 I'll begin reading at verse one and I have to tell you in the introduction and all it's going to take some time to develop. The first 15 verses is what we'll be looking at today and first service was a little bit of a trial for me to get through. There's so much and I'm trying to encapsulate and all and you'll see in just a moment I say that by way of introduction this is such a rich book. It's difficult to do it justice but I'll do my best. Let's begin at verse one. I'll read verses one through seven. This is his introduction as you're going to see it's a prolonged introduction. This is a single sentence, seven verses that he gives to us in his introduction. Paul is servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which he promised before through his prophets in the holy scriptures. Concerning his son Jesus Christ, our Lord, who was born of the seat of David according to the flesh and declared to be the son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead through whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for his name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ to all who are in Rome, beloved of God called to be saints, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The book of Romans. The apostle Paul wrote no less than 13 letters that are recorded in the New Testament. Out of those 13 letters that Paul wrote, the book of Romans is regarded as his greatest work, his greatest letter. It's been called the gospel according to Paul. When you look at Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the four gospels that introduced the New Testament, those four gospels record the words and the works of the Lord Jesus Christ. When you read the book of Romans, you discover the purpose of his death. The book of Romans has been referred to as a systematic theology, meaning that it is a precise presentation of doctrine. It's the most precise presentation of doctrine in the Bible. Now the great thing about the book of Romans is that it's not only a presentation of proper theology. Of course, proper theology is of utmost importance because you do what you believe. But Romans is a book that has a very practical exhortation in order that it might equip us to live lives that bring glory to God. We know that Christianity is not just a collection of facts to believe, Christianity is a way of life. It's a life of love, a life of righteousness, and it reveals that you really know Jesus Christ when your life has been transformed. And Paul's ministry was to teach and encourage people to live a life that properly reflected God. When you look in the book of Ephesians in chapter four, verse one, Paul there said, I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. And so this book is written to encourage us to live lives that are worthy of that calling. It's a book that is written to encourage us to live a life of love as well as a life of holiness. Romans is going to serve the purpose of introducing Paul as well as his teachings to the church at Rome. See, Paul didn't plant the church of Rome. He had yet to come to Rome. You're going to see that in chapter 15, especially verses 22 through 24. We know that he planted a lot of churches. He planted churches in Corinth and in Galatia and Philippi, Thessalonica, Ephesus, other areas, but he did not plant the church in Rome. As a matter of fact, the origin of the church isn't even known. It's not recorded in Scripture. When people begin to wonder how the church of Rome came to be, some will say, well in the book of Acts chapter two, verse 10, it speaks of Romans who were Jewish, who were in Jerusalem during Pentecost, and it is possible that these Jews who lived in Rome traveled back to Rome with the gospel and planted a church. But there are others who think that the churches founded by Christians who had been saved, they moved to Rome and brought the message. That would explain why they had not met Paul before and is more probable. There's no evidence that the church was founded by the apostle Peter, but the origin of the church is really unknown. When you look at the dating of the writing, it was written somewhere around 57 or 58. It was more than likely written during Paul's third missionary journey that you see in Acts chapter 20. When you read this book, you'll see that it has a theme and that would be found in verses 16 and 17 of chapter one where Paul says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. And so Paul is writing concerning how God has offered the gift of righteousness to those who come to him by faith, and we find that message in the book of Romans. Years ago we went to Israel with our church and we had a stopover in the city of Rome. And as we stopped in Rome for a few days, we were leaving Rome and we're making our way back to the United States. My son David and one of his friends, Aaron, were with us on this trip, David being around nine or 10 years old or so at the time. And he was seated in another place on the plane. And Marie and I were talking when David came and tapped me on the shoulder. And he said, Dad, can you help me? And I said, of course, what do you need? He said, we're witnessing about Jesus to somebody and we need your help. And I said, okay, where are you? He said, right over here. So I followed my son and he went to the seat that he was seated in. And there was an Italian businessman, very handsome man in a suit and tie, just very, very well-dressed man. And my David says to me, Dad, we're telling him about Jesus. I said, that's wonderful. And this Italian guy is looking at me. And David said, I told him that I asked him if he knew Jesus. And he said to me that he's Catholic. So I told him that means he's going to hell because it gets worse. Because he