LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for September 4: Good news to tell

Long before the book of Romans inspired Martin Luther to begin a work of reformation guided by the principle of salvation by faith alone, and long before the Roman Road to salvation became a popular witnessing tool, Romans was a letter, inspired by God.

The Apostle Paul wrote it to Christians in the imperial capital of Rome. Unlike Paul’s other letters, this letter was sent to a church to which he had not given any pastoral oversight. Anticipating a visit, Paul wrote this letter to introduce himself, the gospel message he proclaimed and his plans for future ministry.
 
At the same, Paul was not wholly ignorant of the situation in Rome. The Roman church had endured a unique challenge—the expulsion of Jews (and Jewish believers) by the decree of Emperor Claudius, in A.D. 49.

According to the Roman historian Suetonius, the emperor decreed this expulsion because a division had occurred among the Jews regarding a certain “Chrestus.” Claudius, being more interested in keeping the peace than in discovering the truth, simply kicked out the offending parties.

Paul had met some of these expelled Jewish believers (Acts 18:2), and so would have known about the challenges facing the church—challenges not only of a core group of church membership being forcibly removed from the city, but also the challenge of many of that group returning after Claudius’ death and finding a vastly different, more Gentile church.

It is this setting that helps us understand the weight of some of Paul’s words in our lesson this week. Indeed, so carefully does Paul choose his words, there is not time to really delve into the richness of this passage in one session. Instead, it will be necessary for you to choose those aspects of the passage deemed most relevant.
 
As a general guideline, however, two broad points can be easily made from the passage. We find the first point in the first six verses of chapter 1. Here, Paul provides a strong challenge to worldly authorities. Paul introduces himself as a “servant of Christ Jesus” (v. 1). “Christ,” of course, is a title meaning “anointed one,” “Messiah” or “King.” Considering Paul is writing to people living in the shadow of the Roman emperor, there is a real subversiveness in his clear identification with some king other than Caesar.

This subversiveness is magnified by Paul’s further description of Jesus. Jesus is the essential substance of the good news of God, a good news that has a long, historical testimony through the prophets and Scripture. If the historical witness about Jesus is not enough to establish Jesus’ authoritative claims, Paul also points out that Jesus was a descendant of kings and “declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead” (v. 3). “Son of God” was a title Caesar had taken for himself, so Paul carefully is setting Jesus against the emperor.

Paul completes the contrast between Christ and Caesar with his final introduction: “Jesus Christ our Lord” (v. 4). In Rome, only Caesar was lord. Were I to summarize all of this, I would say: “The good news of God is that Jesus is Lord, and Caesar is not.”
    
The continuing good news of God to us is that Jesus still is Lord. He is Lord above any other authority we can name. To help the depth of this reality sink in, you might take a moment and name some of the authorities in your life. Our own government is one example. The question is, to whom do we owe our highest allegiance, our nation or our Savior? And how do we separate those two?

Our culture carries a certain weight of authority by shaping our values and our standards for success. Again, the question is, to whom do we owe our highest allegiance? What will it look like if we set a passion for the good news of God and the authority of Jesus over any passion for wealth, fame or self-centered independence?

There are other authorities that lay claim to our time, our energy, our money and our attention. What would these authorities look like if they surrendered to the ultimate authority of Christ?
    
But this news about the authority of Jesus can be dangerous. The Roman Christians  experienced that. For proclaiming the truth about Jesus, they were expelled from their homes. Paul suffered many things for the cause, but even so, he wanted them to know he was “not ashamed” of this good news for “it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (v. 16).

Here is the second general point from the passage this week: When we, like Paul, surrender ourselves to the authority of Christ, we become servants of Christ. His task becomes our task, and the risks of truth-telling that he faced become our risks. Whether in risk or reward, though, we answer his authoritative call with obedience, trusting in the power of his authority to accomplish the divine salvation in our world.

Can you say you are unashamed of this good news? Do your actions back up your claim? How can your class help and encourage each other to live lives of unashamed witness to the good news of Jesus’ authority?