Romans 1:1-15

Intro – What are the three top discipleship problems/challenges in your life? In your church?

For the Roman believers, it seems the most significant problems had to do with 1) conflict arising from differences in worship practices; and 2) the need to be involved in mission

We must long for a life shaped by the gospel.

The gospel brings:

1. An obedience that comes from faith (1:5)

Paul describes his aim in mission as the obedience that comes from faith. He repeats the phase at the end of the book.

My wife loves for me to tell her that I love her. What if I were to set my watch at 10:00 p.m. each night and every time the alarm went off, I would turn to her and tell her that I love her?

When our children were small, they would do things to one another that they shouldn’t. We would insist that they tell the other one that they were sorry. We didn’t worry whether it came from a heart that really was sorry.

Too often in our churches, we don’t care where the obedience comes from as long as it’s there.

But that’s not how God is when it comes to our obedience. He cares where it comes from.

Command to be obeyed Obedience that comes from faith Obedience that comes from fearPray without ceasing I pray because I enjoy my

relationship with God; I want to be near him; and I want all he wants for me

I pray because I’m afraid that he won’t bless me if I fail to pray

Give to the poor I give because I know that my Father cares for me and will give me all I need.

I give because I worry that I will suffer financially if I don’t

Forgive one another I forgive willingly because I know that God has forgiven me far more than I have been offended.

I forgive because I am afraid that if I don’t forgive my own happiness will be spoiled.

2. A passion for God’s fame (1:8)

A bit of the rationale behind Paul’s ministry spills out in v. 8 where Paul says that he is grateful that their faith is known and proclaimed around the world. Now Paul’s is not happy because the Romans are becoming famous. If that were the case he would be praising the Romans instead of praising God for the Romans. What makes Paul happy is that because news about their faith is spreading throughout the

world God is becoming famous. We can see this at the end of the book – what is Paul driving at? He longs for the day when God will praised for his mercy by all the peoples of the world (15:8ff)

3. A desire to see the gospel touch everything (1:15)

Paul, of course, has never been to Rome. He hasn’t planted the church in Rome. He is pushing westerward to Spain and God had gotten out in front of him. Somehow the people in Rome had heard the gospel and believed. And so the people he is writing to are already Christians. But Paul says to them in v. 15, I long to come and preach the gospel to you. But why does Paul want to preach the gospel to them? It is not because he thinks they might not be saved. He believes that they are already saved. But the gospel, for Paul, is not simply how we begin the Christian life; it is how we live the Christian life. For Paul, if there is conflict in the church, the problem is not that they have not yet mastered the principles for conflict management. The problem is that they have not yet worked down deeply enough in their lives. And so he takes 11 chapters to explain the gospel and how it has created not a Jewish people of God and a Gentile people of God but a single people of God. If they have not yet become active in mission, it is because they have not yet understood how the gospel not only saves me but creates in me a passion for God’s fame. At root, every problem in the Christian life is a gospel problem. Our leadership problems are at root, gospel problems. Our problems in worship, holiness, mission, giving, - all of them are gospel problems. And gospel problems must have solutions that come out of the gospel.

Paul does not seek to get them to obey by giving them a bunch of new rules that they have to obey. His principle aim is that they will obey the gospel. That the logic, the story of what God has done for them in Christ will drill down so deeply in them that it will dictate every word, every thought, every action.

When you are cut, does the gospel bleed out?

As you look at the things that you wrote down earlier, what is the gospel solution to these problems.