Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Rom 1:1-2. Indeed, epistles are letters addressed by the apostles to churches or believers and in which we find Christian truths exposed. The one to the Romans, although written after others, was rightly placed first. For its subject is the gospel. And before receiving a Christian teaching, one must begin by becoming a Christian. This opportunity is given to you, if you have not yet seized it. And ask the Lord to touch your heart and conscience through the power of the word alone and the authority of the gospel, “I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is a power of God for the salvation of anyone who believes. “(Rom 1:16).
But before continuing our sharing, it is worth mentioning already the content of the whole Epistle to the Romans: all men, without difference, are sinners by nature; they can, however, be justified, as far as their sins are concerned, by the blood of Christ. But even more, the old man is crucified and died with Christ. Thus, through the death of Christ, the believer is delivered from the power of sin that dwells in him. He is in Christ, that is, made one perfectly with Christ, before God, in order to live now for him and serve him on earth.
Paul had never seen the Romans before. But (which is the condition of a useful service), he is full of love for them and above all for the One of whom he will speak to them: Jesus Christ. His Name fills the first verses. For is He not indeed the substance of the Gospel, the foundation of every relationship between God and man? On the other hand, the fact that Paul was ready to proclaim the Gospel to those whom he already calls beloved and holy (Rom 1:7:15) confirms to us that this good news of the Gospel is not limited to the mere forgiveness of sins. For it contains all the truth in Christ. So God will, so to speak, open here the trial of all humanity. One may think that pagans are excusable; they do not have the written Word. However, they have before their eyes another book that is always open: that of Creation (Ps 19:1-7).
Thus, what was once only a promise, has become a reality: for the statements of the Old Testament prophets (who alone are concerned here) have been fulfilled, as they were aimed at the incarnation of the Lord, his death and resurrection, as well as the glorious consequences of his work. The things they once administered for us were foretold to us by gospel messengers in the power of the Holy Ghost (1 Peter 1:10-12). Then the one of whom this gospel speaks has appeared; he came into this world, in two different ways or in two different relationships: He is the Son of David, according to the flesh, whom he clothed in grace, and he is the Son of God, determined as such, “in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection of the dead” (Rom 1:4). As the Son of David, he was not only the object of God’s promises, but he also fulfilled them.
The subject of God’s gospel is therefore Christ, who came as the Son of David to fulfill the promises, and the Son of God determined as in power according to the Spirit of holiness through the resurrection of the dead. It was from this Lord, now crowned with glory and honor at the right hand of God, that Paul had received “grace and apostolate, for the obedience of faith among all nations, for his name.” He gave thanks for this to his God, and the more he did so, bearing on his heart, ardent love and with continual prayers, the believers of Rome, the more he also had the deep desire to see them, in order to share with them some gift of spiritual grace and to strengthen them in faith (Rom 1:9-11).
What we have just considered makes us understand that the apostle was not ashamed of the gospel; the messenger of such news from God to the world certainly had no reason not to proclaim it. Such a message had never been heard. God’s righteousness was offered freely and freely to all men without distinction, on the principle of faith alone and without the work of man. For impiety is what characterizes the state of the pagans; they are without God and without hope in the world, ignorant and hardened, having their understanding obscured and alien to the life of God, straying ever more (Eph 2:12; Eph 4:18). Ungodliness further characterizes the state of the Jew, who not only possessed God’s promises, but who, by law, was aware of God’s just demands on his creature. Since the church of Rome consisted primarily of ancient pagans, it is understood that the apostle deals first with the state of the pagan world, and only then speaks of the impiety of the Jews; he lists three causes of the guilt of the Pagans before God:
First, they possess the testimony of creation. What can be known to God, his eternal power and divinity, is discerned, since the foundation of the world, by the things done by him (Rom 1:19, 20). Then they had in the beginning, the knowledge of God. And finally, they have a consciousness (even if it is obscured), which gives witness within them, so that their thoughts accuse each other, or also apologize (Rom 2:14, 15).