worships Mary. That's right. Isn't it, Dad? Now, this Italian guy is looking at me. I said, Mom, I'm me. No, and I smile at him. That is a very awkward thing to have to deal with, right? So I smile at him and he's looking at me very intently. And I've taught my son from the time he was able to hear that you need Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior. There's no other way to God but by Jesus the Son. I've taught him that. So what am I supposed to do, undermine what I've taught him? Yet at the same time, you have to be gracious to people when you're sharing with them. You just don't attack people. And so I smiled at my son and I looked at the man and I said to my son, you're right, son. If he doesn't know Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, he's going to go to hell. And I turned to the man and I said, now, my son is trying to share with you something that's very important. It's called the gospel. Would you mind if I explained to you what he's trying to say? And the guy says, please do. And I said, well, let me ask you, where are you from? I said, we just left Rome and we're on our way back to California. He says, I live in Rome. I said, oh, you're a Roman. He says, yes, I am. I said, have you read the letter? He says, what letter? I said, the letter that God wrote to Romans. Have you read your letter? He goes, I didn't even know I had one. I said, you do. It's called the book of Romans. It was written to the church of Rome. I said, well, you could read it, seeing that you're from Rome. I said, in that book it says there's none righteous, no not one. And I began to share what is called the Roman road out of the book of Romans with this man sharing with him about righteousness, about sin, salvation. You find it in the book of Romans. And that's what we're going to be looking at. We're going to be looking at the book of Romans. And we're going to see as God's plan of salvation is revealed to us through the pen of a mighty man by the name of the apostle Paul. So let's begin reading here in chapter one. And once again, we'll go through the first seven verses and we'll look at an introduction to the book of Romans. Notice how Paul begins here in verse one. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God. As is typical during the time, you would always have the author of the letter mentioned first. And so Paul introduces himself, but notice how he introduces himself. He's a servant of Jesus Christ. So Paul begins by reminding his reader, those who didn't really know him yet, that he is a servant. He is a voluntary slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. He doesn't begin with a title. He begins with a description of what he is. So that's important because he didn't exalt himself. He recognized himself for what he was. He was introducing himself to the church and immediately he lets them know, I am here as a servant. I want you to know me as a servant. It's like what the Lord Jesus Christ asked in Luke 22, 27, when he said, Who is greater? He who sits at the table or he who serves? And then he answered his own question. Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as one who serves. So the apostle Paul begins as his proper by saying, though I am called as an apostle, I want you to know that I am truly a servant. I am one who has been called by God to serve. But he goes on to say, but I am also an apostle. Now an apostle is somebody who was selected by Jesus Christ. The word apostle, apostle speaks about someone who has been delegated with authority and sent out on a mission. He said, I'm an apostle. I'm one who has been called by God as an apostle. Now he didn't select himself. He didn't begin to say, well, I would like to be an apostle. Therefore I'll go to school and take some apostolic classes so that I can be an apostle because an apostle is selected by Jesus. It's like what Jesus said in John 15, 16 when he was speaking to his apostles and he said, you didn't choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain. That whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give you. So he did not push for authority, but he knew who he was. One, I'm a servant, but two, I'm an apostle selected by Jesus Christ. But then he goes on and he says that he was in verse one, separated to the gospel of God, which he promised before through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures. So he says, I have been separated. I have been called. But this calling and separation originated with God. It didn't originate with me and it didn't come through some other human being. He said, I have been separated to the gospel. Notice verse two, which he promised before through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures. I've been separated by God to a message, a message called the gospel. The word gospel means good news. That's what the word is translated. I have been separated to a message of good news. God selected me as his servant. I communicate this message and this message called the gospel was actually foreshadowed in the Old Testament. Now, when we were in first Peter, we saw in chapter one, verses 10 through 12, how the apostle had said concerning the salvation, the prophets who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told to you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels longed to look into these things. So the Old Testament foreshadowed the message of the gospel. Even Peter made reference to the fact that these things that were written in the old times were really foreshadowing that message. And that's what Paul is speaking concerning. This wasn't something that was made up. This is something that was promised. And you can find that in the Old Testament. He said in verse three