Why Romans??? WHY do we need to study it and grasp it???????????
The author is the apostle Paul who wrote to the Romans from the Greek city of Corinth in AD 57, just three years after the 16-year-old Nero had ascended to the throne as Emperor of Rome. The political situation in the capital had not yet deteriorated for the Roman Christians, as Nero wouldn’t begin his persecution of them until he made them scapegoats after the great Roman fire in AD 64. Therefore, Paul wrote to a church that was experiencing a time of relative peace, but a church that he felt needed a strong dose of basic gospel doctrine, kind of like todays church.
Now...........I will post ONE Scripture, make observations and commentary and everyone is welcome to ADD to that or give YOUR understanding of that verse.
Disclaimer.......
This is NOT for ARGUEING, or CONFRONTATION or SARCASTIC responses as has been observed in the past. This is a Christian web site intended for the education and uplifting of Christians and is not a place for personal retributions!
Here we go.
This opening chapter is an inclusive as it embraces the missionary motives of Paul, the definition of the gospel and the condition of man in sin which necessitates the gospel itself. This 1st chapter gives us the tempo for the entire book.
It needs to be said and understood that Romans teaches us the total depravity of man. Man is irrevocably and hopelessly lost. Man must have the righteousness of God since he has none of his own!
NOW do not get excited!!!
I am not a CALVINIST, even though John Calvin taught that. Calvin only wrote and taught what GOD SAID and I will make that abundantly clear as we go through this book. It should be noted that this great book of Christine doctrine, which was addressed to the church at Rome to keep it from heresy, DID NOT ACCOMPLISH THAT GOAL! The church in Rome moved the farthest from the faith which is set forth in the epistle to the Romans. That fact is an illustration of the truth of this epistle in that man does not understand neither does he seek after God.
Verse #1.........
"Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,"
Here, the apostle PAUL identifies himself. He was SAUL of Tarsus but after he was saved he was called PAUL.
First, he understands himself to be a servant of Jesus Christ. The Greek word used here for servant is doulos. A doulos in Greek culture was a "bondservant," someone who had sold himself into slavery to another person either for a specific amount of time or indefinitely. Paul considered himself to be owned by Christ.
He took this position willingly!
The Lord Jesus Christ loved us and gave Himself for us, but He never ever makes us a slave.!!!! We must come to Him voluntarily and willingly to Him and out of our love for Him, we makes ourselves salves to Him. It is important to understand that Christ will never force you to do anything to serve Him.
He said in Luke 13:34.........
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!"
It is wonderful beyond measure if you have the privilege of making yourself a bondslave to the Lord Jesus Christ. YOU do it on your own, He will not force you, but He will bless you when you do!
APOSTLE = "One who is sent".
The word has a technical meaning in the New Testament of one chosen by the Lord Jesus to decalre the gospel.
An Apostle must be a witness of the resurrected Christ.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:8........." Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me."
Then in 1 Corinthians 9: 1 he asks a rhetorical question........
" Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord?"
"Set apart" = SEPERATED! Another word you might use here would be CLEVE!
The Greek word for "SEPERATED" is APHORIZO from which we get the word "Horizon".
Now, when I was little, (young) all of the young people around our home were girls. My next door neighbor was named Peggy. On the other side of the house was a little girl named Rhonda. If I wanted to play and have friends, I had to do what the little girls did. I had to play house, tea parties and such. However there came a day when I put those things aside and began to play baseball, and climb trees and chase cats and so on. The girls would say.........."Come on over and lets have a tea party". It was then that I said NO, I am playing 1st base, I am not interested in tea parties anymore.
You see.........my HORIZON expanded! That is what happens when we come to Christ. When we are SEPERATED unto Christ He brings us to the place where our horizons are enlarged and we begin to see life differently than we used to.
1 Corinthians 13:11..........
"When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways."
Notice then "The gospel of God"!
In other words, man did not create the gospel. I have grown weary of those who say........."The Catholic church gave us the Bible"!
NO IT DID NOT! God gave us His Bible. God gave us His Son, our Christ!
When you and I arrived on the scene, the gospel had been in existence for 2000 years. Before Adam came on the scene, God had been at work for billions of years. God had a plan. He knew we would fail!
God did not wait until I got here to see if I had a better plan. It is God's gospel. We can take it or we can leave it but it was originated by God and get this, write it down, ..........It was done before the Creation was conceived!
Revelation 13:8........
"And all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain."
I intend to wait a few days for posts, comments and HELPFUL additions and the go on! If you have something of a personal nature, please feel free to use the PM option. I will do my best to respond.
Why is Romans so important?
