The Epistle to the Romans
Lesson 4
Righteousness Revealed

Reading Assignment: Romans 1

Introduction
Before beginning the study of a new lesson, it is extremely important that you review the outline and the material that you have already studied. In Lesson 1, the authorship of Paul was confirmed as was the time, place and to whom Romans was written. Lesson 2 presented seven important keys to understanding the epistle and some outlines to give you some idea of its depth and scope. Lesson 3 presented the text verse by verse, and began the section of our outline called “Introduction.”
This lesson includes Chapter 1:14-17 and concludes The Introduction. The theme is Righteousness Revealed. The key verses and the entire theme of Romans, along with the three great "I Ams" of the apostle Paul, are included in this message. May your heart be blessed as you study diligently.

Importance of this Lesson

• The fact that this lesson embodies the key verses and the entire theme of Romans makes the lesson extremely important.
• When the impact and rich significance of the three "I Ams" is understood, the passage becomes even more blessed and meaningful.

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The Lesson

I. "I AMS" OF THE APOSTLE PAUL. (BE ABLE TO LIST THESE FOR YOUR EXAM.)

1. I am Debtor – Romans 1:14 – Reveals Paul's feeling of obligation
2. I am Ready – Romans 1:15 – Reveals Paul's confident sense of preparation
3. I am Not Ashamed – Romans 1:16 – Reveals Paul's Exaltation in the gospel

II. A CLOSER VIEW OF I AM DEBTOR.

1. Why did Paul have such a deep feeling of obligation to share the gospel?
   1. As a Pharisee, before he met Christ:
      1. He stood by and consented to Stephen's martyrdom (Acts 7:60-8:1).
      2. He obtained authority to persecute the church and had made havoc of it (Acts 8:3).
      3. He prospered in the Jew's religion at the expense of the church (Galatians 1:14).
   2. BUT, Paul met Christ on the road to Damascus and his life was transformed (Acts 9). He now saw himself as:
      1. The least of the apostles and unfit to be called an apostle (I Corinthians 15:9).
      2. The chief of sinners (I Timothy 1:15).
      3. Less than the least of all saints (Ephesians 3:8).
2. Further evidence that coming to know Christ had radically changed Paul's life:
   1. He called the gospel he once despised MY gospel (Romans 2:16).
   2. He felt a profound obligation to pray constantly for those he once sought to imprison and to destroy (Romans 1:9).
   3. He felt an obligation to be with the people he once considered rebels and heretics
      (Romans 1:10-11).
   4. He had an overwhelming need to share the Good News concerning Christ with all men everywhere:
      1. Romans 1:14…to the Greek and to the Barbarians… – This was Paul's division of humanity. Everyone in Paul's day who did not practice Greek culture was considered a Barbarian.
      2. The wise and the unwise – This was Paul's intellectual division of mankind – the learned and the unlearned.
3. Notes for our meditation and learning:
   1. Paul felt, and so should we, that the gospel of Christ meets the need of mankind at every level.
   2. The realization of what we were before we met Christ should fill us all with humility and a sense of obligation.
   3. The possession of the gospel makes us debtors to all that have never heard.

III. A DEEPER LOOK AT I AM READY.

1. In this phrase we see Paul's confidence in his PREPARATION.
   1. His life had been transformed.
   2. He had spent a number of years in the Arabian desert being fully instructed by the Holy Spirit in the doctrines of grace and the church (Galatians 1:17).
2. He was ready (verse 15):
   1. Like a trained athlete is ready for the game.
   2. Like a soldier is prepared for the battle.
   3. Like a surgeon is prepared for some delicate operation.
   4. Like a servant is ready to fill any request.
3. Paul said, So, as much as in me is, I am ready….
   1. He was ready SPIRITUALLY, Acts 9:17. He had met Christ and had placed his faith in Him. He had been filled with the Holy Spirit and anointed for service. How useless all of us are without this preparation.
   2. He was ready MENTALLY.
      It is probable that he studied at the famous University of Tarsus. The renowned scholar, Gamaliel, tutored him. He was a linguist and an intellectual giant ready with all his mental powers to proclaim the Gospel of Christ.
   3. He was ready PHYSICALLY.
      He had diseased eyes, was bent, weak and sickly but was ready with every fiber of his being to even die for Christ and the Gospel if need be (Romans 9:3).
   4. The question is: Are you ready to share the Gospel? Are you clothed with the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-17)? Are you filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)? Are you in constant communion with your Lord (I Thesssalonians 5:17)? Have you studied the Word (2 Timothy 2:15)? Are you, in mind, body, soul, and spirit, in a state of readiness to serve the Lord?
4. …to you that are at Rome also. Some had accused Paul of being either ashamed or afraid to come to Rome. In this verse, he assures them that is not so.

