; 16:25-27; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21
13. Roman believers: Romans 16:1-16
14. Church in Rome: Acts 7:57–8:1
15. Romans at Pentecost: Acts 2:10-11, 36-41
16. Gospel advanced through Paul’s chains: Philippians 1:12-14
17. Israel’s privileges: Romans 9:3-5
18. Eternal life for believers: John 3:16
19. Call on the name of the Lord: Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21
20. Receive salvation: Revelation 22:17
21. Faith: Habakkuk 2:4
22. Deity and humanity: Colossians 2:9
23. Jesus’s commission: Matthew 28:19-20
24. Stumbling block: 1 Corinthians 1:23
25. Not ashamed: 2 Timothy 1:8
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