Notes

Romans 1 - Bible Study Notes
Intro - The Epistle of Paul to the Romans (Romans) is said to have been written during the mid-50s A.D. It focuses primarily on systematically presenting Christian doctrine to a Gentile (non-Jewish) and Jewish audience in Rome, Italy.

Verses 1-3: The introduction helps frame the way we ought to think about the letter going forward, so it's not just pleasantries!

"1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,

2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)

3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;

4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:"

-IMPORTANT TAKEAWAYS-
Paul tells us why he has authority to write this letter
-- He is a servant (sometimes translated "slave") of Jesus Christ and he has been set aside (an apostle) for particular news.
He tells us why Jesus Christ is a basis of authority
-- Jesus is the one promised by the Scriptures (prophetic writings throughout the Old Testament)
-- The Holy Spirit confirmed his deity by raising him from the dead
In short, we have good reason to listen to Paul because he proclaims he comes in the name of the true God. To not give him a full hearing would potentially mean we're missing a message God wishes to convey to us.

Verse 5: The next line provides an important description of what has been done and what is expected now that Jesus has come, died, resurrected, and ascended.

"5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:

6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:"

-IMPORTANT TAKEAWAYS-
We've received grace by Christ, but what is it?
-- Grace is defined in English, generally, as "unmerited favor". Someone has shown you grace when they've decided to give something of benefit to you even though you've done nothing of value for them. One of the meanings of the Greek word, "charis", used there is "gift"
We've also received apostleship by Christ, but what is that?
-- Apostleship has been translated from the Greek word, "apostole", used in that instance. It generally means "commission". The root word in the Greek has the added connotation of being, "set apart" for a purpose and "sent out".
We've been set apart, but for what purpose?
-- We have the commission of encouraging everyone to obey God and trust in Him and His Son's sacrifice. This is the "obedience to the faith" which is talked about.
Furthermore, of all us who are set apart, or "called", are called to this commission. We were called out of "all nations" to bring the message to "all nations".