Romans 1:1-7

Romans 1:1-7 NIV
¹ Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—

Paul starts with showing his credentials.  An apostle is a rare breed.  For one to be an apostle you must have a specific message given to you by Jesus Christ himself.  Paul met the risen Christ on the road to Damascus. Paul was taken to the third heaven and taught personally by Jesus.

 ² the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures ³regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David,

Paul continues with validating his message.  Isaiah 7:14 foretells the virgin birth. Isaiah 53:4-6 foretells him taking our punishment. Psalm 22 foretells Christ torment of being separated from God. Psalm 69:21 foretells His experience on the cross.  In all 300 prophesies about Christ were fulfill by him.

⁴ and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Paul continues with the validation of the one who gave the message.  Christ rose from the dead. This makes what he said something we can believe in.

⁵ Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. ⁶ And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

This is a call to "all Gentiles" to obedience that comes from faith.  There were only two people groups at the writing of this letter.  Jews and non-Jews also known as Gentiles.

⁷ To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:

   Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Roman church was the first to receive this letter.  Through God's plan the letter was passed to other churches and preserved through time and now we too get to read it.

So I ask you to pray for me as I study this book and share what God has for us.  Romans is a deep book the we could spend our lives on and never fully understand it and that is why I shied away from it for so long.  However the first time I study this book, I learned that it is also very practical and teaches the foundation every believer in Christ should know.

God Bless.