ROMANS, THE MASTER KEY

Bob Bonner
Romans 1:1-15
September 18, 1994

I have in my hand two different keys to this building complex. One is an entry key that will open any outer door to this facility. The other is a master key that unlocks several doors within this facility that the entry key fails to unlock. There are several individuals who possess the entry key into this facility and only a few who possess this master key that unlocks all the doors in this facility. For obvious security reasons, we cannot allow just anybody to possess a master key.

Now, I want you to imagine another kind of spiritual building or complex. Something bigger than Disney World. This imaginary complex is truly a spiritual magic kingdom. Once a person puts their trust in Jesus Christ as one's personal savior and master, that person is given an entry key to this spiritual magic kingdom. Inside that magic kingdom there many rooms filled with all kinds of terrific surprises. In each room there are those things that we have longed for all of our lives. There are things like contentment, deep satisfaction, joy, power to control addictions and bad habits, power to love those whom humanly would drive you nuts, otherwise, freedom from those fears that tend to run our lives, freedom from the hurt and bitterness we have felt toward others, etc.. In those rooms are things that our loving Creator, our Heavenly Father, has placed there for us to enjoy and be the basis for an ongoing exciting relationship with Him.

But there is a problem due to ignorance more than anything else. Many who have entered this very real, magic spiritual kingdom do not possess the master key which will unlock all the doors to the secrets that await those who are in Christ. They know that there is more to life and their relationship with Christ than what they are experiencing because they see others experiencing it and they have heard others talk about it. But for many, those doors into many rooms still seem locked to them. Many Christians want inside these rooms, but they don't know where to get the master key so as to get access into those rooms.

This morning, we want to begin a study of the Book of Romans. This book holds the master key to all the rooms of this spiritual magic kingdom. However, from my perspective, the great tragedy of the church today, is that too few Christians really understand the basic message of this book. It is my prayer, as it was the Apostle Paul's prayer in Ephesians 1, that as we study through the book of Romans, all of us will have the spiritual eyes of our hearts opened up as to the true riches and power we possess, having trusted Jesus Christ to be our Savior and Lord. It's my prayer that you will discover the master key that this book represents, and begin to use the truth of this book to open up those doors of life that God wants you to personally experience and enjoy. Once one understands this book, and especially the heart message of this book, found in chapters 6-8, then the rest of the New Testament will come to life like never before.

The material in this book is so important, that some preachers have spent there entire preaching careers in this book alone. We will not be doing that. Our goal is to finish this study in 18 months, hitting the key land marks of the book, and making as practical as possible the importance of the truths found in this book to your every day lives as believers. Then, I hope that after you understand the overall lay out of this book, that you, directed by the Holy Spirit, will go back on your own, to study the depths of this book. 

To further demonstrate the importance of this book, let me point out to you those men of God whose lives were radically changed simply because of their understanding of the message of this book. St. Augustine, the most brilliant theologian of the early centuries, came to conviction of his own sin and need for salvation after reading just a few verses from the thirteenth chapter of Romans. 

Martin Luther, the great reformer, recovered the doctrine of salvation by faith alone from his study of Romans 1:17 and then went on to lead the Protestant Reformation. 

Later, John Wesley, a man who desperately wanted to know God better, who was even a missionary who failed as a missionary because he did not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, came to Christ after hearing Martin Luther's preface to his commentary on Romans read. Previous to that, Wesley had felt dejected and lived in a world of despair. But after being introduced to the book of Romans, and better understanding what Jesus actually accomplished for all who believe in Him, John Wesley went on to be used by God to start a revival in this country as well as in Europe. 

John Bunyan, so inspired by his study of the book of Romans, wrote his immortal novel, PILGRIMS PROGRESS, based on the major themes of the book of Romans. 

After his study of the book of Romans, Samuel Coleridge, the great English writer, said, "It is the most profound work in existence."

I could go on, but instead, allow me to add a personal note. I will forever be indebted to my beloved friend and mentor, Ray Stedman, who faithfully taught me through his sermons and his very life, from my college years up until he died, the reality and significance of the truths of this book. His teachings from the book of Romans was the launching pad from which I began to grasp my understanding of the book. Many of his observations from Romans will be incorporated in our study as we study through this book.

I realize that that was a pretty long introduction, but I believe that it needed to be said. Now, let's take a brief look at the specific historical backdrop that caused this letter to the church at Rome to be penned.