concerning his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh and declared to be the son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. So he alludes to the humanity and deity of Christ in his introduction. The humanity in that he says in verse three that Jesus Christ was born of the seed of David. When you look into the Old Testament book, a second Samuel chapter seven versus 12 in 16, you find promises that God made to David that David would have an heir who would be on the throne forever. In second Samuel seven 12, it says when your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you who will come from your own body and I will establish his kingdom. He goes on in verse 16 to say your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me, your throne will be established forever. So one, he says Jesus Christ was fully human. But then secondly, he says, but he was declared, verse four, declared to be the son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. So not only was he fully human, but he was also God in the flesh. He was declared the son of God. He was determined. He was appointed. In other words, Jesus's sonship was openly revealed and validated by one event and that is the resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is what validates the entire ministry of Jesus Christ. If Jesus would have died and remained in the grave, then we have all people would be most miserable because we go out and tell people he's alive. And so Paul would speak in that way in 1 Corinthians 15 to declare to us that if Jesus were not truly resurrected, then we're liars preaching a false message. But Jesus's words and works were validated by his resurrection. Everything was demonstrated to be true when he rose from the dead. Young woman, probably around 14 years of age or so. Some say as young as 13, engaged to be married, claims that she had an angelic visitation that declared to her that she was going to become pregnant and bear a son, that his name would be Jesus, that he would save people from their sins. Her husband gets extremely hurt and angry because he was betrothed to her in the Jewish betrothal process. That was the same as being married except for the rights that a husband exercises as a husband in the intimate way. But they were regarded as being married. She had been gone. She went to visit her relative, Elizabeth, and had returned. And now she's with child. And Joseph had never been with Miriam. He's also known as Mary. Took an angelic visit for Joseph to actually believe that this holy thing that she had in her womb was to be the son of God. Mary was from a small village called Nazareth to the north. Commentators believe that it was populated by probably around 60 people, no more than 200. Very small village. Which means that everybody knew everybody else's business in that village. So everybody knew that Mary was pregnant when she began to show through the grace of God. Mary had gone to Bethlehem to give birth to this child. But she endured undoubtedly the comments that were made by neighbors, perhaps even friends. Things had begun to happen from the beginning of Jesus's ministry, from the beginning of his birth, really, his life. Angelic choruses and prophets speaking over him. And he had gone at the age of 12 to celebrate, pass over, and gotten a debate with rabbinic instructors. And Mary had heard so much and would ponder these things and keep them in her heart. He was an amazing child, but everybody believed that Mary had conceived illegitimately. As a matter of fact, it was so well known that on one occasion the enemies of Jesus, when speaking to him, he had referred to his father. They said, we have one father, even God. We have not been born of fornication. What they were saying was an offhand way of saying, we know the reputation. We know your mother became pregnant before she was married. We know that you've been born of fornication. You're illegitimate. Mary had to put up with all of that for years. Like I said, commentators believe she was 13 or 14 years old when she conceived, gave birth. Jesus died on the cross at the age of 33, 47 years old. Mary had gone through this kind of thing since she was about 13. And now she's 47. She'd gone through it for 33 years, 33 years pondering and keeping things in her heart. The first 30 years, Jesus wasn't even out doing ministry. The last three years, he went out and did ministry and people saw the wonders and heard the words, but it was such controversy. He said things that no man had ever said. He did things that no man ever did. The scripture is silent concerning the reactions, responses of his mother. Until one day, she was there watching her son die. And then three days later, everything she ever said concerning, what her son was all about was validated by one event called the resurrection. Because when Jesus came out of that cross, he removed the shame that she'd been carrying for 33 years. God has a way of removing shame. And he did that. Her words were true. It was a miraculous conception. It was the son of God. It was all demonstrated by the resurrection. So yes, his humanity is from the line of David, but his deity is because he's God in the flesh. And that's what Paul is speaking here in his introduction, declared to be the son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, through whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for his name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ. And so through Jesus, Paul received grace and ministry. That would be his apostleship. Grace speaks of the unmarried in favor by which you are saved and gifted to serve God. And his apostleship would speak of his ministry. He received ministry from the Lord. And even so through