The book of Romans: God’s Good News!

There has never been a day when being clear on messaging mattered more. Our day is full of voices vying for attention in the forum of ideas. The church must be clear on our message, the “Gospel of God” (Romans 1:1). That curious phrase communicates volumes about this great epistle written to believers in the most influential city in all of the first century world. The glory of God’s gospel is how it speaks with relevance to the hungry hearts of humanity.

This treatise on God’s Good News is one of the most important letters ever written. It moved Saint Augustine to embrace Christ. It started the Reformation in the 16 th century as Martin Luther came to understand the true nature of righteousness. In the 18 th century it moved John Wesley to embrace Christ and started revival fires burning…a clear understanding of God’s Good News always done.

Understanding the gospel brings a freedom and a peace to our soul that God intended all along in creating us to relate to Himself. There is a glory to experience when we give up on trying to please God with our efforts to be righteous and embrace God’s righteousness as free gift in the gospel. That’s the glory we are reaching for in this new preaching series.

We need to be clear on our message, God’s Good News. Our world needs to hear of God’s Good News! This great book is a 16-chapter treatise on God’s gift of righteousness and its transforming power. We will look forward over the next several months to a trek verse by verse through this explanation of God’s great plan of salvation. We cannot value what we do not understand with clarity. We cannot appreciate free gifts until we come to see we had no involvement in their acquisition. Yes, indeed, grace is greater than our sin. God’s Good News transforms everyone who lays a hold of its glory. It hosts a power that transforms every facet of our living…if we will allow. Join me in praying that as we soak in the grace of this book of Romans that our esteem for God and His Good News would rise to new heights and reshape our joys and our wills as we forge ahead with Gospel living with all of our might. Indeed (and we’ll get there in chapter 11’s doxology), to Jesus Christ be glory forever. Amen.