Dr. Cecil A. Fayard - 2001 Sermons
Sunday, January 14, 2001   

INTRODUCTION: In the first verse of the first chapter of Romans, we find the writer of and the theme of the book of Romans. Paul wrote the book of Romans, and the theme is “the Gospel of God.”

The word “Gospel” is found thirteen times in Romans. Four times the theme of the book is stated in the first sixteen verses of chapter one:

1. The gospel of God” verse 1– the Gospel has God as its author.
2. The gospel of His Son” verse 9–the central theme of the gospel is Christ.
3. “Preach the gospel” (verse 15) – the Gospel that preached is the only theme of and the message of all preaching.
4. “The gospel of Christ” verse 16– it is the power of God unto salvation.

The book of Romans has two major divisions: Chapter 1-11, doctrinal; Chapter 12-16, practical.

1. VERSES 1-2, THE SERVANT
   1. Verse 1, Paul introduces himself to the church at Rome as a doulos of Jesus Christ.
      
      1. A doulos is a slave or a bondman. Paul was saying: “I am a slave of God.”
         
         1. To truly follow Jesus as Paul did means to sell out totally to Him, to be His slave.
            
         2. We are reminded in I Corinthians 6:19-20, “...ye are not your own, For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
            
         3. A slave is one whose will is lost in the will of another.
            1. Before Paul was saved, he served Satan and did what Satan wanted him to do.
               
            2. When Paul was born again, he received new life (II Corinthians 5:17), and his will was lost in the sweet will of God.
               
            3. “No one will ever be a successful servant of Christ until God’s will becomes his very own” (McBeth 20).
               
         4. Draper says: “That is what it means to be a slave of God. We have no will of our own; no rights of our own. We belong to Him. His will is our will. His wish is our command” (14).
            

      2. “Called to be an apostle.”
         
         1. The apostles, the twelve chosen, called and sent forth by Jesus Himself. They got their commission directly from Him.
            
         2. Paul had valid apostleship for Christ made a special trip from heaven to call him personally (Acts 26:12-18).
            
         3. It is well to mention that the term apostle grew to have a wider meaning: “to send, to send away on a commission, to dispatch, anyone by whom a message is sent, an ambassador.”

      3. “Separated unto the gospel of God.” Paul was set apart to minister the good news of God. Paul had a double setting apart in his life:
         
         1. He was set apart by God the Father:
            
            1. In Galatians 1:15-16, he tells us that God had set him apart for salvation and preaching before he was born. Jeremiah was called before he was born (Jeremiah 1:5). God has a plan for the Christian. Your life is not without purpose.
               
            2. Paul was set apart by men. Men are to be sent forth by church authority to do the work of God (Acts 13:1-3).
               
      4. The gospel of God.” The number one job of all of God’s men is to preach the Gospel (I Corinthians 15:1-4).

   2. Verse 2, the Gospel is not something new. It is the fulfillment of the promise announced by the prophets.
      
      1. The Old Testament contains the promises, and the New Testament tells us how the promises had been, were being, and would be fulfilled.
         
      2. “His prophets” means Moses, Samuel, David, Jeremiah, Isaiah, etc.
         
      3. Put simply:
         The Old is by the New explained
         The New is in the Old contained.
         
      4. Paul’s authority is in the Old Testament scriptures.
         
      5. Jesus magnifies the Old Testament scriptures by referring to them as in Luke 24:44-46.
         
      6. In John 1:29, we see Christ walking out of the Old to the New.

2. VERSES 3-4, THE SON
   1. Verse 3, Incarnation. The Gospel is about the incarnation.
      
      1. Christ is the subject of the Gospel of God. The Gospel is about a person; Jesus is the person of the good news. The Gospel is all about Jesus.
         
      2. According to the flesh, Jesus was a descendent of David, the shepherd King of Israel.
         
         1. Jesus is the rightful heir to David’s throne and will one day rule from it (Luke 1:32).
            
         2. The Jews held that the Messiah had to be a descendent of David. Matthew 1:16 and Luke 3:24-32 establishes the relationship between Jesus and David.
            
            
   2. Verse 4, Note that Christ was not “made” the Son of God. He is “declared” to be the Son of God.
      
      1. “Made” of the seed of David according to the flesh.
         
         1. John 1:14, “The Word was made flesh....”
            
         2. Galatians 4:4, “But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman...”
            
         3. Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God.
            
      2. The resurrection is a powerful declaration that Jesus is the Son of God.
         
         1. In the virgin birth, Christ was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and He was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of holiness.
            
         2. The resurrection is the most conclusive and refutable evidence that Jesus is the Son of God (Acts 13:29-33).
            
            1. The ability to conquer death belongs to God.
               
            2. He, Christ, is the Son of God.
               
         3. God sent His Son; they called Him Jesus. He came to love, heal, and forgive: He lived and died to buy my pardon, An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.
            
            
3. VERSE 5, THE SERVICE
   1. “By whom,” this points to the resurrected Christ.

   2. The “we” is the editorial plural.

   3. “Grace,” this is unmerited, undeserved, unearned favor.
      
      1. It is by grace that God grants salvation as a gift to all who believe.
         
      2. Salvation is all of grace. We contribute nothing to our redemption (Romans 3:24).
         
         
   4. Just as Paul had received grace, he also received apostleship for service.
      
      1. We are not saved by good works; we are saved to good works (Ephesians 2:10).
         
      2. “Obedience” to the faith...”
         
         1. Is to fulfill the great commission (Matthew 28:19-20).
            
         2. Faith and obedience are the two sides of the coin of salvation.
            
         3. In Romans 1:8, Paul speaks of the obedient faith of the church at Rome.
            
         4. Obedient faith is missions.
            
            
   5. VERSES 6-7, THE SAINTS
      1. Verse 6, The believers at Rome were among those who had been called to the obedience of the faith.
         
         1. “The called” are true believers.
            
         2. Called to salvation and called to obedience.
            
         
         
      2. Verse 7, All the believers at Rome are spoken of by Paul as “beloved of God.”
         
         1. “Called,” this is not a general call, but the effectual call (Romans 8:30).
            
         2. “Saints” speaks of all believers. The Greek word is hagios: set apart.
            
         3. In the benediction, we have the wonderful words “grace and peace.”
            
            1. Not from whom these blessings come.
               
            2. The only ones to have these blessings are believers, the called, the beloved holy ones of God.