Good News to Tell
Romans 1:1-17
Recently I heard a pastor refer to Romans as Paul’s magnus opus – his great work. Martin Luther, the igniter of the Protestant Reformation, agreed with that thought. In his preface to Paul’s letter to the Romans, Luther wrote: “This letter is truly the most important piece in the New Testament. It is purest Gospel. It is well worth a Christian’s while not only to memorize it word for word but also to occupy himself with it daily, as though it were the daily bread of the soul.”
Over the next several months, we have the privilege to “occupy” ourselves with the riches found in Romans and to be drawn closer to the gospel it proclaims.
Paul’s passion in life was to tell the world about the good news of the salvation found in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. He modeled what it meant to be missionary – to go and share the gospel with everyone. But when he wrote Romans, Paul had yet to share his faith in the most powerful city of his time – Rome. Though he hadn’t been able to go to Rome, he still had good news to tell. So he did what he could do – he took pen to paper and proclaimed the good news of Jesus in a letter to the church there.
Why we tell: Like his other letters, Paul begins with a salutation and greets the church. His salutation to the Romans is longer and more complex than most. Perhaps he felt a need to better introduce himself since he had not met many of them. More likely, he wanted to adequately introduce his reason for writing – the gospel of God (v. 1).
Paul understood what we all need to discover. Salvation in Jesus is the center of all we are and all we do. One of my seminary professors reminded our class often: The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. The gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord is the main thing.
Whom we tell: In verses 8-15, Paul describes his affection for the church in Rome as well as his desire to preach the gospel to them and all the people of the world. He has been fervently praying for them and planning to visit so that they can be “mutually encouraged by each other’s faith” (v. 12). The gospel is to be shared with everyone – with those who have heard and those who have yet to hear.
What we tell: The gospel is powerful. Through the gift of Jesus, his death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead, everyone has been given the way to be made right with an omnipotent and holy God. Placing our faith in Christ brings eternal salvation. That is good news, and like Paul, we should never be ashamed to proclaim it!
Owens– Lessons in the ETB series for the fall quarter are being written by Ken Owens, director of the collegiate ministry group for the South Carolina Baptist Convention.