Rome was the Las Vegas of the ancient world. It was a rough place to live and to raise godly children. Tacitus, the ancient historian writes, "Into Rome flow all the things that are vile and abominable. And where they are encouraged." [Swindoll, sermon notes on Romans.] And yet, into this cess pool of culture, the Spirit of God raised up an infant church that was making a name for itself. It was not a church founded by any apostle but rather, it grew from some citizens in Rome, who were converted to Christ elsewhere and had returned to Rome practicing their faith and telling others about Jesus. But due to the lack of the Apostles teachings, they knew very little about all that Jesus had done for them. Hence, the apostle Paul is writing this letter to instruct them as to the essentials of their faith and all that Christ has done for them.

This church was made up of Jews, Romans and Greeks who had all become Christians. And as a result, it was a multi-cultured church, that had people with various cultural traditions, pagan or Jewish religious practices and various social taboos. Yet, they were united in Christ. As a result, they had to learn to get along with each other. But most importantly, they needed to be able to weed out the false truths and incorrect theological assumptions that they brought along with them from their previous religious backgrounds. 

The Apostle Paul was commissioned by God to take the gospel to the gentile world. He took his calling seriously. Being concerned about these young believers who were uninformed, Paul writes this letter to them. It was written from the city of Corinth, approximately 30 years after Jesus was crucified, or about 60 a.d.. The memory of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection was still fresh on everyone's mind throughout the Roman empire.

The first 17 verses of this book make up the introduction to the book of ROMANS. It covers the three major themes that are dealt with throughout this book. In verses 1-5, we learn about the man, Jesus Christ, the focus of our faith and one of his messengers, the apostle Paul himself. In verses 6-15, we learn about the Mission of God's people. And finally, in verses 16-17, we learn about the Message of the Gospel. We won't say much this morning about this message, but save it for next time.

Let's begin our study by looking at verses 1-5. In verse 1, Paul introduces himself, and who he has become as a result of meeting Jesus Christ. He says, "Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called {as} an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,..." Notice, that Paul, right off identifies himself as a "servant." In Christian circles, to call someone a servant is a compliment. But in those days, to call someone a servant was not a compliment but a derogatory remark. To the Greeks, especially, who loved their freedom and individuality, to be called a servant would be an insult. To the Jews, who were prideful about their chosen status before God, it would be humbling to be called a servant by a gentile. To be a Pharisee, as the apostle Paul had been, and to call oneself a servant, was unthinkable. Yet, Paul was a man who's whole perspective on life had been changed ever since he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. In fact, Jesus had not just transformed his perspectives, Jesus had transformed Paul's entire life, as Paul goes on to tell us. 

Paul says that he was "called and set apart as an apostle." Notice, "called" is used as an adjective here. The point being that God did the calling of Paul. It is not just a description of what Paul is, but more importantly, Who called Him...God. If you were to read Acts 9 and Galatians 1:15, you would see in the scriptures more information about how and when Paul was called by Jesus to be His apostle. In Galatians, we are told that he was called to be an apostle before he was even born. And then through history, overtime, God made His calling upon Paul's life a reality. 

The same thing is true of us. God has chosen us to be his children even before the foundation of the world. We may think we independently choose to follow Jesus at age 30, but in reality, Jesus was drawing us to Himself years before. Then, like Paul, he sets each of us apart for a special service for Him.

For Paul, that special service was to be an apostle. He explains what apostleship is all about down in verse 5. Let's jump down and take a quick look at that. "through whom [Jesus Christ] we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake." An apostle is one who is sent to call people out from the rest of the crowd to understand the gospel and to meet Jesus Christ. Verse 14 adds a little more about Paul's obligation. It says, "I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish." Paul had a deep sense of an imperative to tell people, all people, the gospel because he knew they desperately needed it. What that gospel or good news is, we will see a little later in this chapter. But it is so good, Paul was compelled to tell others about it.

Imagine for a moment that your loved one had Alzheimer’s disease. And you discovered a cure that healed them completely overnight.  You probably would be so excited about getting back your loved one that you would be compelled to tell people who had Alzheimer’s disease that you had the cure, if in fact you did.  Paul had something even better than a cure to Alzheimer’s, and he couldn't help but tell the whole world about it.

In verses 2-5, Paul goes on to tell us his Master Jesus Christ. He says, "Which He [Jesus Christ or God] promised before hand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead according to the spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake,..." 

These verses explain three things about the person of Jesus Christ, the central figure upon which the truth of this whole book is built.