God's grace, we who are saved also are given ministry. So we minister in the grace of God. But notice in verse five, how he says through whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for his name. His ministry was not just to share the gospel, but to call people to obey the message of the gospel. Paul was commissioned to call people to certain things. He was commissioned to say to them that there was a necessity of faith in the name of Jesus because Jesus is the only savior of the world. Acts 4-12 says, nor is there salvation in any other for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. So it's commissioned to call people to understand the necessity of faith in Jesus. Secondly, that there's a necessity of obedience to the Lord because that's a consequence, a necessary consequence of genuine faith. If somebody says that they really believe that Jesus Christ is their Lord and savior, then they're obedient to him. It just makes sense to me. Jesus in John 14.15 said, if you love me, keep my commandments. And then thirdly, this message is to be proclaimed among all nations in order that all might have the opportunity of believing and being saved. Again, Jesus in Mark 16.15 said, go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. And so as this message goes out, genuine faith in the Lord is demonstrated. It's demonstrated in the obedient life of a believer. It's not just a stated faith. It's a living faith that's demonstrated by love for God and a love for people. And so this message of the gospel is intended to transform lives. And so when he speaks concerning the obedience there, we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations. We've been all called about our need to God through Jesus Christ. He's writing according to verse seven to those who were in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints. Now, I'll say this briefly. Either you're a saint or you're an ain't. In the Bible speaks concerning being a saint. And a saint is an individual who's a called out person, a person who has been set apart by God. The word Haggios is a Greek word. It speaks of being set apart. An individual who is saved has been set apart by God. Haggios is a word that you could use in a variety of contexts. You have a cup that you use that's set apart for your coffee. So it's just a basic utensil, something that's used for a special purpose or a purpose. We are those who are called Haggios. We have been set apart by God, set apart to be used by God. And it's a very simple word. It's the most common word to denote a believer in Jesus Christ. So either you're a saint, you're a believer in Jesus or you're an ain't. You don't believe in him. Now, he says, grace to you and peace from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for y'all. So that tells me he's from Southern Tarsus. That your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. You have a reputation. Every church does. And so what he's saying is you have a reputation because your faith is spoken of throughout the entire world. People know of you and the things that you believe and do for the Lord Jesus Christ. This is actually a pastor's dream, is to have a group of people that are known for something as good as that. Your faith is known. The things that you have done, the things that you believe, the works that you perform, there are people throughout the world who have heard of the church at Rome. So it's a great encouragement. Your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. You're known for the things that you do, your progress in the faith, the way that you worship, the growth that is occurring and all of that. You're known for these things and you're a great witness and the Lord is moving through you. He says in verse nine, for God is my witness whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his son that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making request if by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you for I long to see you that I may impart to you some spiritual gift so that you may be established. That is that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith, both of you and me. God is my witness. I serve with my spirit. There's an internal motivation within me that I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his son without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers. I am thinking of you constantly and I'm praying for you always that God would move in your midst. I serve him with my spirit as well as my physical energies and I want you to know that in Christ there are radical changes that take place from within that are demonstrated by the way that we live on the outside. I want you to know that I'm praying for you often but I also in verse 11, I want you to know that I long to see you that I may impart to you some spiritual gift. I'm praying that I may be able to come and spiritually equip you for works of service. I wanna do something in your midst that'll help you. You see, every time the church gathers together there should be the, at least within the heart of the ministry here, the desire to see the people who come that they might be equipped for works of service, that God might do a work in their lives. That's our prayer in Ephesians 4, 11 and 12. It says he gave, he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers. What for? For the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. When the church gathers together at Abesa that the church becomes better and not less. And so when the church gathers together, the desire of God would be that we become closer to the Lord, that we are equipped for works of service that we are able to know more about our God and with a heart of obedience