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What does Romans 1 mean?

Chapter Commentary:

Paul's letter to the Christians in Rome is a thorough and clear presentation of the gospel, or "good news," about salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul identifies himself as both a servant of Jesus and an apostle, representing Christ's authority and message to others.

Paul interrupts his own greeting to jump into an explanation of the gospel. It is his Christ-given mission in life, to tell everyone he can that Jesus is the Son of God, as well as the direct descendant of King David. In short, He is the Messiah who was raised from the dead (Romans 1:1–7).

Paul reveals to the Roman Christians how urgently he wants to travel to Rome to see them. In fact, he prays continually that it will be God's will for him to come. He wants to give them a spiritual gift and for there to be mutual encouragement in the faith. Also, since Paul's mission in life is to preach the gospel to all people groups, he is eager to come and preach in the multicultural metropolis of Rome (Romans 1:8–15).

Paul reveals the key purpose of his letter by declaring that he is not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He insists that it is God's power for salvation for everyone who believes, including both Jews and Gentiles. The only way to be made righteous by God, to be welcomed into His family, starts and ends with faith (Romans 1:16–17).

Paul then launches into an explanation of why God is right to condemn humanity in the first place. Why do we need salvation? What do we need to be saved from? Paul describes a downward progression for unrighteous humanity; this includes all of us by our very nature. It begins with refusing to see in creation what God has made knowable about Himself by what He has made. Sinful humans do not want to see, and do not want others to recognize, God's eternal power or divine nature from what He has made (Romans 1:18–20).

Having rejected God as Creator, we also refuse to give Him thanks as our provider. We congratulate ourselves for our wisdom in seeing the world without God in it and, instead, become fools, unable to understand the basic truths of the universe because we have eliminated the possibility that God is the source of it all. Our hearts become darker and darker (Romans 1:21–22).

Next, we begin to worship what God has made instead of Him. We create lesser versions of His creation and worship them, further alienating and insulting Him. In response, God expresses His wrath on humanity in a surprising way: He is said to give us over to the unchecked expression of our sinful desires. Paul first mentions our full indulgence, at God's "giving over," of our sexual desires with and against each other, dishonoring the bodies He has made and given to us. Next, He gives us over to the indulgence of sexual desire in homosexual relationships, as women and men become consumed with passion for people of their own gender (Romans 1:23–27).

Finally, since we continue to refuse to acknowledge God, He gives us up to debased minds, resulting in our indulgence in every kind of sin imaginable. Paul concludes the chapter with a list of such sins. Few people are likely guilty of all of these sins, but all of us are guilty of some of them. We are all slaves to our sin and in need of salvation from the wrath of God in judgment against us (Romans 1:28–32).

The beginning of chapter 2, words originally written as part of a single flowing text, make it clear that all people are accountable to God, and that all people are guilty of sin (Romans 2:1–5).

Romans 1:1–7 begins Paul's letter to the Christians in Rome with an introduction of himself as a servant and apostle of Jesus. He has been set apart to preach the gospel, or good news, about Jesus. Paul interrupts his own introduction by immediately beginning to teach the gospel, that Jesus Christ our Lord is the Son of God who was resurrected from the dead. He addresses his letter to those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints. This would include all the believers in Jesus.

Romans 1:8–15 contains Paul's description to the Roman Christians of his longing to travel to Rome to be with them. He prays continually that he may be allowed by God to come. He wants to give to them a spiritual gift and for them to mutually encourage each other's faith. Part of his reason for wanting to come to them is that his mission in life is to carry the gospel of Jesus to all people groups, many of whom are represented in Rome.

Romans 1:16–17 is often used as the key verses to summarize the book of Romans. Paul declares boldly why he is not ashamed of the gospel about Jesus that he preaches around the world. This message is nothing less than the power of God for everyone who believes, both Jews and Gentiles. It is about being declared righteous by God because of our faith in Him.

Romans 1:18–32 describes why God rightfully condemns humanity and some of what He has done about it. Humanity's fall is pictured as a downward progression. It starts with rejecting God as creator, refusing to see what can be known about Him by what He has made. We also reject that He is our provider and stop giving Him thanks. We worship His creation instead of Him. Finally, God acts by giving us over to the unchecked expression of our corrupt sexual desires and all other kinds of sin. In part, He expresses His wrath by giving us what we want and condemning us to suffer the painful consequences.

Chapter Summary:

Romans 1 introduces Paul and his purpose in writing this letter to the Christians in Rome. As servant and apostle of Jesus, Paul's mission in life is to preach the gospel of Jesus to all people groups, both Jews and Gentiles. He hopes to do so in Rome soon. Paul is not ashamed of the gospel. It is God's power for the salvation of all people by faith in Christ. We need to be saved because God is angry with us. Because of our sin, humanity has rejected Him as creator and provider. We worship created things, instead. In response, God has given us over to indulge in all kinds of sinful practices that lead to misery now and His angry judgment later.

Chapter Context:

Romans 1 begins with Paul's introduction of himself and his mission to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. After telling the Christians in Rome that he is eager to come see them and preach the gospel there, Paul declares that the gospel is God's power to save everyone who believes in Jesus. We need to be saved, because our sin has earned God's wrath. As a whole, humanity has rejected God as creator and provider. We worship creation instead of Him. In response, He has given us over to the full indulgence of our sinful desires. We are guilty and deserve His judgment.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.

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