The answer is that the letter to the Romans stands as the clearest and most systematic presentation of Christian doctrine in all the Scriptures!!!!!The author is the apostle Paul who wrote to the Romans from the Greek city of Corinth in AD 57, just three years after the 16-year-old Nero had ascended to the throne as Emperor of Rome. The political situation in the capital had not yet deteriorated for the Roman Christians, as Nero wouldn’t begin his persecution of them until he made them scapegoats after the great Roman fire in AD 64. Therefore, Paul wrote to a church that was experiencing a time of relative peace, but a church that he felt needed a strong dose of basic gospel doctrine, kind of like todays church.
Now...........I will post ONE Scripture, make observations and commentary and everyone is welcome to ADD to that or give YOUR understanding of that verse.
Disclaimer.......
This is NOT for ARGUEING, or CONFRONTATION or SARCASTIC responses as has been observed in the past. This is a Christian web site intended for the education and uplifting of Christians and is not a place for personal retributions!
Here we go.
This opening chapter is an inclusive as it embraces the missionary motives of Paul, the definition of the gospel and the condition of man in sin which necessitates the gospel itself. This 1st chapter gives us the tempo for the entire book.
It needs to be said and understood that Romans teaches us the total depravity of man. Man is irrevocably and hopelessly lost. Man must have the righteousness of God since he has none of his own!
NOW do not get excited!!!
I am not a CALVINIST, even though John Calvin taught that. Calvin only wrote and taught what GOD SAID and I will make that abundantly clear as we go through this book. It should be noted that this great book of Christine doctrine, which was addressed to the church at Rome to keep it from heresy, DID NOT ACCOMPLISH THAT GOAL! The church in Rome moved the farthest from the faith which is set forth in the epistle to the Romans. That fact is an illustration of the truth of this epistle in that man does not understand neither does he seek after God.
Verse #1.........
"Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,"
Here, the apostle PAUL identifies himself. He was SAUL of Tarsus but after he was saved he was called PAUL.
First, he understands himself to be a servant of Jesus Christ. The Greek word used here for servant is doulos. A doulos in Greek culture was a "bondservant," someone who had sold himself into slavery to another person either for a specific amount of time or indefinitely. Paul considered himself to be owned by Christ.
He took this position willingly!
The Lord Jesus Christ loved us and gave Himself for us, but He never ever makes us a slave.!!!! We must come to Him voluntarily and willingly to Him and out of our love for Him, we makes ourselves salves to Him. It is important to understand that Christ will never force you to do anything to serve Him.
He said in Luke 13:34.........
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!"
It is wonderful beyond measure if you have the privilege of making yourself a bondslave to the Lord Jesus Christ. YOU do it on your own, He will not force you, but He will bless you when you do!
APOSTLE = "One who is sent".
The word has a technical meaning in the New Testament of one chosen by the Lord Jesus to decalre the gospel.
An Apostle must be a witness of the resurrected Christ.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:8........." Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me."
Then in 1 Corinthians 9: 1 he asks a rhetorical question........
" Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord?"
"Set apart" = SEPERATED! Another word you might use here would be CLEVE!
The Greek word for "SEPERATED" is APHORIZO from which we get the word "Horizon".
Now, when I was little, (young) all of the young people around our home were girls. My next door neighbor was named Peggy. On the other side of the house was a little girl named Rhonda. If I wanted to play and have friends, I had to do what the little girls did. I had to play house, tea parties and such. However there came a day when I put those things aside and began to play baseball, and climb trees and chase cats and so on. The girls would say.........."Come on over and lets have a tea party". It was then that I said NO, I am playing 1st base, I am not interested in tea parties anymore.
You see.........my HORIZON expanded! That is what happens when we come to Christ. When we are SEPERATED unto Christ He brings us to the place where our horizons are enlarged and we begin to see life differently than we used to.
1 Corinthians 13:11..........
"When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways."
Notice then "The gospel of God"!
In other words, man did not create the gospel. I have grown weary of those who say........."The Catholic church gave us the Bible"!
NO IT DID NOT! God gave us His Bible. God gave us His Son, our Christ!
When you and I arrived on the scene, the gospel had been in existence for 2000 years. Before Adam came on the scene, God had been at work for billions of years. God had a plan. He knew we would fail!
God did not wait until I got here to see if I had a better plan. It is God's gospel. We can take it or we can leave it but it was originated by God and get this, write it down, ..........It was done before the Creation was conceived!
Revelation 13:8........
"And all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain."
I intend to wait a few days for posts, comments and HELPFUL additions and the go on! If you have something of a personal nature, please feel free to use the PM option. I will do my best to respond.