First, Paul tells us that Jesus was promised before hand. The term "promise" means more than prophecy because it commits Almighty God to make good on His word. Whereas, a prophecy could be just an advanced announcement about something that would happen. In addition, the that fact that Jesus Christ's coming, His death and His resurrection was predicted ahead of time emphasizes the reality that Jesus was no accident. Our faith in Jesus Christ has come to us through the anticipation and prediction of centuries of teaching and preaching.

We also see from verses 3 and 4 that Jesus is unique in two ways. First that He is fully man. Our text says that Jesus was a descendant of David. The Greek word used here for "DESCENDANT" is much more earthy; it says Jesus comes from the very sperm of David, emphasizing Christ's intense humanity. Jesus was fully man. He was not play acting

However, that's not all according to verse 4. There we see that Jesus was declared to be fully God as well. Notice, Paul deliberately says that Jesus was "declared" the Son of God and "not made" the son of God. You can make someone or something human. But you can't make someone God, for God is ever existent, eternal, no beginning and no end. He was never made or created. He has always been. 

The term "son of God" is an unmistakable term referring to His deity. Paul based Christ's deity upon three facts:

The first fact is revealed in the expression, "with power". This is a reference to the miracles---all the displays of remarkable power that he manifested while he was here on earth.

The second fact upon which Jesus Christ's deity is based is not just His miraculous powers, but a very specific historic fact of power, his resurrection from the dead.

The third fact that points to Christ's deity is the spirit of holiness. By "holiness", I don't believe that Paul means as this term means else where in scripture that Jesus was simply a pure and without guile being, set apart for a special project. It means more than that. It means "wholeness". Jesus was a whole person. In the vernacular of our day, "Jesus had it all together." People were drawn to Him, like Nicodemus, because He had something that they didn't.

The exciting thing is that this fact of "holiness" or "wholeness" is the very thing that Jesus wants to offer to every person who will commit their lives to Him. He wants to bring back to our lives everything we lost as a result of the Fall, and more!

When someone points to Jesus' humanity, it draws our attention to Christ's humiliation. When someone points to Jesus deity, it draws our attention to His deserved exaltation. The importance of Jesus humanity is that it is enables us to understand that He is intimately acquainted with all that we feel and experience. He is able to empathize with our hurts, rejections, pains and inability to cope. He can weep with us.

But empathy is not enough. Jesus is also more than adequate to deal with all of our problems. Because His work on the cross was so perfectly complete, He now reigns with unlimited resurrection power, poured out to us in the person of the Holy Spirit, to enable us to live new lives as new creatures in Christ right now in amidst this sinful world that today is so much like ancient Rome. This is not the power used to over throw political governments, but the power to transform lives. To transform the slanderous bitter tongue into one that speaks kindness. To transform the lazy thieves who steal from their employers or others, into hard workers. To transform the trapped and imprisoned ones with various addictions into freed persons ready to enjoy a more meaningful life.

The next theme, in verses 6-15 deals with people. God cares about people. He wants them to understand the Gospel which is the solution to the ruin of humanity. So in this next section, Paul speaks to roles of people; specifically, those people with the truth and their responsibility of reaching out to those who either do not have the truth about Christ or don't fully understand it. 

In verses 6-12, Paul writes to those specific receivers of the truth, the believers at Rome who need to be taught more fully about what they have in Christ. Then in verses 13-15, we get a brief glimpse of Paul, himself.

Let's start reading about the Christians at Rome, understanding that much of what Paul has to say about the Roman Christians applies to us as well. Look at verses 6-7, "...among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;" to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints; Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

Quickly, Paul points out five things that are true of the believers at Rome and all believers.

First, he says that we are "CALLED". As I mentioned earlier, God called all Christians to become Christians long before they ever trusted Jesus. How that takes place will be explained later by Paul in this letter. For now, He simply reminds us of this, because it is important that we are reminded of our identity. When the whole world is trying to trash you and show you that you are not of any importance, God is saying, "Don't believe it! I, the living and almighty God, head over heaven and earth...I specifically called you and that makes you important."

Second, Paul says that we are "beloved" or loved of God. Paul always starts his letters reminding us that that which motivates God's action toward us is His love. Later in this chapter, Paul will explain why there is God's wrath and to whom His wrath is directed. But this letter begins with that which moves God first, His love for you.

Third, Paul tells us that we are "saints." Set apart ones. We are different from other human beings who do not have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. This term means that we have been made holy and set apart for a specific purpose for God. The one responsible for making us holy and blameless is not us, but our holiness is based upon Christ's work on our behalf. How can we forever be blameless, even if we continue to do that which is wrong? Paul will tell us later in this book.