Pagans therefore have a much greater responsibility than is usually thought. What did they do with what was entrusted to them? Alas, they are “inexcusable”. The wonderful works and laws of creation constantly revealed to them the greatness, power, and wisdom of God, but they did not “glorify Him as God, nor did they give thanks to Him.” Not only have people had the opportunity to discern God through creation, but in the beginning they have truly known Him (Rom 1:21). We do not hear of idolatry before the flood, and although the wickedness at that time was great, yet from the creation of Adam to Noah (more than 1600 years ago), God did not leave Himself without witness.
Then, when the story of man began again on the earth purified by judgment, there was in the family of Noah, who possessed the knowledge of God, a new witness for the next generation. In a few strokes, the apostle depicts here the varied corruption, into which man fell from the religious point of view after the flood; he then describes the terrible moral depravity that is the inevitable consequence of the estrangement from God and idolatry. “That is why God has also delivered them, in the lusts of their hearts, to impurity, so that their bodies may be dishonored among themselves: they who have turned God’s truth into lies, and have honored and served the creature rather than the one who created it” (Rom 1:24, 25).
Man, who has become idolatrous, lost, under the fatal power of sin, has received the reward due to his bewilderment and has been delivered to a reprobate spirit, to practice with greed all infamy, and not only that, but he finds his pleasure in those who commit such things. For he likes to attract other beings, who have remained relatively pure, into his own corruption. He knows “the just sentence of God, that those who commit such things are worthy of death,” but despite this, he not only practices them, but also finds pleasure in those who commit them (Rom 1:32). So, could the creature, once created in the image of God, fall even lower? Certainly his guilt (not only his sin) has been demonstrated in the most obvious way, and God is just in judging the guilty according to His holiness.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
- Apostolate of Paul declared and defended
Rom 1:1 Paul, servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart to proclaim the gospel of God; Rom 11:13 I say to you, gentiles: as an apostle of the Gentiles, I glorify my ministry; 1 Co 9:1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? 1 Co 15:9 for I am the least of the apostles, I am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I have persecuted the Church of God. 2 Corinthian 1:1 Paul, apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Brother Timothy, to the Church of God in Corinth, and to all the saints who are in all Achaia;2 Corinthian 11:5 Now I feel that I have been in no way inferior to these apostles par excellence. Gal 1:1 Paul, the apostle, not on behalf of men, nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead; Eph 1:1 Paul, apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus and to the faithful in Jesus Christ; Col 1:1 Paul, apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and brother Timothy; 1 Tim 1:1 Paul, apostle of Jesus Christ, by order of God our Savior and Jesus Christ our hope; 2 Tim 1:1 Paul, apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, to proclaim the promise of life that is in Jesus Christ,
- Spiritual Service must be offered to Christ
Jn 12:26 If anyone serves me, let him follow me; and where I am, there too will be my servant. If someone serves me, the Father will honor him. 1 Co 7:22 For the slave who has been called into the Lord is a freedman from the Lord; likewise, the free man who has been called is a slave of Christ. Eph 6:6 not only before their eyes, as if to please men, but as servants of Christ, who willingly do God’s will. Phil 1:1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Jesus Christ who are in Philippi, bishops and deacons; Col 3:24 knowing that you will receive the inheritance from the Lord as a reward. Serve Christ, the Lord.
- Servants of God, the saints so called:
1 Kings 18:36 At the time of the presentation of the offering, Elijah, the prophet, stepped forward and said, Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel! let it be known today that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things by your word! 1 Ch 6:33 Here are those who officiated with their sons. -Among the sons of the Kehathites: Heman, the cantor, son of Joel, son of Samuel; Esd 5:11 This is their answer to us: We are servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago; a great king of Israel had built and completed it. Dn 3:26 Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the entrance of the fiery furnace, and speaking, he said: Shadrach, Meschac, and Abed Nego, servants of the supreme God, go out and come! And Shadrach, Meschac and Abed Nego came out of the middle of the fire. Acts 27:23 An angel of the God to whom I belong and serve appeared to me that night; Rom 1:9 God, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of his Son, isa witness to me that I constantly mentionyou; 2 Tim 1:3 I give thanks to God, that my ancestors served, and that I serve with pure conscience, that night and day I continually remember you in my prayers; John 1:1 James, servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes that are in dispersion, salvation! 1 P 2:16 being free, without making freedom a veil that covers wickedness, but acting as servants of God.