IV. THE MEANING OF I AM NOT ASHAMED – VERSES 16 AND 17

1. In these two remarkable verses we have:
   1. The conclusion of the Introduction to Romans.
   2. Righteousness Revealed, Romans 1:17.
   3. The KEY verses for the entire epistle.
   4. The entire theme of Romans presented. Fourteen words in these two verses summarize the teaching of the entire book They are: Gospel, Christ, power, God, salvation, everyone, believeth, Jew, Greek, righteousness, revealed, faith, just and live.
2. Of what was Paul not ashamed?
   1. The Gospel of Christ.
   2. What is the gospel? One good definition is: "It is the good news of God's all-sufficient provision for sinners, in and by the Person, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which embraces every aspect of salvation and every doctrine relating to that salvation." (Learn this definition by heart for the exam.)
3. Paul was not ashamed of this Gospel
   1. Because of its power (Romans 1:16) it is the power of God unto salvation….
      1. The word "power" is dunamis from which the word “dynamite" is derived.
      2. All of God's omnipotence, His unlimited, universal, absolute power is at work in and through the gospel for our salvation.
      3. Here is the power that created and sustains the universe.
         Here is a power far greater than Rome.
         Here is a power far greater than the hydrogen bomb.
         Here is the power that raised Christ from the dead.
         Here is the power to cleanse a harlot, cure an alcoholic, heal a homosexual, rescue a soul from hell, from Satan's control and sin's condemnation, completely cleanse, forgive and transform a human life.
      • No wonder Paul was not ashamed of such a Gospel!
   2. Because of its universality. To everyone that believeth both Jew and Gentile.
      1. To everyone – The privilege and opportunity to be saved is clearly available to everyone (John 3:16, Isaiah 45:22, 1 Timothy 2:4, 1 John 2:2).
      2. That believeth – Salvation is experienced by only those who believe.
      3. The Jew first – This is a matter of chronology, not priority. Note Matthew 10:5,6 and Acts 13:46.
   3. Because in it is revealed the righteousness of God (Verse 17).
      • No one could ever be saved from sin until the demands of sin were paid and the curse of a broken law was removed. God is a holy God. He cannot by-pass or over-look sin. It must be judged, purged, and put away. Read 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 1:3, 9:26; Isaiah 53:6; Galatians 3:10-15.
      1. The gospel is good news because it contains the message that God's justice has been vindicated and His holiness satisfied as to sin, making it possible for Him to deal with you and me in mercy and grace.
      2. Righteousness of God – Paul wrote of the righteousness God imputes to all who believe. Read Philippians 3:9; Romans 3:21-23; 2 Corinthians 5:21. Dr. Griffeth Thomas writes, "Righteousness covers all that is necessary to re-instate a sinner as right with God, and therefore includes his position, character, privilege and prospects. It embraces the past, present and the future and means the state of being right."
      3. From faith to faith – That is, it is an on-going process to all generations. We are saved through faith (Ephesians 2:8,9) and we live by faith (Galatians 2:20).
   4. The just shall live by faith
      1. This truth, when it dawned on Martin Luther, freed him from religious blindness and transformed his life.
      2. This was the watchword and battle cry of the Reformation.
      3. This is the testing point of every religious system.
         If it is wrong in this passage, it is wrong everywhere.
         • Read Habakkuk 2:4, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38.
         • Five hundred years before Christ, Socrates said to Plato, "It may be that the Deity can forgive sin, but I do not see how."
         • A dying sinner said – "I don't want God to do anything wrong in saving me."
         • Job asked, "How then can man be justified with God?”( Job 25:4).
         • Romans provides the answer to all of these problems, as you will see more and more, especially in these early chapters.

Examination

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