The Epistle to the Romans
Lesson 4
Special English Version

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, you learned that Paul was the writer of the book. You also learned when and where Paul wrote it, and to whom Paul sent the book of Romans. Lesson 2 presented seven important keys to help you to understand the epistle and some outlines to give you some idea of its depth and extent of the teachings. Lesson 3 presented the text verse by verse, and began the section of our outline called “Introduction.”

This lesson includes Romans 1:14-17 and concludes The Introduction. The theme is Righteousness Revealed (God shows what righteousness is). This message includes the key verses and the theme of the whole book of Romans, along with the three great "I Ams" of the apostle Paul. I pray that God will bless your heart as you study hard with full attention.

Importance of this Lesson

• This lesson is most important because it contains the key verses and the main idea of the book of Romans.
• When you understand the power and rich meaning of the three "I Ams," this 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 – This shows that Paul knows his responsibilities.
2. I am Ready – Romans 1:15 – This shows that Paul confident that he is well prepared.
3. I am Not Ashamed – Romans 1:16 – This shows that Paul considers this gospel greater than anything else in the world.

II. A CLOSER LOOK AT “I AM DEBTOR”

1. Why did Paul feel such great responsibility to share the gospel?
   1. He was a Pharisee, before he met Christ:
      1. He stood by and agreed for people to stone Stephen (Acts 7:60-8:1).
      2. He received power to persecute the church and he tried to destroy it (Acts 8:3).
      3. He became an important man in the Jew's religion by persecuting the church (Galatians 1:14).
   2. BUT, Paul met Christ on the road to Damascus and Christ transformed his life (Acts 9).
      After that happened he now saw himself as:
      1. The least of the apostles and not even fit for people to call him an apostle (1 Corinthians 15:9).
      2. The chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).
      3. Less important than the least important of all believers (Ephesians 3:8).
2. When Paul came to know Christ, Christ completely changed Paul's life:
   1. At one time he hated the gospel, but now he calls it MY gospel (Romans 2:16).
   2. He felt a deep responsibility to pray constantly for the people he had tried to put in prison and kill (Romans 1:9).
   3. Before Paul believed he considered the Christians as rebels. Now he felt a responsibility to stand with them (Romans 1:10-11).
   4. More than anything else he wanted to share the Good News concerning Christ with all men everywhere:
      1. Romans 1:14…to the Greek and to the Barbarians… – This was the way Paul divided all the people in the world. In Paul's day everyone who did not practice the Greek way of life was considered a Barbarian.
      2. The wise and the unwise – This is the way Paul divided mankind according to their education – those who had been to school and those who had not been to school.
3. Notes for our meditation and learning:
   1. Paul believed that the gospel of Christ meets the need of all people. We should believe this too.
   2. We must realize what we were before we met Christ. This should make us all humble. This should make us realize that we have the same responsibility.
   3. We possess the gospel. This makes us debtors to all people that have never heard.

III. A CLOSER LOOK AT “I AM READY”

1. In this phrase we see that Paul is sure that he is well prepared.
   1. His life had been changed.
   2. He had spent a number of years in the Arabian desert. The Holy Spirit taught him there in the doctrines of grace and about 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 difficult 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. The Holy Spirit had filled him and anointed him for service. Without this preparation God cannot use any of us.
   2. He was ready in his MIND
      Paul probably studied at the famous University of Tarsus. The well-known scholar, Gamaliel, taught him. Paul knew several languages and he had a great mind. He was ready with all of the powers of his mind to preach the Gospel of Christ.
   3. He was ready in his PHYSICAL BODY.
      He had weak eyesight. His body was bent over. He was weak and sickly but ready with everything that was in him to even die for Christ and the Gospel if God wanted him to die. (Romans 9:3).
   4. The question is: Are you ready to share the Gospel? Are you wearing the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-17)? Are you filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)? Are you in constant fellowship with your Lord (1 Thesssalonians 5:17)? Have you studied the Word of God (2 Timothy 2:15)? Are you ready, in mind, body, soul, and spirit, to serve the Lord?
4. …to you that are at Rome also. Some people had accused Paul that he was 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. The teachings of the whole book are put into fourteen words. These words 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 that God's provision for sinners is all the sinner needs. This provision comes in and by the Person, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and includes every part 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" comes from the Greek word dunamis. We get the word “dynamite" from this Greek word.
      2. All of God's power is at work in and through the gospel for our salvation. His power has no boundaries. God has power throughout the whole universe. God has total power.
      3. Here is the power that created the universe and supports it.
         Here is a power far greater than the Empire of Rome.
         Here is a power far greater than the atomic bomb.
         Here is the power that raised Christ from the dead.
         Here is the power to cleanse a prostitute, to cure a person who is always drunk, to give a homosexual strength to turn from his sin, to deliver a soul from hell, to take a person from Satan's control, and to save a person from the condemnation of sin, to completely cleanse, forgive and change a human life.
      • We are not surprised that Paul was not ashamed of such a Gospel!
   2. Because the Gospel is for every person. To everyone that believeth both Jew and Gentile.
      1. To everyone – The privilege and opportunity to be saved is available to everyone
         (John 3:16, Isaiah 45:22, 1 Timothy 2:4, 1 John 2:2).
      2. That believeth – God saves only those people who believe.
      3. The Jew first – This does not mean that the Jews were more important than the Gentiles. It means that the Gospel came to the Jews first in time before it came to the Gentiles.
         Note Matthew 10:5,6 and Acts 13:46.
   3. Because God shows His righteousness in the gospel (verse 17).
      • God could not save anyone from sin until someone took the punishment for sin. Someone had to break the curse of the law and remove that curse. God is a holy God. He cannot over-look sin. God must judge sin and put it 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 has defended His justice
         and satisfied His holiness concerning sin. This makes it possible for God to show you and
         me mercy and grace.
      2. Righteousness of God – Paul wrote about the righteousness that God puts on all believers. 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 a process that keeps going on all through the believer’s life. 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. When Martin Luther understood this doctrine, it made him free from spiritual blindness and this doctrine changed his life.
      2. This was the most important word of the Reformation.
      3. We must test every religion by its teaching on this doctrine. If the teaching of a religion is wrong about this part of the Bible, 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 God can forgive sin, but I do not see how."
• A dying sinner said – "I don't want God to make any mistakes 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. You will see this more and more, especially in these early chapters.

Examination

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