Thursday, September 11

Romans 1:2-3

Romans 1:2-3 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, (3) concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh

For many years, politicians at the Neshoba County Fair in Mississippi have made stump speeches and promised many things if only they could be elected to the office they were seeking. Most of these promises never get fulfilled, but they keep coming as surely as the sun rises every morning. The promises of men may or may not be fulfilled, but the promises of God are sure and certain.

Paul states in verse 2 of Romans 1 that the gospel of God was promised beforehand by the prophets of the Old Testament. This prophecy pointed to Christ and the fulfillment of this gospel. This can be seen most vividly in Isaiah 53 where Isaiah said in verse 5, “But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.” The Old Testament is full of passages written hundreds of years before Jesus was born, passages that point to His life and correctly predict specific events of his life. Unlike the politicians at the Neshoba County Fair, these predictions of the prophets of God were promises that were absolutely certain to be fulfilled. They were fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ, and the Apostle Paul thoroughly presents and explains this gospel in the Epistle to the Romans.

Praise God that Paul was called and set aside by God to be an Apostle and to give us the Book of Romans as well as all the other great things he did in service to Jesus Christ.

Friday, September 5

Romans 1:1 (Called!)

Romans 1:1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

The bell shown in the photo above was used to call slaves from the fields for a lunch break about 150 years ago. This was a call they anticipated and welcomed as it gave them a brief break from the hard labor they were forced to perform. Paul, on the other hand, received a call that was not expected on the Road to Damascus. It was a divine call that came with power from Jesus Christ. It changed Paul’s entire world-view and perception of reality and truth. It was a dramatic and irresistible call that immediately transformed Paul from an extreme anti-Christian persecutor of Christians to a zealous crusading follower and preacher of Christianity. While Paul willingly and enthusiastically embarked on his mission as a great apostle, he did not do this in and of himself through his free will. Paul was powerfully called and set apart for the gospel of God. He did not make a decision for Christ based on human knowledge alone. No, he was changed by God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. Just as Moses was transformed by his burning bush encounter, Paul was transformed totally on the road to Damascus. It was the makeover to end all makeovers.

Paul thoroughly explains the gospel of God in the book of Romans, and you can be totally confident that the power of God that called and transformed Paul has insured that Paul understood the gospel of God and communicated it without error.

New series.........

Stay tuned for new series on Romans! We will begin with Romans 1:1 and let the Paul and the New Testament interpret the Old Testament.