and by the power of his spirit might leave this place to be used by him to proclaim the message of the gospel to those who have yet to hear. He speaks concerning that. I long to impart to you a spiritual gift. He goes on in verse 12 to say that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. I don't want you to think that I consider myself to be greater than you. I want you to know that you bless my heart as much as I may be able to bless yours. Now, finally he says, I do not want you to be unaware brethren that I often planned to come to you but was hindered until now that I might have some fruit among you also just as among the other Gentiles. I'm a debtor both to the Greeks and to barbarians both to wise and to unwise. So as much as it's in me, I'm ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. I've been wanting to come for a long time but I've been hindered. Maybe that he's been too busy in ministry. Maybe that the enemy was laying traps hindering him. When he was writing to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 2.18, he said, we wanted to come to you. Certainly I, Paul did once I did again and again but Satan stopped us. There's sometimes our spiritual hindrances. He says, my great desire is to be there that I might impart something to you. But he goes on to say in verse 13, I want to have some fruit among you. He was an evangelist. His desire was not just to build up the believer but to reach the unbeliever. He wanted people to have a saving faith in Jesus Christ. You see some people strive for a name. Some people want to have recognition. Some people want to have prestige. Sometimes they desire a large church work. They want influence. They want money. But Paul strove to preach the name of Jesus Christ. Later on in chapter 15, at verse 20, he says, I've made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man's foundation. But the point he's making is I'm a debtor, verse 14. I'm a debtor to Greeks, barbarians, wise, unwise. I have an obligation. I'm a safe sinner, but I desire others to be saved too. And I've been given a job to preach to Gentiles. I've been given a commission to take the message and proclaim it. Now, the heart of what has been called the Jesus movement, the Jesus revolution, has always been one thing, and I'll say that here briefly, and that is evangelism. The Jesus movement that I came out of, the Jesus movement I was saved in, was at its heart and remains to this day an evangelism movement. There are some who do their evangelism through their outreaches like Pastor Greg and so many other Calvary Chapel pastors, Raul and Mike McIntosh, and so many. And they have the outreaches and the crusades, but there are others who do outreaches in different ways, but it's always got a tinge or a call for salvation. Every message I give, I include in it a sense that if you don't know Christ, you need to know him. That comes right out of the Jesus movement. That comes out of the Bible, but that's how I was saved. That's what I was raised to believe, and I believe that with all my heart. That's why when I got saved the day I got saved, that's why I went across the street and spoke to a neighbor lady and her kids. That's why when I came home, I shared the gospel with my sister Madeline and my sister Becky. That's why three weeks later, I led my mom and my dad to Christ. That's why a couple years, two and a half years later, my brother Frank came to salvation. That's why Marie, my wife, came to a Bible study, heard the gospel, got saved two weeks later. It's because that's the heart that God would have us to have. May it never grow cold, especially in these last days when there are so many people who don't know the Lord, so many people who are so lost, so many people are used to sin and thinking it's normal. For God says, I've got something so much better, so much better for you. People can't imagine what God has for them. It's like the kids who live in the inner city who open up a fire hydrant, water pours out, they fill up the area there in the gutter and begin to play in it. For them, it's like a pool. They've never even imagined what it would be like to go to a beach. We get used to things like that because we can't imagine that there's something so much better. Apostle Paul said, my aim to have fruit amongst you, I wanna come to Rome not to see Rome, not to sightsee, to see some of the beautiful buildings and all of the things that go on there. He says, I wanna come to Rome so I can win some people to Christ, that's the key for people to come to faith in Jesus Christ. I'm a debtor to do this. I'm under compulsion to preach and to teach. God is placed in my soul, the desire to reach the world for him. So I'll speak to the educated, I'll speak to the uneducated, it really doesn't matter. It's like what he said in 1 Corinthians 9.16, when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast for I'm compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. So, verse 15, as much as in me, I'm ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. You see, there's only one thing worth living and dying for, Paul would say, and that is sharing about Jesus Christ, sharing about the Lord. And I'm coming, I wanna preach the gospel to you that you might come, bring some friends or I might be able to reach some who have never heard the mighty and wonderful name of Jesus Christ. And that's what we're gonna be looking at in the book of Romans. We're gonna be looking at Paul's sharing about why it's so important for us to know him. Why is it so important for that gospel message to not only be embraced, but to be lived out? Why is it important for us as Christians to know our doctrine? Well, he's gonna show us that as we travel through Romans.