The Gospel I'm Not Ashamed Of

Doulos (1:1). The Greek word for bondservant is doulos (say: DOO-loss), a slave who belongs to a master. Paul was a Roman citizen and a trained Pharisee, yet the first thing he says about himself is that he belongs to Jesus. That was his highest title. Apostle (1:1). An apostle is someone sent with authority to speak for the one who sent him. Paul did not appoint himself. The risen Jesus met him on the Damascus road and sent him (Acts 9). Grace before work (1:5). Paul says, “we have received grace and apostleship.” Grace comes first. His mission grew out of the kindness God had shown to a man who once tried to destroy the church. The goal (1:5). Paul's work was “for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name.” This is the obedience that grows out of trusting Jesus. Real faith is more than agreeing with facts. It changes how we live, and it is all done “for His name,” for the honor of Jesus. Called (1:6-7). Paul uses the same word for himself and for the Romans: called. It means invited and summoned by God. Every believer has a calling, not only apostles. Saints (1:7). Saints means holy ones, people set apart for God. In the New Testament it describes ordinary believers, the whole church in a city. Grace and peace (1:7). Greek letters usually opened with the word greetings. Paul turned it into grace and added peace, the Jewish greeting. He also names their source: “God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” He places Jesus beside the Father as the giver of grace, something only God can do. For you. If you trust Jesus, you are called, loved and set apart too. Your life belongs to Him, and that is a gift, not a burden.

Not a new idea (1:2). God “promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures.” The gospel grows out of the whole Old Testament: the promise about the woman's Seed (Genesis 3:15), the blessing for all families through Abraham (Genesis 12:3), and the forever King from David (2 Samuel 7:12-13). Euangelion. Gospel translates euangelion (say: yoo-an-GEL-ee-on), good news announced, like a runner bringing word of a victory. Here the victory belongs to Jesus, over sin and death. One Son, two truths (1:3-4). Jesus was “born of the seed of David according to the flesh” and “declared to be the Son of God with power.” He is fully human, from David's royal family, and He is the eternal Son of God. Both are true at the same time. Declared (1:4). The word Paul uses means to mark out a boundary, like a line no one can mistake. The resurrection marked Jesus out publicly as the Son of God. He did not become God's Son at the empty tomb; the empty tomb showed everyone who He always was. Spirit of holiness (1:4). This is the Holy Spirit, active in raising Jesus. Romans 8:11 says the same Spirit who raised Jesus lives in everyone who belongs to Him. Christ and Lord (1:3). Christ means Anointed One, the promised King. Lord is the word Greek-speaking Jews used in their Bible for God's own name. Jesus is both the promised King and God Himself. Why it matters. If Jesus did not rise, Christianity is only a nice story. “And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” (1 Corinthians 15:17). Because He rose, the gospel is good news with power behind it.

Thanks through Jesus (1:8). Paul thanks God “through Jesus Christ.” Even our thanks reaches the Father through the Son, the one Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). The church in Rome. Rome was the largest city in the empire. Acts 2:10 says “visitors from Rome” heard Peter at Pentecost, and some of them may have carried the gospel home. By the time Paul wrote, the believers' faith was known everywhere. Serving God (1:9). Paul says he serves God “with my spirit in the gospel of His Son.” The word for serve is used for worship and service to God, like a priest's work at the temple. For Paul, telling the gospel was an act of worship. The will of God (1:10). Paul planned and prayed, but he left the timing to God. He did reach Rome years later, as a prisoner (Acts 28), and God used even that to spread the gospel. A spiritual gift (1:11). “Some spiritual gift” means a gift of grace from the Holy Spirit. The Spirit gives these gifts to believers “for the profit of all” (1 Corinthians 12:7). They are for today, and they are meant to build others up in love. Mutual faith (1:12). Paul quickly adds that he will be helped too: “that I may be encouraged together with you.” The church is a family where everyone gives and everyone receives. A debtor (1:14). A debtor is a person who owes a debt. Jesus had given Paul the gospel, so Paul owed it to every person: “Greeks” (people of Greek language and culture) and “barbarians” (everyone else), the “wise” and the “unwise.” Ready (1:15). “As much as is in me, I am ready.” Paul held nothing back. Anyone who has received the good news owes it to someone who has not heard it yet.

Ashamed (1:16). In Rome, being crucified was the most shameful death there was. Paul knew the message sounded foolish to many: “we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:23). He still said, “I am not ashamed.” Jesus warned that if we are ashamed of Him and His words, He will be ashamed of us when He comes (Mark 8:38). Dunamis (1:16). Power is dunamis (say: DOO-nah-miss), the same word Jesus used in Acts 1:8: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” The gospel is not weak. God's own power works through it. Salvation (1:16). Salvation means rescue, being brought safely out of danger. The gospel rescues people from sin, from God's judgment and from death. The Jew first (1:16). God made His promises to Israel, Jesus came first to Israel, and the apostles began in Jerusalem (Acts 1:8). Then the good news went to the Greeks, meaning every non-Jewish people. God has not finished with Israel (Romans 11). Dikaiosunē (1:17). Righteousness translates dikaiosunē (say: dee-kai-oh-SOO-nay). It is God's own perfect rightness, and the right standing with Him that He gives to everyone who trusts Christ. From faith to faith (1:17). Faith is how we receive God's righteousness at the start, and faith is how we keep living in it. It is faith all the way through. Habakkuk 2:4. Paul quotes the prophet: “The just shall live by faith.” In Habakkuk's day the Babylonians were coming, and God told His people to trust Him while they waited. Those whom God declares right live by trusting Him. Your response. This good news is power for everyone who believes. Believing is the door. Have you trusted Jesus?