(2) Not Ashamed of the Gospel : Audience and Theme of Romans (1:8-17)

Transcription

1 (2) Not Ashamed of the Gospel : Audience and Theme of Romans (1:8-17)

2 8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. (Rom 1:8 NAU) The Reader of the Book of Romans Was the Church in Rome It Was a Good Church, Who Became Famous for Its Faith

3 Jan 24, AD 41: Gaius Caesar Caligula Was Murdered, His Uncle Claudius Became the Roman Emperor

4 Claudius Made Herod Agrippa I King with the Territory of His Grandfather Herod the Great (Judea, Samaria, and Idumea) and That of the Former Tetrarchy of Lysanias (Abilene) Feb 8, AD 41 (Earliest Date the Mediterranean Was Open for Sail), Agrippa Sailed from Rome to Caesarea Agrippa Was Hailed by the Jews as the Messiah He Killed James the Son of Zebedee (Acts 12:1) He Jailed Peter, Expecting to Kill Him after Passover (Apr 4, 41) (Acts 12:4-16) About the Same Time (Between Mar 40-Mar 41), Saul of Tarsus (Later Apostle Paul) Was Taken into the Third Heaven and Given Many Revelations (2 Cor 12:2)

5 Apr 10, 41, Peter Was Saved by Angels, and Escaped Out of the Realm of Agrippa (Acts 13:17). May 1, 41, Peter Went to Antioch, and Stayed There for a Year (AD 41-42). Barnabas and Saul/Paul Founded the Church in Antioch (40-41) Peter Confirmed and Consolidated the Church (41-42) In Early A.D. 42, Peter Left Antioch for a Mission Trip thru Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia (1 Pet 1:1), and Arrived in Rome in Nov, AD 42 Peter Had a Show Down with Simon the Magician (Acts 8:9) (Founder of Gnosticism), and Won (Eusebius, His. Ecc.) Peter Preached the Gospel of Matthew (in Hebrew), Translated into Greek by Mark the Evangelist, Which Was Written Down as the Gospel of Mark

6 Apr 10, 41, Peter Was Saved by Angels, and Escaped Out of the Realm of Agrippa (Acts 13:17). May 1, 41, Peter Went to Antioch, and Stayed There for a Year (AD 41-42). Barnabas and Saul/Paul Founded the Church in Antioch (40-41) Peter Confirmed and Consolidated the Church (41-42) In Early A.D. 42, Peter Left Antioch for a Mission Trip thru Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia (1 Pet 1:1), and Arrived in Rome in Nov, AD 42 Peter Had a Show Down with Simon the Magician (Acts 8:9) (Founder of Gnosticism), and Won (Eusebius, His. Ecc.) Peter Preached the Gospel of Matthew (in Hebrew), Translated into Greek by Mark the Evangelist, Which Was Written Down as the Gospel of Mark

7 Feb 22, AD 43 (Chronography of AD 354), Peter Founded the Church of Rome He Was Called Its Bishop (Non-residential Overseer) for 25 yrs (AD 43-67). The Church Was Predominantly Jewish It Grew Exponentially in Rome In 7 Years, the Believing and Nonbelieving Jews Has Great Conflicts (due to Crestus, Suetonius, Claudius) AD 50, Claudius Drove Out All the Jews in Rome (Christian or Not) Aquila and Priscilla Were Among Them (Acts 18:1-3) Paul Met Them during His 2 nd Missionary Journey at Corinth in AD 50

8 The Converted Gentiles (Many were Slaves of the Jewish Believers) Who Continued to Meet in the House Churches in Rome The Church in Rome Turned Predominantly Gentile! They Were Famous for Their Faithduring the Time of Persecution They Needed Truthto Base Their Faith on

9 Paul Usually Does Not Go Where Other Apostles Have Been Before Him (Rom 15:19-20) He Wrote the Book (in AD 54) to a Gentile-Majority Church in Rome (Since AD 50) Where No Apostle Had Been Paul Wants to Bless the Roman Church by His Knowledge, and in Turn Receive Their Blessing Financially He Wrote Romans to Build up the Foundation of Truth for Their Already Existing Faith To Raise Support for His Next Mission Trip to Spain (Rom 15:21-29)

10 9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, 10 always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; 12 that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine. (Rom 1:9-12 NAU)

11 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. (Rom 1:13-15 NAU) The Preventions Could Be The Objections of the Jews in Rome against Paul: They Are Gone The Necessary Works of Gospel Elsewhere: They Are Done

12 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed 1 from faith to faith; as it is written, " 2b BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." (Rom 1:16-17 cf. Hab 2:4) The Gospel Has the Power of God The Gospel Saves All Who Believe The Gospel Is Given to All Mankind The Gospel Is about the Justice of God The Gospel Is Received by Faith

13 The Righteousness of God Demands Man to Face God s Judgment Faith Is the Only Way to Receive Justification from God Truth Is the Object and Foundation of Faith The Truth of the Gospel Is the Way of Salvation The Saved Can Give and Take Blessings to and from Each Other