- Messianic Prophecies about Christ
Gen 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her posterity: she will crush your head, and you will hurt her heel. Gen 12:3 I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed in you. Gen 49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the sovereign staff between his feet, until the Schilo comes, and the people obey him. Dt 18:15 Jehovah, your God, will raise you up from among yourselves, from among your brethren, a prophet like me: you will listen to him! Ps 2:2 Why do the kings of the earth rise up and the princes join forces with them against the Lord and against his anointed one? Ps 45:3 You are the most beautiful of man’s sons, Grace is poured out on your lips: That is why God has blessed you forever. Ps 68:19 You have ascended into the heights, you have taken captives, You have taken men as a gift; The rebels will also dwell near Jehovah God. Ps 69:22 They put fiel in my food, and to quench my thirst, they water me with vinegar. Ps 110:1 of David. Psalm. Word of the Lord to my Lord: Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your stepping stone. Ps 118:22 The stone rejected by those who built became the main one of the corner. Ps 132:11 The Lord swore the truth to David, He will not return; I will put on your throne a fruit of your bowels. Isa 2:4 He will be the judge of nations, the arbiter of many peoples. From their swords they will forge nuclei, And from their spears serpes: One nation will no longer draw the sword against another, And one will no longer learn war. Isa 4:5 The Lord shall establish, over the whole expanse of the mountain of Zion and at his places of assembly, a cloud that smoans during the day, and a fire of bright flames during the night; For all that is glorious will be put under cover. Isaes 7:14 That is why the Lord Himself will give you a sign, Behold, the girl will become pregnant, she will give birth to a son, and she will give him the name of Emmanuel. Is 9:2,7 You make the people numerous, You grant them great joys; He rejoices before you, as one rejoices at the harvest, as one cries of joy at the sharing of the spoils. 7 The Lord sends a word to Jacob: She falls upon Israel. Isaiah 11:1-3:10 Then a branch will come out of the trunk of Isai, and an offspring will be born from its roots. 2 The Spirit of jehovah will rest upon him: Spirit of wisdom and intelligence, Spirit of counsel and strength, Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord. 3 He will breathe the fear of the Lord; He will not judge on appearance, He will not pronounce on hearsay. 10 On this day, the offspring of Isai will be there as a banner for the peoples; The nations will turn to him, and glory will be his home. Isa 25:8 He annihilates death forever; The Lord, the Lord, wipes away the tears of all faces, He makes the opprobrium of his people disappear from the whole earth; For the Lord has spoken. Isaiah 28:16 This is why the Lord speaks, the Lord: Behold, I have laid as a foundation in Zion a stone, a tried stone, a cornerstone of price, firmly laid; Whoever takes it as support will not be eager to flee. Isa 42:1 This is my servant, whom I will sustain, My chosen one, in whom my soul takes pleasure. I put my mind on him; He will announce justice to the nations. Is 49:6 He says: It is little that you are my servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob And to bring back the remnants of Israel: I establish you to be the light of the nations, to bring my salvation to the ends of the earth. Isa 52:14 Just as he was for many a subject of terror, -So much his face was disfigured, so much his appearance differed from that of the sons of man; Isa 53:2 He rose before him as a weak plant, as an offspring that comes out of a parched earth; It had neither beauty nor brilliance to attract our eyes, and its appearance had nothing to please us. Is 55:4 Behold, I have established him as a witness to the peoples, as the leader and dominator of the peoples. Isa 59:16 He sees that there is not a man, He is astonished that no one intercedes; Then his arm comes to his aid, and his justice serves as support. Isa 61:1 The spirit of the Lord, the Lord, is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the unfortunate; He sent me to heal the heartbroken, to proclaim freedom to the captives, and to the prisoners deliverance; Isa 62:11 This is what Jehovah proclaims at the ends of the earth: Say to the daughter of Zion: Behold, your savior is coming; Behold, the salary is with him, and the