THE GOOD NEWS

Romans 1:1-7

By David Woodbury

The letter to the Church in Rome differs from any of the letters Paul wrote to other churches. In it, he sets out to explain how to live out the Christian lifestyle. While Paul does not use the phrase, the kingdom of God or kingdom of heaven, except for Romans 14:17, what he is primarily about in Romans is the kingdom lifestyle. The kingdom of God was one and the essential teachings of Jesus and Paul now set out to explain in detail how we enter the kingdom of God and how we live out the kingdom lifestyle, a lifestyle that is a matter of choice. He explains how people can be made righteous and live transformed lives through their belief in the life, death and resurrection of Christ.

While many of Paul’s letters were written to address problems or pressing needs that were impacting the fledgeling church, Romans provides us with a theological essay that is not influenced or subjective to any situation in a particular church. In Romans, Paul sets down a clear and concise theology and teaching about life within the kingdom of God. In it we find clear, practical instruction for living the kingdom lifestyle. After the gospels, Romans may well be the most important book of the Bible and it is crucial that all thoughtful Christians, have a basic understanding of its message. Romans tells us how we are redeemed, transformed, sealed and sanctified for the day when we will all stand before the Lord.

He commences with a précis of the significance of the life and ministry of Jesus; the prophecy, his life and ministry on earth, his redemptive death and resurrection. He then links this with the role that all believers will play in the ongoing ministry of the gospel. He concludes his opening remarks with a benediction of grace and peace. As with many of his letters, Paul commences with a greeting and introduction. In it he affirms his appreciation of the Christians in Rome and seeks to encourage them in what were very difficult circumstances.

This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. 2 God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. 3 The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, 4 and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name. 6 And you are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ. 7 I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people.

May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

Romans differs from all of Paul’s other epistles in that he is writing to a church he has never visited or had little or no personal contact with. He is not writing, as he does in many of the other epistles, to correct error or to advise on local problems in the church, but rather he is setting out the very essence of his faith and in so doing is crucially establishing the doctrine of the church. He is a messenger on assignment from God and given the task of proclaiming God’s message of salvation and freedom for all humanity.

In the opening verses he sets out to establish his credentials as a chosen, special messenger from God and designates himself as a slave or bondservant; one who could do no other than implicitly obey his Master in declaring the good news from God about salvation. As a foundation for his discourse, he reflects back to the Old Testament and the prophecy regarding the coming of Jesus as the Messiah and the new age of grace that his coming would usher in for all humanity.

While we may have negative connotations about the use of the word slave we need to keep in mind it was not unusual for slaves to form a very deep, loving attachment to a good master. Perhaps this is the image Paul has in mind when he describes himself as a slave or bondservant. It may well be that Isaac Watts also had such a relationship in mind when he pens the words; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.

In his opening remarks, Paul wants to underscore the depth and intensity of his relationship to Jesus and resorts to the use of a word that conveys a degree of dependence and commitment which can properly be conveyed only by the strongest of language. Consequently, he uses the term “slave”, the connotation of which would have been clearly understood by his readers in Rome. By the end of the apostolic age, the use of the word to describe the relationship between Jesus and a disciple had become normal terminology. The language depicts a person who is not his own because he has been purchased with a price and serves his Master out of love.

Paul is underscoring a relationship which is clearly marked by dependence and commitment. It may well be that the significance he places on the terminology may seem over the top, but only to those who have never known the thrill of forgiveness and new life in Christ. However, we need to remember that in Paul’s world a slave may well be more than a menial servant. Indeed, many were entrusted with positions of high responsibility and possessed considerable power and influence, enjoying a significant degree of trust.

Until we come to the place of accepting a relationship with Jesus that is of a master/slave relationship we have not fully understood God's claim on our lives. However, it is not a relationship that is onerous or oppressive but rather one in which we can experience total freedom to be all that God wants us to be. It is a relationship that brings an authentic and acute sense of self-awareness which will enable us to explore and develop to the fullest all the God-given abilities we possess.

The Christian who can come to this place in their relationship with Christ will have a great sense of vocation and a calling on their lives that is real and undeniable. They will possess within their inner being a spiritual awareness of God's Spirit within their being. This sense of vocation and a calling comes not as a burden but a unique privilege and the slave of Christ will utilise all their God-given talents and gifts to disseminate and transmit God's message of salvation and restoration.

Paul is adamant that through Jesus we have received both the extravagant gift of his life and the crucial task of passing on the Good News of God’s salvation plan which is accomplished by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.