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விரிவுரை தற்போது ஆங்கிலத்தில் மட்டுமே கிடைக்கிறது. தமிழ் மொழிபெயர்ப்பு நடைபெறுகிறது.

Pauline Epistles · Romans

Romans 1 — I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel of Christ

Summary

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God. The gospel concerning His Son, made of the seed of David according to the flesh; declared to be the Son of God with power, by the resurrection from the dead. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. The just shall live by faith. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness. They changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image. God gave them up to uncleanness, to vile affections, to a reprobate mind.

Key verse

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”

— Romans 1:16-17

Outline
  1. v.1-7 Greeting and the Son's identity
  2. v.8-15 Paul's longing for Rome
  3. v.16-17 The thesis of Romans
  4. v.18-32 God's wrath revealed
Verse-by-verse
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Not ashamed. Strong words from a man heading to imperial Rome with a message about a crucified Galilean. Paul refuses any shrinking back.

Power of God unto salvation. The gospel is not a system of advice; it is power. Where preached and believed, it accomplishes what no other message can.

17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

Righteousness of God revealed. Not the standard God demands; the righteousness He provides. The cross gave it; faith receives it.

The just shall live by faith. Habakkuk 2:4 — the Reformation's verse. The life of the justified runs on faith from start to finish.

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

The other side of the gospel's revelation — wrath against ungodliness. Salvation makes sense only as deliverance from a real coming wrath.

Hold the truth in unrighteousness. Suppress the truth they already know. The chapter that follows describes humanity's sin against light.

25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

The exchange at the root of every idolatry. The Creator displaced; the creature elevated. Every false worship has this structure.

A diagnostic for the heart. Where the creature is loved more than the Creator, the verse names it. Realign.

Cross-references Jeremiah 2:11 · Acts 17:29 · Colossians 3:5 · Isaiah 44:9-20
Key doctrines
The Gospel as the Power of God
Romans 1:16 · 1 Corinthians 1:18 · 2 Timothy 1:8
Justification by Faith
Romans 1:17 · Habakkuk 2:4 · Galatians 3:11
The Wrath of God Against Suppressed Truth
Romans 1:18 · Ephesians 5:6 · 1 Thessalonians 1:10
The Idolatrous Exchange of Creator for Creature
Romans 1:25 · Jeremiah 2:11 · Colossians 3:5
Application

Verse 16's posture is yours. Not ashamed. If shame about the gospel has been quieting your witness, the verse is the corrective. The gospel is power. Whatever the cultural cost of bearing it, it is the only message with the strength to save those who believe.

Christ in this chapter

Romans opens by naming the gospel as concerning God's Son — David's seed in the flesh, declared Son of God with power by the resurrection. Christ is the substance of the message Paul carries to Rome. The book's argument is the unfolding of how that gospel becomes the power of God unto salvation for every believer.

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