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.