In The Word
Read: Romans 1:1-17
The Gospel Exalted
1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, 4 who was declared the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles in behalf of His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;
7 to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the world. 9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, 10 always in my prayers requesting if perhaps now, at last by the will of God, I will succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; 12 that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also just as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to the uncultured, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written: “But the righteous one will live by faith.”
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome opened with an announcement that he was making arrangements to visit them. Paul had for a long time desired to visit them but had previously been hindered. One reason he desired to visit Rome was to share the gospel, the good news, of salvation with the citizens of Rome. Why was Paul eager to do this? Because the gospel “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). Not only was Paul called to be an apostle with the responsibility to share Yeshua with people, but he also had a heart that was burdened with the idea that lost people would spend eternity apart from God. So he desired to share the good news with anyone who would listen, even if it meant persecution, physical harm, hardship, imprisonment, or death.
We each have a mission and responsibility entrusted to us by Yeshua to share the gospel with people: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). Yeshua left us on earth to be His voice to declare His gospel because He “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:2). This mission begins in homes so that spouses and children hear the gospel and then spreads to other relationships. Though other people may not accept our words, or worse persecute and reject us, we still must be steadfast to tell others about Yeshua. Go and share the good news!