Day 118 – Friday, June 13, 2025

One Year Journey Through the New Testament

Romans 1

Welcome to our journey through the New Testament!

Greeting

1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God ² which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, ³ concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, ⁴ and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. ⁵ Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, ⁶ among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;

⁷ To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints:

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

(Romans 1:1–7, NKJV)

Points to Ponder:

• Paul opens this letter with a greeting upholding the power and important cue of the gospel.
• He outlines the path that led from the prophets through David and right through to Jesus Christ Himself, holy, powerful, and resurrected.
• Through Christ, grace and apostleship came to Paul, and—by extension—to all nations.
• He gives his greeting to the Roman believers, and offers a blessing of grace and peace to them.

Desire to Visit Rome

⁸ First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. ⁹ For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, ¹⁰ making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. ¹¹ For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established—¹² that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

¹³ Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles. ¹⁴ I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. ¹⁵ So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. 

(Romans 1:8–15, NKJV)

Points to Ponder:

• Paul goes on to thank the Lord for the faith of the Romans. Paul knows their reputation, and prays for them always.
• Paul tells them that he longs to visit them in Rome. He longs to impart a spirit gift: their mutual faith.
• Paul wanted to come to them, but was hindered. He wanted to produce fruit among them, and preach the gospel there.

The Just Live by Faith

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. ¹⁷ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” 

(Romans 1:16–17, NKJV)

Points to Ponder:

• A pivotal passage is found here. Paul boldly proclaims his allegiance to the gospel. He states that he is not ashamed.
• He declares the power of the gospel to save. He further declares the universality of the gospel.
• The overall message is that “The just shall live by faith.”

God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness

¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, ¹⁹ because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, ²¹ because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Professing to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

²⁴ Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, ²⁵ who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

²⁶ For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. ²⁷ Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, ¹men with ¹men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

²⁸ And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; ²⁹ being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, ³⁰ backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, ³¹ undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; ³² who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. 

(Romans 1:18–32, NKJV)

Points to Ponder:

• In contrast to the blessing of living by faith, Paul now declares the wrath of God on the ungodly and unrighteous.
• Those evil people suppress the truth, denying what they have been given.
• Paul speaks of the invisible attributes of God that have been evident since creation. These attributes make even the heathen responsible for believing in God.
• Those who do not believe or glorify His name have their hearts darkened, and are fools.
• They do not glorify the incorruptible God, but glorify the corruptible images of men and animals.
• God gave them up to their lust and dishonor. They were vile, and consumed sinful pleasure.
• They engaged in homosexual activity, characterized as vile and shameful.
• God gave them over to a debased mind, allowing them to do those things unthinkable:
  • Unrighteousness
  • Sexual immorality
  • Wickedness
  • Covetousness
  • Maliciousness
  • Envy
  • Murder
  • Strife
  • Deceit
  • Evil-minded
  • Whispering
  • Backbiting
  • Hating God
  • Violent
  • Proud
  • Boasting
  • Disobedient
  • Without love
  • Unforgiving
  • Unmerciful
• Those who practice such things are deserving of death, but yet approve of the practice of those sins.
• This teaching of Paul shows the dangers of sin, and the blessings of obedience to God and His law.

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All Scriptures from New King James Version unless otherwise noted.

Join us this afternoon at 5:00 pm for a discussion of this chapter live online. Live@5 with Dr. Greg Sloop can be found on Facebook on the Dr. Greg Sloop page or on the Kannapolis Church of God Facebook page or Youtube page. Another blog will be posted each weekday at 6:00 a.m.