As proof to we saints, that God loves us, He gives us His grace, which results in true peace with God. We never have to be afraid of Him rejecting or hating us again. Grace stands for all the empowerment and enrichment that God can give. God is not a spiritual Santa Claus handing out gifts. This grace is His own power, Him imparting Himself to us; Him living His very life in us. All those moments when our strength is lacking and our courage is fading, as we turn to Him and understand what He has already done for us, those very things that this book speaks about, we become infused with His power. And the end result of that power is peace and rest. The more people grow in their understanding of Who God is and what He has done for them the more grace and peace will characterize their lives.

 points to something else that characterized the believers at Rome in verse 8. "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world." THEIR FAITH STARTLED THEIR WORLD. Not their new building nor the numbers that came to their churches nor their different programs, but their lived out faith. Their changed lives impressed others around them.

Paul was so impressed by the reports that he was hearing about them that he says, in verse 9 "For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you."

Paul is so impressed by their genuine commitment to Christ that he talks to others about them and he prays for them.

One ingredient that made these Christians in Rome successful in their world is that they had others praying for them and their ministries. If there is one thing we need more than anything else is to not just pray for our ministries here at Crossroads, but for those ministries of the other churches in this community. For instance: Grace Bible Church will be without a pastor at the end of October. We need to be praying for them.

Verses 11-12 tell us something else about the Christians at Rome and those of today. "For I long to see you in order that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine."

This expression, "impart" really means "share with you". Paul wants to share with them his gift of teaching and expects them to share with him their spiritual gifts so that both they and he would be encouraged by each others faith. Paul not only had a passion to serve others, but he also had the humility to recognize he needed them and needed to receive some things from them as well. A healthy fellowship of Christians are those that they need each other and serve each other through using their spiritual gifts. If you are not sure what spiritual gifts are, sometime later this year or early next year, we are going to have an evening study on just what are these things that the Bible talks about, these things called "spiritual gifts."

Then in verses 13-15, Paul directs the attention to himself and God's mission for him. Apparently, there was a misunderstanding between Paul and those Christians in Rome. There may have surfaced a question among these Roman Christians as to whether or not Paul really loved them. They had heard of this great apostle and had known that he had visited many other churches around the Mediterranean sea, but never theirs. They may have been thinking, "If this apostle really loved us and cared about us why hasn't he come to visit us sooner?" "Why hasn't the Pastor or elders come to my house?" sort of complaint. In other words, Paul's love for these believers is being tested by them because Paul was not living up to their expectations of what a Pastor should be doing. So lest there be any more doubt that Paul's love be genuine, he clearly spells out why he had not yet come. 

Paul says, in verses 13-15. "And I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented thus far) in order that I might obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. Thus, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.  For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."

Paul tells them, "Look, I haven't come sooner, not because I didn't want to, not because I wasn't eager to, and not because I was afraid to or ashamed of the gospel but rather, because I was prevented from coming. I prayed about coming, [remember, he said that back in v. 10] but God said not yet."

Sometimes it's hard for others to except the fact that there are limits to human love. You may want to be a close friend to everybody in this fellowship; you may want to love each person deeply, but there are human limits to our love. We can't get to know everyone intimately. If you have so many friends that you can't develop an intimate relationship with me, I have to be grown up enough to understand that. And the reverse is just as true. I can't become intimately acquainted with each of you, even though my heart longs to. There are only so many hours in a day. We have eternity to get to know each other better. Now, our focus is to serve Him and work closely with those whom He has called you to work closely with. 

So, Paul demonstrates that our love or deep friendships are to be a response to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Paul couldn't be close friends with everyone. The Lord wouldn't allow it. The Lord leads Paul into certain face to face relationships with only certain people. The rest, he couldn't visit.

Notice, by the way, that Paul says to these Christians, in verse 15 that he wants to preach the "gospel" to them. That's important to note, because, as we will see next time in verse 16, when Paul uses the term Gospel, he means more than just getting saved or receiving Jesus Christ. There is more to the gospel than that. In fact, that's what the rest of this book of Romans is about. It answers the question, "Now that I am saved, what else is there?"

The third theme of this introduction by Paul, we are going to leave for next time, and that theme has to do with the basic Message of the gospel, in verses 16-17. In the mean time, I would challenge you to think through verses 16-23 in preparation for next week. 

back to top