retributions precede him. Isaiah 63:1 Who is this one who comes from Edom, De Botsra, in red clothes, In bright clothes, and standing up with pride in the fullness of his strength? -It is I who promised salvation, Who has the power to deliver. -; Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, says the Lord, where I will raise up to David a righteous seed; He will reign as a king and prosper, He will practice justice and fairness in the country. Ez 17:22 Thus saith the Lord, the Lord: I will remove the top of a great cedar, and place it; I will tear a tender branch from the top of its branches, and plant it on a high and high mountain. Dn 2:34, 44 You were looking, when a stone came out without the help of any hand, struck the feet of iron and clay of the statue, and to torn them to pieces. 44 In the time of these kings, the God of heaven will raise up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and that will not pass under the dominion of another people; he will break and annihilate all these kingdoms, and he himself will subsist forever. Dn 7:13 I looked during my night visions, and behold, on the clouds of heaven came someone like a son of man; he advanced to the ancient of days, and was brought near to him. Dn 9:25 Know it, then, and understand! From the moment the word announced that Jerusalem will be rebuilt to the Anointed, to the Driver, seven weeks and sixty-two weeks ago, the squares and ditches will be restored, but in unfortunate times. Mi 5:1 And you, Bethlehem Ephrata, Little among the thousands of Judah, From you will come out for me the One who will dominate over Israel, And whose origin goes back to ancient times, to the days of eternity. Ag 2:7 I will shake all nations; The treasures of all nations will come, And I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. Za 3:8 Listen, then, Joshua, high priest, you and your companions who are sitting before you! for these are men who will serve as signs. Behold, I will bring my servant, the germ. Za 6:12 You will say to him: Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Behold, a man, whose name is germinated, will germinate in his place, and build the temple of the Lord. Za 9:9 Be carried away with joy, daughter of Zion! Shout with joy, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king comes to you; He is just and victorious, He is humble and mounted on a donkey, On a donkey, the little one of a donkey. Za 11:12 I say to them: If you find it good, give me my salary; otherwise, do not give it. And they weighed for my salary thirty sicles of money. Za 12:10 Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication, and they will turn their gaze to me, the one they have pierced. They will weep over him as one weeps over an only son, They will weep bitterly over him as one weeps over a firstborn. Za 13:7 Sword, rise on my pastor and on the man who is my companion! Says the Lord of hosts. Strike the pastor, and let the sheep disperse! And I will turn my hand to the weak. Ml 3.1 Behold, I will send my messenger; He will prepare the way in front of me. And suddenly the Lord whom you seek will enter his temple; And the messenger of the covenant that you desire, behold, he comes, says the Lord of hosts.
From all the above, we note thatby changing God’s truth into a lie, men have given more honor to the creature than to the Creator. When man comes out of the position of dependent creature, the only one that suits him, he becomes the prey of his passions and lusts, a toy of Satan, the father of lies, and he quickly falls lower than the beast. Men “had no moral sense to keep the knowledge of God”, this is the conclusion of the Spirit of Dieu. That is why “God has surrendered them to a reprobate spirit, to practice things that are not suitable”, and then follows this long and dark list, which begins with the words injustice and wickedness, and ends with “not keeping what they have promised, without natural affection, without mercy”. We find in it all the actions that the holy God has seen on earth in past centuries and all that he still sees there today! Our prayers accompany you all to live only according to the Spirit of God.
PRAYER FOR ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may be shining in my life right now.
Thank you Lord Jesus for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby watering point to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow about “God’s judgment on the nations and on the Jews.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.