The book of Romans is “the greatest letter ever written” said preacher John Piper. When I first beheld this statement by Piper I thought it was an over statement. Piper backed up his belief with studies of the book of Romans giving more then 200 Sunday morning sermons that spanned eight years.
If eight years seems like a long Bible study for one book, try thirteen years. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached through the book of Romans on Friday nights, spanning thirteen years (1955-1968) and over 300 sermons. Dr. Barnhouse of Philadelphia credits his study of Romans to the growth of his church. For three and one half years Barnhouse never preached on another book of the Bible other than Romans, seeing his church packed and overflowing with listeners.
Romans has always been held in high regard by theologians of the past. The Great Augustine of Hippo credits Romans 13:13-14 with his conversion. John Wesley was converted while listening to Martin Luther’s introduction to his commentary on Romans. John Calvin wrote: "When anyone gains a knowledge of this epistle he has an entrance opened to him to all the most hidden treasures of Scripture." The English poet, Samuel Coleridge, referred to Romans as, "The profoundest piece of writing in existence." The noted scholar F.F. Bruce once said: "There is no telling what may happen when people begin to study the Epistle to the Romans." William Tyndale, who translated the Bible into English, believed that every Christian should memorize Romans. John Chrysostom used to have someone read Romans out loud to him twice each week. After hearing it read so many times, he said this: "Romans is unquestionably the fullest, deepest compendium of all sacred foundation truths."
Frederic Godet, a Swiss theologian, said: "Every movement of revival in the history of the Christian church has been connected to the teachings set forth in Romans... and it is probably that every great spiritual renovation in the church will always be linked, both in cause and effect, to a deeper knowledge of this book." Countless other people throughout history have found their conversion, establishment, and edification from the book of Romans.
The book is no lightweight to study, for it stands deep in doctrine of the Christian faith. This is one of the reasons a church will see growth when they take up this study. Not always in numbers will a church grow, but always in spiritual ways will believers see this growth.
I just started a series on Romans in our young church. As I start my demeanor becomes overwhelmed with thoughts of great men of the past taking on this task. How can I ever add one thing to what has been said? Knowing of others great works on this book makes one feel inadequate for the job. However, I must remind myself that, no understanding falls on any one that does not come from God first, I can only hope that God gives me words to say each Sunday that He would have others to hear. I can only hope that I keep an open heart to the truth and a willingness to learn as God teaches me as well as others.
Paul wasted no time getting to the point of the book of Romans.
Romans 1
1Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
The Gospel of God is what Paul is about to share. The gospel of God is the central theme of the Bible. This gospel is what Paul shared to whom ever he could. Paul saw this as his mission in life. Once, he wished to seek out and kill all those that believed in this gospel, now he hoped tell the good news and have Holy Spirit work in their heart as He had in his own.
Our text tells us Paul was called to be an apostle. It was not his choosing, for he did not ask for the job. God chose him and equipped him for the task. Every one that preaches is not always called to preach. This is clear by listeners when they hear nothing from the heart of the man’s message. In the Old Testament there were prophets who spoke without being sent by God and they were sternly rebuked.
Jeremiah 23:
16 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.
21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
Paul was not of this group. He was called by God. It was because Paul was called by God, that he could speak with such authority and passion. If God can reach down and change a man like Paul, call him, equip him to be a great messenger of the gospel then no one should feel they cannot be reached by God. The gospel changes men’s hearts. It is grace that is the secret of God’s calling.
Another word to notice in the text is the word separated. Paul was called and separated to the gospel of God. There can be no true work of God in any man who is not separated. Many believers look at separation from the world as a realm that is nearly legalism. This is because they see separation in the wrong light. We are separated not only from the world, but unto Christ.
The Greek word that is translated “separated” is a very interesting one. There is an English word that is much like that part of the word. The Greek word is “aphorizo” and when you look closely you will see that it contains the word “horizon”. This gives us a great word picture of the meaning of the word “separated.”
Horizon is the outer most limit in our view. If we have two men on ships in the ocean that were separated by a hundred miles of water, the two men would have different views and therefore see different things in the same ocean. Their limits or their horizons are not the same.
This same thing happened to Paul, as well as to each one of us as God separates us unto Christ. Our worldview will change. We no longer see the world in the same way we used to see it. Goals also change. Paul’s goal was to kill every believer that he could, after his worldview changed, he desired to reach others with the gospel.
I think you could pull another idea out of this passage without hurting the text. In our sin nature, which we all out born with, we see no need to believe in God. Just as the limits placed on our sight as we look at the horizon, our own sin nature limits us from understanding God’s Word.
When God sets us apart from the world and places us in Christ, our new center has with it Holy Spirit, that gives understanding as we read the Bible. As we read, verses begin to open up and make sense. Once our horizons were darkened by our sin nature and we were unable to see the truth of God’s word, now we long to learn more each day.
The new life brings separation so that we don’t need to give up anything. Desires will go and grief will not follow for we now see those desires in a new way. It is what a Scottish preacher called “the expulsive power of new affections.” The new love comes in and the old desires just fall away. As long as you are hankering after the things of the world, you can never grow in knowledge and life of Christ. But as you turn to Christ and contemplate all that He has done for you, you will find yourself on a new horizon, with a different center and new outlook on life.
The Gospel of God is the truth found in His Son. When people come to us asking how we know that the Bible is true we can point to four historical facts. Christ died, Christ was buried; Christ arose; Christ was seen. There is more evidence, historical evidence, to prove these facts than there is to attest the writings of Julius Caesar. The documents in this case are older, the research has been vast, the attacks against them have been more successfully refuted, and the results have been shared by an infinitely greater number of persons.
This is the Gospel of God. This is what Paul shared with others. This Gospel is seen clearly in the Book of Romans. I challenge you to study it deeply.